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The Rangers boardroom battle has been a wee bit like watching an old war movie of late. Dave King is charging around the seas like a crazed Admiral, dropping depth charges and firing all guns blazing at HMS Rangers, the elusive submarine. Admiral King never seems to land a blow as the crew of HMS Rangers are always several steps ahead. Every now and then HMS Rangers launches a quiet torpedo that blows yet another hole in King’s rebel ship. Perhaps the killer blow came yesterday with a short statement from the club that, as planned all along, the 120 day review will be published and give skeptical fans an idea of where RFC is right now and what it has to do to get where it wants and needs to go. Fans expecting a document that will magic away all problems Rangers faces and others expecting a breakdown of how many paper clips each department at Ibrox plans to use over the next twelve months will be disappointed. These reviews are meant to give broad strokes, not minute details – at least the versions that will be on public display. Rangers being a plc means that the board is obligated to withhold certain information that may be price-sensitive in terms of share value. There should, however, be enough in the review for the average fan to get a decent picture of what could be improved upon and how this new board will go about it. If the board delivers this review on the 25th then it would only be reasonable to expect an apology from Dave King, who has raised anxiety levels unnecessarily recently by his pronouncements that the review would not come prior to the season ticket renewal deadline of May 6th. Particularly when King himself made it a contest between his own integrity and the board’s. Readers of my blog yesterday will be aware of the real integrity issue that fans have to mull over. Cynics may be forgiven for thinking that Dave King is actually the board’s secret weapon. His interference in the boardroom saga has galvanised thousands of Gers fans into buying season tickets and taking a more aggressively anti-rebel stance. Some in the rebel camp are clearly squirming every time King makes a pronouncement these days. Dave King is either the board’s secret weapon or he has kicked so many tyres it has damaged his brain. As a businessman he is only too aware of how preposterous the idea is that a responsible plc board would sign over its assets to customers – assets owned by the shareholders. It is arguable that AIM would block such lunacy if the board was daft enough to succumb to the proposal. And the very people proposing it accuse the board of emotional blackmail! There will be a hardcore of rebels and other gullibles who will give the South Africans their season ticket. But I suspect that many who are threatening to will crumble and join the masses who will renew. King will huff and puff and eventually head for home in his crippled ship while HMS Rangers will continue on its path back to glory. Full speed ahead for the mighty ship Rangers.
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http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6761-season-still-a-success Don't see this posted. Where do you start with this nonsense. Suppose its been a success for Ally though.
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I appreciate this won't be a popular view but yesterday's performance was actually quite heartening and one that suggested to me that McCoist actually does have a chance. Let me explain before cries of 'burn the witch' and the pitchforks are produced. We took on a top six SPFL side yesterday, most if not all of us expected nothing from the match, yet we payed probably as well as at anytime this season. We showed a lot of fight and spirit yesterday, we matched our opponents for that, that hasn't always been the case this season. There clearly was a reaction to last weekend and to the criticism the side and players have had. That shows the players are still playing for the manager if nothing else. We didn't chuck it yesterday, even at 3-1 the heads didn't go down. That tells us something about the squad. The match itself told us the gap between the top and the third flight is small but telling. Individual errors cost us the match, no manager in the world can legislate for what Simonsen did. Likewise when we lost possession for their second, what can the manager do about that? I've read some blame Smith for the first, I disagree. It was scored by a midfielder, he ran from deep and should have been tracked, but not by Smith who was on the other side of the ground and already playing someone offside. We'd two excellent chances, they fell to our strikers too. We wasted them, however it showed the gap between the sides. In the third tier our strikers get lots of chances, in the top tier their strikers don't, so when they get chances they took them. Again, I'm not sure what we expect the manager to do about that. We created some very good chances yesterday, we had one cleared off the line and hit the woodwork. They had four chances and scored three of them. That's the reality of the gap between our sides just now. We'll need to improve next season, we'll need to cut put the errors and take our chances because we'll get fewer next season as the sides we'll play are slightly better than this season. It's hardly an unbridgeable gap. We were missing Bell, Wallace, MacLoed and Little yesterday, four certain starters, so all criticism should keep that in mind too. Like most supporters I've found our performances difficult to watch this season, there is much wrong with our side and our club. However, oddly, yesterday was the first time for a while I've thought McCoist just might make it after all.
