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Neil Lennon is to part company with Celtic after four years as manager following talks about his future. It is understood that the former club captain had been considering his position for some time despite securing a third straight Scottish title. He has been concerned about this playing budget for next season. The 42-year-old Northern Irishman took charge of the Glasgow club in 2010, leading them to three league titles and two Scottish Cups. Lennon, who also previously led Celtic to Champions League last 16, is believed to have been concerned that his present side would be able to negotiate three rounds of qualifying next season.
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Given the current situation and arithmetic within,......the easiest way of tackling 'division' within the support is to stop talking about it. The vast majority (look at ST renewals/ or lack of) and we see that the large 'apolitical middle rump' of the support are unhappy. I don't think there is any doubt that the majority would cite general unhappiness of how the club is being run alongside a distrust of the current board. The numbers involved with groups that may be considered loosely as pro-board are such that they become unimportant. That isn't to disrespect anyone or to say they can't have their opinion(s) but it is to say that the arithmetic points to any 'division' currently being insignificant. The biggest noise is coming from those who don't belong to any group and the board would do well to listen. -
We are looking to put together a meeting of all the different groups of the Rangers Support. All the fans groups, representatives, forums, magazines, podcasts, radio shows, fanzines and anyone who wants to come along We would like to make an attempt to bring civility back to the Rangers Support and thrash out a ‘code of conduct’ for how fans interact with each other online and in real life. It has been a hard time for the support as different views about what is best for the club are prevalent but this isn’t about protests, boycotts, supporting the board or anything else. It is purely about Rangers Supporters meeting and finding a way to give each other the respect a Rangers Supporter should have with one another. This is not about who is right and who is wrong – it is about the support moving forward and people with differing views being able to speak to each other. List of Groups we’d like to see there include: Sons of Struth Vanguard Bears Union Bears The Blue Order RST Rangers Media Follow Follow Gersnet Do The Bouncy No.1 Fanzine 72 Magazine WATP Magazine Rangers Supporters Assembly Rangers Supporters Association Copland Road Organisation Rangers Fans Fighting Fund Rangers Chat Heart & Hand Podcast We Welcome The Chase Podcast Aye Ready Podcast Any RSCs that are interested And apologies for anyone I have missed but everyone who has Rangers at heart is welcome. We would like to have this meeting at 1pm Saturday 31st May in The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, G51 2SL. If you are willing to come along could you contact us here or email info@theloudentavern.co.uk There is no hidden agenda here, we are just trying to help the support. We have enough enemies out there. Check out http://www.rangersfirst.org – Do something positive to help the club and the support We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises
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Support from the above on keeping Ibrox and Auchenhowie, while some of our own dither. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-fans-backed-by-leeds-support-for-board-battle-164353n.24280107 RANGERS fans were today urged not to give up the fight to hold on to Ibrox and Murray Park as animosity grows towards the under-fire Light Blues board. The call came from Gary Cooper, chairman of the Leeds United Supporters Trust, who have fought a series of hierarchies in Yorkshire as the club have fallen from grace in recent years. United's Thorp Arch training centre was sold off for £4.2million a decade ago while their Elland Road home was hived off in a sale and leaseback agreement just weeks later as the club battled for survival. The Rangers Union of Fans have launched a bid to pool season ticket money this summer that will see cash only handed over to the Gers board once security has been granted over Ibrox. A meeting between the group and board last week failed to reach a settlement, with fears growing among supporters that their Murray Park base could be sold to raise much-needed funds. Leeds have never fully recovered from the disastrous Peter Ridsdale era and fans' chief Cooper has issued a rallying call to the Light Blue legions to play their part in safeguarding Rangers' biggest assets. He told SportTimes: "Any club worth its salt has to own its stadium and training ground. For a decade and more, Leeds United haven't and that isn't right. "It is difficult for supporters, they value it more than bricks and mortar. "They make an emotional investment in their team and the club and have a link, a tie to the heritage and history, past glories and failures, to the ground, your home. "We have not had that at Leeds United and it is hard for supporters of any other club to fully understand it until it happens to them. "Rangers are a massive, historic club and the idea that they could lose their stadium and training ground and become tenants is, in my opinion, devastating. "It has been so hard for the fans of Leeds United and it will be for Rangers fans if it happens. "We are in a fight to reclaim our identity and our home and I would urge Rangers fans to keep up their fight to hold on to Ibrox and Murray Park." Having seen the board backtrack on plans to consider a legally binding undertaking on Ibrox and again hit out at the aims of Ibrox 1972 Ltd - the vehicle used by the UoF to collect season ticket pledges and backed by Dave King and a host of Light Blue legends - supporters have become increasingly disillusioned with the Gers powerbrokers. The board have repeatedly criticised the UoF proposal that would see the stadium and training complex handed over to fans but LUST chairman Cooper has given the group his firm support. He said: "Supporter involvement in owning any ground, or financing the purchase of a ground, has to be a positive thing. "The club's identity is intrinsically linked with the place it plays its football. "Its history is there, its traditions are there and the hearts and emotions of the supporters are there, and I mean supporters from a hundred years ago and today. "It is fundamentally important that fans try to retain a voice in all aspects of our game and our clubs. "It doesn't belong to the money men, it isn't all about money. "It is about competition, identity, tribalism, recognising something in your club that lives and breathes in yourself. We are losing that. "If the Rangers fans are going to fight to keep ownership of Ibrox and Murray Park then I am sure our 9,000 members would support them all the way."
