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https://twitter.com/TheLoudenTavern
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While looking how Albion Rovers would welcome the news about their Quarterfinal at Ibrox, I stumbled upon their Squad Fund page ... Reflecting on our stay in SFL 3 last season, Division One this campaign, various cup games and all, has it actually been determined how much money has been handed down to the ailing lower league sides due to our predicament? I would reckon that e.g. Albion Rovers' would be safe from nigh anything thanks to next month's QF tie, as we hand half of our money to them under cup rules? Enforced stay or not, I wonder whether the former SFL 3 sides, nor the Division One teams have anything to complain about?
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I don't have the article but suspect you can get all the info you need from this page shown on facebook:
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.........and steer club into fan control 1 Feb 2014 07:56 PAUL GOODWIN believes the Light Blues legions could own the Ibrox club within 18 months following successful attempts by Hearts and Motherwell. SUPPORTERS DIRECT chief Paul Goodwin believes Rangers fans can assume control of their troubled club within 18 months. Goodwin, the head of SD in Scotland, has long championed the importance of community ownership within our national game. And he is convinced the Ibrox faithful can overthrow the current regime – providing they mobilise themselves into one powerful movement and start pulling in the same direction. At the moment there are four main fan organisations – The Rangers Supporters Trust, The Rangers Assembly, The Rangers Supporters Association and the Sons of Struth – with all groups battling for supremacy. But Goodwin, who helped oversee fan buy-outs at Stirling Albion, Clyde, Dunfermline and East Stirling has called for them to unite as one. Indeed, given the lack of trust in the current board, the lack of transparency, the current climate of financial uncertainty along Edmiston Drive and the plunging share price, he reckons this is an ideal opportunity to get the bandwagon rolling. Goodwin said: “I believe if the Rangers fans united, and that is the key, into one cohesive unit there is no reason why they can’t own the club within 18 months. “At the moment we have 8000 Hearts supporters paying £20 a month as they move towards fan ownership and if you have 20,000 Rangers fans doing the same you can go out and buy shares because it is a liquid market. “The simple maths say 20,000 fans paying £20 a month would give you £4.8million in a year. “It just needs the right type of people to pull that together and that is the hard part for Rangers. “I don’t have any doubt it can be done. SD have been working in conjunction with clubs right across Europe. “In Greece you have Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and there are plenty of clubs in Spain, Poland and France who are also going down this route. “Hearts are the biggest we know of in this country going down the route of fan ownership at the moment.” The Rangers share price has plummeted in recent months, from 70p to just 26p and for just over £4m, fans would be able to command a 25 per cent stake in the club. And Goodwin insists the Ibrox outfit’s supporters have nothing to lose pursuing the community ownership route having given their backing to the Craig Whyte and Charles Green regimes with catastrophic consequences. He said: “I believed that Rangers being placed into administration represented a significant window of opportunity to buy the club. “Of course, as we know, this didn’t happen for a variety of reasons; mostly because for many years the fans had been divided and ruled by previous owners of the club and had been left without a united voice, forced to pick sides in amongst political infighting. “Time has moved on and Rangers have unfortunately continued to be dogged by further challenges at the back end of the administration process. “It could have been so different if a credible fans’ bid had been used to galvanise the Ibrox faithful as we have seen at Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Portsmouth down in England and of course at Hearts. “Rangers supporters in the past have been used to following leaders whether it be Paul Murray, Craig Whyte or somebody else. “This is breaking the mould and now they don’t have to follow anybody. “What can the objection be? “It can give the fans the empowerment to pick exactly who they want to represent them. “We have four clubs in Scotland that are currently fan owned and we have another four waiting in the wings – Annan, Ayr, Motherwell and Hearts. It is the way forward because there is no other route.” Goodwin confirmed he has already spoken with supporters’ representatives from Rangers. He said: “I have been talking with them over the past 10 days and I will continue that dialogue to see whether there is something we can do. “There is a real opportunity here and I don’t think there is anything to lose. “We can advise and consult but it is ultimately up to them. “Some people have to