Boardroom Coup lit blue-touch paper for Struth's Ibrox legacy

[ian1964 10,563]

RANGERS enjoyed average attendances of over 30,000 in the 1946/47 season and declared a profit of £12,000.

 

 

 

Outwardly, everything seemed in fine fettle. But behind the great oak doors there was unrest.

 

Turmoil at Ibrox is something which has engulfed the Glasgow institution in recent times, however a struggle for power at the club is far from a new phenomenon.

 

There is nothing in club archives to suggest the relationship between the board and Bill Struth, the manager, was anything other than sound.

 

But Struth's life revolved around the club. He spent every minute of the day, and often far into the evening, working at Ibrox. It would be natural for him to feel the directors were detached.

 

The dynamics of the three-man Rangers board of Jimmy Bowie, George Brown and Alan Morton at that time was curious.

 

Morton, although one of the best players to represent the club, was a quiet man.

 

Brown, a schoolteacher by profession, was confident and opinionated. But he was very much subordinate to Bowie.

 

Bowie approached Struth, who was 71, when Scot Symon retired as a player and joined East Fife as manager and informed him the board believed it was time for him to retire.

 

Bowie told Struth there might be a position on the board if he did so. He also suggested appointing a No.2 who could be groomed to take over.

 

But Struth had no intention of stepping down. Despite his age, he felt the role remained well within his capabilities. He took the mere suggestion as a challenge for his long-standing control of the club.

 

The offer of a place on the board had another purpose - to split his bond with club secretary W. Rogers Simpson who was himself pressing for a position on the board.

 

Both Simpson and Struth wanted places and wanted to retain their positions.

 

However, Article 74 of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of The Rangers Football Club Limited stated: "No paid official or servant is eligible to hold the office of director."

 

Simpson suggested that Article 74 be changed. This was not well received by Bowie, Brown and Morton.

 

It appears the two factions then retreated to their trenches and relationships became strained.

 

Simpson and Struth realised an amendment to the articles was needed and that change could only be effected through the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting.

 

The EGM would seek a change and also challenge the restriction on the size of the board. Since 1935 it had numbered just three.

 

The planning for what became known as "The Boardroom Coup" was meticulous and, crucially, entirely constitutional.

 

Proxy cards were issued to shareholders with a letter signed by Simpson and Struth. The letter called on the shareholders unable to attend the meeting to vote for them.

 

In the letter Struth wrote: "The efficiency of the Rangers has not been achieved because of the directors, but in spite of them."

 

The board said the move "threatened the future prosperity of the club". They called members to a meeting the night before the EGM to "explain the facts" and issue new proxy cards.

 

But it was a desperate move. They had quite clearly been outmanoeuvred.

 

Around 150 shareholders gathered at Ibrox for the EGM on June 12, 1947. Addressing the crowd, Bowie said the very future of the club was at stake.

 

He warned changes could put it in control of those "with financial interests as against an administration solely concerned with maintaining high sporting traditions".

 

But the motion was carried unanimously and Simpson and Struth were elected to the board at the AGM which followed the EGM while remaining in their roles.

 

Bowie was ousted. He departed the stadium never to return. It was a harsh end to the career of a man who had served the club as a player, director and chairman.

 

The episode provides an insight into Struth's character. He had dedicated his life to Rangers. He was not the kind to bow out and retire.

 

His conduct throughout the crisis was uncompromising. His position would never be challenged again.

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/boardroom-coup-lit-blue-touch-paper-for-struths-ibrox-legacy-138840n.22380875

[ian1964 10,563]

From a trainer to club hero...

 

AS the Rangers board grappled with the problem of replacing William Wilton as manager after his tragic death in 1920, Bill Struth emerged as the man with the ability to take on the job.

 

 

 

The prospect excited Struth, but, he was to confess afterwards, it also filled him with trepidation.

 

He later recalled: "Bailie Buchanan (Rangers chairman) stopped me in the street and took me aside. He told me they wanted me as manager.

 

"I replied: 'No, no, no. Get yourself another manager. Leave me in a job I know'."

 

Struth and Wilton had developed a close working relationship, especially during the chaos of the war years.

 

Once Struth was convinced himself the decision of the board was unanimous. He was confirmed as the second manager of Rangers on June 15, 1920.

 

Having been the club trainer up until that point, he was the right choice. He knew the players and the players knew him. More importantly, they respected his methods.

 

He may have been a hard task master but the players had a high regard for him. The Evening Times called the appointment "popular and sensible".

 

During his time with Wilton, Struth had been learning his trade, increasing his contacts and improving his knowledge of football.

 

He had built up respect within the game through his influence with Rangers and also Scotland.

 

Struth was just a month short of his 45th birthday and as ready as he would ever be to step into the manager's chair. It was a new dawn.

 

Struth swept aside any lingering lack of self-belief and, backed by the confidence of the board, threw himself into the position.

 

THE STRUTH RECORD

 

18 Scottish League titles

 

10 Scottish Cup victories

 

2 League Cup wins

 

7 war-time titles

 

19 Glasgow Cups

 

17 Glasgow Merchant Cups

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/from-a-trainer-to-club-hero-138870n.22382970