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Thought this worth sharing from FF: "Lifted this from another forum, some things we didn't know about players, training etc!! Training seems like a hoot! http://www.hat-trick.fr/sebastien-fa...st-jimmy-bell/ You’ve been here for two years now. What does “Rangers” mean to you? (After a long time spent thinking) Well it’s easy to say this and a bit of a cliché, but it’s a religion. There’s football here which is one thing, but then there’s Rangers, the fans, and everyone else associated with the club, it’s amazing…even after the club was relegated to Division 4, people kept their jobs at Ibrox or at Murray Park. And they are just so proud to work here, and they so proud to say “I work for Rangers”. When you are a professional player, you tend to move from club to club, it’s part of the job. It’s not easy to really absorb the culture and ethos of a club, apart from those who stay for years and years and really become ingrained in the fabric of the club, like Lee McCulloch. Sometimes, the supporters shout at you or get angry. But you can’t let it get to you, you can only do your talking on the pitch. They’ve had so much good football over the years that I think they sort of have a right to be angered, to be honest. In any case, playing at Ibrox is far from easy. There’s so much pressure. You can be winning 2-0, but if you misplace just one pass you’ll be whistled. I mean I heard a few boos at the Gerland (Lyon stadium), but never like the one’s you get here sometimes! (laughs) Did it take you long to learn what it meant to play for a club like Rangers? What did you expect when you came over? No, I didn’t expect it to be honest. I knew Rangers were a massive club, but I didn’t know how they were perceived by the other Scottish clubs. The Glasgow clubs really are hated by the other Scottish clubs. It’s incredible! What’s more, you have to understand that I was a but unsure about coming over here in the first place. I said to my agent: “You’re kind, but I’m not sure if I want to be dropping down to play in Division 4 in France” and he said “It’s Division 4 in Scotland”. He said: “Seb, please, just go over for a few days, check out the facilities and the stadium, you’ll soon change your mind.” On the first day of my trial I trained with the reserves, and it went well. That night, I went to see the first team play in the League Cup again East Fife. It was a Tuesday night, we won 4-0 and almost 40, 000 fans were there. It was…mad, just mad. I called up my agent and said: “If you can sort it out for me, I really want to stay here!” Everything you do and say is reported on and scrutinised at a club like Rangers. Has the press had an influence on the atmosphere at the club? First of all you need to understand that the press and its reporters here are a million times worse than in France! I’m sure I’ve seen the word “crisis” used to describe our club just about every day of the year, even when we win. Taking this into consideration, I do think that it’s had an influence. I must say, not on me personally. To be very honest, I don’t read the papers, apart from when they discuss politics or cover stories from France. But at the level of the club more generally, they have definitely had an influence. Ten days ago, an old team mate of McCoist’s, John Brown, said to the Sun: “You are a disgrace!” The coach brought us the article and he had an argument with Kenny Miller. After we got beaten by Hearts, apparently Miller had called up a journalist wanting to speak to him to tell him the manager had made some bad decisions, although it turned out that he hadn’t. McCoist got so angry: he threw the paper, he stamped on it, he was shouting and screaming! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him like that. Blacky brings the Sun in every morning, and we read it. McCoist reads all the papers every morning in his office at Murray Park, which by the way is enormous (laughs). I think that its mainly at the level of the club staff that the papers have an impact. In your eyes, who represents the soul of the club? Jimmy Bell the kitman. He’s been here since 1972, I think. It’s amazing that he was taking care of McCoist and Durrant when they were players, and now its them who are in charge. It’s an amazing story and an amazing history, one which you wouldn’t get at many clubs at all. Jimmy’s got his own room in Ibrox where he displays all the Rangers kits and all the Rangers photos that he’s collected over 40 years. In his office at Murray Park, there’s a room, which we are forbidden from entering (laughs), which has all of his souvenirs, his trophies…it’s his very own museum! When it looked like they might be re-possessing Ibrox, he had to pack up all his stuff because he was scared that it would be taken off him. He is really the soul of the club, its him, its Jimmy. He’s a great guy, even if he’s always sulking. You need to get to know him…I remember when I arrived on trial, I didn’t speak English. “You don’t speak English, ****ing French!?” he said (laughs). But I mean really nasty to me! But nowadays, along with Bilel, he tells us loads of stories, loads of jokes. He’s really a top guy, he’s golden. I’m trying to help our readers understand the complete devotion that Rangers inspires in people. To give us more of an insight, is it true that one of the players has got the logo of the club tattooed on his calf? Yeah its Danny Stoney! He’s a good lad who we’ve loaned out to Stranraer. He’s got a tattoo that’s blue, with red around it, and five golden stars in the middle. It’s amazing, simply amazing. When I was at Lyon, even though I was also a Lyon fan, I would never have got a Lyon tattoo. It would never have crossed my mind! It’s just a different type of relationship to the club here. At Lyon, if I’d have got a club tattoo while I was at the academy I’d have had the piss taken out of me! “Suck up!” they’d have said. Here, it is praised! But by contrast, at Lyon if you change your hairstyle or your clothes, people will talk about it. Here, no one cares! The outfits people wear here, and I’m talking about the players, are just….Take Lee Wallace for example, I’ve never seen him wearing jeans (laughs)! At Lyon, you dress well to be stylish or whatever, but here, not at all.

Great day for the Rangers first schemem , now sitting at over 2170 members , superb , hopefully this is just the start , I know there is an off line campaign starting soon which has been funded by separate donations.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words....... Rangers manager Kenny McDowall (Copyright: 2014 Willie Vass)

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/exchange-insight/trade-data.html?fourWayKey=GB00B90T9Z75GBGBXASQ1

