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  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30582696 Rangers: SFA to hear case for Mike Ashley increasing stake By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland Rangers chief executive Derek Llambias will address the Scottish FA board on Tuesday to make a case for Mike Ashley raising his stake at Ibrox. The SFA has issued notices of complaint to the club and Ashley due to alleged breaches of dual interest rules. A disciplinary hearing will be held in January, but the informal talks about Ashley increasing his shareholding will be treated separately. Ashley currently owns 8.92% of Rangers International Football Club. But the Newcastle United owner has previously shown interest in raising that to 29.9%. When Ashley took his initial stake in RIFC, the SFA board granted permission on the basis that a case was made for his involvement. Article 13 of the association's rules state that an individual cannot hold stakes in two clubs without the prior permission of the SFA board. Ashley signed up to an undertaking to not raise his stake beyond 10% and to not hold undue influence over the board. After loaning Rangers £3m, Ashley's long-time associates Llambias and Barry Leach were appointed as consultants. Llambias was then appointed non-executive director and was appointed chief executive last week. He was previously managing director of Newcastle United, the club Ashley owns outright. Breaching the undertaking would bring sanctions from the SFA, but at the same time Ashley can still seek permission to increase his Ibrox stake. Rangers intend to hold a share issue in the new year, to raise up to £8m by issuing 54 million shares at a discounted market price - which is currently 18p. Llambias would need to make a business case to the SFA board, which will hold the discussions informally following a board meeting at Hampden, that Ashley is the only source of the funding that the club requires to continue trading. The offer of £16m of funding from a consortium involving former Rangers director Dave King has never formally been removed, although it would require the support of 75% of shareholders. At the annual general meeting, shareholders voted to approve the share issue, but rejected the disapplication of pre-emption rights. Derek Llambias at the Rangers AGM: "Not everything I do will be popular but everything I do will be in the club's long-term interests." When the share issue is held in January, existing shareholders must first be given the opportunity to maintain the size of their stake, or face dilution with new shares potentially being issued. A non-shareholder can still underwrite the issue, but they will not know how many shares they will end up with until after shareholders have taken up or declined their rights. Existing shareholders can also sell their rights to non-shareholders, or take up their rights and then leave the remaining shares unissued. This would reduce the amount of capital raised, although Ashley could agree to the refinancing of the £3m loan he made to the club and which is due to be paid back in April. Uncertainty continues at Ibrox, although Llambias also told shareholders that Kenny McDowall will remain as manager of the team until the end of the season "and perhaps beyond". McDowall was promoted from his role as assistant, following the decision to place manager Ally McCoist on "gardening leave". Analysis - Douglas Fraser: BBC Scotland's business & economy editor "Rangers badly needs cash - not for investment, but simply to stay solvent from month to month, "The only people likely to provide it are either going to demand very high interest rates, because of the risk of default, or because they're passionate about the club, or because it could give them control. "A company can go back to shareholders, offering them the right to buy shares in proportion to their existing holding to ensure no-one's shareholding need be diluted. "But the need for investment is such that the directors believed they needed to go much further with a big bang issue of new shares, giving more power to one or more new investors while diluting the power of existing ones. "Given the unhappy recent history of dominant shareholders at Ibrox, there's too much suspicion of directors for that to get past the annual general meeting, this year or last. "So it's back to those other options; seeking out short-term and expensive loans: or asking existing shareholders to find new funds for the club (after seeing the share price fall from 93p to 18p in the two years since the holding company floated): or looking to a rich individual who has an interest in gaining a controlling interest. "That's where Mike Ashley is key. The Sports Direct boss has nearly 10% of shares, and a merchandising partnership. His man, Derek Llambias, has just been made chief executive. "He's already bankrolled Rangers on apparently attractive terms. And he's got pots more money to keep doing so, though that would require an ever-bigger security over the assets. "At least one problem is that he's got to get past the Scottish FA, which wants an explanation for what appears to be his controlling interest in both Rangers and Newcastle United. "Unfortunately for the SFA, Mike Ashley could turn round and force them to face their own dilemma; either let him continue to invest in Rangers, thus taking control, or let one of their biggest club's collapse. Again."
  2. 19 December Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company") Appointment of Chief Executive Officer Existing Board member Derek Llambias has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rangers with immediate effect. Derek joined the Board on 2 November 2014 as a non-executive director. In line with the cost cutting exercise announced on 12 November 2014, Mr Llambias's remuneration will be significantly lower than previously offered for this position. Additionally, David Somers will now revert to his previous role as non-executive Chairman. Commenting on the appointment, David Somers said "I am delighted that Derek has agreed to step up to the Chief Executive role. This is a successful outcome to the process, announced on 27 October 2014, which involved interviewing a number of high calibre candidates. Derek has impressed us with his grasp of the issues since joining the group and brings a wealth of experience, particularly from his time at Newcastle United, which we feel confident will be invaluable to Rangers. ************** " which involved interviewing a number of high calibre candidates" Did it f@ck.
