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Showing results for tags 'transfer'.
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http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/shares-are-selling-but-will-players-have-to-be-sold-as-well.23177405 The Rangers International Football Club plc share price has been falling steadily since the annual meeting of shareholders last December. Yesterday, 2.5m shares were sold at 24p, a new low (the launch price was 70p), with a further 250,000 sold at 25p, the largest single day trading volume in more than a month. At the same time as the share price has been falling, the chief executive Graham Wallace has been conducting a review of the business, with significant cuts expected to be implemented to bring costs in line with income. Here Herald Sport looks at the state of play at Rangers. Who sold and who bought the shares? We may not find out, at least for now. The shares were sold in batches of 1m and 250,000, so it could have been multiple sellers and, in theory, multiple buyers. Anybody who takes their holding above or below 3% needs to notify that fact, but it can take several days to be posted on the Stock Exchange. In total, the five transactions accounted for around 4% of the RIFC shareholding. So what is the significance of the recent share price drop? For investors, it means that they have been losing money, unless they were among the small number to receive 1p shares. Until yesterday, the volume of shares sold was small, suggesting that the price was falling because investors were looking to sell their stock but there were no buyers. The share price rebounded to 28.5p at the close of the market, but it is widely thought that the net asset value share price is around 25p, making that a significant value for the market price to dip below. Might a takeover be imminent? That is unlikely. The arrival of a buyer on the scene would push the share price back up. Investors would need to be willing to sell their holdings, although those who voted against the re-election of the board members last month - around 30% - may be less inclined to retain their shares. Private deals can be struck, of course, but Rangers' business model needs to be streamlined so any price would be discounted to take into account the need for further investment. What is the state of the club's finances? Wallace, by his own admission, needs to cut the costbase. Rangers are thought to be losing somewhere in the region of £1m per month, and Wallace is currently conducting a review of the entire business. He stresses that this will also identify areas requiring investment, but it is clear that cuts will need to be implemented first. The club expects to have around £1m cash left by April, but there are issues to address. Such as? It is not so simple as just identifying, for example, players who are peripheral to the team and telling them to find a new club. Emilson Cribari has barely played this season, but is believed to be content in Glasgow and adamant that he will stay until the summer. If he cannot match the wages he is on, there is also no incentive for him to leave. What about selling players? There are some who would attract bids from other clubs, but Lee Wallace, for one, is also adamant that he intends to remain at Rangers and has no interest in pursuing a career in England. David Templeton has not featured much this season, but would need to find a club willing to match the wages he is on at Ibrox. So how does Wallace reduce the costs? He might seek redundancies, although they would also require severance packages. Hard decisions may be made, but there are costs that can be cut on the business side. Is there no alternative? No. Rangers intend to seek fresh investment, but the business needs to be brought to an even keel first. A share issue is possible in time, and Dave King is ready to lead that fresh round of investment, but Wallace will not begin that process before he has redeveloped the business model. By then, he will also have identified the areas - such as scouting - that require investment. If costs are being cut, why is Philip Nash, a consultant, being brought in? Given that Wallace is a chartered accountant, that Andrew Dickson, the head of football administration, is a chartered accountant, and that Rangers have a financial director in Brian Stockbridge, a finance controller in Ken Olverman, and an accountancy firm in Active Corporate, another accountant seems superfluous. Nash was finance director at Arsenal and Liverpool, so knows the business of football, and it is conceivable that his remit is to source new revenue as much as contribute to the business review, but it may be Wallace wants fresh and independent analysis. So what happens next? More uncertainty, probably, with the share price and with events inside the club. While the transfer window is open, players can be sold or moved on, while other areas of the business will also be cut. Wallace faces a difficult task to balance the books without fundamentally affecting the ability of the team to continue progressing up the leagues. -
I think some people have completely lost all perspective. We've played some lovely stuff at times this season scoring barrow loads of goals in the process, we've also struggled in games yet still won the vast majority of them. I don't think anyone is happy with the latter, other than the results, but recognise that he's in a no-win situation until we're back at the top. We've all been puzzled by some of the selections and tactical decisions. But equally, the football is better than last season and some of the changes made etc.. have made a difference. McCoist has shown little so far to suggest he is a world beating manager, but he hasn't shown that he is a totally clueless fool either. I think two points which invariably get lost in these debates is that there has been a clear improvement from the dross last season and that McCoist may not be the answer long term, but that remains to be seen. At the moment he is meeting expectations and that should be good enough for the majority of the support.
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The most frustrating thing McCoist said today.... This is not the first time he has said this; what message does this send the young players?
