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Dear Mr King, This is a particularly difficult letter to write, despite it being penned from one Bear to another. It is difficult because I don’t necessarily believe the model of ownership you would bring to our club – a sole owner – has been particularly successful for Rangers, and if I’m honest I would much rather see the transparency and clarity which I would hope could be afforded by some measure of fan representation on our board. In short, in writing such a letter I am foregoing many of the dreams and aspirations I hoped would be achieved in my lifetime for our club. I mention the foregoing for one reason – to highlight how desperate and concerned I am and the circumstances which gave rise to this letter. Our support is literally ripping itself asunder in the current boardroom battle, the very heart and soul of this club are trading blows with each other and causing rifts, some of which I fear may prove irreparable. For a club such as ours, which attracts so much hatred from others, and whose strength and very survival has often relied upon our unity as a support, this presents a bleak and ominous outlook. Further more I am not convinced that either side emerging victorious from the AGM on the 19th December, will result in a cessation of hostilities, merely a lull in the fighting, which will be renewed, perhaps with greater vigour and further damage to our already fragmented support in the future. But I do not write to you as Dave King the financial saviour of our club. I write to you as the only man on this planet who can bring the much needed unity to our support, whose commitment to this club is without question, and who can capture, inspire and unite our support behind our club. As one. The English writer William Hazlitt once wrote : “No man is truly great who is great only in his lifetime. The test of greatness is the page of history.” I, and thousands like me, would implore you now to write your page in the history of our club. Yours in Rangers D’Artagnan

............on group's bid to cleanse the Ibrox boardroom 11 Dec 2013 09:06 CRAIG Houston instigated the supporters' group and was behind Saturday's red card message to those in power at Ibrox - now he speaks out for the first time about why he feels it’s imperative those figures are removed at the agm. HE’S the sole trader who owns his own cleaning business. And now Rangers renegade Craig Houston wants to cleanse the Ibrox boardroom for good. Until now he’s been the faceless crusader who has somehow managed to galvanise and unify the Gers support like no other time in their history. Almost single-handedly this ordinary punter from Linwood instigated The Sons of Struth movement and Houston was behind Saturday’s defiant red-card message aimed at the Ibrox hierarchy. But who is he? And what is his end game? Those are the questions being aimed at the 40-year-old who insists he couldn’t live with the guilt if the club endured another financial meltdown. So for the first time he’s spoken out about how The Sons of Struth were formed and why he feels it’s imperative the incumbents of the Rangers board are removed at the agm on December 19. He also revealed how Ibrox directors have completely ignored the fans’ group’s pleas for dialogue and says they’re ready to carry the fight to London where the club’s institutional investors are based. Houston has been a season ticket- holder at Ibrox for 32 years, just like his father and grandfather before him. He’s not affiliated with either the Rangers Supporters Trust, Assembly or Association – and has no desire to turn the SoS into a formal organisation. For years the average Light Blues punter who turns up every Saturday to watch their team hasn’t had a voice. Until now. And that’s exactly why Houston got involved in the first place. He also spoke honestly amid suggestions reformed football hooligan Sandy Chugg is heavily involved with the Sons of Struth campaign. Houston said: “I thought, ‘If anything bad should happen to the club again we have to do something’. I couldn’t have handled the guilt second time around. “What we were trying to do was expose the truth at Ibrox. “Bill Struth is a legendary figure at the club, with loads of positive connotations, so we arrived at The Sons of Struth. “We put a page together on Facebook and it has grown arms and legs since then. We’re not a body or an organisation. We don’t have ‘members’ and we aren’t run by committee. “We’re just a group of guys who are worried about our club. At the moment social media is our only way of communicating with people so Facebook and Twitter have been crucial. “Between them we have around 10,000 people following us. But we know the vast majority of punters who go to Ibrox aren’t in the Rangers online community. “The leaflets spread our word better. People who I’ve sat with for 32 years in the main stand are now asking me questions. “These are guys in their 50s who aren’t on internet forums. So that has to be a good thing. And I think the show of unity at the red-card display on Saturday proves the vast majority of supporters are with us now. “There have been accusations about Sandy and his involvement with us but it’s simple. I’ve known him for five years through coaching in youth football. “He’s a big Rangers fan and, like the rest of us, he just wants the best for the club. “Everyone knows he has a colourful past but those days are behind him. “He’s a reformed character and was a huge help to The Sons of Struth in the beginning. “However, he accepts that for us to prosper and gain positive coverage it’s better he takes more of a back seat.” For years now the Rangers fans have been labelled as fractious. But Houston is adamant that’s no longer the case – and insists the ordinary supporter in the street now has a voice. With three simple aims, The SoS have outlined what they believe has to happen to safeguard the club’s future. And that means ousting the current board through a democratic vote at the agm where the likes of Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson hope to be appointed directors. Houston said: “The majority of fans at our meetings are, like me, unaffiliated fans. So that told me the Rangers fans really didn’t have a voice. “All the guys you see with banners now aren’t a member of any fans’ group. They are just ordinary supporters who until now haven’t been able to have their say. That’s why we’ve attracted so many people. “The Sons of Struth have three main aims. “The first is to keep the stadium in the club’s name, which we believe is vitally important to the financial stability of Rangers. “The second is to have a clear and clean set of accounts. “And the last aim is to have a board to be proud of. “For too many years now we’ve had more stories on the front pages than on the back. And that has to change – we want to talk about football now. “We believe the Jim McColl and Paul Murray movement has many positives. But when it comes to appointing directors it should be the same as when Ally McCoist is looking for new players. “If there is a better right-back alternative to the one we already have we should look at it. It’s the same with the board members. “Are they better than the existing lot? Like them or loath them, I believe the four nominees are, yes. They won’t be there forever but those potential custodians are a better option to what we have at the moment. I challenge any Rangers supporter to prove me wrong.” Houston believes it’s shameful the club’s board has refused pointblank to engage with any fans’ group ahead of the agm. But having united the RST, Assembly and Association, along with other groups, the SoS spokesman has vowed to lobby the club’s investors – even if it means heading to England – to ensure they appreciate the strength of feeling among fans. Houston said: “I have been contacting Rangers FC for some dialogue with the board. I had an instant reply saying they would look into it. “That was months ago and I haven’t heard anything since. “I’ve had meetings with all of the fans’ groups and we’ll be working together moving forward. We’ve managed to bring everyone together with the one aim. That unity will be key to what we’re trying to achieve. “It’s not a popularity contest. We need help and don’t want people behind us. We want them shoulder to shoulder with us. “The directors know what our message is. But they won’t budge no matter how many banners I hold up in the main stand. “Our target audience between now and December 19 is the Rangers shareholders. We will do everything in our power to let them know what we believe. “We need to petition these people before the agm and if that means going outwith Glasgow, so be it. Most of the major investors in Rangers now are based around Canary Wharf. “And if we need to take the battle down to London we’re willing to mobilise.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/battle-rangers-fan-behind-sons-2913943

