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Rangers director Dave King finally breaks his silence today on the cash crisis that has engulfed the club he loves.

 

The South African-based tycoon has kept his own counsel during the last few troubled years as the banks clamped down on Rangers.

 

But starting today and ONLY in Record Sport the man who has already invested �£20million in the Ibrox club speaks out from his luxurious Johannesburg base.

 

King rarely grants interviews but the multi-millionaire, who is still regarded as the only man who can come to Rangers' rescue, sat down

 

with the only paper capable of gaining access to him.

 

And he didn't hold back:

 

* In our sensational two-day series he reveals how Rangers were left teetering on the brink of administration.

 

* King out lines his hopes for Rangers in the years ahead and REFUSES to rule out the possibility of investing further in the club .

 

* He insists the Andrew Ellis deal was NEVER a realistic option.

 

* King claims Walter Smith's latest title success SAVED Rangers.

 

* He ACCUSES Rangers' bankers of attempting to asset strip the club .

 

* He identifies and pays tribute to the real resistance HEROES behind the scenes in the fight to keep the club alive.

 

The 55-year-old kicked off his astonishing insight into his Rangers love affair by revealing he is mulling over new support for the club and is developing a five-year plan to turn around the financial situation at Ibrox.

 

Ex-pat King invited Record Sport into his South African home for his first in-depth interview with a Scottish paper and suggested he could be willing to make available some of his reported �£300m fortune for the club he first grew to love growing up in Castlemilk.

 

Asked if he was in a position to invest in the club again, King said: "I wouldn't say yes to that today. However, I wouldn't rule out taking a greater role in the club going forward.

 

"Things must settle for a couple of months first. There are a lot of emotions that must die down and I wouldn't mind spending time with David Murray when I'm next over just to see what it means to him now.

 

"I've had discussions with people such as Douglas Park and he says if the time is right and things settle he is willing to invest in a proper, commercial basis.

 

"There are enough people out there with money to put together a funding group to get the club to a position it should be in.

 

"It needs enough money to bring the debt down to a sustainable level, new money to take away some of the historic problems and enough money to create a kitty for the manager for five years."

 

King has outlined the battles with Lloyds as they fought to protect their investment in the Murray Group, Rangers' parent company, which reached crisis point last year due to the global recession.

 

He maintains it was the stubborn approach adopted by the bank that prevented him f rom launching a takeover bid last autumn.

 

He said: "I looked at buying the club in the third financial quarter last year.

 

"I felt the position adopted by the bank was inflexible and commercially aggressive against the club. Their demands were excessive.

 

"It provided no opportunity for me to sensibly come in and put money into the club knowing the new money would not be going into Rangers but to protect the bank's position. It would have been throwing good money after bad."

 

Silly Rangers have been taken off the market by majority shareholder Sir David Murray after a move to buy the club by London property developer Ellis stalled.

 

King added: "I knew the El lis deal would not be concluded as soon as it was announced. I have my own ability to do due diligence and that deal would only have happened under very silly circumstances.

 

"I don't think he's a silly investor but my assessment told me there was no possibility of Ellis structuring a deal that could have made sense for him."

 

King acknowledged the right of the bank to demand its debt be repaid but believes they also share a responsibility for allowing Rangers to dip into the red to the tune of over �£30m.

 

He said: "I recognise the responsibility of the bank to recover the money owed but they should have recognised a greater share of responsibility for participating in the funding levels Rangers received.

 

"Walter securing the SPL title and the Champions League money saved the day. The bank are now much more willing to listen to considered argument, plus we have the benefit of that Champions League cash which has bought us this 12-month period of calm.

 

"I'd describe Rangers as being in a comfortable position at present. We've had the operation and we're home. However, we're going to have to look after our health carefully."

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2010/06/25/dave-king-rangers-and-me-86908-22358553/

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Maurice Edu hammered home his injury-time winner from a yard against Celtic to all but hand Rangers another title - and keep the very club in existence.

