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Again, not sure if there is a better place to post this thread. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4. I was going to download the Rangers App but got a warning that it is a large file, so stopped. I already get the updates e.g. US Tour stuff via Google+ and by email linked to Google+ and some of the other stories direct form the Club. I don't feel the need to have holograms which I guess are taking up a lot of space. I get matchday stuff like team news on the Sky Sports App where I have Rangers set up. Am I missing anything by not having the app?
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RFC Maybe we can talk about this without any unecessary snyde remarks about the board?
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Friday, 18 July 2014 A total of 18 teams with the best disciplinary records across the Scottish Professional Football League, Scottish Highland Football League and Scottish Lowland Football League will be rewarded with Scottish FA Fair Play Award payments ahead of the new season. Following the compilation of the 2013/14 Review of Player Misconduct, the teams that finished first, second and third in the disciplinary table for each league will receive payments of £5,000, £3,750 and £1,250 respectively. Scottish FA President, Campbell Ogilvie, said: “It’s important to encourage fair play across the game, and we believe that offering incentives to clubs, and recognising their efforts, helps to foster and encourage fair play. “We are delighted to issue Scottish FA Fair Play Award payments to 18 teams across the six senior leagues ahead of the new season.” Scottish FA Fair Play Awards Following compilation of the 2013/14 Review of Player Misconduct (based on first team League and Cup appearances), the following payments will be made to clubs: SPFL Premiership 1. Celtic FC (£5,000) 2. Motherwell FC (£3,750) 3. Aberdeen FC (£1,250) See the full SPFL Premiership Review of Player Misconduct here… SPFL Championship 1. Dumbarton FC (£5,000) 2. Cowdenbeath FC (£3,750) 3. Dundee FC (£1,250) See the full SPFL Championship Review of Player Misconduct here… SPFL League One 1. Rangers FC (£5,000) 2. Stranraer FC (£3,750) 3. Dunfermline Athletic FC (£1,250) See the full SPFL League One Review of Player Misconduct here… SPFL League Two 1. Clyde FC (£5,000) 2. Albion Rovers FC (£3,750) 3. Annan Athletic FC (£1,250) See the full SPFL League Two Review of Player Misconduct here… Scottish Highland Football League 1. Keith FC (£5,000) 2. Brora Rangers FC (£3,750) 3. Inverurie Loco Works FC (£1,250) See the full SHFL Review of Player Misconduct here… Scottish Lowland Football League 1. Gala Fairydean Rovers FC (£5,000) 2. Dalbeattie Star FC (£3,750) 3. Spartans FC (£1,250) See the full SLFL Review of Player Misconduct here… http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2566&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=13515
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1300 words on a situation that is becoming more worrying and difficult to justify with every day that passes... http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/260-ally-mccoist-and-rangers-time-for-some-home-truths
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http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/258-book-review-born-under-a-union-flag-rangers-the-union-scottish-independence -
The poll resulted in a narrow win for 27/09/2014 v Hibernian, with the obvious caveat of moving to Sunday if required. As was proven last time, even if an early kick-off is unpalatable to some from a football point of view it gave us a nice comfortable afternoon/ early evening to eat and drink; so in some ways I'd be hopeful of an early kick off again. In the first instance I'm only going to put up two options: going back to Malaga Tapas http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186534-d1087980-Reviews-Malaga_Tapas-Glasgow_Scotland.html or "somewhere else". In order not to appear biased, I will say only that I have confirmed that Cristobal would be happy to have us back; but it is entirely up to you guys if you want to go back or somewhere else. If you wish to go somewhere else then please post a suggestion and I will do a second poll. Unless there is a landslide one way or the other, I'll keep the poll open till the end of the month, so that everyone who is on holiday gets a chance to vote. -
Christian Nerlinger has delivered a blow to Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace by rejecting the chance to become the club’s new football operations officer. The German, who played for Rangers between 2001 and 2004, held talks with Wallace about returning to Ibrox and filling a role similar to the one he previously held at Bayern Munich. The pair met twice in recent weeks but Sportsmail understands that, after careful consideration, 41-year-old Nerlinger has decided to decline. The appointment of a new football figurehead was one of the key recommendations of Wallace’s 120-day business review of the club. Had Nerlinger accepted, he would have been responsible for player identification and recruitment. Rangers boss Ally McCoist would have welcomed assistance in that department but any new appointee would essentially have assumed some of the manager’s duties. Ultimately, McCoist is understood to favour the establishment of a new scouting system, an area that has been neglected during the attempts to recover from financial meltdown. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2690180/Christian-Nerlinger-turns-chance-Rangers-football-operations-officer.html -
