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SATURDAY 24TH MAY. CELEBRATION AND PROTEST We have been asked by many fans to arrange some protests during the close season and as 24th May is the anniversary of the clubs greatest victory in Barcelona 1972, we have made arrangements for the Louden Tavern at the stadium to show a re run of the game from 1.00pm At 3.00pm we will be marching to the stadium for a 30 min protest and a petition to hand in and explain why the fans wont renew season tickets or indeed buy new ones. We require as many fans as possible to turn up as a show of numbers would be vital for the success of the protest Fans are asked to meet up at the Louden between 1.00 and 2.30 to give us adequate time to make final arrangements with fans Can I ask all to share at usual places and feeback to me with expected number which will allow me to notify Louden and make necessary arrangements. We are planning on some other things for Saturday and will announce them once we have confirmed Thanks Craig.

Seems that the bros or one of them are suing for £200K. In tomorrow's Record.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/275976-spfl-pay-broadcaster-up-to-250000-per-season-to-show-rangers-games/ The Scottish Professional Football League is contractually bound to pay BT Sport up to £250,000 per season in return for the broadcaster airing Rangers matches. STV understands that under the terms of a renegotiated TV deal following the removal of Rangers from the top flight in 2012, a clause was inserted making the league liable to additional production costs incurred setting up at lower league grounds. It is understood the league agreed to the insertion of the clause in order to guarantee broadcast contracts which were essentially null and void after Rangers were expelled from the then-Scottish Premier League and were subsequently admitted to the bottom tier of the Scottish Football League. The SPL paid the Scottish Football League £800,000 for one season's worth of rights to show Rangers games but that deal was absorbed when the league bodies merged in 2013. It is not known how much has been paid out to BT Sport and ESPN, who were the holders of the contract for the 2012/13 season, to date. The overall payment is capped at £250,000 per season. In a statement to STV, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "The support given to Scottish football by our broadcast partners, in 2012 and since, has been fundamental to the ongoing health of the game in this country." It is understood the league thought it necessary to agree to the deal in order to protect revenue from broadcast contracts. Nevertheless, the revelations in short mean the SPFL pays a broadcaster in order for Rangers games to be shown on television. BT Sport said in a statement: “[We] were delighted to inherit the SPFL rights from ESPN at the beginning of this season, however we cannot comment on contractual details.”

Alasdair Lamont ‏@BBCAlLamont 33m Rangers chief exec Graham Wallace on £320k pa + 100% bonus. Plus £25k salary increase as Rangers move up leagues. More to follow.

The official site says......THE renewal deadline has now passed.. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/6974-season-ticket-waiting-list We should expect a regulatory annoucement if ST numbers are significantly down. Aim rule 11 A company must issue notification without delay of any new developments which are not public knowledge concerning a change in: its financial condition; its sphere of activity; the performance of its business; or its expectation of its performance.

July 30th - Bournemouth v Rangers pre season friendly http://www.bournemouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=358560 …

The Blue Order is confirming that we are reluctantly not renewing our season tickets for the 2014/15 season. It is, however, our intention to buy tickets for home and away games on a match-by-match basis so that we can continue to give our full support to our team. Unfortunately, until further notice, we are unable to accommodate any new requests to join TBO or for seat transfers into our section however we would welcome others to congregate with our group in BF5. As part of the Union of Fans umbrella group, TBO have been at the forefront of recent protests against the board and we strongly urge Rangers FC to engage openly with concerned supporters and potential investors to safeguard the club's future.

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6929-club-statement

I am a fan and shareholder in the United States. Outside of maybe two trips a year over, I can't see the team play in Ibrox a lot. That being said, I would like to buy 2 season tickets this year to support the Club (and Team) and did not know if there was an organization that I could contract to donate my tickets to each month.

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

Dunno how many 3rd tier teams are present at the World Cup, be we are! Arnold Peralta (at the clubs HP)