...while fans are queuing up to bail them out. WHY the hell are Rangers selling their best player for just £1million when they have fans who are willing to put £6.5million into the club?. It's an absolutely ridiculous state of affairs. No wonder the Gers fans are going berserk. It's obvious to me this is a reaction by the club to the SFA blocking Mike Ashley from increasing his stake to 29.9 per cent. The club is desperate for money. I said a few weeks ago that it wouldn't surprise me if clubs came in for Macleod and Lee Wallace in the January transfer window. It is well known in the game that Rangers need funds. So clubs will try to get players on the cheap. But Brentford! For £1 million! It is obvious Rangers are in a serious predicament. Because what does selling the midfielder do for their chances of winning promotion back to the top flight? I just don't know why the club aren't accepting people who have put money on the table with open arms. George Letham, Douglas Park and George Taylor have offered to underwrite the share issue to the tune of £6.5 million. They are genuine supporters who care about the Ibrox club and they have provided proof of funds. Anybody who wants to invest in the SPFL Championship club just now has to be a fan given the state they are in. They don't want to make a fast buck. Apparently, the club is ready to open negotiations with the trio over representation on the board. But for me there is no discussion needed. Ashley's attempt to buy control of the Ibrox club has been rebuffed by the SFA. So the club has to get money from somewhere else. Why aren't they accepting this substantial injection of cash straight away. Why are they offloading Macleod? Do they have something to hide? Are there things they don't want these guys to find out about? I personally am not interested in who is in charge Rangers. I just want them to function as a unit with everyone involved working together. I want to see the club run they way it should be run - on and off the park. If this consortium's bid isn't accepted there is a very real danger that more fans won't bother to turn up for the Championship game against Dumbarton on Saturday. Attendances at the matches against Cowdenbeath and Livingston this month were below 20,000. What will they be this weekend after this development? The people who are running Rangers have to understand they need the supporters onside to get out of this mess. If Letham, Park and Taylor came in then I am in no doubt that fans would have more faith in the board and more of them would come back. I know for a fact that young Lewis didn't really want to leave Rangers. Certainly not to Brentford. I am in no doubt that the 20-year-old has been told he has to join the English Championship club to raise money. Yes, it is a higher level than he is currently playing at. But I think he could do far better than the Griffin Park club. The money Rangers will bank from the sale of the Scotland Under-21 internationalist, too, will do them for a month. What do they do after that? They have lost one of their best performers, one of the few individuals they have who has a bit of quality. Do they go back to Mike Ashley and get more loans? Are we the Loan Rangers now? http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangerscomment/rangers-are-flogging-the-family-silver-while-fans-are-queuing-up-to-193047n.115344368

...if Ibrox board snubs Three Bears' £6.5m bail-out. THE Rangers board was today warned that even more fans could turn their backs on the Ibrox club if they block "The Three Bears" consortium. By Matthew Lindsay Gers fans George Letham, Douglas Park and George Taylor have offered £6.5 million to underwrite an equity issue early next year. The move comes after the SFA prevented Mike Ashley from increasing his stake in the Glasgow giants to 29.9% last week. Letham, Park and Taylor were part of an eight-strong group fronted by Dave King who had a £16 million rescue package turned down back in October. Rangers chairman David Somers said King and his associates failed to provide proof of funds and reveal the identity of the investors. But Letham, Park and Taylor have satisfied both of those criteria - and have impeccable business credentials as well as being bona fide fans. Crowds have plummeted at Ibrox this season amid growing dissatisfaction at the way the SPFL League One champions are being run. Their last two Championship games at home against Cowdenbeath and Livingston have attracted less than 20,000 spectators. And Drew Roberton, of the Rangers Supporters Association, reckons crowds could fall even further if "The Three Bears" were prevented from increasing their shareholdings. He said: "I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of some more people saying: 'Enough is enough'. "I think we are down to the hard core of Rangers fans on match days at Ibrox now. "I think we are down to the people who will go regardless of what is happening on or off the park. "If the board decline them then they will probably hide behind stock market rules or some such. "But they would have to come up with a very good reason why and try to convince people they have a long-term plan. "It is difficult to see what plan they have apart from self-preservation. "If the two Georges and Douglas fail then it wouldn't go down well with the fans - and I don't know how the guardians of Scottish sporting integrity (the SFA) would look upon it." Roberton added: "I know George Letham to say hello to. He is a nice guy. "I have no doubt the three gentlemen involved have the best interests of the club at heart. "My view, and the view of the Rangers Supporters Association, is that it's not important who runs the club it's how they run the club that matters. "And I have no doubt that George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park would help to run the club for the benefit of the club." Rangers expressed disappointment at the SFA refusing to allow Sports Direct owner Ashley to increase his stake above 10% in a brief statement on their website on Christmas Eve. They also revealed they would go away and consider all other options - and Roberton refused to rule out the billionaire businessman taking even greater control at Ibrox. He said: "I am kind of of the view that if Ashley wants to increase his stake in Rangers he will. "At the end of the day, I don't think there's a lot the SFA can do about it." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-fans-chief-fears-new-supporter-boycott-if-ibrox-board-snubs-192879n.115246847

He's a COWARD, he doesn't like a 50-50 and tackles from behind. SCOTTISH football journeyman and no stranger to a hard tackle, Chic Charnley has lashed out at Rangers bad boy Ian Black. CHIC CHARNLEY didn’t need to take lessons when it came to being one of Scottish football’s bad boys. He was sent off 17 times in a tempestuous career that began in 1982 and finished in 2003 when he made his final SPL appearance for Partick Thistle 18 days short of his 40th birthday. Rangers midfielder Ian Black has been booked 33 times and sent off twice in his 101 games for Rangers but, according to Charnley, their disciplinary record is about all they have in common. Charnley, right, was as hard as he was skilful but has no time for Black, whom he regards as being deficient in both departments. The 29-year-old was hooked by interim manager Kenny McDowall just 34 minutes into the 4-0 defeat by Hibs at Easter Road after a booking for a scything foul from behind on Scott Allan – a challenge that sums him up so far as Charnley is concerned. He said: “Black is just a coward. His fouls are either from behind or the side or they’re late – you don’t see him going in for many 50-50s. “On the other hand, he always seemed to be complaining about the rough treatment from other players in the lower divisions but if you dish it out then you need to be able to take it. “I know Kenny McDowall well from playing alongside him for St Mirren and I know what he’s like – he wouldn’t have missed Black in the dressing room especially after he kicked the dugout after being taken off. “That sums up Black’s attitude. I’ve never rated him as a player anyway but I particularly dislike the way he struts about the pitch as if he is somebody. “He should never have been at Ibrox in the first place. I know Ally McCoist’s hands have been tied since they went bust but, even now, he isn’t good enough to play for them. “He would never have got near the squad for any of the teams Coisty played in.” Sky pundit Andy Walker was also critical of the foul on Allan, which forced McDowall to sub the player before he was red-carded. Walker said: “That’s not the way to show that you’re brave. It’s typical of Ian Black. The jersey seems too heavy for him. “He can’t be trusted – he can’t keep his composure.” Charnley also believes the former Inverness and Hearts man should have been binned when it was revealed in August, 2013 that he had been caught betting against Rangers in a game he had played in. He said: “How can you do that? His feet shouldn’t have touched the ground when that came out. “Listen, we all used to put a coupon on at the weekend when I played but it wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s mind to bet against your own team. “I know football has changed but if anyone in John Lambie’s team had been caught doing that he’d have had them up against the wall by the throat. “As for my record, I did some daft things and sometimes my reputation preceded me but I was still playing at 40 because I loved the game. “Black’s contract with Rangers is up at the end of this season and if they let him go – and I’m sure they will – I don’t think anyone will want to sign him.” Charnley played for 12 senior clubs in Scotland, England, Ireland and Sweden but never made a secret of being a lifelong Celtic supporter. But he takes no pleasure in the plight of the coaching staff at their rivals. He said: “Ally had to deal with a lot of stuff that no one else ever had to contend with. “Kenny is a good pal of mine and I know he’ll be hurting – my heart goes out to him. “I really feel for Ian Durrant, too. The people running that club have no class and they’ve proved it by the ridiculous way they’ve treated him. “They’ve demoted him to youth team coach in an attempt to force him out. It’s a liberty. “However, once this whole episode is over and done with, I have no doubt that the three of them can manage another club and be successful.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chic-charnley-slams-rangers-hot-4891416

