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  1. an "historic" debt going back to Green has been called in according to our main hater. A lot of speculation that it's for £6.5 million, and that it's owed to Ashley although neither the amount or who it's owed to were identified by him. Anyone got any idea ?
  2. rbr

    Rangers first

    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.
  3. Just heard that one of them has loaned the club 500,000 pounds to keep things ticking over. Anyone else heard this
  4. Rangers board in crisis talks after emergency £500,000 loan Roddy Forsyth explains the ongoing power struggle at Rangers between Mike Ashley, Dave King and the Three Bears, and Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver Email Ibrox - Rangers power struggle takes new twist after Mike Ashley loses key ally in his quest for Ibrox boardroom coup Battleground: The battle for power at Ibrox took a new twist on new year's eve Photo: PA Roddy Forsyth By Roddy Forsyth11:19AM GMT 05 Jan 2015Comments27 Comments In a day of high drama at Ibrox the Rangers board is negotiating under severe pressure to save the club from financial meltdown for the second time in three years. The plc directors are frantically trying to strike a deal with the investor alliance of Dave King – a former Rangers director – and the Three Bears consortium, who last week scooped up available shares in an audacious raid. The astonishing development followed Telegraph Sport’s disclosure last night that the unpopular Ibrox regime had reached a crisis, which was confirmed today when the club’s board announced to the Stock Exchange that they had accepted an emergency loan of £500,000 from its football chairman, Sandy Easdale, to stay afloat for another few days. The Telegraph had revealed that a major announcement to the LSE was imminent, in respect of Rangers’ parlous economic situation. The trigger was a bill from HMRC for payment of National Insurance, under threat of a petition by the tax authority for the club to be placed into administration if the account was not settled immediately. Easdale’s loan is secured on the fee – believed to be £1 million - obtained from Brentford for the transfer of the highly rated 20-year-old midfielder, Lewis Macleod. When Rangers confirmed MacLeod’s sale to the Stock Exchange on Friday, the announcement said that the proceeds would “be used for immediate working capital”. The announcement of Easdale’s loan stated that the £500,000 would “be used by the Company for general working capital purposes over the next few days”. The statement added that the loan had been offered and accepted “on a fee and interest free basis and it will be secured against the income from the sale of player announced on 2 January 2015”. Related Articles Rangers board to lose power unless Mike Ashley steps in to save directors Rangers board to lose power unless Ashley steps in 04 Jan 2015 Rangers' squad could be decimated in January 01 Jan 2015 Rangers supporters’ group urges fans to displace Ashley 03 Jan 2015 Ashley's plan to own Rangers hits buffers 02 Jan 2015 Even as the Rangers board sought an agreement to avoid the club's collapse, however, a statement from Sandy Easdale's PR advisor, Jack Irvine, brought a sharp retort from King. Commenting on Easdale's secured funding deal, Irvine said: "Once again Sandy has stepped up to the plate with this half million pound loan from his own pocket. Whilst we welcomed the recent share purchases by Dave King and Douglas Park and his consortium, this unfortunately did not put any funds into the club. "Sandy was the only option for this cash injection at such short notice. The Easdale family remain totally committed to achieving a satisfactory financial future for Rangers and they hope all parties can work together in the future with that common goal."Given that Sandy Easdale rejected new funds and was a chief architect in getting the club into this mess, lending a small amount of money is the minimum he should have done. As part restitution he should make the £500,000 a donation rather than a loan." King retorted angrily and told Telegraph Sport: " The situation whereby a short-term loan of working capital is secured on recently obtained and desperately needed working capital is not only designed to stave off immediate administration, but also to keep the club afloat while the directors try to salvage what they can before surrendering to what now looks like an inevitable takeover by the fan-friendly axis of King and the Three Bears. However, three possibilities are in play. One – currently looking the least likely - is that Mike Ashley will come to the board’s rescue, having secured control over the appointment of two directors in return for £3 million of emergency funding in October. However, the Newcastle United owner had previously tried to negotiate with the Scottish Football Association to increase his stake at Ibrox from 8.92% to 29.9% but was refused by the governing body, who insisted that he should comply with his written undertaking not to go above 10%. The second option is an £18 million takeover offer from Robert Sarver, owner of Phoenix Suns basketball club. That offer was also notified to the Stock Exchange at the start of business this morning. Again, Telegraph Sport led the way in revealing that there had been conversations between Sarver’s advisers and those connected with the Three Bears consortium of wealthy shareholders, who have bought a substantial tranche of Rangers shares, as has the former Ibrox director, Dave King. Rangers’ second Stock Exchange statement today read: “The Company notes recent press speculation and confirms that it has received an approach from Robert Sarver (or a vehicle to be established and controlled by him) ("Mr Sarver") that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company. “There can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which an offer may be made. A further announcement is expected shortly.” Takeover rules mean that Sarver has until 5pm on February 2 to confirm or withdraw his offer, which is worth £18 million and designed to give him complete control of the club’s equity. Again, there are difficulties with this proposal. As the Telegraph disclosed, Sarver has an interest in investing in European football clubs, as opposed to a strategy based solely on a single outfit such as Rangers. A full equity bid would take time to implement, even if it found favour with the majority of investors. When