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KENNY MILLER has finally killed off any chance of a return to Rangers by insisting he wants to extend his deal with Vancouver Whitecaps. The former Old Firm and Scotland star is back in Canada preparing for the new MLS season after spending the winter keeping in shape at Rangers' Murray Park. He has been linked with a third spell at Ibrox, despite the League One club's financial problems, but he says he's tired of denying he wants to re-sign for Rangers. Miller said: "I've been in Vancouver 18 months and I don't think a month has gone by without those questions being thrown at me. "I don't know what more I can actually do. "If [Whitecaps] manager Carl Robinson wants to walk through and offer me a two-year deal right now, I'll sign it right here in front of you." Miller has six months left of his Vancouver contract and is free to talk to other clubs. But the 34-year-old, who quit international football last year, has made it clear he is desperate to win an extension to his current deal. He said: "It has been made clear to me what I have to do to earn an extension so that's what I'm going to do. "Part of the reason I retired from playing for Scotland was hopefully to concentrate fully on the Whitecaps and stay fit for as long as I can and give them everything I can. "Going back and forth with international duty was becoming tough. "And, like I said, I want to stay here and I would love to sign again." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/former-rangers-hitman-kenny-kos-ibrox-link-150930n.23357811

CLAIMING it is almost certainly the tip of an iceberg, an East Lothian boys club have written to Scottish FA compliance officer Vincent Lunny to complain about the non-payment of compensation money allegedly owed by Hearts and Rangers. Musselburgh Windsor FC, who celebrated their 60th anniversary last year, say they have taken the stance to alert boys clubs throughout Scotland that they are due thousands of pounds by professional clubs. Their own complaint relates to an under-15 goalkeeper who joined Hearts, and two younger outfield players who were released to join Rangers. Club president Scott Robertson says his club is spending more money pursuing the complaint than it will actually get if Hearts and Rangers are forced to pay up. That is because boys clubs are due just £10 every time a senior club takes one of their registered players – a situation Robertson describes as *“disgraceful”. As some 2,700 boys, from the age of ten upwards, are registered with senior clubs, boys clubs are frequently plundered for their best players. The compensation is set at £10. Yet, within the senior system, clubs can demand between £600 and £15,000 for a boy who wants to switch to another team. Explaining why Musselburgh Windsor have decided to take a stand about the £10 the club say is owed to them by Hearts, and £20 by Rangers, Robertson said: “To be due just £10 for a promising player we have probably nurtured for many years is bad enough. “For that sum not to be paid, and for us to have to spend time and resources pursuing it, is *really adding insult to injury. “Since the compensation rule – known as the training fund contribution – was introduced by the SFA in 2006, it has been *almost completely ignored by the professional clubs. There must be hundreds and hundreds of cases of non-payments to boys clubs. “I came across the rule completely by accident – I don’t think other boys clubs are even aware they are due money from professional clubs who have taken their players since 2006. “The onus is on the pro clubs to make the payments to the Scottish Youth Football Association – who should then redistribute the money to the relevant boys clubs. I don’t blame the SYFA or the SFA for this. It’s the clubs who haven’t been making the payments.” Musselburgh Windsor, for whom former Scotland striker Kenny Miller once played, believe that, not only should the senior clubs pay all the compensation the are due – which could run into thousands of pounds – but that the £10 should be *replaced by something more realistic. “Boys clubs are facing escalating costs for facilities, kit and mandatory SFA coaching courses,” Robertson pointed out. “Sponsorship is tailing off and some clubs are really struggling to make ends meet. “Yet, despite increasing difficulties, and the fact that almost every boy in Scotland starts his football career with one of our clubs, there is no money trickling back down from the top. “What you have to bear in mind is that, once a boy is taken from us and joins a professional club, he can be subject to what has been described as a ‘children’s transfer market’. The senior clubs receive sums of between £600 and £15,000 when boys as young as 11 move *between clubs. “Meanwhile we get £10 – or not as has been the case. That figure is far too low. If it was even raised to £50 it might make the senior clubs think twice about signing so many of our players. “At the moment they are like kids in a sweet shop. They pick and choose our best players and take as many as they want. “The reason our club has made a complaint to the SFA’s compliance officer is because we want to make all boys clubs aware that they haven’t been receiving the payments they are due – paltry though they are. “We believe all the money owed to the boys clubs should be paid retrospectively. A debt is a debt, whether it’s owed for a week or seven years.” Last night an SFA spokesman said: “We cannot comment until such time as a notice of complaint has been issued. However, the compliance officer does investigate all matters referred to him to determine whether there is a case to answer.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/sfa-called-on-to-resolve-hearts-and-rangers-debts-1-3296062

