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No point, our new football philosophy depends on high intensity attacking full backs

Yes, it's one of the lowest rates in the US.

Ask it if it knows any phenomenal defending right backs.

Is the taxation regime in Delaware favourable to incorporations?

There is a distinct lack of transparency on various things to do with the takeover and going forward. We have venture capitalists in charge now, not major shareholders with an emotional attachment.

Rangers FC LLC is a limited company registered in Delaware. There are 2 other Rangers companies registered in Delaware - Rangers FC Investors LLC and Rangers FC Investors Manager LLC. My guess is that they are either dormant or are vehicles for parts of the consortium to have their investments in the holding company. The shareholders of a Delaware company are not publicly available. Delaware's corporate laws prioritise privacy, and shareholder information is not part of the public record. Just thought I'd add this in case anyone was interested.

What he said was Tav would remain captain if he played. That sent the anti-Tav brigade in to a tailspin. However, we did learn that AI believes Tav to be a phenomenal goal-scoring right-back.

I thought that Martin had already called out that Tav would remain skipper?

I don't know if Frank is successful at Brentford because he is good, or Brentford are. Kane and Lloris gone, Son going. Not sure Spurs have much in the way of top half of the table quality tbh. Hard ask for any manager without serious backing,

So Paul Murray was out trying to flog the club. Remember a couple years back the American Hedgefund etc that wanted involved, Rangers shut the rumours rapid, saying it was all nonsense. Meanwhile the press were saying Murray had a task to find a buyer for Rangers. Seems they were right, and Rangers kept everyone in the dark, cause it was very fucking bleak.

Young and Begovic - is either old enough? Are they carrying enough injuries?

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mr Bennett.

Wouldn't touch any of the above with the proverbial ten foot bargepole

Whit, mind blown. Had heard Goldson was on nearly that, but over it and more than one at that? Madness. We shouldn't be paying anyone over 25k per week.