emerge from the shadows and then we can give them all the support possible.” Goodwin was speaking at the launch of ‘The Colour of our Scarves’ initiative which has been organised by Supporters Direct to help highlight the issue of sectarianism. World renowned photographer Stuart Roy Clarke has been commissioned to produce a series of images captured at every senior ground in Scotland. The project has been funded by the Scottish government and Goodwin is hoping the sectarianism problem can be tackled through imagery rather than words. He said: “We wanted to try to demonstrate through Stuart’s amazing pictures that all fans are the same, apart from the scarves around their necks. “It is the same emotions that bind us all together and that was the reasons behind the project. “We are going round every single ground and also doing loads of workshops in schools and colleges. “It is becoming less of an issue but you need to keep working at it.” Clarke, who singled out Aberdeen as his favourite fans to photograph, has been amazed by the reaction to his pictures which will be on show at a touring exhibition around the country over the next 18 months. He said: “The response has been overwhelming. “While I like banter and edginess I don’t like hatred so hopefully this project can make a small difference to a big problem.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/supporters-direct-chief-calls-rangers-3100404
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As the draw is to be made after the Dundee Hibs v St Midden game, I just thought I'd start a thread on it. What will be the best draw for us?, I want Albion Rovers @ Ibrox:rfcbouncy:
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http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/
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[h=2]Club Statement[/h]WRITTEN BY RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB THE Club has received many calls in recent days from fans, shareholders and other interested parties with regard to the contents of an Irish-based internet blog which has published numerous allegations about the business affairs of Rangers Football Club. The Club wishes to make clear that these allegations are totally inaccurate and that the Chief Executive and Board of Directors are fully focussed on the restructuring and rebuilding of Rangers Football Club as previously announced. The Club has decided to make this statement as unchallenged, ill-informed and inaccurate comments are damaging to the reputation of Rangers Football Club. Graham Wallace Chief Executive Officer
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Lifted from FF. No source given. At least it shows investigation is happening : Green fingerprinted by fraud cops re Whyte investigation EX-Rangers chief executive Charles Green was fingerprinted by fraud cops investigating the club's former owner Craig Whyte. Officers interviewed the businessman in an informal meeting at his lawyer's office in London. A source said last night: "They wanted Charles" fingerprints to prove he did not sign crucial documents on which his signature mysteriously appeared. "The detectives guaranteed this was the only purpose. They were at pains to confirm Charles was not under caution." Yorkshireman Green, 60 - who quit last year - led a consortium which bought Rangers in 2012 following the club?s plunge into administration after Whyte's disastrous nine months at the reins. Cops are looking into how Whyte, 43, borrowed millions to fund his purchase of Gers from Sir David Murray in 2011. They want to know whether Green's signature was scanned with a digital gadget and used to rubber-stamp the boardroom paperwork in question - as has been alleged by an internal club inquiry. Green met two officers last week at his solicitor?s office in Covent Garden, central London. The source added: "It was a friendly meeting, by appointment. There were sandwiches and coffee laid on and it lasted about an hour, including Charles giving his statement and his prints. He is happy to help with the police inquiry." Last night Green confirmed he'd been fingerprinted. He said: "I met with officers and provided them with elimination fingerprints but categorically confirm this was not under caution but to assist the police with their investigations into Mr Whyte." Whyte was banned from Scottish football for life in 2012 after an SFA panel ruled he was guilty of 'scandalous business activities' - including failing to stump up £13million in taxes. The forgery allegation emerged in a probe by lawyers Pinsent Masons, commissioned by Rangers, into his claims that he still has a legal stake in the club. Whyte insists he was involved with Green in the deal to buy Gers' assets from administrators in May 2012. But Green claims he hoodwinked the tycoon to gain his co-operation and the keys to Ibrox. Pinsent Masons considered Whyte had no claim. But his alleged stake was listed in Rangers annual accounts in November as a possible future debt. A source close to Whyte said: "Craig is aware police have been speaking to Green." A police spokesman said inquiries are ongoing. Rangers = no comment.
