Not in Front of the Children

The outbreak of internecine warfare at RIFC is being acted out through a real pea-soup fog right now. The war is being fought on so many fronts that it is difficult to see just exactly how many armies are involved, and how the alliances are shaping up.

Craig Mather would appear to be in the Charles Green camp, but it is difficult to imagine that he would be happy to hear old blunderbuss-mouth peppering Ally McCoist with shot. McCoist’s in-character but inelegant riposte, whilst a valiant attempt at deflection and self-preservation, put his mentor and chairman, Walter Smith in a rather awkward position. It gives Mather a double headache as he tries to head off Clyde Blowers boss Jim McColl – and his blowhard ally Paul Murray – at the EGM-pass.

If Mather stands by Green, and Smith does the same for McCoist, then the two main officers of the company will be in opposite, and hostile, camps.

As I say, making sense of it is difficult, but one thing is as clear as an empty window frame: the acrimony, which has been in existence for months, is only now being aired in public because the season ticket drive is over. The one policy that the warring factions have been in agreement with is “Not in Front of the Children”.

Now that the fans have been compelled to buy season tickets in substantial numbers through a mixture of fear, loyalty and a never-ending stream of press spin telling them that “Rangers are on the cusp of greatness if only the supporters cough up”, it seems acceptable that the real war can begin – but what is the prize?

There can be little doubt that all of the factions are aware that a conservative business model is necessary if Rangers are to establish themselves in Scottish football – certainly a more conservative one than that followed by RFC (IL). I infer therefore that the war is not over a Murray vs McCann approach. My best guess is that the war is one of ideals – between one faction which aims to make as much money in the short term as possible, and another which, whilst not averse to a bit of nest-feathering, sees the health of the club and the notion of a continuity Rangers as paramount.

The trouble for Rangers fans is that it is the former faction which holds all the cards – all the shares in fact. I think that all fans of the game of football would hope that people with football at heart would win out here, irrespective of what their partisan loyalties dictate on a day to day basis.

The problem for either warring faction is that the loyalty of the Rangers fans is finite. The “long road (back)” to the top is one which might engage them for while. It is a great journey which is not without its rewards and adventure, but expectations will be massive if and when they get to the top league. When the acceleration of progress meets the buffers of premier championship aspiration, gate money will be in the front passenger seat.  Managing unrealistic expectations is extremely difficult, and evidenced by the use of McCoist’s recruitment sledgehammer to crack the nut of the bottom two divisions.

But here are some questions to which I honestly do not know the answer;

  • How does the Rangersness faction wrest control away from these spivs?
  • How will the spivs attempt to ensure that the Rangersness faction fails in their objective?
  • Can the people in the Rangersness camp REALLY be trusted to act in the best interests of the club even if it is at odds with their own? This, given the close association with the terminal decline of the club they all profess to love.
  • Is there any realistic scenario which allows this club to prosper and challenge for honours within a ten to fifteen year period?

My belief is that the key to the new club being able to establish itself is managing the expectations of the fans. Despite the MSM willingness to cut and paste RFC and RIFC press releases unadulterated, the ability of that same MSM to impress a message of realism into Rangers fans is zero. Not in front of the children in fact.

Is it really a sociological bridge too far to expect Rangers fans to turn down the expectation-ometer? I don’t believe it is. In the eighties, if I recall correctly, a seriously underachieving Rangers team were not met with demands for big spending. There was pressure on them to get better managers who could pick better players, but no demands for Fort Knox to be breached.  If Rangers fans really want a club called Rangers playing in blue at Ibrox, and competing fully in the game, they need to find leaders who can sell the long-termism of such an aspiration. Many will hope, including the spivs and the MSM, that no such leader emerges.

 

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Tom Byrne

About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

2,305 thoughts on “Not in Front of the Children


  1. ecobhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    No doubt Leggo has a future book pencilled-in as to how Smith went undercover – just like Traynor – to work behind enemy lines and frustrate the evil spivs and return the club to Struthian Rangerness under the control of Real Rangers Men. Sadly to have succeeded required courage and leadership which Smith has demonstrated by his inaction that he just doesn’t have. I’m afraid the final entry in his discharge book from Ibrox is the dreaded ‘LMF’ stamp.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    You’re right he wasn’t a leader. To be a leader would have required top notch business skills if he was to counteract the best spivbrains in the business. He knew he didn’t have those skills but took the job anyway, pocketed the cash and walked away from a fight he knew he could never win. If I was a Rangers fan I would be very angry with him.


  2. 100BJD says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:37 pm

    Eco,
    Also keep your keen eye on the Market Makers in the exit scenario. Their part is crucial here and all these boys are going to keep the illusion going until their own team get out.
    ===============================================================
    I understand the concept of Market Maker matching for deals but how do we know which market makers operate on AIM and do they tend to have tie-ins with specific brokers? Just trying to figure out if there is any way for an outsider to lift the lid and figure out what is being cooked-up before the sh*t hits the fan 💡


  3. His £3.4m claim, which does not have to be referred to AIM if Rangers lawyers deem the claim to be frivolous and thus potentially creating a false market

    Thanks, that answered an earlier question of mine. Since Worthington Group’s (i.e. Craig Whyte’s) claim was announced to AIM, can we infer that its (his) claim is not frivolous?


