Fans' Forum meeting minutes from January 18th

Fans Forum Open Meeting held on 18th January 2024 within Centenary Suite at 7pm

Steering group: Danny Williams, Colin MacKay, Colin McCredie, Tom Welsh, Mark Melloy, Laura Stewart, Stuart Taylor, Dan Shek and Iain MacDonald.

Apologies: Andrew Holden and Simon Martin.

Club reps: Stan Harris, Roddy Grant, Alan Storrar, Bev Mayer and Paul Smith.

Guest speakers: Francis Smith and Rebekah Penman from Saints in the Community. Football management team of Craig Levein and Andy Kirk.

Meeting chair: Laura Stewart. Minutes: Tom Welsh.

Opening remarks by chair

The chair opened the meeting wishing Steven MacLean and Liam Craig all the best for the future and thanked them for their service to the club. Craig Levien and Andy Kirk were both welcomed to the club.

The chair read out the squad changes since the last meeting with Dara [Costelloe] heading back to his parent club and Callum [Booth] out on loan.

Welcomed to the club were Kerr Smith, Benjamin Kimpioka and David Keltjens.

Fran Smith and Rebekah Penman from Saints in the Community were welcomed to give a community update along with Craig Levein and Andy Kirk for a football Q&A.

Finally, Matthew, the six-year-old fan who raised his issue with a lack of blue donuts at the last meeting, would like to thank St Johnstone for the thorough investigation they put into his concerns and the delivery of the donuts! He was buzzing.

Tile on the Wall update - Mark Melloy

After the last meeting in October we had a chat with Stan and he asked us to conduct a survey of the fans to determine their interest in this topic. A survey was started 4 weeks ago and thanks is due to the Saints media team for putting this out on socials and the club website. The result of the survey was that there were 187 notes of interest for 321 tiles. These results were passed to Stan who we are pleased to announce has agreed in principle to this.

The location of tiles, pricing and ordering procedure will be notified by the club in due course. Thanks to all those that completed the survey. Anyone wishing to see the actual tile, it will be in the club shop.

Progress report on 10-year anniversary cup celebrations - Stan Harris

As we talked last time, one of the biggest issues was finding a venue that could deal with the numbers that would be in attendance, previously around 350. Initially the Concert Hall indicated they could not do it and Crieff Hydro was looked at. The cost of this, along with travel, made this prohibitive. The whole idea is to make it available to all fans and to keep costs in line with similar dinners/functions elsewhere.

The club reapproached the Concert Hall who have now agreed to put a night on but the organisation in terms of catering and staffing will be down to the club to organise. We have provisionally booked the Concert Hall for 30th November. This is the only date the Concert Hall could give us. Cost is going to be in the region of £100 a head which is in keeping with other similar events.

Guest speaker Francis Smith (Saints in the Community), assisted by Rebekah Penman

Fran introduced himself and Rebekah to the meeting and had those present scan a QR code on their phones. It allowed those present to tell them what they knew about Saints in the Community, preferably in two word phrases. Fran stated that the information would highlight what was known and he would take us through what they do.

Over the last two years Saints in the Community has embarked on developing a strategy - Changing Lives Through Football. We will provide football and other sporting activities for children, young people and adults, we will use the widespread appeal of sport to engage the community in projects designed to educate and upskill, and we will provide mental and physical wellbeing projects to help support people to be fitter, healthier and happier. Everything we do will be delivered through a culture of changing lives through sport, and inclusion will underpin our work throughout.

Over the next three years we want to help address two key themes - Perth and Kinross poverty and health. Using our new trust pillars of sport, education and wellbeing, we will aim to upskill children and adults through physical, mental and social support. We are committed to working closer with our communities and creating opportunities for people to lead healthier lives, improving education and employment opportunities. We cannot, however, deliver any of these without key partnerships.

Fran then gave a history of Saints in the Community from its inception to present day. The last two years has seen it grow massively with local awards being given as well as being recognised in Europe. It was then explained how, despite being considered as an affluent area, Perth and Kinross has a poverty and related problem like other areas. There was a stat that showed if you lived within 10 miles of an SPFL stadium you were likely to be affected by poverty.

Fran then explained his own personal journey which highlighted the areas that the SITC are now trying to address. Other members of the staff had similar experiences that has led to their dedication in carrying out their duties and servicing the strategy that is in place.

