Search the Community

Esplin has just tweeted this 'Just spoke to #rangers Nomad (advisor) about boardroom situation at Ibrox. Will be on PA wires later this afternoon.. Whether we will hear anything we don't know already.

ON the advice of police, Brian Stockbridge, the Rangers finance director, has had to improve the security system at his family home following a photograph of the property being published on the front page of a newspaper on Friday. Police went to his home and installed “what can be legitimately called a panic button” according to a person familiar with the story. Stockbridge has come in for heavy criticism over the way he has managed Rangers’ finances and incurred the wrath of the fans when videoing Malcolm Murray when the former chairman was under the influence of alcohol. Much of the flak has been par for the course for an executive in his position, but lately there has been a number of more objectionable threats made online and the publication of a picture of his distinctive home alerted the police to a possible risk to his safety and the safety of his family. On various supporters’ websites there was anger over Stockbridge purchasing the house with the help of a £200,000 bonus awarded to him when Rangers won the Third Division title. The house was purchased a year before, however. Stockbridge has resisted calls to resign, but protests are ongoing. Stockbridge and James Easdale are the only remaining directors on the plc board following the recent departures of Ian Hart, Bryan Smart and Craig Mather. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-brian-stockbridge-improves-home-security-1-3148990

How many truly World Class players have played for the club? Jim Baxter for one. Any others?

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.

We are under investigation from glasgows finest as to armed forces day daily record page seven the police report is now complete amazing the speed of the investigation when you think that the same police are dragging their heels into those who wronged our club .

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5288-chief-executive-steps-down CRAIG MATHER has today left his position as Chief Executive of Rangers International Football Club Plc by mutual consent. Mr Mather has agreed to stand down in an attempt to help calm speculation over the governance and executive management of Rangers. Mr Mather said: “The interests of the Club are of paramount importance and I believe these are best served by me leaving the Club. “Despite recent events and speculation, the facts of the matter are that the Club is financially secure and in a far better place than it was a year ago. “Unlike most football clubs Rangers has money in the bank, no borrowings and this season we have assembled a squad which is capable of progressing through the leagues. “I have enjoyed a very constructive relationship with Ally McCoist and wish him and the team every success. “My short tenure as chief executive has been beset by incessant attempts to destabilise the operations of the Club, all done supposedly in the interests of Rangers. “I had real faith in the rebuilding of Rangers and invested significantly in the Club. Sadly, those who have been most active in upsetting the very good progress we have been making were not willing to do the same. “I leave with my head held high and will remain as a shareholder and a supporter of Ally and his team. “I would also like to pay tribute to the outstanding commitment and loyalty of Rangers supporters. “No individual is more important than Rangers and my departure will hopefully alleviate some of the pressure surrounding the Club and herald an end to the current hysteria, which I believe most fans desperately want to see. “I have always tried to do my best for the Club and the fans and I will continue my support of what is a fantastic Club. “There are a great many good and thoroughly decent people working with Rangers and I am proud to say that I was able to stand alongside them for a time. “It is often forgotten that I put in £1m of my own money but I can assure everyone that it was never about the money for me. “I consider it to have been my privilege and I am certain that once the Board is settled Rangers will be restored to the top of Scottish football. “I wish Rangers and the fans every success in the weeks, months and years ahead. I will continue to follow the Club’s fortunes and support the team which is playing an exciting style of football. In fact, I hope to return to Ibrox and take in as many matches as my time will allow.”

"I can confirm our talks with Mr King were extremely positive and Mr King made it clear he wishes to join the current Board to help us ensure Rangers are ready and fully equipped to move up to the next levels. "We would be delighted to have Mr King, with his knowledge of the Club and business acumen on board and as can be seen from his own statement he is happy to join us right now in the quest to take Rangers back to the very top. "I am well aware this will not sit comfortably with those who have sought to derail our progress and who have fed out lies and misinformation about the Club and its Directors but I am confident we will overcome every obstacle in our way. "Rangers will be back at the top sooner rather than later and Mr King, who has made it abundantly clear that he is willing and happy to work with the current directors of both the plc and ltd - myself, Brian Stockbridge, Bryan Smart and James and Sandy Easdale - would be a great asset. "We have stuck to our task and programmes because we believe we are on the correct course and I would urge every Rangers fan not to give credence to the many lies and rumours that are circulated by people with other agendas and who perhaps cannot admit we are getting it right. "Too many are trying to distort the truth but it is this: Rangers is not a business in distress. Rangers is in a good position and it is healthy and robust. "I cannot stress that forcibly enough but it is the reality of the situation. Mr King has made it clear he took time and his discussions with us were intensive and detailed and he is happy with what he has discovered about http://t.co/oW9XvGV6Li

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24204555 3 months into his 1st managerial position and sacked already. Wonder what's next for Davie? Will Moyes try and tempt him to OT in some capacity? Perhaps Ally could tempt him out of retirement, afterall, it's been a while since we were linked with another CB