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Bigotry towards John Daly from GERS fans! A Threat We Must Not Ignore Two incidents featuring two people I don?t have much time for are red flags that we should be taking seriously this weekend. I watched last night?s game between Cardiff and Norwich and observed Craig Bellamy mouthing off at a section of the crowd after scoring the leveller for Cardiff. I wondered what had been said to him as he was clearly reacting to abuse and also wondered whether or not it was his own fans he was bickering with. The post-match interview provided the answer. Bellamy was clearly upset by the treatment he and his team mates had been receiving from their own support. ?That?s not like them. That?s not what happens here.? Bellamy ? who has been the rounds at many clubs and is well-used to dishing out and getting stick ? was visibly shocked at the level of abuse being meted out by his own team?s fans. This is a growing and worrying trend in football. Many fans are becoming increasingly loutish and thuggish toward players and officials of their own teams. The recent Ibrox boardroom crisis saw Rangers directors being verbally abused in front of their own children and fans talking about torching directors? cars. Celtic have also experienced hooliganism which was carried out at other grounds by the uber faction of their support as a protest against the Celtic board. I have personally witnessed and been informed of incidents throughout the game where club directors have been abused, vilified and intimidated by their own so-called supporters. It all points to a culture of abuse and frankly, it is not about sectarianism. Which means the religious and racial legislation recently brought out is not an adequate legal mechanism to deal with the problem. The second incident was the disgraceful treatment of Neil Lennon yesterday at Tynecastle. By all accounts, the Celtic manager had to leave the game between Aberdeen and St Johnstone early because he was being pelted with coins, bottles and generally abused. Herein lies the rub. You can?t really claim that there was any religious or racial element to this type of behaviour. I seriously doubt the perpetrators were attacking Lennon because he is a Roman Catholic or because he is an Irish nationalist. Neil Lennon was attacked because he is hated. It might not have been racist or religious but it was bigotry in one sense i.e. if you believe that blind hatred is bigotry, then if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck? Hatred of a person is not a crime. Depending on how one goes about expressing that hatred, it could become something criminal. Throwing objects intended to hurt is certainly criminal and hurling abuse is definitely a breach of the peace. But that?s just legalese. The real problem in football is not sectarianism or racism. These are expressions of hate. No, the real problem is hate itself. Football in the 21st century is a breeding ground for hate but that hate is now turning inward and becoming self-cannibalistic. Sadly, Rangers is a perfect example where open hatred of the board and pro-board fans is clearly demonstrated by the rebels. I get messages of the vilest abuse constantly from these people, far more than from Celtic fans. Most Rangers fans have taken well to Jon Daly but there is an undercurrent of bigotry toward him. Celtic fans are not much different. Much has been made recently of the abuse dished out to Angela Haggerty but, as has been pointed out, nothing said to Miss Haggerty by David Limond was anywhere nearly as abusive as some things said to her by her fellow Celtic fans. This new culture of hate and abuse is no longer confined to tribal boundaries. There is no doubt that it is fuelled by the social media craze. Louts that no-one would listen to twenty years ago suddenly now have a platform to display their lack of breeding and intelligence ? and think this then gives them justification to continue their anti-social behaviour in the real world. I?m not a shrinking violet. I started watching Rangers in the late sixties/early seventies so I grew up in the heyday of hooliganism at the football. And I have been known to engage in drink-fuelled loutish behaviour myself as a younger man. But, like others, I sense an ugly new attitude rising in football that, if not confronted and dealt with, could threaten the game itself. One thing to consider is this: There are so many things that are now taboo to abuse ? homosexuality, religion, race etc. For those who happily vented hatred and abuse at stuff like this, it is now increasingly likely that they will get their collar felt or encounter the ire of other fans. In other words, the doors are closing on abuse of causes, faiths, races etc. So people who like to abuse are resorting to personal abuse more and more. What is even more scary is that this drive to abuse is so strong in others that, in the absence of a suitable other to abuse, they will happily abuse their own. Hating and abusing others or hating and abusing your own ? both are serious problems that are a threat to the future of football in particular and society in general.
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Ignoring the usual sycophantic nonsense, I find the quote in bold crass in the extreme and I'm amazed both Easdale and his PR advisors found it appropriate.
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It seems like the succulent lamb has moved fields. I doubt there would be many Rangers supporters who, after what has transpired over the last three years, who would suggest some of the articles written about our club were merely “puff journalism”. Of course they didn’t have to dig too deep – after all the Rangers Tax Case Blog and BBC Scotland’s “The Men who Sold the Jerseys” had done all the work for them - all our media had to do was apply their own opinions to the information which was readily available – despite the questionable source and interpretation of that information. And apply their opinion they did, as we all know. Time and time again. They drooled, they dribbled, they salivated over questionable events surrounding our club. But what they didn’t do was dig. No small wonder then that Thomson is also on record as saying : And you know what ? He is right. It finally dawned on me when Lord Nimmo Smith’s SPL Commission report contained the startling revelation that the material used by BBC Scotland in the aforementioned documentary was actually evidence which had been stolen from the Rangers Tax Case. And the response from our media ? Not even a murmur. The fact that the evidence in a case they had milked, salivated, opinionated, discussed in such minute detail had been stolen, appears not to even have raised an eyebrow of curiosity. Imagine for a moment the OJ Simpson trial – and it was discovered the infamous glove had been stolen from the evidence cabinet and the media hadn’t raised a murmur ? Nope – I can’t imagine it either.. But of course this is Scotland land of lazy, sycophantic and incapable of asking awkward questions journalism. Perhaps no-one in the Scottish media wants to ask questions of their own – the journalists at BBC Scotland who received and retained the stolen evidence – a kind of “closing ranks” if you like. Or could it be that for a Scottish Print media in dire trouble, evidenced by the recent voluntary redundancies at The Scotsman, the occasional appearance on BBC Sportsound is a nice little earner in uncertain times ? When the Rangers Tax Case received the Orwellian Award it was hailed as :- It seems history may be on the verge of repeating itself. As the blogger behind Football Tax Havens, ably assisted by the tenacious PZJ, asks searching questions of land deals between Glasgow City Council and Celtic FC, one could be forgiven for thinking that this topic appears to be “off limits” for the Scottish media. Perhaps in the near future another blogger will win an award hailed as ““Displaying focused contempt for those who evade difficult truths, and beating almost every Scottish football journalist to the real story” And if he does – you can bet your bottom dollar there will be even more voluntary redundancies within the Scottish Print media.
