Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'rfc'.
-
Despite previous cancellations due to international call-ups, the Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney has confirmed to me on social media that RFC have said next week's match at Ibrox will go ahead as scheduled.
-
Ally McCoist will be given a £10 million January transfer budget, courtesy of controversial Mike Ashley. Ashley has all but confirmed he will front the funds, with an Ibrox source telling us the board have been told to "use the funds effectively to push the team through to a cup final and back to the Premier League." The source said the decision was highly influenced by Ashley's close friend & Ibrox adviser Derek Llambias, who believes committing these funds to the club will not only strengthen the team, but strengthen Ashley's position with Rangers supporters.
-
I wont document the fiasco involved in picking up public sale tickets etc at Ibrox, port-a-cabin queues a mile long etc (which I have to do when I want to take my son) as we are all fully aware. But just a few weeks ago before I went to Madrid I decided to see if I could get tickets for Athletico at home. I went online and was astounded when it gave me the option to buy online and print the 'ticket' off on my home printer. All I had to do was go to the turnstyle and get the barcode read. As easy as you like. What the hell is stopping Rangers from adopting a similar setup and saving quite a few quid in admin at the same time I would imagine?
-
CAMPBELL Ogilvie has reiterated the determination of the Scottish Football Association to seek clear answers from Mike Ashley, as the Sports Direct owner continues to increase his influence in the running of Rangers. Ogilvie, president of the SFA, said yesterday the association had written to Ashley – also owner of Newcastle United –looking for ‘clarification’ of his position, but said a reply had not yet been forthcoming. The tycoon owns 8.92 per cent of Rangers, runs the retail division and holds naming rights for Ibrox after buying them for £1 from former chief executive Charles Green. He also gave Rangers a £2 million loan last week. Hours before Ogilvie’s comments, it was announced to the Stock Exchange that former Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias was appointed to the Rangers board as a non-executive director, further strengthening Ashley’s position. Ashley has signed an agreement with the SFA that limits him to having no more than a 10 per cent stake in Rangers while he is in command at St James’ Park. The agreement is designed to limit his control over Rangers but it remains unclear if by appointing Llambias or Barry Leach – another of his close associates hired on a consultancy basis – would fall foul of that deal. Ogilvie said the SFA would continue to press Ashley for answers, and a possible meeting to discuss his intentions. “We’ve written to the club itself and to Mike Ashley looking for clarification,” said Ogilvie, a former general secretary anddirector at Rangers. “We’re waiting for replies to that and we’ll take it from there. We need more information at this stage. There could be a meeting. We wrote to them at the end of last week, we’re waiting for a reply. “That could lead to a meeting between the SFA and the club – and, indeed, Mike Ashley and his advisors. That would be the next step. Then we’ll take it from there. But we really need more information. “Fundamentally, the undertaking was not to go above the 10 per cent shareholding – and not to have influence in the running of the club. Fundamentally, that was it. “On the back of the movement last week, we’ve written asking for more information. Until we get that information, we can’t comment further.” Rangers chairman David Somers announced last week that Llambias had been brought in as a consultant but now the club has confirmed he has taken on official duties. The club’s statement said: “The board of Rangers announces that it has appointed Derek Llambias as a non-executive director. In accordance with Rangers’ Articles of Association, Mr Llambias will be subject to re-election by ordinary resolution of the shareholders of the company at the upcoming Annual General Meeting which is expected to be held in December.” Somers previously held non-executive responsibilities as chairman but took over day-to-day running of the club last week as he set about finding replacements for chief executive Graham Wallace and Philip Nash, the former finance director, who were both forced out after failing to stop the club accepting the £2m loan from Ashley. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/sfa-seek-answers-as-llambias-joins-rangers-board-1-3591968
-
http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/FansBoard/Minutes/RFB_Minutes_061014.pdf -
Jane Lewis @BBCJaneLewis 36s36 seconds ago #Ranger appoint Derek Llambias as non-executive director. The stock exchange made announcement morning.