The Scottish FA could block Dave King from taking up a place on the board at Rangers under their fit and proper person guidelines. The businessman has been reported as being close to making a return to Ibrox following talks with chief executive Craig Mather. King has been touted for the role of chairman at Rangers, a role which would see the governing body judge whether he will be eligible to take up a role in football. The Scottish FA does not administer a fit and proper person test but does follow illustrative guidelines against which potential office bearers are measured. King would potentially fall down on two counts. Firstly, the fit and proper person guidelines state consideration would be given as to whether an office bearer is fit and proper if "he has been convicted within the last 10 years of (i) an offence liable to imprisonment of two years or over, (ii) corruption or (iii) fraud". The former Rangers investor recently settled an income tax dispute in South Africa which saw him plead guilty and convicted of breaching 41 counts of the country's Income Tax Act. He agreed to pay £45m, or else face 24 months in jail. Secondly, King was still on the board of directors at Rangers when the old company which operated the club went into administration in February 2012. The fit and proper guidelines state an office bearer may be blocked from being approved if "he has been a director of a club in membership of any National Association within the five-year period preceding such club having undergone an insolvency event". Failure to meet the aforementioned criteria does not automatically forbid a person from taking up a position at a Scottish football club. The onus also falls on the club in question to provide the governing body with any relevant information which could potentially exclude the office bearer from taking up his role. The Scottish FA, who would not be able to prevent investment from King without him taking a place on the board, were unavailable when contacted by STV today. King previously invested a reported £20m in Rangers during Sir David Murray's time in charge. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/242803-dave-kings-rangers-move-could-be-blocked-by-scottish-fa/

BEFORE he was a professional footballer, before he was a coach, before he was a manager and before he was a director and chairman, Walter Smith was a Rangers fan. He remains a Rangers supporter. A bluenose! In fact, he is the Rangers supporter the overwhelming majority of Rangers supporters trust the most when it comes to the club close to their heart. Which is why the latest carefully weighed words from him should carry weight with the vast army of sane, sensible and rationale Rangers fans. Though nothing anyone could say could get through to the few crazed loonies out the on the edge of sanity, one of whom seems to believe he is the Scottish reincarnation of Merlin. Smith has had quite a lot to say this week, the first time he has spoken publicly since he resigned as chairman and endorsed Jim McColl, Paul Murray and the Requisitionists, an endorsement which remains in place. Indeed, an endorsement which may even have become more emphatic due to events since he left the Blue Room. The core of Walter Smith’s comments came when he turned his attention to the motivation the current board has for its apparent desperate desire to cling on to power. Smith, who won more trophies for Rangers than any manager since Bill Struth, wants to know just what it is which motivates those who are running Rangers and he claimed that there is an obvious suspicion that the club, with all of its glorious and unbroken 141-years of history, is not the main reason why people are running the club at the present moment. What Smith said, what he wants to see after the AGM is a return to getting back to the fact that Rangers are a football club and should be run for the football club and for the football team, adding that he believes that would be a massive step. The clear implication which must be taken from that is that Walter Smith believes the only people whose main reason for running Rangers for the sake of the club, are not those who are currently on the board. Smith believes that Paul Murray and the others who want to stand for election at the Annual General Meeting are The People to run Rangers and run the club for the right reasons. Especially with Dave King as chairman calling the financial shots with his financial muscle. But back to Merlin, the chosen mouthpiece for much of what the board and the Easdale’s attack dog Jack Irvine, wants people to believe. And back to elections. And democracy. Last Friday evening, in the wake of the Court of Session action raised by Paul Murray to allow proper, open, contested and democratic elections to the Rangers board to take place, a statement appeared, as if by magic, on Merlin’s website, attributed to Jack Irvine, who Merlin told us, was speaking on behalf of the Rangers board. I have the screen grab. This is what Irvine was reported as having said. “A small group of shareholders served notices on the club seeking to have themselves appointed as directors at the AGM” Note that word ... APPOINTED! In fact what that small group of shareholders, led by Paul Murray, seek to do, is to stand for ELECTION and be ELECTED as directors. Which is an entirely different thing. Irvine, for whatever reason, was not exactly accurate. Indeed, as things stand at the moment, there is not one Rangers director, not £300,-000-a-year chief executive Craig Mather, not £200,000-a-year and the same again as a bonus financial director Brian Stockbridge, not Ian Hart, not Bryan Smart and certainly not James Easdale who has ever been elected as a Rangers director. They have all been appointed. A cosy wee unelected gang. In fact, there are many who may believe they appear to have an aversion to the democratic process when it comes to their privileged positions. Perhaps the man both the board and the Easdales employ as their attack dog, Jack Irvine and his lap dog, the man who would be Merlin, betrayed that mind-set when the word APPOINTED was used instead of the accurate and true representation of what the good men and blue led by Paul Murray actually seek. Which is to be elected to serve the club as directors. And to then set about what Walter Smith wants to see, which is a board whose reason for running Rangers is above suspicion. That would, as Smith so wisely said, be a massive step.

