The proposed sale of St Johnstone to a new American owner, if it goes ahead, will see the best Scottish football club chairman in my time departing the scene.
Geoff Brown’s 40-year odyssey with Saints – albeit interrupted by a spell when son Steve took the hot seat – has seen the Perth outfit saved from imminent closure, move from Muirton Park to a then-state-of-the-art McDiarmid Park and establish themselves as a regular top flight outfit.
Two Scottish Cups and one League Cup win in the last decade provides firm evidence of the Saintees’ pedigree.
However, Geoff isn’t in the first flush of youth and, with no local buyer on the horizon, it looks like St Johnstone will become the third Tayside club – and fourth Scottish one – to become US owned.
I’ve written previously that local ownership proved too rich for both Dundee clubs, now it seems that football’s traditional business model of a local entrepreneur in charge is out of date in Perth too.
The word ‘legacy’ can be overused, but in Geoff’s case, when he goes, it won’t be.
Who is Geoff Brown?
Not only has he built a hugely respected house-building business in GS Brown, he’s constructed a football club in his own image.
That means occasionally dour, sometimes Gallus, but always with an independent streak.
What the club’s prospective new American owner might want and what he might do are unknown, but Brown won’t want that aforementioned legacy and years of unwavering commitment to Saints to be tarnished, so I’d bet he’s nailed down some bankable assurances on the safety and wellbeing of the club.
The American owners at Dundee and United have been in charge for 10 and five years, respectively.
Neither club has enjoyed dramatic success under them, but Dundee’s Tim Keyes has been a steady figure.
Under his stewardship, the Dark Blues have never looked like repeating their two administrations and are planning to move to a new, purpose-built stadium at Camperdown.
Mark Ogren has had a rude awakening at Tannadice; his initial claims that he could make money in Scottish football have proven somewhat optimistic, given that he’s sunk around £13 million into the project with little to show for it.
Will a new St Johnstone owner mean a new stadium?
However, both men bought in when the city clubs were desperate for new ideas and owners, with little interest or wherewithal locally to provide the cash or the vision for the future.
Saints are in a much healthier position, with their stadium owned outright and the club on a solid financial footing, despite a seven-figure loss last year.
I wonder also if new ownership might mean the time is right for McDiarmid Park Mk II?
Saints currently sit on a very valuable chunk of real estate.
Their stadium capacity is beyond their needs 99% of the time, and is seldom more than three quarters full.
A new ground with a 7,000-odd capacity would be more than adequate.
Geoff Brown is well placed to identify land for the new owners to construct on and that would leave money spare from the sale of McDiarmid for providing the sports facilities he has talked about providing for the community.
I think interesting times may lie ahead at St Johnstone.
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