Regulatory Story Company Rangers Int. Football Club PLC TIDM RFC Headline Statement re: Annual results Released 16:55 07-Jul-2014 Number 6537L16 RNS Number : 6537L Rangers Int. Football Club PLC 07 July 2014 Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" the "Club" or the "Company") Statement re: Annual results for the 13 month period ended 30 June 2013 The Directors confirm that following the issue of shares announced on 1 July 2014 pursuant to the exercise of options by a former Director, there are now no outstanding share options or convertible shares held within the Group. The Directors note that Note 30 to the accounts for the 13 month period ended 30 June 2013 was incorrect to the extent that the options to which the share announcement on 1 July 2014 relate were not included. For further information please contact: Rangers International Football Club plc Graham Wallace Tel: 0141 580 8647 Daniel Stewart & Company plc Tel: 020 7776 6550 Paul Shackleton / David Coffman Newgate Threadneedle Tel: 020 7148 6143 Graham Herring / Roddy Watt / John Coles This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END STRUGUCAMUPCGAM London Stock Exchange plc is not responsible for and does not check content on this Website. Website users are responsible for checking content. Any news item (including any prospectus) which is addressed solely to the persons and countries specified therein should not be relied upon other than by such persons and/or outside the specified countries. Terms and conditions, including restrictions on use and distribution apply. ©2009 London Stock Exchange plc. All rights reserved http://m.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/mobile/news/detail.html?announcementId=12008964
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How long do we wait after the 120 days ???? review? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-admits-3813756 McCOIST is seeking clarity on what the operations officer role would entail and whether he'll be allowed to appoint someone else to head up the club's scouting network. ALLY McCOIST has admitted he’s in the dark over Christian Nerlinger being lined up as chief football operations officer at Rangers. And the Ibrox boss wants clarity on what that new role would entail as he still doesn’t know if he can bring in someone else to head up the club’s scouting network. Chief executive Graham Wallace claimed an operations officer was needed in his 120-day business review back in April. And former Gers midfielder Nerlinger is said to be on the radar, having held a similar position at European giants Bayern Munich. But when asked about Nerlinger, McCoist said: “I haven’t heard anything regarding that. I spoke with Graham on Wednesday and nothing has been said about Nerlinger or any director of football so I don’t know anything about it. “I would expect to know something but it has gone quiet. I don’t know what has happened. My priority is to win the league but in terms of infrastructure we desperately need a chief scout. In an ideal world Graham and I would sit down but I don’t know what the plans are with the chief football officer. “I don’t know whether that would be his department in terms of scouting. “Do I have someone in mind? Absolutely. But let’s be honest – there is a financial aspect as well. “We need somebody to scout talent. Whether that is the chief football officer’s gig or the chief scout’s gig is up for debate. But if we want to get back to a top standard in Scotland and hopefully get back into European football we need to have people assessing players.” McCoist has snapped up Darren McGregor, Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller so far this summer. But he also wants to land former Hearts stopper Marius Zaliukas and Cardiff midfielder Don Cowie. The Ibrox boss said: “Marius has trained with us after being released by Leeds and we are going to have a chat. I think there’s still a few quid knocking about in that budget and that will be put to the test in the next week or so.” All of Rangers’ summer targets are tried and tested in the Scottish top flight and McCoist claims in the absence of a proper scouting department he is left with no option but to go for players he knows well. He pointed to Sporting Lisbon’s capture of Dundee United kid Ryan Gauld as an example of clubs casting their net wide and admitted Rangers are “light years” away from being able to work like that. He said: “Ian Durrant, Kenny McDowall and myself watch French football, Dutch football, absolutely everything on TV. But we can’t go to watch players unless they are in Scotland because of the situation the club is in. “That is the beauty of having a scouting department. If you have scouts they can go and watch games, they can recommend players and then you can go and look at them. “At this moment you are actually just watching games off videos. It is not ideal. “I met Peter Houston about four weeks ago (when he was scouting for Celtic) at the airport and said: ‘Where have you been?’ He said: ‘Watching six games.’ “Our best opportunity is to watch on the telly. If you have a chief scout and a department, you have the potential to do a Sporting Lisbon. “You can get a boy at 18, 19 and say: ‘Right, it looks like we are not going to play you for 18 months but we are going to develop you’. “That is the ideal world. We are light years away from that.” -
Rumours in Twitter land and elsewhere that case has been dismissed. Any info?