King placed an offer of £16 million in October – the deal rejected by the Rangers plc board in favour of Ashley’s short term fix of loans – it was in the form of a debt and equity mix that would have lent the club sufficient money to keep it going through the takeover process. Another problem for Sarver is that, taken together, the recent share purchases by King and the Three Bears – Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor – constitute a little over 34% of Rangers’ stock. They have been pledged support by other disenchanted investors and have also been allocated proxy votes. The King/Three Bears axis know that they can now call upon sufficient support to outdistance the Ashley/Easdale camp by a significant margin. Having got themselves into such a favourable position they are not inclined to stand aside for Sarver although they have, as would be expected, let it be known that they will happily have him on board as a like-minded investor. This is well short of Sarver’s original intent of attaining complete control of Rangers before looking elsewhere to acquire other football interests. One obvious objection to that as a long-term strategy is that it would infringe the same dual-ownership regulations that have prompted a disciplinary complaint against Ashley by the SFA. In any case, time is now the pressing enemy of all the contending parties. If the club runs out of cash and is forced to enter administration for the second time in three years Rangers will be consigned to a fourth successive season in the lower leagues – a prospect feared by the Scottish football authorities as well as other clubs who would benefit financially from their return to the top tier, as a consequence of better sponsorship and broadcast deals than are currently available. Rangers are again teetering on the edge of a financial precipice as the principal personalities jostle on the brink to establish who will be thrust over to the rocks below - and who will be left standing to inherit whatever remains of this once immensely proud and respected club.
  5. [video=youtube;Qr3-ScLFG4w] While it's far too early, and things remain far too murky, to even whisper about some kind of bryter layter for Rangers, we can probably all agree that last week was the first time in, oh, three years or more when hopes were raised without being swiftly crushed again. The temptation is to rush headlong into dreams about good things happening next: Ashley snapping his fingers, tearing up his contracts and ruefully reflecting he'd have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those meddling Three Bears. Somers getting unceremoniously booted down the marble staircase and out onto Edmiston Drive. Easdale...well, hate crime laws are very strict in Scotland, so suffice it to say a more appropriate position, like sweeping out one of McGill's garages, would suit him better. It's hard to believe no-one in his circle has made him aware that his ongoing connection with Rangers is only making his public persona even less popular than it was previously, but it seems self-awareness is not a strong suit among Rangers board members, who have only stopped short of signing and appointing Ched Evans as clup captain in their litany of grossly self-destructive moves. But, in all truth, self-awareness is not a strong suit among fans, either. Even allowing for the natural, emotional response to all that has gone on in recent years - to defend what we perceive as the club, and to reject those who bring bad news as enemies or traitors - we've not covered ourselves in glory, Never mind what fans of other clubs say or think, they are (or should be) irrelevant to us, and we have to come to terms with ourselves and our club in our own way. Disharmony has been the prevalent key - if we actually do agree that the last week has been good it is a rara avis indeed, a very occasional visitor to these shores. Everyone has their own pet theory about why our fan base failed to act collectively or effectively during our - and I use the present tense, since we're far from out of the woods - predicament. In that use of the expression 'fan base' there lies the nub, for although we have the numbers we really don't have the unified power of a fan base,we have lots of fans who have different priorities. I've complained about people adding things onto Rangers often enough and won't repeat those arguments now, since there are more important matters to hand. But it's worth remembering that if we want people to stand shoulder to shoulder, the more colours we add to the strip, the less appealing it's likely to be. Keep it about The Rangers and only The Rangers and I fail to see how any Bluenose could possibly object to any fan body, or at least do so in any credible manner. Anyway, as fans we stand revealed as having serious self-identification issues. We've welcomed in, at first with some enthusiasm, then with more caution, and finally with dull, numb acceptance, a series of cheap tricks, none of whom have been able to replace Sir David Murray, who was not exactly the ideal partner himself. Beaten and battered, you can find fans who yearn for a strong owner, fans who want complete OMOV fan ownership, fans who have no clue, and all points between. Asking such a constituency to come up with a popular plan which will garner universal support is, to put it mildly, wildly optimistic. Maybe the shareholders who have emerged in the last seven days will turn out to be our Mr Goodbar after all, a strong reliable type who will do right by the club and us. Plainly a little bruised myself, I'm not even close to giving anyone one iota of trust until they've emphatically earned it. If we do emerge from these sick years with a club still intact, I hope at some stage we do the introspection thing, and come up with a different identity to the one which has proven next to useless over the last years. People who could have stepped up and helped us when we desperately needed them too have avoided us with a barge pole: no use denying it, we see people with Rangers connection investing in other teams. No doubt some will feel too attached to change, but if you survive a life threatening illness, the least you can do is examine yourself to see where you could maybe do better, should the worst happen again. Time enough to worry about that if there's nothing more pressing to be getting on with. And that day, sadly, is some way off yet. The best we can say is, at the end of each week, we're still here.
