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Incompetence or deliberate intent?

.......to save Ibrox as new cash crisis rocks Gers. RANGERS fan groups fear the club will not be able to pay next month's wage bill after court ruling while legend Andy Goram feels it may be too late to save Ibrox. FORMER Rangers director Imran Ahmad has succeeded in his bid to have £620,000 frozen in the club’s bank account. Lawyers for Ahmad claim he is owed a £500,000 bonus for the time he spent working as commercial director at Ibrox. They went to the Court of Session because they fear Gers are about to become insolvent. Ahmad is set to take his former employers to court later this year and is concerned that if he were to win his action, Rangers would be too poor to pay him. His legal team had failed on two previous occasions to obtain the order. But yesterday, after hearing claims that Rangers were becoming the “envy of English Premiership sides” for their financial position, Lord Stewart ruled there was still a “risk” of insolvency. He said: “I have formed the view that there is a risk of Rangers becoming insolvent. “That is not to say there is an actuality or a certainty insolvency is something that will happen. At this stage, it is only a risk.” Fans groups now fear Gers won’t be able to pay wages this month. Rangers have £1.2million in their account but the wage bill for playing and non-playing staff is thought to be close to £1m a month. Salaries are normally paid on the last Thursday of every month so they will be due on September 25. The club’s recently announced share issue takes place a week earlier and the beleaguered board are hoping to claw enough cash together from that to limp on. However, Chris Graham of the Union of Fans said: “This puts the club in a really difficult position. “With just £1.2m in the bank at the moment this will make it difficult to pay the next wage bill.” Graham also hit out at director Sandy Easdale and said: “Many fans will be wondering what on earth Sandy Easdale was doing speaking to the media just days before this case and outlining how dire the funding position at the club is. “Surely he should have realised that his comments were going to weaken our chances of getting a positive outcome from this case.” Another fan, Craig Smith, tweeted his 16-month old daughter “could have run Rangers’ finances better”. But the club last night claimed they were confident they would still be able to “operate as normal”. Rangers have sought leave to appeal and the court will deal with that request on Tuesday. A club statement said: “We agree with Judge Lord Stewart when he told the court: ‘This does not mean to say that insolvency is an actuality or is going to happen.’ “We remain confident that the club will be able to continue to operate as normal.” That came after Alan Summers QC told the court Rangers’ financial situation was improving. He said: “When we were last here, we heard how the share issue would only keep the lights on at Ibrox. “I can tell you the floodlights are back on at Ibrox and are in no danger of being switched off. “Talks are at an advanced stage with two potential investors. The club has not been in rude health for some time. But the situation is improving. The club is trading its way out of difficulties. Its current position is the envy of many English Premiership clubs.” However, Ahmad’s advocate Kenny McBrearty told the court there was no proof the share issue could keep the club solvent and insisted there was no guarantee investors would come forward. He said: “A pattern of diminishing working capital is evident. There is nothing concrete that there is a saviour for Rangers.” Many fans view Dave King as that potential saviour after the South Africa-based businessman promised to pump £30m into Rangers if the board were removed from office. He also set up a trust fund with fans’ groups so punters could commit their money to the club without handing it over to those in charge at Ibrox. But Rangers legend Andy Goram believes time is running out for King to stop the club from tumbling into administration again. The former keeper said: “I would like to see King doing what he has been promising to do for a while. “King threw a grenade in at the start of the season and stepped back. The longer he leaves it, the worse it’s going to get. “The fans had three choices this summer. You either paid season ticket money, went game to game or gave your money to King. “Now it needs something pretty quick. I see Jim McColl has saved the shipyard on the Clyde. “People like that, Rangers fans like that, I think the club is still important to them. “We don’t want to see it go down the tubes again. Administration again would be ridiculous. “If King’s timing is not right, if people don’t get the timing right with the investment, it could be too late. It’s getting pretty close.” Yesterday’s court ruling came after Record Sport revealed Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct firm had acquired the naming rights to Ibrox for just £1 – a move which has sparked fury among the fans. The Newcastle supremo is one of the biggest individual shareholders at Rangers and has also taken full control of the club’s retail stores. Those deals were struck during Charles Green’s time at Ibrox and Goram believes it would have been better for Rangers if someone like Fergus McCann had taken over after the first financial crisis. The canny Canadian helped rebuild rivals Celtic two decades ago by watching every penny. And Goram said: “Rangers needed someone like McCann to sort it out from the beginning. “The deals Ashley has done all happened when Charles Green was in charge.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-brink-new-cash-crisis-4173651

DR publishing interview with Sandy Easdale tomorrow.....and also running a headline that the naming rights of Ibrox being sold for £1!! Rumours are that the naming rights are given for £1 plus underwriting the share issue. Not 100% sure though. Looks like more grim news on the way bears....buckle up!!

