ian1964

The chairman of Singaporean club Hougang United has a reputation as a hard-nosed businessman. Singaporean businessman Bill Ng, who is leading one of the consortiums bidding to buy Rangers, claims to have been a fan of the club since he was a boy. But in Scotland Ng, whose five-man consortium is offering £20m for the Ibrox club, is a largely unknown quantity. His family's wealth can be traced back to the Chinese Hokkien clan associations who make up Singapore's business elite. The clans were formed in the early days of modern Singapore after it was established as a British trading post in 1819. Waves of Chinese immigrants arrived, helping to swell the population of the port from 1,000 to 10,000 in just six years. Ng's father was a prominent clan leader from the 1940s right through to the 1980, while his mother's parents founded Singapore's largest broking firm, Ong & Company Stockbrokers. When Ng took over S-League football club Hougang United questions were asked about his commitment to football, but the club is currently in sixth place and on course for its best ever league finish. He is also a keen motor racing enthusiast who is one of the marshals at the Singapore Grand Prix. Ng has said he wants to see Rangers make history rather than be history and has pledged to maintain the club's heritage. However, in Singapore he is known as a hard-headed businessman whose only concern is making a positive return on his investment. He has business contacts in Hong Kong and China, as well as Malaysia, where he flew on to after announcing his bid for Rangers in London on Monday. http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-central/303348-profile-bill-ng-the-singaporean-high-flyer-who-wants-to-make-history-with-rangers/

THE Scottish Premier Leagueâ??s blatant tactics to hold up the sale of Rangers and the clubâ??s move out of administration could backfire on itâ?¦ SPECTACULARLY! For Rangers supporters are now so angry with the SPL and its perceived anti Rangers agenda that they are calling for whoever takes over Rangers to QUIT the SPL. There is a huge groundswell that Rangers should teach Ralph Topping, Neil Doncaster, Celticâ??s Eric Riley, Dundee Unitedâ??s Steven Thomson and Rod Petrie of Hibernian, a lesson they will NEVER forget. By costing the Scottish Premier League a staggering £100MILLION in lost revenue, starting with the new Sky deal, worth £80m, which is not due to begin until next season. Without the four Old Firm games Sky would NOT sign any £80M contract with the SPL. Rangers walking out and applying to join the Scottish FOOTBALL League, would also cost the SPL a new sponsorship contract when the Clydesdale Bank deal runs out at the end of the next season. The SPL are already finding it hard to find a backer. Without Rangers their task would become IMPOSSIBLE! In fact, if Rangers were to quit at this financially vulnerable time for the SPL, it could be the end of the road for the Scottish Premier League. It would be a drastic action. But whatâ??s happening has roused Rangers supporters as I have never seen any group of fans roused in the last half a century. They are reacting to what is seen as the work of Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwellâ??s £250-a-year puppet, Parkhead financial director, Eric Riley, Hibsâ?? supremo Petrie and Dundee United chairman, Thomson at the heart of what they believe is a Celtic cabal. In fact what the SPL want to do with their new raft of regulations, will not have any effect on Rangers starting next season with NO penalty points.... but only IF Duff and Phelps hand over control to Paul Murray and the True Blue Knights. For neither of the other two bidders, the shady Yank, Bill Miller, along with the shadowy Singapore consortium headed by Billy Ng, have made a clear unambiguous statement that liquidation is not an option. Miller and Ng have also NOT made a clear and unambiguous statement that remaining in administration is not an option either. Paul Murray and the True Blue Knights have made themselves clear. A CVA will be applied for as soon as possible and Rangers will start repaying their debts. They will move out of administration and set about restoring the clubâ??s reputation. Therefore, in some ways, what the anti Rangers cabal within the SPL has done by showing its hand, is make it harder for Duff and Phelps to hand over the keys of Ibrox to anyone other than the only bidders who have pledged there will be no liquidation and that Rangers will be OUT of administration in plenty of time for next season. That is the blueprint of the group which is the overwhelming choice of the vast majority of Rangers supporters, Paul Murray and the True Blue Knights! Any other decision by Duff and Phelps will lead to the danger of Rangers being liquidated by either the shady Yank, Miller, or Ng from Singapore, neither of whom have produced solid, sound and sensible reasons for wanting to own Rangers. And that would see another outburst of fury from Rangers supporters, this time directed at Duff and Phelps and the Duff and Phelps Two, Paul Clark and David Whitehouse. They may well find that their professional lives, as they have known them, will be over. Plus the stigma attached to their firm would have a huge impact on Duff and Phelps professionally. For the moment though, it is SPL chairman, Ralph Topping, chief executive, Neil Doncaster, Celticâ??s Eric Riley, Hibernianâ??s Ron Petrie and Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson, who are leading what looks like an onslaught on Rangers which the Ibrox clubâ??s seriously angry support may be about to turn into the SPLâ??s very own version ofâ?¦.. THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE! And the first job any new Rangers owner will have is listening to the rage of the clubâ??s seriously furious fans and deciding what action to take to hit the anti Rangers SPL with the sort of backlash they wonâ??t forget in a hurry. One would have thought Dundee Unitedâ??s Thompson would already have learned just how vulnerable his club is to the anger of Rangers supporters. Just last month only half of the tickets United made available for Rangers visit to Tannadice were taken up, costing United £40,000 they could ill afford to lose. Even if the rift between the SPL and Rangers can be resolved to keep the Ibrox club in the fold, Rangers supporters will still exact their revenge and I believe there will be more and better organised boycotts of away trips next season, costing an average of between £200,000 and £250,000 in lost gate money to hard up clubs. That could represent the difference between survival and going bust for small clubs such as St Mirren and Motherwell. These are the sort of clubs who will be caught in the crossfire of the backlash which Rangers supporters are already planning to unleash on the Scottish Premier League. There may be some who believe there is a lot of hot air being blown at the moment. That is a matter for them. But, believe me, Rangers supporters are in no mood to take this latest SPL assault on their club lying down. They will demand action..... And also take it themselves, in what they want to be swift, terrible and devastaing revenge on those who continue to try to kick Rangers at this vulnerable time. Supporters are rallying round the pledge Alastair McCoist made about how strongly he feels about fighting back against Rangers enemies when all of this is over.