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-bring-new-financial-guru-3009812 FORMER Liverpool and Arsenal financial chief Philip Nash is recruited as a consultant to help streamline the club’s massive outgoings and slash budget. RANGERS have stepped up plans to wipe millions from their budget – by employing a new financial guru to help oversee cuts. Record Sport can reveal former Liverpool and Arsenal financial chief Philip Nash has been recruited by the Ibrox board in a “consultancy” role to help oversee streamlining of the club’s enormous spending. Yesterday the club’s share price fell to 27p and Nash joins chief executive Graham Wallace along with financial director Brian Stockbridge to become the THIRD highly-paid chartered accountant at the top end of the regime. Two further money men, Andrew Dickson and Ken Olverman, are also employed by the club which now needs Nash’s expertise to help turn around losses of an estimated £1m per month. Nash was headhunted by Liverpool in 2008 after helping Arsenal finance their multi-million move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium. He survived a regime change at Anfield and was credited with helping the club tie up £20m shirt sponsorship with Standard Chartered Bank before standing down in December 2012 citing family reasons. Rangers’ financial position has deteriorated alarmingly in the past 12 months and Stockbridge has admitted they may be down to their last million in little more than two months. As another high earner arrives, Ally McCoist is readying himself for cuts. But he insists Wallace accepts that dramatically slashing the playing budget will undermine progress through the divisions. But the manager admits he does not know the extent to which he will be forced to cut – even after a lengthy meeting with Wallace on Tuesday. McCoist said: “Graham hasn’t told me I need to sell players or get rid of them. “It was just an overall view of the football side and we will meet again next week. “He hasn’t made it known to me where those cuts are going to take place and in what shape or form. “It would make sense to Graham that just cutting and selling is not the right way to go about it in terms of the progression of the club, the team and the squad. “If you need to take one step back to take two or three forward again, that will be Graham’s decision.” McCoist hopes he does not have to lose players during the transfer window. He said: “I would be thrilled to bits if there were no bids.”
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.........to hide the problems at Rangers HUGH believes that lifting the transfer ban at Hearts would be an act of compassion to prevent young players from being overexposed to the harsh realities of Premiership football. NO-ONE likes us, we don't care is a slogan that works when you're looking down on the rest from a position of power in the top division But the message is beginning to come across as a sign of weakness when Rangers are lining up a series of targets for their anger while living in the third tier of Scottish football. Stenhousemuir's John Gemmell lost the moral high ground when he tweeted his disgust over Ally McCoist's complaints about festive season fixture congestion. Exhibiting the early stages of Tourettes Syndrome is never a good way of going about winning your argument. Also, Gemmell's done nothing in the game and the man he was attacking is a former European Golden Boot winner. Having said that, there was, in between the foul and abusive language, a case to be made for supporting his argument that Ally was whingeing without good reason. Then Ian Durrant got in on the act by having a go at unspecified people within un-named clubs who were having ago at Rangers when they should've been concentrating on their own team. Who ? When ? Where ? Durranty said the criticism Rangers received when they drew with Stranraer at Ibrox on Boxing Day was over the top, making it look as if Ally's side had lost the match. He'll need to include the Rangers support among those who've displeased him then, because they were the first ones to slate the team for their performance when they booed them off the park. Previously it was the allegedly rough treatment of Ian Black that was the problem. Is it not more the case Black was signed to be Rangers' enforcer in the middle of the park and turned out to be less of an intimidatory presence than was advertised in the brochure ? Rangers' historical reputation was partly forged on having genuinely hard men who lived and died by the sword without complaining that somebody had kicked them back. But convincing the gullible you're being singled out for unfair treatment works for some, like those Rangers fans who're getting ready to complain in case Hearts are allowed to sign players while under a transfer embargo when their club wasn't allowed any relaxation of the rules. The thing is Hearts can't lodge an appeal against their embargo when the SPFL Board meets at Hampden tomorrow. Their case isn't even on the agenda for discussion. Going into administration isn't regarded as misconduct, so there's nothing to appeal against. If Hearts came out of administration tomorrow they could sign players straight away. In the meantime, the club can make multiple appeals to have individuals registered with them while the process to exit administration goes on. It's a course of action Hearts should take as quickly as is humanly possible. Sam Nicholson suddenly appeared on tea-time television on Thursday night. I only know his name because a caption appeared underneath him as the kid spoke about Hearts and his place in the squad as one of the teenagers the club's been forced to rely on. And for the first time I could sense the inadvisability of exposing fragile youngsters to a grown up's environment on a regular basis. The sanctions imposed on Hearts have done their job and the club will be relegated at the end of this season. They've taken their medicine with fatal consequences for their league status. A vestige of dignity while the club is in its death throes, and fulfilling their remaining fixtures, is what's being asked for. I'm told a fourteen year old was played in goal by Hearts at a recent Under 18 match because there was nobody else. Someone's going to get hurt here, and mental scarring is going to be as prevalent as the physical kind. Hearts brought all of this on themselves through business mis-management, and nobody's denying that. But if any player wants to sign for them this month in the certain knowledge he'll be in a lower division next August, assuming the club is still in existence, he should be allowed to do so. It's not preferential treatment. It's showing compassion to the terminally afflicted. -
Could be the most open Premier League in many a year. Man City and Chelsea have the strongest squads and Id say 1 of them will win it. But if Tottenham keep Bale then they could be an outside bet. They have signed some quality players. I can see Man Utd been knocked off their perch and fighting to make top 4. They really need a top class centre midfielder or 2. Arsenal still have a poor defence and keeper plus if 1 or 2 of their key players get injured they have no replacements. Good players like Rosicky and Diaby will only give them 5-10 games a season. Ive still put a bet on them at 10/1 to win it just in case they get Suarez and a defender. I like what Swansea have done in the transfer market but the 40 games they have to play in Europa league could take its toll. Liverpool will be slightly better this season and be top 6. But after that its a lucky dip. Id say the 3 that came up will go back down, promoted sides have done well for the last few seasons but these 3 are well short of the rest. Based on current squads before more signings Id go for: Winners: Chelsea Champions League: Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham (If Bale stays, if not Man Utd) Relegated: Cardiff, Hull, Palace.
