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We will be open from 4pm for tomorrow’s title decider against Airdrieonians. We invite any Rangers Supporter who can make it to the vicinity of the home of fantasy football to join us in celebrating the continuing unbroken history of the most successful team in the game. Renowned for our quick service and great pints, our staff will ensure you never have to wait long to get a drink. We also provide free rolls, free pies, an atmosphere second to none and for clarification – we don’t and never have had a cover charge. We also never do tickets for a Rangers game, all supporters are welcome. Situated across from Ibrox Subway Station, there is easy access to and from all city destinations. Although not completely finished, the outside drinking and smoking area will be available to enjoy our wonderful winter climate… We also have a bottle bar there that will get those in the beer garden served in no time. In addition to the premier pre-match atmosphere we will be showing live football games on our six 60” full HD televisions in the bar area and five big screen televisions in the lounge area for an ideal sports event viewing experience. Come in for The Premier Rangers Supporters’ Matchday Experience in The Quintessential Rangers Supporters Pub. 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

...............and staff were threatened... but Raith Rovers chairman Hutton says: I'd do it all again It's now 20 months since Turnbull Hutton stood up to be counted amid threats and warnings of the imminent 'slow lingering death' of the Scottish game. But the only thing dying around Stark's Park in March 2014 is the chairman's latest attempt at comedy on his club's website. With no victories for Raith Rovers in the Championship since mid-December, a tongue-in-cheek message from the 67-year-old to fans declaring 'Don't Panic' and signed by 'Captain Mainwaring aka Turnbull Hutton' has gone down like a lead balloon among the denizens of Kirkcaldy. 'Supporters of other clubs liked it but I've been accused by Rovers supporters of patronising them. I've even been accused of being on the sauce while writing it. I've not had a drink this year,' chuckles the Harvard University-educated former head of United Distillers. His point to the malcontents is that Rovers are, these days, in pretty decent nick. They reached the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup before crashing to St Johnstone and a Ramsdens Cup final against Rangers awaits at Easter Road next month. Grant Murray's team might be just four points from the relegation play-offs, but they are also sitting six points from fourth place in Scotland's tightest league. And, vitally, off the park, Raith Rovers turned a profit last year. After the fall of the SPL that Hutton so reviled, clubs like them are now earning four times as much as they did under the old set-up. It's certainly not the Armageddon chillingly forewarned by the SPL's Neil Doncaster two summers ago; an episode that saw Hutton endure a crash course in fan animosity that makes the current levels of disgruntlement at his Dad's Army stunt seem akin to a spot of love-bombing. In July 2012, Hutton led the fightback against what he saw as attempts by the SFA and SPL to 'blackmail' the SFL into solving an SPL problem, using 'a campaign of misinformation and disinformation'. SFL club reps like Hutton were told by SFA chief executive Stewart Regan that a 'slow lingering death' awaited the national game if newly-liquidated Rangers were sent all the way down to the Third Division. Hutton's impromptu Monty Python-inspired speech on the steps of Hampden, when he branded the SPL a dead parrot, saw him emerge as an accidental hero to a wider Scottish football public unimpressed by the authorities' attempts to give the fallen Ibrox club a softer landing in the old First Division. But the fallout also saw Hutton labelled Public Enemy No 1 by Rangers fans. He still maintains his motivation was to stick up for his under-fire director, Eric Drysdale, who was on the SFA's supposedly-anonymous panel that, in April 2012, handed Rangers a one-year transfer embargo and banned Craig Whyte for life from any involvement in Scottish football after he ran the club on to the rocks of ruin. Despite a particularly nasty backlash, however, the redoubtable Hutton says he would take the same stance if it happened again. 'There was all this talk about Armageddon and the slow death of Scottish football, but the best thing to come out of that whole episode was the death of the SPL,' he said. 'I didn't need or want that kind of profile. People forget that situation did not come about because of the Rangers financial situation. It was because of the involvement of Eric on that three-man panel. 'Ally McCoist's famous "who are these people?" speech kicked off a whole series of events that placed me to the fore. Eric was eventually outed, we had threats to our staff, supposedly viable threats to burn our stadium down. 'Eventually you think: "To hell with this!" How could I support the rule book being ripped up for Rangers? I came out on the steps of Hampden, had 25 reporters in my face and I told it like it bl**dy well was. 'But you stick your head above the parapet and suddenly you're all over the bl**dy internet and it spiralled out of control. I became "Turnbull The Tim", which I found quite amusing. But pro-Celtic - or anti-Rangers - had nothing to do with me taking the stand I did. 'I got some charming personal emails. One said: "I hope you die of cancer" and "The only slow lingering death I want to see is yours, Hutton". 'But there were far more supportive emails than nasty ones. I tried to answer them all but it got too much. I stuck them in a "love" file and a "hate" file on my computer and I've still got them to this day. 