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The consequence... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/scottish-football/10499198/Financial-gulf-grows-between-Old-Firm-rivals-Celtic-and-Rangers-with-clubs-share-prices-facing-contrasting-fortunes.html The truth http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2250854/Charles-Green-pledges-Ally-McCoist-10m-spend-Rangers-flotation-LSE.html The source http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/what-happened-to-25m-war-chest.html

I was thinking about our 19 game winning run. UEFA have an interesting article on unbeaten runs. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=esp/news/newsid=1588768.html I'd forgotten that Celtic had gone on a pretty extensive run about 10 years ago. How much I would love to beat that record and catch the excuses and fallout. You just know it makes sense. Seven to go? Europe's longest winning league runs 29 games – SL Benfica (Portugal) 1971-73 28 games – NK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) 2006-06 25 games – Celtic FC (Scotland) 2003-04 22 games – PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) 1987-88 18 games – FH Hafnarfjördur (Iceland) 2004-05 17 games – FC Steaua Bucureşti (Romania) 1988 17 games – FC Dinamo Bucureşti (Romania) 1988 17 games – FC Internazionale Milano (Italy) 2006-07 16 games – Valur Reykjavík (Iceland) 1978 16 games – FC Barcelona (Spain) 2010-11 16 games – Olympiacos FC (Greece) 2005-06 15 games – SL Benfica (Portugal) 1963 15 games – Real Madrid CF (Spain) 1960-61 15 games – FC Bayern München (Germany) 2005 15 games – AC Sparta Praha (Czech Republic) 1999-00 15 games – Bangor City FC (Wales) 2010

The 4 new board candidates will publish their's today.

Easily our biggest problem position. Even more so than right back (which is our second biggest issue). Aird should never have been dropped. He wasn't fantastic in the last game. But he was significantly better than piss poor which is what Peralta usually provides. It may well be that it's not his fault as he's out of position and that's fine. But it doesn't change the fact that we have at least one other player who looks more effective there. Aird's performance in the previous game was significantly better than anything Peralta has shown up and again when he came on yesterday he added more than the Honduran. The only good thing I remember Peralta doing was one time he chased back with an attacker and won the ball back. I get really pissed off with people bashing the likes of Little more than his performances deserve but for me it is as clear as day, we are a better team with Aird (or one of the other options) playing instead of Peralta. I wouldn't be opposed to giving Peralta a few games at right back as I'm not convinced by Faure there either. We need to stop this habit of negative team selections though. The only reason I can think Peralta gets played is he is thought to be more solid, more defensively capable than an Aird or McKay. But if you watch him his positioning is poor, he isn't strong on the ball or in the challenge and he doesn't contribute fantastically to our defensive outlook. That's a myth. He was ridiculously easily bumped off the ball in the first half. Aird simply has to start next time out on recent performances. We look a much better, more balanced, creative and incisive team.

Wednesday 20 November 2013 Hearts administrators BDO hope to persuade the insolvency firm in control of UBIG to support the deal that would take Heart of Midlothian Football Club plc out of administration on Friday. "Tentative" discussions began yesterday and an agreement will need to be reached ahead of the meeting of creditors at the end of this week. Creditors holding 75% or more of Hearts' debts need to vote in favour of the CVA proposal. UBIG are the majority shareholders in HMFCplc, with a 49.9% stake, and are currently being run by Vilnius-based UAB Bankroto Administravimo Paslaugos after being formally declared bankrupt last week. BDO have now managed to establish a direct line of communication with their insolvency colleagues in Lithuania, and talks will continue over the coming days. Herald

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-receive-1m-sale-nikica-2849016?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter IBROX creditors left furious after joint liquidators BDO inform them of Nikica Jelavic windfall but warm them they are unlikely to get a penny of the £995,000 received. OLDCO Rangers have received a further £1million from the sale of former star Nikica Jelavic – but creditors won’t see a penny of it. Joint liquidators BDO wrote to 276 creditors this month informing them of the windfall but warning them they were unlikely to get any of the cash. The letter said a payment of £995,000 had been received and they were expecting a further £1.058million in May 2014. The payments relate to the transfer of striker Jelavic, who left Ibrox for Everton in January 2012 in a deal worth £5million. Alan Duncan, who worked as the club’s kids’ entertainer and is still owed more than £2000, said: “I haven’t had a single penny of what I am owed. “The Jelavic money should be used to pay the businesses they owe money to but it’s clear they have no intentions of doing that. “I don’t think I will ever see the money I am owed. “I was a Rangers fan and I employed six others to work there but they lost their jobs too. “I am just peed off by the whole thing.” The letter from BDO also revealed that the liquidators made a whopping £635,000 acting on Rangers’ behalf between October 2012 and March this year. Legal fees of more than £500,000 have also been paid out to various firms using cash from the liquidation estate.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/exchange-insight/trade-data.html?fourWayKey=GB00B90T9Z75GBGBXASQ1 Time/Date Price Volume Trade Value Type 12:59:00 20-Nov-2013 41.00 3,328,672 1,364,755.52 Ordinary trade Interesting...!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25023927 Fair enough if it's a football debt it should be paid but this is over a year after the event. Get it sorted once and for all!

