Fans Forum Open Meeting Wednesday 13th November 2024

[Templar Saint]

The next fans forum open meeting will be held on Wednesday 13th November 2024 at 7pm within the Centenary Suite at McDiarmid Park.

We are delighted that our new Head coach Simo Valakari has agreed to be our Guest Speaker.

If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like a question submitted on your behalf please email your question to sjfcfansforum@gmail.com We will do our best to accommodate your request. 

[pezza70]

Is there any chance this meeting can be streamed on line so everyone can hear Simo talk and see what he thinks now that he has had a little bit of time to access the squad?

[rik2304]

57 minutes ago, pezza70 said:

Is there any chance this meeting can be streamed on line so everyone can hear Simo talk and see what he thinks now that he has had a little bit of time to access the squad?

I'd reach out to the club about this one. 

Bev maybe or the new CEO.

[Templar Saint]

Due to the expected demand to attend from fans we have had to make this a ticketed event.

There is no charge for this event, but all attending must have a ticket for entry (max two per person). Arrival is from 6.30pm for a 7pm start and you can get your ticket from the here on the meeting notification on www.perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk

PLEASE BRING YOUR E-TICKET WITH YOU TO THE EVENT. 

Any supporter with additional support needs or specific access requirements should contact DAO@perthsaints.co.uk prior to the event. 

 

[Gekko]

It really is about time the club started to record these.

So that supporters who don't happen to be local, or can't attend on the night, get a chance to watch and listen.

The way they're conducted at the moment, they have a secrecy about them.

There's no excuse in this day and age, to at the very least publish them afterwards.

It's also not difficult to set up a system where supporters from anywhere in the world can join by Zoom, or something similar, when it's actually happening.

[pezza70]

Spot on mate, technology should be embraced and utilised for these meetings 

[blueheaven]

There was a question about this at the last fans forum and I think it was said it would be looked into for future events. Has that happened? You'd think it would be fairly easy to broadcast through Saints TV or even just YouTube. I'm trying to think of some reason the club might reasonably be against doing it but can't really think of anything. Everything that gets said ends up being discussed online anyway, so it's not as if any of it's private.

[Dooj]

59 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

There was a question about this at the last fans forum and I think it was said it would be looked into for future events. Has that happened? You'd think it would be fairly easy to broadcast through Saints TV or even just YouTube. I'm trying to think of some reason the club might reasonably be against doing it but can't really think of anything. Everything that gets said ends up being discussed online anyway, so it's not as if any of it's private.

I think there is a big difference between saying things to those present in the room and saying things that are broadcast to the world (and potentially recorded). I suspect that there are things that could be said or hinted at that are 'not for minuting' that the club are happy for fans to paraphrase in their discussions but which they wouldn't be happy about being on the record. 

[blueheaven]

1 hour ago, Dooj said:

I think there is a big difference between saying things to those present in the room and saying things that are broadcast to the world (and potentially recorded). I suspect that there are things that could be said or hinted at that are 'not for minuting' that the club are happy for fans to paraphrase in their discussions but which they wouldn't be happy about being on the record. 

I think if that's the case then the club should just come out and say that. At least that way we won't have people asking exactly the same question before every meeting and not getting a straight answer.

[rik2304]

Honestly. You're not missing much. This might be worth it, kind of, to hear Simo speaking but other than that...

[THE LARK SAINT]

Good meeting tonight Simo is so enthusiastic 

[slf]

12 minutes ago, THE LARK SAINT said:

Good meeting tonight Simo is so enthusiastic 

Yes it was a braw meeting.

 

you had the question of the night .

 

simos answer cracked me up .

 

 

 

 

[St. Paddy]

Don't give too much away, will you, lads?

[slf]

3 hours ago, St. Paddy said:

Don't give too much away, will you, lads?

They’re gonna stream the next one for ye tae hear 

[blueheaven]

OK so here are some of the top points as I remember them from last night. Very much paraphrasing from memory, so please don't take any of these as direct quotes.