'Looking back, would I play it different if it started today? I don't think I could and I don't think I would. 'You've got to stand up for what you believe in. The consequences of speaking your mind are beyond your control but I'd do it all again. Everything that's happened since then suggests my view was the right one.' In a month's time, Rangers - still mired in a financial maelstrom - are due to cross paths with Raith Rovers for the first time since that fateful summer. Hutton expects a backlash. 'Ally McCoist is the only one from Rangers we've spoken to,' he nodded. 'He came to see us playing Dumbarton. Eric Drysdale and I passed the time of day with him, and it was fine. But the other faces at Rangers keep changing and we've never played them since. 'There's still a hangover from when that whole episode was at its peak, with the likes of Sandy Jardine mouthing off about boycotts and stuff like: "We won't forget". 'I don't know if we are still on a boycott list but I'd imagine the Ramsdens Cup Final won't be a happy family day, filled with brotherly love. 'I've been involved with the tournament from its inception and there have been some wonderful finals over the years, like Dundee United vs Stenhousemuir and Alloa vd Inverness. They were all happy family days out but I've a feeling this year's won't be.' This season also 'marks' the 10th anniversary of another dark episode in Hutton's colourful Stark's Park tenure. Not even his formidable 35-year business background could have prepared him for the crazy five-month tenure of Claude Anelka, brother of France's enfant terrible Nicolas. Claude's previous job had been as a DJ in a Miami nightclub and he arrived with a fearsome sidekick named Styx amid promises of luring a stream of 'new Thierry Henrys' to Kirkcaldy. 'It was Monty Python stuff, frankly,' says Hutton, who joined the Rovers board in 2000 and found himself increasingly 'sucked in' to becoming a 'reluctant chairman'. 'I took a stroke in April 2004 and I was out of the frame for around eight weeks, which was unfortunate, because at the same time Claude Anelka surfaced. He promised £180,000 per season for the playing budget and, as a struggling First Division club, the board had to look at that. 'He was going to be director of football, with Antonio Calderon staying as manager - but Antonio couldn't work with him and he packed up and returned to Spain. 'Claude became boss and, unknown to me, held a press conference and gave a line about making Raith Scottish football's third force. 'Then Styx arrived with all of his belongings stuffed in the back of a Peugeot van; a pile of soul records, 10 to 12 pairs of trainers and a heap of unwashed jeans. 'We had supposed "young superstars" turning up who had never played 11-a-side before. There were Czechs, Muslims, French players, English guys and the odd Scot. You name it. 'Raith at the time had more rented housing in Kirkcaldy than the Scottish Special Housing Association. That came back to bite us when they all disappeared and we were left to pay the outstanding council tax and electricity arrears. 'Anelka did put the money in, but the additional costs far exceeded his investment. It was a pretty big fiasco and, when it came to a halt, we were left to pick up the pieces. 'There were meetings with our local MP (and future Prime Minister) Gordon Brown, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, as the Reclaim The Rovers campaign gathered pace. 'But some investment failed to materialise and that rescue deal was seriously under-funded. We've been battling that legacy ever since. 'Ironically, it's only in the last two years we've seen a turnaround, helped by league reconstruction. Before it was £60,000 to win the First Division, now it's £60,000 per place.' Hutton has seen high times with Rovers, particularly when Jimmy Nicholl's team stunned Celtic to win the League Cup in 1994. He was also in the Olympic Stadium with his son and daughter the following year for a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience' when Danny Lennon's goal saw the famous, if short-lived, scoreline: Bayern Munich 0 Raith Rovers 1. Given the club's chequered financial history in the modern era, however, in typically blunt fashion Turnbull prioritises Championship survival over a potential first Scottish Cup triumph in Raith's 131-year history. 'If I had to make a call, I'd rather we stayed up,' he says. 'I don't want to be a Wigan and win the Cup and go down. I know some supporters would take a different view but balancing the books is paramount. 'Winning the Cup would be a fleeting moment of glory and then a short-lived trip to a Russian outpost. Cup success would also bring its own financial challenges in terms of stadium improvements for a one-off shot at European football. 'I'd be more excited about the St Johnstone game if we weren't on a disastrous run. St Johnstone's Tommy Wright and Callum Davidson came to see us against Hamilton last month and we were 4-0 down at half-time. I hope that lulled them into a false sense of security.' With that, the chuckling Hutton heads off to an appointment with his dentist. 'His name is Graeme Smart and he supports Hibs, who we beat 3-2 at Easter Road in the last round. His brother Gordon is married to Kate, daughter of (Dunfermline legend) Jim Leishman. If Graeme goes above the usual pain threshold this time, I'll go for him …' Whatever else has been said about this Burntislander, and there has been plenty, nobody would ever describe time spent in Turnbull Hutton's company as akin to pulling teeth. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2576251/Rangers-supporters-branded-Public-Enemy-No-1-stadium-staff-threatened-Raith-Rovers-chairman-Hutton-says-Id-again.html#ixzz2vs7DmEeS Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