........................unified Ibrox support won't stop protesting until board are overthrown ROBERTON, spokesman for the Rangers Supporters' Association, believes fans are united in their stance for the first time in decades and warns the club's hierarchy their mood is not about to change. RANGERS fans’ chief Drew Roberton insists the Ibrox support is as unified as it’s ever been – and won’t stop protesting until the current board are overthrown. Walter Smith admitted this week he’s never seen protests like the ones he witnessed at Somerset Park on Sunday when Gers fans made their feelings known live on TV about what they think of the hierarchy at their club. In the past, they’ve been guilty of being fractious and split on most issues at Rangers. But now, Roberton is adamant all fans are unanimous in their views that major changes must take place at the agm on October 24. There is a movement – initiated by billionaire Jim McColl and businessman Paul Murray – to oust chief executive Craig Mather, finance director Brian Stockbridge and board member Bryan Smart. Judging by the banners unfurled during the 2-0 victory over Ayr at the weekend, the supporters have made their minds up as well. Roberton, spokesman for the Rangers Supporters’ Association, believes it’s the first time in decades fans have been united in their stance. And he warned the boardroom’s current incumbents their mood isn’t about to change any time soon. He told Record Sport: “The feeling among the fans is very clear. They want change and the protests won’t let up until they get it. The strength of feeling among the support and continued protests have actually surprised me. “Over the years, Rangers fans have generally been angry today and over it tomorrow. But now the fans have the bit between their teeth. These protests will not go away between now and the agm, at the very least. “They want certain people out. And the best way to do that is to make it known to shareholders they are unhappy with the board. “In all my years watching Rangers I’ve never known as many fans to be united on one particular subject. “They made their feelings clear at Ayr. No matter how they try to dress it up, the figures in the annual accounts – considering the money brought in – just don’t look good. I think that will continue until the likes of Mather and Stockbridge are out the door.” With the agm looming, the general perception is Rangers’ future will lie in the hands of the institutional investors and the big “money men” associated with the club. But Roberton says that’s not the case and is certain ordinary fans have a crucial role to play. He said: “It’s vitally important that the support sticks together because, of the total shareholding, ordinary punters have around 12 per cent of it. “Come the agm that 12 per cent could sway the vote. People probably think fans on the street can’t influence it but they can. If certain votes are close, the fans’ 12 per cent could have a huge bearing.” Roberton would welcome further investment – but only if the cash is used to benefit the club and current boss Ally McCoist. So, after Mather and Stockbridge returned from a meeting with Dave King, Roberton urged fans to be careful what they wish for. He said: “A lot of fans are sceptical now about people with that kind of money because they ask, ‘If you were that interested why didn’t you put your hand in your pocket when the club was available?’ “But I don’t think anyone has the right to expect people to spend their money on a club just because you think they should. Especially when you’re unsure where exactly that money will go. “My view is King is thinking along similar lines to McColl, in that he doesn’t want to pay any money to see the likes of Mather and Stockbridge go. “I’m assuming King wants change at boardroom level but, like McColl, he wants money he puts in to go towards the club, not the people running it. Whether it’s King or anyone else, our view is there’s a drastic need for change. “But it’s difficult to nail colours to anyone’s mast because, after what we’ve been through already at Rangers, you could be made to look stupid in six months time.” That’s why Roberton feels Walter Smith refused to condemn the likes of Mather but suggested money raised over the summer has been used to serve individuals, as opposed to the club itself. He added: “Walter was clever with his comments this week. He’s alluding to certain things and allowing fans to make their own mind up. “But he has already backed the requisitioners so, from that point of view, his stance is clear. “When he resigned from the board he seemed to be behind Mather. But I’m not sure if he’s changed his mind on that now.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-fans-chief-drew-roberton-2355770

​​Tycoon Dave King set to return to Rangers as chairman and is expected to plough cash into the Ibrox coffers straight away 10 Oct 2013 07:12CHIEF executive Craig Mather flew to Johannesburg at the weekend for talks aimed at bringing millionaire King, 58, back on board. King could be back in charge before the club’s AGM on October 24. ALLY McCOIST last night welcomed the move to bring exiled millionaire Dave King back to Ibrox as chairman. And the Rangers boss hailed King’s return as a masterstroke that can help steer the club back to the top. McCoist knows South Africa-based King well from his previous stint as a director of the club under Sir David Murray and he accepts the 58-year-old will do his all to bring back the glory days. Record Sport understands King is ready to complete a sensational comeback as chairman before the annual general meeting on October 24. He has been locked in talks with chief executive Craig Mather, who flew to Johannesburg for a face-to-face meeting at the weekend in a bid to bring the businessman on board. Those discussions appear to have borne fruit, with an announcement expected soon that King – who poured £20m into the club during the Murray era and lost it when the club went into administration – will invest significant sums of money which will effectively see him take the reins at Ibrox. McCoist believes that having a “Rangers man” in a position of power can only be good for the club and praised the board, which has been under fire from fans, for making the move. He said: “Dave has already invested vast sums of his own money into Rangers and that tells me he’s the kind of investor we need at this club again. “The recent accounts have been well documented and the fact is we will need reinvestment at some stage in the future. If we are going to get reinvestment it would be good to get it from someone who has the best interests of the club at heart. “Dave has and clearly the board also believe that to be the case. “The fact a member of the board has flown to South Africa for talks would indicate they feel it would be hugely beneficial to have Dave back on board. It can only be a good thing for Rangers. “I believe the board deserve credit for making such an effort to attract someone like Dave back to the club. “This is a message that they are trying to do their best for Rangers. “They have a difficult and important job to do and it is encouraging to think we are talking to someone who could help move the club forward. It would be a great thing for us all.” Despite losing a fortune in the club previously, Castlemilk-born businessman King has never hidden his determination to return when a long-running tax dispute with the South African government was resolved. That issue came to an end last year and King is now free to become a director. Record Sport understands King has decided that the time is right, although a number of conditions have still to be met. But last night it was looking increasingly likely King was on his way back and with a shareholding and influence that would dilute the power of the directors, who have been under fire for the manner in which the club has been run since Charles Green arrived in May 2012. The Ibrox support has been protesting fiercely against the current board and stepped up their campaign following the publication of accounts last week which showed Rangers had lost £14m over the past 13 months. That is the period in which Green, who has now left the club, and finance director Brian Stockbridge took massive executive salaries and pocketed huge bonuses for winning the Third Division. Fans want the removal of the current board and shareholders are expected to call for dismissals at the agm. But if as expected King joins as chairman, many of their fears may be allayed. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tycoon-dave-king-set-return-2356060