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Just back from this meeting at the Louden tonight , it lasted just over 3 hours and had approx 40 in attendance ,before I start , this was the first meeting of the group I had been to so I had no preconceived ideas as to what to expect . The meeting opened and Richard Atkinson ran through the entire history and aims and objectives of rangersfirst , why a CIC , what the positives were , how it worked etc etc , the entire first part of the meeting , infact the vast majority was being filmed and I believe it will be used when they make presentations to supporters clubs etc.It was very impressive and very professional , now in the past I have written about what I perceived was the apathy of the Rangers support , tonight totally changed my mind , I have never felt so optimistic as I did leaving the Louden in a long time .There was a section on how members should behave with regards to online arguments/debate which given the recent outbreaks on twitter and on certain sites brought everything perspective , this is 100% about Rangers , what peoples views are on , race , religion ,politics, gender , sexuality etc etc is their own business ,none of that matters all everyone was focusing on was Rangers , and to be honest it was a breath of fresh air. There is still a long long way to go , but with over 1000 members after a very soft launch on social media , which includes over 100 taking the club 1872 £500 life memberships already signed up , I think in this present time when there is so much uncertainty , the problems we are facing both on and off the field , the 120 day review , the DK situation where fans are obviously waiting to see how it all transpires , over 1000 members is pretty good going , there will be a full launch via the msm soon , however the club announcing the 120 day review has thrown a spanner in the works regards that , there is also a slight issue with certain people who support rangersfirst not wanting to be seen rocking the boat with regards the club , but I am sure when the launch happens the rangers family will be delighted with what they see and hear. Various supporters clubs have taken out the club1872 life membership and I was wondering if there is an appetite for this small free thinking forum to band together and take one out in the gersnet name , it could be held in one of the admins names .As I have already said I have taken a club1872 life membership out myself but would be more than happy to donate £25 to get it started , if there is a desire it might be something that we could continue even by donating a £1 or £2 each month into an account which goes into rangersfirst ,like I said its only an idea . Finally massive thanks to WATP_Greg and his dad and all the staff at the Louden for their hospitality tonight , much appreciated.
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APRIL 14, 2014 [h=1]UOF STATEMENT 14/04/2014[/h] by Garry Evans “Following discussions on the release of season ticket renewals, the Union of Fans would like to confirm that, in line with Dave King’s statements over the weekend, we will now be pushing forward with plans to collect season ticket money. We are delighted that Nine-in-a-Row captain, Richard Gough, and Dave King have both agreed to support this plan. We hope that other iconic Rangers figures will join them in publicly supporting this move in the near future. The money placed into the account will be released to the club, in full, as soon as they agree to give season ticket holders a security over Ibrox Stadium and Auchenhowie. There will be no drip feeding of funds and we do not consider that the board has any legitimate reason to reject this proposal. For the past two weeks we have, through a third party, put forward a plan to Graham Wallace which would have seen a security over Ibrox and Auchenhowie granted to trustees in favour of ALL season ticket holders. The security would have diminished as games were played and would have been discharged at the end of next season. We felt this would provide the board with an opportunity to build trust with fans over a reasonable period of time. We have received no response from the board to this proposal, or to the offer of a meeting to discuss things amicably. This board’s public pronouncements about engagement and trust are a sham. To be clear, had the board complied, it would have meant that we would not have needed to collect season ticket money in a separate account. It would have allowed the fans and the club to carry on with renewals as normal and would have removed any element of confrontation from the process. Despite repeated acceptance from Mr Wallace that the board do not have the trust of fans, and repeated claims that they are seeking to engage with them, this board have made no serious attempt to improve things. Their haste to release renewals before the completion of the 120 day business review, has now forced our hand. Legal advisers have been engaged and are working on the legal framework and bank account required to collect money. We would ask in the meantime that fans do not renew prior to evaluating this board’s ‘120 day’ review to take the club forward. We would also ask them to be vigilant and ensure they are not signed up for auto renewal, which they would need to cancel in writing to the ticket office before the 28th April. The vast majority of season ticket holders on the 4 month payment option from last year will fall into this category. We do not consider that there is any prospect of this action forcing the club into administration. It would be a gross dereliction of directors’ duties for this board to allow that to happen when substantial investment is on offer to them and when they can ensure they receive all season ticket money by securing Ibrox and Auchenhowie in favour of season ticket holders. We also have concerns that, even with all the season ticket money available to them, they will not be able to complete the season without further investment. Furthermore we reject suggestions this will push the board into securing Ibrox in return for further loans. Again, this would be in breach of their directorial duties when they would first have to reject a more favourable offer from the fans. We will be extremely interested to hear the board’s answers to the four questions posed by Dave King in his latest statement. Particularly the question relating to Graham Wallace’s undertaking to shareholders at the AGM that there was “sufficient cash in the business to fund the ongoing needs of the club in the near term”. We do not believe this statement to have been true. Our fans have an opportunity to safeguard Ibrox – we sincerely hope they do not succumb to emotional blackmail from people who know nothing about what our club means to us and that they use the only power they hold for the good of Rangers.” http://www.unionoffans.org/statements/2014/4/14/uof-statement-14042014
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Any one else from here going down to this meeting at the Loudon tomorrow night ?