Long article and rambling open letter on DR website RE: investor Alan MacKenzie and Dave King http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-investor-urges-dave-king-3482599?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I’m going to start this blog with a warning – We must ensure, for the future of our club, that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. I say that because it is important we focus on the facts and not the personalities involved. There is a considerable amount of information circulating at the moment and it’s vital we scrutinise it in a totally objective manner. Not only because it is the right thing to do – but because the future of our club may depend on our ability to sort the wheat from the chaff. The Union of Fans only have themselves to blame to an extent, that their anti-board message has not been widely accepted by all. Their insistence on being so deliberately confrontational with our current board, as well as their sometimes puerile rhetoric, may go down well with those already in their camp but it doesn’t necessarily resonate with all the support. As I’ve written previously, when the man you are openly supporting suggests some are “looking for a fight” it’s surely worthy of re-assessing how you are coming across to people. It’s a real pity the debate has become so polarised. There is almost a sense that you are either pro or anti-board. I’m aware of a supporter yesterday who was threatened for refusing to chant “sack the board”. – a sad indication of the state of play. The reality of course is that for every pro or anti board supporter there are probably many more of us who are utterly confused, worried and trying to get to grips with facts amongst a deluge of propaganda. It’s important that those in our support who are against Dave King, for whatever reason, still realise they have a responsibility in holding the current board to account, and reticence of the possible alternative does not mean we ignore unacceptable standards from those currently in power. And just why should our current board be viewed with suspicion and be subject to challenge ? Well for starters we have employed a new PR Guru. Such an appointment baffled many within our support, particularly with the crying need for a chief scout. One is left to ponder what our board’s priorities are for our club. We have a non-executive director, Sandy Easdale giving interviews to the BBC where he suggests intimate knowledge of financial matters pertaining to the club. This should raise serious questions about the level of governance at boardroom level. From the CEO’s review we have learned that contracts were signed off by the previous board without any legal representation on behalf of the club. Quite simply that is nothing short of scandalous. Do the current board intend to investigate these matters and retrospectively pursue those responsible ? As many us are learning to our angst, the ability to renew season tickets by Credit or Debit Card is no longer available due to the merchant, 1st Data, requiring what is viewed as an unreasonable level of security for such a privilege. The CEO’s review states : “The Board believes that one of the major factors influencing the merchant acquirer to change its terms was the extensive negative coverage of calls in some quarters for supporters to refrain or delay purchasing season tickets. “ The Union of Fans have denied this and their denials have been supported by a National newspaper which claims it has viewed correspondence which suggests this is not the reason for the increased levels of guarantee. The ball is now in the board’s court. The integrity and veracity of both the board and the review has been challenged by a national newspaper – it is up to the board to instruct 1st Data to clarify the reasons behind the additional security requests. Quite simply if the board fail to take action over such a critical point then they have failed both themselves and the Rangers supporters who were patient enough to wait for the 120 day review. We must not let personal feelings or personal dislikes affect our ability to exercise vigilance or judgement. It’s a luxury not only we cannot afford, but more importantly, our club cannot afford.

... from Ibrox Noise. I know quite a few will jump in here and there, but maybe it would do good to read the article twice before go haring after specific things. Posted by Ibrox Noise at 10:26 It will come of no surprise that I agree with a lot IN has to say, including that I don't view the current status quo as ideal.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/27165564 Graham Wallace's 120-day business review provides a snapshot of Rangers' potential future. The challenge for the chief executive and his fellow directors is guiding the club to that point. There is detail in the document , certainly, and some commitments to act in the months ahead. How supporters react will determine the extent of the difficulties that Wallace will face, though, which means that trust is as much of a critical commodity as finance. Both have been in short supply in recent months. The review is a mixture of regret and hope. The amount of money that was squandered after the launch of Rangers International Football Club on the Alternative Investment Market is startling, and blame is placed firmly on previous executives, and by extension the directors who oversaw them. That analysis is accurate, but does not also take into account the fact that the appointments of previous and current directors were all sanctioned by the same group of aligned shareholders. Rangers' power structure is ultimately gathered around those shareholders who granted their voting proxies to Sandy Easdale, himself the holder of a smaller shareholding, ahead of the annual general meeting last December. It is only change at shareholder level that will alter the power structure. Wallace arrived as an independent figure, but he is now inextricably linked with events at Ibrox. His credibility as chief executive relied, to some extent at least, on the contents of the review, but also now on his ability to deliver it, the accuracy of its contents and his judgement in recent months. Easdale has expressed concern about Rangers' finances The latter is already in question following revelations that the club were informed last January, several weeks before any talk was raised of a season ticket boycott, that accepting credit card payments would require security being granted. This was because of the accounts, and Wallace's suggestion that the playing staff might accept a pay cut, rather than any fan initiative, yet the review - which was delivered to the stock exchange - states otherwise. With season ticket renewals "slow" according to Easdale - and believed to be significantly less than they were at this stage in the process last year - it would seem that Rangers fans were waiting to be convinced by Wallace. It did not help, for instance, that he said at the AGM that there was enough cash in the bank to sustain the business until the end of the season, only for the board to then seek a £1.5m loan from Easdale and George Letham (who offered better terms than those initially offered by the single largest shareholder, Laxey Partners) in February. It was also a crass juxtaposition for Wallace, following the release of the review, to fail to deny the bonus arrangements in his contract while at the same time revealing that there would be a "small number" of redundancies amongst the non-playing staff. This also followed the appointment of Paul Tyrrell, the former director of communications at Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton, in a consultancy role in the immediate run-up to the publication of the review. Wallace has, at times, seemed unable to negotiate the political intricacies of his position. It would have exasperated him, for instance, that the day before the review launch, Easdale gave an interview in which he described the club as being in a "fragile " position and suggested that it would not survive an insolvency event. He was revealing information sensitive to the RIFC share price, but isn't a plc director, in contravention of stock market rules. Wallace insisted that administration was not discussed during the 120-day review, but the message in the review is clear that if season ticket sales fall substantially, then the business will be unable to trade. It seems inconceivable that if insolvency is a possibility then it hasn't been discussed. The same message is contained in the revelation that Rangers cannot accept credit or debit card transactions for season ticket sales because the merchant provider was seeking security, which is likely to reflect a threat of insolvency should season ticket sales fall. This is a consequence of past recklessness, since supporters have lost faith in those running the club. It will only irk them further to read assessments in the review that £2m was spent on stadium wifi, LED displays and jumbo screens which were "non-essential"; that players were signed last summer that executives should have known the club could not afford. There were promises of optimism, in assertions that Ally McCoist will be given funds to spend over future transfer windows in a "more structured and planned" signing policy and that a three-year plan has been drawn up to deliver the Scottish Premiership title. Former Rangers director Dave King Fans will also like the notion of a chief football operations officer, an academy fund and commercial developments. Wallace's position as chief executive will rest on his ability to deliver these, though, as well as persuading the fans to renew their season tickets to such an extent that there is an overall uplift in sales. So what does the future hold? In part, that is dependent on how much money is left, and whether or not immediate costs can be met in the meantime. For now, there remain a number of scenarios. Should there be a shortfall in renewals, the intention is to hold a pre-emptive share offer, of up to 43,400,000 shares, to existing stakeholders. This would likely be at a discounted market price - and the share price fell by 15% to 22p following the review - and so would only raise up to around £9.5m. There is a further intention to seek the approval of shareholders in autumn 2014 for a new rights issue, to raise equity for investment. This would, again, be a pre-emptive offer, allowing current shareholders first refusal on a pro-rata basis to protect the size of their stake, but unsold shares, commonly known as the rump, are normally then offered to non-shareholders. This is where Dave King, the former Ibrox director, could make a move. There are other options for King, and he could in theory potentially acquire the right from existing shareholders to take up their allocation from a share issue. As with the Union of Fans, King chose to keep his counsel following the publication of the review, out of respect to the family of the late Sandy Jardine, the former Rangers defender who died on Thursday. South African-based businessman King now at least has options, as he looks to implement his strategy to invest in the club. King has publicly asserted that he wants to invest up to £30m in the club, if needs be, but that would be on the basis that he also gains control of how that investment is utilised. In the end, it came down to several thousand words, some reflection back and some casting forward. The review emphasises that Rangers are in a potentially dire financial position, and signalled what attempts might be made to address this. Can Wallace deliver? Will supporters buy into it? And what will King do now? The following days will be more revealing than the review itself.

