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North Rd

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  1. Rangers shareholders urge board to disclose 'outside influences pulling strings at Ibrox' Published on 1 November 2013 The group of dissenting Rangers shareholders led by Paul Murray and Jim McColl urged the Ibrox board on Friday to disclose the "outside influences who are pulling the strings" at the club. The plea came after former oldco Rangers director Dave King warned that failure to reach a workable agreement at the annual general meeting will mean administration is a "distinct possibility". King held talks with a number of key parties involved in the ongoing boardroom battle but has returned to South Africa saying that "certain influential shareholders are unwilling to compromise" and predicted an "acrimonious" annual general meeting. Former director Murray and former Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray - as well as allies Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch - are backed by wealthy businessman McColl and hope to win directorships when the club finally holds an AGM, which must occur before December 31 under stock market rules. A statement released on behalf of the group, that says it has the backing of 28 percent of shareholders, claims the board - which is comprised only of finance director Brian Stockbridge and non-executive director James Easdale - has failed to reveal who is behind major institutional shareholders Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings. The statement from the group, which took successful legal action against the board to force an AGM vote, read: "Paul Murray had a private conversation with Dave (King) this morning when Dave updated him on his position following the various meetings and calls he has had in the last week. "For the avoidance of doubt we remain fully supportive of Dave King's involvement in the club going forward. "As we have been saying for some time, and is evident from Dave King's statement, it is now clear that there are outside influences who are 'pulling the strings' at Ibrox. "Over the last couple of weeks we have attempted to clarify the identity of who is really behind Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings. "Having now reviewed the information supplied to us by the club we are unable to identify who is really behind these two companies. "To avoid a further messy and expensive legal process for the club we are now calling upon the board to do the right thing and disclose to everyone who is really in control. "If the board have any desire to rebuild trust with the fans then, in the interests of transparency and in light of everything that has happened in the last couple of years, surely they must realise that they must do this as soon as possible. "If they will not disclose this information then all of the stakeholders in Rangers should ask themselves two simple questions: Why will the board not disclose this information? What do the board have to hide? "This situation can be easily resolved by the board disclosing the necessary information. The fans deserve nothing less. In the meantime we are considering all options to ensure that there is full disclosure." King revealed he would continue to seek a solution and would not rule out a takeover attempt but he is resigned to a stormy and indecisive AGM. While the Rangers PLC board only has two directors, Easdale sits on the football club board and claims to control the largest individual shareholding, whether by ownership or proxy.
  2. TBH I still dont know how he fooled the majority! He looked and still looks a creep imo. Ps.......Similar with Green & Co
  3. But, majority were taken in with Irvines PR spin.
  4. TBH and I hope im 100% wrong..........Always thought Green & D&P were at it!
  5. By Keith Jackson Keith Jackson: One phrase clings to the ever dwindling bunch of Rangers directors.. not fit for purpose KEITH looks back on the figures who have come and gone at Ibrox over the last 10 months and calls for some honesty from the last men standing. 17 Oct 2013 08:25 Craig Mather IT was labelled, in a parting shot from former chairman Walter Smith, as already dysfunctional. But other words spring readily to mind when trying to describe the car crash that resides at the top of the marble staircase inside Ibrox Stadium. Disgraced. Shamed. Incompetent. Scandalised. All of the above have at one time or other been applicable to the broken board of Rangers Football Club in the last 10 months. Most of all, though, one phrase has clung to this increasingly dwindling bunch of executive and non-executive directors. Not fit for purpose. And never more so than yesterday morning when it was announced to the stock exchange that chief executive Craig Mather – a man shoe-horned into the position in the first place in a typically ill-thought out emergency measure – had become the latest victim of the civil war that continues to rage inside this club. Another day, another announcement to the stock exchange. They might have set some kind of record by now. Was it really only last week Ian Hart started this latest boardroom exodus, which is starting to look like the directorial desertion of a sinking ship? This time they wrote to confirm Mather has now left the building along with Bryan Smart, who has been – albeit in a less high profile manner – another major contributor to the governmental distress inside the Bluehouse. Smart has come and gone from it all without hardly being noticed. He can leave it all behind but his part in the chaos will be remembered by those he let down most. Men like Smith who could hardly win a vote in his own boardroom because of the pacts and deals being hatched around the table. Alliances that sickened him to such an