-
Noticed this on FF, T4C also had a post on it last week I'm sure, QUESTIONS have been raised over Rangers' commercial deals as it emerged that Sports Direct, headed up by billionaire Mike Ashley, have had effective control of the club's retail operation for nearly two years. According to official documents, while Rangers Football Club Ltd have 51% of the joint venture and Sports Direct 49%, Ashley and Sports Direct have the upper hand. The Sunday Herald can reveal that the company rules for Rangers Retail Limited were changed in November 2012, three months after the joint venture was established. Rangers Retail's amended Articles of Association showed Sports Direct receive two votes for every share on "financial matters", ensuring Mr Ashley's company has effective control. When Rangers' joint venture with Sports Direct was confirmed by the club under then chief executive Charles Green in August 2012, it was promoted as enabling Rangers "to once again control its retail operation and give supporters the chance to buy direct from the club and in doing so, continue to invest in its future". At the time, there were no details of any money changing hands to seal the deal and details of how the club benefit have been sketchy. Rangers Retail run the club's entire retail operation, including the Rangers Megastore, and hold the rights under licence to the club's famous crests. Details of the terms of the joint venture between Sports Direct and The Rangers Football Club Ltd, the club's operating company headed by controversial chairman Sandy Easdale, came as supporters registered their disquiet over the acceptance of a £2 million emergency loan from Ashley amid unsubstantiated claims the business was days from insolvency. As working capital was running out, as of June, £2.72m relating to Rangers Retail was included in the £4.26m cash balances of parent company Rangers International Football Club plc. But, according to their accounts, this sum was "not immediately available as working capital to the group". Ashley has already bought the stadium naming rights, so far unused, for £1 in 2012. It is understood he has a deal for the operation of the club's shops and that he controls a portion of Rangers' revenue through that contract, which sees club merchandise sold in Sports Direct stores. According to Sports Direct's latest accounts, it has registered sales of £3.843m to Ashley-controlled Rangers Retail in the year to April 2014. Craig Houston, of the Sons of Struth supporters' group, said Ashley appeared to have control of every part of the money-making side of the club and has made it "unsellable". He said: "All a buyer seems to have is ticket sales and TV rights." The terms of Ashley's £2m emergency loan also gave him security over the Albion car park and Edmiston House facility next to Ibrox. Under the previous 10-year retail agreement with JJB struck by Sir David Murray in 2006, Rangers accepted an initial £18m from the sports firm, while it was also guaranteed a minimum royalty fee of £3m per year until 2016. As a result, JJB held exclusive rights to design, develop, source and retail merchandise associated with the club. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/ashley-firm-had-financial-control-of-rangers-retail-2-years-ago.25756326
-
http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/289-is-donald-findlay-right-discussing-our-rangers-addiction Waking up to another Rangers controversy is nothing new. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Monday, a Thursday or a match-day, there’s always another Rangers related story to keep this ongoing farce alive. From the boardroom to the dressing room; from the small grounds in Scotland to the businessmen of Singapore; the bizarre nature of what has happened to one of Scotland’s proudest institutions continues to make waves wherever and whenever you care to cast a sideways glance. It’s impossible to hide from. Now, I’ve not read all of what Donald Findlay has said to journalist Stephen McGowan in today’s Daily Mail. The ‘debate’ surrounding about whether or not Rangers are a new club isn’t something which particularly attracts me. For me, the opinion of the law lords and football authorities is enough – Rangers is the same club with their history and successes intact from one company vehicle to the next. In many ways though, does it really matter what they or Donald Findlay think? I still follow follow Rangers with the same excitement and love I’ve always done. I always will. Many hundreds of thousands agree. However, and here’s the rub, some do feel differently and I can empathise with that. Why? Well, there can be various reasons. For one, the club’s reputation has taken a huge hit – doesn’t matter how fraudulent Craig Whyte and his associates' actions are proven to be, our club almost died. It doesn’t matter with how much disdain the Scottish football authorities, fellow clubs and fans and the Scottish media approached this fall from grace; we had to start again in Division Three. In that sense, of course the club’s reputation has changed forever. No Rangers fan alive has had to experience such a dramatic change in fortunes so it’s inevitable our mind-set has as well. Moreover, since administration, the situation has hardly improved. The Rangers brand (and tradition as well perhaps) is no longer associated with success and pride and honesty and hard work. Instead, embarrassment, dishonesty, manipulation, excess and fraud are now bywords for our club. Yes the team on the park may still be the team we love but unlike our fathers and their fathers before them, we’ll now forever have to associate on-field