Steve1872

Greenock businessmen Sandy and James Easdale are aiming to increase their shareholding in Rangers and hope to earn a place on the board as a result. The brothers, who run McGill's Bus company, are in line to buy the former Rangers chief executive Charles Green's shares , giving them about 14% at Ibrox. "When you spend that amount of money on any business you wouldn't go without a voice," said James Easdale, 42. "A presence on the board is something we would be seeking in the mid-term." “There are many at Ibrox who are sensible and know the way forward but they are struggling to get there because of different factions in the boardroom or outside the boardroom working against them” Sandy Easdale Rangers investor The pair, who are lifelong Rangers fans, were approached by Green towards the end of last year about investing. They did so and acquired about 6% of the shares. Now, with Green ousted and with the Yorkshireman announcing on his departure that he would be selling to the Easdale family, the brothers are looking to further extend their shareholding. "We took a decision to invest in the club," said Sandy Easdale, 44. "It is very hard to comment but we are serious about taking it forward. "We have a delicate deal that when shares are available, we will purchase them. "Other shares are an option to us and that is growing stronger. "Every day we have some more negotiations with other parties. The Easdales' business interests extend into taxis, property and manufacturing, as well as McGill's, which has grown to become Scotland's largest independent operator. They say they are keen to see a "togetherness" at Ibrox to end the turmoil that has afflicted the club over the last 18 months. However, they describe acquiring complete control of the club as "a far distant place". "Somebody needs complete control at Ibrox," said Sandy Easdale. "I don't know if that is where we want to be. We are quite willing to share Ibrox with people who want to do the job, do it properly and support Rangers as a club. "[The turmoil] is very concerning for any Rangers fan. "If we get enough support from the fans and other shareholders, together we could maybe turn it round. "There are many at Ibrox who are sensible and know the way forward but they are struggling to get there because of different factions in the boardroom or outside the boardroom working against them. "We need a togetherness and Rangers can move on. "They have a togetherness with Ally McCoist, a great Rangers icon who has held it together under extreme circumstances, and Ally well deserves a chance to move Rangers on. "And people like Walter Smith, what can you say? The man is a gentleman." His younger brother added: "We would hope to bring some sort of stability. "If we can get some other shareholders on board hopefully we can bring Rangers back to where they should be, in a better position financially and playing at a level of football that everyone who supports them would like them to be." Sandy Easdale also spoke of the situation affecting Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray, who has been asked to stand down by the board. "Personally, I have nothing against him, I don't know him that well, but if you are asked to leave twice there must be something amiss," he said. And asked about fans' concerns about his conviction for VAT fraud, he replied: "It was 1996, about 17 years ago. We have built up a reasonable-sized business in that time, we employ up to 1,000 people. "To cast up 17 years ago seems silly when everybody else has moved on. Let's look at what is happening now." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22465783

I'm not in this game to be a middle-of-the-road manager. I'm in it to win everything. (Alex Ferguson taking over at St Mirren, 1974)

New photographs of First Ibrox from 1897. We've managed to find seven pictures of First Ibrox. Here's one of them. The rest can be found on our new blog here - TGP Blog

.jpg:large' alt='laugh.png' alt='xD'>.jpg:large'> FoundersTrailGordon16mHere's an interesting picture of Ibrox looking toward the Copland road end from 1907

Bill Struth's Obituary in the Evening Times, the day after his death

It's Mr Struth joining Rangers from Clyde in 1914

Chairman Malcolm Murray could be on his way out at Rangers after losing a vote of no confidence at a board meeting. BBC Scotland has learned that Ibrox board members are keen for Murray to stand down. This follows an internal investigation into ex-chief executive Charles Green's links to the former owner Craig Whyte. Green brought Murray to the Glasgow club last June on the day he completed his purchase of Rangers' assets in a deal worth £5.5m. Murray, who has a fund management background, has little to do with the day-to-day running of the club. There was widespread reporting of a rift between Murray and Green earlier this year. But Green and commercial director Imran Ahmad have since resigned their posts following allegations over the dealings with Whyte, who steered the club into administration in February 2012. The pair deny any wrongdoing and retain their shareholdings in the club. Whyte has claimed that he still owns Rangers' assets and that Green had agreed to be his front man before the consortium involving the Yorkshireman and Ahmad took control of Rangers' assets. The claims and counter-claims led to Whyte and Green threatening one another with legal action.

