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Alasdair Lamont ‏@BBCAlLamont 1m Rangers transfer Laxey £1m loan to fan and shareholder George Letham at a reduced interest rate.

Sunday, 23 March 2014 15:45 48-Hour Wait For Duo Written by Andrew Dickson RANGERS hope to find out the extent of damage done to Nicky Law and Ian Black in today’s win at Brechin inside the next 48 hours. Midfielder Law went off in the first half of the 2-1 success in Angus after hurting his back and he was replaced by Sebastien Faure. Black then had to be carried off on a stretcher after he went to shoot and connected with the sole of an opponent’s boot instead in the second period. The ex-Hearts star left Glebe Park on crutches but Gers are hopeful his foot will just be badly bruised rather than anything more serious. It remains to be seen if he’ll be fit enough for next weekend’s trip to face Arbroath at Gayfield but that will become clearer as the week goes on. At this stage, it appears Ally McCoist is more optimistic of having Law available for the meeting with the Red Lichties. After the final whistle sounded on a success which takes Gers 32 points clear of Dunfermline in League One, he hinted the Englishman’s withdrawal was a precaution more than anything. McCoist – already without key men Andy Little and David Templeton in the coming weeks - said: “At this moment in time they are both toiling. “We won’t really know how they are for another 24 to 48 hours. Blackie’s got a sore one. He went to strike the ball, the lad went to block him and I think everyone in the crowd heard it. “It looked and sounded like a sore one so he’ll ice it just now and we’ll reassess that one tomorrow morning. “Nicky is very much the same. He just felt he twisted his back a bit on a run through in the first half and we weren’t taking any chances so we took him off.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6597-48-hour-wait-for-duo

