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Received this email today Over 650 Bears in 5 days We have had a fantastic response since launching the campaign at 4pm on Wednesday 5th of March with over 650 Rangers fans committing to RangersFirst. Our initial launch has mainly focused on Twitter and Facebook with almost all our traffic coming from both social networks. On average for every 10 visitors to the RangersFirst website a fan signs up. In the next 7-14 days we plan to launch the RangersFirst Promotional Video which will explain the CIC concept in detail. We are also in the process of setting up our road show team that will visit Supporters Clubs and Rangers affiliated venues across the UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10686563/Rangers-Cup-Hall-of-shame.html Rangers' Cup Hall of shame Ally McCoist’s three seasons as manager of Rangers have put the shock into shocking when it comes to performances in the cups. Here are nine of the worst Rangers 0 Malmo 1 July 26 2011 Champions League third qualifying round, first leg The beginning of Rangers financial crisis which led to administration and liquidation. A goal from Daniel Larsson in the 17th minute gave the Swedes a vital victory and they drew the second leg 1-1 to deny McCoist’s men entry to the most lucrative competition of them all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NK Maribor 2 Rangers 1 August 18, 2011 Europa League play-off first leg Forgotten man Juan Manuel Ortiz gave Rangers a half-time lead in Slovenia, only for Agim Ibraimi to equalise in the 52nd minute. Etien Velikonja back-heeled the winner past Allan McGregor in stoppage time and a 1-1 draw in the return leg saw another revenue stream shut down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Falkirk 3 Rangers 2 September 21, 2011 League Cup fourth round Goals from international stars Dorin Goian and Nikica Jelavic looked to have taken the tie into extra time but Mark Millar’s last-gasp free-kick was fumbled over the line by Neil Alexander and the First Division side celebrated a famous win. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rangers 0 Dundee United 2 February 5, 2012 Scottish Cup fifth round First-half goals from Gavin Gunning and Johnny Russell put United in Easy Street and they cruised into the quarter-finals. Nine days later the club was forced into administration. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rangers 2 Queen of the South 2 (Queens win 4-3 on penalties) September 18, 2012 Ramsdens Cup quarter-final Nicky Clark (remember him?) fired the Third Division minnows in front after 49 minutes and, although Barrie McKay and Lee McCulloch put them in the driving seat another last-gasp goal proved costly as Gavin Reilly took the game into extra time. Rangers’ Kevin Kyle and Queens’ Willie Gibson were sent off before Dean Shiels and Anestis Argyriou missed from the spot in the penalty shoot-out, allowing the underdogs to go through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rangers 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3 October 31, 2012 League Cup quarter-final Hampden hopes were raised by a 2-0 win over SPL high-fliers Motherwell in the previous round but they were comprehensively beaten by the Highlanders. Andrew Shinnie gave Thistle a first-half lead and goals after the break Gary Warren and Graeme Shinnie emphasised the superiority of Terry Butcher’s men. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dundee United 3 Rangers 0 February 2, 2013 Scottish Cup fifth round Jackie McNamara’s first game in charge of United got off to the perfect start when Russell gave the home side the lead after just 13 seconds. The Rangers fans who boycotted Tannadice were the lucky ones as their heroes were ripped apart. Jon Daly made it 2-0 before half-time and Russell had already made it 3-0 before Ian Black and Kal Naismith were sent off in the dying minutes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forfar 2 Rangers 1 August 3, 2013 League Cup first round A double from Gavin Swankie gave the Loons a surprise win at Station Park. He took advantage of a McCulloch error to open the scoring and, although Fraser Aird equalised six minutes from the end the part-timers looked the fitter side in extra time and Swankie struck again in the 115th minute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rangers 1 Albion Rovers 1 March 9, 2014 Scottish Cup quarter-final A controversial goal from Bilel Moshni 12 minutes from time rescued ropy Rangersat a half-empty Ibrox and earned the part-timers a money-spinning replay. Long-serving Ciaran Donnelly had fired the £30-per-week journeymen from the Second Division into a shock lead after only 13 minutes and they looked set for a famous victory until referee John Beaton allowed Boshni’s late header to stand.

