A guest blog by Auldheid
In the previous blog (http://www.tsfm.scot/how-not-to-govern-scottish-football/), TSFM wrote to Harper Macleod raising questions on their advice supplied to the then SPL Board in February 2013 when the Lord Nimmo Smith Decision re use of EBTs and side letters was announced.
A reply was received from Mr McKenzie on 18th September the gist of which can be discerned in the following reply sent on 4th October.
Dear Mr McKenzie 4th Oct 2014
Thank you for your response of 18th September to my letter of 5th September regarding the consequences of information on the true nature of EBTs for Craig Moore, Ronald De Boer and Tor Andre Flo being withheld from your good selves when establishing in 2012 the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission into the use of EBTs and side letters by Rangers FC from 1999.
In recognition of the points you made about publishing your responses on line, your letter of 18th September will not be published although readers of TSFM will be able to gather from this reply which is being published what those points were.
Anonymity.
It is a matter of real regret that not only was anonymity required, but that Harper MacLeod were used as a conduit to try and elicit a reply from the SPFL or SFA. In terms of anonymity there were three factors at play:
- Security. The individuals asking the questions are aware that any raised concerning Rangers can attract threats from the worst of the Rangers support. We know that they are a minority but nevertheless, as we have recently witnessed, some are ready to turn threat into action. It is a condemnation of Scottish society that fear has played its part in preventing the truth being revealed about Rangers FC’s use of EBTs since 1999.
- Collective. The Scottish Football Monitor is made up of supporters of many clubs in Scottish football and is in effect a collective. The letters reflect to a large extent the thinking and feelings of the majority of readers. If a name is required for any future correspondence from the SPFL or SFA, then it can be addressed to Mr John Macnab, and a Post Box address can be supplied if necessary in addition to this e mail address press@tsfm.scot.
- Accountability. The final factor is the most important because it is why Harper Macleod were approached. It was not just because you were responsible for commissioning the Lord Nimmo Smith enquiry, but because there is absolutely no form of direct accountability by either the SPFL or the SFA to the supporters of Scottish football clubs. Correspondence can be ignored or the content not fully addressed and the customer who pays the wages of both organisations has no means of redress at all. Had there been some oversight in say an Ombudsman type role, it would not have been necessary to involve Harper MacLeod and indeed your good self. We sincerely apologise for doing so along with our thanks for actually responding to our correspondence, but we would like the reasons for our approach being addressed by the clubs who make up both footballing authorities. We hope you pass this particular point on to both SFA and SPFL.
Provenance.
You ask what the provenance is of the information/evidencethat you were given. The answer is we do not know, it was taken from material uploaded mainly in June last year for purposes unknown. Whilst its provenance may be in doubt there is no question as to the veracity of the content of the material itself.
This, when put together, sets out the narrative that prompted our correspondence. This question of provenance simply looks like an excuse for football authority not investigating what the material suggests took place when Duff and Phelps were asked to supply all documents relating to EBTs (no distinction being made) from the inception of the SPL.
Even if the material itself could not be used directly, it should have prompted questions that would have either corrected the narrative or established that the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission was indeed misled either by accident or design, when those documents were not supplied.
The SPFL must surely have the powers to seek the original documents from BDO and the SFA cannot be totally impotent in that regard either.
Then there is the personal knowledge of current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie to draw on. A simple statement explaining why he saw no reason to make any distinction between the irregular DOS REBTs that he launched in 1999 and the later MGMRT EBTs of which he was a beneficiary would surely help clear the air?
Existence of Side Letters.
We note that the Commission were aware of the existence of side letters to Moore, De Boer and Flo at the time of its decision of 28th February 2013 and these were taken into account when determining the appropriate sanction. The existence of side letters is not the issue that was raised in our previous correspondence, it was the nature of the EBTs that was the issue raised. In fact it would seem that the Commission themselves were confused by the switching from the irregular REBT ebts in 2002/03 to the MGMRT EBTs that are subject to further appeal with regard to regularity by HMRC.
The side letters to De Boer and Flo of 30th August and 23 November 2000 related to the DOS REBTs that they were both paid under. It is not known if they had subsequent side letters relating to the MGMRT EBTs , which is possible, but as set out in previous correspondence there were two distinctive types of EBTs and the side letters supplied relate to the earlier irregular type.
The position regarding the Moore EBT is interesting in that whatever EBT side letter was known to the Commission in February 2012 it could only have related to payments made to him under an accompanying side letter from the MGMRT ebts after 2002/03.
That Mr Moore was paid under the REBT scheme in 1999 is a matter of supplied evidence. However there is no record of any side letter in relation to the payment under the 1999 arrangement, which may or may not have been reported in the contract lodged with the SPL and SFA. It was the absence of any side letter in respect of this payment that prevented HMRC pursuing the tax due on it as they did for De Boer and Flo in what has become known as “the wee tax case. “ The evidence of deliberate concealment by the Murray Group of the side letters to De Boer and Flo allowed HMRC to seek repayment outside the normal 6 year time limit.
However the absence of a side letter or tax demand for Mr Moore does not mean this particular payment is not deserving of further scrutiny since
- It was an irregular payment that other clubs could not avail themselves of (as applies to the other two EBTs to De Boer and Flo)
- It is not known if it was reported to the SPL/SFA under the registration rules of that period.
Finally thank you for forwarding our letter of 5th September and previous correspondence to the SFA Compliance Officer. Hopefully any further correspondence will be between him and ourselves, first to our email address, later to a PO Box if required.
It is the hope of all readers of The Scottish Football Monitor that the SFA will stop hiding behind the provenance excuse, which is destroying any semblance of integrity and proper governance of Scottish football and they will use their powers to properly acquire the information that will set the record straight and in doing so start to restore some of the lost trust which is essential for the wellbeing of Scottish football.
John Macnab
TSFM
easyJambo says:
October 27, 2014 at 9:20 am
‘ My reading of the AIM announcement was that MASH will be able to appoint two directors to both TRFC and RIFC.#
melbournedee says:
October 27, 2014 at 9:27 am
‘..Re-reading the announcement, I think you are correct. MASH can appoint 2 Directors to TRFC (for providing the loan facility) and can nominate 2 Directors to RIFC plc following agreement on the Withdrawal Letter.’
