A Guest blog by @heavidor:
Given The Takeover Panel’s success in procuring a Court of Session order to compel Dave King to make an offer for all Rangers International Football Club Plc shares not owned by the Concert Party it would be impossible for King to remain a director unless he complies with that Order.
The co-option of Barry Scott to the board and the elevation of Alistair Johnston as a person with significant control could be construed as repositioning, however it will be whether King makes an offer of 20 pence per share to all the shareholders not included in the Concert Party or not that will determine what happens next and we shall know later this month.
(King resigning) is the correct thing to do and should have already occurred. Instead, Rangers financial reputation has been dragged through the mud by association.
Irrespective of whether King complies with the Court Order or not this story is far from over, and it will continue to hamper Rangers’ prospects until it is conclusively resolved. A King resignation as a director of RIFC would reduce the prospect of contaminating the club, its directors and advisors from the full effect of cold shouldering should he decline to make an offer.
That would mean that King, as distinct from RIFC, had financial pariah status and not the club. That is the correct thing to do and should have already occurred but, instead, Rangers’ financial reputation has been dragged through the mud by association with King.
What should not be underestimated is the reality of cold-shouldering, not for just the offending party, but for those involved in business with the offending party. The consequences are dire for the individual or organisation who falls foul of the rules, making it impossible to carry out normal business activities within the sphere of influence of The Panel, and the same consequences face those who shelter the cold shouldered.
It should be appreciated that there are members of the RIFC that are members of regulated financial professions who would be further prejudiced through association with a cold shouldered non-resident King.
Perhaps unfortunately for a large slug of the mainstream media and football authorities, financial pariah status pursuant to cold shouldering in the UK coming on top of criminal convictions in SA would be impossible to spin in any positive way or to maintain continued fit and proper status. I mean, we could have the SFA cold shouldered, couldn’t we? All said though, the cognitively dissonant will carry on regardless.
If King does the right thing by resigning from the board, it is still important to appreciate that the ‘4 Bear’ Concert Party as determined by The Panel will continue to exist irrespective of how Kings deals with the instruction to make an offer for the shares. This is the elephant in the room that remains.
The Concert Party via their shares and loans will retain the same level of control they currently have, and therefore remain compelled to abide by The Panel’s rules.
King’s resignation would not remove that impediment.
It doesn’t end there. By challenging the authority and insulting the intelligence of The Panel and the Court, King has ensured all large share transactions in RIFC will be scrutinised and questioned and could additionally determine, for example, that the Concert Party is increased to include Club 1872 and Barry Scott on the basis they are working in concert with King and/or other concert party members.
There are some who think that The Panel has been slow to respond and impose sanctions and that they are all bark and no bite. It would be wrong to think so. The reality is that King has moved the whole dispute into uncharted territory. There has been no precedent for such continued brazen and naïve flouting of Panel rules. Accordingly, The Panel has chosen to move at its own pace, dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s and I suggest they’re being methodical rather than indecisive in dealing with the estimable Mr King.
The true value of RIFC shares was a key point in the recent court case with all kinds of claims being made. Some think that the lack of significant arm’s-length trades makes it impossible to arrive at a correct price, and others say that the price paid to Mike Ashley in recent trades is the benchmark. In my opinion, neither is correct. Current and prospective shareholders have the financial figures in the accounts to work with, and can determine the real worth from there. On that basis it is clear to me the shares are not worth anything like the last alleged trading price on Jenkins. Rather it seems that the shares only have nominal value given the business has never declared a profit, continues to lose money and is reliant upon ongoing shareholder loans to stay in business.
Any subsequent share issue – even with King gone – could muddy the waters further; The Concert Party members may expose themselves to another Panel instruction to make another offer should any of its members acquire more shares without coming to an arrangement with The Panel beforehand.
To illustrate such an arrangement, Dermot Desmond got Panel permission to increase his shareholding above 29.9% the last time Celtic had a share issue. This is preferable to trying to hoodwink the financial authorities with tall tales.
It should be clear to all followers of RIFC’s financial travails that the status quo is unsustainable. So, the question is ‘what’s next’? The chairman’s statement that accompanied the annual accounts once more talked about loan to equity conversion without reference to the impact of the existence of a Concert Party amongst the RIFC Board of directors and providers of loans. This is remarkable any such conversion cannot take place without the permission of The Panel and/or without dragging the other directors and lenders in the quagmire with another possible offer for the shares not owned by the Concert Party.
.. the shares only have nominal value given the business has never declared a profit, continues to lose money and is reliant upon ongoing shareholder loans to stay in business
So, what should happen and what is required for RIFC to rid itself of this terrible yoke? The answers are pretty obvious; King should make an offer of 20 pence per share to all those shareholders not included in the Concert Party. He has said the shares are worth more than that and that no one would accept. If he’s correct he has nothing to worry about and he would create a clear path forward for Rangers. He would also resolve the dispute with The Panel, creating the conditions for a debt to equity conversion.
So, why might that not happen? Because if the shares are worth 27 pence as the directors have suggested that means the loan to equity conversion would have to be at the same price and, of course, if the shares not worth anything like that there would be a rush to accept 27 pence and the ball would be on the slates, so to speak.
It appears to me the board is stuck between a rock and a hard place, that King will resign, and that there will be no offer.
If this happens the position would be precarious. The current board doesn’t have the credibility, money or experience to take Rangers forward. Being a true blue should not be the defining characteristic of what’s required to make Rangers competitive but it appears to be the preferred qualification of most of their customers.
I believe Rangers need a need owner with a controlling shareholding and deep pockets to sort out this mess, and I have reason to believe this view is shared by some of those with influence.
That is not to say that a solution is imminent, but the reality check is at least a start.
HomunculusJanuary 6, 2018 at 13:34
EASYJAMBOJANUARY 6, 2018 at 13:13==============================Thanks, I just wanted to make sure.So at the time of the last accounts King held 42% of the loans (or quasi equity as they were describing it) but 23% of the total debt.So he couldn’t actually block a CVA himself, unless he has actually provided additional loans as he promised. As I recall the first amount was going to be required in November and by the end of the season he promised £4m.