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Nacho Novo branded the current situation at Rangers a ‘joke’ as he lent his public backing to Dave King’s plan for boardroom change. The Spanish striker has become the latest former Ibrox player to speak out against the existing regime – following Richard Gough, Lorenzo Amoruso and John Brown. Staggered by the squandering of almost £70 million in the period between May 2012 and December 2013, Novo believes an overhaul is required if Rangers are to be restored as the title-winning club he represented between 2004 and 2010. Anger: Nacho Novo has hit out at the debt and uncertainty dogging his former club Rangers The 35-year-old is supportive of fans withholding season ticket money and hopes to see King eventually assume a position of control at the end of the turmoil. [h=4][/h] The South African-based businessman has stated a willingness to invest around £30million in a new share issue which, if granted, would weaken the current shareholder power base. ‘It’s all very sad – you can see that in the people at the club when you go to the stadium or Murray Park,’ said Novo. ‘It’s sad – in my time everyone was happy, the training ground and stadium were excellent. ‘Now it looks as if it’s been left and is not being looked after. ‘The spirit is not the same either. I’ve been at Murray Park and Ibrox – and there is something missing. The feeling is not there. ‘It is still a massive club and without the fans the club would not exist. ‘Families are struggling for work and don’t have much money to live on yet they will always try and support the club and would normally buy season tickets. Yet they do not know where the money is going. ‘It’s not just that – for me the whole thing is a joke. Anyone who pays money needs to know what they are funding. That’s why I’m 100 per cent behind the fans and Dave King.’ After a compromise briefly appeared to be on the cards last week, relations between the Rangers board and the Union of Fans have plumbed new depths in recent days. The club denied claims it intended to offer any legal guarantees over Ibrox and Murray Park, with the Union of Fans responding by expressing fears the key assets could be in ‘grave danger’. King’s next move is now awaited. He may try and rally support for change among investors, but has so far insisted he has no intention of buying out existing shareholders. ‘I have been supporting King and before him Paul Murray – they are Rangers people and for me I will always side with them,’ said Novo. ‘I will definitely support them and have thought about making this statement before now. ‘I hear people asking all the time – why don’t people put lots of money in? But let’s be honest – why would you put money in now when you don’t have any clue where it is going? The whole thing is a mess. I will support King because he has Rangers’ interest at heart. ‘The only people I really care about in all of this is the fans. They are the ones who have spent their money on Rangers and they are the ones who are told nothing.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2634441/The-situation-Rangers-joke-blasts-former-striker-Nacho-Novo-backs-Dave-Kings-plans-struggling-Scottish-giants.html#ixzz32IlO09Vi Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook -
It does appear that admin 2 is on everyone's agenda. There are so many known unknowns and unknown unknowns that gambling on admin to provide a clean ownership break with all assets seems risky. Considering the market cap is currently under £20M, why oh why doesn't someone try buying £10M of (admittedly limited) shares to take overall control of the club? Why? Only desperate purchasing of shares by a couple of the board has seen the price rise from about the value of the physical assets. Anyone interested should be buying at these prices now- unless they are recklessly inviting admin to save a few million. This would be the ideal scenario: Ally McCoist, after a long lucrative career in which he has accumulated great wealth and with the help of a few friends and colleagues, purchases a controlling interest in the club. He moves upstairs to become chairman, and appoints Frank and Ronad De Boer to completely overhaul the football department in their image and to deliver a team full of youths ready to challenge for the SPFL in three years, and the last 8 of the CL in 5 years. All the while they must bring in £6M+ in transfers every year to help keep the whole operation viable. Season tickets sell out. The share price trebles to 90p, Rangers have market cap of £60M. A new share issue is made at this point, raising £30M+. Ally can sell a few back now for healthy profit if desired. Ally hangs on though, and proves a master at managing the club as CEO. Rangers move forward as a self financing, cash rich club. Some of it's investors are hedge funds. They see pre ordained profit targets being reached and sell their shares. McCoist makes deals with hedge funds etc to give fans opportunity to buy first. Slowly the ****s take their profits and leave, and the club regains it's stature and soul. Ally ,I'm sure if you looked down the back of the sofa and phoned Walter and Graeme you'd cobble the money together. OK?
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@Chris_Jack89: Sandy Easdale has threatened legal action against Craig Houston over an online petition. Story in Wednesdays @TheEveningTimes #Rangers
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SATURDAY 24TH MAY. CELEBRATION AND PROTEST We have been asked by many fans to arrange some protests during the close season and as 24th May is the anniversary of the clubs greatest victory in Barcelona 1972, we have made arrangements for the Louden Tavern at the stadium to show a re run of the game from 1.00pm At 3.00pm we will be marching to the stadium for a 30 min protest and a petition to hand in and explain why the fans wont renew season tickets or indeed buy new ones. We require as many fans as possible to turn up as a show of numbers would be vital for the success of the protest Fans are asked to meet up at the Louden between 1.00 and 2.30 to give us adequate time to make final arrangements with fans Can I ask all to share at usual places and feeback to me with expected number which will allow me to notify Louden and make necessary arrangements. We are planning on some other things for Saturday and will announce them once we have confirmed Thanks Craig.