Bill Leckie; Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. If they don’t heed those words as the vultures circle Ibrox once again, then hell mend them. First time their club went to the wall, they manned the barricades to protect it from a big, nasty outside world. For that, no matter what other thoughts you have on the matter, their loyalty surely deserves to be applauded. But now? Two-and-a-half years on? If, despite being given a second chance to repair the horrendous mistakes of the past, a club with this level of support goes into administration AGAIN? Sorry, but if it was me I wouldn’t give them another penny. On Saturday, once more, thousands turned up brandishing red cards to express their unhappiness at the way the love of their lives is being mismanaged. And, once more, those responsible for the mismanagement laughed up their sleeves at the pointlessness of the protest. Because to brandish those red cards, you have to pay your money to get inside the stadium. Which hands yet more cash to the people you’re protesting at so they can go ahead and waste it. Listen, what do I know? They’re not my club and the one I do follow has never been to the heights Rangers have reached to suffer such a humiliating, disorientating fall. I’m just someone looking in and wondering how the hell, in all good conscience, Bluenoses can carry on regardless if and when the accountants take over the asylum once more. Actually, don’t answer that. It’s not a can of worms that’s worth opening, this We-Are-The-People, Rangers-Till-I-Die, stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears-and-sing-Follow-Follow mindset. So, for what it’s worth, let me instead pass on my suggestion for what they should do if their club re-enters the abyss. Sod it. Turn their backs on it. Give it, as a man on the other side of Glasgow once said, not one more thin dime. And instead, invest in the future of Scottish clubs who DO run their affairs honestly and who DO have respect for those who click the turnstiles. Go and back your old skipper Barry Ferguson as he tries to make things happen at Clyde. Go and see what another ex-player in Gary Bollan’s doing with Airdrie. If you’re from Fife, go and watch East Fife or Cowdenbeath. If you’re in Angus, hand your tenner to Arbroath or Brechin, Forfar or Montrose. If you donÂ’t want to give up your wee jaunt over from Northern Ireland, get off the ferry and stroll up to Stair Park. There’s been a school of thought among some these last couple of years that Rangers being forced to do the grand tour of the colonies meant the lower divisions should have been grateful for the gate receipts and the TV handouts. For me, this always got it the wrong way round. It was those inside Ibrox should have been thankful that they were in still in business and ABLE to head for Elgin and Berwick and Stranraer. Now, as fresh financial catastrophe looms, I’d put it to Rangers fans that they could do far more good for far more people if they stopped pouring money into what has long since ceased to be “their” club and started drip-feeding it to those who genuinely are the game’s lifeblood. Why? I’ll give you three good reasons. One, those halfwits in your directors’ box shouldn’t be trusted with the remote for the telly, never mind your wages. Two, that 30,000-odd of you spread among the country’s 20-odd part-time clubs would not only create better atmospheres but also help to cement football in communities for the long term. And three? You might just get to relax and enjoy the game, rather than always being angry and stressed about it. Watching Ayr United play Stenhousemuir might just extend your life. The alternative to this is a simple one. Stand your ground and, by your very presence, condone the halfwits in the directors’ box. Two-and-a-half years on from that first administration and the liquidation that followed, these halfwits need to scramble together £4million in a matter of days to keep their heads above water. To achieve this, they may need to flog their saleable players before the transfer window closes, which will hamper your hopes of promotion back to the top flight. If they don’t raise the money, they stand to suffer a 25-point deduction as punishment for a second spell in administration, all but ending those promotion hopes. How, with the wages they pay and the crowds they attract and the sheer intimidatory force of their name that is a two-goal start against far smaller opposition, can this possibly be? How the lumping hell can the people running a club the size of Rangers be handed the chance they were to start again, to build sensibly, to tool up for their return to where they want to be, and yet fail so utterly miserably? How? The clue is in the word halfwits. So maybe I’ve got this all the wrong way round. And it’s those Ibrox directors who should be sent to the outposts of the footballing empire instead. Maybe Graham Wallace and the Easdales and whoever else is a player in this embarrassing saga are the ones who need to go out into the real world and see how real football people operate. Trust me, if a month shadowing the treasurer at Albion Rovers didn’t shame them into living within their means, liquidation’s too good for them.