displays with the performance of the boardroom. Some may find it easy to refrain from such, but many others cannot. Not as long as the money we pay into the club can be withheld by companies with a somewhat different relationship. That particular landscape has changed forever; it’s undeniable. Moving on, and even within our fan-base things have altered for the worse. Small minorities they may be but the division amongst some fans is bordering on the obscene at times. Bear antagonising bear is not only counter-productive but downright bizarre. Disagreement can and should be healthy but some supporters have taken that to all new levels. In the modern era of online debate that may well be inevitable but it’s a change from previous times and it’s not a good one. These aren’t arguments in private RSC cubby-holes but very public fall outs which can be seen by all. They help no-one. Considering all the above, it’s perhaps more surprising to suggest anyone doesn’t approach supporting the club differently. To be clear, it’s not that our love has decreased or that our history and success has somehow been removed (such arguments are ludicrous) but that what has happened in recent years has changed us all forever. Indeed, it has to – we have to learn from our mistakes and ensure it doesn’t happen again. That’s not to say we can do so easily – we can’t – but if we try to hide from it then we’re no worse than an addict glossing over their dependence. To sum up, while I fundamentally and strongly disagree with Findlay in terms of Rangers still being the same Rangers, he is right to an extent. Of course the club is the same one we've all supported but there are elements of recent events which will have affected us all in different ways. Perhaps it's the divided fans taking each other for granted, perhaps it's the club's total disdain for our opinion, perhaps it's the media apportioning blame to the wrong people, perhaps it's the manager refusing to learn from his mistakes, perhaps it's the constant stress amidst the whole farce but no matter the issue, it has become very difficult to support Rangers nowadays. It should be fun, it should be a release from the everyday hum-drum but it's not - in fact I'd say supporting Rangers is just another daily stress and only our fans will understand just how bad it's been. For some, even someone like Donald Findlay, the challenge may be too much but shirking from his opinion won't help. To that end, if anyone has found the last few years hard then we should be working together to talk through our worries - not hide from or belittle them. Supporting Rangers isn't something you can turn on or off. It's an addiction which infects the soul. Thus, I'd say anyone who hasn't had their heart broken and their faith challenged is in the minority. However, broken hearts can be repaired and reputations restored. My name is Frankie and I'm an addict.
-
SUCH would be the frenzied hype surrounding the pairing of Celtic and Rangers in this evening’s League Cup semi-final draw, the fixture would hardly be in need of any sub-plots. But it will have one nonetheless, in the six-foot-four-inch form of Craig Gordon. The goalkeeper is currently revitalising his career in hugely impressive style for Celtic with a series of performances which have earned him a recall to the Scotland squad. The irony of the 31-year-old’s rebirth at Celtic, of course, comes in the fact it was conceived at the training base of their fallen Ibrox rivals. Gordon spent much of last season using the training and medical facilities at Murray Park while he sought to finally overcome a career-threatening knee injury. The former Hearts and Sunderland ’keeper admits he owes a debt of gratitude to Rangers for his successful rehabilitation and bears no grudges over their failure to offer him a playing contract, insisting they were right to strengthen other areas of their squad instead. “I think Rangers’ priorities lay elsewhere and in my view probably quite rightly so,” said Gordon. “That was their choice. They went the way they saw fit and personally I think they probably made the right decision. “I was there most of last season working with their physios and doctors and trying to get myself to a level of fitness where I could compete again and go back out and play. Thankfully, towards the end of the season, I managed to do that and then it was a case of trying to get myself a job. “The possibility of me joining Rangers was talked about but nothing was ever finalised or offered. Would I have signed for them? Who knows? Until it was presented to me, then I don’t know what I would have done. Going to Murray Park came through Jim Stewart who was my goalkeeping coach when I was 15 and signed my first contract at Hearts. “Jim worked very hard to get me my first contract and we obviously worked together at Scotland and at Hearts for a long time. We had that friendship and he wanted to try and help me get back to fitness. “There were no guarantees it would even work and that I’d get fit again. We said I’d give it a go and see what happened. Their help was invaluable. Without the Rangers physio Steve Walker, I might not be where I am right now. “They did help, undoubtedly, to get me to this point. I’ve spoken to the physio a couple of times but not that often and not that recently. Now being at the opposing club, it makes that a little bit more difficult but I’ll be forever grateful for the help he did provide. “I honestly don’t care who we get in the semi-final draw. I just want to try to win the League Cup with Celtic. It really makes no difference to me whatsoever. I understand the potential of an Old Firm