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http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/275976-spfl-pay-broadcaster-up-to-250000-per-season-to-show-rangers-games/ The Scottish Professional Football League is contractually bound to pay BT Sport up to £250,000 per season in return for the broadcaster airing Rangers matches. STV understands that under the terms of a renegotiated TV deal following the removal of Rangers from the top flight in 2012, a clause was inserted making the league liable to additional production costs incurred setting up at lower league grounds. It is understood the league agreed to the insertion of the clause in order to guarantee broadcast contracts which were essentially null and void after Rangers were expelled from the then-Scottish Premier League and were subsequently admitted to the bottom tier of the Scottish Football League. The SPL paid the Scottish Football League £800,000 for one season's worth of rights to show Rangers games but that deal was absorbed when the league bodies merged in 2013. It is not known how much has been paid out to BT Sport and ESPN, who were the holders of the contract for the 2012/13 season, to date. The overall payment is capped at £250,000 per season. In a statement to STV, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "The support given to Scottish football by our broadcast partners, in 2012 and since, has been fundamental to the ongoing health of the game in this country." It is understood the league thought it necessary to agree to the deal in order to protect revenue from broadcast contracts. Nevertheless, the revelations in short mean the SPFL pays a broadcaster in order for Rangers games to be shown on television. BT Sport said in a statement: “[We] were delighted to inherit the SPFL rights from ESPN at the beginning of this season, however we cannot comment on contractual details.”
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Rangers has been many things to many people for nearly a century and a half and over much of this time, excellence and aspiration have ranked high in the club's priorities. To be a Rangers supporter was to be a part of a family that had high expectations, an intolerance of mediocrity, an insistence on elite standards and an undying ambition to be the best. The last few years, though, have been a uniquely testing time. Experiencing the team in the lower reaches of Scottish football has been a ghastly experience. After 120 years of winning or coming close to winning the Scottish League, being dumped in the wasteland of the national sport has been more than just humbling: it has been surreal. Finishing top of the third and fourth tiers may have secured promotion, but it went against the grain that these achievements were deemed worthy of celebration. They might be for small clubs, but for a club like Rangers, promotion was a minimum expectation. There's something unsettling about seeing Rangers celebrating the acquisition of minor trophies. Some will argue that every success should be lauded, especially after flirting with finality, but it feels inappropriate: it feels wrong. The nature of the way the team has performed is a sorry tale. Watching Rangers is about as aesthetically pleasing as a long and lingering gaze at the urban monstrosity that is Celtic Park. An uncultured approach to football is now endemic within the club's football department: it knows no other way. Somehow, and it started before Ally McCoist settled in the manager's chair, Rangers has become the epitome of ugly. The vital matter of club ownership is impossible to ignore. Fans have lost trust in the current regime; its plans are vague and unconvincing, it is out of touch with those who fund it and it can't even convince supporters that it genuinely cares. It is in a hole, a very large hole, and it keeps on digging. Rangers is a shadow of what it used to be. In every single area, there are failings, but most worryingly of all, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. The club's financial predicament could mean a slow and painful demise, or perhaps a sudden and quick one. The spectre of doom hovers over Rangers like dark clouds over Arran, and even if the club survives, it may never recover to become a domestic powerhouse again. Fans debate the corporate side endlessly, but expertise in this argument rarely offers hope, a way out or a workable solution. Learned fans offer little more than those who know as much about bean-counting as they do about rocket science. A glaring absence of the means, imagination and knowhow to lead Rangers out of this mess has been the most notable aspect of this entire debacle. The vast Rangers family has been found to be badly wanting. It is staggering that a pillar of the Scottish sporting community could be so easily shaken and undermined, but the collective naivete of the Rangers support never dared to entertain the possibility that the club's existence could one day be threatened. From the fanatical element within the Celtic support to provincial club detestation of Rangers and an ever-open door on Edmiston Drive to rogue ownership, the inevitable consequence was hard times ahead for Rangers, but few saw it coming. In this hostile new era, winning a title or two was only going to be half the battle. There are no heroes in this debacle. From millionaires to ex-players and from ex-directors to ordinary fans, the combined wisdom of the lot of them has amounted to failure after failure and blunder after blunder. The air of immortality that once enveloped Rangers has evaporated. The club has been outed as a zone of incompetence and its cheap talk and soft underbelly have made it an easy target for detractors. There are times, when the mood is dark, when one wonders if Rangers has reached the end of the road. Society has changed, but maybe Rangers has never really changed at all. It gives the appearance of being an anachronism, clinging to a past that it can't let go instead of embracing a future that it never foresaw. Regrettably, there is a hateful and sinister element within the Rangers support. For many years, our press and media told us it was there, but we denied the accusations outright. Now, with many contentious issues to deal with, the vitriol that spews forth from one fan to another is beyond the pale. Anyone trying to lead us out of this mess automatically becomes a hate figure for fundamentalists who believe that they and only they are the true carriers of the Rangers torch. Maybe they are, and maybe that's why the torch is in danger of being extinguished - permanently. Two words have sold a million Scottish newspapers over the years: 'Rangers' and 'crisis'. Finally, we have a crisis worthy of such a dramatic description and we have reacted exactly as our enemies would have wanted. There is too much hate in our hearts to provide constructive solutions to the problems that beset us. Until this is successfully addressed, we will get the club we deserve - if we have a club at all.