________________
Thing is, the Others’ c£5.4m; how much, if any, is owed to King’s friends in places like Hong Kong? Will they vote with him? In any event, to have 23% is a pretty good starting point and a gun to hold to the rest of the boards’ heads. I’d imagine in ‘normal’ circumstances being 2% short of the magic 25% would put a creditor in a very strong position to call the tune.
I wonder, though, if King feels his game’s up if he’ll decide to call in his loan (if repayable on demand) or maybe petition for a winding up order, or, as we’ve seen others do in the ‘Rangers’ Saga, go to court to have funds attached to cover his loan as he believes the company is insolvent. If, as we believe, there is no funds to attach, this would be a fruitless effort, but it is still a threat to the board to have to face laying bare the club’s precarious financial position.
Of course, I am assuming there really is a rift in the boardroom, and that King will want his money back, and that neither the club, nor his fellow concert party members, actually matter as much to him as his money does! Still, he’s always appeared rather miffed to have lost money from his Rangers investment, and I can’t imagine he’d be keen to lose too much to the current club either.
upthehoopsJanuary 6, 2018 at 13:14
CLUSTER ONEJANUARY 6, 2018 at 12:47If a fee has been agreed with the Seagulls? wonder what the hold up is?================================A certain blogger not too popular with some on here is claiming the Brighton Chairman is now demanding the full fee up front. Was it not strongly rumoured Hearts did the same when Rangers tried to sign Jamie Walker?https://johnjamessite.com/2018/01/06/loving-the-bomb-at-ibrox/
_____________________
Similar, but not quite the same, as Hearts never agreed a fee and TRFC never came close to matching Hearts valuation of the player. But the SMSM issued PR was similar, in that they made out Hearts were being unreasonable and holding the player’s career back, and avoided mentioning, as much as possible, the fact TRFC wanted him cheap and on the never-never!
I actually wonder whether there might be more chance of securing funds if King stood down! If he was to swallow his pride and leave with his loans in place, he could be seen as a hero who has done his part for the club. If I were an interested investor there is not a chance in hell I would get involved when he was in place. I’d be interested to know if someone like Kennedy would get involved were King to be out of the picture. If JJ is to be believed then we have already approached both the Easdales and Ashley who pretty much laughed in our faces while King was still involved. He has the option to either be the saviour of Rangers who’s ‘soft loans’ kept us afloat, and by falling on his sword led to future investment. Or he could be the villain that puts the club under.
ALLYJAMBOJANUARY 6, 2018 at 14:37
========================
The other £5.4m is from George Taylor, George Letham, Andrew Ross, Barry Scott (recently made a director) and Scott Murdoch.
The “three bears” have actually only provided c£3.8m between them.
With regards the on-demand issue. That was the case in the 2016 account. However the 2017 accounts show the money as being due in July 2018 (£12.9m) and December 2018 (£3m).
King has however said that he would extend his date to July 2019. Though that was probably as much to do with the going concern issues as anything else.
DARKBEFOREDAWN
JANUARY 6, 2018 at 14:52
=================================
By “securing funds” are you referring to actual investment, as in people buying shares, or are you talking about further loans.
DarkbeforedawnJanuary 6, 2018 at 14:52
I get where you are coming from, and it would all work out very nicely, as long as King isn’t the self centred b*st*rd most people believe him to be, oh, and by just getting out of town that he’d end all RIFC/TRFC’s problems with the cold shoulder. Would his loans not constitute a connection between him and the company that owns TRFC Ltd?
I’ve mentioned before that the RIFC/TRFC finances and boardroom set up are all very complex, with a concert party, growing debt, directors’ loans, plus the TOP order all needing consideration when discussing where the club goes from here, or rather, finds a way to stay alive. Add to that the fact that the man at the centre of it all is a convicted criminal and not to be trusted, so what might appear an ideal solution in theory, is probably just not feasible in practice.
I’d suggest that the first thing they have to do is not to get rid of King, but to get the TOP monkey off their back, and the only way they can do that ii to find a way to get King to make the offer for shares. Once he’s done that, the only problem would be finding the money, or someone to provide the money, to pay off King and to find a way to turn the club’s finances around. Easy when you say it quickly!
HomunculusJanuary 6, 2018 at 14:55
ALLYJAMBOJANUARY 6, 2018 at 14:37========================The other £5.4m is from George Taylor, George Letham, Andrew Ross, Barry Scott (recently made a director) and Scott Murdoch.The “three bears” have actually only provided c£3.8m between them.With regards the on-demand issue. That was the case in the 2016 account. However the 2017 accounts show the money as being due in July 2018 (£12.9m) and December 2018 (£3m). King has however said that he would extend his date to July 2019. Though that was probably as much to do with the going concern issues as anything else.
________________
Somewhere in amongst that lot is probably a Kingsman, or two, (pun intended) and, of course, the outside creditors might not be too happy with any CVA offered either. I’d say King is in a very strong position to call the tune at RIFC/TRFC.
He is whilst he’s involved not least having just passed “the wanton dilution resolution.” Precisely why he’d be mad to follow DVD’s path to step out leaving his loans and majority shareholding in there. He might be glib and shameless but he’s not stupid!
The latest talk now is that the Jamie Murphy transfer will be downgraded to a loan deal. Never a dull moment. Mind you probably makes sense, if they don’t have the money.
The media will have a lot of explaining to do if it’s true.
Tony McGlennan will investigate whether Rangers should have been granted a licence by Uefa to enter European competition in 2011.
12th September 2017
who knew ‘’raking over the coals’’ would take so long
Cluster OneJanuary 6, 2018 at 17:01
Tony McGlennan will investigate whether Rangers should have been granted a licence by Uefa to enter European competition in 2011.12th September 2017who knew ‘’raking over the coals’’ would take so long
_______________-
Isn’t it fortunate we have such a diligent MSM that will keep pressuring the SFA on matters that may very well involve fraud? I’m sure they will have someone camped on the steps of Hampden, constantly badgering Messrs Regan and Co and asking how the investigation is progressing. Intrepid doesn’t come close to describing them.
