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No quotes, could have done it before, and is one of those thrown in the hat every now and then. Alas, he sure has the money to do it ... and is presumably not many people's favourite either. Daily Mirror

Full elections in 60-90 Days when members can democratically decide. http://www.rangersfirst.org/structure/?mc_cid=156c158ef2&mc_eid=5413676696

April 1, 2014 by billmcmurdo Rangers Supporters Loyal The rebels in the Rangers support have reacted with predictable hatred and venom to news that loyal fans are preparing to buy extra season tickets and are also willing to pay extra monies to the club in order to offset the impact of a potential season ticket boycott. The good news for those loyal fans, many of whom read this blog, is that the new supporters group is in the process of being formed. A new website with a forum is being developed and the loyal fans can have an online meeting place that meets their needs – a place free from the negativity and pollution of other online forums. This forum will be a place where Gers fans can communicate with each other without the playground abuse you get elsewhere. It will be heavily moderated in terms of who gets to enter the forum. No agitators, rebels or imposters will be allowed and, if found therein, will be punted swiftly. A code of conduct will be drawn up for the new supporters group and its general ethos will be one of support for the board – without giving the board a blank cheque in any way. Many great ideas have been put forward and we hope the new group will have an immediate and dynamic effect on the Rangers family. The driving force for this new group has been the vision and determination of Ayrbear to create a voice for fans of Rangers who are not anti-board but are very much pro-Rangers. Old-fashioned attributes of dignity, decorum and respect – as exemplified by Rangers men of old – are very much part of the ethos this new supporters group will seek to embody. We all owe Ayrbear and one or two others who are in the background a massive debt for putting flesh and bone to an idea whose time has come. This group will be staunch friends and allies of other Rangers groups who share our values of supporting the club through thick and thin. However, we will implacably oppose those who seek to agitate matters at Ibrox for self-seeking agendas that could damage RFC. There will be an annual membership fee and all monies will be fully accounted for with transparency. It is important for me to say this – this will not be the Bill McMurdo Rangers Supporters Group. I am happy to support it and be involved with it but this new group has come out of that wellspring that is still thankfully at the heart of our massive bluenose support – the wellspring of loyalty to and love for the club which makes us The People. In other words, it is YOUR group. Your devotion to Rangers has demanded that such a group be formed. The group will be known as Rangers Supporters Loyal and this name says everything about what this organisation will epitomise. It is not about individuals but about Rangers FC and what the club stands for. Many of you have indicated your willingness to join Rangers Supporters Loyal. Soon you will have the chance to do just that. Also we will have a meeting soon to formalise things and elect office bearers. We are coming down the road, folks and we will not be stopped, sidetracked or deflected. http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/rangers-supporters-loyal/