Under normal circumstances I'd agree,however in these troubled times I'm sure you would see an effort made by the fans to plough some cash into the club.

Boycott away fixtures and could we have a live beam back to Ibrox for these games?,I'm sure the fans would pay to watch the beam back, pouring cash into the club at the same time.

They are slowing up the take over process,Liewell and his puppet are really putting the boot in. Feck it,resign from the SPL and apply to get into the third division.

Agreed. Any new changes to any rules would have to be put in place for future events such as what Rangers are going through just now. It must be bordering on illegal what they are trying to do?. What about the TV deal?,are they forgetting that this deal is on the strength of Rangers being part of this deal?.

RANGERS director Andrew Ellis has launched a legal action against Craig Whyte demanding a quarter of the club’s shares. Ellis claims that he was promised a 24.9 per cent stake in the Ibrox club as a reward for helping Whyte buy out Sir David Murray’s 85.3 per cent holding last May. Now he has instructed his lawyers to take action, insisting the disgraced owner has reneged on the deal. If Ellis is successful the move could plunge the takeover saga into further confusion as administrators attempt to hand the club over to a new buyer this week. Top brass from administrators Duff and Phelps are expected to meet with officials from HMRC in the next 24 hours to discuss the terms of a possible CVA that would allow Rangers to avoid liquidation. There will also be a final round of talks with all three interested parties – Paul Murray’s Blue Knights, Georgia-based tycoon Bill Miller and Bill Ng’s Singapore consortium – before a preferred bidder is selected, possibly by Thursday morning. So far, despite dismissing Whyte as an “irrelevance”, the administrators have failed to legally secure the shares he bought from Sir David Murray for a single pound. And to complicate the matter further London-based property developer Ellis now insists he is rightfully the club’s co-owner. Ellis – who has been in regular contact with Miller and those behind the original Club 9 Sports consortium – confirmed to Record Sport last night: “I am owed 24.9 per cent of the entire club’s shares and I will be suing Craig Whyte for it. “This was part of the initial agreement prior to the takeover and I have correspondence to prove it. At the time the solicitors sent all the documents through, Craig accepted the fact that I was getting 24.9 per cent of the club. “My lawyers wrote to Craig on Thursday about this and we are awaiting his response. I do not trust his intentions for the football club and I want to do what I can to make sure the best interests of Rangers are being looked after. “That’s why I have been actively engaged in talking to one of the bidders. I’ve been trying to assist them in their efforts to save the club as I am so disappointed with all the damage that Whyte has done.” Ellis is also taking advice on the legality of Whyte’s latest piece of manoeuvring at Companies House. The disgraced Rangers owner appears to have switched control over the club’s floating charge from RFC Group Limited to one of his own companies, Liberty Corporate Limited. Ellis, who is listed as a director of RFC Group Limited, said: “I want to know why Whyte has done this and if it means he has now placed a floating charge on the club’s assets like Ibrox and Murray Park. “Why was it done and why didn’t he seek my consent? “As far as I’m aware he can’t do that. He knows I would never give him my consent because I have always said there should be no charges over the club’s assets. “I believe he has acted outwith company law and I wouldn’t have allowed him to do this because it could kill the football club. I would like to see this declared legally null and void.” Sir David Murray also last night rubbished claims from Whyte that the topic of Gers going into