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Andy Little ‏@AndyLittle_7 26s It has been the best 8 yrs of my life. Being a Ranger has been an honour + I'll be one 'til the day I die. Thank you to all at the club.

Up on BBC: Rangers' former commercial director Imran Ahmad is to go back to court on Tuesday as he seeks to have more than  £500,000 frozen in the club's account. In February, Lord Tyre disagreed with Ahmad's claim that Rangers were trading while insolvent. Now, with doubts over season ticket sales, Ahmad is concerned about Rangers' ability to pay out should he win his ongoing legal battle with them. The two parties are in dispute over his claim for unpaid bonuses. At the February hearing, Lord Tyre made his decision in Rangers' favour because of what he described as the cyclical nature of a football club's finances. Since then, Rangers have made it clear that a significant drop in season ticket sales would leave them unable to trade without seeking external finance. The chairman of Rangers' football board Sandy Easdale also told BBC Scotland the League One champions are in a "fragile situation". Rangers will again have to satisfy a judge at the Court of Session that they can continue to trade, with the implications of the decision going in Ahmad's favour next week potentially devastating for the board. I reckon he'll get it frozen this time. Wasn't the reason it was declined before because there wasn't enough evidence to say the club was in financial hardship? IMO this is to put pressure on fans to renew season tickets. They are all in it together. How on earth can he get that money ring fenced when the contract he had was pie in the sky ffs..

Is it 1 game in 3 or 4 years? Perhaps it is as a scout because his career ended years ago.

Only a month away. Being it Brazil should in theory be the best World Cup but some stadia are not even ready. We are due a good World Cup as the last 2-3 haven't been great. Mexico 86 was the first WC I can remember and is probably the greatest of all time. Italia 90 was good as was France 98. I fancy Argentina to win it. Groups below and Ive put in bold who i think will qualify from groups. Group A Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon Group B Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia Group C Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan Group D Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy Group E Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras Group F Argentina, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Iran, Nigeria Group G Germany, Portugal, Ghana, United States Group H Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea

LEE WALLACE has reiterated his desire to remain at Rangers for as long as possible after winning the two main awards at the club’s end of season dinner last night. The Light Blues vice-captain was named as both Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year at the ceremony in the Hilton Glasgow. Wallace has been in excellent form once again this term and his accolades yesterday follow his PFA Scotland League One Player of the Year gong last week. The 26-year-old has maintained ever since the club was voted out of the top flight of Scottish football two years ago that he wanted to stay at Ibrox and help it rise again. In January two bids for him from Nottingham Forest were rejected and the former Hearts star was delighted with that as it allowed him to stay focused on his objective. Now he’s looking forward to life in the Championship next season as Gers prepare for the third and hopefully final instalment of their journey back to a place among the elite. Wallace said: “I knew some of the boys at Rangers when I first came into the club and they always spoke about the bug you get here. “It didn’t take me very long to get that. I maybe didn’t grow up as a supporter but I certainly knew all about Rangers and I know all about them now. “I know what the club means to the fans and what the traditions and history of the club mean to people as well. “It was part of my plan that I wanted to stay here and I want to do that for a very long time and be part of a unique part of the club’s history. “We’re in uncharted waters just now as a club and it’s a big aim of mine to become successful with Rangers because that’s what we’re about as a club. “I’m really enjoying things and I’m ready for any challenge we face. We knew that coming up from the Third Division, League One might be a bit harder this year. “We expect another step up next year and the Championship is probably going to be a bit more of a challenge with the type of opposition we’ll have. “It’s a league we are certainly ready to go and win and dominate. We are Rangers and that’s exactly the situation we want. “We will go into it looking to improve and to get back to the big time, where we should be playing our football.” Wallace admits that after playing 48 games in 2013/14 and failing to win just seven of them, Rangers need time to rest, recharge and galvanise themselves for next campaign. But he’s in no doubt that when they return for pre-season training on June 25 they’ll kick off an attempt to win a third consecutive promotion which will ultimately be successful. Wallace added: “Getting back to the top is a massive motivation for us and it’s strange because at the moment, we do need to get away and have a break mentally and physically. “At the same time, when we’re nearing the last week or so of the holidays we’ll start itching to play again and we’ll be ready for it. “I’ll not be any different because we’ll know we’re a season away from where we should be playing our football. “The manager is going to bring in a bit of help and we will get back up next year. We’ll be ready to go again after a good break. “There won’t be any easy games but we’ll thrive on that. When I played in the team at first there were never really any easy games anyway. “We know it will be a bit more competitive but that’s the challenge we face. We’re getting to the better, more enjoyable times now. “We are Rangers and we’ll go out there and do what we’re expected to do. That’s win games of football.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6918-this-is-where-i-belong?

