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.
Tif Finn says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:17 pm
4 0 Rate This
What price a new share issue to save the club.
===========================================================
Club? Company? Holding company of the assets? 🙂
OK, 1st off, who would buy into a new issue? what pretence for it would there be:? they have not delivered on ANY of the IPO promises, so can hardly say they’ll spend £9M fixing up the old place and opening a cancer centre this time
No, that will happen is pretty straightforward
TRFC will continue to burn up cash until there is no cash left (remember, the cash that is being burnt up is OTHER PEOPLES cash)
Greens original spiv consortium will already have their £5.5M back – through carious charges/salaries/bonus’s/commissions etc (and remember, the £5.5M to buy the assets came sugar coated with a lot of income due to RFC PLC – so it wasn’t 5.5M)
Anyway, TRFC, once loaded with debt and a RIFC PLC with no more cash to give, sorry, lend, will face administration. RIFC will take the properties as part repayment for monies loaned so far – but it won’t cover the amount owed and it’ll be administration for TRFC
TRFC will already have lost the properties at this point, so only option is to sell players/cut costs or look for a new buyer to inject new capital
the Bloo Knights who say weeeee will appear, they will buy TRFC – which will be tied into an onerous lease on Ibrox/MP. It’ll be part of the deal – and if they don’t take it…..liquidation again.
Of course, the new The The Rangers will need cash and will at some point go back to the sevco supporters. But the sevconians don’t really want to own the club, they want someone to do it for them, so it’ll be a smaller pot this time – indeed, a part time pot!
by december, we are looking at – spiv owned ibrox renting it to a “rangers minded” consortium owning TRFC/Newco with a part time squad and further reduced income.
I’m not sure a newco will be reborn….CG has the rangers men by the short and curlies. It’s pay the spivs forever or no “The the Rangers” – Simples
Tif Finn says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:15 pm
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Does anyone else sense a charade being played out in public and the next phase about to take place.
The “Rangers Men” are about to chase the spivs away and ride into Ibrox to save the day.
My bet, if that happens the fans will lap it up … again.
—————————–
If this was a good old country and western story the good guys (Mini Murray/McColl et al) would ride into town and chase away the bad guys (Mr Charles, Ahmed et al) and everything would go on as before as in Moonbeams time.
But the world has changed since Sir Minty and Gavin had their special relationship.
The new Rangers Minded people will have to live within their means and that won’t please the hordes.
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
August 5, 2013 at 10:38 pm
=======================
Pretty much what we have been saying for some time.
However as you say they really will have to go to the fans at some point. They will need free money, loans from wealthy business men won’t really do and they don’t provide gifts.
I know a man, who knows a man, who wishes he was sitting in his old comfy chair at the DR tonight. Happily churning out the p*sh he used to churn out. And therefore foregoing the glamorous position of standing on the Ibrox steps, spinning stories to the peepil. ………………
Or sitting in his old BBC studio arguing the toss with “Tommy” from Glasgow. …………… or dreaming happily of the ‘Onians winning the Lanarkshire cup………………………..Oh Happy Days .
timtim says:
August 5, 2013 at 10:09 pm
tomtom says:
August 5, 2013 at 10:15 pm
With ‘uchoob’ being a filtered site on my current domain I cannot enjoy the fruits of your labour. I do however appreciate the effort. 😎
@ timtim; indeed you may and I seek no recompense…
Tif Finn says:
August 5, 2013 at 10:51 pm
I don’t think this is the plan at all.
I think the IPO money is being loaned back to the club and Ibrox and Murray Park are being used as collateral.
When the money runs out RIFC will assume control of Ibrox and Murray Park and simply sell the club to the highest bidder. Whoever then owns the club will have to rent the stadium and training facilities while still paying a large and expensive playing staff. Oh and they will also have to pay for the upkeep of both premises.
They will simply have no option but to go for this deal. They cannot go to Hampden because it will be closed for the Commonwealth games. If they hope to attract the same amount of fans again then they simply have no option.
Twenty years ago it cost Celtic over 500K to rent Hampden for a year so how much to rent a stadium now.
McColl seems to be the next saviour but he is already on record saying the business will have to break even. Well with the stadium requiring a large amount of maintenance along with the current monthly loses it looks a mathematical impossibility for this club to break even without wholesale cuts and yet again the fans will not stand for this.
If, as I think, this is the final game plan then the game is over unless there is someone willing to fund the operation for at least two years. Or in other words fund it to somewhere in the region of £25M.
Before I toddle off here is another theory;
Does anyone else think that this whole debacle has been cooked up by RFC enemies?
I mean think about it.
Can anyone point to any one decision that anyone in a position of power at RFC/’The Rangers’ has taken over the last 24 months that has actually made their position better?
Since CW took over it has been one deranged decision after another. Sure the fans have been royally conned but that was always part of the plan. From taking the SFA to court to appointing JT as director of communications it has been a succession of decisions that have led to more ridicule for their fan base.
Carry On Up the Blue Room is my tip for the film of this charade.
justshatered says:
August 5, 2013 at 11:19 pm
_____________
I blame Peter Lawwell.
Have to hand it to the Newco spivs, they are playing their hand brilliantly.
The “Rangers” men are alarmed at Charles Greens’ comeback. Kemosabe McCoist has plenty to say and Walter Smith does walking away. They need a new hero.
Jim McColl is being heralded as the latest billionaire “Rangers man” prepared to step in and take over control of Rangers. According to reports, Jim McColl is worth a ton of money. He’ll have more than me at any rate. I’ll grant him that.