  3. From Mail online. Ally McCoist may have managed Rangers for the final time as Mike Ashley prepares to move to replace him Rangers set to prepare moves aimed at dispensing with Ally McCoist Club to make an announcement after Monday's annual general meeting McCoist steered his side to a 2-0 victory over Livingston on Saturday Rangers are set to make moves aimed at dispensing with Ally McCoist as manager after Monday’s annual general meeting at Ibrox. An announcement is expected to be made of Mike Ashley’s intent to underwrite the new £8million share issue, approval for which must be granted by shareholders in order to keep the club operating beyond the end of next month. With that availability of fresh funding and newly-appointed chief executive Derek Llambias at the controls, Ashley and his lieutenant can begin to impress their stamp on Rangers. VIDEO Scroll down to see Ally McCoist in a tough Rangers press conference Ally McCoist could have manager Rangers for the final time against Livingston on Saturday +2 Ally McCoist could have manager Rangers for the final time against Livingston on Saturday It’s understood the Ibrox board could be prepared to stave off the wave of unrest at the potentially stormy meeting with a solid declaration of Ashley’s commitment and financial way forward. And the Newcastle United owner could be painted as the stricken club’s saviour if loans of up to £3m already handed to Rangers by him were to be written off. All of which could mean yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Livingston becoming one of McCoist’s last, if not his final game, in charge of Rangers. Following a midweek meeting with football board chairman Sandy Easdale and Llambias, McCoist remained as manager for the Championship game at Ibrox. But, if bolstered by a guarantee of cash, Rangers can tackle negotiations over the terms of McCoist’s notice period within the next fortnight in a bid to reach a settlement. Attention would then turn to his backroom staff, including assistant manager Kenny McDowall, first-team coach Ian Durrant and goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart, as work begins on establishing a new football structure. That would be preferable to the new men in charge than prolonging the agony of McCoist remaining in control of the squad until as long as next December. Billy Davies remains a prominent contender to replace McCoist in the hotseat. Ally McCoist gives a status update in tough Rangers press... Mike Ashley is keen to impress his stamp upon Rangers as soon as possible +2 Mike Ashley is keen to impress his stamp upon Rangers as soon as possible Those manoeuvres will raise the stakes in Rangers’ imminent disciplinary clash with the SFA. Last Monday, the governing body issued Ashley and the club notices of complaint for allegedly breaching rules related to his increasing influence in Rangers’ day-to-day running. Ashley steered clear three months ago when then chief executive Graham Wallace went to the market and raised an emergency £3million. Instead, the Newcastle supremo struck a deal with Hargreave Hale for their investment in order to strengthen his shareholding to 8.92 per cent. However, he will ensure his shareholding is no more than 29.9 per cent following any flotation, otherwise he would be legally-bound to make a bid to buy the entire company. Meanwhile, it has emerged Mark Hateley was advised by formerteam-mates to be careful about courting a relationship with the Easdale brothers, Sandy and James — he sat beside them at the recent games at Alloa and Palmerston — months before this week’s revelation of his fall-out with McCoist. Hateley had phoned Nacho Novo and tried to speak to one current player in a bid to extract information about McCoist’s coaching methods. The Rangers manager blanked attempts by Hateley in midweek to mend the broken relationship, furious that his old team-mate appears to have joined the boardroom camp of those who are opponents of the McCoist tenure.
  4. RNS Number : 4108A Rangers Int. Football Club PLC 22 December 2014  Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company")
 
AGM Statement As previously announced, the Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30am today, Monday 22 December 2014, at Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow G51 2XD. Access will be through Exit 30 of the Broomloan Stand which is adjacent to turnstile 64. Shareholders will have access to the Albion car park with access to the Stadium footprint for disabled Blue Badge holders to park near the entrance. Shareholders are asked to arrive in good time from 9am in order to clear the registration process. Shareholders should bring the attendance card which was included with the Notice of AGM, posted to registered addresses on 28 November 2014. In the event that the attendance card is lost, Shareholders should bring some other form of ID (a credit/debit card will suffice). Shareholders whose shares are held in a nominee account with their stockbroker will need a Corporate Representative's letter (issued by the custodian of their shares) in order to be admitted. Non-shareholders including guests of shareholders, will not be admitted. The meeting will consider the 9 Resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM, each of which will be subject to a vote by Poll, which will be verified by Capita Registrars Limited. The result of these Resolutions will be released to the London Stock Exchange by no later than 7am on Tuesday 23 December 2014. At the AGM the Chairman, David Somers, will make the following statement: "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to this Annual General Meeting of Rangers International Football Club plc. It feels like years since I last stood in front of you and it is amazing that it is only just over 12 months. 12 months ago, as I had just joined the Rangers Board, I was given the impression that the Club had enough money to see it through the first few months to the season ticket window. Sadly, I quickly discovered that this was not the case. The Board then began metaphorically to take up all of the carpets; after which we were left with a very long list of legacy issues that needed to be sorted out, often as our finances would allow. So in the first few months, we reviewed all of the contracts, the finances and the legal issues, ending up with a long list of legacy issues that would need to be dealt with over time. Since then we have spent many months focusing on these legacy issues dealing with them one by one. To be honest, it is frustrating dealing with legacy issues, because you are effectively looking backwards during this time and dealing with issues you didn't create yourself. I know that most fans will not really be interested in such efforts, because it is not about football, but these legacy issues and contracts have had to be dealt with so that we can begin to move forward. I was always taught to be cautious, so I hesitate to say that we have dealt with all of these legacy issues, as whenever I think that, another legacy issue quietly appears, but we do seem to have addressed many or most of them. One of our biggest remaining legacy issues is the weak state of the Rangers finances. In the financial area, we have been fortunate that a number of people have supported us with loans during the last 12 months, namely Sandy Easdale, George Letham and Mash Holdings. I sincerely thank them for their support, which in some cases, has included their loans being interest free. In the early days, while developing our list of legacy issues to be addressed, Graham Wallace wrote a review, which became known as the 120 day review. In this he indicated a desire to spend £20-30 millions in reaching the top levels of Scottish and European football. After visits to various City institutions the Board believed that such a level of expenditure would be supported by the City institutions, and the then monthly rate of loss, would also be supported by the shareholders. In the event, this was discovered not to be the case, because when we came to raise funds through a share issue, we soon found that there was a lack of appetite from shareholders to invest significant extra funds just to pay wages and utility bills. Accordingly, we have moved to cut costs significantly. Like any household, Rangers can ultimately only spend what it earns and, as has been reported in the media, we have moved quickly to bring our costs down and much more in line with our income. Rangers Football Club has been living beyond its means for many years and much of the cost cutting and efficiency improvements should have been addressed years ago by previous boards when we were in the lower divisions. But they weren't, so we are doing it. A material part of our costs relate to player costs, however, and these can only be addressed over a long period of time because of the length of the contracts. These contracts are often measured in years, not months. In these past 12 months, I have been surprised at a number of things. Firstly, the highly negative aspect of most of the media reporting regarding Rangers. Secondly, because it is clear to me that a stronger Rangers is good for Scottish football, I have been very disappointed to realise that outside of Ibrox, there sadly still exists a great deal of anti- Rangers feeling, perhaps (although I hope not) even in the football establishment. Rangers return to the top flight of our game, I am sure you will agree, will be more easily achieved if everyone who cares about the Club works together for the betterment of Rangers. This turbulent year has seen people calling for a season ticket boycott, seen the disruptive creation of a season ticket trust for a while and other negative ideas. Such negativity is expensive for Rangers as it reduces season ticket and overall ticket sales, increasing the likelihood that I will have to borrow money to cover the shortfalls created. Our path to restoring Rangers to where we all want the Club to be, can only be achieved with the continued support of all supporters, shareholders and business partners. 