administration had been discussed in their talks about the sale. Whyte made the claim after Duff and Phelps revealed a potential liability of £140million in their report to creditors last week. Most of this figure derives from the potential HMRC bill of £75m – if the big tax case tribunal goes against Rangers – that was run up on Murray’s watch. The rest is debt from Whyte’s reign including £27m to Ticketus and £14m owed to HMRC due to the non-payment of PAYE and VAT. Whyte recently stated: “Liquidation was never considered but administration was discussed with the sellers at the time and we knew it was a serious option.” However, Murray has now hit back by insisting: “It was never discussed. With the greatest respect his offer document did not say that. “I think he made a statement that the club was never in a better financial situation.” On the damage to his own reputation from the saga, Murray added: “It has tarnished a part of my business career, there is no doubt. “But I have run the business for nearly 40 years and I employ thousands of people. Other than the football club we have not been involved in any administrations.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/04/10/rangers-in-crisis-director-andrew-ellis-demands-a-quarter-of-club-s-shares-from-craig-whyte-86908-23819760/

Bill Ng, the Singapore- based investor who heads one of the three groups bidding to purchase Rangers, is planning a meeting with Ally McCoist, the club's manager. Ng is the only potential buyer yet to speak to McCoist, but he has been seeking other sources of advice, and met with the Berjaya Group, who own Cardiff City, in Malaysia over the weekend. The talks focused on the demands of owning a European football club, although Ng has some experience of the game after buying Hougang United in Singapore's S-League two years ago. The private equity firm director was in London last week for meetings with Duff & Phelps, Rangers' administrators, then flew to Malaysia, where the Berjaya Group are based. "We want to show we're not just the type of owners who go in with no understanding and are in it just for the money," Ng said. "We will install a board of directors made up of Scottish businessmen who support the club. I'm already thinking about the day I can sit down with Ally McCoist and the staff to discuss new signings." The 52-year-old claims to have become a Rangers fan after watching television coverage of the team winning the European Cup-winners' Cup in 1972. It might be a ploy to convince supporters of his merits, but his wealth is not in question, with Wealth-X, the group that compiles information on the world's richest individuals, estimating his personal fortune to be worth almost £40m. Ng has pledged to set aside £12m for creditors and says that he hopes to achieve a Company Voluntary Arrangement to take the Ibrox side out of administration. He believes he was right to wait until now to reveal his identity, despite claiming to have first worked on his bid for the club last December. "My mentors taught me how to shut up, don't show off and never blow hot air," he said. "I'm from the old school of thinking, where you don't conduct your business in public. My mission will be accomplished when another young boy watches Rangers lift a European trophy." Ng has pledged to appoint a board of Rangers-supporting executives from the UK, but he plays a central role at Hougang United, where he is club chairman. One former manager, Aide Iskandar, revealed that Ng would often telephone him at all hours to talk about the team. "He would call me in the middle of the night to discuss tactics," Iskandar said. "How many chairmen take the effort to study opponents? But he always gave me the final say on team selection. I really miss talking to him." http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/ng-on-mission-to-meet-mccoist-and-taste-european-glory.17268085

We all know where to buy any crystal we might want in future now.