match is a great talking point for everyone but we’ll see what the draw is and even then the semi-final is still a few months away. “It’s a fixture I’d like to experience at some point in my career and when it comes along, great. But until it happens, then it’s hypothetical. “I didn’t go into Murray Park trying to impress Rangers. I was probably quite selfish on my own part and just went in to try to help myself get back fit. Towards the end, I trained with some of the younger goalkeepers and maybe passed on a few tips and spoke to them but I was trying to get myself fit and that was it. “It’s difficult to be in a football club when you can’t train or take part in games. It can be quite a lonely place at times. If I could have got that level of expertise and facilities elsewhere, then I’d probably have stayed away and kept myself to myself until I felt ready to get back in. “I was out the game for two years and then a year at Rangers, the first six months of which was in the gym. Everyone was outside training and working away. There might have been one or two other injured lads but it’s not an easy thing to go through and mentally get yourself up for training when it’s only for yourself. “There wasn’t any money to be earned. It was just a question of whether I could get back to doing what I want to do. It feels good to be back at that level with Celtic and when you make a contribution to the team, it feels good. “It’s not just in training but when you go out and play games it gives you a sense of worth among your team-mates and they respect what you do and vice versa. It’s that sense of belonging to a team that you don’t get when you’re injured.” Gordon admits to both surprise and delight at the level he has returned to with Celtic, revealing at one point he was forced to contemplate an unlikely move across the Irish Sea. “I didn’t expect this to happen,” he added. “I didn’t even know where I’d fit back into football. I had teams on the phone from the Irish League and other part-time clubs. “I didn’t know how fit I was going to be. I didn’t know what level I’d be in terms of ability. That was something I had to prove to myself. If things hadn’t gone so well, even if I was fit, I might even have had to go part-time somewhere to get back in. “I didn’t have any targets. I just wanted to get fit and back into football and I’ve been fortunate to end up at a great club and my fitness is close to what it was before and I’ve managed to pick up where I left off. It all just fell into place that way, it wasn’t by design.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/craig-gordon-owes-his-resurgence-to-rangers-physio-1-3590830
-
http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/tv-radio/dj-suzie-mcguire-tried-to-take-own-life-over-abuse-1-3586627
-
Some words on recent events from yours truly via TRS: http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/330-the-fog-on-the-clyde
-
According to the Press Association, he's flying up to Glasgow now. Not sure if he'll replace Nash or Wallace. -
Rumours from media on Twitter: Andy Devlin @AndyDev28 51s51 seconds ago BREAKING: Sandy Easdale due at Ibrox shortly for crunch talks with Ally McCoist. The Rangers boss could be hours from the sack.
-
edit It appears MASH Holdings loan us 2M, secured on our assets and gaining influence in the boardrooms of TRFC and RIFC, whilst Rangers Retail (under Sports Direct financial control) are not releasing greater sums of money supposedly due to us. For some reason Rangers Retail (under Sports Direct financial control) have withheld profits from Rangers (RIFC). The numbers below have appeared in the accounts. This money hasn't since been released to RIFC. 30 June 2013:............................................. ........... £946,000 31 December 2013:............................................. £1,669,000 30 June 2014:............................................................£2,720,000 Today: If pattern stays the same I'd estimate...... £3,000,000 Is Mike Ashely indirectly using our money to finance the loan he has agreed with the RIFC board ? I can't say without the current numbers but you have to ask why withhold the money in the first place if we are struggling. The two directors that represent RIFC on the Rangers Retail (RR) board are currently Wallace and Nash, so they might have lobbied for it to have been paid at the beginning of the year but it would have been, only if SD and it's directors on RRLtd both agreed. Update The figure for year end 30/06/14 is now inserted above. It shows that the total continues to accumulate and continues, at that date not to have been released. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12067610.html Background In late July 2012, a joint venture was entered into by Sports Direct and Rangers, it became known as Rangers Retail Ltd. Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge represented Rangers on the RR board of directors. SD have 49% in 'A' class shares which count double in any votes regarding financial matters. RIFC have 51%, in 'B' class shares Effectively SD control the joint venture. Links to the accounts 30/6/13...http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/staticcontent/documents/AnnualReport2013.pdf 31/12/13....http://rangers.g3dhosting.com/regula...ws_article/375 -
For clarification the offer has been made by Brian Kennedy. Unlike King's package it doesn't need shareholder support. Board approval enough Board were meeting this afternoon to discuss both options. As yet no word of decision being made. I understand Brian Kennedy has travelled to Glasgow this afternoon. RFC board meeting still on going....