The First Annual Gersnet Dinner will be held at Malaga Tapas, 213-215 Saint Andrews Road, Glasgow G41 1PD on 26 April 2014 at 3.00pm for 3.15pm till 7.00pm. NOTE NEW TIMES DUE TO EARLY KICK OFF V STRANRAER http://www.malagatapas.co.uk/ The restaurant is currently ranked in the top 20 in Glasgow on Tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186534-d1087980-Reviews-Malaga_Tapas-Glasgow_Scotland.html MENU FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL GERSNET DINNER (THE BEARS PICNIC) Primer Plato (First Course) Selección del chef de varias tapas, por ejemplo (Chefs Selection of Various Tapas e.g.): Pescados (Fish) – Pescado en Adobe ( Spanish Marinated Fish in a combination of paprika and spices) Fritura de Pescado (Fried Mixture of Fish & Seafood; king prawns, squid & white fish, served with garlic mayonnaise) Carnes (Meats) - Albondigas en tomate (meatballs cooked in a rich tomato sauce) Pinchos Morunos (Authentic Spanish Skewers of Sizzling Pork, marinated with cumin, garlic & red wine) Verduras (Vegetables) – Pisto Manchego (Mixture of roasted vegetables: peppers, potatoes, eggplants and onions mingled with tomato sauce) Bravas con salsa Picante (Malaga Tapas own take on the quintessential Spanish patatas bravas) 3 tapas per person Segundo Plato (Second Course) Paellas: Marisco (seafood), Valenciana (mix of chicken & seafood), Montana (chicken and dry-cured chorizo); Verduras (vegetarian) (the selection on the night will depend on numbers) Postres (Deserts) por ejemplo (e.g.): Crema Catalana (Spanish version of crème brulee fired at the table!) Copa Malaguena (Ice cream, honey coated peanuts, raisins and topped with Pacharin liquor) NB: The above are examples from Malaga Tapas’ current menu (see web site); as the owners import a high percentage of the ingredients from Spain, the actual dishes available on the night may vary from the above. £18.00 por persona (per person). All those wishing to attend please post in this thread. I am proposing to collect a deposit of £9/10 per head and in order to avoid any possible suggestion of impropriety, I intend opening a bank account with two signatories, specifically for that purpose. Frankie has approved the opening of a Gersnet Dinner account with me and Andy Steel as signatories. I'll PM the details to all those who sign up when I get it organised.

On Sky Sports just now. Match delayed.

CELTIC and Rangers have been holding secret talks over the possibility of staging the next Old Firm game abroad. The Glasgow giants are considering taking the derby to somewhere such as Dubai in a bid to reduce the chance of crowd trouble after the unacceptable behaviour at last Monday night’s Glasgow Cup Final at Parkhead and incidents at the corresponding youth team fixture last season when it was staged at Partick Thistle’s Firhill. The most recent debacle saw more than 100 seats wrecked and smoke bombs, flares and bangers set off, with the result that it has already been decreed that the next Glasgow Cup Final between the teams will be held behind closed doors. But there will be huge logistical difficulties in moving a senior Old Firm clash – not least getting appropriate approval from the football authorities – even if it is an idea that is being seriously mooted at the highest level. The Glasgow giants are considering taking the derby to somewhere such as Dubai Officials at Parkhead and Ibrox, aghast at the levels of violence at those youth games, are well aware the senior match is – and always has been – a powderkeg. Many so-called Gers fans still blame Celtic, at least in part, for their demotion to the lowest tier of senior Scottish football following the Ibrox club’s financial meltdown. The next Old Firm game in the top flight is still another year or so away, at least, with Rangers having to clamber through a very competitive Championship following successful Third Division and League One campaigns, but Scottish Cup or League Cup clashes before then remain a possibility. It has been suggested by officials that taking the match out of Scotland when it finally comes around could help diffuse tensions. But there is an enormous amount of work still to be done before the embryonic plan becomes a done deal. No one can plan too much without knowing when the game will take place, the SFA and SPFL would have to give permission, the clubs would need to agree, and a host venue would have to be found. If the game went to Dubai or another venue outside Britain and tickets were strictly vetted, it’s hoped the tie would pass off peacefully, although many will insist that such a move would merely postpone potential problems until the next time they meet in Glasgow. From the clubs’ point of view, they’d be able to sell the TV rights for the first Old Firm derby for years for a vast fee and would look at cashing in further with a beam-back to Parkhead and Ibrox. http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/473767/EXCLUSIVE-Old-Firm-clash-could-be-staged-in-Dubai?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-sport-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Sport+Feed%29

A truly wonderful eulogy written by Andy Steel for the site on the day of Sandy's funeral in Edinburgh. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/241-sandy-jardine-a-tribute

Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 5m 46' - Play gets underway again with #Rangers looking to regain the lead after Gallagher's goal was cancelled out by Erwin's penalty. 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 19m HT' - Gallagher's opener gave Gers a lead they merited by a foul by Hegarty on Erwin gave him the chance to level from the spot and he did Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 20m HT' - The whistle goes and it's a frustrating first period for #Rangers as they dominate, take a lead and are then pulled back. It's 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 26m 40' - Goal for Motherwell after a foul on Lee Erwin in the box, He takes the penalty and scores, despite Liam Kelly going the right way. 1-1 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 43m 22' - Robbie Crawford crossed from the left & Gallagher got above his man to steer home a magnificent header at the far post. 1-0 #Rangers! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 44m 22' - It's the breakthrough #Rangers have been wanting and one they merit for having the bulk of the play early on. Calum Gallagher scores! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 45m 22' - GOAL RANGERS! Expand Reply Retweet Favorite Rangers Youth ‏@RFC_Youth 1h 0' - Referee David Lowe gets the game underway in bright sunshine as #Rangers look for another three points to keep their title bid on track https://twitter.com/RFC_Youth?original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gersnetonline.co.uk%2Fvb%2Fforum.php&profile_id=351838853&tw_i=461200012358471681&tw_p=embeddedtimeline&tw_w=382261353282412544