Chris Graham‏@ChrisGraham764mFor those asking how BBC find out info ask yourself who is no longer employed by club but still allowed access to board meetings.

Chris McLaughlin‏@BBCchrismclaug11mBBC Scotland learns #Rangers Chairman Malcolm Murray could be on his way out after losing vote of no confidence at board meeting yesterday

thread on RM I am a board member of the RST, but I came across this information entirely independently of the trust. No further links with CW found. I wonder if MM will leak this to Keith Jackson via Paul Murray, like he has with everything else. I think not. £100,000 a week this investigation is costing. http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=252182 To put that into context, 300 season ticket renewals per week.

http://www1.skysports.com/fantasyfc/story/26821/8674643/Rangers-boss-Ally-McCoist-picks-his-One2Eleven… @rangersfctrust Link for the McCoist best 11 interview Rangers boss Ally McCoist has just led his side to the Scottish Third Division title. That league win has added to the Scot's standing at the club where, as a player, he netted over 250 goals in more than 400 appearances and racked up TEN SPL titles. The one time striker also had spells at St Johnstone, Sunderland and Kilmarnock - but who were the best players he played with during his career at Ibrox? The Fantasy Football Club caught up with him to find out... GOALKEEPER - Andy Goram Ally says:It's probably not as easy a decision as everybody would think. I played with Andy for a number of years. The flying pig just nailed it ahead of Chris Woods. He, for me, was probably the best shot stopper I've seen, never mind played with. DEFENDERS - Richard Gough, Terry Butcher, John Brown Ally says:My three centre-backs would include Gough on the right-hand side. He was fearless, great in both boxes, free-kicks, corners, set-plays - he'd attack everything in the exact same mould as the man who'd play alongside him, Terry Butcher. He'd be the middle centre-half. Both of them are prone to a cut - although I think a lot of it was for effect! - but they seemed to do the job. Big Terry was a natural leader. He had some left peg. I used to call his left leg The Winchester. I think the sights have gone a little over the years, but boy could he pass the ball with that left peg. And on the left side I'd go with John Brown. That may surprise a few people but I'd have to say he's the best uncapped player I ever played with. What a committed, old school player he was. MIDFIELDERS - Graeme Souness, Brian Laudrup, Davie Cooper, Paul Gascoigne, Ian Durrant Ally says:I'm going to play Graeme just in front of Big Terry. Souness was a fantastic footballer. He could do anything he wanted and had proper, proper desire to win. He was magic. Brian Laudrup - he's the quickest player I've seen with the ball at his feet. He had great vision and was a great talent. Davie Cooper could have played for any team in any league in the world, no doubt about that. Ruud Guillet said he was one of the best players he'd ever seen, so that's good enough for me. Paul Gascoigne - I think we got the best of him at Rangers. He was a fantastic player at Newcastle, magic at Tottenham and great at Lazio - but out of this world at Rangers. He could win a game himself. Ian Durrant - before his injury he was the best young player the majority of Rangers fans have ever seen. STRIKERS - Kenny Dalglish, Derek Johnstone Ally says:Kenny goes without saying. In my opinion he's probably the greatest Scottish player of all-time. Absolute genius. To play with him - and I apologise to Mark Hateley, Maurice Johnson and myself - I've picked Derek Johnstone. Under-rated player. He played centre-half and midfield but he scored too many goals not to be a centre-forward. That's not a bad team - I'm confident they'd have the league sewn up by Guy Fawkes Night!