-
by Alex Oliver | Contributor Dave King’s statement tonight launched a scathing critique of what he believed to be obstructions in his attempt to seek control of Rangers Football Club. Something which jumped out at me more than anything was the following part: "...given the present concerns from supporters that Mr Ashley is using his shareholder status to put pressure on the board to alienate the rights and trade mark of the club in favour of his personal interest." It got me thinking, something in this area has changed since the beginning of the season. The observant will have noticed the 'scroll crest' has now taken precedence over the traditional 'Ready' crest. Given all that has gone on and various whispers of image rights and naming rights being sold for a pittance, it would surely be naïve to suggest that it is simply re-branding. I have collated several examples of where things have changed. CONTINUE READING... http://www.thecoplandroad.org/
-
Dave King Statement re Rangers FC It is appropriate that I give feedback to the Rangers fans before departing for South Africa. Over the last few weeks Paul Murray, George Letham and myself have constructively engaged the Rangers board and (at the request of the board) Sandy Easdale regarding our proposal to invest 16 million into the club as soon as is practically possible. When investing in any public company there are numerous regulatory and compliance requirements that have to be dealt with. There are also SFA compliance issues that arise when investing in a football club in Scotland. An obvious further complication in Rangers case is the seeming lack of authority of the Rangers board to make decisions without reference to key shareholders who appear to be “the power behind the throne”. Prior to commencing the implementation issues referred to above it is necessary to reach an in-principle agreement with the board that can then be put to shareholders. In this regard it is important to recogniser hat the so-called Easdale Block represents more than 25% of the shares in issue and could therefore block the implementation of our proposal even if recommended by the board. Likewise, a combination of other shareholders could veto our proposal. I attempted to meet with Mr Ashley on my visit but neither he, nor his colleague, Mr Bishop, acknowledged my request for a meeting. This is their right but is unfortunate given the present concerns from supporters that Mr Ashley is using his shareholder status to put pressure on the board to alienate the rights and trade mark of the club in favour of his personal interest. I will make a separate announcement and appeal to fans on this topic at the appropriate time. Our initial proposal to the board was to invest the full 16m by way of equity at 20p per share. The board requested that we consider a debt/equity mix that would reduce dilution for existing shareholders and allow the debt component to be advanced prior to the extended time frame required for the approval of additional equity. We are amenable to this and to working with the board on the mechanics necessary to ensure that this is achieved provided that the full investment is recognised by way of board representation. We wish to appoint an equal number of members to the board and have the key say regarding the appointment of the Chairperson. We will not invest funds and let the existing board determine how these funds are spent. That has not worked well in the past. In any transaction of this nature there are a number of interests to be consulted and considered. The board has apparently engaged constructively on our proposal while advancing its own points as to what it believes is in the best interest of the club and its shareholders. Sandy Easdale has similarly apparently engaged constructively including highlighting some concerns. I have today responded to these concerns in writing. He will now consult with his co-shareholders and hopefully revert soonest so that we can proceed to agreement and the earliest possible implementation thereof. Unfortunately, I have to again deal with a point that I have covered previously. Despite our agreement with the board on confidentiality (that we have strictly complied with) we were faced with the inevitable combination of truth, half-truth and fallacies peddled by Mr Irvine on behalf of his employers. He states in particular that he is voicing Sandy Easdale’s directly communicated thoughts. Sandy has assured me that this is not the case regarding his recent nonsensical utterings. On that point, I have recently had the amusement of reviewing over 100 email communications between MrIrvine and Craig Whyte during the period that Mr Irvine was attempting to advance Mr Whyte’s business interests. My review of these emails indicates to me that he carefully identifies journalists that he believes lack journalistic integrity and ability and can therefore be fed by him for the benefit of whoever pays him. I urge fans to continue to ignore the nonsense that comes from these sources. We have a lot of work to do over the next few months to regain the club. I would not be here without the support of the fans and neither would my co-investors. We are going to need to draw on your support again over the coming months.