2013/14 saw Rangers Football Club complete the second stage of our rise back to the top of Scottish football and the year also brought another vital component for a new Rangers to emerge for the future - a structured and measured approach to rebuilding the football club. An unbeaten SPFL League One campaign was an excellent return for Alistair, his staff and the players and they deserve our congratulations. While we were all ultimately disappointed to have been defeated in both the Ramsdens Cup Final and the William Hill Scottish Cup semi final, our fundamental objective of achieving promotion was comfortably achieved with a points total into three figures. I was delighted that the Board was able to further support the Manager in providing funds for the recruitment of nine players in 2013/14 and also in the period immediately after the end of the financial year when we brought Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd, Steve Simonsen and Lee Robinson back to the Club, together with the signings of Marius Zaliukas and Darren McGregor. While the success of any major football club will always be benchmarked by its first team, a strong Youth Academy is also an informative barometer of long-term health and well being. It is very pleasing to see the quality and quantity of young talent being nurtured at Murray Park. Last season our Under20s won the SFA Youth Cup and narrowly lost out in the title race in the final week of the campaign. 57 players from our Under 14 to Under 21 age groups were called into international squads and three more Murray Park Academy graduates made their first team debuts. The ladies and girls teams have come a long way in a short space of time, enjoying significant success. In season 2013, the Ladies reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup, The Under 17s team secured the league, Scottish Cup and League Cup treble, the U15s and U13s finished second in the leagues and a new U11s team has been introduced. Internationally, the Rangers ladies teams have contributed 22 players to the Scotland teams across all age groups. We are charting our future strategy in the five key areas of: • Developing Football Performance • Focus on Player Asset Management and Youth Development • Re-connecting effectively to our Local and Global Fan Base • Developing Best in Class Commercial and Operational Capability • Strengthening Commitment to our Communities The year also saw Rangers make the first, important steps towards building an effective programme of engagement with our fan base. Fans were contacted via email, SMS, online and at matchdays to assist in our Ready To Listen Initiative, showing we are serious about improving communications and dialogue with all supporters. Subsequent focus groups took place in Ibrox with feedback generated helping to shape the direction of the Club's fan engagement strategy. I think that we would all agree that we still have work to do in this area and one in which we must increase our endeavours. Although we have experienced difficult trading conditions, there have been a number of important and positive, developments in our fiscal position during the financial year. A 32% increase in total revenue from £19.1m to £25.2m was recorded in the year ending 30 June 2014, with the majority of the uplift due to the first full year of our retail venture with our long term partner Sports Direct. Reduced revenues from gate receipts and hospitality are down from £13.2m to £12.4m and were a direct result of the lower matchday attendances from both season ticket holders and walk-ins. This shortfall was offset by increased revenue from sponsorship and advertising up from £0.8m to £1.5m illustrating the improvements in the Rangers brand perception. Proceeds from ticket sales were also adversely impacted by the decision not to increase prices of either season or matchday tickets from the previous season. Season ticket sales were sadly down from 38,228 in 2012/13 to 36,039 in the 2013/14 financial year, resulting in a fall in revenue from £8.1m to £7.7m in financial years 2012/13 and 2013/14 respectively. Our average home league attendance also fell from 45,111 in the 2012/13 season to 41,444 in 2013/14. Other Operating Income rose from £1.7m to £2.1m, a 22% increase, mainly as a result of hosting both Scottish Cup Semi Finals and an increased associated uplift in matchday catering revenues. At this AGM, we are requesting permission from shareholders to enable us to issue shares to improve the long term financial stability of the Club. We were not able to last year and I sincerely hope, for the good of the financial stability and future of the Club, that it will be forthcoming this year. We are now increasingly looking forward. An immediate priority is to re-build the Board with suitably experienced people and this is already well underway. We also need to look at the football side for a number of reasons. Firstly, there has for some time existed a chasm between the talented young players being developed at Murray Park and our first team. We need to focus on ways of developing our own young players for the first team rather than continually buying-in players. Secondly, as you all know Ally has decided to resign and has given us the required 12 months notice of his intention to leave the Club, as of yesterday Ally is on gardening leave. Sadly, this year, one of our greatest ever supporters will not be with us on the rest of our long journey. In April we lost Sandy Jardine - a truly inspirational man and Ranger. I had the privilege of meeting him a number of times before he left us and I found him to be one of football's true gentlemen. Sandy will be forever revered and the re-naming of the Govan Stand in his memory is a fitting tribute to a truly wonderful person who cared so passionately about his Club. My personal goals remain what they were 12 months ago. Namely to ensure that the events of Rangers' recent past can never happen again; to cleanse the Club of these events, and also to ensure that Rangers gets back to the top in football. I now recognise that we will not get much support outside of Ibrox for this; we have to do it ourselves. And we will. Last year I said that I was proud to be Chairman of Rangers. I will repeat that again today, because I genuinely believe it is a privilege to be in this position." http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12192436.html
  5. From club website. AS previously announced, the Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30am on Monday 22 December 2014 at Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow G51 2XD. Access will be through Exit 30 of the Broomloan Stand which is adjacent to turnstile 64. Shareholders will have access to the Albion car park with access to the Stadium footprint for disabled Blue Badge holders to park near the entrance. Shareholders are asked to arrive in good time from 9am in order to clear the registration process. Shareholders should bring the attendance card which was included with the Notice of AGM, posted to registered addresses on 28 November 2014. In the event that the attendance card is lost, Shareholders should bring some other form of ID (a credit/debit card will suffice). Shareholders whose shares are held in a nominee account with their stockbroker will need a Corporate Representative's letter (issued by the custodian of their shares) in order to be admitted. Non-shareholders including guests of shareholders, will not be admitted. The meeting will consider the 9 Resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM, each of which will be subject to a vote by Poll, which will be verified by Capita Registrars Limited. The result of these Resolutions will be released to the London Stock Exchange by no later than 7am on 23 December 2014.