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SHIELS has played just 15 minutes of first team action in two months but agent Sam Morrow insists the player is not looking to move on. DEAN Shiels’ agent is seeking talks with Rangers boss Ally McCoist to discover whether his client has a future at Ibrox. The 28-year-old has played just 15 minutes of first-team football in the last two months – despite being fit for all of that time. The Northern Ireland forward suffered medial-ligament damage against Annan in March and came back too early in August, managing only three games before suffering a relapse with his knee. But agent Sam Morrow insists Shiels has been raring to go since November and is baffled as to why McCoist hasn’t picked him more. After last month’s 4-0 win over Dunfermline, the Ibrox boss shot down rumours that Shiels had been told to find another club. Now Morrow wants to speak to McCoist in person after revealing Shiels is desperate to stay with the team he loves. He said: “Dean has been fit for two months now. He has been working hard and doing extra training – he’s champing at the bit to play again. “We’re in the dark as to why he hasn’t featured more often. I left a message for Ally last week but he hasn’t got back to me yet. “I appreciate this has been a hectic schedule for the club and I’m not trying to tell him how to do his job. I’m just looking to have a chat so we can help Dean to stay focused. “You can become disillusioned when you’re not playing. It can be difficult doing all the hard graft during the week and then having nothing to show for it on a Saturday. “In Dean’s case, there is added frustration because he wasn’t left out due to a loss of form but because of injury and it has been a long time since he was playing regularly.” Shiels signed a four-year deal at Ibrox after leaving Kilmarnock in 2012 and has no intention of moving. But Morrow admits his client’s international career will suffer if he continues to be left on the sidelines by McCoist this season. He said: “All Dean wants to do is play for Glasgow Rangers, the club that he loves. “I’m sure Ally will get in touch with me whenever he gets a minute but we’re just looking for a little reassurance from him. “There were rumours the other week that Dean had been told he could leave if he could find another club but that’s absolute rubbish. I saw Ally has confirmed that too. “His position is different from fringe players who haven’t been getting a game for other reasons. I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time before Dean is playing for Rangers again. “He’s a talented boy and it’s just over a year-and-a-half since PFA Scotland shortlisted him as one of the four best players in the top flight. “Dean wants to show the fans what he is capable of and there is also his situation with Northern Ireland to be taken into consideration. “He was a regular starter under Michael O’Neill when he was fit but he needs to be playing for Rangers to be considered.” Meanwhile, Kenny Miller could see his hopes of a third spell with Rangers dashed because of a transfer stand-off with his Vancouver strike partner. The 33-year-old has admitted he would love to return to Ibrox but Miller is unlikely to be allowed to move in this month’s window. The former Scotland star will be needed at his MLS club after Brazilian striker Camilo Sanvezzo was at the centre of a transfer mystery. The 25-year-old – who is believed to be unhappy he earns just a quarter of Miller’s wages – has been pictured undergoing a medical at Mexican side Queretaro FC, despite Vancouver claiming he’s still under contract for another year. Whitecaps are desperately trying to get the ‘transfer’ declared void after president Bob Lenarduzzi said: “It’s unacceptable and inappropriate.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-striker-dean-shiels-determined-2999685
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http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-to-hold-talks-with-cypriot-athos-solomou-1-3263212 RANGERS will hold transfer talks with Cyprus international Athos Solomou next week, when the player and his agent arrive in Glasgow. The APOEL Nicosia full-back, 28, is due to fly to Scotland to discuss a move to the League 1 leaders and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement, with his APOEL contract expiring in June. Rangers monitored Solomou, who has both Champions League and Europa League experience, throughout last year and most recently watched him in APOEL’s Europa League group match against Eintracht Frankfurt last month. Ibrox officials will now hold face-to-face discussions with the player and his agent next week. They must decide whether to pay a transfer fee and sign Solomou immediately or agree a pre-contract for a summer move. Both parties will also discuss wages and contract terms. Solomou is a versatile right-back who can also play on the right side of midfield and is a regular in the Cyprus international squad. He was involved in APOEL’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals in season 2011/12, where they were eliminated by Real Madrid. He has played all of his career in Cyprus with Apollon Limassol and APOEL, winning both the domestic league and cup. After 11 years in his homeland, he is keen to move abroad and Rangers are favourites to secure his signature. Not sure what to make of this to be honest.