So here’s the rub. “Rangers” men want control of Rangers Football Club, whatever TF that is nowadays buried as it is under a huge pile of corporate shite. The spivs want their pay off. If Jim McColl or anyone else wishes to buy the required number of shares to take control, they will pay the spivs asking price. No choice, the spivs own the majority share. It could well cost a lot of money, as Charles Green has stated previously he’d be looking for £1 per share. Great news for smaller share holders who haven’t already baled, if this price was achieved. Nae luck to those who have. A conservative estimate would be that it will cost the Jim McColl camp in the region of £50 odd million to buy the necessary shares to oust the spivs.
Now the question. Why would anyone in their right mind cough up £50+M for a majority share in whatever TF “Rangers” are now when the same investment in 2011 would have secured the original article in its’ entirety, founded in 1872 , incorporated 1899 and paid most of it’s debt, thereby avoiding the humiliation of administration and ultimate liquidation?
“Rangers men”? Really??
Sunincapricorn on August 5, 2013 at 9:33 pm
0 38 Rate This
@Matty Roth 8:48 pm.
Unable to supply further clarification hence the request via FOI/EIR’s procedure.
However the flyswatting convention has been entertaining.
Not being evasive MR I’ve already posted sufficient details regarding the subject.
Pmac2 appears content with the situation therefore everything must be in order. Although how he determines that I have no idea. Unless he is aware of the details that the FOI response will reveal.
I have this vivid image of half a dozen contributors on here sitting in a room drinking xxxx beer and wearing hats with dangly corks.
==============================
Sorry this is too obtuse for me. I don’t see the problem.
I’ll leave it to others to debate with you however I am not sure there will be many takers.
CG `left` due to bad publicity
CG comes back due to bad publicity
PR `thing` hired by CG
PR `thing` tells the press to clear off – to avoid bad publicity
Methinks there`ll be more bad publicity
Until jack steps up for some Carlsberg bad publicity
Q.
What’s really going on?
A.
They`re not telling
[to avoid bad publicity]
Blimey
justshatered says:
August 5, 2013 at 11:19 pm
Agree with most of what you say but another possibilty for Auchenhowie… Craig Mather keeps it to enhance his sports management business??…
“I am delighted to have invested in The Rangers Football Club with my business partner Guy Gisborne.
“In addition to the financial investment, my sports management business, Simply Sport Management, specialises in youth players. I am confident that my colleagues and contacts within this field will prove invaluable.
“The facilities within the youth academy and training centre at Murray Park are world class and we must continually improve to ensure that the players coming through are of the same standard.
“I look forward to being part of the team rebuilding this fantastic club.” – Craig Mather 18/07/12 (released as a statement by TRFC/RIFC)
Shirley not too far fetched an outcome, considering what has come to pass so far? After all, he put in £1m of ‘his own’ money… 😈
56 hrs ??? Is something else going on that would take Mr Lunny’s mind off doing his job??? 😛
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
August 5, 2013 at 10:38 pm
————
This makes sense, but it leaves CG and others at RIFC open to dog whistling, which, I would think, reaches a long way and lasts for a long time.
It’s early days, but it appears that a united front is assembling for a takeover. I imagine the original investors will need circa £24m to break even. Even with cash already extracted that leaves a hefty price for McColl, when he decides he will invest his own cash after all. The mystery has been , “Who will the Blue Brother be?” Dave King? SDM? It looks like McColl. How much of the squabbling is puff? How much is agreed?
The spivs will not want to wait around, they never intended to, they were not expected to.
Go on, take the money and run, as you say, by Christmas.
Craig Mather – “I want to assure everyone, fans and investors, that I am absolutely committed to continuing the work that is well underway. The Board are totally united on that front.
“A man I respect has left the Club but I have a duty to ensure we remain on the right track. There is no doubt in my mind we will overcome any obstacles placed before us but I do fully understand the concerns of the Rangers fans.”
Most would read that as referring to the improvement of a football club but it could relate to the continuation of the spiv plan now they are in control. Clever. Sinister but clever.
Note to
Celtic fans, and lots of other non Rangers fans.
Life is fairly good at our club , and a lot of other clubs. Yes there are challenges at Hibs and Hearts, however that aside there is a lot of optimism that our clubs have adopted common sense policies which are delivering or will deliver what we aspire to, without risking the very existence of the club.
Celtic are the poster boys, however St Johnstone, Ross County, the Thistles at Inverness and Partick, as well as Motherwell & St Mirren must be very happy with recent successes and progress. Aberdeen continue to employ good managers, take note Hibs, and the fans there have amazed with huge travelling support, although you wouldn’t know that, as the MSM seem to only recognise Rangers supporters efforts.
The Championship clubs are now in a much better place, thanks to the new financial distribution, the League 1 clubs will benefit from playing Rangers twice at home, and League 2 clubs filled their boots financially last season with Rangers in town.
Given all of that, it’s perfectly understandable that fans of these clubs, feel able to aim a barb or two in the direction of Ibrox. We do so, in the knowledge that our own house is in good order, or getting there.
Rangers fans
The list of shambolic incidents is now reaching war and peace levels. There is little point in listing them , as they are so well known to everyone.
Which makes the efforts of Chris Graham and his accolytes so pathetic. At a time where the problems at their club are so serious, they should be spending every available second to see where they can help. They manage however to invest time and effort in creating spurious nonsense like GCC loans to Celtic or the activities of the Green Brigade.
