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Alasdair Lamont @BBCAlLamont 33m Rangers chief exec Graham Wallace on £320k pa + 100% bonus. Plus £25k salary increase as Rangers move up leagues. More to follow.
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Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 59m #Rangers U20 team v Falkirk: Kelly; Pascazio, Halkett, Gasparotto, Sinnamon; Stoney, Telfer, Crawford, Murdoch, Ramsay; Gallagher 13' - Robbie Crawford nets with a fine finish to put the Light Blues ahead from the edge of the area. Just the start Gers wanted! 35' - Danny Stoney takes advantage of a defensive lapse to race in on goal and score through the keeper's leg. It's 2-0 to #Rangers now! 39' - GOAL RANGERS!!! That's 3-0 now against Falkirk as Charlie Telfer scores to stretch the lead further at Westfield 39' - Telfer stroked home with a lovely low finish in off the keeper's far post to put #Rangers firmly in command of this match. 3-0
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Up on BBC: Rangers' former commercial director Imran Ahmad is to go back to court on Tuesday as he seeks to have more than  £500,000 frozen in the club's account. In February, Lord Tyre disagreed with Ahmad's claim that Rangers were trading while insolvent. Now, with doubts over season ticket sales, Ahmad is concerned about Rangers' ability to pay out should he win his ongoing legal battle with them. The two parties are in dispute over his claim for unpaid bonuses. At the February hearing, Lord Tyre made his decision in Rangers' favour because of what he described as the cyclical nature of a football club's finances. Since then, Rangers have made it clear that a significant drop in season ticket sales would leave them unable to trade without seeking external finance. The chairman of Rangers' football board Sandy Easdale also told BBC Scotland the League One champions are in a "fragile situation". Rangers will again have to satisfy a judge at the Court of Session that they can continue to trade, with the implications of the decision going in Ahmad's favour next week potentially devastating for the board. I reckon he'll get it frozen this time. Wasn't the reason it was declined before because there wasn't enough evidence to say the club was in financial hardship? IMO this is to put pressure on fans to renew season tickets. They are all in it together. How on earth can he get that money ring fenced when the contract he had was pie in the sky ffs..
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http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2014/05/dave-king-time-to-step-up-and-pay.html?spref=tw
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.......are ruining the game for everyone. IN the aftermath of the shameful Glasgow Cup Final BARRY FERGUSON asks the hooligans to calm down and think about the damage they are doing to their own clubs and the players on the field. SINCE I started writing this column back in August I have mentioned many, many times how proud I am of the Scottish game. I talk it up all the time down here, even though a lot of the English lads like to write it off as Mickey Mouse. And even though, in my heart of hearts, I know that recently I’ve been fighting a losing battle. All the recent problems have taken a heavy toll on our game and, as a result, it has come through a couple of very difficult seasons. But I have always been confident that over time we’d get it back on track. More than anything I looked forward to the next Old Firm derby. I told myself that as soon as that fixture was back we’d have something to boast about again. Something worth ramming down the throats of all those people down here who are so quick to tell me the Scottish game is dying. Something that will make the whole world sit up and take notice. But you know what? After what went on at Celtic Park on Monday night at the Glasgow Cup Final, I find myself changing my mind. In all honesty, I’m beginning to dread the thought of it. Because if these supporters can’t behave themselves at an Under-17 match then, really, what hope is there? Listen, no one knows more about this rivalry than I do. I was born and bred on it. And, yes, it’s got me into some trouble over the years. I’ve seen fans falling out of the top tier at Celtic Park, referees getting their heads split open by coins thrown from the stands and I’ve even ended up fighting on the streets of Bothwell because I got caught up in the madness of it all and acted like an idiot myself. That was just one of the many mistakes I made and learned from. But I’m serious when I say I believe the current climate is like nothing I’ve ever known in all my time. It’s becoming downright evil – and that’s not a word I use lightly. Maybe the fact that the two sides have been separated by different leagues has made things worse because the game itself can act like a pressure valve. Without it, the tensions and hatred have been simmering away, the