THE Argentine striker insisted he was a free agent when he signed in 2009 but former club Sarsfield have won their fight for compensation. DUNDEE UNITED have been dealt a bitter blow after being told to pay up more than £200,000 for ex-player Damian Casalinuovo. The Arabs took their case against Argentina’s Velez Sarsfield all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. However, late last night the panel found in favour of the South American club after a three-month wait. The striker – who only played 25 league games for United – insisted he was a free agent when he signed in 2009 but Sarsfield claimed compensation for development costs. And despite a FIFA tribunal reducing the initial claim down from £333,000, CAS have now told United they will have to pay £163,000 plus interest accrued in the four years since. United have also revealed that the SFA disciplinary hearings for striker Nadir Ciftci and coach Darren Jackson arising from the League Cup loss at Inverness have been postponed until November 28 and December 5 respectively. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/dundee-united-reeling-after-being-2815316

RANGERS’ new chief exec is a former bigwig at English Premier League giants Manchester City, The Scottish Sun can reveal. Graham Wallace was chief operating officer at the 2012 champions until March. City sources said the 52-year-old Scot, will be unveiled by Gers next week after shaking hands on the deal with chairman David Somers last Wednesday. A source said: “There was a huge response to the advert for a chief executive but Wallace’s credentials blew away all the competition.” Chartered accountant Wallace, from Dumfries, saw off rivals including Dundee chief exec Scot Gardiner, who was also interviewed. He held top finance posts at a string of entertainment giants including MTV Networks Europe, Viacom, Nickelodeon, and IMG Media. Wallace, who lives in Buckinghamshire, was chief financial officer at Man City from 2009 to November 2010, then chief operating officer. He stepped down after the arrival of new chief executive Ferran Soriano, and has been doing consultancy work in the City of London since. The City source said: “He was waiting for the next top job and this is it. His skills and experience will help build Rangers’ global reach.” Wallace’s appointment is part of the current Ibrox regime’s attempt to shore up the board before a shareholders vote on who runs the club at Rangers’ AGM next month. Investment banker Norman Crighton, 47, was announced as a director yesterday.

Was reading elsewhere where a Bear suggested only Naismith had been a relative "success" of the players who jumped ship when the old company was liquidated. Now, dont read this wrong i'm not attempting to say they are world beaters but actually there are a few players holding their own in the premiership are there not? Naismith gets semi regular football for a decent Everton team. McGregor is performing well at Hull prior to injury. Whittaker has played in half of Norwich'e league games this year and a couple of league cup matches. Davis is captain at Southampton. Before people start jumping off the deep end and saying this player or that player is crap or e.g. Whittaker hasn't played in the other half of their league games bear in mind that it still clearly shows that he must be a better player than he is given credit for by even our own fans, opposition fans in Scotland and our media. I'm pretty sure Whittaker's goal was typical of his time in Scotland beating 2 or 3 men with a driving run before finishing well from at least 12 yards. A display of pace, athleticism and agility. Those players were part of an era of Rangers football where we competed with Celtic on a much smaller budget yet these players delivered 3iar. Yet it is still always Celtic players who get championed for £5m, £10m,£15m pound moves. Yet I can think of even fewer Celtic players from the last 4-5 years who have gone on to be successful in a better league. Maybe McGeady (don't watch much Russian football) and perhaps Wanyama will show himself to have quality in England? Hooper has struggled for goals thus far. 3iar, more of our players being competitive in tougher leagues. Yet you rarely here of our players being touted for ridiculous sums (not convinced McGeady or Wanyama went for their reputed fees). Just why are our players generally held in less high regard in Scotland even when we are more successful or our players move on to England etc and are more competitive (if not necessarily more successful) then former Celtic players down there. Does this tactic of having their media luvvies bumming up their players values really bring them more cash when it comes time to sell?