Graham and his like symbolise everything thats wrong at Ibrox. They are really beyond contempt. A superiority compex with a sense of entitlement that would embarrass a Kardashian. Graham in particular is so far out of his depth it’s sad for decent Rangers fans to have to listen to this guy . He has backed the wrong horse at every turn, and then when it’s obvious even to him he has called it wrong again, he has a Damascene conversion, and chunters on as if he never mislead everyone in the first place.
Here’s some advice, to good Rangers fans.As i provide this, i already know , as it comes from Timmy, it will be ignored.
Back Malcolm Murray. Find a John Keane, find a Fergus, and find a genuinely rich man who is prepared to write a cheque, and not just offer moral support. I have no doubt Jim McCall is wealthy and capable, however don’t be taken in by talk of Billionaires and Rich Lists. Think of the so called mega wealthy who appeared on the list over the years. Tom Hunter, David Murray, Duncan Bannatyne, The Miller Family, John Kennedy at Kenmore, and many others. All of them worth a fraction of what it was claimed they were worth by the Sunday Times. In some cases, worth virtually nothing. The laughable case of Michelle Mone, claiming to be worth £48 million, in a tiny loss making business, highlights the naivety of believing valuations provided by the media.
The days of banks lending against equity in private companies to buy shares in Football clubs are long gone. Could Jim McCall write a personal cheque for £30 million. I dont know, possibly he could, but I suspect that could make a very large dent in his personal liquidity. More importantly, he is not stupid enough to do so, whilst his real wealth is tied up in a succesful plc, which he hasn’t exited from yet. This wealth though isn’t liquid without a sale.
McCall didn’t build an excellent business by making dumb decisions. I doubt he will make an exception in this case. Understand that, and you begin to understand the scale of the problem facing Rangers
What’s all the fuss about, I heard the Ibrox spokesman say on the news tonight that all is well, there is great unity! Aye right
Barcabhoy says:
the League 1 clubs will benefit from playing Rangers twice at home, and League 2 clubs filled their boots financially last season with Rangers in town.
——–
a fine post as always Barcabhoy but I feel its only fair to point out that Rfc* won’t be benefitting any league 1 clubs this season as they are just a league 2 club
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/walter-smith-bids-farewell-to-rangers-board-which-created-a-highly-dysfunctional-environment/
I prefer the term 3rd tier anyway ,its more accurate :slamb: :slamb: :slamb:
Tim tim
I think you’ll find out they are a League 1 club. Thats still 3rd tier though
How this crowd have not been asked for some sort of guarantee/ deposit WRT completing the season is FUBAR. We are all potential creditors again. But they must never be accountable, for anything which may place them at the same starting point as the rest of us. Thank god they are a good laugh though, co-op, GCC funding, #geezpeace.
Returning to McColl being touted as the rich saviour of TRFC…
=================================================
Has anyone seen any direct quotes attributed to McColl about being involved with TRFC ?
I can’t find any.
Which, IMO, translates as interpretation / conjecture / bollox generated by the MSM.
In case we forgot;
– McColl was supposedly interested last year in the Govan club – but nothing happened.
– McColl showed no interest when Whyte was sniffing about Ibrox the year before
– and the year before the sale to Whtye, there was talk of a fans buyout, with links to McColl.
McColl’s quote at that time in 2010 was as follows;
“…But any involvement from McColl – chairman and chief executive of Clyde Blowers – now appears unlikely.
“I gave them advice and input because we [at Clyde Blowers] are pretty good at doing deals. We do a lot of deals and structure a lot of deals,” said McColl. “But I have no interest in buying Rangers or having a financial involvement in Rangers.”
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/mar/30/rangers-takeover-jim-mccoll
Araminta Moonbeam QC says:
August 5, 2013 at 11:30 pm
The Celtic bias and gloating on here tonight is unbearable.
Everyone knows it is Stephen Thompson who is behind Agent Smith walking away from the Ibrox club.
StevieBC at 12.17am:
Being the boss of a very rich company is not the same as being a rich man.
Jim McColl is not short of a few bob but he does not have the sort of available personal wealth that could make a dent in this Spivco fiasco.
The man to watch out for is Douglas Park.
He will make his move when this current Spivconian debacle lurches into administration and a search for a saviour and a CVA.
If it’s soon, Spivco FC may be able to overcome the points penalty to gain promotion.
If not, another season of visits to Stranraer and Forfar beckons.
HK tonight was advocating a commercial and financial boycott of Ibrox by Rangers fans. In a cleverly worded 🙄 statement with more than one sentence and no little subtlety, the Rug told of the days of 10000 at Celtic Park which paved the way for Fergus McCann. A rallying call if you like to the Bears, and evoking images of Walter Smith and Jim McColl on horseback riding into Dodge.
The first problem is that this is arguably the single most idiotic thing that Keevins, already the least effective logician in print, has ever uttered, given the timing of his remarks is only days after the STs have been sold.
The second, and possibly greater problem is that saying Jim McColl’s name out loud and often will not automatically add several zeros and his signature on a cheque. There does seem to be an expectation, based on little else than hope, that McColl, a decent man and successful businessman, is ready to bring 30-50 million quid in a wheelbarrow to Charles Green’s bonfire – and that another wheelbarrow of roughly the same size will be along in a minute to throw onto the warchest inferno.