I wouldn't disagree with much of this to be fair. BY GORDON WADDELL Gordon Waddell: Like Thelma and Louise, Rangers have arrived at their destination.. the edge of a cliff 31 August 2014 08:37 AM By Gordon Waddell GORDON reckons Rangers are at the edge of a precipice but the cash crisis hasn't stopped the club signing back-up keeper Lee Robinson in a move typical of the way the club has been run for the past few years. THEY sold their road back to the top of the game as ‘The Journey’. It would appear Rangers have arrived at a destination many financial experts predicted for them long ago. The edge of a cliff. As the directors sit there like Thelma and Louise, with the engine revving, you wonder if the question was not whether the club would end up being driven over the edge but more a matter of when the crash would occur. How else do you explain it? No sane person would surely run a business the way they’ve run theirs. It’s as if they have committed commercial suicide. An example? It didn’t make a headline. Barely registered a mention. But if you want even a tiny indication of exactly how dysfunctional Rangers are, then look no further than the signing of Lee Robinson last week. A 28-year-old back-up keeper to a 35-year-old back-up. When they already have the Scotland Under-19 No.1 AND the Scotland Under-17 No.1 on their books? Another wage? Aye, why not, eh? We’ve been splashing money needlessly for two and a half years on players we don’t need and can’t afford – another won’t kill us. Their share offering on Friday was like taking a tube of Savlon to a cremation. They’ve admitted to the stock exchange that if they don’t get at least £3m, they’re knackered. And even if they do, they’ve openly shifted the problem a couple of months further down the line. Yet still they sign players like autograph hunters? They act as if they don’t give a monkey’s. Other clubs coming back from the brink, the first thing they attacked was their cost base. Trimmed all the fat and started from the ground up. Live within your means. New club motto? Numquam Iterum. Never Again. Yet here we are, back at square one. Ally on the back pages, pleading: ‘Don’t sell my stars’. Why not? Truth is you should never have been allowed to sign most of them in the first place. This whole ‘We’re Rangers and until someone tells me otherwise, we’ll continue to behave like Rangers’ schtick? McCoist is a bright, articulate, likeable guy. I refuse to believe he’s so gullible. That he never sat there and thought ‘This can’t be right’. Who would you prefer to be in charge at Rangers? I’m not saying anything I haven’t said to him in a dozen different press conferences. I’ve asked him why they weren’t hunkering down, signing players for their level, saving cash. He always replied: “The fans deserve better.” Damn right they do. But they also deserve their club to survive after what they’ve put in over the years. In a football sense, I haven’t yet met a Rangers fan who didn’t think the club would have been better bleeding half a dozen youngsters into their line-up back on day one and developing them properly than going down the road they did. I haven’t yet met a fan who wouldn’t have put up with the odd defeat to see some genuine progress and fiscal responsibility rather than watching the likes of Richard Foster, Stevie Smith, Ian Black, Dean Shiels or Jon Daly. Or Lee Robinson. Nice lad, decent gloves – but what about Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie, two of the highest-rated teenagers in their position in Scotland? Every other club in the country is giving youth a chance and reaping the rewards. Not The Rangers. Sorry lads. Can’t trust you, even on the bench. No time to have faith in you. Other diddy clubs might get away with playing teenagers. They may even excel. Hell, look at Conor McGrandles – 82 senior games by the age of 18 and a £1million move from Falkirk to Norwich. Rangers are too good for that, though. Listen, the dysfunctional management of the club’s affairs runs a million miles deeper than the team. These are just examples of how a total breakdown in management manifests itself in public. What goes on behind closed doors or up marble staircases? We may never know. But the fact they’re putting out the begging bowl in such a humiliating manner suggests none of it is good. And then we have the ever-hovering presence of Dave King . King has been criticised for his silence but don’t let anyone kid you that he hasn’t been waiting for this exact moment. The lowest ebb. The final wheezing breaths of a regime someone as long in the tooth as he is always thought would arrive. Sure, he’s a Rangers fan. Sure, his intentions for the club will be more honourable than the current incumbents. But spare me the idea his timing suggests anything other than his own benefit being served too. In the meantime, the Rangers fans are once again left with what they call Morton’s Fork – two choices, both undesirable. Take up the share option, keep a shambolic regime functioning a little longer. Or not a penny more. Flush them out and suffer the consequences. I don’t envy them their decision.

From Richard Wilson: HMRC granted leave to appeal upper tier tribunal decision at the Court of Session. "We are pleased that the Upper Tribunal has given HMRC leave to appeal to the Court of Session," said a spokesman. "We continue to believe that schemes using Employee Benefit Trusts to avoid income tax and NICs do not work.'

With Boyd and Clark working so well together - where will Miller fit in? Will we possibly see a 4-3-3 with Boyd in the middle of a front 3?

He did a decent job last season.

(Tom English – The Scotsman 25.11.2012) (Tom English - Twitter 21.08.2014) Its good to know that Tom English has found some sort of journalistic morality of late, however it may present a conflict of interests with his new employer, BBC Scotland. Or does the morality of source over story only apply in certain circumstances ? After all, Tom is now working for an employer who were happy to utilise not just stolen property, but stolen evidence from the Rangers Tax Tribunal, if Lord Nimmo Smith's conclusions are correct. But in his new found morality Tom has excluded himself from the knowledge that Vanguard Bears appear to have successfully cultivated a mole, perhaps within the SFA itself, as previous revelations, including documentary evidence, suggest. And could this latest expose, while perhaps lacking in documentary evidence, be a clear signpost to of a course of unedifying, unprofessional and negligent conduct involving our footballs higher echelons of administration ? Especially when viewed in the context of previous disclosed e-mails and agreements. Nope of course not – nothing to see here – move along please. But should we really be surprised ? After all there seems little excitement in journalistic circles that those in charge of Scottish Football were prepared to find Rangers guilty prior to trial as well as inflict draconian type punishments on a club which had yet to be found guilty. Morality ? Perhaps some of those journalists, and there have been many of late, who remind us of the impoverished state of our game via their daily columns, care to consider if perhaps they have a role to play. After all if the head of our game is more worried about being on time for a dinner date rather than what was probably one of the most critical meetings in the history of our game, is there not something fundamentally wrong ? What is particularly alarming in this whole episode are those gleefully re tweeting Tom English's original tweet. It does not matter that journalists will ignore story over source, it does not matter that it contains allegations of incompetence, of lack of prioritisation, of utter disdain for the game of football in Scotland (ironically affecting their own clubs) – so long as Rangers or Rangers fans get it in the neck - then that makes it okay. But let's not be too harsh on Stewart Regan – I’m told there is a certain restaurant in Leeds which does a succulent lamb to die for. It looks like football in Scotland will be the sacrificial lamb.