If you were constructing a gallery of guilty men at Rangers then you’d want to make sure your walls are supported by reinforced steel, such is the weight of numbers you’d be hanging up there. Walter Smith has pretty much stood alone as the good guy in all of this. ‘In Walter We Trust’ as some Rangers supporters might put it. It’s hard not to respect and like the former Ibrox manager given all that he has done in the game, but it’s possible to hold him in high esteem while at the same time pointing out the fallacy that he is blameless in the spectacular mess that his club has become. In the deconstruction of the Rangers story you’d point the finger at plenty of guys *before you’d have Smith in your sights, but the fact is that he has played his own part in the *malaise. He possesses none of the spiv-ish nature of some of the chancers who have come and gone at Ibrox, but he still warrants criticism. It didn’t come across in his interviews on Tuesday, but Smith is no innocent bystander in all of this. We go back to last summer and a tabloid headline that read ‘Walter’s Heartbreak’ above a story that told of Smith’s failed bid to take control of Rangers in June 2012. To talk of his heartbreak was a little kind given that the bid failed partly because, as Malcolm Murray subsequently pointed out, there was actually no formal bid – he called it empty posturing – and partly because even if there was a bid it was too little, too late. By the time Smith, Jim McColl and Douglas Park mounted their white steeds and galloped over the horizon in Govan, calling on Charles Green to “step aside” in the interests of Rangers, Green had already secured the business and assets for a song. What took them so long? Where had they been? They made no secret of their concern about the motivation of Green and his group. They were spot-on there. So why wait until Green had done the deal before appearing on the scene? On these pages in the past I equated their action to somebody busting in on a funeral with a defibrillator. Smith asked Green to step aside in the interests of Rangers. Appealing to his sense of fair play wasn’t going to change the course of events. The one thing that Green would have listened to was an offer. Money doesn’t talk to Green, it hollers like a banshee. Smith’s group had the financial clout to get the Yorkshireman off the scene and they didn’t deliver. They spoke openly of their serious reservations about Green’s mysterious group but didn’t do what needed to be done. We could talk about Smith’s axis of excess with David Murray back in the day when Rangers thought they had money when in actual fact what they had was credit and iffy tax schemes, which eventually came back to trouble them and helped cause the spectacular implosion. More recent events show that the hubris of the 1990s and early 2000s hasn’t been fully purged. Smith was right to be anxious about Green. For months, Green attempted to get him on board and was getting nowhere. Getting Ally McCoist’s imprimatur was incredibly valuable to Green and the chances are that his regime would not have got off the ground had McCoist stayed true to his own initial feelings about the Yorkshireman, but he didn’t. The endorsement of McCoist helped shift season tickets and helped endear Green to the Ibrox faithful after an early and bitter stand-off with the supporters, featuring a death threat. Getting McCoist on side – publicly at any rate – was good, but getting Smith to join him was equally important given the IPO last December. In November, Walter jumped into bed with Green. They shook hands and smiled for the cameras. One big happy *family again. Smith became a non-*executive director. The veneer of calmness was what Green was looking for and thanks to two Rangers icons, he got it. Both men would have been better advised to stick to their original positions on Green and his cohorts. By changing their minds, they played their own part in facilitating the embarrassment that followed. It can’t have been that much of a surprise, given how dubious they were about Green in the first place. Smith became chairman last June, not because he wanted to but because he felt he had to in the wake of the in-fighting at Ibrox, the dysfunctionality of the board as he later described it. It was to his credit that he moved into a position that he had no experience of. He knew he lacked the tools but, equally, he vowed that he would be as hands-on as he could possibly be. “No-one should believe that I see my role as a passive one,” he said. “That hasn’t been my way in the past and it won’t be my way in the future.” Encouraging words for the Rangers fans who craved authority and order at the top of the club, but it’s easy to see how Smith was virtually powerless in that bonkers regime of Green’s. You can’t blame him for walking away from the civil war. But some of the things he said on Tuesday jar a little all the same. His comments on the financial waste at Ibrox, under his watch in part, demanded explanation. “I knew they [Rangers] would make a loss [for the financial year ended 30 June] but I wasn’t sure exactly what it would be. It was quite a surprise when it came out to be such a large figure.” Quite a surprise? Smith was chairman for the end of that period. Did he ask questions about the financial state of the club while he was there? Did he get answers? Were the answers truthful? If yes, why was he then surprised when the accounts revealed such a massive cash-burn? If no, then did he feel people inside the club had lied to him? Smith was chairman. He should have known, shouldn’t he? Having the business savvy to be able to do something about the obscene bonuses being dished out would have been a different matter entirely, but as chairman he should have known. Unless he was a passive chairman, which he said he wouldn’t be. On the football side of it, it’s pretty clear that Smith had no issue with McCoist earning £825,000 a year. Also, he has said that giving a player a wage of £7,500 a week (Ian Black, for one) while in the Third Division was not such a big deal. Presumably he had no truck with other deals, like the one given to Fran Sandaza that would have seen the Spaniard’s salary rise to £10,000 a week in the final year of his contract. The overall wage bill in the Third Division was £7.8 million. Smith said: “People come out and say ‘Ah, it’s not necessary for them to have those players in that division’. But it’s not just the division that matters at Rangers, it’s the fact that you have 45,000 people coming to watch something on a football pitch…They are still losing money. But when you make a decision to be involved at Rangers, there is no common sense to it. The financial bit of Rangers Football Club and common sense don’t often go together.” That’s a remarkable statement when you think about it. What is wrong with Rangers attempting some common sense in their spending? Why be so accepting of a lack of common sense? It didn’t have to be that way. There is no law – apart from the law of hubris – that says Rangers have to lack common sense in their finances. This is the 2013 version of David Murray’s freakonomics. ‘We are Rangers and we’ll spend what we like’. Either through arrogance or stupidity – or both – that mindset hasn’t changed all that much despite the torment. What would have been so wrong with offering Black £3,000 a week instead of £7,500? What would have been the problem had McCoist been put on £400,000 from the point of administration instead of continuing on £825,000? Why is the wage bill so eye-wateringly high for a club in the Third Division? Because there is no common sense at Rangers, says Smith. Instead of just accepting it, how about doing something about it? Incredibly, it wouldn’t appear that the penny has dropped yet. The former manager deserves all the respect for what he achieved in the game, but in the on-going crisis at Ibrox, he is not blame-free. Rangers are still stuck in a financial time-warp. And many people have allowed it to happen.

