Nelms: Maxwell can make Scottish football
His President says he’ll make America great again.
Now Dundee’s Texan top dog, John N el ms, reckons SF A commander-in-chief, Ian Maxwell, can walk Donald Trump’s talk for Scottish football.
Maxwell only succeeded Stewart Regan as SFA Chief Executive six weeks ago.
But Dark Blues managing director N el ms has been impressed by the former Partick Thistle chief.
And he reckons the knowledge Maxwell gleaned from his time with the Jags will lead to stronger working links between the national association and the SPFL. He said: “I think Ian’s arrival is a very positive step. He has a good head on his shoulders, he has worked at a football club, knows the ins and outs, and knows the plight of football clubs.
“He knows what’s important – the buttons that need to be pressed.
“Going into the job at the SFA, I think he’ll be sympathetic to the professional game because he understands what’s going on in it.
“That was one of my frustrations before. I didn’t feel like the SFA understood.
“They’d say: ‘Do this, do that’, and you’re thinking: ‘ Wait a minute, we have budgets’.
“They just seemed to ignore those things.
“I think there is going to be much more joined- up thinking now. I’m really excited about it.
“I think he’s going to help make Scottish football Scottish football again.
“He has the exact same concerns that I do, and the same understanding of the wants and needs of the clubs.
“I think Ian will bring the SFA closer to the SPFL, and that can only be a good thing.”
With a new TV deal in the offing for the Scottish Cup – and an improved one being sought for the Premiership – Nelms believes fresh working relationships between governing bodies could prove crucial.
“It’s a crossroads moment for Scottish football,” he said. “The thing is, what is it worth? “We’ve had meetings with BT Sport, with Sky, with other potential partners out there who are interested.
“But if you have a single media partner, that media partner will want to make our product the best it can be.
“They will market it and use innovation to make our product better.
“Right now, we have multiple partners. They’re all saying: ‘ I don’t want to put too much out there because we’re helping our competitors.’”
The major factor determining which broadcasters are handed rights will be financial.
Notably, Amazon have just secured a broadcasting package for the English Premier League for the first time.
Nelms sees value in experimenting with different forms of media. But he also sees potential in allowing the traditional media to experiment themselves.