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..................but Rangers still manage to buck the trend. WITH the majority of clubs in Scotland look like they are beginning to flourish once again, KEITH says Rangers seem unable to move on from the never-ending war for control that continues to rage on in the boardroom. SO now that the football’s finished for another season, where next for Rangers? Well it won’t be Celtic Park in May anyway. Dundee United made sure of that on Saturday when, even without hitting top form, they coasted safely into this season’s Scottish Cup Final on the back of a 3-1 win, secured at “neutral” Ibrox. Jackie McNamara’s wide-eyed bunch will now bound on towards Glasgow’s east end where they will be hotly tipped to finish the job against St Johnstone – despite the Perth side’s heroics in slapping down Aberdeen yesterday. By stopping the rise of the Reds dead in its tracks, Saints have already secured their own piece of history. A first Scottish Cup Final appearance now awaits them and they thoroughly deserve this moment, even if the rest of us were gearing up for what might have been an even more mouth-watering coming together of the New Firm. In many ways, the game up here was crying out for a United v Aberdeen final but even though they have been kept apart, the ongoing resurgence of these two old foes is perhaps a telltale sign that Scottish football might be getting its act together at long last. Despite the financial earthquake which reduced Rangers to rubble two years ago and the predictions of a devastating tsunami to follow, football in this country has survived its Armageddon. Yes, Hearts remain in a critical condition but it was downfall of Romanov rather than Rangers which visited this misery upon them. Crowds may have fallen at Celtic but any downturn in interest has been more than offset by the tapping into UEFA’s Champions League millions on an exclusive basis. Aberdeen, while licking yesterday’s wounds, can at least cling on to the League Cup for consolation. Motherwell are flying high again in the league, United and St Johnstone will now end the season as success stories one way or the other. It could even be reasonably argued that our national team and manager Gordon Strachan are feeling the benefit of the administration and then liquidation which led to Steven Whittaker, Allan McGregor and Steven Naismith setting off towards the top end of English football. Naismith, in particular, is beginning to look like a genuine star at Everton and could well be Strachan’s first-choice striker for some considerable time to come. All of which is good news. Green shoots are everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except at Ibrox. Because while all around them others are beginning to emerge from this long, nuclear winter and are even starting to flourish, Rangers continue to blow themselves to pieces. This club has reached a point where it now seems unable to move on, locked into a cycle of self-abuse. While this may be the source of endless amusement for some, maybe even most, those less blinded by their own prejudices can’t have failed to notice on Saturday what the Scottish game has been missing over these last two seasons. What most certainly has not been missed are the most offensive ditties from this support’s historic song sheet and those Rangers fans who indulged in them on Saturday continue to harm their own club. They ought to be focusing on a better future rather than returning to the bad old days of F***** this and F***** that. But, for the most part, the atmosphere created by both sets of supporters was utterly compelling. In fact, there was a pulse about Ibrox the likes of which has not been felt for some time. Even though some wish fervently for this club to be officially declared dead, the more rational must surely realise that a strong Rangers is good for business. United’s fans revelled in the occasion and in the opportunity to slap a long-term adversary back down. The atmosphere generated by these old rivalries made the match even more engrossing. In fact, this 90 minutes offered a tantalising glimpse of how things might be again one day. If ever, that is, Rangers are fit for purpose as a football club. Their problems on the pitch are obvious enough. Much remedial work is required to make this team a serious contender again but none of its problems are insurmountable. No, the real issues threatening the recovery of Rangers remain off the field where this never-ending war for control still rages on. Last night Dave King launched his latest thermonuclear statement at the current board, once again calling into question the integrity and honesty of those in charge. The very idea that this regime might be covering up the depth of the club’s current financial plight should appal a support which has been misled so ruinously by the likes of Charles Green and Craig Whyte before him. I asked in this column two weeks ago: “Can he (chief executive Graham Wallace) explain why he stood up at the club’s agm on December 18 and insisted robustly that all was well when, with the benefit of hindsight, the whole world can now see that plainly it was not?” Now King appears to be asking the very same question of the board and its CEO. With the situation deteriorating rapidly – and the sideshow distraction of the football all but over – it is time for these Rangers fans to decide in whom they would rather place their trust. If they do back the board, they must be prepared to do so blindly given that they have only three weeks left to renew their season tickets and still have not seen Wallace’s 120-day business review. Which would seem extremely foolish. On the other hand, if they back King then they must be prepared, in theory at least, to starve the club of the very money it needs to survive. Which would appear extremely high risk. The adoption of such a militant stance will raise the spectre of Administration II and bring many of these supporters out in a cold sweat. But the truth is this money will only be kept away from the club if the current regime remains intransigent and unwilling to secure it against Ibrox and Murray Park. There seems no logical basis for the board NOT to bend on this one. In other words, if the worse case scenario unfolded and Rangers were forced back under, the collapse will not have been caused by rebellious supporters but by a board that may need to be broken down completely for this club to be properly rebuilt.
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This should be interesting, renewals before the 120 days. Rangers will launch their season ticket renewal campaign at Ibrox tomorrow. As reported in the Herald today, prices expected to rise by 18%.
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Steven Simonsen @SteveSimmoGK 1h Ive taken the unfortunate decision that as of 5pm tomorrow this account will be deleted,I won't accept mindless abuse of my family & son.1/2 I understand this spoils things for the thousands of genuine fans & followers out there, but I will not accept the idiots who resort, To abusing someone's family & particularly children, thankyou to everyone I've interacted with over the years!!! Met some wonderful people! My Son comes on twitter to follow his heroes including his dad, & ends up having idiots abusing him. He's 11 years old.. His first ever Trip to ibrox to watch his dad ends up with him receiving abuse because I included him in a tweet, I'm sorry but I'm not tolerating it!