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http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/police-drop-probe-into-agm-comment-by-rangers-chief.24665736
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http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/486397/Rangers-gaffer-Ally-McCoist-happy-to-sign-experience Rangers gaffer Ally McCoist happy to sign experience RANGERS boss Ally McCoist has defended his signing policy after reuniting the ageing strike force of Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd. Published: Thu, July 3, 2014 Miller and Boyd. The duo have a combined age of 64, but while McCoist insists his team isn’t the ‘Dad’s Army’ of the Championship, he was quick to stress the Ibrox side would not have made it out of the lower leagues with a bunch of kids. McCoist, whose side face Buckie Thistle in their first pre-season friendly tonight, said: “I can understand people being sceptical with players coming back and the ages of these players, but, at the same time, we are not in a position to plan longer term. “Finances are dictating that the job is to get out of the division until the time comes when we can again spend money and bring players in. “A year ago, Kenny was scoring at Wembley for Scotland, and Kris was unbelievable at Kilmarnock last term. “I was really impressed with their desire to come back, do well and be part of our journey. “They’re tremendous pros and the younger ones will learn a lot from them. “When you are reaching 30, a fear goes through you that you’re nearing the end of your career and there’s a desire and a determination to look after yourself and play for as long as possible." He added: “We’re not ignoring kids and it’s nonsense to suggest otherwise. But you can’t flood your team with kids and then expect to get through two divisions. “There’s never been a case in recent Old Firm history where five or six kids have come through the ranks and into the first team. “But, if the younger lads coming through are good enough, they will play. Guys like Lewis Macleod and Fraser Aird have come in and stayed in. “Others, like Calum Gallagher and Robbie Crawford are there on the fringes and we’ll continue to give the younger ones a chance. “But it’s crazy to think we could have put seven or eight in the team and come through the leagues.” McCoist confirmed that former Hearts defender Marius Zaliukas, 30, is on his radar as he looks to add to his squad. He said: “Marius has come up to train with us for a couple of days, “I’ve always liked him as a centre-back, If we can bring him in then great, but we haven’t even spoken contracts or money.”