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a ruling in favour of Rangers FC following an advertising dispute over whether the club should be allowed to advertise using the ‘Scotland’s most successful club’ claim. The ASA delivered its original ruling in June this year but after an appeal by complainants, the Independent Reviewer agreed that the case should be re-opened because a “valid question mark” had been raised over the adequacy of evidence submitted by the advertiser in the original investigation. However, following further examination, the ASA stood by its original ruling not to uphold 82 complaints that Rangers were misleading consumers by using an advertising slogan that said: “Join Scotland’s most successful club at Ibrox… still going strong… 54 titles… Rangers then… Rangers now… Rangers forever”. In a fresh adjudication, the ASA said it was confident that consumers would understand the claim was in reference to the history of Rangers Football Club, but did accept that that the club’s history was “separate to that of Newco”. “We consulted with UEFA, which explained that its rules allowed for the recognition of the ‘sporting integrity’ of a club’s match record, even if that club’s corporate structure had changed,” the ruling stated. “We also consulted with the SFA, which confirmed that its definition of a football ‘club’ varied depending on context, and could sometimes refer to an entity separate from the club’s corporate owner. “The SFA further pointed out that, following RFC’s transfer to a new corporate owner, Newco did not take a new membership of the Scottish FA but rather that previous membership was transferred across to them so they could continue as the same member of the Scottish FA. “We considered that consumer would understand that the claim in question related to the football club rather than to its owner and operator and therefore concluded that it was not misleading for the ad to make reference to RFC’s history, which was separate to that of Newco.” The question of whether Newco Rangers should be permitted to trade on the history of the liquidated company has been a bone of contention in Scottish football since Rangers’ financial collapse in 2012. The Drum understands that the ASA consider the decision final. http://m.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/11/asa-rules-favour-rangers-fc-advertising-dispute-following-appeal

FOLLOWING events on Friday evening at Fir Park Stadium, Celtic Football Club today announced that it has issued precautionary suspensions against 128 individuals preventing them attending matches involving Celtic, pending further investigation. These suspensions will cover matches at Celtic Park and away matches. In addition, the Club will be relocating around 250 season book holders in Section 111 to other areas within the stadium, or offering refunds covering the remainder of the season to those who do not wish to be relocated. Events such as those on Friday night do not represent the Celtic support or the Club. These events were an embarrassment to our great football club and are absolutely indefensible. It is clear that there is an element which has no hesitation in bringing Celtic’s name into disrepute. This is something the Club will not tolerate and we therefore have no other option but to take this action. We will not allow the great name of Celtic to be damaged in this way any more - our supporters deserve more than this. While recent events are very regrettable, we would like to thank our many thousands of fans for the wonderful, positive backing which they continue to give to Celtic. We are sure these supporters will understand the position which the Club is in and we are also sure they will unite with the Club as we move forward. Celtic Football Club is in excellent shape on and off the field. The Club is in a very safe and strong position and we have a young, exciting team working hard to deliver quality football and success for our supporters, as they did on Friday evening with a magnificent performance. This is what we want to be talking about and this is what we want to celebrate. Celtic has a proud 125-year history and fundamental to that history have been our fans. Our supporters enjoy a wonderful reputation earned across many years, many families and many generations. This is something we must protect vigorously.

Got a phone call earlier on from my parents who live near Airbles station on Airbles Road in Motherwell and they said there's was mega chaos after the match tonight. The mass of police and ambulance sirens interrupted their TV viewing and they looked out to see total chaos. Will be interesting to see if anything is reported in the mainstream media.

A cloud cluckoo land thread on RM is questioning whether fans miss the old firm games. Very bizarre given it is the highlight of the season aside from occasional CL games. Watching us is absolutely terrible at the moment and I can't wait to get back in the SPL playing them again.

How much money has been pocketed by so called board members since Craig Whytes takeover it is an astonishing ammount of money we are talking about close on £100 million pounds has went through the club and what have Rangers football club got for it, well come April we have £1 million pounds left, Now i ask you another question what has Craig Whyte got for it, What has Craig Mather got for it, What has Imran Ahmed got for it, What has Charles Green got for it, What has Brian Stockbridge got for it, What have the Easdales got for it? What will Jack Irvine get for it? Back this board at the clubs Expense as you will need to look yourself in the mirror every morning.