FORMER Rangers owner Sir David Murray and other directors will face no further action over the liquidation of the club's operating company, it has emerged. Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte is the the only former Ibrox executive to face legal moves to ban him as a director over the company's financial meltdown. Mr Whyte was banned from being a company director for 15 years in September after a judge heard his conduct in dealing with Rangers was "shocking and reprehensible". Whyte was previously banned from being a director for seven years. A second ban was sought by UK Business Secretary Vince Cable after Rangers' liquidation in 2012 and the subsequent liquidation of Whyte's firm, Tixway. The role played by all board directors of the club in the three years prior to the administration in of Rangers Football Club plc was looked at by the Insolvency Service's Investigations & Enforcement Directorate. The conduct of Sir David Murray, Rangers legend John Greig, former chief executive Martin Bain, former director Dave King and chairman Alistair Johnston all came under the microscope - but it is understood no further action is to be taken against anyone else. The Insolvency Service had two years from the point of insolvency in February 14, 2012 to start proceedings. But action has only been progressed against Mr Whyte over that period. The legal move to disqualify Mr Whyte came after a confidential report was submitted to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills by the Insolvency Service's investigators within six months of the club's operating company going into administration. The Secretary of State then decided it was in the public interest to seek a disqualification order over Craig Whyte only. Action can be taken against directors if their conduct has not been satisfactory leading to the disqualification of directors for periods of between two and 15 years. After the two years has expired, disqualification proceedings can only then be made against further individuals with a rare special application to the court and agency insiders say there has to be a "strong argument". However it is understood that there no such application has been made. That means that Mr Whyte is the only executive to face action over conduct from the liquidation of RFC 2012 plc, the new name given to the original operating company Rangers Football Club plc. Mr Whyte, who took over Sir David Murray's majority shareholding on May 6, 2011, was in 2000 disqualified to act as a director of for seven years. The investigators examined the £9 million PAYE and VAT debt to the taxman amassed when the oldco under Craig Whyte's leadership went into administration. Insolvency experts also said directors can be found guilty of misfeasance by giving ownership to someone who was not a fit and proper person. Mr Whyte bought Sir David Murray's majority shareholding in Rangers in May 2011, raised £24 million through selling off the rights to three years of supporters' season ticket money to London-based Ticketus to help complete his £1 share purchase agreement take*over of Rangers and pay off the club's £18m debt with Lloyds Banking Group. An independent Rangers board committee set up to review takeover offers, delayed Mr Whyte's buyout and expressed concern over "a lack of clarity" over the new owner's financial muscle, hours after he had completed his buyout. The committee was led by chairman Alistair Johnston, who was removed from the board later along with Paul Murray, who had launched a late rival takeover deal. The following October Rangers' non-executive directors, John Greig and John McClelland, who were members of the independent board, resigned from their posts at Ibrox saying that they had been isolated following Whyte's takeover. Mr Whyte was given the maximum ban possible in September following a petition raised on behalf of UK Business Secretary Vince Cable after the operating company went into liquidation. Lord Tyre said in a full judgment that Mr Whyte's conduct of the business was "characterised by dishonesty" in a case that "can be regarded as quite out of the ordinary". He said the Ticketus deal funded his acquisition of the club while failing to inform the members of Rangers' independent board committee who were tasked with negotiating the sale of the company. Lord Tyre said Mr Whyte "misrepresented" to them that the funds for purchase of the company were to be provided from his own resources and from the commercial activities of his British Virgin Islands- based Liberty Capital Limited firm. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...gers.114970599

PANIC-stricken chairman David Somers pleaded for someone to save Rangers from financial meltdown in the New Year – by sending out begging letters at 4am on Boxing Day. Record Sport understands Somers sent the emails to a number of wealthy individuals in a bizarre early morning attempt to raise the millions needed to keep the Ibrox club in business in January. The cash appeal – which indicates the high level of boardroom concern at the club’s latest plight – was launched just two days after the SFA blocked Mike Ashley’s plan to plough around £8million into the club by taking his holding up to 29.9 per cent. And the apparent urgent nature of this latest move has shocked those potential saviours who woke on Boxing Day to discover they had been contacted by the man at the head of the crisis-hit regime. It’s understood Somers asked all the various parties, including Sales Sharks owner Brian Kennedy, if they would be prepared to step into Ashley’s shoes by underwriting a share issue and snapping up more than 40 million new shares. Failing that, Somers asked if any of them would be willing to lend large amounts of emergency cash to the club on a secured basis. As of last night, there was no indication that Somers had been successful with either request. Last night the Rangers chairman could not be contacted. The move came after a trio of wealthy Rangers fans, Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, put together an offer of £6.5m to underwrite the anticipated emergency share issue in an attempt to win control of the club back from Sports Direct magnate Ashley. A separate offer of £16m in funding from South African-based businessman Dave King remains on the table despite being rejected by the Rangers board two months ago when they chose instead to accept a drip feed of crisis loans from Ashley. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boxing-day-begging-letters-4891366 +++++++++++ Please give us money - someone who doesn't want to see the books, that is. Hic! No 50 million from BPH then No war chest from benevolent Billionaire MA then No money for wages unless they sell MacLeod then