It had taken some time, but it was worth it in the end. Initial discussions started in October after Cavenagh was introduced to King by Paul Murray, the man who had stood alongside him and John Gilligan to mark the end of the boardroom war in March 2015. Murray was involved in the proposed Kyle Fox investment and continued to keep his ear to the ground. King had been open to selling his shares for some time by then and met the American businesswoman. Her proposals were booted out at Ibrox, though, and Rangers later won a court battle in a case that was as curious as it was convoluted. The Cavenagh proposal was different, though. King told the Rangers Review he had been ‘kissing many frogs’ in the search for new investment and this opportunity that was presented to him has turned out to be the right one for all concerned. Had King and Bennett been the only sellers, it is unlikely that talks would have progressed any further. American groups have long held an interest in Rangers, while there was also an approach from Saudi Arabia. The consortium had a first willing seller in King, but also someone who was aware of the need to leave the club in the right hands after witnessing the carnage of Craig Whyte. Bennett was also of a mind to offload his entire stake rather than hold onto a portion for financial or sentimental reasons. Again, he would only sell to the right people. It was about smart capital rather than capital at any cost. King contacted Bennett in November last year and the rest is history in that regard. Negotiations soon started with members of the board and those investors who were closer to the club than King was. That distance remained throughout. The name of one of King’s former foes entered the story in mid-April amid claims that Sandy Easdale could hold the key to the deal. The shares held by the Ashley ally were irrelevant, however. As was the spin from his camp about his importance in the takeover given that the route to control had already been mapped out. Cavenagh’s initial conversation was with Gilligan, who had returned to Ibrox in the role of interim chairman. Those early discussions with the club were defining and there was cautious optimism from the outset that this one could be the one. Barry Scott also sold his shareholding, while several others parted with percentages to ensure that the consortium could reach their target threshold while they retained a voice. It is believed that around 30 per cent of the shares are still held by those who have invested over the last decade and Douglas Park, Gibson and Taylor hold more than five per cent each. The time will come to open their wallets once again. A £20million issue is set to be agreed by shareholders at a General Meeting on June 23. The majority of that money will come from the consortium but some of the old guard will contribute - in what will be the first of several rounds of funding - to ensure their stakes are not lowered at this stage. Cavenagh is the main money man in that regard, but he will not be front and centre in public. The chairman will be a regular visitor at Ibrox, as he has been over recent months and he travels to Europe frequently. He and Paraag Marathe, the newly appointed vice-chairman, will look to keep the noise around Rangers to a minimum. Marathe rarely speaks in his role as chairman of Leeds United and Cavenagh, a health insurance leader from Philadelphia, has not become involved in football to court the limelight or headlines. Sources close to the negotiations have told the Rangers Review that Cavenagh and his legal representatives were professional and straightforward to deal with. Supporters may have had reservations about the length of time the deal was taking to complete, but the process was worked through diligently and assurances were given when sought towards the end of the season. Rangers confirmed that discussions were ongoing in a joint statement on April 23. Six days later, Cavenagh and Marathe were joined by Raminder Dhadwal, a director of 49ers Enterprises, on a tour of Ibrox that would have eased any fears amongst an anxious fan base. Staff from the 49ers also travelled to Glasgow as faces were put to names and plans were put in place. Cavenagh had made his first trip to Ibrox several months before that. Indeed, his maiden visit was an unannounced one as he took in a match as an unknown face in the crowd. He would later witness memorable European nights at home and abroad and domestic matches that deserve to be forgotten. On the day that the Union Bears protested against the board and walked out of the win over St Johnstone, Cavenagh watched on from the Director’s Box. He had seen Rangers at their worst and now wants to return them to their best as he and his investors play the long game. This is no quick fix or quick buck. Away from the boardroom of ParetoHealth, football has always been one of Cavenagh’s loves in life and he was a talented goalkeeper during his time at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Indeed, he uses the phrase ‘football’ rather than ‘soccer’ when talking about the beautiful game. Cavenagh has an affection for and knowledge of the sport and one source has told of how the American has been ‘blown away’ by the stature of Rangers. Cavenagh has been described to the Rangers Review as a mannerly, classy individual. There is no bombast about him. He was respectful of the positions that Thornton and Stewart held and did not seek to throw his weight about as the potential new owner of Rangers. He engaged with guests in the Blue Room and is now aiming to put silverware in the Trophy Room after signing off on the appointment of Russell Martin as head coach last week following a rigorous recruitment drive. That is the ambition for Marathe and 49ers Enterprises, too. The question of ‘why Rangers?’ has been asked more than once in this process and it has been made clear that the Americans see value in the history and the future of the club. The expansion of European football could open doors for Rangers. There is room for improvement in marketing and commercial spheres as well as sporting success and the Leeds model offers insight into how Rangers will operate. Money will be spent, but it will be spent wisely and Cavenagh and Marathe believe they can finally crack player trading at Ibrox. The investments will be made in infrastructure as well as people and processes. Headlines over a potential transfer war chest will inevitably grab attention, but the plan will be sensible and sustainable. The Americans are not here to drive the share price up and head back across the Atlantic and Stewart spoke last week about the change of culture that will take place at Ibrox and Auchenhowie to turn Rangers from a club that has finished second too often to one that wins more often than not. Speaking to the Rangers Review last month, King expressed a belief that Cavenagh and Co. will make Rangers ‘dominant’ in Scotland once again. King has not always endeared himself to supporters or the club hierarchy with his criticisms of former figures – mainly Douglas and Graeme Park – but he was effusive about those that now call the shots. All of those who have sat in Cavenagh’s chair, from King to Park, to Bennett and then Gilligan and Thornton, were there for the right reasons. Had they not believed that Cavenagh and his compatriots shared that enthusiasm and drive, if not the love bond, then they would not have rolled out the red carpet or put pen to paper. Rangers are no longer under the control of lifelong fans who travelled on busses or stood on the terraces. Ironically, the move to take Rangers from being a plc to a limited company will likely see the end of the annual shareholder meetings that fired the starting pistol on the process as the era of supporter funding and leadership comes to an end. Rangers has been sold on and invested in. This is a new regime of new faces and new money. It is the start of the American dream at Ibrox.

