A Buddie Good Idea

THE city of Green Bay, Wisconsin and the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire each has a population of approximately 100,000. Each is home to a professional sports team - the American Football Green Bay Packers and the real football St Mirren.

That apart, besides the fact each was once managed by the arguably ultimate manager in their particular sport: Vince Lombardi of the Packers and Alex Ferguson of St Mirren - there's not much the two places have in common and the disparity is particularly obvious when you compare the two sports clubs. The Packers are one of the major teams in the multi-billion dollar NFL, Saints are apparently permanently rooted in the basement of the far from loaded SPL.

But, if on-going discussions come to fruition, the Packers and the Buddies might soon have another thing in common, both will be owned by their local communities. I don't know how it works, but unlike all the other NFL franchises, Green Bay is a community club, owned by the city and citizens of Green Bay. Now St Mirren is apparently about to become the property of a Community Trust of Paisley citizens, who are well down the road to purchasing the controlling interest in the club, put up for sale by the existing board.

This is a leap into the unknown for Scottish football, but, if it works it might be the blueprint for a successful and continuing future for Scottish football.

Of course most of the current buy-out interest is being generated just a few miles from Paisley, with Craig Whyte apparently moving closer to buying Rangers. However, if he succeeds, Rangers will simply change from being one rich businessman's plaything to being another's. Saints' sale will take us into comparatively uncharted waters.

Of course there are other community clubs in Scotland, over 150 of them if you look at the clubs in membership of the SJFA. Auchinleck Talbot, Linlithgow Rose, Bo'ness United, Tayport, Banks o' Dee, Pollok and the rest are almost all owned by their fans. Certainly there are cases of one or two well-to-do local businessmen if not owning the club outright, under-writing their continued existence, but, to all intents and purposes, these are community clubs.

I would like to think Saints could come up with a new template for how to run a Scottish club and that they succeed and their template is picked up elsewhere. For I believe community clubs are the long-term answer to the Old Firm hegemony which has lasted this past century and more.

If a community club is run properly there is the potential for every kid within the club 's catchment area to be ddirected towards that club - to want to pull on the first team strip. But only if the club really fuses with that community.

They ought to have community development officers, and first team players getting out into their community, organising the leagues, ensuring the local cup finals are played on the big pitch in New St Mirren Park. They should be getting into the schools, coaching, selling St Mirren and again, making certain all the schools cup finals are played at Greenhill Road; putting the Paisley Schools representative team into black and white stripes and so forth.

I do not think for a moment all the Old Firm fans in Paisley, of which there are many, will immediately burn their hoops and sashes and start learning to sing: "When the Saints Go Marching In", but, given time the outflow of Old Firm fans to the Glasgow Giants can be staunched.

It will take time, money and massive effort, but I wish the Community Trust well in their efforts to revive St Mirren and weave a Paisley pattern which can be picked up and exported.