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THE Bhoys are ready to push the boat out for the Scotland international and Record Sport understands contact has already been made between the clubs. CELTIC are lining up an ambitious bid to snatch Steven Fletcher from Sunderland in this month’s transfer window. Record Sport understands contact has been made between the clubs and that a fee of around £6million will be enough to persuade the Premiership strugglers to part with the Scotland striker, who has not been a regular starter under new boss Gus Poyet. Fletcher, 26, cost the Black Cats £12m two years ago and is under contract until May 2016 but serious ankle and shoulder injuries troubled him for most of 2013 and it is believed he would relish the chance of a move to Celtic. Sunderland are prepared to sell him at a knockdown price to the Scottish champions but would be looking for more if a Premier League relegation rival – West Ham are said to be another interested club – made an offer. Celtic would almost certainly have to smash their wage structure to land the former Hibs, Burnley and Wolves attacker. Chris Sutton: Signing Fletcher would be a real statement of intent But the expected sale of Georgios Samaras would free up around £20,000 a week, which would be around half of Fletcher’s wage. The Hoops could have signed Fletcher for a fraction of today’s cost in 2009 when then boss Gordon Strachan was desperate to snatch him from Hibs in the January transfer window. They failed to get the deal over the line and went on to lose the title to Rangers. But, five years later, boss Neil Lennon is determined to have more luck with Fletcher, who is back in the Scotland fold after a self-imposed exile when Craig Levein was boss. Fletcher, who has 13 caps, is regarded by current Scots coach Strachan as first-pick striker and Lennon has been looking for a top attacker since losing Gary Hooper to Norwich in summer. The Irishman has identified Fletcher as the man he wants to lead his forward line and serious attempts will now be made to land the player.
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Billy Brown believes the time has come to allow Hearts to add to their meagre squad as injuries and suspensions mount at Tynecastle. With a transfer embargo still attached to the club while they battle to exit administration, Hearts were again unable to name a full quota of seven substitutes in Thursday’s Edinburgh derby defeat to Hibernian. Hearts have 14 fit players to choose from, with further places in the squad having to be handed to youths from the Under-17s. Brown questioned whether the sight of kids just out of school having to be called into the first team could damage the reputation of the game in Scotland and declared that “enough is enough”. He said that the sanctions on the club were punishing the wrong people, with former owner Vladimir Romanov now out of the picture. Brown said: “We’ve taken our punishment on the chin and as far as I’m concerned the punishment should end now. “We should be able to sign players now. Everybody speaks about sporting integrity and it is about time the ban was lifted. “It is not the people here that are at fault for what happened. The man who caused it has gone. “We have about 13 or 14 players to pick from and we can’t fill the bench. Jamie Hamill is suspended on Sunday and Scott Robinson will be suspended [later in the month]. “This isn’t a bluff. Within three or four injuries and suspensions we are having to put 15 and 16-year-olds in. “You tell me if that’s a benefit to Scottish football. “I think the time has now come. Enough is enough and we have to be given a bit of leeway.” http://m.stv.tv/sport/football/clubs/hearts/258929-billy-brown-enough-is-enough-hearts-transfer-ban-must-be-lifted/
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ALLY McCOIST has hit out at the SPFL for forcing Rangers fans travel to three away games in just six days. The Ibrox club will take on Stenhousemuir in a rescheduled League One fixture at Ochilview tomorrow afternoon. The game follows meetings with Airdrie at the Excelsior Stadium on Thursday and Dunfermline at East End Park on Monday. And with a trek to Forfar looming a fortnight on Monday McCoist is furious with the governing body. He said: "The game against Stenhousemuir shouldn't have been played this Sunday, it should have been played in midweek. "That's our fourth game in 11 days. The way our club has been treated is not on. And then to make matters worse, they're sending us and our fans up to Forfar after that. So we play four games in 11 days, nothing for nine days and then they send our fans away up to Forfar on a Monday night. "So I just think there's something not right about that." McCoist revealed that pleas from Rangers to the SPFL to rethink the punishing run of matches have fallen on deaf ears. Asked if Rangers had any input into the scheduling of the games, he said: "Yes, but it shows you how much they listen to us. "At this time of the year, when money is scarce for everybody, it is ridiculous to ask our fans to travel a third away game and fourth game in 11 days. "As I say, different initials, same old story." McCoist added: "I understand more than anybody that we have to attract sponsors and attract television audiences, "But I just feel once again our supporters are being asked to go the length and breadth of the country. "That shouldn't be the case all the time. It's just as well our supporters are a strong bunch." McCoist is also concerned about the impact so many games away from home in such a short space of time will have on his players. He said: "Four games in 11 days for any set of players is very difficult. "Lewis Macleod went down against Airdrie and and Ian Black has picked up a couple of kicks against Airdrie too. In an ideal world, they would have longer to recover." Meanwhile, McCoist, who will meet chief executive Graham Wallace next week, has admitted he has targeted players he would like in the January transfer window. He said: "If we get the green light to go, then we certainly have possible targets. "We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/mccoist-spfl-is-driving-us-mad-147205n.23093383
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1) does anyone else think Wallace, Somers and Crichton will all be gone before the end of the season ? 2) at what point will Dave King be approached to invest in and takeover Rangers? When I hear our new CEO talking about cutting costs I genuinely worry if that involves the first team squad. This team needs strengthened not weakened which these costs would ultimately achieve.If he goes ahead with this I genuinely believe we could return to what we were in the early 1980's with a sub-standard team which people won't pay to watch. I'd previously said this new board needs to be given time.Now though I'm not so sure. Some of the insinuations being made give me cause for concern.