  6. They're worried, make no mistake about it, not one single positive thing in Merlin's latest propaganda, which fills me with yet more confidence for our future - Transparency Required January 1, 2015 / billmcmurdo The remarks of Colin Kingsnorth upon Laxey’s sale of their shareholding in RIFC do not bode well for the future of the club. Kingsnorth seems to have a personal issue with Mike Ashley and hopes that the group he sold to will ramp up the opposition to Ashley in their new position as shareholders. With these intemperate comments, Kingsnorth has thrown petrol on an already ravaging fire and possibly kicked off a whole new era of turmoil at the club. Ashley’s position as Rangers’ major creditor, coupled with his having Derek Llambias in place, means that he still wields considerable power in the Ibrox boardroom, despite having a lesser shareholding than the Three Amigos. The problem for Rangers fans is what happens if the incoming group decides to go to war with the other factions for control of the club. This would make the boardroom battles of recent times look like an infant spat. If Ashley decides to fight for control of Rangers then things could get very nasty indeed. The Amigos as predicted took advantage of the plummeting price of Rangers’ shares to secure their stake. This has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many Rangers supporters considering it is the actions of those activist groups like the UoF and SoS who support Amigoco that have driven the share price down. It also doesn’t help that Taylor, Letham and Park have bought shares from an existing shareholder and that the monies do not go directly toward the club at a time when RFC is screaming for income. Let’s be fair – if people like Mike Ashley can be criticised for buying shares this way, so can the Amigos. Good for the goose, good for the gander and all that. There are also many fans who question the concept of chasing away a billionaire for people whose combined net worth comes nowhere close to his. The possibility that further bitter infighting could rip Rangers apart cannot be discounted. Imagine, for example, if Mike Ashley chose to take on the pointless rules of the SFA regarding his own shareholding with the Three Amigos supporting the SFA and conspiring against Ashley. An unthinkable prospect as there isn’t a Rangers fan alive who thinks that the SFA will act in Rangers’ best interests. Questions must be asked of the new shareholders – again, in the interests of parity with Ashley. Some of mine would be:- What are their plans – if they have any – to help raise revenues in the future? Short, mid and longer term would be great. What are their intentions in respect of control of the club? Do they intend to oust other factions and wrest control? What are their plans for the management, coaching and playing side of the club? How do they intend to take on the club’s many detractors in the media and elsewhere? These are broad stroke questions but more pointed ones would be how would they propose to deal with the present gardening leave situation of the manager and who specifically do they want on the board? It would also help if we could get a definite answer on whether or not George Letham is on the RST board. All in the interests of transparency, of course. The new shareholders will surely be willing to have exacted upon them the same demands for transparency and openness they expected of others. Mile Ashley’s seeming reticence to share his own plans has not served him well and only breeds suspicion. The Three Amigos would do well to heed this because they can definitely expect to be grilled repeatedly should they fail to be transparent in their own dealings. After all, we have been taught to expect much better from real Rangers men…
  7. 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.