........to help out Rangers CEO Wallace. JON Daly today admitted he is keen to help Rangers go on a run in the William Hill Scottish Cup this season - to boost their bank balance. Daly won the national knockout cup competition back in 2010 when he helped former club Dundee United beat Ross County 3-0 in the Hampden final. And the 31-year-old striker would love to enjoy that sort of success with the Ibrox club during the 2013/14 campaign. The Irishman believes it would be a great way to repay Light Blues supporters for their backing in the last couple of seasons. And he also thinks that it would help the SPFL League One leaders, who are currently operating at a monthly loss, financially as well. Daly and his team-mates rejected the offer of a 15% pay cut for a year-and-a-half made by chief executive Graham Wallace last month. But there are set to be cutbacks at the Glasgow giants after Wallace has completed his 120-days restructuring project. And overcoming Dunfermline in the fifth round at Ibrox on Friday night and going all the way to the final at Parkhead in May would go a long to boosting the coffers at the club. Daly said: "It would be fantastic for the club from a financial point of view and also brilliant for the fans. "I wasn't here last year but the boys have told me they backed the club massively and I think that was shown with the season tickets sold. "So it would be great to get through and get to a final but the draw has to be kind and we have to get over this hurdle first." Daly admits he is relieved that Rangers have managed to hang on to their left-back Lee Wallace during the January transfer window. Sky Bet Championship club Nottingham Forest made two bids of just under £1million for the Scotland international last week. Despite the worrying financial situation at the Glasgow club, those offers were rejected after falling some way short of their valuation of the player. Wallace set up Daly for a goal in the 2-1 league victory over Brechin City at Ibrox on Saturday and the hit man is delighted he has not been sold. He said: "Of course we are delighted that Lee is still here. "The manager stressed that he wanted to keep the club together and thankfully, all the boys are still here and we've got a good squad." Meanwhile, internet reports that Rangers are poised to go into administration this month and chief executive Wallace has allegedly prepared a resignation statement have been rejected. Stories online had claimed Wallace had been locked in talks at the Ibrox club all day and was set to leave his position. However, the former Manchester City financial director and chief operating officer was at Hampden for meetings yesterday and later attended the Rangers Under-20 match. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/daly-is-banking-on-cup-success-to-help-out-rangers-ceo-wallace-150939n.23359868

It's the Sun so hopefully as untrue as many of their stories, but, it does chime with Keith Jackson's recent statement that we'd have no money in weeks, not months and if you remember the original estimate of "last million by April" and deduct unseen pay offs since that prediction then this is scary enough, despite the source. The emboldening at the end is by me, not the paper, to perhaps give a more hopeful reading experience for you - though again it is a dodgy source. "RANGERS are at the centre of a financial cover-up investigation over claims the club will be broke within two weeks. The stock exchange inquiry was launched after an Ibrox official is alleged to have forecast they would run out of cash by mid-February. New chief executive Graham Wallace has assured fans there is no danger of a second plunge into administration — two years after ex-owner Craig Whyte steered the club to its doom. But in a complaint to the AIM exchange, a disgruntled investor writes: “It’s the worst-kept secret in Scotland that the club is running out of money in the next few weeks, yet the board has made no announcement.” The shareholder says Rangers should have disclosed any projected shortfall under stock market rules. AIM chiefs have vowed to investigate the claims. An Ibrox spokesman said they could not comment on regulatory matters. But a source said last night: “It’s untrue — there are people trying to undermine the board." (By Cameron Hay)

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-football-star-ian-redford-3009308?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter FORMER Rangers and Dundee United star Ian Redford, who was once Scottish football's most expensive signing, has been found dead aged 53. Police today confirmed that they have recovered the body of the former midfielder in Irvine earlier today. Redford, whose autobiography was serialised in the Daily Record last year, signed for Rangers for a then-Scottish transfer record of £210,000 in 1980. Over the next five years at Ibrox he made over 200 appearances for the club, winning the Scottish Cup and playing his part in three League Cup victories. He then returned to his native Tayside to join Jim McLean at Dundee United in 1985 where he played in their UEFA Cup Final defeat. The talented goal-scoring midfielder, who was called up on several occasions but never played for the national team, played for Ipswich Town, St Johnstone and Brechin in his latter years before finishing his career as a League Cup winner with Raith Rovers in 1995. More news to follow at dailyrecord.co.uk and in tomorrow's paper.

http://metro.co.uk/2014/02/02/why-rangers-loyal-lee-wallace-is-one-in-a-million-4287314/ Thoughts?

Ignoring the usual sycophantic nonsense, I find the quote in bold crass in the extreme and I'm amazed both Easdale and his PR advisors found it appropriate.

OK guys, while I don't expect much movement in or out at the Gers today, what's yer thoughts on who could/should come and go... I'm hopeful we'll retain Lee Wallace but think we should be looking to move on fringe players as well as ensuring game-time for any younger lads to aid with development. IN: Erm, none. OUT: Shiels (loan) Crawford (loan) Gasparotto (loan) Simonsen (released)

