Former Raith Rovers chairman Bill Clark believes ‘a number’ of the club’s hierarchy should resign in the aftermath of the David Goodwillie debacle.
Clark, a member of the board until he stepped down in protest on Tuesday, was vehemently against the decision to sign the forward and made the point forcefully at a meeting on Monday.
Fellow director Andy Mill also argued against the call, but they were outvoted by four to two.
Mill also stepped down in the aftermath of the decision, green-lit by current chairman John Sim, David Sinton, Steven MacDonald and Tom Morgan.
CEO Karen Macartney, with no voting rights, was pivotal in the negotiations.
But the widespread condemnation, fury and swathe of figures distancing themselves from the club resulted in a dramatic U-turn on Thursday morning — just 60 hours after Goodwillie’s arrival was announced.
“If someone makes a monumentally wrong decision, such as this one, then my personal feeling is that they should go,” Clark, chairman between 2018 and 2020, told Courier Sport.
“There are a lot of comments on social media from supporters and those in the community asking the question: ‘How can we trust the leadership of the board if the people who made the original decision are still there?’
“Given the strength and depth of the opposition to the original decision, I think that — morally — a number of people have to go.”
Asked whether he believes that is likely, Clark added: “No. I think the people who had their head in the sand for the last four days are unlikely to make that decision.”
‘They were warned’
In confirming their decision not to field Goodwillie, a statement apologised ‘wholeheartedly to our fans, sponsors, players and the wider Raith Rovers community for the anguish and anger caused over the past few days’.
Those repercussions, Clark contends, were entirely foreseeable and avoidable.
“I am pleased that they have reversed this decision but it doesn’t seem like any sort of victory,” he continued. “There’s no feeling like that.
“They were warned of this at the board meeting on Monday by myself and Andy Mill, in no uncertain terms.
“However, the decision was made and we are the people who find ourselves off the board because we stood up for our principles and values.
“Whereas, the people still running the club are those who voted in favour.”
On whether, in the spirit of building bridges and mending relationships, he and Mill would consider returning, Clark said: “That wouldn’t be our decision. We would need to be asked and I’ve had no contact with the board since Monday morning. Nobody has called me on any issues.
“If they don’t want the people who tried to make the right decision on the board, then so be it.”
The biggest concern
Negotiating Goodwillie’s release will be a tangled affair.
Having penned a two-and-a-half year deal on Monday, any severance package is likely to be costly.
Allied with the transfer fee in the region of £50,000 paid to Clyde, this unseemly episode will cost Rovers well into six figures.
But Clark’s concerns run deeper.
“The financial damage that has already been done, and is still to be done, can be sorted over a period of time,” he noted. “And it will take time because this will be a costly mistake.
“But my biggest concern is the reputation damage that has been done to Raith Rovers and how that can be repaired? I’m not sure I know the answer to that.
“This is perhaps the most obvious example of shooting yourself in the foot I’ve ever witnessed, in any industry.”