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By Keith Jackson, Anthony Haggerty ........as Ally McCoist gets set for decisive meeting with Ibrox chief Graham Wallace 31 Dec 2013 07:15 WALLACE admitted at the club’s agm that Rangers can’t continue to haemorrhage cash and McCoist is bracing himself for instructions to oversee savage reductions. ALLY McCOIST is facing a crunch New Year showdown with chief executive Graham Wallace to discover the full extent of an expected Ibrox cost-cutting purge. The Rangers boss watched his side go 14 points clear in League One last night with a 4-0 win at nearest challengers Dunfermline. And Record Sport understands McCoist will meet with Wallace this weekend, as soon as the recently appointed CEO returns from a break abroad. Top of the agenda will be how badly his first-team budget will be affected if Wallace follows through on his promise to slash wages across the board in a bid to stave off another financial trauma. Wallace admitted at the club’s agm earlier this month that Rangers can’t continue to haemorrhage cash at the levels which have seen them burn through almost £22million of IPO money in 12 months. The wage bill for McCoist’s first-team squad currently accounts for only around £6m of that total but the manager is bracing himself for bad news and instructions to oversee further savage reductions. A close source said: “This is a very delicate situation and one which Wallace will have to handle carefully. “On the one hand he is absolutely correct when he talks about a need to cut costs because the levels of spending are clearly not sustainable. “But at the same time there is an argument of false economics and a genuine worry that further reducing the quality of the manager’s squad will bring about a sizeable drop in season-ticket sales. “There are obvious trust issues between the supporters and this board already and there is a very real danger that more and more fans will be turned off if the product on the park is made to suffer. “This meeting will be an early test of the chief executive’s credentials.” After last night’s win at East End Park, McCoist said: “Graham is back in the first week in January and I’ll be better qualified to comment then.” The Ibrox gaffer also played down rumours forward Dean Shiels would be the first casualty of the cuts. Twitter went into overdrive yesterday with claims the Northern Ireland international, who earns a reputed £7000 a week, has been told he is free to find another club. But McCoist said: “There’s no truth in that rumour. Dean was on the bench here and is in our plans. “It doesn’t anger me. I know not to believe everything I read and hear. Hopefully it doesn’t unsettle Dean.” Gers took a big stride towards the title last night as they moved 14 clear of the Pars with a game in hand. But McCoist said: “I can’t say the league is over. I never would say it and be disrespectful to the opposition. What I will say is that was a big three points. We were playing the team closest to us and they were making one or two noises about the game.” Pars boss Jim Jefferies said: “We did not have any experienced players and that makes a huge difference. The boys made mistakes but I don’t want to blame them as they will learn.”
