WHO wants to have a billionaire? Well, perhaps not Partick Thistle. For the Jags, perhaps a humble multi-millionaire will have to do.

That is the conundrum facing Thistle chairman David Beattie at present as he ponders the choice between placing the future of his club into the hands of businessman Chien Lee’s investment group NewCity Capital, or the Colin Weir backed supporters’ group Thistle For Ever.

Not since the days when Chic Charnley was in his glorious pomp have so many been as bamboozled by twists and turns down Maryhill way, so here is a brief synopsis of the latest developments.

Beattie, having ousted former chairman Jacqui Low, has been in discussions with NewCity Capital over the last couple of months about them taking a majority shareholding in Thistle, as they previously had with French side OGC Nice and currently still have with English Championship side Barnsley. That bid currently sits in the hands of the SFA, who must decide if NewCity Capital not only meet their standards for club ownership, but that rules over dual ownership don’t prevent them from taking over at Firhill.

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Having received paperwork from NewCity Capital to this end, the SFA have now gone back to Thistle with a series of questions, which Beattie is attempting to get answers to by the end of this week with a view to the whole process being completed in as little as three to four weeks. That’s presuming they can also clear the hurdle of the strict dual ownership rules put in place by the English Football League, which it is incumbent upon Barnsley to address. Stay with me.

Another spanner was thrown into the works earlier this week when fans’ group Thistle For Ever, who had launched their own bid to gain a majority shareholding a couple of weeks back, made a formal offer to do just that backed up by the Euromillions cash of Weir.

This puts Beattie in a rather awkward position, having pledged to only pass the club on to the party whose ownership would be in the best interests of the club. In terms of optics, choosing an investment group with no ties to the community or even Scottish football in favour of dyed-in-the-wool Thistle supporters seems to run contrary to that position.

In saying that though, the Jags support are not exactly one homogenous body unified behind the noble cause of fan ownership. There are many among their number who are sceptical about the fan-owned model, despite its success at other clubs of relatively comparative size in Scotland such as Motherwell, St Mirren and Falkirk, preferring to take a leap in the dark for the greater rewards it may bring.

Another main concern seems to be the perception that amateurs would take the place of ‘business people’ in the boardroom, but without knowing the specific plans in place by Thistle For Ever, I would venture a guess it would be down to the fans to elect qualified people onto the board rather than just inviting 12 season-ticket holders to sit round the table. Could Jacqui Low, friend of Weir and someone who knows her way around the Firhill boardroom, appear back on the scene? Word is that no, she has had her fill, but never say never.

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The dilemma probably playing on a lot of Jags fan’s minds is that NewCity Capital have experience of running football clubs, whereas the Thistle For Ever group – depending on who would eventually be involved – have none, and the nagging question of what the end goal is for both factions.

For Thistle For Ever, the answer to that question is obvious. As Thistle fans, they want what is best for the club. How they achieve that is another matter, with detail from their five-year plan to restore the club to the top half of the Premiership still a little scarce, but their intentions seem beyond reproach. What are the motivations of NewCity Capital?

As a venture capitalist group, the end goal has to be to make money from the project, but how? And just as pertinently, how do they make the level of profit required for all this to be worth the investment of their time, energy and resource? Or would they, as they have at Barnsley, borrow money against the club’s assets and leave Thistle back in debt?

So far, despite being questioned on that, Beattie has failed to produce detailed answers. Speaking this week at the unveiling on Ian McCall as manager, he rubbished suggestions that the land Firhill is situated on is the real prize being eyed by Lee, Paul Conway and co. But until more details are forthcoming, and he acknowledged this himself during the week, the vacuum will be filled with questions, fears, rumour and innuendo.

Another plus in the Thistle For Ever column is that they can fully set those fears held by fans over the future of Firhill at rest. Weir has after all also offered to purchase the Main Stand - which is named after him - and the south terrace at Firhill (known as ‘the Bing’) and gift them to the club, assets currently held by Firhill Developments, a company of which Beattie is a director.

At the time of writing, it’s all still up in the air. The Thistle AGM took place last night though, and Thistle For Ever have pledged to release a Q&A of collated questions they have received from fans by this evening, so perhaps some clarity is in sight at last.

The Thistle fans deserve to have that full disclosure of what the club is getting into, either way, before Beattie and the current board take a decision that will have a huge impact on Thistle for years to come.

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For Beattie, the choice has been simplified to a 50/50, but is fraught with complications. He will soon have to phone a friend, but whether that is Chien Lee or Colin Weir remains to be seen.

AND ANOTHER THING...

It was great to see former Rangers youngster Billy Gilmour run the show against Grimsby for Chelsea on his first competitive start for the club. That's not my assessment, but that of his manager, Frank Lampard.

Without getting carried away - this was after all, a Carabao Cup match at Stamford Bridge against a League Two outfit - but the 18-year-old has been earning rave reviews from those who know their stuff.

Even his hero, Cesc Fabregas, chimed in on social media to say how impressed he was by Gilmour, although my favourite critique came from one fan who dubbed him the 'Irn-Bru Iniesta'.

I'd love to see him in the next Scotland squad.