In the winter of 2023, Rangers were not investable or sellable. In the summer of 2025, a new ownership group has brought new ideas and new money to Ibrox. At first thought, there may seem little that connects John Bennett’s speech at the Annual General Meeting two years ago and the statement that confirmed the takeover by Andrew Cavenagh and 49ers Enterprises last month. The words – or, more importantly, the actions – of Bennett were the start of the chain reaction, the sliding doors moment from which Rangers now look forward. Bennett addressed shareholders and supporters and urged them to keep an eye on a figure that had to ‘go away’. The number in question was a pre-player trading loss of £10.5million. It was unsustainable. So was the manner of funding it season after season, window after window, manager after manager. It was pay as you go at Ibrox. Every so often the cap would come round, and directors would let their hearts rule their heads. Bennett ended up in for £23million. Douglas Park didn’t miss his turn, either, while Stuart Gibson, George Taylor, John Halsted and Julian Wolhardt also put their hands in their pockets when they were asked to. The hole was dug ever deeper and the rope was sent down to haul Rangers back up. The fear was that help would no longer arrive one day. That winter, it was evident that Rangers had to be sold. At that stage, there was no buyer. Certainly not one with the wealth of Cavenagh and the expertise of the 49ers. And certainly not one that the board would entertain. The ‘for sale’ signs did not go up on the front of Ibrox for the world to see. In the months that followed, Bennett set about addressing a cost base that had spiralled out of control. He would not have known it then, but it set the wheels in motion for the deal that has the potential to be transformative on and off the park for Rangers. The first team wage bill was reduced from just over £43million to £34million. A handful of the highest earners – including those picking up around, and above, £40,000-per-week, were moved on and replaced by recruits on less than half of that. Changes had already come at Ibrox as Stewart Robertson, Andrew Dickson and James Blair were removed from their respective offices. The next target was Auchenhowie. The next target must be Auchenhowie. That is now the challenge for new chairman Cavenagh and Patrick Stewart, the chief executive officer. Where Bennett led, they must follow. Had Bennett been retired from his day job as director of European equities and portfolio manager at Janus Henderson earlier than the third quarter of 2024, he would surely have made greater inroads into the culture of excess and entitlement behind the red brick and the blue gates. One source has told the Rangers Review how an initial £250,000 was identified in areas that could be trimmed at the training ground. One example was to change the food provisions for youth teams at the bottom of the development ladder. The families of players in the lower age groups are no longer benefiting from the fillet steaks and portions of salmon sent home after sessions. The process was not designed to be saving for the sake of saving. It was undertaken by Bennett and James Taylor, the chief financial officer, to make Rangers more efficient. In the end, it made Rangers more enticing as well. When the figures for the financial year that ends later this month are released, it is understood that Rangers will show a profit at that pre-player trading level. Any business that is losing money at the rate that Rangers were is not going to be an attractive proposition for investors. Or not for the sort of investors that Rangers needed. There were times when the idea of selling 51 per cent of the shares would never have been palatable to those in the boardroom or in the stands but the situation has changed as fortunes have not. Resolutions in the lengthy fights with Mike Ashley and Elite consumed time, money and effort that should have been put to better use. Unlike the regime change in 2015, the Americans have inherited a club that is not mired in legal cases and legacy issues. Every chairman over the last decade will have pros and cons for punters to debate. That level of scrutiny will now fall on Cavenagh and the board members that will hope to avoid the red cross graphic treatment on social media and in the stands. The failings in a football sense - of which there have been too many of late - are always the ones that supporters care most about. Yet behind the scenes, a club that can now see a shining light down the tunnel was heading towards a dead end with no room to manoeuvre. The investment model was not fit for purpose, and directors had indicated that they were running out of road. Speaking in September last year, Dave King expressed a belief that there was ‘investor fatigue’ around the boardroom table. By then, Bennett had made the difficult decision to step away from his role as chairman as he rightly prioritised his health after a period that took a deep toll mentally and physically. The Copland Stand redevelopment – categorised from a farce to an embarrassment and everything, with a few expletives added, in between – overshadowed last summer. A year on, it is wider expansion of Ibrox that supporters are dreaming of as the new hierarchy formulate plans to enhance the stadium and the footprint. The board signed off on the project but were then kept in the dark over the failings in the process that meant it was almost doomed from the beginning. At the same time, a collective decision was made to approve a new contract for Philippe Clement despite the idea not originating around the top table. Bennett stepped aside after resisting family pressure to relinquish his post until he knew a date that supporters would be allowed back inside Ibrox. By then, the club had become enveloped in negativity. A year on, the mood could not be more different as supporters look to the future following widespread changes to the hierarchy. There are no dark clouds over Ibrox today. Cavenagh has taken over from Fraser Thornton as chairman, while Paraag Marathe has been named as vice-chairman. Graeme Park, Alastair Johnston and Wolhardt have gone and been replaced by Mark Taber, Andrew Clayton and Gene Schneur in the American revolution. The changing of the guard was a show of strength, a signal of intent. There was an acknowledgement that now was the time to sell and eventually an acceptance that now was the time to move on. Some remain as interested parties, but their influence has been diluted along with their shareholding. King has sold his entire stake in RIFC plc. The former chairman and former director is now a former major shareholder. Bennett has completed a similar deal, although he remains the single largest lender at Ibrox. Loans which are understood to be in the mid-teens millions will be repaid at terms highly beneficial to the club. Like his former board member, there was a willingness to sell to the right people rather than sell for the best price. Reports that the consortium paid around £75million for their 51 per cent stake are understood to be on the high side. Deals were done at different levels with different shareholders, and it was not a one price for all arrangement. Ibrox sources will not divulge the breakdown of shareholdings within the consortium, which operates under the name of Rangers FC LLC. Some sellers were paid more, some were paid less, and willingly so, to enable the process to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible. It is understood that one shareholder was approached by an American investment firm late on in the negotiations in an attempt to gazump the deal. Having already given his word to Cavenagh, that move was destined to fail. The finishing line was in sight. As reported by the Rangers Review in the days after the story first emerged, the likely conclusion date was the end of May. All parties worked towards that without there being a strict deadline in place and it was all done before the clock struck Friday, May 30. This was no scene like you see in the movies. No champagne was popped around the Ibrox boardroom. Instead, ratification arrived from the Scottish FA via email and digital contracts were signed and exchanged by various parties across the globe. At one o’clock the following day, the confirmation was made public as Rangers marked ten years since regime change with regime change.

