der Berliner

Which cash? We/he had to pay all the players and staff too? I'm not the finance guru on here, I just try to make some more sense of the numbers than King & Co. do. Isle of Man, of course! No seriously, he/TRG/Rangers pay all the money, so whether or not the money is in the Rangers accounts or his or that of TRG does not matter. It might (IMHO) be held close to the chest in case the tax bill is smaller than what the press likes it to be. In any case, Whyte/TRG will not say how they do the daily financing of the club or how they prepare for this or that eventuality - much like any other company in the world.

What I said is that the current squad is probably not good enough to a) win the title for a direct entry to the CL qualifiers, and b) will not be good enough to do it in the future either. By bringing in some freebies or low-budget people as "replacements" for the strikers gone and missing, we may have at least a chance to retain the title and look at a brighter future than now. If we don't even draw a ticket though, we will not even have a chance to get into the CL. Going by the selling and loaning statistics, there sure should be some money about to finance one or two freebies till at least the end of the season. The loss would thus be minimal, the gain substantial. And, while I am at it, getting a few fresh faces in and perhaps retaining the title would give the team as well as the fans a much needed boost. (I was not asking for recklessly throwing money about.)

Whyte recently stated that we shell out some 3.5m per month to run the club. We have no bank doing this, nor any other facility, mainly due to the HMRC thing. Thus we need to be inventive. As has been said time and again, we signed and dealed 14 players in over the course of Whyte's reign too, with only two (Bougherra & Jelavic) bringing in any substantial amounts of money. These people and their agents all have to get paid, repair stuff at Ibrox to be done and whatnot. Contractors too want their cash now, bills being paid instantly ... because of the HMRC thing. And, as I said before, I do assume that Whyte has an account where he stores a certain sum to pay a small bill from the large case. Hence, all what I read of him in recent weeks makes a certain amount of sense. It is not exactly satisfying a state, but it makes sense. Will you get more answers from Whyte? Nope. For certain stuff is confidential ... at every company on this planet.

Again ... this is not something that needs to be carried out in front of the press and all supporters. Sometimes you do wonder what people actually expect here, e.g. (and taking it a touch too far, of course) Ally twittering about what he does right now, whom he is watching, who looks good and all? This is the age of instant and constant information and people apparently cannot live without that any longer. But this is just not reality. At least not when it comes to hard business. I for one rather read about any transfer target on our website, than days and weeks of (unfounded) speculation first in the media, then on the boards. Frustrating as the waiting game is though. BTW, just to keep the feet on the ground, people are not just waiting to get a call and stand ready for training. So even if we have a few free strikers in mind and got them signed up for a trial, they may just have to settle private issues and travel arrangements first. As I said before, keep the feet on the ground here.

Page 6 of the circular tells about that. In many ways, people who debate about Whyte and his intentions should read this before e.g. asking the 20m question time and again.

The point is that he - unless I am mistaken - never gave a date about waiving the debt. In essence, it is not looming over the club as the Lloyds debt was, so wether he waives it or not is not a pressing issue. But we can speculate all day long. First we need to hear about the tax case. BTW, the jovial tone Traynor presented would make him a persona non grata at Ibrox if I were Whyte. Maybe they think that because he's just 40 years old, they can patronise him like a schoolboy.

Fair enough. He does not say that he cannot bear that deficit though and was willing to pay a substantial fee/wages for Holt. That he does not want this deficit to stay longer than necessary or to grow is clear enough. But I do assume that he knows that should we retain the title, there's the prospect of a CL jackpot. Hence spending some money now and do it sensibly might actually get us into the draw for that jackpot. We could stay with what we have, yet, on current form, it means that we not even draw a ticket.

Unless I am mistaken, he did not say that there is currently a 10m deficit, but the income we generate does not equal the expenditures over the whole financial year. More a general statement that he was aware of when taking over, a deficit he targets to bring down in the longer run, not necessarily at the end of February 2012 for the running year. Not that he can do this by using the Jelavic money anyways. BTW, I do expect that as soon as we get the tax case off our backs on way or another, investors might be more willing to come forth.

The problem with the BBC is that they are self-controlled. No Ofcom et al making sure they stick to basic principle, only a BBC Trust looking into that, AFTER you have complained to the BBC directly and are not satisfied. It is essentially not very different to what UEFA did with Sion, i.e. asking an UEFA selected "independent" court of arbitration to settle the issue, rather than the Swiss law courts. You could as well ask the Vatican to act as an independent tribunal in a dispute between the Anglican and the Roman Catholic Church of England. In any case, people have to make the first step and complain to the BBC, the BBC Trust and make Ofcom aware of BBC Scotland's antics. For AFAIK, Ofcom is challenging the BBC hard for their aloofness and "being untouchable" (when they long since have ceased to be solely dependent on license fee payers) ... and need ammunition.

*whack over the head* ... We've sold McMillan and have his wages. We've sold Jelavic and have his wages. We've loaned and released nigh a dozen and save their money. We offered 1m to Norwich for Holt and had a decent amount of wages set aside ... so please try not to follow the garden path the press as cut.

Well, according to transfermarkt, there are some 900 strikers out there, about 3/4 of which are very (as in very low-key) folk. But you also get quite a few Brazilians as well as Barcelona B players. (Interestingly enough also a few Rangers u19 strikers ... ) All without contract.