RECORD SPORT can reveal the league’s top brass have ordered an urgent investigation into an alleged rule breach in Killie's 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Rugby Park last month. KILMARNOCK could be plunged into crisis with the SPFL set to probe a claim that a staff member forged a player’s signature in order to play him against Celtic. Record Sport can reveal the league’s top brass have ordered an urgent investigation into the alleged rule breach which relates to the champions’ 3-0 win at Rugby Park last month. And, if 
found guilty, Killie could be hammered with a range of sanctions including a possible points deduction which could condemn Allan Johnston’s team to a nerve shredding relegation play-off. It could also provide a Premiership lifeline to 
St Mirren, Ross County, Hibs and Partick Thistle and save them from going down. SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster refused to comment last night when Record Sport contacted him about the dramatic developments. But we can confirm Doncaster has been briefed about the accusations of 
foul play and has personally ordered a 
full-scale inquiry. The SPFL have not yet established which player is at the centre of the allegations. It’s understood 
the SPFL probe will 
consider a claim that a Kilmarnock office worker witnessed another staff member forging the player’s signature in the lead up to a game against Celtic last month that the champions won 3-0. It is alleged that 
the SPFL contacted Kilmarnock to alert them to the fact that a player’s signature was missing from a page of paperwork and that, unless it was submitted, the player could not be registered in time for the game in question. It’s then claimed 
the missing signature was added but not by the player. And – if this accusation is proven to be correct – then Kilmarnock could face the prospect of a points penalty which would almost certainly tip Johnston’s team into the dreaded play-offs. The SPFL’s rule book demands that member clubs act in the utmost good faith at all times. But Doncaster’s team will also investigate whether a more specific rule break, relating to registration of player’s regulation 72 which states: “Any Club which, in the opinion of the Board, unfairly traffics or deals in the Registration of any Player or otherwise abuses in any way the Registration, transfer, or Compensation systems shall be dealt with as the Board may determine.” A source told us: “A wide range of sanctions, ranging from a slap on the wrist to expulsion, would be open to the SPFL board if these allegations are found to be true. But in this instance a points deduction would be 
one of the more likely outcomes. “Points deductions would normally be considered if a club played an ineligible player – even if it was simply down to an honest mistake with paperwork. “But in this case, it could be argued that the club not only fielded an ineligible player but also that a deliberate attempt was made to deceive the SPFL office bearers. If that were to be the case then it would be treated as a very serious matter.” It’s understood the complaint was also made to club chairman Michael Johnston who pledged to carry out an internal investigation. Record Sport attempted to contact a spokesperson for Kilmarnock but no-one from the club was available to comment. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kilmarnock-scottish-professional-football-league-3449000