................. the team is the priority. By Kheredine Idessane BBC Scotland The 65-year-old, who stepped down as chairman two months ago, said there is "an obvious suspicion" that is not presently the case. Smith believes the Ibrox club has to "get rid of the boardroom turmoil" and "settle down" if Rangers are to look forward and find a "normal path". He was also surprised by the loss of £14m in the club's recent accounts. "I knew they would make a loss but I wasn't quite sure just exactly what it would be so that was quite a surprise when it came out to be such a large figure," said Smith, who won 21 trophies during his two spells as manager. "It used to be that the wages of the footballing side used to be the major problem in clubs' finances but that's been cut down fairly dramatically from when I was there." A group of shareholders are trying to force changes on the Rangers board at the upcoming AGM, with the increasingly bitter feud reaching the Court of Session. When stepping down from his short-lived spell as chairman, Smith referred to a "highly-dysfunctional environment" at board level. He also voiced support for those hoping to join the board, although he stated that chief executive Craig Mather was doing a good job and hoped he would be able to continue. "Like everybody else, you just get frustrated that nothing seems to be settling down at the club," explained Smith. "They still have a fair amount of turmoil in the background. "Like everyone else, I don't think that the club can really look forward until that's erased. "There's the obvious suspicion that the club isn't the main reason why people are running the club at the present moment. "After the AGM, if we get back to the fact that Rangers are a football club and it should be run for the football club and for the football team. I think that that would be a massive step." Smith, who had current Ibrox boss Ally McCoist as assistant between 2007 and 2011, insists establishing confidence in the board is vital for the club, who are top of Scottish League One having won all their league matches so far. "I don't think there's a great deal of turmoil in the current board," he added. "There's turmoil being created because a lot of people want to see a change on that board. "That, I think, is the main crux of the problem at the present moment. The football aspect of Rangers is going as you'd expect it to go for a big club down in the lower divisions. "They're back on track, they're playing some good football but we still have this problem surrounding the board. I don't think the club can get back to being a settled club until that is eventually settled. "If you're looking at the job that the manager's doing at the present moment, who could complain about that?"

VETERAN sports pundit Archie Macpherson has spoken of his shock at being diagnosed with a type of kidney cancer closely linked to smoking, despite having "never had a cigarette in my mouth in my entire life". The sports commentator writes exclusively in The Herald today about his experience just weeks after undergoing surgery to remove the tumour, which also saw him lose one healthy kidney and part of his second kidney. Good luck Archie.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-murray-denies-executive-salaries-claim-1-3123399

In the teeth of fierce fan dissent - and a continued campaign to dislodge existing Rangers directors by a group of investors including the former chairman, Malcolm Murray - the Ibrox chief executive, Craig Mather, mounted a forceful defence of the accounts issued on Tuesday which posted an operating loss of £14 million for the 13 months to June this year. The results were in vivid contrast to those of Celtic, revealed last month, which showed a pre-tax profit of £9.74 million on a group turnover of £75.82 million. Rangers’ turnover to June was £19.1 million, most of which was derived from gate receipts and hospitality income. Playing squad salaries fell during the period but so too did earnings from sponsorship and the media. Throughout the accounting period and also subsequently there has been a persistent concern amongst supporters and some investors that the cash burn at Ibrox has been out of control. Asked why the costs associated with the public share offer last December were as high as £6.1 million, Mather replied: “There are the physical IPO costs, the costs of raising money and what we would deem non-reoccurring costs - for example, exceptional costs in excess of £4 million. “Nobody can shy away from the fact that the IPO cost was high and the cost of raising money was high but if you go into the detail of that – and the devil is in the detail, without fear of contradiction – at the time, when I wasn’t CEO, just for clarity - there was no football security. What I mean by that is the club didn’t know what league they would be playing in. “It was never ever going to be cheap to raise money against that backdrop but Rangers had to be saved. For me, and to five million fans looking at it around the world, it was imperative that this club was saved. “Under normal circumstances, people in the City would take a view of somewhere up to 7.5 per cent is a normal cost of raising funds. This wasn’t normal and I’m not trying to defend the people involved - I wasn’t there, I wasn’t party to it - but it’s obvious that you have to look at what you can offer the investor in return for the investment. “If you can’t tell them if you’re going to be able to kick a football, or if you’re going to be able to play in a certain division or get membership of the SFA it’s not an easy sell.” Another bone of contention is that the directors have set their own remuneration, to which Mather replied: “It was a decision taken by the remunerations committee and the chairman at the time, which was Malcolm Murray. “So Malcolm Murray decided the remunerations for Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge and unfortunately the directors are duty bound to honour those scenarios historically. I can assure you on my watch that won’t be happening. “If you look at my pay, there was talk about £500,000 but the actual amount I agreed to in the end was £300,000. Brian Stockbridge was on £200,000 plus a contractual bonus. Again, quite openly he’s agreed to waive that contractual bonus of his own accord.” The accounts reveal that £6.75 million was used to purchase trade and assets. Some critics have suggested that Charles Green’s consortium did not buy Rangers, but rather that the club itself did. “That’s categorically untrue,” said Mather. “It’s just mischief making. The club was bought by the Green consortium and I wasn’t part of it at that juncture. Monies were paid in good faith for those trading assets, full stop.” As to the Ally McCoist’s wages, Mather said: “I’m not suggesting Alistair become the lowest paid manager but he’s very happy to take a pay cut of his own volition. It’s a substantial pay cut.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10348112/Malcolm-Murray-to-blame-for-Rangers-directors-high-wages-claims-Craig-Mather.html