Robert Marshall and his son, Greg, have been heavily involved in the formation of Rangers First. Rangers First is a fan-led membership vehicle that aims to buy shares and achieve greater supporter involvement in the running of the Ibrox club. Matthew Lindsay of SportTimes met the lifelong Rangers fans and season ticket holders to speak about the ambitious project and their hopes for the future. How did you get involved in Rangers First? RM: I was invited up to the Supporters' Direct Scotland offices in Stirling. So I went and listened to two lads speak and I liked what they had to say. I thought: "If it can help Rangers I will give it a go." It was just about helping the club. As a fan, I was in. Then we had a meeting here (The Louden Tavern, Ibrox Stadium) to see if the body of the kirk, if you like, wanted to take the idea further. Richard Atkinson, a volunteer with Supporters' Direct who has been involved at quite a few clubs over the years, spoke to us. We had around 50 people here. And not one voice was dissenting. I think it is important to state that this is not anti-board or pro-board. It is pro-Rangers and pro- Rangers fans. At the first meeting we said: "Leave your egos at the door. Leave the politics at the door. Let's just see if we can do this." GM: We have people who attend our meetings who are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their attitude to the club board. If it is about individuals then it will fail. It is a vehicle that should be analysed on its own merits. What are the objectives of Rangers First? RM: The first target that Rangers First has is to obtain 5% of shares in the club. GM: That gives you powers in terms of calling a general meeting and getting answers to questions. It is all about getting what is called ACT - authoritative consultative transparency. That basically means the fans having a voice and the club having to listen to and engage with us. This is about the board engaging with the fans so that we know what the situation at the club is and we can all move forward together. It is not about getting a fan on the board. Our members would have to vote on having a representative on the board down the line. It has still to be decided. But, personally speaking, I think we would want a professional representing us. GM: The money the Community Interest Company spends must be to the benefit of the Rangers community. We can't just spend money willy-nilly. Initially, we just want to get shares until we can get the ACT. Once we get that then it will be up to the members to decide what we do with the money after that. We can fund specific projects that are and are to the benefit of the club. BuyRangers already exists. Why is Rangers First necessary? RM: By law we (BuyRangers and Rangers First) have to work together publicly because the schemes have the same principles and the same goals. We want to work together. But I think this vehicle could unite fans. GM: The key point about Rangers First is that it is not partisan. It is trying to unite the small groups into a bigger group. We are saying to them: "You are still allowed to have your differences. This is beyond that." There have been lads at the meetings we have had so far whose personal opinions I do not agree with. But their ethos is right. They genuinely want to put Rangers first. We need to engage with a wider fan base - and especially with fans abroad in countries like Australia and the United States. That is one of the advantages of Rangers First - we can accept payments from abroad. A CIC is to the benefit of the Rangers community and the Rangers community isn't defined by geography. It is what we decide the Rangers community is. And the Rangers community is global. It is basically anybody who considers themselves to be a supporter. They can contribute to it from abroad. The main strength of the CIC is its flexibility. For example, my father and I are going to donate our shares to it. We bought £1,000-worth of shares at the IPO. As well as money you can put shares in. A few of us are going to do that. RM: One of our representatives is going to Hong Kong this week to do a presentation to the Rangers Supporters' Club out there. Richard (Atkinson) also did a presentation with Orsa (Oceania Rangers Supporters Association) recently. We are really trying to engage with the ex-pat fans because it must be really hard for them looking in and not being able to do anything. What has the response to the scheme from Rangers fans been? GM: It is still in the process of being put together. But we have 1,000 members already. That is not bad after two weeks. We are due an update on that any day now. We were at a pub in Lanarkshire a couple of weeks ago at which 10 Rangers Supporters' Clubs were represented. Three of them joined up on the spot and seven took it back to their members. Nobody was against it. When people engage with it they say: "This is a good idea." It genuinely is a good idea. But we do need the support of the fans to make it work. At a small level, we could build up a small shareholding. But if we get larger numbers we will get the transparency the fans want. Has the ongoing financial uncertainty at Ibrox increased the interest in Rangers First? RM: I think it does increase enthusiasm for what we are doing. But I am keen for this not to be seen as a criticism of the board. I am not against them. I know they should not have spent the £22million that was raised at the IPO. But, as far as Rangers First is concerned, we are simply for the club. We are there to help the Rangers support. How many members do you hope to attract? RM: We would like to get to 20,000 to start with. Personally speaking, I think we can get 50,000. Now, I know people may laugh at that. But you had 200,000 at the Uefa Cup final in Manchester in 2008. You also have however many thousand abroad who are all desperate to help the club. I think we can have a worldwide membership of 50,000 within two years. How much does it cost fans to join Rangers First? RM: There are three boxes on the website - http://www.rangersfirst.org - you can join for £5 a month, £10 a month or £18.72 a month. There is also a life membership, Club 1872. That entails a £500 one-off payment. You get nothing out of it other than the satisfaction you have helped Rangers. Plus, as a member you get a vote. GM: If we can get 1,872 signing up for a life membership it will give us enough money to buy circa 5% of the club. Dave King has stated he is prepared to put money into Rangers "along with the fans". Could that funding come from Rangers First? GM: It could. Buying shares as individuals has not given us any dividend so far. Individual fans have roughly 12% of the shares. But we don't have anything to show for that. Buying as a collective, through Rangers First, would. RM: There is also a vehicle you can use. Say, for example, Laxey Partners were prepared to sell their 12% stake in the club, but Rangers First did not, at that time, have the money to buy it. We could say to them: "We will pay you for 4% a year." GM: We could provide them with a dividend and take the proxy for their shares and subsequently buy them a few years down the line. That is not something that necessarily is going to happen. But the CIC is flexible and you can do that. The other thing is we can approach the Rangers fans who currently own 12% of the club and ask them to proxy their votes to us. We would need to collect the signatures of the 4,500 fans who have shares before a general meeting. One of our committees is looking at shareholder engagement. Community ownership failed at St Mirren. How can it work at Rangers? GM: Amongst the clubs where this has been tried it has never been exactly the same. There are technical elements which are similar. St Mirren was a wholly-owned club. They had, for some reason, to buy 52% to make it work. They put in a legitimate bid and Stewart Gilmour, as was his perogative, decided not to accept it. There are successes. Dunfermline got over 1,000 members after they had already been saved. Hearts got over 8,000 fans paying in £15.50 a month. We want to achieve ACT at Rangers. The members will decide where we go from there. How optimistic are you about the future? GM: If this kind of vehicle had been about prior to administration I think it could have had a significant influence on the club. Maybe we wouldn't be in the position we are in now. Having said that, I think it will take off now. It may be a slow burner, but I think it will take off. Whoever puts money in can be assured that it will go towards the betterment of Rangers. I think we are getting there as a result of the meetings. We are starting to unite. Very few people want actual fan ownership. They want fan participation. What we are saying to the club is: "Be accountable to us." That is all we want, accountability. RM: We get nothing other than the satisfaction of helping Rangers and the Rangers community. I am not negative at all. I think Rangers are a sleeping giant. A good analogy would be they are a bear in hibernation. It is time the bear woke up. Get Rangers News Alerts by Email http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/it-is-time-to-unite-the-small-groups-and-waken-the-sleeping-giant-157872n.23841953

https://twitter.com/gerrymcculloch1/status/450025504805257216 Gerry McCulloch ‏@gerrymcculloch1 @bjm1979 @Eddiek62 ebt's undoubtedly gave sporting advantage in my opinion. We'll see what result appeal brings.

MARCH 25, 2014 UNION OF FANS STATEMENT 25TH MARCH 2014 by Union of Fans The Union of Fans (UoF) is delighted that Dave King has publicly stated his impressive plans for Rangers via a number of newspaper interviews. His vision for the club is extremely welcome as is the personal financial commitment he is willing to make. Like all Rangers fans, Dave King and UoF want to see the club back operating to high standards on and off the pitch and in the boardroom. We firmly believe that the involvement of Dave King is the best chance of those standards being attained in the short, medium and long term. It was clear from our discussions with him last week that the £30m+ Mr King is willing to invest is crucial to take the club back to a competitive level and improve the infrastructure and facilities. The club has been neglected, that cannot continue. Only once this investment has been made will Rangers be able to live within its means, something we all want for the longer term future. Until then Dave King has made it clear he will do what is necessary to get Rangers back to where we belong and where we can be self-sustainable. It is also important that Dave King chose to make his views public to the widest possible range of Rangers supporters by conducting interviews with four different newspapers with a combined readership of over 2M people. There can no longer be any criticism of him only speaking privately to supporters groups, though he has pledged to continue that important dialogue in order that the Union of Fans can keep people updated on events. We would now ask the board to indicate publicly, as a matter of urgency, whether they are prepared to accept Dave King’s offer of massive investment. The ball is firmly with the Rangers PLC board, in particular with Chief Executive Officer, Graham Wallace and Chairman, David Somers. Dave King has put a figure on what Rangers need and has shown his commitment to, and ambition for, the club he has supported all his life. Do Mr Wallace and Mr Somers agree with his figures and if they do, how do they propose to raise this large sum of money without Dave King? These are extremely serious corporate matters, therefore they are matters for the PLC board and not for any small, minority shareholder who is not a member of that board and who has no such high level corporate experience. The corporate reputations of Mr Wallace and Mr Somers now rest on their next move. We also note with dismay that Rangers director Sandy Easdale is continuing to pursue what we consider to be a confrontational and frivolous course of legal action against Sons of Struth. We would ask him to remember what it means to be a Rangers director and act accordingly if he wishes to enjoy the privileges of that position.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-its-check-mate-3286265#.UzKOhg6Tggg.twitter