DAVID Robertson thought Premier Division title celebrations with Rangers two decades ago were an anti-climax because they had just lost their third away league game in a row. Having just seen the Ibrox side record the same sequence of results for the first time since, he’s adamant his sheepishness then is nothing compared to the shame that should be felt now. Robertson was part of the Rangers team which limped over the finishing line to claim the sixth of their historic nine championships in a row in 1994. Without a win in any of their final five games, they were only confirmed as overall victors after their penultimate fixture as closest challengers Motherwell drew at Raith. Having lost on the road consecutively to the Steelmen, Hibernian and Kilmarnock, it was the last way Robertson and his team-mates wanted to retain the silverware. And as Walter Smith’s men marked their achievement off the back of a 1-0 reverse at Rugby Park, it was little wonder they were more muted than usual. Back then, Robertson and his colleagues could at least take satisfaction from finishing top of the table on a regular basis, but these are changed days at Ibrox. Saturday’s 4-0 Championship mauling by Hibs followed recent 2-0 losses at Hearts and Queen of the South to leave Rangers 15 points behind the Jambos halfway through the campaign. Favourites to win the league in the summer, they’ve now been written off by most as also-rans who will make the play-offs at best in the months ahead. Former left-back Robertson, 46, can’t believe how far on-field standards have fallen at his old club and insists the players have nobody to blame for that but themselves. The ex-Elgin and Montrose manager, currently coaching youths in America, said: “I’m surprised at what has happened because it shouldn’t be hard to lift yourself to play for Rangers. “Normally when a manager moves on, as was the case when Ally McCoist left, there’s a bit of a spark but we didn’t see that at all at the weekend. The players must have it in their minds they’ve a new man to impress, whether it be Kenny McDowall, Billy Davies or someone else. “Whoever takes that job in the long run is going to want players they can count on but there weren’t many who showed at the weekend they are reliable. “It was different when we won the league in 1994. Winning cups with Rangers was great but sometimes it was hard to get over the line in the league because we were so far ahead. “I’m not saying we couldn’t motivate ourselves but we just expected it to happen at some point and knew it would come. “I remember the game at Easter Road where we lost and to then win the league without winning at Kilmarnock once again was just an anti-climax. “We celebrated a bit but with it being the club’s sixth championship, it had become a habit and we were disappointed not to do it in style. It’s not that there wasn’t excitement. The first time we won it when I was in the team it was great but that year it was just a relief to win the title. At least we could say then we had delivered that. Now I think the players will be a little bit ashamed of what is happening. “I’ve coached in the lower leagues myself so I know what it’s like. There are some places that aren’t the most glamorous to play at and can be hard to lift yourself there. “But if you’re going to Easter Road or Tynecastle, where there’s a good atmosphere and it’s like playing in the top division again, there shouldn’t be any problem with motivation. “If you can’t get yourself set to play there for Rangers there’s something far wrong. The players can feel sorry for themselves that they’ve lost their manager all they want. But they’re getting paid well and they’re playing for a huge club. You can talk about the club’s money problems but when you’re out on the field you don’t think about any of that. “That’s just an excuse. They are professional players who are getting well looked after and they have to do more. There are so many footballers who are out of work who would love to be in their position and they’ve got to do a lot better.” A total of 12 Rangers players will be out of contract at the end of the season, including Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller, Jon Daly and recently-appointed coach Lee McCulloch. Kyle Hutton, Bilel Mohsni, Steve Simonsen, Lee Robinson, Ian Black, Richard Foster, Stevie Smith and Darren McGregor are also on deals which are due to expire in the summer. Robertson is adamant if current performance levels continue very few will be kept on. He added: “If they’re showing no heart playing for Rangers in a lower league that’s not good for them. It will be hard for them to get another deal at Rangers. But if it doesn’t work out for them there, who is going to take a chance on them elsewhere? “They can come out in newspapers and say they are disappointed with how they played but if it keeps happening there are serious problems. Rangers were a bit unlucky at Hearts because they were the better team for a lot of the first half, even for a spell after they had a man sent off. But to go two goals down in 12 minutes at Hibs then not respond is not good at all and if that kind of thing is going to happen it is maybe time some of the players moved on. “In the Third Division and League One, where Rangers were strolling to titles, even a draw with somebody resulted in talk about the wheels falling off. “This is different. You’ve got to win every game and the older players should be experienced enough to bring the rest through and back into form but it isn’t happening. When you’ve got players such as Miller saying they’ve lost their bottle, that’s really sad. Him and Boyd should be helping the others.” Robertson sees no way back in the title race for his old side. He fears if Rangers’ slide doesn’t stop soon things could get worse and they could be in danger of missing out on the play-offs. Robertson said: “You would think at worst they will end up in the top four but if they continue the way they are going even that won’t be assured. Hibs are only four points behind Rangers now and Queen of the South and Falkirk aren’t far off after that. It could be a real embarrassment. They’ve got to be careful they don’t finish third or worse.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/money-problems-just-an-excuse-for-rangers-flops-1-3646420

Rangers Supporters Trust has demanded that the club keep its promise to answer questions about Mike Ashley. By Roddy Forsyth 7:59PM GMT 29 Dec 2014 Comments4 Comments The Rangers Supporters Trust has demanded that the club keep its promise to answer questions about Mike Ashley which shareholders were unable to put to the board at last week’s stormy annual general meeting. David Somers, the Rangers plc chairman, was widely criticised for curtailing the proceedings before questions could be posed about the Newcastle United owner’s dealings with the club, especially in relation to his Sports Direct retail chain. Somers promised that he would respond by email to questions which were not addressed at the AGM. One question follows the Telegraph Sport’s disclosure that when Ashley gave up the naming rights to Ibrox Stadium notoriously acquired for £1 from Charles Green’s Sevco consortium – he got substantial commercial and advertising concessions within the ground. The Rangers board is exploring its options for fresh funding after the rejection by the Scottish Football Association of Ashley’s attempt to increase his shareholding in the club from 8.92% to 29.9%. It is understood that one possibility – again cited by Telegraph Sport – is to maintain cash flow by a series of emergency loans from Ashley, secured on assets. Ashley has already provided £3 million in loans but Rangers need another £8 million to see them through 2015. They have an offer of £6 million from three wealthy supporters, Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, conditional on board representation. However, Ashley could choose to defy the SFA by increasing his stake in the club despite their refusal to sanction it, a course of action that could lead to the governing body to withdraw Rangers’ license to play football. In the meantime, the RST’s questions include the following: “Can the Board outline the terms of the recently announced new commercial arrangements with Sports Direct? Specifically, can the board confirm if future years’ shirt sponsor revenues will be for the benefit of the club or for the benefit of Sports Direct and does Sports Direct have the right to choose a shirt sponsor after the end of 32 Red three year sponsor period? “It is a widely held view that Mike Ashley tried to undermine the recent share issue by initially offering to underwrite it, then withdrawing this offer, and publicly announcing he would not be taking up his rights, only to then go out in the market the following week and buy further shares in the market for the same price. “This appears to have been a clear strategy to undermine the success of that share issue. On what basis does the Board consider it appropriate to enter into further business relationships with an individual who was clearly attempting to undermine the financial position of the club for his own advantage? “Can the board confirm if it is in discussions with Sports Direct or any other Mike Ashley company to sell a further stake in the Rangers Retail business? If so, what percentage stake is being considered for sale and at what value? “It has been reported that Derek Llambias will earn a salary of £150k as CEO. Will Mr Llambias advise shareholders if he is also entitled to other benefits (housing costs, car allowances, pension) and in particular if he is eligible for any bonus payment? If he is eligible for a bonus then on what basis will this be earned? Has he moved to Glasgow? “Is the Board considering using Murray Park as security for further loans from Mike Ashley, Mash Holdings or Sports Direct affiliated companies? If so, how much is the Board seeking to raise from this asset? “The club appears to have granted considerable additional stadium branding rights to Sports Direct and Mike Ashley companies. Can the board outline exactly how much additional advertising inventory has been given toSports Direct/Mike Ashley and what value or consideration has been received for this? “The club needs major investment. Why did the board not seek to persuade Sandy Easdale to vote his proxy block of 26% to support a new share issue? As Mr Easdale did not support such a new issue, blocking muchneeded fresh investment, is his position on the football board untenable? “Mr Llambias you sat in front of around 200 fans at Ibrox, next to Charles Green, and told us of the benefits and "millions of pounds" the naming rights for Ibrox would bring to Rangers. Did you know at that time that your boss, Mike Ashley, was getting those rights for £1? Why should any Rangers fans trust you when your first interaction with us was to mislead us on behalf of Mr Ashley? “How much did the club receive per £10 spent by fans from retail sales through Rangers Retail in the June 2013-June 2014 financial year? “What has Mike Ashley been given in return for giving up the naming rights that Charles Green handed him for £1? “Can you explain why the board took Mike Ashley’s loans and gave him control of the running of the club despite it clearly being contrary to SFA and UEFA rules and therefore inevitably opening up the club to a charge? “Can the board confirm why, after 40 odd years of service, loyal employees are being cast out the door with the minimum possible redundancy pay and a paltry two weeks’ pay as a 'goodwill' gesture?” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11316773/Rangers-fans-demand-answers-from-board-over-Mike-Ashleys-involvement-with-club.html