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I believe it's now a distinct possibility that we'll see an "insolvency event" happen this summer given the state of play with season tickets and potential concerns for the security of Ibrox and Murray Park. There are a number of questions this raises, not least of which is - Would this be the first or second insolvency event in the eyes of the SPFL? Would you accept this happening if it meant the parasitic shareholders and board cut and run? What would be Dave King's entry plan/opportunity should it occur? All very emotive stuff I know but I think we have to be realistic and say that it's at least a possibility.
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It has been described as a game of poker but the battle for Rangers has become something of a hand of three-card brag. The most crucial aspect of this game of claim and counter-claim is when the King is played. There are three parties to the Rangers story and each has reached a time of decision. The Union of Fans, the representatives of six fan groups, met last night to discuss the latest developments in a narrative that stretched over two years. The most crucial aspect of their discussions will be the future of the Ibrox 1972 initiative which sought to place season-ticket money in trust under the directorship of Richard Gough, the former Rangers captain, and Dave King, the South African-based businessman who is seeking to alter the power base at the club. The statement by the board on Saturday night that legal guarantees over Ibrox and Murray park would not be offered to fans has left little room for manoeuvre. First, the supporters believe that this was not their understanding of what occurred at the meeting; second, they said it was impossible to deal with the board in good faith and, third, it makes the ploy of Ibrox 1972 almost redundant. The move over season tickets was designed to bring pressure on the board and it did. But the incumbents have so far ridden this out. Indeed, Rangers sources were last night "bullish" about the future, predicting burgeoning season-ticket sales, declaring that precise figures would be given to the markets in due course as they represent market sensitive information. There was one glitch. Under agreed terms, once Rangers have reached £1.5m in season-ticket sales George Letham and Sandy Easdale must be repaid their loans. It is understood, however, that Letham is still awaiting repayment. There was, though, the unmistakeable message yesterday of Rangers "getting down to business", with sources citing appointments to be made, playing plans to be drawn up, the challenges of next season to be met. The delicate point of where all the money will come from has been, ahem, disputed. Rangers hope that the season-ticket tally will approach 20,000, hospitality packages can be sold and that a much-needed income stream will run quickly and profitably. There is also the matter of the £5m of equity funding from existing investors that could be accessed at the press of a button, according to sources close to the talks between supporters and board members this week. A share issue, too, could be brought forward to the end of summer. Even those inimical to the existing board suggest the club "could stagger on" into next season. However, savings must be made and investment found. This may make it an uncomfortable summer for Graham Wallace, the chief executive. He has been assailed by fans over the 120-day review and statements made at the annual general meeting. He also suffers the fate of all chief executives of being an instrument of the board and there was a wounding assertion from the Union of Fans that Wallace is "less powerful" than Sandy Easdale, who is not a member of the plc board but sits on the football equivalent. Wallace has set out his plans and has embarked on a recruitment campaign, in particular for a marketing manager, but has to do this while fighting fires. He will need support but, being Rangers, he should not expect it. The most intriguing player in the card game is, of course, King. If he sits on his hands, Rangers may limp towards some sort of stability - with a much-reduced cost base and a viable challenge to Celtic postponed - or they may slowly but inexorably slip towards financial perdition. His intervention, though, would be a game-changer. However, there is increasing concern among his supporters that King has hesitated too long. One City source, who has control over a tranche of Rangers shares, last night said: "Time is running out for a decisive intervention. King has had talks in the City about proxy votes and these have been amicable, and might even be productive. But there is a sense that something must be done quickly." King must convince the City that the turmoil at Ibrox is such that it is better to give him proxy than to rely on the board to raise the share price to anything like the launch level. The share price has risen of late to just more than 28p from a low of 22p in May. King, however, has stated bluntly he does not want to buy shares from the incumbent board. There are considerable amounts of shares on the margins with some corporate holders open to selling. "There is a feeling," said the City source, " that some of the original investors would take the hit and write it all off to experience and to tax." The most recent soundings from King make clear that he does not want to pursue the buying of shares as this will dilute the money available for a significant investment to make Rangers competitive with Celtic quickly. Any dramatic and immediate development in the Rangers story would thus have to come from King. There is no doubt that the maverick businessman knows how to hold 'em. His supporters trust that his hesitation may not involve accepting he has to fold 'em. Rangers are still in play but the match has moved into extra time for King. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/can-rangers-trump-king-or-does-he-still-hold-the-ace-card.24273947 -
Give written legally binding assurances to fans that Ibrox stadium will not be sold or used as security for any loans Ibrox stadium has been the home of our club for over 100 years and due to mistrust of the board of directors, many fans are unhappy that no legally binding assurances have been forthcoming from the board and a recent club statement declared that the board are unwilling to provide such assurances. The board agree that the stadium is sacrosanct and state they will not sell or use as security. The word of the board can not and will not be accepted by many fans due to a number of recent statements that have since proven innacurate and untrue. Fans also wish to be protected if the current board should be replaced in the future. They have also declared they wish to build trust with the fan base and this action would go some way in improving any relationship https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/graham-wallace-give-written-legally-binding-assurances-to-fans-that-ibrox-stadium-will-not-be-sold-or-used-as-security-for-any-loans?recruiter=97305010&utm_campaign=mailto_link&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition
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Officially appoint Van Gaal, with Giggs as assistant, and the latter retiring from playing. Ryan Giggs has to go down as one of the best players of all time in the English league and probably goes ahead of Charlton and Best as Utds best ever player. Van Gaal should improve Man Utd from last season but I think he'd have done a better job bringing his own team in and think having Giggs as No.2 has been pushed onto him. But they have to make some real signings in the transfer market as that squad is very average.