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WITH the cash crisis at Ibrox heading towards a critical point Keith wonders what the South African-based businessman is waiting for before making his move. ANOTHER week, another load of twists in the great Rangers Rubik’s Cube. Yet more puzzles created by this conundrum of a football club. On Friday night it was announced that Brian Stockbridge had finally left the building, a development which itself posed more questions – some obvious, others not so much. First, why on earth did it take so long for the penny to drop that the accountant in chief – and part-time home video enthusiast – had such apparent difficulty with numbers? And then, more intriguingly, what was the real story behind the repayment of Stockbridge’s £200k bonus? And did he, as was reported on Saturday morning, walk away with a year’s salary paid up in full? On the one hand, Stockbridge stood up at the club’s agm in December and stated bonus money had been handed back. It’s widely understood this was done at the insistence of the club’s largest shareholder, Laxey Partners, in return for their backing at the vote. Last week Graham Wallace, the recently appointed CEO who is battling to tidy up the mess, also went on record to confirm this money had been returned to the Rangers account. And that it was done so in advance of that December 19 agm. All of this would doubtless have come as some comfort to the club’s supporters who ran out of patience and trust in Stockbridge many moons ago. So let’s ask again then. What exactly was it that Stockbridge did to deserve leaving Ibrox with a full year’s salary in his tail? And while we’re at it, here’s another question: What do the players in Ally McCoist’s dressing room – who were being asked to consider cutting their own wages just the other week – make of this? The big question now is where Rangers go from here because what I’m hearing from inside Ibrox is that Stockbridge may have got his numbers wrong when he predicted the business would be down to its last million pounds by April. The true extent of the club’s short-term funding gap may be much deeper than that, according to certain sources. In fact, they made need a huge injection of money just to get to the end of next month. Which is why Dave King’s re-emergence at the start of last week was both timely and intriguing. Timely because his cash could help avoid any imminent crisis. But also intriguing as the Rangers board seem reluctant to ask him for any of it. Now this really is a riddle. Is King really the man to mend this basket case? And if he is, will the current regime allow him to? Or are they determined to keep him out? King appeared to leave logic at the door when he called for Rangers to carry on spending last week, despite previously warning of the possibility of Administration II. But, on closer inspection, his mixed messages were perhaps not as absurd as they seemed. When he says McCoist’s playing budget is not what is sinking the current regime, he is absolutely correct. Yes the wages he and his players have received to conquer the fourth and third tiers of Scottish football have been ridiculously over the top. But – at less than 30 per cent of the club’s turnover – they should not be endangering the club’s financial health. Far from it. In fact, this spend falls well within the ideal model of good housekeeping. So while it may have been unnecessary and even foolish to spend so much to win these leagues, what’s done is done. And now, at a time when Rangers are finally nearing the top end of the divisions, it seems almost every bit as ludicrous to start taking money away from McCoist who must wonder if his world will ever make sense again. One week he has accountants walking through his dressing room carrying clip boards and brandishing big red pens. The next he’s taking his players to Carnoustie for lunch and afternoon naps ahead of an away game at Forfar in a league that is already won. When this column revealed details of that road trip, it was taken by some as an attack on McCoist. Not so. Rather, it was an attempt to highlight the topsy-turvy, incoherent decision making going on above his head. So let me state again, the real culprits behind this club’s overspending have been based in the boardroom, not the dressing room. And now Stockbridge has gone but King remains on the outside looking in. Why exactly is that? There are some Rangers fans who understandably struggle to comprehend why he has not stepped up to the plate long before now. If King really has the collateral and the cajones to go with it, then what is he waiting for? Because the very last thing this club needs now is another flirtatious time-waster. He’s either serious about saving Rangers or he isn’t. However, there are others very close to King who are adamant that this man is not only the real deal but the club’s only viable chance of salvation. Their hope is that new shares are released and that King is then able to buy up control – with his money going straight into the club’s coffers. But there is concern too that King’s road might be