—————-
That’s my reading, too.
But since the SMSM (as far as I can see) have not picked this up, and since RIFC PLC is notoriously ready to fudge its statements to(deliberately?)mislead people, I’ve fired off an email to AIM Regulation to ask if they can clarify.
They will probably simply refer me to the originator of the statement, but you never know.
If our reading is correct ( could we all three be wrong, having carefully and patiently read the statement many times?) then I hope the SFA has also read and understood the statement in the same way!
Because Ashley would have real powers of control, with directors of his choice on both Boards!
( I may have compromised my email, though, by unprofessionally slipping in that wonderful reference by grecian urn (October 27, 2014 at 9:39 am) to ‘Suicide is painless’.Never know who’s working in AIM these days, and whoever reads my email might not be at all chuffed or see the humour)
Quite a thoughtful piece in the Rangers Standard blog, with a clever strap line
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/330-the-fog-on-the-clyde
Edit
If you want to hear about how George Soros was genuinely interested in Rangers, take a look at McMurdo minors new blog, mostly its a mix of blaming Wallace for everything and dreams of vengeance against all and, no doubt, sundry
buddy_holly says:
October 27, 2014 at 10:33 pm
‘.John Clark, you might become a full time professional court reporter on first name terms with the court staff.’
——–
I don’t know about full-time reporting!
But in the ordinary way of things I say hello and thank you and smile, and when possible,show a wee interest in what the various staff do ( security, ushers, clerks )and the general workings of the system. Because I am actually interested, and they are all very polite and helpful.
I would thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn’t already done it, and who has an hour or two to spare, to take a wander into the public seats in a court-room when there is something on-no matter what it is, criminal or civil- just to see and hear the courts in action.It’s far removed from any UK tv dramatisation, except in one respect: the immense respect and regard for the Judge ( whether in the Sheriff Court or the High Court), which our TV shows reflect.
And absolutely light years removed from how American tv courts are portrayed, with aggressive lawyers arguing personally with the judge and each other.
John Clark says:
October 28, 2014 at 11:41 am
easyJambo says:
October 27, 2014 at 9:20 am
—————————————
Thank goodness for your posts as I have read and re-read the AIM director notification till I was blue in the face 😆 and couldn’t be certain what it actually meant 😆
scapaflow says:
October 28, 2014 at 11:56 am
Interesting that fans of TRFC are wakening up to the benefits of transparency, next thing will be accountability is actually not a bad idea!
Will they however
Squander their resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles,
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest?
It was an interesting article that reminded me of this little adapted poem.
BROKEN DREAMS
As children bring their broken toys
With tears for us to mend
I brought my broken dreams to Craig/Charles/Dave/Mike
Because they were my friends.
But instead of leaving them
In peace, to work alone
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried,
“How can you be so slow?”
“My child,” they said “What could we do?
You never did let go.”
scapaflow says:
October 28, 2014 at 11:56 am
If you want to hear about how George Soros was genuinely interested in Rangers, take a look at McMurdo minors new blog, mostly its a mix of blaming Wallace for everything and dreams of vengeance against all and, no doubt, sundry.
———————————————-
Sadly not an iota of evidence at Soros being interested. I was actually thinking that it wasn’t a bad read until we got to the last few pars when Ashley was put in his place and told how lucky he was to be allowed to be associated with Rangers.
Highly amusing was how he would be drummed out the Blue Room if he didn’t pass muster 😎
Bears with this attitude and lack of perception are in for a real culture shock ❗
John Clark @ 12.16
I have sat in the public gallery in both the Sheriff and High Courts and I, too, was struck by the difference between the reality and what is portrayed on TV. Sometimes, there are scenes of drama and also high comedy. I have often thought that the staff in the courts must witness some really funny incidents. The excuses which some defendants use to defend or mitigate their actions are truly mind blowing. There must also be many days where the proceedings are mind numbing.
I raise my cap to you for your sterling work in keeping us informed.
rhapsodyinblue says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:51 am
I am sinking with all this negativity.
Not one positive, anyone?
========================
All I can say positively is that I don’t have a clue what Ashley intends to do next. Maybe even Ashley doesn’t know himself yet.
The MSM are going on as if Ashley was already in control, but on the face of it, he is simply a 9% shareholder who has come up with a short term loan to allow the team to keep playing until Christmas
It’s perhaps instructive to recall that Ashley offered a £8m loan last month, in exchange for some rights to IP. Wallace and Nash refused that deal, at which point the toys came out of the pram, Wallace and Nash were hung out to dry, and the loan available was reduced to £2m. Some sort of lesson to others there, maybe?
Ashley seems to be telling all the other people involved in “Rangers” that he is the main man. Certainly King and Kennedy got the message, and cleared off straight away. Have the Easdales, Blue Pitch, Margarita and Laxey got the message? Why didn’t they just put up £2m, and get their own people on the Board?
Ashley could not have got his own way regarding the Board without the support of at least some of the other players. It would be easy enough for those larger interests to unite and isolate a 9% shareholder. £2m is chump change for all those involved. So why are they all letting Ashley strut around as if he owns the place? Maybe because they know exactly what Ashley wants and are happy to let him have it, and know that he will then walk away?
Unfortunately I am not an off the radar billionaire (as Mrs NH keeps reminding me),so I can’t answer all these questions. But something quite complicated is going on here that the SMSM are totally missing- in my opinion.
ecobhoy says:
October 28, 2014 at 9:54 am
Allyjambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 10:37 am
Taysider says:
October 28, 2014 at 10:31 am
Auldheid says:
October 28, 2014 at 10:13 am
and probably a substantial majority of posters on and readers of this blog
—————-
There is now such suspicion and distrust of the SFA Board that, like the people on Sportsound, we fully EXPECT ( in horror, unlike their glee)that that Board as presently constituted will indeed be prepared to ‘roll over’ at any cost to their personal and professional integrity and that of our Sport, -if that is the only way to ‘save’ TRFC Ltd/RIFC plc.
They have lost all credibility in our eyes, and any decision they now make will be heavily compromised-one way or another.
I believe that
the present Chairman should forthwith demit office,
that an urgent EGM be called for the election of a new president with no career or employment or other ties with the old RFC,
and that the Ashley matter be put on hold for the new Board, under a new President, to consider.