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/e...entId=12002687 Rangers International Football Club plc ("Rangers" the "Club" or the "Company") Issue of Equity The Company has made an application to the London Stock Exchange for 714,285 new ordinary shares of 1p each ("New Ordinary Shares") to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission of the New Ordinary Shares will become effective and that dealings will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 7 July 2014. The New Ordinary Shares are being issued pursuant to an exercise of the options granted to Brian Stockbridge (a former Director of the Company) on admission of the Company's shares to trading on AIM pursuant to Mr Stockbridge's original contract of employment with The Rangers Football Club Limited dated 17 September 2012. In accordance with the provisions of chapter 5 of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, the Company confirms that, following this issue, its issued share capital will comprise 65,810,341 ordinary shares of 1p each. All of the existing ordinary shares and New Ordinary Shares shall have equal voting rights. The total number of voting rights in the Company following the issue of the New Ordinary Shares is therefore 65,810,341. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules. For further information please contact: Rangers International Football Club plc Graham Wallace Tel: 0141 580 8647 Daniel Stewart & Company plc Tel: 020 7776 6550 Paul Shackleton / David Coffman Newgate Threadneedle Tel: 020 7148 6143 Graham Herring / Roddy Watt / John Coles
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millers back and it looks like boyds coming back anybody else you would welcome back I know I would like Henderson and Wilson on the wings ,this type of signing is not the way forward
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Now that the fixtures have been announced we can review options for the The Second Semi Annual Gersnet Dinner As a reminder - The official result of the official poll for the second Official Gersnet Dinner was a draw: Early Season - August/September 4 votes 40.00% Autumn – October/November 4 votes 40.00% In the posts on the thread some specific dates were highlighted: Frankie (who was unable to attend the first dinner for the same reason) has weddings on the 8th and 9th of August. JC said that he is doing the deed on the 24th August and then off for a European road trip for 10 days so anytime after about the 6th Sept suits him fine. SC said not Aug 20 – 23 or the weekend of September 19th when he’s getting married. There was a suggestion that we should avoid the September weekend as well, which is the following weekend of 27/28 September. Personally I'm not convinced that the September weekend is a big issue any more especially as we have an attractive fixture that weekend. GS commented that if we have something reasonably early we can perhaps then have crimbo drinks. STB pushed September/October time from the start. Whilst it does seem reasonable to go somewhere in between the two winning time zones, which would argue for September or October (at the same time as accommodating GS’s comments about leaving the way clear for Crimbo Drinks - which someone else can organise thank you very much!), the recently announced fixtures have not been kind to us in that respect with only two home games over the two months: 27 September 2014 v Hibernian (September weekend, see above) 18 October 2014 v Raith Rovers As I said before, I didn’t say anything before the poll because I didn't want to influence the voting in any way but I will be away from 12 October to 1 November and apart from ruling me out of 18 October, effectively that means that I cannot organise anything for after 4/5 October until about mid November, say the 15th/16th, which is the weekend Scotland play RoI (Friday 14th). (However, whilst I would like to be at the dinner, I don’t have any problem with someone else assisting or taking over if it is decided to go with the 18 October.) We then have two home games in November 2014: 8 November 2014 v Falkirk 15 November 2014 v Alloa Athletic (may be postponed if Rangers have players in the Scotland squad) which dates are within the poll result. Given these limited options and despite the original lack of support in the poll for any dates in 2015, I think it’s best to have a new vote including the options in 2015. Comments and suggestions welcome.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27934760
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http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/250-dave-king-the-grand-old-duke-of-york
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The BBC has learned former Rangers chief executive Charles Green is seeking financial support to launch a new bid for control of the Ibrox club. Green led a consortium which bought Rangers' assets in May 2012 and then raised £22m from a share issue, but resigned from his post last year. He returned for a short-lived spell as a consultant before selling his shareholding in the club. However, he has spent the last week in talks with potential investors. Rangers plan to launch a new share issue in a bid to raise in the region of £8m and if Green is to be successful he would need to convince existing shareholders to sell to a new consortium. Green, who held the same position at Sheffield United, stood down from the chief executive's position citing the "negative publicity" surrounding an independent investigation, commissioned by the club's board, into allegations of undeclared dealings with former owner Craig Whyte. That investigation consequently found no evidence of Whyte's claims that he was involved in the Green-led acquisition of Rangers two years ago. On selling his shares to Sandy Easdale, chairman of Rangers' football board, Green said: "I want to make it clear that this means I will have no ongoing influence or financial interest at the club but I remain a fan and fervently hope that Rangers will soon be back at the top where they belong."