  4. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:43 pm
    0 0 Rate This

    100BJD says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:30

    Troll
    ———-

    Who? How?


  5. seems Imran is suing for 5% of the commercial deals he has put in place for Sevco.

    He claims to have secured deals worth £67M that will benefit sevco and as such, he is due 5% of those deals.

    I wonder what these deals are….one thing is clear, there certainly wasn’t 67M put into Sevco’s bank account yet, but he wants his 5% now.

    Would love to know what deals he has put together and I also wonder who else might be getting a % of each deal that brings cash into Sevco.

    I had heard that Imran/CG/Mike Ashley were getting approx £10 between them for every sevco shirt sold. That won’t leave a lot to go to sevco once Sports Direct take their share of the sale as well.


  6. 100BJD says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Ahmed is not interested in the EGM…..he wants out now! Professional or spivilly (new word I think) that is the correct decision. The guy is a complete shark and is behaving to type as I forecasted/warned many months ago.
    =======================================================================
    I always thought that after Cenkos was replaced then a new Broker/Nomad would possibly find it easier to release Ahmad from the 12 month lock-in as a key employee given that he had been sacked and could claim penury especially as he was so cruelly deprived of his hard-earned bonuses 🙄

    Have you heard anything on Rizvi recently? I also have been surprised at the lack of movement since the Institutional Investors 6 month lock-in came off although I suppose this all depends on who their clients were and again I wondered if you had picked-up anything on that.

    And the big questions I suppose are is it another admin and when and if not how low will the share price go. I had always reckoned 30-35p would precipitate a takeover but I noticed Dave King the other day talking about 25p which must be sending a shiver down Green’s spine.

    There has also been some talk that the IPO didn’t raise anywhere near £22.5 million and whatever it raised wasn’t in cash but in promissory notes. I don’t understand in view of the statements made to AIM how that could be and some thoughts on that would be helpful.


  7. James Doleman says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    0 0 Rate This

    Comedy gold from Bill McMurdo

    http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com
    ————————————————–

    People keep asking me why I support Charles Green and Imran Ahmad in the Civil War being waged at the club.

    My answer is always the same.

    I support The Rangers,

    hehehehe


  8. James Doleman says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    0 0 Rate This
    Comedy gold from Bill McMurdo

    http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Green likes to call a spade a spade, but Ahmad seems to be more of a gold digger. A “money machine” even, according to Bill McMurdo.

    PS £67 million has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?


  9. James Doleman says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    1 0 Rate This
    Comedy gold from Bill McMurdo
    http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com

    “However, he has vowed that, whether the matter goes to court or whether there is an out of court settlement, he will plough whatever he gets back into the club.”

    Yes, Bill, he’s going to court to get 3.4 million quid so he can then give it all back to them. The mind boggles at the sheer unquestioning gullibility.


  10. Danish Pastry says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    ——————————————-
    Ahmad
    Read how he writes.
    The name spelt wrong is the biggest tell.


  11. James Doleman says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm

    “Comedy gold from Bill McMurdo”
    ——————————–
    I’m afraid my humour wasn’t aroused by that piece despite the absurdity it aroused. I’d have thought that self proclaimed Rangers spokesmen would be standing back from the fracas to get a clearer picture of what is developing. Instead they are weighing in on one side or the other. If I didn’t believe they had the best interests of Rangers fans at heart I’d suspect they were part of the scam. This drama really does have more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing (previous copyright acknowledged).

    In human psychology the person we present to the world is often the mirror image of who we really are. If we are shy we might project an outgoing personality; where we are frightened we put on an outward face of bravado; where we are devious we cultivate an illusion of trustworthiness.
    It appears to me that ‘dignity’ is a front for duplicity.
    I pity the Rangers fans. When your mentors appear to be so corrupt then the acolytes are bound to be deformed by that attitude.


  12. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    I had heard that Imran/CG/Mike Ashley were getting approx £10 between them for every sevco shirt sold. That won’t leave a lot to go to sevco once Sports Direct take their share of the sale as well.
    =======================================================================
    I think this whole Rangers Retail Ltd is a very strange one. The Rangers AIM Prospectus stated that Rangers would control the joint venture company with SportsDirect with a 51% shareholding which it has. But the fly in the ointment is that the SportsDirect 49% shareholding when used in a vote counts as double on anything involving financial matters.

    The other cracker is that in any deadlock situation the mechanism by which SportsDirect can buy-out Rangers Media Ltd from TRFCL is already spelt-out although it doesn’t appear to work the other way. And of course the two directors representing the TRFCL shareholding in Rangers Retail Ltd are Stockbridge and Green – now if I was a rangers fan that would certainly fill me with confidence 😥

    And if SportsDirect do buy-out Rangers Retail Ltd they can continue manufacturing and selling Rangers shirts on payment of a licence fee. Looks as though Rangers could lose control of their kit production and sales yet again.