• Fran came across as very positive and spoke a lot about us being 'one club, one city, one community' and as such there will be new branding for the club that feeds into that. This includes a refreshed version of the badge that was shown last night and will be shared with the wider fanbase soon. It was all received positively in the room and I think people are going to like it. It's basically the same design as the current badge but with a few tweaks to make it feel a bit more modern and make it easier to print on merch. The club has never really had its own consistent branding and they're trying to address that (at last!). A new website will also be coming soon.
• In general a lot was said about being open, improving communication with fans, having positive, energetic people at the club and making it a happy place to work (I got the impression it wasn't before!). Several of the new board members were there and were introduced to the fans. A big part of why Simo stood out in his interview was his enthusiasm, which was in line with the new culture they want to have at the club.
• Recognised that there has never been much diversity on the board and steps are being taken to address that. Two women are being spoken to about joining the board - one of whom is experienced in football, and the other has a lot of knowledge of Perth & Kinross.
• The club are far down the line with taking on the old Visit Scotland shop on the High Street, and the plan is to turn it into a Saints museum with a small shop area.
• The Muirton Suite is going to be redesigned and made bigger, so that it can be open through the week.
• They want to bring the women's team home and have them playing on the astroturf, but to do that they need to build a stand and make other improvements. They want to change people's mindset from just "Saints are playing on Saturday", to recognise that there are two Saints teams, one playing on Saturday and one playing on Sunday.
• Mixed views from Simo, Fran and the board on VAR but general consensus seemed to be that it's here to stay but needs to be improved. Acknowledged that much of the frustration comes from fans seeing games on TV at the Euros, Champions League etc where it all happens much faster. Fran mentioned that in one game there was a 7-minute delay because the ref was having a disagreement with what VAR wanted to do.
• At the moment there is no plan to let fans buy shares. If fans want to back the club financially, one thing they could do is help with funding/sponsorship of the women's team which would grow that side of the business and help with the effort to bring their games back to McDiarmid.
• Old Firm ticketing was spoken about for a long time. Fran stressed that when OF fans are in the home ends, it's because home fans have bought tickets for them. The only way to deal with this is for us, as fans, to report it when we see it and make sure we're not giving them tickets. Some fans caught buying tickets for them have already had their ticket-buying privileges revoked.
• By not giving the OF fans as many seats as possible and trying to fill the ground, we lose £75,000 per home match against the OF. That's the equivalent of one player for a year with each of these games. The club has committed to trying to let home fans have these areas instead but it doesn't make financial sense as fans aren't filling these areas. They're going to give it two more games to see how it goes, but if it's not working it'll have to be assessed again. One fan said we should just give the OF the stands, cash in, sign better players and use it towards getting back to Europe and winning Cups. Fran said personally he saw it that way too (and personally I have to agree).
• One of the things being considered is a season ticket option that doesn't include OF games, as so many home fans aren't going to those games.

 

Simo's bit ...

• As you'd expect, Simo was very engaging, funny and charismatic. Very likeable. (Basically I think we all got lost in his eyes.) Most importantly, enthusiastic about the club and the city. He said he loves that Perth feels like one city with one team that everyone can get behind and that makes it feel like home, whereas Motherwell felt like a bit of Glasgow (or words along those lines - I can't remember exactly how he said it).
• When asked where we'd finish this season, he said we'll be pushing for Top 6 and wants cup finals. After we achieve something we should always be aiming higher. Unlike previous managers he seemed very happy to state his ambitions. But he stressed we need to get the short-term stuff right first.
• Having a big striker is an important part of how he wants to play, so that they can hold the ball up and knock it down to fast strikers. Sounds like Uche is still a while away from being back and ready.
• He's impressed with how Kyle Cameron and Nicky Clark have responded to the captaincy change. It was too much pressure on Kyle's shoulders to deal with being captain at the same time as trying to impress as a loan player. He's seen a big difference in him since the change and it'll help how he plays. Also said Nicky Clark was previously a selfish player who only cared about scoring goals, but as captain he's embracing having to care about the whole team and that is showing in his performances.
• He's been impressed with our young players and particularly mentioned Fran Franczak. Younger players and fringe players will get their chance, but as an immediate priority he wanted to stick with a core group for his first few games.

 

On the subject of streaming future meetings online - the club has no issue with doing that, it's up to the people running the forum to decide as it's their meeting. Sounds like they're going to try it out for the next one, but there was a concern raised that fewer people might show up in person if they do it this way.