Big DJ on Radio Clyde getting a bit hot under the collar, trying to backtrack on his certainty last night at 8pm, the transfer would be finalised before midnight.
To a man they all think it’s Brighton that have moved the goalposts. Perish the thought it might be a disagreement on the payment plan. That option was not considered. It must be ‘add ons’ that Brighton has introduced. (After the guys medical!)
‘There has to be a resolution to this otherwise it will be embarrassing’. Too late! It already is.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42580173
Liverpool agree £142m fee with Barcelona for Coutinho.
I understand Barca are hoping to copy the Rangers* financial model by paying six cans of Irn Bru up front followed by 142 annual instalments of £1m.
I heard from a good source that Barca just pipped Celtic for Coutinho’s signature.
JIMBO
it’s not brighton,it’s the taigs
JIMBO
JANUARY 6, 2018 at 18:12
=========================
No worries, he was just going to be a squad player anyway.
He has more chance of a game at Barca, who would we have dropped.
9) Given the volume of lies being published and broadcast daily about our Club, when are theDirectors going to adopt a more robust stance with our detractors in the media, as the currentpolicy, just like its predecessors seems to be failing miserably? Is the current PR strategy directedby Level 5 or the board and executive team?
—–Level5 assist greatly on this front and much of their work goes unseen. Rangers couldchallenge media outlets every day but that would serve no positive purpose. Whenreporting is malicious or vindictive those responsible – and their employers – are challengedbut this is done through appropriate channels.
———————-
The SMSM again have been made to look like fools again with the Jamie Murphy will sign today for £1million (or was it £2 million).
You would have thought after the Derek McInnes fiasco they would have learned.But then again if you are being fed feel good rubbish from Level5, what did they expect
It’s quiet so
Someone asked the other day what was the ibrox boards plan for going forward.
———
I think they had a vision of 2022, and they do so, i found this article. 2022 vision to be at the very top.
and something about a 150th anniversary(not heard much about that lately,must just be in the early stages of planning)
———
Ps. this bit sound familiar?
The chairman said they would take their time over a permmanent managerial appointment after giving Stuart McCall the job for the rest of the season.April 1st 2015
I had a read at the other piece on the attachment. About the 5 loan signings from Newcastle, more or less forced on TRFC, mostly crocks. At a cost of half a million pounds. That was three years ago almost. They certainly didn’t have their troubles to seek. Then or now.
Mike Ashley doesn’t come out of it smelling of roses. I can almost understand why many bears were glad to see the back of the billionaire. As I see it, it’s why DK was welcomed with open arms. Full of promise. A saviour. But that’s the bit I don’t understand. I remember at the time social media was all over him. You only needed to read about two or three pages of court transcripts from SA to get his measure.
It can only be the desperate love of your club that could blind you to this man. They are not any more stupid than any other category of the public you would think. It can only be desperation, but I think a lot are waking up to him .
I have to say I’m confused by the often speculated ‘pre pack administration’ solution. Regardless of any good work done by the appointed administrator in reducing outlays, renegotiating contracts etc, surely the event can only conclude with a CVA where creditors have to accept a large haircut? The difficulty here is that Rangers appear to have no spare cash to pay even nominal sums to such creditors without jeopardising their ability to limp on until ST time?
Sounds like a rock and a hard place situation.
Sunday Mail reporting that Brighton want a credit check on Sevco before any transfer will be agreed. Would this be connected to the cold shoulder? Or just common sense?
What an embarrassment.
Well it’s now official that Murphy has joined on a loan deal, with a fixed (full?) fee payable in the summer (from ST proceeds?).
Well that’s a quick change of headline….
https://twitter.com/theclumpany/status/949797436037455873
Posted at 22.18 then changed at 00.07. Hard working these journos. Think they should just read Phil instead?
The thing is no one would have batted an eyelid if it was made clear that Jamie Murphy’s deal was a loan until the season end and then first option on the player. It would have made sense.
But we were lead astray.
Of course at this point we have no idea when doubts were raised in Brighton of the credit worthiness down Ibrox way. When stories abounded in the SMSM and social media that this was a permanent (straight forward?) transfer, why didn’t Traynor put the brakes on this misguided assessment?
So, did Brighton move the goalposts? I think not. It would appear that the fee, wages and add ons were all agreed. The elephant in the room was – Were TRFC good for the money?
On the assumption that it was a payment plan needed by TRFC, with perhaps no actual transfer money exchanging hands until May, it confirms our suspicions that the Ibrox club is well and truly skint. Red flags were hoisted up at Brighton. But never forget – this was Brighton’s fault!
So they’re skint that’s fine. Just stop trying to act like billy big baws, jetting out to Florida etc. as if they were still the Rangers of old, even then however their riches were a result of cheating on so many levels. Aided and abetted.
easyJamboJanuary 7, 2018 at 01:48
Well it’s now official that Murphy has joined on a loan deal, with a fixed (full?) fee payable in the summer (from ST proceeds?).JAMIE MURPHY has joined Rangers on loan until the end of the season when the move will become permanent with Rangers paying a guaranteed fixed fee.Rangers were willing to sign the former Motherwell player on a long-term deal during the January window but Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent.However, only Rangers will have the option to sign Jamie at that time.
________________________
No they don’t! Brighton prefer to be paid up front whenever the deal might be concluded (and no doubt would prefer it now) because they’ve checked out the credit worthiness of RIFC/TRFC and come to the conclusion that it’s better to lend the player till the end of the season, when the buyer might have the money to pay up front, than to risk, effectively, losing the player for nothing! TRFC will only be able to use the option to sign him if they have the money!
That’s how to do business, TRFC fashion.
Go after a player, apparently offer a seven-figure transfer fee you can’t afford, do a medical, unsettle the player (possibly the most important part of the scheme), then when your bluff is called, get him on loan for six months, with an option to buy at the end of the season.