http://www.sellsgoalkeeperproducts.com/news/rangers-on-the-rise Hi Steve, we haven’t spoken since you joined Rangers – how did the move come about? I was on loan at Dundee last season from Preston and the manager, John Brown, is a former Rangers player who still has a lot of contacts at the club. I’d heard they were looking for another keeper ahead of this season, so he kindly made a couple of calls on my behalf. Ally McCoist [Rangers manager] invited me to train for a couple of weeks and at the end of it I was handed a contract. You’ve played for some big clubs like Everton, Stoke and Sheffield United, but Rangers must be an amazing club to play for? If you put aside the league we are playing in at the moment, it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world in terms of its stature and support. Despite everything that’s happened off the pitch it’s a fantastic club to play for; the facilities are top class and we have 36,000 season-ticket holders at Ibrox – and that’s for the third tier of Scottish football. The loyalty is incredible and there are many clubs in the top leagues in world football who would love that kind of backing. The size of the club is what entices players here, not the fact that we are playing in League One; Rangers have a worldwide status. It’s looking good for successive promotions, isn’t it? We’re 23 points clear at the top of the table, so hopefully we can get the title wrapped up by mid-February and then that takes us into the Championship – just one promotion from where the club was prior to our demotion. What’s happened off the pitch is not fault of the players, the management or most of the staff. It was taken out of their hands, but what we can do is work hard to get the club back to the highest level in Scottish football as soon as possible. Are away games tougher, given games against Rangers are like cup finals for these teams? You visit some of the grounds and they are like the equivalent of three leagues lower than the Conference in England. They have just the one stand with some terracing but when Rangers visit they have to erect two or three temporary stands to accommodate all the supporters. I’m using East Fife as an example, but when we play there twice a year, the finances raised will keep them going for two or three years. With the league wrapped up, does the Scottish Cup take on primary importance? It does. We’ve beaten Airdrie from our league, Falkirk – who are top of the Championship – and next week it’s Dunfermline. We’re then in the last eight with a real chance of playing a Premiership team. We need to play that type of opposition, to give us a better yardstick of where we are. Who knows, we might even get Celtic! You’ve come in as understudy to Cammy Bell – but made quite an impression on your debut, didn’t you? Yes, Cammy’s partner was giving birth, so I came in for the game at Forfar and kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win. I also made what must be the best save of my career; a corner has come in, deflected off the side of Lee Wallace’s head and was heading for the top corner. I’ve pounced like a cat out of a tree and managed to claw the ball away with my left hand. I had nice comments on Twitter, people saying it was the best save they’d ever seen, and that – like the manager says – is why I’m here. I’m here to step in when needed and show my worth to the side. Finally, what does the future hold for you? I’m contracted until the end of the season, but would like to stay longer. At 34 I’ve still got a lot to offer and I’d like to think my experience is also rubbing off on the other keepers at the club. Along with our goalkeeper coach, Jim Stewart, we’re a tight-knit bunch of keepers and we’ve got a good working relationship with each other. Cammy is the club’s long-term prospect, but if I can keep pushing him and also do myself justice when I play, then that’s good news for the club. I’ve also started coaching the younger keepers here but as I’ve shown when I’ve played, there’s still plenty left in the tank!

http://twitpic.com/dtp3jl According to the Daily Record. Bid of £900k rejected with club holding out for £1.4m. Don't grudge him a move tbh, he has earned it but the fee annoys me somewhat. A possible loss on such a good player is just typical of us. We are talking about a player in his prime, an international footballer and one who plays in a position where it is hard to find good ones. Of course we will survive and win the next two leagues without him but that doesn't mean i like it. If it was Celtic in our place, Lennon would be all over the media saying how priceless Lee is and how no one could afford him and Liewell would have his lapdogs writing the player is worth their standard £10m no matter the level he plays. As delusional as their tactics are, we need to take a leaf or two from their book. Why not tell the agents brokering the deal that the fee is £5m, we may get 3/4s of that. Who knows.

Team: Gallacher; McAusland, Halkett, Gasparotto, Sinnamon; Crawford, Telfer, Murdoch, Ramsay; Gallagher, Burrows Subs: Kelly (gk), Gibson, Pascazio, Dykes and Stoney 2-0 win for the Bears puts us top of the SPFL U20 League. Luca G opened the scoring with an early header, Ramsay sealed it with a late screamer