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Bell; Faure, McCulloch, Mohsni, Wallace; Black; Peralta, Law, Macleod; Clark, Daly
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HUGH saw Jamie Longworth's late goal silence large parts of the Ibrox crowd, but couldn't ignore the voices of those who have lost faith in the Ibrox manager. By the time the final whistle blew at Ibrox on Boxing Day they were hanging over the front row of the stand directly behind the press area and giving full vent to their feelings. Never mind the board of directors that nobody appears to like. Never mind institutional investors, the ins and outs of corporate governance or anything else that has to do with Rangers’ business activities. This was all about the fitba’ and it was personal. The ground was full when the game started and half empty when it finished. And those who had stayed to the end had hung on to let the manager know what they thought about his team’s performance. A draw with Stranraer was, even after 15 successive league wins, the tipping point for the excitable who took their frustration out almost exclusively on Ally McCoist. It ought to be laughable but I couldn’t see anybody smiling. The exact words used were abusive and dripping with resentment, leaving the listener to ?conclude 2014 will be the year when the manager finds out who his friends really are. The Celtic fans who believe McCoist is a protected species should’ve been there to see their theory being dismantled. That group of supporters commonly referred to as the Fat Cats were huddled, if the Rangers fans will allow that word, in small groups and speaking in hushed tones while the Stranraer players were still partying on the pitch. The way the conspirators do in the movies before something distressing takes place. The overall picture presented was of a man at the crossroads. Those who don’t think he’s a legend believe McCoist is a liability. And it’s distressing to watch on when a good man is subjected to such personal vilification. But seeing a school teacher score the goal for Stranraer that taught Rangers a lesson about negligent defending had driven McCoist’s detractors in the crowd over the edge. If Vincent Tan had been his club’s owner Ally would already be on gardening leave while somebody worked out the terms of his severance pay. As it is though, he’s dealing with a chief executive who might insist ?on players ?leaving, rather than joining the Ibrox side so the club’s accounts can be whipped into much better shape going forward. Which intensifies the pressure on McCoist to take the team in an upward direction by relying on his capabilities in the coaching department. And while dealing with a board who have their private thoughts on the manager’s decision to transfer his proxy to members of a Rangers supporters club before the shareholders’ vote at the club’s recent AGM. When McCoist was asked on Monday if there had been any feedback from his employers regarding that manoeuvre he asked, uncharacteristically, if he could be allowed to keep that information to himself. Work that one out for yourself. Some supporters resent the money the manager earns for handling full-time players in a part-time environment, and bring the subject up every time there’s a reason for disquiet. Like failing to beat Stranraer with a goal of a start on their home ground. And there’s another group who will express their enduring affection for McCoist as the player who could do no wrong for Rangers while leaving you in no doubt they don’t think he knows what he’s doing as manager. This is how the Rangers manager will bring in the New Year. He’ll need eyes in the back of his ?head, the skin of a rhinoceros and the patience of a saint. Because the wisened old cynic in me says they’re out to get him.
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http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/sport/morton/articles/2013/12/27/483498-exclusive-morton-make-double-signing-/ EXCLUSIVE Morton make double signing MORTON yesterday completed the signings of a Rangers starlet and a former Ibrox defender, the Tele understands.
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The only ones I know of are Chester, Murray and Bomber :facepalm:. Anyone know of any others we have had? Possibly if we invested in a proper scouting network 10 or 15 years ago, we might have had a slightly better transfer success rate and saved some millions in pay offs. I recall a time way back on FF when Sevilla were producing a huge amount of talent. They supposedly had 70 scouts around the globe on a pittance. Unfortunately such a financial outlay will only seem worthwhile until we have a board with a strategic plan of some longevity that aren't just in it to rip us off. -
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/449976/Fringe-Rangers-players-face-an-Ibrox-exit
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RANGERS will need a £10 million cash injection to stay afloat in the next 18 months, according to former chairman Malcolm Murray. The club’s complex ownership structure, as well as the discontent from supporters at the continued presence of finance director Brian Stockbridge on the board, also has Murray concerned about the ability to attract such investment. The businessman was one of the four “requisitioners” who failed to be voted on to the Ibrox board at Thursday’s annual general meeting, but Murray believes the outcome of that event, which witnessed loud booing of any contribution from Stockbridge, will not be “the line in the sand” hoped for by new club chief executive Graham Wallace, who has also admitted Rangers need “external funds” in the medium term. Murray said: “Unless they can pull a few rabbits out of hats I don’t see who will invest in the club if the board remains exactly the way it is presently.” Murray said. “In the next three months there have to be changes. I’m pretty sure they won’t be able to go back to the same institutional investors for more money with the current board set-up. The bulk of them certainly wouldn’t do it. The danger now is that the institutional investors pile out of this, because they are fed up. I’m not saying it will happen, but there is a danger that I’m worried about. “If that happens, the share price goes down and the cost of raising capital goes up, by definition. This thing needs an injection of roughly £10m over the next 18 months.” Murray claimed that 40 million 25p shares would be required to raise that sum. However, issuing such a large number of shares would dilute the existing shareholding of current investors and Murray insisted that would be “terrible” for the financial institutions who have already put money into the club. He added: “They could equally end up sitting on stock that isn’t highly valued but remains a global brand. “However, it is a mix-up because it has institutional investors, fans, private investors, and this mysterious block of 40-odd per cent [of shares] that seems to control it [the club] in Laxley, Blue Pitch, Charles Green’s old shares and Mike Ashley.” South Africa-based businessman Dave King has claimed that he was the only person he felt would be willing to invest in Rangers at present but chief executive Wallace presented a different picture. He said: “We will need investment as we go forward. What I don’t want to say is we need a figure of X million pounds because, until we’ve examined the structure of the organisation, and what we need [over] the next 18 months, it’s premature to put a figure on it. As I went round talking to institutions in the last several weeks, they said they were willing to increase their investment provided the club can demonstrate stability and leadership and the semblance of a solid plan.” Wallace is not planning talks with King but neither does he rule him out. “I’ve never met Dave King or had any conversations with him,” he added. “When we have developed the plan to determine the level of funding we need, we’ll engage with a wide constituency. I wouldn’t rule anybody out. If that includes Mr King, we’ll deal with that at the time” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/rangers-need-10m-to-stay-afloat-malcolm-murray-1-3242193
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Luca Gasparotto to Stirling Albion Calum Gallacher to East Stirling
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Not going myself so am hoping a few lads I trust to tweet accurately will keep us informed through the meeting. The Rangers board have already arrived ahead of the 10.30am start.