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

I've jumped between defending him this season along with trying to understand his position as the only ever Rangers manager to have dealt with the cards he's been dealt with. There's not a bear who'd deny that Ally has managed under unprecedented circumstances. The other side of the coin is that his resources still far outweigh all other Scottish sides except the ****s. Yet I, and quite possibly, many bears can't even describe what type of football we are meant to play. Little motivation, no tempo or obvious flow to the game is, besides board room shenanigans, putting supporters off. Think back to the early stages of the season where we played some lovely football and racked up silly scoreline after silly scoreline. The team won the league so early that it rendered October/November onwards meaningless. Then the cup results in February played us the best hand we could have wished for. When the draw was made I chatted with friends and stated that if Ally and the players can't get us to the final based on its Albion fucking Rovers, and with the semi final being played at Ibrox, then they're no good for the long term of Rangers. My expectations is that we should be collecting the treble based on the fact our squad is of premiership standard and very well paid. Throw in the fact the players and management have a golden opportunity to write themselves into the history books, then motivation and attitude should be a given. Many will be there already, some for quite a while now, but now I'm edging closer to adding to my sack the board chants. Only the chants might be aimed at the only genuine bear left at the club in a position of seniority. Any of you who has defended Ally now seriously considering Ally must go before the playing side reflects the executive side of the club? when does it become okay to add Ally besides the board in cleansing the club?

...... when Albion scored. Could have been the effects mike but it sounded Richard Gordonish. He should be careful what he wishes for. Sheep might have a better chance against us than Rovers.

By Tom English BBC Scotland, in his new job with the BBC Charles Green's latest Rangers contribution might not have been as barmy a cameo as those provided by porn baron Paul Baxendale-Walker or that business with the Northamptonshire clown, Mr Custard. However, in the odditorium that is Ibrox, Green's bombast of Friday was another cringe-making moment. His new life may have taken him far from Glasgow, to an 18th-century castle in Normandy, but it would appear that the Yorkshireman is still of the view that he was God's gift to Rangers. Self-regard was always a stock-in-trade of Green's; self-awareness, far less so. At a time when Rangers have taken out a £1.5m loan in order to keep the lights on, Green's poor-mouth performance about being under-compensated for his work at Ibrox was laughable and must have served as a firm kick in the unmentionables to every fretting Rangers fan. His reappearance was fitting in one way, though. Things have reached the point of a free-for-all at Rangers. Pot-shots are being flung left, right and centre between suggested saviour Dave King and the board. Charles Green Charles Green believes he was under-compensated for his work at Ibrox The supporters needed Green popping into this saga like they needed a hole in the head. You watched Green climbing back into the narrative and, in that moment, it was easy to imagine the Rangers supporters repeating that line from Jerry Maguire, the film about the sports agent played by Tom Cruise. Maguire/Cruise was at what he thought was his lowest point only for further mishap to befall him. "Jump into my nightmare," he said, sighing. "The water's warm." The way in which former director King and the current Rangers board are training their guns on one another in public is remarkable. It was only last November that King called for some kind of decorum among key people in the Rangers story. "The best interests of the club will not be facilitated by playing it out in the media," he said. So much for that plan. Ten days ago, King issued his Gettysburg Address on the state of the club. It was damning stuff. There was a response, of course. Then King responded to the response. Graham Wallace, the chief executive, responded to the response to the response and King responded once again. The tit-for-tat carried on. David Somers, the