........says former Hearts boss Paulo Sergio. SERGIO was dismayed when the winger left Tynecastle to join Rangers in the bottom tier last term and says Templeton has been dragged down by his 18 months away from the top flight. PAULO SERGIO fears playing in the lower leagues has stifled David Templeton’s development but is praying it doesn’t stop him fulfilling his true potential. The former Hearts boss was dismayed when the winger left Tynecastle to join Rangers in the bottom tier last term. And the Portuguese believes twinkle-toed Templeton has been dragged down by his 18 months away from the top flight. Sergio worked with the 25-year-old during his one season at Tynecastle and marvelled at the ability of the player who scored against Liverpool at Anfield just 24 hours before he signed up for a battle in the Third Division with Gers. It was a crucial stage in Templeton’s career and Scottish Cup-winning gaffer Sergio reckons he would now be flourishing rather than floundering if he’d held out for a switch to the English Championship. Instead Templeton, although hampered by injuries at times, has struggled to capture his best form at Ibrox. He has mustered just five starts this season although his scoring appearances off the bench in the last two games show signs he could live up to his £800,000 transfer fee. Sergio just hopes his talent doesn’t suffocate in the time it takes Rangers to get back to the Premiership. The 45-year-old said: “I always believed during my time at Hearts that David had the ability to move to a higher level. “I spoke to him and others and told them they had the qualities to progress. It was my way of motivating them, trying to work their mentality. “I explained to them they go could higher and I really believed in David’s case he could do it. “That’s why, in terms of career, the move he made to the lowest division in Scotland wasn’t the best choice. “In these last two years he’s been playing in a standard of league that isn’t the best to develop a player who is 23 or 24. In the lower divisions the quality isn’t so high. “I know Rangers are a huge club and I hope they can get back to the Premiership but at this time I don’t believe it’s best for David. “You could argue he should stand out more than he has because he’s up against players with less ability than him. “But the way I see it is if you are a top pianist playing in a bad orchestra then the music won’t be good. If you want to develop yourself I believe you must play with and against the best. “If he’d come to me when he was making the decision to leave Hearts I would probably have advised him to go to the Championship in England. “I know he’s playing in a huge club with a great history but individually I’m not sure it was the right move for him. “He’s working with a fantastic manager and technical staff but the competition is not the same. My only hope is there is still time to see the very best of David. “I hope these years of playing in the lower divisions don’t kill his development and the level he could reach. “I like him, I only have good words to say about him. That’s why I’m sure he could have picked up a club in the English Championship when he was leaving Hearts and that would have been a good move.” While Sergio always believed Templeton had the ability to reach the top he insists a strong mentality is equally essential to ensure he gets there. And he wants to see his former protege show the hunger to be the best he can. The former Sporting Lisbon boss said: “To play at the highest level the thing that makes the difference is the brain. You need to marry ability and mentality together. “David was a vital player for me at Hearts because he’s so quick with lots of technical ability. “When I first joined Hearts and I assessed all the players he was one who stood out. His technical ability and pace sets him apart and that’s why I had a lot of belief in his ability to reach the top. “But mentality is so important and what level he reaches depends on his head. It’s about mentality, desire and hunger. “Did I have concerns about his mentality? Any small issues I might have had with players stay between me and the player. “I had a good relationship with him and only have positive things to say about David. He was crucial for me and I’m grateful to every player I worked with at Hearts.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/david-templeton-being-dragged-down-3068184

You know, some had to do it! Barrie McKay might be off to Morton for ONE months. Greenock Telegraph

A new study has placed Celtic in the top 40 earners in world football - but concluded that the club’s meagre broadcast revenue will ‘restrict’ their potential to ever compete for a top 20 spot. The club’s inability to challenge the game’s biggest earners comes despite the Hoops’ “strong supporter base” which ensures their match-day income allows them to make up for a lack of TV money. The conclusions were made by financial firm Deloitte, who have published their 17th edition of their Football Money League, which they claim is “the most contemporary and reliable analysis of the clubs’ relative financial performance” for the season 2012-13. Spanish superpowers Real Madrid have taken the number one spot for the ninth consecutive year, thanks to a revenue of €518.9 million - around £444.7 million. Despite having six clubs in the top 20 - both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs - English football saw Manchester United drop out of the top three, with Bayern Munich leapfrogging them with a revenue of £369.6 million. This year’s findings, which exclude player transfer fees, show a total combined revenue for the top 20 of a massive €5.4 billion (up eight per cent) and includes two new entries - Turkish pair Galatasaray (16th) and Fenerbahce (18th) - from clubs outside Europe’s big five of England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for the first time. The chances of Celtic ever making it in amongst the game’s big guns are slim, however, with the top 30 all generating revenue in excess of €100 million. The Parkhead outfit enjoyed a massive 48 per cent uplift in revenues for the period in question, with Deloitte attributing much of their £75.8 million (€88.5 million) to the successful qualification of Neil Lennon’s side for the last 16 of the Champions League last term. But, despite the continued backing of fans, Deloitte have identified domestic broadcast income as the main issue hampering Celtic’s ability to keep pace with the world’s highest earners. By contrast, Real Madrid earned £161.4 million from broadcast rights alone. A spokesman said: “Celtic are amongst the 40 highest revenue generating football clubs in the world, having achieved revenues of £75.8m in 2012-13, an uplift of £24.5m (48 per cent) on the previous year. “This revenue uplift was driven by the club’s progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, which delivered substantial UEFA central distributions and contributed to an increase in match-day revenues due to a higher number of home games at Celtic Park, with a total of 30 in 2012-13 compared to 24 in the previous season. “Whilst domestic league broadcast contract values are a fraction of those for leagues in larger European markets, restricting Celtic’s ability to compete for a top 20 position in the Money League, the club continues to benefit from a strong supporter base, with an average home league match attendance of 46,754.” Top 20: 1 Real Madrid - £444.7 million. 2 Barcelona - £413.6 million. 3 Bayern Munich - £369.6 million. 4 Manchester United - £363.2. 5 PSG - £341.8 million. 6 Manchester City - £271 million. 7 Chelsea - £260 million. 8 Arsenal - £243.6 million. 9 Juventus - 233.5 million. 10 AC Milan - £225.8 million. 11 Borussia Dortmund - £219.6 million. 12 Liverpool - 206.2 Million. 13 Schalke 04 - £169.9 Million. 14 Spurs - £147.4 Million. 15 Inter - £144.6 Million. 16 Galatasaray - £134.6 Million. 17 Hamburg - £116 Million. 18 Fenerbahce - £108.3 million. 19 Roma - £106.6 million. 20 Atletico Madrid - £102.8. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/celtic-in-top-40-of-world-football-earners-list-1-3280419