............over 'sexist, racist and homophobic' text messages during time at Cardiff. In July 2012, Cardiff signed South Korean international Kim Bo-kyung, but when Moody informed Mackay on July 12 that ‘five of the b******s including the player’ were arriving for talks, the reply from Mackay’s phone was: ‘Fkn chinkys.’ A further message says: ‘Fk it. There’s enough dogs in Cardiff for us all to go around.’ In reference to the prominent football agent, Phil Smith, a text states: ‘Go on, fat Phil. Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers’. The Israeli club, Maccabi Tel Aviv, are also referred to simply as ‘the Jews’. A football official at another club is referred to as ‘a gay snake’ and ‘the homo’ and someone who is ‘not to be trusted’, while a French player is someone ‘who struck me as an independently minded young homo’. An exchange with a young player who has a female agent makes reference to a sex act and states: ‘I hope she’s looking after your needs,’ the player is then told. ‘I bet you’d love a bounce on her falsies.’ On August 16, 2012, a list of players proposed by a French agent is forwarded, stating to Mackay that ‘he needs to rename his agency the All Blacks’. A separate text in reference to a list of French players states: ‘Not many white faces amongst that lot but worth considering.’ In a separate exchange a picture entitled ‘Black Monopoly’ is sent, with every square a ‘Go To Jail’ square. Of one African player, it is stated: ‘Doesn’t look like a good cv. And he’s Nigerian.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2730307/Malky-Mackay-Iain-Moody-investigated-FA-sexist-racist-homophobic-text-messages-time-Cardiff.html#ixzz3AyfNRTqk Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

According to The Sun, Bell dislocated his shoulder against Falkirk and could be out for up to three months.