chairman, slammed King and King slammed back. Director Sandy Easdale got involved and King replied. Then King went again. This is mortifying stuff. King is calling into question the integrity of the board while playing down other integrity questions closer to home, such as those raised by his guilty plea and subsequent conviction for epic contraventions of South African tax law, which eventually cost him more than £45m in cash and assets. We know that many Rangers fans are behind King regardless. This was the man who previously invested £20m in Rangers and lost the lot. That wins him kudos. Equally, it's the same man who sat on Craig Whyte's board of directors and who, according to the SFA's judicial panel, failed to do enough to question the former owner's disastrous behaviour. It's a measure of the mindset of Rangers people that so many have placed so much trust in King, a man denounced as a "glib and shameless liar" by a South African court. “Who will win this battle? It depends on how serious King and his supporters really are and what lengths they will go to in order to get a result” If the fans pick King over the board - and they are, in increasing numbers - then that tells you a lot about how the current incumbents are performing. They have been saying for months that there is no pressing cash crisis, while at the same time taking out a short-term, and high-interest, loan of £1m from one of its institutional investors, Laxey Partners. Their 'nothing to see here' mantra rings suspicious. Apart from the £1m loan (and the bank charges associated with it) there is an interest-free loan of another £500,000 from Sandy Easdale. Why would a club with no pressing need for money take out an emergency loan and then secure part of it against club assets? They haven't adequately explained it. There are questions everywhere for the board and not many answers. The Rangers Standard website wrote about some wealthy Rangers-supporting businessmen who would have been prepared to offer the club loans at more favourable rates of interest than the Laxey agreement. John McClure was one such businessman. George Letham is another. The board are said to be considering ditching Laxey's deal and taking up Letham's offer instead. What does it say about this board of directors when a fans' website can track down wealthy Rangers supporters who are willing to loan money on more attractive terms than the club's investment committee could negotiate? These supporters run this website in their spare time. They are not on the club's payroll. As head of the Rangers investment committee, it is the job of director Norman Crighton to do this kind of business and he's rewarded handsomely for it. Former Rangers director Dave King Former Rangers director Dave King is keen on a return to Ibrox And yet, in the hours between putting in a day's work and putting the kids to bed, the fans can find better deals than he can? Crighton really ought to state his position on all of this. At the heart of this are the fans and their season-ticket money and the power they wield because of it. Rangers can't live without that cash. More and more the supporters are saying that the board are not getting it until they answer questions and bring transparency where currently everything is clouded. King and the fans' associations want to drip-feed the season-ticket money into the club by way of a trust. It's a device that could bring the board to heel or bring the club to its knees. It's high-stakes stuff, but the fans are mobilising, that's for sure. Mobilising behind King. He is said to be on his way to Glasgow soon for this showdown with the board. They should put the Rangers TV cameras in the room and sell it on pay-per-view. In a relative blink, the cash crisis would ease. Who will win this battle? It depends on how serious King and his supporters really are and what lengths they will go to in order to get a result. Equally, it depends on how much financial trouble the club is truly in and how short of answers they really are. To the former, the response is "very serious" and in the case of the latter the reply is always "not much trouble at all". But you learn to be sceptical about everything you are told in this story. Green's cameo might have brought an air of black comedy, but at its essence the fight for control at Rangers is a thriller - with a touch of horror thrown in. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26459395

