Gordon Steps Down As Chair
Last week, I chaired my final Board meeting and from the 1st June Allan Maitland will become our new Chairman while I continue to serve the club as a director.
It has been a privilege to have been Chairman of Clyde FC, but I remain clear it is also the right time to pass on that responsibility to Allan. I invited Allan to join the Board last August and ever since that first conversation he has been a great and active support who has worked tirelessly for the club. I have no doubt he will continue to do his very best for The Bully Wee in his enhanced role and I hope everyone will get right behind him as he becomes chairman.
The club is entering a new phase. We have an opportunity, with financial backing secured over the course of the past year, to build and achieve success. The drive and enthusiasm of Allan for the role will be essential to maximising that. While I am delighted that a solid funding base has been secured to give us the potential to succeed, that alone will not negate the need for him to have the backing and support of all others who follow the Clyde to ensure we achieve the success we all desire. Between myself, Allan, and the other members of the board it is apparent that we agree on what needs to improve. But the hardest thing is implementing the changes that bring about that improvement. That must be a team effort involving everyone who has the best interests of Clyde in their heart to get the best results we can for the club moving forward.
The growth in volunteering opportunities at the club, the Foundation, the establishment of working groups, the succession planning through the introduction of associate directors, improved governance procedures and a collective approach have been put in place, all with the intent of providing the necessary foundations that will enable the club to progress on a stronger footing.
My time as chair has been eventful. Situations have occurred that have split us as a support, and I hope we can all return to focus more on the football in the seasons ahead. Those situations have undoubtedly sapped energy at times. Some have tried to undermine the club with persistent, and often personal, online attacks with little basis in fact and no positive contribution to make. But I must take this opportunity to thank the tremendous and humbling support I have received on a personal basis from the overwhelming majority around the club during my time as Chair. It was always reassuring that more people recognised the challenges that existed and reaffirmed the values of the club not just by words but by their actions as they always put the club first.
Some of the most challenging times were necessary to experience to move the club on. Chiefly our decision to move from Broadwood – which has ensured the club can operate independent of political interference and begin to operate more in line with its peers. That journey will not be complete until we finally relocate to a ground of our own. Although we began that process during my time as chair, I do regret that my chairmanship did not extend to the announcement of where that new home will be. However with the skills and determination now in place at the club that objective will continue to move forward. I am certain that work will deliver good news in the near future.
As a director, and in whatever specific role I play in the future, I will continue to do what I can to support Allan, the board, and most importantly the club so that we can be proud of what we achieve on and off the park.