We cannot go on in this appalling climate of suspicion and distrust which was caused in large part by the highly questionable actions/non-actions of the SFA President in the matter of the history of the cheating by SDM.
He at least must stand down-now. Not merely ‘take no part’. ( How in God’s name can the President of an organisation be seen to ‘take no part’, when he still has full presidential influence over fellow board members and paid officials?)
The time is long overdue for our club owners and other members of the SFA
to call for a cleansing of their organisation and a genuine re-affirmation and re-assertion of the primacy of Sporting Integrity over the financial machinations of remote and purely self-interested exploiters, some with undoubted criminal connections past or present, of our game.
“Grant Russell @STVGrant
Former Newcastle United managing director Derek Llambias has joined Rangers as a consultant. He won’t join the board in that role.”
A wee prediction, expect Llambias’ journey to mimic that of Nash, who also started out as a consultant. This consultancy lark is a means for now, of finessing the SFA rules. Another necessary legal fiction, if you will.
Meanwhile, company secretaries fulfil a very important role, who I wonder will step up and sip of that particular poisoned loving cup, for, as in a another case, there seems to be a dearth of actual volunteers?
scapaflow says: October 28, 2014 at 1:01 pm
———————-
I’d go along with your thoughts, but there may also be a couple of other possibilities.
1. He is just doing due diligence in looking at the books to determine what the longer term actions should be, e.g. invest more or prepare for admin.
2. The Neil Rankine case (Livvy, East Fife, Dumbarton)should come to a conclusion in the next couple of weeks. One day’s evidence has already been heard, with a further day scheduled for 7th November. The outcome may have a bearing on dual ownership although I suspect that the SFA will fudge the issue saying that Rankine is a no-no because the clubs play one another, but that Ashley is OK because it is unlikely that both clubs will meet in the foreseeable future.
http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/livingston/livingston-s-rankine-hearing-to-resume-in-november-1-3581439
Choice extracts from McMurdo’s latest. It speaks for itself, really.
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:10 pm
EJ. fair point. If it t’were me, & thanks heavens it isn’t, I would be doing the restructuring plan Rhumba, though I would expect Mr Ashley to be demanding the low hanging fruit be picked immediately. No 120 day review, with no intermediate actions in other woods. Given the situation, & how much Ashley must already know, I’d bet on 10 working days max. Still we shall see
neepheid says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:14 pm
…on a different planet, you could say…
————————————————-
So he’s got some self-awareness at least.
Kicker Conspiracy says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:37 pm
…on a different planet, you could say…
————————————————-
So he’s got some self-awareness at least.
==================
A screw loose, more like.
Grant Russell @STVGrant 27s27 seconds ago
Sandy Easdale on Derek Llambias’ appointment at Rangers: “I just said hello, we haven’t had any discussions at all.”
🙄
Grant Russell @STVGrant 10s11 seconds ago
Easdale: “I don’t know who he is here on behalf of. I just said hello to the guy in the corridor.”
Is there an emoticon thingy for WTF is Sandy Easdale on?
scapaflow says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:58 pm
_(‘-‘)_/
Martin says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Ha!
neepheid says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Mr McMurdo (and other fan ‘spokespersons’) continue to threaten any non Rangers man who wants to get involved. Yet I can’t remember a single protest which has made a difference other than the King led boycott.
What exactly will Mr McMurdo do to show Mike Ashley how things are different at Rangers?
At some point they must realise that the only thing which has made a difference so far was ‘walking away’
Mike Ashley will not be scared off by red cards or marches to Hampden or postcards through locked doors.
If the fans want to be in charge it will be an FC Rangers of Glasgow or it will be when other people decide.
Spiers latest for those who have exhausted their Herald views. Mark off reformed and liquidated on your bingo cards
It will pain some Rangers fans to look east right now and see the stability and progress brought by supporters to Heart of Midlothian compared to this time-honoured Ibrox gnashing of teeth.
Hearts survived a threat of liquidation, their fans mobilised themselves in concert, and the club owner right now is someone with money, authority, and seemingly the backing of the entire fanbase.
Following the Romanov destruction at Hearts, MPs got involved, an entire community roused itself, and the Foundation of Hearts fan-movement became an astounding success.
Indeed, as part of the whole healing process at Hearts, the club is due to be fully supporter-owned by season 2017-18.
By contrast, Rangers succumbed to liquidation, fell into the hands of a scrupulous few, and the reformed club in 2012 now knows nothing but grief and enmity as Mike Ashley, an unnerving outsider, has arrived on the scene.
The recent history of Rangers is a complex saga but this question remains pertinent: why was the club’s support, unlike that of Hearts, unable to mobilise itself sufficiently and put money up to avoid what has subsequently unfolded?
I’ve heard and read more than one vexed Rangers fan regret this sorely over the past 18 months. Around 8000 Hearts fans have donated monthly over the past year or more to help deliver their club from dissolution.
The Foundation of Hearts’ appeal – all of it coming out of supporters pockets – remains on course to raise in total around £6.3m. £3.8m of that is providing the club with working capital, and a further £2.5m will eventually repay or “buy out” Ann Budge.
Imagine – applying a fairly reasonable demographic here – if 25,000 Rangers fans had been able to do likewise from the moment the old Rangers fell into administration. For some reason, it just didn’t happen.
There are various Rangers fans’ movements afloat now to buy shares in the club and re-claim it for the fans – and some of these initiatives look pretty impressive. But a very large horse has bolted.
I accept there are some key differences in the ways the Hearts and Rangers stories unfolded.
In Ann Budge, Hearts had the good fortune to have a wealthy, successful businesswoman who loved the club and had the means to get involved in its salvation.
In this regard, Rangers really had no-one. They had plenty talkers – Jim McColl, Paul Murray, Dave King – but no-one who either could close the deal or wanted to close it.
McColl, of Clyde Blowers fame, remains the Rangers-minded saviour who got away. He is an impressive man who would have been magnificent for the Ibrox club. But McColl just didn’t want it enough.
So we have reached this Mike Ashley juncture. Once again the dispute among Rangers fans towards this man – and this rather sums it all up – is sharp, divisive, and at times venomous.
