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Crawford Rae Statement


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A new chapter in the history of Greenock Morton Football Club is about to be written.

The last 20 years have been a rollercoaster of emotions for every member of the Rae family, with a series of highs and lows, promotions and relegations resulting in a combination of post-game celebrations and long sleepless nights.  There have been many amazing days, we have met many great characters and made some good friends along the way.

However, despite our very best efforts I am very sad to say that we have not delivered to the level that we would have liked, with our biggest regret, as you all know, that we have not been able to deliver top flight football back to the fans.

We are greatly disappointed with this, as no-one had higher expectations for the Club than my Father, who at times spent from the heart and not from his head. Football has that effect on you and I’m sure if he were to have his time again, he would do exactly the same thing with his never-ending optimism and desire for Morton to be successful.

The one constant throughout our journey has been the support of our fans.  The supporters have been amazing and while we always spoke of community ownership, until MCT came along, we honestly could not see a way to deliver this for the Club. Graham McLennan founded MCT and has put together a group of fantastic people who between them, have a huge wealth of experience in so many different fields.  If everyone with a passion for the Club gets behind them then we truly believe that great things can happen. There is always strength in numbers but far greater strength is achieved with a collective goodwill which MCT delivers in abundance.

It was this vision that MCT displayed to our family that convinced us that Community Ownership was the best option for the future success of Morton Football Club and the right time for us to step aside.

The supporters have dreamed of Morton playing at a higher level and there is no better legacy than to afford the fans an opportunity to make this happen through their ownership. This is why the family have decided to gift MCT our majority shareholding at the end of this season as opposed to selling to a third party, assuming they are in a financial position to make this happen.

We believe that the Club is on the cusp of something special, we have the best Manager in place and if we can give him the resources and the backing that he deserves then we will succeed. Last season we had definitely turned a corner and we were beginning to see the Hoppy Factor and the buy-in from supporters. We had a team on the park which other teams feared and didn’t want to face.

We want this momentum to continue and if we all stick together and trust one another, then our collective goodwill gives us the best possible chance of success.

There is no getting away from it, this year will be incredibly tough. The country is still in the middle of a pandemic which has played havoc with football at all levels. Whilst we are still unsure of when supporters can return for the new season, we are acutely aware that we have a number of season ticket holders from last year that lost out on the four remaining home fixtures.  As we now look to finalise budgets, we have sought to allocate a reserve to address this.

With this in mind, the Club is prepared to make partial refunds available to those supporters who wish to apply,  although it is important to note that should all season ticket holders claim a refund, it would put a significant financial strain on the Club at a time when we have little to no income stream.

We would ask the fans who can afford to decline this offer to please do so which would be a great relief and enormously appreciated by us all.

We fully understand, however, that given the current circumstances, some households may need this money more than others and we will fully support any fans wishing to claim a refund for the four missed games.

We would ask that any supporter who does intend to request a refund to email our Chief Executive, David MacKinnon, at ceo@gmfc.net  by 5pm on Friday 24th July.  For any season ticket holder who does not get in touch by that date, we will assume that you will not be claiming the refund and we thank you for this.

Season tickets for this coming season will be getting launched next week. All full and concession season tickets will have free streaming of Morton TV for any closed door and partially supported matches along with access to all interviews and videos.

Please also remember that every season ticket sold before the season kicks off allows our playing budget to be increased.

Finally, thanks again to all supporters, young and old. Let’s all get behind MCT, keep your pledges coming and help open up this exciting new chapter for Inverclyde and the future success of Greenock Morton Football Club.

You can pledge to MCT at www.mortonclubtogether.com

I hope to see you all very soon

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Sort of what I expected him to say. 

The main things I noted were the pleading for people not to request a refund on the season tickets and that Morton TV will be up and running for season ticket holders for this coming season. The latter intrigues me, they'd be missing out on money if they don't offer some form of one game or monthly package. 

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2 minutes ago, ChampTon said:

Sort of what I expected him to say. 

The main things I noted were the pleading for people not to request a refund on the season tickets and that Morton TV will be up and running for season ticket holders for this coming season. The latter intrigues me, they'd be missing out on money if they don't offer some form of one game or monthly package. 

It states season tickets will have FREE streaming of Morton TV.

That very statement hints at a paid option.

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11 minutes ago, Jamie_M said:

It states season tickets will have FREE streaming of Morton TV.

That very statement hints at a paid option.

Does it not just suggest that if you don’t buy a season ticket, you don't get access to the coverage of the closed doors/limited crowds games at Cappielow online unless you pay for the games individually? Surely that’s fair enough?

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I think the whole statement is pretty fair. They're offering refunds if people need them as they should be but asking if people would not unless they have to so as not to put the club in deeper shit.

