ian1964 10,411 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 ............on group's bid to cleanse the Ibrox boardroom 11 Dec 2013 09:06 CRAIG Houston instigated the supporters' group and was behind Saturday's red card message to those in power at Ibrox - now he speaks out for the first time about why he feels it’s imperative those figures are removed at the agm. HE’S the sole trader who owns his own cleaning business. And now Rangers renegade Craig Houston wants to cleanse the Ibrox boardroom for good. Until now he’s been the faceless crusader who has somehow managed to galvanise and unify the Gers support like no other time in their history. Almost single-handedly this ordinary punter from Linwood instigated The Sons of Struth movement and Houston was behind Saturday’s defiant red-card message aimed at the Ibrox hierarchy. But who is he? And what is his end game? Those are the questions being aimed at the 40-year-old who insists he couldn’t live with the guilt if the club endured another financial meltdown. So for the first time he’s spoken out about how The Sons of Struth were formed and why he feels it’s imperative the incumbents of the Rangers board are removed at the agm on December 19. He also revealed how Ibrox directors have completely ignored the fans’ group’s pleas for dialogue and says they’re ready to carry the fight to London where the club’s institutional investors are based. Houston has been a season ticket- holder at Ibrox for 32 years, just like his father and grandfather before him. He’s not affiliated with either the Rangers Supporters Trust, Assembly or Association – and has no desire to turn the SoS into a formal organisation. For years the average Light Blues punter who turns up every Saturday to watch their team hasn’t had a voice. Until now. And that’s exactly why Houston got involved in the first place. He also spoke honestly amid suggestions reformed football hooligan Sandy Chugg is heavily involved with the Sons of Struth campaign. Houston said: “I thought, ‘If anything bad should happen to the club again we have to do something’. I couldn’t have handled the guilt second time around. “What we were trying to do was expose the truth at Ibrox. “Bill Struth is a legendary figure at the club, with loads of positive connotations, so we arrived at The Sons of Struth. “We put a page together on Facebook and it has grown arms and legs since then. We’re not a body or an organisation. We don’t have ‘members’ and we aren’t run by committee. “We’re just a group of guys who are worried about our club. At the moment social media is our only way of communicating with people so Facebook and Twitter have been crucial. “Between them we have around 10,000 people following us. But we know the vast majority of punters who go to Ibrox aren’t in the Rangers online community. “The leaflets spread our word better. People who I’ve sat with for 32 years in the main stand are now asking me questions. “These are guys in their 50s who aren’t on internet forums. So that has to be a good thing. And I think the show of unity at the red-card display on Saturday proves the vast majority of supporters are with us now. “There have been accusations about Sandy and his involvement with us but it’s simple. I’ve known him for five years through coaching in youth football. “He’s a big Rangers fan and, like the rest of us, he just wants the best for the club. “Everyone knows he has a colourful past but those days are behind him. “He’s a reformed character and was a huge help to The Sons of Struth in the beginning. “However, he accepts that for us to prosper and gain positive coverage it’s better he takes more of a back seat.” For years now the Rangers fans have been labelled as fractious. But Houston is adamant that’s no longer the case – and insists the ordinary supporter in the street now has a voice. With three simple aims, The SoS have outlined what they believe has to happen to safeguard the club’s future. And that means ousting the current board through a democratic vote at the agm where the likes of Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson hope to be appointed directors. Houston said: “The majority of fans at our meetings are, like me, unaffiliated fans. So that told me the Rangers fans really didn’t have a voice. “All the guys you see with banners now aren’t a member of any fans’ group. They are just ordinary supporters who until now haven’t been able to have their say. That’s why we’ve attracted so many people. “The Sons of Struth have three main aims. “The first is to keep the stadium in the club’s name, which we believe is vitally important to the financial stability of Rangers. “The second is to have a clear and clean set of accounts. “And the last aim is to have a board to be proud of. “For too many years now we’ve had more stories on the front pages than on the back. And that has to change – we want to talk about football now. “We believe the Jim McColl and Paul Murray movement has many positives. But when it comes to appointing directors it should be the same as when Ally McCoist is looking for new players. “If there is a better right-back alternative to the one we already have we should look at it. It’s the same with the board members. “Are they better than the existing lot? Like them or loath them, I believe the four nominees are, yes. They won’t be there forever but those potential custodians are a better option to what we have at the moment. I challenge any Rangers supporter to prove me wrong.” Houston believes it’s shameful the club’s board has refused pointblank to engage with any fans’ group ahead of the agm. But having united the RST, Assembly and Association, along with other groups, the SoS spokesman has vowed to lobby the club’s investors – even if it means heading to England – to ensure they appreciate the strength of feeling among fans. Houston said: “I have been contacting Rangers FC for some dialogue with the board. I had an instant reply saying they would look into it. “That was months ago and I haven’t heard anything since. “I’ve had meetings with all of the fans’ groups and we’ll be working together moving forward. We’ve managed to bring everyone together with the one aim. That unity will be key to what we’re trying to achieve. “It’s not a popularity contest. We need help and don’t want people behind us. We want them shoulder to shoulder with us. “The directors know what our message is. But they won’t budge no matter how many banners I hold up in the main stand. “Our target audience between now and December 19 is the Rangers shareholders. We will do everything in our power to let them know what we believe. “We need to petition these people before the agm and if that means going outwith Glasgow, so be it. Most of the major investors in Rangers now are based around Canary Wharf. “And if we need to take the battle down to London we’re willing to mobilise.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/battle-rangers-fan-behind-sons-2913943 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,150 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Some decent comments but not convinced appearing in the Record is a good idea but can understand why he wants to reach as many bears as possible. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,411 Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 Some decent comments but not convinced appearing in the Record is a good idea but can understand why he wants to reach as many bears as possible. This will reach a lot of fans who are not on line and still buy the Record,so it's not a bad move I think!. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 the record has been a shining light in our battle against whyte and green who have destroyed us in successive years. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 It's a good piece, fairly put, and I'm pretty sure it will reach a lot of fans. I also think they're going about things the right way. Be interesting to see how it's seen by the various forums. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
True_Ger_1872 2 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 From reading the article, what comes across well is the rationale behind the SoS movement. From what i have read on various media platforms are fans quick to have a go at their 'agenda' and almost treating them like the RST, RSA etc. which i have felt was unjustified. The three main aims listed in the article are justified and i cant see any Rangers fan disagreeing with them! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Sons of Struth 22 minutes ago Had a half hour chat with one of the VB admin tonight. Good discussion. We obviously didn't agree on all matters pertaining to the AGM however no dummies out pram and we both agreed on many matters regarding Rangers which was encouraging. I'm more than positive that after AGM there may be a few projects we can work on together. STRONGER TOGETHER 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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