IAN REDFORD reveals all about the stress and strains of his Ibrox career, the death of his younger brother and his experience as Darren Fletcher's agent in his new book FOOTBALL is a game of fate. A roller coaster of fortune. During my time at Rangers, Ally McCoist was enduring torture from the fans. It wasn’t his fault the club were struggling – but the fans seemed to be on a mission to destroy him. And things came to a head on March 17, 1984 when we played Dundee at Ibrox in a Scottish Cup quarter-final replay. We started well but Dundee pegged us back to 2-2. The crowd were getting impatient and I remember feeling the enormous pressure of expectation on the players. It got so bad for Ally that at one point the whole of the support began chanting, “ALLY, ALLY, GET TAE F***” And it got worse. First Robert Prytz was sent off then I stupidly saw red as well. We heard their winner from the dressing room. Afterwards, we all just sat in the huge communal bath together, no-one speaking a word. Suddenly Ally just broke down into tears, he was weeping openly. The weeks and months of constant pressure and abuse had driven him to the limits of his tolerance. He looked a broken man and I’m sure no one would have thought it possible for him to come back from such depths of seemingly utter despair. But fate intervened. If Prytz and myself hadn’t been suspended for the League Cup Final with Celtic the following week, I don’t think Jock Wallace would’ve selected Ally. He had no choice, though, and the rest is history. Ally scored all three in a famous 3–2 victory, the winner coming in extra-time from a rebounded penalty. Some things are just meant to be. But that’s the pressure of signing for Rangers – and the day I did back in 1980 was one I’ll never forget. I had only ever wanted to go to London from Dundee and play for Arsenal or Spurs but John Greig had offered a Scottish record £210,000. So I found myself at the top of the marble staircase shaking hands with him. I defy anyone to walk through the doors of Ibrox and not feel they are within the boundaries of a special club. But so many things about my move to Rangers weren’t right. Signing for them was an intimidating prospect for a country boy with low self-esteem. When it came to the finances I was at best naive and at worst plain stupid. I got £6000 to sign on, taxed, £150 a week, a four-year contract and never saw a penny of the transfer fee. I became Rangers’ biggest ever signing for practically nothing! I knew this was a struggling team I was joining. I was also just not fit enough to do myself justice and to handle the immediate pressure. My dad was no help because all he wanted was to see me playing for Rangers. That was his dream. He didn’t want me going to England. To be able to say I played 250 games for Rangers gives me an enormous sense of pride. But the timing was wrong. In that first year I didn’t really feel part of that dressing room. In training I had a major bust-up with Rangers’ most legendary hard man, Tam ‘Jaws’ Forsyth. He seemed at that time like a playground bully. We were playing fives on the ash park at our Albion training ground and I took the ball straight past Jaws. He was getting on a bit and didn’t appreciate anyone doing that to him. Next thing I knew was WHAM! I received a forearm smash. I just exploded in rage. Within seconds Big Tam and I were trading punches. We were separated but Tam wanted ‘afters’ and I was up for it because I was past caring. It turned out to be a defining moment because my team-mates no longer saw me as a big, soft, silver-spooned country boy. Coming from the Perthshire countryside, religious bigotry was new to me. Although I’m a Protestant, I would not consider myself a religious person. Early on at Rangers, I was targeted by a bigot at a party. He was goading me then punched me hard in the face without any warning. The next day at training, I was asked by someone what had happened and if I “wanted it taken care of”. The tension of sectarianism is inescapable when you play for either Rangers or Celtic and, like it or not, sectarianism is responsible for the unique atmosphere that surrounds the rivalry. A bigot is just a bigot – no matter what the colour of his scarf is. It’s naive to think it will all just go away. It never will. The wounds of history will ensure a portion of each new generation, no matter how small, will be indoctrinated in hatred. I was also shocked one night at a Supporters’ Player of the Year function when a fan asked for my autograph and wanted me to sign FTP alongside it. I told him “no way” and he began to rant that I wasn’t a true Rangers player. It was an isolated incident though. Generally speaking, the fans are wonderful and make you feel proud to be playing for the club. The best Old Firm game I played in came in the same week as a 3–0 defeat by Chesterfield in the Anglo-Scottish Cup. We took a slaughtering but playing Celtic was ideal because we had nowhere to hide. We thumped them 3–0 – it easily could’ve been six – and I was voted Man of the Match. But John Greig wasn’t able to find a formula consistent enough to win a title. My frustrations led to me feeling depressed and I was drinking to blot everything – but it solved nothing. It was a vicious downward spiral. Then at the end of 1981 – after beating Dundee United in a Scottish Cup Final replay following my missed penalty in the first game – we met them again in the League Cup Final. I was on the bench. Looking back, I can see that I was very depressed. In the second half United took the lead. I had begun to give up on playing any part in the match. So had my friend Billy ‘Bleeper’ MacKay, so we began to tuck into a box of chocolates that had been lying unopened in the back of the dugout. It was comfort eating! Suddenly, Greig shouted: “Bleeper! Get warmed up.” Meanwhile, I was still stuck in the dugout, feeling even more depressed. Then, with no more than five minutes remaining, John shouted: “Reddy, get your tracksuit off. You’re going on – NOW!” I nearly choked on the last remaining chocolate as I stumbled out of the dugout. I had been on the pitch no more than seconds when Davie Cooper equalised. Suddenly, from munching chocolates in depression, I had only one thing on my mind – scoring the winner. It all happened within a split second. As I controlled the ball, I was aware of a gap just inside the top left of the United goal. My first touch had been good but my second touch was even better. I knew in an instant. My lifelong dream came true. I had just scored the winner in the last seconds of a cup final! In front of me were all those Rangers fans who had witnessed that last-minute penalty miss. Like a maniac I was off and running. Had the stadium doors been open I would’ve needed a fiver to get back in! There were too few of these rare gems in my time at Ibrox but even to have experienced one moment such as this made everything worth it. *** My last appearance as a professional player was a cameo role in Raith Rovers’ remarkable League Cup triumph over Celtic in 1994. I was a sub and don’t remember much about the game – but was crapping myself when the tie went to penalties. As a former spot-kick taker it shouldn’t have fazed me but I didn’t relish it. It went to sudden death and it was Paul McStay’s turn, then mine. I wanted him to miss more than anything in the world. Sure enough, Paul obliged and it saved me the ordeal of another do-or-die Cup final penalty. My previous record was one taken, one missed! *** I remember being happy in my early childhood – but a couple of events ended up having a profound effect on my life. The first was the birth of my brother Douglas when I was five. When he was two Douglas was diagnosed with leukaemia and it was the beginning of a nightmare that makes me feel empty. My sister Jill and I were young and had no idea our little brother’s illness was life threatening. I would regularly say things like, ‘When will Dougie be better, mum?’ I never considered for a minute he might be dying. When he began going to school he was teased because he had lost his hair and was fat because of the chemotherapy and having to take steroids. I hated that. He loved playing football when he was well enough but I would never let him win. He would go running off crying to mum and she would come out and give me such a rollicking. I couldn’t understand why mum and dad seemed to go way over the top but the hurt and anger they were feeling made them protective of him. They kept a lot from us but the time they spent with Douglas at hospital with mum meant Jill and I had to fend for ourselves emotionally. Looking back, deep down, I must’ve resented it. We would sometimes talk about how Douglas was their favourite. The atmosphere at home was not what it had been before Douglas was born. I was subconsciously blaming Dougie for the way all our lives seemed to be changing. I was in my first year at Perth High School when Douglas died. I was playing football for the school on a cold Saturday morning in December 1972 and when we got home I was told he only had hours to live. I bolted from the kitchen, threw myself on the bed and sobbed my heart out. The emptiness I felt during that time haunts me to this day. It was a total, unforgettable nightmare. My life felt like it had just imploded with the shock of it all. Christmas followed just days after the funeral. Somehow mum found the strength to make the effort but dad made it clear he wanted no part of it. Every Christmas after that at home was a tense, anxious and depressing affair. For years it was taboo to even mention his name. Dougie died pretty much a stranger to me. I regret not being able to say sorry for resenting the attention he got and sorry for teasing him and hurting his feelings. But as a young child, I simply didn’t know. Over the years I have rationalised this and forgiven myself for my feelings then. The other big thing to happen was when I found I was stone deaf in my left ear. A specialist told me a nerve had been damaged and there was nothing they could do to save my hearing. He told me contact sports were no longer an option – I would end up completely deaf if I received any blow to the head. But there was no way he was going to stop me doing what I loved. *** After my playing career was finished, it seemed natural to get involved on the business side of football as an agent. One major talent I was involved with in his early years was Darren Fletcher. A French contact tipped me off that scouts were raving about his displays for Scotland schoolboys at a tournament in France. I was asked to get him to Lille and persuaded Darren and his dad to come with me to France to see the set-up. They were impressed but Alex Ferguson got wind of the interest and convinced them Darren’s future lay at Manchester United.