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Rangers' beleaguered directors face the possibility that the club auditor, Deloitte, could sever its connection with the club over the next few weeks, following a collapse in the number of season tickets sold. The Daily Telegraph understands that the international corporate finance and accountancy specialists are unhappy about the latest figures emerging from Ibrox, which show that season ticket sales for Rangers’ Scottish Championship campaign are running at half the level of last year’s take-up for their SPFL League One schedule. In a statement on the Rangers website on Friday, the board confirmed that only 17,000 season tickets have been sold. On March 27, when Deloitte signed off the half year accounts up to the end of 2013 – which showed a £3.5 million loss – the auditors added that “key assumptions” made by the directors included a reckoning of future season ticket sales. Deloitte noted that this indicated the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Despite assurances at the annual general meeting in December from the chief executive, Graham Wallace, that the club could meet its costs until the end of the season, the board subsequently borrowed £1.5 million from shareholder George Letham on the assurance that the sum would be repaid when season ticket sales had yielded the equivalent amount. *However, there has been no notification to the Stock Exchange of any repayment. Instead, leaked reports from a spin doctor formerly employed by the club, confirmed that the board would attempt to raise £8 million through a rights issue later this year. In a statement on the club website on Friday, the Rangers directors said of the latest season ticket sales total – and the likelihood of a share issue – that “The Board believes that whilst this level of support reduces the potential requirement for short-term financing the Board also notes the strategic objectives that it identified in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 and the related funding requirements. “The Board continues to evaluate its plans in this regard and will update the market in due course.” However, should Deloitte dissociate themselves from Rangers, investor confidence is likely to diminish. Deloitte last night would not comment on any speculation, citing client confidentiality. In response to the club statement, the supporters’ umbrella group, the Union of Fans, condemned the directors’ stewardship. The UoF statement read: “We note the announcement of the Rangers board regarding the season ticket renewal levels for the club this year. It is now obvious that a clear majority of fans have rejected Graham Wallace, Norman Crighton, David Somers, James and Sandy Easdale and their running of the club. “In any normal business, a board which had been rejected by over 50 per cent of its customers in the space of a few months would be removed. Whilst we do not expect this to happen due to the continued support of anonymous shareholders, who could not care less about Rangers, we would highlight that they have utterly failed to gain crucial trust from fans. “We do not believe this trust will ever be built without fundamental change at the club. The problem for this board is very simple. The vast majority of fans, even many of those who have renewed, simply do not trust them and likely never will. “The corporate governance at the club also continues to be a cause for grave concern. We would repeat that it is unacceptable for Jack Irvine of Mediahouse to have access to confidential, price sensitive board information through the Easdales and to then leak that information to the press as he did this week.” J
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The board of Rangers (the “Board”) can confirm that approximately 17,000 season tickets have been renewed to date for the Club's forthcoming SPFL Championship season. This level of renewals reduces the potential requirement for short term financing as highlighted in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 particularly given the updated season ticket pricing structure for the 2014/15 campaign. Applications for new season ticket purchases opened on Monday and sales of season tickets are continuing. The Club very much looks forward to welcoming more supporters back to Ibrox for what promises to be an exciting league competition. The Board believes that whilst this level of support reduces the potential requirement for short-term financing the Board also notes the strategic objectives that it identified in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 and the related funding requirements. The Board continues to evaluate its plans in this regard and will update the market in due course. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7059-season-ticket-sales
