St Johnstone owner talks cancer, Valakari, relegation & beer

Adam Webb is back in Scotland after getting the cancer all-clear

Talk of lucky white heather. Adam Webb completed his purchase of St Johnstone on 5 July only to find out within a fortnight that he had been diagnosed with cancer of head and neck.

The American lawyer and businessman had pledged to enhance training facilities and increase spending on the squad as he started "a new chapter" and almost four decades of Geoff Brown's ownership of the Scottish Premiership club came to a close.

But Webb, who already owned a 10% shareholding in English League One club Cambridge United, had sacked manager Craig Levein by the time he went public in September with the news he would be taking medical leave.

Chief executive Fran Smith took over as interim chairman, although Webb led the recruitment process from afar that resulted in the appointment of Simo Valakari.

Now the owner is back in Scotland, cancer free and, in a wide-ranging interview, talks about his health, St Johnstone's chances of avoiding relegation and the financial future of Scottish football.

'Freakish timing' of cancer diagnosis

Webb said "it's fantastic" and "a dream come true" to be back in Perth after his major health scare.

"Luckily, the treatment is over and the treatment was successful," he said. "Right before I got on the plane over here, I got the results back from my PET scan - cancer-free.

"I feel like I've got a, maybe not a new lease on life, but a new perspective."

Webb's return coincided with Saturday's 2-1 win over Motherwell, which lifted Saints to within seven points of Kilmarnock at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

The timing of his takeover, though, "was freakish" and "just about as bad as you can get".

"Closed down on the club, I believe it was 5 July, learned I had cancer in approximately 20 July," he recalled. "Many people stepped in when I started my treatment in September and had to step back from active day-to-day involvement just for sanity, health, lack of anxiety, lack of stress, you know, focus on the treatment, which I think was the right thing to do.

"Everyone stepped up, raised their game and now I'm able to step back in. And, although the league table wouldn't show it, the club is in good shape."

'I can't be happier with Simo'

Simo Valakari was able to celebrate a victory over Motherwell on Saturday

When St Johnstone decided to dispense with the services of former Scotland boss Levein, they were sitting third-from-bottom of the Premiership after one win and four defeats.

There has been no new manager bounce since former Motherwell and Derby County midfielder Valakari's arrival and, while the weekend win suggests they have not given up hope of a great escape, Webb admits Saints are already making contingency plans for life after relegation.

"The plans are not yet in place, but we are starting to work on those plans, as any responsible business must," he said. "We are looking at the cuts that might have to be made - we would be certainly competitive in Championship - I'm quite confident of our chances."

Webb, though, remains convinced that Valakari is "doing the right things to get us to the right place" and has backed the Finn with four signings during the January transfer window to bolster the squad.

"In the back of my head is still quite a bit of optimism that we're going to weather this storm," he said. "I can't be happier with Simo and we have backed him with the players he wants during this window, which may not be the best business decision, but it is a decision that we felt obligated to make.

"Here we are in the first year of ownership. We need to show this fanbase that we support the club and that we are willing to fight to stay in the Premiership."

However, he stressed that Saints will not "break the bank" to stay up and that Brown had shown the way during his 37 years in charge by remaining "a sustainable club without any financial implosions" - even if relegated.

'NFL-style salary cap would be best'

Dundee United, Hibernian and, most recently, second-tier Dunfermline Athletic have been taken over by US-based parties and Webb believes that attracting investment from around the world from people like himself can increase the popularity of Scottish football on a global scale.

"We're increasing investment in the league," Webb, who has a documentary being shot at his club, said. "I absolutely think that, whether it's American money, or Middle Eastern money, or Australian money, whatever money is coming into the league is a great thing. It should be encouraged. Let's not be parochial. Let's not be regional.

"We can see what's happening in England, with a lot of investment from around the world. It's bringing excitement. People are watching our games in America, watching our games all over the world, and that money comes into the league. And over time, we have a much sexier, more interesting league.

"It may always be second to England as far as what is of most interest, but we have a unique league with some of its unique characters, unique rules, and a real, true football fan in America or elsewhere is going to be fascinated by the Scottish league."

In turn, Webb believes that Scottish football can learn from American football, although he realises that it is "unrealistic" to expect it to adopt what he believes is "the healthiest" way to run a league - the NFL salary cap.

However, he thinks that "some limits, like you have now in the Premier League in England" could be possible.

"Maybe Celtic can be 10 times the average in the league, but it can't be 25 times the average in the league, that type of thing," he said while realising that the Scottish champions and others might oppose that as limiting their ability to compete in European competition.

'End discrimination' over alcohol

Webb is concentrating improving his own club, including the game-day experience, and is hopeful that the Scottish Government will eventually end "discrimination against football fans" by allowing alcohol consumption.

"What I'm hearing is positivity," he added. "Unfortunately it's a go slow attitude, but I think everyone knows it's going to end up with football fans being able to have a beer more often at the stadium, hopefully in their seats, because that's just a natural way to do it.

"That's how the rugby fans can do it. And there's no difference whatsoever."