THEY were dismissed, by some at least, as troublemakers with personal grievances against Rangers. They were accused of being opportunists who were simply after a place on the Ibrox board without spending a penny of their own money. But now the grave fears they expressed about their beloved club have been shown to be far more than just scaremongering. Scott Murdoch, Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray and Alex Wilson all failed in their bids to be elected directors at the Rangers agm in December. The backing of many institutional investors and major shareholders ensured the existing incumbents were all returned by sizeable margins. Yet, the Requisitioners, as they became known, have since been vindicated in their view that all was far from well behind the scenes at the club. And their prediction that limited funds would run dry without fresh investment - which they had managed to line-up - has also been proved to be accurate. The revelations contained in the 120-day business review carried out by Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace, then, came as no surprise to the group. "I read the review on Friday and noted what Mr Wallace had to say about the previous regimes and how they conducted their business with alarm and interest," said Wilson today. "To be honest, it is what we as a Gang of Four were saying in the build-up to the agm. "We also had a degree of disbelief that the club had enough money to see it through to the end of the season. "We had no inside information. It was just a general feeling. If you looked at the existing funds and the cash burn and then tracked forward you could see it running out. "Everything that we said was going wrong was indeed going wrong. Everything that we said we felt was going to happen has transpired. It is really, really, really frustrating." A complaint has been made to Police Scotland about Wallace allegedly misleading shareholders at the agm by stating the club had enough money to see out the season. Wilson said: "Whether Mr Wallace knew or not is for the police to investigate. "He had a financial director, Brian Stockbridge, who we had no confidence in and we said he was a disgrace at the time." But the Scot, who has worked in HR for multinational companies including BT, Ford, Guinness and ICI during a successful 40-year business career, feels another matter should be scrutinised. He was taken aback by an interview that shareholder Sandy Easdale gave to BBC Scotland last Thursday - the day before the review was released to the London Stock Exchange. Easdale revealed the Rangers finances were "fragile" and then expressed the belief that the Ibrox club would be unable to survive a second administration. Wallace distanced himself from the comments made by the bus tycoon in a series of media interviews on Friday. However, Wilson agrees wholeheartedly with the Union of Fans who have publicly called for club chairman David Somers to look into the matter. He said: "I have worked on boards before. Stuff like that is price sensitive. Speaking publicly about it breaks all sorts of stock exchange rules. "Mr Easdale is not on the main board. So how did he have access to that information? "If a board member has price sensitive information and has released it to another individual it should be looked at. "The director responsible should, at the very least, be censured." Somers broke cover to issue a firm denial of the "odious and unfounded" allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" against Wallace on Monday night. But there was no mention of the remarks made by Mr Easdale who has been accused of an "utter lack of corporate governance" by the Union of Fans. Wilson said: "The chairman has been notable by his absence and by his lack of comment on some of the issues which have arisen at the club. "If serious accusations are made, as has been the case, then you would expect the chairman to step forward and make a statement saying what will be done or saying that no action is necessary and why. "Graham Wallace's rebuttal of Sandy Easdale's remarks on Friday, when he said he doesn't speak for the board, was interesting. "Was he trying to save the situation with regards to price sensitive information being used?" Wilson was also scathing of the possibility that senior executives, including the chief executive, at Rangers could receive substantial bonuses at a time when staff are being made redundant. He said: "To make a ham-fisted approach to the players last year and ask them to take a 15% pay cut without at the same time taking an identical cut was a disgrace. "Again, I don't know what the situation with bonuses at the club is, but I would hope there is no executive on that board taking away a bonus when the finances are in such a parlous state. "We (the Requisitioners) said we would serve on the board for nothing. "Our purpose was not personal gain or self-aggrandisement. We were all prepared to work together for the good of the club." Lifelong Rangers fan Wilson, who has two season tickets at Ibrox and commutes to games from London, was also unhappy about supporters being blamed for the loss of credit and debit card facilities. It has been alleged that First Data withdrew their services in January - the month before fans were first urged to pool their season ticket money in a trust fund. Wilson added: "By all accounts, withholding season ticket money was not a serious proposition when they (First Data) first asked for security back in January. "I am sure that the action being taken by the Union of Fans has hardened their resolve. "But it has a lot more to do with just fans saying they were going to withhold season ticket money. "Once again, this smacks of the board looking to blame somebody else for the club's problems." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-requisitioners-warned-cash-storm-clouds-were-gathering-161584n.24094362

DAVE KING has savaged Rangers’ 120-day review and branded it good news for CELTIC fans. The former Ibrox director dismissed chief executive Graham Wallace’s findings — claiming an office junior could have produced the same in a day.

Given all the talk about share issues , proxies , who own what , who has proxies for whom , here is an up to date position , ( stands back to be shot down ) , this is from the Rangers International Football club site on shares , http://www.rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/share-information. Sandy Easdale - owns 2,942,957 , proxies of 14,387,003 . This Includes all of BPH (4,000,000) and Margaritta 's 2,600,000 share holdings . Laxley owns -8,292,957 Artemis -5,749,000 River & Mercantile -4,795,500 Hargreave Hale - 4,601,888 BPH - Proxied to Sandy Easdale -4,000,000 Miton Capital -3,143,857 Mike Ashley_3,000,000 Margaritta ,Proxied to Sandy Easdale ,2,600,000 Cazanoza Capital - No longer shown as having a reportableholding Legal & General -No longer shown as having a reportable holding Dont know what this means exactly Currently, 16.24%+ of the Company’s Ordinary Shares are not in public hands. The Ordinary Shares are freely transferable and no Ordinary Shares are held in treasury. + Does not include the 14,387,003 Ordinary Share (representing 22.1% of the issued share capital of the Company) which Alexander Easdale has voting rights over pursuant to the terms of proxy agreements entered into with other shareholders. Should also point out this was last updated on the official site at the end of Jan 2014

