Scottish Premiership supremo predicts English football bomb is going to go off

Brian Caldwell insists the imminent explosion of English football’s financial bomb triggered his return to the relative safety of Scotland with Motherwell.

The Fir Park chief executive arrived in Lanarkshire back in March after a successful spell at Shrewsbury Town. But he revealed profit and sustainability regulations that are being implanted down south have resulted in many clubs teetering on a precipice. Long-standing concerns about the financial health of the game, foreign ownership and the lack of fan involvement in the running of clubs have forced politicians to try to push through the Football Governance Bill that was a factor in Caldwell heading north.

He said: “When I first went down to Shrewsbury in 2016 I thought I would be at the club for two or three years then move on to a Championship club or whatever in a move up the way. But I have seen the financial situation across English football – and it’s not great at all. There’s alarm at many clubs due to a culture of overspending. More investment is going into clubs from foreign owners.

“What club would you go to in the English Championship that isn’t completely screwed financially? That was a factor why I stayed at Shrewsbury longer than I had expected and, after over seven years there, it was probably the right time for a new challenge. It’s exciting to be back working in Scottish football again.

“I see Motherwell as a top-six club – when I was at St Mirren, the majority of that time Well were in the top half. The aim is to get to that place again as a club. I believe there is so much potential both in the Motherwell area and being a fan-owned club helps in that regard. It’s a huge positive to have that community feel but there are so many improvements that can be made which can pull everyone together and help take the club forward.

“I’ve always kept my options open and coming back to Scottish football was quite an easy decision for me to make. I’d been around Scottish football for 19 years previously so I’m more than familiar with how it all operates, as well as knowing many of the people inside the game in this country. It was always about looking for the new challenge when it came down to where I would end up next.”

The board of the Well Society has recommended members reject an offer of just under £2million in investment from former Netflix vice president Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Sports company. Caldwell wants a quick resolution to the issue.

He said: “It’s going to a vote being the shareholders and the Well Society, which owns 71 per cent of the club, and that voting starts on July 8. That allows the vast majority of these people to have their say as they are supporters here. The 29 per cent of majority shareholders are probably all fans as well. It’s in the hands of the fans whether to accept or reject the potential investment proposal and we will see what happens either way. Then we want to draw a line under it and move on.”

Stuart Kettlewell’s side flew out to Delden in Holland on Monday for a pre-season where they will continue their preparations for the new campaign.

Caldwell admits it’s been all hands to the pump in the recent recruitment drive that has brought Liam Gordon and Ross Callaghan to the club.

He said: “This summer has been absolutely crazy. I have been working right through the close season because we have a squad to rebuild. We were third-top league scorers last season but finished ninth so that tells you a lot about the team. At the end of the season we only had eight or nine players under contract so it’s been quite a significant squad rebuild. I’m hopefully by the end of this week we will have 22 players signed up and ready to go for the new season.”