resentment building up and up. That’s why I worry about what might happen whenever the first teams next meet. What are we going to end up with? World War III? All live in HD on Sky Sports? There is a real danger here that the one fixture which should make Scottish football feel good about itself could turn into a national embarrassment and I take absolutely no pleasure in saying that. The truth is, Monday was not a one-off as there was similar trouble at last year’s Glasgow Cup Final at Firhill. I just wish these clowns would calm it down a bit and think about the damage they are doing not just to their own clubs but to the young players on the field. I have to say it’s those youngsters I feel most sorry for. As a kid I played in a few of these kind of games at various levels all the way up to the reserves. I remember playing in a Glasgow Cup Final at the age of 17 at Ibrox in front of several thousand fans. I was only about 5ft 2in and weighed around three stone at the time. But what an experience it was. When you’re that age you’re only used to playing in front of crowds of a couple of hundred at the most. So to get thrown into an occasion like that was unbelievable. It was a tester – a chance to show that you were cut out to take the next step. That playing in a big arena with a hostile atmosphere wasn’t going to faze you. An opportunity to lay a marker down to people and to show the boss you are ready for the big team. If any young kid can thrive on the buzz and the atmosphere generated at games like that, he’s got a chance. Yes, it was noisy. Yes, both sets of fans were winding each other up. And at times it got a bit tasty on the pitch because the players got caught up in it and there was some needle. But never was there even a hint of trouble. It was what it was – a kids’ game. It was a watered-down version of the real thing – a stepping stone for boys like myself to learn from and in which to gain experience. And that’s why I feel so sorry for the kids who played on Monday night. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I’m seriously worried for them. I genuinely believe the behaviour of the crackpots in the stands is going to have an adverse effect on the development of these youngsters because if these games are now played behind closed doors, it will take away a huge part of their education as budding Celtic or Rangers players. I feel awful for them because I know exactly how they would have been thinking. At 17, playing a cup final at Parkhead, with 8000 fans in the ground? That’s the biggest night for their young lives. But since coming off that park they must be wondering if anyone was even watching. Hardly a thing has been written about them or the game itself. The journalists should have been writing about Celtic’s up-and-coming right-back or the next Rangers central midfielder. Instead, we’ve had four days solid now of discussion and debate about a shower of halfwits in the stands. And now, because of their behaviour, these kids are going to be deprived of the chance to play in a game like that again. I hope they are proud of themselves. I was at Murray Park a few weeks ago to watch Rangers play Celtic’s Under-20s. A game like that should be bringing in over 10,000 people – but it was watched by mums and dads and a handful of others like myself, there by invitation only. That wasn’t fair on the players who want to showcase their talents to Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon. It wasn’t fair on the parents, who want to see their kids play on the biggest stage. And it wasn’t fair on the hundreds or thousands of decent supporters who would like to take a look at the next generation of players. These idiots are ruining it for everyone. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barry-ferguson-love-scottish-football-3485582
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A truly wonderful eulogy written by Andy Steel for the site on the day of Sandy's funeral in Edinburgh. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/241-sandy-jardine-a-tribute
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@Martin1Williams: Sons of Struth to hand out red cards to allow #Rangers fans to protest against the board & their business review at Dunfermline
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http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/1347-chairman-offers-clarification