  8. ...from SFA panel that includes.. Celtic boss Peter Lawwell. Dec 22, 2014 22:30 By Gary Ralston THE Ibrox club's new chief executive will have to set out the blueprint for the future of the club for an SFA group that will include his opposite number at Parkhead. DEREK LLAMBIAS will seek approval for Mike Ashley’s vision for the future of Rangers today from an SFA group that includes Peter Lawwell. The Celtic chief executive is a member of the SFA board that will meet with the new Rangers frontman at Hampden for talks on the way forward for the cash-strapped club. Rangers have been asked to detail the business plan and strategy behind any future investment from the Newcastle United owner. Llambias, who denied he’s on Ashley’s payroll at a stormy Rangers agm yesterday, declined to offer clarity on the Sports Direct tycoon’s involvement at Ibrox. He said: “I’m seeing the SFA and a clearer picture should emerge then.” The SFA board, which also includes chief executive Stewart Regan, president Campbell Ogilvie, Hibs chairman Rod Petrie and SPFL chairman Ralph Topping, have the power to veto any plans. They will be keen to hear if Ashley has ambitions to increase his shareholding or if he or any of his representatives plan to take up positions on the Ibrox board. There has been disquiet among fans about the involvement of Ashley under “dual interest” rules, which frown upon individuals holding key positions at two or more clubs. Strictly speaking, however, Article 13 of the SFA does not forbid Ashley having a sizeable stake in Rangers and Newcastle United, but he would require “prior written consent of the board” to increase his influence at Ibrox. The SFA board will hear Llambias’ blueprint and may ask for further details before giving their judgment on Ashley in the new year. The meeting today has been described as informal, but Llambias will be expected to shed light on a range of issues. He is likely to be asked, for example, why the Rangers board felt they had no option but to accept Ashley’s recent £2million loan when Brian Kennedy and Dave King had also come to the table with investment proposals. Lawwell’s involvement is an intriguing sideshow and, as talks progress, he may decide he is conflicted and step away from discussions. He recently admitted the absence of Rangers from the top flight of the Scottish game was costing his club £10million a year. However, an under-strength and under-funded Rangers effectively gives Celtic a free run at the Champions League each season and the riches it can provide. The talks with the SFA board are separate from the notice of complaint recently issued to Ashley and Rangers by an SFA judicial panel. Ashley and Rangers are accused of breaching an agreement he would not take control of the club and compliance officer Tony McGlennan acted after Ashley’s recent loans, totalling £3million, led to accusations he had been handed the keys to the door. Meanwhile, Rangers fans have urged Ashley to turn to Dave King or other wealthy Bluenose backers after supporters vetoed plans to open the club to £8million of fresh investment from non-shareholders. Only 45 per cent of shareholders backed a resolution aimed at inviting new investors into the club and it’s believed Ashley and the Easdale block voted against the proposals. Chris Graham of the Union of Fans said: “It’s disingenuous for the top table at the agm to recommend the resolution, only to apparently vote against it. “They clearly don’t want others to buy in without them having first interest. Legally, Dave King could still underwrite a new share offer and other backers, such as George Taylor in Hong Kong, have invested heavily recently. “I only hope Derek Llambias acknowledges the scale of the disconnect between club and fans displayed at the agm. He can have Ibrox half full for the foreseeable future or turn it round the other way. “Mike Ashley will still make money if outside investors come into the club.” Sandy Easdale refused to rule out involvement in future from the likes of King and Brian Kennedy. He told shareholders: “I’ve never dismissed any of these guys, they may yet be part of the future of this club.” Llambias, who stepped down as Newcastle managing director in June 2013, told shareholders he was committed to returning the club to the top of the Scottish game. Llambias added: “Not everything I do will be popular but everything I do will be in the club’s long-term interests. “We need financial stability off the pitch and great football on the pitch. We want to get Rangers back into the top flight and the Champions League. “That is our aim and hopefully next year I will give a much better speech.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-chief-derek-llambias-must-4859995?
  9. ...if they want to get their club back Former Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray has told supporters to make some "noise" if they want to get their club back. The former pension fund manager was speaking after Monday's stormy Ibrox AGM. The 90-minute meeting saw PLC chairman David Somers, chief executive Derek Llambias, director James Easdale and his brother Sandy - chairman of the club's football board - face a barrage of abuse from shareholders. Chants of "out, out, out", "sack the board" and "scumbags" were hurled at the directors as they made their way out onto a flimsy tent erected on the Ibrox pitch. There was little detail given to the irate fans on how the board plan to bridge the £8.3million funding gap which currently separates the Glasgow giants from safety, other than to say a fresh share issue was to be expected, while Somers was the focus of much of the ire after comments which sparked even more anger. Despite the flak, the chairman, Llambias and James Easdale were all re-elected to the PLC board with the help of Mike Ashley and other institutional investors. But Murray claims the fans must act if they want to force real change. Speaking outside the AGM, Murray - who was the club's first chairman after it was reformed following its 2012 liquidation crisis, only to quit a year later after falling out with Charles Green - said: "That was the most arrogant display I have ever seen in third of a century of attending AGMs. "There was complete disregard for shareholders and fans. They say they will operate without fans. We actually ended up knowing less than when we started, which takes a bit of doing. "What can the fans and shareholders do? They have to make more noise. I am not saying they should boycott but they have to make a lot more noise. I think eventually the board will get worried that that the fans are not turning up and not buying kit. The mood in there, well, I have never known anything like it. "Will fans turn their backs on the club? In the short term, yes. But my message to the fans is to stick with it. We will be here a lot longer than them." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/u/murray-rangers-fans-need-to-make-some-noise-if-they-want-to-get-their-club-back.1419322367