by Graham Taylor | Guest Contributor I’ll be the first to admit that when the name of Sandy Easdale was first mooted as having a possible involvement at Rangers in November 2012 I didn’t know the first thing about him, as no doubt many that do not live in the central belt probably didn’t either. Handily though, the Daily Record were quick to point people in the direction of Mr Easdale’s somewhat questionable business past with an article entitled “Bus tycoon Sandy Easdale who was jailed over VAT fraud is courted as possible investor at Ibrox”. Taken at face value at a time when the club was needing to regain its credibility following the disastrous insolvency experience under the stewardship of Craig Whyte, I, like many, was aghast at the thought of an individual with an equally-dubious business background to that of Whyte being involved at the club. It was noticeable from the story that the Rangers spokesman at the time felt it necessary to give direct comment on the possible involvement of Easdale at the club. Looking back it is clear that, even from that early stage, Sandy Easdale was being lined up for a prominent role at the club. As the beginnings of a boardroom turf war started to creep its way into the spotlight Sandy and his brother James joined the embattled Charles Green in the Directors' Box for the friendly against Linfield. It was around this time that Green was feeling the heat for his links to Craig Whyte and the fallout from his racist remarks in a Sunday newspaper interview, so with the focus firmly on Green it was perhaps an ideal opportunity for the Easdale brothers to be seen with the man firmly in the public domain. Days later, Green resigned his post as Chief Executive of the club. A few days beyond that, it was announced by BBC Scotland’s Chris McLaughlin that James Easdale–and not Sandy–would be buying the seven percent shareholding held by Green. Now, given what we know now, why was it James that was announced as the man looking to buy the sizeable shareholding and not Sandy who has been largely the main figure at the club in recent times? And why was it claimed by McLaughlin that the brothers held a shareholding far in-excess of what they could possibly have held then and still do to this day? Coincidentally, it became common knowledge around this time that Jack Irvine had become the Easdale brothers’ personal PR representative. This led to the infamous interview where Sandy and, to a lesser extent, James laid out their vision for Rangers going forward to BBC Scotland’s Chief Football Correspondent whilst sitting in one of their buses. For businessmen hoping to be taken seriously in their objective of securing board representation, it was an abjectly embarrassing episode. Sure enough and even with a relatively small level of shareholding James Easdale was given a non-executive Director role on the plc board. Sandy would have to wait a few weeks later for his role on the Ltd company board, which he was later named Chairman of with the remit to run the business side of the club that the plc board did not run day-to-day. Sandy was subsequently asked in an interview with STV’s Peter Smith if he felt his conviction for VAT Fraud in 1997 contributed to him being unable to take a role on the plc board. He denied this was the case and said it was his decision to not take up a role on the plc board. It was widely discussed in October last year, none more so than by the former Scotsman journalist Tom English in an amusing parody, that Easdale did not wish for Dave King to be involved at the club and that Easdale’s PR representative had been briefing journalists that King’s potential involvement would be vetoed by the relevant authorities. King himself admitted last month that his recent discussions with a view to investing in the club were held with Easdale and not the Chief Executive Graham Wallace or the Chairman of the Investment Committee Norman Crighton. King has since said that had it not been for fan pressure then the board would not have met with him in the last few days. Now what possible problem would Sandy Easdale have with a committed fan investor such as Dave King being involved in the restoration of Rangers? If he’s as big a supporter as he claims to be then getting King involved is a no-brainer, but if the above is true then it seems Easdale is continually putting obstacles in the way of King getting in the door. Why? The question that many would pose is just what purpose does Rangers Football Club hold for Mr Alexander Easdale? Does he see the club as a passionate hobby and is involved to assist the club in its return to its rightful place? Does he see Rangers as a commercial opportunity to make a profit from, as is the case with the various institutional investors? Or does he see his involvement as a chance to create a public profile that would give him the type of status that is indicative of others with similar wealth in Scotland? And with the added bonus of providing him with a less-than-dubious prefix to his name when being discussed in media circles, unlike the “ex-con” he was described as in the above Daily Record article prior to his involvement at the club? The questions surrounding Easdale don’t end there. For instance, why has he decided that Craig Houston from the Sons of Struth or the GersNet site is more deserving of litigation proceedings than the fans of lesser clubs or frequenters of bus and coach forums who constantly label him with the same terms? Why have his solicitors Levy McRae issued legal letters for and demanded immediate cessation on Rangers fan forums only and not targeted these various other football and travel sites? One Google search will confirm that this is the case, yet he has chosen to make an example of an ordinary Rangers supporter, as Alexander also claims to be. Why? Why did he claim in the interview with Peter Smith that he had investors lined up to invest in Rangers if need be? If so, why were these investors not approached prior to him providing a loan facility that is secured against valuable tangible assets such as Edmiston House and the Albion car park? Did these investors even exist or was it just bluster for the cameras? With the voting rights of Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Funds Holding Trust still registered in his name does he still have a binding agreement to purchase the remainder of Charles Green’s shareholding as per the Media House press release of 30th August 2013, an acquisition which would take him over the concert party threshold of 29.9 percent? And given his good relationship with the individuals behind these trusts, why won’t he come to an agreement with them to publicly reveal their identities to allay fears that certain individuals with alleged criminal activities are involved? For all the questions there are over Sandy Easdale’s involvement at Rangers, there is one that stands out more than most: If the institution that is Rangers means as much to him as he claims, why is that everything he has done in his time in the limelight appears to be to the detriment of what the vast majority consider to be in the best interests of Rangers Football Club? And does he even care...? http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2014/03/posing-question-of-alexander-easdale.html

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6545-club-statement

[video=youtube;Ik-0LYn4gVY]