Shameless!
with an option to buy at the end of the season.
————-
And if the new manager that comes in does not like the look of him? is it back to Brighton?
They get a player for 5 months,just who is paying his wages?
One thing is for sure any other clubs that the ibrox club want to do business with will have red flags and siren’s going off all over the place
And if the new manager that comes in?
what am i saying it will be Jimmy Nicholl.(you heard it here first)
“However, only Rangers will have the option to sign Jamie at that time”
(Rangers FC)
Like AJ I have my doubts about this statement. I am no expert on contract law but it’s the word ‘option’ that catches my attention. I take it that option is not a binding obligation? I would imagine First Option or First Refusal would be more appropriate. As AJ mentioned if money is still a problem or the dreaded ‘Cold Shoulder’ comes into effect it becomes meaningless.
I think!
As others have commented the Jamie Murphy deal and related club statement gives us more questions than answers, especially regards what may come around in the summer depending on his performance, fitness, any new Ibrox manager, cash flow etc etc.
The headline of course is ‘Skint club takes out of favour League One/Championship level player on six month loan in an attempt to give season ticket holders the impression all is well.”
“JAMIE MURPHY has joined Rangers on loan until the end of the season when the move will become permanent with Rangers paying a guaranteed fixed fee.Rangers were willing to sign the former Motherwell player on a long-term deal during the January window but Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent.However, only Rangers will have the option to sign Jamie at that time.”
If ever anyone asks any of us ‘what is meant by ‘spin’?’, then in this statement (not sure if it’s from the press or is a club statement) you have the perfect example. Not an example of good spin, for good spin is never so obvious, but a good example of telling your target audience what you want them to hear, while avoiding what you don’t want them to know. This is, in fact, so obviously spin to make a bad scenario look like a positive, that only the most desperate and gullible audience would not see through it.
AJ, that’s from the Rangers FC website. Talking about spin, this bit made me chuckle:
“Rangers were willing to sign the former Motherwell player on a long-term deal during the January window but Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent”
No mention of financial concerns by Brighton just a shrug of the shoulders decision ‘let’s wait until summer’.
imboJanuary 7, 2018 at 14:16
In truth, I doubt any other club would tell the full story in similar circumstances, though I doubt many would have gone about things is the same manner as TRFC seem to do, but, of course, no other club could expect to receive the help TRFC get from the media. Even for someone who has not followed TRFC’s travails as closely as we do, it is so obvious that the transfer deal has fallen through because TRFC do not have the money to even meet a down payment for Murphy.
I suspect the ‘guaranteed fixed fee’ (is this yet another addition to the Scottish football lexicon introduced as a result of things ‘Rangers/TRFC’ related?) will only be an issue if TRFC qualify for Europe, and another example of TRFC spending money they don’t have to steal a European place away from clubs that only spend money they do have.
Of course none of this saga is the fault of the player, he merely wants to move from one club to another. I heard he was a decent player at Motherwell and in England up until the current season.
I think if he wanted to come back up to Scotland he might have been better advised to aim for Aberdeen, Hearts or Hibs. It might come down to money. An extra £5k per week at TRFC. Plus they were his boyhood heroes (Oldco).
I would still be slightly anxious if I were him regarding any longish term future at Ibrox given the debacle of his ‘transfer’ and the failed capture of Derek McInnes. I reckon D.Mc. had the measure of them at the end of the day. By that I mean the board, the structure, the plan(?) and the finances.
JIMBO
unless he has a tardis he won’t be playing for his boyhood heroes
Apologies, Tony, I’ve edited it!
JIMBO
lol
You would think that any Scottish senior club which – factually – had survival concerns, as per their publicly available accounts, and which the had rumours swirling around it that Insolvency Practitioners had been consulted…
would attract intense scrutiny from the SFA and/or the SPFL?
A club in such an apparent, perilous position should certainly not be grandstanding WRT potential new player targets.
Apart from appearing reckless behaviour by the club concerned, it doesn’t exactly set a good example to other Scottish clubs. And it poses a further reputational risk to the Scottish leagues, (and sponsorships).
To state the bleedin’ obvious!
Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent”
——–
Why would Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent?
Can someone give me a good reason WHY?
WILL THE SMSM ASK THIS QUESTION?
From Brighton and Hove Albion FC website:
“Jamie Murphy has left Brighton & Hove Albion to join Scottish Premiership side Glasgow Rangers – initially on loan until the end of the season, with the move expected to become permanent when the summer transfer window opens.”
Sorry to be pedantic but that word ‘expected’ was missing from all reports north of the border.
Up here it’s written in stone. A racing certainty.
It kind of answers my earlier doubts.
Anybody else get the feeling that the deal TRFC were trying on with Brighton was similar to the kind of scam Dave King might carry out in his day job? Not actually illegal, but suckering a mark into a deal where he carries a greater risk than he is aware of, while the conman gets what he wants, while carrying no risk, at all! Even when the ‘mark’ carries out due diligence, and avoids that high risk, the deal has progressed to a point where the conman still gets what he wants, but the mark is now aware of what risks, to himself, the deal entails.
I think it is apparent that the Rangers board hoped to somehow squeeze through the Jamie Murphy transfer on their terms, then use their media glove puppets to report it as a major fee. The Sun yesterday morning were even tweeting about it being a £2M deal. This would of course have driven a stake through the heart of the haters who say Rangers are skint, even though their accounts show they are just that. Quite why the media think they are actually helping them with this standard of reporting is beyond me.
Cluster OneJanuary 7, 2018 at 16:40
Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent”——–Why would Brighton prefer to wait until the end of the season before making the switch permanent?Can someone give me a good reason WHY?WILL THE SMSM ASK THIS QUESTION?
_______________
I’m sure Brighton will be delighted to be paying part of the wages of a player someone else is using, unless Murphy has taken a cut in wages to a level TRFC can afford* to pay!
But, of course, in reality, Brighton, as with every other club in the world, would much rather have the transfer money in their hands, with a player they no longer require permanently off their books. That is why the SMSM won’t ask the question, because the answer is so bloody obvious!