It has been shocking to read the loathing being traded back and forth by Rangers fans as some back Ashley while others detest him. This is a football club support, with its various groups and factions, which simply has not been able to unite sufficiently.
It is time now to take the chance on Ashley at Rangers. In fact, there appears to be no alternative: a combination of Ashley’s hardball and Dave King’s verbal putty has seen to that.
King brings his own dubious baggage – and for the sake of brevity let’s not go there again – but all that aside, his tactics in trying to take over Rangers have looked pitiful.
Buying Rangers shares from people – the very thing Ashley set about – appeared to be anathema to King. Thus, he calmly opened a door to allow the Newcastle United owner to saunter in to Ibrox.
It is a very weird scenario. Ashley, a man with less than 10% of the club, is now dictating everything, including the make-up of the Rangers plc board. This quite rightly warrants an SFA investigation.
Over the next few weeks Ashley will take Rangers in a corporate arm-lock. It is hard to see how King or Paul Murray or any of the other perennial triers will be able to stop him.
No-one knows for sure how Rangers will fare under Ashley, or what his intentions for the club are. But, first, he is supremely wealthy. Second, surely a successful, restored Rangers is the only intelligent course for Ashley to pursue, in terms of his own benefits?
Meanwhile, those Rangers fans who aren’t busy slating eachother can only look on in dismay. It has come to this, when it all could have been very different.
scapaflow says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:01 pm
Derek Llambias has joined Rangers as a consultant
A wee prediction, expect Llambias’ journey to mimic that of Nash, who also started out as a consultant.
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 1:10 pm
I’d go along with your thoughts, but there may also be a couple of other possibilities.
1. He is just doing due diligence in looking at the books to determine what the longer term actions should be, e.g. invest more or prepare for admin.
___
Yes
I`d add that both would be Directors would be aware of their future legal responsibilities.
Pure speculation mind, but I`d wager that both Constants will forensically examine everything going on gone on to then provide a detailed first hand very up to date situation report to MA. He`ll decide next move and whether new Directors are appointed – or not.
Might be quick, or might take days
Really don`t know, but I wouldn’t wish to accept company responsibility without all accurate facts, and certainly not in the context of recent developments. If, and it’s a big if, they were to remain as consultants up to any AGM would be telling – If that should occur. Could be completely wrong
Btw – I think MA hadn`t forseen this piblic power play or the SFA thing.
It’s possible a critical position developed, has to be quickly addressed
and cleaned up if possible
mtp
Something that may be of interest to Celtic fans with an AGM comining up.
Just released by Ann Budge at Hearts
Full statement – http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/3945
1) Mike Ashley’s intentions/involvement wrt TRFC.
Has he even bothered to attend a TRFC game yet ?
2) With the recent reporting of an alleged leaker/extortionist wrt TRFC, and in the absence of any resignations forthcoming at the SFA…
Scottish football needs a strong SFA Whistleblower !
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:12 pm
Well done Hearts, hopefully the first of many.
Anne Budge, a formidable operator, seems to be getting this football politics lark too, good news for the Jambo’s employees
“Scotzine @scotzine
Hearts implementation of the Living Wage will cover all staff, including part-time and contract workers at the Edinburgh club.”
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:12 pm
————————-
Hearts leading by example.
Credit where it’s due, they are walking a very credible and highly ethical path these days.
This line from McMurdo’s blog “We aren’t the most successful football club in the world for nothing, so no matter what you’ve been used to, we are different – we are Rangers.”
Does anyone know if there are any RFC* fans who honestly/truly/sincerely believe that the old club’s 54 Scottish League titles equates to more successful than, say, Real’s 10 European Cups/Champions League titles?
I know some who are happy enough to make the claim, but to be fair to them always have the good grace to acknowledge the comparative quality of their successes and admit it’s just a number thing which sounds good. Are there any (apart from McMurdo perhaps) who argue that they are/were indeed the most successful club in the world?
Neepheid
I think the term is delusions of adequacy.
It must surely be dawning on folk that the guys with the loudest megaphones are A sandwich short of a picnic
A mackerel short of a shoal
A bee short of a hive
An orange short of a walk
Or have I just gone too far?
Just a Thought
There’s so much negativity against Ashley – and growing awareness of the mire TRFC/RIFC are in – that maybe the time is coming when the fans can be mobilized to make a share offer and significant fan ownership possible. My thinking is that Ashley is most interested in a healthy/surviving The Rangers for merchandising and advertising – but doesn’t need/want to own another club. His pitch could be along the lines of “Look, I didn’t create this mess, but if you are so afraid of me then get organised and buy the clumpany once and for all – I’ll underwrite it – if you don’t buy control then I’ll have control and you can shut the feck up whining.”
In the meantime he mop up the image rights and extend his onerous contratcs in return for emergency loans to make it worth his while in the long term.
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:12 pm
‘..Just released by Ann Budge at Hearts.’
—————
I can, of course, warmly welcome this decision by Hearts, acting as an individual employer, without feeling any compulsion to urge other clubs to do likewise. In the same way that I would applaud someone who sells all he has and gives to the poor, while being not in the least impelled to do so myself. I will be prepared to work for the establishment of a just and equitable taxation and wealth-distribution system not based on charitable impulse, but on principles of justice and rights and mutuality.
Mr Nawlite,
I do hope you’re not suggesting that Mr McMurdo is being economical with the truth. And on an entirely separate vein…
“..This is Rangers you’re at now, not Newcastle and failure isn’t in our vocabulary or our history.” 😈
Been out and about so sorry if this has been covered.
From all and sundry it appears the accepted wisdom is that Ashley is now in control at T’Rangers.
Can anyone (Easyjambo who is usually got these things close to hand?) remind us how much Ashley has actually ploughed into ‘the club’.
Initial involvement was related to the Duff & Phelps agreement so presumably that cash went the way of the oldco’s creditors and in exchange he got his paws on the retail.
Did he take a few more shares in the IPO? I can’t recall how many and for how much.
In his latest transaction his cash went to another shareholder – Hardgreave Hale and the loan is to be paid back in 6 months.