extent he could no longer remain part of a club he has lived and breathed most of his life. Mather, on the other hand, had no problem whatsoever in striding into the thick of this toxic mess and, indeed, claiming centre stage. It did not seem to bother him at all that there was nothing on his CV that seemed even remotely to suggest he was worthy of the position or capable of holding it down. In fact, unlike Smith, who could take no more, Mather appeared to believe his role was some sort of entitlement. It may have escaped your notice (after all he only mentioned it in just about every single one of his rambling official statements) but Mather ploughed £1million of his own cash into this debacle. And for that, he would not walk away without his pound of flesh. Rangers did not reveal yesterday if Mather had been paid to fall on his sword, although the words “by mutual consent” are often a bit of a give-away in such situations. In fact, he walked away with a year’s full pay and that amounts to a cool £300,000. It would be unwise to refer to Mather as any sort of victim until the full facts are made public about his exit. It could be he has recouped almost all the money he invested in the club, without having to cash in any of his shares. The writing had been on the wall for him since Monday afternoon when former director Paul Murray humiliated the board in the Court of Session. Murray’s team proved the board had illegally attempted to block a move by rebel shareholders to nominate their own candidates for directorial roles. In doing so, they denied Rangers’ fans and financial backers a democratic right to vote on the make-up of the men in charge. QC Richard Keen stated each member of the board had committed an offence by refusing to add the names of Paul and Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch to the business at the upcoming agm (it’s coming at some point, right?). From that moment, Mather was toast. Only the speed of his demise was in question but it came more quickly than could have been predicted. Are you keeping count? That’s two CEO’s. Two chairmen too. A commercial director. Three non-execs, including Phil Cartmell who was Smith’s rock. And three NOMADS appointed in less than a year? So now, or at least as of last night (these things do tend to change quickly), the current regime is made up of just two men, financial director Brian Stockbridge and bus brother, James Easdale. Stockbridge, in case anyone needs reminding, is the money man with a flair for capturing video recordings, especially if they involve embarrassing a colleague at the end of a boozy dinner. It was incredible Stockbridge was not sacked on the spot for gross misconduct after the Daily Record exposed his part in that tawdry little episode. Or it would have been incredible, had this been any other director of any other board, in any other business. Only in a place as toxic as the Ibrox boardroom could such behaviour be excused or ignored. Stockbridge, an old ally of Charles Green and Imran Ahmad, also just might possess the worst head for figures in the history of financial directing. This is the man who predicted Rangers would turn a loss of around £7m when they posted their first set of accounts. In fact, six months later the deficit was in excess of £14m. So just the £7m out? Gross misconduct, gross incompetence? You do the maths. The cash Mather walked away with yesterday will have been signed off by Stockbridge as the club’s only remaining executive. He is also the man who handed Green a small fortune as a pay-off when the Ibrox board had a stonewall case to dismiss the Yorkshireman for free. He left with £1m in his big Yorkshire hands. Incredible? That doesn’t quite cover some of what has gone on as this club has burned through £22m of IPO (share issue) cash since January. In fact, it doesn’t come close to explaining how Rangers have been ripped apart by the intruders who have presided in the top office since Craig Whyte’s takeover in May 2011. Now Stockbridge is left on the inside manning the barricades. There is little choice for him as, should Rangers lose one of their two remaining directors, then under stock exchange rules the club will be suspended from trading on the AIM market. In other words, Stockbridge must stay, even though eventually he must go if this club’s credibility is to be fixed. What happens in the short term is now the more pressing question. Would-be saviour Dave King – who had been courted by Mather in a rather shameless and self-preserving way – may have already had his own concerns about being used as a tool to validate the current regime. He would be off his head to even consider returning as chairman now or at any time before the dust settles after what will be an explosive agm. Meanwhile, Jim McColl and Paul Murray will press ahead with their proposals for an open, democratic vote when shareholders get their showdown. In the interests of openness and transparency, however, they may first wish to take this board to task one last time and demand to be given details of those who may still be of a mind to re-elect Stockbridge and Easdale, despite the mountain of evidence which damns their tainted leadership. Murray has expressed his desire to know exactly whose cash is behind the mysterious investor groups Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings, who got in on the ground floor with Green and who hold around 15 per cent of the club’s shares. This board might be down to its last two directors, broken, dysfunctional and disgraced. But it would be a belated act of decency if, now the game is almost up, it finally discloses its last big secret. After all the damage that has been done to this club and all the dishonesty which has besmirched it, this seems like the least that should be done.
