One of the unlikeliest and newest friendships in Scottish football will continue to grow at the weekend when East Stirlingshire visit Rangers to play in their first ever live TV game.
The Shire Chairman, Tony Ford, who was a submariner in the Royal Navy and Ibrox boss Ally McCoist, who had a glittering playing career in the game, had never met each other until last summer but a common love of just wanting to play football has brought the pair together. Ford earned the respect of McCoist for being the first person to welcome him to a football meeting in 18 months when the prospect of Rangers being admitted to the SFL was discussed last summer.
That has sparked a bond between the pair and Ford said: “Ally is a real star and he is one of the nicest guys around in football. When we met during the summer, he was like a lot of Rangers fans at the time in that all he wanted to do was have his team playing football.
“I am glad things have settled down for him and I hope that he is still enjoying football when Rangers move back up the divisions. We have spoken a few times since and I am sure he will have me laughing on Saturday.”
Ford is also an admirer of the Ibrox club’s Chief Executive, Charles Green, as he explained: “Charles has been a breath of fresh air because when he says something, people start talking about Scottish football.
“That can only be a good thing as it is bringing attention to our game and whilst you maybe do not agree with everything he says, a bit like Jose Mourinho, he is gaining attention by having an opinion.”
The trio will meet up this weekend in Glasgow for the first time as Ford missed the game between their sides back in August, the first involving Rangers and a visiting side in the Third Division, as he was attending a submariners' reunion. Ford auctioned off his historic place in the Ibrox Directors Box that day to help fund research into Parkinson’s, a condition he was diagnosed with in 2012.
“The auction worked well and the fan that secured Ford’s spot on the historic trip, Charles McLaughlin, is now a very active member of our club,” said Ford before adding, “He is our ambassador in Edinburgh and he has brought a lot of enthusiasm to that role as well as one or two bits of sponsorship.
“He also comes in and helps in our Club Shop. A real fan of our club.”
Ford added: “The auction was a bit of a risk as it could have gone pear shaped and no-one would have been interested but it went well and a decent sum was raised.”
Although he was away from the action, Ford was not long in getting told what was happening at Ibrox as he explained: “I was actually down at the Crewe Alexandra versus Notts County game that day ahead of our reunion and had told people to let me know if we had scored. My phone went at three minutes past three when Paul Quinn netted his penalty. Looking back, it would probably have been better if we had opened the scoring three minutes from the end as it ended up 5-1 to Rangers.”
Ford’s side go to Glasgow in the best form of the season as he explained: “We are going there on the back of a great run. Whilst people say a week is a long time in politics, a week has been a great time for us recently as we have won three games in it.
“Defeating Elgin 3-2 last Saturday was a great win as they were in the Play-Off places recently and I am delighted that we have got the points our recent displays have merited.”
The run has not come about by accident with Ford adding: “It has been 18 months of hard work behind the scenes and on the training pitch by John Coughlin and his team. There have been a lot of nights we have been sitting in the dark at 10.00 p.m. wondering if it was all going to be worthwhile but we have made progress.
“We have been very competitive in our games all season but had a disappointing run when we had a few players missing but we have impressed since we got them all back. I am sure that we will do well at Ibrox.”
Friendship is important to Ford and that is one of the reasons why the Shire have recently launched their Former Players Association (FPA) which is free to join for any ex-player who has played for the club, together with ex-managers, coaches and other non-playing staff.
Ford added: “It does not matter whether someone played only once as a signed player or played over 100 times, we consider them to be a member of the 'Shire family' and would be delighted if they joined.
“We want to recognise previous members of our fine club and the aim of the FPA is to engender camaraderie and promote friendships through football.”
A get together of former players is happening later this month with Ford saying: “The first meeting will be held on Saturday, 23rd March when we host Montrose at Ochilview. Our former players can enjoy a champagne reception and a pre-match meal as well as being presented with a club tie as part of their membership and a gift as a memento of their day back at the club.
“There is a cost of £65 for that however, if they do not want the formal meal, complimentary tickets will be provided for the game.”
Those that cannot make it will not be forgotten with Ford adding: “Even if people cannot make the day, we have asked them to join the FPA and for those that are aged over 50, they can get the benefit of a complimentary season ticket.
“We want former players to be active at the club as it is always good to have older players about as young players like to hear what they have to say. They actually talk about the same thing – the game.”
Ford was asked why the FPA was being launched and he explained: “As a proud club now wholly owned by its supporters, we feel the contact with ex-players has been missing. We would like to make all ex-players and staff warmly welcome and often the best source of finding them is their former colleagues so we are looking for more.”
It is not just a case of getting along to a game as Ford explained: “When players retired over previous decades, there were no Play-Offs and some of our former players are struggling financially. They may have gone from being a star in a football team to being on their own and finding all that hard to cope with but we can put them back in touch with friends.
“They sometimes do not like something for nothing and want to help out the club by paying their way but we are happy that everyone can find a part to play in the FPA.”
It is easy to see where Ford’s values come from as he said: “I am from a military background where you look after your brother. Players come and go nowadays within one or two years but up until the 1990s, they used to stay at a club for six or seven years. We have over 1,000 ex-players that we have identified so far and 35 of them have been booked in for the lunch already so we have room for growth.
“Some former players and coaches are still involved in the game like John Brownlie, who scouts, as well as guys like Ally Graham, John Hillcoat and Gordon Parks, who are involved in the media and therefore cannot come along but they can still become members.
“George Wood, who is a goalkeeping coach at Crystal Palace, should be coming up and he is probably the furthest travelled. Eddie McCreadie is in America and we have other former players in Singapore, South Africa and Spain who cannot make it but hopefully, we will see these guys through time.”
One super famous name has yet to be approached as his managerial career has moved a long way from when it started out at Shire’s old home of Firs Park with Ford saying: “We have not made direct contact with Sir Alex Ferguson as he has a lot on at Manchester United. He is someone that we will look to contact in Phase 2 of our plan.”
After the Montrose game, ex-players have an 'open house' invite at the Adrian Bowling Club in Falkirk hosted by former Shire favourites Brian and Alan Miller.
T
he Millers play an important role with Ford adding: “Brian played for us in the 1960s and Allan played in the 1970s but they unfortunately never played together. Alan has Parkinson’s as well and Brian is a great support to him and that type of support is perhaps something other former players need but they do not have available from family members.”
As well as auctioning off his Shire seat, Ford is keen to do more to help fund research into Parkinson’s as he explained: “The Millers and I are climbing Ben Nevis in the summer and are also doing a ‘Peddle for Parkinson’s.’ It may take us a bit longer to complete these events but we will do them.
“As a club, we are also looking to see if we could launch a third strip and that would have a Parkingson’s Research logo on it for next season. It is all about raising awareness in the manner that Brechin did with their Cancer Research strip but that is a move that is opposite to sponsorship as you have to pay to use the logo as opposed to being paid to wear the logo.”
The Shire has plenty happening going on with Ford saying: “During 2012, we established a club shop and office in Bainsford where the club was founded back in 1880. It was a small step but one which meant we had returned to our community.”
The club shop has meant that it won’t just be former players at the reunion with Ford adding: “When we moved back to Bainsford, one of the club’s former ballboys came in and told us we had taken our time getting back there. He is 92 now so we feel that he should also be involved.”
As well as looking backwards, the Shire are looking forward with Ford adding: “We currently run three teams, the first team, Under 19s and Under 12s, who all proudly wear the famous black and white hoops! We have survived throughout the years and the present Board is determined to progress further on and off the park, in a sustainable manner and at all times professionally.”
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