Therefore for what total bargin basement price has Ashley gained control of the club and what is the return he has received from the merchandising deals to date.
wottpi says:
October 28, 2014 at 3:03 pm
Here you go
easyJambo says:
October 27, 2014 at 12:53 pm
23 0 Rate This
I made a post yesterday where I stated that Ashley had paid £1M for his pre-IPO shares. I’ve rechecked some old CF documents and it was £1.5M, for which he received 1,500,000 shares at £1 and a similar number of free shares, thus he obtained his shares at an average price of 50p.
So he has invested approx £4.35M thus far, £500k more than I had indicated earlier.
AndyGraham 66
Good article by Speirs.
If the answer is a one word one then that answer is “entitlement”.
Like a spoiled kid where every demand has been met in the past by owners and SFA the Rangers support found it impossible to adjust to the reality that in life you are delivered just desserts and they ain’t sweet.
No one told the kids the party is over, in fact they have been persuaded by football authority and smsm that the party is still ongoing, just waiting for another delivery of free beer and free lunch, much as they are used to.
Reality will not be denied but it exacts a price the longer that it is and this media led nonsense by red tops and SSB in particular needs consigning to history.
How about an awakening?
http://www.sapphyr.net/largegems/theawakening.htm
nawlite says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:43 pm
I find it strange that any supporters, of any club, would be so proud of such a record achieved in a league they say is so poor they ought to be allowed to leave it. It’s a bit like saying the man who has won most national golf championships (amateur or professional) is the best player in the world.
Smugas says:
October 28, 2014 at 3:00 pm
—————————–
I actually wasn’t, Smugas – I accept that seems to be HIS truth i.e. he honestly believes 54 Scottish league titles is more successful than the Decimo (and all the other stuff RM has won). I was just wondering if anyone had come across any RFC* fans who believe the same and actually try to argue/convince you that they ARE the most succesful club in the world.
Rhapsody
Just a thought
We know, CG needed cash for Duffers from MA and did a deal on Retail & Stadium naming
But could ANYONE have foreseen what financial plundering and the scale of it would follow?
Or the behaviour of those that caused it?
We do know that `mystery` and some other shareholders have been reluctant to put cash in
On one occasion that was left to Rangers men Easdale and Letham to keep company going
All the while the financial bloodletting continued despite Wallace and Nash best efforts
Was this with the confidence that MAs cash would have to bail out the company eventually?
Now I`m no MA, but if someone was recklessly plundering cash in the confident belief that big bucks mrstwopanda would have to step in to bail them out, I`d be pretty mad.
Just saying, but if MA were to bring the rotten scandalous perpetrators of this two years of financial exploitation and agony to Loyal Bears to book, and made to face charges.
He could have full houses at Ibrox and queues outside these sports shops of his pdq IMO
Just a thought
mtp
The notion that Ashley will all of a sudden rebrand Rangers as Sports Direct FC , isn’t supported by much of what happens at Newcastle.
Ashley seems content to allow whoever will pay the best price to hold key contracts . Take the shirt manufacturer and shirt sponsor as examples.
Puma manufacture the shirt , and Puma are owned by French fashion conglomerate who also own many famous high st brands.
Wonga sponsor the shirt, and their business model, though widely ridiculed is nothing to do with Ashley.
Ashely uses a Singapore based procurement business , called Tex Line , to source product at ultra competitive prices for Sports Direct. He then uses his size and scale to offer low prices which are still profitable to Sports Direct. Ashley could easily have had the Newcastle shirts manufactured without recourse to Puma. He chose not to presumably on the basis Puma offered a better deal.
Far from being secretive , his business model is one that has worked successfully across many sectors. He’s just very good at what he does. He also sells football shirts of competing clubs, not all EPL clubs however he does sell Sunderland shirts. He also sells Celtic merchandise.
All of which tends to suggest he does not make emotional decisions or investments. The annoyance of Newcastle fans is possibly they have unrealistic expectations, and were assuming Ashley would take them back to Keegan MK 1 levels of competitiveness. However the EPL has moved on and previous powerhouses like Blackburn & Leeds are not even in the League.
Ashley will probably have looked at what is possible at Newcastle and concluded that he doesn’t want to engage in the financial lunacy of Man City or Chelsea , and has therefore set sensible goals of EPL participation as priority #1
A Scottish club winning a European tournament is even more unlikely than Newcastle winning the EPL. I would expect therefore that Ashley has no ambitions for Rangers in that direction at all.
I previously posted at length about the limited exposure Sports Direct would get from Rangers playing, and getting regularly beaten, in Europe. It is not worth serious investment. Equally as he has shown at Newcastle , being the shirt sponsor is not crucial either.
What matters are retail rights, and as long as his retail deal is under no threat at Rangers, why would he invest anything more than the minimum to protect that ?
It was suggested to me yesterday , by someone with an outstanding track record of bampot punditry , that Rangers may be a test case for Ashley in rescuing Football Clubs in distress by acquiring retail rights and Intellectual Property which would survive any future liquidations. It’s an interesting idea, as there are many distressed clubs in the UK
“It was suggested to me yesterday , by someone with an outstanding track record of bampot punditry , that Rangers may be a test case for Ashley in rescuing Football Clubs in distress by acquiring retail rights and Intellectual Property which would survive any future liquidations. It’s an interesting idea, as there are many distressed clubs in the UK”
A very interesting idea, potential for making decent money on licencing deals, and not much in the way of recurring costs, clever
sf – you beat me to it !
Very plausible, and very smart if that is indeed the plan of ‘Mr.Ashley’. 😕
And as an individual, he must be in a unique position to be able to become a ‘saviour of last resort’ perhaps to successive clubs.
StevieBC says:
October 28, 2014 at 4:10 pm
sf – you beat me to it !
Very plausible, and very smart if that is indeed the plan of ‘Mr.Ashley’. 😕
And as an individual, he must be in a unique position to be able to become a ‘saviour of last resort’ perhaps
StevieBC – is that you re-visiting the Bonkers OCNC debate?
I hear Charlie Nicholas saying MA won’t have to spend much (4 players) to compete with Celtic. I hear Mr Spiers saying it makes sense for MA to put a successful team on the park, and to be fair all things being equal they make reasonable points.
But how much will MA put into a team/company which he which he owns less than 10% off?
How much would any sane investor put into a company they owned less than 10% off?