AS a listed company, the members of the Rangers Board have to be very careful and professional in the way in which we communicate information. This is clearly not the case for the requisitioners, who can make all sorts of wild and spurious allegations. My concern is that these unprofessional, wild allegations are being used just like bogey men were used when I was a child. But in this case, they are being used to frighten our supporters and shareholders. So, within the bounds of what I can say, I would like to put some of these bogey men to rest. Firstly, I read wild accusations that I may not be independent. This is usually accompanied by a list of names from the club’s past. Let me say categorically, that until I joined the Board a mere 4 weeks ago yesterday, I had never heard of Charles Green, Imran Ahmad, Craig Whyte, or any of the other characters in Rangers’ history. To my knowledge, I have never met them, nor had business dealings with them. Nor would I recognise them if I passed them on a street. When I was approached to join the Board, the Company had only two directors and the immediate priority was to preserve the AIM Listing. Surely it is naïve to think that there is any way the Nominated Adviser could have allowed anyone not totally independent to take on this position at that time? I have now read over two years of board minutes and they make very depressing reading in terms of the scale of their lack of professionalism and worse. The minutes make it clear, in my mind, that the boards of recent years have been totally unfit to run this club. The mystery to me is why people should now be considering that members of these boards, which presided over the problems we face today, should be considered for re-election. Although I have learned one lesson, which is that if you shout long enough and loud enough in the media, you may be able to reinvent yourself. Recent inaccurate and, in fact, completely untrue allegations have included a new bogey man about Jack Irvine's contract. I have looked at this and can say that he has a normal contract, with no bonuses attached and the figures quoted by Mr Scott Murdoch are utter nonsense. Let me also say that Graham Wallace and I are beginning a complete review of every contract that is in place. You can imagine that this is going to take weeks and then more time where contracts need to be changed. I have been on board four weeks yesterday and Graham less than that, but we have already begun this critical process. One area, where we are conscious that we need to focus, is in improving our communication and engagement with all Rangers supporters. We have already commenced work to identify what is required to fully engage with our fan base and we will be bringing forward some significant proposals in the near future. The Board is fully behind improving the communication and engagement with the fans. Another bogey man relates to the club's finances. We have said publicly a number of times that any talk of the club going into administration is completely untrue. Yes, we will need to make decisions to improve cash flows and strengthen the business, but these will be the right decisions at the right time. Another new bogey man thrown about by the Gang of Four is the suggestion that we might be thinking of selling Ibrox. We are not thinking about this. Where do the requisitioners get these ideas from? I promise you we have no intention of a sale. Brian Stockbridge suffers most from the lies thrown around by the people in the process of reinventing themselves. Even the requisitoners must understand that finance directors are members of boards and their actions are largely dictated by the board. Reading the minutes of the last two years or more, I see that Mr Murray was involved at board level for long periods covering contract and financial negotiations. It is not that Finance Directors make mistakes, rather that boards make mistakes, or worse. Without Brian, the club would, in my opinion, have been de-listed months ago and ironically the club should owe him a debt of gratitude for holding things together. Going forward, his new CEO, Graham Wallace, needs time to evaluate the whole structure within the business and the people within it. This will be true for Brian as for everyone else. For the good of the club, for the good of the supporters and for the good of the shareholders, I sincerely hope that the shareholders will get behind the existing board and vote for us. In addition, I encourage shareholders to vote against the four requisitioners. Firstly, because some of them were members or chairman of boards which failed this club in the past. Secondly, we need a Board selected from the best available people. Not just from fanatics who put their own personal interest ahead of the greater good of the club. If these people were to join the board they would be taking up positions which should be held in future by the best, professional people with Rangers true best interests at heart and not having their involvement driven by their own personal self interest. Best regards, David Somers http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5759-an-open-letter-from-the-chairman

I know I will get Pelter's for posting this, but thought I may get the other side of the coins thoughts. It was taken from RM and put together by a poster called TheLawMan "I recently posted about the Murray myths around debt reduction and Break even Domestic policy however i see today he is still claiming he helped reduce debt. His fans appear to believe him as well, despite the facts disputing what he says. Anyway, i thought i would take things a little further and look at the facts and figures of the people we are being asked to vote for. I know this type of thing normally bores people but I would urge you to read through Murrays CV. First an in-depth look at Paul Murrays Directorships – Past and present. Source : http://companycheck....ector/907102823 Lets start with his current active Directorships: Delamore Holdings (2007 to present) ( -£5m Net worth) – A flower and plant wholesaler – Assets of £1.68m and Liabilities of £1.78m. Cash in bank depleted from £652k in 2008 to £184k in 2012 year end accounts. Points to note. 2012 was a £973k loss following on from a £733k loss in 2011 and a long term loan was taken out to repay short term commitments. R.Delamore Limited (2007 to present) (£1.4m Net Worth) – A flower and plant wholesaler – Assets of £1.5m and Liabilities of £1.45m. Cash in bank depleted from £652k in 2008 to £0.8k in 2012 year end accounts. – Points to note. Due to cash depletion and a Going Concern issue, the company took out a new £2.25m loan to repay other loans and made a £628k loss last year. MGI Investments Limited (2004 to present) ( -£64k Net Worth) – A Management Consultancy firm – Assets of £23k and liabilities of £90k. Cash in bank depleted from £91k in 2008 to £3.6k in 2012 year end accounts. Vicast Limited (2013 to present) – A Business and Domestic Software Company – No information as no accounts filed but should be noted that fellow Directors are Martin Bain, John McLelland and Jacqueline Gourlay. St Marys School, Melrose (2009 to present) – (£2.85m net worth) – Education – Assets of £99.6k and Liabilities of £91.2k. Cash in bank depleted from £85k in 2008 to £6.7k in 2012 year end accounts. In summary, he holds 5 active directorships(there is a duplicate listing for MGI on the website) with a total Net Worth of Minus £814,000. Assets of £3.3m and liabilities of £3.4m. Total Cash of £189k. Now lets look at Past Directorships. Urban Life Properties Limited (2003 to 2009) – Dissolved in 2009 RFC 2012 PLC (2007 to 2011) – In Liquidation Wireless Systems International (2000 – 2002 ) – Dissolved in 2004 Martin Currie European Partners and Martin Currie Investment Management Limited (2003 – 2004) – Dissolved in 2007. Paul Murray was brought on board as MD of this business to launch a new £200m private equity fund. He only managed to raise 10% of target and left the business in 2004 after Currie suspended the launch of the fund. 3i PLC (September 1999 to April 2000) – Still active and a huge business with a £80m deficit of Liabilities v Assets Scientia Ferovia Limited + Scientifics Group Service Limited + Harwell Scientifics + Atesta Trustees Limited + Atesta Holding Limited + Scientifics Limited (all 2005 to 2006) – All non trading. It isn’t rocket science but looking at the above list, his Executive Directorships have been an absolute failure. 3 Dissolved, 1 liquidated, 6 non trading and the only 1 of any note, he only lasted less than 7 months in, and that was 13 years ago. Add that to his current directorships and we really need to ask...... WHY PAUL MURRAY ?? Anyway, lets now look at the total current directorships of Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson from the above source. 10 COMPANIES NET WORTH = Minus £27.3m ASSETS = £29.4m LIABILITES = £86.3m CASH in bank = £2.23 million Now lets look at the other half which is principally Somers and Easdale. 13 COMPANIES NET WORTH = £294.9m ASSETS = £3.5 billion LIABILITIES = £3.4 billion CASH in bank = £1.3 billion SUMMARY The current record of Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray and Scott Murdoch is dreadful. Liabilities running at 300% to assets, dissolved companies, liquidations, cash only going one way over last 5 years in all of their companies yet we are expected to believe they are the team to take us forward. Contrast that with Somers companies whose cash has multiplied by millions and hundreds of millions in his companies. Huge assets, huge network, just huge all round."

