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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30582696 Rangers: SFA to hear case for Mike Ashley increasing stake By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland Rangers chief executive Derek Llambias will address the Scottish FA board on Tuesday to make a case for Mike Ashley raising his stake at Ibrox. The SFA has issued notices of complaint to the club and Ashley due to alleged breaches of dual interest rules. A disciplinary hearing will be held in January, but the informal talks about Ashley increasing his shareholding will be treated separately. Ashley currently owns 8.92% of Rangers International Football Club. But the Newcastle United owner has previously shown interest in raising that to 29.9%. When Ashley took his initial stake in RIFC, the SFA board granted permission on the basis that a case was made for his involvement. Article 13 of the association's rules state that an individual cannot hold stakes in two clubs without the prior permission of the SFA board. Ashley signed up to an undertaking to not raise his stake beyond 10% and to not hold undue influence over the board. After loaning Rangers £3m, Ashley's long-time associates Llambias and Barry Leach were appointed as consultants. Llambias was then appointed non-executive director and was appointed chief executive last week. He was previously managing director of Newcastle United, the club Ashley owns outright. Breaching the undertaking would bring sanctions from the SFA, but at the same time Ashley can still seek permission to increase his Ibrox stake. Rangers intend to hold a share issue in the new year, to raise up to £8m by issuing 54 million shares at a discounted market price - which is currently 18p. Llambias would need to make a business case to the SFA board, which will hold the discussions informally following a board meeting at Hampden, that Ashley is the only source of the funding that the club requires to continue trading. The offer of £16m of funding from a consortium involving former Rangers director Dave King has never formally been removed, although it would require the support of 75% of shareholders. At the annual general meeting, shareholders voted to approve the share issue, but rejected the disapplication of pre-emption rights. Derek Llambias at the Rangers AGM: "Not everything I do will be popular but everything I do will be in the club's long-term interests." When the share issue is held in January, existing shareholders must first be given the opportunity to maintain the size of their stake, or face dilution with new shares potentially being issued. A non-shareholder can still underwrite the issue, but they will not know how many shares they will end up with until after shareholders have taken up or declined their rights. Existing shareholders can also sell their rights to non-shareholders, or take up their rights and then leave the remaining shares unissued. This would reduce the amount of capital raised, although Ashley could agree to the refinancing of the £3m loan he made to the club and which is due to be paid back in April. Uncertainty continues at Ibrox, although Llambias also told shareholders that Kenny McDowall will remain as manager of the team until the end of the season "and perhaps beyond". McDowall was promoted from his role as assistant, following the decision to place manager Ally McCoist on "gardening leave". Analysis - Douglas Fraser: BBC Scotland's business & economy editor "Rangers badly needs cash - not for investment, but simply to stay solvent from month to month, "The only people likely to provide it are either going to demand very high interest rates, because of the risk of default, or because they're passionate about the club, or because it could give them control. "A company can go back to shareholders, offering them the right to buy shares in proportion to their existing holding to ensure no-one's shareholding need be diluted. "But the need for investment is such that the directors believed they needed to go much further with a big bang issue of new shares, giving more power to one or more new investors while diluting the power of existing ones. "Given the unhappy recent history of dominant shareholders at Ibrox, there's too much suspicion of directors for that to get past the annual general meeting, this year or last. "So it's back to those other options; seeking out short-term and expensive loans: or asking existing shareholders to find new funds for the club (after seeing the share price fall from 93p to 18p in the two years since the holding company floated): or looking to a rich individual who has an interest in gaining a controlling interest. "That's where Mike Ashley is key. The Sports Direct boss has nearly 10% of shares, and a merchandising partnership. His man, Derek Llambias, has just been made chief executive. "He's already bankrolled Rangers on apparently attractive terms. And he's got pots more money to keep doing so, though that would require an ever-bigger security over the assets. "At least one problem is that he's got to get past the Scottish FA, which wants an explanation for what appears to be his controlling interest in both Rangers and Newcastle United. "Unfortunately for the SFA, Mike Ashley could turn round and force them to face their own dilemma; either let him continue to invest in Rangers, thus taking control, or let one of their biggest club's collapse. Again."

19 December Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company") Appointment of Chief Executive Officer Existing Board member Derek Llambias has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rangers with immediate effect. Derek joined the Board on 2 November 2014 as a non-executive director. In line with the cost cutting exercise announced on 12 November 2014, Mr Llambias's remuneration will be significantly lower than previously offered for this position. Additionally, David Somers will now revert to his previous role as non-executive Chairman. Commenting on the appointment, David Somers said "I am delighted that Derek has agreed to step up to the Chief Executive role. This is a successful outcome to the process, announced on 27 October 2014, which involved interviewing a number of high calibre candidates. Derek has impressed us with his grasp of the issues since joining the group and brings a wealth of experience, particularly from his time at Newcastle United, which we feel confident will be invaluable to Rangers. ************** " which involved interviewing a number of high calibre candidates" Did it f@ck.