As many of you will already know, Frankie published an obituary this morning following the extremely sad news of the recent passing of Gordon Young who was a regular contributor to the site and very well known to Gersnet forum members as Bluebear54. Tragically, Gordon finally lost a year long battle with cancer on Thursday night, but he goes with our love and best wishes as a knowledgeable, passionate and witty Bear who we will all remember very fondly indeed. Back in October 2013 I asked Gordon to write the article for our very first regular Gersnet magazine column, which at that time was for Seventy2 magazine. They were running a Dutch themed special and published below is the full 2500 word article Gordon submitted as an initial draft before he cut it down to the final 1400 word piece for the magazine submission and before the news of Ricksen's illness broke causing some slight changes to the wording. Gordon knew that his full article draft would be published at some point because we discussed what a shame it was that he had to cut it almost in half to meet the word count requirements for the column and that once a period of time had lapsed where it would no longer affect magazine sales, we could put the whole article out on Gersnet. So in remembrance of Bluebear54, here is his article 'A Glimpse of Glamour': A Glimpse of Glamour Written by Gordon Young (Bluebear54) The Early Years Although born and raised on the East Coast of Scotland, a maternal grandfather and a father, both passionate Rangers supporters, ensured that I was destined to follow follow in their footsteps when pursuing my lifelong passionate affair with football - an affair which has been split into three distinct phases due to the dice that life has spit out at me. The Rangers teams of that first phase of my love affair were epitomised by hardy, athletic, spirited Scottish players, such as Caldow, Shearer, Greig, MacDonald and Jardine. That’s not to say there wasn’t any skill around. Those guys had enough to go along with their other skills, but the Rangers of that era were also blessed with superbly gifted players such as Baxter, Wilson, Henderson and Johnson. Not mentioning any further names is a severe disservice to many great Rangers players of those generations. But they were Scottish, and the style was undeniably Scottish. We didn’t expect any fancy possession football, we hadn’t heard of the beautiful game, and “totally mental” was more often on our lips than “total football.” We preferred tanner ba’ wingers belting it down the wings, bruisers of centre forwards giving it more elbow than they took, and defenders who didn’t ever take prisoners. On the terraces, like some latter-day Colosseum crowd, we bayed for blood and actively encouraged our heroes to bury or waste opponents. It was expected, it was part of the game and it made for an entertaining spectacle. In 1972, not long after Rangers had finally won – at their third attempt - the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972, I ventured out again into the world, this time not to return to Scotland until well over a score of countries had worn out my shoes and nigh on thirty years had etched their lines on my face. In my travels, I have found that there are not many better things to bring two different nationalities together than a pint and a talk about football. I thus unknowingly set out on what in retrospect was further education in the art of football. It was clear that most fans I spoke to had scant regard for Scottish football and saw it as kick and rush and a tad barbaric. Fine I thought, youse lot are a bunch of pansies. In those days, most I spoke to were drooling about the Dutch style. And to be honest, from going to games with other fans, I started to see their point. I really did. It took its time, I didn’t initially find it entertaining, but I eventually saw another beauty and another excitement in the game. Now, when I look back through an old man’s eyes, Rangers were to eventually produce a true glimpse of the beautiful game and that glimpse would be Dutch inspired. In the course of their 141 year history, Rangers are reckoned to have provided a footballing home for more than 50 nationalities of footballers. With a total of 11 players having played first team football for the Gers, Holland tops that table. And their inspiration topped the table in how we played. The Early Birds The first ever first team appearance at Rangers by a Dutch player first team was Peter Huistra in 1990. He was a speedy winger, not far removed from the Henderson/Johnson mould and, as such, he became a firm favourite of the fans. Signed by Souness, he didn’t score barrowloads, but he certainly scored some vital goals for the Club, and won in all five League medals, two League Cup medals and a Scottish Cup medal, including a Treble in 1992-93. Despite a lack of goals, he was superb at making openings, and in my mind he’s still up there with the best we’ve ever had at taking corners. Shortly after the departure of Huistra for Japan in 1995, two Dutch players arrived almost simultaneously at Ibrox from quite different destinations. In 1996, Theo Snelders arrived at Queen Street from Aberdeen, and Peter Van Vossen arrived at Glasgow Airport from Turkey. It always says something to me about Rangers that Snelders is held in such high regard by Aberdeen fans, yet many Rangers fans have extremely vague memories of him. Of course, he was a back up to our very own special legend – the Flying Pig – and also Antti Niemi, so he certainly had a job on his hands. Despite this, or probably more to do with injuries to the other two, Theo Snelders managed to make a fair few first team appearances for Rangers between 1996 and 1999 without ever setting the heather on fire. So, while one of those arrivals in ’96 was destined to be fairly anonymous, the other was destined for almost total notoriety and guaranteed an indelible place in Scottish football folklore. Yes folks! Roll up! I give you the man who taught us all how “to do the Van Vossen.” Don’t get me wrong now, Peter came to Rangers with a great track record. Ex-Ajax, ex- European Cup winner, a fair number of international caps. It all looked good. And we were also getting shot of Salenko, whom many fans thought was yet one more momentous waste of money. Which in fact, he was. Couldn’t be better, so Van Vossen was part of the master plan to punt Oleg Salenko to Istanbulspor. Sneaky. Looking back, I can imagine simultaneous moments at either end of Europe when Walter Smith was sitting down in Glasgow with a whisky and Cem Uzan was sitting down in Istanbul with his coffee, both of them laughing like hyenas and thinking “Yes, I got rid of him.” That moment Albertz unselfishly laid off a pass opening up an empty goal for Van Vossen lives with everyone who witnessed the match. It was the striker’s Old Firm debut, he skied it from all of 7 yards, and his only saving grace was that we were winning 1-0. Peter didn’t last too long needless to say, and after 22 appearances he was on his travels again. In time, in 1998, like some kind of expectant grandfather, I returned to Scotland, having been kept up to date on a Rangers-rich diet of SKY television, and fully anticipating a bright new future for Rangers where Dick Advocaat had bulldozed in and begun what has been referred to as the Dutch revolution. And if the truth be known, coinciding with my return, those two seasons of 1998-99 and 1999-00 (and also partly 2000-01) showed a real glimpse of glamour. Here we finally had a Rangers team who were not being routinely dismissed by the European hoi polloi. This was a Rangers team who would win a treble followed by a double and who would go on to demolish a top class PSV Eindhoven side and other noteworthy continental sides such as Parma, Monaco and the best that Germany could offer. Not so much in a Scottish style, but in an entertaining continental style. I could have been forgiven for thinking I had arrived in Heaven. The Orange Invasion – A Glimpse of Glamour Advocaat’s first Dutch signings were Arthur Numan and Giovanni van Bronckhorst followed later by Michael Mols, and they were a class apart indeed. Of all the Dutch players to have played for Rangers, Gio van Bronckhorst is arguably the one that fans have been most fortunate to have seen grace Ibrox’s turf. He was a true thoroughbred, and it didn’t take such a long time for fans to realise that he was maybe a wee bit too good for us to hope to hold on to. Gio ended up being sold to Arsenal in 2001 for close on £9m after winning a treble and a double for Rangers. Gio went on to score went on to score 22 goals for us, 13 in the league, 3in the Scottish Cup, 1 in the League Cup, 3 in the Champions League and 2 in the UEFA Cup. However, these statistics still belie the fact that this player was an essential cog in the machine that Advocaat was assembling, and he very much made that Rangers team tick with his guile, finesse and vision. As confirmation of van Bronckhorst’s quality, he went on to become a Barcelona stalwart while also playing well over 100 internationals for Holland and becoming the Dutch international captain. In much the same way as van Bronckhorst, Arthur Numan oozed class in the left back position, and after initial problems with injuries, he settled down to become a key part of both Advocaat’s and latterly McLeish’s teams. Signed from PSV Eindhoven, Numan had a respectable international career and became a very welcome sight for fans whenever his name appeared on the team sheet. As with almost any Rangers player, a cracker of a goal against Celtic, especially when it either wins a game or saves one, ensures legendary status, and Numan’s 25 yard stunner at Ibrox to earn a 1-1 draw was no different in cementing his name into Ibrox folklore. Of Advocaat’s first batch of signings, Michael Mols probably promised least and I must admit to not being aware of him before he signed for Rangers, but superb goalmouth turning skills and goals against FC Haka, Hearts and then a memorable four against Motherwell followed by two against Aberdeen soon ensured that – like most fans – I wanted to see his name in the starting eleven every week. Another two goals in the 4-1 roasting that Rangers gave a top class PSV side seemed to promise a Rangers career to remember. Unfortunately, in a Champions League match which Bayern were fortunate to win, he suffered a horrific injury in a collision with Oliver Khan. The injury was to keep him out for a season and a half, and unfortunately for both Mols and Rangers, common opinion has it that he was never quite the same player again. Tragic.