  6. "The intention will be to settle the absolute minimum with creditors before they can cash their chips and make money off the ground, most supporters thus feel the club may as well go bust so that at least a phoenix team may be able to take the stadium. But the incumbents have a history of doing this at other clubs and are well connected. The club has had 4 chairmen in 6 months as they pass it around dodging winding up orders and pesky owners and directors tests, I'm sure they'll come through this somehow still in possession of whats left of the club. A friend of mine is a Darlo fan, watching his team cease to exist was pretty tough but in the end he was relieved when their farcical former incarnation came to an end. I don't think it's an easy task to come back but enough teams have to show it can be done." For fans of a certain age, Ronnie Radford's 'rocket' speaks of an entirely different world of football. Mud bath pitches, genuine cup shocks, a pitch invasion not immediately followed by FA investigations and/or police reprisal, even the flared trousers of the kids take the viewer back to an era when daytime TV was more Open University than Loose Women, Mash and Fray Bentos was an aspirational dinner, and football was a stable certainty, with even the most badly run club more or less safe from extinction if they had any fans at all. Sadly for Hereford, the times have seriously changed. Banned from any and all football activity by the FA owing to failure to complete paperwork - rather than the various questionable practices by various questionable owners, the usual 'Al Capone' approach to oversight taken by enfeebled football authorities - the present era of free ownership by speculators rather than fans has led to an on field decline and a boycott by the vast majority of supporters, dismayed at the hollow shell their beloved club has become - this sounds familiar to the Rangers fan. It's come to the point where the FA ban is hailed as good news, at least to this Guardian commenter: "This news has been welcomed by myself and 90% of my fellow Hereford United fans. The club's demise this season has been heart-breaking and the response from the authorities has been either non-existent or completely toothless until now. It's good to see that the FA have finally acted but it's taken far too long." Late Friday has brought the news that, owing to the owner being stuck in traffic with a guarantee of funding, the club has in fact been wound up. It's the sort of farce that Bears are all too familiar with, and sends out the message that, should your owner be incompetent enough, extinction is all too possible. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-30542821 Why football authorities are so slow to protect their game is mystifying. Hereford might not be up there, financially, with Chelsea or Man City, but in football the whole is very much the sum of the parts, a lesson forgotten too easily by too many. Trying to sell a top league with no substrata will not be so easy as it might sound: if we have no Hereford, before long we have no Chelsea, at least not as we know it, for we lose the FA Cup, the League Cup, eventually losing entirely the interaction between 'giant' and 'killer'. If you have a lack of clubs who can aspire to the Premiership, the Premiership ceases to be aspirational. For some, replacement with an UltraEuroSuperLeague sounds very appealing, but shrinking the game to a super elite is no basis for a sustainable future. Lose the Body of the Kirk & you must reinvent yourself: and re-invention comes with no guarantee of success, as the Church of Scotland could attest. And just as important as a coherent national structure is a coherent model of ownership. Like much of Britain since the 70's, football has seen a decline in any form of social responsibility and a lurch into unfettered capitalism. Allowing teams to be owned by anyone who happens by with a chequebook - or whatever they have now - then belatedly issuing punishments which further damage the club rather than the dodgy owner is not common sense or natural law but it's symptomatic of Britain nowadays. You can see this kind of withdrawal from the social sphere all over the UK. The choking of funding to local government has seen the loss of effective town planning, resulting in ugly, empty and unattractive urban centres people would flee if only they could. In 2014 Britain, absolutely nothing is sacred, nothing is off the table, and mere football clubs going to the wall not just possible but starkly likely. "The club is still in the hands of conmen with another date at the High Court coming up on Monday (the 7th time...or is it the 8th...or 9th) that the club has been back there. Winding-up orders have been staved off due to the mysterious shifting around of funds by even more mysterious 'investors' and the involvement of shell companies." Iffy owners and bizarre financials have become part and parcel of the game, from Premiership to Pontins League, if that still exists. A big name is no guarantee of safety: in Scotland, Rangers currently tick most of the nightmare boxes Hereford were opening, like some nightmarish advent calendar, while the Scottish FA veer between anger, contempt and hamfisted appeasement in their attitude to the various owners who take the stage, but never actually achieve anything that might either kill or cure the Ibrox side: they, too, have adopted the light touch which in actuality is the expression of their powerlessness, so desperate are they for the financial benefit the club brings to overlook financial lunacy. This is not mere arrogance: the League Cup in Scotland, without a real sponsor for several seasons, suddenly gets one at this year's semi-final stage, with a much needed six figure sum going into the game. I'm sure the fact that one semi-final features Rangers playing Celtic is complete coincidence. Aping the attitude of Hereford's owners, Rangers treat their paying customer with total contempt. Last week, Rangers board member Mr Sandy Easdale took the opportunity to berate fans for not celebrating hard enough that naming rights to Ibrox Stadium, originally 'sold' to Mike Ashley of Newcastle Utd fame for the princely sum of £1, had been reclaimed. That this secret and stupid deal was rescinded only after a fan outcry apparently bypasses Mr Easdale; they should celebrate that the club was dragged into acting in the best interests of itself. His words: "We've gotten these (rights) back and the fans haven’t celebrated enough on this topic." The expression 'beyond parody' comes to mind. On the pitch the team is terrible. At least when Hereford's 'owner' Andy Lonsdale did the dirty on Feltham FC, by dumping rubbish on their pitch, he wasn't paying the rubbish £10,000 a week. [http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bedfont--feltham-president-plays-7296079] There is an alternative to this ongoing horror story, though. It's nihilistic, dangerous and offers no guarantee of success, but at least it - unlike the present conditions - does have a potentially positive outcome. "Follow my team AFC Wimbledon and start again. You won't regret it and you won't feel like your being shafted each week by a rich owner with no understanding of a clubs place in the community." I find it astonishing that, as a Rangers man of 30 years and more, I can contemplate the death of my club, on the basis that the present incarnation is so hateful that either a rebirth, or nothing, would be preferable. It's certainly a scorched earth policy, but there have to be limits: currently Ibrox stadium is fast approaching decrepitude, a state of affairs completely unacceptable at a club where 66 people died in the 1971 disaster. Money comes in and disappears. Chairmen come and go, directors likewise. Majority shareholders emerge, only to retreat to offshore shadows. There seems no future. At a recent fan board meeting, one representative delivered an excoriating warning to the club that their attitude and provision toward disabled fans will see them barred from competing in UEFA competitions unless a serious amount of money is invested, now. Setting aside the grim mirth that the idea of the present Rangers team competing in Europe occasions - frankly, Hereford would probably put up a better showing - what UEFA decrees now, domestic bodies follow sooner or later, and Rangers will not be 'Ready', mocking the club's increasingly ironic motto. Rangers are so far from any kind of stability it's not true, and it's sad to see a club so far away from an even keel still spout the same rubbish about business reviews, plans going forward, all in it together, Champions League: the bullshit merchants of Glasgow are no more believable than their Wyvern equivalents in Hereford, just less honest. Coming back from the position Hereford and Rangers find themselves in is not easy, nor is it guaranteed, so I expect many if not all Rangers fans will consider a course of voluntary self-destruction, with only at best a 50-50 chance of a rebirth afterwards, insanity. Well, I'm certain I don't want to see the current mess go on any longer, and I'm selfish enough to believe that if it's not good enough for me, it shouldn't be good enough for anyone else. But I don't know that I've ever been entirely sane on the subject of my team: it was always about love, not reason. At present I am in the cowardly position of having little feeling for what is currently calling itself Rangers, but not having the guts to call for a completely new start, irrespective of history or heritage. "We're all hoping the end might, finally, be in sight." Whether the end turns out to be a new beginning, though, that's another question.