 

For 92 minutes, Dave King had looked on from the directors' box at Ibrox, the knot in his stomach growing ever tighter at the terrifying thought the Light Blues were on the brink of collapse, on the park and off it.

 

It may have been the USA midfielder who finally struck on February 28 to give his side a 1-0 win and a 10 point lead, but it was the figure celebrating wildly on the touchline who King credits with keeping the administrator from moving lock, stock and barrel into Edmiston Drive.

 

Walter Smith is judged by many to be the greatest Rangers boss of all time.

 

Bill Struth may have won 18 titles, twice as many as the current Ibrox manager, but King maintains no trophy will ever mean as much to the club as the one skipper David Weir lofted above his head in May.

 

The history books will record it as the club's 53rd championship but for King and the Rangers board Edu's strike was a �£12million goal, all but guaranteeing their success in the SPL and an automatic place in the group stages of next season's Champions League.

 

Much more importantly, it bought crucial breathing space with the club's bankers, the Lloyds Group.

 

And the South African-based director is adamant that vital window of opportunity must be used to good effect in the next 12 months to secure the long term future of the club.

 

King said: "The club was in emotional turmoil at the time of that Old Firm game. Walter was battling to get 11 players plus two on the bench and there had been no money, even for loan deals.

 

"That's why Edu's goal was the highlight of the season as the title was so crucial.

 

"If there had been a swing in momentum at that stage the whole thing could have collapsed.

 

"It was clear negotiations with the bank would be much more pleasant if we could secure Champions League football.

 

"I regard Walter's achievement last season as being the greatest title Rangers have ever won because no one knows what was really going on inside the club at that time, particularly the in-fighting with the bank.

 

"That Walter held it all together with such moral authority and integrity, alongside Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, was astonishing.

 

"I went on record at a board meeting, before the title was secured, and said Walter would be the greatest manager on the planet if he won the title with all that was going on. I believe, although other board members might disagree, the threat of administration would have been very real had Walter not won the title.

 

"If the club didn't have the funds to go forward that would have been something we would have been forced to consider.

 

"Did I fear we would go under? Absolutely. "If we didn't have Champions League money and it looked as if the net debt levels would increase there would have been an asset strip in favour of the bank to which certain members of the board could never have agreed.

 

"The bank would looked to have sold players and not replaced them, reducing the wage bill to a level at which we could compete for the Glasgow Cup and just focused on Murray Park for players.

 

"The board were never going to approve a business plan that destroyed the club for the supporters because we believe the fans remain the true owners of the club in a legacy sense.

 

"If the bank then said they weren't continuing with their overdraft facility what would we have done? Held a special general meeting? That could have taken us to the brink of administration as the auditors would not have been in a position to say the club was still a going concern."

 

King maintains putting Rangers into administration was never discussed by the board last season, despite reports to the contrary.

 

However, there were constant battles with the Lloyds Group as business plans were proposed and rejected by both sides in a bid to square the circle of reducing debts of �£31m while allowing the club to remain competitive, even in the SPL.

 

King paints an exhausting picture of mental fatigue for the key players such as Smith, chairman Alistair Johnston and chief executive Martin Bain.

 

But the anguish of the battle for his club's very soul even lingers here, in the quiet calm of the library at his stunning home in one of the most exclusive suburbs of Johannesburg.

 

In one half of the bitter boardroom civil war were the banks. In the other were independent directors such as King, chairman Johnston, accountant Paul Murray and vice-chairman John McClelland, who all knew the club ran the risk of being asset-stripped.

 

Smith apart, King credits Bain in particular as an unsung hero for holding it all together and it's believed Smith would have walked had the chief executive's position come under threat, with majority shareholder Sir David Murray powerless to prevent it.

 

Smith would also have resigned had the posts of McCoist and McDowall ever been jeopardised, particularly after they joined with the boss in agreeing to work without a contract when their deals expired in January.

 

King added: "Walter put pegs in the ground and they were good ones. He didn't rant or rave but there were a couple of issues that, if they arose, left him ready to walk. He was more reasonable than I would have been.