I have taken off the headline, saying that our league win will be "hollow" as that may have distracted from what, for me, is an inarguable piece. ( http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-title-will-be-a-hollow-victory-1-3335530 ) by ALAN PATTULLO Published on the 11 March Rangers could be hours away from the League 1 title. The last but one objective in Rangers’ projected return to the top tier in successive seasons could be complete. Another mission accomplished if they win tomorrow night against Airdrieonians. It will be deservedly so. Rangers have won 25 of their 27 matches. They have drawn the two others. They have scored 84 goals, conceding only 14. They are doing what we all expected them to do. They are doing what they should be doing. But is the journey proving as gainful as hoped? Are Rangers making enough use of their journey back to the top flight? This question was first posed last season when a team of mostly experienced professionals – in several cases, internationals – made swift work of part-time opponents. Then, the same complaint was heard. Rangers are using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. They are failing to take a prize opportunity to blood young talent in the first team. More than one person has commented on the underwhelming atmosphere at Bayview earlier his month, when Rangers needed an injury-time penalty to secure three points against East Fife. It was a scuffed victory, set against a backdrop of yelps and shouts from the players that were heard from television screens across the land. It was as uninspiring as it was possible to be. Manager Ally McCoist admitted as much afterwards. He was happy enough with the result, just not the performance. It was far from what he had expected, he said. It was certainly far from what should be expected from what is still, at even casual glance, a team of Scottish Premiership-standard players. For those with the health of Scottish football at heart, it is a slightly deflating experience to study the Rangers teamsheet each week. Doing so will stir far more painful emotions for Rangers fans, since it provides plenty of pointers towards why the club are still hemorrhaging money. Well-paid – some would say vastly overpaid – seasoned professionals playing far below their level is not the only reason why the club are reduced to casting around for loans. However, it isn’t helping. Much was made of how Rangers might negotiate their way back up the leagues when it was confirmed that they would begin season 2012-13 in the old Third Division. While clearly traumatic, some expressed the hope that this would at least provide them with the opportunity to rebuild from the bottom up; to resuscitate the club’s youth development programme. Few can claim that Murray Park has been as successful on that front as was hoped. The most successful graduates are now playing elsewhere. Are there many coming through the ranks? Not on the evidence presented to date. Of the players used by McCoist on Saturday, most would not have seemed out of place in the Scottish Premiership. Indeed, several of them are not only Premiership players, but top end ones. Lee Wallace was one of Hearts’ best players before he made the switch to Ibrox, as was David Templeton. Jon Daly was regarded as a significant loss by Dundee United fans when he departed, while Richard Foster is the epitome of a dependable professional, though when he returned to the club he seemed far from essential to Rangers’ ambitions of winning the title. Cammy Bell, meanwhile, had earned international recognition with Kilmarnock. On the bench, of course, is substitute goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, with the younger Scott Gallacher condemned to play reserve team football following his return to Ibrox after a loan spell with Airdrieonians. Defenders Craig Halkett and Lucas Gasparotto, who qualifies for Canada, are two players whom many expected to have been employed by now, but neither has featured yet this season – not for Rangers at least. Fraser Aird and Robert Crawford, who replaced Aird during last Saturday’s match, are sources of some optimism, as, of course, is Lewis Macleod, the currently injured Scotland Under-21 internationlist. McCoist clearly does not believe others coming through at Murray Park are good enough. If he did, he would have fewer qualms about pitching them into the team, the way that Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara has done at a higher level. It is unlikely that McCoist will be persuaded to do so next season either, in a league where teams need to know how to look after themselves, perhaps to an even greater extent than in the Premiership. So has Rangers’ window for youth development now passed? Probably. They have other battles to fight in any case. But when they do take their place in the top flight, probably in two seasons’ time, the relief may well be tempered by a niggling sense of what else might have been delivered over the course of their exile.

What's the latest with Lewis?,is he still injured?,what is his injury?,when is he due back?.

Hi everyone. We are SDMC Productions, and we are producing a feature-length documentary charting the extraordinary story of Rangers FC. The project is coming along brilliantly, but we are interested to know what you, the fans, would like to see in the documentary! We'd be interested in your feedback and input, because this is a film made for the fans to tell the Rangers story from the fans perspective! Are there any particular things that you would like to see in the documentary, aside from interviews and goals. Perhaps there is a highlight of the club that sticks out for you- a moment, a player, a season? We’d be interested in all of your suggestions in all aspects of the documentary. Whatever you’d like to see in the documentary, we’d like to hear from you! What do you think of the ups and downs of Rangers FC, and the recent involvement of Dave King? What are your views and opinions on this? Where do you see the club in the future? We are also interested to know if you would go to the cinema to watch this documentary? Would you consider any areas that are too sensitive for us to cover? What features could we include to make it interesting to you? We've got a short teaser trailer of the documentary now up on YouTube - check out our interviews with David Fisher, Clive Anderson and other Rangers fans and supporters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph0UAvTrTaU&noredirect=1 As the fans, we want you to be proud of this project, so we don’t want to leave any stones unturned! Thanks again everyone, looking forward to having you onboard with us! Best wishes, SDMC Productions.