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Yet another good article with the questions a lot of fans have been asking plus some that have never been brought up before. Wednesday, 30th April 2014 In a week that saw the board of Rangers conclude their 120 day review into the business, Season Ticket renewals across the country are in various stages of action, with Dave King and the "Union of Fans" encouraging Season Ticket holders to pay their season ticket monies in to an Escrow account that is intended to hold and release funds when Rangers sign over securities for the Albion Car Park and Edmiston House to Season Ticket holders. With many of our members expressing concern that the "Season Ticket Trust" hasn't been made clear to them, we believe it is appropriate to seek clarity by asking the following questions of Dave King, and the "Union of Fans". It should be noted that we also have concerns about the 120 Day Review, and how the club plan to bridge an apparent cash flow shortfall, with the club £1.5M down before next season has even started Q - Has an Escrow account been set up yet? Q - If so, who is hosting that Escrow account facility, i.e. which bank? Q - Who are the Trustees of the account, other than Richard Gough? Q - How do I pay in to it? Q - If I pay in to it, what guarantees do I have over what seat I will be paying for, and that the seat will be in my name? Q - What written assurances do I get that the money will be returned, in the event that the assurances the Trust are requesting from Rangers are not granted? Q - What assurances, other than guarantees over Rangers owned assets have the Trust requested? Q - 66.6% of the loan value, not including interest, is due to Rangers Supporters Trust board member George Letham. Don't the Trust feel that withholding funds to Rangers runs the risk of Rangers defaulting on the loan to Mr Letham, and thereby Mr Letham theoretically stands to gain £1.075M worth of shares in Rangers International Football Club? Q - Can George Letham confirm what his plans are regarding his holdings if that share value is transferred to him, namely, will he retain ownership and voting rights, or will he proxy votes to the Rangers Supporters Trust (RST)? Q - For those who sign up for Away Tickets, how will they get tickets in future? Q - Do current Travel Club members stand to lose travel club points by using this Trust? Q - How will Richard Gough act as Guarantor as a resident of the USA? Q - What are the Administration costs of the Escrow account, and how will they be funded? Q - In the event that Rangers are willing to compromise over loan securities, with the agreement of Sandy Easdale and George Letham, who will become the signatory for these assets on behalf of Season Ticket holders Q - Do shareholders that live abroad with a shareholding in value higher than the price of a season ticket get any security? Q - Why was there no mention of the Season Ticket Trust, or any information about it in the UoF leaflet handed out last week? Q - Will the Trust facilitate split payments like those offered by the club to pay for Season Tickets (through Zebra finance over 4 or 10 months)? Q - Will Season Ticket Holders who have sat in their seat for a number of years be able to secure "their" seat at Ibrox, or will they stand to lose "their" seat? Q - Will money deposited accrue any interest? If so, what will be done with that money? Q - Where will the interest payments be shown? Q - Who decides exactly when the money will be released to the club and in what form? Q - Will the custodians of the account be separate and distinct from the organisations who wish only for the board's removal? Q - Will every member have a say in when the money should be released? Q - What exactly does the board need to do (beyond what they have) to make the monies available? Q - What lines of communication have been opened with the club to urgently discuss the aims of this project? Q - Who exactly has the authority to negotiate with the club? Q - How often will fans putting money into this scheme be updated of progress and by what medium? Q - What other transparency is guaranteed by way of communicating to those who pay in to the scheme? Q - Are other Rangers supporters' organisations involved in this scheme? Q - Are the Rangers supporters trust or any of their senior or high profile members involved at the core of this? Q - Will there be a board of Trustees in the scheme, and if so, how will they be elected? Q - How can supporters and contributors become involved to influence the decisions being made? Q - Are any previous board members of any of Rangers corporate entities, other than Dave King, involved? If so, at what level? Q - Are there any conditions attached to the Trust that require a nominee of the Trust to join the PLC board or the football club board of Rangers? Q - If so, how will that nominee be chosen? Q - Will the Trust be VAT Registered? Q - If the board acquiesce to UOF demands who will then hold first charge/security on the stadium rights to our club? Q - What IT problems could possibly delay implementation of the Trust? We trust that the relevant people involved in the Trust will both answer these questions and make themselves known to Rangers supporters, who are understandably cautious about contributing their hard earned money to a scheme that appears to carry a high element of risk. We feel that supporters should seek clarity both from the PLC board of the club, over their plans for the future, and from those promoting the Season Ticket Trust.