IN ROBERT Bolt’s play and film, A Man For All Seasons, Sir Thomas More assembles his numerous domestic staff to break the bad news that he has fallen on irredeemably hard times. “I am no longer a great man,” he begins. “And since I am no more a great man, I no longer need a great household. Nor can I afford one. You will have to go.” Here was a practical demonstration of the kind of acute insight and quick wits that gave rise to the former Lord Chancellor’s reputation as one of 16th-century England’s most formidable intellects. Of course, More would also have been quick to acknowledge that even the humblest peasant farmer, faced with financial catastrophe – a failed crop, say – would have been similarly aware instantly of the necessity of a protracted period of austerity, or even abandonment of his smallholding and relocation as an employee on a steady, if modest, income. It is a grasp of elementary economics that seems somehow to have eluded anyone charged with executive duties at Rangers throughout the years since the instigator of the old club’s decline, David Murray, began the large-scale, reckless extravagance that led to calamity. Since then, despite the onset of administration and liquidation and passing through the hands of a succession of regimes to the present board of directors, the Glasgow institution has existed in a constant state of financial vulnerability, with no-one among the numerous sets of “saviours” apparently willing to identify certain damaging truths and take appropriate remedial action. This speaks of a culture problem at Ibrox, one that became entrenched during the 140 years that preceded liquidation in 2012 and has generally not even been acknowledged, far less addressed, despite the overwhelming evidence of the need to abandon principles that have been rendered wasteful by monetary imperatives. Chief among these actions is to emulate Thomas More and concede that Rangers are no longer a great club. That is, “great” in the sense of magnitude, as opposed to their historic high achievement and the resultant command of the affections and allegiances of many thousands of followers. An organisation whose annual turnover once was close to £60 million has now, according to the latest returns, shrunk to £19m – and even that amount is likely to be reduced again at the end of the current financial year. Yet, in the wake of liquidation of the old club and the birth of the new, the directors saw fit to sanction a yearly wage bill of around £7m for players charged with winning the fourth- and third-division championships. Salaries of non-playing personnel make the total around £9m, while the general costs of running the operation drain the kitty of £1.4m per month. These ludicrously high outgoings having to be met entirely from the club’s working capital, since their history of leaving behind creditors owed millions when entering administration means they no longer have access to credit lines at the banks. Despite the obviously perilous condition of their finances (a recent emergency loan of £1.5m from private individuals required simply to remain solvent until the end of the season), numerous supporters are immovable in their conviction that Rangers remain a “massive” club whose rightful place is at the head of Scottish football’s Premiership and competing creditably in the Champions League. There is, of course, nothing intrinsically flawed about aiming for the stars, but the problem with too many Rangers followers is that they want it to happen yesterday. Their ideal is the instant cure of a wealthy benefactor taking control and providing an unconditional minimum £50m of funding with which the team could be transformed from lower-league capabilities to national champions in the blink of an eye. And yet, curiously, there appears to be a substantial number of fans willing to rally to the banner of Dave King, the South Africa-based entrepreneur who, astonishingly, has publicly declared his unwillingness to invest in the club. So far, he has offered only words, primarily to blacken the names of the current directors. King has also shown himself to be as inconsistent as many who have become involved in the propaganda war at Ibrox, at first encouraging supporters not to renew their season tickets, then changing tack by saying that the chief executive, Graham Wallace, should be allowed to complete his 120-day review of the business, before returning this week with another fusillade in the direction of the board. King, convicted on more than 40 counts of tax evasion in South Africa, accused the opposition of a lack of integrity and honesty. But, among the array of head-turning schemes associated with disenchanted fans and the directors, the most preposterous is surely the demand by the former to be handed security over Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park as part of their renewing season tickets. This is like insisting that M&S give customers security over their flagship Oxford Street store in exchange for a pledge to buy more merchandise. The entire season-ticket phenomenon, in fact, has been warped into a grotesque caricature of its traditional place in the game and led to the utterly meaningless and misleading question: “What happened to the fans’ money?” This clearly ignores the fact that, when a ticket is bought, the money becomes the seller’s while the buyer gets the ticket. It’s not complicated. At the core of the Ibrox morass, however, there ought to be a warning that the fans should be careful what they wish for. Institutional investors collectively make up a large majority of shareholders, but each has actually spent a comparatively tiny amount on acquiring their equity. If they continue to be harassed, they could consider the venture not to be worth the bother, sell off the assets and close down the business. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/glenn-gibbons-rangers-fans-playing-dangerous-game-1-3381635