I suppose this is blogger’s equivalent of the Samurai tradition of Seppuku – their unique suicide rite. At journalism college one of my course tutor’s used to invariably preach about the successful narrator knowing, and writing to the very heart and soul of their audience. This article will do quite the opposite and some may find the content uncomfortable, however I feel it asks a question which needs to be asked. The boardroom battle for control of our club has seen a thorough examination of the character and integrity (or alleged lack thereof) of the various candidates vying for control. It would be fair to say the Rangers support is well versed in the personal character strengths and weaknesses of the Murrays, the Easdales etc. The apparent weaknesses of the “other sides” candidates have been given maximum exposure during the ensuing debate, with the morality factor at times appearing as important as the size of the wallet they, or their backers, bring to our club. All is fair in love and war. Waiting in the wings is a man many Rangers fans would view as our club’s “Messiah” – Dave King. Almost as important as his money appears to be his ability to unite the fragmented factions within our support for he appears to have the unanimous backing of all. Perhaps the eventual winner in our boardroom battle will determined by which side, if any, Dave King decides to ally with. Such unanimous support for King has spared him the moral examination so many others have been subjected to in our boardroom struggle. With the exception of course of the Scottish Press. Let me make one thing clear – the Scottish Press have long surrendered the right to exercise moral judgement with regard to our club. They surrendered such a right long ago with their silence over 5 way agreements, their silence over unlawful transfer embargo’s imposed on our club and their desire to join with the haters in labelling us “cheats”and thus trampling over our right to a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. This discussion is by invitation only, and those out with the Rangers support are not invited, cordially or otherwise. But it is nonetheless, a discussion which has to be had. Judge Southwoods assessment of Dave King in his tax battle with the South African authorities was damning. I’m sure most of you have read it, but to spare you the false morality of the Scottish press it can be found here : http://www.moneywebtax.co.za/moneywebtax/view/moneywebtax/en/page259?oid=56208&sn=Detail Are we satisfied as a support that the coat bearing glib and shameless will be discarded should Dave King return to Ibrox in any capacity ? Will an alleged disrespect for the truth be at odds with a support demanding transparency and clarity with regard to the governance of our club ? Or are the characteristics described by Judge Southwood exactly what are needed at our club in a battle where our enemies are not playing by the rules ? These are difficult questions but we will need to wrestle with them at some point. Failure to do so is just not an option.