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6545-club-statement

Rangers U20 team v Inverness Caley Thistle: Gallacher; Hegarty, Perry, Gasparotto, Sinnamon; Roberts, Dykes, Telfer, Gibson; Halkett, Stoney

KEITH says the resurgence of Aberdeen under the impressively astute Derek McInnes is something that should be cherished and encouraged at a time when Scottish football is struggling. DEREK McINNES has done the first part of the job. A huge red monster has been poked in the ribs. Consciousness has now been successfully regained. But here’s the trouble with waking a sleeping giant. You better make sure it gets out of the right side of the bed because you wouldn’t like it when it’s angry. And you most certainly don’t want to be the cause of its ire. For example, if McInnes does not win the League Cup Final – after watching the abysmal manner in which Inverness Caley Thistle self-destructed against Dundee United yesterday – then he may suddenly find himself with some explaining to do. Worse still, even if McInnes does deliver the Pittodrie punters with their first piece of silver since 1995 on Sunday, he might still be chased the length of Union Street by the natives should somehow fate dictate that he loses a Scottish Cup Final to Rangers. Now don’t laugh. I’m serious. Okay so first Ally McCoist will have to find a way of getting past Albion Rovers in a replay next week. And you wouldn’t bet bad money on them doing anything of the kind. Then – against all odds – they’ll have to deal with the effervescence of Dundee United in the semis. At the same time, McInnes will have to negotiate a way past St Johnstone. But the truth is if Rangers somehow make it to the Final, McInnes might never recover from the shame of not seeing this lot off. In fact, the most damning thing about this latest Rangers humiliation is it did not even register as a shock to see them scrambling to salvage a 1-1 draw against a team of part-time kids on £20 a week. A mild surprise? Perhaps. Shockingly unprofessional? Absolutely. But anyone who was actually, genuinely left slack-jawed in amazement at what went on at Ibrox yesterday afternoon has clearly not been paying due attention to the mess this club has made of itself on and off the park in recent times. So woe betide McInnes then if he should somehow find a way not to do away with his old club. Aberdeen, you see, are standing on the shoulders of history. For more years now than anyone cares to remember this has been one big Incredible Sulk of a football club. Consistently, almost without fail in fact it has punched way below its weight. Often embarrassingly so. But two cups and a second-placed finish in the league can end all that. To put it simply even though there was a similar high point back in 1990 the recent years of bottom-six finishes and the ensuing onset of being comatose this could be the single greatest Aberdeen awakening since Gothenburg. Or it could take crestfallen to new levels. But before it goes one way or the other let’s add a sense of perspective to Aberdeen’s rise while remembering “In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is King”. We could rework that old saying for the modern-day game in this country. In the land of the incompetents, the mediocre man wins medals. And before this mighty and mobilising Red Army starts frothing at the mouth let me make one thing clear. Recently in these very pages, not only did I write that Aberdeen are now well and truly back but, what is more, all of Scottish football should be glad about it. The fact they have shifted more than 40,000 tickets for Sunday’s cup final at Celtic Park merely confirms that a healthy, vibrant Aberdeen is good for business. The game in this country doesn’t have a lot going for it right now but the resurgence of this club under the impressively astute McInnes is something that should be cherished and encouraged. They have been out cold up north for far too long. But while all of that is true, it would be absurd to start fawning over this Aberdeen team or to mistake McInnes’s players for a new batch of Willie Millers, Alex McLeishs and Mark McGhees when evidently they are not. In today’s world they do not need to be. Aberdeen must only achieve competence to emerge as this country’s second force. McInnes has simply been smart enough to recognise this as a fact. Just look at the slapstick defending that cost Inverness their place in the semi-finals yesterday. Some of it was hysterical. Much of it was beyond parody. And this from a team competing in the last eight of the Scottish Cup? It would not seem unreasonable to expect better of a team playing on a public park. In the current climate, simply being competent, resolute and organised is enough to turn any team into genuine contenders. The difference at Pittodrie is McInnes is both smart enough to realise it and capable enough to make it happen. When he brought in Barry Robson and Willo Flood in the summer, McInnes was hanging his hat on the tried and tested. Men who have been over the course and back again. Even at the peak of their powers they were never considered to be world beaters. Their career highs came and went more than five years ago when both of them ended up at Gordon Strachan’s Celtic. The truth is, they’ve been on a downward trajectory ever since. The fact they are now the joint powerhouses in Aberdeen’s engine room suggests clearly the decline of the Scottish game has been a great deal steeper and faster than that of their own. McInnes was shrewd enough to identify even if this pair’s best days are beyond them they are still better than most of their contemporaries. And it was the same in January when McInnes pulled off another fine piece of business in bringing Adam Rooney back to the Scottish top flight. That signing, in my view, secured second spot in the table. It may well turn out to have bought McInnes a cup double too. And yet the reason Rooney was available for free was because he had just been released by League One outfit Oldham, despite his previously prolific stint in Inverness. On Saturday, Rooney scored his sixth goal in eight appearances for Aberdeen to knock Dumbarton out of the Scottish Cup quarters. McInnes conceded after that nervy 1-0 win some of his players are starting to feel the pressure that comes with the weight of expectation bearing down on their slender shoulders. That’s human nature and perfectly understandable. But they should worry not. They are the best of the rest and now is no time for self-doubt to get in their way and stop them from reaching out to claim what is theirs. It’s not rocket science. They have the second-best team in the country because they have assembled the second-best group of players. McInnes has spent well. His squad’s wage bill is significantly short of £2million and miles shy of the £6m currently being wasted by Rangers. Which just goes to show sound management is not just as simple as signing big cheques. Yes, McInnes has made Aberdeen a force again. He had better not blow it all now.

