I think there has been an appreciable shift of opinion amongst fans of TRFC recently.
Unlike the ‘invest: speculate to accumulate’ rhetoric featured in the press and by ex-players, the ordinary fans are coming to the realisation that there is no quick fix. There are even murmurings that there may never be a fix which involves their club becoming a competitive force.
Poor management of fan expectations has long been an accusation levelled at the TRFC board by SFM. It is possible though that many fans are beginning to manage their own expectations rather better. There are certainly justifiable criticisms of the manager, Mark Warburton, but alongside that is a realism about the limitations and constraints that he is working under.
There is a rather misguided, and possibly not accurate assumption that another liquidation for a team out of Ibrox would result in having to start ‘yet again’ in the bottom division; but in fact there is a growing acceptance that consolidation in the top league is a much better solution than gambling on huge borrowing simply to stop Celtic adding more notches to the goalpost.
Could it be that the fans are about to do the job that the board haven’t had the balls to do –accept the gap between themselves and (at least) Celtic, and settle for mediocrity on the field as a short term price to pay for continuity?
During the 1990s, in the middle of the Murray/BoS fuelled spending spree, and with Celtic in the doldrums, it seemed to many Celtic fans that their club would never be able to bridge that gap. Of course they did, but at the emotional cost of losing the exclusive 9IAR record.
TRFC now find themselves in pretty much the same position, but their road to bridging the current gap is a more difficult one.
There are similarities of course. Like the Celtic of the 90s, Rangers have major infrastructure challenges to meet. Celtic had a stadium to build, Rangers have Ibrox (and Auchenhowie) to fix and improve. Both required massive investment to improve the team, although I would argue that Rangers have a steeper hill to climb in that area.
Unlike RFC of the 90s, Celtic’s accrued wealth has nothing to do with an intravenous hook-up between their bank account and the chairman’s pals at the bank. Their baseline advantage over the current Rangers predicament is a combination of a stadium which holds 10,000 more fans than Ibrox, no debt, a burgeoning cash balance and the current inflow of European cash.
The Euro cash and the cash balance could be depleted, but the 10,000 extra seats won’t.
It also seems difficult to imagine how TRFC can obtain seed capital – even if they were inclined to gamble – given the combination of barriers to achieving that;
- They have a PLC with no stock market listing
- They have NO executive directors on the PLC board
- The current chairman is a convicted criminal, convicted of offences involving money
- The current chairman and vice-chairman are both directors of a previously liquidated club, and therefore associated with the financial mismanagement which brought that about.
- In that climate, sponsorship deals are hard to come by. Major sponsors want to be associated with stability, success and integrity. TRFC don’t tick many boxes in that regard.
- Banks do not lend to football clubs. Pre Murray/Masterton, football clubs were cash businesses with modest overdraft facilities to cover modest cash-flow peaks and troughs. The banks have returned to that model. 1987-2007 was the exception, not the norm.
- They are at war with a powerful and substantial shareholder in Mike Ashley.
- There is still litigation pending on more than one front which could even call into question the ownership of the club’s assets.
- They are in debt already (estimated at around £15m).
- The current onfield situation may require yet another write-off in terms of contracts.
Any one of those bullet points could be enough to derail any plan to get to the top. In combination, there may even be an existential question to answer.
That is why the fans are starting to look a lot smarter than the board, and ultimately the good sense of the fans may well help the board to find a way out of their current dilemma.
But even with realistic expectations from the supporters, is it possible that they can find a way? Is there for instance someone with a magic wand or bag of cash who could come in and turn it around? Perhaps, but who would risk money on a precarious venture like a football club when one of the most powerful businessmen in the country is in dispute with you?
In order for serious inward investment to happen;
- Ashley has to be reconciled with the board (needs King and Murray to go).
- The debt has to be written off .
- The new investor(s) has to be given control of the club (and this would perhaps require another 75% special resolution where current shareholders would be asked to vote to dilute their own influence).
- If they achieved that (and it is a pretty big if) the new investor cash would go into the club’s bank account – not used to pay off the debt – and they would be free to pursue new and better sponsorship deals, improve the merchandising contract with an onside Ashley, and add new revenue streams.
Even then, any new board would need to see the infrastructure challenges as paramount. Having one eye squinting in the direction of Parkhead will blur the bigger picture.
Their priority should be to reduce the losses (whilst increasing wages for better players), fix the stadium and the training ground (both in need of repair and improvement), build a scouting and youth infrastructure, and free up a (relatively modest) wad of cash to improve the playing squad.
In defence of the current board, the challenges facing them are almost vertical in incline. No matter how skilful they are, nothing other than someone with a barrowload of cash and a very long term outlook can put any kind of fix in place.
£50m might buy the debt and equity, and repair the stadium, but progress requires on-field improvement. It also needs stability, and therefore Ashley’s cooperation. The price of that is the head of Dave King.
Rangers will bring in more at the gate than Aberdeen, Hearts or Hibs, but they have a considerably higher cost base than those clubs. With better players, recurring costs will be even higher – much higher.
To square this circle, however unpalatable it appears to be, peace has to be made with Ashley. That is the key to being able to embark upon a journey that has any chance of success. Otherwise, the clocks will have to be reset to 2022, and the end of the SD contract, before progress can be made.
However there is no chance it can go on that long. Rangers fans may be increasingly less demanding in what they expect, but they will need to see some signs – and not just words – that a plan is in place.
The board are getting ready to throw Mark Warburton to the hounds (the MSM lapdogs have already been armed with poison pens to effect that). This will buy them some time, but not enough.
We’ve said it before, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ll say it again;
For Rangers to have a fighting chance of competing at the top of football, King needs to be gone. If he does go, half of the barriers preventing the club raising cash are dismantled.
So is King’s departure a price worth paying? If he really had Rangers in his heart, he would say ‘Yes’.
Sorry UTH. Pain? PAIN? Yet we’re asked to compare the plight of a club sitting a decent 3rd, being given/gifted/granted £4m per year just to be there following their £40m gift to exist accompanied as always by a perpetually supportive and advertorial press? Boo hoo!
MACFURGLY
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 00:00
Ryan,
“What will keep them going?”, is a good question. More loans, plus fans’ money. What else is there?
===========================================
The accounts are entirely clear on this matter.
It’s a cash business with no proper banking facilities or line of credit
Further loans are required in the financial year to June 2017, and that will probably continue into the next financial year
Bearing in mind this is a business which has posted trading losses in every year of it’s existence. It’s also a business which spent an alleged £1.8m on Joe Garner’s registration. Having lost money in 2016 and predicted losses in 2017.