I've probably forgotten loads of bits, but that's just a brain-splurge of what I remember!

[rik2304]

27 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

OK so here are some of the top points as I remember them from last night. Very much paraphrasing from memory, so please don't take any of these as direct quotes.

• Fran came across as very positive and spoke a lot about us being 'one club, one city, one community' and as such there will be new branding for the club that feeds into that. This includes a refreshed version of the badge that was shown last night and will be shared with the wider fanbase soon. It was all received positively in the room and I think people are going to like it. It's basically the same design as the current badge but with a few tweaks to make it feel a bit more modern and make it easier to print on merch. The club has never really had its own consistent branding and they're trying to address that (at last!). A new website will also be coming soon.
• In general a lot was said about being open, improving communication with fans, having positive, energetic people at the club and making it a happy place to work (I got the impression it wasn't before!). Several of the new board members were there and were introduced to the fans. A big part of why Simo stood out in his interview was his enthusiasm, which was in line with the new culture they want to have at the club.
• Recognised that there has never been much diversity on the board and steps are being taken to address that. Two women are being spoken to about joining the board - one of whom is experienced in football, and the other has a lot of knowledge of Perth & Kinross.
• The club are far down the line with taking on the old Visit Scotland shop on the High Street, and the plan is to turn it into a Saints museum with a small shop area.
• The Muirton Suite is going to be redesigned and made bigger, so that it can be open through the week.
• They want to bring the women's team home and have them playing on the astroturf, but to do that they need to build a stand and make other improvements. They want to change people's mindset from just "Saints are playing on Saturday", to recognise that there are two Saints teams, one playing on Saturday and one playing on Sunday.
• Mixed views from Simo, Fran and the board on VAR but general consensus seemed to be that it's here to stay but needs to be improved. Acknowledged that much of the frustration comes from fans seeing games on TV at the Euros, Champions League etc where it all happens much faster. Fran mentioned that in one game there was a 7-minute delay because the ref was having a disagreement with what VAR wanted to do.
• At the moment there is no plan to let fans buy shares. If fans want to back the club financially, one thing they could do is help with funding/sponsorship of the women's team which would grow that side of the business and help with the effort to bring their games back to McDiarmid.
• Old Firm ticketing was spoken about for a long time. Fran stressed that when OF fans are in the home ends, it's because home fans have bought tickets for them. The only way to deal with this is for us, as fans, to report it when we see it and make sure we're not giving them tickets. Some fans caught buying tickets for them have already had their ticket-buying privileges revoked.
• By not giving the OF fans as many seats as possible and trying to fill the ground, we lose £75,000 per home match against the OF. That's the equivalent of one player for a year with each of these games. The club has committed to trying to let home fans have these areas instead but it doesn't make financial sense as fans aren't filling these areas. They're going to give it two more games to see how it goes, but if it's not working it'll have to be assessed again. One fan said we should just give the OF the stands, cash in, sign better players and use it towards getting back to Europe and winning Cups. Fran said personally he saw it that way too (and personally I have to agree).
• One of the things being considered is a season ticket option that doesn't include OF games, as so many home fans aren't going to those games.

 

Simo's bit ...

• As you'd expect, Simo was very engaging, funny and charismatic. Very likeable. (Basically I think we all got lost in his eyes.) Most importantly, enthusiastic about the club and the city. He said he loves that Perth feels like one city with one team that everyone can get behind and that makes it feel like home, whereas Motherwell felt like a bit of Glasgow (or words along those lines - I can't remember exactly how he said it).
• When asked where we'd finish this season, he said we'll be pushing for Top 6 and wants cup finals. After we achieve something we should always be aiming higher. Unlike previous managers he seemed very happy to state his ambitions. But he stressed we need to get the short-term stuff right first.
• Having a big striker is an important part of how he wants to play, so that they can hold the ball up and knock it down to fast strikers. Sounds like Uche is still a while away from being back and ready.
• He's impressed with how Kyle Cameron and Nicky Clark have responded to the captaincy change. It was too much pressure on Kyle's shoulders to deal with being captain at the same time as trying to impress as a loan player. He's seen a big difference in him since the change and it'll help how he plays. Also said Nicky Clark was previously a selfish player who only cared about scoring goals, but as captain he's embracing having to care about the whole team and that is showing in his performances.
• He's been impressed with our young players and particularly mentioned Fran Franczak. Younger players and fringe players will get their chance, but as an immediate priority he wanted to stick with a core group for his first few games.