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

alex thomson ‏@alextomo 28m Rangers to go into Administration on Wednesday? At least one senior Glasgow accountant is saying so tonight. https://twitter.com/alextomo

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

Just in case anyone fancies doing this while raising money for charity! http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/225-football-aid-2014-play-at-ibrox

Some of my latest musings on the King/RFC debate on TRS for your persual: http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/313-the-battle-for-rangers-the-120-day-war

5 years at 300k per week. Fair play to him but silly from Man Utd. IMO he has peaked. Some players peak earlier in their careers than others and I can only see Rooney starting to wind down now. Change of shift in power...Man Utd wont win the league in the next 5 years.

http://www.thelawyer.com/analysis/ma...016288.article Cohen & Stephen (The Liquidators of Rangers FC) & Ors v Collyer Bristow Late 2013, 5-10 days, Chancery Division For the claimant Cohen & Stephen (The Liquidators of Rangers FC): South Square?s Mark Philips QC leading South Square?s Stephen Robins previously instructed by Taylor Wessing partner Nick Moser, taken forward by Stephenson Harwood partner Stuart Frith For claimants the Trustees of the Jerome Group plc Pension Fund: Outer Temple Chambers? David E Grant, instructed by trustees David Simpson, who is also a qualified barrister For the claimants HMRC: South Square?s Lucy Frazer For the claimants Merchant Turnaround: Maitland Chambers? James Clifford and Matthew Smith of the same set, instructed by Macrae & Co?s Julian Turnbull For the respondent Collyer Bristow: 3 Verulam Buildings? Cyril Kinsky QC leading Matthew Hardwick of the same set, instructed by Clyde & Co partner Richard Harrison . The financial collapse of Rangers FC put in the public eye the club?s relationship with its professional advisers, including Collyer Bristow and former partner Gary Withey. Withey quit the firm in March after he became embroiled in the Glasgow club?s administration because he had advised businessman Craig Whyte on his takeover of the club in 2011. Duff & Phelps were appointed as the original administrators of the club and, in March last year, announced it would take action against the firm. When liquidators Cohen & Stephen took over the wind-down of the club it pledged to carry on the case. The firm has lodged a Part 20 claim against private equity firm Merchant Turnaround. Collyer Bristow stands accused of ?deliberate deception? over Whyte?s doomed bid for the club. The court heard at a pre-trial hearing in April that Collyer Bristow is alleged to have been involved in conspiracy, breach of undertaking, negligence and breach of trust, with Withey - who acted as the club?s company secretary - complicit in the allegations. It was revealed that when Whyte agreed a majority stake takeover offer in May 2011 he also pledged to pay off the club?s £18m debt to Lloyds Banking Group and invest £9.5m of ?new money? in the club. This included £5m for players, £2.8m to HMRC and £1.7m for capital expenditure. That offer persuaded then director Paul Murray and the board not to launch an alternative £25m share issue to generate the money needed to stabilise the club. Instead, the court was told, they agreed to Whyte?s takeover, with Collyer Bristow acting for Whyte. Administrators were called in February 2012 and various parties - including HMRC, private equity firm Merchant Turnaround and Jerome Pension Fund trustees - lobbied to reclaim their stakes in Rangers. The firm says it will vigorously defend the claims. Withey had originally applied to intervene in the case, but has now withdrawn his application. This battle will be closely followed by firms and fans alike as it promises to lay bare the firm?s relationship with Whyte and the club.