Richard Wilson SELF-EXPRESSION, whether borne of exuberance or exasperation, was a recurring theme during this latest procession at Ibrox. Protests against the board, gaining momentum through old-fashioned leafleting campaigns as well as the now-inevitable use of the internet, reached a new level on Saturday with the grandest exhibitions of dissent yet being shown in the 18th and 72nd minutes, nods to the club's foundation in 1872. To suggest this is akin to the storming of the Bastille is premature, but more and more Rangers fans, never ones entirely comfortable with demanding necks on the guillotine, are warming to the idea of one way or another forcing out those inhabiting the boardroom. The centrepoint of the demonstration was the corner of the stadium between the Main Stand and the Broomloan Road Stand - and the unfurling of banners which read 'Spivs Out', 'No More Lies', 'Action Not Apathy' and 'Give Us Our Rangers Back' was well orchestrated. What may worry the likes of chief executive Craig Mather, as the temperature builds ahead of next month's AGM, is that these messages were not restricted to that area of the ground. They were raised throughout all four stands at the appointed time, with one or two perhaps a little too close for comfort to the directors' box and the stoic types in the posh seats. It would be disingenuous to suggest the chants of 'Sack The Board' and 'Get Out Of Our Club' emanated from all corners of the arena, but there was enough widespread applause to suggest the views expressed are gaining enough support to be taken seriously. This was not all clenched fists, stern faces and 'Wolfie' Smith politics, though. Passions are running high but they come out in positive ways, too, and the wonderfully chaotic half-time parade in honour of the armed forces was quite something to witness. Around 400 servicemen and women marched into the ground in perfect order behind a massed pipe band. But the minute they set foot on the hallowed turf all semblance of order dissolved. Squaddies were bouncing up and down on the trackside with the spotty adolescents of the Union Bears fans group, RAF pilots were queuing up for photos beside the substitutes as well as Broxi Bear, and there were a couple of Navy men you would swear were trying to get up the tunnel. One fellow who certainly shared the enthusiasm and joy of those soldiers and sailors revelling in their moment in the spotlight was central defender Bilel Mohsni. The 26-year-old French-Tunisian completed this rout with the most spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time and decided to embark upon a one-man lap of honour after the final whistle. Channelling the spirit of the afternoon, he was in no mood to keep his thoughts to himself. Despite being just in the door, he is already talking of the possibility of at least matching Rangers' record league win of 10-0 against Hibernian in December 1898, and more. "It's possible we could score double figures in a game at Ibrox this season," he said. "Stenhousemuir have some good players and try to play football, but they caught us on a great day. "That was the best goal I've ever scored and it was a special day, because my parents, my brother and some friends had travelled over from France. I enjoyed my celebrations. All I want to talk about with regard to the fans, though, is the relationship we have with them. There is a very close bond between every player and the supporters. If we play our best, we could win every game as we have good players in every position. I think we have the team to win every game." Mohsni did not hold back either when criticising last week's award of the SPFL League One manager of the month prize to Stenhousemuir's Martyn Corrigan. "It's just a pity Ally McCoist didn't get it," he said. "How many goals do you want us to score in one game before he gets recognised - 100? I know the Stenhousemuir manager got the award, so this was a good way for the manager to respond to that. People seem to ignore the job that Ally McCoist is doing and he should get more praise." His side did him proud here. Jon Daly scored four goals to complement other efforts of varying quality from Andy Little, Lee Wallace, substitute David Templeton and Mohsni. Ian Black also made an effective return from his suspension for gambling against his own team and will have been happy to emerge from the 90 minutes without any perceptible criticism from the stands. "I lost seven goals to Rangers in the cup when I was with Dunfermline and also lost seven at Parkhead, but I'd never lost eight before," said visiting goalkeeper Chris Smith. "It was, without doubt, my worst ever day."

Thought I would share this , in hospitality today the couple sitting beside us had travelled 7 hours from south wales to see the Gers, it was the guys birthday. A surprise from his wife, they get a photo with Nacho, Dave Smith and Barry Mackay and a tour of the stadium, Martin the birthday boy said before he left it was the best birthday he had ever had , and has been a true blue since he was eight, he was celebrating his 37 birthday, another true blue

Ally McCoist on Friday night revealed he has taken a wage cut in a bid to help Rangers slash costs. The Ibrox boss and his management team have agreed to a reduction in their salaries amid fears much of the £22million raised last December through an institutional share issue has been wiped out. A promise by finance chief Brian Stockbridge to produce audited accounts by mid-September has so far failed to materialise, while sacked commercial director Imran Ahmad has launched a £500,000 court battle against the club. As the club’s finances take centre stage at a bloody boardroom battle at an AGM next month, however, McCoist has agreed to ease the burden by scaling down his £700,000-a-year salary. ‘It’s just been agreed that the management team are certainly taking a wage cut,’ the Rangers boss on Friday night told plzsoccer.com’s Football Show. ‘I didn’t feel under pressure to do it because effectively I signed a contract. People forget that when I became manager of the club someone put a contract in front of me and I just signed it as simple as that. ‘I didn’t even look at it, to be quite honest with you. I didn’t look at wages or length of contract, I just said: “I’m signing that because it’s what I want to do”. ‘So I think it is a little bit harsh criticising someone when you don’t know what is going to happen in the future.’ McCoist, meanwhile, appealed to Rangers fans to throw their support behind betting bad boy Ian Black. The Ibrox midfielder returns to the team against Stenhousemuir on Saturday after a three-match suspension imposed for breaching SFA rules on gambling on football matches and McCoist hopes supporters will back their man. ‘I’d be very hopeful that it’s now the case that we can all move on,’ said McCoist. Black is a regular target for opposition supporters — but has yet to experience booing from his own fans. McCoist believes the midfielder will cope with that if it happens. ‘Listen, football divides opinion all the time — especially at this club in the last two years,’ he said. ‘That’s a natural part of being involved at this club. I get stick myself about performances and team selections. It’s part and parcel. That will continue to be the case. ‘But I feel the most important thing is that, while we all have different opinions and opinions will be divided, the main focus and sole aim is the club’s focus to get back to where we want to be.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2436100/Ally-McCoist-takes-Rangers-pay-cut.html#ixzz2gAQuhqlE Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Stolen from FF by MD. Looks like Craig Mather is about to be knocked into a cocked hat A wee birdie in the print side of the Record's operation tells me the opposition have a belter of a candidate in the bag lined up to take his job should they win at the AGM. Story in Saturday's Record - usually they put the front and back pages online around midnight.