 

On the subject of streaming future meetings online - the club has no issue with doing that, it's up to the people running the forum to decide as it's their meeting. Sounds like they're going to try it out for the next one, but there was a concern raised that fewer people might show up in person if they do it this way.

I've probably forgotten loads of bits, but that's just a brain-splurge of what I remember!

Do they have a recruitment plan?

[blueheaven]

19 minutes ago, rik2304 said:

Do they have a recruitment plan?

Do you mean for players? I don't think that was mentioned.

[rik2304]

17 minutes ago, blueheaven said:

Do you mean for players? I don't think that mentioned.

Yeah. Transfers.

[blueheaven]

1 minute ago, rik2304 said:

Yeah. Transfers.

Yeah that wasn't covered. But I think Gus MacPherson's role includes player recruitment now?

[garydavidson]

31 minutes ago, rik2304 said:

Do they have a recruitment plan?

Mentioned in the courier this morning: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/st-johnstone/5124128/st-johnstone-benji-kimpioka-contract-recruitment/

 

 

And Valakari revealed that the club’s new owners have grasped the need for changes behind the scenes in how they approach the next window and all those that follow.
“We have been talking with the owners about plans for recruitment,” he said.
“That is the most important thing we are doing away from the pitch at the moment.
“We are working hard.
“We need to know which way we want to take this team and take this club.
“We are using different analytics, we are using the numbers and are trying to find players who are suitable for the budget and our way of playing.
“Gus (MacPherson) is spending hours and hours trying to fix things, speaking to agents and trying to put things in place.
“It’s never easy but it’s easier when we have a clear understanding of what kind of players we want and what budget we have.
“We have that now so we can get on with things.
“At first the picture was blurry but now it’s clear.
“The owners want to be proactive and they understand where they want to take the club.
“I am very happy with that.”

 

 

[mike_gain]

3 hours ago, blueheaven said:

Fran mentioned that in one game there was a 7-minute delay because the ref was having a disagreement with what VAR wanted to do.

WTF? VAR don't get to decide anything other than objective calls like offside.

Any kind of disagreement and we're in subjective land where referee on the pitch always has final say. VAR have no more power to overule them than us fans.

Anyway thanks for the update, lots to ponder. Definite improvements off the field and glad we're aiming for a happy workplace.

[Bruno Strasser]

Always a lot of repetition at these events but it was well worth going. Simo is very charismatic and the audience warmed to him very quickly. I hope this translates to results on the pitch. Fran spoke well and there a lot of positive changes being made off the Park.  I think things had gone stale under the Browns and everything has had a fresh impetus with new board members with fresh ideas and initiatives.

[garydavidson]

23 minutes ago, Bruno Strasser said:

Always a lot of repetition at these events but it was well worth going. Simo is very charismatic and the audience warmed to him very quickly. I hope this translates to results on the pitch. Fran spoke well and there a lot of positive changes being made off the Park.  I think things had gone stale under the Browns and everything has had a fresh impetus with new board members with fresh ideas and initiatives.

At the bottom of the courier article it mentions this:

“Inside the club we have already been looking at how to change other things,” the Finn explained.
“Making breakfast for the players, making the gym better, getting supplements for the players.
“It all seems like basic things that other clubs have had for a long time, but we haven’t had them.
“We need to start somewhere and take these steps.”

That is beyond stale - it was out dated.

[dave mc]

48 minutes ago, garydavidson said:

At the bottom of the courier article it mentions this:

“Inside the club we have already been looking at how to change other things,” the Finn explained.
“Making breakfast for the players, making the gym better, getting supplements for the players.
“It all seems like basic things that other clubs have had for a long time, but we haven’t had them.
“We need to start somewhere and take these steps.”

That is beyond stale - it was out dated.

Beyond belief we’ve not had supplements etc before now 

[HOODLUM65]

Hope it's Simo's choice of player(s) that Gus is spending hours and hours on chasing and NOT Gus's.

(Just saying).