-
Dave King's talks with Sandy Easdale ended without agreement. If this surprises anyone then it shouldn't.
-
-
Mike Ashley has been energised by the battle for Ibrox in a way that he never has by challenge of making Newcastle United competitive. On Saturday afternoon Newcastle United have their eighth crack at winning a Premier League match this season. If they swing and miss, it will be their longest winless run in the Premier League era: worse than the ill-starred 2008/9 relegation season and more desperate than the year that brought Sir Bobby Robson to Tyneside. Throw into the mix an undercooked team light on experience of a relegation battle and there can be little doubt that this is a time for minds to be focused. Even at this early stage survival appears the priority, but that cannot be taken for granted. And where is Mike Ashley? The owner’s scrutiny is not trained on the lame duck manager who is only ever one defeat away from losing further ground with a sceptical support but instead it is in a messy, protracted and potentially long-running takeover of Rangers. The Newcastle owner blew his own cover on Ibrox weeks, months or even a year or so ago. By dodging the share issue and banning a journalist who had speculated on his intentions towards Rangers, he tried the owner’s equivalent of an Ali shuffle – but the knockout punch has not yet been delivered. Rangers is going to be a slow burner for Ashley. Unlike Newcastle – where he found an owner willing to make a quick sale – there are messy and protracted battles to be fought at Ibrox with groups who are not going to relinquish their grip on a potential goldmine anytime soon. The motivation for investing in a fallen club that needs plenty of work is the promise of a potential route into the Champions League. Ashley’s mistakes have made that path impossible for Newcastle for a generation or so, but Rangers’ size and the impoverished standard of the competition give him a chance north of the border. And the Champions League gives him even greater profile than the Premier League in a sportswear market that he fancies a crack at: Europe. There are obstacles to be vaulted, of course: not least rules that state he cannot own majority stakes in clubs in both Scotland and England. But that is a hurdle to be clambered over when the time comes: the important thing is to elbow out the other prospectors sifting through the wreckage at Ibrox. Rangers is time-consuming for Ashley. It has caused him to take his eye off the ball at Newcastle and the consequences of that could yet be catastrophic for a club that appears rudderless, leaderless and entirely without hope at the moment. Ashley gutted Newcastle of people who would answer back to him. Managing director Lee Charnley owes his career to Ashley, and is hardly likely to stand up to him. We all know that Pardew will acquiesce if required. That is the way the owner wanted it – him dipping in and out of Newcastle when it suited him. Ever since Rangers became a serious interest for him, the dynamic has changed. Ashley may be more visible at Newcastle – naming himself as chairman over the course of this year – but he has not been as involved as he was before. A source I spoke to said his greatest hope was that people would run it for him, keeping it ticking along for a while. He simply doesn’t have time for Newcastle anymore. There is a shiny new toy north of the border and the fight for control at Ibrox has energised him much more than the battle to make Newcastle United competitive has. And what is unfolding north of the border is very, very messy indeed. For those still in any doubt, it is worth taking a quick journey through the coverage of Ashley’s actions north of the border. Festering worry about his intentions has given way to outright disgust at the way he has operated in the last couple of months. Just like he has with Tesco and Debenhams, Ashley has struck at a moment of weakness. That is savvy strategy from a sharp businessman, but it doesn’t mean that Rangers fans should be happy about what is happening. Not that many are, despite claims from a couple of Old Firm icons this week that Ashley might be the man to return the club to its perch. The Daily Record’s Michael Gannon wrote a withering editorial two weeks ago challenging that belief: capturing the scorched earth policy of Ashley and his unquestioning acolytes perfectly. Warning that sometimes the devil you know can be worse than the devil you don’t, he wrote: “He is simply out to bag a quick buck at Rangers.” It is a familiar theme when the subject of Ashley and the Ibrox club are brought up: money is the reason he is hanging around. Not necessarily money that will be made directly off the club’s success but more the reflected perks of owning an institution that can reasonably challenge for the Champions League in a couple of seasons with pretty minimal investment. Gannon summed up his latest power play in a couple of damning sentences. “He could have sunk in money at last month’s share issue and it would have gone to the club,” he wrote. “Instead he waited and bought out Hargreave Hale. It strengthened his position and rubbed the board’s face in it after they refused to cave in to strict demands in return for a loan.” It is Ashley to a tee. Stubborn, obstinate and looking entirely after number one. The worry is that Newcastle United’s Premier League status will become collateral in the battle for Newcastle United. http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-become-collateral-damage-7943767 -
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29527838 Rangers FC are omitted from the survey and calculator because they did not provide data to the BBC. Did we boycott or were just unable to respond?