ALLY McCOIST has welcomed Kenny Miller back to Murray Park to use facilities as he recovers from recent knee surgery. But even though the manager hopes to sign another striker in January, he insists the 33-year-old’s presence at the training ground isn’t necessarily a precursor to a move back to the club. Miller has been getting treatment at Auchenhowie over the last few days and he’s a player McCoist is a huge admirer of. Indeed, he has spoken in the past about being keen to recruit the forward again and would likely be interested if he became available. For the moment, however, Miller remains a Vancouver Whitecaps player – and McCoist has stressed the arrangement in place is simply to help the ex-Scotland star get back to fitness. “It’s great to see Kenny back,” McCoist said. “We’ve got an open-door policy for our former players see a lot of the guys coming back to pay us a visit. “We’ve offered Kenny the rehabilitation services we’ve got so Stevie Walker and the physios are looking after him in the afternoons. “I had a good chat with Kenny this week and he has had a knee operation. He looks well considering it wasn’t that long ago. “He’s as enthusiastic as ever and he’s in good form so he’s talking about getting back playing as soon as possible. “Kenny is still contracted to Vancouver and do you know something? I haven’t even spoken to him about his situation there. “The most important thing for him is that he gets himself fit again and back playing, wherever that may be. “I won’t lie to you. I wouldn’t mind strengthening our forward area and especially now that Andy Little looks like being out for months rather than weeks. “We haven’t touched on any conversations like that at all with Kenny though and he is with another club at this point in any case.” McCoist feels his forward line needs strengthening after a broken cheekbone and jaw sidelined Little until next year. Only Jon Daly and Nicky Clark are operating as recognised strikers at present in the senior squad, with Lee McCulloch playing much more often in defence these days. The club’s second-top scorer with 10 goals, McCulloch is clearly capable of moving forward if he needs to. McCoist doesn’t want to unsettle his side more than he has to though and added: “The skipper has been terrific for us at the back so we’ve only really got Nicky and Jon up front. “If we can, that’s an area where we’d like to strengthen and I’d be reluctant to move Lee back up front for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he’s playing very well where he is. “We’ve also got somebody up front in Jon who is battering in all sorts of goals at the minute so it’s an option to us but I wouldn’t be too keen on doing it.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5574-kennys-here-to-recover