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

.......can only trade on his past glories as a player for so long. HUGH believes the Ibrox manager misjudged the mood after the draw with Albion Rovers and has only increased the pressure on himself from the supporters. IT would take James Ward, at his current rate of pay with Albion Rovers, 100 years to earn what Ally McCoist gets in 12 months at Ibrox. That’s not a flight of fantasy plucked out of the air for dramatic effect in the aftermath of Sunday’s 1-1 Scottish Cup draw between the clubs at Ibrox. It’s a cold fact underlining what two opposite worlds look like when their differences are written down in black and white. Football is indivisible from money, and that holds true with a vengeance at hard-up Rangers, where they’re borrowing money to look after their borrowings. What Albion Rovers did at Ibrox was to come within 13 minutes of eliminating the home team from a competition which would be worth £1million to Rangers if they won it. That’s also how close Ally came to losing his job as manager for non-commercial reasons. Defeat from Rovers would have been the most humiliating result in Rangers’ history and formed employment law’s grounds for constructive dismissal. It didn’t happen in the end, and slipping the noose is perfectly allowable in football. Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager of them all, did it when he went through the barren years in his start at Old Trafford. Neil Lennon was forgiven a 2-0 defeat from Ross County in a Scottish Cup semi-final and promoted from interim to permanent manager at Celtic Park in spite of that embarrassment. But there are those who believe Rangers’ off-field problems have disguised McCoist’s shortcomings on the managerial front. Not any longer. The manager’s declaration that a replay against Albion Rovers did not represent any kind of embarrassment has resonated badly with the Rangers fans. It has focused their attention on matters on the field while they wait for the next battle in the civil war for power at Ibrox to commence. Ally said he was withdrawing from the front line on that issue to get on with being the manager. And he was quite right to do so. McCoist has compromised his better judgment and given public support to individuals he might otherwise have left well alone over the past couple of years. But his desire to see Rangers emerge from the morass created by administration, liquidation and manipulation by people who used the club for their own ends got the better of him. Now he’d be better advised to focus on himself because too many Rangers fans are questioning his judgment as a manager. Ally might genuinely have been trying to be respectful to Ward, his counterpart, and all associated with Rovers when he said there was no embarrassment attached to being taken to a replay by them. That’s not how the Rangers fans saw it, and they’re the barometer of public opinion the Ibrox boss has to be aware of at times like these. The season started with a League Cup defeat suffered in extra time against the part-time professionals of Forfar Athletic. Not much changes, it appears. Ninety-five minutes against a League Two collection of gas fitters and office workers wasn’t enough time for Rangers to remove Albion Rovers from the Scottish Cup. There comes a time when past history as a player becomes an irrelevance. The greatest of them all on both sides of Glasgow’s great divide – John Greig, Jock Wallace, Billy McNeill, Tommy Burns and Davie Hay – were dispensed with when considered to be unfit for purpose. Reputation saves no one if your face no longer fits. It’s astonishing to think Ally will, in all probability, win a second, straight league title tomorrow night when Rangers host Airdrie while bedlam breaks loose all around him. But he’s lived in that frenzied environment since he signed for Rangers from Sunderland just over 30 years ago. Ally’s in the dock, and his list of “previous” where domestic and European failures are concerned has been brought up to be used in evidence against him. Uncertainty is in the air at Ibrox as Dave King prepares to fly into Glasgow tomorrow and challenge the club’s idea of proper governance at boardroom level. The manager will sit that one out as he prepares for the replay with Albion Rovers on Monday night at Hamilton’s New Douglas Park. Defeat is unthinkable. If you want to be judged purely on what you do as a manager then you must expect a jury to be formed for that purpose. And there are more than cinema’s Twelve Angry Men waiting to pass sentence on Ally unless he can offer a more convincing case for the defence than was evident at the weekend. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/hugh-keevins-rangers-manager-ally-3228364

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?

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.

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 4th Meeting of the Rangers CIC Working Party was held at the Louden tavern on Monday night. As previously reported, the Limited Company has been incorporated and will be converted to a CIC by Glasgow Solicitor, James Blair, who will become the first director. Draft Articles of Association (incorporating changes from the model suggested by me and RA) should be up on the web site imminently, for comment. As well as the minimum £5 per month donation (suggested donation £18.72), there will be a facility to become a Life Member of "Club 1872" by making a one off payment of £500. This can be paid in whole or in part by transferring shares (at current price) to the CIC. Donations can now be accepted and the money will be held by Gocardless until such time as the CIC bank account is established in the next few days. For information on how to contribute please email will@rangersfirst.org or admin@rangersfirst.org. The full Minutes will be published asap on the web site.

http://www.unionoffans.org/statements/2014/2/27/union-of-fans-statement-270214'>http://www.unionoffans.org/statements/2014/2/27/union-of-fans-statement-270214

What has happened to Celtic's support of this rhag now that they have untold millions to spend? From Quinty on RM, http://t.co/IDysjpkfvH THE Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers are seeking applications for voluntary redundancy – on ‘enhanced terms’. Confirmed a spokesperson at publishers, Media Scotland (a division of Trinity Mirror): “Media Scotland has the country’s biggest combined print and digital audience. “While print circulations and advertising revenues are declining, we are seeing positive growth in digital. We need to restructure our business so we can invest and take advantage of that growth. “I am keen to ensure this is done in the most open way possible so we are announcing a voluntary severance scheme which will allow those who wish to apply the opportunity to request to leave their employment on enhanced terms.” There is no official word on numbers or types of posts that the newspapers might most want to dispense with. It is understood Media Scotland manager director, Allan Rennie, is to address staff at 2pm today, and there is to be a NUJ chapel meeting tomorrow at 3pm. * * * from TrueAzure on RM, "The Father of Chapel (FoC) and Mother of Chapel (MoC) are the titles in the United Kingdom referring to a shop steward representing members of a trade union in a printing office or in journalism. The FoC or MoC is assisted by the Clerk of the Chapel or by a Deputy FoC/MoC. In the printing trade, a Chapel was the traditional name given to a meeting of compositors. The name originates in the early history of printing in Great Britain, when printing offices were controlled by churches (hence "chapel"). The name also honours the origins of British trade unionism, where non-conformist churches often acted as covers for trade union activity, which was illegal at the time." I guess we should help them out by not clicking on their online versions !!