  6. WTF........ Why would AJ open this up again? knowing the consequences we could face from sfa.......
  7. RANGERS fans supremo Mark Dingwall ???? Sorry Gersnet, Just had to
  8. RANGERS fans supremo Mark Dingwall insisted Craig Mather had no option but to resign following his court embarrassment on Monday. Chris Jack Group Sports Writer Thursday 17/10/2013 Mark Dingwall reckons Craig Mather had no option but to quit after Paul Murray Court of Session verdictThe Ibrox chief executive stood down from his position yesterday morning just days after a group of shareholders, headed by Blue Knights leader Paul Murray, were successful in their action at the Court of Session in forcing the club to postpone their AGM this month. Bryan Smart also stood down from his seat at the Ibrox top table., leaving finance director Brian Stockbridge and Greenock businessman James Easdale as the only two directors on the board following the resignation of Ian Hart last week. Dingwall told SportTimes: "I wasn't surprised Craig left. As chief executive, he was being paid a lot of money and losing the court case on Monday was disastrous for him. "The call for the AGM was illegal and should never have been issued. As chief executive, Craig had to resign. "But fans are more concerned about the club than individual personalities. They want stability at the club rather than who gets the chop next. "The quickest way to do that is to proceed to a properly constituted AGM where whoever wants to stand can have their track records judged by shareholders. "It is necessary that, following the debacle in court, there is clear direction in the run-up to the AGM. It is imperative that we have stability." The departure of Mather could pave the way for Murray, former chairman Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson to join the Gers board, with South African-based businessman Dave King also in the frame to return to the club. And Rangers Supporters Trust chief Dingwall insists fans deserve answers from all parties as the boardroom battle intensifies. He said: "With the financial situation of the club being such that there will supposedly only be £1m left in the bank next April, all directors and people seeking to get on the board will be asked what their plans are and the solution to this. "Mr Easdale and Mr Stockbridge, being the incumbents, should have that information to be able to justify their past actions and their future actions. "It is vital that the new board of directors takes the fans with them. The only safe place for Rangers is to be wholly owned by Rangers fans. "Paul Murray has always stated that he is willing to put himself up at the AGM and be judged on his conduct. "He has taken on the bank, Duff and Phelps, Craig Whyte and Green. His record is there to be examined. It is now down to the fans to have a think about what they want for the club and to vote for the directors that they want."
  9. Frankie, when do you think the AGM will take place? my gut feeling is it will be November, or, if the rumours are true, end of December.
  10. He (toxic) has been very quiet lately!
  11. Agree, if we resign we get nowt..................
  12. C'mon Frankie, because RM is down dont stop us abusing STB
  13. How can that be? when Shyster got the loan before buying RFC?? Wasnt the loan secured against his other businesses
  14. PM...Do we really want a guy that was going to promise 10m to ticketus and then take another 10m loan from them? NO
  15. Just thinking........What will the Banners say this weekend, there isnt a Board left to sack
  16. nah, he was worse," If you the fan dont put your hand up and shop the fan beside you, YOU will be banned from the ground as well"
  17. Ah well, All we are needing now is for SDM to come out of hiding, then the jigsaw is complete.
  18. Why is twitter in Meltdown????? Christ they were all calling for Mathers head, and, now hes gone its Doomsday..............
  19. Would this be the people the easdales tried to appoint that caused Strand Hanson to quit?
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