Here’s a thought, don’t take that player on, with his registration and wages the best part of £2.5m to £3m would have been saved this year. The bulk of the borrowing required.
Don’t let other people suggest that cost cutting and compromise may be a better way to go than conspicuous consumption and conflict though.
Ryan, from your original post.
‘Might be more objective for the blog to assess the current situation; constant requirement for loans, yet loans provided and accounts signed off. Administration is no more or less likely now than it was three (or so) years ago.’
I think that any company that has made continued losses for three years is closer to administration than it was three years ago. It is the classic route for a company to fail. There are, of course, other pointers towards the closeness of administration.
‘Maybe the question to be asked is not what will drive them into admin, but what will keep them going?’
That question has been answered here on many occasions and the solution was at hand when MA was running the show – good financial governance – but the continued bad financial governance makes that solution so much harder to achieve. Without the input of a very large amount of money, it may already be too late for mere financial prudence to save your club from, at the least, administration, for the effect of that financial prudence would not kick in right away, and would require the downsizing of expectations, which would have the usual result of downsizing ticket sales.
‘Further, the requirement to negotiate with Ashley: I guarantee that if that man had his hooks into the revenue streams of any of your clubs you would not be speaking of him as highly as you do now.’
Here, and every other non-Rangers facing blog, warned of what the involvement of Mike Ashley might do to TRFC as soon as his name came up in connection with your club. No one spoke highly of him, he was, and still is, a pariah as far as we are all concerned, he did, though, have the wherewithal to keep TRFC alive. Besides, he didn’t get his hooks into our clubs’ revenue streams, it was the greed and ‘entitlement’ of your club, and supporters, that lent itself to create an opening for this pariah, that unwillingness to wait while the foundations for success were built.
‘The tone of conversation towards Mr Warburton has become highly sympathetic since he was no longer in the employ of Rangers.’
Can you explain why the ‘tone of conversation’ on this blog should not be sympathetic to someone it believes has been wrongfully dismissed from his post, regardless of whatever criticism has previously been heaped on him for his press statements and general bigging up of his club? Much praise was heaped on him here for the type of football he had TRFC playing, and he has been acknowledged as the best manager your club has ever had, but his shortcomings were highlighted as well, long before the realisation that he had no ‘magic hat’ hit Ibrox.
‘I’m not a newbie coming in here and claiming you’re anti Rangers, I’ve been contributing here for years, but I find that lately all people seem to want to do is take a pop at Rangers. Fair enough we make it easy, but if the starting position is always “Rangers have done something wrong, what was it?” there’s scope to miss other things going on.’
Strange that you should suggest that it’s only ‘lately’ that people want to take a pop at Rangers. Ignoring the fact that when we discuss the current entity, we are not taking a pop at ‘Rangers’, I’m surprised that you think it is only ‘lately’ that it is happening, we’ve been doing it since the inception of the blog, for it s, as you say, so very easy; and thoroughly deserved!
TRFC, it’s board, it’s SMSM, it’s supporters are continually giving us cause to discuss what they have done wrong, so many court cases to discuss for a start, but, Ryan, having pointed out our failings in constantly highlighting this aspect of your club, why don’t you give us examples of what they have done right, at any time in their history, and what benefit they are to Scottish football? Make the argument that might give us pause to view your club in a more positive light!
ALLYJAMBO
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 09:00
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Can I suggest that the new club starting in the bottom division of the SFL (as was) had a very positive effect on the cash flow of a lot of smaller clubs. Their increased gates and TV revenue would have helped a lot out I would have imagined.
They didn’t want to do it (much as revisionists would tell you otherwise) however there is no doubt that it would have had a huge positive impact. In fact it’s probably one of the main reasons that a new club was allowed in and other older clubs weren’t even considered.
More of a positive result than a positive action I suppose, but there you go.
Well I certainly livened the place up
RyanGosling
February 17, 2017 at 23:06
13 Votes
Cluster One, Are you assigning relevance to the MSM? The man takes a huge percentage of retail income with no benefit to the club
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No i’m assigning relevance to the club web site that stated and quoted.
In a statement on the club website, Rangers said that all staff employed at its Ibrox megastore will have their contracts of employment moved to Rangers Retail Limited, a company registered to the Sports Direct headquarters in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.
Rangers newco chief executive Mr Green commented: “We are delighted to have SportsDirect.com on board as they are one of the world’s top retail brands.
and a statement from sports direct that said.
A spokesman for Sports Direct added: “This is a very exciting deal for SportsDirect.com and we are pleased to be forming a retail partnership with one of the UK’s most recognised football clubs. Building on our well established retail and brand experience, we look forward to working with Rangers to offer a wider selection of official apparel and merchandise to their increasingly global fan base.”
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You may have missed the part were i said “I can agree with you there” about Ashley
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Sports direct was all that was there for trfc at the time (remember ADIDAS…oh dear!).
Ashley was one of the first at the time to get on board at the time if i remember correctly and at first the fans were all for it.Granted it was not adidas but it was a big enough name for trfc to have a partnership with and promote was a great deal to other sponsors or investors.A kind of look who we have on board join in and get on the journey.
It is of no use blaming anyone else now that partnership has gone sour. king stated he would rip up the contract and the fans and the smsm lapped it up. Any anger you have about the deal now that is still in place should be directed at king,Maybe instead of all his bluster he could have quietly negotiated a better deal with SD
RYANGOSLINGFEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 09:38 Rate This
Well I certainly livened the place up
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BIG SMILE
HOMUNCULUSFEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 08:18
the funding requirement is now anticipated to be £3.75m.The fist tranche of funding amounting to £2.9m has been received from investors in October 2016, with further funds forecast to be required in March 2017.
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could this funding that is forecast in march be held back incase it is used in a court case or is it only earmarked for football related expenditure
Ashley wouldn’t be everybody’s cup of tea but he does have wealth and he has made a big contribution to what success the new club has enjoyed, I would say! Am I not correct in thinking that it was the marriage between the new club and MA/SD that facilitated the substantial loan signings from Newcastle that enabled the new club to progress imperiously through the lower leagues. Could that progress have been made without MA? I wonder!
HomunculusFebruary 18, 2017 at 09:27
ALLYJAMBO FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 09:00 ============================================
Can I suggest that the new club starting in the bottom division of the SFL (as was) had a very positive effect on the cash flow of a lot of smaller clubs. Their increased gates and TV revenue would have helped a lot out I would have imagined.
They didn’t want to do it (much as revisionists would tell you otherwise) however there is no doubt that it would have had a huge positive impact. In fact it’s probably one of the main reasons that a new club was allowed in and other older clubs weren’t even considered.
