Frankie 8,150 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The race for control of Rangers Football Club is now on. Gersnet takes a look at the runners and riders ahead of what will be an interesting few weeks in the run up to 2010. Who is involved and who is your favourite? Dave King Based in South Africa and with associated financial/tax problems in that country the millionaire businessman and non-executive director of Rangers is the huge favourite in many people's eyes. Possibly the only rider with the kind of net worth that is required to own a football club outright. Evens Douglas Park Lanarkshire based transport tycoon is a well kent face at Ibrox. Owner of the popular bus company and several car franchises, the Park family are popular within the support. Whilst their wealth may not be in the same league as King; their financial support of that bid may be crucial to win over fans who doubt King's reputation. Evens Paul Murray Another non-executive director of the club, Murray (no relation to SDM) has an excellent business pedigree and though not as likely to put up as much funds, his undoubted experience and loyalty to the club will prove invaluable to any alleged consortium. Evens James Mortimer James Mortimer�s Lynnet Leisure has long been established as a formidable entertainment presence in the west of Scotland. This vast experience and personal wealth will mean the club entrepreneur will be an interested participant - if not a likely winner of the Ibrox Stakes. 5/1 Satty Singh Satty Singh is one of Scotland�s leading businessmen with a variety of successful ventures on his CV. In 2005, Satty became the first Asian person to hold the position of Director of Rangers Youth Development Fund and it is this undoubted commitment to the club which holds him in high regard by the support. His recent work in PR would prove useful in terms of having the contacts to revive Rangers. 10/1 Andy Smillie The no-holds-barred scaffolding magnate is one contender that many fans would like to see form an important part of the club. Another high-net worth supporter who has worked on a range of club projects in the past, Smillie will no doubt be interested in building the framework to repair our club. 20/1 The Rangers Support The continued single biggest investor into the club; the Rangers support is nonetheless an outside bet to be involved. More likely to be used by the other riders as a shield to their chances of winning; a lack of one single jockey may mean the support could be unseated before the first hurdle. Will the blinkers also hinder it? Who can get this difficult horse under control? 50/1 An interesting line-up then and no matter one's opinion on each contender they will all be wearing red, white and blue. Is this likely to be a competition though or can the riders work together to have a joint winner? Certainly the stakes have never been higher so leadership, direction and communication will be imperative for the credibility of the favourites. What is clear is that this is an opportunity to redefine our club, improve it and ensure the future is one that we can all subscribe to while maximising the chances of success. Any genuine winner should be working with the others to deliver this and not be using Rangers (or the fans' loyalty) as a chance to increase their profile whilst forgetting to safeguard the long term future of one of Scotland's most successful football club. The race is about to start. Who has made the correct preparations? Who is your money on? And they're off.....! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The perfect solution would be a consortium of all but i suppose they would all want to be boss which would not let that happen. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,150 Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 I think there will be a consortium led by Dave King mate... Maybe not all the names mentioned will be involved but most will... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The papers are quoting that we have 30M of debt. Given the cost-cutting that happened when McLeish was here and the new wage structure that's been in place for the last few years now, are we now "living within our means" in terms of an average season's turnover? What I mean is, if someone comes in, buys the club and wipes out the 30M of debt, so we're starting from scratch, are our outgoings under control so that any further investment in new players could be accomodated assuming this new consortium writes off some money to be spent on player signing fees? I guess anyone proposing a bid will have a detailed business plan, but I was wondering how the club stands just now. Are we in this mess mainly because of over-spending on transfer fees following Kaunas, or does it go back a bit further than that? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,329 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The papers are quoting that we have 30M of debt. Given the cost-cutting that happened when McLeish was here and the new wage structure that's been in place for the last few years now, are we now "living within our means" in terms of an average season's turnover? What I mean is, if someone comes in, buys the club and wipes out the 30M of debt, so we're starting from scratch, are our outgoings under control so that any further investment in new players could be accomodated assuming this new consortium writes off some money to be spent on player signing fees? I guess anyone proposing a bid will have a detailed business plan, but I was wondering how the club stands just now. Are we in this mess mainly because of over-spending on transfer fees following Kaunas, or does it go back a bit further than that? I believe that the accounts will show a loss in excess of �£10m. Has the cost-cutting this season saved �£10m+ of costs from last year? No, I don't believe so. If we qualify for the CL every year then we will survive. UEFA cup may allow us to break-even but will not give much to spend in the transfer market. The over-spending post-Kaunus certainly brought the situation further forward, but given that we couldn't make a profit from being in the UEFA cup final and playing in the CL the previous year (without selling hutton) then there were more deep-rooted problems. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I think we've saved a few million a year in wages but that has been offset by the loss of the Setanta income. I'm was presuming that this year should be more towards break-even or a small profit due to the CL money especially with the full tv pot. When you include the fact we didn't spend on players, the accounts can't be too bad. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Thanks for clarifying that. I guess the other hope would be that any parties coming in would try to generate more revenue and improve our "global brand" which is an awful term, but its something we seem to have been dreadful at doing this far. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Thanks for clarifying that. I guess the other hope would be that any parties coming in would try to generate more revenue and improve our "global brand" which is an awful term, but its something we seem to have been dreadful at doing this far. I think this idea comes from believing Celtic make money from their "global brand". Outwith Man, Real and maybe a couple others, I don't think there is much of a market for it tbh. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 We do have more of a worldwide support than many other clubs, so should be doing more to exploit it. I've lost count of the countries I and other Bears have been in and you walk in to a sports shop and there's Celtic kits for sale with no sign of our stuff. Having said that, they should sort out the UK first, its been a disgrace in recent times how hard it can be to find Gers kit for sale in JJB sometimes. Actually, scratch all of that, first priority is for us to have someone in charge who will stand up to the press and defend our club, fans and traditions. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbr 1,247 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I think this idea comes from believing Celtic make money from their "global brand". Outwith Man, Real and maybe a couple others, I don't think there is much of a market for it tbh. This global brand issue was put to bed last week . Man Utd posted in their results that in season 07/08 they made over �£104 million from Match day income , which included tickets sales , TV revenue , catering and merchandise , the very surprising item was sale from overseas merchandise which was �£3.4 million , now that is hardly a fortune in anyones book . 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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