More or less just an excercise and food for thought: Rangers Top Signing Targets for the Championship Written by - Jonny McFarlane After the disappointment of defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final, it’s inevitable that with little left to play for on the pitch the focus of the fans and the media will return to Rangers corporate governance. That will be covered in great detail elsewhere, but with the football department having been arguably as poorly run as the business it’s also important to reflect on where the playing squad currently stands and whether it is strong enough to win the Championship. After a sober assessment of the team, most will feel that with a rejuvenated Hearts, signings will have to be made to guarantee safe passage into the Premiership. Assuming that Rangers will be operating on a smaller budget next year and working with what’s made available by the departure of the likes of Andy Little, Kyle Hutton and Emilson Cribari when their contracts expire, I have limited my suggestions to players currently based in the SPL and out of contract. I don’t think it is realistic to expect Rangers in their current predicament to pay any kind of transfer fee and free agents from the English game are also likely to be financially untenable given their high wages. I have identified three areas of improvement in Rangers current squad: 1. Goal scoring threat 2. Strengthening the Centre of Defence/defensive midfield 3. Creation of Chances Goal scoring threat Kris Boyd (30, Kilmarnock) Surely, Rangers number one target. A club legend and a goal machine. It’s so easy and obvious it feels daft to argue for it. I wasn’t Boyd’s biggest fan in his previous stint but this is a very different time and place. His talents are ideally suited to the current predicament and his very presence will be a big boost to the beleaguered support. His game has improved in his nomadic years abroad. Still as predatory as ever, he is better in the air and in his link up play outside the box. It seems like the penny has finally dropped that to be a great striker you have to do some hard work as well as bang in the goals. Boyd be as good as a guarantee of 25 goals in the championship. Strengthening the Centre of Defence/defensive midfield Jim Goodwin (32, St. Mirren) A natural leader on the pitch Goodwin is the St. Mirren captain. A tough tackler that opposition fans love to hate, he is equally adept in central defence or midfield. At 32 he’s no spring chicken but would add a bit of steel to Rangers weak central defensive area where Ian Black has underperformed. Gary Miller (26, St. Johnstone) Versatile and extremely pacey, St. Johnstone’s Miller knows the Championship well from his time at Ross County. A Rangers fan, the 26 year old could offer significant options having played at right back, central defence and midfield in his career. A steady-Eddie who gives consistently solid performances, Miller would provide squad depth across a few positions and would add that rare commodity, serious pace at the back. Kevin Thomson (29, Hibs) Leaving Rangers in 2010 after a successful spell in the engine room, Thomson’s career has dramatically stalled. Three years of injury and poor form have curtailed the development of a player that five or six years ago many predicted to be better than his good friend Scott Brown. Unwanted by Terry Butcher due to his introduction of a more direct style, Thomson would be a superb addition to the Gers midfield especially if he could be secured on a pay if you play deal to cushion the burden from injury problems. Jamie Hamill (27, Hearts) Hearts best player this season and their midfield general, Hamill has shown a rare combination of steel and ability. A deadball expert that guarantees goals from free kicks and penalties Hamill works his backside off from the first whistle to the last. Taking on the responsibility of being the most senior player in the Tyncastle dressing room, anyone watching Hearts can see that it is Hamill, not captain Danny Wilson that bosses his team. Gavin Gunning (23, Dundee United) One of the Premiership’s best central defenders, Gunning has been a lynchpin for Dundee United’s successful season. Still young at 23, he has plenty of room for further improvement and could be a real asset for Rangers in the years to come. Physical and good in the air, he is also a threat in the opponents box and can chip in with the odd goal. His organisational abilities have helped bring out the best in his 17-year-old defensive partner John Souter and has shown maturity beyond his years at the heart of an inexperienced but exciting team. Creation of Chances Alexei Eremenko (31, Kilmarnock) A player of immense talent, Emerenko lit up the SPL in his first spell and was nominated for Player of the year. Quick feet and an even quicker brain he is a terrific passer who can thread the ball through tight defences. Another whose career has stalled, Emerenko would represent a gamble, and Rangers would have to play around his inability to defend but he would add a potent attacking weapon to the teams armoury. A fit, mentally attuned Emerenko has the talent to be playing in a major European league, at only 31 surely the challenge to get him back there wouldn’t be beyond Rangers coaching team. James McFadden (31, Motherwell) A player who has seen his career fail to take flight in recent years, McFadden’s return to Scottish Football has been a disappointment with only fleeting glimpses of his old self. A maverick in the Ted McMinn mould, a move to a massive club like Rangers could just be what the doctor ordered for this big game performer. Able to play on the left or through the middle McFadden gives attacking options to any manager that coaches him. A player sure to excite the fans with his wonderful natural ability, McFadden would be a big gamble but one that could pay off as a creator and scorer of goals. Paul McGowan (26, St Mirren) With the tumult of a recent court case behind him, McGowan can now concentrate on the footballing career that has seen him hailed as one of the most naturally gifted attacking midfielders Scotland has produced in recent years. Comfortable in central or attacking midfield, McGowan is an accomplished chance creator with an eye for goal and a blistering shot. Rangers Report