More of a positive result than a positive action I suppose, but there you go.
__________________
I’m not sure just how much financial benefit was brought to the lower divisions, and doubt it was all that much, to be honest. Each home game against TRFC would have resulted in much higher police and stewarding costs (and, in some cases, the need to take safety measures in a ground more used to ten or twenty in the away end), and the advantage of extra TV revenues was, to a large degree, reduced overall by the need to pay the TV companies a large ‘inducement’ to cover TRFC’s games. There was also lost revenue to each club in each division when they each ended one place lower than they would have if a heavily doped club hadn’t been winning each division until that rather enjoyable 2014-2015 season! Anyway, any benefit was only transient, and I doubt any new stands were built, or players signed, as a result, but, as someone suggested a few weeks ago, there might be a few clubs with nice new tables in their social club!
Again, there’s still more to be considered in financial terms than increased gates in the Premiership. Sure, Celtic will have benefited a fair bit, but everyone, again, must take into account their club’s finishing position when it comes to divvying up league prize money, and if it is, indeed, a benefit to have a, still financially doped, ‘Rangers’ to ‘welcome’ twice a season. I get the impression that at some games home supporters aren’t exactly swelling their end of the grounds, ie people are staying away, either, when the bears visit and so the benefit financially is limited to the quantum of that delightful away support.
However, if the only benefit TRFC brings to Scottish football is to increase the income of the other clubs in their league, and the league is so desperate that it welcomes them, then it makes the SPFL a bit like TRFC itself, a failing model!
Over these past few days I have spoken to a range of people (admittedly not a population sample-size) about the situation at Ibrox. All of those have a much greater first-hand understanding of the people and issues involved than myself.
One person who is close to the I3, a few business people, two football club officials, several ‘connected’ fans and one legal professional.
The first question in my own head over this I3-Gate was ‘why?’
Why now? Why so apparently haphazardly and recklessly? Why the administrative and PR train wreck?
Whoever you believe in the Warbs v Dave head to head, it is hard for anyone I have spoken to to get their heads around the seemingly self-harming mechanism through which the club handled the end of the I3’s employment.
So what is the answer to the whys of it all? I think it is that they were faced with a Hobson’s choice.
The consensus, the unanimity I found on the ‘why now’, is that it was precipitated by a financial situation that is far more serious than everyone imagined. Rangers simply needed to save the cost of the I3 salaries over the next few months. They really had no other choice.
Given that it appears in the light of known facts to be a straightforward contractual win for the three, the consensus goes further.
TRFC simply need the problem to be deferred to buy more time. Yes, it will have to be dealt with later – just not now.
Upcoming court cases may yet force the board to walk away, but for now, cash flow will not.
You cannot blame Stewart Robertson for confidently asserting that a cohesive plan is in place. That is his job, to put a positive spin on the club’s actions and performance. However it appears that Robertson is being badly let down by others who, by their actions, make the existence his plan appear a less plausible sell.
We have long been of the opinion on SFM that Dave King is the single biggest barrier to success at TRFC.
What no-one has been able to satisfactorily explain to me is why he is still ruling the roost whilst losses pile up, and where the largely absent King fails to make good on his pledges of investment.
I’ve often wondered what the financial effect of The Rangers visiting lower league clubs was. Are there not supporters of such clubs reading on here? Wish they would come on board and enlighten us.
CLUSTER ONE
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 10:06
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As far as I’m aware it isn’t “earmarked” for anything. It is money which is simply needed to pay bills as they fall due.
So it could be wages, electricity, rates, petrol, absolutely anything.
As far as holding it back is concerned, that’s not really an option unless creditors agree to having their payment deferred.
The money they are borrowing isn’t for players, or projects or luxuries. It’s for paying the day to day bills. That’s why the situation is clearly so dire. When the loans dry up the business folds. Just finding alternate financing because money will always be found is a comforting fantasy.
Unless of course Mike Ashley is the only alternative … then we would see just what levels of revisionism the club, support and media are capable of.
Jimbo,
The advantages of TRFC’s journey through the leagues are not simply confined to the cash received at the gate. Lower league sides found themselves basking in the sunlight of greater publicity, column inches and TV exposure.
The astute officials at clubs would have leveraged that exposure in terms of greater sponsorship income and better quality of players.
Many of the grounds would not, as has been suggested, been able to exploit greater numbers of fans, but the publicity certainly had a value.
In the championship particularly, Hearts, Hibs and Dundee United have been involved as well as TRFC. Consequently a greater number of us are more knowledgeable about the likes of QoS, Raith Rovers, Falkirk and others than we may have been otherwise.
Perhaps one unintended consequence of the travails of Hearts Hibs, DU and TRFC has been to highlight the advantages of a bigger top division?
And is it any longer reasonable to say that teams in the top half of the Championship could not compete with those in the Premiership?
If not, there is no sporting reason why the top league should not be expanded. Perhaps that will be the legacy of the Century’s Teenage Football Meltdown
Ryan,
You certainly have livened it up a bit
You may not be wholly satisfied with the substance of the response, but there’s no doubt that your comments gave a lot of SFMers something to think about.
CORRUPT OFFICIAL
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 00:08
It really is beyond comprehension, that a manager, assistant manager, and chief scout resign on a Monday, and it can be viewed as No biggee !, and treated with such a lack of urgency, that no steps were taken until the U20 coach was contacted on Friday evening at a rugby match to act as interim. What if he said No?
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What if (several) others had said ‘No!’ before he was asked?
It’s apparent that something happened late on Friday afternoon.
Did DCK expect that the management team would have been gone by that juncture? Had he briefed one of his ‘on-side’ journos that would be the case & it hadn’t happened? Did he watch Warburton’s presser & lose it? Was the board split on what to be done? Did he give someone the telephonic version of the ‘hairdryer’ & tell him to get it done?
I suspect that DCK thought that the I3 would ‘walk away’ following events earlier in the week. I also suspect that TRFC had a plan to appoint someone (not necessarily Murty) internally for the short term, but they couldn’t speak to them without revealing their hand (and possibly concerned about leaks).
I don’t think Murty was first choice (and possibly not even second or third).
Had he refused, Jimmy the bus-driver may have been in charge of the team…
Totally agree BP about enlarging the top flight. I mentioned a few months ago. A league of twenty home & away is still 38 games. With the way it is at the moment, meeting teams 3 or 4 times (more if they meet in the cups) breeds familiarity. ‘Oh here we go again!’ Of course I could be a cynic and say that suits Celtic and The Rangers just fine.