blocked by those who seek to cling on to positions of power. Will the Easdales, Blue Pitch and Margarita, for example, be prepared to have their own holdings diluted in order to let King get his foot in the Ibrox front door? Meanwhile, Rangers are running out of money fast. Some short-term funding may have to be secured just to keep the floodlights on through February, March and April while the longer-term issues are being debated and resolved internally. But Wallace had better act swiftly to pull this thing together because all the while Rangers supporters are in danger of becoming disenfranchised from their own club. If enough of them should chose to keep their hands in their pockets this summer then another huge hole will appear in the club’s future funding. And then this endless puzzle of the Rangers finances might become impossible to solve. -
There is seldom an isolated event at Rangers. Brian Stockbridge's departure as finance director is being interpreted as the first example of Graham Wallace, the chief executive, asserting his authority. Yet it also changes the dynamic in the boardroom, reducing the club to four directors and potentially altering how certain decisions are made in the coming months. There is, still, a sense of uncertainty about what the future holds for the club. Rangers' route back to the top flight is still being determined. Essentially, the club either cut back their spending in line with revenue from season ticket sales and, while in the lower leagues, limited commercial revenue. Alternatively, some investment in the coming 18 months would allow the team to be strong enough to compete on its return to the top division, and so quicken the recovery of Rangers' old status. An element of restructuring is required in either case, which is why Wallace has embarked on a root and branch review of the club's business. Philip Nash, the former Arsenal and Liverpool finance director who was recently brought in as a consultant, is expected to take the finance director role in the short-term. How it impacts on the boardroom will also be interesting, though. Dave King wants to lead the fundraising in a fresh share issue. His vision is to generate money from himself and other high net-worth Rangers fans that can be used to strengthen the squad and the football resources so that the team are immediately competitive, in return for influence on how the club is run. The alternative is a longer period spent trying to regain ground. There are complications, though, since a new share issue requires existing shareholders to reinvest to maintain the size of their stake, at a time when the vast majority of them have suffered considerable losses. The shares were launched in December 2012 at 70p, but closed last Friday with a value of 27.25p. This is the ideological struggle at the club, and the decision on the way forward lies with the Rangers International Football Club plc board members - Wallace, Norman Crighton, James Easdale and the chairman, David Somers - and the shareholders. Before either short-term funding, to tide over until season ticket sales kick in, or fresh funding is sought, though, Wallace has to restore the business to an even keel. It is thought to be losing between £500,000 and £1m a month, and costs will need to be cut. The first-team wages are around 30% of turnover, but with one week of the transfer window remaining, Rangers may yet find themselves having to react to offers for some of their players, or seek to incentivise some to leave, although payments would further reduce the cash flow. This is at a time when the team have lost only once in 22 league games. Some fans grumble at occasionally muted performances, but Ally McCoist deserves credit for managing through a series of crises, and for maintaining the standards the club was built on. "There have been times when I've said, 'What am I doing here?'," McCoist said. "But how could you regret becoming the manager of Rangers? I've got my dream job. It's not the dream situation [but] as long as I can look myself in the mirror, I'll be happy. I've made mistakes and I'll make more mistakes. As long as they're done in an attempt to do the right thing then I can live with that." A recent lunch with Graeme Souness and Walter Smith, his friends and former Rangers managers, will have brought plenty of reminders of different, more accommodating times. McCoist is resilient, though. While the club's future direction is being debated, his assessment is that his team needs reinforcements if it is to eventually challenge Celtic again. "If we're talking about winning the top league then we're miles away," he said. "I would hate that to be taken as a criticism of the team because it's not. But it would be very unfair for people to expect these free transfers who have come together to win [the] top flight. Some, if we got help with players coming in, could probably do it. But we would need investment." Herald
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Down to 30.4p, is there only one way for the shares to go with the present board ? Does the share price really matter?
