Bluedell

Prossibly GA, but I'm not convinced that we aren't going to get one anyway.

Cuellar left to finance the purchases of Mendes, Davis and Edu.

Correct. Win the case and get the debt written off or pay £1m a year? Lose the case and owe our shareholder or lose the case and owe a bank? I'd take the former (on the face of it) in both cases. The bank were not giving us any more loans or working capital. The cash on hand was £8.8m. Given this presumably included a large chunk of season ticket money then i appears that we do need an overdraft, as it seems that we have monthly outgoings of £3.5m with minimal income.

Could be contained within the £2.9m increase in creditors?

It has to do with the audit report as Craig mentions. I believe that the auditors would need to qualify their accounts if they believe that the company may be unable to trade for the following 12 months. They don't just look at the results for the year but also look forward.

The suggestion that all these players would have left was brought by the same people that said we would have £15m (or even £5m) to spend on players. It's unclear what would have actually happened. I do agree that Whyte seems the better option at this point, but it'll be interesting to reassess this come 31st Jan.

I believe that the information required to be disclosed to the shareholders and the stock exchange when the club was bought over. The fact that they have seen fit to publish the information now confirms that it is something that should have been disclosed. I am not bothered that he was disqualified, but it's a bit more concerning that he tried to hide the fact from us.

Should have gone to Satty's. As for objectivity, we all know that BBC Scotland lost it a long time ago, but it's good to know that they aren't trying to hide their lack of it any more.

He would not need to declare it when becoming a director of a "normal" company, but does in this case as Rangers is a quoted PLC operating under PLUS marker rules.

"Director disclosure The information in the paragraph below is disclosed pursuant to paragraph 18 of Appendix 1 of the PLUS Rules. Craig Whyte was disqualified to act as a director of Vital UK Limited in 2000 for a period of seven years. The Directors of The Rangers Football Club P.L.C. accept responsibility for this announcement. END" I'd make 2 points on this: 1. If the disclosure is required under PLUS rules then it should have been made at the time of the takeover. The rule is as follows: Whatever the ins and outs of the BBC documentary, this rule was conveniently ignored. 2. The statement is misleading. Whyte was not disqualified to act as a director of Vital UK Ltd. He was disqualified to act as a director of any UK company. It seems that there are still attempts to hide facts from the support.

So we made a profit of only £76K despite being in the CL, due mainly to the £3.27m tax payment in respect of the Discount Option Scheme, which isn't even specifically mentioned in Whyte's report. We have net debt of £14m, presumably mainly due to Whyte's company. The auditors have not signed off on the accounts yet, presumably because they want to have a better idea as to the outcome of the tax case. You have to wonder when they will do this, which will allow an AGM to be announced.

Net debt at 1 July 2010 (27,074) Net debt at 30 June 2011 (14,051) The financial information presented above has been extracted from the draft unaudited report and accounts of the Company for the year to 30 June 2011. The Company's auditors have not yet finalised their audit report.