Plus I miss Hibs and Dundee Utd as I did Hearts.
Glasgow derby? Couldn’t care less if I ever saw one again.
HOMUNCULUSFEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 10:52
thanks for reply.
As far as I’m aware it isn’t “earmarked” for anything. It is money which is simply needed to pay bills as they fall due.
So it could be wages, electricity, rates, petrol, absolutely anything.
As far as holding it back is concerned, that’s not really an option unless creditors agree to having their payment deferred.
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To see money they will loan for wages, electricity, rates, petrol, absolutely anything.
go towards a court case maybe something they will not be happy about as more loans may be needed quicker than they expected
JIMBOFEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 11:17 5 Votes
Totally agree BP about enlarging the top flight.
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maybe it will get changed if celtic win nine in a row(or maybe even eight as i think they need a two year notice)
you know like…. i ok you won 10 in a row but nine was in the old format and one in the new format so the tenth one is not really ten in a row in the same compitition
Re BP’s earlier post and mystery surrounding the timing of ‘The Resignations’ without any financial nous on my part — what if the board have decided the time is right to take a bigger hit in the current season and go for an administration event resulting in a clear out of the 1st team squad ending their contracts and subsequently promoting the young boys to work with the guy they have been playing for all season so far as this would explain his sudden elevation.
It would mean a bottom six finish but the current team would not survive in European Competition.
New manager appointed end of season could bring in New players without all the baggage attached at the moment.
Just a thought but we just don’t know what the plan is.
CLUSTER ONE
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 11:37
=================================
Or a 7 figure pay-off for a management team who resigned / were sacked in February, with no replacement lined up.
I genuinely don’t see how Rangers can win this one. If there is no letter of resignation and the employees didn’t even verbally resign then they were sacked. I am absolutely convinced that the three former employees will be happy to speak to this, under oath if necessary.
Though to be fair I also don’t understand why a man who isn’t on the board of the club and who isn’t employed by them appears to have been making statements on it’s behalf. Surely that was the job of the Managing Director or another member of the board.
The way things are going a £20m share issue will be spent before they even have the issue.
Big PinkFebruary 18, 2017 at 10:29
Good post, BP, confirming what most of us, I think, believe.
I don’t think it’s the first time TRFC have been seen to kick the can down the road, though it may be disintegrating now and so this will be their last kick. I think the reason they are kicking it down the road this time is to buy time until they find out just how much the Ashley case is going to cost them before deciding if they can afford to continue, and so need to settle with the I3. We know that there wasn’t sufficient outgoing players to make the required difference that was indicated in their accounts, and so disposing of the management team was, possibly, one way, or the only way, to kick that can.
Your following paragraph is something I think we must all wonder:-
‘We have long been of the opinion on SFM that Dave King is the single biggest barrier to success at TRFC. What no-one has been able to satisfactorily explain to me is why he is still ruling the roost whilst losses pile up, and where the largely absent King fails to make good on his pledges of investment.’
Might I try to answer that with some wild guesses?
There are, I’m sure, many such instances of companies running at a loss, all the way to ruin, while under the rule of a despotic, none too wise, chairman/leader, who somehow never finds his position seriously challenged. Perhaps because those who might challenge don’t actually want the responsibility, or are in La La Land, or are only just wakening up to the fact that the chairman/leader has been stringing them along with lies since day one.
The directors of such a company may well have been led to believe that a buyer for said company is constantly in the background, and it’s to their (though probably just the chairman/leader’s) best interests to hold on until they can negotiate a better deal. This ‘belief’ might be strengthened if the chairman/leader can arrange feel-good stories through a compliant media!
Eventually it might dawn on the directors that they have reached, or passed, the point where any serious life saving purchaser would have made his bid before the whole shebang goes down the tubes. And so the can gets kicked! Again!
Alternatively, they all realise that they have got in way above their heads and don’t have the ruthless streak, or lack of integrity, required to keep the club going (for as long as possible) and are just leaving it to the one man in their midst who can keep kicking that can in whatever way it takes! In the meantime, they are perhaps reluctant/scared (or maybe it’s just one of their number) to be the one who pulls the plug by saying ‘no more money from me!’
Another question you might have asked:-
If there is someone, or consortium, waiting in the wings to snap up TRFC, would they seriously be standing back while this debt just grows and grows and the problems mount?
Surely it’s best to get on board and apply the train’s brakes before the train is wrecked! Unless, like Charles Green did with Puffing Billy (Boys), any would be purchaser sees more value in the scrap/basket of assets of this particular train!
Homunculus
Your suggestion that at 20p per share £14,000,000 of debt for equity has already been spent is problematic for me. The underlying assets potential value in good condition might very well be less than the cost of getting there so the assets may be net liabilities. Also the element of value derived from dividends on future profits is not likely to be a huge positive either. This is compounded by the fickle nature of the customer base and their belief that there is a right to run up losses in perpetuity because “this is a huge club we deserve it we are a top European club and so on”.
I know that there is a sentimental value I being a RRM but it seems to be a gey expensive hobby
ps
I heard some of the Hugh Keevins comments about we are not employment lawyers so cannot say anything about the I3 situation. That kind of gate-keeping shutting down discussion is what allows charlatans to keep doing what they do.
JINGSO.JIMSIEFEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 11:11
CORRUPT OFFICIAL
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 00:08
It really is beyond comprehension, that a manager, assistant manager, and chief scout resign on a Monday, and it can be viewed as No biggee !, and treated with such a lack of urgency, that no steps were taken until the U20 coach was contacted on Friday evening at a rugby match to act as interim. What if he said No? ——————————————–
What if (several) others had said ‘No!’ before he was asked?
It’s apparent that something happened late on Friday afternoon.
—————————————-
I agree, there may have been others approached before Murty, or possibly considered it a tad dishonourable to take another guy’s job, but I suppose the real question I was asking will never be answered.
If Murty had said “No” sometime after the Friday evening 7:30 kick-off, would we still be being told Warbs resigned on the previous Monday. or would he still be in a job?
To all intents and purposes, with Warbs taking training, handling pressers, and whatever other daily duties, it would seem we wouldn’t have been.
I’m with BP on it. Payroll !!!…And the inability to meet it. Maybe a £40k+ per month saving has been made by pulling this stroke.
Players are un-ditchable, as they discovered with the Barton debacle, and not paying them on time punishable under the rules. That only left the managers and back-staff to carve off the bone. Or dare I say it, administrators called in to negotiate a player wage-cut.