Good on them and Hearts on the journey as well No reason why we can't do it

BRENTFORD are ready to spark a January transfer scramble for Rangers star Lewis Macleod. SunSport understands the Championship side are poised to make a £1million move for the Ibrox kid. And that could see a host of English clubs enter the bidding for the Scotland squad member. Macleod has caught the eye of Championship promotion hopefuls Bees. Rangers legend David Weir is No 2 there and is fully aware of the 20-year-old’s potential. But several other English clubs, including Premier League strugglers Burnley, are keen on the midfielder. Blackburn were also set to make a bid before being hit with a transfer ban.

...they are also entering the eye of a potentially devastating storm. AS Rangers hit rock bottom, KEITH looks back at another nightmare year for the Ibrox club and warns that 2015 could be even worse. ANOTHER horrible Ibrox annus. Yes, Rangers have been blighted by a long list of them in recent times but, even so, 2014 will go down as a year of unrelenting trauma which has brought this basket case back to the brink. The New Year is not yet upon us but already Rangers are running out of time. There are just days now for the current regime to extricate itself from an impending insolvency because, having loaned £3million from Mike Ashley just to limp into the festivities, they are left with little more than pockets full of spare change. And so 2015 will begin in almost exactly the same way as 2014, with a bunch of bedraggled directors scrambling around at the top of the old staircase desperately attempting to secure lifesaving hand-outs. Only the names and the faces change but the crisis which these men have bestowed upon this club remains constant, as does the shadow it casts across the landscape of the Scottish game. Granted, it might not have reached as far north as Inverness where yesterday Aberdeen’s red army rolled into town to battle it out for second place in the SPFL top flight. And yes, the good people of Dundee are enjoying their football more this season than they have done in a long time. With Hearts back in such rejuvenated form that they took 7500 fans to Livingston with them on Saturday and Hibs are also taking impressive shape under Alan Stubbs. There are undoubted green shoots. In fact, it could be that the worst of the nuclear winter is over. That Scottish football is adjusting and getting used to life without a relevant Rangers. Ironically, it is Celtic who are pining the most, even though they are the one club in the country with the financial muscle to withstand just about any kind of unilateral collapse. Life without a significant other has taken its toll on the champions, who continue to dominate the domestic scene while doing little more than going through the motions. Only in such an environment of apathy would professor Ronny Deila be able to continue his experimental approach to the science of winning football matches. In more normal circumstances, had the Norwegian returned from the lab with a 0-0 draw at home to Ross County he would have been feeling more than just the heat coming off his bunsen burner. It is precisely because Delia is operating in a vacuum, devoid of the intensity created by ferocious competition, that he will continue to make unnecessarily hard work of winning this title before shouting ‘Eureka’ when the job is done. But over time Celtic may nurture new rivalries, especially if the North East revival should build up a head of steam. And that’s probably just as well as the next few weeks seem set to determine if Rangers are ever to become recognisable again or if indeed they are locked into this downward spiral of perpetual self harming for good. Or at least until they reach an inevitable end. Right now it would seem like a mercy killing if this Rangers, in its current form, was to be released from its misery. It’s as if they exist now only to humiliate themselves. It was four years ago that Craig Whyte began battering on the doors of the boardroom and ever since his pointy buckled shoes first stepped across the threshold, the place has become a sanctuary for scoundrels. Between them these people have unleashed a chaos like no other. A toxic slurry of administration, liquidation, groping Yorkshire hands, secret videos, missing millions, police probes, arrests and now impending court cases. Is it any wonder that for many Rangers fans the actual football has long since become an irrelevance? But there are thousands more who continue to focus only on what they see on the pitch. And on Saturday, as Kenny McDowall began his duties as caretaker manager with a 4-0 thrashing at Hibs, they too hit rock bottom. Finally, perhaps for the first time, all sections of this club’s fractured support are united in utter dismay and embarrassment at what their club has become. And as Rangers stagger forward into another year they are also entering the eye of a perfect and potentially devastating storm. The numbers are dropping away to such an extent that a business which was already broken and suffering unsustainable losses, is exposed like never before. In its current state, it may even be irretrievable. The next few weeks will determine the fate of this club. An offer for £6.5m worth of funding has been tabled by three wealthy Rangers fans, Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, and proof of funding has also been provided. But although this appears to offer an easy solution, it is far from a done deal. First, it will require the approval of a board which, up until now, has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep such well-meaning investors at arm’s length in order to cling on to control. Also, this cash offer may well be conditional not just on two seats on the board but also upon Park, Letham and Taylor being allowed to look under the bonnet of Rangers and examine the actual depth of the current financial crisis. If so, it is entirely possible that any one of this trio may be sufficiently horrified as to be scared into having some serious second thoughts. Then there is the unpredictably enigmatic Ashley. Just where exactly does he stand in all of this, after bulldozing his way into control of the boardroom, where his man Derek Llambias now sits at the head of the table as CEO? Is the Newcastle United owner prepared to roll over and obey the commands of the SFA who have taken an aggressive stance against his attempted power grab? Or is he about to turn his tanks on Hampden and take what he wants in any case, underwriting a share issue and increasing his stake to 29.9 per cent? His total lack of feeling for Rangers coupled with his contempt for governing blazers may be such that he is prepared to call their bluff where threats of revoking the club’s licence to play football is concerned. Ashley may well believe they simply would not dare but this would be the ultimate high-risk strategy and, given the millions he makes from selling Rangers merchandise, it might prove too big a gamble to take. Even for a man with the deepest of pockets. But, despite his wealth, there seems little logic in Ashley continuing to throw millions of pounds of loans into an ever-widening black hole just in order to keep Rangers breathing while its customers revolt against him. It may be a great deal easier to have the club tipped back into administration, one which he would be able to control as the club’s major creditor. Either way the SFA have drawn a line in the sand where Ashley is concerned. They have seen proof of funds from Park, Letham and Taylor and are satisfied that Ashley is not, as the Rangers board describe him, the only show in town. If Rangers chose to proceed with Ashley then the SFA’s Judicial Panel will step in and thousands upon thousands will be drained from the game’s coffers and given over to lawyers all in the name of sorting out yet another Rangers-made mess. New Year, same old story. But, one way or the other, January is likely to bring a defining moment to this exhausting narrative. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-rangers-stagger-another-4886939