-
Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 10 mins 10 minutes ago 51' - GOAL! Captain Andy Murdoch doubles the lead with a stunning shot from 25 yards which soars into the net beyond Stewart. 2-0 #Rangers! 0 replies . Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 13 mins 13 minutes ago 48' - The striker did well to get the right side of his man before placing low under the keeper from a tight angle on the left. 1-0 Gers! 0 replies . Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 14 mins 14 minutes ago 48' - GOAL! It's an ideal start to the second period for #Rangers as Ryan Hardie breaks the deadlock to make it 1-0 against Motherwell! https://twitter.com/RFC_Youth?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gersnetonline.co.uk%2Fvb%2Fforum.php&profile_id=351838853&tw_i=522087898234232832&tw_p=embeddedtimeline&tw_w=382261353282412544
-
Talking to Rangersitis (nice meeting you btw.) on Saturday afternoon we both debated whether it can be stopped via Sandy Easdale's proxy bloc and Ashley's holdings. Few things: 1. Will it be considered a resolution or just a simple loan authorised by the board? 2. Or will Ashley and Easdale bloc this through their voting rights on special resolutions? 3. By blocking the loan if it is seen as a resolution will concert party rights be triggered 4. By calling the EGM it looks to me as though the voting percentages won't matter here and that's why Ashley's calling the EGM in an effort to prevent the vote going through at a typical board meeting Would any of our more informed Gersnetters like to set us right?
-
Not sure if it'll benefit us when we do eventually play under the lights of Ibrox in the CL again. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29562047 One can only hope!
-
...the Ibrox throne is big enough for Mike Ashley and Dave King. AS King and Ashley continue to vie for control at Rangers, KEITH insists it may be in both men's interests to discover a common ground that incorporates the interests of the club and its fans. THEIR tanks have rumbled into Edmiston Drive, ready for the climactic Rangers shootout. But before Mike Ashley and Dave King begin blowing each other to bits outside the Big Hoose, perhaps it might make more sense for them to find a better way. Maybe, before the guns start blazing, there is a chance for them to discover common ground. Of course, that would require a bit of common sense and where this club is concerned there is seldom any place for sound logic. But let’s indulge ourselves for a moment in any case and pretend that the two men, who seem so willing to go to war over Rangers, may still be capable of some eleventh-hour reason. Ask yourself this. If you were Ashley why on earth wouldn’t you want King to take control? Those closest to the Sports Direct boss – and even those Newcastle fans who can’t stand the sight of him – all agree that his primary focus is on protecting and expanding his bargain-basement retail business. Which makes perfect sense. Okay, so Slazenger polo shirts and laceless Lonsdale trainers might not be everyone’s giant novelty mug of tea but Ashley’s firm has always been more Buroo-lander than Zoolander. It’s a high street jumble sale and it’s made the man a fortune. This real-life Derek Trotter is a genuine billionaire. Not like the last one who, for all anyone knows – including Glasgow’s finest for that matter – may be currently strolling around some town centre in Panama dressed in Lee Cooper and Le Coq Sportif. He always did have a bulging eye for a bargain. But be that as it may, Ashley deserves to be taken a great deal more seriously. Which is precisely why now might be the ideal time for King to sit him down for a chat, assuming of course that he really is serious about handing over so much of his children’s inheritance. King has not always convinced and not just because of the 41 criminal convictions for stiffing the tax man which have stained his name in South Africa. His PR has been poorly thought out and his strategy over the last 12 months impossible to fathom as he has tip-toed around the edges of this farrago without ever looking prepared to get his feet wet or his hands dirty. But finally he has waded back in, promising an initial £16million bailout and more millions to follow. For that reason alone he deserves to be taken seriously, even by those who continue to doubt him. If Ashley counts himself among those cynics, what would be the harm in asking to see the colour of his money? Because if it really is the case Ashley