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True_Ger_1872

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  1. True_Ger_1872
    Chief Executive Graham Wallace has appealed for breathing space and help from fans to put the club's finances back on track. Here Wallace talks to HeraldScotland about Ranger's finances, staff costs, the 120 day review and the club's future. On the half year results "What you have seen in the six month period we have announced is a step forward. What we are trying to do overall here is put in place a very stable, professional way of rebuilding the club and taking it back to where it should be. Part of that is looking at how we are managing the business from a cost perspective and from a cash perspective but also equally importantly how we are putting in the right drivers to grow our commercial revenue and how we can grow that top line revenue as well as managing the outflows. "A large bulk of the money raised from the IPO had already been spent and what we are trying to do is put the business on a very firm footing to build from." Retail joint venture with Sports Direct "I think it is performing in line with expectations. It is still early days as it has only just had over a year of it operating. Being in partnership with Sports Direct, one of the premier retailers in terms of being able to focus on the ground at a retail level in a way that a standalone entity would never be able to do, is helpful for us. As we look forward the results to date are in line with what we had hoped for but still give us a sense of optimism that there is considerable growth to be achieved going forward." Staff costs "Part of what we have done in the review is look at the areas of expenditure and question and challenge everything we have been doing within the club. We have made some changes in the past few months and we just continue to work away, as you would expect in any business, on how we can improve our cost base and the efficiency and effectiveness of the business. "That certainly continues but in a fashion you would find in any leading business. You are constantly challenging what you are doing and what you are spending and it forms part of our overall business review that we are closing in on." Growing commercial revenues and the Rangers By Appointment scheme "There are a number of companies now signed up to it and getting benefit from it. It sits quite nicely into my vision about re-establishing Rangers as a brand, as a club, as a company that leading organisations want to be part of. If you put it against a background of what this club has had to deal with over the past two or three years getting leading organisations partnering with Rangers has been a challenge and is still a challenge when the external environment is one of potentially suspicion or instability or questions about the long term strategy or survival. "The business by appointment scheme for the local business community has paid dividends but I view that as just a start. We have initiatives going on now [for] a completely fresh look at our commercial partnerships, looking to target and attract leading blue chip businesses to partner with Rangers. Again to help us grow our top line revenue. If we can grow the top line revenue then the more headroom we have in terms of investing back into the team and other areas of the business." Further spending on improving infrastructure/Ibrox "Without putting a definitive number on it we would constantly be wanting to look at the standard of what we have. There are areas of the stadium that do need a bit of a refresh. When you put it against the background of some of the financial challenges the club has had it is probably understandable why some of those investments have been pushed a bit further down the priority list. As we look at trying to create and deliver a match day environment and experience that Rangers fans enjoy then it goes without saying that we need to have a rolling programme that will look at levels of investment in order to pay attention to some of the areas that have been neglected in the recent past." Full-year performance "We would expect full year performance at a revenue level to be ahead of last year. At an operating profit or operating loss level we have reported a near 50% improvement in the half-year and I think you can be looking for a similar measure of improvement in the latter half-year. It is very much moving towards that kind of break even [or] profitability segment." Material uncertainty noted in the accounts about season ticket money "We put in place the short term facilities to give ourselves some additional headroom following a detailed review of the business plans and assumptions we inherited. We realised there were some changes that needed to be made so we did that to give ourselves some additional headroom. "The key material uncertainty we disclose about the timing of season ticket money. To my mind that is no different to virtually every other football club in the land where you have your season ticket money flowing in at a comparable rate and comparable timing year after year. If all of a sudden you were to introduce changes to significant elements of that it would be quite reasonable for people to say there could potentially be an impact on the cash position if significant chunks of the season money was to flow in at a later stage. What we can say in terms of how we are running the business now and managing the cash and how we are managing our ability to run the business I am very comfortable with where we are and I am very comfortable with the processes we have in place now to give us a proper level of comfort and assurance on the way the money is being spent." 120 day review and seeking further investment "What I wanted to do was come in and stand back and take a strategic view of where the club needed to be going, what we needed to deliver that and the organisational structure and the cost base. We have just been working through the business so we have a clear view of what we think the next five years could look like for Rangers. From that what does that mean in terms of our ability to generate income and our need for investment. We have said several times the business will need investment. What we need to do as a board is finalise the size of that investment and the timing of when it is needed. We are going from the third tier to the second tier clearly with an aspiration to be back in the top division the year after. "Once the board has determined what we need and when we will have a series of conversations with existing shareholders and other interested parties. That is absolutely fine. What we are trying to do is the right thing for Rangers, the right thing for supporters and the right thing for shareholders."
  2. True_Ger_1872
    Whilst a lot of fans have given him the time to conduct his review, I do think that since these accounts show we are running pretty close to the wire in terms of cash in the bank - then surely his vast experience on his CV (that seems to appease a lot of folk) would allow him to realise that we don't really have 120 days to conduct a review whilst other board members seem to contribute very little (or nothing) to the improvement of the viability of the business. It is this fact that concerns me the most about his ability. I mean, even Stockbridge stated that we wouldn't have that much time left until the cash ran out, and that was stated around the November time I think? Alarm Bells MUST have been ringing to fans and it MUST have been more than evident to the other board members? If they had something up their sleeve then we would have either a) seen it appear by now in the format of investment or revenue streams or b) have been told about it by the board members, as these guys seem to try and say a lot of things to buy them some more time at Rangers and what better way to do that than deliver some actual good news??
