Raith Rovers - Press Release
Wednesday 17th August 2011
Raith Rovers FC - Board Restructure
RRFC today announce that Dave Somerville, Chairman, will not be returning to the Chairmanship, or the Board, following his recent break from the daily activities of the club.
Dave explains – “Over the summer period when I took a break from the club, it gave me the time to reflect on some of the bigger issues the club currently faces. There is no doubt that over the last few years the complete infrastructure of the club has been rebuilt, and this has done much to support and underpin the excellent progress on the playing side by John McGlynn, his staff and the team.
“However, it is important to remember that the role of others has been equally significant in ensuring the success we have enjoyed – all staff, volunteers, supporters groups, sponsors, shareholders, and the wider support, have made a major contribution. There is still much to do.
“Scottish Football generally faces very real and pressing financial challenges. This has been re-iterated in recent weeks in the national media. John Robertson, who has a wealth of experience as player, manager and media pundit, stated on BBC only last week that the 1st Division in the SFL was particularly vulnerable – and I cannot disagree with that, given our experiences at Kirkcaldy.
“Raith Rovers has been fortunate that certain Directors, supporters groups, shareholders and sponsors have invested heavily in the club over recent years. However, the reality is that the club has been under-resourced since the time of the takeover and is trying to compete against some clubs who have the ‘comfort’ of major external resources that dwarf those available to Raith Rovers. It can be argued that our achievements over the last few years are all the more remarkable. Whilst we are all ambitious for the club it is now clear in my mind that further avenues need to be explored to help the club reach its full potential.
“Over the summer months the Directors have had to take on enhanced responsibilities. Given the fact that I have not been involved since May, I have decided that the time is right for me to attempt a complete change of role – acting as an ‘Ambassador’ for the club with the objective of securing new, long-term and sustainable investment for RRFC.
This will be crucially important going forward in terms of stability, and should, if successful, ensure an enhanced base from which to progress. I am very aware that this will be an extremely difficult challenge – with no guarantee of success. However, I was always taught that if you don’t try you won’t succeed!”
The Board at RRFC wholly endorse the points made in Dave’s statement. Dave has worked tirelessly over the past 5 years as Chairman, during which time the club has progressed from Division 2 to the runner-up position in Division 1 – as well as reaching the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup after an absence of nearly 50 years.
The Chairman’s role at a club like ours becomes a 7 day a week job that eventually becomes unsustainable. We therefore understood the reasons for Dave’s absence over the summer – albeit that the absence of the Chairman during a particularly challenging close season made for a testing time for the remaining Board members.
We are pleased that Dave has identified an important role going forward that, hopefully, will benefit the club. The reality is that the ‘rebirth’ in 2005 was significantly under-funded; promised investment never materialized, and it has therefore been a never-ending struggle which has taken its toll on a number of individuals concerned.
We are not, at this moment, appointing either a Chairman or a new Board Member to replace Dave. The structure we have operated since Dave took his break will continue meantime – with the Directors taking collective responsibility for the club activities, albeit with individual areas of responsibility.
The Board will continue to work with Dave – and others – to ensure the future of the club in these difficult economic times. It would also be helpful if the respective governing bodies in Scottish Football could quickly get their act together and decide once and for all what specific structure benefits the whole of Scottish Football and not just a few.
Finally, the Board wishes to acknowledge Dave’s endeavours over the past 5 years as Director and then Chairman, and fervently hope that he succeeds in his new role.
RRFC Board
August 15th 2011