The rumour is that Brighton are in for Wallace and are close to matching our valuation.

http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/ More revelations

Am I alone in wondering where our keeper is? When did you last see Cammy Bell come out and make clean catch? What does our £180k p.a goalkeeping coach think ? I think teams now realise this and deliberately try to put the ball into our six yard box knowing he won't get it

Here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in November 2010: "Financial whizzkid Craig Whyte stands on the brink of pulling off the biggest deal of his life... Record Sport understands self-made billionaire Whyte has entered into the final stages of negotiations to buy control of the club he loves from Sir David Murray... A deal worth around £30million is now believed to have reached such an advanced stage that sources say Whyte, a high-roller who splits his time between a home in London and the idyllic Castle Grant in Grantown-on-Spey, could even have the keys to Ibrox in time to fund a major refurbishment of Walter Smith's top-team squad in January... By the age of 26, Whyte was already Scotland's youngest self-made millionaire. Now, 13 years on, and in charge of a vast business empire, his wealth is off the radar." Here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in October 2012: "A private investigation commissioned for Rangers showed Craig Whyte had a record of tax avoidance, failed companies and double dealings – before he was sold Sir David Murray's majority shareholding... The report, prepared by private investigators Titon, described Monaco-based Whyte as a 'fuyant' – French slang for an evader or manipulator. It warned there was no evidence to back claims circulated by Whyte's spin doctors that he was a billionaire with plenty of cash to finance Rangers. In fact, it said, there was no evidence he was even a multi-millionaire. The report talks of "the questionable source and extent of his reported wealth". And here's the Daily Record on Craig Whyte in August 2014: "The taxman was chasing Craig Whyte for £3.7million before he took over Rangers. HMRC focused on Whyte's personal finances and made several failed attempts to get him to pay his dues before, during and after his catastrophic reign at Ibrox... Documents seen by the Record show: * The authorities instructed debt enforcers to chase Whyte with a bill for almost £4million and threaten him with bankruptcy in May 2011, the same month that he bought Rangers... * Yet when he struck the notorious deal with Ticketus for funds to finance his Rangers takeover, he gave the firm a personal guarantee he was worth nearly £33million... At the same time he was able to run up a further £15million in unpaid taxes and penalties during his nine months in charge of Rangers. Whyte had bought Rangers for £1 from Sir David Murray in May 2011, while agreeing to wipe out the club's £18million debts... A sizeable proportion of Rangers fans still hold Murray at least partly responsible for the club's demise, arguing he should not have sold to Whyte, whose reputation had already been questioned." Perhaps the fans should be holding the Record to blame as well. When the paper was reporting on Whyte's hyped wealth it failed to mention the fact that serious questions were being asked in the blogosphere about the veracity of his claims. How could the Record know that Whyte was a billionaire with "a vast business empire" and wealth "off the radar"? And when it did know otherwise, why did it take so long to inform Rangers' fans? And why no apology to its readers? Note that 2012 reference to spin-doctors, as if it was all their fault rather than that of the paper's journalists for accepting what they were told without checking. The age-old problem of sports reporting was the willingness of journalists to act like "fans with typewriters" (or, nowadays, fans with laptops). The reporting of the Rangers' saga over the past five years has been a classic example of reporters being no more than stenographers for PRs offering them stories they didn't care to verify. http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/06/daily-record-rangers

Can anyone confirm?

5000 tickets already purchased by Rangers fans for the game against Derby, can we sell out the stadium before the season starts? #dcfc