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27804525 By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland Finance remains the fundamental issue at Rangers. One contingency plan has always been to seek additional funding from current shareholders, and a substantial drop in season-ticket sales merely exacerbates the problem. When chief executive Graham Wallace published his business review last April, he indicated that if the uptake of season tickets was "materially less than anticipated" then the board would consider a pre-emptive offering of 43 million unissued Rangers International Football Club shares to existing shareholders. That remains, for now, the only viable way for the business to raise additional funding. With a new share issue proposed later this year, the price would be at a discount to the current market value of 27p and the intention is believed to be to generate in the region of £7m. This would go some way to covering any shortfall from a significant drop in season-ticket sales, and so allow the business to continue trading for the next 12 months. Unanswered questions abound, though. Which shareholders, for instance, would participate? Some individuals are suggesting that Laxey Partners would invest more money, along with Sandy Easdale, the chairman of the Rangers Football Club board. Others believe that the institutional shareholders, such as Hargreave Hale and Artemis, would not participate, given the sharp fall in the share price from its launch of 70p. In the first instance, existing shareholders are normally offered enough additional shares to maintain the size of their overall stake. Any shares that are not taken up could then be offered to existing shareholders to allow them to increase their ownership stake. It is also theoretically possible, though, for the board to place shares with specific existing shareholders, which could strengthen the power base of the group of aligned shareholders who currently effectively run the club. That would, though, be likely to agitate those left out and potentially cause further upheaval. However, Easdale and his proxies could then be considered as acting as a concert party if their combined shareholding goes above the 29% threshold, and so expose them to takeover panel rules and regulations. While a pre-emptive offering is restricted to current shareholders, their rights to participate can be acquired by non-shareholders. So while finance remains the fundamental issue at Ibrox, in that it underpins every substantial development, how the need for funding is addressed is also critical. Control is at stake also. Laxey Partners are currently the largest single shareholder, while Sandy Easdale held the proxies for around 25% of shareholders at last December's annual meeting. Institutional shareholders supported the current board at the AGM, but the need for additional funding may alter their point of view. Wallace is attempting to steer a course through the demands of financial issues and specific shareholder interests. There is no simple solution, beyond a radical change to the shareholder dynamic. That would only occur, though, if shareholders were prepared to sell their stakes or if a fresh rights issue was launched to the public. In the meantime, the Rangers board need to ensure that the business can trade as a going concern for the next 12 months. When the interim results were released last March, they contained a note outlining that a fall in season-ticket renewals from last year's figure of 38,000 would affect the business's ability to trade as going concern. Right now, Rangers are thought to still be considerably short of that. Short-term financial issues are at the forefront, but other intrigues also exist. It has been possible to detect, within the noise around the club, a growing tension between Wallace and Sandy Easdale, who is not a member of the plc board. Wallace has the executive role, but Easdale, through his proxies, carries the strongest shareholder authority. Rangers' April review: Key points Business needs to raise up to £30m over three years New share issue planned for autumn 2014 Cuts of £2m have already been made with other savings likely Plan to make the business sustainable by season 2015/16 Aim to make team Scottish Premiership winners by 2017 The flow of information is also a source of consternation to some within Ibrox, not least because talk of a share option is price-sensitive information and ought to be published first to the stock exchange. Jostling for position is evident, although finance remains the key point, not individuals. Dave King, the former Rangers director, wants to invest directly in the club. The South African-based businessman and Wallace in his business review both estimated that it will require £20-30m of additional investment to provide Rangers with the means to challenge Celtic for the Premiership title and compete again in Europe. The only way to raise that kind of money would be a fresh public offering of shares, which is what King wants to participate in since his money would go directly to the club, which needs money spent on the football infrastructure - there is still no scouting network - and maintenance work at Ibrox. King's intervention would likely lead to the dilution of the current shareholders, though, which is why an alternative route is being sought. The current squad, with one or two additions, ought to be good enough to gain promotion from the Championship, but to compete again with Celtic, Rangers need to be properly rebuilt. There is a current shortfall to address, but that is only a short-term fix. For Rangers to compete at the highest level, a change in approach is required.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27793911 Rangers are to launch a new share issue in a bid to raise in the region of £8m. The Ibrox board met institutional investors in London on Tuesday, with the new issue to take place before the end of August. Rangers chairman Graham Wallace recently told fans that the Ibrox club was "in a good place" financially. The BBC understands that a minimum of £7m is needed to cover a cash shortfall at the newly-promoted Scottish Championship outfit. Major shareholders Laxey Partners and Sandy Easdale, chairman of the football board, have both indicated they will buy more shares. The Union of Fans - a collective of Rangers supporters groups - has urged people to withhold season-ticket money in protest against the board's running of the club. It led to question marks over the ability of the club to meet the sales figures required for next season. However, Wallace insisted Rangers are "in a good place" despite concerns over the club's finances. The chairman's 120-day business review set out the club's intention to raise fresh equity in the autumn, win promotion from the Championship at the first attempt next season, before adding a Scottish title and being competitive in Europe by 2017. The club's interim accounts revealed losses of £3.5m for the six months to 31 December and "going concern" status was only granted on the basis of predicted rises in season-ticket prices and sales. The board have had to seek emergency funding in recent months. -