If McColl does get involved beyond joining a consortium as a junior partner to buy TRFC, I would be astonished if he allowed the club to build up any significant borrowing – and that borrowing which would be sanctioned would depend greatly on whether TRFC still had possession of a properly maintained Ibrox.
Gifts of loadsamoney from vanity-purchase owners are temporary and singular. Just like share issues, Neither are sustainable sources of income.
Football clubs in general are a bit boring in the way they raise money, and pretty useless at finding new ways. Tickets, TV , Merchandising and Sponsorship are the main cash-cow staples for clubs. New markets are thin on the ground, just like the fanbases of even the biggest clubs are ever-more thinly spread the further away you get from the stadium, making it a marketing nightmare. The promise of new media, whist still retaining promise, shows little sign of being anything more than a way to dump the TV companies.
Any post Green Rangers will have to face those realities. An alleged £22m windfall in the share issue has not resolved the financial crisis of the “debt-free” club. Salaries more modest than in recent years will still have to increase to compete with Celtic, and the stadium capacity gap is a serious handicap since it involves the most crucial income stream available. The club have a huge infrastructure problem to deal with, having a stadium rumoured to be in an extensive state of disrepair, having abandoned their own merchandising operation in 2005, AND lost almost an entire team of SPL quality players.
Like I suggested in the OP, the single biggest problem a post-Green Rangers management will have is the expectation of the fans – and how to reduce it. Rangers, like all clubs in Scotland, need a viable business plan, not a plausible borrowing plan. Any real Rangers man who takes on that challenge will be a brave guy, but whoever takes over, it is a challenge that must be met, or the cycle will begin again, and yet again
macfurgly says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:05 pm
“Project Charlotte-Is this plausible?”
——————–
It did have a clear ring to it.
Had a email from Stunney yesterday exhorting us all to keep smiling (or words to that effect 😈 ).
He is still an avid reader but won’t be doing the papers tomorrow morning
I passed our best on behalf of everyone here. Although you can all do that yourselves of course!
TSFM says:
August 6, 2013 at 12:39 am
HK tonight was advocating a commercial and financial boycott of Ibrox by Rangers fans. In a cleverly worded statement with more than one sentence and no little subtlety, the Rug told of the days of 10000 at Celtic Park which paved the way for Fergus McCann. A rallying call if you like to the Bears, and evoking images of Walter Smith and Jim McColl on horseback riding into Dodge.
The first problem is that this is arguably the single most idiotic thing that Keevins, already the least effective logician in print, has ever uttered, given the timing of his remarks is only days after the STs have been sold.
*****
Correct TSFM – other point is in those days, STs were a rare commodity – I had one at the time through my Celtic Pools sales tally but it was a rare thing and only one or two turnstiles were open for the terracing for a ST book. Cash was king – which is why 10,000 folks refusing to pay them for a home game hit them where it hurts.
It appears that when they circled the one wheel wagons a few weeks ago someone then whispered ,he’s behind us.oh dear ,they looked round and it was too late JT was there.
The Daily Record giving prominance to the shock sports news story of yesterday.
<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=eu3orm"
Sorry, the front page of the Daily Record is not showing.
As the main sports headline story of the day,the Editor has chosen to tell the nation about Celtic F.C. closing off the Green Brigade section of its ground for safety reasons. With civil war raging down Govan way and Walter’s shock resignation yesterday, could our friend Jack have had a quiet word in the editor’s shell-like? deflection anyone?
Here is the front page
http://i40.tinypic.com/eu3orm.jpg
Get well soon Stunney! Good to hear you are doing better!
Seeing the pic from BillyBoyce of the DR front page showing the GB, not sure we need to see the morning papers anymore.
Barcabhoys recent posts got me thinking – how do Rangers get our of this mess?
I am no expert on what happened to Celtic in the mid 90’s – my understanding is that Fergus invested in the Club, built a great stadium with increased capacity, the fans came back in greater numbers and a sound financial base was created that allowed the Club to expand and challenge.
Rangers cannot expand their stadium, indeed if all accounts are to be believed it needs significant repairs. There is also the other element in the room – who owns the stadium and the training facility? The emerging business model for the (corporate) investors appears to be lets rent back Ibrox to a club – which means that a significant percentage of income is going to go out of the door before a ball is kicked.
Lets forget a multi-millionaire buy out. The Blue Knights could not fend off Green. It looks like the IPO and x2 years of season ticket money have went back to the investors. That was the time for fans and investors to step in and rescue what was left of Rangers at that point.
I can see no way out – new owners are likely to be required to rent Ibrox back. I would imagine that the spivs will still own the intellectual property and would take a cut from future merchandise sales. Not much left to invest in players. A long way back to the top – and if the quality is not there with no hope then many fans will walk away, making the task even harder.
Rangers fans cannot blame the SMSM this time – although the SMS are still complicit (today’s front page of the Daily Record by all accounts being a good example) of turning a blind eye – Internet bamppots, Stuart Cosgrove, Alex Tomo etc. have provided high quality insight that illuminated much of what is happening and the direction of travel.
Where has the money gone?: Step in SFA – have you asked the Club for regular accounts, statements as to how the business plan is going? How can a club that secured 22M plus be close to skint – when it had no debts to pay? You maintained a safe distance from the club. Your job is to get in there and regulate – enforce rules freely and fairly, keep things honest and on track. What’s the latest news from the SFA CO crying that it was an error to take an EBT?