I'm freaked out on this... Is there a 'cabal' in our club?

LET me start with a confession: I like Monster Munch. In fact, I’m particularly fond of pickled onion. There you go, I just wanted to get that out in the open because something happened at Forfar at the weekend that made my mind drift back to one of the most controversial periods of my career. And, yes, I realise there were a few. But there was nothing quite like the time when Paul Le Guen told me I was finished at Rangers and people tried to make it out it was over a bag of crisps. For those who don’t remember, sit back and let me explain. We’ll start last Sunday at Station Park where Rangers struggled to a 1-0 win and got slaughtered for their display. I didn’t see it but by all accounts it was dire and a throwback to last season when Ally McCoist had a hard time of things in the Third Division. But there was one big difference between Sunday and the worst days of the previous campaign when so many points were dropped at places such as Peterhead, Stirling and Berwick. The difference was Rangers won. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying for a second there’s any excuse for a team like Rangers to be struggling to win at Forfar. There isn’t. What I am saying, however, is that even though they had a bad day at least they left the place with three points. That wasn’t always the case last season and, to me, it’s a sign some of the club’s old standards are on the way back. Standards that I was raised on. Standards that Rangers were built on. Standards that I thought might disappear for good during Le Guen’s time in charge seven years ago. A lot has been made about my relationship with the Frenchman. I know there are Rangers fans out there who still think I undermined him or stabbed him in the back. So I’d like to use this column to set a few things straight. First, you have to understand the way I was brought up as a kid working under John Brown and John McGregor. They kept things simple: At Rangers nothing less than three points is ever acceptable. Yes, they wanted us to play well and encouraged us to express ourselves but the most important lesson they taught us was that you’ll never cut it as a Rangers player if you pull that shirt on and think it’s OK to lose. That was driven into my head every day of my young life until it became a state of mind and a way of life. So yes, I’ll hold my hands up right now. To this day I am guilty of wanting to win every game I play. I know I run around with my wee face all screwed up, moaning at everyone and everything but it’s only because I care so much about winning. To me, that’s just the Rangers way – if you don’t care if you lose or draw then you’ve no business being there. And that’s was the root of my problem under Le Guen. The truth is, the longer it went on the more I was struggling to recognise the Rangers I had grown up with. Under Le Guen, it was becoming acceptable to drop points on a Saturday. In fact, it was becoming the norm. And I admit I just couldn’t get my head around it. Now, people have their own opinions about what went on between us. But I was there, I know what went on inside that dressing room and I’d challenge him to deny or contradict anything I’m about to tell you. Week after week I walked off the pitch to be told: “It’s OK, let’s stick together and just move on to the next game.” That’s alright after one bad game. Or maybe if a team is going through a wee sticky patch. But not EVERY week. After EVERY embarrassing result. It was a gradual build-up, over weeks and months. His shrug-of -the-shoulders attitude was eating away at me inside because this was the club I loved. I was the Rangers captain and these results were killing me. It was humiliating. And the worst bit of it was, I could see it rubbing off on others until there were players sitting in that dressing room who didn’t seem to care if we won, lost or drew. The standards I had grown up with were disappearing. I held my tongue as best I could but it was only a matter of time until I eventually snapped. That day came on December 27, 2006, at Inverness. We had been winning 1-0 but ended up losing 2-1. I think we slipped to fourth or fifth in the table. I mean, it was getting ridiculous. And what did I hear when I walked into that dressing room? “It’s OK. We must stick together.” That was it, I just couldn’t listen to it any more. So I said: “Aye, we must stick together. But it’s not f****** OK that we’ve lost another three points. What part of that don’t you get? This is Glasgow Rangers you are working for.” I admit I lost the head. I was just so angered by the lack of passion. I couldn’t look round any more at people who didn’t care if Rangers won or lost. Yes, maybe I was guilty of letting my emotions boil over. Maybe I lost my cool in that dressing room on that day. But I just couldn’t take any more of it. But that was it. It wasn’t as if I asked the guy outside for a square-go. I put my hand on my heart and say, I never caused that man one problem. I never once knocked down his door. Yes, OK I might have eaten the occasional packet of Monster Munch which might have been against his nutritional rules but come on? Listen, I’m all for players looking after themselves and eating well. But no one is going to tell me a packet of pickled onion now and again is going to take years off your career. It’s nonsense. Is that what people mean when they say I undermined him? Honestly, I don’t know where all that comes from and it makes me angry just thinking about it. It was all I read in the papers or heard on the phone-ins. I swear none of it was true. I was guilty of one thing – being passionate about my club and going a bit daft at Inverness. But I had no idea the price he wanted me to pay for it until I walked into Murray Park a few days later to prepare for an away game at Motherwell. His assistant, Yves Colleu, shouted for me and I went into the manager’s office and Le Guen began to speak to me like I was some sort of alien. I wasn’t even allowed to sit down. He just told me I’d never play for the club again and to leave the building. I was in a daze. I got my bag and walked to my car without saying anything to the other lads. I got a few hundred yards down the road before I pulled in and realised what had just happened. I was shattered. As things turned out, it was Le Guen’s Rangers career that was over. Very soon after that, Walter Smith was back in charge. And overnight Rangers got their standards back. That’s why the result at Forfar pleased me the other day. And put me right in the mood for a packet of my favourite crisps.