...........to cut costs elsewhere and keep first-team squad intact 27 Jan 2014 07:16 THE Ibrox midfielder admits he fears top players will be sold to help balance the books but hopes Ally McCoist is allowed to keep building for the future. NICKY LAW has urged Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace to cut costs elsewhere and keep the top-team squad intact. The Ibrox midfielder acknowledges that with financial streamlining going on at the club the final days of this month’s transfer window are a worrying time for the management team and players. Wallace is in the midst of a 120-day review designed to cut costs and develop a financial model to ensure a self-sustaining business. Big decisions have to be made, such as the one that saw finance director Brian Stockbridge leave the club at the weekend, but Law hopes a cash shortfall does not result in a player cull. With just five days left in the transfer window Rangers are vulnerable to any offers coming in for one of their stars with Scotland full-back Lee Wallace the player who could raise the largest sum. But Law believes it would send a bold message to the dressing room if Wallace and the money men on the board find other ways to make their cuts and refuse to sell in order to keep Ally McCoist’s squad on track for their Championship bid next season. The 25-year-old English ace, who joined Rangers from Motherwell last summer, said: “We’re just one of a number of clubs who will be looking forward to the end of the window because we have good players who people will probably be looking at and looking to take. “The manager has said we’re trying to build here rather than lose his best players. Hopefully that will be the case. "We want to keep everyone to help us build towards getting back where we belong. “It would be a positive sign that we’re looking to keep progressing and get back to the top and hopefully that will be what happens.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/nicky-law-urges-rangers-chief-3065454

With all the talk this year on youth and whether we are utilizing and funding our scouting and youth academy correctly, thought it might be interesting to see what other teams are doing. http://www.ecaeurope.com/Research/ECA%20Report%20on%20Youth%20Academies/ECA%20Report%20on%20Youth%20Academies.pdf if link doesn't work cut and paste into browser.

Like a lion-tamer jabbing a chair at the gates of Ibrox Dave King shows no sign of leaving a riled Rangers board in peace. The former director says a second Ibrox share issue is now ‘100 per cent inevitable’ and he expects to be involved. The response from an increasingly exasperated Rangers support – no doubt the directors as well - was a roar of frustration. Put up or shut up was the cry. Show us your money. When it comes to spending other people’s money, of course, football supporters are the wizards of Wall Street. Yet the truth is this. Many show a remarkable inability to either listen to or absorb the line King has consistently adopted on this. He says he has the means to buy Rangers. Shelling out £43.7million to the South African authorities last year in full and final settlement of one of the lengthiest tax disputes the country had ever known, King described it as a ‘favourable’ result. Money: Were King to buy up all 60 million of the shares in circulation at that price he could, in theory, take control of Rangers for £16.2m There are people out there worrying where their next meal might come from. Dave King isn’t one of them. His personal wealth is known only to him. How he acquired it is also a question the SFA could be forced to ask one day. But in the aftermath of the settlement with the South African Revenue Service shares in Micromega, his South African firm, soared. On paper, at least, he appears to be a hugely wealthy man. All of which adds to the bewilderment of Rangers supporters that he won’t simply step in and end their misery by paying the opportunist investors currently running the club to go away. Since last year’s IPO the Rangers International share price has dropped from 70p to a mere 27.25p on Friday morning. Were King to buy up all 60 million of the shares in circulation at that price he could, in theory, take control of Rangers for £16.2m. That’s a sum comfortably within his budget. It’s feasible he could pay twice that price and still have change left over. But that doesn’t mean he will. Or that the people currently running the show will stand back and let him. Supporters speak as if all King has to do is transfer a few million quid to an Escrow account and pick up the keys to Ibrox. It’s not that simple. He could certainly make an offer for existing shares but he has said from the start he won’t put money into the pockets of wide boys. In June 2012 King met Charles Green at Ibrox and quickly established that the Yorkshireman and his faceless backers saw Rangers as the vehicle for making a fast buck. By the time he left Green took close to £1m out of the club. In contrast King is the proverbial ‘Rangers man’. A rarity willing to put millions into buying players for his boyhood idols in the full knowledge he will lose every penny. He put £20m of his own cash into the David Murray regime and lost it all. To hand yet more cash over to the corporate sharks who have landed Rangers in a hell of a mess through their avarice and opportunism, then, would stick in the throat. Neither is there any guarantee Sandy and James Easdale – the public faces on the throne – would sell. Meeting Sandy Easdale at his bus depot in November, King struck up a cordial relationship with the Greenock tycoon. But right now the Easdales show no inclination to hand the reins over to anyone. Their problem, however, is this. Rangers are running out of money. They could sell Lee Wallace, they could cut back the playing squad and they could trim costs across the board. But King articulated a common view among supporters this week. Becoming a team of also rans is simply unthinkable to Rangers. Almost as unpalatable as Celtic reaching ten-in-a-row. Yet unless the Easdales find a way to raise cash quickly it could easily happen. King’s solution is to underwrite a fresh issue of shares and return to the boardroom. For existing investors that’s a last resort option. They would have to dig deep once more or see their power base eroded. They don’t fancy that one bit. But if the alternative is another insolvency event then they may have little choice. Another Ibrox sugar daddy won’t appeal to everyone. The common sense solution would be for Rangers to spend what they earn. To stop throwing good money after bad and live within their means. But, as Walter Smith observed recently, common sense and Rangers finances rarely go hand in hand. Dave King remains hellbent on proving it. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2545705/Stephen-McGowan-Dave-King-showing-no-signs-leaving-riled-Rangers-board-peace.html#ixzz2rP65E6Ui Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