Perhaps the only way to rescue Rangers is for a total re-start – what should have happened after liquidation – the club building from the ground up, loosing aspirations of a by gone age – focusing on the now and going forward.
Looks like no chance there. The spivs appear to have focused on the fan base in the knowledge that to many the Big Hoose must stay open – that has long term rental value.
Perhaps is time for BDO to dish out the medicine – outflank the spivs – nullify the original sale – give a club a chance to start again – fresh – with no history or baggage.
Laughable,absolutely laughable. Amidst another civil war at Ibrox,with Sneaky Smith doing walking away,Traynor on the steps refusing to speak to fans unless the media went away (yeah ,freedom of speech eh?)the Record focuses on Celtic.If there are any Celtic fans still buying this rag, they should stop forthwith.
Long Time Lurker – I suspect that BDO will have no appetite for unwinding the Rangers sale, knowing they will be manoeuvred into the role of scapegoat, as the board and the MSM would then spin that if left to their own devices, there would have been a solution that would have ‘restored’ the club to greatness etc. Even if (an ethical or legal) solution does not seem at all apparent to us in the current state of things.
scottc says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:57 pm
================================
As ever I will mention how the MSM are approaching the latest farce from Ibrox, and sadly it’s all too predicable. Refer to the reporting guidelines below.
1. Walter is a man of dignity and honour and must be treated with due deference at all times. He is completely infallible.
2. Alistair is a man of dignity and honour and must be treated with due deference at all times. He is completely infallible.
3. Jim McColl is a billionaire. As he is now linked with Rangers he will be reported as a man of dignity and honour and must be treated with due deference at all times. If he drops out of any Rangers involvement he will no longer be regarded as such.
4. Paul Murray is a respected businessman who knew nothing of what went on in his previous time at Ibrox. He is a man of dignity and honour and must be treated with due deference at all times.
5. Rangers are a large, grand, worldwide respected institution with ‘institutional investors’
6. Once the good guys dispel the nasty invading hordes from the boardroom it’s business as usual as it has been since 1986
7. The business failures at Rangers must never be directly compared to the business successes at Celtic. A suitable German or Dutch club should be used as a comparison, particularly if Alistair McCoist states admiration for the business model.
8. Periodic mention must always be made of how much the majority of Celtic fans ‘miss’ Rangers. At Celtic press conferences, every opportunity must be taken to introduce Rangers to the conversation. This is especially helpful if you can get a new Celtic signing to acknowledge the awesome greatness of Rangers and point out how silly it is that they are not in the top league.
People talk about how the fans don’t deserve this and how they are blameless, but I don’t subscribe to that view. Any time the fans were offered the help of a digging journalist to find out what was really going on they tried to chase them out of dodge. Thomson and Daly spring to mind. I can get their mistrust of the Celtic supporting bloggers but they just wouldn’t wake up and smell the coffee
Also, ask these fans who are the enemies of rangers and they will have in a very lost list, the Record, Sun, Herald, Spiers, English, Clyde, etc etc
The list is littered with people and organisations that most non RFC/Sevco fans see as being cheerleaders
You could argue that Rangers, because of their fans, were the ideal club to carry out this sting on
This is a beauty . Remy McSwain @RodneyFarmer 8h
From Night Of the Living Rednecks on KDS: http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/single/?p=12370990&t=8817196 … He’s no Marc Antony
Now Walter
Are the fans not entitled to know how the internal whitewash,sorry enquiry was carried out and the end result of clearing Charles was arrived at,there was overwhelming evidence that there was contact but as this whole farce has dragged along it has been denial after denial and now look where we are,everyone involved here has been done up like a kipper ,a very old kipper that stinks to high heaven,who is leading the line on this scandal ,are they so covert you and your old board dont have a scooby,certainly comes across that you are all so inept ,taking up positions that where calling for experience to guide RIFC out of this tsunami into a more calmer hurricane because that is the fact of this whole rotten barrel of inept people ,it was never going to be from storm to calm in easy steps ,but no, no one involved knew how to batten the hatches down because they where all ignorant of the depth of the task ahead,self seeking ,self centered, clueless,greedy,no respect for the fans ,well ,WALTER, I dare you to come out with the story of what was said in the big hoose since you took over ,because if there is info that the fans should have known before they bought their season tickets then hell mend you ,sorry forget that ,its the RIFC fans we are talking about here so you will be ok,the quicker this whole sorry disaster is covered over in lime and let the rest of football get on with the game we all knew the better,all we will here in the future is mutterings of ,if only.
Daft question of the day…..
To which side of the Ibrox boardroom do the Greenock Bus & delivery company Tycoons belong? MSM has been very quiet about them in their talk about the two camps.
havesomefaithinmagic says:
August 6, 2013 at 8:34 am
It is not that daft a question. They got into bed with the Spivs to acquire shares and get a place on the Board, but it would seem clear they are Rangers fans and will not want the club damaged.
From KDS.
I,m assuming OSCR have made a statement(but I may be wrong),
If I was a trustee of a Rangers Charity, today would be an important day if my charity had been under investigation.
Sorry. went all cryptic
OSCR-
“Trustee A did not respond to any of our requests
for information, including a request for information
about other charity trustee roles. As a result, we
have been unable to assess the risk posed to other
charities of which Trustee A may be a charity
trustee. Should we become aware that Trustee A is
a charity trustee of another charity we will consider
the risk this might pose. We have made Trustee A
aware of our finding of breach of charity trustee duties”
To summarise:
“OSCR has concluded its inquiry into the actions
of Rangers Charity Foundation (‘the Charity’) in
agreeing to forego most of its share of the
proceeds of a fundraising event in favour of The
Rangers Football Club plc (in Administration).