Serving his apprenticeship nicely at the moment and as it stands Im hoping he is our next manager. When Ally eventually moves on Id take him well ahead of the realistic candidates like Billy Davies. Got to give McInnes credit, 1 cup final, 1 semi final and 2nd in the league with a team who have been struggling for years. I liked him as a player in the 90s also, thought he was a fine midfielder.

I know we need to concentrate on getting to the Cup Semi-Final first; but with Dunfermline drawing today, we can win the League if we beat Airdrie on Wednesday night. Hopefully an Airdrie and Coatbridge double.

Just as the truth is widely recognised as the first casualty of war, the most striking and predictable consequence of the kind of circumstances in which Rangers have floundered in recent years is almost invariably the proliferation of myths and misapprehensions. Principal among these is the ludicrous notion that the Ibrox club (and their traditional rivals, Celtic, for that matter) warrant being referred to as “a massive institution” whenever their descent into the fiscal void is discussed, as if another General Motors has gone to the wall. This is clearly a preposterous description to apply to an organisation whose latest financial returns show an annual turnover of £19 million. That equates to about three months’ takings for the average-sized Asda supermarket. Hard evidence of the regard in which the market held the new Rangers company which was formed after the liquidation of the old – that is, their status as a business as opposed to a crowd-pulling football team – first emerged with the results of the share issue launched under the former chief executive, Charles Green, in December, 2012. At the time, Green talked of the “huge” interest from “institutional investors”, a claim which was less than convincing, given the recessionary times in which the prospectus was offered. Nor did it seem to make sense for institutional investors – these are hedge funds and the like handling pensions and other monies on behalf of clients – to be risking substantial amounts of cash on a football club, and especially one in Scotland that would be operating in the relative penury of the bottom tier of the game. In the event, these so-called heavy hitters limited their commitment to a total of just £17m, with another £4m worth of shares bought by individual fans. Now the eight most prominent institutional investors (not counting Sandy Easdale, an individual businessman) own equity worth an average of £1.3m. This is a figure that would not cover the annual remuneration of the common-or-garden hedge fund manager. Indeed, as an accountant friend confirmed, it suggests the kind of throwaway “investment” that results from the company involved having been advised it would be tax-efficient, rather than a source of profit. Nor could these reputed heavyweights be accused of an attempt at seizing power at Ibrox, since the biggest among them, Laxey Partners, holds a mere 12.47 per cent of Rangers. Curiously, the company about which there has been so much intrigue over the past year or so – with puzzling, widespread demands for the identities of their personnel to be revealed – appeared only this week to show a pronounced insouciance in the matter of the Ibrox club’s business affairs. Having agreed to lend the club £1m in return for an interest payment of £150,000 as well as security over the Albion car park and Edmiston House in the event of failure to repay the loan, Laxey seemed surprisingly ready to cancel the deal in order to allow an apparently wealthy fan, George Letham, to step in with the funds at a more favourable rate. This hardly seems to be the action of a City predator, interested only in maximising returns for minimum stakes. If anything, it is an episode that hints strongly at the possibility that, whatever priorities and imperatives drive their interest in Rangers (unlike certain individuals such as Green) making a quick killing is not among them. Celtic’s ‘lost’ treble is hardly unprecedented The impish cast to Fergus McCann’s mind would surely have been highly activated by the events of this week. While Celtic fans were remembering and celebrating McCann’s rescue of the club from the financial quicksand and looming oblivion during the most critical days in its history in 1994, there was a simultaneous outbreak of disgruntlement that the team under Neil Lennon at present were only 21 points ahead of the pack on their way to a third successive league championship. For those apparently endowed with the memory of a goldfish, this is clearly just not good enough. The notion that Celtic should stroll virtually unopposed to a domestic treble every season on the nonsensical grounds that their traditionally strongest rivals, Rangers, play in a lower league, is a supposition not 
supported by historical statistics. Some observers refer to Lennon 
“losing” a treble, seemingly unaware that you can’t “lose” one, but simply fail to win one. During the periods of virtually unchallenged domination by each member of the Old Firm, those many occasions on which they fell short of a domestic grand slam were almost inevitably the result of defeats by lesser opponents. Graeme Souness managed five years at Ibrox without winning the Scottish Cup, unforgettably losing to Hamilton at home in 1987. Martin O’Neill contrived to have the most formidable side in the country in 2003 and win nothing as Rangers under Alex McLeish lifted everything. O’Neill took his team to Seville and the Uefa Cup final. He also took them to Inverness and lost in the Scottish Cup, before conceding the championship on goal difference. In one bizarrely contradictory article, Lennon was first of all chastised for his part in two “avoidable” defeats, by Morton in the League Cup and by Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, thereby failing once again to land the treble. A few paragraphs later, however, Lennon was accused of being “ungracious” following his scathing remarks about referee Craig Thomson’s performance in Celtic’s defeat in their latest league match at Pittodrie. It is a perfectly legitimate view, but Lennon was “advised” by the observer that he should simply have accepted that “these things happen” and allowed Aberdeen the credit they deserved. These things certainly do happen – but, apparently, in some quarters 
they are only forgivable if they do no damage. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/glenn-gibbons-big-hitters-see-rangers-as-small-fry-1-3333239

THE League Two shocktroops will earn a bonus equivalent to 12-weeks' wages if they pull off the biggest shock of them all at Ibrox tomorrow. ALBION ROVERS will earn a staggering three-month wage bonus of £1000 a man if they manage to pull off mission impossible and beat Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow. The Coatbridge club are in their first Scottish Cup quarter-final for 80 years. A club source confirmed James Ward’s players are on a “substantial bonus” to defeat Rangers to reach the last-four stage. The part-timers stand to earn in excess of £150,000 from the tie which is live on Sky TV. The Wee Rovers also plan to refurbish their Cliftonhill stadium from their cup windfall which will see their ground capacity increase to 2500. While Rangers have met at plush five-star hotels before away games the Rovers squad will be ferried to Ibrox from various pick-up points on the team bus. Ward said: “I won’t even put the club to the expense of a pre-match meal. “The team bus will set off from Cliftonhill and we’ll pick up some players on the south side of Glasgow on the way to the game.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/albion-rovers-scottish-cup-heroes-3219404