  10. First game in charge the Saturday against Hibs. What changes do you expect him to make?
  11. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangerscomment/mccoist-set-to-face-the-music-but-rangers-fans-will-have-little-to-192156n.114751404? McCoist set to face the music but Rangers fans will have little to sing about AND now the end is near ... Christopher Jack Sports Journalist Wednesday 17/12/2014 and so he faces the final curtain.. Ally McCoist likened his appointment as Rangers manager to taking over the mic from Frank Sinatra. Today, he will face the music. McCoist has taken the blows and did it his way at Ibrox, but his time in the spotlight is coming to an end, and he will soon exit the stage. Whether it comes in the aftermath of his meeting with Derek Llambias and Sandy Easdale today, at the end of the season or in 12 months' time, the day when McCoist is no longer Rangers manger is approaching. Like all matters at Ibrox in recent years, money is at the heart of the matter and the crux of the discussions. McCoist is due several hundred thousand pounds if the board wish to dispense with his services before the end of his notice period, but with an £8million black hole in their finances, they seemingly have no way to pay the 52-year-old off. He will leave with a cheque, but there is unlikely to be a thank you for his efforts. Whatever figure is settled on, McCoist will be due every penny for what he has done for Rangers, the fights he has had to fight, the controversies and characters he has had to deal with and overcome. However a deal is struck, whether it is in cash now or later or even shares, it will be a fraction of the multi-million burn that has seen Rangers blow their chance of financial stability and a platform, on and off the field, to go on and establish themselves at the top of Scottish football once again. It is only a matter of time before the most remarkable managerial reign in Rangers' illustrious history comes to an end - but it will solve few problems. McCoist's abilities as a coach and tactician have been called into question for some time. The argument for not having him as manager can be fairly easily made and stacked up and many fans will be pleased there will be new methods on the training pitch at Murray Park and instructions from the Ibrox dugout. Against a different backdrop, he probably wouldn't have lasted as long. But McCoist's ethos and approach to the game, the failings of his side and embarrassing results, are not Rangers' biggest problems. Defeats to Hearts, Alloa and Queen of the South have piled the pressure on his shoulders but football, even with the Premiership in sight, is of secondary importance once more. The heart and soul of Rangers is up for grabs. The proud, distinguished club, Scotland's most successful, is a shadow of its former self and another cornerstone is about to be removed when McCoist departs. There is a different feel around Rangers these days as supporters, battle-scarred and weary, turn their back on the club in their thousands. Familiar faces have gone, standards have fallen and bonds have been broken. Where past generations could put their faith in Bill Struth, Willie Waddell or Walter Smith, the fans of today have a far different proposition. Some of those who have made their way up the marble staircase in recent years and do so today are not of the same calibre. They don't appear to hold the same values or share the love of, and commitment to, the club. Fans may not want McCoist the football man, but they need McCoist the Ranger. His rallying cry of 'we don't do walking away' during the dark days of February 2012, became the motto of Rangers' fight for survival and his most famous soundbite. McCoist may leave the club, but it won't signal the end of his service as he goes back to simply being a fan, and surely a concerned one at that. His departure will be welcomed by those whose only focus is football, but some fans will once again miss the big picture. Having fought so hard to save the club, his club, during its fight for survival, and been instrumental in the battle to retain their titles, McCoist has seen the face of Rangers change significantly in the last couple of years. Colleagues have been punted out the back door in a bid to save thousands of pounds while millions are haemorrhaged through bad business decisions and 'onerous' contracts. Friends have lost their jobs just weeks before Christmas, and left the club without the golden handshakes awarded to so many who have given nowhere near the same level of service. It should serve as a warning of what has been and what is coming that McCoist feels he is now better off out of Ibrox. There may be better people available to manage the team, but there is nobody better than him to manage the club. McCoist will become the third Light Blue legend to say enough is enough at Rangers. John Greig continues to stay away from the club, as does Smith, and McCoist has now decided he doesn't like what he sees behind the famous red brick facade. Smith removed himself from a 'highly dysfunctional environment' when he stepped down as chairman in August 2013, yet there has been little progress made since then to resolve the myriad of issues facing the club. The faces in the boardroom may have changed but the problems remain, the questions stay unanswered and the fears are very much justified. McCoist's decision to step down should set alarm bells ringing once again. The savage cuts, the headlines, the in-fighting and politics have taken their toll. In truth, he is probably better off out of the place. But Rangers will not be in a better place with him out of there. With McCoist gone, who do the fans turn to and put their faith in? Who can they be sure is acting in the best interests of Rangers? Would they trust Easdale, chairman of the football board, to hand-pick the right man to lead the club back to the Premiership and oversee that journey? Or would they rather Mike Ashley, the man who has bulldozed his way to control and has the club's merchandise channels tied down in his favour, continue to call the shots from afar? Whoever has the final say, the outcome for McCoist will be the same and the future for Rangers will be uncertain. There will surely be few fans who will be glad to see the back of McCoist, the man they remember as a nine-in-a-row hero, their record goalscorer, Super Ally. He has been let down by a series of chairmen and chief executives, seen promises made and broken. He has been let down by too many of his players, with performances abject and faith not repaid on the pitch. He deserves better than the hat-trick being completed with the fans letting him down and deserting him at the end, too.