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Excellent article by D'Artagnan - Scapegoats & Scaremongering (Walter Smith) It is particularly difficult writing an article which disagrees with one of your all time heroes but difficult times call for difficult decisions. Whilst Walter's synopsis is a popular ideology it lacks in financial reality. We may well still be Rangers but we are a Rangers operating with with vastly reduced revenue streams in terms of income from season ticket sales, sponsorship and commercial hospitality as a consequence of the league we have been forced to operate in. It's easy to say this is still Rangers if you don't have to, or are not responsible for picking up the bill for operating as in days of yore. The financial state of our club is once again the subject of much speculation, which has been exacerbated considerably with the news that a 15% reduction in player's wages was muted a cost cutting measure. The subsequent anxiety which this caused amongst our support, and the treatment (perhaps scaremongering) of this story in the media, resulted in the search for the inevitable scapegoat. I'm not convinced that two of the eventual "suspects" put in the frame - Ally & Brian Stockbridge - were placed on the list of potential suspects with reasonable suspicion - or consideration of all the relevant facts. Let us start with Ally - I'm sure most of us agree that his wage was excessive for our current league position in fact the whole expenditure with regard to the costs of our coaching staff would be worthwhile of critical review. Furthermore as is now common knowledge Ally has agreed to take a considerable pay cut. Perhaps even more unfair is the suggestion that the current squad along with the wages and contracts of some of our players are too high – and it's Ally's fault. This would only be a valid criticism if Ally had negotiated the contracts in question, and the overwhelming evidence appears to suggests this was in fact done by others. The suggestion that Ally should be a scapegoat for our financial woes is further usurped when you consider our playing staff bill as a percentage of our club's overall operating costs. That is not too say either our squad is too big for the current demands upon us , nor that there are not players on wages which are as unrealistic as our manager's wages were, simply that it is unrealistic to lay the blame with Ally Brian Stockbridge presents considerably more of a challenge in terms of offering a defence - he is after all financial director of our club. Furthermore he is on record as saying our wage bill was sustainable when quite clearly it is not, not if a 15% wage reduction is being considered as an option. In fact, had it not been for Ian Hart's recent interview, I doubt very much I would be offering any kind of defence. Whether Hart's defence of Stockbridge is merited is open to debate – it would perhaps have been more cut and dried if Hart's interviewer had asked more probing questions regarding the remit and expectation of our Financial director. Whatever your view of Brian Stockbridge, perhaps the question we need to ask ourselves is would the immediate sacking or removal of Mr Stockbridge bring an end to the culture of excess which has befallen our club for far too many a year ? I think we all know the answer to that question. Some will have already made up their minds about the competency or incompetency of Brian Stockbridge as a financial director, or Ally as manager, and perhaps with good cause. But to lay the blame for our financial woes at the feet of either of these gentlemen is merely skirting over the more serious issues affecting our club. We need to eradicate the culture of excess at our club from top to bottom, from directors to tea lady if required. Let us not allow the settling of old and tired arguments, or other agendas distract us from the challenging and possibly painful task which lies ahead. We don't need scapegoats – particularly when some of our financial failings are clearly cultural and process driven – we need honest assessment and a willingness to be prepared to accept the necessary changes. It wont be easy nor do I suspect it will be painless. Our new CEO claims he is up to the task – I hope to God he is right. Link to article - Scapegoats & Scaremongering
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Being reported by BBC & STV that the players have refused to take a 15% pay cut.
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JAMES and Sandy Easdale are poised to plough around £20million into cash-strapped Rangers. By: Graham Clark Published: Fri, January 17, 2014 0 Comments James and Sandy Easdale are set to give Rangers a well-needed cash boost [WILLIE VASS] The Greenock businessmen, already significantly involved in the Ibrox club as shareholders and directors, are edging closer to selling their bus firm and are considering investing massively in the stricken League One leaders. The brothers are already understood to have knocked back approaches for McGill’s Buses amid rumours that one £80m offer wasn’t enough and that they’re holding out for £100m. If they succeed in getting a buyer at that price, the speculation is they will aim to increase their stake at Ibrox by investing about £20m. James, on the club’s plc board, and Sandy, who is chairman of the football board, have been building up their shareholding in recent months as they look to tighten their grip on the club. They are now generally recognised to be the powers behind the throne at Ibrox. The Easdales took over McGill’s in 2001 and, after moving back into the black by posting profits of £659,404 compared with a loss of more than £550,000 the year before, their turnover has almost doubled from £15m to £28m following the takeover of rival Arriva Scotland West nearly two years ago. These figures have made McGill’s an attractive proposition and it is a business the Easdales are prepared to offload as they have other interests, including taxi firms and private rental and commercial property. The jury remains out on the Gers’ board simply because little or no information is passed the supporters’ way and stories like yesterday’s in Express Sport that players had rejected chief executive Graham Wallace’s suggestion they take a 15 per cent cut in wages has done little to quell their concerns over the club’s financial position. Wallace, in fact, has declared there is no chance of a second administration but conceded the club can’t continue to run the way it is amid suggestions it is losing around £1m a month. And, even if the Easdales were to splash their cash, there would still be a need to rein in the general costs. But, if the Greenock pair put up around £20m, it would go a long way to easing the near-critical state at the club and, of course, help appease and win over worried fans.