RANGERS could not even afford to pay for departing captain David Weirâ??s farewell gift, it emerged yesterday. The Ibrox side commissioned Glencairn Crystal to create a personalised decanter set for the former Scotland international following his decision to leave Glasgow earlier this year. But, three months after the 41-year-old quit the club, the East Kilbride firm is still owed £354. http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/313298/Club-could-not-even-afford-Captain-s-farewell-gift Lifted from FF: I have spoken at length on the phone to Paul @ Glencairn Crystal (Airdrie Fan) I offered repeatedly to clear this debt He constantly refused and insisted that I use the money elsewhere where it's needed more They are more than happy to sit on the debt for a long long time and take a payment for it wherever the club are back on its feet. They are disappointed that news of their managable small debt has been used in a negative way by the Press.

But he is also against fan ownership

JOE Oâ??ROURKE, the bigot who leads the OFFICIAL Celtic Supporters Association, remains a member of the Celtic family. And for as long Joe Oâ??Rourke, the man who wants to see Protestants drowned, stays on the inside of the Celtic family, as someone who has privileged access to Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell, then Celtic and Lawwell will be tainted. Tainted by sectarianism! Tainted by hatred! And tainted by bigotry. And that, by association leaves the Scottish Football Association, where Lawwell shares the Hampden boardroom with SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, also tainted. By association, with Lawwell and his silence, through to the bigot, Oâ?? Rourke, the SFA is tainted. The SFA is tainted by its association with Peter Lawwell, a man who will not speak out against Joe Oâ??Rourkeâ??s sectarianism. The SFA is tainted by its association with Peter Lawwell, a man who will not speak out against Joe Oâ??Rourkeâ??s hatred. The SFA is tainted by its association with Peter Lawwell, a man who will not speak out against Joe Oâ??Rourkeâ??s bigotry. Strathclyde Police have already revealed that they have been in touch with the hate filled bigot Oâ??Rourke and given him a final warning not to repeat his call for Protestants to be drowned. But there has been no word, not even a whisper from inside the Parkhead corridors of power where Peter Lawwell rules supremely, that he and Celtic want nothing more to do with the OFFICIAL Celtic Supporters Association for as long as the Protestant hating bigot, Joe Oâ??Rourke remains at its head. Lawwell has so far appeared to commit what I believe is called a sin of omission. Therefore, as far as many people are concerned, for as long as he omits to condemn Oâ??Rourke and make it clear Celtic can no longer work with him, then Peter Lawwell appears guilty of condoning Oâ??Rourke. Surely that is not what the OFFICIAL Celtic website meant when it claimed Celticâ??s chief executive had praised the Celtic family. Was it? Of course it must be remembered that Celtic supporters have caused Peter Lawwell continual problems with UEFA because of their bad behaviour during European matches. FIVE times in just about as many years â?? two of them THIS season â?? unruly, bad and downright hooligan actions by a mob of Celtic supporters have cost Celtic more than a staggering £100,000 in UEFA fines. Yet these are the same supporters Lawwell claimed have been a credit to Celtic all season. The same supporters he publicly clashed with in front of press reporters and photographers in the airport as he returned from the Europa League tie against Udinese. The same supporters who are now so out of hand, so out of control and so convinced that Lawwell will turn a blind eye to their rampaging, that they could cause further damage to Celtic in Europe and see their club hit with a punishment which goes far beyond a fine. The same supporters whose OFFICIAL Celtic Supporters Association is led by Joe Oâ??Rourke, a hate filled bigot who wants to drown Protestants and who Strathclyde police have cracked down on because of his sectarianism. The same bigot, Joe Oâ??Rourke, who Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell, a man at the peak of power in Scottish football, sharing a Scottish Football Association directorship with SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, has failed to condemn as a bigot and refused to work with. Which many see as meaning Peter Lawwell is still happy to have Joe Oâ??Rourke as a member of the Celtic family. No doubt in the next few days Lawwell will grant an audience to a hand picked press propaganda posse, feeding them slick spin. Will any of them be bold enough to ask him about Joe Oâ??Rourke, the bigot who remains as the secretary of the OFFICIAL Celtic Supporters Association? Your guess is as good as mine. http://leggoland2.blogspot.co.uk/

Don't be silly,that only happens to TLB or catholics in Scotland,otherwise it's just the craic don't ye know. As for the Nacho tweet,he is actually spot on,a lot of truth in what he says,hence the rabid response from the BHEASTS.