  7. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/requisitioner-says-ally-mccoist-deserves-full-pay-off-at-rangers-192073n.114667550 I wish someone would explain to me in detail how some people are entitled to contractual pay offs for bad performance while others are not?
  8. Notices of Complaint: Rangers FC and Michael Ashley Monday, 15 December 2014 The Compliance Officer has issued the following Notices of Complaint: Alleged Party in Breach: Rangers FC Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached: Disciplinary Rule 1: All members shall: (b) be subject to and comply with (i) the Articles (ii) this protocol. (f) behave towards the Scottish FA and other members with the utmost good faith. Disciplinary Rule 19: Except with the prior written consent of the Board: (a) no club or nominee of a club; and (b) no person, whether absolutely or as a trustee, either alone or in conjunction with one or more associates or solely through an associate or associates (even where such person has no formal interest), who: (i) is a member of a club; or (ii) is involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of a club, or (iii) has any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration or a club, may at the same time either directly or indirectly:- (a) be a member of another club; or (b) be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of another club; or © have any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration of another club. Disciplinary Rule 77: A recognised football body, club, official, Team Official, other member of Team Staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall, at all times, act in the best interests of Association Football. Principal Hearing date: Tuesday, 27th January 2015 Alleged Party in Breach: Michael Ashley Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached: Disciplinary Rule 19: Except with the prior written consent of the Board: (a) no club or nominee of a club; and (b) no person, whether absolutely or as a trustee, either alone or in conjunction with one or more associates or solely through an associate or associates (even where such person has no formal interest), who: (i) is a member of a club; or (ii) is involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of a club, or (iii) has any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration or a club, may at the same time either directly or indirectly:- (a) be a member of another club; or (b) be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of another club; or © have any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration of another club. Disciplinary Rule 77: A recognised football body, club, official, Team Official, other member of Team Staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall, at all times, act in the best interests of Association Football. Principal Hearing date: Tuesday, 27th January 2015 http://scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2566&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=14110
  9. compo

    Who then?

    Suppose we find one point four million in a drawer at ibrox and wield the axe who should be our next manager and who should be his assistants . and who among the current squad would you like to see go in the January transfer window
  10. I never thought he really wanted to sell Newcastle? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11295462/Mike-Ashley-could-control-Rangers-and-Newcastle-United-within-weeks.html
  11. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12183967.html Who in the name of hell thought up this idea ? Put in your notice and receive a significant increase in salary ?
  12. UoF Statement on Retail Deal - 75p in every £10 goes to club "Since the release of the accounts for RIFC PLC, the focus has rightly been on the almost immediate requirement for more cash simply to pay bills and also the board’s wish to raise £8m in equity finance despite recently turning down a valid, fully funded offer for £16m. However, having had the accounts analysed by qualified accountants, we feel it is important to bring Rangers fans' attention to the absolutely disgraceful reality of the retail deal which has been entered into with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. We have become accustomed to David Somers', Comical Ali style proclamations about our club. He stated recently that Rangers "make quite a lot of money" from the Sports Direct deal but that is not how the accounts read in our analysis. In fact, despite the loyalty of the Rangers fans seeing £7.6m spent on retail in the year covered by the accounts, the club's share of that spending is a paltry £590k. That means that for every £10 spent by Rangers fans on merchandise, the club receives only around 75p. The accounts also reveal that Rangers Retail has an obligation to purchase stock at a higher price than it is able to be sold at. In the second half of the year covered by the accounts it appears that the portion of profit due to the club is an unbelievable £2k. For comparative purposes, the much maligned JJB agreement, our previous retail deal, made the club a minimum of £4.8m a year over the term of the deal, over 8x the amount we are making from Sports Direct. Crucially, it is also not clear whether the club has yet received a penny of the £590k it is due or whether it is still retained within Rangers Retail. Indeed, from inception it would appear that the club has only received £100k in dividends from the venture with Sports Direct. Mr Ashley has loaned money to strengthen his stranglehold over our commercial operations, whilst funds due to the club through Rangers Retail, over which Sports Direct has effective control, are retained. We have always feared that the deal Charles Green did with Sports Direct was dreadful for Rangers. Mr Somers' ridiculous defence of it, on behalf of this discredited and incompetent board, can be added to the list of reasons why he, the Easdale brothers, Norman Crighton and Derek Llambias are rightly distrusted by the vast majority of our fans. In light of the information revealed in the accounts we urge fans to stop buying merchandise from club stores, which are now under Mr Ashley’s full control or being shut down, and Sports Direct. Your loyalty is being abused and the club is not benefiting from the money you are pouring into Mr Ashley's pockets."
  13. Keith Jackson on Twitter "Rangers new Nomad i understand will be WH Ireland." PLC website http://wh-ireland.co.uk/wh-ireland ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Green and Whyte Leach Ireland Someone somewhere is taking the p**h If you don't laugh, you'd cry......