    And Stockbridge and Green are also the directors in Garrion Security Ltd. Why didn’t Walter get Green out of these directorships and why hasn’t Mather ❓


  13. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    “The name spelt wrong is the biggest tell.”
    ————————–
    You’re usually very circumspect Sam. You generally leave us to arrive at our own conclusions. I can’t see that the misspelling of a name which has an unusual spelling would provide as incontrovertible evidence as you feel it does. I suspect you are alighting on this one element as a substitute for the mismatch you believe exists between another posters view on Richard Hughes and yours. If you have misgivings about Mr. Hughes you will have to spell them out (accidental pun) so that we can make our own judgements.

    Not like you. Must be a reason.


  14. Castofthousands says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:25 pm
    ————————————————–
    Excellent post 😀


  15. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:14 pm
    Danish Pastry says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    ——————————————-
    Ahmad Read how he writes. The name spelt wrong is the biggest tell.
    ==================================================

    I can assure you that 100BJD is not a troll and has a long history of factual posts on here and scotslawthoughts.

    He provides some very professional info on the share dealing side of things and I really think we have to get a grip of ourselves if we are going to point the finger at people because they have mispelt or mistyped ‘Ahmed’ for ‘Ahmad’. Indeed for all I know the two names could be interchangeable.

    As to Hughes being ‘goodish’ this is all a matter of perspective coupled with personal knowledge. I don’t know anything about Hughes but have seen and heard a lot about and from Ahmad and rate him pretty low on the dung heap.


  16. Interesting tweet from Phil:

    Phil MacGiollaBhain ‏@Pmacgiollabhain 9s
    Just to remind: That HMRC are in play in around 90% of UK insolvencies. #PAYE

    Phil MacGiollaBhain ‏@Pmacgiollabhain 4m
    If Imran goes to court on this £3.4 then the Adminstrator could consider him a major creditor. Something the SMSM have missed


  17. Bill McMurdo article reads like the fairy tales. Grim
    So Chris Graham and M Murray leaked a story without any proof or investigation (the horror the horror). So JT leaks stories from Sevco to KJ (the horror the horror). If real Rangers men want control of Ibrox do the morally correct thing and buy a controlling stake (the horror the horror of such a thought)
    £67 Million worth of contracts over the next 5 – 10 years, please enlighten us. Is that divided among all the clubs named so far that played in Govan over the past 2 years. Imran offered to invest all his bonuses back into the club ( Han Christian Anderson said no). keep the money as I know you want to buy more shares.
    Civil war War within Ibrox and not a civil person in sight.

    Apocalypse then, Apocalypse now and so on…………………..


  18. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:39 pm
    ecobhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:29 pm
    ——————————————
    Wow, so can 100BJD not talk for himself? Share dealing at the penny AIM Market & all that.
    Hardly big business ……….. Collection of fraudsters stealing folks money, nothing to be proud of.
    ===================================================================
    Well if we only took advice from Big Businessmen we would be in the same boat as Rangers. I just think it’s wrong to label a long contributor to this site – who provides professional insight and has never abused anyone – as a ‘troll’ and is actually quite sad.

    I am sure 100BJD is more than capable of speaking for himself but as a poster if I feel the need or wish to post then please be assured I do not have to seek permission from yourself – and won’t – in order to voice my personal opinion on any issue or even my thoughts on a fellow poster although I try to keep personalities out of the debate as I find it usually does little to improve the quality of it.

    I have had many many exchanges with 100BJD and sometimes agree with him and sometimes don’t but usually IMO he provides food for thought and that’s what I’m interested in. His spelling is of little interest to me although usually it’s good but what does that prove one way or another?


  19. valentinesclown says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:50 pm

    Civil war War within Ibrox and not a civil person in sight.
    ========================================================
    I think one of the most amusing touches to the internecine and vicious warfare that has broken out between Rangers bloggers is the quest not for the Holy Grail of how to run Rangers within an affordable and sustainable budget but how to get the single Blue Blazer which appears to be on offer as a fan rep on the Board 😉

    I wonder how many Blue Blazers have been sold to aspirants for candidature by Slaters recently ❓


  20. ecobhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    ————————————————
    Great post.
    Ecobhoy, with the fullness of respect, the laborious argument you have written / posted is in your own mind.

    I didn’t post any of the negative issues you have noted.


  21. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:07 pm
    ecobhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    ————————————————
    Great post.
    Ecobhoy, with the fullness of respect, the laborious argument you have written / posted is in your own mind.

    I didn’t post any of the negative issues you have noted.
    _____________________________________________________________________

    Why are youse two deflecting the blog with a pointless personal dispute. Take it elsewhere.


  22. rabtdog says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    “Around 66 or 67 The Rangerses would make one Manchester United.”