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

By: Newsroom Staff on 04 Mar, 2014 17:14 CELTIC have called for a review of the Offensive Behaviour at Football Grounds Act to be brought forward and have labelled it ´unhelpful and counter-productive´. The Scottish Government introduced the legislation in 2012 and promised a review after two full football seasons of operation. However, Celtic believe that there is already sufficient evidence of the Act´s ´unhelpfulness and negative impacts´ to justify an immediate review with action to follow. Celtic have all along opposed this legislation which has been used to create a general presumption that different laws should apply to football supporters as distinct from society as a whole. This has inevitably led to a sense of discrimination across Scottish football and has brought the law into disrepute when tested in the criminal courts. It has also acted as a barrier to our own efforts to encourage supporters to behave in a way which is consistent with the club´s proud history and reputation. We believe the Scottish Government should review, as a matter of urgency, the way in which this unhelpful and counter-productive Act is operating. Celtic have always valued a positive relationship with the police and we are concerned that they too have now been put in the position of enforcing legislation which is provocative and does not command widespread respect. The Scottish Government has conceded the need to review the workings of the legislation but we see no need for delay since there is plenty of evidence available, not least from the comments of Sheriffs who have had to deal with cases arising from it. It would be helpful if the new season could kick off in August with these issues resolved so that everyone could concentrate on promoting the best possible environment for Scottish football and marginalising unwelcome influences which attach themselves to it.

Poland v Scotland LIVE exclusive and free: Everything you need to know about the big match TOMORROW night Scotland will be taking on Poland in Warsaw and our super infographic will tell you everything you need to know about the big game. THE match will be live-streamed here from 7.30pm tomorrow but ahead of the big kick-off check out the history of the game with our infographic: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/poland-v-scotland-live-exclusive-3207510

Forget The Barmy Army – Be The Rangers Army Apparently 5,000 have signed up to Dave King’s barmy army which plans to hold Rangers to ransom by drip-feeding season ticket money to the club. I use the term barmy army because, as hare-brained schemes go, this one has to be up there with chocolate fireguards in the dumbest ideas in history table. What makes Dave King or anyone who is following him believe that they will be sold a season book on such preposterous terms? Which makes giving Dave King your season ticket money a donation to Dave King’s Ego Fund. The reality is that Dave King is asking fans to give him and his Union of Fans their money instead of Rangers Football Club. It’s like me trying to buy a car from the Honda dealer by giving my money to the Ford dealer. Or ordering a Chinese meal and telling the delivery person that the money is with the Indian takeaway. No wonder Celtic fans are peeing their pants with laughter, although their claims that Admin 2 is around the corner are based on fables from other fantasists. It’s funny how all the cretins who claim Rangers died are now affirming the opposite by averring that the club is about to go into a second admin. I blame the sectarian schools. I see one or two on the forums have raised the possibility that Dave King’s real objective in his crusade is to claw back some of the £20 million he claims to have lost investing in Murray Sports. It’s no secret that King was quite bitter about his previous involvement with the Murray regime, even to the extent of claiming Rangers should apologise for the use of EBT’s and should make financial reparation to other clubs. This was seen at the time as an attempt to lash out at David Murray and as evidence of a deep-seated grudge held by King toward the former owner. It has been put to me by an astute observer of matters Rangers that the securing of Albion Car Park and Edmiston House against loans recently made to the club may be a means of protecting these assets in the event of King’s convincing enough people that it really does become dangerous to the club’s future. My own view is that many will sign up to King’s barmy army but will see sense when the season ticket renewal comes around. King may be left with a hardcore of fans intent on undermining the club’s progress but their refusal to renew their books will be a means of excising them from the club’s support. Hopefully others will come forward to take their place. My view on this blog is simple: Give Graham Wallace the required – and agreed – 120 days to conduct and complete his thorough review of the club’s fiscals and logistics. Then examine his proposals. For the time being, get behind the club and the team. Rangers fans like to talk and sing about being loyal and true. It’s time to walk the talk and rally round the Rangers for the Rangers army is coming down the road. http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/blog-2/