IMHO, Whyte has said what has to be said about the issue. If King or Traynor doesn't like it, so be it. Neither these two or, matter of fact, the supporters have any more "right" to know more than what Whyte has done. Guiding Rangers FC and their finances has never been done with the consent of the press or the support, nor their full and detailed knwoledge. King and Traynor just mobilizing the disgruntled masses and knock their press freedom about ... in the search of another story. THAT should be clear here.

As far as I understood it, that has actually happened when the amount was frozen in our accounts?

Methinks with regards to the small bill, he does not contest it as such, but the (in his opinion) far too heavy penalty ... after he found out about it and gave the relevant info to HMRC in the frist place. While the tax people can demand penalties to their hearts content, it does make you wonder that they go at us with all guns blazing here. When, as has been said, Vodafone et all got off the hook very lightly. (And yes, the penalty was imposed before HMRC got told to sharpen up late last year.) Since we know not much about the small deal, we as much as Traynor can hardly debate on a decent level about it. Since we have a right to appeal the penalty and it is not in our hands when the appeal etc. is being heard, I doubt that the fee as such will increase while it is in that state.

On a sidenote, here's McMillan celebrating his Pars deal. Maybe tells its own story ...

With regard to trials ... it is always about what the respective clubs want (position, role) and what e.g. Riordan asks with regards to contract lengths and wages.

Traynor and King again asking the "must tell the truth" and "supporters must demand" stuff. It seems unless Whyte (whom Traynor jovially calls "Craig") tells them what they want to hear - e.g. Rangers are in deep shyte and I'm guilty and will burn in hell for this - they will not listen and read and think about what the chairman has to say. For that reason alone I hope the HMRC case bursts and Whyte waives the 18m debt stored in the Rangers Football Group.

Unless I am mistaken, Cousin is 35 now and while leading the line for Gabun (?), is playing for Gabunese side Sapin. They have a deal standing that he can go "without condition" if a European team happens by, but I'm not sure how thin that contractual ice is going to be. Riordan is still a freebie, would probably jump at the chance to play for a big team again, but a) this rumour is just that, and b) many Rangers supporting boarders do not want him "because he's a ned off the field". (You wonder what people thought of Gascoigne at the time ... when he was not a Rangers players ... and no, I do not suggest that Riordan is anywhere Gazza's quality.)

I do suspect that there were differences between the club and McMillan that might have let to him being sold rather than loaned. He's said to be a fiery character and there was probably a reason that he was not used as a first team player by now, despite his age (and injuries). I'd get Jaager in to cover the right back slot. Bartley ain't a solution there, but we need him as back-up CH and defensive midfielder. We desperately need a creative midfielder and another striker. The sooner these slots are filled, the better. And Ally should finally give McKay a game, he simply can't be worse than what Davis and Edu deliver time and again. ... they, btw, need a smart kick up the backside. You can't have a couple of good games, then get back to a level that makes us look like a pub team. Davis might be captain, but I would hope that Bocanegra takes up more responsibilities in that department and gives the players a good roasting when required.

It was quite ominous that Bedoya and McKay weren't involved in the Arbroath game.

Did the season ticket sales plummet after the horror January of 2011?

... on a sidenote, Bedoya played for the US of A on the right hand side during the Gold Cup, and was hailed by one of his colleagues as a right-sided all-round worker. He was not even on the bench, but we had Kerkar, Wylde, Wallace, Papac, Aluko, and Celik there, all essentially left-sided players. All that said, these players performed on quite a different level during these last 14 days. And I will not start questioning Ally time and again after every dropped point. We are neck deep in trouble. We know it. We knew it. There will not be a great deal of improvement during the rest of the season unless the players get their act together. They are good enough, now they have to show it. Most of those we have are through it all already. But now it is also the time where we have to show our loyalty and support them through this thick times. We always proclaim that "we welcome the chase" and want to be more than just another football supporter. Now it is also the time to stop the lamenting and show the dignity that befits our institution.

IMHO that was clear enough. I doubt that all these 20m from Ticketus will be solely used for these running costs. And even if, which was my point, how long will these 20m last? Hence my reply that Whyte will make sure that all income will be used to keep the club as such running, pay off any out-standing issues and keep a decent amount handy for any possible HMRC bill (even though we apparently can cover the small bill with the money frozen in the accounts). As I said before, Whyte has no (as in: NO) obligation to give a reporter (or us) a detailed account on how he uses the money. No chairman this side of Saturn's rings does that and I simply cannot understand the constant harassment of Whyte in the press and on the boards to release figures so blatantly confidental. All figures that need publication will be posted on the annual accounts (once they are handy). And you will get hardly any more info than in the annual reports from any chairmen either. In that respect, Whyte is much more forthcoming than most. (On a sidenote, do keep in mind that despite probably being in this business for the better part of a decade, he is still pretty young (i.e. 40, which is younger than me) and thus bound to act and react differently than e.g. a Marlborough, Murray or the like. And no, that is no excuse, just a statement.)

Methinks you may find the answer to that in this reply of Whyte: And, as I said before, it could well be that he keeps an account handy for the small tax bill as well as any small bill that HMRC gets in the big case. Just MHO, of course.

... Hemmings, who is back in training for a while, but according to his own words (twitter), about two weeks away from the first team. On a sidenote, Aluko can play in the free-roving free-shooting Laudrup role, though I would assume that Ally saw that Wylde is not that much of a help on the right. Hence I would give Aluko the right wing slot (with some freedom), keep Wallace on the left (with the order to attack and shoot from all angles), and use Celik as an inside left just behind Healy. All midfielders though should get the order to have a go at the target.