It will take weeks, months, maybe even years before St Johnstone fans can form a considered judgment on the type of custodian Adam Webb will be for their football club.
American ownership is nothing new to British or Scottish football, but it certainly has not been a case of one size fits all.
There are far more questions than answers as an era of foreign stewardship begins at McDiarmid Park now that Geoff Brown has confirmed the takeover deal, and the EFL and SFA have granted their approval.
Courier Sport picks out five of the biggest.
1. Why buy a Scottish football club and why St Johnstone?
It will be up to Atlanta lawyer, Adam Webb himself to explain his motivations and aspirations.
He got off to a very good start with a short but perfectly-pitched media statement after news was broken in Courier Sport that the buyout was getting close.
“We are excited to take on the challenge to grow the club through success on the pitch, improving the fan experience, dedication to the community, and respect for the 140 years of history and tradition at St Johnstone.”
Webb followed this up with a more expansive mission statement in an open letter.
He has ticked a lot of boxes in terms of short, medium and long-term priorities.
Webb, of course, isn’t local and might not have even heard of Perth, its football club and its achievements until he became involved with Cambridge United and they lost their goalkeeper, Dimitar Mitov, last summer.
It is understood that he identified Saints and not the other way around.
This wasn’t a case of buyer and seller being brought together by a third party, as would have been the case with other potential deals.
Webb showed an initial interest, having already decided he wanted to buy a football club outright, and won over Geoff Brown with his vision, wealth, personal commitment and passion.
He knows what he’s getting in this deal – good and bad.
Nobody has been sold an unrealistic vision.
To put it in a Tayside context, Tim Keyes has (heavily) invested in Dundee, enjoyed his trips to Scotland and, it appears, held a realistic grasp of Scottish football and its pecking order.
Mark Ogren, full of laudable intentions, perhaps thought he could make year-on-year profits at Dundee United while savouring on-pitch success.
By all accounts, Webb has thoroughly enjoyed being a minority stakeholder at Cambridge and is excited by the challenge of taking on a bigger leadership role with Saints.
It is also understood he believes the academy at McDiarmid Park can be enhanced and improved from a strong base.
Common sense ambition would be a mantra Saints fans can get behind and be reassured by.
2. How will Webb run St Johnstone?
Stan Harris has played a key part in this deal and Webb is keen for the current CEO to stay on for a while longer.
The former vice-chairman returned to the club after Steve Brown left and has helped get it back on a financially sound footing following an eye-watering seven-figure loss, laid bare in last year’s annual accounts.
Stopping the bleeding has been crucial to packaging Saints as a desirable purchase.
The length of the current CEO’s bridging role remains to be seen.
If Harris, who has never taken a penny out of the club, commits to staying on for a few months to a year, it will buy Webb the time to get a successor in place.
He may well have someone in mind already.
Webb is a working partner in a highly successful legal firm.
He won’t be based in Perth all year round, that’s for sure.
Who runs St Johnstone day-to-day in the long-term, and that person’s capabilities, will be absolutely vital to this being a prosperous new era.
3. Is a stadium move on the cards?
What was out-of-town land when the ground was built in the late 1980s is now edge-of-town.
The 22 acres that the stadium, a big car park, an all-weather pitch and a training ground sit on is worth a lot more than the fee Webb will be about to pay for his 75% share in the club.
Saints don’t need a stadium that can accommodate approaching 11,000 supporters.
And nobody is better placed to identify a site for a new 7,000-ish capacity ground than the house-builder who has sold the club.
Webb has been involved in Cambridge United buying their stadium back and in creating a new training facility.
You would think that a stadium move would be an obvious project for him to sink his teeth into in Scotland.
4. What is the football vision?
On his fact-finding trip to Scotland in February, Webb wasn’t just getting a grasp of the pounds and pence of a prospective deal with the St Johnstone board members.
He also took the time to speak to head of football operations, Gus MacPherson, and first team manager, Craig Levein.
The need for a recruitment operation at McDiarmid Park that doesn’t rely on a head coach’s contacts book has been glaring for many a year, with Tommy Wright making his feelings on the topic clear as far back as 2018.
There may be scope for Saints to tap into Cambridge’s expertise and knowledge of the English lower leagues.
But the behind-the-scenes football set-up needs modernised.
Webb is likely to already have a clear idea on the structure he wants to implement.
He and Levein will obviously need to have frank discussions about their respective visions to see if they align.
The 2024/25 season is fast-approaching and the first signings of the summer window have already been made.
It will be future transfer windows that putting down long-term foundations can affect.
5. Will other investors come on board?
Webb has the independent wealth to complete this deal without help from anyone else and has the independent wealth to continue investing as the years go by.
Brown certainly wouldn’t have sold St Johnstone to him otherwise.
But Courier Sport understands that bringing other investors to the club in the future can’t be ruled out.
The connection with fellow Cambridge United shareholder, Mark Green, is an obvious one.
Green, a self-made businessman who sold his software company five years ago for a quarter of a billion dollars, has a 20% stake in Cambridge to Webb’s 10%.
Ironically, Hibs investor Bill Foley’s Black Knight business bought out Green’s Top of Mind company.
Also, Webb was accompanied by a business associate when he was entertained by Saints.
It would be no surprise if further financial clout (and expertise) comes St Johnstone’s way.
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