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Being said on FF and Twitter that VB met with the board the day after the UOF meeting. Somers and James Easdale also attended. Why would the board meet with such a small unrepresentative group? As is being said on Twitter most supporters clubs have more members.
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Singapore billionaire Peter Lim, the new owner of Valencia, has realised a long-held dream by buying a top European football club -- and will hope for better fortunes than some of his fellow Asian investors. Top Executive Suite articles Singaporean billionaire buys Valencia football club BlackBerry fights back with budget phone $2 million Kickstarter campaign launched to find Amelia Earhart’s plane + MORE EXEC ARTICLES Currency Converter Amount to convert From To or Table of all exchange rates Downtime Singaporean billionaire buys Valencia football club $2 million Kickstarter campaign launched to find Amelia Earhart’s plane From flea market to $33m: lost Faberge egg emerges + MORE DOWNTIME NEWS Mark BourisMyths bustedHome loans can seem a bit complicated and overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. Mark Bouris clears up some common misconceptions. Publicity-shy Lim, a fishmonger's son who made his wealth by investing in a palm oil company, is an avid Manchester United fan who nonetheless was linked to a bid for their arch-rivals Liverpool in 2010. On Saturday, patrons of the Valencia Foundation unanimously approved 60-year-old Lim's proposal to take a 70.4 percent stake in the debt-stricken Spanish club, which twice reached the Champions League final. Valencia's hierarchy has been looking for investors since principal creditor Bankia refused to refinance the combined $530 million debt the club and its foundation has with the bank. Lim has an estimated $2.4 billion fortune and owns a string of Manchester United-themed bars in Asia. The father of two is married to former actress Cherie Lim. With 11-storey home in Singapore's plush Orchard Road district, according to reports, and a fleet of 25 Ferraris, Lim appears to have the means to prop up the six-time La Liga champions. Valencia fans may be forgiven for some trepidation, however, with clubs experiencing mixed fortunes after being snapped up by foreign owners. In the most extreme case, ex-Hong Kong hairdresser-turned-Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung was jailed for six years for money-laundering in March. The club was relegated from the English Premier League in 2011 and only survived dropping to England's third tier on the last day of the season earlier this month. Similarly, Indian poultry firm Venky's bought Blackburn Rovers for 23 million pounds in November 2010. Amid a stream of negative headlines, the club followed Birmingham out of the Premier League in 2012. Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan provoked anger from fans of Welsh club Cardiff City, nicknamed "the Bluebirds", when he changed their kit colour from blue to red, saying it was a luckier colour. Cardiff, after winning promotion to the Premier League last year under Tan, have now been relegated again in a season marked by a row over the dismissal of their manager Malky Mackay. And Malaysian budget airline impresario Tony Fernandes has also seen his plans for a revamp at Queens Park Rangers stumble, after the London club dropped out of the Premier League last year. On a more positive note, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has turned Chelsea into one of Europe's top clubs and Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour, are the Premier League champions and estimated as the highest paid sports team worldwide. Lim's proposal intends to clear Valencia's debts and invest heavily in a playing squad that barely managed to break into the top half of La Liga this season, but reached the Europa League semi-finals. "I am very glad to have been selected the winning bidder after a rigorous selection process. Fans of Valencia Football Club can finally see an end to months of uncertainty," Lim said in a statement late Saturday. Lim was educated at the Raffles Institution, Singapore's top secondary school, and has a degree in accountancy from the University of Western Australia. He took on part-time jobs as a taxi driver, a cook and waiter to finance his way through university. In one of his rare media interviews, Lim said his first job as an accountant lasted only three months and he did some tax consultancy work before cutting his teeth in the world of stock-broking, where he began building his massive fortune. Lim's success as a stockbroker earned him the moniker "Remisier King", from the Singaporean term for the profession. He advises young investors to look at the prospects of a sector before buying stock, adding that investments should be for the long term. "You have to invest with a longer-term mindset. You buy a good stock, leave it there for 10 years. Come 10 years, this dollar can be many, many multiples," he said in a 2007 interview. US magazine Forbes on its website estimates Lim's fortune at $2.4 billion and ranks him number 739 among the world's billionaires. Forbes ranked him the 10th richest person in Singapore in 2013. Lim rarely gives media interviews, but friends have been quoted as saying he remains humble despite his wealth and is heavily involved in charity work. http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8847088
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The official site says......THE renewal deadline has now passed.. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/6974-season-ticket-waiting-list We should expect a regulatory annoucement if ST numbers are significantly down. Aim rule 11 A company must issue notification without delay of any new developments which are not public knowledge concerning a change in: its financial condition; its sphere of activity; the performance of its business; or its expectation of its performance.