How many minimum wage stewards will be replaced by “volunteers” can only be guessed at, but when looking to cut costs on the lowest paid (though essential) elements of staffing, as well as every other cost they could get away with (in the short term) it all points to an unholy mess.
Remember these are staffing levels that have already been pared to the bone, and further cuts, and in the manners taken, smacks of desperation. I said last week that only pay-roll not being met would be a bigger PR disaster, and I have discovered nothing new to alter that view.
I also said it was not a matter “directly” for the SFA to deal with, but I have changed my view on that. The evidence cannot be clearer, that DCK is pulling the strings at a club for which he was refused FPP status to be involved with.
Uncle Mick ( Note to Ryan, lol. I call him uncle Mick, because that is what my bloo friends called him when his tanks were on the lawn to blow DD out of the water) was censured by the SFA for having undue influence via placemen, and fined.
Perhaps pretendygers should now be on at them to take action and remove DCK’s “influence”.
It may be one of the few positive steps left open to them.
‘We have long been of the opinion on SFM that Dave King is the single biggest barrier to success at TRFC. What no-one has been able to satisfactorily explain to me is why he is still ruling the roost whilst losses pile up, and where the largely absent King fails to make good on his pledges of investment.’
Maybe he knows about any skeleton’s in the cupboard, or know’s where all the bodies are buried?
BFBPUZZLED
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 12:24
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You keep thinking about it as if it’s a business and that normal business sense applies. If that were the case no-one would be providing the soft loans and it would have folded long before now. Reading the accounts demonstrates perfectly well what you said later in your post, it is currently no more than a very expensive hobby.
The fact is that there have been c£14m of soft loans made in the expectation of a share issue and debt for equity swap. If anything that figure needs to rise. There is simply no option.
On Keevin’s comments, it’s typical dismissive nonsense. The notion that there are only two options, one is either an expert in a subject or has no knowledge of it is just silly. What is his particular area of expertise. Is it telling other people they cannot have an opinion unless they are an expert. Twaddle.
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.”
Maybe he knows about any skeleton’s in the cupboard, or know’s where all the bodies are buried?
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Did he know about the EBT’S and who else knew he knew?
was it a planned concert party? he knows yes or no, who else knew or did not know.
does any of the new boards know if he bought the CF tapes or did not?
who else knew or did not know the resignations were coming or not coming?
who knows or does not know were the loans came from in hong kong?
king may know alot more perhaps why he never finds his position seriously challenged. Perhaps because he know’s where all the bodies are buried?
I was listening to Archie McPherson earlier on ‘Off the Ball’. He was talking about the size of the top tier. His preference is for 16 teams with another cup to make up for the reduction in fixtures.
But it was interesting to hear that when it was only 10 teams, given the duopoly at the top, the other 8 teams lived in fear of relegation all the time. It’s not hard to imagine how this could have influenced teams in their style of play. Give it a go, or park a bus?
Ref restructure. Get appropriate agreement by the clubs following the presentation of a relevant focussed strategic plan. Give the required notice (one clear season for hopefully obvious reasons). Crack on with said plan.
Or the day after an abortive CVA attempt with your biggest club staring down a four division barrel once more (and even that requiring some ‘creative input) produce a 1 A4 ink still dripping review telling us that this was the plan all along and yes we do all button up the back!
BIG PINK
FEBRUARY 18, 2017 at 10:29
Over these past few days I have spoken to a range of people.
…
on the ‘why now’, is that it was precipitated by a financial situation that is far more serious than everyone imagined…
===========================
Always good to get some non-Bampot perspective BP !
The consensus obtained for the reasoning behind this latest Ibrox drama seems logical.
(Unless of course it’s just King’s preferred management style: creating uncertainty, and making illogical decisions just to keep the staff perpetually on edge. I’m sure we’ve all been there before at some point… 🙁 )
But after 5+ years of drama, you would think the bears would be battle fatigued by now and hoping for an end to the conflict at Ibrox?
And you would think their choice of ‘saviour’ could not be any clearer:
– a dodgy, skint, chancer, who is not really interested in football anyway
Or
– a dodgy, very wealthy businessman, who is genuinely a football supporter.
The only factor in King’s favour over Ashley is that King is perceived as a dignified, RRM by the majority (?) of the bears.
Isn’t football a wonderful game? Previous thrashings only to be followed by less spectactural results.
ps. how do you spell spectactural?
I seem to have broke the blog
It’s Saturday evening so I forgive you all. Except for John Clarke.
jimboFebruary 18, 2017 at 19:31
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Don’t worry Jimbo, the blog is OK so is JC and it is still spectacular!!
And btw way mods I know what the number is before my name!
Good evening Jean, good to hear from you. You wouldn’t believe what I’m listening to. For about the past year I listen to Radio Scotland from noon. All the football stuff. And then I just let it run on. Take the floor is on now. I must be getting old.
Let me tell you a story. In the bad old days when Scottish Soldiers were treated very badly as Japanise (sp) POW they used to nail Scottish soldiers feet to the ground and play Jimmy Shand records.
jimboFebruary 18, 2017 at 20:08
________________________________
Thanks for that Jimbo. My dad was a POW. He was a dispatch rider and was taken at Anzio. God Bless him he never spoke about it at all.
Jean, I’m so sorry if that came out flippant. Dispatch drivers were some of the most dangerous jobs in the war.
Wish I could delete my post from 20.08
Jimbo,
My father was also a prisoner of war of the Japanese, taken in Singapore, imprisoned in Thailand. That is not something that this blog is for.
Was good to hear Radio Clyde getting a call out to any Lawyer to come on and explain the Warbo 3 scenario.
The guy explained the two year procedure and how it will be settled out of court and yes it sounded like what happened is allowed, you make your intention known and bingo you are out the door for mentioning the R word, well if we want to use the SMSM version.
The lawyer obviously sorted out BFDJ scenario English Law is different from Scots law, spot on BFDJ, only problem is this is not consumer or criminal this is employment law the law for all.
So if the agent, which is alleged, let it be known that an R would be on the agenda if fees were wiped out, I am afraid then without written statements between the employees you would be goosed.
ACAS states
What can I do if an employee had indicated that they will retire on a certain date but then do not do so?
If an employee has given formal notice to leave, you are under no obligation to let them withdraw their notice. However if an employee tells you during a discussion that they are planning on retiring, they may change their minds before formal notice is given.
Where an employee decides not to retire and no notice has been given, the first thing to do is to discuss with the employee their reason for not retiring. This can help to establish whether there is any issue that you, as an employer, might be able to help them overcome thus allowing them to retire on the due date or shortly thereafter. Ultimately however, if they decide that they do not wish to retire, for whatever reason, then you cannot compulsorily retire them as this will leave you open to a complaint of unfair dismissal.
