Bill Colvin, the man who brokered the peace deal that has seen the resurrection of the Texan proposal to invest in Dundee FC, last night declared himself ready to get back on board.
Last week Colvin, Steve Martin and Ian Crighton, all backers of the Keyes Capital plan, resigned from the Dens Park board in frustration at how the matter was being handled by the Dundee FC Supporters’ Society, who currently hold a majority shareholding in the club.
The Surrey-based businessman insisted he will be happy to reverse that decision if invited to do so.
Crucially, he also revealed that he will personally give manager John Brown money so he can assemble a squad good enough to win the First Division next season.
That will be done before the DFCSS ballot, when the society will ask its members whether or not to accept the Keyes’ plan of £650,000 initially with more than double to follow in time.
It was Colvin’s guarantees to the society in general and director Maurice Kidd in particular that set off a chain of events late on Friday night.
Word came through that the DFCSS were now being granted their two wishes a vote and due dilligence while the Americans were now prepared to accept what had until then been a problematic timetable.
That news was confirmed at a media briefing from the society in the Dens boardroom on Saturday morning, when Colvin’s intervention was cited prominently by Kidd.
No firm date is set yet for the DFCSS members’ ballot but news that manager Brown will have Colvin’s cash to spend will be warmly welcomed by supporters.
It all represents a major step forward for the Dark Blues and Colvin is satisfied that real progress is being made.
“There had been a degree of frustration on my part about how this was going because I was only trying to help,” said Colvin. “However, my message to fans now would be we are on the right track.
“I spoke to Maurice on several occasions last week and it was clear to me that this was something that could be solved by a bit of dialogue,
“As well as the DFCSS, I had people like Pat Liney (the league-winning goalkeeper and honourary club president) calling me and speaking from the heart about making progress.
“So we tried to bring it all back together. A key thing for me has always been getting money to the manager to build a team as quickly as possible.
“We all recall last sumemr when Barry Smith had to scramble about trying to assemble a team for the SPL. I did not want a repeat of that this year.
“But, having now been given assurances, in a spirit of co-operation I am willing to put in some money myself so that John Brown and (chief executive) Scot Gardiner can move forward on recruiting players for the new season.
“I would also be willing to get back on the board but I will need to be invited back first! If the other directors decide that is what is right for Dundee FC then I would be open to that.”
Colvin, who has already ploughed in £300,000 of his own money, has been spoken about as a future chairman.
On that he would only say: “I have a batch of other things to do but if, maybe somewhere down the line that was on the cards, then it would be an honour.”
Colvin is 100% sure that the Keyes group fronted by Tim Keyes and John Nelms are genuine and his message to supporters with concerns was unequivocal.
“We would be lucky to have them,” he declared. “When I came on to the board in March I had never heard of these guys. When Scot told me I nearly fell out of my chair.
“I do spend a lot of my time in Houston, Texas, and have an office there so I did a bit of research myself, informally asking business colleagues about Keyes and what they were about.
“Tim is a lovely guy, as is John, and the three of us spent a day together over there in April. I invited them to my office and we then went to watch Houston Dynamo play.
“I formed the view that they had a passion for football and for getting involved with Dundee. My personal opinion is that this deal is right for our club and I am pleased that we are now talking about moving forward.”
For more on developments at Dens Park, see Monday’s Courier or try our digital edition.