* ‘Afford’ as in, take a chance on maybe managing to meet.
ALLYJAMBOJANUARY 7, 2018 at 17:35
—-
Thanks for reply.
If Jamie Murphy does not make it at ibrox?
Well you never know a big jersey to fill we are always told,just look at all of pedro’s signings,brought in with a fanfare of foreign names that had the ibrox fans salivating at the mouth. Now it’s lets get rid of these duds.
If JM does not make it the spin will be the loan deal was what we wanted,but then again that flies in the face of Mr Murty’s fit the parameters.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/15811412.Graeme_Murty__Rangers_will_seek_to_emulate_Southampton_recruitment_policy_in_their_future_transfer_dealings/
Murty said: “We have been looking more at people who fit the parameters rather than me saying: ‘I want this guy, I know him from the past, I need this guy’. It is more me saying: ‘What do we have that fits these parameters? What are options one, two, three, four’. Then we go and narrow it down from there.
“That is the way I saw it done at Southampton. I really enjoyed watching those guys do their recruitment, not just on the football side, but also on the management side. I watched their black box working. It is a fantastic thing.
“I think there are lessons to be learned from that. Identifying positions, identifying characteristics and then narrowing it down from there is beneficial for everyone.
“Any time when you can identify talent and buy it cheap, bring it in, develop it and sell it high and put a sell-on clause in, it makes a good business model to me.
“That puts a lot of emphasis on our recruitment department. But we have to make sure that, if it’s possible to do that, then we do that. Long term it’s a strategic thing.
If Jamie Murphy does make it at ibrox?
Will that fixed fee be £1mill up front,well they have waited long enough for the money.They had better hope the ibrox club sell enough players to make £1mill
ALLYJAMBO
JANUARY 7, 2018 at 17:
Anybody else get the feeling that the deal TRFC were trying on with Brighton was similar to the kind of scam Dave King might carry out in his day job? Not actually illegal…
================================
Absolutely.
So far down the line that the selling club now has an unsettled player, and it’s probably best to get rid – even on a loan deal.
But was the grandly titled ‘Director of Football’ involved in this latest embarrassment?
Mark Allen is no stranger to dubious player dealings: hence his exit from one of the richest clubs in world football.
But the longer he stays at the impoverished TRFC, the less likely he can secure a return to English football – or any other ‘big club’ in Europe – you would think?
(Unless his card is now marked and TRFC is his only option after City?)
Mr Murty is wasted in his current position.
“Any time when you can identify talent and buy it cheap, bring it in, develop it and sell it high and put a sell-on clause in, it makes a good business model to me.”
a footballing genius! If only other clubs had realised this before him….
Talk about bad PR. If we had anyone half decent in that department it would have been reported as “Rangers loaning Murphy until the end of the season and if the loan move works for both parties then it will be made permanent in the summer”. How the fleck can this be deflected if actually he’s a sublime player and we can’t afford him and stays at Brighton? We’ve litterally set ourselves up for a fail when in fact it could have been excellent and perfectly normal way of doing business. Whoever is responsible for the PR at Rangers (Traynor?) should be sacked with immediate effect. We just don’t think through how things could come across if it doesn’t go exactly our way!
Upthehoops @ 17.29
“I think it is apparent that the Rangers board hoped to somehow squeeze through the Jamie Murphy transfer on their terms, then use their media glove puppets to report it as a major fee. The Sun yesterday morning were even tweeting about it being a £2M deal.”
Yesterday I mentioned my astonishment that many (not all) bears still support DK and the board at Ibrox. One reason for this phenomena I omitted to mention was delusion. The statement above is a perfect example of what can happen. If bears only read the SMSM and selected user friendly social media sites they will miss out on alternative versions of events.
Celtic fans especially but other club fans too who take an interest in Scottish football issues off the pitch get accused of being Obsessed.
James Forrest had a blog out today:
“Too Many Celtic Fans Are Too Easily Swayed From Giving Sevco Proper Scrutiny.”
After years of cheating and corruption in the Scottish game, we cannot take our eye off the ball, so to speak.
Darkbeforedawn, you are very correct in my opinion. A good PR dept. could have handled this much better. By Thursday or Friday when it became obvious that a wedge upfront was not going to happen they (Traynor) could have started drip feeding the loan aspect. It would have been a tough one because they had previously started throwing out crumbs of it being a big money transfer.
It’s good to see you getting up to speed on Traynor. Fear of breaking moderation rules stops me from expressing an opinion on him.
DARKBEFOREDAWNJANUARY 7, 2018 at 18:55
What i was trying to say in my last post, but you put it across much better.
——-
Talk about bad PR.At first the PR was cranked up to level5 with a £2million fee
Re Traynor and the whole puffed up, self important, WATP guff around Rangers. It’s all very well pointing and laughing but the fact is…it works. It’s a bit like laughing at Trump’s populism or Little Englander flag waving, well and good but we’re in the minority. Traynor doesn’t give a toss about the SFM demographic, his target audience lap it up, in fact they need it or else their whole world collapses. They will sell 40k season tickets, job done.
ernieJanuary 7, 2018 at 20:07
Re Traynor and the whole puffed up, self important, WATP guff around Rangers. It’s all very well pointing and laughing but the fact is…it works. It’s a bit like laughing at Trump’s populism or Little Englander flag waving, well and good but we’re in the minority. Traynor doesn’t give a toss about the SFM demographic, his target audience lap it up, in fact they need it or else their whole world collapses. They will sell 40k season tickets, job done.
——————————————————————–
Spot on ERNIE.
ERNIEJANUARY 7, 2018 at 20:07
Re Traynor and the whole puffed up, self important, WATP guff around Rangers. It’s all very well pointing and laughing but the fact is…it works. It’s a bit like laughing at Trump’s populism or Little Englander flag waving, well and good but we’re in the minority. Traynor doesn’t give a toss about the SFM demographic, his target audience lap it up, in fact they need it or else their whole world collapses. They will sell 40k season tickets, job done.
