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Might not sit well with our American friends - 1st Amendment to the US Constitution, as I am sure you need no reminding, safeguards freedom of the press. On the other hand.....they may welcome a less stringent legal environment, particularly when they see the lack of balance across our media. (First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.)

The famous Portugal v Korea? Watched it on black and white telly. What a game.

Fucking part-timers 😂

Everton is a of way of life for us Evertonians once you visited the old Goodison you fell in love with the place my first visit was in 1966 a world cup game mon the toffees

If so Rangers and I must go our separate ways in that particular matter. In Yorkshire I’m Wednesday. Only in Yorkshire, though. Not anywhere else.

From club website. Dear Rangers Supporters, We are proud to be entering a new chapter for this extraordinary club. This moment is the result of months of thoughtful discussions with club leadership and our shared confidence in Rangers’ success going forward. To that end we’d like to tell you a bit about our thinking. Simply put – our goal is to win trophies in Scotland and be able to compete at a high level in Europe, while laying a foundation of financial sustainability for the future. As our first step, we are investing fresh capital into Rangers, which will be strategically deployed on and off the pitch. While we recognise the importance of resources, we believe that thoughtful, disciplined investment, guided by a clear strategy, is the path to enduring success. Every decision, whether sporting or business, will be made with the club’s long-term success and sustainability in mind. We aim to leverage the full strength of 49ers Enterprises’ sporting expertise and operational experience, and are confident in Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell to lead this next phase. Our first priority together is clear: hiring a new men’s Head Coach. That process is already well underway, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon. We will also look to invest in talent for our teams. Moving forward, we are reconstituting the Board to bring in a few new voices and skill sets. We all owe a special thanks to the previous Board for their service. They stepped up in a difficult moment when the club needed them and laid the foundation for what comes next. Above all, we know that true success comes from understanding and honouring what makes this club special. In our time getting to know Ibrox, Glasgow, and you, we’ve felt the pride, history, and passion that set Rangers apart. You have made it clear what this club means to you, and we take the responsibility of leading this club seriously. We look forward to seeing you at Ibrox soon. For now, we’ll keep working, and we can’t wait for what’s ahead. Andrew Cavenagh, Chairman Paraag Marathe, Vice Chairman

MEET THE BOARD IT'S a new dawn at Rangers as their American takeover heralded a fresh start for the club. The Ibrox boardroom will have an altogether different feel to it at the start of next season. US tycoon Andrew Cavenagh has swept into power along with 49ers Enterprises after they landed 51 per cent of Gers. The health insurance billionaire will take his seat as Ibrox chairman but there are a host of changes. Former board members Graeme Park, Alistair Johnston and Julian Wolhardt are no longer there as FIVE new Americans take control including new vice-chair Paraag Marathe. Patrick Stewart, Rangers' newly appointed CEO, will continue in that role and ex- chairman Fraser Thornton remains on the board. George Taylor and John Halsted are also staying on. ANDREW CAVENAGH The new chairman of Rangers is a successful entrepreneur, chief executive and investor with decades of business experience. He has founded three insurance companies. A life-long football fan, he graduated in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where he also had a four-year collegiate football career as an award-winning goalkeeper and captain. Cavenagh will make frequent trips to Glasgow but lives in Pennsylvania. PARAAG MARATHE Rangers' new vice- chairman. As Leeds chairman, Marathe oversees the leadership team and management of all operations. At the San Francisco 49ers, he is president of 49ers Enterprises and executive vice-president of football operations. In 2024, he joined the board of the NFL charitable arm, the NFL UK Foundation. Marathe splits his time between Glasgow, Leeds and the San Francisco Bay Area. PATRICK STEWART Remaining as CEO, Stewart has over three decades of experience in the sports, entertainment and legal industries, starting as a commercial lawyer in Scotland, before joining TEAM Marketing in 2001. After five years living and working in Switzerland, he had an 18-year career at Manchester United. He was general counsel before promotion to the board and becoming a director of Manchester United pic and latterly the club's CEO. He joined Rangers in December. EUGENE SCHNEUR Schneur is managing director and co-founder of SBV RE Investments LLC, a real estate company. From 2004 until its sale in 2023, He was the managing director and co-founder of Omni New York LLC and Omni America LLC. A board member and co-owner of Leeds United, he lives in Miami, Florida. ANDREW CLAYTON Co-founder and vice chairman of ParetoHealth, Cavenagh's health insurance company. Throughout his 30-year career, Clayton has led growth and strategy efforts for insurance and risk management companies. He is on numerous business and philanthropic boards and committees. MARK TABER MD at Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm, Taber is responsible for transaction origination, investment policy, fundraising, investor relations, and general management of the firm. FRASER THORNTON Thornton has held many senior leadership and board positions in both private and public companies. After 30 years in the international drinks industry, he has experience in stakeholder engagement across political, commercial and public interest groups. Raised in Glasgow, Thornton, who qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse, was a council member of the Scotch Whisky Association for 15 vears until 2021. JOHN HALSTED An American investor with over 30 years of private equity experience. Based in Wyoming, his business interests span the US and Europe. In 2021, he became an investor in Rangers through his family's holding company, Perron Investments, LLC. GEORGE TAYLOR A British investment banker and, since 2022, a non-executive director of Rangers International Football Club PLC (RIFC), the holding company of Rangers FC, Born in Glasgow, he's been a prominent figure in the financial sector, and played a significant role in the financial restructuring and governance of the club. He lives in Hong Kong.