Tuesday brings the Scottish Cup draw and the "big boys" entering the draw. Star centre back Bilel Mohsni is (perhaps wrongly?) giving it the bravado and asking for our age old enemy: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-star-bilel-mohsni-were-2671400 There is definitely a feeling among some of our support that we should be hoping to avoid being paired with them or any SPL side to avoid an humiliating defeat and other teams taking advantage of us whilst we rebuild. They point to comprehensive defeats from top division sides last year as their reasoning. Though this ignores the fact that we had an equally emphatic victory against then second placed side Motherwell last year. It also fails to take into consideration the vast improvement in our playing squad and the superior displays and results we have achieved this season. We are much improved throughout the spine of the team. Mohsni appears to be comfortably the best centre back we have fielded since we have been paying in the lower divisions. Nicky Law is not quite at the levels he displayed at the start of this season but is still a fine upgrade on last season. Ian Black this year has been one our best performers when last season he appeared a waste of a wage. Jon Daly has added a serious goal threat to the all round game he displayed for Dundee United in the SPL. In addition to a pretty strong spine we ave Cammy Bell in goal who was one of the best keepers in the old top division. We have the best left back playing in Scotland and we have some decent supporting players in midfield and attack. We may not boast a paying squad vastly superior to all outwith the Glasgow duopoly, as we once did. But we certainly have a team capable of turning over any of those top league sides. They are equally capable o beating us, but to e that is no reason to run scared. Lower league sides who can't call on even half the quality we can have dumped out SPL sides. And that includes Celtic. Worst case scenario is drawing Celtic whist we are currently half the team we once were. Yet the fear of a heavy defeat must be balanced against the opportunity to dump them out of the country's premier competition whilst plying our trade in the depths of Scottish football. That is one result they would ever be able to live down!

Some may say thank god. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/ally-mccoist-plans-in-limbo-as-rangers-war-goes-on-1-3175660#.UnnIlangJ5Q.twitter Rangers manager Ally McCoist claims that the current state of play at Ibrox, where financial director Brian Stockbridge and non-executive director James Easdale are the only members of the board, is preventing him from planning for the future. McCoist revealed that he has had no-one to discuss the signing or offloading of players with since Craig Mather stepped down as the club’s chief executive three weeks ago. With the January transfer window approaching, McCoist, who volunteered to forego half of his annual £850,000 salary when the publication of the annual accounts last month, revealed that the club had lost £14 million in just over a year, is anxious to know whether or not he can strengthen his squad with a view to a run in the Scottish Cup. They were drawn away to Championship side Falkirk in the fourth round of the competition but McCoist believes that, should they prevail in that tie, Rangers will be considered as second-favourites to win the competition. He would like to supplement his squad in the new year but admits there must first be a ceasefire between warring shareholders when the club finally holds its annual general meeting, which may – or may not be – held on 18 December. McCoist, whose League One leaders face Dunfermline at Ibrox tonight, wants it to take place sooner rather than later. “Absolutely. I’m the same as every supporter, staff member [and] shareholder,” he said. “Let’s just get it done and move on. Let’s get the club moving forward again. “I think it is clear that everybody wants it to happen and it will happen. All we can hope for is we get a [definitive] result and Rangers can move forward again. Everybody would like a clear resolution. The future of the club is of paramount importance to everybody. It would certainly help if we could move on from that day.” McCoist admits that it has been much more difficult to do his job properly while the club continues to operate with a makeshift board. “It is not ideal, although I did speak with Brian [stockbridge] yesterday,” he said. “There is contact but it is difficult and not ideal working without a chairman and chief executive. “I haven’t spoken to Brian about possible future signings because, to be fair to him, he is [only] the financial director. It would undoubtedly help if I had someone to speak to about that.” McCoist, though, praised the contribution of Jon Daly, whose brace in Friday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup victory over Airdrieonians took his tally to 14 goals from 13 games since joining from Dundee United. “Jon was brought in to score goals,” he said. “He scored goals when he was in the top flight and he’s continuing to do so here. He will be around a long time if he continues to score goals. “He’s one of those boys that I believe, no matter what league he’s in, he’ll score goals. He’s different to Nicky Clark and Andy Little, more of an old-fashioned centre forward. Jon is aggressive and, if you put the ball into the area, he’ll score against anybody. He demonstrated that with two goals against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final last season. “He’s so important to us off the pitch as well. He’s a proper man and he’s exactly what we need. Where we are as a club right now, we need good people in the dressing room for the younger lads to look up to. “We have that with the skipper [Lee McCulloch] and Lee Wallace and I believe we have that with Jon, too.” McCoist also rejected suggestions that the Dubliner was a short-term fix, signed only with a view to helping Rangers reach the Premiership before being jettisoned. “Jon gives us plenty of options,” he said. “In terms of holding the play up, he takes pressure off the back four. He can spin defenders and you can hit him with a diagonal ball. “We have players who can pass the ball and, at this moment in time, he definitely gives us something different. “I kicked my last ball for Kilmarnock when I was 39. Jon will only be 32 if things go to plan and we return to the top flight on schedule.” Rangers will move 14 points clear of third-placed Dunfermline with a home win tonight but McCoist refuses to take anything for granted, claiming that Jim Jefferies’ Pars are beginning to gel. “I think tomorrow’s game is against the team that a lot of people thought would be up there with us,” he said. “I can sympathise with them in many ways because we know exactly what they have been going through. “Hopefully, it looks as if they have turned the corner as well, which is great. They have got a really young team and their results so far, over the piece, have been fine. However, what they lack in experience on the park they will certainly make up for with experience in their dugout with the auld yin [Jefferies] there. We are looking forward to seeing him as well.”