http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2013/09/boardroom-cliches.html?spref=tw by Garry Carmody | Contributor As most football fans are able to get on with their "game of two halves", we fans that enjoy watching our football at Ibrox are still embroiled in one of the most notable boardroom battles in the club's history. It has gotten to the point that as a supporter of Rangers, I pine for the day when the most important debate becomes "4-4-2 or 4-5-1?". Instead, in the never-ending boardroom arguments, there is rarely time for this discussion to take a prominent place. Although the discussion is different, clichés most certainly still remain; "let's wait until the accounts are released" and "we should let the board get on with their job". In recent times, the above have become the official lines amongst many - the general idea is that we should all take a step back and let the norm continue. After all, why would the board do us wrong? Why would these individuals dare to affect the club lifelong supporters hold so dearly? There are a few very simple answers as to why those two familiar lines are simply doing us no good. "Wait until accounts are published" - Although no fan knows the details that will be included in the soon-to-be published accounts (any day now...), at the recent fan meeting at Ibrox, Financial Director, Brian Stockbridge, gave us an outline of what to expect. On the very basis that he "believes" that there is approximately £10 million left in the bank, can that possibly give any hope to fans looking for reassurance? This is the same board that have torn through an astonishingly high eight figure sum of money in the last 12 months - how can we possibly believe that this amount of money will last? It is also crucial to remember that this figure came from the same Stockbridge that told fans to their faces that he didn't know how much of the IPO money remained, but when it came to a cosy interview with The Sun, he was finally willing to lay bare the fact that not a single penny of the £22 million raised less than 12 months ago remains. The same Stockbridge that laughed his way to the bank after cashing in on his 100% bonus for Rangers winning the Third Division against part-timers. Is it really necessary to wait until accounts are published? Even behind the spin and avoidance of this current board, it doesn't take an expert to work out that these figures do not match up. Sure, a view of audited accounts will give a certain amount of confirmation, but unless an investor has recently ploughed a large sum of cash into the club without the boards' poodles letting fans know, the accounts will not be looking attractive at best – dire at worst. Search back within recent memory - can you name one isolated incident that shows that these are the right people to sort the issue out? There's also the idea that we should "let the board get on with their job". These people have been given the jobs for a reason - who are we to question what they do? For a start, the board have played fast and loose with the truth in previous times – for example, James Easdale was appointed to the board as media outlets reported that he personally held a shareholding of 6%, when in reality; he held approximately 0.5%, making the appointment somewhat baffling. Then there's the reappointment of Media House to deal with PR issues within the club - the same name that became toxic with fans due to their part in the cover-up of Craig Whyte's pillage of Rangers. The same Media House, of which employee, Jack Irvine, supposedly called "Greatest Ever Ranger", John Greig, 'thick'. That being the incident that CEO Craig Mather promised to act upon, but over three weeks later, it would appear evident that this has not happened. It is another incident that shows the complete lack of respect that is being shown to fans by the board which was also shown in bringing back Media House. It begs the question - are these spin doctors really there to protect the interests of the club or to safeguard the interests of individuals? Let's also not forget that this is the same board that voted against Chairman, Walter Smith, to allow Charles Green to return to the club as a "consultant". The move forced Smith into a position where he felt he had to quit and in his statement, said he felt the board were "dysfunctional", and urged fans to back change. If the board were to be commended by many for one reason, it would be their promise to tackle BBC Scotland on their constant mis-reporting and antagonising statements. However, that positive is clouded by the fact that some breaking stories are still making their way from the boardroom into the hands of BBC journalists. In the upcoming weeks, the AGM will be held. What is left inside Ibrox will be laid bare for all to see, and the board members will finally be up for judgement. If you believe you can decipher why they've earned our time, then by all means – continue to back the current regime. Or, if like me, you have sat for months on end in awe of how these men still remain in jobs, I would urge fans to take full advantage of the AGM. It is easy for fans to say "Our vote means nothing". If the split between investors is as close as both factions make out, this couldn't be further from the case. With approximately 12% of the club owned by fans, it is time fans started to make their voices heard. There may not be a better time. clichés

Following on from a thread in Footie chat about Morton knocking Celtic out the league cup, I thought had we still been in the competition then the trophy would be there for the taken. But my comment was Id still be happy to settle for a League One and Ramsden's Cup double. It got me thinking about the Scottish Cup. Oh yes I'd love to win that but are we ready to compete with the SPL sides? On paper we are. I wouldn't be swapping our squad for any in the SPL right now including Celtics as I think we have the basis of a good squad to compete. Add in a few quality signings when we are back to the SPL then Id say we will be top 2 for sure. It boils again down to our style of play and management ability as to how good we can be, as last season we were easily beaten by Inverness and Dundee Utd. But we are probably far more prepared this season. As we are more prepared with a stronger squad that have had a full pre-season: What is our realistic expectations in the Scottish Cup? Of course the luck of the draw will always come into it. Are some fans still wanting to boycott it in protest towards the SFA and anti-Rangers SPL clubs? I know I could understand that point of view. Does anyone want to avoid playing an SPL side yet in case a) we get turned over and b) assist in financing them? The jury is still out for me. I don't want to return to Tannadice nor head for Pittodrie to satisfy the vile hatred from elements of those places. But if we were to draw Ross County or Kilmarnock I'd take that right now as a) it would be a good test and b) I think we could beat those. I do think the sticky balls will be in play this season and we will get Celtic.