From Mail online. Ally McCoist may have managed Rangers for the final time as Mike Ashley prepares to move to replace him Rangers set to prepare moves aimed at dispensing with Ally McCoist Club to make an announcement after Monday's annual general meeting McCoist steered his side to a 2-0 victory over Livingston on Saturday Rangers are set to make moves aimed at dispensing with Ally McCoist as manager after Monday’s annual general meeting at Ibrox. An announcement is expected to be made of Mike Ashley’s intent to underwrite the new £8million share issue, approval for which must be granted by shareholders in order to keep the club operating beyond the end of next month. With that availability of fresh funding and newly-appointed chief executive Derek Llambias at the controls, Ashley and his lieutenant can begin to impress their stamp on Rangers. VIDEO Scroll down to see Ally McCoist in a tough Rangers press conference Ally McCoist could have manager Rangers for the final time against Livingston on Saturday +2 Ally McCoist could have manager Rangers for the final time against Livingston on Saturday It’s understood the Ibrox board could be prepared to stave off the wave of unrest at the potentially stormy meeting with a solid declaration of Ashley’s commitment and financial way forward. And the Newcastle United owner could be painted as the stricken club’s saviour if loans of up to £3m already handed to Rangers by him were to be written off. All of which could mean yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Livingston becoming one of McCoist’s last, if not his final game, in charge of Rangers. Following a midweek meeting with football board chairman Sandy Easdale and Llambias, McCoist remained as manager for the Championship game at Ibrox. But, if bolstered by a guarantee of cash, Rangers can tackle negotiations over the terms of McCoist’s notice period within the next fortnight in a bid to reach a settlement. Attention would then turn to his backroom staff, including assistant manager Kenny McDowall, first-team coach Ian Durrant and goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart, as work begins on establishing a new football structure. That would be preferable to the new men in charge than prolonging the agony of McCoist remaining in control of the squad until as long as next December. Billy Davies remains a prominent contender to replace McCoist in the hotseat. Ally McCoist gives a status update in tough Rangers press... Mike Ashley is keen to impress his stamp upon Rangers as soon as possible +2 Mike Ashley is keen to impress his stamp upon Rangers as soon as possible Those manoeuvres will raise the stakes in Rangers’ imminent disciplinary clash with the SFA. Last Monday, the governing body issued Ashley and the club notices of complaint for allegedly breaching rules related to his increasing influence in Rangers’ day-to-day running. Ashley steered clear three months ago when then chief executive Graham Wallace went to the market and raised an emergency £3million. Instead, the Newcastle supremo struck a deal with Hargreave Hale for their investment in order to strengthen his shareholding to 8.92 per cent. However, he will ensure his shareholding is no more than 29.9 per cent following any flotation, otherwise he would be legally-bound to make a bid to buy the entire company. Meanwhile, it has emerged Mark Hateley was advised by formerteam-mates to be careful about courting a relationship with the Easdale brothers, Sandy and James — he sat beside them at the recent games at Alloa and Palmerston — months before this week’s revelation of his fall-out with McCoist. Hateley had phoned Nacho Novo and tried to speak to one current player in a bid to extract information about McCoist’s coaching methods. The Rangers manager blanked attempts by Hateley in midweek to mend the broken relationship, furious that his old team-mate appears to have joined the boardroom camp of those who are opponents of the McCoist tenure.

Another year,.... another AGM,.... another NOMAD,.... more New Directors,..... more Pay-Offs,.... more court cases,.... more business reviews,.... another Corporate Soap Opera.......... and another CEO. When was Derek Llambias first link, involvement or similar with Rangers ? Was it when he entertained Brian Stockbridge at the Five star Mar Hall last month ?....Obviously not, but Stockbridge features again a little later. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footba...idge-1-3605063 Was it when he came up to Ibrox in early 2013, to help Charles Green sell the idea of renaming the stadium to the Rangers fans at Ibrox ?..... (He didn't mention that his boss had already agreed a deal for a one pound coin)..... maybe it was, maybe it was prior to that when Ashely was first dealing with Charles Green in his initial consortium ? There is one curious event that took place back in the end of 2012 that some of you may already know about. The CRO did some excellent work on it. A little background The Mike Ashely spin doctor is named Keith Bishop and his firm is called Keith Bishop Associates (KBA). On their webpage, they name Rangers as a client. http://www.kbapr.com/our-clients/sports/ Derek Llambias was a director of Keith Bishop Public Relations Limited, apparently from early 2012 until not long before he became a non-executive director at RIFC on the 3rd of November this year. On the regulatory notice it listed KBPR as a "past directorship and other positions" http://rangers.g3dhosting.com/regula...ws_article/411 Adam Llambias, son of CEO Derek , also works or worked for Keith Bishop Associates. Many Newcastle United fans believe Bishop got the Newcastle work through Llambias. In PR ranking, he's not top tier and they wonder why Ashely sticks with him and that Bishop makes a hash of the Newcastle PR. Now we come to the curious........An invoice dated 13/12/12 was sent to Rangers by Keith Bishop Associates for the first quarter of 2013. They were told by then Finance Director, Brian Stockbridge, that invoices from KBA had to be paid despite no explanation being provided about what work KBA had done for Rangers. At this point I'll C&P the excellent and informative CRO article . Stockbridge, Green, Ashely and Llambias seem to have been 'partners' in a fair few things along the way and so far I'm not seeing anything beneficial to Rangers.