As previously confirmed, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Ashley Young, Joao Virginia (GK), Asmir Begovic, Mason Holgate (28, CB) and Neal Maupay (off to Marseille) will leave Everton when their current contracts expire at the end of this month ... In the Under-21s, Owen Barker (AM, 20), Jack Butler (19, left back), Luke Butterfield (DM, 21), Billy Crellin (GK), Matthew Apter (19, MC Scot/Eng), Zan-Luk Leban (GK) and Jack Tierney (CB, 20) will leave Everton this month. https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2025/june/09/everton-player-contracts-update/ Michael Keane (CB, 32) is a freebie too, unless something changed. So the prices should be "right" ...

Would take Keane or Holgate if the price is right.

Everton just released 17 players. Wonder if Thelwell and Purdy have ear to the ground on any of them.

Able was I ere I saw Elba.

From the daily record. No way Ramsdale is coming here, will cost upwards of 15 million and again more than double what our highest earner earns. Its so stupid.

Some of the transfer talk is daft, linking us with Flynn Downs who Southampton paid 16 million for last summer, and is probably on 70 odd grand a week is just lazy rubbish.

A portion of twenty quid won't go far 😉 10M well spent is better than 20M poorly spent. Celtic spent around 20M on Engels and Idah, whilst we spent around 5M-6M on Raskin and Dessers. I'd rate our two players as currently better.