Dear Mr Fitzpatrick, SUBJECT : RANGERS TAX CASE I refer to my previous correspondence to you regarding this matter and the various concerns I raised with you. I appreciate to date there has still been no conclusion to the ongoing Police Investigation into the criminal Breaches of Confidentiality which so characterised this HMRC investigation. Since we last exchanged correspondence the only significant development has been the dismissal by Lord Doherty at the Upper Tier Tribunal, of HMRC's appeal against the decision of the First Tier Tax Tribunal. It is as yet unknown whether HMRC intend to escalate this matter and launch a further appeal, despite the previous decisions of the First and Upper Tier Tribunals. However it is the conduct of HMRC during the course of this investigation which is a source of considerable anger and ongoing concern. As I previously informed you, many Rangers supporters and shareholders wrote to both HMRC and Government Minister's with ministerial responsibility regarding breaches of confidentiality regarding the Rangers Tax Case, only to receive responses from both HMRC and the HMRC Ministerial Correspondence Unit that they would not comment on “alleged breaches of confidential information”. The source of such “alleged breaches” was an award winning web blog – The Rangers Tax Case Blog- which ran for numerous months and regularly published confidential information which it sought to interpret courtesy of it's anonymous operator. BBC Scotland also produced an award winning documentary “The Men Who Sold The Jersey's” which was a consequence of numerous items of confidential information they had received, by as yet, unknown means. BBC Scotland also published on their website numerous items of confidential information pertaining to the Rangers Tax Case. An independent commission chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith subsequently concluded as follows : 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. It also listed the names of people where the BBC had seen evidence that they received side-letters. This event appears to have been the trigger for more activity in response to the SPL’s request. [section 98] Not only does Lord Nimmo Smith highlight the impact of these breaches of confidentiality and their subsequent exposure, but as can be seen, he suggests that the material passed to BBC Scotland was in actual fact evidence before the Tax Tribunal. Whilst it is dangerous to make any presumptions, I do not think it is unreasonable to presume that evidence removed from an evidential storage area, can only have been appropriated by theft. Furthermore as the Police Enquiry into the breaches of confidentiality only commenced after the conclusion of the First Tax Tribunal, following a complaint by Sir David Murray, it would suggest that this appropriation of evidence had up till that point gone unreported.. Whilst there are considerable parts of the jigsaw missing, based on the information which is available I would highlight the following areas of concern to you :- HMRC having seized evidence, in order to progress an investigation, totally ignored repeated concerns and complaints pertaining to breaches of confidentially. To suggest that documentaries produced by BBC Scotland and broadcast on national television equate to “alleged breaches of confidentiality” is simply unacceptable. One is left to speculate if they even bothered to cross reference the evidence they had seized and catalogued with the information which that was being released into the public domain. I would respectfully suggest to you if they have failed to do so – that would be tantamount to gross negligence. There is a considerable feeling amongst many shareholders that having highlighted breaches of confidentiality on numerous occasions, the response of HMRC was both dismissive and misleading, and displayed a complete abdication of their legal responsibility. Lord Nimmo Smith's conclusion that the material passed and subsequently used by BBC Scotland was evidence before the Tax Tribunal raises serious questions about the safe handling and storage of productions by HMRC. If the security of these productions was violated, on how many occasions did this happen ? How was this possible and what steps did HMRC take to report this apparent criminality ? Did they in fact report this appropriation of evidence and what was their legal responsibility to do so ? I’m sure you will appreciate the above concerns are only the tip of the iceberg and there are numerous other areas of concern as well as questions shareholders and supporters have. HMRC's failure to deal with previous complaints has resulted in an erosion of confidence in this organisation's ability to respond to concerns. The apparent, and further possible failings within a government investigative body should be a concern to everyone, even those outside the Rangers community. The concerns I have highlighted are particularly grave and warrant considerable in depth investigation and clarification, not only for the Rangers community, but to ensure all persons dealing with HMRC in the future can so with confidence. I would therefore ask you to raise these concerns amongst your peers within the Scottish Parliament, and for consideration to be given to a full government enquiry in order that these concerns can be investigated fully.

Some thoughts on yesterday's HMRC appeal result: http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/256-rangers-v-hmrc-a-pyrrhic-victory

SO that was North America, a place which brought the touring Rangers squad mixed results and mixed fortunes during its stay in the United States and Canada over the last two weeks. Was the trip perfect? With over 14,000 miles flown, a few injuries picked up on the way and goals conceded in three games out of four – one of those a defeat – it’s hard to argue it was. But did it serve a purpose? Absolutely. Scorelines from across the Atlantic might not have been convincing but being there has allowed Gers to keep building well ahead of 2014/15. Despite what the world might think at present following the unrelenting happiness of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Scottish people are naturally quite pessimistic. The old phrase which claims some are only happy if there’s something to complain about springs to mind and that’s certainly the case with certain Light Blues fans I know. While there are undoubtedly things Ally McCoist will wish had gone differently, he has more positives to reflect on than you might think. Following the intense schedule in Brora at the start of the month, further double sessions abroad – particularly in California – have helped increase fitness levels again. As the pool settles into a more regular training programme after the weekend, any lingering weariness will go and the players will get sharper as they freshen up. Although the team itself still has to click into gear, individuals within it gave enough food for thought during our fortnight away. Kenny Miller’s finishing might not be as consistent as he’s hoping it will become yet but his running and intelligence will help Rangers a lot this season. Nicky Law produced a fine finish to win the game in the final match against Ottawa Fury – Gers’ best display of their four – and he looks alert and hungry too. Ian Black falls into that category as well while Stevie Smith has continued his good form from the end of last term and looks as fast and direct as ever. Lee Wallace has made a strong recovery from the hip problem which ended his campaign early in April as he limped out of the Challenge Cup final defeat to Raith Rovers. But the biggest plus of all isn’t just Lewis Macleod’s return to action but the way he has come in and stamped his mark on the team already off the back of nearly six months out. Few were left in any doubt of how seriously under threat the 20-year-old’s career was when he took unwell at the start of the year. A bad reaction to a virus left him in real danger of having to think of hanging up his boots and there was a genuine chance he’d never have the chance to fulfil his very clear potential. Thankfully Macleod has made a full recovery and so far it looks like he has never been out of the side. Against Sacramento Republic, he grew in stature the more the game went on and I was impressed by his temperament as he kept his cool despite one heavy challenge after another. Four days later at Ottawa, his footwork at times was sublime and you’ll already be hard pushed to find a better piece of skill this season than his turn to set up Law’s goal. The way he stood on the ball then turned away from two men was so elegant and it was the type of move you simply don’t tire of watching. Already there’s a clamour once again in some quarters for McCoist to move Macleod inside and give him a more central role in his midfield. Over time, I fully expect him to take a place there and he’ll both flourish and relish the responsibility such a position entails. But for now, I don’t think it’s a bad thing for him to continue on the left side for the simple reason it’s an area he and the team profits from. Sitting narrower than a natural winger would, he allows Wallace to get forward with good effect and the two combine very well down that side. It’s worth remembering that when Rangers played their best football of last season in the early part of the campaign, those two players got a lot of joy together on the left. I’m not sure having someone else in Macleod’s present position would bear the same fruit and if he was central in a 4-4-2 shape, Wallace certainly wouldn’t get upfield as much. I look forward to seeing Macleod take command and dictate from the middle over time but for now he’s doing a lot for Gers where he is. And as McCoist’s team gets stronger in the weeks ahead, I’ve every faith the club’s most outstanding emerging talent can influence games just as much from slightly wider out. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/opinion/item/7321-best-left-where-he-is An unusually critical piece from Andrew Dickson and he makes a very good point about McLeod playing LMF allowing Wallace more freedom to attack. He may well have been prompted to write this but it is true nonetheless.