• OSCR found that the Charity’s decision-making
process which allowed important decisions to be
made by one trustee acting alone was in breach
of trustees’ duties and constituted misconduct on
the part of the charity trustees as a whole.
• OSCR also found that the way the decision
regarding the fundraising event was taken did
not comply with the requirements of the Charity’s
Trust Deed.
• OSCR identified that issues of conflict of interest
inherent in the Charity’s structure had not been
appropriately dealt with.”
“Based on the information provided to us, we
further consider that the decision-making
process in the Charity, which allowed a decision
to be taken by one trustee to assign the
Agreement with AC Milan Glorie to The Rangers
Football Club plc (in Administration) without
consultation with the other charity trustees and
without a quorum, was in breach of the charity
trustee duties. In addition, the conflict of interest
presented by the assignation was not managed
appropriately and professional advice was not
obtained as required by the Charity’s Trust Deed.”
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
Thanks for this post, whatever the source!
It looks like a regulatory body has at last came to a proper conclusion! and the Rangers Charity Foundation has been caught out at last. This finding though just seems to be about the Milan game. As our other esteemed poster (Auldheid? Neepheid? one of the heeds anyway) has shown, decisions about the Man U game, the Man U lunch, the sponsored Ally McCoist family adventure holiday etc also seemed to be carried out under the same flawed decision making process.
We should hope that OSCR will continue their investigations and take any other appropriate steps if these breaches of charity law require a prosecution.
Will their be any fit and proper persons left down Govan way? (oops, that sounds wrong, no harm to the general Govan populace, I of course meant the Ibrox stadium collection of directors, ex directors, ex ex directors, etc)
OSCR has concluded its inquiry into the Rangers Charity Foundation, Scottish charity number SC033287, in agreeing to forego most of its share of the proceeds of a fundraising event between Rangers Legends and AC Milan Glorie held on 29 & 30 March 2012 in favour of The Rangers Football Club plc (In Administration). For further details, see the full section 33 report on the inquiry.
https://www.oscr.org.uk/search-charity-register/charity-extract/?charitynumber=sc033287
“OSCR found that although the decision was a breach of legal duties, it was made in good faith and in the interests of the charity given the risk that otherwise the fundraising event might not have taken place.”
Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath.
One pair of shiny ,hardly used brown brogues for sale,ebay#1690 any reasonable offers accepted
66hrs??? Still no smoke bomb action??? If you’re struggling with your workload Mr L there’s a certain person who might just be able to give you a helping hand!!!! 😛 no training required he knows exactly how the SFA works 😆 😆 😆 but beware he just walked away from his last employer a few times
Long Time Lurker says: August 6, 2013 at 6:51 am
Agreed – the only chance is that a new “True Blue” group take over and they go back tot he fans to invest again, either via a rights issue or new share issue. Didn’t someone say, based on previous vote, that RIFC/TRFC/whatever they’re called this week were able to issue a few hundred k more shares than they did? Is that held back? Genuinely don’t know how that aspect of things work.
What I DO know is that on previous attempts to raise additional capital, the fans were found wanting, contributing only £1.1m out of the £57m target for the rights issue in 2004, that would make Rangers “debt-free”. Fast forward to 2013 and I doubt that the guys who put money in for that share issue, for their “lifetime” debentures, for the 2012 NewGers IPO and for season books for the fourth and third tiers of Scottish football will be happy to stump up again, especially when they see how the spivs have walked away with all their dosh…
I firmly believe they will go bust again – wages and stadium costs make render their business model unviable. IMO Ibrox is a five-star Albatross around the club. NewGers or even-NewerGers must arrange an alternative venue or arrange a flexible rent based numbers attending – if those numbers fall, stadium costs will remain fairly fixed, and the “club’s” doom will again be hastened. If the spivs are dependent on rent to make their plan work, would they enter into a flexible arrangment?
Does Charles have Philip Clarke’s* number?
Tescos Chief Exec 😆
Hope things going better for you Stunney, we all miss you more than we do the papers.
Haste ye back 😀
Thanks to TSFM for the update.
Bomber doesn’t want to say he told them so, but he did tell them so.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/8856767/?
Dundee boss John Brown has again hit out at Rangers majority shareholder Charles Green after the latest turmoil at Ibrox.
Non-executive chairman Walter Smith left the Scottish League One club on Monday after Green was given a new consultancy role last week.
On his own departure from Ibrox last summer, Brown addressed a gathering of Rangers fans outside the stadium and spoke of his concerns about Green taking control of the club.
Brown’s calls were ignored, and the 51-year-old fears it may be too late for the Rangers supporters to save their club from liquidation.
He said: “It’s a ticking time-bomb. There’s in-fighting in the boardroom. My biggest fear is that Rangers will go back into administration because of what’s going on.
“Charles Green was never away. He might have had an extended holiday but he was never away because the people who are running Rangers are putting him up front.
“Rangers will suffer and they will continue to suffer until they sort it all out. It’s a nightmare scenario.
“Sooner rather than later there will be no money left. Bang, they will be out of business. Rangers will go down unless the fans stand up and say enough is enough. That’s the only way
Allyjambo says:
Hope things going better for you Stunney, we all miss you more than we do the papers.
Haste ye back 😀
Thanks to TSFM for the update.