Expected big things from the lad today, he was outstanding against rovers at the start of the season. The whole team lacked imagination and I felt particularly let down by him as he is a player who should be making a difference. I for one don't blame Ally and to say we missed out the midfield yesterday would be untrue. We had the ball in front of their defence and all of our midfield players were involved. None of our players seemed to have any ideas or imagination as to how they could break down the opposition. Men like Law, Templeton and Shiels should have been instrumental but sadly they looked disinterested. You cannot blame Ally for that. When a player crosses the line at home in a quarter final you should expect passion and commitment - sadly none if our players showed any.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...1-5m-loan.html Rangers last night appeared to contradict the wording of that document, insisting the repayments would come from a wider pool of money. A club spokesman said: "The loans, if drawn, will be repaid from the operating cash flow of the business at the relevant time. Operating cash flow comprises many sources including commercial partnership income, retail dividends and match ticket income." Spivs out. Just noticed previous thread. Still lying spivs.

Lifted from FF: By Grandmaster Suck Updated Friday, 7th March 2014 Official documents reveal Easdale and Laxey have joint security over both the Edmiston House and Albion car par properties. They will be paid back in the first instance from money generated by season ticket sales. The season tickets are effectively mortgaged to the debt. Laxey are charging a higher interest rate than Ticketus did. The details from the Registers of Scotland (land registry) - Security over Edmiston House granted to Sandy Easdale http://freepdfhosting.com/3474a90828.pdf Security over the Albion car park granted to Laxey Partners http://freepdfhosting.com/cef985a572.pdf Ranking agreement between Sandy Easdale and Laxey Partners http://freepdfhosting.com/1bfcbe0abb.pdf The Ranking Agreement basically establishes that both have claims over both the car park and Edmiston House. Have a look at the page hand-numbered 19 (its 3 pages down) in the Ranking Agreement - this mentions that the money to Sandy Easdale and Laxey will be repaid in the first instance from season ticket money. Peculiarly, the announcement to the Stock Exchange said the loan would be repaid by 1st September 2014 - http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=11872699 - but the Ranking Agreement says 1st September 2015. http://www.followfollow.com/news/tmnw/season_ticket_sales_will_pay_for_easdale_and_laxey_loans_826877/index.shtml

New Loan Offer made to Rangers By The Rangers Standard Following an email to a fan from Colin Kingsnorth of Laxey last night in which he reportedly stated that “if they want to offer the money cheaper go for it…no problem cancelling it”, George Letham, the Rangers fan and wealthy businessman who had previously tried to make contact to offer a loan, today approached the club through a third party and has complied with a request that he make any offer in writing to CEO Graham Wallace. Speaking to the Rangers Standard, Mr Letham indicated that he was happy to stand by the terms he outlined in our article yesterday. “Graham Wallace is now in receipt of written confirmation that I am happy to replace the Laxey loan, on condition that it is cancelled, with no penalty to the club, and that any security over property offered to Laxey is also cancelled. I have offered the loan on the same terms but with the interest payable reduced from £150,000 to £75,000. It is my intention to convert this interest into shares as I have no wish to take cash out of the club.” “If the club are unable to convert the interest to shares, then any cash sum I received from the loan would be reinvested into the club via a future share issue to further the cause of fan ownership. My only motivation in this is to ensure that the club is secure, has as much involvement as possible from those who care about it and that its vital assets remain available to it at all times.” “I am making this offer public in the hope that a degree of transparency can be brought to this process for the fans and hope that the board will give my offer due consideration.” http://t.co/y9ZonOlMO2

http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/rfc-politics/310-dr-waiton-on-rangers-free-speech-and-sectarianism It's an excellent read (the Spiers part especially), very well done to John.

Seems the board have summoned king to a showdown meeting with the board to explain his statements in the media. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26420403 Hope he tells them to bolt!

http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/314-laxey-loan-alternatives-ignored

.........than Celtic getting Ten In A Row. THE IBROX boss knows that Celtic reaching that much sought after target would hurt, but there's a lot more going on in Govan to occupy his thoughts. ALLY McCOIST insists Rangers have more to worry about than stopping Celtic winning 10 in a row. The Ibrox manager has refused to get caught up in the storm created by Dave King’s decision to go to war with the board. The South Africa-based businessman claimed if the current regime weren’t ousted, Celtic would break through the famous nine-title record held jointly by both clubs. However, while that would pain McCoist, he insists the beleaguered club have bigger issues to address. The Rangers boss is one of only three Gers with a full set of nine medals from their run between 1989 and 1997, alongside Richard Gough and Ian Ferguson. And he said: “Of course it would hurt – but for the next 24 months there’s nothing I can do about it. “In the grand scheme of things our concerns are very much the last 24 months and the next 24 months. That’s the most important thing. “We can’t forget what happened, we can’t let it happen again, and we have to keep rebuilding. “Do we have more to worry about than a statistic? Yes but I don’t want to use it flippantly, as if I’m not doing my job. “Of course I don’t want Celtic to go to 10, it would be crazy to say that. But at the same time I think our club has far more important issues coming up. “We’ll have to improve incredibly to get back because it’s safe to say unless there’s a dramatic change in Scottish football, Celtic are everyone’s favourites for the foreseeable future. “We’re miles away if you’re talking about winning the top flight.” McCoist insists he won’t be involving himself in the politics of the club, despite having done so on several occasions over the past two years. He said: “The last few times of getting involved, we haven’t had a board, we haven’t had a chief executive, we’ve had no real stability or structure. “We have that know so they can deal with the business side of it and I’ll deal with the football. “I know my responsibilities and I know the fans look for leadership. But there are now members of the board who will also have to lead. I think the fans will appreciate that.” But supporters groups issued a vote of no confidence in the board on Thursday and backed King. They also supported his call for a trust to be set up that would collect season-ticket fees and drip feed the money to the regime week by week. Chief executive Graham Wallace responded by saying that threat was “damaging” Rangers but King rejected his claim yesterday. In a statement, King said: “I can only express bemusement at the board’s response to myself and the fans. “The board states that our statements are an attempt to undermine the club. That is an insult to fans who have nothing other than the club’s interest at heart. “They (the board) ask for trust but don’t recognise that trust is a mutual relationship and requires transparency. What the board is really asking of fans is to have blind faith – not trust. “This board has not earned that right and in fact has repeatedly demonstrated the opposite.” King also raised doubts about who was really pulling the strings behind the scenes and claimed former Ibrox chief Charles Green could still be a major player. He said: “It is quite possible that Green is still de facto controlling the club. Certainly the existing directors have a minuscule equity stake and yet won’t disclose the true power behind the throne.” Rangers needed a last-gasp Lee McCulloch penalty to see off East Fife 1-0 yesterday and move a step closer to the League One title. They can now wrap up the championship in their next league game against Airdrie on March 12 if Dunfermline fail to win against Stenhousemuir next weekend. But next up for Gers is a Scottish Cup clash with Albion Rovers and McCoist would take a repeat of yesterday’s poor display so long as Gers go through. He said: “If you offered me the same result next week against Albion I’d take it. There’s less emphasis put on performance in cup games because you only get one bite at it.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ally-mccoist-rangers-far-more-3198056