There is seldom an isolated event at Rangers. Brian Stockbridge's departure as finance director is being interpreted as the first example of Graham Wallace, the chief executive, asserting his authority. Yet it also changes the dynamic in the boardroom, reducing the club to four directors and potentially altering how certain decisions are made in the coming months. There is, still, a sense of uncertainty about what the future holds for the club. Rangers' route back to the top flight is still being determined. Essentially, the club either cut back their spending in line with revenue from season ticket sales and, while in the lower leagues, limited commercial revenue. Alternatively, some investment in the coming 18 months would allow the team to be strong enough to compete on its return to the top division, and so quicken the recovery of Rangers' old status. An element of restructuring is required in either case, which is why Wallace has embarked on a root and branch review of the club's business. Philip Nash, the former Arsenal and Liverpool finance director who was recently brought in as a consultant, is expected to take the finance director role in the short-term. How it impacts on the boardroom will also be interesting, though. Dave King wants to lead the fundraising in a fresh share issue. His vision is to generate money from himself and other high net-worth Rangers fans that can be used to strengthen the squad and the football resources so that the team are immediately competitive, in return for influence on how the club is run. The alternative is a longer period spent trying to regain ground. There are complications, though, since a new share issue requires existing shareholders to reinvest to maintain the size of their stake, at a time when the vast majority of them have suffered considerable losses. The shares were launched in December 2012 at 70p, but closed last Friday with a value of 27.25p. This is the ideological struggle at the club, and the decision on the way forward lies with the Rangers International Football Club plc board members - Wallace, Norman Crighton, James Easdale and the chairman, David Somers - and the shareholders. Before either short-term funding, to tide over until season ticket sales kick in, or fresh funding is sought, though, Wallace has to restore the business to an even keel. It is thought to be losing between £500,000 and £1m a month, and costs will need to be cut. The first-team wages are around 30% of turnover, but with one week of the transfer window remaining, Rangers may yet find themselves having to react to offers for some of their players, or seek to incentivise some to leave, although payments would further reduce the cash flow. This is at a time when the team have lost only once in 22 league games. Some fans grumble at occasionally muted performances, but Ally McCoist deserves credit for managing through a series of crises, and for maintaining the standards the club was built on. "There have been times when I've said, 'What am I doing here?'," McCoist said. "But how could you regret becoming the manager of Rangers? I've got my dream job. It's not the dream situation [but] as long as I can look myself in the mirror, I'll be happy. I've made mistakes and I'll make more mistakes. As long as they're done in an attempt to do the right thing then I can live with that." A recent lunch with Graeme Souness and Walter Smith, his friends and former Rangers managers, will have brought plenty of reminders of different, more accommodating times. McCoist is resilient, though. While the club's future direction is being debated, his assessment is that his team needs reinforcements if it is to eventually challenge Celtic again. "If we're talking about winning the top league then we're miles away," he said. "I would hate that to be taken as a criticism of the team because it's not. But it would be very unfair for people to expect these free transfers who have come together to win [the] top flight. Some, if we got help with players coming in, could probably do it. But we would need investment." Herald

Barry Ferguson is targeting the play-offs for Blackpool, regardless of whether he is their manager or a player. The Seasiders captain held talks with chairman Karl Oyston last night about taking the vacant manager’s job on a permanent basis. He’s told the Pool chairman he would only consider taking the role if it was offered to him at least until the end of the season. Ferguson isn’t interested in a caretaker position, and if that’s the only role on offer he would continue to serve Blackpool as a player only. It is expected that Ferguson, who turns 36 in 10 days, will be named as the 11th manager of the Karl Oyston era ahead of home Saturday’s game against Doncaster. He was due to take training today and aims to bring in former Dundee United coach Malky Thomson as his assistant. There may also be roles for former Rangers duo Bob Malcolm and John McGregor. If Ferguson does take the hot seat, there would clearly be a change of thinking at Bloomfield Road. Paul Ince always insisted survival was Pool’s only aim this season but Ferguson wants the club to set its sights much higher. He told The Gazette: “I never look at the negatives – I always remain positive. “At the start of this season my aim was to get promotion and it will always be the case. “If it’s not promotion we still have to look at the play-offs. As a person and a player, I still want to make a push for the play-offs.” Pool are 14th in the Championship, eight points above the relegation zone and nine outside the top six. If Ferguson is named today it’s believed he’ll move quickly in the transfer market, with Scottish duo Kris Boyd and Alan Hutton high on his wish-list. And speaking earlier in the week, Ferguson said all his team-mates remain optimistic. He revealed: “I’m a positive person and all the lads in the dressing room are positive. We need to look at it that way. We need to get out of this mess, then creep into the play-offs.” Ferguson has been backed to be a huge success in management by former Holland manager Dick Advocaat. The 66-year-old, who managed Ferguson at Rangers and is now working with Dutch side AZ, said: “Barry is someone with very good pedigree and knowledge. I brought him into the Rangers team when he was just a young boy. “I didn’t think about him as a future coach because he was so young, but they do say midfielders make the best coaches. I’m confident he can have a good career as a coach.” One manager who has ruled himself out of the Blackpool job is Neil Warnock. The former Crystal Palace and Sheffield United boss said: “There’s no chance of me going to Blackpool. It’s a tough job because there’s hardly any money there. “I think Barry Ferguson will do a good job until the end of the season. I don’t think they’ll go rushing to appoint people.” http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sport/blackpool-fc/ferguson-takes-charge-and-wants-to-make-the-play-offs-1-6390967