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Long article and rambling open letter on DR website RE: investor Alan MacKenzie and Dave King http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-investor-urges-dave-king-3482599?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter -
Firstly allow me to clarify something – the content of this blog and the information shared is done so with the express permission of the Union of Fans – following a full and frank discussion between myself and Chris Graham. Those who are interested in the finer details and legal aspects of the Season Ticket Trust are probably going to be disappointed; any queries you have will have to wait until the ST Trust website is up and operational. What I did ask however was this: If the board acquiesce to UOF demands who will then hold first charge/security on the stadium rights to our club ? The answer, as many undoubtedly suspected, is Dave King and Richard Gough, under the auspice of Dave King’s new company, Ibrox 1972 Ltd. Quite simply as far as The UOF are concerned it all boils down to a question of trust, and they trust King more, far more, than they do the current board. It is all hypothetical of course, dependent on their scheme being successful, the Rangers board acquiescing to their demands and relinquishing the security for both stadium and Auchenhowie. Many will have realised by now this would mean handing over the security of our club’s 2 biggest assets to 2 men who currently are not even shareholders in our club. They will not be accountable to the board or to shareholders, which at least in theory, is the current status quo. I hope for the sake of our club, should this scenario ever come to fruition, that the UOF have exercised sound judgement in their assessment of Dave King, otherwise it will qualify as a blunder on a scale of magnitude with the ill-fated Men of Troy. As the current board and King, with their respective aide-de-camps, battle vigorously for not only our hearts and minds, but also our season ticket monies, the whole debate has become extremely polarised, the language and tone war like, with little opportunity for either constructive or conciliatory dialogue. The problem is however that the dominant voices in the debate do not necessarily reflect the feelings of our support. Keith Jackson touched on this last week in an article when he referred to the silent majority of the Rangers support – the ones who have no interest in off-field politics and whose sole interest is turning up each week to see the Rangers. Furthermore the polarisation of the situation and debate fails to take cognisance of fans who have no confidence in the current board but who are equally unenamoured by Dave King. Rather than choose between the two best prospective candidates it is more akin to choosing the lesser of 2 evils. A particularly sad indictment of where we currently are as a club. To date, the considerable failings of governance by our current board which I highlighted in a previous blog, remain unresolved. In particular the veracity of the 120 day review remains under question as a consequence of claims by the Daily Record regarding the withdrawal of credit and debit card provision. Before we file these claims as the ranting of a “Rangers hating rhag” perhaps we should check the filing cabinet – look under “BBC & Craig Whyte”. I can only re-iterate the warning of a previous blog – we cannot afford to make the same mistakes of the past. A few have commented on the madness of the situation facing us as a support. With trepidation, and a tinge of embarrassment, I quote from Dan Brown’s book Inferno, “Madness breeds madness” The Rangers support should bookmark this moment in time, with its paucity of choice, for a future date, when next we sit down with any conviction to consider the merits of fan ownership.
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Wallace about to come under greater scrutiny re assets. Also, his man Tyrrell speaking to BBC behind McCoist's back. Today's Sun back page a deliberate attempt by sports editor Ian king - been called by Wallace - to discredit McCoist. Hardly subtle Ian. Put on twitter by someone who has been very insightful recently.
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A man has been arrested accused of racially insulting Barcelona defender Dani Alves by throwing a banana at him, Spanish police say. Police said 26-year-old David Campayo Lleo was arrested. Spanish media are reporting he has been fired from a role on the coaching staff of one of Villarreal's youth teams after the arrest. But Villarreal would not confirm nor deny reports about Mr Campayo Lleo's role with the club when questioned about their authenticity. He faces from one to three years in prison if found guilty of charges related to racist provocation. Villarreal has already banned Mr Campayo Lleo from the team's El Madrigal Stadium for life. The Spanish league is expected to hand down punishment after the incident was listed in the referee's match report of Barcelona's 3-2 win at Villarreal on Sunday. Alves picked up the banana and took a bite, provoking a social media campaign against racism in support of the Brazilian player, who is black. Barcelona teammate Neymar was the first to post a picture of himself with a banana, leading to a flood of football players and other figures, celebrities and world politicians doing likewise. Alves said if he had his way, he would post Mr Campayo Lleo's picture on the internet to shame him. Villarreal said president Fernando Roig would be meeting supporters' groups to ensure such behaviour was not replicated after Alves called Spain "backward" and said there is "prejudice against foreigners because of race and colour". The player has been subjected to racist taunts before, and black players Marcelo, Samuel Eto'o, and England's black players have also been on the receiving end of well-publicised racist behaviour by Spanish fans. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/man-held-over-alves-banana-incident.1398862560