  3. True_Ger_1872
    Given the dire state of the published interim accounts (despite whatever way folk would like to look at them) - I am yet again left with a lot of questions about how the board are running the club and how they foresee us pulling through. However we all know that over the past almost 4 months, the only answer we are constantly given is 'wait until the 120 day business review is completed'. This excuse is often compounded with the 'previous regime costs' and 'previous shortsightedness' that seemed to be the basis for some decisions. Personally speaking, I have lost all faith in the board. I do not see any results from the investment committee, the Easdale's continue to operate within shroud of mystery and their behavior is nothing short of appalling, the debacle with King / Irvine which must have came from instruction from the board, the Laxey loan agreement etc. Therefor I do not hold out much hope on the outcomes of this review other than what was intimated by Somers - the fans will need to provide cash to bail out the club by season tickets, which I have to say is a totally unacceptable stance to take given the lack of performance that can be easily read from the accounts. As stated, that's my personal view - and I would love to be proven wrong with a positive outcome of the review detailing new ventures / revenue streams / investment plans as well as a detailed account of how the business has been operated over the past 18 months or so. However I was keen to see what other folk think the outcomes of the review will be? Do we have any faith in this 120 day exercise? Will Wallace finally prove he has the substance to continue in his position at Rangers? Will the board finally 'let go' of the historic excuse of the Green / Ahmed / Whyte era? The past few weeks news headlines and media articles have almost laid down the gauntlet to the board - and I certainly still feel that the next move must be theirs, which will undoubtedly be the publication of the review findings. I fear that these results will not be enough to appease the support which will lead into another period of uncertainty.
  4. True_Ger_1872
    Should have got rid of this joke of a player around the betting scandal. Absolute waste of a player on the park and his attitude reeks
  5. True_Ger_1872
    And yet after all this.....he's still the Manager of Rangers!
  6. True_Ger_1872
    I wonder what was meant by this statement. If this is taken verbatim - then it would imply he is still involved. Or am i being paranoid here?
  7. True_Ger_1872
    It is a good read although worrying just how many reputable folk in the finance community have came out and slated the way that the board have done business here. The last section however annoys me not for the content of the article - but more of the reality of the situation. When it states that the board, NOMAD and Laxey have some uncomfortable questions to answer, whilst this is true; we all know that we will never really get answers to this. Similarly to the questions of who are Blue Pitch? Who are Margarita? Where did the IPO money go to? I really hope this is the subject that finally make folk realize that we cant seem to get anywhere with these board members at Rangers. We cant wait for yet another situation to arise when we are demanding answers only to be fobbed off with bad excuses, shocking club statements or open letters!!
  8. True_Ger_1872
    Plays into his hands to an extent - if a meeting is to occur then it should really be on his terms!
  9. True_Ger_1872
    Apparently the board have now requested a meeting with King asap so he can explain his 'allegations' Somers to King - "These statements and innuendos are very damaging to the club, which we can only assume is your intention. We wish you to attend a meeting to explain your allegations in more detail as soon as possible. Please confirm your availability."
  10. True_Ger_1872
    How does the security aspect work though? A few years ago i applied for a loan that i had secured against my house - but i wouldn't imagine that if i failed to repay the loan they would take my entire house as it was 12 times what the loan amounted to! I may be naive here though... I cant recall how much was paid to purchase Edmiston house though - i imagine it wont be as much as 12 times what the loan is in this case.
  11. True_Ger_1872
    DK Doesn't believe that Rangers will go into administration anytime soon!
  12. True_Ger_1872
    Aye....sure
  13. True_Ger_1872
    If that's the case, i heard this morning that would render the Club Deck useless as apparently that cannot open unless the car parking space is made available? This security could be most significant in this charade. As King stated, they have already achieved the 'high risk' interest rate in addition to having the loan secured.....its a shambles that was allowed to happen!
  14. True_Ger_1872
    I think that in addition to the fans - he needs to try and engage with Institutional Investors and i would be keen to see him try and talk with Laxey most of all. with my limited knowledge of his plans and how this might work, i cannot help but think if this plan was to pick up speed then we would be looking at starving the club of ST monies at a time when the Easdale / Laxey money would have been spent by then. Would the board dig in deeper and perhaps try and facilitate further loans to keep the club going? If that be the case then if an Admin 2 scenario occurs - then we may have a hedge fund as the creditor in that case with securities over assets such as Albion / Auchehowie - then that could very well be a disastrous time! So i would think its very much in his interests to try and engage with these chaps. I think the plan may very well be do-able, however it is not without elements of risk!
  15. True_Ger_1872
    As Frankie mentioned earlier - not only was the standard of refereeing a shock, the pitch was nothing short of dreadful! I know the weather hasn't been the greatest lately but the state of that pitch was appalling. Even worst on the outskirts - it was just a slope of mud. And to think of the rather nice sums we pay for green-keeping as well....