  12. THE big Englishman reacts with fury over claims he did the dirty on his former strike partner on the behalf of the Easdales. MARK HATELEY has today furiously denied a report that claimed he knifed Ally McCoist in the back. Another newspaper said McCoist has been enraged by his belief former Rangers strike partner Hateley did the dirty on him on the behalf of the Easdales. It has been claimed their relationship – formed 25 years ago – is now over after Hateley went behind his back on the behalf of the Easdales. Hateley was spotted alongside chairman of the football board Sandy Easdale at recent defeats to Alloa and Queen of the South and McCoist fears his old pal is now in with the bricks of those who are plotting against him. A report claimed there was a telephone conversation between Hateley and a former Ibrox star that enraged McCoist. It’s said Hateley probed him on the role McCoist took at training and whether first team coach Ian Durrant led sessions. Hateley was also alleged to have even questioned whether McCoist was present during some sessions. He said: "I’m astonished, angered and hurt by claims that have been made in a newspaper this morning. "I have already contacted the football club to get this situation addressed immediately. "I have also tried to phone Alistair this morning to explain to him that this is simply untrue." McCoist has handed in his notice but is living on borrowed time. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mark-hateley-never-knifed-rangers-4832263
  13. Just been interviewed on Sky Sports News there. To quote - 100% committed. 100% will be in charge next week v Livi Got a job to do, to get back into the top flight Going nowhere So God knows what happened earlier today. Almost as if Ally knew nothing about it.
  14. International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company") Scottish Professional Football League Limited ("SPFL") Claim. The board of the SPFL has determined that Rangers Football Club Limited (the "Club") is liable to pay the EBT Commission fine of £250,000 levied on RFC 2012 PLC (previously The Rangers Football Club plc) (in liquidation) The SPFL has also decided that this sum will be recovered from the Club by the SPFL withholding broadcasting money and other sums due to the Club but which are paid in the first instance to the SPFL. An appeal has been lodged with the Judicial Panel of the Scottish FA which has confirmed that the decision of the SPFL is suspended pending the outcome of the appeal subject to the SPFL's right to object. The Board is advised that the sum is not due to SPFL and the appeal will be pursued vigorously.
  15. Being reported that the board and legal team will meet with McCoist and his legal team on Wednesday. Could be out before agm? Billy Davis anyone? From The Mail on Sunday.
  16. CRAIG Whyte last night protested his innocence of fraud charges over his Rangers takeover and revealed: “I sleep well at night.” Former owner Whyte, who is accused of swindling his way to power at Ibrox, vowed he will clear his name. But as he lifted the lid on his dramatic arrest in Mexico last month, he insisted he has no fear of prison. Whyte, 43, said: “These are huge issues and I don’t take any of it lightly. I always sleep well at night. “I know that I have done absolutely nothing wrong. Over the last six months, I don’t think it has been very difficult. “But if you asked me over the last month, I would say it hasn’t been very pleasant in lots of ways.” Whyte, who plunged Gers into administration during his controversial reign, faces jail time if he is convicted of serious charges. He said: “It wouldn’t be very nice but it doesn’t frighten me. “It’s not something I would wish on anybody but I hope that it doesn’t come to that. “It’s too early to be thinking like that, I’m positive. “I’m not going to mope around and think of the worst things that could happen to me because that’s not the way to live.” The businessman, from Motherwell, blasted prosecutors and cops over his nicking in Mexico City minutes after landing on a flight from Japan. And he branded news reports following his arrest as “bollocks”. He said: “I agreed to surrender on December 8 so I was taken by surprise to be detained in Mexico. “In my view the Crown Office and the police did that for the publicity — there was no extradition. “I want to get across all the bollocks that’s been written in the last couple of weeks. “I came back here voluntarily, I have co-operated with prosecutors for the last two years and they have still not asked me a question.” He had on the same smart grey coat he wore when he ran a gauntlet of angry Light Blues fans outside Glasgow Sheriff Court in November. And Whyte, sporting the floppy hairdo and beard that are his new trademark, revealed he has no plans to invest in football again. As he tucked into a burger lunch at a swanky hotel restaurant, tanned Whyte said: “I don’t regret doing it because I think you regret the things you don’t do — but I wouldn’t do it again. “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I wouldn’t be rushing to do a