I don't see anything wrong with really,I do post whatever I think is relevant to Rangers and some BHEAST articles,but tbh I don't look into this thread much but then if I see threads that I'm not interested in I don't post in them.That's confusing when I read it back!,I hope it makes sense:p

Big Jig for me. Aluko has been excellent and a joy to watch,but Jig really has stepped up and played.

Nacho Novo‏ @nnovo1010 Been that long since Celtic supporters can call themselves 'champions' I'm surprised they still know how to spell it! On the other hand well done to Celtic it has only taken them 4 years, 3 managers, 36 players & a 10 point deduction

BH,you like a poll eh?.

RANGERSâ?? administrators Duff and Phelps will spend the weekend poring over three business plans submitted by the groups in the running to become the new owners at Ibrox. The Glasgow-based Blue Knights consortium is up against American businessman Bill Millar and a Singapore group led by entrepreneur Bill Ng. Record Sport last night asked one of Scotlandâ??s foremost business academics, Professor David Hillier, to run his rule over the pros and cons of each bid. The vice-dean of the Strathclyde Business School at Strathclyde University, Professor Hillier believes that Paul Murrayâ??s Blue Knights represent the best bet for the long-term good of Rangers. Here is his lowdown on the candidates. The Blue Knights â??Itâ??s a consortium and we can only talk about who we know is in it â?? the frontman Paul Murray. But itâ??s a British based group and clearly has Rangersâ?? interests at heart. â??Thatâ??s important because for Rangers to have a sustainable long-term stability any of the decisions that have to be made canâ??t be done with an exit strategy in mind. â??Paul Murray has been very good at articulating his link to the club and understanding of the fanbase. But ultimately he is a businessman and so are the other consortium members. â??They will want to make money out of the club but there will be a sustainable, long-term agenda and that is of great benefit to Rangers. â??From a governance perspective, there are a lot of strengths in their bid. â??They say they want the fans involved and I think that will happen. Iâ??ve looked at how Motherwell have involved their fans and it has been excellent. There is a chance for Rangers to do that. â??With Ticketus on board, they can reduce their bid. It makes their bid more attractive because Ticketus is not a creditor. But thereâ??s a problem in that they do have a commitment after two years to Ticketus. â??They will have to stabilise the club within that two-year period and then start paying back the agreed figure. If Rangers fans are looking for a growth strategy, they wonâ??t get it with the Blue Knights. What they have is a long-term strategy of consolidation, first by major cost-cutting and major restructuring with a share issue to the fans.â? Bill Ng â??He owns a club in Singapore, Hougang United. He is supposed to have a lot of money but from the research I have done, he doesnâ??t seem that interested in the club and is not fully engaged in it. â??Itâ??s ground capacity is 2500 and the club doesnâ??t have a sponsor. â??Singapore is a very small market and the only statement I have seen from him is that the move for Rangers would have benefits for Singapore. â??That makes me wonder if he is going to have a Vladimir Romanov strategy of parachuting in players from his local market to get exposure then sell them on at a profit. â??He has experience of running a club but Hougang United is not Glasgow Rangers. Itâ??s a different ball game. â??If heâ??s not that interested in his own club at home, what is his exit strategy for Rangers? Whatâ??s his business plan? He talks of helping Singapore football by doing this â?? does that mean sending second-string Rangers players to Singapore? â??He has media contacts and you could see some Rangers growth in Singapore but thatâ??s not a big market. â??He may have networks in the Far East Asian markets of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia â?? which is a big growth country and if you can get into that market it can be beneficial. But can he deliver that? The benefit of this guy is that he might increase revenues overseas. â??The worry is, would he employ a Romanov strategy? That has to be clarified.â? Bill Miller â??Bill is 65 and chairman of Miller Industries. In the last year the company performed really well and the dividend it paid shareholders jumped nearly 500 per cent. â??He has received significant cash flow in the last year as a result of his company. â??He is 65 and looking for a retirement activity. Rangers have come along and it excites him. I think he would do it as a hobby. â??What can be bring to Rangers? He has no experience of running a sports club and the business model of a sports club is different from any other business. But his company operates in a number of different industries so he knows how to diversify and manage income streams. â??My concern is he doesnâ??t understand this industry. He wonâ??t understand the fickleness and how the cash flows can fluctuate as a result of â??luckâ? in cup competitions. That will make it difficult for him. â??He is an entrepreneur so some of his past investments have failed. But these guys can have five failures for every success, so thatâ??s not unusual. My worry is his business plan. What can he bring to the club? I donâ??t think he has a strong sports-media background in North America. â??He might have a bit of investment but I am not convinced it would be particularly successful. â??If he wants to liquidate, Iâ??d advise him to be very careful with the fanbase. Rangersâ?? major income stream is match day so heâ??ll need those fans inside Ibrox.â? The Verdict â??There are three different agendas â?? a 65-year-old American who has come into a lot of money; a young South-East Asian entrepreneur who wants to make money; and a British group which has Rangers at heart but doesnâ??t necessarily have the greatest funding. â??For the clubâ??s long-term sustainability I would opt for Paul Murray. Scottish football needs a fundamental change in the way it runs its clubs. â??It needs far more fan involvement and that seems much more likely to happen at Rangers with Murray. There is a door of opportunity that could see Rangers come out with a model governance structure.â? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2012/04/07/business-guru-david-hillier-analyses-the-three-rival-bidders-for-rangers-86908-23816514/