I think we may already have the answer – less than 10% or the money he invested in his share purchase. He has demonstrated with his loan deal that for the time being that’s just about his lot.
Ok he will lose a little in interest payments on his secured loan, but this small sum gets his men on board and an opportunity to have a good look at what’s going on and the opportunity to protect/strengthen his other commercial interests in Rangers.
So it may only take 4 players to make Rangers competitive but how much will this cost? I am sure MA men will take less than 120 days to answer this question but I am also sure it will be a lot more than the cost of 4 decent players.
And how much of this bill will less than 10% owner MA be prepared to pay?
I suppose the answer to this will depend on how much more [than he currently makes] MA will make in return. Unless of course MA is a Rangers sugar daddy in disguise.
rhapsodyinblue says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:51 am
You are right there is a lot of negativity about regarding Mike Ashley’s tie up with ‘The Rangers’.
Let’s look at it your way;
He could forgo repayment of his £2M loan and hand back the security over the assets.
He could underwrite a share issue to the tune of £16M and that gets the club through the season and lets face it as soon as he has underwritten the share issue nobody needs to buy because we are all aware how deep Mike’s pockets are.
So now Mike is in it for £18M.
Talking of £18M, that is the amount The Rangers owe RIFC so lets say Mike repays this as well.
Now the tally is up to £36M.
Mike Ashley now hands back the rights to sell the merchandise ensuring somewhere in the region of £3M a season now goes to the club.
That takes us almost up to £40M.
Mike now repairs the stadium and brings it back up to scratch at a conservative £5M.
Now the total is £45M
Next summer season ticket sales are back to 38K at an average of £350. That brings in £13.3M. Merchandising sales, thanks to Mike returning the rights, bring in another £4M. Sponsorship and other sales rise bringing in another £8M.
This is still, as things currently stand, at least £5M short of break even point but Mike is happy to cover the shortfall.
So Mike Ashley is now into this venture, without taking out one penny, for £45M.
Now, back in the Premiership, the fans are happy just to be there and simply wish to consolidate their position and gradually rebuild the brand.
Seriously?!
No, the fans want at least £7M spent on players.
So Mike, to win the Premiership, plays along and pumps in the extra cash.
This in turn causes costs to rise so the £5M shortfall mentioned above rises to £8M so adding that £15M to Mike’s on going commitment now takes the total to, after year one in the Premiership, to £60M.
Of course these are just rough figures but you see how the expenditure can rapidly run away from the best of us.
But Mike has deep pockets so, your right, let’s not be negative.
Just on the board appointments, and apologies, I’ll need to go back and re-read the very poorly worded statement for yet another time, but its not impossible that Ashley automatically gets two on the TRFC board and that he is free to nominate two for the RIFC board, to be considered at the board’s discretion. Certainly that’s how I read it. However its not impossible (in fact its almost certain) that the same two people would fulfil both roles, as long as the board accepted.
Apologies if this has been covered already.
StevieBC says:
October 28, 2014 at 4:10 pm
Not a problem for Ashley of course, but, I would be concerned about the long term consequences, for Clumpanys under this model, as you are taking what should be a lucrative revenue stream, and turning it into a significant cost.
Though by all accounts, merchandising/IP is barely a revenue trickle at Rangers MkII these days.
scapaflow says:
October 28, 2014 at 3:16 pm
4 0 Rate This
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks
Looked backwards and therefore see that Easyjambo says £1.5m initial buy in from D&P at admin and the £850k went elsewhere.
The £2m loan will need repaid and the amount is most probably the profit he has made so far from his merchandising tie up.
Therefore exactly hee haw has gone into the club to date until the loan money gets handed over. The loan will then be recouped ASAP in six months time by which time a bit more cash from merchandising will have gone Ashley’s way to allow him to offer a further loan.
Such a virtuous circle paid for by the fans but with no control in their hands whatsoever other than telling the whole lot of them to stuff it. Mike’s gamble is that there are enough addicts around to keep things going as above for a few years yet.
justshatered says:
October 28, 2014 at 4:37 pm
Also remember MA owns less than 10%…how much will he invest directly into the club whilst the other 90% spend nothing?
easyJambo says:
October 28, 2014 at 2:12 pm
Something that may be of interest to Celtic fans with an AGM comining up.
========================================================
It certainly is a brave move and Hearts should be applauded. As I posted yesterday the Living Wage issue is one which I personally have mixed feelings on.
I would be interested to know at some stage how much this will actually cost to implement at Hearts as I find it very hard to reconcile the Celtic figure of £500K for approx 175 staff IIRC.
The cost seems way too high and if anyone involved in the Celtic agm resolution has a detailed breakdown of the official figure I would love to see it.
I have no doubt the Hearts’ move will most certainly cause a sharp rise in debating temperature at the forthcoming Celtic agm 😮
A number of delayed trades coming through today.
24-Oct-14 12:55:31 21.00 400,000
24-Oct-14 15:39:43 21.35 1,000,000
24-Oct-14 15:53:54 20.50 500,000
28-Oct-14 11:05:46 20.00 250,000
Very interesting post from @Barca, which won’t do much for Rhaps outlook.
In reality, there could be many EPL and Championship clubs going to the wall when the bubble bursts. And who’s to say that Arsenal and Newcastle United — financially well-run clubs — won’t rise to the top, once the oligarchs and sheiks tire of their playthings?
Bit cruel, though, wheeling and dealing with historic football iconography that really belongs to fans.
Charles G. has already run the ‘experiment’ sccessfully, so question is (Barca) — why run the experiment again?
Ashley is at present simply checking under the bonnet.
All that he has invested is about £1 million in cash for new shares plus his original investment ( if he was at 70p a share that would be somewhere north of 3 million pounds) and he has advanced a secured loan of 2 million over 6 months. I suspect that based on previous retail figures of Rangers merchandising he has probably scooped approx. 3 million back in merchandising to date. Lambias will quickly assess the true state of affairs. If the game’s a bogey ( I suspect that given the cost base it is) then he will liquidate assets at end of 6 months get 2 mill back, a share of the concrete assets and his naming and retail rights will still be valid.
He will only keep Rangers going as long as he sees clear, low-risk profit.