RNS Number : 4108A Rangers Int. Football Club PLC 22 December 2014  Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company")
 
AGM Statement As previously announced, the Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30am today, Monday 22 December 2014, at Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow G51 2XD. Access will be through Exit 30 of the Broomloan Stand which is adjacent to turnstile 64. Shareholders will have access to the Albion car park with access to the Stadium footprint for disabled Blue Badge holders to park near the entrance. Shareholders are asked to arrive in good time from 9am in order to clear the registration process. Shareholders should bring the attendance card which was included with the Notice of AGM, posted to registered addresses on 28 November 2014. In the event that the attendance card is lost, Shareholders should bring some other form of ID (a credit/debit card will suffice). Shareholders whose shares are held in a nominee account with their stockbroker will need a Corporate Representative's letter (issued by the custodian of their shares) in order to be admitted. Non-shareholders including guests of shareholders, will not be admitted. The meeting will consider the 9 Resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM, each of which will be subject to a vote by Poll, which will be verified by Capita Registrars Limited. The result of these Resolutions will be released to the London Stock Exchange by no later than 7am on Tuesday 23 December 2014. At the AGM the Chairman, David Somers, will make the following statement: "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to this Annual General Meeting of Rangers International Football Club plc. It feels like years since I last stood in front of you and it is amazing that it is only just over 12 months. 12 months ago, as I had just joined the Rangers Board, I was given the impression that the Club had enough money to see it through the first few months to the season ticket window. Sadly, I quickly discovered that this was not the case. The Board then began metaphorically to take up all of the carpets; after which we were left with a very long list of legacy issues that needed to be sorted out, often as our finances would allow. So in the first few months, we reviewed all of the contracts, the finances and the legal issues, ending up with a long list of legacy issues that would need to be dealt with over time. Since then we have spent many months focusing on these legacy issues dealing with them one by one. To be honest, it is frustrating dealing with legacy issues, because you are effectively looking backwards during this time and dealing with issues you didn't create yourself. I know that most fans will not really be interested in such efforts, because it is not about football, but these legacy issues and contracts have had to be dealt with so that we can begin to move forward. I was always taught to be cautious, so I hesitate to say that we have dealt with all of these legacy issues, as whenever I think that, another legacy issue quietly appears, but we do seem to have addressed many or most of them. One of our biggest remaining legacy issues is the weak state of the Rangers finances. In the financial area, we have been fortunate that a number of people have supported us with loans during the last 12 months, namely Sandy Easdale, George Letham and Mash Holdings. I sincerely thank them for their support, which in some cases, has included their loans being interest free. In the early days, while developing our list of legacy issues to be addressed, Graham Wallace wrote a review, which became known as the 120 day review. In this he indicated a desire to spend £20-30 millions in reaching the top levels of Scottish and European football. After visits to various City institutions the Board believed that such a level of expenditure would be supported by the City institutions, and the then monthly rate of loss, would also be supported by the shareholders. In the event, this was discovered not to be the case, because when we came to raise funds through a share issue, we soon found that there was a lack of appetite from shareholders to invest significant extra funds just to pay wages and utility bills. Accordingly, we have moved to cut costs significantly. Like any household, Rangers can ultimately only spend what it earns and, as has been reported in the media, we have moved quickly to bring our costs down and much more in line with our income. Rangers Football Club has been living beyond its means for many years and much of the cost cutting and efficiency improvements should have been addressed years ago by previous boards when we were in the lower divisions. But they weren't, so we are doing it. A material part of our costs relate to player costs, however, and these can only be addressed over a long period of time because of the length of the contracts. These contracts are often measured in years, not months. In these past 12 months, I have been surprised at a number of things. Firstly, the highly negative aspect of most of the media reporting regarding Rangers. Secondly, because it is clear to me that a stronger Rangers is good for Scottish football, I have been very disappointed to realise that outside of Ibrox, there sadly still exists a great deal of anti- Rangers feeling, perhaps (although I hope not) even in the football establishment. Rangers return to the top flight of our game, I am sure you will agree, will be more easily achieved if everyone who cares about the Club works together for the betterment of Rangers. This turbulent year has seen people calling for a season ticket boycott, seen the disruptive creation of a season ticket trust for a while and other negative ideas. Such negativity is expensive for Rangers as it reduces season ticket and overall ticket sales, increasing the likelihood that I will have to borrow money to cover the shortfalls created. Our path to restoring Rangers to where we all want the Club to be, can only be achieved with the continued support of all supporters, shareholders and business partners. 