    Maybe thats what the real deal is behind all this – all these rangerses* 🙂

    The one prior to incorporation in 1999,
    The one that went belly up in 2012 and is now in liquidation (RFC NIL)
    The one that Lord Carloway referred to for the purposes of punishing Rangers, owned and operated by the one that went belly up in 2012
    The one that Lord Glennie referred to for the purposes of the civil case on the punishment given to Rangers, owned and operated by the one that went belly up in 2012
    The one that Lord Nimmo Smith referred to as having no legal personality, for the purposes of punishing Rangers FC, owned and operated by the one that went belly up in 2012,
    The current club ‘The Rangers’ that was called Sevco Scotland at one time – TRFC,
    The one that owns TRFC, namely RIFC,
    The one that TRFC owns – that may be called Rangers FC (and that is claimed to be the same one above that Lord Nimmo Smith referred to as having no legal personality but this can’t be proven since it cant/hasnt ever been defined and so is a recognisable entity with currently unspecified constituent parts.)

    *any additions to the list welcome


  23. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    0 1 Rate This

    Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:43 pm
    ———————————————-
    Wtf? 😆

    ———————————————-

    back on the RTC site….there was a contributor called Sam.

    apparently he worked within HMRC

    He was pretty clueless and pretty much called everything wrong and was clearly an early form of Jack Irvines trolls. He didn’t last very long.

    I remember he only logged on at office hours and claimed he could see portcullis house in london from his desk.

    (i rarely pay attention to posters names on here, so when i saw Sam, i wondered if maybe he was back – which pretty much meant the end was in sight….but i don’t think you are him, sadly)


  24. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:07 pm
    ecobhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    ————————————————
    Great post.
    Ecobhoy, with the fullness of respect, the laborious argument you have written / posted is in your own mind. I didn’t post any of the negative issues you have noted.
    ==========================================
    Well might I suggest that you contact Admin in view of the post I have undernoted as it would appear there are currently two ‘Sams’ posting. It might surprise you but most of my posts and what I write actually come from my own mind – yes and some of my scribing might be laborious but the spelling is usually not too bad.

    UNDERNOTE
    Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:39 pm
    ——————————————
    Wow, so can 100BJD not talk for himself? Share dealing at the penny AIM Market & all that.
    Hardly big business ……….. Collection of fraudsters stealing folks money, nothing to be proud of.


  25. Some advice for Sevconians…..?

    well, what should they do?

    they are clearly being fleeced and having the pee extracted from them on a massive scale. The spivs aren’t even trying to hide it now.

    It’s pretty clear it’s amin/liquidation all over again in a matter of months.

    So, what do we suggest they do? If they REALLY want to save the tribute act that is the club that they have now pinned their colours to.

    They could – walk away. Cancel their season tickets and ask for a refund, bleed all the cash out of the club – throwing it onto the rocks and accelerating the death
    Use that money to buy the club themselves – in a post admin CVA or sales of assets/liquidation.
    Lump it together with a “Blue Knight” character – someone like McColl who has no desire own or run the club, but would have the knowledge/contacts to co-ordinate a fan buy out and put a management team in place.
    Or even just back Dave King/Paul Murray and pledge their income to them (Why?!)
    SHould they starve the club of all income – boycott home games, no strips/merchandise/pies, no RTV subs – should they willfully starve the club of cash
    I think they would make this transition easier by owning up to the same club/new club argument and make it clear this is a new club – no emotional attachment bar the fact that it plays in blue from Ibrox. But any club can play in blue and soon, they might own ibrox!

    Come on, lets not just enjoy the car crash, lets be bigger than that – WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?


  26. Drew Peacock says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:11 pm

    Why are youse two deflecting the blog with a pointless personal dispute. Take it elsewhere.
    ================================================================
    I made it clear that I didn’t think someone who is a long term and useful poster on here should be labelled a troll because he spelt Ahmad as Ahmed. Then he is derided apparently because what a poster thinks he does professionally.

    I would have thought that most posters would view that as a bit off – I did and made my position clear. It certainly isn’t a personal dispute on my part and I think it is far from pointless but then that is an admittedly subjective viewpoint.


  27. Chris McLaughlin ‏@BBCchrismclaug 2m
    Laxey Partners buy 3.25 million #Rangers shares. The shares have voting value of 4.9%


  28. I was just looking for some information on a company that have invited me for an interview and I came across what looked like a business website with video updates. I began to watch a financial report on Scotland when I catch on the right hand side a list of other topics one of which read Rangers Financial Report! I thought Oh Aye must have a look at that expecting a serious news update but I got the following which did make me smile, I do hate the H word mind you, would have been funnier if they hadn’t used that term. 😀

    http://article.wn.com/view/2013/06/03/Murphy_Financial_pins_growth_on_new_Glasgow_HQ/#/video


  29. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?
    =================================================================
    I don’t think there is anything that can be done to save this current incarnation.

    I think the last opportunity went with the sale of the STs. Smith has an enormous burden of blame for allowing that to happen. He has been a director and then chairman during this period and didn’t he know or couldn’t he figure out that the IPO money had gone.

    The internet was alive with warnings that a successful ST sale would see a swarm of spiv activity over Ibrox like flies round brown brogues.

    But Smith said and did nothing till all the money was gathered in and thus IMO has all but guaranteed the demise of Rangers. I can only think of two solutions and that is that Smith is so thick businesswise that he hadn’t a scoobie about what was happening.