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

Dave King’s war of words with the Rangers Board could cost Scottish football millions. Rangers former director Dave King has ramped up his increasingly volatile spat with the Ibrox directors yesterday by releasing a hard-hitting statement. The South Africa-based businessman last night publicly suggested Charles Green might be the “power behind the throne” at the Ibrox club. And in an emotive response to the current directors’ criticism of him, he claimed they were asking fans to show blind faith in their actions. Promising to fly to Scotland this week for action meetings with supporters’ representatives, he pointedly said Rangers fans are loyal — but not stupid. It has now emerged the uncertainty once again enveloping Rangers could scupper the SPFL’s plans for a lucrative TV contract to cover games in the Championship next season. That is the latest twist in an extraordinary few days of turbulence that have once again brought the very future of the Light Blues into question. Angered at the news Rangers were to take on a “soft” loan with a repayment when he himself would have offered it interest-free, King made his move. He advised fans to withhold their 2014-15 season ticket money, and instead put it in a Trust. However, while that move got the overwhelming support of the official supporters groups, it angered the Board, who accused him of effectively threatening to put the club out of business. Such a move would leave the club in danger of falling into insolvency, which would be as big a blow for the League as it would be for the club. Anticipation of a highly-attractive Championship in 2014-15 has brought interest from broadcasters. With Rangers and Hearts set to involved, and possibly Dunfermline and even Dundee, the SPFL have been inundated with inquiries from a wide variety of media companies. In particular, it is understood a number of broadcasters, including the BBC, have inquired about the possibility of a one-year deal to include both live action and highlights. The League, however, has been trying to sell the rights as a three-year package worth millions over the period. They feel that is the best way to broaden the game’s appeal Now, though, they are concerned the internal strife at Rangers, possibly now just two games away from being the Championship’s biggest asset, will have would-be bidders running scared. Uncertainty is traditionally a major problem for anyone looking to invest in the game. The SPFL know that only too well, having struggled to attract a title sponsor for the new set-up. That has drawn criticism for the Board and Chief Exec Neil Doncaster. Ironically, Rangers’ woes could actually end up making the product more attractive for potential viewers. Were Ally McCoist’s side to go into administration, under the new rules they would pick up an automatic 25-point penalty. A handicap that would negate any advantage they will hold over their Championship rivals next season. As things stand, the League One champions-elect are already warm favourites with the bookies to continue their journey straight through the lower leagues. That is not too surprising, given they are set to go through an entire season in the country’s third tier without losing a single game. The manager, though, is adamant the Championship will be far more competitive and has warned lots of improvement will be required. The combative tone of King’s latest statement would appear to make clear that King has no intention of ever joining forces with the current Board. Having had one unsuccessful meeting with Sandy Easdale, he appears now intent on trying to force the directors out. And in doing so, he has opted for a twin approach. The first is an upbeat message to fans, who would follow him talking of a “watershed moment” in the club’s history. The second is an attempt to call upon the men who currently run Rangers to justify their actions. Whether he succeeds only time will tell. But without question, this latest news signals an escalation of hostilities. Meanwhile, Rangers boss Ally McCoist admits to frustration that off-field events are jeopardising the recent progress made by his team. “I am slightly concerned that, once again, other issues may detract from what so far has been a very successful campaign,” he said. “We are hopeful in the next few games we can clinch the Championship. We have got the Ramsdens Cup Final ahead, also the Scottish Cup quarter-final, with an incredible incentive to win that and get a home tie in the semi-final. “So on the football side, there are, for the first time, positives. But I am not going to get carried away.” http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views/scotland/ex-rangers-director-king-could-kill-tv-deal-1.248023

Your comments are an insult to fans who have nothing other than the club's interest at heart Mar 01, 2014 16:42 THE Ibrox investor has taken aim at the Rangers chief executive who said that threats to withhold season ticket cash have destabilised the club. DAVE KING has criticised Graham Wallace for claiming the Rangers support have destabilised the club with their threat to withhold season ticket cash - insisting the chief executive's comments are an insult to the Ibrox faithful. In a statement released to Press Association Sport, former director King has taken swipe at Wallace for questioning fans' loyalties to their club. The Union of Fans issued a vote of no confidence in the Ibrox board on Thursday and backed King's bid to lead a fan-based group to secure a major shareholding in the club. They also backed the South African-based businessman's call for trust to be set up that would collect season ticket fees and drip feed the money to the regime controlling the Light Blues week by week. Wallace responded by saying that threat was "damaging" Rangers but King rejected his claim. In his statement, King - who now plans to fly to Scotland to step up his bid for change - said: "Unfortunately, I can only express bemusement at the board's response to myself and the fans. "In what is really a non-response the board states that our statements are an attempt to undermine the club. That is an insult to fans who have nothing other than the club's interest at heart." The latest squabble in the long-running saga surrounding the club's ownership and finances was sparked on Monday when Rangers announced to the stock exchange that it had taken out a £1.5million loan from investors Laxey Partners and Sandy Easdale. The terms of the loan handed both Laxey and Easdale security on the Albion car park and Edminston House facilities near Ibrox, while Laxey stands to make a £150,000 profit. That angered supporters who claim a better deal was available from other shareholders. Wallace, though, pleaded for the fans to trust the board's management but King - who lost a £20million investment when oldco Rangers were liquidated in the summer of 2012 - said: "They ask for trust but don't recognise that trust is a mutual relationship and requires transparency. "What the board is really asking of fans is to have blind faith - not trust. This board has not earned that right and has, in fact, repeatedly demonstrated the opposite." And King raised doubts about who was really pulling the strings behind the scenes. "{The board states] that the current problems can be attributed to previous management (presumably Charles Green etc). That does not explain the ongoing lack of transparency on shareholding and finances by the existing board. "It is quite possible that Charles Green is still de facto controlling the club. Certainly the existing directors have a minuscule equity stake and yet won't disclose the true 'power behind the throne'." Rangers made a £14.4million loss last year and had to take out the Laxey/Easdale loan just to keep the Ibrox lights on until the end of the season. King's statement concludes: "The board continues to treat the fans with disdain by offering mere platitudes. "A more considered and constructive response was appropriate. It is insightful of the board's mindset that it is willing to borrow money from a preferred shareholder at a rate of interest that reflects a high risk to the investor. "In doing so the board has finally confirmed its true view on the parlous state of the club's finances. "What is incomprehensible however is that it then eliminated the risk to this investor (and separately to Sandy Easdale) by providing club assets as security while still paying the high-risk rate. "That highlights that this transaction makes no commercial sense and was not conducted on an arms-length basis. "Paradoxically, the board wants long suffering fans to lend money at no interest and with no security. Rangers fans are loyal but not stupid." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dave-king-blasts-rangers-chief-3196614

