Easdale – Call a Halt and Get Round a Table

As The Daily Record reports that Rangers Director Sandy Easdale is set to sue Craig Houston of the Sons of Struth, it serves as a very high profile reminder that the relationship between the club, and certain anti board activists is at an all-time low.

While the anti-board activists have behaved in a despicable manner through various incarnations, I believe firmly that Easdale should not be acting. Yet.
The fact he is, for me, rings major alarm bells.

While his alleged legal action is in his own name, I believe that Graham Wallace, on behalf of the club, should have persuaded him to desist. At least for now.

Wallace, after all, is nearing completion of his 120 day review of the club’s operations, and should therefore be in a position to finally offer the kind of clarity on the recent past and on plans for the future that the Anti-board activists have been asking for all along.

If the plan is strong enough to stand behind, then the whole board should be primed to do just that, and if it is a review and plan of substance and credibility then the Anti-board activists will have to accept that it is time they stood down and backed the board.

Despite bluster to the contrary, following King’s meeting with the board, the self-styled “union of fans” agreed to allow the board to complete the 120 day review.
This means that they can back down if Dave King tells them to do so.

This is all supposition of course, but if the current board’s “plan” was rock solid, and several Rangers supporting individuals persisted in attempts to destabilise the board, by whichever means at their disposal, then frankly, I would expect the club to take action.

As it stands though, the club has made no effort to communicate to fans and the 120 day review isn’t complete.

A cynic might say that the club could in theory be taking action against Houston to silence critics ahead of the publication of the review and what may be in it.

That’s why, despite me believing that Houston and several individuals pulling his strings are in some way deserving of their current predicament due to their conduct, the club, and Easdale, are not winning over friends by silencing him the wrong way. The right way, clearly, is to give all Rangers fans confidence that the club is being managed properly, and has a robust plan to build for the future.

Houston, for his part, would have a greater chance of support from the wider fan base had he not disrespected any Rangers supporter asking questions, slated other Rangers supporters in the national press, or misled supporters about the involvement of Malcolm Murray in discussions about the Sons of Struth.

The quote from him in today’s Record that “I’ve made his lawyers aware of similar posts on three other forums”, should ring alarm bells for any supporters of SoS who may have been caught up in the hype. One would hope that it is not Rangers fans on Rangers forums that Houston is grassing up to save his own skin.

Neither side are acting in a matter befitting Rangers, and I for one would be angered if some suggestions for RFFF money to be used to fund Houston’s legal defence, were approved.
This money, which was raised in good faith by the support during the summer of 2012, should not be used to support an individual fighting Rangers directors. The suggestion is absurd.

While Houston looks to have been pushed under the bus by other anti-board activists, one would expect that they personally should fund his defence, and not leave him on the streets for fighting their cause. If, for instance, the RST can raise funds of £1.5M to “loan” to the club, then they can afford to foot Houston’s legal bills.

This whole episode is unedifying but the most worrying aspect for me is the club’s apparent lack of confidence that the 120 day review and subsequent plan isn’t strong enough to silence even the strongest critics.

In some ways the legalities of some dodgy allegations on a Facebook page are an unwelcome side show and I hope they don’t’ overshadow the most important business review in the recent history of the club. That review is where all eyes should be focused.

Bill.