 

Peter Weatherson is the greatest player since Ritchie, and should be assigned 'chairman for life' 


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8 minutes ago, Toby said:

Does it not just suggest that if you don’t buy a season ticket, you don't get access to the coverage of the closed doors/limited crowds games at Cappielow online unless you pay for the games individually? Surely that’s fair enough?

That was my reading of it, free for season ticket holders hinting at paid options for anyone else.

ChampTon seemed to read it as only season ticket holders getting coverage.

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46 minutes ago, Jamie_M said:

That was my reading of it, free for season ticket holders hinting at paid options for anyone else.

ChampTon seemed to read it as only season ticket holders getting coverage.

That would beg the question about how away fans are accommodated for streaming.

I voiced my concerns a while ago about the potential of Hearts selling more subscriptions than we could for our home game, hence making more money than we would off of our earner but was re-assured by someone at Morton that home clubs take all the revenue from streaming.

So surely for away games we would be able to buy a one off game from Dunfermline or Alloa and vice versa, for example.

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1 minute ago, Toby said:

That would beg the question about how away fans are accommodated for streaming.

I voiced my concerns a while ago about the potential of Hearts selling more subscriptions than we could for our home game, hence making more money than we would off of our earner but was re-assured by someone at Morton that home clubs take all the revenue from streaming.

So surely for away games we would be able to buy a one off game from Dunfermline or Alloa and vice versa, for example.

Would hope so.

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2 hours ago, so72 said:

Crawford-200x300.jpg

A new chapter in the history of Greenock Morton Football Club is about to be written.

The last 20 years have been a rollercoaster of emotions for every member of the Rae family, with a series of highs and lows, promotions and relegations resulting in a combination of post-game celebrations and long sleepless nights.  There have been many amazing days, we have met many great characters and made some good friends along the way.

However, despite our very best efforts I am very sad to say that we have not delivered to the level that we would have liked, with our biggest regret, as you all know, that we have not been able to deliver top flight football back to the fans.

We are greatly disappointed with this, as no-one had higher expectations for the Club than my Father, who at times spent from the heart and not from his head. Football has that effect on you and I’m sure if he were to have his time again, he would do exactly the same thing with his never-ending optimism and desire for Morton to be successful.

The one constant throughout our journey has been the support of our fans.  The supporters have been amazing and while we always spoke of community ownership, until MCT came along, we honestly could not see a way to deliver this for the Club. Graham McLennan founded MCT and has put together a group of fantastic people who between them, have a huge wealth of experience in so many different fields.  If everyone with a passion for the Club gets behind them then we truly believe that great things can happen. There is always strength in numbers but far greater strength is achieved with a collective goodwill which MCT delivers in abundance.

It was this vision that MCT displayed to our family that convinced us that Community Ownership was the best option for the future success of Morton Football Club and the right time for us to step aside.

The supporters have dreamed of Morton playing at a higher level and there is no better legacy than to afford the fans an opportunity to make this happen through their ownership. This is why the family have decided to gift MCT our majority shareholding at the end of this season as opposed to selling to a third party, assuming they are in a financial position to make this happen.

We believe that the Club is on the cusp of something special, we have the best Manager in place and if we can give him the resources and the backing that he deserves then we will succeed. Last season we had definitely turned a corner and we were beginning to see the Hoppy Factor and the buy-in from supporters. We had a team on the park which other teams feared and didn’t want to face.

We want this momentum to continue and if we all stick together and trust one another, then our collective goodwill gives us the best possible chance of success.

There is no getting away from it, this year will be incredibly tough. The country is still in the middle of a pandemic which has played havoc with football at all levels. Whilst we are still unsure of when supporters can return for the new season, we are acutely aware that we have a number of season ticket holders from last year that lost out on the four remaining home fixtures.  As we now look to finalise budgets, we have sought to allocate a reserve to address this.

With this in mind, the Club is prepared to make partial refunds available to those supporters who wish to apply,  although it is important to note that should all season ticket holders claim a refund, it would put a significant financial strain on the Club at a time when we have little to no income stream.

We would ask the fans who can afford to decline this offer to please do so which would be a great relief and enormously appreciated by us all.

We fully understand, however, that given the current circumstances, some households may need this money more than others and we will fully support any fans wishing to claim a refund for the four missed games.

We would ask that any supporter who does intend to request a refund to email our Chief Executive, David MacKinnon, at ceo@gmfc.net  by 5pm on Friday 24th July.  For any season ticket holder who does not get in touch by that date, we will assume that you will not be claiming the refund and we thank you for this.

Season tickets for this coming season will be getting launched next week. All full and concession season tickets will have free streaming of Morton TV for any closed door and partially supported matches along with access to all interviews and videos.

Please also remember that every season ticket sold before the season kicks off allows our playing budget to be increased.

Finally, thanks again to all supporters, young and old. Let’s all get behind MCT, keep your pledges coming and help open up this exciting new chapter for Inverclyde and the future success of Greenock Morton Football Club.