Monday, 28 April 2014 10:30 Past Win Can Help Us Written by Andrew Dickson DAVID BROWNLIE hopes the fact Rangers have so many past winners in their team can help them retain the City of Glasgow Cup against Celtic tonight. The Light Blues will face their biggest rivals for the prestigious old trophy at Parkhead (7pm) as they look to build on four final successes in the last five years. Tickets are still available to season ticket holders only and they can purchase them from the Rangers Ticket Centre up until close of business at 4pm. Defender Brownlie turned out in the most recent final 12 months ago as Gers edged a cracking game 3-2 at Firhill. Played out in a raucous atmosphere in front of 6,500 fans, a Ryan Hardie goal and Junior Ogen’s double won the game for the Murray Park outfit. Both forwards will be involved again this evening along with under-17 skipper Brownlie and a number of other Auchenhowie starlets. There has been nothing between the two teams this season, with each having a 2-1 home win in the Glasgow Cup and also sharing a draw in the league. But where Billy Kirkwood’s team perhaps has an edge is in terms of the fact there are a number in his side who know what it takes to come out on top in the decider. Brownlie said: “In the first game we had a man sent off in the first 10 or 15 minutes when we were 1-0 up and they got a penalty then went on to win 2-1 in the last couple of minutes. “That was a bad one but we had to get on with it but we won the more recent match between us 2-1. “The victory helped us get out of the group stage of the competition plus it gave us a boost as a team ahead of this final. “On the night, it is 11 players against 11 and anything can happen and the fact we’ve got a lot of boys who experienced the final last year in our side can help. “We’ve the likes of Ryan and Junior who scored the goals in the last final plus people such as Michael Mossie and Adam Wilson as well as me. “There are a few in there who know what it takes and what it feels like to play in front of a passionate crowd and to have the composure required to win the game.” Supporters attending tonight's game should note there are car parking facilities in Dalriada St, off Janefield Street, for no charge. Rangers fans should approach Celtic Park from Kinloch Street. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/academy-news/item/6886-past-win-can-help-us

