After the past nine months in which I’ve combined journalistic work with consultancy work for Dundee United I’m returning to the microphone and laptop.
My United experience was a very interesting one and allowed me an insight into the working of a football club which even as a football journalist operating at a high level for the BBC I didn’t have previously.
The challenges of Scottish football are constant and ongoing and mainly revolve around money, or the lack of it. Demands from fans put huge pressures on boards and managers alike.
One of the biggest issues clubs face is how open and transparent they can be with supporters within the boundaries of contractual confidentiality, and with information which could damage them with their competitors.
The constant scrutiny and criticism of those in positions of power is a fact of life, but it’s also something which dissuades others from getting involved in investing in a football club.
When people know their private lives will be in the public eye every time they go for a beer or a coffee, it takes a special type of individual to subject themselves to that rigour.
Unsurprisingly, some potential investors decide that is a price which is too high to pay.