West Brom in Naismith talks Published on Saturday 7 April 2012 01:42 WEST Bromwich Albion have confirmed they have opened talks with Rangers to sign Scotland international forward Steven Naismith. Naismith, 25, looks set to leave Rangers for a cut-price fee this summer following the wage cut that was imposed at Ibrox. Midweek reports indicated that Rangers had turned down a bid for the player, but Albion’s sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth has made contact with the club to try and lay the groundwork for a deal and the English club’s manager Roy Hodgson said: “I know that Dan and I have talked about it. Dan has been in contact with Glasgow Rangers but to what extent a bid has been made, I don’t know, or what bid has been made I don’t know. “But, yes, Steven Naismith is a player who, when he accepted to reduce his wages, it was fairly obvious Glasgow Rangers might not be able to keep and as a result we are entitled to make an inquiry.” Naismith, who signed for Rangers from Kilmarnock in 2007 and is under contract at Ibrox until 2015, has been sidelined since suffering knee ligament damage in October and will not play again this season. After scoring 16 goals in season 2010/11, Naismith had already found the net ten times this season before injury struck. http://www.scotsman.com/news/west-brom-in-naismith-talks-1-2222092

Yesterday, Spain was celebrating having a record five teams in the Champions and Europa League quarter-final draws. But only 24 hours earlier, Spanish football was sent reeling from Government figures that confirmed its clubs owe â?¬752m (£625m) in unpaid tax. Beneath the shiny veneer of Barcelona and Real Madrid's domination of the Champions League and three of the eight Europa League quarter-finalists also coming from Spain, La Liga is buckling under the weight of a debt that in the current economic climate can no longer be sustained. The worst offenders are Atletico Madrid, one of those three Spanish teams still with a chance of winning the Europa League but owing â?¬155m (£129m) to Spain's Inland Revenue â?? three times the amount that HMRC were pursuing Rangers for prior to the Scottish club entering administration. Atletico Madrid's debt had stood at â?¬215m last summer before they sold Sergio Aguero to Manchester City for â?¬50m and were obliged to hand the money straight over to the tax man. The fact that â?¬40m was then spent on the Columbian striker Falcao owed more to Spain allowing third-party player-ownership than any improvement in the club's dire situation. Real Betis, Real Zaragoza, Racing Santander, Levante and Mallorca have all been in administration this season and owe the tax man â?¬35m, â?¬33m, â?¬10m, â?¬23m and â?¬17m respectively. Mallorca now have a deal in place that allows them to pay their debt back over 10 years. Levante have agreed to pay theirs over a five-year period and other clubs will be forced to follow suit with the Secretary of State for Sport, Miguel Cardenal, saying this week: "The debt will be cleared. Football generates â?¬1.8bn a year so it's hard for people to understand when it says it cannot pay." Osasuna and Levante currently occupy Europa League places in La Liga but both run the risk of sharing the fate that befell Mallorca in 2010 when they were denied the chance to take part because of a â?¬60m debt. Osasuna have earned a reputation as a well-run club but owe â?¬28m according to this week's figures. Only six teams in the top flight have no tax debt, among them Manchester United's conquerors Athletic Bilbao The Spanish players union â?? which began the season chasing clubs for a debt of â?¬50m in outstanding wages, and went on strike for the first week of the season for the cause â?? has led the fight to prevent clubs protecting themselves by going into administration, but currently there is still no points penalty for teams that do so. Real Madrid were quick to point out this week that they have no outstanding debt to the Inland Revenue but they did own up to a net debt of â?¬170m. Barcelona owe the tax authorities â?¬48m as part of an overall net debt of â?¬364m. With revenues of â?¬479m and â?¬451m respectively Real Madrid and Barcelona, who will also continue to share 50 per cent of the â?¬618m annual television money until 2014, are not in danger. But as this week's figures showed the league around them, for all its on-the-field success, most definitely is. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/spanish-successes-mask-debt-crisis-7575791.html