"HMRC don't respond to speculation about alleged breaches of confidentiality". How many thousands of us have received this, or a similarly worded response from HMRC ? Or for those of us who have pressed MP's for an answer the appropriately named Ministerial Correspondence Unit of HMRC ? Some of you older Bears will remember how the producers of the American TV soap Dallas, wrote off the events of a whole series by suggesting one of the characters had merely dreamt it all. That's fine - perhaps I will awaken tomorrow morning to find the Rangers Tax Case Blog never existed or "The Men Who Sold The Jersey's" BBC Scotland documentary was just a nightmare. But of course they aren't just figments of a bad dream, they are every bit as real as the leaked confidential information which gave the foregoing blog and documentary a modicum of credibility. There is no "speculation" about it, nor is it an "alleged breach of confidentiality". Those of you who have read Follow We Will, by The Rangers Standard, will be well aware of the considerable injustices foisted upon our club and will be familiar with the damaging press articles written at the time of our fall. These happened, not simply because a charlatan had managed to gain effective control of our club and run it into the ground; it was because those dispensing injustice or penning scathing articles were doing so because they had bought into the lie that Rangers had indulged in “years of cheating”. That erroneous supposition was as a consequence of not just leaks and breaches of confidentiality, but the further subsequent manipulation of that obtained information. I remain convinced to this day that the SPL vote not to re-admit Rangers into the SPL was based on a presumption of guilt over EBT’s rather than anything else. “If you wanted to know the latest news on their tax travails, rangerstaxcase was a place you went because, unlike newspapers or radio stations, rangerstaxcase was connected to the heart of the FTT and everybody knew it. It had documents and detail that were beyond dispute. When illustrating one point it was making it would summon up information that could only have come from somebody within, or very close to, the tribunal” (Tom English – The Scotsman 25.11.2012) I had originally written to HMRC as part of an ongoing process of elimination; expecting them to assert that they had cross referenced the documents and evidence they had seized and undoubtedly catalogued, and were satisfied that the leaked confidential information appearing in the public domain had not come from themselves. Their response, as per the opening paragraph, not only astonished me, it also suggested to me something was clearly not right. However after numerous exchanges of correspondence it became clear neither HMRC, nor government ministers at the Treasury with ministerial responsibility for HMRC, were going to deviate from the clearly well rehearsed, but nonetheless erroneous "speculation" and "alleged" generic reply. At this point it’s is perhaps worthy of a short re-cap. Confidential information regarding Rangers tax dealings was appearing almost daily on a web blog and had already been subject of a documentary produced by our national broadcaster. The revelations by both the foregoing was to earn them awards in their respective fields. Whilst all this was happening the Investigative Agency responsible for collecting and securing evidence and information in the Rangers Tax Case was referring to breaches of confidentiality using terminology such as “speculation” and “alleged” Then the unthinkable happened - the experts sitting at the First Tier Tax Tribunal disagreed with Graham "Selective Amnesia" Spiers and all the other "internet and Scottish media tax experts" in declaring Rangers not guilty. This result was to prove the catalyst for the emergence of Professor Peter Watson of legal firm Levy & McRae, who announced on 27.11.2012 that he had written to Crown Office on behalf of Sir David Murray, asking them to launch a criminal investigation into such leaks. The only problem was that we heard nothing more on this, nor in fact was it even confirmed if Crown Office had indeed launched a criminal investigation. Consequently I raised my own criminal complaint in respect of the various breaches of confidentiality, in my capacity as a shareholder of Rangers oldco. In due course I received a letter from Ruaraidh Nicolson, Assistant Chief Constable Strathclyde Police, who confirmed the matter was already subject of an ongoing Police investigation. I presume this is as a consequence of Professor Watson’s complaint although this has never been confirmed – but confirming the investigation was ongoing was my priority not who had made the complaint. At this point I decided to test the water again with HMRC. Only this time I decided to do so with some political clout. Two options were available to me, my MSP or my MP. The latter, Jim McGovern, Scottish Labour, was the only Scottish member of Parliament to sign George Galloway’s Early Day Motion 913 – accusing our club of using insolvency law to avoid paying tax – a subject he and I had a fairly acrimonious exchange of letters with regard to. I therefore opted to engage the services of my local MSP – Joe Fitzpatrick SNP. But before I managed to meet Mr Fitzpatrick an event occurred which was to prove to be a significant “game changer” If words speak to you then the ones I was reviewing on my computer monitor were positively screaming at me. People speak of that "Boom - Headshot" moment, well this was one of them. Furthermore the author, as well as the context left no doubt whatsoever as to the absolute veracity of the narration. I was reading Section 98 of Lord Nimmo Smith's summary of the SPL Independent Commission Enquiry:- “Meanwhile, BBC Scotland came, by unknown means, into possession of what they described as “dozens of secret emails, letters and documents”, which we understand were the productions before the Tax Tribunal. These formed the basis of a programme entitled “Rangers – The Men Who Sold the Jerseys”, which was broadcast on 23 May 2012. BBC Scotland also published copious material on its website. The published material included a table containing the names of Rangers players, coaches and staff who were beneficiaries of the MGMRT, and how much they received through that trust.” For those who are unfamiliar with legal jargon the word "productions" refer to evidence. It was simple enough to understand - a considerable volume of evidence had been stolen from The Rangers Tax case and passed on to BBC Scotland, and of course perhaps others. This stolen evidence then became the research material and driving force for the documentary "The Men Who Sold The Jerseys". So why is Section 98 of Lord Nimmo Smith’s Report such a significant game changer ? Well it establishes that the material utilised in the BBC Documentary, and published on the BBC Website (and possibly utilised elsewhere) – originated from material seized by, and in the care of HMRC who, as the investigatory agency, were ultimately responsible for these “productions”, irrespective of who had custody, charge or care of these documents at the time of the theft. You will recall in my last article I highlighted how hundreds of Rangers shareholders writing to HMRC to complain about these breaches of confidentiality were subjected to a standard response of “HMRC do not comment on speculation about alleged breaches of confidentiality.” Lord Nimmo Smith’s report completely destroys and usurps that HMRC generic response, and serves to confirm it was neither speculation nor alleged breaches of confidentiality. The consequence of this is that HMRC have some considerable explaining to do to the Rangers supporters who highlighted these breaches of confidentiality, as HMRC’s assertion of it being “speculation and allegation” is not consistent with the facts and circumstances alluded to by Lord Nimmo Smith. Either the security surrounding the evidence was so inept, so poor, that it was compromised on numerous occasions, or in one “grand heist” allowing the perpetrators to not only supply BBC Scotland with stolen evidence, but also other outlets such as The Rangers Tax Case Blog which, almost on a daily basis managed to produce documentation relating to Rangers tax affairs. Are we honestly to believe that HMRC were unaware that such theft (s) of evidence occurred and furthermore due to incompetent management of their evidence they were unaware that “copious material” was being removed and passed on to others ? It is worth remembering at this point that contained in HMRC’s own Charter, under the heading “What you can Expect From Us” is a commitment to “Protect your information and respect your privacy” But this theory is not without considerable problems. It would mean that HMRC totally ignored the material being published by BBC Scotland and The Rangers Tax Case Blog, ignored the concerns of the many hundreds of Rangers shareholders who wrote complaining of the breaches of confidentiality – in short that they adopted a head in the sand mentality to reports of apparent breaches of confidentiality which were being flagged up to them. Investigative Agencies seizing numerous items of documentary evidence, catalogue it for ease of reference – it would have been a simple task for HMRC to check the material appearing on the BBC Scotland and Rangers Tax Case Blog Websites by cross referencing it with their own catalogued evidence in order to establish if a problem existed. Quite simply believing this theory requires us to accept a level of negligence and incompetence by HMRC which would in my opinion, be tantamount to criminal neglect. A further possibility is equally unpalatable however – quite simply that HMRC were aware of the breaches of confidentiality and the theft of evidence, but for reasons best known to themselves, decided to deliberately mislead and misdirect the complaints from Rangers shareholders with their generic “speculation and allegation” rebuttal, perhaps in the hope that it would all blow over and in time interest would wane. During the course of this sojourn I have received confirmation that the ongoing Police enquiry into the Breaches of Confidentiality in the Rangers Tax Case is as a consequence of the complaint raised by Lord Peter Watson on behalf of Sir David Murray. It is significant that this complaint was raised after the conclusion of the first tier tax tribunal. Which begs the question why HMRC had not raised a similar complaint earlier? Is it really acceptable that in the highest profile tax case ever seen in Scotland, the Investigative Agency, HMRC, had the evidence stolen and they failed to report this theft to the Police for investigation – despite it appearing on National Media outlets as well as anonymous web blogs ? I am currently awaiting a response from HMRC to several Freedom of Information Requests served upon them via my solicitor. I am of the opinion that as well as failing to deliver upon their own charter, the subsequent response from them, if provided, will confirm they have also failed to uphold their own operational guidelines with regard to the loss of evidence in the Rangers Tax Case. Given the level of inconsistency, ambiguity and possible misleading of the public, I think it is high time that the investigators themselves were subject to investigation. Let us all push for the Government Enquiry, both our club and our support deserve.