A video, Inclusion through Sport, was played of the community impact so far which highlighted the inclusion nature of the work being carried out. This highlighted four of the 42 projects that SITC do.

There were over 21,000 attendances to the activities last year, 464 free meals were provided and thanks to the club 3000 match day tickets for the community to those who could not afford to come to the games. Further information is available on the impact statement on the website.

SITC sit separately from St Johnstone Football Club and are responsible for finances. Biggest expenses are wages and then facility hire. Income is derived from donations, sponsorship and services on behalf of community trusts and the local council. Income and expenditure are both around £340,000 per annum.

The club have kindly helped SITC return to one site by providing mobile units which will be sited between the Main Stand and the Ormond Stand - that is where they will be based in the future.

Fran explained the SITC involvement in Europe where they were shortlisted in a final four for an award sharing a stage with the large club foundations like Man City, Barcelona and River Plate.

Q&A for guest speaker

Q.  Can you please explain how Fans Supporting Foodbanks cash donations are spent?

A.  It was spent on 40 Christmas hampers and also a Christmas lunch for people who were brought into McDiarmid Park. Also to the “activate project” to provide kids with a hot meal during school holidays.

There being no further questions, Fran was thanked for his most informative talk ably assisted by Rebekah.

Fans collection update - Colin MacKay

Colin provided details of the following collections organised by the FCU fan group:

· Collection in support of Rachel Borthwick and her ongoing cancer treatment, which raised £3500

· Pre-Christmas soft toy and board games collection in support of Letham4All which provided Christmas gifts for over 200 local children

· Following a sale of their scarves, the FCU made a donation of £250 to Riding for the Disabled. FCU were congratulated on these collections and for the atmosphere they had created and the support they had given the team so far this season.

Colin then gave an update on the work of Saints Fans Supporting Foodbanks, detailing the success of their Focus on Food Banks event on 1st November, and their pre-Christmas collections, and thanked everyone involved in making them such a success.

·  The running total for collections since the food bank collections started in April is 4549.83kg of food and toiletries.

Cash donations for Perth and Kinross Foodbank amounted to £2595.27 for Saints in the Community food-based projects.

Any fans interested in volunteering to help, on an occasional basis, with future collections were encouraged to speak with Colin or his co-coordinator Danny Williams.

Football-related Q&A with Craig Levein and Andy Kirk (answers relevant as of January 18)

Q. Are you hoping to make further signings this month and, if so, which areas of the team are you looking to strengthen? 

A.  Yes but we have to try and balance the books. We have some players we would like to move on. However, the danger is that the longer it takes to move players out then there is a good chance you may lose signings that you want who go elsewhere. I would like a striker, utility player and attacking midfield.

Q. Is Luke Robinson likely to return and would it be on loan or permanently?

A. Luke is on his way back just now. My first thought was to try and get him back no matter what the deal looked like so that's what we managed to do. What happens after that is pretty much out of our hands, but I know for a fact Luke loves it here. He knows he is well respected within the dressing room, by the management team and the supporters and that made his choice to come back very easy. I convinced Shaun Maloney that it is best for Luke to be at Saints for the rest of the season.

Q. Can we get the team attacking towards the North Stand in the second half?

A. Traditionally always played the way we do. Management team has no preference as to what end we play towards in each half. There are various considerations e.g. low sun at this time of year, floodlights, superstition, windy conditions. 

Q. Are you seeing any general improvements in team fitness and updates on injured players?

A. The way we train is different from what it was. It is more intense with no down time from when we start until we finish so the intensity is higher. We have added in some extra running sessions and players are now covering bigger distances. When we get the stats from GPS, the results are higher. We work them hard during the week, but we need to make sure they are fresh for the game. It is ongoing and we want to keep seeing improvements.

Injuries mostly are going pretty well. Drey Wright has been down to St George’s Park for physio treatment. Little bit behind where he wants to be, but he has been given a programme to enhance that and he is going back down next month for a week.

Q. You have been fortunate to join one of the most successful teams in the last decade - how are you enjoying it?

A. Craig: Personally, I am finding it really enjoyable - because Andy’s doing all the work!

A. Andy: It is a bit stressful doing all the work - only joking! It has been great. The club has been fantastic and it is a really great bunch of players. They have been underachieving results-wise but if Stan gives us the additions we want then there is no reason we should not achieve a couple of places higher than we are.