    Or, that the new Blue Knights want to force the spivs out by taking the club to the wire in a planned exercise in brinkmanship where the spivs panic thinking their shares could be worthless. It’s a very high-risk strategy and for it to work then not only have the Institutional Investors got to remain in place but more money will also need to be raised either through a ‘Sugar Daddy or Daddies’ or selling more shares with attendant price dilution consequences.

    If the 2+ million shares belong to Ahmad then possibly the panic strategy is working and his crude attempt to extort £500k is the last roll of the dice as he’ll never go to court but just use the threat as a lever IMO.

    But, of course, whatever happens the real problem remains and that is Rangers having to cut its cloth to suit the income generated and that will see attendances and ST sales drop as on-field performances take a hit. It’s a fine balancing act that would need to be achieved without consigning Rangers to 5+ years of being able to successfully compete in the top level of Scottish Football and even further away for any European involvement.

    The process might have an effect on the domination and WATP complex but the financial pressures will be such that there will be a huge temptation to play the old and trusted ‘cards’ to increase income and perhaps only someone like McColl is big enough and sensible enough to resist that.

    Only time will tell ❗


  30. valentinesclown says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:41 pm
    Rate This
    Chris McLaughlin ‏@BBCchrismclaug 2m
    Laxey Partners buy 3.25 million #Rangers shares. The shares have voting value of 4.9%
    ____________________________________________________________________________________

    Charlie sticks two fingers (or perhaps only one) in the general direction of “The Real Rangers Men”???


  31. Deary me
    check out……………..Laxey Logistics ltd


  32. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    “Come on, lets not just enjoy the car crash, lets be bigger than that”
    ——————————
    I think we are on the horns of a paradox. The strategies you suggest have merit. If Sevconians took them up and fleshed them out into a palette of tactics then they might be able to force some change. However it would be undignified to take advice from a well known Rangers hating site.

    Perhaps a double bluff wheeze needs to be deployed. State the exact opposite of what you really believe in the hope that this will induce the necessary behaviour from the Sevconians. I’ll make a start.

    Charles Green is such a great guy. He acts with so much integrity. It is rare to see such selflessness and fortitude welled up inside one individual. With Charles on board we can be assured that Ranger’s future is safe and will (continue to) flourish. We should all back Charles with our undying loyalty so that he can fulfill his messianic role.

    Imran Ahmad is a financial genius. He has a proven track record of success and any organisation would value his skills and endeavour. Imran will eke out opportunities that lesser businessmen would fail to recognise. When the historians of our club look back fifty years from now they will be calling for one of our stands to be renamed in his honour.


  33. Sam,

    Ecobhoy/NTHM/Castofthousands/100BJD/DanishPastry – not sure where you’re going with this Sam. Seems to me that you’re choosing to pick at people who are usually good at trying to make sense of what the players in the RIFC business are up to. You infer that 100BJD is mis-directing rather than mis-reading re. Richard Hughes/Imran Ahmad. Care to be less quixotic than normal and explain what you mean? No emoticons, thanks.


  34. valentinesclown says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    Chris McLaughlin ‏@BBCchrismclaug 2m
    Laxey Partners buy 3.25 million #Rangers shares. The shares have voting value of 4.9%
    ———————————————————————————————————-
    So we haven’t a clue who actually ‘owns’ them as they are hidden behind: CREDIT SUISSE CLIENT NOMINEES UK LTD.

    Laxey also have the agreement involving 714,285 shares belonging to Charles Green which transfer on or before 7 December.

    So where have the 3,25 million shares come from?


  35. Castofthousands says:
    August 13, 2013 at 3:05 pm

    When the historians of our club look back fifty years from now they will be calling for one of our stands to be renamed in his honour.
    ============================================================
    The way things are going I’m beginning to think that your last par wrt to Ahmad should read: ‘When the historians of our club look back fifty years from now they will be calling for our one stand to be renamed in his honour.’


  36. torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
    August 13, 2013 at 8:28 am
    26 3 Rate This
    I’ll speculate again(could be wrong I know),
    If Ahmran has sold then he’s sold to Green & Co.
    They’re in it together.They’ve moved £2m shares for whatever the market trader wanted(1/2p per share?),put £830k in their kitty and still own the shares.
    Don’t know what they call these deals now but in the days of Jobbers(traders nowadays)you could go to a jobber and agree a figure if you had a sale and a purchase of similar amounts.the Jobber would take a small premium for putting through both deals.In this case maybe the sale goes through at 41p and the purchase at,say 41.1/2p.The shares change hands and the trader makes £10k for a paper transaction.1/2p may be a bit much,though.
    Thing is,by dealing like this,the spivs,for a few grand,put £830k in the bank and still own the shares.
    Good, eh?
    ============================
    It would be even better if you could explain from whereand whom the £830k cash materialised? From where I’m sitting, the spivs would be down £10k for no benefit other than a possible increase in the share price, but then, to me the financial world was always a three card trick.