IN THE standard media take on Rangers’ affairs, Graham Wallace is the big, bad bouncer barring entry to the club to Dave King, a man whose deep pockets would ensure everything went with a swing for those inside. Yet, Ibrox chief executive Wallace has tried to create the impression that King will be welcome to join the party. Just not take it over. “We have quantified a range [of investment, the figure being £30 million] where we think the club needs to be looking at in order to be competitive,” said Wallace, as the club published a damning 120-day business review which showed £70m had been haemorrhaged over 18 months. “Right now we don’t have the authority to issue a fresh batch of shares and say to Dave King ‘Here you are… £20m? In you come...’ “What we’ve said is we will go to the shareholders for authority in the autumn and the timing of that is important because it gives us time to demonstrate stability in how we’re running the business from an investor’s perspective. When we do that, the equity offering will be open to existing shareholders, it should probably also be open to fresh investors, including Dave King, and potentially others. There’s no one stopping Dave King or anyone else putting money into the club today other than the regulatory authority the board needs to have. “Dave has said before, there may be 15 per cent of the existing shareholders who may not want to participate further, in which case there’s a significant block of stock that would be available.” Wallace denies the current directors fear their power being diluted by King’s involvement. “When we met with him, when you look at his ambitions and his vision for what he would like the club to be, they’re not dissimilar to what we’re trying to do,” insisted the chief executive. “We want to be competitive, we want to be punching at the top of the Premiership and in order to do that we know the club needs investment.” Rangers supporters find themselves in an horribly invidious position. They are understandably contemptuous of the current board for the cash burn and calamitous contracts that Wallace excoriated in his review. However, through a gushing press for King, the only alternative being presented is a man who mismanaged his own financial affairs so profoundly he had to repay more than £40m to the South African tax authorities and lodge certain payments to 
prevent his convictions landing him in prison. “A wide cross-section of the fan base is looking for some form of guidance, some form of reassurance as to how their club has been run,” Wallace said. “I hope as they look at this review that they get a sense of where it’s been, where it is now, and more importantly where it can go. “People are worried about putting their money into the club and three months later it not to be there and they’ve lost their £400. I completely understand that, and I’ve been repeatedly asked if the club is under threat of another administration and I’ve said the same thing every time – no, it’s not. “The point about the fans is, yes, there’s a desire on behalf of a segment of the fanbase to support someone like Dave King, who’s offering up – on paper, at least – a potentially significant amount of money to invest in the club. I understand that. “We’re giving the assurance that if the fans continue to back the club in the way they have, then there is no threat to the financial stability of this business. That’s the single most important thing. If fans are really concerned about the financial health of their club, if they give us the support by behaving as they have done and renewing their [season] tickets, then we’re in a very very strong position.” That is tantamount to the emotional blackmail the supporters’ coalition the Union of Fans has railed against. Wallace might not be so tainted in the eyes of the wider support, and might have been perceived more as a figure to trust by them, were it not for the £1.5m loan at exorbitant rates the club required only months after he stated such an injection would not be needed to keep the club afloat. The chief executive now accepts his credibility was damaged. “It was an issue, yes. I responded to a question at the AGM about [whether there] ‘is sufficient cash to continue to trade in the near term’ and I said there was. That was an honest answer made on the assessment of what was available at the time. As we’ve gone through the review, there were certain assumptions made in the business plan which, when we went to push the button on them, we found they didn’t exist. So yes, we got to a position where we had to look at an alternative strategy for a very short, defined period of time. So yes, our credibility was questioned. “Subsequent to putting the deal in place there were offers of similar amounts at vastly reduced monies. I think we’re in a better place now.” A huge measure of sensible husbandry is required at Rangers, but with Wallace stating manager Ally McCoist’s playing budget for the Championship will be “comparable” to the indefensible £6m with which the club have bulldozed their way through two part-time lower divisions, questions can be asked about lessons learned. Perhaps in one sense they have been. Rangers announced in their review that they will appoint a chief football operations officer, essentially a director of football, who will “concentrate initially on developing player talent identification, scouting and recruitment capability”. In the past two years, Rangers have certainly been guilty of having a flawed recruitment strategy that has been the largest consistent drain on their revenue and resources. “In terms of building this club to be competitive back at the top level, the level of infrastructure is not there,” said Wallace. “So scouting, recruitment, talent identification, managing and driving value from sourcing players [needs to be addressed]. Bringing players in here, if they’re good enough to play for us great but if they’re not then they might do a season and move along and get some value. “We’ve no one looking at that. That’s what I see this particular role focusing on. It’s very much a support role for me, for the manager, at an overall level. The hunt for this person begins now and it’s about getting the right person, with the right skill set and the right experience. I’d hope over the course of the coming months to have someone.” Wallace maintains this new appointment did not reflect on McCoist’s job security. “I have never even had a thought about the manager’s future. We speak every day and meet two or three times a week. “He’s obviously interested in the financial budget. We’ve talked about it. He knows we’re going to make funds available for the summer. He doesn’t know the magnitude, the number. We will sit down and agree that.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-open-the-door-to-dave-king-1-3390262

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/police-probe-launched-after-rangers-3464370 Forgive me, but I think things have just taken a particularly unedifying turn for the worse.

Congratulations to Lee Wallace for winning the League One @PFAScotland Player of the Year award for 2013/14. pic.twitter.com/PM5mnyxg1q BTW Kane Hemmings won the Championship P of the Y.