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2889489/Ian-Durrant-banished-Murray-Park-Rangers-begin-restructuring-backroom-staff.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11315517/Rangers-are-facing-an-impending-crisis-on-and-off-the-field.html Rangers go into 2015 in a state of crisis greater than anything they have faced since they began their attempt to march through three divisions and regain top-flight status in Scotland. The weekend defeat by Hibernian at Easter Road not only effectively ended their frail hope of challenging Hearts for automatic promotion to the Scottish Premiership, it also confirmed that the Ibrox side are in poor shape for the play-offs. Rangers trail Hearts by 15 points and to put themselves in a position where they could be promoted without having to take anything from their final fixture – against the leaders at Tynecastle – they would have to make up more than a point per game on Robbie Neilson’s players throughout the second half of the season. The evidence of the league meetings with their most likely play-off rivals – Hibs and Queen of the South – is that Rangers would struggle in a play-off sequence against them. They have been beaten home and away by Hibs 7-1 on aggregate and if the games against Queens had been a two-legged tie, the 4-4 score would have seen Rangers lose on away goals. Of course, past results are no guarantee of future performance – a dictum that applies in football as it does to the stock market – but Rangers are in disarray in both arenas. Kenny McDowall, having been told that he will replace Ally McCoist as manager until at least the end of the season, uttered a harsh truth after the 4-0 weekend defeat by Hibs. “At the moment I am just going to have to work with the squad that is there. I can’t just invent players,” he said. Derek Llambias has not yet cut the playing strength in his drive to reduce the £8 million annual deficit at Ibrox but a dozen or so players are out of contract at the end of the season and have no idea whether or not they will be offered continued employment. It can be argued that this should be a motivational tool and that those footballers should be performing as though their careers depended on the outcome – which, in some cases, will be true. Related Articles Rangers' post-McCoist era off to a shocker 27 Dec 2014 Miller laments Rangers' defensive waekness 27 Dec 2014 McCulloch: 'Let’s do this for McCoist' 26 Dec 2014 SFA 1, Mike Ashley 0 24 Dec 2014 However, when Terry Butcher warned Hibs’ below-par players last season that they would have to step up or ship out, the result was the collapse which saw the Easter Road team relegated. There has been no indication that McDowall can add to his strength during the January transfer window and, in any case, the fact that Rangers have the highest player salary bill in Scotland outside Celtic hardly suggests Llambias could make a case to Mike Ashley for greater funding in that department. In any event, Ashley now has troubles of his own at Ibrox. His long-term strategy of making the club dependent on his funding – emergency loans secured on assets – has given him control of a compliant board but the grand plan has run into obstacles. Llambias told the club’s Fans Board that it would be “very difficult” for the directors to regain the trust of the support. Yet at the subsequent annual general meeting David Somers, the Rangers chairman, produced an ill-judged display of bluster that has wholly alienated him from the fans. The outcome was cemented by The Telegraph’s disclosure of an email in which Somers pleaded with an Ashley representative to keep the Newcastle owner’s takeover process on course – in the face of a competing £16 million offer by Dave King – so that he could remain chairman. The AGM also featured the bizarre spectacle of club directors proposing an open share issue of £8 million and then voting against it, a tactic that can only be explained by a mistaken belief that the Scottish Football Association would grant Ashley his request to exert complete control at Ibrox by increasing his shareholding to 29.9 per cent. The SFA’s refusal to do so has generated a challenge to Ashley’s hegemony from the consortium of wealthy Rangers supporters – Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor – who have proposed an offer to underwrite the share issue to the tune of £6.5 million. The question for Ashley is whether he maintains his own percentage stake by putting more money into the club – and having to agree to the consortium’s demand for board seats – or find some way of presenting alternative funding which would dispense with the need for the share issue. Either way, the immediate outlook for a dysfunctional club is turbulent. Ashley and Rangers must answer SFA disciplinary charges that he has extended his influence beyond the terms of the written undertaking he gave. And – perhaps most ominously of all – in five weeks Rangers face Celtic in a Scottish League Cup semi-final. That is a prospect which – after Saturday’s collapse – has Ibrox fans fearing the damage that could be inflicted by their greatest adversaries.