  37. I’m really struggling with all the financial stuff. Absorbing reading though it be.

    And now Laxey buy shares for “Credit Suisse Client Nominees (Uk) Ltd”.

    This seems to be ” a private company categorized under Trading Stamp Promotion and Redemption and located in London, United Kingdom.”

    Green Shield stamps, (anyone old enough to remember?)

    Seriously though, can we find out who the directors/owners are?


  38. blu says:
    August 13, 2013 at 3:09 pm

    leave me out of this, i only saw an old “familiar” name and asked a question. Quite honest, straight forward and without agenda.


  39. From Rangers Rumours earlier yesterday:

    Well this will be part of the jigsaw

    “A FINANCE shark with a history of boardroom wars is buying more than 700,000 Rangers shares from former chief Charles Green.

    Millionaire hedge fund manager Colin Kingsnorth, 49, is an “activist investor” who buys small stakes in firms, then lobbies aggressively for changes which will make money for shareholders – including himself.

    When the Green deal goes through, Kingsnorth’s firm, Isle of Man-based Laxey Partners, will own 714, 285 shares, about one per cent of Rangers.

    At current prices, Green would make about £350,000 from the sale.

    The Yorkshireman struck the Laxey deal on October 19 last year, before he had even bought into Rangers himself. He bought more than five million Ibrox shares for 1p each on October 31. ”

    ——————————————————————————–


  40. For those having trouble with how this works:

    You know what the best part about a 5% commission on “£67m worth of contracts which benefit the club over the next five to ten years” is? Those contracts wouldn’t outlive liquidation; maybe not even administration.

    So, negotiate deals (maybe with related parties) in ways that sell-off FUTURE revenue streams ala the shirts, collect your commission NOW (from the company you and your friends control), and, as the cash flow tightens up because you just hoovered another £3.4 mil on top of all your other bonuses, watch as the administrators, or the other contracted parties, invoke break clauses and cancel those contracts. Surely, IA would be generous enough to return the money were that to happen, right? He already promised McMurdo he’d plow the money back into “the club” (through a completely unspecified mechanism, I’m not sure Bill understands that buying up shares on the market wouldn’t return money to the club). 🙄

    Can’t say I’ve got any proof – it’s not like there’s any visibility on these alleged deals – the above is likely to happen but would it surprise anyone?

    p.s. Can’t see him getting all £3.4mil but maybe the board will be “smart” enough to settle out of court and save everyone the hassle of an expensive court case with an unknown quantum.

    Spivs.


  41. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 3:20 pm
    =================================
    NTHM – sorry, not trying to drag you into anything – I just summarised all of those who’d been dragged into a pointless troll-hunt by Sam and asked him for some clarity. You and Drew Peacock are probably right, that it should be let go.


  42. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:29 pm

    “Excellent post 😀 ”
    ——————————–
    I’m glad it pleased you.

    I had a look back at the ‘accountingweb’ article you posted on Richard Hughes. I was initially thrown by the line that said Zeus Capital itself was not under investigation. However the 17 companies set up by Zeus which are under HMRC investigation does suggest that Mr. Hughes has some issues.


  43. john clarke says:
    August 13, 2013 at 3:19 pm
    Laxey buy shares for “Credit Suisse Client Nominees (Uk) Ltd”.
    ================================================================

    According to Companies House CREDIT SUISSE CLIENT NOMINEES (UK) LIMITED is a non-trading company based at 1 Cabot Square, London, listed as ‘live’ with dormant company accounts done until 31/12/2012 when assets were given as £3 with no liabilities.

    Duedil list the parent company as: Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited.


  44. CanuckBhoy says:
    August 13, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    Can’t see him getting all £3.4mil but maybe the board will be “smart” enough to settle out of court and save everyone the hassle of an expensive court case with an unknown quantum.
    ===================================================================
    You’re right that there isn’t a lot of ‘visibility’ on the deals but the only think I don’t understand is if things go into admin there would be no board left to settle the commission claim of an ex-employee. Surely that employee wouldn’t be sitting with some kind of debenture secured on property belonging to Rangers in one of its incarnations.

    I posted earlier about the Rangers Retail set-up which Ashley has secured a debenture on property and also has a break-clause which means he can buy-out Rangers and continue to make and sell kit under licence and it may well be that this agreement transcends any admin/liquidation of the current Rangers which means any ‘replacement’ Rangers wouldn’t have any control over kit income.


  45. CanuckBhoy says: August 13, 2013 at 3:29 pm
    Agreed – the sales jobs I have been involved with paid commission after the event and even then usually commission is paid 3 months in arrears to ensure invoices are paid correctly.

    Presumably multi-year deals do have some sort of opt-out clause so there is nothing to stop an unscrupulous salesperson invoicing for the full contract only to have it cut short (even allowing for penaties).

    There has even in the past been suggestions of kick-backs in such scenarios (of course I am not suggesting Mr Ahmed or anyone at NewGers is “dishonest”, merely using this as an example of what an unscrupulous person might do…).


  46. Guardian posting that 24,000 viewers tuned into the Brechin match on Saturday, nearly half on those inside the actual ground.