You can pledge to MCT at www.mortonclubtogether.com

I hope to see you all very soon

 
Quote

 

On 7/8/2020 at 7:58 PM, MCT Team said:

Dear Member,

Thank you to those of you who are currently attending our webinar. 

For all our members, please find below the historic press release outlining tonight's announcement:

Morton Club Together (MCT) have tonight announced to their members that an agreement in principle has been reached with Golden Casket, the current owners of Greenock Morton, to take over majority shareholding of the club with effect from the summer of 2021.

The agreement reached with Golden Casket, headed up by current club Chairman Crawford Rae, will see the club sold to MCT for a nominal sum.  As part of the deal, Golden Casket will also write off the club’s debt in its entirety while retaining ownership of Cappielow to rent it to Morton at a nominal fee.  

This will mean that MCT will own approximately 90% of the shareholding in the club and in time for the 2021/22 season, Morton will join the growing list of community-owned clubs in Scotland.

Speaking about the announcement, MCT Founder and Director, Graham McLennan said, “Our goal has been clear from the outset – we want to move Morton forward. 

“We want a better team on the pitch. We want a better match day experience for everyone attending Cappielow.  We want to listen to the fans and to communicate effectively with all fans, stakeholders, and partners.

“We are all Morton supporters; we all want what is best for the club and now is our chance to be that best for the club through community ownership.

“In April 2019, MCT was just an idea.  Now, with 440 members, we have achieved so much and have an exciting future ahead of us.  We would like to thank every single one of our members who has supported us so far.

“As we have always said, we encourage Morton fans from everywhere to join us on this journey, and we hope this announcement will encourage many more to come on board.”

Over the coming nine months or so, MCT will be working closely with the existing board members and key club personnel to better learn the business of the club and fully understand its operations. 

MCT Director Stewart Farmer added, “This is a magnificent achievement in a very short period. MCT was formed in April 2019 and has already made significant contributions, both financially and increasingly on an administrative basis, into Morton. 

“Over the last 14 months, we have had a team of dedicated, hard-working and extremely capable volunteers working around the clock to get us to where we are now.” 

The agreement is also conditional on both parties, MCT and Golden Casket, agreeing in March 2021 that MCT are in a financial position to run the club in a viable manner.

In recent months, negotiations had been ongoing between a third party and Golden Casket, with involvement from MCT, around a purchase of the football club. 

Despite the terms of that deal being much more financially beneficial to Golden Casket and the Rae family, an offer from the third party was rejected in favour of facilitating community ownership through MCT.

Current Greenock Morton Chairman, Crawford Rae, said, “The Rae family’s final act of devotion to the club is to hand it over to the fans, marking their last involvement in the financial responsibility and stewardship at GMFC.”

MCT Director Gordon Ritchie also added, “The faith that Golden Casket and the Rae family have shown in all of us cannot be underestimated and we thank them for that.  20 years ago the Rae family saved the club, and now their legacy will be a club at the heart of Inverclyde, owned by the people who love it most, the fans.”

To all our members, thank you for all your continued support, without you, none of this would be possible. 

Should you wish to ask any questions, or provide feedback, please email us at mortonclubtogether@gmail.com.

Thanks,
MCT Team

 


The two paragraphs in bold contradict each other.

*insert signature here*

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Just now, capitanus said:
 


The two paragraphs in bold contradict each other.

In what way?

My reading of it is that MCT will have to demonstrate they have the financial means to be able to run the club before it is handed over.

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I'll be interested to see how much the season tickets will cost this year. The jump from £200 quid (which was arguably too cheap) to £300 last year was too much for some. Myself included. 

There's a storm on the horizon

And for that I can't see the sun

For I'll keep a waiting on the pavement

For the ice cream van to come

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16 minutes ago, Mr.Blue said:

I'll be interested to see how much the season tickets will cost this year. The jump from £200 quid (which was arguably too cheap) to £300 last year was too much for some. Myself included. 

Same here. If it was £250/260 I’d have bought one despite knowing I’d have missed 5/6 games. £300 was too far though. 

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15 minutes ago, Mr.Blue said:

I'll be interested to see how much the season tickets will cost this year. The jump from £200 quid (which was arguably too cheap) to £300 last year was too much for some. Myself included. 

Less homes games this year so will certainly be cheaper!

We wont know how many home games we will have until the fixture list comes out right enough.

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1 hour ago, Cet Homme Charmant said:

Anyone know if the live streaming offered to season ticket holders will be accessible outside the UK? If so, I'll be on it like a tramp eating chips. 


On the MCT webinar they said that yes, non-UK residents would be able to access the live streaming.   And that MCT were going to look into the potential to do this for non-residents on an ongoing basis.   

Looking forward to that!   

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