DECENT PROPOSAL
Merging SFA & the SPFL might not be the answer but the pair do need to get married work closer
Mike Mulraney only has three ties. His Alloa one for Alloa match days. His SFA one for SFA meetings. And a black one for funerals.
He knows the punchline. Thelast two have become interchangeable. But the truth is, the 49-year-old local-boy-made-good multi-millionaire from Sauchie is in the vanguard of change at the top of the national sport. And contrary to popular opinion, he’s not the only one. The Blazers, at last, appear to be a dying breed at Hampden. Mulraney doesn’t even own one and has never jetted off on a foreign junk et with the national team. In his role as a director on the SFA’s main board he believes there are better things to be done with his time and their money. And he insists it’s a school of thought that now belongs to the majority in the boardroom. Alan McRae and Rod Petrie, president and v ice president, are the last bastions of tradition and are fighting losing battles instead of controlling them. The battle to stay at Hampden, the battle to protect former chief executive Stewart Regan. Mulraney makes it clear there’s a new direction of travel a nd tradition-for-the-sake-of-it will be the ultimate loser MailSport last week launched its Project Save campaign to scrap the SFA, bin the SPFL and merge the two failing bodies into a Scottish Football Federation. The newbody would rid our game of the scourge of vested interests and work for the greater good. Mulraney is resistant to such a move but admits there needs to be a closer and better working relationship between the bodies. He said: “One body has inherent risks. Theunification of the SFL and SPL had to happen if we were to move forward. “We were in a state of civil war in Scottish football, decisions were often made based on how to disadvantage the other side not move your own side forward. “That’s gone, and it’s fantastic. We’ve seen the benefits. New commercial contracts, TV deals, income growth of 50 per cent, crowds up, TV viewing figures up . “It’s t he opposite of what the doomsayers think is happening to Scottish football. “I don’t think it would necessarily be healthy for the league and the SFA to become one organisation. “However, what they do need to do is get married. Theyneed to work for the same ends and consider themselves a team. “Which is the opposite of what’s currently happening. “There has been serious stress between the organisations. There’s a real opportunity to marry them towards to the same goals. “In the past the SFA and the SPFL may have have worked in competition. You could even argue the SFA has acted in competition with its own members at times in some service provision.” Mulraney admits there’s been too much dysfunction in the game’s hierarchy but says there’s an unique opportunity to demonstrate that the SFA are taking a new path. He said: “Therearethree decisions on our desks that will determine people’s perceptions of us. “New manager, new CEO, new home. Outward-facing decisions that will provoke an instant response. “And whether these decisions are reformist or traditional in nature will settle minds as to the direction of the board. Let me tell you, we are not a traditional board. “We’ ve been told we need change. We’re criticised historically, rightly or wrongly–and I’d struggle to say it was wrong. “But five of the seven current
board members have been there for two years or less. “Thetwo who’ve been there for a while bring knowledge, experience and an understanding of some of our historical responsibilities. “And the skill set – loads of plc companies would crave it.
“We’ve got people who have sat on the boards of some of the biggest companies in the world, like one of our non-execs Gary Hughes. “Thatdoesn’t mean we’ve always made the right decisions. “But there’s been a journey and it was one thing Regan did do successfully. It was a bonfire – of the structures, not the people! “But what we have to do now is take it forward. If you stand still you go backwards.” Mulraney can’t stomach inaction. He’s a working-class kid who built a business from scratch and now employs 500 local people. His ownership of Alloa has given him the push into football’s limelight but his other interests include drilling, property and leisure. After serving on th eSP Land then SPFL boards, he took over Peter Lawwell ’s slot on the main SFA board in the middle of 2016. And the type of character he is – he founded and helped fund a food bank in Sauchie – he’s determined to serve the greater good alongside the needs of the SFA’s members, irrespective of how difficultit is to put vested interests aside at times or who gets upset along the way. Not that there were many, outside the boardroom, who were upset at their decision to get rid of Regan after a series of high-profile gaffes. “The decision, of course,” he clarifies, but with a hint of mischief, “was to accept Stewart’s resignation, remember. “Within any board there will be a divergence of views but once a decision is made you have to live with it - or decide it was so important to you that you’ re going to re sign over it. “If you resign you can’t influence future decisions – and if no-one is arguing the next one, you’ve created a dictatorship where only one view prevails on all matters. “In the 18 months I’ve been on the SFA board there may well have been decisions I didn’t agree with – but you have to thole it. “It’s the difference between blame and responsibility. “There are several things that
have happened that I won’t accept the blame for but which I will accept responsibility for. “It doesn’t upset me if I lose ever y battle – it does upset me if I think I can’t influence change in the future. Then you’re wasting your time. “We only have so many seconds in our lives and I didn’t want to waste any of mine fighting battles I can’t win.” It’s the double-edged sword of the SFA though. People thinking you’re there to serve the game when, truth is, you’re elected to a board to serve the members who put you there. “That’s hard,” admits Mulraney. “You’re legally bound to do what’s in their best interests. It’s not a matter of decision or conscience. “However, ideally those best interests should run concurrently w ith what’s in the best interests of the whole football family. “Be it a five-year-old from A lloa who dreams of being a player or a 25-year-old who’s playing for the biggest club in the country and his national team.” Right now, the best example of that conflict lies in the debate over Colt teams in the leagues. Hav ing signed away Project Brave – possibly one of the board decisions he was less than enamoured with – the idea lies at the heart of the development strategy of the SFA. But as a club and as a chairman? Mulraney said: “Alloa’s official stance is that we’ve not made our mind up. I don’t think the picture is black and white. “If you do something in Scottish football that doesn’t have the support of the fans – if 85 per cent are against it – that’s where the short-term would be served. “But if we can’t communicate positively what we’re doing to them and still have 85 per cent against us, maybe we shouldn’t be doing it. You’re destroying yourself. “It’d be like any business ignoring their customers and saying ‘We’re doing it anyway’. That’s the short road to hell, right there. “However, sometimes we’ll do things that upset the fans because we have a legal duty to do what we think is right. “Ignoring the mood of the fans would be beyond short-sighted though and it’s not something I’d ever be comfortable doing. “What I like is when my natural opinion coexists with the fans’ – it makes decisions easier. “If I didn’t think there was a case [for Colts teams] I’d just be say ing we’re against it, so I think there is – but I also think there’s a strong ca se a ga i n st it a s well . “I genuinely can see how it would make a positive difference, because we need to develop players. “But I can also see how it would be destructive. “You want to drink with a plastic straw but you don’t want the fish in the oceans to die. It’s a tortured analogy but I think like that. It’s the greater good argument. “Thisi s w hy i t ’s h a r d to be a b oa r d director but it’s also where you feel you can do something positively. “To make the decision you think is right even if it’s not popular.”