SINGAPORE tycoon Bill Ng today broke his silence on his bid to rescue Rangers. The 52-year-old is one of three bidders at the table to buy the financially stricken Scottish Premier League champions alongside Paul Murray and his Blue Knights consortium and US businessman Bill Miller. A surprise bid from Germany was kicked out by administrators Duff and Phelps yesterday afternoon. Murray has been the most vocal in his bid to buy the Ibrox club but Ng has today spoken for the first time about his plans to rescue Rangers and expand their brand in Asia. His move comes just hours after Duff and Phelps announced that the total debts of the club could rise to £134million, with the future of the 140-year-old institution still hanging in the balance. Ng is a director of private equity fund Financial Frontiers and chairman of Singapore S League side Hougang United and has revealed his plans to expand football in his homeland if he can win the keys to Ibrox. He said: "This is a chance to put Singapore on the world football map. We're not just doing this for financial reasons. If we take over Rangers, we've got plans that will positively impact Singapore football in the long run." The revelation that Rangers' debts could spiral to £134m, including around £94m to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, has shocked supporters as the full extent of the disastrous Craig Whyte era has become clear. Many fans have feared that liquidation is now inevitable at Ibrox but Ng has no plans to wind up Rangers and has pledged to provide a £12m pot towards a Company Voluntary Agreement, allowing the club to pay off their debts at a fraction of their total cost. Despite his vast personal fortune, Ng will not throw money at Rangers' problems and has come to the table with a plan to stabilise the club's finances and grow the club via investments in emerging markets. Ng's CVA offer may not be enough to tempt Duff and Phelps into giving him preferred bidder status, however, with the Blue Knights able to offer more to creditors as a result of a deal struck between Murray and Ticketus which would see Rangers pay off just £10m of the £27m the London-based company are owed. Ng said: "We've told the administrators that we'll set aside £12m to be split among the creditors. For every dollar of debt the club owes, about 20 cents will be paid back, while the rest will be written off." While Ng has emerged as the man fronting the big money bid from Singapore, the Evening Times understands he would take a backseat from running the club on a day-to-day basis. A board, consisting of UK-based Rangers supporters, would be put in place, with a number of financial experts already approached about guiding the club on the road to recovery. Should Ng's consortium win control at Ibrox, it is understood they will engage with supporters' groups to harness their power and play a role in returning the Gers to their former glory. Ng is not the only foreign investor keen on a buyout bid, with American millionaire Miller today revealed as the third man at the table. Miller is chairman of the world's largest manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment but is not reported to be a football fan, instead being known for his support of US motorsport series NASCAR and IndyCar. The 65-year-old was initially part of the Club 9 consortium that looked into a takeover before pulling out of the running before Wednesday's deadline and has a chequered past in sports, with a number of his investments, including the Team Racing Auto Circuit NASCAR outfit, falling through before getting off the ground. Miller will have to win over the Ibrox crowd if he is given the green light to buy Rangers, with fans wary over his intentions and keen to fend off any move to place the club in liquidation. It has left Murray as the fans' choice and the former Gers director insists he has not been scared off by the huge debts he would face if his bid is successful. Murray said: "It's important not to get carried away by headline figures." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/tycoon-bidder-breaks-silence.17240768

I think I would qualify 'for the most pish posted' award,is there an award for this on Gersnet?.It takes all kinds.

That's what happens in the real world,but not in the world of Timmy

I think DM has put CW in place. You wouldn't even get into DM office unless he knew every single thing about you. No Mr Murray,we were not duped by your claim to being duped.