 

"Walter is not a man of extremes and even with the bank he was quite balanced. There is absolute honesty in everything he does. He'll come in and say: 'This is what I can do, but that can't happen.'

 

"There is no agenda, only Rangers.

 

"He never once told us he couldn't win the league but he told us certain things that had to happen for it to be achieved.

 

"However, he never threw his toys out the pram. It was his maturity and balance that struck home and helped with the players. He and Martin were in the trenches and that came across to the playing squad.

 

"If the negative energy that arose as a result of the discussions between the board and the bank had got into the dressing room it would have caused problems.

 

"However, Walter was like a sponge soaking it all up. He was always frank with the players, but never allowed the situation to affect them. His management was staggering."

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Dave King is as much a stranger to his passport photo as he is to South African radio listeners.

 

The Rangers investor has the stamps on his permit to travel, including recent trips to Scotland, to prove he has not been banned by his adopted homeland from venturing abroad.

 

He also claims his long-running tax battle with the South African Revenue Service has not left him incapable of doing business, including the possibility of cutting a deal for a greater share of Rangers.

 

He revealed he is so relaxed about a tax claim that once amounted to �£200million (2.3billion rand) he has even become pals with the SARS officials who have spent the last eight years looking at his books.

 

The current rate is approximately 11 rand to the pound - it doesn't take Carol Vorderman to work out these are eyepopping sums, even for a man estimated to be worth around �£300m.

 

King, 55, also thinks nothing of going on former Irish rugby star John Robbie's popular radio talk show in Johannesburg to verbally joust with listeners about the sums he may or may not owe.

 

He said: "Of course I've got my passport - I'm in and out of Scotland six or seven times a year, so I try to ignore all that. My situation remains the same.

 

"We still have that tax dispute, it's a long standing thing. SARS' view is very simple: I came to South Africa with nothing in 1976 and everything I've made since then is revenue.

 

"However, I claim it was capital and we're having a bun fight about it. The rest of it doesn't affect me. It doesn't stop me doing business, it doesn't stop me functioning. My view has always been the same - if SARS win the tax case, I'll pay the taxes. But they haven't won the tax case. They say they have spent �£13m on the case against me - I've spent more.

 

"I could have left the country if I wanted and avoided 'It and doing it all but I still live here and contribute.

 

"I get on well with a lot of the SARS people. I'm actually quite friendly with the tax people. We joke about it here, it's not as serious as people seem to think it is, especially the media in Scotland.

 

"I go on radio talkshows, including John Robbie's, and they always ask me about the tax dispute. Callers phone in - half of them are on my side, half of them are on the side of SARS.

 

"Half say I'm an economic saboteur and as a result of people like me not paying taxes low-cost houses don't get built. Others say, 'Good on you, you can afford it, fight the receiver. They bullied me and they bullied my auntie'. The receiver is always easy game.

 

"I try to be philosophical about that as well. If they win, I'll pay. I don't think they'll win. It has been going on too long."

 

King has never disputed he owes money, only the amount. In stark contrast to the �£200m originally demanded by the government fol lowing his arrest in May 2002 in connection with 322 charges of tax evasion and fraud, he claimed his liability is "only" long' �£3.8m.

 

King moved to South Africa in 1976 on a posting with Weir Pumps and was later an adviser for the Post Office and the Reserve Bank, before stepping up with a management company that won a contract to manage the treasury operations of Umgeni Water.

 

King has been in dispute with SARS primarily over �£105m he made from selling his shares in a company, Specialised Outsourcing, which was 71 per cent owned by his Ben Nevis trust.

 

It was originally listed on the stock market in South African 1997 at 10p a share but that rose to a staggering �£7 a share by 1998 before the price collapsed 12 months later after it emerged King had sold all but one per cent of his stockholding. Earlier this month, it was reported in South Africa the National Prosecuting Authority had rejected a compromise deal that would have seen King pay around �£55m to settle the case.