RANGERS directors were locked in showdown talks in London yesterday as they attempt to stave off more financial chaos. Record Sport can reveal brothers Sandy and James Easdale travelled to meet with representatives of shareholders groups Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings before staging further discussions with the rest of the Ibrox regime yesterday afternoon. Talks will continue at 10.30am today at an official board meeting to be held in the offices of the club’s financial advisers, Daniel Stewart. The Easdales flew out of Glasgow yesterday on a morning flight to the docklands’ City Airport. Coincidentally on the same flight were the club’s shamed former finance director Brian Stockbridge and axed PR guru Jack Irvine. Rangers sources insisted last night that Stockbridge’s presence was ‘purely coincidental’ although all four were spotted chatting together in the departure lounge before boarding. On arrival in London, Stockbridge was seen heading for a train while the Easdales left in a taxi cab. But it’s understood the brothers were then involved in talks with the same mysterious investors who helped fund the £5.5million takeover which saw Charles Green, Stockbridge and Imran Ahmad seize control of the club’s assets two years ago. Blue Pitch and Margarita are now supporting the Easdales and sources claimed last night they will be willing to plough more money into a fresh share issue if, as widely expected, the club requires an urgent injection of cash after a dramatic slump in season-ticket sales. It’s understood chief executive Graham Wallace later met with the Easdales after flying back to Britain from a supporters convention in Canada. Wallace declined to answer fans’ questions when asked how many season tickets have been sold. Sources close to the board insisted last month 20,000 fans had renewed. Meanwhile, generous fan George Letham, who stumped up £1m in emergency cash to keep the club out of trouble in February, has still not had his loan repaid. Under the terms of his loan the money was supposed to be returned as soon as sufficient funds had dropped into the club’s account from season-ticket sales. And with June’s wage bill still to be covered at the end of this month, the regime’s need to secure fresh funds seems increasingly urgent. But before jetting back across the Atlantic for yesterday’s London talks, Wallace insisted on the club’s website that Rangers finances are not a cause for alarm. And he insisted fans can expect to see more new signings soon. Meanwhile, it has been revealed accountants and lawyers have raked in a staggering £2m in 12 months as the bill for winding up oldco Rangers continues to soar. The figures have been detailed in the latest six-month report from insolvency experts BDO who were appointed liquidators of the Rangers Football Club PLC after it failed to emerge from administration following Craig Whyte’s ruinous 10-month reign. And the unfathomable strategy adopted by Whyte is further highlighted by the fact almost half of this latest bill has been covered by the final instalment of the £4.5m deal which saw Nikica Jelavic sold off to Everton just two weeks before the club was plunged into financial chaos in February 2012. The BDO report, which was completed at the end of last month, reveals a cheque for £975k is expected to arrive from the Goodison Park club ‘shortly after 31 May 2014’. But that won’t come close to covering the spiralling costs – as BDO gear up for a potential multi-million pound courtroom battle with Collyer Bristow, the law firm who advised Whyte during his takeover in 2011. In total, more than £1m has been spent on legal fees and outlays with more than £650k of it going to solicitors Stephenson Harwood, who are preparing the case against Collyer Bristow. The report says a trial date is ‘currently set for the beginning of 2015’ but it is anticipated a deal could be negotiated and an out of court settlement agreed. BDO are also carrying out a probe into the conduct of administrators Duff and Phelps, who sold the club’s assets to Green for a knockdown £5.5m. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-directors-hold-showdown-talks-3668192