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Enough with Rangers based navel gazing! Here's some golf based navel gazing. Football is a funny old game, said Saint and Greavsie in their inexplicably popular lunchtime show of the 1980's. I guess it showed how stuck in its ways Football Focus had become that such a dismally unfunny programme could actually be made, let alone become popular. At least it allowed Jimmy Greaves some later life rehabilitation, which given his abilities (before my time, I admit) and drink troubles counts for something. Takes a lot to justify inflicting Ian St. John on the nation, though. There's never been any accounting for football with logic, though. Or sport, in general. As the weekend draws to a close, the annual circus that is The Masters adorns our screens, the stunning flora of Georgia only matched by the stunning crassness of a set up which reduces golf to little more than hit and hope, a well paid version of the fabulous crazy golf course next to the ferry port at Brodick. One of the holes features a miniature version of the Forth Rail Bridge - Brodick, that is, not Augusta. Some may see this assertion as heresy, but it's ever harder to defend The Masters as anything but golf for people who don't get golf. Galleries made up of a-whoopin' and a -hollerin' Bubba lardos, about as unreflective of golf's horribly overdue racial diversity as you can get, greens which appear to be devoid of grass, golf's risk-and-reward ethos eliminated and replaced by pure luck: The Masters isn't golf, it's stick and ball based comedy. Such an opinion, alas, found me in the company of the awful Peter Alliss, about whom I feel bad being mean since he plainly is not long for this world. I won't miss his commentary, though, which is ever more a talking obituary column and less about the golf. Alliss has dared incur the wrath of Augusta's organisers by publicly, on air, calling out their tournament for the shambles that it is: 'Bobby Jones never played golf like this', he said this evening, and he was right: you probably couldn't have fitted Bubba Watson's ludicrously oversized driver into Jones' golf bag. How I would have loved to be good enough to get an invite! I would be torn between declining on the grounds that it isn't real golf and that to endorse such a bastion of sexism and racism is unethical, or turning up in full clown outfit, with wig, squirting flower in lapel and sporting giant shoes. The only worry is that, in the world of pro golf, such attire might not be thought unusual. I do often think, sardonic smile on chubby face, how Spiers can reconcile his decades long attendance at Augusta with his crusade on diversity in Scotland. Or how the BBC as a body justifies it. Or their coverage of our Open. However, golf is changing, and broadcasters no longer need be embarrassed to cover it. They can move on, so can golf. Be nice if they extended the same courtesy to us, but no matter. I fear to keep such conservative company as Peter Alliss, who is out there in the land where that Inverdale oaf is acceptable. Queer bedfellows, indeed. I am far more comfortable cuddling in with someone like Peter Tatchell, of Outrage, or gay rights group Stonewall. Like Nil by Mouth on golf, such people have been loud in their denunciation of football as a hotbed of homophobia, but although they have my every sympathy in their general aims, when it comes to football I just can't see it. Football must be the least macho sport around, replete with much mano-a-mano hugging, shorts which are again, after two decades of repressed, baggy shorts, showing signs of becoming short shorts again, more unconvincing acting than Rory McIlroy in that Santander ad (once more I wonder how some ad executives both get and keep their jobs) and - the final clincher, this - people who are always threatening violence but who never, ever actually throw a punch. Footballers are the weediest bunch ever. Why the game gets a homophobic name is beyond me: if we're going to accept 1970's stereotypes of homosexuality, you'd have to chalk up fitba as the game of Queens, on the pitch at least. I suppose it's like all those rockers who used to worship Freddy Mercury without either knowing or turning a hair about his rampant queer identity. Well, I can't work out people who want to make us all different anyway. Gay or straight, most of us are boring, dull people who don't differ all that much - work, sleep, work, shopping, complain, work and so on. Fetishists, those are the freaks we should be marginalizing, like fans of rubber or nihilist East Fife fans. The half-cut beer bellies who are presently intoning 'Kooooooch' in order to worship a lanky, inoffensive golfer aren't doing any more harm than some half-cut Weegie twat calling a footballer 'a big poofy bastart' because he shirked a tackle. But the lads in Georgia sound like wallopers, and so do unthinking or conscious homophobes at football games. It certainly doesn't take a PC totem like Spiers or Cosgrove, working to a highly selective agenda of inclusivity, to realise that this ain't the 70's, and that neither tartan flares on the golf course nor nasty jibes about what other people get up to in the bedroom are really on. Anyway, I'd bet that the idea that gay people indulge in a non-stop festival of sweaty shagging is as far from the mark as the idea that I, married 15 years, am doing likewise with my missus. Like I say, work, sleep, and so on is much the same regardless. But one of these days, like Augusta, we in Scotland will catch up with the rest of the world. Even St Andrews allows women in to the clubhouse now! Everyone, everywhere is in a flux, a process of change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, like in Ukraine. This idea that of the entire globe, only Rangers FC can never change has to be consigned to the bin, whether it comes from LUMP fundmentalists within our own support or everyone else who are ironically more puritan in their distaste of us than we, with our imaginary Calvinist identity, could ever be: look at the effort they have put in to demonising us over the last few years! We can only dream of such ideologically driven energy. Here's to the golf, anyway. No doubt I will watch again next year, as Westwood demonstrates that not being able to putt means you'll never win a biggie, and that golf should not really be allowed away from Scottish links. Perhaps it will help me forget another week of enormous letdown brought on by eleven men in shorts. It's a queer old game, right enough.