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AT one point during a highly unsatisfactory and short-lived reign as Rangers chairman an increasingly exasperated Walter Smith made an observation to the directors of the club’s PLC board. It went something along the lines of: “I’ve lost more votes inside this f****** boardroom than I ever lost games out there on that pitch.” It was Smith’s way of saying he had reached the end of his tether. An admission the board over which he presided for little more than two months was dysfunctional beyond repair. But there was a deeper issue which troubled Smith to such an extent he felt compelled to do walking away. He had come to realise that, no matter what changes were made to the personnel around that table – even if there was a day when they all sing from the same hymn sheet – ultimately their voices would not be heard. It had become clear the board of the Rangers International Football Club PLC was not calling the shots inside Ibrox. Rather it was those who made up the so-called “football board” who were really in charge. This all-powerful football board is also known as Rangers FC Ltd. It was previously known as Sevco Scotland. Over two years it has been home to many a colourful character, including Charles Green, Imran Ahmad, Brian Stockbridge and more latterly, current chairman Sandy Easdale. Of them all, only Easdale has not sat on both boards. Then again brother James has been keeping that seat warm. Smith’s frustration with this entity became overwhelming. It’s understood even basic requests to see details of commercial contracts signed on the club’s behalf were repeatedly turned down flat. In other words it does what it wants. So perhaps what has gone on over the past few days inside Ibrox – as yet more splits and schisms have emerged – should come as no surprise at all. Last week, as season-ticket renewals continued to splutter along at an alarmingly slow rate, PLC chief executive Graham Wallace reached out to supporters groups with an olive branch. He invited them for peace talks knowing supporters wanted assurances neither Ibrox nor Murray Park would be pawned off to stop the club from plunging into a financial abyss. These discussions – which involved Wallace, Sandy Easdale and Norman Crighton – have backfired quite spectacularly. Blown to pieces by the obligatory bombardment of statement and counter statement. Claim and angry counter claim. A statement was issued by Rangers on Saturday which more or less accused their own fans of telling lies. As PR strategies go this might have left Gerald Ratner shaking his head in disbelief at its sheer crassness and stupidity. It read: “In some of our discussions with fans it was indicated that there was a wish for the board to confirm that our statement of intention not to grant security over Ibrox could become a commitment that would last for 12 months. “This has subsequently been discussed by the board and the board confirms that it will not be seeking to effect a sale and leaseback or grant security over Ibrox during that period of time.” While the inclusion of the words “over that period of time” will have raised more than a few eyebrows it was the complete omission of Murray Park which ought to worry the fans most of all. It now seems even more likely the club’s £14million training ground will be used to raise funds and keep this basket case of a club afloat. The statement said: “Whilst the board is reported to have offered legally binding undertakings during a fan group discussion in relation to Ibrox and Murray Park, this is not the case.” Late last night, bang on statement o’clock, the fan groups hit back by issuing their own withering media release. This one can also be filled in the box marked “Liar, Liar, Liar”. The Union of Fans insist it was Wallace’s proposal to offer up legally binding assurances Ibrox would not be flogged off as part of a sale and leaseback agreement or used as security against a cash loan. And the statement said: “Given what Mr Wallace proposed regarding Ibrox, we asked that the same arrangement be put in place to safeguard Murray Park from the same fate. “This was met by more substantial opposition from the board representatives, in particular Mr Easdale, who we would like to emphasise is not a PLC board member, and Mr Crighton. “They said they wished to retain ‘flexibility’ over Murray Park. However, by the end of the meeting they had also agreed to consider granting the same undertaking as the one they suggested for Ibrox. This, we were told, was also to be discussed at the PLC board meeting on Thursday, May 15.” The upshot of it all is those running Rangers now appear to be at war with those who claim to represent their supporters. At a time when the club needs season-ticket money urgently just to make it through the summer. And then there is Wallace, who now finds himself in the firing line of supporters and fellow directors alike. He has angered Easdale by trying to broker some sort of conciliatory agreement with the fans. And he has infuriated the supporters by failing to deliver on the deal. The CEO has already survived a whole series of hairy moments during his own short time at the club. Some of them ought to have been resignation issues. But if Wallace really has now lost the trust of the man at the top of the “football board” then it may only be a matter of time until he follows Smith out of that boardroom for good. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-graham-wallace-borrowed-3568105?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
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Here is an Email we have just sent out to 30 odd supporters clubs: Hi, I am a volunteer with Rangers First, a community involvement and fan governance vehicle set up in order to help the supporters gain transparency and a voice in the club. Our first objective is to obtain a 5% shareholding in the club in order to get us on our way to achieving authoritative transparent consultation (ACT) with the board of Rangers Football Club. RF is an apolitical organisation that is only interested in the betterment of The Rangers Family and is not seeking to divide anyone. All fans are welcome who believe in fan involvement at the club. Rangers First is a Community Interest Company that is government regulated to ensure that all proceeds go to benefitting The Rangers Community, all membership donations (from £5 per month) initially will go to buying shares until our goal of 5% has been met and ACT has been achieved. Subsequent donations will be used at the discretion of the membership as RF is a member led one member one vote democracy. If your supporters club or organisation would like to hear a presentation on Rangers First at your venue of choice, we would be happy to accommodate you. I believe that RF is a fantastic vehicle that will help the Rangers Support and the club and I would like the opportunity to let my fellow Rangers Fans hear the facts and decide if it something they would like to get involved with. All information on Rangers First is available at http://www.rangersfirst.org - If you know any supporters club that would like to hold a presentation please let us know. Thanks