  14. The Blue shirt is here! From the same team that brought your the Red and Black shirt and the Fernando shirt. Due to popular demand we have taken the decision to produce a shirt in blue in time for Christmas. The shirt is produced on a Nike base with the Lion proudly emblazoned on the breast. We have 500 in stock and ready to roll in time for Christmas. Each buying option online is linked to a stock control system which means we can’t oversell a size. You can buy safe in the knowledge that every penny of profit will go to buying a shares stake for fans in the club. For overseas purchasers - click on the button where it says UK £32.74 and a drop-down menu will appear with the various delivery zone options. The shirts are available from http://www.TheLionBrand.co.uk
  15. Reading McMurdos Blog today, even he knows Ashley will not invest. ''Rangers are sick at heart. The answer is a strong leader but there is no-one on the horizon who fills that role. Everyone involved is hanging on to their own sphere of power and influence at the club. There is no Willie Waddell, no Bill Struth or Jock Wallace to rally the Ibrox battallions and have them face the same way instead of train their guns at each other. Yes, there is Mike Ashley. I am confident that he will step forward and provide both leadership and funding to steer Rangers away from the rocks and back to ruling the seas. But in all honesty I have to say that the margins are so fine at this very critical juncture that he might do so just too late to prevent a shipwreck. And let there be no doubt – what’s left of Scottish football will drown in the wake." https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com
  16. http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/332-rangers-2014-accounts-analysed An informed and dispassionate analysis of the accounts from Arnold Black.
  17. The emergence of Mike Ashley as the key shareholder in Rangers has raised many questions on what his exact intentions are. Some are of the opinion that billionaire Ashley will invest millions into Rangers which sees us dominate Scottish Football and participate in the Champions League. The conflicting aspect of Ashley investing in Rangers is the fact he has complete control of the income generated by the sale of club merchandise and the £1 stadium naming rights, although denied in certain quarters as scaremongering, was only just revoked after pressure to comply with possible fiduciary duties. Why invest millions when he’s taking money out of the business?........... http://www.therst.co.uk/mike-ashley-what-are-his-intentions/
  18. Can't afford to sack him and can't afford to keep him. Mcoists performance as manager has dragged us down every bit as much as the boardroom has over the last 3 seasons and if the current vein of form continues then things will come to a head very quickly. Attendances can only plummet from here on in. No doubt the board will have a fantastic new vision for the club at the minute followed by plans for a new share issue, if the fans aren't coming through the turn styles then the board might find this very difficult to achieve. Don't think Ashley could even bale us out either. How can you take a loan that you can't pay back? I can't see any way out other than admin. We're back to where we started when Craig Whyte showed up, only this time the fans aren't buying into it. The McCoist predicament is about to force everyone's hand and the board don't have any answers. That's why they are so silent, they don't know what to do?
  19. Thought this deserved its own thread. Hopefully further proof on the way of fraud committed against Rangers. https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-chancery-judges
  20. Ok, so it's silly season again! Post the latest transfer rumours in here please! OUT: Emilson Cribari - Out of contract. Andy Little - Out of contract. Signed for English League One side Preston North End. Chris Hegarty - Contract terminated by mutual consent - signed immediately for Linfield. Charlie Telfer - Contract extension rejected - signed immediately for Dundee Utd. Ross Perry - Contract terminated by mutual consent. Scott Gallacher - Contract terminated by mutual consent - signed for Hearts. IN: Kenny Miller - signed 1 year deal (with optional 1 year extension) on 4 June 2014. Darren McGregor - signed 1 year deal (with optional 1 year extension) on 11 June 2014. Kris Boyd - signed 1 year deal on 27 June 2014. Marius Zaliukas - signed 2 year deal on 11 July 2014 Lee Robinson - signed 1 year deal on 25 August 2014
  21. ...for Rangers chairman David Somers. IBROX board have just three weeks to sort the mess ahead of another explosive agm. THREE weeks today the directors of Rangers International Football Club PLC will shuffle out on to a purpose built stage in the main stand at Ibrox and attempt to justify their existence to the club’s shareholders. It promises to be quite something. They’ll be instantly recognisable of course, not just by the colour of their brogues but also by the red necks which have become every bit as standard issue for those who make it their business to step through this boardroom’s relentlessly whirling revolving doors. If executive chairman David Somers and his cohorts – Derek Llambias, James Easdale and Norman Crighton – needed any reminding of the consequences of the current situation then they needed only to look up from the posh seats yesterday and take in the sights and echoey sounds of an eerily-deserted stadium. If they did, the first thing they’d have noticed was that Sports Direct has a sale on. Not just any sale either, a ‘Cyber Weekend Event’ offering 20 per cent off everything until midnight tonight. Yes, at a time when Rangers are crippled with uncertainty, one thing is absolutely sure – come hell or high water, Mike Ashley will get his money’s worth from these drip-feed loans which are just about covering the costs of keeping this ailing club on life support. Ashley may have relinquished the naming rights for Ibrox but this barrage of LCD screen advertising for his high street store shows it’s now the Sports Direct Arena in all but name in any case. But all that aside, behind those garish hoardings, the day’s real message could be found in the shape of thousands upon thousands of empty blue seats. Almost 38,000 of them in total. If Somers and his gang have any sense of common decency then they ought to have felt thoroughly ashamed of themselves for allowing such a vast disconnect to occur on their watch. Yes, there is Christmas shopping to be done, the game was beamed out live on Sky TV and Scottish Cup ties are not included on season books but even though there are some mitigating factors behind yesterday’s stayaways, the truth is huge sections of the support have had just about all they can stomach of their own club. And, in all honesty, who can really blame them? If they are not turning on their TV to see familiar faces from their recent past being frogmarched from court buildings they are picking up newspapers to read about the present state of the club’s accounts, which with losses north of £8million do not paint a pretty picture either. For many of these fans the football has become almost irrelevant although it should be noted there will also have been some who stayed at home yesterday because, on the park, Rangers haven’t been much to look at either. It was with a heavy sense of irony then that Ally McCoist’s players chose to turn in the kind of performance of which they ought to be capable of on a far more regular basis. McCoist badly needed yesterday’s result but it was the way in which Rangers went about their business in this 3-0 win which will have bought him the most respite. The same cannot be said of the directors who’ll be shoved out to face the music on December 22 and who will find themselves with some serious explaining to do after publishing their latest set of numbers. One year ago chairman Somers stood on that same platform and promised better times ahead for this club after seeing off an attempted