DAVE KING tonight fired another attack on the Rangers board. The South African businessman has declared war on the current Ibrox regime and has issued a strongly-worded statement again urging Rangers fans not to renew season tickets. The statement reads: I must respond to the Rangers board’s criticism of my appeal to withhold season ticket advances. This board continues its habit of evading issues by attacking the integrity of any individual or group that speaks out against them. I am happy to engage the board on our comparative integrity. Unlike this board, I do not regard integrity as a character attribute that comes with an ON/OFF switch. When I met with the board the Chairman requested that, other than the two public statements that we made, the balance of our discussions would remain private. I agreed to that and, despite requests from fan groups to disclose the full details of my discussions, I steadfastly honoured my undertaking. This board did not do likewise. In an ill-judged attempt to discredit me, they have now disclosed my comment to them that I preferred not to put money into Rangers if it could be found from other sources. In this instance they demonstrated their lack of integrity for no advantage as I had already, as part of my frank discussions with the fan groups, advised them that I had no prime ambition to invest further in the club but will do so if no other investors come forward. I would be delighted if the club could thrive without any investment from me. This attempt at a “juicy” leak by the board merely proves that it is impossible to engage this board on a basis of confidentiality and integrity. The board has now stated that it was always its intention to only provide the business review after season ticket advances had largely been paid. It has denied that it agreed that the business review would be made available prior to fans committing to season ticket advances even though I referred to this agreement in my public statement immediately after our meeting. At the time the board allowed my public statement, in toto, to go unchallenged. Presumably it had no concern with what I stated. Again, we have an integrity issue but fortunately have common sense as a referee. We know that the board did not challenge my public statement of last month. It is also common cause that the vital issue for the fans is to be told what ambition the owners have for the club and how this is going to be funded. It must be obvious that the fans need this information prior to investing - not after. The board’s new version lacks integrity even if it was believable. Given that the board is quick to raise integrity and trust as key issues I would like to pose simple questions that are easy to reply to with a simple yes or no. a) Does the board agree it is unfair to ask fans to buy season tickets before they consider the business review? b) Does the board agree that, given the present financial position of the club, it is appropriate to provide Ibrox Park and Murray Park as security against season ticket advances? c) Does the board agree that in the latter half of December 2013 it was in discussions to obtain finance that would be needed prior to the end of the current season? d) Does the board agree that in the latter half of December 2013 it provided public assurances to the fans that the club had sufficient cash to last until the end of the current season? Without satisfactory answers to these questions fans should not be expected to invest in season tickets.

Friday, 11 April 2014 18:55 Club Statement Written by Rangers Football Club "The Board of Rangers Football Club notes with astonishment the statement issued this afternoon by Dave King. In his statement Mr King makes a number of untrue allegations against the Chairman and the Board of Rangers Football Club alleging bad faith and false representation. The Chairman and the Board refute all such allegations in the strongest terms and have referred Mr King’s statement to the Club’s legal advisors. Mr King clearly has elected to ignore the Board’s previous public statement following the Board’s meeting with him. In this statement, which was reviewed with him prior to issue, the Board stated that it will issue the results of the business review prior to the season ticket renewal window ending. This position remains unchanged and Mr King is well aware of this having sought personal confirmation on this matter from the Chairman as recently as yesterday. The business review period has not yet even ended, as Mr King is well aware, however he has elected to make yet another public statement to serve his own purposes. When the Board met Mr King a few weeks ago, he made it clear that he did not want to put another penny into the Club and would prefer to see the Club using other investors' money. The Board was therefore surprised, but gave him the benefit of the doubt when, a few days later, Mr King made media comments about a willingness to invest his money into the Club. This is an easy statement to make to the media but is contrary to what he told the whole Board. It is extremely disappointing that Mr King should consider it appropriate to issue this latest statement, clearly designed to unsettle and mislead Rangers fans, on the eve of an important Scottish Cup semi-final match. For someone who claims to have the interests of Rangers at heart and as an ex-director, King's untrue comments are nothing short of disgraceful." http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6741-club-statement

Well, at certain times in the game they did but in the first half Southampton played really good football. City remind me a bit of the Gazza/ Laudo teams. Miles ahead of the opposition but occasionally lethargic and ineffective - the teams, obviously because neither Gazza or Laudrup could be described that way. Anfield will be some match next week. City to burst the red balloons - if they can keep Suarez under some control.

When is the 120th day or has it passed? Not sure if we're counting from Wallace's appointment or the AGM. Also, what's the chances of hearing "the review is over and proposals will be out in 4 week" just to keep us hanging on? It's clear the majority of fans don't trust the board so I'm not sure how they can win hearts and minds without making a magnificent gesture which is tangible to us. Even then it'd be viewed with suspicion but our fans are easily led from the Blue Room. Obviously there's talk of a new share issue but is that realistic when they know King might walk in and scoop up the shares, assume control, and go about clearing the decks for his own people? Wallace might welcome this but I highly doubt Easdales and Laxey will. The small matter of BPH and Margerita most likely objecting to their holding and future earnings dwindling is another factor to count in which could scupper any new share issue. Negative loyal!

