Former Falkirk FC Chairman Martin Ritchie releases book

Part of the consortium that saved the club from liquidation in 1998, Ritchie served on the board until 2019 and wanted to bring closure to those two plus decades by giving supporters an insight into what goes on behind the scenes at a football club.

“There are a lot of books written by ex-managers and players looking at the football aspect,” said Ritchie, 71.

"This is different. A lot goes on in the life of a football club in 21 years, and I felt that it was an interesting idea to get a viewpoint from someone sitting on the board.

"Unfortunately, from a football perspective, that time ended at its very lowest point in 2019, so it might have been easy to think it's been a poor period but, in fact, there were an awful lot of highlights.

"Most of what is in the book is information that, although maybe public knowledge, has a perspective of how certain decision were made and the reasoning behind them.

"A lot of that came down to money, what we could afford and why did we do or not do certain things at certain times.

"The book gives a flavour of what was happening behind the scenes, the discussions going on and the background of the finance.

"I've thrown in little snippets as well about some of the key matches that affected the business and a few anecdotes along the way.

"For people who have an interest in how football clubs are run, it will give them an insight into what goes on behind the scenes."

His book, As Seen from the Boardroom: My Story of Falkirk Football Club, 1998 to 2019, is available now from the club shop and in the town centre from Retson’s Barber Shop for £10.99, with a minimum of £1 per copy sold going to the Chris Mitchell Foundation and to the Falkirk Foundation.