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ALEX SMITH believes Scotland’s football authorities are failing both Hearts and their manager, Gary Locke, by denying them a chance to rebuild. Chairman of the Managers and Coaches Association, Smith stressed Locke is in an impossible position at Tynecastle and is suffering by enduring such pressure so early in his managerial career. Hearts’ descent into administration last June triggered an immediate SPFL registration embargo and a 15-point deduction for the new league season. That left Locke effectively with hands tied and mouth gagged. Experienced players had left on freedom of contract and the manager, having only been appointed in March, found himself with a squad full of under-21 players to fight against relegation. Locke will be unable to replenish his squad during the January transfer window as Hearts will still be in administration well into next year. They are currently 14 points adrift at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Smith feels the punishments meted out to Hearts have gone on too long and are having a detrimental effect on Locke’s early days in management. He blames previous directors and disgraced former owner Vladimir Romanov for the club’s demise. Now 73, Smith admitted that, throughout his time in football, he couldn’t recall a manager in a more harrowing position than Locke. “I’ve never known a manager to be in a more difficult situation,” he told the Evening News. “Here we have a young manager in the first few months of his career, managing a club like Hearts, but not able to bring in players. Then there’s the 15-point deduction. I just think it’s ridiculous. “It’s ridiculous that we’re making a top club like Hearts suffer like this because of the poor management of other people. They did things in a way that was running that club towards a multiple crash. “The authorities are making it worse with the sanctions and denying Hearts the right to try and get out of this trouble. They did it with Rangers, another massive club. They didn’t just take action against them, they almost slit their throat. We need these two clubs and we need them in our top league. We don’t need them in the lower leagues.” Locke has pledged to fight on in the hope that Hearts can reel in teams such as Ross County and Kilmarnock at the bottom of the table and avoid relegation. Time is not on their side. Many feel one positive from slipping into the Championship would be the breathing space accorded the Riccarton youth academy graduates to develop as footballers. Smith points out that life in the second tier is likely to be fraught with just as many problems. “Gary would be entitled to expect the chance to take Hearts back up if they did end up relegated, but football nowadays doesn’t always work like that, does it? Hearts could go down into the Championship. Rangers and Dunfermline could come up [from League One]. “Then you might have three out of the four chasing promotion this season possibly still there. It’s going to be some league. The pressure next year would be exactly the same, only the sympathy vote won’t be there. It will be expectation levels there instead. Either way, it’s going to be difficult.” Smith called Locke to offer a pep talk in the wake of Hearts’ 7-0 Scottish Cup defeat by Celtic earlier this month. He will do the same again before Hearts head to Parkhead on league business this weekend. “I feel for him. If he’s feeling like a chat he just has to phone any of the more experienced managers in the game and he’ll get any amount of their time,” explained Smith. “I’ll give him another call this week sometime. He really just has to keep going. It will only take winning a couple of games and he will see an opportunity to turn things round. He can’t lose sight of the fact Hearts are a massive club with a massive support. If there is any sign of a revival, Gary will have everybody 100 per cent behind him. “That’s not always the case when you have to please 15,000 people at your home games. One or two people will just see the jerseys on the field, regardless of who is in them, and assume that because they’re Hearts, they should automatically be winning games. “The majority of Hearts supporters know the situation. The young kids are good players, all they need is that wee glimmer of a chance. If they come onto a run and start getting points, the fans will be right behind them. A lot of people now go to games, sit down and expect to be entertained. Gary will have the siege support and he’ll realise he has to harness that. “There’s no doubt we’re getting a false impression of what he can do at the moment. He can’t bring in players. He’s just to get on working with the young players he has. They’re all very talented, but if things start going the wrong way, it affects them all as a group. You need a few stabilisers in the team to steady them. “That’s why guys like Ryan Stevenson and Jamie Hamill are so important. They’ve been lumbered with this responsibility, which even for them is massive. They have to take on the responsibility of going out and winning games of football. How do you do that? “There is a great art to winning games. The first thing is you don’t lose bad goals, so you need a strong back line and a good goalkeeper. If you do lose a goal, you keep the ball till you get an opportunity to get back into the game. “The key is not to lose a second, so your defence and goalkeeper need to keep you in the game when you’re under pressure.” http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/authorities-have-given-hearts-boss-impossible-task-1-3237607