A statement from the four, who include former oldco Rangers director Paul Murray plus Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson, read: "He started by making great play of having never heard of Charles Green, Imran Ahmad nor Craig Whyte. "You would have thought that a man who made a big deal of having been to big European nights at Ibrox, would at least have had a passing knowledge of central characters in our club's recent history. "He then talked of having read board meeting minutes from the last two years which show a 'lack of professionalism and worse' and concluded that the boards have been 'unfit'. We agree with him and that is why we have been campaigning for change. "He went on to say that it was a 'mystery' to him that members of these boards should be put up for re-election but yet he has two such members on his board at the moment. "Is he now recommending to shareholders that they should vote against Brian Stockbridge and James Easdale?" The statement added: "If he had taken time to read the minutes properly he would have noted that Paul Murray was not even on the board over the time period he refers to and he would also note that Malcolm Murray and Phil Cartmell, two of the non-executives, were voted off the board for challenging the lack of corporate governance and financial transparency in the club. "It is not entirely surprising to us that Mr Somers seems to be a bit vague on the detail on the basis that this is the same man who when we asked him how he had come about being appointed said that 'he couldn't really remember'. "Mr Somers then went on to defend Brian Stockbridge and Jack Irvine. "In the same breath he talked about improving communication with the fans. What a ludicrous statement. "As the chairman of the club he has had many opportunities to engage with his customers over the last month and he has chosen not to. "Had he taken the time to listen and engage rather than adopt a siege mentality he would have quickly found out that the fans want truth and transparency not spin and bluster. They also want the removal of Brian Stockbridge and Jack Irvine. "Mr Somers finished his rant by describing our group as 'fanatics'. If a fanatic is someone who, for no personal gain, stands up for his club's interests after two years of some of the worst corporate behaviour in modern history then we plead guilty as charged." The statement challenged Somers to prove he is "truly independent" by disclosing who is behind the Blue Pitch and Margarita shareholdings; get his board to commit to pledges they made in their 'Rangers Constitution'; stop "defending the indefensible with Brian Stockbridge and Jack Irvine"; be "transparent" on his appointment; and to meet the fans and explain his vision. The statement finished: "If you do that then people will start believing that you are independent. Until then it is just words." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-rebels-challenge-chairman-david-2901228?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Rangers supporters' groups threaten to call time on financial support if boardroom battle continues after agm HAVING poured £10milllion into the club the Rangers Supporters Trust, Rangers Assembly and Rangers Supporters Association believe they have the power to force change in the boardroom. RANGERS fans’ groups last night threatened to pull the plug on financial support if the Ibrox boardroom battle continues to rage after the annual general meeting on December 19. A statement from the three main organisations – the Rangers Supporters Trust, Rangers Assembly and Rangers Supporters Association – came just hours before new chairman David Somers plunged into a new war of words with the four shareholders hoping to be elected onto the board at the agm. But even before his comments Ibrox supporters’ groups made it clear they’ve had enough. And having poured £10million into the club through season ticket sales this season, they believe they have the power to force change. Their statement read: “It is evident significant portions of the support want as a matter of urgency to see a RIFC board working efficiently as a unit to take the club forward effectively commercially and on the pitch. “Failure to achieve this will potentially result in fans disengaging with the club and the effect this would have on income streams would be disastrous.” Somers later issued an open letter defending himself against claims he had not proved his ‘independence’ from previous regimes operated by Craig Whyte and Charles Green. Somers’ intervention – in which he calls Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson the ‘Gang of Four’– appears to have blown any chance of them working together should the quartet be elected. The newly appointed chairman claimed many of Rangers’ problems over the last two years came during periods when the Murrays were directors. He accused them of ‘wild’ allegations to frighten fans and shareholders. Somers said: “Brian Stockbridge suffers most from the lies thrown around by the people in the process of reinventing themselves. “Even the requisitoners must understand finance directors are members of boards and their actions largely dictated by the board. It is not that finance directors make mistakes, rather that boards make mistakes, or worse. “Without Brian, the club would in my opinion have been de-listed months ago and the club should owe him a debt of gratitude for holding things together. “Going forward, his new CEO Graham Wallace needs time to evaluate the whole structure within the business and the people within it. This will be true for Brian as for everyone else. I read wild accusations that I may not be independent. “Let me say categorically, until I joined the board a mere four weeks ago yesterday, I had never heard of Charles Green, Imran Ahmad, Craig Whyte or any other characters in Rangers’ history. “To my knowledge, I have never met them, nor had business dealings with them. Nor would I recognise them if I passed them on a street. “I have now read over two years of board minutes and they make very depressing reading in terms of their lack of professionalism and worse. The minutes make it clear in my mind the boards of recent years have been totally unfit to run this club. “The mystery to me is why people should now be considering that members of these boards, which presided over the problems we face today, should be considered for re-election. “I encourage shareholders to vote against the four requisitioners. Firstly, because some were members or chairman of boards which failed this club in the past. Secondly, we need a board selected from the best available people. “Not just from fanatics who put their own personal interest ahead of the greater good of the club.” But Rangers Supporters Association, Assembly and Trust last night jointly accused Somers of being out of touch. In response to his comments they issued a statement that said: “The comments from the chairman are deeply troubling and we call for an urgent meeting so he can acquaint himself with the reality of the feelings of the support.” Somers’ comments came on the day the four requisitioners made a statement to shareholders ahead of the agm. It read: “We have been relentless in our pursuit of change, as have the fans with whom we are completely aligned. “There are not many businesses who can choose to ignore their customers. This is what the past and current board have done and are still doing. All shareholders should be worried about the impact this may have on season ticket sales and other commercial revenues. “We would ask shareholders to support further board changes.” I would like to know how they get to the £10m figure, and if it wasn't the groups why they haven't corrected the journo.