Side-note ; do we have to adopt Leeds as our English team? Worked with some great Yorkshire lads who were all Leeds (and converted them to lean towards us) so I'd be behind it. Certainly worse Englisb teams to adopt, Everton as an example 🤔😃

Not much executive, business, sports experience there. Looks like they don't have two pennies to rub together. Underwhelmed.........

New board personnel information/history. Not my work, stolen from elsewhere. Andrew Cavenagh Andrew Cavenagh is the Chairman of Rangers Football Club and a successful entrepreneur, chief executive, and investor with decades of business experience. In 2025, he led the investment consortium that acquired a controlling stake in Rangers and injected additional capital into the club. Having spent most of his career in the insurance industry, Cavenagh’s leadership and innovative mindset has enabled him to reshape the health insurance landscape. He has founded three insurance companies, including ParetoHealth, which he started in 2011 and has since grown into a transformative company whose clients insure over 1 million people. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of ParetoHealth after serving as the company’s CEO for 14 years. As a founder and innovator, Cavenagh has decades of experience raising capital and strategically allocating it to build and sustain successful business models. Equally important, he has a proven track record of developing talent by empowering the right people in the right roles to drive results. A life-long football fan, Cavenagh has always relished the opportunity to attend matches to experience in-person the passion and incredible atmosphere that supporters bring to the game. He has attended multiple World Cup and European Championships, along with countless club matches. Ultimately, it was Ibrox and the Rangers supporters that drew him to invest in the club. Cavenagh graduated with a degree in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where he also had a four-year collegiate football career as an award-winning goalkeeper and captain. While he makes frequent trips to Glasgow, his permanent residence is in Pennsylvania with his family. Paraag Marathe Paraag Marathe currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board at Rangers Football Club. As a long-time sports industry executive, Marathe has played a key role in guiding multiple sports teams to achieve their goals, both on and off the field of play. As Leeds United Chairman, Marathe oversees the Club’s leadership team and their management of all operations. In his first two seasons as Chairman, the Club earned a record number of points in both seasons, the EFL Championship Trophy, and promotion back to the Premier League. Before 49ers Enterprises acquired full ownership of Leeds in 2023, Marathe served as the Club’s Vice Chairman for over two years and as a member of the Board for over five. Marathe’s sports career began with the San Francisco 49ers, where he currently serves as both President of 49ers Enterprises and Executive Vice President of Football Operations. From starting as an entry-level employee for the NFL franchise, Marathe has risen to his current long-respected role as the team’s chief contract negotiator and salary cap architect, while overseeing the team’s football analytics department, among other football duties. As 49ers team President from 2014-16 and Chief Operating Officer from 2010-13, Marathe took on the added responsibility of overseeing the development of Levi’s Stadium as a leading sports and entertainment venue and helped bring to life the vision of an unparalleled fan experience. In 2024 Marathe joined the board of the NFL UK Foundation, the charitable arm of the NFL within the UK, where he is spearheading a youth empowerment initiative between the NFL UK Foundation, 49ers, and Leeds United. With sporting roles and passions across the globe, Marathe splits his time between Glasgow, Leeds, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Fraser Thornton Fraser has held many senior leadership and board positions throughout his career, in both private and public companies. Having worked in the international drinks industry for the last 30 years, he offers a vast range of experience in stakeholder engagement; spanning political, commercial and public interest groups. He has extensive management experience across sales, brand marketing, strategy development and finance. Raised in Glasgow, Fraser graduated from the University of Stirling before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in Glasgow in 1993. Between 1996 and 2021, Fraser held multiple executive leadership positions in international businesses working across several regions of the world. He was a council member of the Scotch Whisky Association for 15 years until 2021. Since 2021 Fraser has built a portfolio of non-executive roles across the Scottish corporate landscape. PATRICK STEWART Patrick Stewart is the Chief Executive of Rangers and has over three decades of experience in the sports, entertainment and legal industries. He started his career as a commercial lawyer in Scotland, before joining TEAM Marketing in 2001. After five years living and working in Switzerland, Patrick went on to enjoy an 18-year career at Manchester United, during which time he was the club’s General Counsel, before being promoted to the football club board and then becoming a director of Manchester United plc and latterly the club’s CEO. Patrick joined Rangers FC in December 2024. Throughout his career, Patrick has served on numerous industry groups including The FA’s CEO Advisory Group for the Women's Professional Leagues, the Premier League’s Financial Controls Advisory Group, Agents Working Group, Medical Working Group & Legal Advisory Group, the Scottish FA’s Professional Game Board and the European Club Association’s Transfer System Expert Group & Legal & Regulatory Working Group. Patrick is also an arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. John Halsted John Halsted, an American investor, has over 30 years of private equity experience. Currently based in Wyoming, his business interests span the United States and Europe. He was a founding partner of Pamplona Capital Partners, leading the firm to excel in global investment activities across sectors such as life sciences, energy, industrial, technology, and retail. Over his 20-year tenure there, he held pivotal roles, including Chief Investment Officer, President, and Managing Partner. Prior to forming his company, he worked as an investment executive at Beacon Capital Partners and the Harvard Private Equity Group, an investment arm of the Harvard University Endowment. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. In 2021, he became an investor in Rangers through his family's holding company, Perron Investments, LLC. George Taylor George Taylor is a British investment banker and, since 2022, a non-executive director of Rangers International Football Club PLC (RIFC), the holding company of Rangers Football Club. Born in Glasgow, he has been a prominent figure in the financial sector, particularly in Asia, and has played a significant role in the club's financial restructuring and governance. Taylor's career in investment banking has been distinguished, with a significant tenure at Morgan Stanley, having joined in 2001 and currently serves as the head of Investment Banking for Asia Pacific and Board Member of the Asian Private Bank. George has an undergraduate degree in Geography from Durham University and a post graduate degree from Cambridge University in International Relations. He currently resides in Hong Kong. Eugene Schneur Gene is currently the Managing Director and Co-Founder of SBV RE Investments LLC, a real estate company focused on multi-family housing. From 2004 until its sale in 2023, Gene was the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Omni New York LLC and Omni America LLC, one of the top affordable housing developers in the country. Under his leadership, Omni grew into a full-service real estate organisation with over 800 full-time employees and acquired or developed 94 properties totalling more than 19,000 units of affordable housing, with a total transaction value of over $4 billion. Prior to founding Omni, Gene was a Mergers and Acquisitions attorney with Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky LLP in New York. Gene holds a degree from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations, a J. D. from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Gene and his family currently reside in Miami, Florida and are supporters of numerous nonprofits and charitable organisations. Gene is a Board Member and Co-Owner of Leeds United FC. Andrew Clayton Andrew Clayton is a Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of ParetoHealth, a Philadelphia based health insurance solution company. Throughout his nearly 30-year career, Andrew has led growth and strategy efforts for industry leading insurance and risk management companies. Andrew serves on numerous business and philanthropic boards and committees, and has a degree in economics from Swarthmore College. Mark Taber Mark Taber is a managing director and member of the executive and investment committees at Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based growth equity firm, where he is responsible for transaction origination, investment policy, fundraising, investor relations, and general management of the firm. Mark focuses on healthcare and is a current or former board member of over a dozen healthcare companies, spanning the spectrum of payer, provider, pharmacy and medical devices. Additionally, he is a member of the board of trustees for Boston Medical Center’s HealthNet health plan and a member of the finance committee at BMC. Mark graduated from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where he was an F.C. Austin Scholar and the Jim Packard Memorial Scholar. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in public policy from Duke University.