Manchester City are eyeing Celtic goalkeeper Frather Forthter as doubts continue to grow over Joe Hart’s future. City boss Manuel Pellegrini was already toying with the idea of buying another shot-stopper in the new year, but that has been boosted with Hart’s recent run of costly errors. And top of the wish list is Celtic ace Forster – who will be tracked by City scouts in the coming weeks as the club line up an offer for the 25-year-old. Manchester United and Barcelona are also known to hold an interest in Forster, who has sparkled for Celtic in both the SPL and Champions League in recent months. Celtic have already confirmed they are aware of huge interest in the player – and would not stand in his way if a top club came in for him. It’s thought the Bhoys would want at least £10million for their star man, but City could throw players into the deal to get the transfer done. http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/31/manchester-city-eye-celtic-goalkeeper-fraser-forster-as-joe-hart-replacement-4169065/

Ringing fugitive on Interpol wanted list not unusual in new world of Rangers KEITH tells how trying to make contact with a man on Interpol's most wanted list is hardly unusual in the weird world which Rangers now inhabit. IT’S not every week you speak to someone on Interpol’s most wanted list. In fact, after 20-odd years writing about football for a living, this was something of a first. Not that it was actually much of a conversation. “Hello, Mr Rizvi,” “Hello, who is this?” “Keith Jackson from the Daily Record newspaper in Glasgow, I want to speak to you about your involvement in Blue Pitch Holdings.” “I think you have the wrong number my friend, I would ahem (click)...” “Mr Rizvi? Rafat? Hello?” “BEEEEEEEEEEEP!” That was about the size of it. Hardly earth-shattering stuff. In fact, the only truly remarkable thing about this conversation is that it needed to take place at all. But this is the way of it at Rangers in 2013 – this club has long since disappeared through the looking glass. Vanished into a world which is as much about the fugitives as it is about the football. I phoned straight back but Rafat Rizvi, or whatever this plummy-voiced gentleman calls himself these days, didn’t answer. So I followed up with a text message, offering to speak on or off the record and pointing out that the identities of those anonymous investors behind Blue Pitch and Margarita Holdings were likely to be made public soon. Again, no response. Perhaps he was just busy. Then again, perhaps men who are on the run from the authorities over a £600million bank fraud, facing a potential death penalty in Indonesia, don’t do protracted conversations. Not with press men at any rate. Which would be fair enough were it not for the fact the future of Rangers hangs in the balance all over again and that there are many thousands of supporters out there who are beside themselves with worry and who are asking for one simple thing from their club, the truth. Remember that? It’s not easy where Rangers are concerned. This is a club which currently employs more spin doctors than it does directors, a business which is engulfed in a cloud of its own toxicity. A company which attempts to confuse its own customers with an unrelenting barrage of spin and counter-spin. The truth? So many lies and so much misinformation has been spread in the name of Rangers that the truth has become a complete stranger. It has been twisted and distorted to such an extent that it has become almost unrecognisable. And it has to stop, for the sake of the fans and for the greater good of the Scottish game in general. It is time for Rangers to reconnect with the truth. Which is why it would have been nice had Rizvi stayed on the phone for a longer chat. He might have been able to clear up many of the issues which continue to distress these supporters and cause them sleepless nights. Just who are Blue Pitch for example? These mysterious offshore backers of Charles Green, who financed the Yorkshireman’s takeover, buying up Ibrox and Murray Park for a £5.5m snip thanks to the stupendous generosity of administrators Duff and Phelps. It would also have been of interest to ask Mr Rizvi, a long-standing associate of Green and shamed former commercial director Imran Ahmad, if he could shed any light on some of the names of those behind the equally mysterious Margarita. Between them, Blue Pitch and Margarita hold a 15 per cent stake in the club and their voting power – which has been handed over by proxy to the Easdale Brothers – could swing the balance whenever this club finally allows its shareholders to vote on the make-up of the boardroom at its long awaited agm. Could it be that Brian Stockbridge, for example, is to be found standing behind Margarita’s door? Just asking because if the financial director was to be among these penny-a-share investors then it’s no wonder they are attempting to block the changes that would ultimately lead to Stockbridge’s removal from power. Right? Here’s another thing. Did you know Stockbridge and James Easdale last week signed off on a robustly worded warning to the club’s entire workforce, making it clear that information leaks from inside Ibrox will not be tolerated? That’s right. Stockbridge, who infamously filmed former chairman Malcolm Murray worse for wear at the end of a long night out, and Easdale, who endorsed the return of a certain spin doctor to the club. The hypocrisy is mind boggling. In fact, it smacks of yet another hamfisted and ever so slightly sinister attempt to suppress the truth. The fact that their internal memo has already been leaked out on to the internet is a delicious irony. Much has gone on behind the scenes of this club in recent times which defies belief. Senior, trusted and hugely respected figures have been horribly intimidated. These people too have a story to tell. Just like Rizvi. It would do Rangers a world of good if one day the whole truth emerges from this distasteful debacle, no matter how unpleasant or even inconvenient that truth might be. The truth is all that can pull Rangers back from this world through the looking glass and allow it to look at itself in the mirror once again.