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6049-playing-crucial-for-kyle KYLE McAUSLAND doesn’t know where he’ll spend the rest of the season yet but admits he needs to be playing games regularly wherever it is. The 21-year-old had a Rangers shirt back on yesterday as he turned out for Gordon Durie’s under-20 side in its 1-0 league win over Ross County at Dumbarton. It was McAusland’s first game for the club since his loan spell at League One rivals Ayr United came to an end at the weekend. There is a possibility the defender could go back out on loan but if he was to do that he’d have to return to Somerset Park for what would be his third time there. FIFA rules dictate a player isn’t allowed to play competitively for any more than two clubs in the one campaign. And because McAusland has turned out for Gers as well as the Honest Men, his only other option is to remain at Ibrox and fight for a place in Ally McCoist’s squad. With Richard Foster and Sebastien Faure both ahead of him in the pecking order for the right-back slot, he knows his chances there might be limited. McAusland is eager to keep playing though and wants to at least become a regular in Durie’s side if he stays with the Light Blues. He said: “It’s my first week back at Rangers this week so I asked to play in the under-20 game to get myself back into the swing of things. “To be honest, I’ve not spoken to the manager here or the manager at Ayr yet about where things sit. “I’ll just keep training and hopefully I’ll speak to everyone either this week or next and we’ll see what happens from there. “If I do end up going back out on loan, it’ll be good to go back to Ayr because they’re doing well and they’re in a play-off place at the moment. “There’s competition for places at Rangers and you’re going to get that at any club, especially here. “It’s going to be hard for me to push the other boys out of the way because they have done well since they came in. “Whatever happens, it’s about getting more experience for me. I need to play games wherever I am, preferably first-team ones. I’m at that age where that’s really important.” Once again demonstrating the utter folly of sending a player out on a half season loan because when he comes back both he and the Club are snookered; as with Gallagher and Mitchell.

A DEAL to transfer Ukio Bankas Investment Group’s 50 per cent shareholding in Hearts to the Foundation of Hearts has been agreed, the Evening News can reveal. The agreement needs to be ratified legally in Lithuania, but would see a token £50,000 payment for the shares made to UBIG’s administrators, allowing the Edinburgh club to exit administration with the Foundation as their new owners. Hearts’ administrators BDO are proceeding with caution in the hope that the deal can go through despite UBIG’s assets being frozen. Foundation of Hearts already have a £2.5million Creditors’ Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in place to secure 29.9 per cent of the club’s shares from Ukio Bankas, who are also in administration. The CVA is conditional upon the fans’ umbrella group getting UBIG’s 50 per cent stake. BDO have been in talks with UBIG’s administrators Bankroto Administrativo Paslaugos for some time trying to negotiate the handover of shares. This is the only remaining hurdle to Hearts exiting administration after the CVA was voted through last November. There is now a verbal agreement between both parties for the transfer of shares at an agreed price.