football deal again.” The tycoon, once based in Monaco, became a hate figure among supporters after taking Gers into administration as they tumbled from top-flight football to Division Three. The club was later liquidated, sparking an exodus of top players. He claimed Rangers would have gone under sooner had it not been for his takeover in 2011. He went on: “I never asked for any of it. I’m a private, low-key kind of guy, not at all suited to being involved in a football club. “What everyone forgets is I’m the only person in recent years who hasn’t taken a penny out of Rangers. “Even these current charges, I don’t think I’m accused of taking any money out of Rangers. “I bought a company that was bankrupt for £1. Rangers were already completely bankrupt at the time when I got involved. “All I did was step in to try to rescue a situation that was already way beyond. It was my intention to take it forward as a business and not to see it in the sorry state it is in at the moment.” Asked what went wrong, he said: “Champions League would have been a bonus but if Rangers had got into the Europa League they would not have gone into administration that season.” Whyte reckons only someone with £100 million to chuck at the club could have done a better job than him — and that administration was on the cards before he bought out Sir David Murray. He said: “Given the set of circumstances, it’s difficult for anyone to do unless they were willing to chuck £100 million and make sure they bought the players to get results in Europe and so on. Rangers would have gone into administration, before I came along, they were taking insolvency advice. “Absolutely, no doubt about it. Probably sooner.” Whyte, banned from Scottish football for life in 2012, reckons his relationship with Gers supporters is broken forever but he is just as hurt by the club’s fate. And he believes nothing he could say to the Ibrox faithful could shake his bogey man image. He said: “I’m not angry, you have to play the hand that you are dealt but disappointed is a fair comment. “I’m a Rangers fan myself, my family are Rangers fans. “They have every right to be angry but there is nothing I’m going to say that will make any difference about their anger so it’s pointless trying to have that conversation.” Asked if he thinks there is any chance of the Rangers fans changing their minds about him he added: “You can never say never because never is a long time. Hopefully when the facts come out, and they will in this process, people might form a different view. “There are complex issues but things will come to light that will be explosive in many ways.” He admits none of the turmoil he now faces was expected when he took over the reins but says the mistrust among fans is “entirely unfair”. Whyte added: “Anyone who deals with me and has known me knows that’s not the person they recognise. It’s not a fair reflection of who I am. “I think the average fan, and I don’t want to be patronising here, but they don’t understand the complexities of everything that has been going on. Of course, I sympathise with them.” Before his first court appearance, Whyte hadn’t been seen in Scotland for a year since he gave evidence at Inverness Sheriff Court at the trial of two former workers at his castle home near Grantown-on-Spey, Moray. In September the bank repossessed it after he failed to keep up with remortgage payments. Whyte said: “It was a pain in the arse to be honest. It was empty 90 per cent of the time. “It was just a pile of bills with no benefits. I don’t regret losing it.” He was also hit with a 15-year ban from running a company at the Court of Session. He said: “I didn’t defend it. Partially because I didn’t know about it — they didn’t serve any papers. “Secondly it’s not safe to go to trial in Edinburgh every day and thirdly because it has to be funded at the cost of several hundred thousand pounds.” http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/6181247/Whyte-Ive-no-regrets.html?teaser=true
  17. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/299-an-open-letter-to-ally-mccoist Also available in the print edition of the Scottish Daily Mail (5/12/2014)
  18. Can't afford to sack him and can't afford to keep him. Mcoists performance as manager has dragged us down every bit as much as the boardroom has over the last 3 seasons and if the current vein of form continues then things will come to a head very quickly. Attendances can only plummet from here on in. No doubt the board will have a fantastic new vision for the club at the minute followed by plans for a new share issue, if the fans aren't coming through the turn styles then the board might find this very difficult to achieve. Don't think Ashley could even bale us out either. How can you take a loan that you can't pay back? I can't see any way out other than admin. We're back to where we started when Craig Whyte showed up, only this time the fans aren't buying into it. The McCoist predicament is about to force everyone's hand and the board don't have any answers. That's why they are so silent, they don't know what to do?