  16. True_Ger_1872
    One needs to wonder what lengths the Investment Committee went to in order to get this level of cash into the club? From the sounds of it - i don't imagine they did a lot of work in the background to try and find alternative sources of cash. It does also, maybe, explain the rather strange decision switch of Laxey in the run up to the AGM. If they backed the board, was it possible that they would have been able to 'secure' this business in a slightly more straight forward manner given the make-up of the board?? The Easdale influence here is also worrying - i have always been stuck to provide any reasoning / proof as to what they offer or bring to the table which has led me to question the institutional investors faith in them. I think there is something strange here going on... Worrying times indeed.
  17. True_Ger_1872
    Loan of future season ticket money....anyone else thinking Ticketus??
  18. True_Ger_1872
    I agree with the points above, however i cant help but feel some of these points could / should be used as a positive way of promoting the scheme and trying to break down the boundaries of the various organisations. 1 - Totally agree with this point. There always was a degree of apathy with some Rangers supporters, and i think there still is. 2 - With this, Hearts have the Romanov era at the beginning when cash was ploughed into the club and things were going well at first. We all know how that ended up and i am sure Hearts fans will be more than wary of this happening once more. For Rangers we had the sugar-daddy of SDM - we also have the coming of Craig Whyte. We are all aware of the variety of opinions that supporters / groups have over either of these characters, but i think this should at the very least make supporters think....would Dave King taking over provide a successful outcome for the club?? 3 - Another point that i think requires some lessons to be learned from the recent going-ons. The way to ensure this is resolved i feel is possibly the most sensitive area of a scheme as this area is where agendas will come into play. 4 - As much as these initiatives have provided some benefits, i think as a group of supporters we need to ask ourselves if we have done enough with this list? And if these initiatives have reaped sufficient benefits to the club and supporters? An ownership scheme will ultimately provide the ultimate assurances from some supporters, and raise lots of questions and issues with some supporters also. However, at the end of the day, we would have a fr greater say in the club which i think would be a fantastic achievement. As a fan, to be able to drive something like this forward and be involved, for me, would be such a fantastic use of time and efforts. It just saddens me that it seems some supporters don't share my thoughts on this.
  19. True_Ger_1872
    I hope its not Ibrox - i like the fact that Aberdeen haven't won there in a good long while.....
  20. True_Ger_1872
    It appears that Mr Dingwall has his own opinion and agenda that a lot of folk do no agree with - I am one of them also. But as stated earlier in the thread - if there was a figurehead that could work with the group and unite the various groups then I think it could well work. I would say, perhaps naively, that there are a lot more fans that would buy into this scheme that there are 'Mark Dingwall Loyal' followers. I would hope that the majority of fans would not be put off by the voices, albeit influential ones, of some dissenting folk.
  21. True_Ger_1872
    Strange as it is to say this - but i for one will feel rather uneasy about the second half of the season if we don't manage to loan players out of the door. There is a lot of chat about the finances etc and i cant help but think we need to get some sort of reduction before the end of the window. I really think we need Lee Wallace to stay but given hes the only one that has been the subject of bids - its a bit of a worrying time!
  22. True_Ger_1872
    Foster & Smith - Out
  23. True_Ger_1872
    If Hearts finishe second then they can get into the playoff and if they win that the they can return to the Premiership same season as we do - i think anyways?
  24. True_Ger_1872
    I do agree about some of the points made in the article. However, thinking about all the various articles and comments about cost cutting etc. What would be useful is an idea of how much Wallace aims to reduce the costs by. Reason being is there has been an awful lot of focus on cutting the playing staff costs which are approx 30% of turnover. What i would also like to try and ascertain is how much more income rangers will receive next season? Bearing in mind there will be some aspects that may not increase that much such as TV revenue or merchandise given these will not vary greatly year on year just now given our current predicament. There will however be the opportunity for a new sponsorship deal (end of Blackthorn) and perhaps other commerical areas. Also worth noting that there will be a significant increase in ST and regualr single ticket prices for matches next season which will be a major boost to the coffers. So if Wallace is successful in reducing costs through selling players, loaning players, pay cuts off field and perhaps some other areas across Rangers - I would then imagine that the 30% wages to turnover ration would decrease further! So for those who dont quite think the 30% figure is a big deal may perhaps notice a difference in this next season. Interesting point to digest and welcome any thoughts on the above.
  25. True_Ger_1872
    For me - I would like to see Simonsen, McCulloch, Smith, Foster, Black, Shiels, Cribari, Hegarty, Perry and Hutton all go as a bare minimum. that would free up around £40-50K per week off the wage bill (???), which comes in at a reduction of about £2M per year. For the most part, this wouldnt affect the 1st team - apart from McCulloch but I have to say taking into account his age, wage and guaranteed place in the first 11, I think we need to start to develop a team without him. The above is just for starters as i think with what we have in our squad will need to be looked at in terms of loans or even getting rid of others to try and accomodate higher quality players. But for definate, we need to shift some of the deadwood out. I will be quite disappointed if we still have as big a squad at the the end of January,
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