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THEY were dismissed, by some at least, as troublemakers with personal grievances against Rangers. They were accused of being opportunists who were simply after a place on the Ibrox board without spending a penny of their own money. But now the grave fears they expressed about their beloved club have been shown to be far more than just scaremongering. Scott Murdoch, Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray and Alex Wilson all failed in their bids to be elected directors at the Rangers agm in December. The backing of many institutional investors and major shareholders ensured the existing incumbents were all returned by sizeable margins. Yet, the Requisitioners, as they became known, have since been vindicated in their view that all was far from well behind the scenes at the club. And their prediction that limited funds would run dry without fresh investment - which they had managed to line-up - has also been proved to be accurate. The revelations contained in the 120-day business review carried out by Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace, then, came as no surprise to the group. "I read the review on Friday and noted what Mr Wallace had to say about the previous regimes and how they conducted their business with alarm and interest," said Wilson today. "To be honest, it is what we as a Gang of Four were saying in the build-up to the agm. "We also had a degree of disbelief that the club had enough money to see it through to the end of the season. "We had no inside information. It was just a general feeling. If you looked at the existing funds and the cash burn and then tracked forward you could see it running out. "Everything that we said was going wrong was indeed going wrong. Everything that we said we felt was going to happen has transpired. It is really, really, really frustrating." A complaint has been made to Police Scotland about Wallace allegedly misleading shareholders at the agm by stating the club had enough money to see out the season. Wilson said: "Whether Mr Wallace knew or not is for the police to investigate. "He had a financial director, Brian Stockbridge, who we had no confidence in and we said he was a disgrace at the time." But the Scot, who has worked in HR for multinational companies including BT, Ford, Guinness and ICI during a successful 40-year business career, feels another matter should be scrutinised. He was taken aback by an interview that shareholder Sandy Easdale gave to BBC Scotland last Thursday - the day before the review was released to the London Stock Exchange. Easdale revealed the Rangers finances were "fragile" and then expressed the belief that the Ibrox club would be unable to survive a second administration. Wallace distanced himself from the comments made by the bus tycoon in a series of media interviews on Friday. However, Wilson agrees wholeheartedly with the Union of Fans who have publicly called for club chairman David Somers to look into the matter. He said: "I have worked on boards before. Stuff like that is price sensitive. Speaking publicly about it breaks all sorts of stock exchange rules. "Mr Easdale is not on the main board. So how did he have access to that information? "If a board member has price sensitive information and has released it to another individual it should be looked at. "The director responsible should, at the very least, be censured." Somers broke cover to issue a firm denial of the "odious and unfounded" allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" against Wallace on Monday night. But there was no mention of the remarks made by Mr Easdale who has been accused of an "utter lack of corporate governance" by the Union of Fans. Wilson said: "The chairman has been notable by his absence and by his lack of comment on some of the issues which have arisen at the club. "If serious accusations are made, as has been the case, then you would expect the chairman to step forward and make a statement saying what will be done or saying that no action is necessary and why. "Graham Wallace's rebuttal of Sandy Easdale's remarks on Friday, when he said he doesn't speak for the board, was interesting. "Was he trying to save the situation with regards to price sensitive information being used?" Wilson was also scathing of the possibility that senior executives, including the chief executive, at Rangers could receive substantial bonuses at a time when staff are being made redundant. He said: "To make a ham-fisted approach to the players last year and ask them to take a 15% pay cut without at the same time taking an identical cut was a disgrace. "Again, I don't know what the situation with bonuses at the club is, but I would hope there is no executive on that board taking away a bonus when the finances are in such a parlous state. "We (the Requisitioners) said we would serve on the board for nothing. "Our purpose was not personal gain or self-aggrandisement. We were all prepared to work together for the good of the club." Lifelong Rangers fan Wilson, who has two season tickets at Ibrox and commutes to games from London, was also unhappy about supporters being blamed for the loss of credit and debit card facilities. It has been alleged that First Data withdrew their services in January - the month before fans were first urged to pool their season ticket money in a trust fund. Wilson added: "By all accounts, withholding season ticket money was not a serious proposition when they (First Data) first asked for security back in January. "I am sure that the action being taken by the Union of Fans has hardened their resolve. "But it has a lot more to do with just fans saying they were going to withhold season ticket money. "Once again, this smacks of the board looking to blame somebody else for the club's problems." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-requisitioners-warned-cash-storm-clouds-were-gathering-161584n.24094362 -
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Didn't see that scoreline coming last night. Munich 0-4 Real. Whatever happens now will be a interesting final as it will either be Real v Chelsea which is Ancelotti v Mourinho both managers facing their old club plus Mourinho and Ronaldo wanting to win it in their home country. Or it will be a Madrid derby.
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If the board acquiesce to UOF demands who will then hold first charge/security on the stadium rights to our club ?