2013/14 saw Rangers Football Club complete the second stage of our rise back to the top of Scottish football and the year also brought another vital component for a new Rangers to emerge for the future - a structured and measured approach to rebuilding the football club. An unbeaten SPFL League One campaign was an excellent return for Alistair, his staff and the players and they deserve our congratulations. While we were all ultimately disappointed to have been defeated in both the Ramsdens Cup Final and the William Hill Scottish Cup semi final, our fundamental objective of achieving promotion was comfortably achieved with a points total into three figures. I was delighted that the Board was able to further support the Manager in providing funds for the recruitment of nine players in 2013/14 and also in the period immediately after the end of the financial year when we brought Kenny Miller, Kris Boyd, Steve Simonsen and Lee Robinson back to the Club, together with the signings of Marius Zaliukas and Darren McGregor. While the success of any major football club will always be benchmarked by its first team, a strong Youth Academy is also an informative barometer of long-term health and well being. It is very pleasing to see the quality and quantity of young talent being nurtured at Murray Park. Last season our Under20s won the SFA Youth Cup and narrowly lost out in the title race in the final week of the campaign. 57 players from our Under 14 to Under 21 age groups were called into international squads and three more Murray Park Academy graduates made their first team debuts. The ladies and girls teams have come a long way in a short space of time, enjoying significant success. In season 2013, the Ladies reached the semi final of the Scottish Cup, The Under 17s team secured the league, Scottish Cup and League Cup treble, the U15s and U13s finished second in the leagues and a new U11s team has been introduced. Internationally, the Rangers ladies teams have contributed 22 players to the Scotland teams across all age groups. We are charting our future strategy in the five key areas of: • Developing Football Performance • Focus on Player Asset Management and Youth Development • Re-connecting effectively to our Local and Global Fan Base • Developing Best in Class Commercial and Operational Capability • Strengthening Commitment to our Communities The year also saw Rangers make the first, important steps towards building an effective programme of engagement with our fan base. Fans were contacted via email, SMS, online and at matchdays to assist in our Ready To Listen Initiative, showing we are serious about improving communications and dialogue with all supporters. Subsequent focus groups took place in Ibrox with feedback generated helping to shape the direction of the Club's fan engagement strategy. I think that we would all agree that we still have work to do in this area and one in which we must increase our endeavours. Although we have experienced difficult trading conditions, there have been a number of important and positive, developments in our fiscal position during the financial year. A 32% increase in total revenue from £19.1m to £25.2m was recorded in the year ending 30 June 2014, with the majority of the uplift due to the first full year of our retail venture with our long term partner Sports Direct. Reduced revenues from gate receipts and hospitality are down from £13.2m to £12.4m and were a direct result of the lower matchday attendances from both season ticket holders and walk-ins. This shortfall was offset by increased revenue from sponsorship and advertising up from £0.8m to £1.5m illustrating the improvements in the Rangers brand perception. Proceeds from ticket sales were also adversely impacted by the decision not to increase prices of either season or matchday tickets from the previous season. Season ticket sales were sadly down from 38,228 in 2012/13 to 36,039 in the 2013/14 financial year, resulting in a fall in revenue from £8.1m to £7.7m in financial years 2012/13 and 2013/14 respectively. Our average home league attendance also fell from 45,111 in the 2012/13 season to 41,444 in 2013/14. Other Operating Income rose from £1.7m to £2.1m, a 22% increase, mainly as a result of hosting both Scottish Cup Semi Finals and an increased associated uplift in matchday catering revenues. At this AGM, we are requesting permission from shareholders to enable us to issue shares to improve the long term financial stability of the Club. We were not able to last year and I sincerely hope, for the good of the financial stability and future of the Club, that it will be forthcoming this year. We are now increasingly looking forward. An immediate priority is to re-build the Board with suitably experienced people and this is already well underway. We also need to look at the football side for a number of reasons. Firstly, there has for some time existed a chasm between the talented young players being developed at Murray Park and our first team. We need to focus on ways of developing our own young players for the first team rather than continually buying-in players. Secondly, as you all know Ally has decided to resign and has given us the required 12 months notice of his intention to leave the Club, as of yesterday Ally is on gardening leave. Sadly, this year, one of our greatest ever supporters will not be with us on the rest of our long journey. In April we lost Sandy Jardine - a truly inspirational man and Ranger. I had the privilege of meeting him a number of times before he left us and I found him to be one of football's true gentlemen. Sandy will be forever revered and the re-naming of the Govan Stand in his memory is a fitting tribute to a truly wonderful person who cared so passionately about his Club. My personal goals remain what they were 12 months ago. Namely to ensure that the events of Rangers' recent past can never happen again; to cleanse the Club of these events, and also to ensure that Rangers gets back to the top in football. I now recognise that we will not get much support outside of Ibrox for this; we have to do it ourselves. And we will. Last year I said that I was proud to be Chairman of Rangers. I will repeat that again today, because I genuinely believe it is a privilege to be in this position." http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12192436.html