In the midst of off-field turmoil, action on the pitch routinely provides light relief for supporters. Not so at Rangers, where seemingly endless background chaos was replicated only by a team performance – in the loosest possible sense of the word – at Hibernian. A Rangers week that opened with a tempestuous AGM ended in similarly embarrassing fashion with a 4-0 defeat. The dysfunction of the club’s business affairs is well known; of perhaps more concern to battle-weary fans was the glaring lack of shape, style, confidence or commitment that was evident here. Not since January 1912 had Hibs beaten Rangers by four or more goals. They did not even have to try particularly hard for this success against a group of individuals who barely looked interested in what should have been a significant fixture. When boardroom machinations transmit to a playing staff, there really is a problem. Needless to say, neither Mike Ashley nor his trusted lieutenant Derek Llambias were in Edinburgh to watch this shambles unfold. Ashley has been prevented by the Scottish FA from increasing his stake in the club to 29.9% but there should be no doubt that the Newcastle United owner is already calling the shots at Rangers. Quite how he formalises that arrangement in the coming weeks, and before a hearing with the governing body over allegations of rule breaches, remains to be seen. Typically, Ashley has offered no clue as to his intentions in Glasgow. Nor is he expected to. There is not so much of a shred of evidence that the Sports Direct tycoon plans to do more than protect a highly enviable commercial position. To their credit, the Rangers supporters have made their opposition to Ashley plain. Their current problem – Ashley’s stranglehold aside – is the lack of a viable alternative for a business that claims to require £8m merely to continue trading throughout 2015. History tells us Ashley will not be altogether bothered by this result. It also points to those AGMs, stormy or otherwise, soon becoming a thing of the past. All the while, the assertion that Rangers will inevitably return to the summit of Scottish football is becoming trickier and trickier to offer. Rangers lack the funding that would be required to overhaul their football department. With Ally McCoist on gardening leave and receiving more than £14,000 a week for his trouble, Kenny McDowall has stepped forward to preside over first-team affairs. McDowall’s first post-match act was to “apologise to the support” for a woeful display. He looked shell-shocked rather than angry. “I can’t deny that the goings on haven’t helped,” McDowall said. “But we are all professional people. I’m not going to sit here and offer excuses. Hibs were the better team on the day.” And some. David Gray and Jason Cummings put the hosts two in front after 12 minutes. It took 25 for the first rendition of “Sack the board” to emanate from the Dunbar End of Easter Road. Scott Robertson and Liam Craig added Hibs gloss in the second half. It was another of their players, the former West Bromwich midfielder Scott Allan, who proved the star of the show. It is to the credit of Alan Stubbs, the Hibs manager, that he has backed up promise with results at a club that had been in the doldrums. Next weekend’s Edinburgh derby at a sold-out Tynecastle promises to be an eye-catching affair. Rangers, by contrast, look an unmitigated mess. The most damning indictment of McCoist’s tenure is the lack of any positive legacy. Highly paid players look not only devoid of inspiration but, in several cases, basic fitness. For all that McDowall is a decent guy with a reasonable reputation as a coach he is implicated in the dismal standard of affairs by virtue of the fact he was in the Ibrox dugout throughout his predecessor’s reign. For now, McDowall is little more than Rangers’ soft option. By the time McDowall’s players slinked from the field, only a small pocket of Rangers fans remained. Having won 11 from 18 fixtures in Scotland’s second tier, a playoff looks Rangers’ most likely route back into the top flight. On current form, it would be a serious leap of faith to presume they would survive such a scenario. http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/27/turmoil-rangers-shell-shocked-heavy-defeat-hibernian?

We're spending another season in the Championship. No doubt about it.

BBCBMcLauchlin ‏@BBCBMcLauchlin 1m1 minute ago George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park offer Rangers £6.5million alternative to Mike Ashley investment#bbcsportscot

As posted on FF: "Sons of Struth have received information that in return for the naming rights deal Sports Direct now own the shirt sponsorship rights when the 32red deal expires, this deal has in practice cost Sports direct £1. Sports Direct can do two things now, the can become our shirts sponsor for £1 or they can sell the rights to another sponsor and they they will receive the money Our board have now handed away yet another income stream to mike Ashley for no financial advantage to our club He now owns our shirt sponsorship for a quid, our shops, our merchandise, our carpark, our edmiston house which was paid for by fans via Rangers Pools, almost half the adverts at ibrox (no one knows how much if anything was paid for these0 and he attempted to own our badge and crest and we still have no answer from the board if this has actually happened I dont think his shops run BOGOF offers but it appears he managed to get one when he bought his original shares, I wonder why and more on that as we clarify it. Most fans would consider his involvement only occurred after admin, you are wrong, more on that to follow soon also......... Craig"

Sons of Struth have received information that in return for the naming rights deal Sports Direct now own the shirt sponsorship rights when the 32red deal expires, this deal has in practice cost Sports direct £1. Sports Direct can do two things now, the can become our shirts sponsor for £1 or they can sell the rights to another sponsor and they they will receive the money Our board have now handed away yet another income stream to mike Ashley for no financial advantage to our club He now owns our shirt sponsorship for a quid, our shops, our merchandise, our carpark, our edmiston house which was paid for by fans via Rangers Pools, almost half the adverts at ibrox (no one knows how much if anything was paid for these0 and he attempted to own our badge and crest and we still have no answer from the board if this has actually happened I dont think his shops run BOGOF offers but it appears he managed to get one when he bought his original shares, I wonder why and more on that as we clarify it. Most fans would consider his involvement only occurred after admin, you are wrong, more on that to follow soon also......... Craig

Never thought I would see the day I posted on a football site on Xmas morning. However, morose at a houseful of snoring teenagers who refuse to get up at 6 am and behave like they did when they were wee, I have done a tribute to Ian Durrant. Merry Christmas everyone, may your mince pie forever be moist. Winter can be the cruelest season. Among footballers, Ian Durrant could certainly testify to that. This most gifted of Scottish players, an attacking midfielder some decades ahead of his time, was cut down in his prime in early winter, October 1988. A 'tackle' from an Aberdeen player (mentioning the name of the individual concerned would only confer a gravitas upon him which he doesn't deserve) saw the usual welcome for grace and skill in Scottish football: physical assault. Both as player and coach Durrant suffered torment on Rangers behalf; there can be few circles of Hell he is unfamiliar with after his more than 30 years at Ibrox. Just as that early winter 26 years ago saw the only real world class talent this country has produced for two generations crippled by the mediocrity which dominates then as now, the long delayed winter of 2014 has seen him unceremoniously dumped from his job as assistant manager to Ally McCoist to a role in charge of the club's under-20's. Winter can be the cruelest season. This demotion might not prove to be a bad thing, if Durrant is minded to accept the role. Always a larrikin, the performances of the first team over the last few years certainly suggest he, along with McCoist and McDowall, wasn't suited to training experienced pros. A big kid himself, he could conceivably be more effective at working with other kids. Even so, this demotion is not a classy way to treat a man who, had things been different, would almost certainly have moved to England and thence on to Europe - he was that good - and who was and is a Rangers fanatic. But if Durrant deserved better from the club, he also deserved better from the fans. No-one can argue that the team he helped create was rubbish, but some of the criticism was ridiculous. Durrant, like McCoist, only ever wanted to do the best by Rangers. Those who posted dark hints about money grabbing, uselessness and standing with arms folded did the man a huge disservice: when Ian Black puts yet another pass straight out of play, what coach on earth can teach him how to pass? A crap player is a crap player. Of course, the solution would be not to pick such dreck, which the management team singularly failed to do, but that wasn't Durrant's decision to make. Even so, a fan base which regularly slates Steven Naismith for betraying the club which 'stood by him' during injury - a spurious argument indeed, given the legally binding contract both sides signed - but which then turns around and berate someone who stood by the club for decades, has got some issues of consistency, to say the very least. Players need to stand by the club, they insist: but what about the other way, club to player? Or even more close to home, fan to player: what about that relationship? It only lasts as long as the times are good, does it? To suggest any player be immune from criticism would be ludicrous, but there's ways of criticising without forever destroying the special bond between fan and hero, especially when that hero was and remains a fan. Well, if the board is dysfunctional and at one remove from the fan base, I suppose it's hardly surprising that the support is dysfunctional and at one remove from club legends. On the whole I suppose this is a small matter, and there are far greater issues for Rangers fans to be thinking about, as the annual family pig out/fall out approaches. But we can't look back on Durranty's time at Ibrox with any great pride now, the way he's been treated. For some fans - not all - cutting one of our own a little slack and tempering criticism with respect was too much to ask, and that's deeply depressing. I hope anyone under say 40, who might not remember the slight, elusive midfielder with the huge mop of curly hair in action, will take to Youtube to see what the fuss was about. As much a reflection then of the national preference for hackers as he is a reflection now to our own failings, Durrant is something of an unlikely Alighieri, experiencing the various circles of Hell available to the Bluenose: McCoist an even more unlikely Virgil. But both have been through an inferno on our behalf, as players and then as staff. The least they deserve is our understanding.

