The bed-in in process is well and truly underway for the new St Johnstone ownership group.
But unfortunately the Perth club’s controlling shareholders don’t yet have a proper one to sleep on!
The Saints in America group have bought a riverside property in the Fair City, which will be their base when one or more of them fly over the Atlantic.
On the most recent trip to Scotland, majority owner, Adam Webb, was joined by fellow lawyers and investors, Chet Arter and Matt Klase.
As well as watching Saints’ Premiership opener against Aberdeen, the three men have been guests at the Perth Show and the North Inch Salute event, and attended a fans’ night in a city centre pub as part of the new documentary project.
It’s been a throwback to dorm days at university for Webb, Arter and Klase over the last few days.
Being “hands-on” is a mantra they will stick to during their tenure as St Johnstone owners, immersing themselves in the local community.
“We have bought a house in Perth but the three of us who are over on this trip have been sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” said Webb.
“The beds are there, but they’re in boxes and we haven’t had time to build them yet!
“We have two chairs and we don’t have a washing machine either at the moment.
“We got a fridge last weekend, so that was a start.
“The renovations are happening over the next two months or so.
“We have a local contractor who is doing the work for us – he’s going to push it on for us.
“It’s a beautiful, historic home which has the best view in Perth over the River Tay – I absolutely love it.
“Hopefully the salmon start running there soon and we can try to catch some of them.
“But it’s not wife-ready at the moment!
“If the footage of the house makes it into the documentary you’ll see what it’s like.”
‘Time of their lives’
Having a Perth base for the owners and associates is a crucial part of the new St Johnstone era.
“It’s going to be a big social thing for us going forward,” said Webb.
“Some of the guys love to golf so how could you not be over here several times a year spending a few days playing at St Andrews, Gleneagles and all these fantastic courses?
“Everyone I know wants to come here.
“I had six friends from Atlanta over for the Aberdeen game and they had the time of their lives.
“We will continue to do that. Once the house is finished it will be even easier, of course.
“I expect we’ll have a steady stream of visitors from the USA.
“Hopefully we can do our bit to help Perth become more of a tourist destination than it already is.”
There’s a correlation between getting things done at their house and at McDiarmid Park.
“Everyone in the (ownership) group has shown themselves prepared to roll their sleeves up and get involved, which is really helpful because there’s a lot to do,” said Webb.
“Matt and Chet have been involved on Zooms and calls to get things moving.
“Having smart people on board across the pond is important – like the people here who want to give for the club.
“We have a group of motivated, enthusiastic, smart people who want to give certain things to the club.
“It’s not just money, although that’s out there as a probability in the years ahead.
“But it’s also their knowledge, enthusiasm and the work they’re ready to put in.
“It’s a big help to me, especially with me having a full-time job and a family, that people are willing to come on board.
“I’m really glad we opened it up and I think we have a mix of the right people.”
‘College kids’
This recent visit was his first all-in experience – and it didn’t disappoint.
He joked: “It’s a bit rustic just now – we’re living like college kids!
“We want to be part of the community. We want to be immersed in it.
“We want to walk around the city, speak to people, get to know them and listen to what they have to say.
“We don’t want to be seen as people who just come over every now and again, keep ourselves separate and not socialise.
“That’s not who we are and not what we’re about.
“We have been treated so well and respectfully so far.
“We are so pleased about that – it’s the reaction we hoped for.
“So far people have been telling us they’re excited about it and excited about us being here.
“And we’re just as excited as them to be here and be getting to work helping to build the future of this football club.
“A lot of us have known each other and been friends for decades.
“It’s Adam’s baby but we wanted to get involved.”
The beauty of Brechin
Arter’s first taste of Scottish football was day one of the season in the Premier Sports Cup at Glebe Park.
“I loved going up to Brechin,” he said. “Because it was completely different.
“The people there were fantastic and it was great to speak to them and listen to the things they were telling us about their club.
“It’s all the same sort of problems, just different degrees of them.
“You can learn an awful lot from speaking to people.
“We’ve always been the kind of guys to get our hands dirty doing things.
“We’re very hands-on and want to get things moving as quickly as we can.
“The frustrating thing for us is we can’t just flick the switch and get everything done at the club straight away.
“But we realise it’s going to take time and our mentality is to keep it going.
“What we want is every time someone shows up they see something new, some improvement they think is pretty cool.
“That will reinforce the idea we’re making improvements and getting things done.
“The stuff underneath is tougher because you can’t see that all the time, but hopefully over the next months and years that will become evident.”
Conversation