KEITH says it's time for Dave King to prove he can see a plan through to the end and says his actions from here on in will determine his legacy at Ibrox. DON’T know what the equivalent is in South Africa but in Castlemilk, where a young Dave King grew up, the vernacular goes something like: It’s time to p*** or get off the potty. Today, of course, King is a million miles removed from the hard-knock streets of the Glasgow housing scheme he once called home. But those who have stayed closest to him over almost 40 years of sun-kissed exile – and you can count them on the fingers of one hand by the way – insist he has never lost touch with his roots. King, they say to a man, remains steeped in his past. Fiercely proud of his working-class upbringing and crucially, at least where this week’s events are concerned, every bit as passionate about the football club he left behind. He remains, to use another home-grown term, the embodiment of a “Rangers man”. It is this one basic credential above all others that separates King from the succession of fly by nights, chancers and opportunists who have at one stage or another taken on lead roles in this seemingly endless Ibrox narrative. If these supporters cannot place their hopes and trust in one of their own, then all trust and all hope might perish for good. Throughout the past three years of turmoil and the relentless chaos unleashed upon them by the Whtyes, Greens, Ahmads and Stockbridges, King has been viewed by the boots on the ground consistently as the man most likely to save them from their plight. Unlike all the characters above and even former chairman Sir David Murray, who played his part in lumbering them with this list of charlatans in the first place, King shares a lifelong emotional attachment to the cause. In their eyes, the only difference between them are the millions King has stuffed in his bank account. If these people won the lottery tomorrow they’d have Rangers saved by Saturday. So it stands to reason King will one day feel a sense of duty to do the same. Does it not? It may be more pertinent to ask why has it taken him so long to take a stand? Or indeed to question if finally, this time, he intends to see it through to the end? Only King has the answers. What the rest of us do know, however, is his actions from here on in will determine his legacy. He’ll either go down in history as one of the all-time giants of the Rangers story. Or he will fail in his objective and risk being dismissed as a footnote. Either way the real Dave King biography is about to be written. Certainly his sudden re-emergence on to centre stage in the past few days appears to suggest his time is now. By pointing his big guns at the top of the marble staircase and taking on the current regime King has sent out a rallying cry to these supporters. They answered with one voice yesterday. They are with him all the way. This is as clear a case of “them v us” as Fergus McCann quite brilliantly utilised 20 years ago when he harnessed the power of the people to bludgeon down the big doors at Celtic Park. But McCann did more than simply talk a good game. When push came to shove the little man with the big bunnet also proved to have deep pockets and a willingness to empty them for Celtic’s benefit, as well as his own. King can quite legitimately point to the £20millon he previously pumped into Rangers as hard evidence of the colour of his own money. There has been a whispering campaign about this in recent weeks with shadowy suggestions that King quietly recouped around £18m worth of that investment. For the record this has been denied to me not just by King himself but also by Sir David Murray. The two men, incidentally, are no longer on speaking terms and have not been for a considerable time. Apparently, for 20 million different reasons. But even though King has had his fingers badly burned in the past it does seem reasonable to ask why he has remained on the outside looking in on this omnishambles for so long. Occasionally, he has dipped a toe in the water before scamper-ing back up the beach. Late last year for example he even arrived in Britain amid a great flurry of excitement, fluttered a few eye-lashes, held a few conversations and then retreated back to the solitude of his own world without nailing down a deal. King’s doubters, of which there are many, insist he has had ample opportunity to wade into this debacle and to buy his way into a position of power. In other words, to do a Fergus. It is worth remembering here, however, that King’s long-running tax issues first had to be resolved. With that in mind, he has only really become a viable player in this game in the last six months when he settled his affairs by agreeing to write a cheque for an eye-watering £44m. This is in itself creates another couple of issues. Not only does it pose an obvious question as to how much money he has left in the pot but also, King’s critics raise serious morality issues about the prospect of Rangers being saved by a man who was described as a “glib and shameless liar” by a South African judge and who faced a total of 322 criminal charges. Again, they have a point. Had, for example, Whyte appeared on the steps of the front door carrying baggage like this he would have been chased all the way down the length of Edmiston Drive and Rangers might have been spared from all this ignominy and suffering. But this is where King’s standing and status with the supporters kicks in. This, in fact, is what makes him an entirely unique case. King’s supporters remain convinced by his intentions to do only what is right for his football club. And that would be something of a first where this Rangers saga is concerned. They argue, quite correctly too, that there’s hardly a successful businessman to be found anywhere in the commercial world who has not attempted to run rings around the tax man. It is what these people do in order to maximise their profits. King is certainly no different in that regard. But what makes him stand out from the rest is his “Made In Castlemilk” credentials and the inbuilt sense of belonging which still brings his mum and sister to Ibrox every other week. There have been other wealthy good Samaritans along the way, such as Brian Kennedy and Jim McColl – men who clearly meant well but who ultimately just didn’t care quite enough to make the kind of sacrifices which will now be expected of King. This time the strong signals from South Africa really do indicate he is ready and willing to bear this almighty load, that he has now engaged fully into the fight for his club and he will not retreat until the war is won. With King now organising his travel plans and expected to pitch up in Glasgow some time soon the next few days and weeks will determine his fate and that of his football club. The King will either claim his rightful throne. Or abdicate the potty once and for all.