boardroom coup. Graham Wallace, who had only just been appointed to the role of chief executive, also attempted to placate shareholders and reassure them the club was no longer in any imminent danger. Yet two weeks later he was scrimping around looking for emergency loans which were needed just to meet February’s payroll. Wallace also spoke disapprovingly of the grotesque bonus culture which had been allowed to thrive inside Ibrox before his arrival. He won’t be available to answer questions this time though, having recently departed from his office complete with a bulging £160,000 bonus and an equally impressive £100,000 pay-off which secured his silence. Last week’s accounts showed just less than £1.5m was paid out to directors in the past year which just goes to show that the more this mess changes, the more it stays the same. The difference, one year on, is that Rangers fans are now disengaging in substantial numbers. And yet there won’t be a spare seat in the house when the directors are rolled back out onto centre stage because there are a great many questions which will require answering, not least how exactly they plan to fill the £8m hole in next year’s accounts. With crowds dropping and Ashley in control of retail and trackside advertising, it’s difficult to see any reason for this board’s eternal optimism. Somers may well be sticking to his ‘it will all work out for the best’ mantra but auditors Delloite are so far from convinced that they marked off the latest accounts with yet another flashing red light over the club’s ability to continue trading as a going concern. A personal guarantee from Ashley would have gone a long way to soothing their concerns but there is no indication he has any intention of throwing any more of his millions into the Ibrox blackhole. And no suggestion he would be willing to underwrite the next share issue which will be scrambled into action as early as possible in the New Year. They need to raise £8m this time around having only just failed to hit a target of half that amount about 10 minutes ago – while turning down the offer of a £16m funding package from Dave King’s consortium and also blocking Brian Kennedy from lending them £3m in favour of £2m from Ashley, which quickly became £3m when the first handout was spent. On top of all this, the club’s financially troubled nominated adviser, brokers Daniel Stewart (brought to the club by Charles Green), announced last week that from December 12 they’ll no longer be licensed to operate, which means another Nomad will have to be engaged ahead of this month’s AGM. And all of this played out against a backdrop of criminal proceedings and fraud charges? This board has only three weeks to get a handle on it all and then to try to convince their own shareholders they are in control of it. It promises to be quite something all right. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/keith-jackson-empty-bank-account-4725548
  22. ...in yet another dramatic day for the club. Sports Direct owner seems certain to strengthen his grip on Rangers as club lurch from one crisis to another...on and off the field. By Roddy Forsyth If an hour passes without some new development in the Rangers story — the most lurid saga to emerge from any British football club, ever — it counts as a quiet day. Scarcely had Telegraph Sport spread the overnight news that disgraced former owner, Craig Whyte, had been detained after being on the run in Mexico than we revealed that Uefa will not permit Rangers and Newcastle United to play together in Europe next season or for as long as Mike Ashley is in a position of power in both boardrooms. Of Ashley’s position and ambitions, more later. Neither the Champions League nor Europa League is foremost in Rangers fans’ minds. Last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by Hearts not only saw Ally McCoist’s players trail by nine points in the chase for automatic promotion to the Scottish Premiership, but it also emphasised the contrast in form with their main divisional rivals. Hearts’ total of 38 points from their opening 14 games is their best start to a league campaign. Hibs, meanwhile, have run up five successive away league victories for the first time since September 1980. To say McCoist is under pressure is to say what? Unless he walks away — that loaded phrase in the context of Ibrox — there is not sufficient cash to pay him off. As matters stand, the club will have to rely on another bailout from Ashley just to keep them going beyond New Year. There is increasing talk around the Scottish game that Rangers are heading into administration again. Some discount the notion on the grounds that the consequent automatic points deduction would condemn Rangers to a fourth successive season of lower league football which, they believe, would run contrary to Ashley’s aim of increasing club merchandise sales though his Sports Direct retail chain. Related Articles A more arcane theory has it that Ashley would accept administration as a short-term hit because it would shake out other contracts and allow him, as a major creditor, to bid for the club on the cheap. There is a third, more plausible option. Ashley’s lawyers are engaged in a low-key, but crucial positional battle with the Scottish Football Association. Ashley’s people want to find a way for him to increase his shareholding at Ibrox and Telegraph readers will remember that the idea of him taking his stake up to almost 27 per cent was floated in September. The SFA signed a binding agreement with Ashley, anchored in their Articles of Association, designed to keep him at 10 per cent or below. However, as money repeatedly runs out at Ibrox, Ashley either gets to increase his grip through security on the assets, with the SFA watching impotently, or he holds back, knowing that Scottish football’s governing body could be put in the invidious position of taking the blame for another insolvency event. And all of this is played out against a background of dawn swoops by police in southern England, as they arrest the former Rangers company secretary and three managing directors of Duff & Phelps, the company that oversaw Rangers’ administration in 2012. How tempting it is to conjure the fantasy that a posse of gun-toting Federales bore down on Whyte at the Mexican airport, to be greeted with a demand to show their ID, only for them to yell the immortal misquote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: “We don’t need no’ stinking badges!” Remember Ashley’s condition for advancing the soft loan that was rebuffed by the Rangers plc board in September? The club crest and trademark? Somebody does need the badges – and it looks unlikely that anybody can or will stop him now. Meanwhile, Rangers have confirmed Telegraph Sport's disclosure last month that the club would post losses of over £8 million in the accounts for the year to June 30, 2014. The figure given when the accounts were posted on the club’s website was £8.3 million. David Somers, the Rangers chairman, commented "…challenges still remain and despite additional financing having been secured over the year, further funding is necessary to ensure the club's ability to move forward successfully to achieve the goals we all seek and expect of Rangers Football Club. "To this end the board will be seeking shareholder approval at the forthcoming AGM to issue additional shares to ensure maximum flexibility for the company to raise equity finance and provide the financial capability required to develop the club in the longer term.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11259511/Mike-Ashleys-Rangers-swoop-overshadows-Craig-Whyte-dawn-raids-in-yet-another-dramatic-day-for-the-club.html
