‘Some people just need the game in their lives ... you are all part of a communal experience’
Bryan Jackson might be the perfect person to testify about the power of football to inflict a special type of madness on otherwise sane individuals.
The football finance expert who helped rescue Hearts, Motherwell, Dundee, Dunfermline and Clyde among others, from respective financial meltdowns, has developed lasting affections for them all.
His first sighting of the new Main Stand at Tynecastle almost moved him to tears, so impressed was he by the symbol of Hearts’ rude health and well-being.
The impact Motherwell had on a colleague with no previous interest in football, meanwhile, has him warning former Netflix vice president Erik Barmack that he does not know what he is letting himself in for with his plans to invest in the Fir Park outfit.
“Football clubs have a way of getting under your skin so I will look out for Hearts in today’s Scottish Cup semi-final, the same way I do with all the ones I worked with,” said Jackson, now retired from the insolvency business.
“Time has passed so I can now admit I genuinely did not think we were going to get Hearts over the line in 2013.
“There were too many obstacles. I put a brave face on it and always said I thought it was 50-50.
“And I did, but I always thought we were on the wrong side of the 50-50. With the other clubs I always thought we were just on the right side.
“With football clubs there is always hope because of the fan support that you have. Fans will do just about anything to ensure survival. It does not always happen, though.
“Rangers did go into liquidation and the same would have happened to Hearts.
“It would have been exceedingly difficult. We would have needed to have formed a new company and they would have had nowhere to play because they would have had no membership.
“So, you would have Hearts No. 2 with no ground and no funding.
“The Foundation of Hearts would have been there to try and get it going but it would have been very difficult because where
With football clubs there is always hope because of the fan support that you have
would you play? Tynecastle was there but how would you fund it? It was owned by two Lithuanian banks essentially.
“So, Hearts rebounding the way that Rangers did would have been very complicated. Rangers started right down at the bottom to come back up.
“I am not saying they could not have done it but it would have been very difficult. I was always very conscious of that.
“But they have done so well, the post-administration story is more interesting than what went before. When you look at what has been achieved – that new Main Stand. Even before administration you would not have thought they could fund that.
“I remember when I went to see it just after it had been built. I went down Gorgie Road, turned the corner and I saw it.
“All of a sudden, I felt myself getting quite tearful with the emotion of it all.
“It was just incredible. None of it had been anything to do with me but it was still fantastic to see.
“You need to give credit to all the people involved. It really has been great to witness.
“The administration cleared the debt but what has happened since then is still an amazing achievement.
“The way the Foundation of Hearts has managed to not only maintain but increase its membership now that the danger has gone is incredible.
“That is down to the passion of the people who run it.”
One of the biggest stories in football over the past four years has been the purchase of Wrexham by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney, and the spin-off documentary series.
A development that has not been missed on this side of the border with Motherwell cheekily pitching for any potential celebrity investors to give them a call.
“I thought their video was clever because of what has happened with Wrexham – why not Motherwell?” said Jackson, who handled the Steelmen’s administration in 2002.
“That is what football needs. It has become a serious business, there is a lot of money at stake, but it still needs a sense of humour.
“When I got appointed there, I had no previous connection with the club.
“Very quickly, though, I got a good feeling about it all. It felt like a family and, being a football fan myself, I could feel myself start to get dragged in.
“Because of that I decided in terms of managing the job it would be quite good to have my colleague, Anne Buchanan, run the day-to-day stuff because she had no interest in the sport whatsoever.
“I figured that would take the emotion right out of it, which is needed.
“People reckon you are there to save the club, but the truth is your duty is to get the best deal for the creditors. Fortunately, the two usually go hand in hand,
“So, Anne was running things and she was usually hard-nosed about things which one must be when you are in administration.
“Pound in, pound out – that is only way to do it, otherwise you cannot keep the doors open.
“But it only took about six weeks before not only was she coming to games but she would be standing there giving it laldy!
“She totally got dragged into it. She got friendly with Terry Butcher, the manager, and got friendly with the players.
“And that just shows you the power of football and the power of any given club to impact you. “I still feel a very strong affection for Motherwell Football Club. That has never gone away, I still go back to games.
“I feel connected to all the clubs I worked with, and I still go to games when I can.
“That is what football clubs do to you.”
But why are they so important?
“When I was doing work at the various clubs, I did spend a lot of time thinking about that question,” said the former accountant, who wrote a play, The Pieman Cometh, about his experiences.
“Because I did see the passion the fans have – and I have myself – and I wondered why it was so strong. The conclusion I arrived at was that some people just need it in their lives for the feeling on belonging.
“No matter what job you do, when you go to a game on a Saturday and you have 20,000 fellow supporters, it does not matter what is going on in the rest of your life. You are all part of a communal experience, one which is quite tribal really.
“It offers security and a feeling of belonging. It is also an outlet for whatever frustrations you might have going on in your life.
“In the world we are living in just now where everything seems so precarious, it is an attachment which becomes even more important.
“So, I understand why Eric Barmark and his wife Courtney are so interested in having an involvement in the club.
“The attraction is obvious. I am just not sure they are ready for the impact the bounce of a ball or a referee’s decision can have both on your weekend and the club’s financial well-being.”