=========================
You are right. Their only guaranteed income stream is season ticket money, and the easiest way to get it appears to be to convince the support their club are victims of appalling treatment by jealous, spiteful rivals and administrators. It matters not a jot to them that under David Murray an unlawful tax avoidance scheme was put in place, or that under Craig Whyte millions in PAYE and NI was withheld. Despite this they will apparently never forgive the rest of Scottish football for what they ‘did’ to Rangers. I’m sure we can also expect a few nasty jibes towards Celtic as renewal time looms closer.
ERNIEJANUARY 7, 2018 at 20:07
It’s all very well pointing and laughing but the fact is…it works.
———
And then the ibrox fans blame the SMSM when things go wrong (Derek Mcinnes and Jamie Murphy headlines) and most of the fans not knowing the smsm are fed that rubbish by traynor, but if the smsm want to be fed rubbish to print from traynor hell mend them when the ibrox fans vent their anger at the smsm when their sensationalised headlines come back to bite them
Real mixed emotions on the Jamie Murphy situation. It’s always disappointing to see a player that your entire support have such affection for make that move that burns the bridge.
Don’t get me wrong, of course, Jamie’s entitled to make the move and he has a personal reason for signing for them – that’s his choice. But he was a fantastic servant to The Well and we’ve all followed his career closely since he left and watched on with great pleasure how he became a real favourite at Sheffield Utd. & BHA and contributed significantly to their success – particularly Brighton where he played a huge part in their promotion push. For him to come back up the road in he way that it’s all worked out, has for various reasons justified and probably unjustified sullied all of that. The primary reason being that it will be difficult to see him line up against us for the team he had to hide his support for. ( what a lot of shite btw. We all knew that)
It’s disappointing that he, like a procession of others, think that the club he’s signing for are functioning, ethical, above board etc. I feel bad that he’s been ‘conned’, I feel bad that the deal has ended up being farcical, I feel bad that he’ll be under immense pressure to make a difference on the field to basket case F.C. He’s a great team player – but he won’t single handedly turn their bankrupt sows ear into a silk purse.
However bottom line is. Hell mend him (and anyone else who chooses to sign for them) it’s up to him and his advisors to be as well informed as possible. I just think it’s a really bad move for him. He could have got a great move to a top 10 English Championship team and avoided this absolute fustercluck but chose not to.
Very disappointing stuff.
Ernie, good to see you back on.
It’s the fact that you have a point which proves my idea that his ‘guff’ works! I called it delusion. For some, not all. Also where are we going as a society with the printed media? Sales of hard copy are falling at an alarming rate. Where would you guess their sphere of influence will be in twenty years time? I think they will be a memory. As far as I understand ‘clicks’ on their on-line content is negligible in terms of £££.
The next generation will move on to god knows what.
All over the world when there is no free press they take to the internet in some form or another to communicate and keep informed. Look at Iran at the moment. In some circumstances it’s used for the wrong reasons. It’s been the same since Caxton’s days.
But we have to keep challenging his guff.
In the future, historians will search social media records as well as the hard copy archives to get a fuller idea of things.
WILDWOODJANUARY 7, 2018 at 20:37
Hear what you say and feel your pain but the reality is football is a cut throat business.
It looks like the boy Murphy bust a gut as a regular to get promotion but now BHA have stepped up a level his manager doesn’t care for him.
A handful of players around the world can name their price but the other 99% have to take what they can, while they can.
Ethics are not high on many players list of priorities because they will get shat on at some point in their careers.
Many will take a game wherever they can if the money is right. Even when it is not, some will still take a gig rather than not play at all.
Murphy has been lucky to have had fairly steady spells at his clubs to date but the lad has a chance to put on the jersey of his boyhood heroes.
He is at an age where that opportunity may not come again.
Why not? If it goes tits up in six months he will still be of interest to those top 10 Championship teams come the summer.
Like Warburton having T’Rangers and Nottingham Forest on his CV, Murphy will most likely be happy with saying he played at Ibrox regardless of how it turns out.
Suppose it TRFC meets January payroll without any issues, then any insolvency chat is kicked down the road until the summer at least?
https://thecelticblog.com/2018/01/blogs/ex-celtic-campaigner-forces-sevco-fans-to-confront-the-dave-king-abyss/
Written by: James Forrest on 3rd January 2018 at 5:58pm
The Scottish Football Monitor has turned out another wonderful piece of work, cementing its reputation as the most influential of the blogs. It is an extended piece from ex Celtic campaigner David Low, one of the men behind the Fergus revolution.
He is a thoroughly credible individual, impossible for anyone in the media or elsewhere to simply dismiss as a crank or conspiracy theorist. With a background in finance, and impeccable credentials, he is someone who should be listened to right across the spectrum.
What makes his article all the more remarkable is that it distils a lot of stuff that’s been discussed elsewhere, puts it in a very user-friendly form and makes a compelling case that anyone in the media could have made, putting this in the public domain and refuting some of the more egregious falsehoods of the King “plan.”
The Scottish Football Monitor has done the job the mainstream press has completely failed to do. They have taken soundings from someone who knows exactly what he’s talking about, who has enough experience and expertise in corporate affairs to speak with both intelligence and insight and have asked him straight; “what’s going on here?”
And Low has delivered, with aplomb.
His principle contention, that King will have to resign as Sevco chairman – indeed, Low thinks that in order to prevent “contamination” he should have gone already – and even then it will not be enough to free the club from this matter, is devastating.
His argument – that this has put Sevco firmly in the crosshairs of the City of London’s regulatory bodies – is both cogent and factual.
That any scenario, whether King stays or goes, in which the club issues shares or does a shares to equity swap, is liable to result in another party or parties themselves breaching the 30% threshold is one that other sites, this one included, have flagged … but never in quite so much detail, or with such gravitas behind it.
“If King does the right thing by resigning from the board, it is still important to appreciate that the ‘4 Bear’ Concert Party as determined by The Panel will continue to exist irrespective of how Kings deals with the instruction to make an offer for the shares,” he writes. “This is the elephant in the room that remains.”