No, my comment was vague - the details were widely publicised at the time. I'd have issued an outright ban though.

Here is a nugget, not real 1849 Gold Rush gold, but pyrites. Amusing nonetheless.

Wonder if they maybe offer some kind of investment plan where we could buy shares onwards and upwards

There was no BBC ban - it was one person who wasn't welcome. The BBC then stopped attending Ibrox.

I haven’t done my research and don’t have anything to base it on really. My first choice has been Knutsen for the past 3 appointments but looks like he’ll stay where he is. Ancelotti is a gamble but a very interesting one. The fact is, anyone is a gamble. Clement had a track record of winning leagues and didn’t work out. Muscat is a good option too.

Was he -or anyone else- actually 'banned'? Did the Club not 'withdraw' his Press credentials and privileges, meaning that he could attend matches if he -or Pacific Quay- ponied up the price of a ticket.

Yes; but the Consortium is underwriting the 20M GBP issue, and will have to ensure that it maintains its 51% controlling interest. The majority of the 20M GBP will have to come from Consortium sources, then, unless I have got this wrong. We know that the 49ers is cash rich; Cavenaugh, we have to assume -hope- has funds, too. Funding 10M GBP+ via debt, straight off, would not be a good look, and servicing such, by dividends, or whatever, would not be viewed kindly, to say the least.

Glad it’s finally over because I was becoming convinced that Rangers would expire before myself now I’m pretty confident of the outcome.

How does us and them moaning about a journalist show corruption? His job is to report, so I'm unsure what you mean by this. We all know who and what McLaughlin is. Rangers should have kept the BBC ban in place because they are riddled with yahoos and consistently report in a biased manner.

I think that the investment vehicle being used is a non-UK company, so it may not be easy to find out.

A sizeable percentage of the £20 million will come from existing shareholders who pledged to reinvest as part of the deal to sell to the Americans.