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Sons of Struth Just now UNION OF FANS STATEMENT "In response to the disingenuous statement from the board, and to clear up the confusion they appear to be deliberately trying to cause Rangers supporters, we would like to reiterate our truthful account of the discussions held with Mr Wallace, Mr Crighton and Mr Sandy Easdale. We were invited to Ibrox by Mr Wallace, days after the launch of Ibrox 1972, to discuss the ongoing issues surrounding the security of Rangers’ assets. During the course of that discussion on Wednesday 14th May, Mr Wallace suggested that, whilst security would not be granted, the board would be open to offering a legally binding undertaking that Ibrox would not be sold, subject to sale and leaseback or any type of loan security. For the avoidance of doubt, that was Mr Wallace’s proposal, not ours, and he indicated that the plc board would meet on Thursday 15th May to discuss it. Given that two of the four plc board members who were required to rubber stamp this proposal were present, and apparently in favour of it, this was very much presented as a formality. We made it very clear that any such undertaking would need to be evaluated by our lawyers and this was accepted by all those in attendance. Given what Mr Wallace proposed regarding Ibrox, we asked that the same arrangement be put in place for Murray Park in order to safeguard it from the same fate. This was met by more substantial opposition from the board representatives, in particular Mr Easdale, who we would like to emphasise is not a plc board member, and Mr Crighton. They said they wished to retain “flexibility” over Murray Park. However, by the end of the meeting they had also agreed to consider granting the same undertaking as the one they suggested for Ibrox. This, we were told, was also to be discussed at the plc board meeting on Thursday 15th May. Our statement on the night of Wednesday 14th May reflected all of that and was 100% accurate. Any attempt to suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts. Since that meeting we have heard nothing from the board. It is clear that they have now rejected Mr Wallace’s proposal to give a binding undertaking over Ibrox. It is clear that they have considered our proposal that the same undertaking be given for Murray Park and have also rejected that. The idea that this latest board proclamation should give supporters any type of additional confidence over the club’s assets is therefore utterly ridiculous. In fact it should confirm just how much danger our vital assets are in. It is clearly impossible to deal with this board in good faith. They told us we would receive a swift response following their deliberations. We have received no response. They told us that over the past two weeks, all major investors, bar one, have indicated they will participate fully and proportionately in any future rights issue. We do not believe this to be the case. They told us that all those major investors are supportive of their business plan and were impressed with the ‘120 day’ review. We do not believe this to be true. They told us that they have access to an instant £5m of equity funding from existing major investors. This, according to Mr Wallace, is available at “the push of a button”. We believe that, if this is true, it will be used to benefit Mr Easdale’s associates. It is clear that Mr Wallace, despite being Chief Executive, has less influence in the plc boardroom than Sandy Easdale, who is not even a member of the plc board. It is clear that Murray Park is in grave danger and has been since December 2013. The statement from the board that they “will not be seeking” a sale and leaseback of Ibrox is not binding and it is still not unequivocal. We believe, as long as the shareholders fronted by Mr Easdale are calling the shots in the boardroom, Ibrox will remain in grave danger too. Until this situation is resolved we would continue to urge supporters to think very carefully before they hand this board their hard earned money up front. It is clear from meagre renewal levels that a large majority of fans do not trust this board. Our experience is that this position is the correct one to adopt. Support the team, not the regime.”
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Bawsburst on RM hinting at something happening soon with this recently formed company by Laxey pic.twitter.com/Nc8zHXA8Dn So Laxey's Kingsnorth registers a new company called GreenWhiteStar UK PLC. How disgustingly ironic
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http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-utd/new-leeds-owners-will-buy-back-elland-road-for-15m-1-6322034 BUYING back Elland Road for around £15m tops the list of priorities for Leeds United’s prospective new owners, the Yorkshire Post has been told. A consortium led by United managing director David Haigh is bidding to buy a 75 per cent stake in the Championship club. The group - which is believed to include Andrew Flowers, the managing director of current shirt sponsors Enterprise Insurance - have signed a share acquisition agreement with GFH Capital, the Dubai-based firm that purchased United from Ken Bates a year ago. Football League approval is now being sought as this buyout would be the second of the club in as many seasons. Providing there are no late hiccups, the Haigh-led consortium is expected to take charge early in the New Year. As revealed in this newspaper yesterday, re-signing former Player of the Year, Max Gradel, in the January transfer window is high on the list of targets for the prospective new owners. However, sources close to Haigh’s group have also made it clear to the Yorkshire Post that buying back Elland Road will be their top priority once at the helm. United’s home was sold to Manchester businessman Jacob Adler for a knockdown £8m price in November, 2004, as mounting debts threatened to drag the club under in its first year outside the Premier League. Ownership passed the following year to Teak Commercial Limited, a firm based in the British Virgin Islands. Included in the initial sale and leaseback deal with Adler - and something retained in the subsequent sale to Teak - was a buyback option that allows the club to purchase the stadium at a set price. That amount rises each October and today stands at £15m. Also subject to a raise of three per cent each October is the rent United pay to Teak, which this year will cost the club £1.4m. Since Elland Road was sold to Adler by the United board that was led by Gerald Krasner, United have paid around £11m in rent. Removing that financial millstone from around United’s neck will, the source close to Haigh’s group insists, be the overriding priority providing the expected takeover goes through early in 2014. Regardless of whether the club’s would-be new owners are successful or not in that quest, United’s tenancy in LS11 is secure thanks to the terms of the 2004 sale and lease-back arrangement - a deal in which the owner of a large asset, such as property, sells it and then immediately buys back from the buyer the right to use the asset under a lease for a fixed term