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

There is a major flaw in his thinking here. Apart from the fact that rebuilding that late means it will take seasons to be ready, I mean. In addition, you don't just spend 30 million to replace 30 millions worth - what about all the dud buys, or the foreign player s who don't settle or those who find the R rangers shirt "too heavy"? How many of his buys would actually make it to long term first team challenging for the title quality? Good to see the scouting (lack of) being stressed, though. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/mccoist-rangers-may-need-30m-to-return-to-top-1-3307214 ALLY McCoist believes Rangers may need to spend as much as £30 million on strengthening their squad if they hope to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership title in two years’ time. Speaking on the second *anniversary of the Ibrox club *entering administration, the manager expressed his hope Rangers are finally emerging from the darkest and most turbulent period in their history. With his team’s projected return to the top flight of Scottish football for the 2015-16 season on schedule as they close in on the League 1 title, McCoist insists significant funding will be required to restore them to pre-administration standards on the pitch. “Whether we are contenders again in two years will depend on a number of things,” said McCoist. “One of them will be investment in the team, along with stability at boardroom level which is vitally important. “If we get that, then I’d be very hopeful we’d be back in the top league and have a better chance of bringing in the quality of player to enable us to compete at the top of that league “It’s difficult to put a figure on how much investment we need. But if you lose in the region of £30m worth of players as we did because of administration – players like Nikica Jelavic, Steven Davis, Allan McGregor, Steven Whittaker and all those boys – then I would think that standard of player needs to get replaced. “I’m not saying £30m is the exact figure, but that’s roughly what we’ve lost. Some will argue it might be more than that, some might say a little bit less. “But my point is that you can’t lose that, not replace it and then expect to compete at the top level.” McCoist’s playing budget will be determined by recently appointed chief executive, Graham Wallace who is half-way through his 120-day *review of Rangers’ business *operations and cost structure. Among McCoist’s priorities is the reinstatement of a scouting network at the club which has been completely dismantled over the past two years. “Graham and I speak a lot and we will be having another meeting today at Ibrox,” added McCoist. “He hasn’t indicated to me where he is with it at the moment, but I don’t have any doubt once he’s done his *review we will sit down and look *longer term, in terms of *players for next season, in terms of budget for next season, in terms of our scouting, in terms of *Murray Park and development of *football. “There is a lot of work to be done and a lot of things to be discussed which I know he’s looking forward to and I certainly am as well. I haven’t mentioned a figure to him yet – you’ve dragged that out of me! But it will have to be mentioned at some point, absolutely. “I’ve been invited to board meetings, which I look forward to, to discuss the first team, the under-20s and the youth system. It will all be brought up, as will the scouting which needs to be addressed immediately. “Scouting is an immediate concern, particularly now as we are heavily into the rebuilding process for the club – short, middle and long-term. If we’ve not got a scouting department, which we don’t have, then that is plainly far from ideal. “It’s absolutely staggering that we don’t have a scouting *department. That’s through no fault of Graham Wallace or *anyone on the current board – but it is our problem which needs addressed.” With short-term funding an obvious concern for Rangers, rumours have persisted regarding the possibility of another insolvency event, but McCoist remains comfortable with the assurances to the contrary he has received from Wallace. “He has categorically told me that will not be the case,” said McCoist. “He told me once and if that changed he would have told me otherwise. He told me that’s not the case and that’s good enough for me and I’d fully expect in the relationship I have with him, if the goalposts had moved in that direction he’d have told me.”

Can someone please explain to me why we don't sing this greatest anthem anymore The "authorities" (define them) have said we cant so we follow like sheep. It is legally proofable (is that a word) that this isn't a bigoted or sectarism song....so say lets start a campagn to bring back our anthem. If it means missing a word then so be it....but they cant ban 1 and not for another Hullo Hullo

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/former-rangers-players-gough-and-rae-back-scheme-to-hand-clubs-supporters-power-at-ib.1392030197