Because of my ongoing interest in the future direction of the club I have deliberately avoided immersing myself in the day-to-day "noise level" that is being played out in the media. By doing this I had hoped to serve as a bridge between non-aligned stakeholders and the club, as well as seeking a way forward that could accommodate all interests. I no longer believe that I can achieve this with the board that is presently in place. I consequently wish to update the fans on my current position. Late last year I travelled to Scotland in an attempt to find a way forward that would accommodate all parties and ensure sound corporate governance and sound financial planning for the club. Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain. During this period I made it clear to the board that I am a potential source of funding by way of a new capital injection. My prime condition is that any funds introduced by me would go into the club for the benefit of the team and the dilapidating infrastructure. For the avoidance of doubt, I appreciate that the Rangers board has no obligation to engage with me or to agree with my vision for the future of Rangers. My assessment is that the business is not commercially sustainable in the short term and hence requires a level of soft investment. The board is focusing on right-sizing the business ie. cutting costs to match the income. It is correct that anyclub must, over the long term, operate within its means but in the short term Rangers needs a significant once-off financial boost that cannot be met from the current revenue stream. Without this we will not get back to where we should be. If we cut our costs to suit our present income we will remain a small club and Celtic will shoot through 10 in a row - and beyond - while we slug it out for the minor places. That is not the Rangers that I grew up with and not the Rangers that we should be passing down to our children and grandchildren. Such a soft investment will only come from a fan based group that regard their return as winning trophies in the top flight. I have been such an investor and want to be so again. I would like to lead a fan-based initiative to acquire an influential shareholding in the club. I hope that the board will belatedly recognise the importance ofcommunicating with fans on the true state of the club's finances.Financial transparency should now be a non-negotiable requirement of the fans prior to investing in season tickets. It is an easy deflection for the board to suggest that it has had insufficient time or that it is restricted by AIM regulations. That is simply not true. Legitimate concerns about the club's financial position have been voiced for a long time. It should have been the board's number one priority to provide the comfort that the fans need - if it is able to do so. Craig Whyte employed exactly the same reasons for avoiding disclosure of the true financial state of the club during his ill-fated period of ownership. The board has previously dealt with queries around the club's finances by giving categoric assurances that there was sufficientfunding until the end of the season. We now know that these assurances were untrue and that emergency financing has been put in place on terms that are not commercial and that indicate the desperate financial position that the club is in. This lack of transparency on the present and projected funding position isextremely worrying. The Craig Whyte purchase would never have happened if the true source of "his" funds had been known. Similarly, the fans would not have purchased season tickets at that time if they had known that their funds were going out of the club. The fans lost their cash and almost lost their club. So now, at this critical time, I remind fellow supporters of the old adage - fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. The fans have no proper insight into the owners of the club and who represents which shareholders on the board. The board has strenuously resisted any attempt by the fans to find out who key shareholders are. What is known is that the current board members have a very minor stake in the club. Rangers has also developed an extremely un-Rangers like culture of "turning on its own". It is not in Rangers culture to have spin-doctors that feed information to the media in an attempt to damage our own players, management, potential investors, and supporters. Much of what has been fed to the media is clearly untrue or exaggerated. Ultimately, it is in the hands of the existing shareholders (through the board) to decide to issue new shares to investors. There is a clear reluctance to do this at the present time and the reasons for this can only be speculated upon. Undoubtedly, the club requires a significant injection of new equity from existing or new shareholders but this will take some time to put in place. A proper financial evaluation will have to be undertaken and all the necessary AIM requirements etc. complied with. Clearly, by not having acted sooner the board is making it clear that it has decided to rely on the fans' cash once again. The big question is- "What can fans do to protect themselves but still assist the team and management"? Fans must remember that the purchase of a season ticket is essentially an individual loan from the fan to the company until such time as all games are played. No banker would lend money to a company without knowing its true financial position. Unless the board departs from its present stance of opacity the fans will be asked to lend money to the company with no security and with no comfort that the loan advance is not going into a financial black-hole. It must be stressed that the board was happy to give security to Laxey Partners for the recent facility as well as a massive return on this short-term loan. It seems wrong that, if the board gets its way, these new loans will be repaid from interest free and unsecured loans provided by long suffering fans. If the board does not provide disclosure to the fans then it is time to draw a line in the sand. I propose that the fans buy the season tickets only on one of the two following bases; 1. The fans pay the season ticket money into a trust and the funds are released to the club on a "pay-as-they-play" basis. 2. The fans pay the season ticket money into a trust and the funds are released in full to the club but against security of the club property until such time as all games are played. In that way the fans will have some protection from a future event of failure if the board cannot bridge the funding gap that clearly exists. Additionally, the fans should insist on a board appointee prior to renewing their season tickets, to look after their interests. I also suggest that the following questions be put to the board on condition that satisfactory answers must be given prior to fans agreeing to make cash from season ticket sales available to the club. 1. Will the board provide legally binding assurances that the club is a going concern and has sufficient funds and/or facilities in place for the 2014/2015 season. 2. Will the board undertake that none of the proceeds from season ticket sales will be used to settle any financial obligation that arose prior to receipt of the season ticket monies by the club. 3. Will the board confirm that the club assets continue to be unencumbered. 4. Will the board explain its previous statements that the club had sufficient cash resources to last until the end of the season. I previously invested 20 million pounds in the club and lost it all.Like all Rangers fans I continue to loyally support the team and the manager. I am willing to provide funding again but I do not believe that Rangers should be under the control of one owner/benefactor. We have already seen the damage that has been caused at Rangers (and many other clubs) when the club becomes a hostage to thefluctuating whims and wealth of a single owner. I see my role as being the lead investor of a like-minded consortium that will invest in the club, along with the supporters, without the "short-sightidness" of an immediate return on investment. An immediate return on investment will guarantee a non-immediate return of the team to the top flight. The fact that it believes it can proceed as it is doing without financial transparency makes two major statements about the board's thinking. First, they have correctly understood the fierce and unbending loyalty that Rangers fans display towards the club and the team at a time of common difficulty. Secondly, they have seriously misunderstood this loyalty as being something they can take for granted and offer nothing in return. We shouldn't allow that to continue. At this critical juncture, the fans control the funding that the board is relying on. How we proceed will determine our club's future.