This is from a well known poster on FF, jeez if this is true! Nae wonder Stockbridge is fighting to keep others out. " What would you say if we only got a couple of pence per strip sold in the clubshop? And that we pay, yes we pay someone from a large sport retailer £20k a month to run our retail arm and has never been seen at Ibrox".

Nice to see Celtic showing why Scottish football is so vibrant and dynamic at the moment. Trying not to be too Jim Spence-like in my praise, but it's clear that only getting gubbed 3-0 by Milan is a clear sign of how healthy the SPL is. Surely that's the case. It can't be otherwise....

He and ex-board member Paul Murray – who is also a member of the group that is trying to win control at Ibrox – met with representatives of 60 Rangers supporters clubs in Belfast last night. And he didn't sugar coat the message that an institution that had designs on being kings of Europe less than 20 years ago remains on the precipice – 18 months after it entered administration. The future can be bright, however, with ambitions to play in a European Super League down the line – but only if the club is on a secure footing. "I personally think that the club is in danger if we don't get a win here," said Malcolm, who is likely to return as chairman if the vote on December 19 goes the way of his group rather than the current board being re-elected. "I don't see how it's going to be funded. The official statement from the last fans meeting with the current board said that they would have £1m cash left in April. "They spent quite a lot of that already in pay-outs so I don't know how much longer it will be before it runs out – probably before Easter if things don't change dramatically or unless they have investors lined up, which they haven't said they have. "We do have, both private and institutional investors, who will back us." The picture in Govan has never looked bleaker. Craig Whyte bought the club for a mere £1 in May 2011 from David Murray. By February the following year it was in administration and within six months Rangers found itself in the Scottish Third Division for the first time in its illustrious 140 year history. While things are improving on the pitch after last season's promotion success, off the field uncertainty remains. Paul and Malcolm are working to put Rangers back on an even keel and rallying the support of the club's Northern Ireland fanbase is crucial to them – hence the reason why they made the trip across the Irish Sea. Paul Murray said: "These are the customers of the club and unlike an English club, in Scotland the fans are the lifeblood of the club with the money they spend on season tickets, merchandise etc. "What I find disappointing is that last Thursday in Glasgow nobody from the current board came to address the fans and they didn't even reply to the email invite to come to Belfast, which I think is a really shoddy way to treat the customers."The fans saved the club last year and to not engage with them just isn't right." Their attempts to gain control of Rangers have met a number of barriers already. Paul was removed from the board almost three years ago. Malcolm was ousted as chairman earlier this year. They are, however, refusing to give up. Even in the last few weeks they have to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to win the nominations at the AGM. "I want to get involved to help save the club," said Malcolm (pictured). "This time last year there was a short period when we thought that things were looking pretty good. We raised £22m, had a clean balance sheet, had full asset ownership. Unfortunately with all of our difficulties most of that cash has disappeared on non-investment activities. "Investment activities mean spending money on the stadium or players – that's what a football club does – but the money has been spent elsewhere and it needs tight cash control for the future, new funding – which we have access to -and get the faith of the fans back." "This puts us in a position to go to any of the institutional investors who are still wavering and say we have the customers overwhelmingly behind our group to clean this up for the future. That's why it's important. "I was an institutional fund manager for over 30 years. In 30 years of trying to sort companies out this is the most complex situation I have ever seen, Ending up in the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh to get nominations at an AGM is outrageous and a waste of company funds. It could have been done months ago." It's only five years since Rangers were in the Uefa Cup final. Twenty years ago this season they were in what was effectively a Champions League semi-final against Marseille. Those days can return according to the Malcolm. He said: "Anything can happen, but we have to be in financial health to be involved." That's my mind made up then

Was listening to Talksport earlier this week (meant to post this then) and they were talking about Hull City and the potential renaming to Hull Tigers. They even spoke of Cardiff and the change to red shirts, saying a new owner would take them back to their traditional blue. I missed the start of the piece but one of the hosts said words to the effect of: They didn't really mention us but it struck home with me. Even though the idiots are wrong about the liquidation stuff and the new club shite it plain doesn't matter. If the 40,000 season ticket holders believe it is still Rangers and all the match day fans and thousands of tv fans believe they are supporting the same team then they are. Rangers aren't Ibrox. We aren't royal blue shirts nor red socks and black tops. It doesn't matter what league we are in nor where we play or train. Rangers are the 40,000 season ticket holders and the wider fan base around the globe and no one can change that no matter how much they wish it. We are the Rangers who won the Cup Winners Cup in 72, who won nine in a row and the club which the word's most successful club. And we always will be. Probably didn't deserve a new thread but wasn't sure where else to add this.

The 4 new board candidates will publish their's today.