———————————————————
seconded 😀
Thirded 😀
Tin hat on:
I think it was the correct thing for the DR to headline with the Celtic news, though it should have been on the back page. Celtic, one of the oldest clubs in Scotland, and current Champions, have taken the bold step of putting crowd safety ahead of ‘keeping the fans happy’. At this difficult time for all clubs, Celtic have risked losing income to do what they consider right, and, whether you agree with their actions or not, they should be admired for it. TRFC, on the other hand, are the newest club in the country, and are the 3rd Division Champions, so newspaper coverage should reflect that. What’s more, with negative stories at a premium these days from Celtic Park, and with Ibrox providing a veritable flood…
Put another way, Celtic’s relationship with a section of their support is far bigger news than the continuing collapse of The Rangers.
WRT the essential upgrades and repairs required at The Sports Direct Arena Is there possibly a need for the signature or approval from the ‘Title Deeds’ signee before said works can be carried out/completed/signed off?
Is their a possibility of not being able to trace the original Title Deeds signee?
Fourthed 😀
Good luck and best wishes Stunney 🙂
All the Best Stunney.
John Brown says..
“Charles Green was never away. He might have had an extended holiday but he was never away because the people who are running Rangers are putting him up front.”
So there we have it. from the horse’s mouth – (or more accurately the horse (JB) that was told by the real horse’s mouth (CG) ) – that CG is just the front man for the people who are running Rangers…any guesses who they might be? or are they also front men for someone else?
Calling Mr Regan? Mr Doncaster? Have you been looking out that ol’ business case / any other assurances that TRFC gave you for their licence and the Pincent Mason enquiry? Anything in there to give you some comfort? Are you now having worries that you’ll also soon be up to your necks in the smelly stuff? Have contingency plans been made about the league situation / tv rights etc if/when TRFC fold?
Its maybe time you looked after yourselves (as well as Scottish football) and own up or grow a pair.
OSCR not happy with Rangers Charity:
http://www.oscr.org.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/regulator-urges-football-charities-to-review-relationships/
Tif Finn says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:44 pm
11
2
Rate This
ecobhoy says:
August 5, 2013 at 9:41 pm
===============================
Could a friendly face in an official capacity at AIM alter the lock-in period.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My suspicion is that is what all the civil war is about. The Nomads will make a case to lift the lock in on share sales because the open warfare is not benefiting the business.
Guilty but unpunished I see.
Over my years of working for various organisations I have been involved in Quality Audits and Quality Management Systems from time to time,
When work and management systems undergo audits and assessments a number of issues can be found by the auditors.
These can be classed as non-conformances.
Depending on the organisation and the type of work being undertaken these can be few or many.
Individually they can be dealt with through agreeing and action plan to resolve the non-conformance.
However if there is a high number of non-conformances that is usuallly a big clue to the auditors that the overall management of the organisation is not taking its duties too seriously or in the worse cases there are major failings in the management of the company. It is therefore the case that a serious word is had with the management or if necessary a decision is taken for the withdrawal of the certification or the refusal to continue the certification.
In recent times we have seen the most unfortunate cases of child neglect and infanticide where the subsequent official reports tend to recommend that as opposed to individual matters being dealt with by individual organisations, a more holistic approach is required from all the stakeholders to ensure the bigger picture is not being missed. The regulatory and operational bodies all need to talk to each other, share their findings, compare and contrast all the information placed in front of them.
Using those principles we appear to have a case where a range of regulating authorities (SFA, SPL, HMRC, The Courts, ASA, OSCR, IPA and probably a few more) have had to deal with concerns over the management and goings on at both oldco and newco Rangers. My guess is that shortly the AIM will be looking at issues relating to the lack of financial disclosure.
It may be that some concerns raised, such a the charity issue, have been swept under the carpet using the phrases such as decisions being made ‘in good faith’ and the likes, however the big picture points to a possible culture where something much more serious is going on down Govan way.
Much if this is obvious as we have ‘war in the boardroom’ along with rumours, home made videos of ex-chairman, sacked players, a disgruntled manager etc etc being played out in public.
Is it not time that someone started looking at the bigger picture.
I would suggest that the SFA is ideally placed to do undertake such a review, however I recall that its ‘highly conflicted’ President has form for just acting on things and signing off paper ‘in good faith’.
Like the aforementioned tragedies, the signs are there for all to see but no-one is willing to step in and take the required action. However in this case the authorities, especially the SFA and SPFL can’t say they didn’t know about it if the whole operation at Ibrox goes down the pan.
Is it quite possible we have the same scenario going on inside Hampden ,no one knows who is in charge ,they know who should be in charge but that chair has not been sat on in 18 months ,the only thing thats been taken out of the in-tray has been a wage slip every month,the “I’m in a meeting ” sign on the office door is yellowing,the same on every office door down that corridor,no entry,there has got to be unrest among the lower echelongs in the staff of faulty towers,what exactly where all the big pay increases for,do tell,there is something seriously wrong here and we should be told,not even a press statement from Loony about the flares ,this is surely a ticking time bomb for this man and could go further than an accident waiting to happen which will happen ,eh Vincent,you have a duty of care whether you like it or not,we know you conveniantly side stepped some singing issues from lat season ,we haven’t ,you are a disgrace to your position ,under performing isnt good enough for you ,by the way who carries out your annual review ,oh dont tell me you haven’t had it yet ,no one in that office ,well they are failing also with allowing you to continue in position,the big bad man is comming to get you,be afraid ,be very afraid
wottpi
I imagine the 2nd liquidation will be carried out IN GOOD FAITH
I received this reply from the BBC this morning;
Thank you for contacting us.