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Rangers have secured a much-needed financial boost by agreeing a shirt sponsorship deal with internet gaming firm 32Red. The online casino company’s name will replace Blackthorn cider on the home and away shirts of the League One champions from the start of next season. A multi-year deal has been thrashed out that both parties will hope is seen in effect in the top flight of Scottish football. Ally McCoist’s men will be playing in the Championship next season, a platform sure to provide greater than usual exposure for sponsors with the presence of both Rangers and Hearts. The Gibraltar-based firm are already an established brand of backers of English club football. Barclays Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Swansea have previously worn 32Red’s logo on their jerseys and they are currently sponsors of League One Crawley Town and Newport County of League Two. The boost to the troubled Rangers revenue streams comes at the end of another turbulent week in which Dave King advised fans not to purchase club merchandise, as well as urging them to funnel season-ticket money into a trust fund, in his latest outspoken attack on the Ibrox board. The club also launched a campaign to encourage distrusting supporters to renew season tickets for the 2014-15 campaign ahead of a May 6 deadline. The success of that promotion drive is yet to be determined and the long-awaited 120-day business review of chief executive Graham Wallace remains under wraps. However, confirmation of the value of the deal that been clinched with 32Red should at least guarantee Rangers cherished income at the close of another season which has been full of financial turmoil. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2603545/Rangers-boost-coffers-signing-shirt-deal-online-casino-32Red.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490 -
I am hearing that both Keevins and Guidi have been rationalised, let go, elbowed, received their jotters, .................... etc from the Mirror Group. More to follow.
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The Rangers board and I issued separate public statements following our meeting last month. I made one correction to the RangersÂ’ statement but the Rangers board saw no cause to correct my statement. The board recommitted to issue the business review within the original 120 day deadline and, importantly, committed that the fans will have access to this review prior to advancing funds by way of season ticket renewals. Despite strong reservations from fan groups I asked the fans to give the board time to honour this commitment. Part of my motivation was that any public company board is bound to act in good faith and that breach of such a share price sensitive commitment would be an ethical, moral, and probably criminal breach. I followed up on this commitment with the board after the recent announcement on season ticket renewals. The Chairman has advised me that the board will now only issue the review at the end of the season ticket renewal period and it will consequently not be timeously made available to fans. Disturbingly, the Chairman has advised me that the true intention of the board had always been to delay issuing the review until funds had been largely collected. I apologise to all fans for wasting time by lending credibility to the board’s false representations. I was wrong to give them the benefit of the doubt. At least we now can no longer have any uncertainty about governance at the club. It is common cause that the club is not a going concern without access to the season ticket loan from the fans. It is also common cause that the season ticket money will only provide partial relief in advance of a more permanent recapitalisation. I have hitherto urged restraint in dealing with the board, however due to this extreme act of bad faith I believe that it is vital that fans now withhold season ticket money from this board and similarly refuse to support the club by way of the purchase of replica kit or any other retail product. An announcement will shortly be made providing details of a bank account that season ticket money can be paid into as an interim measure. The specific terms and conditions of this account will be made available to fans, including the basis on which funds will be advanced to the club and the basis on which funds will be returned to fans. As a minimum, the board must provide the club property as security against the season ticket money. I recognise that fans will have anxiety about “betraying” the club and the risk of loss of a cherished seat at Ibrox. However, the time has come when the trade-off is a potential loss of a seat against the loss of the club. That would be the real betrayal. This board has lost its right to be dealt with on a good faith basis. Richard Gough has agreed to join me as a custodian of the bank account that will be established and fan groups can nominate additional members.
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Quote from Ally on BiasedBC, "The last two defeats confirmed what we need to do and add to the squad" Ally McCoist, Rangers manager. For me it's more about removal than addition. We are now a laughing stock. Useless managerial team, useless board. Helpless/hapless/utterly toothless fans groups. We're sinking fast. Heaven help us please, because we seem utterly incapable of helping ourselves. -
Rangers legend Richard Gough joins forces with Dave King in fresh assault on current club regime and says 'I trust Dave with my life' THE nine-in-a-row captain has agreed to be trustee for an account for fans' season ticket money after King accused the board of "an extreme act of bad faith" an accusation Rangers branded "disgraceful". The nine-in-a-row skipper has joined forces with Dave King in declaring all-out war against the current Rangers regime. Gough has agreed to stand as a trustee for the account into which the Light Blues legions are being invited to plough season-ticket money in return for a direct say in the running of the club. The patience of South Africa-based tycoon King finally snapped yesterday as he claimed Rangers chairman David Somers told him they had no intention of publishing the much-awaited 120-day business review until after the deadline for season-ticket renewals has passed. Rangers last night disputed King’s claims, branding them “disgraceful” on the eve of the Scottish Cup semi-final against Dundee United and are considering legal action. However, Gough is backing King’s version of events and insists the club are being disrespectful to fans who deserve to be given the board’s vision for the future after pumping tens of millions into their club in the last two seasons to help keep them afloat. Gough said: “It’s all quite astonishing. Dave has given the board every chance to come forward and publish the review at the end of the 120-day period and now they are not going to do that. I’m staggered by the board’s decision. I’m amazed the club have no intention of announcing details of the 120-day review until after the deadline for season-ticket renewals has passed. “It’s ridiculous. “It smacks of arrogance and they are cheating the supporters, the very people who have kept the club going these past few years. “Once again they are asking supporters to put forward their money without knowing how it will be spent.” Rangers fans were contacted this week by the club and told season tickets would soon be due for renewal, much earlier than usual. However, such has been the board’s haste to bring money in, fans have not yet been told the cost of season tickets, although price increases of at least 20 per cent from last year have been predicted. Gough, like King, has told them not to go ahead with the renewal process and to pledge the money to a trust fund instead, with the vow of transparency for how it is spent and the demand over the security of prized assets Ibrox and Murray Park in return. Gough added: “Let’s not give this board the money only to be