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An interview in the Herald. Since it was done by the discredited journo, I spare their site the hits. Obviously, Spiers has his little snyde remarks, but it is rather useful to read Hart's quotes. No doubt, people will come and give all sorts of views on that, but for me such "insider knowledge" puts it all a more into perspective. Not least with the high octane hysteria levels these days ... -
Rangers: Manager Ally McCoist instructed to cut wage bill By Alasdair Lamont Senior football reporter, BBC Scotland Rangers manager Ally McCoist has been told he will have to make cuts to his playing budget. McCoist has been in discussions with Graham Wallace recently as the chief executive undertakes a comprehensive review of the Ibrox finances. Wallace told shareholders at the annual general meeting in December savings would need to be made. And the players' wage bill at the League One side currently stands between £6m and £7m per annum. A spokesman for the Rangers board told BBC Scotland: "The CEO Graham Wallace outlined his strategy at the AGM and nothing is going to deflect him from getting Rangers back on an even keel. "Graham and Ally are reviewing the football budget, as part of the overall business review and it would be inappropriate at this time to discuss any figures." The news comes on the day that three million shares worth around £750,000 were traded in Rangers International Football Club plc. The share price dropped as low as 24p early in the day before rallying slightly to close at 28.5p. That is a fall from the 90p price at the launch of the share issue just over a year ago. Earlier this week, McCoist signed off on a pay cut of around 50%, which he agreed to in October. And consultant Philip Nash has been brought to Ibrox to help oversee the financial overhaul.
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Many years ago as a young Marine on leave, I had ventured over to Ibrox to visit the club shop for some mementos to adorn my bed space. No matter where I was serving in the world there was a little corner which was forever Rangers. For the younger Bears amongst us, there was a time the club shop was not so much a mega store but a glorified broom cupboard with barely enough space to swing a cat. The sole staff member was serving a guy about ages with myself, who I immediately recognised as Ian Redford. After Ian had left the shop the female member of staff apologised for the previous customer taking so long “That guy took ages “ she said. I informed her who “that guy” was and she looked suitably embarrassed. Yesterday, along with 42,000 other Bears, we paid our respects to Ian Redford as our club observed a minute's silence in respect of his passing. Bears of today paying appropriate respect to a club servant of yesteryear. Elsewhere in Glasgow however, BBC Scotland with it's cabal of Rangers hating individuals and no doubt well rehearsed guests, were plotting their latest flouting of the BBC Trust ruling regarding Rangers. I’m sure there was much back slapping, mutual praise and schoolboy giggles following the latest BBC Scotland assertion that “Rangers are dead”. Of course the theft of evidence in the Rangers Tax Case, nor an EU preliminary investigation into alleged state aid involving Celtic Football Club and Glasgow Council raises not a murmur of journalistic curiosity, after all, “Rangers baiting” requires far less effort – especially when it is broadcast from a platform paid for by the public. Sometimes “vile” just isn't descriptive enough. When the Rangers Tax Case Blog won the Orwellian Award it was cited as “Bringing you the story that Scottish journalists seem unable to do” Thats the funny thing about history – it seems to have a habit of repeating itself. Freedom of Information is truly an enlightening thing.
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Albion Rovers trialled a 'Pay what you can' initiative this week and it looks like it was a success. Hopefully more Scottish clubs will take notice and try innovative ways to improve attendances. http://albionroversfc.com/?p=4368 http://albionroversfc.com/?p=4383 I doubt a similar idea could work at Ibrox but I'd like to see them experiment with lower prices in unpopular parts of the ground.