We understand you were unhappy with reports about a briefing by Media House in relation to sectarian singing at football matches.
Your comments were passed to the Head of News, who has asked that I forward his response as follows:
“BBC Scotland Sports staff did not hold or attend any meetings with Media House or enter into any discussions with Media House, either before or after the 2011 Scottish Cup Final.
Media House did facilitate an interview with former Rangers’ player, Sandy Jardine, for possible inclusion within the BBC Scotland News documentary Bombs, Bigotry and Football, which was broadcast on BBC One Scotland on Wednesday 18 May 2011 and which examined the impact of sectarianism on Scottish football and society.
To inform the contents of the documentary, the documentary investigations team spoke to Strathclyde Police about definitions of sectarian chants and songs. No such enquiries were made of Media House. The full editorial responsibility for BBC Scotland programmes and content lies entirely with BBC Scotland and is not influenced in any way by any external party or parties.”
Nevertheless, we appreciate you feel strongly about this. To that end, we’d like to assure you we’ve registered your comments on our daily audience log. This is a summary of audience feedback, which is made available to senior editorial staff and management throughout the BBC. It is used to help inform future decisions about ways to improve our content.
Thanks again for contacting us.
Kind Regards
Adam Crockard
BBC Complaints
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints
Allyjambo on August 6, 2013 at 10:29 am
29 1 Rate This
Tin hat on:
I think it was the correct thing for the DR to headline with the Celtic news, though it should have been on the back page. Celtic, one of the oldest clubs in Scotland, and current Champions, have taken……………….
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Granted but the bad feeling on here is because its very doubtful that the DR headlined with the Celtic story because of the merits mentioned above. Far from it. Indeed their very own HK sat on a phone in last night dominated by calls from very unhappy bears. Furthermore when the anchorman on the show did talk of the Celtic issue he actually said that he had to mention it but the big story of the day had to be The Rangers. I never heard HK disagreeing with that viewpoint.
Just caught up …
And see that the de facto conductor is now back on board the Ibrox insane train to gainsvi££e and Walter’s been allowed off with his cardigan stuffed with payola wages for the ST job.
Will the Scottish press pack (now that is a frickin’ oxymoron) … ask him one penetrating question on the truth behind his resignation?
Man up Walter! and tell everyone what’s really been going on in your spiritual home?
Integrity? to many football fans; that’s another word tainted forever with the reek of Rangersness!
Ps
Best wishes Stunney
Take care
All the chickens are now coming home to roost in this sordid and messy affair.Outwith the machinations of the boardroom saga,let’s face it if TRFC were going to have emerged with a bright new future it would have happened by now through correct and proper business channels backed up by an objective , and fair minded governong authority.We all know this did not happen and the American trucker called it right.The numbers did not add up.
Any notion of rebuilding had to happen in tandem with the eviction of TRFC from the football leagues.The SFA position should have been’Happy to consider your application,once you have put your house in order.Your transgressions are such that we have no alternative but to ban you from the League’
By acting decisively they would have cut out all the nonsense,bitterness and bile and ,even the Rangers fans ,though no doubt shocked,would have been forced to accept this position.
The ball ,through a chronic and long lasting malaise is now well and truly burst,and I see no hope for a Rangers recovery.
To messrs Regan & Doncaster and Ogilvie, you called this completely wrong and ,in my view,your position is now completely untenable
Ouch:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-brown-wades-rangers-row-2129588
One part of Walter Smith’s statement that people seemed to have missed
“It is clear that Boardroom change is required and I would urge Rangers fans to get fully behind the resolutions which last week were presented to the Board and shareholders.
Also, I would like to remind the Directors that when a General Meeting was requisitioned earlier in the year I, as Chairman, was urged by everyone on the Board to do everything in my power to avoid such a meeting. At that time, I worked very hard to achieve that and now I am urging the Directors to do exactly the same this time and if that means Boardroom changes then so be it.”
It appears Smith wants the boardroom changed but does not want an EGM. Unsure if his side has the votes perhaps?
Charity begins at home it seems.
http://t.co/Y04VjBTIKj
How low can they actually go
Shouldn’t someone have asked Walter how an EGM or any other action can force change in the board if his “enemies” have most of the voting rights??
Maybe if he asks nicely with some added dignity and rangersness, all those bad men will just go away….
valentinesclown says:
August 6, 2013 at 11:56 am
Charity begins at home it seems.
http://t.co/Y04VjBTIKj
How low can they actually go
———————–
I think that OSCR were very charitable indeed in their conclusion that this was all done ‘in good faith’ especially since no alternative approaches were properly, if at all, explored.
This continued dodging of ‘legal’ bullets must now be hitting world record levels.
Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath.
bad capt madman says:
August 6, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Shouldn’t someone have asked Walter how an EGM or any other action can force change in the board if his “enemies” have most of the voting rights??
Maybe if he asks nicely with some added dignity and rangersness, all those bad men will just go away….
————————————————
“The bad boys did it but winnae go away?”
Scottish football needs a strong SFA to deal with a Club bringing Scottish football into disrepute.
I would add to my previous post that the Regan defence was that he feared footballing Amageddon and public disorder.
Owing to SFA inability to make firm decisions at the right time they have now created the perfect storm for public disorder.