We are delighted to announce that we have managed to secure two of the most well liked Dutchmen to have played for the light blues Tickets £20 and include a bite to eat and are available at http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html Doors will open at 7pm for the event with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm. We are really looking forward to the event and hope to see a good number of our fantastic support there! Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and all ticket sales are final and will be collected on the door on the night. One Rangers… No Factions – http://www.thelouden.co.uk, @TheLoudenTavern We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises

A Paisley man who shouted sectarian abuse at rival fans following the Aberdeen versus Celtic Scottish Cup fixture was today sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court. Jan Reilly (46) was fined £200 and had a two year Football Banning Order imposed for shouting the abuse as he exited Celtic Park after the cup tie on February 8 this year. Speaking following sentencing Stephen Ferguson, Football Liaison Prosecutor for the West of Scotland, said: "Football fans on the way to or from a match should not be subjected to insults and abuse by someone seemingly intent on provoking them. This sort of behaviour is totally unacceptable, brings shame on the game and embarrasses genuine supporters." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/paisley-man-receives-football-banning-order-after-shouting-sectarian-abuse.1394206879 Very vague report!,what team does he support?, I think I can guess!

Anybody know who is behind this?. Lifted from FF

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

http://m.stv.tv/sport/football/clubs/rangers/266490-rangers-shareholder-loan-deal-to-be-repaid-using-season-ticket-money/ A controversial loan taken out by Rangers from two of its shareholders could be paid back using season ticket money, according to an agreement seen by STV. The agreement appears to show that both facilities shall be repaid either from "the sale of season ticket monies for the 2014/15 season" or "a placing or rights issue or other form of debt or equity fundraising of the company or any member of the Rangers Group, whichever is first to occur." Sandy Easdale and Laxey Partners are listed as the lenders, with Rangers International Football Club plc as the borrower and The Rangers Football Club Limited the chargor. After being contacted by STV, Rangers appeared to contradict the document. A spokesman said: "The loans, if drawn, will be repaid from the operating cash flow of the business at the relevant time. Operating cash flow comprises many sources including commercial partnership income, retail dividends and match ticket income." The Laxey loan is for £1m and is repayable with an interest payment of £150,000. The loan from Mr Easdale is for £500,000. Both are secured against club properties Edmiston House and the Albion Car Park, with both lenders security being on an equal footing. STV understands the joint loan facility has not yet been drawn upon by the club. If used, the amounts borrowed must be repaid by September 1, 2015, according to the document. The Laxey loan has attracted controversy due to its interest rate. Another shareholder, George Letham, has offered the same amount with a repayment of £75,000, which he insists he would reinvest in the club. A collective group of Rangers supporters' organisations, the Union of Fans, have also called upon their fellow fans not to pay their season ticket money for the 2014/15 season directly to the club. Instead the group, together with former director Dave King, want monies to be paid into a trust and only given to the club if assurances are given over finances. The Rangers oldco previously took out loans against season ticket money. Ticketus bought the rights to around 100,000 Ibrox season tickets until 2015 when Craig Whyte was in charge at Ibrox.

James Ward has banned his Albion Rovers players from taking pictures on their phones when they visit Rangers in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals on Sunday. "I don't want anyone to think we are not taking this as seriously as it should be," the manager of the part-timers told BBC Scotland. "This is a massive game for our club and we see it as opportunity for our group of players to progress. "I don't want to belittle that in any way by making it a day out." Rovers sit seventh in League Two and lost to Montrose at the weekend, while Rangers are strolling to the League One title. There may only be one division separating the sides but there is a huge gulf in every other respect, with the Coatbridge club averaging less than 500 spectators for home league matches this season. Yet Ward remains convinced Rovers can cause another cup shock and reach the semi-finals, having earlier bundled Premiership side Motherwell out of the tournament. “Our players definitely have belief that they can win” James Ward Albion Rovers manager "This is a game we really want to give our best in," he said. "We can win and we'll do that by being fully committed to what we are doing on the day. "Rangers will need to play at their level to beat us, it won't be because we have put in a poor performance." Rovers have not been this far in the Scottish Cup for 80 years and Ward admits it is the biggest game of his career. However, he added: "I hope it's a stepping stone to bigger games because you never know what Sunday is going to bring. "Our players definitely have belief that they can win. "No better example of that was against Motherwell. Our team is organised, we are disciplined, everybody knows what is expected of them and they grew in confidence as that game went on. "We won the game - justifiably - because when we were in possession we were more effective. "Sunday is going to be similar. There are so many factors I can't control, like the size of the crowd and how our players will react to walking into an arena like that. "I'm hoping a lot of them get a lift from it, which will compensate for the one or two who are maybe a bit more nervous. "Hopefully we can grow into the game once more and capitalise on any nervousness from their fans and potentially from their players." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26477651