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Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 5m 46' - Play gets underway again with #Rangers looking to regain the lead after Gallagher's goal was cancelled out by Erwin's penalty. 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 19m HT' - Gallagher's opener gave Gers a lead they merited by a foul by Hegarty on Erwin gave him the chance to level from the spot and he did Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 20m HT' - The whistle goes and it's a frustrating first period for #Rangers as they dominate, take a lead and are then pulled back. It's 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 26m 40' - Goal for Motherwell after a foul on Lee Erwin in the box, He takes the penalty and scores, despite Liam Kelly going the right way. 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 43m 22' - Robbie Crawford crossed from the left & Gallagher got above his man to steer home a magnificent header at the far post. 1-0 #Rangers! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 44m 22' - It's the breakthrough #Rangers have been wanting and one they merit for having the bulk of the play early on. Calum Gallagher scores! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 45m 22' - GOAL RANGERS! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth 1h 0' - Referee David Lowe gets the game underway in bright sunshine as #Rangers look for another three points to keep their title bid on track https://twitter.com/RFC_Youth?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gersnetonline.co.uk%2Fvb%2Fforum.php&profile_id=351838853&tw_i=461200012358471681&tw_p=embeddedtimeline&tw_w=382261353282412544
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By TheLawMan on RM
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Given all the talk about share issues , proxies , who own what , who has proxies for whom , here is an up to date position , ( stands back to be shot down ) , this is from the Rangers International Football club site on shares , http://www.rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/share-information. Sandy Easdale - owns 2,942,957 , proxies of 14,387,003 . This Includes all of BPH (4,000,000) and Margaritta 's 2,600,000 share holdings . Laxley owns -8,292,957 Artemis -5,749,000 River & Mercantile -4,795,500 Hargreave Hale - 4,601,888 BPH - Proxied to Sandy Easdale -4,000,000 Miton Capital -3,143,857 Mike Ashley_3,000,000 Margaritta ,Proxied to Sandy Easdale ,2,600,000 Cazanoza Capital - No longer shown as having a reportableholding Legal & General -No longer shown as having a reportable holding Dont know what this means exactly Currently, 16.24%+ of the Company’s Ordinary Shares are not in public hands. The Ordinary Shares are freely transferable and no Ordinary Shares are held in treasury. + Does not include the 14,387,003 Ordinary Share (representing 22.1% of the issued share capital of the Company) which Alexander Easdale has voting rights over pursuant to the terms of proxy agreements entered into with other shareholders. Should also point out this was last updated on the official site at the end of Jan 2014
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DAVE KING has savaged Rangers’ 120-day review and branded it good news for CELTIC fans. The former Ibrox director dismissed chief executive Graham Wallace’s findings — claiming an office junior could have produced the same in a day.
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Monday, 28 April 2014 10:30 Past Win Can Help Us Written by Andrew Dickson DAVID BROWNLIE hopes the fact Rangers have so many past winners in their team can help them retain the City of Glasgow Cup against Celtic tonight. The Light Blues will face their biggest rivals for the prestigious old trophy at Parkhead (7pm) as they look to build on four final successes in the last five years. Tickets are still available to season ticket holders only and they can purchase them from the Rangers Ticket Centre up until close of business at 4pm. Defender Brownlie turned out in the most recent final 12 months ago as Gers edged a cracking game 3-2 at Firhill. Played out in a raucous atmosphere in front of 6,500 fans, a Ryan Hardie goal and Junior Ogen’s double won the game for the Murray Park outfit. Both forwards will be involved again this evening along with under-17 skipper Brownlie and a number of other Auchenhowie starlets. There has been nothing between the two teams this season, with each having a 2-1 home win in the Glasgow Cup and also sharing a draw in the league. But where Billy Kirkwood’s team perhaps has an edge is in terms of the fact there are a number in his side who know what it takes to come out on top in the decider. Brownlie said: “In the first game we had a man sent off in the first 10 or 15 minutes when we were 1-0 up and they got a penalty then went on to win 2-1 in the last couple of minutes. “That was a bad one but we had to get on with it but we won the more recent match between us 2-1. “The victory helped us get out of the group stage of the competition plus it gave us a boost as a team ahead of this final. “On the night, it is 11 players against 11 and anything can happen and the fact we’ve got a lot of boys who experienced the final last year in our side can help. “We’ve the likes of Ryan and Junior who scored the goals in the last final plus people such as Michael Mossie and Adam Wilson as well as me. “There are a few in there who know what it takes and what it feels like to play in front of a passionate crowd and to have the composure required to win the game.” Supporters attending tonight's game should note there are car parking facilities in Dalriada St, off Janefield Street, for no charge. Rangers fans should approach Celtic Park from Kinloch Street. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/academy-news/item/6886-past-win-can-help-us -
... from Ibrox Noise. I know quite a few will jump in here and there, but maybe it would do good to read the article twice before go haring after specific things. Posted by Ibrox Noise at 10:26 It will come of no surprise that I agree with a lot IN has to say, including that I don't view the current status quo as ideal.