disappointed again. “I’m firmly asking supporters to put their money into escrow and I promise we will look after it and use it for the best purposes of the club to get it back on an even keel. “I’m happy to be involved. I’d urge fans to put their money into this account and we’ll look after it. It will go to all the right places, nowhere else – which seems to have been happening these last few years. “I’m proud and honoured to be given such a trusted position and I’ll do everything within my power to help Rangers return to where we belong.” Rangers supporters have lacked a senior figurehead from among the ranks of former players and managers to fight their cause. Now Gough has stuck his head above the parapet and it’s believed other influential figures, trusted by the rank and file Rangers fan, are ready to join him against the unpopular board. Gough said: “Any Rangers fans I’ve spoken to recently has urged me to get involved, to stand up and play a part, to make a statement. It’s a no-brainer for me. I’ll help the club any way I can. I’m delighted to be involved with Dave. The bottom line is I trust Dave King with my life. I have known him a long, long time, from my days in South Africa. “He is a family friend and I’m proud and honoured to stand with him. Dave has already put £20 million into Rangers and has offered to invest another £30m. “It’s amazing the board have not already bitten his hand off and asked him to play a role at the club.” The cards have now been dealt on a game of high-stakes poker that could see an unpopular regime toppled, the club enter administration for a second time or the board secure finance from other sources to continue into the new season. The latter option is the most controversial as it’s unlikely they could source anything other than high-interest loans, similar to the one struck with investors Laxey Partners before wealthy Rangers supporter George Letham stepped forward and offered better rates. Of course, the loans are more than likely to be secured against Ibrox and Murray Park, which is a scenario Rangers fans dread. The board could also go back to the market for fresh finance but that would require a new share issue, dilution of existing shareholders and there’s unlikely to be a stampede by investors if a war is raging between the club and its support. Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley also owns around five per cent of Rangers and he is flush with cash – he was hardly on the breadline before – after selling seven per cent of Sports Direct this week for £200m. He could step forward and take a more prominent position at Ibrox and although it has been discussed at the highest levels of Rangers for the last 12 months, he is notoriously hard to read and has not suggested he is ready to move. Asked about the future of the club, Gough added: “I don’t want to commit to talking about the future quite yet and what may happen in the coming weeks and months. Let’s see how the next couple of days pan out first.” He also defended the timing of the statement, on the eve of the crucial Scottish Cup semi-final against Dundee United, as did King. King said: “The timing was not of my choice. Rangers jumped the gun with their season-ticket announcement.” Gough added: “No matter what happens in the game against Dundee United, the club’s future is more important than one match.” Rangers fan organisations are keeping their powder dry for now but their support for King remains unwavering. Chris Graham, spokesman for Union of Fans, which represents all the major supporters’ groups, said: “We’re pleased with the statement and will make a full comment on Monday. What Dave Kings says speaks for itself.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-legend-richard-gough-joins-3402766
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This one's slightly bad taste, but sod it! Post your captions! Ally McCoist at training (Willie Vass) Copyright: 2014 Willie Vass More...
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Friday, 11 April 2014 18:55 Club Statement Written by Rangers Football Club "The Board of Rangers Football Club notes with astonishment the statement issued this afternoon by Dave King. In his statement Mr King makes a number of untrue allegations against the Chairman and the Board of Rangers Football Club alleging bad faith and false representation. The Chairman and the Board refute all such allegations in the strongest terms and have referred Mr King’s statement to the Club’s legal advisors. Mr King clearly has elected to ignore the Board’s previous public statement following the Board’s meeting with him. In this statement, which was reviewed with him prior to issue, the Board stated that it will issue the results of the business review prior to the season ticket renewal window ending. This position remains unchanged and Mr King is well aware of this having sought personal confirmation on this matter from the Chairman as recently as yesterday. The business review period has not yet even ended, as Mr King is well aware, however he has elected to make yet another public statement to serve his own purposes. When the Board met Mr King a few weeks ago, he made it clear that he did not want to put another penny into the Club and would prefer to see the Club using other investors' money. The Board was therefore surprised, but gave him the benefit of the doubt when, a few days later, Mr King made media comments about a willingness to invest his money into the Club. This is an easy statement to make to the media but is contrary to what he told the whole Board. It is extremely disappointing that Mr King should consider it appropriate to issue this latest statement, clearly designed to unsettle and mislead Rangers fans, on the eve of an important Scottish Cup semi-final match. For someone who claims to have the interests of Rangers at heart and as an ex-director, King's untrue comments are nothing short of disgraceful." http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6741-club-statement
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WALLACE PRAISES UNWAVERING SUPPORT Wallace praises 'unwavering support' of Rangers fans GRAHAM WALLACE insists Rangers are making 'good progress' on the road to recovery and are putting the foundations in place for a period of 'long-term success and financial stability'. Graham Wallace is nearing the end of his 120-day review The Light Blues yesterday unveiled season ticket prices for the 2014/15 campaign that will see Ally McCoist's side bid to complete their return to the top flight by landing the Championship crown at the first time of asking. While the Gers have claimed back-to-back league titles, the financial picture at Ibrox is still uncertain, with Wallace set to complete his 120-day review by the middle of the month. The Ibrox chief executive said: "We've come a long way already and we are pleased to be able to say that Rangers Football Club's progress back to the top of Scottish football continues. "Securing the SPFL League One title in record time, reaching the final of the Ramsdens Cup and competing in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Dundee United this weekend demonstrates this continued progress as we work to re-establish Rangers at the top level. "Off the pitch, we are making good progress in repositioning the club and business to be capable once again of supporting our challenge at the top level of domestic and European competition. "The journey, however, would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the Rangers fans. "People talk about players having to earn their jersey, especially at Rangers. Well every season ticket holder at Ibrox has certainly earned their seat. "Another exciting chapter in the history of this extraordinary club is about to begin. "With the continued support of the Rangers community together with a strong sustainable business plan, we are putting in place the foundations for a future period of long-term success and financial stability." Is this guy just extracting the urine?