    The headline is “btsport Rangers match fails to score with just 24,000 viewers ”

    They go on to say that sky with 5x potential viewers would average just double that last year

    It seems this “the Scottish football tv contract needs Rangers” is not being borne out in the actual numbers


  47. shares passing from one nominee holder to another, giving no clearer picture of ownership. quelle suprise………

    Another dubious service provided by the big investment banks. these companies are so far ahead of the regulators it’s frightening.


  48. andy graham says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    What did they expect? Did they believe that stuff about 500 million fans?


  49. Sam says:

    August 13, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    5

    1

    Rate This

    Quantcast

    Danish Pastry says:
    August 13, 2013 at 12:57 pm
    ——————————————-
    Ahmad
    Read how he writes.
    The name spelt wrong is the biggest tell.

    Sam I am sorry I spelt Imran’s name incorrectly although I wonder how that makes me a troll. I think if you speak to people and do a bit of research you will find that I have been posting, hopefully intelligently, on TSFM and RTC since Rangers went into administration. To make the point please go to http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/imran-ahmad-of-rangers-the-portfolio-of-his-former-co-allenby-capital-by-100bjd/ and view my comments. I am very busy at present so I do not have much time to contribute although I do try to keep up. An apology would be sylish..


  50. I was looking back at the initial transfer notification of the transfer of 714,285 shares to Laxey from Green which can’t take place before 7 December 2013 except with permission of the broker or in limited circumstances which include: ‘In the event of a takeover of the Company.’

    I suddenly had what I think is a possible Eureka Moment and wonder if the childish attempt to shame McColl into coughing-up to pay £14 million to buy 28% of Rangers shares. My memory is telling me that if you purchase 30% of a company shareholding you then have to make an offer for the shares of every other shareholder.

    Under AIM Rules I wonder if that could constitute a company takeover at leas as far as releasing the lock-in. Green seemed desperate to actually get the deal clinched asap. I could be wrong but if not it looks as though Green wants to get rid of his shares asap and presumably follow Ahmad out the door.

    If that’s the case then the big question mark that remains is what happens to the property – will there be a lease-back arrangement? And can admin be avoided but then perhaps those waiting in the wings want admin although they would never admit it. But they might be fervently praying the pack of cards collapse whilst Green is still around enough to be able to point the finger of blame at him and his cohorts.


  51. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:25 pm
    0 1 i
    Rate This
    ———————————————————————-

    Sam, you seem to be mixing a few things up. the article you linked to mentions 3.4m in missing client money at Pritchard Stockbrokers.

    the 2.8m from the Jerome Group Pension fund didn’t involve Pritchard Stockbrokers but did involve Collyer Bristow. I await the court case involving that with interest as i work in the pensions industry. its one of the most flagrant breaches of the duties of trusteeship i’ve seen in my 15 plus years working in the industry.


  52. Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    “Pity you put an edge on your comments.”
    ————————–
    I get it wrong sometimes. I’ll try and be more careful in future.


  53. Castofthousands says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:39 pm
    ————————————————–
    Thanks, appreciate it.


  54. Ecobhoy – from The Takeover Panel:

    The following is a brief summary of some of the most important Rules:

    •When a person or group acquires interests in shares carrying 30% or more of the voting rights of a company, they must make a cash offer to all other shareholders at the highest price paid in the 12 months before the offer was announced (30% of the voting rights of a company is treated by the Code as the level at which effective control is obtained).
    http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/the-code/download-code

    I don’t see even the current incumbents at Ibrox trying to pull a 30% trick. Mr McColl has apparently invested a couple of pounds to date, he’s not going to pay 90p a share. Neither is anyone else. No eureka moment yet, I’m afraid.


  55. This is getting curiouser and curiouser ❗

    http://news.stv.tv/west-central/235941-laxey-partners-buys-two-million-rangers-international-plc-shares/

    STV Reporting Laxey: “We invested money in the club when it was needed and before it listed on the stock exchange. All the infighting and EGMs (extraordinary general meetings) need to end so the club can get on and run itself properly with the right financial support.”

    As part of the deal, the group entered into an agreement to guarantee its shareholding is not diluted. It ensured if the share flotation price was lower than the £1 paid by Laxey, it would receive additional equity in Rangers International to ensure its stake was not devalued.

    It is understood that as a result of Rangers International’s 70p opening stock market flotation price, former Rangers chief executive Charles Green has agreed to transfer a chunk of his 7.7% shareholding in the company to Laxey.
    ======================================================================

    So Green doesn’t get cash for the transfer of his shares to Laxey. He must have been desperate for the Laxey money at £1 a share before the flotation last December. So desperate he guaranteed that if the price fell it would be topped-up with additional shares to ensure that Laxey didn’t lose any money.

    What I can’t understand is that if this was an agreement with TRFCL why then is Green making up the shortfall and not TRFCL. It almost looks as though it was a private deal with Green but of course there was hope that the shares would float as £1 or £1.50.

