Rev. McQuarrie to The Board - In The Name of God Go

[chilledbear 16]

18:22, 1 March 2015 By Gary Ralston

THE Church of Scotland clergyman, who has served the Light Blues for almost three decades, refused to hold back in his condemnation of the directors he reckons have sucked the soul from his club.

 

 

MINISTER Stuart MacQuarrie has delivered a sermon against a self-serving Rangers board that amounts to fire and brimstone for Bluenoses everywhere.

 

The Church of Scotland clergyman, who has served the Light Blues for almost three decades, refused to hold back in his condemnation of the directors he reckons have sucked the soul from his club.

 

In an open letter, published exclusively by Record Sport, MacQuarrie lays bare his anger at the board’s contempt for fans and employees as the club faces one of the most important weeks in their recent history.

 

 

Dave King’s call for a general meeting to remove David Somers, Barry Leach and Derek Llambias will be heard at Ibrox on Friday as he bids to instigate the regime change many reckon is necessary to restore the fortunes of the stricken club.

 

The movement against the current board is growing, with former chief executive Craig Mather following Felix Magath in proxying his

shareholding to the Rangers Supporters Trust, who are backing King.

 

The board may resign before Friday if they know defeat is inevitable and, as far as MacQuarrie is concerned, the sooner they go the better.

 

 

He writes: “It is unusual for someone who is a Church of Scotland minister to enter publicly into the rights and wrongs of a boardroom battle such as that at Rangers.

 

“However, I cannot stand idly by as people’s lives and livelihoods are considered mere pawns in a corporate power struggle, discarded as being of no further use.

 

“When the present Rangers board issued their statement to shareholders recently and spoke only of cutting costs as their strategy, boasting of ‘reductions,’ I saw only people – people I had come to know over many years of being involved at Rangers, with families, hopes and aspirations.

 

 

 

“It is people like Davy Byers, a great Rangers stalwart, whose funeral earlier this year brought out those I knew always put Rangers first.

 

“They are people like me, who have supported Rangers through thick and thin, whose lives have been inextricably linked with Rangers

and, strangely enough, Celtic, too.

 

“The loyalty and faithfulness of football supporters is not a commodity to be bought and sold.

 

“When Rangers went into administration, it was the ordinary fan who scrimped, saved and donated money to the Rangers Fighting Fund.

 

“It was the ordinary fan who invested their hard-earned cash in shares when the club was re-floated.

 

“As a Rangers fan from my earliest days, to quote Bill Struth, ‘I have been lucky.’

 

 

 

“In my case, it’s the good fortune to be able to serve the club I love. Over the last 25 years, I have conducted more than 200 weddings, mostly in the famous Blue Room, helped supporters through the pain of bereavement and conducted the funeral services of great players such as Bobby Shearer, Craig Watson, Kai Johansen and Jim Baxter.

 

“In 2001, the Ibrox Disaster memorial was unveiled. The dignitaries shook hands and departed. I stood, humbled, watching tearful men and women use their fingers to trace the outline of a loved one’s name on the memorial plaque.

 

“On January 2 this year, I stood with two Rangers directors as Colin Stein laid a wreath in silent commemoration of the 66 who died in 1971, and of others who had died in two previous accidents.

 

“Did the directors who were not present understand the place in Rangers history of our darkest day in 143 years? Did they even know that the entire stadium is a memorial to the 66?

 

“Did they bother about the sense of betrayal felt by fans such as myself when offering the stadium as security against a loan? Were they aware of the outrage at Craig Whyte selling the Arsenal shares, part of the club’s history?

 

What’s next on their Thatcherite programme to be sold off? The Loving Cup? Medals won by Bob MacPhail, Richard Gough and others? The multitude of trophies telling the Rangers story?

 

“They are part of the 143- year history of Rangers, not mere ‘assets’ for the present directors to sell or hawk as security on loans.

 

“They belong to the club and the Rangers fans.

 

“Most football supporters recognise clubs must be financially solvent.

 

“There is a bond of trust between a club’s directors and its fans and sponsors. That bond of trust with the current directors is now irrevocably broken.

 

“The vindictive decision to close down the Rangers Fans’ Board shows how out of touch the current directors are.

 

“They forgot the Fans’ Board is comprised of people who are there simply because they are fans – people for whom Rangers is, at times, the most important thing in their lives.

 

“The bond of trust at Ibrox can be summed in that one word so beloved of Jock Wallace and which summed up Rangers - ‘character’.

 

“The present board does not have that sense of character.

 

“They are unworthy of the club and simply do not understand. It is not they who are sacking the fans, but the fans who are sacking them.

 

“The trust which has been abused will only be restored with the election as directors of people who know, understand and love Rangers – such as Dave King, John Gilligan, Paul Murray and the Three Bears.

 

They have character, part of the DNA of being a Ranger.

 

“The bleak future offered by the current directors appears to be Mr Somers standing on the steps of Ibrox waving a cheque like Neville Chamberlain guaranteeing debt in our time.

 

“From us, the Rangers fans, the clear and strong message to the present directors is from that same period of history.

 

“The words of MP Leo Amery addressed to Prime Minister Chamberlain, ‘You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you.

 

“‘In the name of God, go.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/minister-unleashes-hell-rangers-directors-5255585#ICID=sharebar_twitter

[BEARGER 1,850]

He comes late to the fight IMO.

[chilledbear 16]

He comes late to the fight IMO.

 

Probably just beating Andy Cameron.

[BEARGER 1,850]

Probably just beating Andy Cameron.

 

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

Very true.

[aweebluesoandso 290]

The wheels of divine intervention move slowly.

[The Real PapaBear 0]

If he was so concerned about people losing their jobs, you might think he would have said something when people were, you know, losing their jobs - when his words might actually have done some good.