at a pre-arranged rent. In United’s case, that agreement was for a 25-year lease that, once at an end in 2029, can be extended by a further quarter of a century. This means Leeds’ future at Elland Road is safe for at least the next 41 years. Haigh and his fellow would-be investors, however, are well aware that buying back the ground would be the clearest signal yet to supporters that the club is moving in the right direction. If they are successful in that quest, it will be the second time in a generation that United will have bought back their home thanks to improving financial fortunes. The first instance came in 1998 when Peter Ridsdale’s board paid £10m to Leeds City Council for the stadium, which along with the surrounding land had been sold 13 years earlier to the local authority for a quarter of that sum. Crippling debts of around £1.5m had forced the 1985 sale on the club. History then repeated itself in 2004, though by then the sums involved had multiplied dramatically. Krasner’s board had taken over Leeds in March of that year but relegation just a couple of months later hit United very hard. A fire-sale of players such as Alan Smith and Mark Viduka during that summer bought the club respite for a time but by the early months of the 2004-05 campaign it was clear Leeds were still in the financial mire. Debts that had, at one stage, stood north of £100m when the takeover went through had been slashed to around £25m. However, punishing repayments to Jack Petchey, a London-born businessman who had once been chairman of Watford and an Aston Villa shareholder, for a £15m loan taken out by Krasner and his fellow directors when buying the club had started to bite. After negotiations with a number of parties that included Sebastien Sainsbury and local businessman Norman Stubbs floundered, the United board was left with no option but to sell the club’s only two remaining assets of substance - Elland Road and Thorp Arch, the latter’s sale raising £4.2m. Once the two sales were concluded, the remaining debt of £9.2m to Petchey was cleared. United’s financial woes continued, however, and the club was subsequently sold to Bates the following January. At his first press conference, the former Chelsea chairman said: “It is our intention, in the fullness of time, to exercise those options and bring the land and stadium back where they belong.” Scarcity of funds, though, meant those wishes went unfulfilled with a bid to buyback Thorp Arch floundering at the 11th hour in 2009. Similar sentiments about purcahasing Elland Road were expressed by GFH Capital following their December 21 takeover last year but, again, nothing concrete came of the plans.
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SATURDAY, 17 MAY 2014 19:30[h=2]Club Statement[/h]WRITTEN BY RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB RANGERS have issued the following statement today: “Representatives of Rangers have met with a number of supporter groups over the past few days and discussed a wide range of topics. We again made it clear during these meetings that the club will not grant security over Ibrox to any organisation and therefore the 'Ibrox 1972' scheme can never achieve its objectives. In addition the club will not accept season ticket applications from third parties such as 'Ibrox 1972' on behalf of supporters. “In some of our discussions with fans, it was indicated that there was a wish for the Board to confirm that our statement of intention not to grant security over Ibrox could become a commitment that would last for 12 months. This has subsequently been discussed by the Board and the Board confirms that it will not be seeking to effect a sale and leaseback or grant security over Ibrox during that period of time. “The Board is rebuilding the Club by ensuring its financial stability and the integrity of its assets. “Whilst the Board is reported to have offered legally binding undertakings during a fan group discussion in relation to Ibrox and Murray Park, this is not the case. The Board is committed to high standards of corporate governance and is comfortable that it has at all times been very clear in providing consistent and unequivocal public comments on this subject. "Season ticket sales have continued at a good pace over the last few days and we appreciate the continued support shown by our loyal fans. "We trust that any supporters who may have been in any doubt about the Board's previous statements regarding Ibrox now have an additional level of comfort and any who may have made, or were considering making, a pledge of their season ticket money to 'Ibrox 1972' are clear that there is no prospect of that group achieving its aims."
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HE pressure is mounting on the Ibrox board to find new cash streams but it is unlikely to receive support from the club's most influential fans who are being asked to fork out £4200 each. RANGERS have put out a cash call to well-heeled fans – just weeks after fearing they would storm the Blue Room. Renewal forms for the club’s wealthiest 150 season-ticket holders have been sent out in the past 48 hours but the beleaguered board are set to be hit with another snub. Record Sport understands only around 10,000 rank and file fans have renewed their season tickets, in stark contrast to the 31,000 who made the pledge at a similar stage last year. The pressure is mounting on the Ibrox board to find new cash streams but they are unlikely to find much support from their most influential fans who are being asked to fork out £4200 each. Record Sport can reveal details of the bizarre communication between director Norman Crighton and a significant investor after the final home game of the season against Stranraer last month. Crighton accused fans in the members’ lounge of being drunk and rowdy and even feared they would storm the Blue Room at the top of the marble staircase. One insider said: “It’s laughable stuff and the members who know of the communication are smarting. “Most are successful businessmen and some of them don’t drink at all. The suggestion they would storm the Blue Room is preposterous. Come off it, Walter Smith was in the members’ lounge that day. It’s ridiculous.” Many members had already decided to withhold season-ticket money with the future uncertain and Crighton’s comments will not help as the club stands to lose more than £600,000 if the rich Rangers followers turn their backs. One member said: “A significant number of us are already speaking about not renewing and it would break our hearts to do so. “They’re paying out more on wages to non-playing staff than players. How can they get that bill down and still generate enough money to run the club without selling Ibrox? “Until they can answer those questions we won’t be rushing to support their regime.” Rangers, meanwhile, announced yesterday they will keep the ticket office open over the weekend due to what they claim to be high, last minute demand. The deadline for season-ticket renewals was originally yesterday. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/battle-rangers-clubs-wealthiest-150-3553825
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