1300 words on a situation that is becoming more worrying and difficult to justify with every day that passes... http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/260-ally-mccoist-and-rangers-time-for-some-home-truths

A ‘vile’ internet troll has been blasted for insulting former Blackburn Rovers legend Colin Hendry’s late wife. The former central defender, who played more than 300 times for the club, was sent a sick message by a supporter of Glasgow Celtic on Twitter. The message, from an account named Liam McDonald on social networking site Twitter, said: “Remember when Colin Hendry’s wife snuffed it? Great times.” The former Glasgow Rangers star responded by taking to his Twitter account and posting a picture of the tweet with the message: “This is the vile world we live in.” Yesterday the tweet, which was sent at 11.33pm on Tuesday, was deleted, and later the account itself also appeared to have been removed. The Hendry family said they have reported the incident to Scottish police. Mr Hendry’s wife, Denise, died in 2009, seven years after undergoing a botched liposuction operation. The 43-year-old underwent 20 operations after the routine treatment and died after picking up an infection following a corrective operation after being on life support for weeks. Mr Hendry’s daughter Rheagan, launched the charity The Denise Hendry Foundation to help people suffering from clinical negligence in her mum’s memory. Ads by Google British Expat In Germany? Avoid Losing 55% of Your UK Pension Download a Free Expat Pension Guide your.qropschoices.com/HMRC-listed http://www.Auto-Europe.de Die beste Preise verhandelt + Top Vermieter = Günstige Mietwagen http://www.autoeurope.de/Auto-Europe Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday on behalf of her dad, she said: “This is what we deal with all the time and it is disgusting. “This is not just Colin Hendry, it is a mum and a daughter. “I am sure he would not feel comfortable if someone said that about his parents. “Dad has been in the football world and up at Rangers and he can deal with this sort of thing but when you start bringing in people’s relatives it is just not on. “It is just not nice. We just want to move on with our lives and we are always reminded about how insensitive people can be. “This is a totally random act of stupidity, but it is not the first time something like this has happened. “People should not take social media lightly. “He thinks he can write what he wants and Colin Hendry and his daughter and grandchildren won‘t see it but he is wrong.” Colin Hendry had two spells for Rovers, from 1987 to 1989 and 1991 to 1998. He was sold to Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers, who have a legendary rivalry with Glasgow Celtic. Former teammate Kevin Gallacher, who played with Hendry for Rovers and Scotland, said he too had experienced abuse on Twitter. He said: “When I got involved in Team GB at the Olympics I had abuse on Twitter. “I had times where every time I wrote something I was getting snide comments. “Unfortunately with social media people are going to do that because they can hide behind it. “Comments like that are not nice but you just have to brush it off and ignore it. “But it gets worse when people’s children are involved. “People just think they are throwing abuse at Colin and this is the disappointing thing. “I think these people tend to be loners who are sat in rooms on their own sending these messages.” Rovers legend Simon Garner said: “It is stupid. That is an awful thing to say and the person should get in trouble for it. “I think people believe they can get away with things like this but they can’t. “I have never personally had anything serious on Twitter, just the odd bit of banter that I take with a pinch of salt, but if I did I would certainly report it to the police.” Former Rovers player and current chairman of the Professional Footballers Association Gordon Taylor said: “I think it is a sad world. “There seems to be a vindictive side to society where people hide behind these sites and think they can say what they want to people. “We have advised our younger players to be careful with what they are posting.” Hyndburn MP and Rovers fan Graham Jones said he was ‘sick and fed up of internet trolls’. He said: “When you are in the public life you get trolls who think they can just go round abusing who they want to. “I feel sorry for Colin and all the other victims of what appears to be a growing trend of abuse and bullying on social media. “It is Colin this time but it could be children and vulnerable people next time. “I blocked one constituent who thought it was clever to be abusive on Twitter. “People do not seem to realise you have friends and family and children.” Darwen councillor Dave Smith, a Blackburn Rovers season ticket-holder, said: “It is absolutely appalling. “I just hope the police get involved and this clown is punished. http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/blackburn/11362709._/