BOBBY Madden has been appointed to referee the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and Dundee United. And the fixture at Ibrox on Saturday week will have a total of six officials. Madden's assistants for the game between the League One champions and the Premiership club will be Graham Chambers and Alastair Mather. The fourth official will be Calum Murray while the additional assistant referees will be John Beaton and Alan Muir. United have sold 10,500 tickets for the semi-final against Rangers. United had previously indicated they would seek up to 20,000 tickets for the encounter. United director Derek Robertson said: "We'll probably have to get back to the SFA in the next couple of days to let them know the numbers. I would urge anyone who has not yet bought their tickets to do so in the next few days." With Hampden Park being redeveloped for the Commonwealth Games, the SFA chose Rangers' stadium to host both semi-finals back in October. Robertson said it would be the biggest support the club had taken to a semi-final. He added: "We're very happy with the numbers so far." United were initially offered 11,063 seats for the match. But the club's representative said that "in order to ensure maximum attendance" United would prefer to only be allocated the 8012-seat Broomloan Road stand. The club had complained about Ibrox being chosen as the venue for the tie. But last weekend SFA chief executive Stewart Regan defended the move. "It was a planning decision," Regan said. "When you're putting a major cup competition together, you spend a lot of time discussing it with your sponsors. "We certainly did that with William Hill. "We needed to take the semi-finals and final to venues that would cope with the demand for tickets." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/six-officials-at-ibrox-semi-final-158049n.23853839

Robert Marshall and his son, Greg, have been heavily involved in the formation of Rangers First. Rangers First is a fan-led membership vehicle that aims to buy shares and achieve greater supporter involvement in the running of the Ibrox club. Matthew Lindsay of SportTimes met the lifelong Rangers fans and season ticket holders to speak about the ambitious project and their hopes for the future. How did you get involved in Rangers First? RM: I was invited up to the Supporters' Direct Scotland offices in Stirling. So I went and listened to two lads speak and I liked what they had to say. I thought: "If it can help Rangers I will give it a go." It was just about helping the club. As a fan, I was in. Then we had a meeting here (The Louden Tavern, Ibrox Stadium) to see if the body of the kirk, if you like, wanted to take the idea further. Richard Atkinson, a volunteer with Supporters' Direct who has been involved at quite a few clubs over the years, spoke to us. We had around 50 people here. And not one voice was dissenting. I think it is important to state that this is not anti-board or pro-board. It is pro-Rangers and pro- Rangers fans. At the first meeting we said: "Leave your egos at the door. Leave the politics at the door. Let's just see if we can do this." GM: We have people who attend our meetings who are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their attitude to the club board. If it is about individuals then it will fail. It is a vehicle that should be analysed on its own merits. What are the objectives of Rangers First? RM: The first target that Rangers First has is to obtain 5% of shares in the club. GM: That gives you powers in terms of calling a general meeting and getting answers to questions. It is all about getting what is called ACT - authoritative consultative transparency. That basically means the fans having a voice and the club having to listen to and engage with us. This is about the board engaging with the fans so that we know what the situation at the club is and we can all move forward together. It is not about getting a fan on the board. Our members would have to vote on having a representative on the board down the line. It has still to be decided. But, personally speaking, I think we would want a professional representing us. GM: The money the Community Interest Company spends must be to the benefit of the Rangers community. We can't just spend money willy-nilly. Initially, we just want to get shares until we can get the ACT. Once we get that then it will be up to the members to decide what we do with the money after that. We can fund specific projects that are and are to the benefit of the club. BuyRangers already exists. Why is Rangers First necessary? RM: By law we (BuyRangers and Rangers First) have to work together publicly because the schemes have the same principles and the same goals. We want to work together. But I think this vehicle could unite fans. GM: The key point about Rangers First is that it is not partisan. It is trying to unite the small groups into a bigger group. We are saying to them: "You are still allowed to have your differences. This is beyond that." There have been lads at the meetings we have had so far whose personal opinions I do not agree with. But their ethos is right. They genuinely want to put Rangers first. We need to engage with a wider fan base - and especially with fans abroad in countries like Australia and the United States. That is one of the advantages of Rangers First - we can accept payments from abroad. A CIC is to the benefit of the Rangers community and the Rangers community isn't defined by geography. It is what we decide the Rangers community is. And the Rangers community is global. It is basically anybody who considers themselves to be a supporter. They can contribute to it from abroad. The main strength of the CIC is its flexibility. For example, my father and I are going to donate our shares to it. We bought £1,000-worth of shares at the IPO. As well as money you can put shares in. A few of us are going to do that. RM: One of our representatives is going to Hong Kong this week to do a presentation to the Rangers Supporters' Club out there. Richard (Atkinson) also did a presentation with Orsa (Oceania Rangers Supporters Association) recently. We are really trying to engage with the ex-pat fans because it must be really hard for them looking in and not being able to do anything. What has the response to the scheme from Rangers fans been? GM: It is still in the process of being put together. But we have 1,000 members already. That is not bad after two weeks. We are due an update on that any day now. We were at a pub in Lanarkshire a couple of weeks ago at which 10 Rangers Supporters' Clubs were represented. Three of them joined up on the spot and seven took it back to their members. Nobody was against it. When people engage with it they say: "This is a good idea." It genuinely is a good idea. But we do need the support of the fans to make it work. At a small level, we could build up a small shareholding. But if we get larger numbers we will get the transparency the fans want. Has the ongoing financial uncertainty at Ibrox increased the interest in Rangers First? RM: I think it does increase enthusiasm for what we are doing. But I am keen for this not to be seen as a criticism of the board. I am not against them. I know they should not have spent the £22million that was raised at the IPO. But, as far as Rangers First is concerned, we are simply for the club. We are there to help the Rangers support. How many members do you hope to attract? RM: We would like to get to 20,000 to start with. Personally speaking, I think we can get 50,000. Now, I know people may laugh at that. But you had 200,000 at the Uefa Cup final in Manchester in 2008. You also have however many thousand abroad who are all desperate to help the club. I think we can have a worldwide membership of 50,000 within two years. How much does it cost fans to join Rangers First? RM: There are three boxes on the website - http://www.rangersfirst.org - you can join for £5 a month, £10 a month or £18.72 a month. There is also a life membership, Club 1872. That entails a £500 one-off payment. You get nothing out of it other than the satisfaction you have helped Rangers. Plus, as a member you get a vote. GM: If we can get 1,872 signing up for a life membership it will give us enough money to buy circa 5% of the club. Dave King has stated he is prepared to put money into Rangers "along with the fans". Could that funding come from Rangers First? GM: It could. Buying shares as individuals has not given us any dividend so far. Individual fans have roughly 12% of the shares. But we don't have anything to show for that. Buying as a collective, through Rangers First, would. RM: There is also a vehicle you can use. Say, for example, Laxey Partners were prepared to sell their 12% stake in the club, but Rangers First did not, at that time, have the money to buy it. We could say to them: "We will pay you for 4% a year." GM: We could provide them with a dividend and take the proxy for their shares and subsequently buy them a few years down the line. That is not something that necessarily is going to happen. But the CIC is flexible and you can do that. The other thing is we can approach the Rangers fans who currently own 12% of the club and ask them to proxy their votes to us. We would need to collect the signatures of the 4,500 fans who have shares before a general meeting. One of our committees is looking at shareholder engagement. Community ownership failed at St Mirren. How can it work at Rangers? GM: Amongst the clubs where this has been tried it has never been exactly the same. There are technical elements which are similar. St Mirren was a wholly-owned club. They had, for some reason, to buy 52% to make it work. They put in a legitimate bid and Stewart Gilmour, as was his perogative, decided not to accept it. There are successes. Dunfermline got over 1,000 members after they had already been saved. Hearts got over 8,000 fans paying in £15.50 a month. We want to achieve ACT at Rangers. The members will decide where we go from there. How optimistic are you about the future? GM: If this kind of vehicle had been about prior to administration I think it could have had a significant influence on the club. Maybe we wouldn't be in the position we are in now. Having said that, I think it will take off now. It may be a slow burner, but I think it will take off. Whoever puts money in can be assured that it will go towards the betterment of Rangers. I think we are getting there as a result of the meetings. We are starting to unite. Very few people want actual fan ownership. They want fan participation. What we are saying to the club is: "Be accountable to us." That is all we want, accountability. RM: We get nothing other than the satisfaction of helping Rangers and the Rangers community. I am not negative at all. I think Rangers are a sleeping giant. A good analogy would be they are a bear in hibernation. It is time the bear woke up. Get Rangers News Alerts by Email http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/it-is-time-to-unite-the-small-groups-and-waken-the-sleeping-giant-157872n.23841953