 

It was claimed King agreed to plead guilty to several criminal charges, but not tax fraud, which would have prevented him being a company director or continuing with his business career. Unsurprisingly, he was reportedly also unwilling to contemplate the possibility of serving a jail sentence.

 

King added: "It's not quite true. There was an agreement between myself, SARS and the Reserve GERS Bank to finally settle the litigation by the payment of 630 million rand (�£55m) which includes 10 years of interest, with no penalties against me now.

 

"There was a settlement and that now depends upon SARS getting rid of all these charges. Only time will tell on the outcome. If I can settle on the basis that works for me I will, so long as I continue to function in South Africa. One way or another it will be settled eventually."

 

He appears equally unconcerned about the possibility of Rangers having to fork out up to �£24m plus interest in a dispute over payments to offshore trusts.

 

He added: "It's not something that concerns the board greatly. I discussed it again recently when I was over there so I understood exactly what's going on.

 

"The legal opinion we have is very, very strong. It's being dealt with on a technical basis by accountants and tax lawyers. If you hadn't raised it, it wouldn't even have been in my mind."

 

King guards his privacy, although proved to be a gracious host as he showed Record Sport around his impressive home, including grounds that contain several pitch and putt holes to practice his other favourite pastime, golf.

 

Mindful of security he politely declined to be photographed outside and although happy to speak about kids on whom he and his wife clearly dote, preferred not to name them as he outlined plans to spend more time in the UK.

 

He added: "I might find a base in the UK and it would allow us to spend more time at the football - we're not only huge Rangers fans, but also big supporters of Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish is a friend."

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Harsh words, wabash but probably merited in some ways.

 

I'd like to know what Dave King is doing behind the scenes to change the status quo of over-reliance on the bank rather than his opinion on recent events.

 

I'm not convinced his use of the media and others has been a great strategy but if he can provide the model for investment/supporter involvement then I'm wondering what the delay is. I'm also left wondering who he blames for allowing the club to get into such financial problems.

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Further piece:

 

Dave King has dismissed as a pipedream the idea Rangers could ever be owned and operated by its fans.

 

The Ibrox director says his club's supporters already invest more in their team than any other followers in the world and it's unrealistic to expect more.

 

He says the concept of fan ownership, backed by bodies such as the Rangers Trust, won bank and Murray Group support during the club's darkest days last season.

 

But he emphatically stated it was always a non-starter in his eyes and there is no great groundswell of support for fan ownership among the majority of the Light Blues legions.

 

King said: "The club was on the market last season under circumstances unrealistic in terms of expectation.

 

"The bank thought they were going to get this and that and then you had the fan plan.

 

"The fan plan was always rubbish, rubbish. We knew it was never going to happen but the bank liked it and certain people within the Murray Group were putting it forward.

 

"Fine, if the bank believed it was a panacea but I always suspected it would turn out to be nothing.

 

"Let's say the fans came in and owned the club and in a year's time we needed another �£5million. What happens then? Do you put up prices? Ownership of the club is not a great thing for fans.

 

"We had vociferous fans making their point, which is their absolute right, but they represent only about seven per cent of the support."

 

King says Rangers fans have more than played their part by buying season tickets, merchandise and shirts.

 

He added: "I've seen recent figures to suggest Rangers fans spend more on their team per capita than supporters of any other club in the world.

 

"We know who we are and that's why I say, 'Let's get proper investors in, people who are interested in the club and who are willing to recapitalise it on a proper business principle to get the club back to where it should be'.

 

"Let's see the club run as Rangers should be, competing in Scotland with the opportunity to do well in the Champions League."

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Harsh words, wabash but probably merited in some ways.

 

I'd like to know what Dave King is doing behind the scenes to change the status quo of over-reliance on the bank rather than his opinion on recent events.

 

I'm not convinced his use of the media and others has been a great strategy but if he can provide the model for investment/supporter involvement then I'm wondering what the delay is. I'm also left wondering who he blames for allowing the club to get into such financial problems.

 

 

Murray has king by the balls, and then some.

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