[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

R&M are now the third largest shareholders in Rangers with 7.37% of the issued share capital. As stated in the other thread they are "long only" investors i.e. they do not operate hedge funds which might bet on the price of a share going up or down. The shares are held in their World Recovery and UK Equity Long Term Recovery Funds. The objectives of these Funds are as follows: UK Equity Long Term Recovery Fund The objective of the strategy is to outperform a target of LIBOR + 4% per annum. In seeking to achieve the objective the portfolio will primarily consist of UK equities that meet the manager’s recovery criteria of a turnaround in company profitability over the longer term. The manager does not operate within relative risk constraints, but sets absolute limits on the amount of capital allocated to any particular company or sector. World Recovery The objective of the strategy is to achieve capital growth, through investing in a portfolio which will primarily consist of international equities that the investment manager believes will benefit from a recovery in company profitability over the medium and longer term. The Fund will not be restricted by reference to a benchmark, territory, sector constraints or company size. I have a connection with one of the most senior people in the organisation who has invited me to send a list of questions which will be answered by him and/or the Fund Manager, Hugh Sergeant. Hugh Sergeant graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Economics. Hugh began his investment career at Gartmore in 1987 as a UK Equities graduate trainee and moved to Phillips & Drew in 1990, managing UK equities throughout his twelve years there. He became Head of Smaller Companies in 1997, establishing a new team and launching the UBS Smaller Companies Fund. In March 2000 Hugh was promoted to Head of UK Equities at UBS Global Asset Management and Chairman of the UK Equities Committee. He joined SGAM in 2002 where he was Head of UK Equities, manager of the Growth strategy and co-manager of the Special Opportunities Fund. Hugh joined R&M in August 2006 and currently manages the UK Equity Long Term Recovery, World Recovery and UK Equity High Alpha Funds. Hugh is Head of the UK Equities team at R&M with overall responsibility for managing and developing the team. (Source - Citywire). He is AA rated by Citywire; having outperformed the average manager in the UK Equity Sector by more than 80% over the past 5 years. I have some fairly obvious ones to start with: Can they chart the build up of the holding to the current 7.37%? Why were they not listed as having a notifiable holding on Rangers Investor Relations Website when they had 4.7%? (Zappa) Do they intend buying more shares Who did they support at the AGM and why? If they supported the requisitioners what is their view and position on the current Board? What is their objective /target price for the shares? (unlikely they'll reveal that publicly of course) Are they looking for a seat on the Board? Can they get me tickets for the Directors Box? I will keep this open until about 9.00pm tonight for additional questions and then pull it together for an email (and I would appreciate it if no one hacks into my account).