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RANGERS fans could bring forward plans to set up a season ticket trust fund after prices for the 2014/15 campaign were revealed yesterday. The Light Blues have sent out letters to more than 30,000 supporters to renew their season books for next year as Ally McCoist's side look to make it three-in-a-row and clinch their return to the SPFL Premiership. But doubt remains over how many fans will give their cash to the club this time around after months of wrangling between the boardroom and the terraces. The Rangers Union of Fans have backed a plan by former Gers director Dave King that would see money placed in a trust and only given to the club when assurances have been given by the under-fire board, with a proposal to ring-fence Ibrox and Murray Park knocked back earlier this month. Chief executive Graham Wallace has yet to reveal the details of his 120-day review and Union of Fans spokesman Chris Graham told SportTimes: "We stated that we would give the board time to put the review out, in line with what Dave King said. "We will now have to discuss how we move forward based on the fact that the board have put the renewals out ahead of the review and whether we have to take action ahead of that review. "We have been working on the Season Ticket Trust in the background but took the position that we would give the board the chance to put forward their plans. "The renewals coming out before the review means we will need to decide over the next couple of days how we proceed and whether we need to bring that forward. "The idea of securing Ibrox and Murray Park is something we are very focused on and feel it is an important thing to do. "This move by the board doesn't give people confidence in terms of the financial position and we would like to secure the club's two most important assets. It is still something we want to do. "But it is hard to make any informed decisions until we see the review, which is why the renewals coming out at this time seems very odd." After selling around 72,000 season tickets for the Third Division and League One campaigns, Rangers have made an early push for punters' cash as fans continue to worry about the financial picture at Ibrox. Some supporters will see the cost of their briefs rise by 25%, but Graham admits it is the timing that will concern the Light Blue legions. He said: "With the renewal date being May 6, assuming the review is out next week, it doesn't give people much time to digest it and make a decision. It all appears to be very rushed and that obviously leads to speculation as to why the board are trying to get the money in so early. "I don't think there is a great surprise there is a price increase or that it is that much of an issue. Prices were always going to have to go back up prior to getting back into the top league so there wasn't a huge jump from one season to the next. "The way it has been rushed out and the renewal deadline coming so soon is disappointing." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-fans-ponder-next-move-on-season-ticket-trust-fund-159091n.23923386
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http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/321-rangers-hearts-and-the-case-of-wee-thistle
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To view this email online, click HERE Thank you for volunteering to continue to be involved in the Rangers Ready to Listen Fan Engagement Initiative. You told us you would like to have your say as to how the Club could and should shape Fan Engagement. Please find a link below to a short survey which could form the foundations of Fan Engagement. You will also be asked at the end of the survey if you would like to continue to be involved in developing this area through more in-depth research. Your input into the questions outlined in this survey is invaluable in helping us to shape Fan Engagement at Rangers moving forward. If you would like to continue to be involved in the development of the Rangers Ready to Listen Fan Engagement Initiative, please ensure you complete your contact details at the end of the survey in order for us to contact you. Click here to start the Rangers Fan Engagement Survey. Thank you again for your continued support for the Club. Rangers.co.uk To unsubscribe, please follow this link: Unsubscribe The Rangers Football Club Ltd, registered in Scotland with number SC425159 registered office Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=11905464 Full results and report here: http://rangers.g3dhosting.com/regulatory_news_article/375
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I'm not wanting to start an 'Ally bashing' thread as such as right now I don't think there is any point. We could argue all day about decisions, tactics etc. After speaking to/texting all of my mates/family during/after the game yesterday it was clear than NONE of us wanted Ally to remain in charge. And a few of us were complete Ally defenders of late. Some may have been just a knee jerk reaction to the result I'm not sure. Which led me to this, is there anyone that actually wants Ally to stay? And if so why?