GORDON backs Hearts' incoming chairwoman to revive the club while lamenting the damage done by the would-be saviours at Ibrox. THE definition of altruism: When the answer to the question “What’s in it for you?” is “Nothing”. That’s Ann Budge for you. Sixty-five years old, self-made multi-millionaire, family woman, treasures her privacy and relative anonymity, sees her Saturday afternoons as sacred time with her daughter and grand-daughter in Section D of the Wheatfield. What could possibly be in it for her to commit herself to four or five years inside the washing machine of Scottish football? Nothing. Not a single thing. Which is why Hearts fans should be eternally grateful that she has. And, as I wrote back in September, Rangers fans should be peering east, mournfully lamenting what they could have had. The deal to take Hearts out of administration and forward is the result of months of good leadership, good governance, good PR, good organisation and, most of all, good intentions. And what they’ve emerged with is the perfect template for the handover from tyranny to the terraces. Make no mistake, Budge’s role will not be passive. She’s no figurehead. She’s real. Incongruously, for fan ownership to succeed in the long run, they’re going to need her to be a strong individual, making hard-headed decisions that would be impossible to arrive at if the club were being run by committee. Her job is to hand Hearts over in the best financial health she can create in as short a time as possible. And the only way that won’t happen is if Jambos fail to live up to their end of the bargain. That’s why they’re lucky to have her. She’s the anti-Craig Whyte, the anti-Charles Green. As executive chair, she’ll be working five days a week pro bono. She’ll be arriving at conclusions plenty may disagree with but the one thing no one can dispute is that she’s doing it for anyone’s benefit other than Hearts. There’s a legal agreement that she has to hand the club over to the Foundation as and when they hit their pre-agreed targets. She can’t change her mind, can’t flog them to a predator who fancies the place for himself when they’re back on an even keel. What that means is the fans have to create the bank of last resort for the club with their membership scheme, the financial cushion for the months where there’s a shortfall, where the season ticket money has run dry and the commercial income is a struggle. All they have to be able to do is prove that in the absence of support from an actual bank, they will never get back to the day when the wages won’t be in the bank. And there’s no reason they can’t. At the moment the Foundation of Hearts bring in £130,000 a month in direct debits. That’s £1.5million a year as your slush fund. The season tickets, corporate and commercial income, sponsorship, catering and anything else they can raise funds from provides their working capital. If they do all that? If they create a model that washes its face? There’s no reason why a club of their stature, with their support, can’t be golden in four years’ time. And in the meantime? What a Championship it’s going to be next year. A tale of two clubs from two cities whose stories over the past two years may as well have come from two different planets. The team who’ve done everything right to get out of administration against the team who’ve had every wrong imaginable done to them. Rangers will be looking at Hearts and thinking, “If only...” To be fair, their Supporters’ Trust still have faith they can make it happen. But when they needed the kind of altruism Budge offered Hearts, they got shafted. Twice. When they needed a Jim McColl, he ran shy. And when they needed unity of purpose, they fragmented. Even now, their intentions may be there. But neither the Easdales nor Dave King as a potential investor seems prepared to engage in the idea that the club need a move towards fan membership and ownership for the long-term good. They’re still saddled by the “What’s in it for me?” brigade and as long as the answer is “plenty”, they’re fighting a losing battle. But you know what? Despite the fact that Hearts’ total budget next year will probably be around the £1million mark, less than 20 per cent of Rangers’, if it’s spent well, they could challenge the assumption the Ibrox club will stroll through that league the way they’ve strolled through the last two. If they can get 16,000 inside Tynecastle every week, create a cause the way Hibs did when they went down in 1998, the way Rangers’ fans did when they went into the bottom tier? Keep the best of their kids, get a few course and distance guys in to help them when the embargo goes? Get a little momentum going? It’s going to be a hell of a race. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gordon-waddell-altruistic-ann-budge-3151057

Glad to see Jose Mourinho getting brought back to earth. His comments are beginning to get boring and as Arsenal probably wont win the league I hope City do it. City have grown on me this season, I didn't like them under Mancini but Pellegrini has come in and bought professionalism to the club and a much better brand of football. It would be nice to see him get 1 over Mourinho.