by Gerry Braiden AN appeal by Rangers supporters to the BBC Trust over comments made by one of the corporation's sports pundits Jim Spence has been thrown out. The BBC Scotland presenter was cleared of a number of complaints made against him after he had provoked the ire of hundreds of fans by making references to Rangers as "the old club that died". Mr Spence, who made the comment while discussing attempts to end a boardroom civil war at Ibrox on the Sportsound programme last September, was provisionally cleared of breaching accuracy guidelines by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU). Many Rangers fans contested the initial ruling by appealing to the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee (ESC). But it has now issued its decision, clearing Mr Spence of any wrongdoing. The ruling states: "The committee did not believe that evidence had been presented that would lead it to conclude that the output had breached the editorial guidelines. "The committee therefore decided that this appeal did not qualify to proceed for consideration." The BBC received over 400 complaints when Mr Spence, while discussing the possible appointment of the ex-Ibrox chairman John McClelland, had declared: "John McClelland who was the chairman of the old club, some people will tell you the club, well, the club that died, possibly coming back in terms of the new chairman." Upholding the previous decision, the senior editorial complaints adviser said she "acknowledged the strength of the complainants' feelings and noted that this was a matter that was highly significant to Rangers fans". But the break-down of the complaints into six separate issues found the appeals "did not have a reasonable prospect of success". She also noted that the editor of sport at BBC Scotland had acknowledged the comments by Mr Spence could have been better phrased within the live piece and had apologised for any offence caused.