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THE Rangers skipper was banned from commenting on the post-match party - and boss Ally McCoist's karaoke turn - but says that he and his team-mates owe the fans for Rangers' Ramsdens Cup Final humiliation. LEE McCULLOCH last night apologised for a Ramsdens Cup embarrassment he labelled worse than liquidation. The Rangers skipper held his hands up for the shocking performance that saw Ally McCoist’s men lose Sunday’s final against Raith Rovers in extra time. But he was banned from commenting on the after-match “party” at Ibrox that featured manager McCoist singing Meat Loaf. Instead he laid bare what he branded the lowest point of his career – and that includes the insolvency events which rocked Ibrox two years ago. McCulloch said: “It was the lowest point in my football career. And I’m factoring in administration. The lot.” The 35-year-old apologised to McCoist and the fans for the Easter Road display and insisted they will up their game for Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash against Dundee United. He said: “The players obviously owe the manager for the support he has shown us, myself in particular, over the past couple of years since the club went into administration. “It would be great to give him something back when we play against United in the Scottish. “Also, after the support we took to Easter Road last Sunday, it would be great to give the supporters something to shout about after what has been a tough week for them. “We want to produce a better result than we did last week in the final. That much is obvious. “We owe it to each other as players. We owe it to the management and we owe it to the fans. “Hopefully we can get the result that we need. “But we are going to need men and we are going to need leaders. “What a chance we have as players to show we have those attributes.” McCulloch was at Ibrox yesterday to launch the sale of season-ticket books. He was asked pointedly if he would buy one after the result that embarrassed the fans who went to the capital and those far beyond. “Why not?” he replied. “If you’re a Rangers fan you want to be there to see the team progress. “I was delighted to pledge my long-term future to Rangers when we played in Division Three last season and I want to play my part in our rise back to the very top of Scottish football.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/no-comment-cup-karaoke-rangers-3395007
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26959101 Every football club launches a season ticket renewal campaign. No club other than Rangers is likely to find it such a fraught process. Price rises, ranging from between 15% to 25%, were inevitable and had been indicated at the annual general meeting of shareholders last December. For fans, though, the decision on whether or not to renew is complicated by the club's state of affairs. Dave King King believes Rangers need significant investment if they are to challenge for Scotland's major honours Even the timeframe has drawn attention, since the renewal deadline is 6 May, less than four weeks away. In the context of the discontent that has gathered around Ibrox, the sense is of supporters being given little time to make their choice. There is always an emotional element to the commitment, but Rangers fans have generally become more wary, even before the prospect of the Union of Fans - a coalition of supporters groups - opening a trust fund as an alternative for supporters who don't want to renew under the current circumstances. In meetings last month with the former director Dave King, who wants to invest in the club, the Ibrox board had agreed to complete the business review being undertaken by chief executive Graham Wallace before the season ticket renewal process. King will consider the launch as a breach of that agreement and is likely to respond firmly. The results of Wallace's review, and subsequent funding plan, will determine how Rangers approach the attempt to gain promotion from the Championship next season. They will also go some way to determining King's approach. He wants to provide funds to invest in the team and the football infrastructure now, to enable Rangers to return and then immediately compete in the top flight. In his view, this should be done through the issuing of new shares, which could grant him overall control. The board agreed to similar sporting aims, but do not have the money to finance it since the cash reserves have run out. Wallace needs to cut around £3m from the current running costs, and increase the revenue streams, just to bring the business to an even keel, but the season ticket money is also required just to keep the business going. This is the backdrop to the renewal campaign, which is symbolic of the lack of unity that abounds. Wallace announced at the AGM that his business review would take 120 days, which ends on Thursday 17 April, yet in the notes accompanying the interim results last month he indicated that it might be the end of April before the review and report to the board are completed. The business's going concern status was also only signed off on the basis of the price rise and a modest uplift in renewals. Despite Rangers embarking on their bid for promotion back to the Premiership, in a second tier that will contain Hearts but also possibly other leading clubs, it seems a stretch to believe that more than 37,000 will sign up for season tickets. As well as uncertainty about what funding will be available, or if only cuts will be imposed on the squad, supporters have grown weary of the quality of football this season. The defeat by Raith Rovers in the Ramsdens Cup final drew a disdainful response, and there is still a Scottish Cup semi-final against a talented Dundee United side to address. Either through concern about the quality of the football, frustration with the board and the direction of the club, or just a doubt about the club's financial stability when £1.5m in loans had to be sought from two shareholders last February and both Ibrox and Murray Park require maintenance work, the willingness to renew is being eroded. It has previously been a matter of faith, an indication of the supporters' ongoing commitment to their team. It is now a matter of judgement, of trust or otherwise. There is no incentive to renew immediately, and even missing the 6 May deadline would not be critical since there is no waiting list and supporters who hold off could still retain their seats. The alarm for the directors is a significant drop off in numbers, since this would drastically undermine their means to continue, and make it more difficult, perhaps even impossible, to hold off King. Rangers will receive the season ticket income up front, since a finance company will underwrite the options that allow fans to pay in instalments, a common arrangement in football. The first £1.5m raised, though, will be used to pay back the shareholder loans - from George Letham and Sandy Easdale, who is also a director on the football club board. The directors will watch the initial renewal numbers with concern, while some supporters will await the review, and others will wait to see what the general uptake is like. With the money raised from the initial public offering of shares in December 2012, and two tranches of season ticket money, having been spent, wariness is widespread. It is also political, since the future of Rangers - as it stands - would seem to either involve cost-cutting under the current powerbase of directors and a group of aligned shareholders, or King becoming the significant influence. Fans can buy tickets on a game-by-game basis. The season ticket uptake will reflect the mood for change or otherwise, but also go some way to determining Rangers' short-term future.
