They are the only English football club playing in Scottish league and cup competitions, and once humbled the mighty Glasgow Rangers to become world famous giant killers back in 1967.
But despite their unique status and rich history Berwick Rangers FC are on a long losing streak on and off the field although their annual wage bill of £192,000 adds up to less than a Manchester City super star's earnings in a single week.
The plight of the 'Wee Rangers' has been laid bare in a new set of annual accounts for the year ending May 31st 2019, although for some reason there is no mention in the Review of Business that the abysmal Berwick performances in Scotland's League Two last season cost the club its cherished senior status.
After their humiliation in the pyramid play-offs in May at the hands of Highland League side Cove Rangers, the so-called Dream Team now languish in the lower reaches of the Lowland League alongside the likes of Vale of Leithen and Gretna.
So having suffered a sharp decline in turnover while the players and their hapless manager embarked on a disastrous losing run in the second half of the 2018/19 campaign there seems little doubt far fewer fans will bother to turn up and pay their hard earned cash over the course of the current campaign.
Board chairman John Bell writes in the latest depressing accounts: "Turnover is heavily influenced by the performance of the club in league and cup competitions and there is a delicate balance between maintaining costs within turnover and fielding a good quality competitive playing squad.
"Turnover reduced by nine per cent during the year which produced a loss of £43,229 (2018 £49,796). This was primarily due to a poor run in league and cup competitions".
According to the accounts the total wage bill for players and other staff (total workforce 30) came to £192,920 in 2018/19, considerably less than the previous year's figure of £229,886. The donation from the Supporters' Club - the main shareholder in Berwick Rangers - prevented the financial situation from being a whole lot worse. The supporters handed the club £28,710, down from £34,118 the previous year.
In recent days the directors have made a plea for new investment on the club website via a post on the club's website.
It says: "Berwick Rangers FC will hold their AGM for the 2018/19
season on Monday 6th January 2020, and are expected to announce significant
losses once again for a season which saw the Club lose it’s place in the SPFL.
"Chairman John Bell has extended an invitation to any group or individual
willing to invest in the Football Club to get in contact, with any credible
options being put before the shareholders in seven weeks’ time."
Mr Bell writes: "The current Board is making huge efforts to halt the slide
of recent years, but with relegation bringing declining league subsidy, gate
money, advertising and hospitality, it’s only right that we seek to explore
every option for securing the future of Berwick Rangers.
"One area where we
achieved significant improvement was in shirt sponsorship, and we’re very
grateful to the three businesses who stepped forward. I said in August that we needed the support
of fans and the local business community to stabilise the Club’s finances, and
having made an early exit from the Scottish Cup, we know this is going to be
another very tough year.
"I would ask any
party who feels that they can contribute to the future of the Club to get in
touch before the 7th December and have an open and honest dialogue with the
Board and major shareholders, so we can work up some proposals at least a month
before the AGM. Guaranteeing that we have a Club to support in future years may
require tough decisions to be made in the New Year, and expectations adjusted
accordingly.”
"The largest shareholder, the Supporters Club, announced last
month they were willing to listen to offers for their stake in Berwick Rangers,
and the Supporters Trust, which is the second-largest shareholder is also open
to new ideas about the governance of the Club."
It is to be hoped someone of financial substance does step forward after recent misfortunes which have seen the a once respected and competitive club slide into obscurity on the road to threatened oblivion. Perhaps Raheem Sterling or even Pep Guardiola would care to donate a couple of days' pay for a very worthy cause!
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