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ALLY MCCOIST was disappointed that 18-year-old Charlie Telfer decided to move to Dundee United after Rangers had offered him a new deal to stay at the club. Telfer was a key player for Gordon Durie’s Youth Cup winning under-20 team in 2013/14 but at the start of this month it was confirmed he would join the Tangerines which came as a surprise to many Rangers supporters. The midfielder, who made his Gers first-team debut in a 4-0 win over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview Park in April, was seen as being one of the brightest prospects at Murray Park but McCoist reluctantly had to accept his decision to move on. He said: “We wish Charlie all the best but we were obviously very sad to see him go. “He trained with the squad and came on against Stenhousemuir last season and we feel he is a great prospect. He still is a great prospect but sadly for Dundee United now. “We offered Charlie terms which he was well within his rights to decline and turn down and he did so. He has moved to Dundee United with our best wishes. “The first thing people have to realise is it was Charlie’s decision. We wanted to keep Charlie but he obviously decided to turn down the offer that was put to him by the club. “I can understand people questioning why would Charlie want to go to Dundee United rather than stay at Rangers. He can answer that, he has been quoted in the newspapers recently. “But we have been delighted with some of the younger boys that have come through. “Last year alone we had 13 academy graduates who played for the first team. Some of them will develop quicker than others. Look at boys like Macleod, Gallagher, McKay, Aird and numerous more have come through the academy.” In total 21 Murray Park graduates have made more than 450 appearances for the Rangers first-team post-administration which goes against any suggestions that young players have not had an opportunity at senior level in recent years. McCoist added: “We are delighted with the academy, we want to get as many coming through as possible but 13 last year is good and we will never rest on it. “Jimmy (Sinclair) and the lads in the youth department are very pleased that myself, Kenny and Ian have told them, and we stand by it, if we feel the kids are due an opportunity and deserve an opportunity then they will certainly get one. “They will always get the opportunity. Even further back Allan McGregor, Barry Ferguson, Charlie Adam, Chris Burke, Stevie Smith – international footballers a lot of them - have come through the academy at Murray Park. “Perhaps the whole thing has been blown up a little bit because Charlie has exercised his right to move on but we will continue to work hand in hand with the academy. “The boys that warrant and deserve their chance, I can reassure everybody, will get it.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7046-ally-sad-to-see-charlie-go
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GRAHAM WALLACE says Rangers now has a solid base from which it can move forward with confidence as it looks to grow, prosper and thrive more as time goes on. Wallace has spent the weekend in Toronto at the 2014 NARSA convention, where over 1,000 Light Blues fans have been in attendance. The chief executive took questions in an open forum yesterday afternoon following the association’s annual general meeting. A number of issues were raised with him and Wallace is keen to reassure Gers followers a path to a brighter future lies ahead. He said: “It has been interesting talking to a different cross-section of fans in Toronto as it was an opportunity to hear at a really detailed level about some of the issues they have. “Almost since the day I came to Rangers, we’ve been operating in an environment where there have been consistent questions about the financial stability of the club. “I’ve repeatedly come out and said there’s no threat of administration and we’ve built a very solid base now which we’re moving forward from. “The fans should take reassurance and comfort from that. We are moving in a way that allows us to grow and develop the business. “The long-term financial stability of the business is well in hand and we are in a good place now. Fans should be confident and comfortable with the club’s long-term stability. “The club needs them to survive like any business does and we are absolutely hoping they will stand behind and support the club the way they have in recent seasons. “In the vast majority of areas, I think we are moving in the right direction and it is business as usual at the football club. “The fans are looking for a degree of confidence that their club is stable, it’s being properly run and we are in a good position financially. “We are now in our best position financially in my time at the club so that’s positive and we are placed very well for the start of the forthcoming Championship campaign.” Wallace admits there is still considerable work to be done as Rangers bid to make up for what he feels has been a missed opportunity to rebuild in a better way since administration in 2012. But he is sure a lot key moves have now been made which will allow the League One title winners to make more notable strides from now on. He added: “I’ve been in position now for a little over six months and in that time it has been extremely challenging. “There have been so many legacy issues we have had to deal with and we spent a considerable period of time looking at the condition and the state of the business. “We had to map out what we think the club and the business is capable of doing over the next several years. “We have done a tremendous amount of groundwork and we’ve addressed a significant number of issues. “In April, we published our business review. That gave fans a sense of what we inherited but more importantly, a sense of the vision of where we think we can take the business. “We have made significant strides but it’s not an overnight journey and what we are looking for now is to move forward again. “We want to go through our pre-season routine into the new season and really push on, starting to make a huge difference in the areas we’ve identified.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7029-a-base-to-grow-from