Help SoS and the Union of Fans, volunteers required. We have a leaflet regarding the Union of Fans and Dave Kings proposed Season Ticket Initiative getting printed for Sundays game and need help with distribution. If you are willing and able to help, please put name below or send personal message Meet 2pm top of Copland Rd stairs Thanks in advance Craig. Lifted from FF

DESMOND, who this week celebrates 20 years with Celtic, said the club's financial position and performance on the field exceeds any other team in Britain. MAJORITY shareholder Dermot Desmond claims Celtic are the best-performing club on and off the pitch in Britain and predicts a “visionary” future on the international arena. Desmond this week celebrates 20 years with Celtic after joining forces with Fergus McCann to help rescue the club from going out of business under an intransigent and unpopular board. Celtic are now arguably in their most stable financial position and Desmond feels the next 20 years can be even brighter. Desmond told Celtic TV: “If you look at the financial metrics between Celtic and other clubs in the UK, our performance, the balance-sheet performance and the performance on the field, I think, exceeds any other club, recognising that we are shackled by lack of revenues we have from TV and other comparable income that Premier League and Championship clubs get. “We have got financial stability, good organisational structures as far as scouting, development squad and coaching go. We have a vision of how we want to keep on improving the playing squad. “If you look at the squads over the past few years, they are getting better and better each year.” The Irishman also hailed Neil Lennon as a “first-class manager” and Peter Lawwell as a “wonderful chief executive, as good as you will find in any football club in the world”. And his main pride over his time with Celtic is the culture. When asked for his highlights, he said: “I have too many to mention. I liked the evening we beat Barcelona and I liked when we did the same with Manchester United. “I like any moment at Celtic Park when we have had victories, especially over teams that wear blue. “Seville (the 2003 UEFA Cup final) was a great highlight but there’s many of them there. “But I think the highlight of the 20 years I have been involved with Celtic is that it’s an independent club with wonderful supporters and we have a great future. “I see the club getting stronger on the playing field. I see the club being visionary in developing internationally. And I see the Celtic fans and the club having a partnership that will be a model for all other football clubs.” Meanwhile, Celtic have arranged a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium on Saturday, August 2. Celtic Park is unavailable at that time because of the Commonwealth Games. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtic-majority-shareholder-dermot-desmond-3215293

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/mccoist-to-meet-wallace-to-discuss-summer-signings.23632214