Fire up the rolls & slice, pour a cuppa and enjoy/suffer the latest epistle from your local Handwringer in Chief. Liberal democracy is a good thing. It certainly has its faults, but overall a system which allows you to disagree with it without consequence is always preferable to one which imposes penalty on speech or thought. You might think, given the experience of the 20th century, that this is a lesson humanity has finally learned, but alas the lesson of history is that mistakes are seldom, if ever, absorbed. These thoughts came to mind last week as I re-read my copy of Clive James's wonderful 'Cultural Amnesia', a collection of essays on the effects of totalitarianism on humanity and the humanities in the last century. As always with Mr James, it is genius written with the lightest of touches: the best kind of teaching. You can pick up a copy for about £3 on Amazon and I'd heartily recommend it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultural-Amnesia-Necessary-Memories-History/dp/039333354X The defence of freedom of speech was quite the hot potato this week, with some idiot celtc fans feeling the need to compare a 14th century bandido with a 20th century murderer. As if the 700 years in between hadn't taught the Irish anything; no, they were fit to be subjected to medieval methods of warfare. If only they could see how insulting they are to the people they stupidly profess to defend! And in fairness, loud had been the opprobrium from on high within Parkhead. Mr Lawwell don't like it, Mr Lennon don't like it, and surely the final nail for celtc fans, even Mr Spiers, he don't like it. But what is it they don't like, exactly? Well, the timing and the place. Not the picture of a mentally unbalanced killer with a persecution complex added to a natural penchant for psychosis on banners, but the doing of it in such a way as to embarrass celtc fc. In what was probably a throwaway but nonetheless revealing comment last week, Mr Spiers was of the opinion that 'there are rights and wrongs about the IRA but the football is not the place' to discuss them. I have spend a few days trying to think what the 'rights ' of the IRA were and have drawn a blank. Perhaps some other readers can write in with their solutions to this problem. A free bus ride around Belfast town centre, loudly setting out your thesis, will be the prize. On the rare occasions I think about Ireland, I guess that in the long run of history, it will probably end up as the one country. Not exactly plan 'A' to make you popular in amongst the Vanguard Bears, but there it is. But if it happens, it will be through democracy, not violence. Terrorism is always wrong. So here's where poor Clive James is roped in to educate the wretched Mr Spiers and his pals in the east. Terrorism is always wrong. Whether it be Bobby Sands or, as we discovered last week, some madmen in the British Army running about acting like an Argentine death squad, it is always wrong. And using it to score cheap points is always wrong, and not just on the grounds of timing - on the grounds that rehabilitating terrorists in the way that celtc fans and the BBC have done this week ('IRA hunger striker' is so much less aggressive than 'terrorist murderer', isn't it?) is dangerous to democracy. As the lessons of the 20th century showed us, we need to be on our guard against those who would deny free speech. It may seem hypocritcal to ask for free speech and then deny it for the Green Brigade, but with the freedom to speak comes the need to speak with responsibility. No more throwaway remarks about 'rights and wrongs', some things are always wrong. You don't have to be a cynic to wonder where the Scottish Journalist's Book of Adjectives to Describe Current Buns went this week: no 'vile', no 'songs of hate', no 'embarrassment to Scotland in the 21st century', 'no sectarian bitterness', no quotes from Peter Kearney about how awful it all is. Just 'rights and wrongs' and 'maybe the wrong time and place'. We can only hope that such lunatics as Bobby Sands never return to our shores to demonstrate to the likes of Mr Spiers just how thin the divide between liberal democracy and terror in our society is. Hopefully he will get 'Cultural Amnesia' for his Christmas - one way or another, he, and the celtc fans, need to get the message: terrorism is always wrong. But, as always, there's a but. And while it has been lovely to bask in the reflected inglory of the other mob this week, we must be careful what we wish for. For should the amazing happen and Vincent Lunny actually dare chib celtc for once, you can bet he will be on uber-Orange alert for something to even up the score. And we will give him the ammo he needs, I fear. 'What's the handwringer moaning about now?' I hear you ask. Well... 'Super Rangers' for a start. It is going to have to go, and it would be better if we did it rather than had another war. But even that is a bit old hat, and I'm not keen to have that same argument over again. What's bugging me is maybe something that Lunny wouldn't notice, but a super sensitive handwringer such as myself does. When big Daly got us off the mark against Arbroath, about 50 Bears chose to express their happiness with a burst of The Sash. You may think that a coincidence: I don't. I think it was a classless and tasteless riposte, along the lines of 'Aye, well, you may have scored, but don't think we're going anywhere!' At least they left out the add on, which about 10 Bears didn't at kick off. Nevertheless, what a nice touch to thank a model professional. I hope they get over it, and soon. Now, I actually think that reducing the idiot rump of our fan base to about 70 or 80 away fans is something pretty amazing, and the club and most of the fans ought to be congratulated for it. But they won't, you know they won't. In a society which falls over itself to avoid offending the sensibilities of IRA supporters you know that as long as one Bluenose yells FTP we will be hauled up. We could easily lose the musical two fingers to Jon Daly, and we should lose the forbidden line in Super Rangers. It will make them look worse, and that's always good! And especially, we could lose the UVF tribute lines....terrorism is ALWAYS wrong, remember. Weirdly, in Scotland support for terrorism seems to be considered slightly less offensive than what I stubbornly believe is meaningless yells from football fans with a drink in them. You'll never persuade me that the Green Brigade were all steaming when they rattled up what must have been the least catchy slogan last week, and you'll never persuade me that the vast majority of 'sectarian' events in Scotland are little more than Rangers-Celtic tittle tattle. But that's how the chips are falling, thanks in part to liberal consciences like Mr Spiers'. We can't let distaste for the like of him push us away from defending liberal democracy, but there are one or two things we could do to make it better. It may make you feel slightly sick to actually have to tell people this is 2013: it should do. But Mr Lawwell, Mr Lennon, Mr Spiers, and our own hero-worshippers: terrorism is always wrong.

Good to see this - apparently the booked suite holds 500 people!

PAUL MURRAY fears Charles Green is still involved in the running of Rangers. The Ibrox board hopeful met with fans in Glasgow last night ahead of the AGM on December 19 that could see Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch join him at the Ibrox top table if investors vote to oust the current regime. Controversial former chief executive Green left Rangers for the second time earlier this year following a short stint as a consultant, which came just weeks after he stepped down following allegations of co-operation with Craig Whyte. Murray said: "I do feel that Charles Green is involved. We went to see a shareholder last week and he told us that Charles Green had been to see him the previous day. "You have to ask the question, if Charles Green has sold his shares and is no longer involved with the club, why is he going to see shareholders to influence them to vote for the board?" He added: "There must be a risk (that Green is still involved). The 18th of December is a lock-in date, I think something will happen that day, I don't know what it is going to be but shareholding will probably move around and so on and it is a matter of public record. "There must be a risk although he said publicly he is not involved, which is why, when you hear things like last week, you feel a little bit concerned." Murray and his fellow board hopefuls met with 500 supporters at a gathering in Glasgow last night as the make-or-break shareholder summit draws nearer. Murray and businessman Jim McColl called for finance director Brian Stockbridge to resign this week, with McColl admitting the Requsitioners had lined up new chief executive Graham Wallace to be part of their team should they win at the AGM. The Gers have appointed David Somers as chairman and Norman Crighton as a non-executive director and Murray said: "We are (willing to work with three new guys). We are taking them at face value." The other main players in the saga are James and Sandy Easdale, with the Greenock businessmen holding positions on the board of Rangers International Football Club plc and Rangers Football Club Ltd. James Easdale has proxy votes over around 25% of shares in RIFC plc and Murray has called on them to lay their cards on the table. He said: "They represent 24% of the shares but the issue is - I've been asking consistently - I'd have thought they'd want to put to bed once and for all who's behind those two companies (Margarita and Blue Pitch Holdings). The fans have got lots of concerns." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/paul-murray-i-fear-green-is-involved-143889n.22822985