Just had a look at RF members vote on AGM resultutions. 5% either voted for Easdale or withheld their vote, for Somers it was 12%. We certainly have a problem within our support. I would have thought that within supporters who are actually buying shares the result would have been 0%. Why would any fan want these two cretins anywhere near our club? RF members also voted by large majorities against resuloutions 8 & 9.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ally-mccoist-rangers-board-must-4847930 If you were in any doubt that McCoist isnt deluded then his latest outburst should set you straight. This is from a man who with a 20 million pound wage bill and a remit to take us up through the leagues wilst building a team to compete at the top level of scottish football. I have to ask a couple of questions here : Why are there 12 players out of contract in the first place? and which ones would you actually keep ally?

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/9616779/rangers-board-ready?

Q: Your salary reverts back to £750,00. What do you think about it being made public? A: I worked for nothing for months. I decided to take a 45 per cent cut, I then took a 40 per cent cut. I’m not saying: “Give Ally a big pat on the back” but there’s a wee bit more to it than meets the eye. Other factors should be taken into account as well. What dies he mean here? Was his salary £1.36M took a reduction of 45% leaving £750K, took a further reduction of 40% leaving him at £400K before he handed in his notice? Note he decided to take 45% cut not the club!!

ALLY McCOIST activated his 12-month notice period last week and SCOTT believes that Mike Ashley needs to do the right thing by paying him off now and hiring Billy Davies as his replacement. IT’S been the question on every Rangers supporter’s lips for weeks now. Will Mike Ashley – and his sidekick Derek Llambias - be good or bad for their club? Despite the ‘Union of Fans’ staunch opposition to Ashley’s involvement at Ibrox , ordinary punters can’t decide whether the Newcastle United owner wants a successful Rangers or not. But after the shambolic handling of Ally McCoist’s resignation , this is Ashley’s chance to nail it once and for all. If he’s serious about rebuilding Rangers - on and off the park - and getting them back to Scotland’s top flight and the Champions League, he should prove it. By paying up McCoist what he’s due and appointing Billy Davies as their new gaffer with immediate effect. If he doesn’t and this is allowed to fester into the New Year – all the while McCoist’s team potentially fall further behind Hearts in the Championship – fans will have every right to believe that Ashley has no genuine interest in Rangers’ well-being after all. Whether you think McCoist has played a blinder by calling the board’s bluff, or that his stance is causing more harm then good, is irrelevant. He’s owed cash that his contract entitles him to. People have said he should sacrifice it and walk with nothing, which is ludicrous, or give it to charity. Who’s to say he won’t? Some even think he should put it back into the club. But given the current board’s record in financial management, why would he do that? The money’s certainly safer in McCoist’s hands, that’s for sure. That opinion was backed by a UoF statement last week. He should be allowed to go with his dignity – and legendary status at Ibrox – intact. His pay-off is a drop in the ocean to Ashley, which could quickly be recouped IF his intentions for Rangers are honourable. If they are, he’d do well to get Davies in ASAP. It would certainly get attendance figures – which have fallen like snow off a dyke recently – moving in the right direction again. Former club legends like Terry Butcher and Stuart McCall will also be in the frame when McCoist eventually goes. But, no matter what you might think of him, a firecracker like the Davies is exactly the type Ashley and Rangers need. Speak to any player who has worked under him and chances are they’ll tell you he’s the best coach they’ve ever had. Kris Boyd for one says Davies opened his eyes to a whole new side of the game during four months with him at Nottingham Forest. Davies is the reason Boyd is now coaching kids two nights a week. The Rangers striker talks openly about how his old gaffer would pre-empt situations in games before watching in amazement as they panned out exactly as he’d predicted. Davies is a football obsessive, a 24/7 manager, who is meticulous when it comes to planning and preparation. He doesn’t have an in-built editing suite at home – where he watches re-runs of training sessions – for nothing. Tactically, he’s already proved to be one of the best in British football. His record at Preston North End, Derby County and Forest in the English Championship is nothing short of phenomenal, especially given the resources he had to work with at Deepdale and Pride Park. Davies likes to blend youth with experience. He prides himself on finding bargain buys and ensuring their value increases under his tutelage. The likes of David Nugent is a prime example of that, a guy he plucked from relative obscurity when he was Preston boss who eventually became a £6 million man. For good reason, a malaise has set in at Murray Park. That’s hardly McCoist’s fault after everything that’s gone on at Rangers in the last three years. But when he exits, a clear-out is needed. And Davies will turn the place upside down if Ashley and Llambias allow him to do it properly. Of course, the diminutive Glaswegian has his faults. Davies’ relations with the local press had deteriorated beyond repair in Nottingham towards the end of his time at the City Ground and he had dis-engaged with Forest supporters. On that score, after almost nine months out of the game, you’d like to think Davies will have learnt from it and won’t make the same mistake again. Former Old Firm managers like Walter Smith and Neil Lennon will gladly tell him that when you’re in charge of either Rangers or Celtic, it’s wise to have the media on your side. At Forest, Davies felt certain people at the club were working against him. But that shouldn’t be a problem at Rangers if he’s Ashley’s man. Look at the relationship he has with Alan Pardew at St James’ Park. Like McCoist, Davies has Rangers in his blood. After being reared on the streets of Pollok, he knows what the club means to those supporters. He’s ready and willing to step into McCoist’s shoes when the time comes. Having moved back up to Scotland permanently, Davies has already taken in several Rangers’ matches. He’s even been seen at other Championship games involving the likes of Hearts and Hibs. It looks like that meticulous planning and preparation that he’s become renowned for – has already started. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/scott-mcdermott-mike-ashley-can-4847969?