And it’s that problem which the media has gone out of its way to ignore, although it is so obvious that even laypersons in the blogosphere have been speculating on it for months. Low is not telling those who’ve followed this case much they didn’t know; what he is doing is making it obvious that those who’s duty it was to educate and inform their readers have singularly failed to do so, either out of stupidity and/or laziness or other motives.
The elephant in the room. Something enormous, which people are willingly ignoring. Described in the Oxford Dictionary thus; “A major problem or controversial issue which is obviously present but is avoided as a subject for discussion.”
Not only does King’s behaviour put the other members of the “concert party” under pressure but they open the club up to additional risks, whether King is there or not.
“It doesn’t end there,” Low writes. “By challenging the authority and insulting the intelligence of The Panel and the Court, King has ensured all large share transactions in RIFC will be scrutinised and questioned and could additionally determine, for example, that the Concert Party is increased to include Club 1872 and Barry Scott on the basis they are working in concert with King and/or other concert party members.”
King has endangered the club. His wide-boy manner was always going to place them in jeopardy. He has not the least bit of respect for institutions or their rules, as he has made plain time and time again. That his attitude and ego would place the club in peril, either through arrogance or ignorance, has been obvious from the day and hour he took over the boardroom.
He should never have been granted “fit and proper person” status, and the decision to do so casts shame across our game. Low does not miss the “governing bodies” either, or their media toadies, as this withering section spells out;
“Perhaps unfortunately for a large slug of the mainstream media and football authorities, financial pariah status pursuant to cold shouldering in the UK coming on top of criminal convictions in SA would be impossible to spin in any positive way or to maintain continued fit and proper status. I mean, we could have the SFA cold shouldered, couldn’t we? All said though, the cognitively dissonant will carry on regardless.”
It’s not only the media and the SFA which is going to have to start thinking about this stuff; it’s the Sevco fans themselves, if their new club is not to go the same way as their previous one did. As many of the Bampots have pointed out time and time again, there is no happy ending here for them whilst this man and his board of Real Rangers Men are in charge.
The managerial fiascos which have dominated the headlines these past 12 months were a sideshow compared to the problems behind the scenes, and they were, in fact, a consequence of those much bigger issues. It does not matter which loser they find for the electric chair behind the football boss’s desk, those larger problems are the real killers and they will remain as long as King and this current board does.
These people never sack themselves. They will have to be removed, and that means the Sevco fans coming together and taking the appropriate action. This is what the darkness looks like. I don’t see a way out of it for them.
David Low’s article “The Elephant In The Room” can be read at this link. I advise everyone to check it out.
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2018/01/07/jamie-murphy-and-sevcos-reputation-in-england/
https://sbnn.co.uk/2018/01/05/spfl-appoints-new-legal-advisers-along-house-legal-counsel/
SPFL APPOINT NEW LEGAL TEAM…..
The SPFL has appointed a new legal team as the shadow of Resolution 12 lengthens over Scottish football.
Governance of the Scottish game has become a joke as legal gymnastics is applied to try and prevent the truth about generations of cheating from Ibrox being made public.
The Nimmo Smith enquiry ignored five instances of unlawful EBT payments being made to Rangers FC (IL) players after shifting the date of the enquiry to avoid dealing with Discount Option Scheme used to entice and pay Tore Andre Flo and Ronald de Boer.
As liquidation followed administration at Rangers FC (IL) the SPL and SFA then carved up the notorious Five Way Agreement before welcoming back, one by one, most of the directors that led the previous Ibrox club into liquidation and declaring them fit and proper.
Sadly not one club has raised their voice to question the governance of the game as the SPL and SPFL stumbled from disaster to disaster in tandem with Rod McKenzie from Harper MacLeod.
McKenzie is being retained on a part-time basis to explain some of the gymnastics with four new law firms brought in as the SPFL tries to prepare for an era of fairness blaming the old regime for two decades of cheating the fans.
Brabners LLP, Fladgate LLP, Gunnercooke LLP and Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP will form a new legal panel with Neil Doncaster predictably delighted by the development.
He told the SPFL website:
“I would like to thank the team at Harper Macleod for their advice over the past 20 years. I am looking forward to working with a new team of legal advisers, which includes some of the best legal minds in sports law from across the UK.”
In 2011 the SFA granted Rangers FC (IL) a licence to play in Europe despite having overdue social payables (£2.8m tax bill).
Neither the SPL or SFA carried out any investigations into the contracts registered by Rangers FC (IL) for players which were well below the figures quoted at their previous clubs.
When Barry Ferguson left Blackburn Rovers for Rangers FC (IL) in 2005 his contract was for £8,000 per week, at that time Celtic had a number of players on £30,000 per week with full Income Tax and National Insurance paid to Her Majesty.
https://videocelts.com/…/lates…/spfl-appoint-new-legal-team/
StevieBCJanuary 8, 2018 at 02:00
The chat of insolvency has been kicked down the road for a good few years now.
Everytime there is an expectation of the demise of the new club something comes up that keeps it rolling along.
I suspect that trying to keep the cash flowing in and keeping the facilities in order along with the staff and suppliers getting paid is an ongoing hassle for many a football club.
T’Rangers are no different from any other club in Scotland.
And I suppose that it the reality of the situation being that, despite the relatively large income, the new club has failed to show any real strategy with regard to controlling its spending and developing its future on a solid foundation.
All that has happened is a lot of bluster covering up a panicked hand to mouth existence. Not exactly what everyone wants to hear about one of our biggest ‘institutions’ but that is where the club playing out of Ibrox finds itself.
It may blow up one day but then again it may not. Despite all the complexities we have discussed on here, somehow or someone may be found, as with Aberdeen, that comes along to assist with the debt/financial situation and steady things for a wee while and then off we all go again.
Things do look messy but I am not preparing for jelly and ice cream yet.