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

MESSAGE To Rangers Supporters From Graham Wallace Rangers Chief Executive Graham Wallace has issued the following statement. “In recent days there has been considerable comment and speculation about the financial position of the Club and the motives of individuals managing it following the announcement of short term financing being put in place. “Much of the comment and opinion is unfortunately ill informed and directed at undermining the Club and the considerable efforts that are taking place to rebuild it following several years of mismanagement. “Therefore, I feel it is important, for the good of the Club, to set the record straight on a number of issues that are concerning Rangers supporters worldwide. “Many of the problems that the Board, Executive Team and staff are addressing on a daily basis date back some considerable time and as I said at the AGM in December 2013, there is no overnight fix. “Building trust in those managing the Club takes time. I understand that fans have a degree of scepticism, but we will demonstrate in due course the improvements being made to all areas of the Club. “Rangers supporters are naturally seeking assurances that their Club is being run and managed for the long term. We know there are short term financial challenges inherited from previous management, but we are well on track to putting these behind us and building a Club that is both sustainable and capable of delivering the on field success that Rangers is famous for. “It is therefore extremely concerning that public statements are being made that are factually incorrect. If left unchallenged, they would damage the reputation of the Club and individuals who are committed and working every day to rebuild it. “It has now been some 70 days since the AGM and our review of the entire business is progressing well. We are identifying the changes needed to reposition the Club on all fronts. No one is hiding behind a timeline to complete the review, but to develop and implement change in the correct manner requires time to get it right. “Of particular concern are media comments that the Club has been offered significant interest free loans which have been declined. This is wholly untrue and supporters need to know this. “Further comment about withholding future ticket revenues is also damaging to the operation of the Club which, in common with many others, operates on a cyclical basis. “We are putting in place a business structure and operational model that will protect and develop Rangers Football Club for future generations. “We know the Club will require investment in the future but until we have addressed the problems and deficiencies of the past, it would be foolhardy to seek additional investment without a clear plan of how to use it. We are also making good progress on the development of our medium term plans. “You, the fans have been tremendous in your support for the team over the past couple of seasons. As I outlined at the AGM, a process of improving fan engagement has commenced with the launch of the Club’s Ready To Listen campaign. This initiative has been welcomed by a great number of supporters and the results will be analysed and actions implemented in the near future. “The Board and Executive Team fully understand how important the fans are to the Club and we will never take this for granted. I made a personal commitment at the AGM to improve fan engagement and we have started on this process. “The values Rangers Football Club is famous for, and proud to honour, include professionalism, integrity and honesty. Everyone involved with the Club shares these values and is working hard every day to ensure that the Club will continue to progress back to the top of Scottish and European football. “We need to do this together. Divisive campaigns, fuelled by inaccurate statements played out in the media benefit no one, particularly Rangers Football Club.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6421-graham-wallace-statement

Hi All,: As many of you may have heard, SDMC Productions is producing a Feature Length Documentary charting the Extraordinary story of Rangers Football Club - Still the most Successful Domestic Club in the World ! This was originally to be a SDMC & BBC project; however, due to the relationship between Rangers/The Fans and the BBC we have decided to fund this ourselves. We are now opening a project to include the Fans and Supporters in this feature and will then screen in Cinemas around Scotland. Please check out the link below to our project page and support if possible - Please also pass to Friends, Family and fellow supporters and help us get this project completed! Link: Thanks guys! Niraj. -- Niraj Dave |Researcher SDMC Productions Limited Email: niraj.dave@sdmcproductions.com Office: http://www.sdmcproductions.com [​IMG] Disclaimer: The contents of this e-mail are confidential to the recipient to which addressed. It may not be disclosed or used by anyone other than addressee, nor may it be copied in any way. If received in error, please contact SDMC Productions Ltd @ mail@sdmcproductions.com quoting name of sender and addressee. PLEASE DELETE FROM SYSTEM Please note that neither SDMC Productions nor any Employees or associates accept any responsibility for viruses and it is your responsibility to scan the e-mail and attachments (if any). No contracts may be concluded on behalf of SDMC Productions Ltd by means of e-mail communication.