From club website. AS previously announced, the Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 10:30am on Monday 22 December 2014 at Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow G51 2XD. Access will be through Exit 30 of the Broomloan Stand which is adjacent to turnstile 64. Shareholders will have access to the Albion car park with access to the Stadium footprint for disabled Blue Badge holders to park near the entrance. Shareholders are asked to arrive in good time from 9am in order to clear the registration process. Shareholders should bring the attendance card which was included with the Notice of AGM, posted to registered addresses on 28 November 2014. In the event that the attendance card is lost, Shareholders should bring some other form of ID (a credit/debit card will suffice). Shareholders whose shares are held in a nominee account with their stockbroker will need a Corporate Representative's letter (issued by the custodian of their shares) in order to be admitted. Non-shareholders including guests of shareholders, will not be admitted. The meeting will consider the 9 Resolutions set out in the Notice of AGM, each of which will be subject to a vote by Poll, which will be verified by Capita Registrars Limited. The result of these Resolutions will be released to the London Stock Exchange by no later than 7am on 23 December 2014.

Right he is going and as a manager the record books may show two titles but on the whole in my opinion he has been a dud totally inept when it comes to tactics if he ever had any . But what about him as a player he went to England never happened maybe to young well never know because he came to rangers had a sticky start but was luck to be in at the start of the souness revolution were he played at the top end of a very good team he was very fortunate to be playing in front of some great half backs , good wingers giving him first class service and I am not knocking him in this aspect but I often wonder how many goals lets say jimmy millar , jim forrest , ralph brand or even big dandy would have scored playing in front of the souness/smith players .

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2816759/Donald-Findlay-says-Rangers-new-entity-establish-s-history-tradition.html What we see now is not Rangers. It's a fucking monstrosity and I'm close to giving up.

