Arbroath would like to pay tribute to long-standing chairman Mike Caird after his decision to retire following almost three decades of dedicated service to the club.
Mike has ended a 27-year spell at Arbroath, with vice-chairman Ewen West taking over as chairman.
Ewen, who has been on the board for nine years, has been an able deputy to Mike during his seven years tenure at the helm of Lichties.
Mike, 61, a lifelong supporter of Arbroath, went from standing on the Gayfield Park terraces to the boardroom in 1998.
During that time he has been a committee member, director, vice-chairman and chairman.
After 14 years as vice-chairman, which saw Arbroath lift their first-ever title under Paul Sheerin’s charge in 2011, Mike stepped up to replace long-serving chairman John Christison in 2017 following our League Two title success.
Since then, we have embarked upon one of the most illustrious periods in our 146-year history.
The League One title followed in 2019 and led to five successive seasons in the Championship.
In 2021/22, we famously came within 12 minutes of winning the Championship title and gaining promotion to the Scottish Premiership.
Off the park, the club has grown exponentially with significant investment into the stadium, hospitality expansion, the opening of a merchandise shop in the town centre, the formation of Arbroath FC Community Trust and our first-ever senior Women’s team.
Fans have backed Arbroath in great numbers during the Championship years, under Mike’s stewardship, with a record 1500 season tickets sold in 2022/23 and crowd numbers up by 21.9% that year on the previous season.
Financially, the club has attracted record-breaking commercial deals, posting our first-ever £1 million-plus turnover, selling 2,300 kits in 2022/23 as turnover trebled from the previous 12-month period.
And while we find ourselves in League One next year, following our relegation this term, Mike is leaving the Club in a firm financial footing with continued investment in the playing squad and an ambition to return to Scottish football’s second tier.
“It has been an incredible honour to serve the club I support for the last 27 years,” said Mike.
“We’ve had so many great moments in that time – who could forget how close we came to making it to the Premiership two years ago?
“There have been a lot of ups and a few downs. It has been an unbelievable adventure and I have made many friends across the game.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who has contributed to the success of Arbroath over the years – from volunteers to staff, players, coaches, directors and, of course, our loyal fans.
“The fans have given this club unbelievable backing. The town has really got behind the club and it’s heartening to see so many people proudly wearing our team’s colours.
“I want to personally apologise to the fans for our relegation to League One.
“Our adventure in the Championship has come to an end but we’ve had a real taste of it and I’m confident the club can build again to bounce back.
“I know the fans are suffering but I hope we’ll see them back next season, roaring the club on.
“I’ll be there with them supporting the club in any way I can and while I know Ewen will be looking to implement some of his great ideas at the club, I’ll always be here if ever needed for advice.”
As he reflects on his retirement, Mike intends spending more time with his wife Linda, their children and grandchildren and dad Ian – another well kent face at Gayfield.
To watch Mike’s final interview as Chairman please view here