Ibrox investor Kieran Prior has thrown his weight behind Dave King's Rangers revolution THE former Goldman Sachs trader will meet the South African tycoon in London next week to discuss his plans to shake-up the boardroom at the beleaguered club. IBROX investor Kieran Prior has thrown his weight behind Dave King’s Rangers revolution. Prior will meet the South African tycoon in London next week – and reckons other major shareholders are ready to back his agenda for change. The former Goldman Sachs trader’s support of King comes as the ex-pat prepares to fly to the UK, vowing he will not leave until he comes up with a “definite game plan” for the future of the Ibrox club. Prior said: “Dave and I have spoken and I want to support his objectives for the club. He has asked to meet me in London next week for further talks to find the best way forward for Rangers. “I’ve talked with investors who hold significant stakes in the club and it’s my belief they are ready to back Dave’s vision for the future. “The board do not have the business acumen of Dave, nor his philanthropic approach to helping the club return to the top.” Prior, a childhood Rangers fan, owns around 2.5 per cent of the club and has invested £1million in the last 12 months. He is keen to invest more and is willing to take a financial hit on his existing shareholding if it helps the club back on its feet. He added: “In order for us to have a club at all we need a stable board and management structure and an ongoing supply of capital. “If that means a new rights issue then it means a new rights issue. If I have to dilute my shareholding for the good of the club then it’s no big deal. We may not need a shares issue but I’d rather have one if it safeguards the club.” Former director King, 58, urged fans last week to withhold season-ticket cash and hand it over to the club on a game-by-game basis. King, who lost £20m under Sir David Murray, decided he could no longer watch from the sidelines and claimed the current board, led by chairman David Somers, were burying their heads in the sand. He said: “I know they are running out of money, hence my approach to them late last year. “I said then, ‘It’s now early enough to anticipate you will not make the end of the year on your current cash balances so let’s try to go about a new fundraising exercise’. “I was happy to be a significant investor, in fact a leader of a consortium putting new funds into the club with the only condition they went into the club. I wasn’t interested in taking on existing shareholders and buying their shares. “I was looking for a new share issue and for those funds to go into the club but they have adopted a ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burns’ approach. “The board has done nothing, has not been transparent with the finance and we now know they have run out of funds and are trying to shuffle on hoping the fans will again rescue them. “They are looking for money for season tickets so they can continue for another couple of months before another financial crisis. That is what I am trying to avert. “The board has said my intentions are damaging but the opposite is true. The board should go to the fans and say, ‘This is the true state of the position at the club’. “I will meet the board. I will visit the institutions in London next week and put a schedule together with some of the existing shareholders to find out where they are and how they feel about a rights issue. “I will stay in Scotland for as long as it takes until we have a definite game plan.” Meanwhile, King has rejected claims from Sandy Easdale he never held talks with the transport boss about putting new funds into the club. King said: “I subsequently spoke with Sandy and he has confirmed he intended his comment to be construed as meaning I had never offered loan finance to the club. “He is correct. I have only offered equity finance. I do not believe the club can afford debt at this time. “I accept his statement was a misunderstanding and he was not intending to impugn my integrity.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ibrox-investor-kieran-prior-thrown-3212193

Former Rangers director Dave King will fly in from South Africa next week and not leave Scotland until he comes up with a “definite gameplan” for the future of the Ibrox club. The South Africa-based businessman last week urged supporters to withhold season- ticket money and hand it over to the club on a game-by-game basis, amid growing concerns about the League 1 leaders’ finances and governance. The 58-year-old Glaswegian, who invested £20million in the club before it was consigned to liquidation in June 2012, made his plea to fans after Rangers confirmed they had accepted £1.5million in loans from shareholders Sandy Easdale and Laxey Partners. King then accepted an invitation to meet the Rangers board after an open letter from chairman David Somers claimed he was “damaging the club” with his statements, although he mocked the tone of the letter, saying he was being “summoned” to explain himself. Backed by the influential Union of Fans coalition, King will first jet into London to meet with investors in the club before travelling to Glasgow where, aside from his appointment with the Ibrox board, he will meet supporters to find a way forward for the Govan club. “I will visit the institutions in London next week and put a schedule together with some of the existing shareholders to understand where they are and how they would feel about a rights issue,” said King. “Also, whether they would participate, whether they would give the rights to someone like me and I would like that out of the way before I meet the fans. Then I will stay up in Scotland for as long as it takes until we have a definite gameplan as to how we will go forward from there.” Former finance director Brian Stockbridge said in October that Rangers would only have around £1m of cash reserves left by April but chief executive Graham Wallace has denied there is a risk of a second administration. King claims the Ibrox board were fully aware of their predicament when they refused his offer of help late last year. “I said then ‘it’s now early enough to anticipate you will not make the end of the year on your current cash balances and let’s now try, and in an orderly fashion, go about a new fund-raising exercise’,” he recalled. “I was happy to be a significant investor, in fact a leader of a consortium putting new funds into the club with the only condition that the funds went into the club. “I was looking for a new share issue and for those funds to go into the club and into the team and really all that’s happened is they have adopted a ‘Nero fiddling while Rome burns’ approach where the inevitability of the next couple of months has come to pass. “They are looking for [fans] to give enough money for season tickets so they can continue for another couple of months before again ending up in another financial crisis. That is what I am trying to avert at this point.” King later clarified that he had offered to invest in Rangers in response to an apparently misleading statement by Easdale, which was read out on Sky Sports News. He said: “I refer to Sandy Easdale’s statement earlier today that I had never had discussions with him regarding putting new funds into the club. “I subsequently engaged in private communication with Sandy and he has confirmed directly to me that he intended his comment to be construed as meaning that I had never offered loan finance to the club. I accept that Sandy’s incorrect statement was merely a misunderstanding and that he was not intending to impugn my integrity.”