"The intention will be to settle the absolute minimum with creditors before they can cash their chips and make money off the ground, most supporters thus feel the club may as well go bust so that at least a phoenix team may be able to take the stadium. But the incumbents have a history of doing this at other clubs and are well connected. The club has had 4 chairmen in 6 months as they pass it around dodging winding up orders and pesky owners and directors tests, I'm sure they'll come through this somehow still in possession of whats left of the club. A friend of mine is a Darlo fan, watching his team cease to exist was pretty tough but in the end he was relieved when their farcical former incarnation came to an end. I don't think it's an easy task to come back but enough teams have to show it can be done." For fans of a certain age, Ronnie Radford's 'rocket' speaks of an entirely different world of football. Mud bath pitches, genuine cup shocks, a pitch invasion not immediately followed by FA investigations and/or police reprisal, even the flared trousers of the kids take the viewer back to an era when daytime TV was more Open University than Loose Women, Mash and Fray Bentos was an aspirational dinner, and football was a stable certainty, with even the most badly run club more or less safe from extinction if they had any fans at all. Sadly for Hereford, the times have seriously changed. Banned from any and all football activity by the FA owing to failure to complete paperwork - rather than the various questionable practices by various questionable owners, the usual 'Al Capone' approach to oversight taken by enfeebled football authorities - the present era of free ownership by speculators rather than fans has led to an on field decline and a boycott by the vast majority of supporters, dismayed at the hollow shell their beloved club has become - this sounds familiar to the Rangers fan. It's come to the point where the FA ban is hailed as good news, at least to this Guardian commenter: "This news has been welcomed by myself and 90% of my fellow Hereford United fans. The club's demise this season has been heart-breaking and the response from the authorities has been either non-existent or completely toothless until now. It's good to see that the FA have finally acted but it's taken far too long." Late Friday has brought the news that, owing to the owner being stuck in traffic with a guarantee of funding, the club has in fact been wound up. It's the sort of farce that Bears are all too familiar with, and sends out the message that, should your owner be incompetent enough, extinction is all too possible. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-30542821 Why football authorities are so slow to protect their game is mystifying. Hereford might not be up there, financially, with Chelsea or Man City, but in football the whole is very much the sum of the parts, a lesson forgotten too easily by too many. Trying to sell a top league with no substrata will not be so easy as it might sound: if we have no Hereford, before long we have no Chelsea, at least not as we know it, for we lose the FA Cup, the League Cup, eventually losing entirely the interaction between 'giant' and 'killer'. If you have a lack of clubs who can aspire to the Premiership, the Premiership ceases to be aspirational. For some, replacement with an UltraEuroSuperLeague sounds very appealing, but shrinking the game to a super elite is no basis for a sustainable future. Lose the Body of the Kirk & you must reinvent yourself: and re-invention comes with no guarantee of success, as the Church of Scotland could attest. And just as important as a coherent national structure is a coherent model of ownership. Like much of Britain since the 70's, football has seen a decline in any form of social responsibility and a lurch into unfettered capitalism. Allowing teams to be owned by anyone who happens by with a chequebook - or whatever they have now - then belatedly issuing punishments which further damage the club rather than the dodgy owner is not common sense or natural law but it's symptomatic of Britain nowadays. You can see this kind of withdrawal from the social sphere all over the UK. The choking of funding to local government has seen the loss of effective town planning, resulting in ugly, empty and unattractive urban centres people would flee if only they could. In 2014 Britain, absolutely nothing is sacred, nothing is off the table, and mere football clubs going to the wall not just possible but starkly likely. "The club is still in the hands of conmen with another date at the High Court coming up on Monday (the 7th time...or is it the 8th...or 9th) that the club has been back there. Winding-up orders have been staved off due to the mysterious shifting around of funds by even more mysterious 'investors' and the involvement of shell companies." Iffy owners and bizarre financials have become part and parcel of the game, from Premiership to Pontins League, if that still exists. A big name is no guarantee of safety: in Scotland, Rangers currently tick most of the nightmare boxes Hereford were opening, like some nightmarish advent calendar, while the Scottish FA veer between anger, contempt and hamfisted appeasement in their attitude to the various owners who take the stage, but never actually achieve anything that might either kill or cure the Ibrox side: they, too, have adopted the light touch which in actuality is the expression of their powerlessness, so desperate are they for the financial benefit the club brings to overlook financial lunacy. This is not mere arrogance: the League Cup in Scotland, without a real sponsor for several seasons, suddenly gets one at this year's semi-final stage, with a much needed six figure sum going into the game. I'm sure the fact that one semi-final features Rangers playing Celtic is complete coincidence. Aping the attitude of Hereford's owners, Rangers treat their paying customer with total contempt. Last week, Rangers board member Mr Sandy Easdale took the opportunity to berate fans for not celebrating hard enough that naming rights to Ibrox Stadium, originally 'sold' to Mike Ashley of Newcastle Utd fame for the princely sum of £1, had been reclaimed. That this secret and stupid deal was rescinded only after a fan outcry apparently bypasses Mr Easdale; they should celebrate that the club was dragged into acting in the best interests of itself. His words: "We've gotten these (rights) back and the fans haven’t celebrated enough on this topic." The expression 'beyond parody' comes to mind. On the pitch the team is terrible. At least when Hereford's 'owner' Andy Lonsdale did the dirty on Feltham FC, by dumping rubbish on their pitch, he wasn't paying the rubbish £10,000 a week. [http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bedfont--feltham-president-plays-7296079] There is an alternative to this ongoing horror story, though. It's nihilistic, dangerous and offers no guarantee of success, but at least it - unlike the present conditions - does have a potentially positive outcome. "Follow my team AFC Wimbledon and start again. You won't regret it and you won't feel like your being shafted each week by a rich owner with no understanding of a clubs place in the community." I find it astonishing that, as a Rangers man of 30 years and more, I can contemplate the death of my club, on the basis that the present incarnation is so hateful that either a rebirth, or nothing, would be preferable. It's certainly a scorched earth policy, but there have to be limits: currently Ibrox stadium is fast approaching decrepitude, a state of affairs completely unacceptable at a club where 66 people died in the 1971 disaster. Money comes in and disappears. Chairmen come and go, directors likewise. Majority shareholders emerge, only to retreat to offshore shadows. There seems no future. At a recent fan board meeting, one representative delivered an excoriating warning to the club that their attitude and provision toward disabled fans will see them barred from competing in UEFA competitions unless a serious amount of money is invested, now. Setting aside the grim mirth that the idea of the present Rangers team competing in Europe occasions - frankly, Hereford would probably put up a better showing - what UEFA decrees now, domestic bodies follow sooner or later, and Rangers will not be 'Ready', mocking the club's increasingly ironic motto. Rangers are so far from any kind of stability it's not true, and it's sad to see a club so far away from an even keel still spout the same rubbish about business reviews, plans going forward, all in it together, Champions League: the bullshit merchants of Glasgow are no more believable than their Wyvern equivalents in Hereford, just less honest. Coming back from the position Hereford and Rangers find themselves in is not easy, nor is it guaranteed, so I expect many if not all Rangers fans will consider a course of voluntary self-destruction, with only at best a 50-50 chance of a rebirth afterwards, insanity. Well, I'm certain I don't want to see the current mess go on any longer, and I'm selfish enough to believe that if it's not good enough for me, it shouldn't be good enough for anyone else. But I don't know that I've ever been entirely sane on the subject of my team: it was always about love, not reason. At present I am in the cowardly position of having little feeling for what is currently calling itself Rangers, but not having the guts to call for a completely new start, irrespective of history or heritage. "We're all hoping the end might, finally, be in sight." Whether the end turns out to be a new beginning, though, that's another question.

Hearing that training centre is a major risk of being sold, any info on this from fellow bears, Has the chap Sinclair left club?

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.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2881390/Ally-McCoist-people-remember-means-s-important-thing.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490 ALLY'S delusions... "The standards did drop for the first time last Friday night. There is absolutely no excuse for the level of performance we put in last Friday. ." The first time! So playing Alloa three times recently and not winning once was not standards slipping. Losing to all the diddy teams he has in his reign.... And he calls last Friday "the first time". And he thinks he can manage elsewhere in the future. And, as I said last week, he genuinely thinks he had done a good job.

