Andy Devlin, writing in the Sun, quotes extensively from ‘a club insider’ who makes it clear that “Motherwell are back on track”.
A sad day in the club’s history
“The club WILL be coming out of administration early in the new year”. Plans are already in place though the current uncertainty about the future direction of the SPL has caused a slight delay in the relaunch.
Devlin suggests that JB will have much less day to day involvement in future and that his role will be more of a figurehead with a community-based group taking management control.
“There was a meeting in November when Mr Boyle told a group of fans that Motherwell were back He was cast as a villain in certain sections of the media and that hurt him deeply. Make no mistake; he does not want to be hailed as a hero this time round. But with no buyer coming forward he feels he has to do something to get the club back on the straight and narrow. He said he’d love it if Motherwell were run by a community-based group.”
There is no doubt that the removal of the administrative straight-jacket would be a huge boost to the club. Now that the finances have returned to a sensible policy of income matching expenditure, there is every hope for a stable future. The club cannot return to the financial crazy act of the past few years when expenses (specifically wages) far outstripped the ability to pay.
The road to financial recovery has been traumatic for everyone associated with Motherwell in the last year but it seems that some stability may be about to return. Local, community based involvement is likely to play a part in the revival and it looks likely that the newly formed Supporters’ Trust will play a part in binding the club and fans together.
There will be talk in the media of 'John Boyle coming back' but in reality he never left. He remains the owner (and major creditor) of the club and he has demonstrated, by investing his millions, that the interests of the club are close to his heart. It is likely that we will continue to benefit from his long term involvement in the Mighty 'Well.