‘Deal with Pedro’s new club means Light Blues won’t make loss on Mexican flop’ (I’ve missed out the Sun’s nonsensical word play main headline)
Yet another TRFC feel good article in the Sun today. I’ve not read it in full (just the back page of the rag posted by The Clumpany on twitter), but apparently the claim is that TRFC haven’t lost any money on the Pena deal/sojourn at Ibrox, that Cruz Azul are paying his £20,000 pw wages in full and have agreed to pay, wait for it, £2m in the summer, if…(I presume it goes on to say he’s a success at his new club).
Basically it’s saying, that for TRFC not to make a loss on Pena, he’s got to prove himself to be a £2m player. Reuniting him with the coach who couldn’t make him worth keeping at ibrox is bound to turn a flop into a £2m player, happens every time!
Still, there are half-season tickets to be sold on moonbeams…
wottpiJanuary 8, 2018 at 09:56
0
0 Rate This
StevieBCJanuary 8, 2018 at 02:00
The chat of insolvency has been kicked down the road for a good few years now.
Everytime there is an expectation of the demise of the new club something comes up that keeps it rolling along.
I suspect that trying to keep the cash flowing in and keeping the facilities in order along with the staff and suppliers getting paid is an ongoing hassle for many a football club.
T’Rangers are no different from any other club in Scotland.
And I suppose that it the reality of the situation being that, despite the relatively large income, the new club has failed to show any real strategy with regard to controlling its spending and developing its future on a solid foundation.
All that has happened is a lot of bluster covering up a panicked hand to mouth existence. Not exactly what everyone wants to hear about one of our biggest ‘institutions’ but that is where the club playing out of Ibrox finds itself.
It may blow up one day but then again it may not. Despite all the complexities we have discussed on here, somehow or someone may be found, as with Aberdeen, that comes along to assist with the debt/financial situation and steady things for a wee while and then off we all go again.
Things do look messy but I am not preparing for jelly and ice cream yet.
………………………………………………………………..
I think you describe the situation very well.
From what I have gathered, however, there is one (possibly significant) difference between New Rangers and the other Scottish clubs you mention. Unless I am misunderstanding it, this club appears to have explicitly stated that its future financial viability is dependent on securing participation in European competition. For most other clubs, it is a question of more or less, depending on their level of success; for New Rangers, it appears to be a question of all or nothing.
A question if I may guys it might have been answered I don’t know. If king stays and the cold shoulder is applied how will this affect the other teams?
shugJanuary 8, 2018 at 11:01
Without any certainty, because it would be the first time the cold shoulder has hit anybody in this way, I’d say it will have no effect on any other football club, or business, unless they enter into any deals directly with RIFC/TRFC. Even then I’d expect no problems with cash based transactions where no credit agreement is required.
What has to be remembered is that the TOP’s action is against Dave King, not RIFC/TRFC, and their interest is in protecting RIFC’s small shareholders. I very much doubt they, the TOP, will be interested in preventing TRFC from trading, which means playing football, but while King is still a shareholder of RIFC, then it will have problems with raising cash, getting credit facilities and possibly prevented from making their share issue, as no one will be prepared to act for them.
With the potential for credit arrangements being stymied, I wonder if this might explain the flurry of signings/attempted signings before the cold shoulder comes into effect (if, indeed, it does), rather than waiting until they have the cash from proposed sales!
SHUG
JANUARY 8, 2018 at 11:01
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t affect them at all and if they wished to do business with King/RIFC they could, unless they are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, which seems unlikely. The big effect, would be on the ability of King, and through him RIFC, to do any sharedealing or any other FCA related business, I think. Presumably this would include credit deals for season tickets etc
https://www.burges-salmon.com/news-and-insight/legal-updates/takeover-code-given-the-cold-shoulder/
http://priceoffootball.com/tag/rangers/
Thanks guys.
SKOOSH60. Good find! Decent article and he/she (?) covers some other good stuff. In the passing…. apt that the OP is called “The elephant in the room” as yet another writer skips over the word “liquidation”. Almost gets a mention as he (?) goes for the old cliche of “fans from the south side” (as if it’s only them, nae me then!) taking night classes in insolvency. Like anyone doesn’t have the basic knowledge of what liquidation is! No one needs to get lessons on what happened to Lehman Bros, BHS etc. The urban legend that it is complicated continues and that is also “job done” by the SMSM.
SCOTTC
JANUARY 8, 2018 at 12:05
The url address you give for burges-salmon contains an illegal url character & (ampersand). It is only allowed in a url string if is being used in passing an argument. I changed the url string to pass nbsp as an argument but it takes me to the same webpage as if I omit “ ” completely.
If the webpage is not
https://www.burges-salmon.com/news-and-insight/legal-updates/takeover-code-given-the-cold-shoulder/
could you please re-copy the url for the correct page.
Ta
– sorry for the geeky stuff.
GIOVANNI
JANUARY 8, 2018 at 14:11
Cheers. I hadn’t even noticed or I would have removed it myself
Found elsewhere in the blogosphere…….Can You guess?
“I’m seeing a lot of posts by you but a conspicuous absence of donations. Am I missing something or are you”?
Brilliant. Pure class !! How to hound and embarrass your bloggers in two lines.
Got back home from Scranton,Pa at 1.45 this afternoon ( plane sat on the tarmac for two hours, delayed by the inadequacies of the small airport: -in re-fuelling, in baggage-handling and in turning- around two earlier flights for Dublin and Bergen respectively.I’d think carefully about whether the ‘cheapness’ of the basic flights is worth the discomfort of Ryanair quality and ‘extras’ for meal, hold-luggage etc.)
I’ve just been hearing a trailer for a BBC One TV programme tonight ( ” Millionaire Bankrupts Exposed,8.30), about how the slimy bast.rd ‘bankrupts’ get away with their wheezes, with Insolvency legislation being so weak, and so half-heartedly enforced.
The trailer made no mention of football as an industry with its fair share of greedy, lying bast.r. directors and managers and players/ex-players/ ex-office bearers who salt their wealth away and claim to be bankrupt.
Might be worth a watch, though.