“It's Glasgow Rangers at the end of the day. To say no to them, I'd have to be daft.” - Nicky Clark

Michael Bridge‏@MichaelBridge_1m@rangersfctrust Nicky Clark has told us it would be very hard to say no to an offer from Rangers. Will be on #SSN later this evening.

The Legendary Dave Smith exchanges 'pleasantries' with some German bloke named Beckenbauer at Ibrox in April 1972!

In the 1st SC Cup watched by Royalty in 1973,we beat Celtic 3-2 in front of 122,714.Princess Alexandra presented cup

RangersFACTS‏@RangersFACTS3h1,016,060 fans watched Rangers at Ibrox this season in 25 matches in all competitions

LEE WALLACE has been named as the PFA Scotland Division Three Player of the Year at tonightâ??s awards ceremony in Glasgow. The left-back has been in tremendous form for Rangers this season in his role as vice-captain to Light Blues skipper Lee McCulloch. Indeed, he was a popular winner of the clubâ??s Playersâ?? Player of the Year award just seven days ago. Now he has added this latest prize to his list of accolades following a series of fine performances for the Ibrox outfit. Wallace was one of the first senior players to say he would stay at Gers after the move to a new company last summer. And he hasnâ??t disappointed with a number of consistent displays and four goals for Ally McCoistâ??s side against East Fife, Peterhead, East Stirlingshire and Clyde. Wallaceâ??s form earned him a call-up into Gordon Strachanâ??s first Scotland squad for the friendly win over Estonia at Pittodrie earlier this year. As McCoist looks to reshape his squad for the 2013/14 campaign, thereâ??s no doubt the ex-Hearts player will be a key member of his group once again. Among the other candidates for the SFL3 award this evening was Rangers winger David Templeton. And both he and Wallace have been named in the divisionâ??s team of the year with McCulloch and Andy Little. Wallace missed yesterday's 1-0 win over Berwick which brought the campaign to an end before the title trophy was presented. But he is thrilled to have signed off for the summer on a high note all the same over the course of the last 24 hours or so. Wallace said: "It was a tremendous feeling to get the trophy yesterday. It has been a long journey for us but it's one we have all cherished and enjoyed. "There have been ups and downs all the way which I've said all along but this weekend brought us the moment it all built up to. "It has been a great season for us and now I'm delighted and honoured to have been voted for by my fellow professionals for this award." http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/3912-wallace-wins-pfa-prize