Former Rangers director Dave King fears a savage programme of cuts will leave the Ibrox club unable to halt Celtic’s title-winning momentum. Reacting to news of Rangers players being asked to consider wage cuts of up to 15 per cent King remains committed to investing heavily in the club via a new issue of shares. As Chief Executive Graham Wallace tries to slash the club’s losses before seeking fresh investment, however, South Africa based King tells Sportsmail in a wide-ranging interview of his fears that could hand Celtic a free run at 10-in-a-row. +4 Fears: Rangers director Dave King believes a programme of cuts could hinder Rangers' chances of halting Celtic's title-winning momentum in the future What is your view on the proposed Rangers cut-backs by Chief Executive Graham Wallace? 'My view has been very clear from the start and it hasn’t changed. I think the club require a level of investment in the playing squad that allows it to hit the ground running when it gets back into the SPFL Premiership. 'My view has always been that the funders should be like-minded people who are willing to come in and fund ahead of what’s required to win the leagues they are currently in. 'If we cut the club back to a level that’s just enough to win the League One or the Championship then that’s fine. But the gap between ourselves and Celtic when we get to the Premiership will be obvious. 'And it will render Rangers a small club in SPL terms for a longer period of time than need be. 'I’m concerned that because the shareholders there at the moment don’t have the appetite or willingness to invest ahead of getting back to the top league we will be really short in terms of the financial and on-field strength. 'No one wants to see Rangers finishing sixth or something like that. 'That would be absolutely horrendous. And certainly contrary to what I would want to do with the club.' +4 Widening gap: Rangers Chief Executive Graham Wallace (pictured with manager Ally McCoist) is proposing more cut-backs at the club The counter argument is that they are losing £1million a month. Even Rangers can surely only spend what they earn? 'They shouldn’t be losing £1million a month. There is no question that you must run the business at an appropriate level – that is clear. 'But I have seen comments that they could run it with the Dundee United wagebill and make a profit. 'They could even run it with the Dundee or Stranraer wagebill and make a profit because of the revenue a club like Rangers has. 'But if you run a club like Rangers on the budget of an East Fife it makes Rangers an equally small club.' But wouldn’t the cuts allow the club to stockpile cash for the Premiership as you suggest? 'Look, we have a situation where they had a fund-raising exercise where they raised tens of millions of pounds. 'One would have thought that that amount of money for a club operating in the third division with the revenue Rangers get for home games compared to the competition would have meant Rangers comfortably winning the third division and running up a surplus which would allow them to slowly move up the leagues and upgrade the quality of player as they go. 'In the latter half of the final season in the Championship they could significantly improve the squad. 'But they have not maintained a strong financial platform. 'We know now the money has been wasted on legal fees, wasted on so many different areas. 'But I don’t feel the club should respond by cutting the costs to the point of saying ‘we only have to do what is necessary to beat East Fife or whoever.’ 'Because if you do that Celtic will build up to 10-in-a-row and we could be so far behind them that even when we are back in the Premiership we are not in a position to catch up.' So there has to be a middle ground between the cuts proposed by Graham Wallace and lavishing cash on the team? +4 Finding middle ground: King believes the club need to spend appropriate sums of money 'Yes. It’s about finding the middle ground and the balance between losing money and doing what it takes to win. 'You certainly don’t want a Premiership wage structure to win the third division or even the second division. 'Your costs have to be appropriate. But just cost cutting per se and doing just enough to get by in the lower leagues is not what the fans pay for. 'The fans are not paying East Fife prices for season tickets. So they should get more on the pitch than the level they are at. 'We have not used the opportunity created by being forced down to the lower leagues to start blooding youngsters and getting them mentally attuned to the demands of winning titles with Rangers. 'Young players allied to a kitty to bring in the level of players needed to compete with Celtic was the way to go. 'Celtic are getting stronger financially. They have sold the McGeadys, the Hoopers, the Wanyamas and they are building up a reserve. 'They have cut their cloth and they are going to be in such a strong position with the revenue coming in that the gap may just be too large for us to bridge. 'That is my concern. Cost-cutting is not going to help us when we get to the Premier League. 'Because we could go into the SPFL top tier and finish fifth. 'The only alternative is someone having to open the taps up - and you can’t just buy a whole new team in a season. You can’t do that.' Do you fear that the cuts might even endanger the smooth path back to the Premier League for Rangers? 'Absolutely. Rangers ambition should not be to be slightly better than the teams in the first division. 'We really have to have a team, next year in particular, which is strong enough to prevail. 'We have to get through at the first time of asking next year. 'We have to be in a position to go up to the Premiership and we have to be in the position to launch a challenge to Celtic. 'There is no guarantee we are going to beat Celtic in the first season – infact it’s unlikely. 'It would be a miracle if Rangers were to go on and win the league the first season back. 'But, similarly, we cannot risk going to Celtic Park and being battered 6-0. 'We can’t start losing 3-1 to Hibs and Aberdeen and accepting it. 'Saying, "we are in a period of adjustment, it’s not too bad a season," is not an option. It’s totally unacceptable.' Should boardroom executives be shouldering more of the burden for cut-backs? 'If the CEO of the company has no money he has no choice but to cut wages and costs any way he can. 'But then Rangers are going to be a small club. 'They need an investment profile and what I was expecting post AGM was for the board to say, "we understand we have a funding gap, we understand we have to go and raise funds to start preparing Rangers for the inevitable return to the Premiership. We need to start bringing a youth squad through, we have to start scouting and having a proper preparation for challenging Celtic." +4 Winning mentality: David Templeton (centre) celebrates scoring in the 2-0 victory over Forfar on Monday 'And that would require the raising of funds in the marketplace. 'But it seems to me they are either unwilling or unable to do that. 'So what they are saying is, "we will cut the costs to make sure we do not need money."' 'Which effectively means living on the fans season ticket sales.' Graham Wallace says he could speak to you about investment once the cuts are made. Should he be doing it now? 'I think that’s a decision they must make. 'For me there is no problem with any CEO making cuts to right-size the business if that’s what they want. 'But the fans deserve more than the downsizing of Rangers to compete in the Scottish first division. 'They deserve a team which is superior to the competition in the lower leagues because they are paying for that. 'They deserve to see a progression in the quality of the finances and the players on the pitch as they move up the leagues so that we enter the Premiership in a competitive frame of mind. 'My concern is that we are making the club smaller. And that we are creating a gap. 'That’s not the fault of Graham Wallace because he is the CEO and has to deal with what he has got. 'It’s an issue relating to the board who should be having a rights issue – and that could mean the existing guys putting the money in if they want. 'The club needs a level of funding that allows it to go forward above the level they are competing in and make sure they have a fighting chance in the Premiership. 'I would never have expected us to go into the Premier League and come worse than second 'I’m mentally not attuned to the possibility of going up there and coming fourth of fifth. 'As a fan I would find that quite unacceptable and I don’t think Rangers should be run as a club which finds it fine to finish fourth or fifth while saying, "that wasn’t bad for a first season back." The worst we must do is finish second.' Have you had any communication at all from the Rangers board since your offer to invest after the AGM? 'None at all.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2545041/Rangers-director-Dave-King-Listen-simply-risk-6-0-battering-Celtic-Park.html#ixzz2rIRgYNDJ Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