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

It's Hall of Fame legend Willie Johnston's 68th today and he shares it with our very own johnnyk. Happy birthday Bud! and happy birthday johnnyk!

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.

When I was a mere youth, I had a mad arab mate who was obsessed by Jim McLean of Dundee Utd. We were really good friends so I found myself attending United games with him in the late 80s, eventually reaching reserve game levels where we would be standing 10 feet away from Jim McLean coaching the Utd reserves or youths playing a Uni team or something in front of 25 people. (John Clark was playing with the youths half the time - he must have been punished a lot) My question is; If Rangers had signed McLean after Greig left, what would the teddies have achieved? For me, probably multiple European Cup winners. United in the Nou Camp, taking 5 off Bundesleague sides etc was unforgettable.

Apparently in today's Scottish Sun: Les is actually a Rangers fan and shareholder but I'm reliably informed has decided against investing into us for one or two reasons I can't share here.

QTS have been announced as the sponsors of the latter stages of the Scottish League Cup. STV has learned that the league body has agreed a deal in the region of £100,000 for sponsorship of the semi-finals and final of this year’s competition. The rail infrastructure firm's name currently appears on the shirts of Scottish Premiership side Kilmarnock. Dundee United and Aberdeen contest the first semi-final on January 31, with Celtic and Rangers meeting at Hampden the following day. The League Cup has been without a sponsor this season, while the league has been searching for a new sponsor for three years. SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with QTS, an ambitious and growing Scottish business with a proud history of successful sport sponsorship – a perfect fit for the competition. "With two cracking Scottish League Cup semi-finals in the New Year, as well as the final in March, everyone at the SPFL is looking forward to working with QTS to maximise the profile of both the competition and of the business and to bring excitement to fans of the clubs and Scottish football." Clydesdale Bank announced in November 2011 they were ending their involvement with the then Scottish Premier League. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/dundee-united/304094-qts-to-be-named-sponsor-for-latter-stages-of-scottish-league-cup/?

Drew Roberton, general secretary of the Rangers Supporters Association, admitted his sympathies probably lie with the board in the stand-off with the club's manager, Ally McCoist. McCoist, who has handed in his 12 months' notice, met chairman of the football board Sandy Easdale and director Derek Llambias on Wednesday. But they did not agree on a deal to end his three-and-a-half year reign now. "I've probably got more sympathy with the board in this one," said Roberton. "Ally as a player and as a manager has been well rewarded and I'm quite sure he will have other irons in the fire. "It's a really unsatisfactory situation at the minute and I would hope that the board and Ally can sit round the table and come to some amicable arrangement." By tendering his resignation on his 12-month rolling contract, McCoist has created a dilemma for the Ibrox hierarchy. They must either pay him off with a settlement, bring in a replacement but continue to pay him on so-called "gardening leave", or leave him in position to run down his contract. The lack of cash at Ibrox and the faltering performance of the team in the Scottish Championship makes the decision even more difficult. McCoist could opt to leave without a pay-off but that is not a scenario Roberton reckons will happen. He told BBC Radio Scotland: "There are others who have contributed a lot less to the club but who have walked out with large cheques in their pocket, so if Ally is contractually entitled to a pay-off then why should he go without one? "Yesterday's meeting turned out to be a non-event. You have two parties sitting round the table trying to protect their own interests." With supporters now staying away from Ibrox, the Rangers board will be keen to see how many fans attend the home game against Livingston on Saturday, and Roberton frets about the effect of the impasse on the players. "I don't think yesterday's decision will do much to encourage an increase in attendances," he said. "It is difficult to believe that the players will go out there fully motivated knowing that the manager is unhappy in his position and perhaps doesn't really want to be there. "Something's got to give and I imagine this will be a topic at the AGM." Rangers will hold their annual general meeting on Monday. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30527980

The letter is as follows: We are writing as concerned shareholders regarding the conduct of the upcoming AGM for Rangers International Football Club PLC on Monday 22nd December 2014. At the AGM last year, held in December in the Ibrox Stadium Main Stand, the board used the excuse of the cold weather to cut short questions regarding their running of the company. They left queues of shareholders with questions unanswered. Mr Somers also chose to take multiple questions at a time which did not allow any chance for relevant follow up. Since then, we have seen what we regard as the further mismanagement of the company, inexplicable decisions on financing the company going forward and further undue influence applied to the PLC board by shareholders Sandy Easdale and Mike Ashley. With this in mind, we are writing to ensure that there will be no repeat of the board’s and particularly Mr Somers’ behaviour this year. We expect that all questions from shareholders will be answered, as they are asked, and that follow up questions will be allowed within reason. We do not expect multiple questions to be taken at a time. We do no expect Mr Somers to attempt to cut short shareholders rights on the basis of the weather. The company, and for many of us our football club, is in dire straits. The board remain unwilling to engage properly with their concerned shareholders and customers and this is the only opportunity we may have for another year to get the answers we require on the decisions they have made. We expect your full support in this matter and thank you for it in anticipation.