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Another day, another story in the anti-Rangers media designed to damage the club. And yet another collaboration between the Union of Fantasists and a notoriously Rangers-hating outlet. It is obvious that the rebel faction in the Ibrox support is prepared to fight as dirty as it gets after a so-called Rangers fan reported Graham Wallace for statements made at the AGM last December. It is clear that this is just mischief-making and a sordid attempt to tarnish Mr Wallace’s reputation and the board in general. I genuinely think that some of these people will not stop till they have destroyed The Rangers, so all-consuming is their hatred. It has been an open secret for a while that Graham Wallace was their next target. To be fair, I think Wallace himself has been naive about the extent to which the rebels will go. He is certainly under no illusions now. There are many fans who feel this has gone beyond whether or not you are pro or anti the board. The issue now is one of survival. The brutal reality is that Dave King and his supporters are playing a game of brinkmanship, hoping that the pressure of mob rule will force the board to hand over control of the club to them. But Dave King is more aware than anybody that the board have no power to do that. Any suggestion they would take that course of action would trigger the shareholders to junk the board and appoint a new one. In short, King knows he can only win if he is prepared to go all the way and force a second administration, from which the club may not recover. That would be a Pyrrhic victory. In other words, nobody would win except those who hate Rangers so much that they would be prepared to destroy the club. Many fans are anxious that there are those in the King camp prepared to do just that. For me, it’s always been as simple as this – seeing the lengths these people are prepared to go, I oppose them on principle. The board Rangers presently has was appointed by the democratic votes of shareholders. That is the normal and lawful way things are done in this country. To use mob rule to usurp power is indefensible and doomed to failure. The question is not can the rebels win? It is can the club survive their constant attempts to undermine progress? It is not about whether people support the board or not anymore. It is about the survival of Rangers Football Club. This attempt to grab control of Rangers by Bolshevist tactics has split families, destroyed friendships, turned bear upon bear and cheered the enemies of Rangers no end. Rangers fans are being threatened at games and people are being sickened to the point of threatening to stop going to watch the team. Anything this divisive and destructive cannot be a good thing. Behind it all are tycoons who won’t buy shares and blazer chasers who fawn upon them. Rangers fans need to unite and show support, not to the men who sit in the Directors Box or those who want to – but to the club itself. Propagandists have tried to tell us there is a difference between the tean amd the regime. But Rangers supporters need to look beyond that superficial division and understand that supporting The Rangers means you support Rangers Football CLUB. We have learned that the company running Rangers is not the club itself. Therefore, do not let anyone con you into thinking that supporting RFC is backing the board. It’s not the board that need the support, it is Rangers Football Club. If opposing the board results in destroying the club, how does that help anybody except those who hate Rangers? Rangers Football Club was formed in 1872/3. That is the club I support. Noit Dave King and the Union of Fantasists formed a few months ago.
