The not STFC Transfer Rumours

[TailBetweenLegs]

This will probably not go down well but i massively believe that if from day 1 Clem said look Zav Austin is involved he will be doing this etc etc yes i know his past and also i am employing Adam Hart he will be doing this etc etc it's my decision rather than the smoke and mirrors we have had the last 4 years fans would have been annoyed but ended up just getting on with it

[Anonymous77]

It seems we have gone down the route of having more 1st year scholars sign from other clubs than from our u16 side. Which has it’s pro’s and cons - McGregor at 16 for example was a striker/winger who wasn’t really deemed likely to be end up in the first team yet by the end of his scholarship he was starting at RWB in the league for us and has been the most impactful academy player since Twine. Only 1 of the 1st year scholars this year came from the academy - certainly don’t want to go too heavy on this approach but external recruitment can also have its advantages eg. Ameen, Brown, Robinson. It’s about finding a balance.

[Boydy]

It seems we have gone down the route of having more 1st year scholars sign from other clubs than from our u16 side. Which has it’s pro’s and cons - McGregor at 16 for example was a striker/winger who wasn’t really deemed likely to be end up in the first team yet by the end of his scholarship he was starting at RWB in the league for us and has been the most impactful academy player since Twine. Only 1 of the 1st year scholars this year came from the academy - certainly don’t want to go too heavy on this approach but external recruitment can also have its advantages eg. Ameen, Brown, Robinson. It’s about finding a balance.

It is a fine line to walk. Yes we want to see our youths coming through, especially if they grew up as fans. But the easiest way to make money as a club at this level is probably signing kids from elsewhere for free and then selling them after a year or 2 of good performances in the u-18s.
I think the Ameen situation ended up showing the positive side of the idea. If he'd grown up a town fan there's a far higher chance he'd have signed that pro deal he was offered. Great we've now got one of our own here and he could make us decent money in a few seasons. But if that had happened then where the hell would the money have come for Tafazolli, let alone Palmer after the Smith injury?
Of course if Smith hadn't got injured Ameen would have likely been here for the season before going for a snickers & a warm hand shake in compensation due to having spent so small a time here.

[Pericardinho]

This will probably not go down well but i massively believe that if from day 1 Clem said look Zav Austin is involved he will be doing this etc etc yes i know his past and also i am employing Adam Hart he will be doing this etc etc it's my decision rather than the smoke and mirrors we have had the last 4 years fans would have been annoyed but ended up just getting on with it

You do realise Zav Austin is legally not allowed to do so.

That's literally the point.

[Ƭ̵̬̊: The Artist Formerly Known as CWIG]

and I can't imagine Hart would be either. Not to be an actual board member or anything anyway.

They're both criminals.

[Nemo]

You do realise Zav Austin is legally not allowed to do so.

That's literally the point.

To be fair on Day 1(ish), Clem did say that Zav would be involved as vice chair and this was why, in this statement which is slightly surprisingly still on the website: https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2021/august/club-statement---zavier-austin/

That was obviously walked back (a bit, publicly) when it was clear he wasn't going to pass fit and proper persons.

It's Hart and Kiely who have always been in the background.

[Pericardinho]

To be fair on Day 1(ish), Clem did say that Zav would be involved as vice chair and this was why, in this statement which is slightly surprisingly still on the website: https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2021/august/club-statement---zavier-austin/

That was obviously walked back (a bit, publicly) when it was clear he wasn't going to pass fit and proper persons.

It's Hart and Kiely who have always been in the background.

I get that, and I suspect if he did pass the fit and proper fans eventually would've just 'got on with it' as the poster above suggested. Whether they liked him or not.

But he didn't pass it. So the debate is pointless, as it could've never been a possibility.

[TailBetweenLegs]

You do realise Zav Austin is legally not allowed to do so.

That's literally the point.

He is legally allowed to work for the club. I know what the point is and have said the same. My point was if they had done it all the proper way not tried making him a chairman and all that bollocks and just given him a fancy title and not tried hiding everything after many would have moved on , that is the point i am making

[Pericardinho]

He is legally allowed to work for the club. I know what the point is and have said the same. My point was if they had done it all the proper way not tried making him a chairman and all that bollocks and just given him a fancy title and not tried hiding everything after many would have moved on , that is the point i am making

So give him a fancy title where he will ultimately just carry out vice chairman duties anyway on the sly?

You think that's the solution?

Not intentionally discrediting your opinion, just trying to see the angle you're coming from.

[Ƭ̵̬̊: The Artist Formerly Known as CWIG]

To be fair on Day 1(ish), Clem did say that Zav would be involved as vice chair and this was why, in this statement which is slightly surprisingly still on the website: https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2021/august/club-statement---zavier-austin/

That was obviously walked back (a bit, publicly) when it was clear he wasn't going to pass fit and proper persons.

It's Hart and Kiely who have always been in the background.

Kiely when asked "..................................he gives us good data" about two months later his mrs and her mate owns part of the club.

[horlock07]

I get that, and I suspect if he did pass the fit and proper fans eventually would've just 'got on with it' as the poster above suggested. Whether they liked him or not.

But he didn't pass it. So the debate is pointless, as it could've never been a possibility.

When did he not pass it, I suspect that going forward if Morfuni wanted to apply again if the conviction/sentence sits at a certain point within the 'spent conviction' spectrum would he pass?

[Peter Venkman]

When did he not pass it, I suspect that going forward if Morfuni wanted to apply again if the conviction/sentence sits at a certain point within the 'spent conviction' spectrum would he pass?

AFAIK he didn't pass it as he was never put in for the F&P at all as they knew he wouldnt pass.

[tans]

When did he not pass it, I suspect that going forward if Morfuni wanted to apply again if the conviction/sentence sits at a certain point within the 'spent conviction' spectrum would he pass?

Conviction for money laundering whether spent or not is an automatic fail i believe

Im sure someone will correct me if wrong

[Exiled Bob]

This will probably not go down well but i massively believe that if from day 1 Clem said look Zav Austin is involved he will be doing this etc etc yes i know his past and also i am employing Adam Hart he will be doing this etc etc it's my decision rather than the smoke and mirrors we have had the last 4 years fans would have been annoyed but ended up just getting on with it

To be fair to him, I think he did say that about Austin. If I recall correctly, Austin was the one that introduced him to Power, which ultimately led to him taking over the club. Morfuni promised Austin, in return, that he would be vice-chairmain. Once he was informed that it would not be possible, due to the Owners and Directors Test, he said that he (Austin) would only then be involved on an unofficial, voluntary, basis and was not employed by the club. I remember this being stated in one of the Trust Advisory Board Minutes.

Not sure about Hart, though.

(Edit - sorry - I hadn't seen Nemo's post above, which basically says the same thing).

[Batch]

That's not day 1 though Bob. That's after the takeover.