Morton vs Raith Rovers | Board Programme Notes
Good Afternoon and welcome to Cappielow for today’s William Hill Championship match against Raith Rovers. We would like to extend a warm welcome to players, staff and directors from today’s opponents.
Today’s match is obviously an extremely special occasion for the club as we celebrate our rich 150-year history.
Being on the Greenock Morton Board is a privilege and an honour for each of us. We are fully aware of the responsibility that the position brings, even more so now as a community owned club. Each one of us is a Morton supporter and loves the club. Our commitment to you is that we will always do everything we can to move Morton forward and give you a club you can be proud of. We won’t always get everything right, but we will always take that on board and learn from any mistakes that are made.
This programme focusses on our long history, and we could spend pages doing the same, but we wanted to touch on a snapshot of that history.
On the 8th July 2020, an agreement was reached that marked the beginning of the community ownership journey. By the 28th September 2021, thanks to the support of MCT members, Golden Casket, the Inverclyde community and the wider fanbase, community ownership became a reality.
The Board would like to put on record our appreciation to Crawford Rae and his family in making that possible. For over 20 years, the Rae family, led by Douglas Rae, were the stewards of the club. We were of course all deeply saddened by the passing of Douglas in 2018. Without Douglas Rae, it is very possible that we would not be here today celebrating the club’s 150th anniversary, and without the support and generosity of Crawford and the family, we would not be a community owned club.
A week ago today, we hit the milestone of three years as a community owned club. Those three years are short in the context of our 150-year history, but also hugely significant.
These last 3 years, and indeed the couple of years prior building up to community ownership, have been filled with hard work and dedication from everyone who has been involved. MCT and the GMFC board are run completely by volunteers who have given countless hours wanting nothing more than a successful Morton.
Alongside community ownership, the support of Dalrada has been significant and vital. We would all like to place on record our thanks to Brian Bonar and his organisation for their support which helps to make community ownership possible.
We hope that the club can continue to thrive under community ownership with the support of Dalrada in the coming years. We have a real opportunity to make a hugely positive impact on the lives of supporters and the wider Inverclyde community, and that is what everyone is committed to.
While focussing on the last few years, we would also like to take a moment to pay tribute to and thank the custodians of the club over the last 150 years who have guided the club through some memorable times, and indeed some tougher times.
Finally, we would like to thank every supporter. As we know all too well as Morton supporters, there are plenty of ups and downs along the way, but regardless, you are always there to back the club and team. In recent years MCT and community ownership becoming a reality are a great example of that and if we look back through our history those examples can be found, none more so than the Save the Ton efforts at the turn of the millennium.
We hope you enjoy today’s game and the celebrations, let’s hope we can get three points to mark the occasion!
GMFC Board