There are many other “investors” simply looking for some semblance of a return. No-one, as far as I am aware, save – possibly – McCoist, in the whole set up gives a monkey’s about Rangers continued existence – except in so far as such continued existence can generate a profit.
If the Rangers fan want mark 2 to survive then they do indeed have to organise, present a credible business plan to satisfy the sharks ( though not of the Sale variety) and allow them to exit – pennies in hand and pockets stuffed – and accept Ashley’s watertight drain on resources pretty much in perpetuity as the price to pay for then running a club on whatever resources are left in the pot to sustain a break-even model.
Otherwise there is no long term in this enterprise at all. It’s either scaled down, austerity, humble-pie, hamstrung Rangers or no Rangers at all.
Why Me, Why Here, Why Now
The interesting thing is that Ashley is seen to have gained control of the clumpany with just 9% of its shares and by providing a £2mil loan for 6 mths with decent security.
The obvious question missed by the SMSM (big surprise) is why did none of the other big shareholders offer the same or better facility: Laxey, Blue Pitch, Margarita Funds. Why is Ashley seen as the only possible saviour now that King has abdicated.
As has been suggested by several others – Mike has stepped forward at no real cost or risk to himself so his men can have full sight of the accounts and the onerous contracts. In my mind there is a real and pressent danger than once they have stared into the abyss, they will advise Ashley just as Jon Pritchett advised Bill Miller:
“Upon full inspection, Rangers was not a ‘turnaround’ opportunity. It was (and is) an opportunity for someone with great wealth and a love of football and/or Scotland to give away tens and tens of millions of pounds.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2012/10/08/what-can-we-learn-from-the-financial-meltdown-of-glasgow-rangers-fc/
And remember, that was BEFORE the spivs arrived.
ecobhoy says:
October 28, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I have no doubt the Hearts’ move will most certainly cause a sharp rise in debating temperature at the forthcoming Celtic agm
=====================================
Like you I have mixed feelings on the Celtic living wage issue but there can be no doubt Hearts have now stolen any thunder Celtic could ever have had – and I am not suggesting for a minute that was Hearts motive. While I agree with the living wage it has to be balanced against other benefits that may reduce because of it.
Hats off to Hearts though, without a doubt. Not just for this either. For all the sins of the previous regime they are now being managed along fantastic lines, and the fans seem very united.
As another Bampot mentioned yesterday;
“The Scottish Football Association has written to Rangers and Mike Ashley seeking clarification about his intentions for the Championship club.”
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29793747
==================================================================
I wonder if Mr. Ashley will treat the SFA letter with the same contempt with which the SFA has routinely regarded the letters/emails from its paying customers over the last 3 years in particular ?!
So what if he simply blanks the SFA ?
I am confident that absolutely nothing will happen at all from the SFA side.
And in case we had forgotten what the purpose of the SFA was, then a wee reminder extracted from their website below. The last ‘pillar’ was obviously Ogilvie just having a laugh… 😡
“The launch of our [SFA] strategic plan Scotland United: A 2020 Vision outlines the vision, values and goals that underpin the organisation and its many facets.
The plan encompasses four strategic pillars:
• Perform and Win
• Strong Quality Growth
• Better financial returns
• Respected and Trusted to Lead ” 👿
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?page=2551
iceman63 says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Ashley is at present simply checking under the bonnet
_
Agree, that`s my impression
Still curious if this report sitting with the Procurator Fiscal prompted recent activity
MA will need all the detail, warts and all, to unravel the CG creature (IMO). Still think MA perhaps needs to avoid reputational damage and that`s why he stepped in. Hoping he`ll find via his consultants what he needs.
Hoping he`ll see his best interests protected with the spivs thrown to the Courts.
Suspect, rather hope, Courts will have a healthy appetite. If MA can deliver rats to Court to account (# jailtime), I`ll buy an Ibrox Season Ticket. Maybe a shirt if they have my size 😉
mtp
A bit dated but a fascinating insight behind the NU PR screen as revealed by Kevin Keegan’s tribunal for constructive dismissal during his second stint at the club controlled by Ashley.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/4662583.Keegan_tribunal___read_the_full_transcript/
The sub text about the loan signing that sparked the whole thing off is very interesting IMO.
Ally McCoist described on Radio Scotland as a “Floater” . Sums him up nicely IMO . Is MA ready to “Pull the Plug” 😯
iceman63 says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Ashley is at present simply checking under the bonnet
hope he finds keiran prior ………
I caught ten minutes of Radio Clyde tonight. If they had simply placed a microphone near three drunk guys in a pub talking about Rangers and Ashley there would probably have been more sense spoken.
pau1mart1n says:
October 28, 2014 at 7:05 pm
iceman63 says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Ashley is at present simply checking under the bonnet
hope he finds keiran prior ………
===========================================================
Well, after the utterly expected, brief reappearance of that other attention seeker – Brian Kennedy – it would be disappointing if Kieran Prior passed up this latest opportunity to share his thoughts with the SMSM. 🙄
Over the years there have been some truly useless pieces of journalism on the subject of Rangers and their travails and tonight I’ve run across one of the most useless yet, courtesy of the PA and carried by ESPN (who by the looks of things didn’t bother reading it first).
The article is headed “Derek Llambias has reassured Rangers supporters about Mike Ashley’s plans for the club”
Mr Llambias is then quoted as follows;
“Mike Ashley has got a great track record, but I can’t give you any comment. I’d love to but I can’t.”
You really couldn’t make it up 🙄 🙄 🙄
http://www.espnfc.co.uk/rangers/story/2113773/derek-llambias-reassures-rangers-fans-over-newcastle-united-owner-mike-ashleys-involvement?
Delicious wee snippet from McMurdo’s blog…
“This is Rangers you’re at now, not Newcastle and failure isn’t in our vocabulary or our history. We aren’t the most successful football club in the world for nothing, so no matter what you’ve been used to, we are different – we are Rangers.”
Aye, I suppose they ARE different. The must be the only fans of a liquidated enterprise anywhere in the world who still think they exist as the same club. Good to know wee Bill does not consider liquidation a failure.
Having had a pop at the PA I thought I’d compare and contrast with the Daily Records incisive journalism on the same subject…..
“The move has been met with anger from a section of the support but Llambias insists their club is in safe hands.”
…can you guess what’s coming….
