As our first transfer window in control of the club closes I think it is an appropriate time for another Chairman's update.
TRANSFER BUSINESS
I don't think anyone who has watched the team this season would argue that urgent major surgery was required and we feel that we have managed to dramatically improve the balance, standard and depth of the squad in a window where it is notoriously hard to bring in quality players.
Jack, James and Tony have put in some long hours to make sure we examined every option available and got quality and value for money in everything we did and I thank them all for their efforts.
I would also like to thank the fans for voting to contribute to our remodelling through the contribution of funds through the Smisa discretionary spend.
Jack was given the final say on all transfer decisions both in and out, and whilst we lost some players we would ideally have liked to keep, as always things weren't always as straightforward as they may have seemed on the face of it.
In the summer we received offers for two of our younger players. We had no financial need to sell and felt as a club that it was important to build a team around our young players, so both bids were rejected.
We approached this transfer window with the same mind-set however there were considerations to take into account which were not applicable 6 months previously.
As an example, Jason Naismith was due to be out of contract in the summer, but crucially before his 23rd birthday which is in June. This meant that he would have been free, under SPFL and SFA rules, to join another Scottish Club after his birthday with no development compensation being due to St.Mirren.
We were left then to weigh up a situation where we could get a small fee for Jason now and invest in the squad or hold him to his contract and get nothing in the summer.
We obviously chose to let him go and use the transfer income and his weekly wage to strengthen the squad.
As an aside to this we had actually agreed to take a young full back from another club only to discover a wonderful anomaly which limits the number of development loans between teams in the top development league. In other words we are working at a disadvantage to other teams in our division because of the success of our development team. Other teams which play in the lower development leagues can take any number of development loans from the top league clubs. Go figure!
The loss of the very talented Kyle McAllister was certainly a blow and I know he was a very popular player with the supporters.
Kyle was offered a new contract at the same time as Kyle Magennis but, as was his right, he decided not to re-sign.
Kyle's contract only had another year to run having signed the maximum permitted three year contract on turning 16 in January 2015.
It became clear that Kyle himself wanted to leave once he knew of the interest from Derby County. Facing the option of losing the player for minimal compensation in a years time it was really then about trying to get the best possible deal we could for the football club. We tried hard to gain a loan back clause in his deal but alas none of the potential buyers were willing to compromise on that point. In the end we have secured what we feel was a good price for the player, including a range of add-ons that will trigger additional payments to the club should Kyle progress as we all hope.
We wish Jason and Kyle all the best for the future.
THE DOME
The Dome has been down now for a few weeks. For me this is unacceptable but once again we are faced with a situation where the company that supplied it originally has gone out of business and there only appears to be one company in Scotland that can repair it!
A template was taken last week to repair the tears and the repair was carried out today so, depending on the damage to the lighting inside, we expect to be up and running again early next week. We will contact all our long term bookings as soon as we have an exact date. We have asked the company for an estimate to strengthen the problem areas so this does not continue to be a yearly event!
THE ACADEMY
The repairs at the academy are on going but the canteen is now back operational and safe and the work to the home changing room is well under way and due for completion shortly. The works to the kitchen and coaches changing areas will probably be put off until the summer as there is no immediate danger to anyone. After some investigation work we have been advised that we can extend the life of the Astro pitch by a couple of years for a relatively small investment so we are awaiting a firm estimate for this so we can make a decision on how we proceed.
IN SUMMARY
We are working hard behind the scenes to put the foundations in place that will allow us to start moving forward again and we are getting there. We have yet to see the benefits in our results on the park yet but with your continued support I am positive things will turn around soon.
Saturday is a massive game away at Dumbarton and I am sure you will turn out in your numbers and show our new signings what being a part of our club is all about.
Thank you for your continued support.
Gordon Scott