By STEPHEN HALLIDAY Published on 03/05/2013 22:27 SCOTTISH Football League chief executive David Longmuir has dismissed the threat of a potential breakaway of ten of his organisation’s clubs, insisting there is no appetite in the Scottish Premier League to admit them as members. Longmuir last night confirmed receipt of a lawyer’s letter on behalf of the ten clubs in line to comprise next season’s First Division – Dundee, Morton, Livingston, Hamilton, Falkirk, Raith Rovers, Dumbarton, Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Queen of the South – indicating their intention to resign immediately from the SFL if the opportunity to form an SPL2 arises. The move came after a meeting of the clubs hosted by Hamilton on Thursday night in the continuing fall-out of last month’s collapse of the contentious 12-12-18 league reconstruction proposal when it was vetoed by St Mirren and Ross County in a vote of SPL clubs. An alternative bid to introduce play-offs between the SPL and SFL next season, as a precursor to amalgamating the two organisations and introducing a new financial distribution model, will be discussed by the SPL clubs again at Hampden on Tuesday. Longmuir is adamant that remains the preferred option of both the SPL and SFL, in conjuction with the Scottish Football Association, and says any increased revenue for First Division clubs would not be available if they broke away and breached the terms of the £1.8 million annual settlement agreement set out when the SPL was formed in 1998. “What the SFL1 clubs are doing is difficult for me to comprehend, because I don’t know where they think they are going,” Longmuir told The
Scotsman. “I don’t think there is any room at the inn. “What has happened is that they had a sniff of the carrot which was there in the previous 12-12-18 proposal. They have seen a bit of money being dangled in front of them. “That opportunity was closed off to them because of the SPL’s own voting mechanism, so they now think ‘where is that money?’ Well, you have to remember that money was coming to them because it was going to be a combined organisation. “That would have brought back in the settlement agreement and the Rangers television money which we currently sub-contract to the SPL. So that’s where the additional money was coming from. But without a merged body, that money does not become a pooled pot. That money remains SFL money and a legally binding obligation between the two organisations. “I have had a letter from a lawyer intimating that these clubs, in the event that they are admitted to the SPL, would wish to resign from the SFL. They have not been invited anywhere but at the moment are knocking on a door which is closed.” In the aftermath of last month’s failure to push through the 12-12-18 plan, several SPL chairmen indicated there was no desire to form an SPL2. One senior SPL source, who did not wish to be named, insists that remains the case and described the breakaway threat as a “sideshow” and “an act of desperate men”. Under SFL rule 12, no club can resign without a notice period of two years unless they receive the approval of at least two-thirds of the votes cast at a general meeting. But the ten rebel clubs believe they are entitled to leave immediately by exercising a separate rule, 15.2, which specifically details taking up membership of the SPL and states a club is not obliged to give any notice. Longmuir accepts the SFL could face a legal challenge on that basis but is confident the two-year notice period would hold sway over a rule which was put in place solely to accommodate the extension of the SPL from ten to 12 clubs a decade ago. “I would argue that Rule 15 was put there to allow the SPL to expand in 2002-03, when it increased by two clubs,” said Longmuir. “Rule 15 was put there for that purpose only. But because it was then part of the settlement agreement, it had to remain. “But to me, our two-year notice period, Rule 12, is still required. If there was a vacancy and the SPL decided this was the route they wanted to go down to divide Scottish football further and cast aside some of the other clubs, then there would probably be a legal argument as to whether Rule 12 or Rule 15 would take precedence. “The SPL are meeting on Tuesday to discuss some of the options and I think we’ll get a better idea after that of what they are prepared to do. Because I think it is the format of the play-offs which will be important, as well as the principle and the risk. “I had a very encouraging meeting at the Professional Game Board of the SFA, which included Neil Doncaster and Stewart Regan, last Wednesday. I was encouraged by the fact we all seemed to be getting round to how we make play-offs a viable proposition for next year. That’s all I’m thinking about at the moment. “We discussed a number of changes we think we can bring in for next season that would take the game forward, on the basis that the SPL failed to vote through the recent reconstruction package. Our proposal was that play-offs should form part of next season’s competition as a widening and strengthening of the bridge between the SPL and the SFL. “We also suggested that a pyramid structure could be in place by the end of season 2014-15, subject to the conditions below the SFL Division Three being appropriate for that with an amalgamation of the South and East of Scotland leagues. “I still hope there will be a 42-club solution to this and I believe there can be.” Credit: http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footba...-inn-1-2919636

Reminder for ST holders: Season ticket holders who wish to release their seat for resale can do so here or by calling Supporter Services on 0871 702 1972

PFA Scotland is delighted to announce the Teams of the Year for all four divisions in Scotland. Each player throughout the leagues is asked to select the team of the year in their respective league in a 4-3-3 formation. Each team is recognised at the Annual Gala Awards Ceremony on Sunday 5th May at the Glasgow Hilton with every player listed receiving a commemorative engraved medal. Division Three Team of the Year Jamie Barclay (Clyde FC) Stephen McNally (Montrose FC) Ricky Little (Queens Park FC) Lee McCulloch (Rangers FC) Lee Wallace (Rangers FC) Lee Currie (Berwick Rangers FC) David Anderson (Queens Park FC) Daniel Moore (Elgin City FC) Andrew Little (Rangers FC) Rory McAllister (Peterhead FC) David Templeton (Rangers FC) http://pfascotland.co.uk/2013/news/pfa-scotland-teams-of-the-year/