"Steven Mucklow, an known associate of Ashley agreed to underwrite the recent share issue to the tune of £4m, this likely lad likes a beer and social gathering, it also loosens his tongue. By doing so it would have allowed our esteemed board to reject any offer to underwrite from any other parties. The board had even went as far as writing up the stock market announcement before he predictably removed his offer with days to spare. This made it impossible for another underwriter to come in. What happened next was the share issue didn't raise the capital expected and low and behold his mate Roland Ashley (forgive me if I've got first name wrong) puts a loan on the table, secures two seats in boardroom and gets security on our assets. A pure coincidence? Please spare me the excuses. A total carve up aided and abetted by another patsy. I will, for now, give Mucklow the benefit of doubt as he may just be used in Ashleys game of rodent takeover however I will seek him out if he's as good as his beer influenced word and attends the cup semi v celtic. Apparently he claims, he has friends of influence inside Ibrox who can easily get him tickets. Not bad for a guy in Essex who's never been to a game. Rodent alert is on high and I can assure all, I will do everything I can to expose their dastardly ways and I don't care for the personal consequences. Our club is too dear to me. I'm working on a story that would not only assure Green will come nowhere near Ibrox again but possibly see him stay out the country." ......posted by SoS on their facebook page.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11312941/Rangers-chairman-David-Somers-could-face-probe-by-Stock-Market-regulators-for-his-role-in-Mike-Ashley-bid.html Rangers chairman David Somers could face probe by Stock Market regulators for his role in Mike Ashley bid David Somers feared a successful rival bid by David King would mean the end of his chairmanship and also ensure the departure of the Easdale brothers Stock Market regulators have been asked to investigate the conduct of Rangers chairman David Somers during the battle for control at Ibrox between Mike Ashley and Dave King. The move follows the Telegraph’s disclosure of an email from Somers to Mike Ashley’s representative, Justin Barnes, over the proposed terms of a Sports Direct contract which the Rangers chairman feared would tip his fellow directors into supporting a takeover bid by King, a former Ibrox director. In the email, Somers expressed his fears that a successful bid by King would mean the end of his chairmanship and would also ensure the departure of Sandy Easdale, the Rangers football board chairman, and his brother, James Easdale, a Rangers plc director. Somers also threatened to vote for a Stock Exchange announcement to the effect that Rangers would terminate the Sports Direct contracts by which the club’s merchandise is sold through Ashley’s retail chain. In response to the Telegraph’s revelations, King told BBC Scotland: "His actions could be considered a breach of the Companies Act. It would seem from the email that Somers didn't like Ashley's initial proposal, yet that was the option the board finally went for. "It also seems that Somers was prepared to threaten to cancel Rangers' retail agreement with Sports Direct to prompt Ashley to provide an alternative that would protect the positions of himself and the Easdales. Ashley owns less than 10 per cent of the shares, but now seems to control the club.” King – who is based in South Africa - assembled a consortium which proposed a £16 million debt and equity takeover deal. This was rejected by the Ibrox board after Ashley refused to meet King during his visit to the UK in October. Somers has stated that, although King claimed that his consortium had eight members, not all of their identities were disclosed to the Rangers directors. Somers has also insisted that, finally, the choice for a board whose club was close to running out of cash was to accept the offer of a loan from either Ashley or Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy. In the event, the chairman has said, the vote went in Ashley’s favour because the Newcastle United owner offered better terms. However, the Telegraph understands that the contents of the email between Somers and Barnes has perturbed the Scottish Football Association, which announced on Wednesday that it had rejected Ashley’s proposal to increase his Rangers shareholding to 29.9 per cent, which would give him almost total control of the beleaguered club. The request was made in person by Derek Llambias, Ashley’s lieutenant, who was appointed as Rangers’ chief executive last Friday – days after disciplinary charges were brought by the SFA stating that the billionaire businessman had exceeded the terms of an undertaking limiting his influence at Ibrox. The SFA’s refusal has cast serious doubt over the viability of a share issue due to be launched by Rangers in order to raise £8 million needed to meet the club’s financial needs for the next year. Had the SFA agreed to Ashley’s request, he would have underwritten the equity issue but it is now unclear how it will go ahead, if indeed it does go ahead. There are also questions to be answered about why votes were cast by board members against their own proposal, at Rangers’ annual general meeting on Monday, for an open share issue, rather than one principally confined to existing investors, such as Ashley. Meanwhile, one Rangers shareholder has written to the AiM investigations office, as well as the club’s LSE nominated adviser (NOMAD) and Ian Davidson, the MP whose constituency includes Ibrox, asking them to probe Somers’ conduct. The shareholder wrote: “On Tuesday 23rd December, the Telegraph newspaper online carried a story by journalist Roddy Forsyth, regarding an e-mail sent by the Rangers International Football Club Chairman David Somers to members of the board and surprisingly non-members, including a representative of Sports Direct - Justin Barnes. “The e-mail not only indicated the Chairman’s preference for investment by Mike Ashley of Sports Direct, it actively encouraged this investment, in order, it seems, to secure the Chairman’s position and that of other board members and strangely enough a non-member (one Sandy Easdale), who seems to be party to PLC Board internal communications and - if the e-mail is to be read correctly - acting as a shadow director. “A major concern for shareholders such as myself is, does activity such as this construe a “Concert Party” arrangement between board and non-board members with regards to overall boardroom influence?” The shareholder goes on to ask if Somers’ email is in breach of AiM and corporate governance practice and if it triggered a legal threat from Ashley to the Rangers chairman and/or other directors. The Telegraph understands that other Rangers shareholders are prepared to add their complaints to that already lodged with the financial regulators. All of which compounds the stormy backdrop against which caretaker manager Kenny McDowall – who was ordered by Llambias to take charge of the team after Ally McCoist was placed on gardening leave – must prepare the Rangers players for a tough fixture against Hibernian at Easter Road on Saturday. Rangers have lost twice to Hearts and once to Hibs and Queen of the South, their principal rivals for promotion to the Scottish Premiership. They now trail Hearts by 12 points and currently they look set, at best, for the Scottish Championship play-offs – with 12 Ibrox players out of contract at the end of the season.

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=3&newsID=14129