What really bugged me was Keevins telling listeners and bloggers to stop been legal tax and law experts. Well the listeners are listening to a propagandist for Sevco in BFDJ spouting pish he knows nothing about. The papers are putting out crap from sports journalist (no laughing) who know nothing about economics or law never mind sport, and Radio Clyde encourage listeners to come and dicuss topics invoving sport which happens to be regards employment law or tax dodging. Are these clowns for real do they expect listeners to come and reminiss about perms and false teeth and pies and bovril, whilst the clubs fleece them and pay these jokers lip service money, if a guy comes on and has an opinion then he fufills the criteria of the show which claims the show that gives you a voice and is all about opinions, if not then legally BFDJ this falls into your Scots Law issue because you are misleading your customer, if it is not about opinions you are putting out an invation to treat and selling a show which is not fit for the purpose it was intended for.
We have opinions and yes we undestand the law when it comes to been fleeced or tricked Sevco lied about the three and took a liberty by depriving a man his right to work and pay his taxes and go about his business in the workplce without interference.
Corrupt officialFebruary 18, 2017 at 12:29
‘……The evidence cannot be clearer, that DCK is pulling the strings at a club for which he was refused FPP status to be involved with. Uncle Mick ( Note to Ryan, lol. I call him uncle Mick, because that is what my bloo friends called him when his tanks were on the lawn to blow DD out of the water) was censured by the SFA for having undue influence via placemen, and fined.’
_______________
You are absolutely right, Corrupt official: it is pure fiction that the Chairman of RIFC ,deemed not to be a fit and proper person to have control of a football club, does not in fact control everything of any importance to do with the running of TRFC . He clearly controls his puppets on the Board of that football club-none of whom has the title as ‘Chairman of the board’ able to exercise some chairmanlike authority. Robertson, as CEO, appears unquestionably to do what he is told by King, or, perhaps more accurately, does what King’s puppets tell him.
(That in itself is enough in my book to cause Robertson to be ranked alongside the baddies. A man of different moral qualities and personal sense would resign from tht twisted madhouse of a club rather than be ‘used’.
It is beyond the bounds of credibility that the SFA do not know as much(and more, possibly) as we do about all of that.
And it is therefore possible to accuse them of the most craven cowardice, the exercise of hypocritical double-standards ,and another failure of duty to the rest of the professional football clubs and to us, the life-blood and source of income for those clubs.
Which, sure as fate , will continue to toil and moil and wallow in a corruptly administered sport under a disastrously failed leadership.
John ClarkFebruary 19, 2017 at 02:36
Corrupt officialFebruary 18, 2017 at 12:29‘……The evidence cannot be clearer, that DCK is pulling the strings at a club for which he was refused FPP status to be involved with. Uncle Mick ( Note to Ryan, lol. I call him uncle Mick, because that is what my bloo friends called him when his tanks were on the lawn to blow DD out of the water) was censured by the SFA for having undue influence via placemen, and fined.’_______________You are absolutely right, Corrupt official: it is pure fiction that the Chairman of RIFC ,deemed not to be a fit and proper person to have control of a football club, does not in fact control everything of any importance to do with the running of TRFC . He clearly controls his puppets on the Board of that football club-none of whom has the title as ‘Chairman of the board’ able to exercise some chairmanlike authority. Robertson, as CEO, appears unquestionably to do what he is told by King, or, perhaps more accurately, does what King’s puppets tell him. (That in itself is enough in my book to cause Robertson to be ranked alongside the baddies. A man of different moral qualities and personal sense would resign from tht twisted madhouse of a club rather than be ‘used’.It is beyond the bounds of credibility that the SFA do not know as much(and more, possibly) as we do about all of that. And it is therefore possible to accuse them of the most craven cowardice, the exercise of hypocritical double-standards ,and another failure of duty to the rest of the professional football clubs and to us, the life-blood and source of income for those clubs. Which, sure as fate , will continue to toil and moil and wallow in a corruptly administered sport under a disastrously failed leadership.
___________________________________
Please, please, please, do not rock that particular boat, for, as Napoleon said (something like) ‘never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake!’ I’d suggest it is in the best interest of justice to allow Dave King to continue to do whatever it is he likes with TRFC.
I’m surprised, actually, that someone like Stuart Robertson hasn’t contacted Regan to remind him of King’s unsuitability, though perhaps he has and Regan is doing what he does best when a ‘Rangers’ is involved…nothing!
Does King come under any authority of the SFA? He has no position with a football club after all. Nothing is ever plain and simple with such folk. It would be interesting for the SFA to clarify that.
At what point does a chairman who is not on the board of the football club who was refused FPP status to be involved with the football club, begin to start bringing the game into disrepute by releasing statements for the football club.
Are TRIFC now the media outlet for TRFC
The SFA “get out” is the claim they have no jurisdiction over the chair of a PLC that just happens to own a football club. I think the English FA can teach them a thing or two about that. Birmingham. Leeds and Blackburn being recent examples.
I know Ryan hates it when we sometimes focus on one single result however I feel comment has to be made after T’Rangers defeat to Dundee this afternoon.
I’ll take no comfort in it as my fingers weren’t crossed tightly enough when I predicted last week of Hearts would get to within 3 points of third spot!!
The thing that gets me having a quick look on the Bears Den site is that the current board of RRM are now beginning to openly take more pelters. The squad is also getting pelters and the immediate sense of hurt has resulted in calls for a clear out. Subs having a giggle on the bench at 2-0 down is a hanging offense. (Understandable)
It is however nice to note that a handful of folks ‘get it’ and are questioning who is there to replace these RRM and where is the money coming from to organise a wholesale clear-out and rebuild.
No sign of any progress on the manager front and with tricky games against ICT, who may prevail as on Saturday by being ‘agricultural’, and then St Johnstone and Celtic the next three weeks doesn’t exactly look like a cake walk.
Despite still being third in the league, interesting times ahead for the Bears?
Even if you conveniently ignore the desperate financials at Ibrox…
When it comes to searching for a new manager, TRFC is in exactly the same situation – or worse – than when it appointed Warburton.
Yes, they are in the top league now, but the manner of the manager’s exit has plunged the club’s reputation even lower.
So, TRFC could either;
– appoint a cheap, inexperienced and easily manipulated manager, (again)
or
– appoint an expensive, experienced manager who has been unable to find another club for a good while, (and probably for good reasons).