....yet they'll prepare for Forfar match at four star Hotel. KEITH hits out at Rangers' lavish pre-match routine ahead of tonight's League 1 clash with Forfar claiming they are living a champagne lifestyle on an Irn-Bru budget. HERE’S a thing. You know those Rangers players involved in conceptual discussions about theoretical wage cuts last week? And who metaphorically booted the hypothetical idea into touch? Well, here’s today’s reality. Did you know they’re all being bussed to the Four-Star Carnoustie Hotel this morning? Where they’ll enjoy some fine dining for lunch, possibly at the hotel’s own AA Rosette-winning restaurant? Rooms will then be provided in order that they can enjoy an afternoon nap, for those not getting treatments in the spa. All for an away trip to Forfar? To take on Gavin Swankie and Darren Dods? Is it any wonder these players don’t know if they are coming or going? Or that, as he unwraps the chocolate on his fluffy cotton pillow this afternoon, manager Ally McCoist might pause to reflect on where it has all gone wrong. Talk about mixed messages? Talk about champagne lifestyles and Irn-Bru budgets? Talk about hubris, arrogance and over-indulgence? Talk about sledgehammers and walnuts. The constant noise and confusion around Rangers is truly head-melting stuff. No wonder the club’s new chief executive looked slightly ruffled last week when news emerged from Murray Park of his polite suggestion that the first team might consider 15 per cent pay cuts. For a man of his experience Graham Wallace, below right, ought to have known such a proposal would be unlikely to remain within the walls of the dressing room for longer than it takes a player to hit the speed dial button to his agent. It was bound to result in an outbreak of panic among a support that has seen this movie before and which was so badly traumatised by the way it ended. But Wallace can be excused because, not only is he new here but also there must be a million and one different, more pressing thoughts, pinballing around inside his head as he attempts to tackle this latest financial crisis. Commendably, he has promised to deliver a business model that will finally allow Rangers to live within its means. Sustainability, transparency and a bit of common sense would go a long way to sorting out the internal mayhem over which he presides. Today’s unnecessarily lavish road trip, though, is just more proof that, when he agreed to take on this position at the top of a dysfunctional board, he was in fact stepping into life through the looking glass. Wallace in Wonderland. Or not. It’s his job now to make some sense of the numbers, to crunch them down and to crush this club’s recent culture of big bonuses and eye-popping extravagance before what little cash is left in the bank has evaporated completely. There is a rich irony about the fact that, in Philip Nash, he has hired yet another big-earning accountant to assist him in this urgent cost-cutting review. But then this job is so big Wallace might need all the help he can get. And from people in whom he can trust. Wallace’s planning is all that stands now between Rangers and another financial catastrophe. At the present rate of spending, the club’s last reserves will be gone before the end of the campaign. In fact, the prediction of financial director Brian Stockbridge that Rangers will be down to their last million in April now looks hugely optimistic. It is quite incredible this man remains in charge of the books given his standing in the eyes of the fans. It was not long ago he was talking confidently of growing turnover to in excess of £100m. Only then to predict a £7m year-end loss. Which, in fact, turned out to be a £14m black hole. And if, as is being strongly suggested by people on the inside of this basketcase, Stockbridge has got it wrong again then the situation at Ibrox could soon become dire. Perhaps as soon as next month. At a time when every penny counts, thank goodness then that Stockbridge has handed back that £200k bonus he pocketed for watching Rangers win last season’s Third Division title. Right? And has the financial director and the rest of the board actually signed off on the halving of McCoist’s eye-watering £825k annual salary? After talking about it for months, why on earth would it not have been rubber-stamped by now? If all this financial remedial work really has been completed then Wallace should announce it to the Stock Exchange and also reveal the current state of the accounts. It should be done in the name of sustainability and transparency – and in the hope of forcing common sense to prevail. Wallace must be astonished at some of the numbers that have flown across his desk. It is not his fault this club has blown its chance to stockpile cash on its journey up the leagues and there is nothing he can do now to address this grotesque overspend. That ship has sailed. Had Rangers plotted a more sensible course they would be arriving in the top flight in 18 months in a fit and healthy state, with millions squirrelled away. But, in their vulgar rush to cuddle up to McCoist, former chief execs Charles Green and Craig Mather put their own popularity ahead of proper prudence. By doing this, they kept the fans onside and the tills ringing. All Wallace can do now is address the crisis this pair and Stockbridge created. He’s not helped by the fact that, simply by agreeing to join a broken board and glue it back together, he himself is now viewed with varying degrees of suspicion. But, unlike Green and Mather, he must not allow his own popularity to get in the way of protecting the club’s interests. Which is why it was encouraging to see the first steps towards a more austere future being taken last week. But, crucially, if Wallace is serious about grabbing the bull by the horns then he must do so in the boardroom because this is where the biggest excesses have recently been committed. It is hard to think of another club that spends millions less on its players than on the rest of its employees but that’s precisely what the accounts showed to be the case at Rangers last year. No wonder the players refuse to take the first hit when there are other far more bloated and obvious targets at the top of the marble staircase. These players may well feel treated like disposable window dressing when they are supposed to be the very heart of the club. And here’s another thing. They were asked to ponder a 15 per cent cut over a period of 18 months, while also being told the club hopes to sign even more players in the summer. Which means some of them might be volunteering to help finance their own replacements. And you thought lunch at Carnoustie was mad?

Andy Mitchell contract terminated "by mutual consent" http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/6024-mitchell-leaves-club

Being reported by BBC & STV that the players have refused to take a 15% pay cut.

Rangers: Manager Ally McCoist instructed to cut wage bill By Alasdair Lamont Senior football reporter, BBC Scotland Rangers manager Ally McCoist has been told he will have to make cuts to his playing budget. McCoist has been in discussions with Graham Wallace recently as the chief executive undertakes a comprehensive review of the Ibrox finances. Wallace told shareholders at the annual general meeting in December savings would need to be made. And the players' wage bill at the League One side currently stands between £6m and £7m per annum. A spokesman for the Rangers board told BBC Scotland: "The CEO Graham Wallace outlined his strategy at the AGM and nothing is going to deflect him from getting Rangers back on an even keel. "Graham and Ally are reviewing the football budget, as part of the overall business review and it would be inappropriate at this time to discuss any figures." The news comes on the day that three million shares worth around £750,000 were traded in Rangers International Football Club plc. The share price dropped as low as 24p early in the day before rallying slightly to close at 28.5p. That is a fall from the 90p price at the launch of the share issue just over a year ago. Earlier this week, McCoist signed off on a pay cut of around 50%, which he agreed to in October. And consultant Philip Nash has been brought to Ibrox to help oversee the financial overhaul.