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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a ruling in favour of Rangers FC following an advertising dispute over whether the club should be allowed to advertise using the ‘Scotland’s most successful club’ claim. The ASA delivered its original ruling in June this year but after an appeal by complainants, the Independent Reviewer agreed that the case should be re-opened because a “valid question mark” had been raised over the adequacy of evidence submitted by the advertiser in the original investigation. However, following further examination, the ASA stood by its original ruling not to uphold 82 complaints that Rangers were misleading consumers by using an advertising slogan that said: “Join Scotland’s most successful club at Ibrox… still going strong… 54 titles… Rangers then… Rangers now… Rangers forever”. In a fresh adjudication, the ASA said it was confident that consumers would understand the claim was in reference to the history of Rangers Football Club, but did accept that that the club’s history was “separate to that of Newco”. “We consulted with UEFA, which explained that its rules allowed for the recognition of the ‘sporting integrity’ of a club’s match record, even if that club’s corporate structure had changed,” the ruling stated. “We also consulted with the SFA, which confirmed that its definition of a football ‘club’ varied depending on context, and could sometimes refer to an entity separate from the club’s corporate owner. “The SFA further pointed out that, following RFC’s transfer to a new corporate owner, Newco did not take a new membership of the Scottish FA but rather that previous membership was transferred across to them so they could continue as the same member of the Scottish FA. “We considered that consumer would understand that the claim in question related to the football club rather than to its owner and operator and therefore concluded that it was not misleading for the ad to make reference to RFC’s history, which was separate to that of Newco.” The question of whether Newco Rangers should be permitted to trade on the history of the liquidated company has been a bone of contention in Scottish football since Rangers’ financial collapse in 2012. The Drum understands that the ASA consider the decision final. http://m.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/11/asa-rules-favour-rangers-fc-advertising-dispute-following-appeal
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ALLY McCOIST insists he hasn’t been told he needs to sell any players next month and is optimistic he can keep Rangers’ best talents at the club for the long term. The manager spoke as speculation slowly rises among fans that the likes of Lee Wallace could be moved on when the transfer window opens in January. Wallace has been outstanding so far this season and has arguably been the standout player in McCoist’s side to this point. Still aged only 26 and back in the Scotland squad again, the former Hearts left-back is one of the most valuable members of the Light Blues squad. But McCoist is of the understanding there’s no requirement to cash in on Gers’ most prized possessions – and he believes Wallace is desperate to stay at Ibrox in any case. He told RangersTV: “I’ve had discussions with board members and the chief executive and there has certainly been no indication at all that we have to sell. “If that’s the case, I’m sure I’ll be informed of that but until that moment comes we obviously want to keep hold of our better and best players. “You’d have to say Lee certainly comes into that category and in moving forward, which the club hopes to do, we’d be delighted to keep our better and best players. “The fans deserve the best team we can afford to put on the park and which can play the best football and entertain 36,000 season ticket holders. “Home crowds of 45,000 would tell me the fans deserve a good product on that park and we’re trying to give them the best side we can. “Lee’s well respected here as a player and a man and the way he conducted himself last year would indicate he’s happy here and he’d want to stay. “I know he’s got a young family too so all things being well, he’ll be here with us for a good number of years yet.” McCoist’s admiration for Wallace has only grown further in the last few months as the defender has turned in a series of highly consistent displays. While the manager isn’t always one for picking out individuals, he happily accepts the ex-Jambo is worthy of exception and added: “Lee has been absolutely outstanding. “He gained a lot of respect from everybody within the club and the supporters for the way he conducted himself through administration. “I think he has enjoyed the responsibility of being one of the older players and helping some of the younger players who have come into the team. “He has also merited getting back into the international squad and he’s running the left-hand side of the park for us. “I can understand the supporters having the opinion he’d be up there among our best performers.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5783-no-need-to-sell
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How much money has been pocketed by so called board members since Craig Whytes takeover it is an astonishing ammount of money we are talking about close on £100 million pounds has went through the club and what have Rangers football club got for it, well come April we have £1 million pounds left, Now i ask you another question what has Craig Whyte got for it, What has Craig Mather got for it, What has Imran Ahmed got for it, What has Charles Green got for it, What has Brian Stockbridge got for it, What have the Easdales got for it? What will Jack Irvine get for it? Back this board at the clubs Expense as you will need to look yourself in the mirror every morning.