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https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/112897/response/281577/attach/4/s2dFCAFE96193D99AAF47385CA3967C7DC8%201.pdf
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Warning to posters. This morning we received a letter from Peter Watson, solicitor advocate of Levy & McRae acting on behalf of Mr & Mr Easdale. The letter asked us to remove posts from 3 separate individuals (NOT POSTS FROM SONS OF STRUTH) We would like to remind posters that this is an open social network page and as such is available to be viewed by any members of the public and posters should take care regarding defamation and The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act 2012 https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfStruth
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From the Insolvency Service. http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/IESdatabase/viewdisqualdetail.asp?courtnumber=05763437 Intriguingly he's still listed as a Director of Sevco 5088 Ltd https://www.duedil.com/company/08011390/sevco-5088-limited/people
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Michael Grant BACK in 2012 when old Charles Green was figuring out which buttons to push to endear himself to a deeply sceptical Rangers support, so that he might clean out their wallets a few months later in a share flotation, he had no qualms about fighting dirty. He'd been in Scotland for about five minutes but that didn't stop the verbal diarrhoea that led to him spouting off about bigotry, about Celtic, about the Scottish football authorities and about the world in general having it in for Rangers. Plenty saw through him and knew his game, but there were enough who bought into it and made the mistake of embracing him as some sort of champion. Perceptions changed and the shares were snapped up. Now, as then, there is a polarised club - board in one camp, most of the supporters in another - which soon will be in need of a life-support machine being switched on again. This time the sale of season tickets will dictate whether Rangers survive financially or collapse again, possibly into another administration, because of unsustainable running costs. A rumbling, low level mood of resistance and unrest exists among the supporters even if the outcome of last month's annual general meeting left them unsure of what to do next. Thousands don't like this board but don't know what they can do about it. There is no consensus for an organised boycott of season tickets but there are plenty of committed, ordinary fans who are just quietly fed up with the way the club has been run and are prepared to stop going next season. If you were Sandy Easdale, or David Somers, or maybe even Graham Wallace, you might have read what Ally McCoist said about the fixture schedule at the weekend and thought "yeah, that's a good line, that'll go down well". McCoist made some pretty unlikely and strange remarks about the Scottish Professional Football League's allocation of fixtures and the fact Rangers had been made to play four times in 11 days, and three in a row away from home over the festive holidays. "Different initials but the same old story with the way our club has been treated," said McCoist. He won't welcome the comparison, but that sounded exactly like Green. On Saturday the Stenhousemuir striker John Gemmell took to Twitter. For all its attractions and advantages, social media encourages a depressing tendency to lapse instantly into personal abuse, especially on Twitter, and Gemmell used the sort of language that would have once led to him having his mouth washed out with soap. Take away the infantile insults, though, and it was easy to agree with Gemmell's underlying point. Since when did playing four games in 11 days, all within an hour's travel, amount to an excessive or unfair demand to place upon any set of footballers? The idea that Rangers have been "singled out" or "treated differently" simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. A dozen other clubs have played four games in 11 days. Some have played four in 10 days. A team cannot claim to have been picked on for unfair treatment if it turns out loads of others were in exactly the same boat. Four games in 11 days is a busy schedule, no doubt. But no more than that and the festive programme is always busy because it gives a greater number of people the chance to attend games while on holiday. Rangers have successfully requested the postponement of games this season because they had some players away on international duty, postponements which inconvenienced other clubs just as they feel inconvenienced now. McCoist wanted the game at Stenhousemuir to be played in midweek. Stenhousemuir wanted it played yesterday, as it was. Gemmell made a very good point about that in one of his tweets. Part-time players such as him and his team-mates tend to have a free diary for games at weekends. When they play midweek matches they have either to take half-days off work or else put in a full shift then rush to the ground to be ready in time. Why would they put themselves at such a massive disadvantage, and allow Rangers such an advantage, by moving their home game from a weekend to next midweek? Rangers players have no other obligations pulling on their time, of course, hence Gemmell's sarcastic references to their massages, club-prepared healthy meals and £5000-a-week wages. The difference in how the two sets of players are rewarded isn't an accident. The players at Ibrox are better footballers and that is reflected in their treatment, but sympathy lies with Gemmell for drawing the comparison. Rangers will never be able to paint themselves as a victim when they are the League One club which has it all. It's easier to sympathise with the complaint about three consecutive away games but, even so, fans weren't asked to travel to the ends of the earth. All three games were in the central belt. Nor is three consecutive away games anything unusual: later this month Rangers will begin a run of three in a row at home. What can be said for certain is that McCoist wasn't doing the board's bidding when he piped up. That isn't the way things work at Ibrox at the moment. It was his own, personal view. But a lot of people found it hard to take seriously. And Gemmell, a season-ticket holder at Ibrox, wasn't the only Rangers supporter among them. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/opinion/rangers-have-to-play-the-game-when-it-comes-to-fixture-congestion.23101970