Highlights * No longer reliant on bank funding * Turnover at GBP57.2m for 2010/11 was an overall increase of GBP0.9m over the previous year * Gate receipts and hospitality sales increased overall by GBP1.3m to GBP27.1m CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT When I became the majority shareholder and Chairman of this great football club in May this year, the sense of honour and privilege I felt was overwhelming. Those feelings are stronger than ever within me now. First, I would like to address what matters most to every Rangers fan - football. In recent years the performance of the players and the football management team has been quite magnificent and I would suggest their achievements rank among the Club's greatest. Three successive League titles, three out of the last four Scottish League Cups, plus two Scottish Cups and a UEFA Cup Final appearance is extraordinary by any standard and set the seal on Walter Smith's outstanding second term as Manager and a truly remarkable managerial career. Every Rangers supporter owes him an enormous debt of gratitude. Walter also left the Club in good hands and Ally McCoist, Kenny McDowall and Ian Durrant are showing the same tremendous drive for success. All of us wish them - and the players - continuing success this season. In May, the Club entered a new era both on and off the pitch. Whilst this Statement covers the 12-month period ending on 31 June 2011, it also affords us the opportunity to look forward. I am the first to recognise the contribution that my predecessor as majority shareholder, Sir David Murray, made to Rangers over 20 years. With any change in ownership, however, there will be a change in approach and I firmly believe the changes I have implemented will be in the longer-term interest of the Club, which must always come first. We have a new Board. In addition, we have appointed a new Chief Operating Officer to drive the business forward and take advantage of emerging opportunities and a Director of Football, whose role is to help Rangers maximise every opportunity to develop, attract and retain playing talent, as well as ensure the Club engages productively with football authorities at domestic and international level. Perhaps the biggest change that has been effected since the takeover in May has been the repayment of all bank borrowings. The Club is no longer reliant on bank funding, nor does any bank control our operations on a daily basis. I hope fans would share my view that, looking ahead, the Club should do everything to live within its means and operate on a commercially viable basis. I firmly believe that is the only sustainable, long-term strategy for Rangers. Performance on the field has a direct bearing on the Club's business performance. Participation in the UEFA Champions' League remains important although increasingly difficult to achieve given the qualification process for the SPL champions. During 2010/2011 we qualified for the UEFA Champions' League and played in the UEFA Europa League. Turnover at GBP57.2m for 2010/11 was an overall increase of GBP 0.9m over the previous year. Gate receipts and hospitality sales increased overall by GBP1.3m to GBP27.1m, due to the extra European games games, although there was an overall reduction in season ticket sales, hospitality sales and sponsorship revenue. Net operating expenses increased by GBP3.6m to GBP47.5m reflecting increased salary levels, higher European fixture costs and operational cost increases across the business. The Club remains embroiled in historical tax issues with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, primarily the tax tribunal on Employee Benefit Trusts. It has been a dark cloud hanging over the Club for far too long and any resolution must enable the Club to move forward. Rangers has never been short of challenges in recent years and there is no question there are many challenges ahead for both the Club and Scottish football in general. However, I am certain that, as a Club, we can rise to these challenges and deliver success both on and off the pitch. That is what Rangers is all about. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all supporters who have offered me so much encouragement. Your support for the Club is inspirational and I can only promise to ensure that the interests of Rangers and our fans will be at the heart of everything I do as Chairman. Craig Whyte, Chairman Unaudited Consolidated Profit & Loss Account for the year ended 30 June 2011 2011 2010 GBP'000 GBP'000 Turnover 57,183 56,287 Net operating expenses (47,525) (43,856) Trading profit / (loss) 9,658 12,431 Amortisation of player registrations (8,412) (7,339) Operating profit / (loss) 1,246 5,092 Exceptional items: Gain on disposal of player registrations 4,202 512 Taxation of Discount Option Scheme (3,270) - Profit / (loss) before interest and taxation 2,178 5,604 Interest payable (2,102) (1,395) Profit / (loss) on ordinary activities before 76 4,209 taxation Taxation - - Profit for the year 76 4,209 Basic and diluted earnings per share 0.07p 3.87p Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year. For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. The Group has 1,200,000 of potential dilutive ordinary shares at 30 June 2011. As the current share price is below the option price, the basic and diluted earnings per share is the same. The Directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend (2010: nil). Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2011 2011 2010 GBP'000 GBP'000 FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 116,856 118,688 Intangible assets 8,626 11,594 Investments - - 125,482 130,282 CURRENT ASSETS Stock 2 2 Debtors 5,899 5,640 Cash at bank and in hand 8,893 348 14,794 5,990 CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year (49,065) (27,568) NET CURRENT LIABILITIES (34,271) (21,578) TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 91,211 108,704 CREDITORS Amounts falling due after more than one year (20,369) (37,938) NET ASSETS 70,842 70,766 CAPITAL AND RESERVES Called up share capital 10,879 10,879 Share premium account 120,973 120,973 Capital reserve 9,185 9,185 The Rangers Bond 7,736 7,736 Revaluation reserve 57,207 57,770 Profit & loss account (135,138) (135,777) SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 70,842 70,766

I go away to Brazil for a couple of weeks and we've a healthy 12 point lead and I come back and it's down to 4. What's been happening? Is it the Naismith effect? Are we going to continue to drop points now or is it a temporary blip? It's an even bigger shock to the system than the weather!

Can we get the article on this thread for those of us who can't access Leggat's site?

Anything from this case would go to Whyte and not the club.

Jazz Juttla, I think. He played in a friendly.

I would agree that it is unfair if it had not been for Whyte's assurances about the £5m we would be spending. We didn't ask him to say it and he didn't know if we had won the league and even had a chance of the CL when he said it and he also knew all about the tax case. He can point to the small print all he wants but it's a very Murrayesque way of dealing with the support Agree on the first part. However if the "average earners" weren't required then we shouldn't be employing them. I haven't seen much over the years that have suggested that Rangers were screwed by MIH, but there's lots of ways that it could be done to keep it under the radar. I guess we'll never know for sure. Yeah, the tax case could be Murray's ultimate legacy to the club. I don't totally agree with this. A vast majority of the blame for the initial situation has to go with the club and not the bank. The bank had their money well secured. I would more blame the bank for lending short term to MIH. It's hardly the same situation.

We don't appear to have spent much more on net transfers than we did in the previous summer (despite the assurances of the chairman). While Bain was deinitely overpaid, bringing his salary down to the level that is more realistic for his role would not have made than much difference in the transfer market (although every bit helps). It'll be interesting to see what the new directors are paid and whether Whyte takes a salary, something Murray never did (directly). There was business sense behind it. They were taking a no risk approach. I can understand the logic behind it, even if I disagree with it, and think that there was a far better way of doing things, but I fail to buy into the idea that it was due to the football allegiences of some retired bank official with an catholic sounding name. Banks are just like that these days. I can give some examples of nonsencial decisions by banks were there was no risk to them. They just have a very weird way of looking at things.

What was our net spend in the summer under Whyte compared to our net spend in the previous summer? Does anyone have the rough figures?

What are the new directors paying themselves? How do you know that they are paying themselves less than the old ones? Celtic minded? You've been reading too much Leggatt.

I've never heard that one before. Fergus had his own cash from some business deals that I'm aware of, and I've never heard any suggestion that Murray lent McCann any cash.

I don't see how it can be £10m. We are either guilty in which case we will be hit with the full amount plus interest and penalties, or we aren't. I am sceptical about whether HMRC would be willing to set a precedence by waiving up to 80% in a negotiated deal. The only scope for negotiation may be penalties, depending on the reason why we were found guilty.

Could HMRC cut a deal for say 20% of the total amopunt from Rangers but still argue that they want full payment from other clubs? I'm not so sure, and it may be worth more to HMRC in the long run not to cut a deal with us, other than perhaps an extended time to pay.

Who has committed the bigger crime? Who has put lifes at risk with their actions? Who should be losing their job?