The third meeting of the CIC Working Group was held tonight at the Louden Tavern. It was agreed that the suggested contribution would be £18.72 per month but with a minimum of £5.00; and it was confirmed that the cost of collection will not exceed 1% of the contribution. I have been asked to draft Minutes for review rather than publishing a report here first. The Minutes with any post-Meeting notes will then be published asap on http://www.rangersfirst.org.

Stand back and survey the scene. The institution that once believed itself to be Scotland's premier football club; a national monument, an establishment-protected icon, a pillar of excellence and endeavour, is in disarray once again. The red brick Ibrox facade hides a multitude of sins and an array of secrets. The Old Lady is a bank of opportunity for hedge funds and a safe haven for overpaid, bonus-ridden, bean-counters. Its fading grandeur reflects the impoverishment of its host, and like a stately home with a leaky roof and a never-ending list of repairs, the old ground has an uncertain future. The Old Lady is a victim of the disease of avarice. As she struggles to hide the scars of neglect, a succession of carers has swanned off into the sunset with money-laden suitcases, and now a crisis loan is required to pay bills and keep third division players on top division wages. Rangers' problems have not gone away. Maybe they never will. As smaller football clubs receive public sympathy for their financial difficulties, Rangers, uniquely, stands accused of depriving schools and hospitals of income. As football minnows wallow in victim-status, Rangers is in the dock, roundly condemned by press comment and regularly vilified by public opinion. The world has changed: Scotland has changed: the political establishment has changed. Rangers has become a misfit. In modern Scotland, the club has few friends and even less powerful allies. The club has been so denigrated in recent decades that it taints reputations merely by association. As the club flounders and falters, there is an almost unspoken hope in polite society that its final act will be to disappear altogether. To Rangers fans, this is an unpalatable prospect, but there are people across Scotland - not just Celtic fans - whose most fervent wish is that Rangers goes away: permanently. To them, Rangers represents intolerance, sectarianism and bigotry, and in this hypersensitive and politically correct age, the club is perceived to be an anachronism that has outlived its usefulness. They want it to wither and die because only hardcore bigots and sectarian morons will mourn it. Decent people, in their eyes, will be glad to see the back of it. Beleaguered Rangers fans can attempt to deflect blame, point the finger elsewhere and proclaim innocence, but no-one is listening. The jury has already made its mind up. Rangers has lost the respect of a nation and edged towards the precipice. It has become the black sheep of Scottish football. Administration and liquidation didn't kill the club, but they highlighted something that should be deeply concerning to a support which aches for a leader to look up to and respect. Within the million-strong Rangers fanbase, there is a noticeable lack of people who have the means to rescue the club and the willingness to actually do so. When David Murray bought Rangers in the late nineteen-eighties, it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Scotland's biggest club had been taken over by a young businessman who had the means, the cojones and the ambition to further the Rangers cause, and enhance his own reputation along the way. From being a well-known business figure, Murray quickly became a household name, and he relished the fame that was part and parcel of being owner of Scotland's establishment club. In time, he became Sir David Murray - a dream come true for a man whose ego matched his not inconsiderable bank balance. Would a thrusting young Scottish businessman buy Rangers today, or would he prefer to duck the opportunity and steer clear of the hassle that being custodian of Rangers brings? Given that there are no budding David Murrays knocking on the Ibrox front door, it would appear to be the latter. What respectable businessman or woman would want to take on an ailing institution that has incinerated millions of pounds at an alarming rate and now has to borrow to keep the wheels on the wagon? What entrepreneur needs his name associated with a club whose existence is played out while the spectre of sectarianism still haunts it? What hard-won reputation wants to take a chance on a club that habitually pays out too much money for too little reward? What business type would enjoy being the man or woman to sack the club's management team and bring in new blood more appropriate for the task ahead? Would the young David Murray be as quick to buy Rangers in 2014 as he was in 1988? Rangers Football Club is a bloody mess. The team plays dreadful football, the club spends exorbitant sums in the process, it makes the undeserving rich, it is owned by people whose God is greed; it has a reputation that will take years to repair, it can't afford to look after its stadium, and its fans excuse incompetence out of a misguided sense of loyalty. The Rangers support, for the most part, doesn't welcome soul-searching and reflection. It prefers to talk itself up and believe that a full recovery is not only possible, but likely, and this is a mistake. Rangers urgently needs to be re-born. In a relatively short time, the club has descended from being the centre of the Scottish football universe to become an outcast within the sport - and a much-ridiculed laughing stock within the country. The Rangers support has played a minor role in the club's downfall, but it will never fully recover until it plays a major part in its recovery. Fan ownership has to be the future for Rangers. Nothing else will return it to where most fans believe it should be. Only a revolution - a people revolution - will save this club now.