Q. Are we anticipating any late bids for our star players?

A. At any window you never know if a bid is going to come in until the 23rd hour. There has been interest, but we have knocked it back. 

Stan explained financial position and Craig explained that, for Andy and him, when getting players in it is to make them better which makes the team better but also improves the player to get to a higher level. Part of Saints’ make-up is taking a young player or one not so young who has lost his way and improving them to progress their career. This results in player sales. Players see us as a stepping stone within their career, not the end goal.

Q. Recently announced £650K payout - will it help with signings?

A. The club knew last year and it was included in the budget. We also know what the payout for this year will be. Costs have been reduced significantly but we are still overspending, predominately relating to historical contractual issues.

Q. Is the summer window more important than January?

A. Craig: It [January] is the only one I am bothered about at present. For us it is an important window. Andy and I have been impressed with the quality we have in the midfield area, we just need some other things to help the squad improve to get away from the bottom end of the table.

Q. Any other youngsters coming through like Fran?

A. Craig: I do not like mentioning names. You all knew about Fran before. I have been really impressed with him and his attitude is first class. His willingness to compete and mentality reminds me of Aaron Hickey at Hearts. There are others but I do not want to name them as it puts undue pressure on them.

Q. How far away are you from having the squad to play the system you want rather than the transitional role?

A. Andy: Ongoing process that is not going to work instantly. We need to get players making better decisions and more consistent. Without a structure it is like basketball - end to end then it is down to the team that makes most mistakes that loses the game. We want to take that element away and have the structure that allows players to make more passes and correct decisions rather than forcing play and having to face a counter attack. With new players coming in, they have to adapt to it. We are trying to get the players to think about the game more and therefore make the correct decisions. We see improvements on the training pitch and are looking for consistency.

Q. How well is Benjamin Kimpioka fitting in and can he fulfil his potential?

A. He is settling in and showing up well in training. He is young, hungry to develop, quick and has technical ability. Can do some great stuff but occasional mishap when trying things. Supporters have a part to play in helping all new signings by encouraging them and realising that they will not get everything right all the time. This boosts their confidence. When Benji is up to full speed he will benefit us.

Any other business

Q. What are we doing to actively sell Saints, as Motherwell have put an investment video together?

A. Stan: Actively talking to two parties, nothing concrete. Previous interested parties wanted to asset strip. It might be a case of ring-fencing the assets to prevent this happening.

Q. Are you able to advise what game is selected for the bring a friend match?

A. Decided that it would be Livingston game on 2nd March and Bev to organise.

Q. What is being done about Old Firm fans in home fans’ areas. At the last match against Celtic, a party in Main Stand and an Austrian party trying to get tickets on We Are Perth Saints.

A. Bev has dealt with issues for both Rangers and Celtic games which resulted in two people's privileges for purchasing tickets being restricted. Only way they can get tickets is via season ticket holders or those on the database.

Q. Why was the Hibernian game date changed? This had an effect on attendance and fans planning over the holiday period?

A. Andy: We had a free Saturday then five matches, with matches within two days of each other. So we agreed to switch and it worked out as we won it. 

Q. Players contracts: Dan Phillips being offered a contract and what about other contract extensions?

A. Offers have been made to Dan Phillips and others will wait until confirmed position in the league for next season.

Q. Are the women’s team going to play a match at McDiarmid this season as last year’s was cancelled.

A. Stan: Never been approached but if available would be granted.

Based on the Old Firm question, there was a discussion regarding the attendance of Saints fans at these matches and should the East Stand supporters move to the Main Stand for these league matches only. A suggestion to move the Main Stand supporters to the East stand was made, however this would mean the migration of around 250 hospitality and corporate clients which was not logistically possible before, at half-time and at end of match. The consensus of opinion at the meeting was in favour of the move from East Stand to Main Stand.

Stan commented on potential pricing for these games if this happened and the effect it would have on the club’s financials. He also suggested that season ticket holders could be given two free tickets to be used by fellow Saints supporters for matches. Stan suggested that the club may survey all season ticket holders regarding this topic.

Laura closed the meeting by thanking all for their attendance and wished them a safe journey home.