Since McCoist left to tend his lawn nothing has improved wrt TRFC’s recruitment prospects : any decent football manager simply wouldn’t even consider Ibrox. Period.
I’ve just tried to check the date of the Paul Murray event at ICAS. There no longer appears to be any information on this. Has it been cancelled?
I did however find this:
On 23 February Lord Drummond Young will be speaking at the Inner Temple in London on the topic: “The Rangers Case: HMRC v Murray Group Holdings – Substance and form – the triumph of reality over language?”
Lord Drummond Young handed down the leading judgments in Aberdeen Asset Management and in Murray Group Holdings (the Rangers case). The Rangers case is now on its way to the UK Supreme Court so this is a rare opportunity to hear a judge discussing an important case which is under appeal.
Link: https://www.icas.com/events/the-rangers-case-london
Apparently not all Rangers players had crests on their shirts today. Strange stuff.
ULYANOVAFEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 19:20
so this is a rare opportunity to hear a judge discussing an important case which is under appeal.
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Any idea How rare that is? And i take it there is no law or rules that say he can’t discuss an important case which is under appeal.
Could be interesting what he say’s.
UPTHEHOOPS
FEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 19:33
Apparently not all Rangers players had crests on their shirts today. Strange stuff.
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Even a replica shirt has the crest on it. so very strange for the club to be supplied with shirts with no crest
upthehoops February 19, 2017 at 19:33
Apparently not all Rangers players had crests on their shirts today. Strange stuff.
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On the subject of being improperly dressed, I had a chuckle at a comment made on the RM message board this evening. Whilst all the other irate posters were slaying the team for its poor performance, one Bear was far more concerned about the TRFC image. He was incandescent with rage at the interim manger’s dress code. Apparently Murts had a trackie on instead of the dignified suit and brown brogues – how dare he!
The left back (Hodson I think) played with no crest on his shirt in the first half.
Very strange, where did it even come from.
CLUSTER ONEFEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 19:54
ULYANOVAFEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 19:20so this is a rare opportunity to hear a judge discussing an important case which is under appeal.———————-Any idea How rare that is? And i take it there is no law or rules that say he can’t discuss an important case which is under appeal.Could be interesting what he say’s.
_____________
Would certainly make for interesting reading if transcribed in a newspaper (ha) or a blog online.
I suspect it is in order to discuss the case publicly as the appeal will be heard, and the decision reached, by judges alone, who will be unlikely to be influenced by public discussions of the case, unlike ordinary members of the public making up a jury. I suspect, though, that he will be confining his talk to the case so far and make no reference to how he expects the Supreme Court to view the appeal, though I am sure that that will be what most of his audience would want to hear.
Being reported in The Record online.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-fans-baffled-lee-hodson-9850255
I think badgegate will be nothing more than a good laugh, indicative of nothing more than the joke TRFC have become. It may well be down to cost cutting, though, with overworked staff not noticing a ‘rogue’ strip delivered without a badge, but with TRFC evermore under the microscope, as even the SMSM cannot overlook the warning signs, the liitle things are beginning to mean so much! Still, the excuse, if it comes, will probably provide even more mirth than the faux pas did, for it’s the new ‘Rangers’ way!
ULYANOVA
This sounds familiar. Didn’t Lord Drummond Young give a similar talk last year?
Bit of interest over on twitter where a guy called ‘The Twelfth Man’, apparently a respected bear tweeter with 20k followers (this is, apparently, a sign of knowledge
), is saying he’s been told by someone he believes that it’s administration soon, and that some employees are already working without pay, including Kenny Miller. Even PMGB sceptics are taking it somewhat seriously. He is, of course, taking pelters from his fellow bears, one telling him he’s wrong because there’s no internal debt, presumably he thinks not being able to pay players and staff will be classed as ‘internal debt’ and so leaves his club immune from administration
It may well be that the bears thought they were playing at Celtic park today as there’s an unverified photo, also on twitter, of a wrecked toilet, supposedly part of the ‘winning friends on the journey’ plan!
All information here is free from anything remotely resembling verification, and should not be used as the basis of any bets on an Ibrox club being relegated…or not relegated…or something else! Are you paying attention Mr Kinloch? Corals?
Didn’t DCK fly in recently under the radar?
Why was he here?
Meeting the SFA?
Admin?
Getting rid of senior staff?
Spending £30,000,000?
NO SUCH THING AS COINCIDENCE WHERE THIS SHOWER IS INVOLVED!!!
ALLYJAMBOFEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 22:42
“Bit of interest over on twitter where a guy called ‘The Twelfth Man’, apparently a respected bear tweeter with 20k followers (this is, apparently, a sign of knowledge ), is saying he’s been told by someone he believes that it’s administration soon, and that some employees are already working without pay, including Kenny Miller”
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Resigned?. Sacked?. Contract terminated?…….
http://www.lawinsport.com/blog/john-shea/item/unpaid-players-wages-the-legal-position
Kenny Miller interview……9 minutes 25 secs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9_CHvJo14U
Sergio
I don’t know whether Lord Drummond Young made a similar presentation last year. I am more interested in the disappearance from the website of any information on Paul Murray’s talk which was scheduled for 23rd February in Edinburgh.
ALLYJAMBO
FEBRUARY 19, 2017 at 22:42
Bit of interest over on twitter where a guy called ‘The Twelfth Man’…
========================
As you qualify IF true : then one could reasonably expect that if some wages are unpaid, then many suppliers will be unpaid…and HMRC.
And a common tactic is if you are having a bad year financially, then it’s as good a time as any to ‘bring out the dead’ so to speak, and get all the bad news out now – and it creates a following period clear of issues, (and maybe with some contingency funds in reserve).
In TRFC’s case, everybody should know by now that the club/company is financially b#ggered, so may as well get the football sanctions out of the way now – as it appears that this season could be b#ggered on the pitch as well.
jj’s latest
https://johnjamessite.com/2017/02/20/the-drowning-pool/
StevieBCFebruary 20, 2017 at 00:19
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The question is…can they hang on until the split, if not they will miss out on the revenue for the last Celtic game at Ibrox?
Payroll will probably be met again this month by way of a loan…however this could be a wasted effort as the Ashley case follows shortly after…then there is the Warburton case…so the loan may not happen
Ps. Steve I am taking the wife to New York in March to coincide with St Patricks day…any suggestions on places to visit, eat and drink?
AllyjamboFebruary 19, 2017 at 22:42
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Ally…I am aware of the same information…I can’t confirm how I know…but the trigger is waiting to be pulled…
PAULMAC2
FEBRUARY 20, 2017 at 01:52
…
Ps. Steve I am taking the wife to New York in March to coincide with St Patricks day…any suggestions on places to visit, eat and drink?