The Compliance Officer has issued the following Notice of Complaint: Alleged Party in Breach: John Gemmell (Stenhousemuir) Date: On or around 4th January 2014 Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached: Disciplinary Rule 82: By making comments of an offensive nature on Twitter in relation to Rangers FC and Alistair McCoist, manager, Rangers FC. Principal hearing date: Thursday, 13th February 2014 Rule 82: No recognised football body, club, official, Team Official or other member of Team Staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall in an interview, a ?blog? on the internet, on a social networking or micro-blogging site, or in any other manner calculated or likely to lead to publicity, make comment(s) of a discriminatory or offensive nature based on, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, or that endorse or encourage foul play or are otherwise offensive. There shall be a presumption that any material published in such a manner was published in the name of and/or with the authority of the person or body bearing to have published the material.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/201292857/One-year-ago Published by RangersTransparency One year ago Mr McCoist had the chance to lead by example. Subject: Ally Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2012 23:52:06 +0000 From: Brian Stockbridge To: Ian Hart, Walter Smith, Malcolm Murray, Phil Cartmell, Bryan Smart CC: Charles A Green, Imran Ahmad Gentlemen The Board is being asked by Ally and his agent to approve an increase in his salary to the original level of £750k per annum. Whilst some of you may be aware of the background discussions that have taken place with Ally over his remuneration, some of you may not be so I set out the detail below: Originally Ally had an employment contract paying £750k per annum. In consideration for working with the Club during the difficult early stages and as a condition of supporting Charles, it was necessary for Charles to agree with Ally that Ally would have the same option package as Charles Charles, after discussion with Malcolm, agreed to reduce his own salary by half to £360k per annum. Ally agreed to reduce his salary from £750k to £600k per annum. At the time of the IPO, it became apparent that public disclosure of Ally's salary may be necessary in the Prospectus. Ally was concerned at how the fans would react to his salary level and I understand that he wanted to reduce it further to around £200k but with some sort of guaranteed bonus to make it back up. The Executive did not accept this as it was considered misleading and the disclosure made in the prospectus was for the actual amounts paid to Ally from June to August. The Executive agreed to explore every avenue to avoid having to disclose Ally's current contract and, after lengthy discussion with the Executive and its advisers, the UKLA accepted that no disclosure needed to be made about the level of Ally's ongoing salary. The Executive has recently been contacted by Ally's agent requesting an increase in Ally's salary from £600k back to the original £750k from now but with arrears of £62.5k to be paid in the January payroll (this represents the 5 months backdated pay). The Board is asked to consider and, if appropriate, approve the reinstatement of Ally's salary at £750k per annum and the payment of £62.5k of arrears. If this is approved then Ally's original contract will become in force. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. If this is real then I can see Ally quitting or being sacked.