ALLY McCOIST has reaffirmed his faith in his Rangers squad and clarified his comments to the Press last week after being unhappy with the way they were reported. The Ibrox manager spoke to the media on Friday to preview Saturday’s trip to East Fife and said he would like to strengthen his pool for next season’s likely Championship campaign. His consequent complaint is that was interpreted by some as him fearing his men wouldn’t win the title it goes for without further investment in the group first. McCoist has insisted that’s not what he meant at all and maintains it’s his job to strive for constant improvement whatever league Gers play in and however well they perform. There was a reaction to how the 51-year-old’s words were put across and he is disappointed as he feels he has been portrayed in some quarters as having a lack of trust in his current crop. McCoist will still look to recruit high-quality players if he is permitted to when the 2013/14 term draws to a close and the transfer window reopens. But he is adamant that doesn’t mean he doesn’t rate those currently at his disposal because he’d always seek to make his side as strong as it can possibly be. McCoist said: “I said if we got up to the Championship there were no guarantees we’d win it and I stand by that. There are no guarantees in anything. “But not for the first time, I thought the standard of journalism was very poor. I listened to the interview again and at no time did I say we have to spend cash. “I’m obviously quite guarded about saying things like that but various newspaper reports claimed we needed to spend vast amounts of money. “These people look to me to do my job and I would actually look to them to do their jobs too. All I want them to do is report what I’m actually saying. “What I said was I’d like to strengthen the squad for next season and the foreseeable future but it came across in a completely different manner. “What happened then was I had people reacting to a statement I never made. I’ve been in the game long enough to know what to expect but it’s a little bit disappointing at times. “We’re bound as coaches and managers to try to improve the quality of player in the team and the squad all the time, regardless of what level we’re at and how successful we are. “That’s our job. We’ve got to keep pressing buttons and asking questions in an attempt to do that and that will always be the case. “What has been written suggests I don’t have faith in my current squad and that’s not the case at all. If and when we get promotion, I’d like to strengthen and give the squad a hand.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6440-boss-clarifies-press-comments

Hi everyone. We are SDMC Productions, and we are producing a feature-length documentary charting the extraordinary story of Rangers FC. The project is coming along brilliantly, but we are interested to know what you, the fans, would like to see in the documentary! We'd be interested in your feedback and input, because this is a film made for the fans to tell the Rangers story from the fans perspective! Are there any particular things that you would like to see in the documentary, aside from interviews and goals. Perhaps there is a highlight of the club that sticks out for you- a moment, a player, a season? We’d be interested in all of your suggestions in all aspects of the documentary. Whatever you’d like to see in the documentary, we’d like to hear from you! What do you think of the ups and downs of Rangers FC, and the recent involvement of Dave King? What are your views and opinions on this? Where do you see the club in the future? We are also interested to know if you would go to the cinema to watch this documentary? Would you consider any areas that are too sensitive for us to cover? What features could we include to make it interesting to you? We've got a short teaser trailer of the documentary now up on YouTube - check out our interviews with David Fisher, Clive Anderson and other Rangers fans and supporters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph0UAvTrTaU&noredirect=1 As the fans, we want you to be proud of this project, so we don’t want to leave any stones unturned! Thanks again everyone, looking forward to having you onboard with us! Best wishes, SDMC Productions.

Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 31s #Rangers Dave King "Message to fans is..if we don't hold board to account then we will have a couple of unnecessarily difficult years ahead" Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 1m Dave King "I am absolutely confident that Craig Whyte won't have a future at #Rangers going forward" Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 1m Dave King "There are powers behind the throne at #Rangers not represented on board" would prefer him an other likeminded people involved Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 2m Dave King believes there is a "guiding hand behind" #Rangers that is not currently sitting on the board. But doesn't name names. Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 3m Dave King says "what is very important" is transparency must come first, before any future investment. Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 4m Dave King says trying to avert "another financial crisis" at #Rangers & that board is relying on fans' "fierce loyalty" to come up with cash Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 5m DaveKing says "it is obvious" #Rangers is "running out of money" & was happy go be a significant investor but board has since "done nothing" Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 9m Dave King says real aim to get "proper transparency from #Rangers & would like not to have to set up fund for season tickets. Martin Williams ‏@Martin1Williams 11m Dave King says will meet the #Rangers board and insists his statements about "financial crisis" of club was "nothing controversial"

http://www.rangersfirst.org/