Interesting stuff....

Wednesday 20 November 2013 Hearts administrators BDO hope to persuade the insolvency firm in control of UBIG to support the deal that would take Heart of Midlothian Football Club plc out of administration on Friday. "Tentative" discussions began yesterday and an agreement will need to be reached ahead of the meeting of creditors at the end of this week. Creditors holding 75% or more of Hearts' debts need to vote in favour of the CVA proposal. UBIG are the majority shareholders in HMFCplc, with a 49.9% stake, and are currently being run by Vilnius-based UAB Bankroto Administravimo Paslaugos after being formally declared bankrupt last week. BDO have now managed to establish a direct line of communication with their insolvency colleagues in Lithuania, and talks will continue over the coming days. Herald

https://pic.twitter.com/m00FYxoZ1m

Another weekend with no game...sigh. Here's your Sunday morning 'long piece' a day or so early. Today's musical accompaniment is Hannah Georgas with 'Enemies'. Takes a while to get going but grows on you, kind of like a modern Suzanne Vega. Living with other people isn't always easy. Look at cities - the number of urban dwellers who look for ways to escape tells its own story: living with other people creates tension. So it's no wonder that many of the 20th century's finest thinkers on cities and how to live in them from countries which suffered the most devastation to their cities: having seen their countries convulsed for the better part of the entire 100 years, you can't be surprised that so many French and German intellectuals turned their minds toward how to improve the world for the future. Le Certeau, Foucault, the wonderfully named Lyotard...but what about the Germans? Unfortunately, for many Brits raised on a TV diet these last 40 years, mention of the word 'Germans' brings on a kneejerk reaction where an image of Hitler appears unbidden in your mind, either sauntering 'neath the Eiffel Tower or giving it laldy at one of the lads' night's out he and the rest of the gang were fond of. There he is at the podium, one fist turned backward on his left hip, his right hand karate-chopping an imaginary swarm of bees as he yells 'Niemals! Niemals! Niemals!' A strange man, indeed. But hardly the definitive image we want to take forward of that country, surely? Adolf's ubiquity on British cable TV is now such that it is only a matter of time before someone decides to hive off another arm of the History Channel into a dedicated Hitlery Channel. They may as well: from serious, academic studies such as The Nazis: A Warning From History or The World at War, through well meaning but poorly (cheaply) made cut-and-paste jobs like Secrets of the Nazi Gold to the recent, alarming trend in US low budget movie making to use Nazis as almost a comedy stooge - Nazis From the Moon, anyone? It's a real film, although even it is eclipsed by the appalling bad Nazis From the Centre of the Earth. What Jake Busey, so effective as the ghostly psycho the in Michael J Fox movie The Frighteners, is doing in this trash is anyone's guess: but any answer other than paying off a gangster's bill will reflect very badly on him. Hopefully America, given it provides pretty much the cultural compass for the world, won't go down the Nazi obsessed route the British media is addicted to. If you think the next four years, with day by day accounts of World War One are going to be full on, just wait, if you're old enough, until 1933 - I should think you will have a minute by minute account of what Herr Schicklegruber was up to from the day he assumed power until the Fuhrer's butler served up the cyanide and Lugers in the bunker. Given I'll be 63 in 2033 I imagine I will be either (a) dead or (b) gaga so it won't matter to me. I don't envy the rest of you, though! I suppose it shows how getting your image, your public perception out from under some kind of media imposed identity is not easy. Hence the reluctance in Britain to take people seriously who have names like Mearsheimer, Gadamer, or Bauman. Stuck in a Dr Strangelovian timewarp, we see them as sinister candidates for the experiment room rather than people who may offer something positive. Michael Schumacher, it's true, was popular, but his popularity in the UK was of the grudging respect kind last seen in veteran Desert Rats when they were talking about Rommel. In my lifetime I can think of only Prof.Heinz Wolff, woolly-haired boffin of TV science-fest The Great Egg Race, who has been accepted in Britain. Even he was looked upon with grave suspicion by my mother, although admittedly she was bombed out by the Luftwaffe in the 40's and has never forgiven 'the Germans' since. We as Bluenoses know all too well that if you don't control your own image, others will happily control it for you, and those others will almost certainly have nefarious intent. Our current status in the game - if this were India we would rank somewhere between pariah dog and untouchable street sweeper - have led many, me included, to adopt a defiant stance of 'get it up ye!' and to hold ourselves apart from the rest. They'll need us more than we need them, I have said, and meant it. Now, I'm not so sure. When veteran sociologist Zygmunt Bauman recently took a look at urban life, he diagnosed it to be suffering from two separate but connected illnesses, which, in the time honoured fashion of the intellectual, he gave the unfriendly names of mixophobia and mixophilia. The former sees fear of other groups than one's own run rampant, and those who can do so barricade themselves into gated communities with security guards, gradually losing the ability to communicate with the others outside, the fear of whom grows the more they become unknown. A self-perpetuating cycle where no one wins except, presumably, Barratt Homes. Mixophilia, meanwhile, seems a bit optimistic to me, a happy city with lots of mixing between classes and sects, Bauman foresees 'benign, and often deeply gratifying and enjoyable daily encounters with the humanity hiding behind the frighteningly unfamiliar scenic masks of different and alien races, nationalities, Gods and liturgies'. I remain doubtful how enjoyable daily bumping into hordes of celtc fans would be, especially in a city with trams, but I do take his point: hiding ourselves away in a ghetto will, in the long run, do more harm than good. Hang on , though, I hear you cry. What about Timmy? When O'Neill appeared, they drew back into the cultural enclave, they've never come out of it since and they're doing alright, aren't they? Well, not really, no. Although they have people at the top of the game and are very much the country's strongest side, there are two caveats. First, obviously, we handed it them on a plate, both due to our implosion and our mismanagement of the game during the SPL period. If we were to pursue the Germanic theme of this piece a little further, you could call the SPL period the Weimar Republic and the present lot the early days of Adolf. It certainly looks like a one party state, anyway. Given the delusion which appears to run rampant through their support - 'we bring smiles wherever we go' must rank up there as one of the best lines of this or any other year - perhaps Stalin's self-delusional Soviet Union would be a better comparison. Secondly, in broad terms they are dying every bit as much as the game as a whole. Although many Bears see the Sectarianism Legislation as directly only at them, it reflects a wider belief in Scotland that the day of Old Firm bigotry is past. Teams may be multicultural but the fans you are obliged to step past, usually pished and almost always giving it something from some idealised Irish folk history song book certainly are not. Scottish society, which seems to have been taking a look at itself in recent years (probably due to devolution and the independence referendum) has clearly concluded that shibboleths like the Old Firm are shibboleths no longer and must either change or wither. I think we're both doing a pretty good job of withering at the moment, crowds or no crowds, the mutual hate and societal impact of recent events causing disquiet among those who are fans of neither club. How appealing will the present antipathy be to the generation which comes along after us, which has to have the last few years explained and which, like all new generations, will probably look at us with the same unconcealed contempt my son directs at me when I tell him to cut his nails or tidy his room. Certainly it will keep me going for years, this hate, but as a long term marketing strategy it is lacking. We exist in the Scottish leagues, and we're going to have to come to some kind of understanding with the Scottish leagues. Hans Gadamer, in a book called Truth and Method, explained that mutual understanding can only occur when there is a 'fusion of horizons' between peoples. This fusion can only come about through shared experience and that shared experience can only come about in a shared space: if we exist in a vacuum, our horizons, whatever they may be, will be ignored in favour of everyone else's. Given how much everyone else's appear to accord with those of celtc FC, this is a genuine worry, but more broadly, if the OF continue on their road to cultural isolationism, they may well both be victims of the rest of society's impatience and end up moribund. This may seem needlessly pessimistic to celtc given their CL money, but it goes out as soon as it comes in and even it is far from guaranteed. Another German, philosopher Emmanuel Kant, talked about a general association of mankind: 'allgemeine vereinigung der menschheit'. For this Scot, who suffered at school trying to get his bunged up nose and gutteral, throaty accent around the romantic cadence of French, German is a godsend - it is basically 'say what you see' and none of that Froggie rubbish about silent letters or nasally stops. It even sounds like English. How two countries with so many similarities as the UK and Germany ended up so far apart is one of the great questions of the century gone by, but it's generally ignored in favour of endless programmes about Hitler, Goering and the rest. Unless we take steps to address our current position in the game: no power, no influence, no friends, nothing other than a sometimes useful chip to throw down for small clubs looking for a payday - we may end up more a curiosity rather than a vibrant player, and contribution we might have to make ignored in favour of bone-picking over the last few years. Given the present shambles that is the club, any kind of future vibrancy may seem like lunatic optimism but we fans have a duty to at least try and shove the club into engaging with the outside world. A voice which is constantly telling everyone else to go stuff themselves is unlikely to win many arguments. I suppose at some point we have to engage: even if the ultimate aim remains the annihilation of certain clubs,we don't have to shout it from the rooftops. The AGM is coming up: there will be a possibility of change, though it varies from day to day and depending on who you read. How I hope we seize this chance, for the alternative is terrible: Rangers from the Centre of the Earth, anyone?