  23. Union Bears As you will know, the group took the very difficult decision back in May not to renew our season tickets due to the selfish, malicious and borderline illegal actions of our club’s current and previous incumbents. This was a decision echoed by nearly 15000 season ticket holders and the crowds at Ibrox so far this season have reflected the feeling of many Rangers supporters. We watched with hope and expectation as Dave King submitted his £16 million offer of funding in exchange for a majority stake in the club. We then watched with resignation but not shock as Mike Ashley and his friends within the Board room blocked this move and instead pushed through Ashley’s £2 million emergency loan secured against Rangers assets and on the premise of complete Board control. Like all other supporters, we wanted a clean break from people like Charles Green and his murky investors, but it is clear this isn't going to happen. It therefore brings us to a crossroads, as a group and as individuals. Mike Ashley has his grip firmly on the throat of our beloved club and nothing and nobody will make him remove it, as has been demonstrated in his time in charge of Newcastle Utd. It has thrown up a pertinent question which must be answered by not only us but every Rangers fan. Do we maintain our boycott for potentially years in the hope that someone saves us? Or do we elect to support the team on the park and explore other ways of enforcing change at Rangers? After much discussion we have elected to follow the latter path. As of 03/01/2015 we will be returning to the stands on a permanent basis. This is not a gesture of support for those now in charge of our club, nor is it an admission of defeat. It is simply a change of tactic. As a passionate group of supporters whose best attributes lie in what we achieve in and around the stadium on a matchday, we feel hamstrung by our absence and therefore the group needs to go back to being present within Ibrox. We have tried to boycott, to fall in line with other fan groups who have done their level best to encourage change within the club. But in reality all that has taken place over these past few months is a strengthening of Mike Ashley, Sandy and James Easdale, David Somers and many others’ positions within Rangers. It’s the sorry truth. We would like to make it clear that we will not be attending the League Cup semi final as a group, and feel it would be wrong to take tickets ahead of fans who have been attending games on a weekly basis. As we won't be attending as a group, it will make it impossible for us to pull off a display. We would therefore ask all Rangers fans to do their bit by making our end as colourful as possible, with flags, banners, streamers and anything else they can. We will however be planning more displays between now and the end of the season, and look forward to bringing some noise and colour back to Ibrox. Although we return to Ibrox on a permanent basis we won’t be doing so as supporters of the regime. Yes our money will be going towards their bonuses and onerous contracts in the short term, but the Union Bears will throw our weight behind another path towards long term change and that is fan ownership, and more specifically Rangers First. Rangers First is a Community Interest Company which was established at the beginning of this year with very simple goals; to gather together the financial clout of the Rangers support, purchase shares in the club and ultimately put it back in the hands of those who matter. Rangers First already owns over 500’000 shares in RIFC (roughly 0.6%) without any real offline publicising. As a group we hope to support them in the ways that we do best as they move forward towards greater awareness and support for fan representation and ownership. Of course we urge all those who stood with us in BF1 over the years to ask themselves the same question we did and decide what the future holds for you with regards to match attendance. But we will not try and influence your decision in any way. It’s an individual’s choice to make. What we do urge every singly Rangers supporter to do is visit http://www.rangersfirst.org, learn about the initiative and sign up. Put the money you used to spend on Rangers merchandise and funding Ashley's empire of zero hour contracts into something worthwhile. The strength of our support should not be measured or remembered by how many of us turn up at Ibrox or elect to stay away in protest, but rather by the lengths we will go to right the wrongs of those before us and stand shoulder to shoulder with one common goal; delivering the Rangers we all deserve. We owe it our children and grandchildren. If you would like to join the group in BF1 for the second half of the season then please send the following details to transfers@unionbears.co.uk or as a message to the Union Bears Facebook page: Full Name: Address: Date Of Birth: Contact Number (Mobile & Landline): Rangers Number: Do you have a season ticket already? (Yes/No): Union Bears
  24. Note that in two or more countries Whyte "had no fondness for the people". Must have failed to reach his loft ethical standards, eh? Note also France...Chateau Green perchance? or Chateau Murray.... ------------ FRAUD suspect Craig Whyte spent time in the Balkans this year as prosecutors built a case against him. Whyte has moved from country to country since his involvement with Rangers ended in disaster. We can reveal the list of countries where he spent time since then ranges from Europe to the Far East and central America. Whyte was arrested after arriving in the UK on Friday from Mexico where he had been detained. He had flown into the central American country from Japan en route to Costa Rica where he formerly lived and where one of his three children was born. We can also reveal his Swedish girlfriend – with whom Whyte is reported to have had a relationship since splitting from wife Kim – has not seen or heard from him for almost two years. A source told the Sunday Mail: “In the last couple of years Craig Whyte is believed to have been in Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, France and Japan. “There may be others. He has connections with central America going back over a decade when he stayed there after getting married in Florida. “He didn’t really like it in Costa Rica. There were connections with Panama and Mexico as well. But he just didn’t like that part of the world and had no fondness for the people. “He’s not been in Monaco since his dealings with Rangers made the headlines. The authorities in Monte Carlo don’t care for negative publicity. “This year alone he has been in Albania, Croatia and Montenegro, moving from country to country, and has also popped up in France.” Whyte was detained by Mexican authorities on Thursday after flying in from Japan where a passport check flagged up the warrant out against him. It’s believed Whyte travelled alone for much of the past two years after Swede Izabella Andersson confirmed that their relationship had ended. Izabella, who has links with Monaco and London, told us last week: “I haven’t seen or heard from Craig Whyte since January 2013.” Whyte bought Castle Grant, near Grantown-on-Spey, for £800,000 in 2006 with a 110 per cent mortgage but it was repossessed in April after he failed to pay the £7000-a-month fees. He took control of Rangers in May 2011 but they went into administration the following February. He was released on bail after a court appearance on Friday over his allegedly fraudulent takeover of the Ibrox club. Whyte, 43, was granted bail by Glasgow Sheriff Andrew Normand after a 45-minute hearing held in private. He is due in court again next week. He is accused of funding his Ibrox takeover by selling off season tickets and pretending to then owner Sir David Murray the cash was his own. He’s also accused of failing to pay VAT and National Insurance which led to Rangers going into administration. Four other men have already appeared in court charged with fraudulent activity following the investigation into the sale of Rangers. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/albania-panama-reveal-travels-craig-4721957 A second arrest warrant was issued for Whyte earlier this month after he failed to attend a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London in a separate case.
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