is interested only in what is best for his own business, there is no reason for this pair to remain hostile over the running of Rangers. Yes, in an ideal world, King may wish to walk into Ibrox on day one and rip up the retail contract Ashley is apparently so determined to protect. This seven-year kit deal, of course, was gifted to him by Charles Green and has been described by those who have seen it as a ludicrously generous and one-sided agreement. Green later wasted a small fortune of Rangers money on legal fees in a failed attempt to have it annulled but the consensus is that this contract is watertight. In other words, Rangers have already sold the jerseys to Ashley and there is nothing King or anyone else can do about it, even if it means the loss of millions of pounds. And this is where logic ought to kick in because if Ashley wants to keep coining it in from shirts and merchandise then surely King’s arrival as a potential saviour stands to make him even richer? King, after all, is perhaps the one man capable not only of uniting a fractured Rangers support but also prepared to throw good money after bad in the reconstruction of a club which continues to hang by the thinnest of threads. If indeed there is enough cash left in the bank to cover this month’s payday then November’s could be a killer. But only in this omnishambles could a business that is wheezing and gasping for breath continue to keep a £30m life-saving injection so stubbornly at arm’s length. King wants to save them. But he can’t get his money bags across the front step. And, yes, logic dictates that Ashley must see the sheer lunacy in this. Over the past few months around 15,000 Rangers fans have gone missing from Ibrox. The numbers are so large that they have blown a hole in Graham Wallace’s attempts to keep the business afloat. And there is a danger many more thousands will follow if Ashley guns King down in the battle for control, while also boycotting his stores. However, if King was to walk back in, flanked by fellow lifelong supporters such as Paul Murray and George Letham, then it is almost certain business will begin to boom again at the turnstiles and in the club stores which Ashley also now has firmly in his grasp. King plans to plough £8m into the coffers with Murray, Letham and a group of wealthy fans cobbling enough together to match him pound for pound. Straight off the bat, that’s £16m that Ashley doesn’t need to bother looking for down the back of his office sofa. There will be more to come as King intends to invest his whole £30m in returning his club to a fit and competitive state and to restore a stadium which, much like the team, is in a state of decay. This is King’s manifesto and so long as he can convince Ashley he is for real and that the money is there and good to go, then both Rangers and Sports Direct stand to benefit from it hugely. So tell me, what possible logic is there in Ashley blowing this man away? The answer is, there isn’t any. Or at least, none that is obvious from the outside of this wretched mess. Which means there must be something hidden from view, perhaps even something deeply suspicious behind the naked act of aggression earlier this week which saw Ashley set his sights on Wallace and Philip Nash, the men trying to facilitate King and his consortium. What else is there to hide here? Surely nothing that stretches back to when Ashley climbed into bed with Green in the first instance and began this merciless pumping of Ibrox? Come to think of it, who on earth did bring these two together? He already owns the strips and the shops which sell them. He bought the stadium’s naming rights for a quid. And had Wallace not grown a pair last month then he would have owned the club’s badges by now as well. But it’s hard to see the value in any of it if Ashley’s power grab does indeed drive more and more of the customer base away. In fact, it will cost him millions of pounds in emergency loans just to continue to light up an increasingly empty stadium. If he’s not careful he could end up sitting alone in the directors’ box with only his drinking buddies, Sandy and James Easdale for company and if that thought doesn’t terrify him then it should. This club is broken and it needs fixed, not by a bunch of Trotters Independent Traders but by those who genuinely care for it. If Ashley cannot, or will not, see the logic in that then it will indeed be time to clamber back into the tanks. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-another-rangers-war-4411056