He [Derek Llambias]said: “Mike Ashley has got a great track record but I can’t give you any comment. I’d love to but I can’t.”
No amount of eye rolling emoticons will ever do these idiots justice.
UTH
Great description of that programme tonite …. Guidi profers the view that £10 m could get RFC to the CL in 18 months .. A great punt for MA to take !
Where do you even begin with that garbage?
He has done ZERO research None!..shocking!
As many have predicted this dross will be all over the press soon day in day out
On a totally separate but related note …..reading some of the music theme / poetic posts earlier I couldn’t resist this excerpt from one of his classics ..from most appropriately a Geordie boy …the peerless and hugely underrrated Paddy McAloon ( Prefab Sprout for the uninitiated)
Little did he know when he wrote this that he would be perfectly describing a certain football club and it’s followers and the circumstances they find themselves in many years later.
‘ This ghost is here to stay
I survived the blast
Get ready get ready to say
I found my niche at last
A prisoner of the past ‘
They’re more likely to find Aldridge Prior than Kieran of that ilk (Viz reference)
Another article this time re naming rights…more Llambias but a lot less :slamb: so worth a read (and our old acquaintance Charles Green puts in an appearance too).
http://whatculture.com/sport/newcastle-llambias-claimed-sports-direct-arena-money-bought-demba-ba.php?
@jimmci says:
October 28, 2014 at 7:39 pm
“This is Rangers you’re at now, not Newcastle and failure isn’t in our vocabulary or our history.”
Must have been another club that
failed to pay the income tax
failed to pay the national insurance
failed to pay the VAT
failed to pay the face painter
failed to pay for the papers
and then failed to get a CVA
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29808342
Not a bad piece from Tom English on the Ashley saga.
TheGamesABogey says:
October 28, 2014 at 8:06 pm
4 2 Rate This
@jimmci says:
October 28, 2014 at 7:39 pm
“This is Rangers you’re at now, not Newcastle and failure isn’t in our vocabulary or our history.”
Must have been another club that
failed to pay the income tax
failed to pay the national insurance
failed to pay the VAT
failed to pay the face painter
failed to pay for the papers
and then failed to get a CVA
==============================================
I’m pretty sure it was another club. 😀
Listened to superscoreboard this evening. Second last caller must either be a contributer or at least a regular reader of this site. Put all the previous callers anf the panel properly in their place with his knowledge and delivery. Superb stuff after 90 minutes of dross.The panel did not have either the ability or the willingness to discuss any of the guys points. Straight to next caller…..Panel shamed.
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1319044/mike-ashley-seizes-control-rangers/
Ashley’s victory came as a result of an alliance with the two major factions on the board – Chairman Sandy Easedale, who controls 26% of the voting rights, and the hedge fund Laxey Partners, who control 16%. When Ashley’s own 9% stake is taken into account, this triumvirate commands just over 51% of shareholder votes.
If the above is true
Ashley can win shareholder votes at an AGM but only those requiring a simple majority
Enlarging the share capital and dis-applying pre-emption rights requires a 75% majority
So Ashley can`t underwrite a fund raising without the support of another
24%. He would somehow have to promise them enough freebie shares to make it worth their while. Otherwise they may as well go for an immediate Administration/Liquidation and get 24% of the asset value. no doubt Ashley has figured that out and may simply be sorting out his IP issues before pulling the plug
Just finished watching the match on tv. Is that really the best that either team could muster ? if so then St Johnstone fans should be very concerned as they were awful, and the worst part is Rangers were only marginally better. Scottish football must be in real trouble if that is 2 of our best teams.
rhapsodyinblue says:
October 28, 2014 at 6:51 am
“I am sinking with all this negativity.
Not one positive, anyone?”
—————————–
I love a challenge. So lets suppose that Mike Ashley is not the wealth accumulating cut throat that he is painted as and that instead he has something of the Santa Claus about him….
I believe Ashley has had a relationship with the Ibrox support for a number of years. Perhaps a crafty teddy noticed this soft underbelly in Ashley’s character make up and cultivated him as a possible future soft touch for Rangers. Who couldn’t fail to be charmed by those luvvable bears snuggling up close to you.
Then one day the bears fall on hard times and Mike, heart breaking with concern thinks, I could use my wealth to good effect by helping those guys out. Since Mike is such a good guy he decides simply to rehabilitate the bears and not crush their adversaries into oblivion. He funds their ambitions to a moderate extent, just for the sake of good sportsmanship: He was a sportsman himself at one time remember. Think of the prestige of rehabilitating one of the most famous fixtures in world football: Rangers Vs Hamilton.
So Mike rehabilitated the bears. They competed with their greatest rivals and won about half the time. Then something terrible happened.
You see Mike already had a big team and the bears were just an interesting sideline. However the passion and fervour got a hold of him and he found himself being drawn in. He no longer wanted to just compete, instead he dreamed the ultimate dream. The music blared in his ears, the blue and whyte ticker tape filtered down onto the terraces, the fans roared passionately; and there he stood, veins bulging in his temples, looking down at a team of super stars clad in Govan Royal Blue.
What a nightmare.
I don’t think I ever believed in Santa Claus.
berrty says:
October 28, 2014 at 9:23 pm
1 0 Rate This
Just finished watching the match on tv. Is that really the best that either team could muster ? if so then St Johnstone fans should be very concerned as they were awful, and the worst part is Rangers were only marginally better. Scottish football must be in real trouble if that is 2 of our best teams.
———–
And the daft bit is the one of them can’t even afford the players on the park. Commentator said at one point the player budget at Ibrox was the envy of every team in Scotland bar one. A player budget that leaves you 48 hours from administration in October is hardly anything to wish for.
Saintees played the better passing game. Nothing up front though. But at least they will not have to take the family jewels to the pawnbroker.
One thing keeps coming back to me and probably others.
When pressed on the IP rights by Ashley he was told.
Something along the lines of ” We cannot sell what we do not own”
So to me he has paid off Nash/Wallace 1M or so down on the 2m punt. In order simply to find out why and who.
He finds CG/CW or Rivzi sit on what he wants and either buys it and walks away or simply walks away. Price dependent.
Its no business running fitba teams. It is business owning swathes of IP rights. In fact its money for (almost) nothing.