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In response to a number of threads which kinda veer into polarised positions, I'd like to set out why I think the running of our club is in the wrong hands at present. I avoid calling them 'the board' because it's hard to remember who is actually on which board at the moment, who is responsible for what and who gets to lock the safe, so to speak. That in itself is a criticism of those at the top & I haven't even started! The two people who are most often seen & heard as our main people are Sandy Easdale & Graham Wallace. To begin with Mr Easdale: he's had a struggle to be accepted, since he came with baggage. I would be the last person to insist that to be a Rangers fan or official you need to sign up to the whole manifesto of beliefs. But when it comes to blazers, I do feel that 'not having been to jail to VAT fraud' is a broadly non-controversial opening qualification. This raises the philosophical debate about whether jail is for punishment or rehabilitation: as a lapsed socialist I see it more as the first than the second, since those who are there tend to have harmed society and, bluntly, society deserves to get a kick back. Even, however, if you lean toward rehabilitation, does Mr Easdale strike you as rehabilitated? The world of West Scotland's bus garages may not sound like the sort of place to find Sonny Corleone tied to a chair, but neither is it a clear, visible symbol of someone having learnt a hard lesson and overtly trying to do better. You could liken it to a pimp who is jailed, does his time and buys a strip club; not criminal, but not much use in persuading folk you are a reformed character. All this is speculation and could - who knows? - be most unfair on Mr Easdale. Nevertheless image counts and his image, which is now tied to our club, is not a good one. Coming with such baggage, he would have had a hard fight to get some fans, maybe puritan ones, onside in any event, but he has decided that steady, unobtrusive work with tangible results is not the way to go and plumped for issuing legal threats to fans, questioning the loyalty of fans, and blaming fans for the club's problems. Whether you agree with the man that he was being impugned unfairly, threatening Rangers fans while ignoring the libelous attacks of fans' of every other team in Scotland is, bluntly, an insane policy if the aim is to promote yourself as a trustworthy figure. The lack of the ability to think a situation through and deal with it is dismaying; when the UoF or Sos were at Murray Park last week for a photo-opportunity it showed how anyone with any sense ought to have dealt with it. His remarkable access to ST sales figures and the financial status of a plc of which he is not a board member could, you might argue, point to a searingly sharp analytical business mind. Graham Wallace certainly made it clear that Mr Easdale was speaking in a personal capacity as shareholder last Thursday; I wonder if every shareholder, should they chap Mr Wallace's door, would receive such detailed information as Mr Easdale apparently gets? Mr Wallace, Mr Wallace. His deflection of Mr Easdale's blatant presence as eminence grise didn't do much for his credibility either, which was a shame because he at least of all the players who have high-kicked their way across our stage in the last two seasons seemed to come without baggage and with, it seemed, the tools to get the job done. He didn't have to lay out his credentials, they were there to see. However, trying to sell the most obvious of nutmegs over Mr Easdale's position did not leave him looking very sharp and counts against him. If it has been disappointing to see him bullshit us over Mr Easdale's interview. It has been doubly disappointing to find out, a day after the event, that far from Rangers credit facility being withdrawn due to the actions of fans or agitators, it was withdrawn because credit companies see us as a bad risk. I'd urge you to consider for a moment that credit firms - the leeches, the parasites, who cause so much suffering by lobbing bales of cash at people in no state to repay them - even these people don't want to touch us. This is not, in my book, an achievement which goes down in Mr Wallace's 'debit' account and, although it cannot be exclusively laid at his door as 'his fault', his dealing with it has been pitiful and serves only to erode both trust and credibility. His legal case seems a little vindictive; frankly there are deals and tranches of missing money more deserving of investigation. I think Mr Wallace dealt well with the media following the 139 Day Fantasy press conference last Friday, and in an ideal world he could probably do the decent job we all hoped he would. But you have to assume he sanctioned or was at least asked about hiring Paul Tyrell a day before he announced job losses; on the one hand we know we have to cut costs, on the other cutting them to pay someone to defend he and the rest of The Keystone Kops seems grotesque. You have to assume he is going to take a bonus unless more pressure is brought to bear, since he declined to answer questions on the subject and that seems grotesque; you have to assume he was aware that it was not fan issues which led to the credit situation described above but decided to blame them anyway. That's a lot of assuming, but since Mr Wallace won't answer the questions what else can I do but assume? So my view of the 'current lot' is one person with a dreadful reputation and image who constantly engages in battle with the people he then asks for money and trust from; and another person who is either massively out of his depth or finds clarity and transparence subtle concepts to be moulded as needed. Neither inspire any confidence in me, not because I desire Dave King and his millions to bail us out, nor because I have a reflex condition which means anyone in office is immediately a crook. There's no doubt we're heading for complete division as a fan base between those who back the board (beyond belief in my view but it's a free country) and those who perceive that the malaise lies at the boardroom door(s) and until they are cleaned out we're going nowhere. As a lonely handwringer these many years I am not especially freaked about splits in the support: but it's going to be sad to see nonetheless. Anyhoo, that's how things look from here.