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Sure – I will PM you later today Paul.
Learned last night that former Rangers centre-forward Roger Hynd passed away over the weekend.
I knew Roger, nephew of Bill and Bob Shankly, as a teaching colleague, and he was one of the most inspiring teachers I ever came across and one of the nicest men I ever met. He had a love of family, his work, and Rangers.
He lit up any room he ever walked into with his positive attitude and enthusiasm. There are generations of his pupils who will dine out for decades on stories of their time with him.
After he retired, he did some stuff for me on TV at Celtic.
Roger scored in the 1967 ECWC final and had the goal wrongly disallowed. I once had him and Andy Walker on a programme in advance of a Celtic/Rangers cup final. They both argued over the likely result, but quickly became allies when I accused them both of scoring the jammiest goals in an OF match.
Thoughts are with his wife Jane and his family RIP Roger
Paulmac2February 20, 2017 at 02:03
AllyjamboFebruary 19, 2017 at 22:42……………………..Ally…I am aware of the same information…I can’t confirm how I know…but the trigger is waiting to be pulled…
_____________________
Can’t put my finger on it, Paul, but there is something going on, that’s for sure, and the feeling of ‘impending doom’ is greater than at any time before, at least it is for me.
I’ve been musing over the possible scenarios this morning, and don’t think administration, at this exact moment, comes under any possible ‘plan’ that might sort the mess out, unless the ‘plan’ is to liquidate, a scenario that some might suggest has no more consequences for an Ibrox club than administration does, with the benefit of cutting all current, and future, creditors of The Rangers FC Ltd loose.
If liquidation isn’t in their (or maybe just King’s) plans, then I can’t see the benefit of administration at this time, if it happens, it’s because things have spiralled out of control, and not as part of a master plan. I say this because the future, known but not yet crystalized, debts, such as the impending litigations, would remain to be paid in full as any CVA would be in respect of debts outstanding at the point TRFC go into administration, with the club/business having to survive on income/loans received thereafter. So, I can only imagine any planned administration would be set for a point after the results of the cases are known.
It’s one thing for dodgy businessmen like King (and Whyte) to set a business plan that includes going into administration to dump debt, it’s another thing, entirely, when it’s unplanned, or the plan is blown apart because you can’t get to the ‘optimum benefit from administration’ point.
I have felt for a while that, without a wealthy buyer, administration would eventually come, as nothing has occurred to make a big enough difference to stop the debt spiral, and I believe that any genuine buyer would have stepped in by now before the mess gets any bigger (or is maybe just about to). No one, not even the most wealthy, like to spend any more money than they have to, just to clean up someone else’s mess, and that mess is just getting bigger!
Not sure what the ‘chaos theory’ says, but I am sure it applies to TRFC at this moment in time, for chaos surely reigns at Ibrox!
I noticed a poster in the Scotsman mentioned the 802 Ltd wifi case was coming up this week.
Can’t recall any of our legal eagles saying that was the case?
Anyone have an idea when it was due back in court?
It’s boiling over on the Ibrox front (allegedly).
The twitter rumours of administration next month certainly make sense in light of the dismissal/resignation of Warbs & Co. That was clearly a can-kicking exercise, and probably essential if this month’s remaining wages were to be paid. The whole fiasco only makes sense as a desperate cost cutting measure.
At the same time, JJ informs us that King flew Walter and Bomber to South Africa for a meeting. What on earth is that all about? Walter as DoF, Bomber as interim manager? That makes no sense at all. A phone call to Bomber is all it would take. Why spend a grand getting him to SA? And the Cardigan as the modern DoF? Please!
Without being disrespectful, I don’t think Bomber and Walter were flown to SA for their insight into financial matters.
So what’s that all about (if true) ?
JJ is also hinting at the appearance of a new lender, which would, of course, take administration off the table for a while. But who in their right mind would put in over a million of their own money at this point? Either the loan terms would be brutal, or the loan would mark the start of a takeover, where all the existing lenders get their money back, and the shareholders pennies in the pound.
The current situation reminds me of the situation just prior to Ashley’s bail-out in January 2015. Two years on, and no further forward, probably in a worse place, actually.
However this time, I suspect, a final resolution will emerge involving the disappearance of King, and the “club” being run on proper business lines. That may or may not involve an insolvency event. But what it will certainly require is an awful lot of money. £50m was the best guess on here a few years ago. Maybe it will take more now that Celtic are powering ahead, on and off the park.
So has anyone got the will and the money to sort out The Rangers? Maybe the next 6 weeks will finally provide the answer.
Hearts board once again showing how transparency works.
http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/5770
neepheidFebruary 20, 2017 at 10:02
I wondered about the Smith and Brown visit to SA (if JJ’s information is accurate) and just can’t see it as anyone’s idea of a modern management dream team, but what if King was sounding them out as the figureheads of a Rangers Mark III? Or it might even be the case that a non-RRM is interested in throwing some of his wealth away in the direction of Ibrox, but might not be seen as the acceptable face of Rangersness, so King has to find the right ‘faces’ before a deal can be struck!
Regardless, we can be pretty sure that any deal King makes will benefit King more than any of his fellow directors, and to that end, holding a meeting in SA might be his way of keeping them out of the loop, whatever the plan might be!
BIG PINKFEBRUARY 20, 2017 at 10:28
Not only does it show transparency, the news re the pitch shows real class.
Given the club is on a tight budget and has the new stand to pay for they could easily have toughed it out for the rest of the season being pitch works were planned in conjunction with the construction works.
However in the interests of both Hearts and the game as a whole they have decided to take positive action after it is clear the issue isn’t going to get any better and there are no other solutions.
No doubt that will result in a bit of double handling and cost re the pitch but it is the right thing to do given we all want to see football played as it should, on a decent flat surface.
Hopefully the new pitch will see the Jambos thrive and get some decent performances to sort out that league position before the split. 🙂
wottpi February 20, 2017 at 09:44
I noticed a poster in the Scotsman mentioned the 802 Ltd wifi case was coming up this week.
Can’t recall any of our legal eagles saying that was the case?
Anyone have an idea when it was due back in court?
==========================
At the time of the last hearing, it wasn’t expected to be back in court until the summer of 2017. The case was originally heard at Glasgow Sheriff Court. I’ve had a look at the GSC Rolls but I can’t see it there, or in the CoS Rolls either.
That doesn’t mean it’s not happening, this week. It just means I can’t find it.
Ha Ha, If Easy cant find it I doubt if the judges can!