  19. ...with a new horse called Ibrox. GREEN says he's named a few horses Rangers names but he doesn't have one called 'Super Ally' as he said: "I’ve not got any regard for Mr McCoist.” EX-Rangers chief executive Charles Green is hoping he’s on to a winner with a new horse called Ibrox. Green, who now breeds horses named the two-year-old thoroughbred after his old club’s stadium. And he even kitted out the jockey in red, white and blue for its first race in France. Green, 60 , said the horse was one of several named after the Light Blues to remind him of his spell in charge. But he added none will be named after Ally McCoist — whom he famously did not get on with. He said: “The colours are red, white and blue — be in no doubt. “I called the horse Ibrox to keep the memory of Rangers in my mind. They are close to my heart. “I’ve named a few other horses with Rangers names but I’m keeping that secret for now. “There’s not one called Super Ally though. I’ve not got any regard for Mr McCoist .” But Ibrox returned to haunt him — by only managing eighth in Monday’s race at outsider’s odds of 281. Green quit Gers for a “new life” at an 18th century chateau in Normandy for himself and 30 horses. He said at the time: “I have always been fascinated by the thoroughbred. Normandy is the epicentre of the horse world. This is where I decided to start a new life.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-rangers-chief-executive-charles-green-4737228
  20. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/gordon-waddell-rangers-players-shrug-4678381 ALL for one – and every man for himself. Clearly Ian Black’s motto for Rangers’ new era. If ever you needed confirmation of the mink-lined vacuum some players live in, the Rangers midfielder was happy to provide it last week. “The only time it affects you,” he said, talking about his club’s off-field circus, “is when it gets to the stage when you’re not getting paid. “That’s the only time it will affect the players. Until then we don’t really pay attention to it.” Ten staff made redundant, 10 lives ruined six weeks before Christmas, 10 families thrown into upheaval. But as long as there’s unleaded for the Bentley and foie gras for the dinner table in the Black household, eh? Talk about being detached from reality. A month of Black’s wages would have kept a couple of those staff – his fellow employees – in jobs for a year. It never works that way, I get that. It’s never that simple. Like when Gers plunged into admin what seems like a lifetime ago and the players took pay cuts on the guarantee that no staff would be emptied. It was flawed logic at the heart of an even more flawed administration – but at least it showed the dressing room had some kind of conscience at the time, a little integrity. A base layer of decency. Clearly not the case these days. And perhaps wholly indicative that the complete Ashleyfication of the club is moving ever closer. The ‘he said, she said’ debacle between the Easdales, David Somers, Dave King, George Letham, Brian Kennedy and the entire ensemble cast has become a daily weeping sore, a little more pus seeping out every few hours on the wires. The court actions against those at the centre of the club’s shambolic descent. The giant cartoon sticking plasters that are Mike Ashley’s temporary loans, covering over one burst financial pipe only for another one to spring a leak right next to it. Fred Quimby would’ve had a field day with this kind of material. And those job losses. Always the staff, usually always the good guys who plod away in the background trying to keep the place ticking over while the bombs drop around them. You end up asking yourself who’s going to be left to switch the lights on and off, make the place function on a day to day basis, so many of them have been given deals. Then again, is that all part of the plan? If there is a plan? A few weeks ago, this column indulged in a little bit of devil’s advocation, asking whether a profit-oriented pragmatist such as Ashley wasn’t exactly what Rangers needed to get them running on an even keel, rather than the regimes who openly admitted to blowing £67m in 18 months. What price will they pay for it, though? Are Rangers just going to become a footballing branch of Sports Direct, a strip-lit, soulless outlet, centrally administered by faceless call-centre minions? What will become of the Rangers Charity Foundation? What about all the work in the community they do? The Rangers Study Support Centre? Are all these things still going to be funded, or will they be stripped away? Are they about to become a bare-bones operation without a care for what or who they represent? Will they have any values, or is it simply about value? From everything you hear about Ashley, he won’t give a toss about the periphery and the frippery. But they are questions that need answers because these are all things that make a club. They’re constituent parts of something that’s bigger than 11 players, four stands and two goals. Look at Celtic’s agm the other day. Look at how much is made of the culture of the club, its history, when it comes to things like the living wage and their staff being looked after. Look at an organisation like Big Hearts and the amount they do in the community, how much retaining its reach meant to them when they emerged from admin. Then look at Rangers and wonder what they’re going to look like when this is all done. If it’s ever all done. Wonder at what point an Ian Black WILL care about what’s going on outside his cocoon and whether there will be anything left of them to care about anyway. ************* Ian Black, your time is also up. Never have i disliked any Rangers player so much. The very definition of imposter. All this after the betting scandal and him asking fans "what the fuck do you expect" ? embarrassment.
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