    I had always thought that was moonbeams but it looks as though the main players actually thought they would get at least £1 on flotation so therefore there was no problem in guaranteeing there would be no dilution. Obviously it became obvious that the Institutional Investors weren’t going to pay £1 a share so it had to be dropped to 70p to get them on board.

    Are there any other deals out there like this and who covers the price dilution for them? Every time a stone is turned strange creatures slither from the light and head for cover.


  56. blu says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:52 pm
    ===========================================================

    Ah I didn’t mean anyone would bite but was trying to convey it more as a sign of how desperately Green wants out. And the latest news on the Laxey share dilution is just another absolute cracker. Green is leaking money even faster than the water flooding his doomed ship.

    Ah those halcyon days with 5+ million shares valued at 96p a whack.


  57. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:18 pm
    15 1 Rate This
    Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    0 1 Rate This
    Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:43 pm
    ———————————————-
    Wtf?
    ———————————————-
    back on the RTC site….there was a contributor called Sam.
    apparently he worked within HMRC
    He was pretty clueless and pretty much called everything
    wrong and was clearly an early form of Jack Irvines trolls. He
    didn’t last very long.
    I remember he only logged on at office hours and claimed he
    could see portcullis house in london from his desk.
    (i rarely pay attention to posters names on here, so when i
    saw Sam, i wondered if maybe he was back – which pretty
    much meant the end was in sight….but i don’t think you are
    him, sadly)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I have it on good authority that THAT Sam ran off into the sunset with the long-legged Linda from the office.

    Actually I made that up, just like he did.


  58. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:

    August 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    Come on, lets not just enjoy the car crash, lets be bigger than that – WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?
    =========================
    Faced with fierce adversity and mowhere left to turn the only option available is…………..Turn it off and turn it back on again……

    Scottish Football needs a strong IT Department.


  59. Carfins Finest. says:
    August 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm
    1 0 i
    Rate This

    Not The Huddle Malcontent says:

    August 13, 2013 at 2:30 pm

    Come on, lets not just enjoy the car crash, lets be bigger than that – WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?
    =========================
    Faced with fierce adversity and mowhere left to turn the only option available is…………..Turn it off and turn it back on again……

    Scottish Football needs a strong IT Department.

    ——————————————————————————————–

    theres a big step missing in the middle where the entire thing is stripped down to its bare parts with all the bad ones thrown out, a thorough cleaning done and a slicker, more efficient machine is put back together.


  60. andy graham says:
    August 13, 2013 at 4:11 pm
    =================================
    Perhaps the other 499976000 were paying 99p each to watch on Sevco TV.


  61. Lord Wobbly says:
    August 13, 2013 at 5:03 pm
    Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 2:18 pm
    15 1 Rate This
    Sam says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:57 pm
    0 1 Rate This
    Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
    August 13, 2013 at 1:43 pm
    ———————————————-
    Wtf?
    ———————————————-
    back on the RTC site….there was a contributor called Sam.
    apparently he worked within HMRC
    He was pretty clueless and pretty much called everything
    wrong and was clearly an early form of Jack Irvines trolls. He
    didn’t last very long.
    I remember he only logged on at office hours and claimed he
    could see portcullis house in london from his desk.
    (i rarely pay attention to posters names on here, so when i
    saw Sam, i wondered if maybe he was back – which pretty
    much meant the end was in sight….but i don’t think you are
    him, sadly)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I have it on good authority that THAT Sam ran off into the sunset with the long-legged Linda from the office.

    Actually I made that up, just like he did.
    ——————————————————————–
    Great post
    Sitting next to me right now, she says “Hi” [count] 😆


  62. Sam,Lord Wobbly
    Some good natured humour.great stuff.


  63. Beanos
    I think I prefer the Homer Simpson version which will be all that’s left very soon.


  64. Carfins Finest. says:
    August 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm

    WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?
    =========================
    …the only option available is…………..Turn it off and turn it back on again……
    ——————————————————–
    Been tried. Didn’t work
    Scottish Football needs a strong IT Department.


  65. I think things are looking up, Laxey quite happy to invest further despite imminent administration, Ahmad bailing out and deserting CG, CG owes Laxey 60p per share and 67 million of revenue streams in place for the next 5-10 years.

    Administration does not seem to be on anyone’s mind and I am still waiting for evidence of anyone holding security over Ibrox and MP.


  66. Carfins Finest. says:
    August 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm

    WHAT CAN CONCERNED SEVCONIANS ACTUALLY DO to save “their” Club/Company?
    ——————————–
    clear history
    delete cookies
    remove cache


  67. Ah trick question ,What can concerned sevconians do to save their Club/Company.
    The peeple dont do concerned.


  68. SEVCONIANS. Last one to leave turn the lights off. Oh sorry, they’ve been disconnected.


  69. I see various hacks on Twitter re-tweeting mighty tweets about the mighty institutional investors who buy mighty amounts of shares in the mighty Rangers. They truly are the mightiest of all the mighty. So mighty are they that they don’t have shareholders – they only have ‘Institutional Investors’. The 41 other ordinary clubs truly should feel honoured they are allowed to share the same league as them.

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