.........and steer club into fan control 1 Feb 2014 07:56 PAUL GOODWIN believes the Light Blues legions could own the Ibrox club within 18 months following successful attempts by Hearts and Motherwell. SUPPORTERS DIRECT chief Paul Goodwin believes Rangers fans can assume control of their troubled club within 18 months. Goodwin, the head of SD in Scotland, has long championed the importance of community ownership within our national game. And he is convinced the Ibrox faithful can overthrow the current regime – providing they mobilise themselves into one powerful movement and start pulling in the same direction. At the moment there are four main fan organisations – The Rangers Supporters Trust, The Rangers Assembly, The Rangers Supporters Association and the Sons of Struth – with all groups battling for supremacy. But Goodwin, who helped oversee fan buy-outs at Stirling Albion, Clyde, Dunfermline and East Stirling has called for them to unite as one. Indeed, given the lack of trust in the current board, the lack of transparency, the current climate of financial uncertainty along Edmiston Drive and the plunging share price, he reckons this is an ideal opportunity to get the bandwagon rolling. Goodwin said: “I believe if the Rangers fans united, and that is the key, into one cohesive unit there is no reason why they can’t own the club within 18 months. “At the moment we have 8000 Hearts supporters paying £20 a month as they move towards fan ownership and if you have 20,000 Rangers fans doing the same you can go out and buy shares because it is a liquid market. “The simple maths say 20,000 fans paying £20 a month would give you £4.8million in a year. “It just needs the right type of people to pull that together and that is the hard part for Rangers. “I don’t have any doubt it can be done. SD have been working in conjunction with clubs right across Europe. “In Greece you have Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and there are plenty of clubs in Spain, Poland and France who are also going down this route. “Hearts are the biggest we know of in this country going down the route of fan ownership at the moment.” The Rangers share price has plummeted in recent months, from 70p to just 26p and for just over £4m, fans would be able to command a 25 per cent stake in the club. And Goodwin insists the Ibrox outfit’s supporters have nothing to lose pursuing the community ownership route having given their backing to the Craig Whyte and Charles Green regimes with catastrophic consequences. He said: “I believed that Rangers being placed into administration represented a significant window of opportunity to buy the club. “Of course, as we know, this didn’t happen for a variety of reasons; mostly because for many years the fans had been divided and ruled by previous owners of the club and had been left without a united voice, forced to pick sides in amongst political infighting. “Time has moved on and Rangers have unfortunately continued to be dogged by further challenges at the back end of the administration process. “It could have been so different if a credible fans’ bid had been used to galvanise the Ibrox faithful as we have seen at Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Portsmouth down in England and of course at Hearts. “Rangers supporters in the past have been used to following leaders whether it be Paul Murray, Craig Whyte or somebody else. “This is breaking the mould and now they don’t have to follow anybody. “What can the objection be? “It can give the fans the empowerment to pick exactly who they want to represent them. “We have four clubs in Scotland that are currently fan owned and we have another four waiting in the wings – Annan, Ayr, Motherwell and Hearts. It is the way forward because there is no other route.” Goodwin confirmed he has already spoken with supporters’ representatives from Rangers. He said: “I have been talking with them over the past 10 days and I will continue that dialogue to see whether there is something we can do. “There is a real opportunity here and I don’t think there is anything to lose. “We can advise and consult but it is ultimately up to them. “Some people have to emerge from the shadows and then we can give them all the support possible.” Goodwin was speaking at the launch of ‘The Colour of our Scarves’ initiative which has been organised by Supporters Direct to help highlight the issue of sectarianism. World renowned photographer Stuart Roy Clarke has been commissioned to produce a series of images captured at every senior ground in Scotland. The project has been funded by the Scottish government and Goodwin is hoping the sectarianism problem can be tackled through imagery rather than words. He said: “We wanted to try to demonstrate through Stuart’s amazing pictures that all fans are the same, apart from the scarves around their necks. “It is the same emotions that bind us all together and that was the reasons behind the project. “We are going round every single ground and also doing loads of workshops in schools and colleges. “It is becoming less of an issue but you need to keep working at it.” Clarke, who singled out Aberdeen as his favourite fans to photograph, has been amazed by the reaction to his pictures which will be on show at a touring exhibition around the country over the next 18 months. He said: “The response has been overwhelming. “While I like banter and edginess I don’t like hatred so hopefully this project can make a small difference to a big problem.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/supporters-direct-chief-calls-rangers-3100404

“There’s a well upon the hill from our ancient past Where an age is standing still holding strong and fast And there’s those that try to tame it and to carve it into stone Ah but words cannot extinguish it however hard they’re thrown” I have to confess to giving in to one of my vices on Saturday. Despite now declaring myself a non-smoker, if truth be told I occasionally indulge in the odd puff, perhaps about 8 times a year in total.I have to say Saturday’s indulgence in the Wee Rangers Club had unexpected benefits. Those who are familiar with the “Smoking Area” at this establishment will know that the gantry affords a view of the Campsie Fells, with the peak of Dumgoyne just visible. These hills stand like towering guardians watching over our city. They are to Glasgow what the Pentlands are to Edinburgh, the Sidlaws to Dundee and the Ochils to Stirling. They have an enduring quality to them. earned by maintaining such a presence despite the ravages of nature throwing everything it has at them over countless years. And that thought comforted me in lieu of the latest attack on our club by Phil MacGiollaBhain, referring to us as “Stalag Sevco”. This one can be added to his previous soundbites of “Herrenvolk” “Klan” and “Underclass”. It’s not particularly difficult to see the theme which is developing here. Sadly. Mr MacGiollaBhain has been assisted in his endeavours by some in the mainstream media who have been only too willing to repeat such soundbites. For a self-confessed Celtic fan Mr MacGiollaBhain appears to spend a lot of his time writing and tweeting about Rangers. In fact his book – Downfall – not surprisingly is about Rangers. And whilst many cite the Sun comments about Mr MacGiollaBhain as being “tarred with a sickening sectarian brush” perhaps the Scotsman’s review of his book is more telling :- “The sirens started to sound at the first of several references to Rangers supporters as “the Ibrox klan”. The author makes no attempt to disguise his hatred for Rangers, stating at one stage “please let this football club die”. And yet he yearns to be taken seriously as a journalist, repeatedly complaining that no-one from the mainstream media ever calls him. As the tale unravels, Mac Giolla Bhain starts to disappear up his own rear, declaring: “I am aware of my own contribution and I rather like the guy I see in the shaving mirror every morning.” These are two classic mistakes: believing you are the story, and wanting a story to be true. When it’s not.” Which makes you wonder – if a man who “makes no attempt to disguise his hatred for Rangers” – can carve a career for himself courtesy of that hatred – shouldn’t a few more sirens be sounding in this country of ours ?

Barry Ferguson after Blackpool's game against Reading tonight: "It's a tough job management, in general, but apart from the result tonight, I really enjoyed it." Reading won 5 - 1. Barry, you haven't lost it son.