Did I hear this correctly today? If so, could Rhegan tell us what the SFA did to prevent Craig Whyte getting ownership of Rangers two and a half years ago? Despite warnings about Whyte's background from the likes of AJ and Jeff Randall the SFA sat back and allowed Whyte to get his hands on Rangers and we all know how that ended up. Did Whyte make any such prior application to the SFA ? If so can we see it? Or did Liewell & his PGB call the shots & allow Whyte ownership knowing what was likely to happen as that would benefit Liewell's club ? So what's changed regards Dave King ? is it because his arrival at Rangers & subsequent investment might be of considerable benefit to Rangers that an 'application' now has to be made ? Do some people at the SFA not like the thought of Rangers returning to the top of Scottish football? Also has the fat,sweaty, bespectacled lawyer been working behind the scenes to change the rules? King's arrival yesterday certainly seemed to concern the usual suspects in the mhedia. English for one.

not strictly football related.... How would I go about buying RFC shares??? My Dad's 80th birthday is approaching & as a lifelong Bluenose, I though "owning" part of the club would be an ideal gift. He's still chuffed to "own" part of Ibrox in the form of a brick the we bought him years ago. Cheers

How many truly World Class players have played for the club? Jim Baxter for one. Any others?

I believe we have been royally shafted again. Mather walking off with a pay off for resigning? Are you fucking kidding me? He's done the off so why are we paying him for it! If he does this and gets paid handsomely for it then will it be the same for the Easdales, Stockbridge and smart? Can we assume that Rangers have been used for the last couple of years to be nothing other than absolutely raped? Ahmad has pumped us, green has, Fuck the only one who hasn't seems to be Malcolm Murray (or did he recieve a payment) Rangers football club has been savaged for 2 years. Is whyte even away? Are ticketus still in about it? Mind ticketus have links to whyte. I said on rangers chat earlier, I don't think anyone of these manky robbing bastards will be near the AGM and these actions just prove that to me. Get these bastards hunted bears (btw Stockbridge that's not a threat ya shitebag) but it may be best you lot don't attend games from now on as I don't think you will be Rangers fans favourites. Give us our club back. I'm fucking raging tbh

Whilst I am very happy with the statements released tonight I do however have one major concern. That is the return of a certain Martin Edward Bain. This man in my opinion has done some serious damage to our great club, a lot of which has been hidden by the media and not discussed. This includes negotiating with Strathclyde's finest "not" to charge a certain manager of another club for racial and sectarian abuse. Allowing most media outlets to have a free for all against our club and its supporters without defending them once in a court of law. Vastly increasing his salary when our club had to downsize and reduce debt. Forcing the sale of certain players and lying to them personally about it. (Pedro Mendes being just one example). If Dave King returns there is a strong chance that this chancer will be making an appearance as well. Whilst Craig Mather may have put the nail in one coffin we must always be very aware of another return of the living dead. Please don't let this idiot ever get his feet under the table again.