In response to a number of threads which kinda veer into polarised positions, I'd like to set out why I think the running of our club is in the wrong hands at present. I avoid calling them 'the board' because it's hard to remember who is actually on which board at the moment, who is responsible for what and who gets to lock the safe, so to speak. That in itself is a criticism of those at the top & I haven't even started! The two people who are most often seen & heard as our main people are Sandy Easdale & Graham Wallace. To begin with Mr Easdale: he's had a struggle to be accepted, since he came with baggage. I would be the last person to insist that to be a Rangers fan or official you need to sign up to the whole manifesto of beliefs. But when it comes to blazers, I do feel that 'not having been to jail to VAT fraud' is a broadly non-controversial opening qualification. This raises the philosophical debate about whether jail is for punishment or rehabilitation: as a lapsed socialist I see it more as the first than the second, since those who are there tend to have harmed society and, bluntly, society deserves to get a kick back. Even, however, if you lean toward rehabilitation, does Mr Easdale strike you as rehabilitated? The world of West Scotland's bus garages may not sound like the sort of place to find Sonny Corleone tied to a chair, but neither is it a clear, visible symbol of someone having learnt a hard lesson and overtly trying to do better. You could liken it to a pimp who is jailed, does his time and buys a strip club; not criminal, but not much use in persuading folk you are a reformed character. All this is speculation and could - who knows? - be most unfair on Mr Easdale. Nevertheless image counts and his image, which is now tied to our club, is not a good one. Coming with such baggage, he would have had a hard fight to get some fans, maybe puritan ones, onside in any event, but he has decided that steady, unobtrusive work with tangible results is not the way to go and plumped for issuing legal threats to fans, questioning the loyalty of fans, and blaming fans for the club's problems. Whether you agree with the man that he was being impugned unfairly, threatening Rangers fans while ignoring the libelous attacks of fans' of every other team in Scotland is, bluntly, an insane policy if the aim is to promote yourself as a trustworthy figure. The lack of the ability to think a situation through and deal with it is dismaying; when the UoF or Sos were at Murray Park last week for a photo-opportunity it showed how anyone with any sense ought to have dealt with it. His remarkable access to ST sales figures and the financial status of a plc of which he is not a board member could, you might argue, point to a searingly sharp analytical business mind. Graham Wallace certainly made it clear that Mr Easdale was speaking in a personal capacity as shareholder last Thursday; I wonder if every shareholder, should they chap Mr Wallace's door, would receive such detailed information as Mr Easdale apparently gets? Mr Wallace, Mr Wallace. His deflection of Mr Easdale's blatant presence as eminence grise didn't do much for his credibility either, which was a shame because he at least of all the players who have high-kicked their way across our stage in the last two seasons seemed to come without baggage and with, it seemed, the tools to get the job done. He didn't have to lay out his credentials, they were there to see. However, trying to sell the most obvious of nutmegs over Mr Easdale's position did not leave him looking very sharp and counts against him. If it has been disappointing to see him bullshit us over Mr Easdale's interview. It has been doubly disappointing to find out, a day after the event, that far from Rangers credit facility being withdrawn due to the actions of fans or agitators, it was withdrawn because credit companies see us as a bad risk. I'd urge you to consider for a moment that credit firms - the leeches, the parasites, who cause so much suffering by lobbing bales of cash at people in no state to repay them - even these people don't want to touch us. This is not, in my book, an achievement which goes down in Mr Wallace's 'debit' account and, although it cannot be exclusively laid at his door as 'his fault', his dealing with it has been pitiful and serves only to erode both trust and credibility. His legal case seems a little vindictive; frankly there are deals and tranches of missing money more deserving of investigation. I think Mr Wallace dealt well with the media following the 139 Day Fantasy press conference last Friday, and in an ideal world he could probably do the decent job we all hoped he would. But you have to assume he sanctioned or was at least asked about hiring Paul Tyrell a day before he announced job losses; on the one hand we know we have to cut costs, on the other cutting them to pay someone to defend he and the rest of The Keystone Kops seems grotesque. You have to assume he is going to take a bonus unless more pressure is brought to bear, since he declined to answer questions on the subject and that seems grotesque; you have to assume he was aware that it was not fan issues which led to the credit situation described above but decided to blame them anyway. That's a lot of assuming, but since Mr Wallace won't answer the questions what else can I do but assume? So my view of the 'current lot' is one person with a dreadful reputation and image who constantly engages in battle with the people he then asks for money and trust from; and another person who is either massively out of his depth or finds clarity and transparence subtle concepts to be moulded as needed. Neither inspire any confidence in me, not because I desire Dave King and his millions to bail us out, nor because I have a reflex condition which means anyone in office is immediately a crook. There's no doubt we're heading for complete division as a fan base between those who back the board (beyond belief in my view but it's a free country) and those who perceive that the malaise lies at the boardroom door(s) and until they are cleaned out we're going nowhere. As a lonely handwringer these many years I am not especially freaked about splits in the support: but it's going to be sad to see nonetheless. Anyhoo, that's how things look from here.

Amazing day at ibrox today, signed my professional contract for rangers⚽️ hopefully the future is bright??

According to STV the review will be published to LSE today as planned. Please ensure all discussion takes place in this thread where appropriate. Full review for download here: http://t.co/HNRfyvKDAe

Thread on FF saying Sandy has passed away! So so sad if true Been confirmed by Mark Dingwall on FF RIP Sandy, a true Rangers legend.

To view this email online, click HERE IF YOU HAVE ALREADY CANCELLED YOUR SEASON TICKET OR HAVE ALREADY RENEWED, PLEASE IGNORE THIS COMMUNICATION. Dear Bearger, Rangers FC would like to notify all supporters that from today, Friday 25 April, it has withdrawn the option to use credit or debit card payments for season ticket purchasers. Following today’s Business Review announcement which is available on the Rangers website here, we are contacting all season ticket holders to update them on the options available in order for them to renew their season ticket. Continued negative external comment and campaigns have created significant operating difficulties and has been threatening the Club’s orderly and progressive recovery. A current example of the difficulty being faced by the Club, and which will regrettably impact upon supporters, is that for next season supporters will now be unable to pay for their season tickets by credit or debit card. The Club’s merchant acquirer, which processes credit and debit card transactions, has advised that it would require extensive security, including a charge over Ibrox Stadium and an insurance policy at considerable cost to the Club, to protect itself against any potential liability arising from passing on monies from season ticket purchases ahead of next season’s matches. One of the major factors influencing this decision was the extensive negative coverage of calls in some quarters for supporters to refrain or delay purchasing season tickets. As previously stated, the Board will not grant security over Ibrox and therefore has regrettably decided that for the current season ticket renewal process it will proceed with direct payment only to the Club by way of bank transfer, cash or cheque payment. Any supporters who are on the automatic renewal scheme will not have their tickets renewed automatically and will also require to renew their seats individually. The Club recognises that this will inconvenience a significant number of supporters, however in the Board’s opinion, the demands placed upon the Club by the merchant acquirer are not in the best interests of Rangers. Please note however that whilst credit card and debit cards cannot be used to pay for season tickets, the continuous credit card schemes remain unaffected. To assist supporters at this time, the Club is extending the season ticket renewal window until Friday 16 May, to give every supporter sufficient time to renew their season ticket. Please note that if you do not submit payment by the revised renewal deadline, the Club reserves the right to release your seat for general sale. PAYMENT OPTIONS OPTION 1 – in full by bank transfer, cheque or cash. Bank Transfer – For UK payments please use the following account details: Metro Bank, One Southampton Row, London, WC1B 5HA, Account Name: Rangers FC - Direct Ticket A/C, Sort Code: 23-05-80, Account Number: 14222855. For all overseas payments please use the following account details: Metro Bank, One Southampton Row, London, WC1B 5HA, Account Name: Rangers FC - Direct Ticket A/C, SWIFT/BIC: MYMBGB2L or IBAN: GB86MYMB23058014222855. IMPORTANT INFORMATION – if you select to pay by Bank Transfer you MUST only pay for one season ticket at a time and ensure that you use your correct 9 digit Rangers Number along with your seat details with a space in between as payee reference in order for your season ticket renewal to be processed. Your individual payee reference would therefore be 500545595 BR3AA84 Cheque – write cheque guarantee card number, expiry date, RANGERS NUMBER and seat details on reverse and make payable to The Rangers Football Club Ltd. If returning by post, please send to Rangers TICKET CENTRE, Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD. Cash – only in person at Rangers ticket centre. OPTION 2 – Zebra Finance by 4 or 10 monthly instalments Renew online from Thursday 1 May at http://www.rangers.co.uk/renew, download a renewal form or request a form from Rangers Ticket Centre. If you have any queries regarding the change in payment methods, please contact Rangers Ticket Centre or email ticketcentre@rangers.co.uk Thank you for your continued support RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB Rangers.co.uk To unsubscribe, please follow this link: Unsubscribe The Rangers Football Club Ltd, registered in Scotland with number SC425159 registered office Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD

RANGERS chief executive Graham Wallace has insisted that major shareholder Sandy Easdale was not speaking for the Ibrox club when he cast serious doubt on their financial position and repeated his own assertion there is “no threat” of a second administration. Easdale, who controls more than 26 per cent of the shares in Rangers, described the club’s situation as “fragile” in a BBC Scotland interview ahead of Wallace’s publication yesterday of his business review and strategic plan for the League 1 champions. The long-awaited document painted a damning picture of Rangers’ operations since its business and assets were *purchased by Charles Green’s consortium in May 2012 following the descent into administration and liquidation under Craig Whyte’s ruinous tenure. Despite raising £70.7 million through a share issue, season ticket sales and commercial income between that date and December 2013, only £3.5m was left at the end of last year. Wallace’s review admits the club “mismanaged almost all of its cash reserves following administration” and that a “perfect opportunity to rebuild Rangers has been completely missed”. Wallace has now set out a strategy which will require capital funding of up to £30m over the next three years and which he believes can culminate in Rangers winning the Premiership title in 2017 and qualifyingfor the Champions League. The club intend to have another share issue later this year to raise cash, but their immediate financial position is dependent on the sale of season tickets against the backdrop of former director Dave King’s call for supporters to instead place their renewal money in a trust fund. But, although Wallace *admitted poor season ticket sales would have an impact on the club’s financial operations, he distanced himself from Sandy Easdale’s bleak assessment and the possibility of a second *administration at Ibrox. “Sandy Easdale’s comments were made by him in his *capacity as a shareholder,” said Wallace. “He’s not a director of the PLC board, so they were not made in a capacity in respect of the PLC company. “I’ve gone on record before to say there would be no threat of administration and my position today is exactly the same. There is no change to my view based on the club’s current position and our future projections. “Sandy Easdale wasn’t put out to comment by the club. “He made them as a shareholder. You would have to speak to him directly to ask the context in which he made those comments. “If you are asking me if ‘administration II’ is a possibility, then I’m saying categorically ‘No’. There would need to be a significant reduction in season ticket renewals to present a major problem to the club.” Wallace denied that the current level of season ticket sales was as much as 9,000 down on the same period last year. But the situation has been further complicated by the withdrawal of credit and debit card services to pay for season tickets after the company who processed them for the club *demanded security over Ibrox Stadium to protect itself against any potential liabilities. Rangers turned down that *request and supporters will now only be able to purchase season tickets by bank transfer, cash or cheque payment. “We have extended the season ticket renewal window through to 16 May and we will monitor the progress of the fans renewing over the coming weeks and assess it,” added Wallace. “There is no sense of panic – no sense of panic at all. Season ticket sales have been slow and I don’t think that’s surprising. A lot of people have been waiting to see what we were going to see coming out of the review, a sense of comfort and security that if they put their money in, the company is still going to survive, but also a sense of ambition in terms of where we want to take the club. “We’ve never said that we would look to run this club on a limited cost basis. What we did say was that we would look at every pound we were spending and ask ourselves if we were spending it in the right areas. I think we’ve been true to that. “So what we’re setting out is a summary of the position as it was, an assessment of where we are today but, more importantly, a vision of where we want to take the club over the next three to five years. We’ve spent a *decent amount of time on a proper robust business plan. “I said at the time of the AGM that there was no point in going out and looking to raise funds if you haven’t got a robust plan that sits behind that. “So that’s what we’ve done and I very much hope that the Rangers fans will look at what we’ve said and support us with a sense of comfort that we’re running the club in the right way, that we have a sense of ambition and that their aspirations for a successful team on the field is equally matched by those of us in the boardroom who are *trying to grow and develop the club.” What Wallace described as a “small number” of staff will be made redundant as a result of the review findings. He also outlined plans for two new major roles at the club – a chief football operations officer, responsible for player talent identification, scouting and recruitment, and a chief commercial officer tasked with maximizing club revenues. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/wallace-at-odds-with-easdale-over-rangers-finance-1-3389705