CAMPBELL OGILVIE was spot on when he criticised both sides of the Old Firm for their petulant behaviour. But the SFA chairman’s comments about the sniping between the clubs wasting time and money will no doubt fall on deaf ears once more. Why? The petty point scoring we’ve seen from the hierarchy at both Celtic and Rangers recently is not dignified or appropriate. It’s like they are trying to fuel the masses already at boiling point. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell’s jibe about Rangers was a throwaway comment meant to rouse supporters at the AGM but nothing more sinister. The SFA compliance officer found he had no case to answer for his attempt at stand-up comedy. And as for Rangers being upset enough to file a complaint to the SFA? They have stumbled from one crisis to another in recent months but still find it necessary to get involved in childish debate. Those at the SFA bunker must have thought it was a joke when Gers’ complaint about Lawwell dropped through the letterbox What purpose did it serve other than waste the time of an association already bogged down with more pressing concerns. It makes you sick to the pit of your stomach when you see these two squabble like the biggest kids in the playground. How on earth can you expect punters from both sides of the city to keep the head when the bosses are throwing petrol on the fire. Celtic, for their part, should rise above such petty squabbles. They are financially secure thanks to a sound business structure and money pouring in from UEFA. Why get involved? With a huge Champions League game this week, and the fallout from the trouble in Amsterdam still rumbling on, Celtic need to be focused. Meanwhile Rangers, with another chairman entering through the revolving door, should look in the mirror before anyone pens another letter to the SFA. Somebody should tip this club upside down and give it a good shake. Hopefully then the imposters will fall by the wayside and some sort of normality can be found. Why worry about what goes on across the city when the clubs are poles apart? The teams are leagues apart – both in football and financial terms. I’ve always believed that without these two Scottish football would die a slow death. But if they can’t work together the game certainly won’t thrive. Those who man the Daily Record Hotline should be knighted for listening to this drivel Go on any football forum on the internet and the childish chatter between their fans is pathetic. Should we be surprised when the top brass are at it as well?

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=12878&newsCategoryID=1 Not a surprise...