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

I watched a wonderful short film this week, on the effect the reintroduction of wolves has had on Yellowstone National Park in America. Wolves were wiped out in the area 70 years ago but several packs were brought back twenty years ago in the hope they would breed and reestablish them. A highly controversial move, the wolves were closely monitored and the effect they had on Yellowstone was studied during this period. As a large carnivore there was much apprehension about the wolves; would they decimate other species, clear large parts of the park of other mammals, indeed would they endanger man? The actual findings were mind blowing. The wolves mainly hunt deer and prior to the wolves return the deer had enjoyed decades with no natural predator except man. As such, they grazed where they wanted for as long as they wanted, they moved slowly through the landscape and their numbers grew and grew. The reemergence of the wolves changed this. The change wasn’t that large numbers of deer were killed (there aren’t that many wolves and there are tens of thousands of deer) it was that the return of the deer’s natural hunter led to a dramatic change in deer behaviour. Previously the deer grazed where they liked but now they were much more cautious and this was particularly noticeable near rivers. The grazing is good there, but it is open, and the deer were easily hunted. As the deer modified their behaviour and avoided grazing on the lower ground the vegetation changed, grass grew longer, bushes and trees reached maturity instead of being stripped back by hungry deer when small. This led to insects returning which in turn brought birds. The longer grass brought rabbits and the eagles who hunt them. Bears returned to eat the berries that now ripened on the bushes, beavers returned and used the mature trees to make dams. Most astonishingly of all the course of the river changed. Previously it meandered, it flooded regularly and the rain ran off the surrounding land quickly eroding the area. Now the increased vegetation soaked up much of the rainfall and its roots held the soil together. So the river ran deeper and faster, it no longer meanders it flows true. The wolves had indirectly been responsible for changing the course and flow of a river. What must be remembered is that wolves weren’t artificially introduced to the area; rather their absence in the first place was artificial. The ecology of Yellowstone evolved over thousands of years and at the top of the food chain was wolves. This large carnivore was meant to be there, nature had decided that a long time ago, the rest of the park actually depended on it. Its removal caused the damage, not its reintroduction. Every aspect of the park relied on the wolf directly or indirectly. Rangers play Stenhousemuir for the fourth time this season on Saturday. We’ve won our two previous league meetings and our meeting in the cup. Our last match at Ibrox saw us triumph by eight goals, our subsequent meetings have been much closer affairs. This match is being played against the backdrop of continued problems in Scottish football. The removal of Rangers from the top flight has upset the trophic cascade, the natural order of things evolved over more than 100 years is seriously out of kilter. Celtic have no serious rival as such and they are now meandering, their club is selling its best players, their manager speaks openly about being unsettled and their support, as well as showing apathy towards attending matches now fill their time by promoting songs about Irish murder gangs, making ill-thought-out political statements or indulging in good old fashioned hooliganism. The game’s governing bodies now no longer even hold the pretence of parity. They award cup finals and semi finals to grounds months in advance rather than wait to see who’ll contest them. Their decisions regarding cup matches and Inverness have bordered on the corrupt, the ticket allocation for the League Cup final being only the latest example. The side who finished second in the country last season, Motherwell, still managed to make a loss of nearly £200,000. The prize money they should have received was drastically cut half way through the season you see, no surprise there. This happened despite them cutting their player budget the previous close season. Still the league has no sponsor, in the top flight the champions and the side relegated was decided before a ball was kicked and the standard of play and player continues to drop. Without its largest animal the competition is reduced, the drive is lost and the revenue that follows it dries up. All of these things are interconnected, remove something from the natural order of things and it takes a long time to recover, if it ever does. Stenhousemuir go into this match with a new manager, former Scottish international and feted wunderkind Scott Booth. Although the current Scotland under 17 coach doesn’t take up his post for a few more weeks we can expect his new players to be eager to prove their worth to him. So motivation shouldn’t be an issue for stand-in coach Brown Ferguson’s side. Stenhousemuir are in a bad run of form with no victories this year, only their early season good results afford them the relative safety of sixth place. Rangers go into the match without Moshni who remains suspended. Cribari did well against Ayr and should retain his place although I expect McCulloch to return to the defence and Foster to drop out. Beyond that the side should pick itself, MacLeod should come into contention if fit again but I expect Bell, Law, Wallace, Black, Daly, Faure, Templeton and Aird to start. I don’t expect a repeat of the early season 8-0 but half that wouldn’t raise an eyebrow particularly if we score early. Stenhousemuir have both suffered and benefited from being in the same league as Rangers. Having the largest carnivore in the country close by drastically reduces the likelihood of promotion for every other club in our division, but it does offer them other tangible benefits. Our presence is artificial though, man made and it is upsetting the natural order of things. The trophic cascade refers to interconnectivity, how removing something from the top of the food chain has consequences all the way down that chain, how these changes can’t all be foreseen or managed and it is vital that chain isn’t allowed to be tampered with artificially. Recent meetings aimed at securing a voice for Rangers supporters in our boardroom should be welcomed, not only by all Rangers fans but also by all football fans. Whatever your feelings towards our club, we are all connected and interdependent, it’s in everyone’s interests that we’re back where we belong believe it or not. The only thing that should prevent that happening is our side not being good enough. Financial stability and accountability are vital, not just for our sake but for every club in the country. Nobody should fear the return of the wolf, its return should be welcomed by all.

Don't have much to go on, but apparently King is predicting our financial meltdown again in another Keith Jackson article....