Youâ??ve got no dignity

[ian1964 10,458]

CRAIG WHYTE last night hit back at Peter Lawwell for his Nikica Jelavic jibe â?? insisting that the Celtic chief lacked DIGNITY.

 

Lawwell took a swipe at Rangers last week after Ibrox sources claimed they'd rejected a whopping £9million for hitman Jela.

 

Lawwell joked: "Last night we got a £29m offer for Gary Hooper, from an unknown agent, from an unknown club, from another universe."

 

Ally McCoist refused to respond to the comments.

 

Gers chairman Whyte bristled when asked about it â?? and insisted Lawwell was out of order.

 

He said: "I like to think I would be more dignified than to make jokes about what's happening on the other side of town and maybe they should be too."

 

In an exclusive SunSport interview Whyte insists the bid to land Jelavic was never a goer â?? as Gers wouldn't have had time to sign a replacement.

 

Whyte added: "It was the timing of it which was bad. Had a bid come in earlier in the transfer window â?? allowing us time to go and bring a replacement in â?? then it might have been a different decision.

 

"The fact it came so late, on the last day when there was no chance of bringing someone else in, made it a non-starter.

 

"It's not an area where the manager has lots of players.

 

"That's why it would have been impossible to do it. Clearly if we get high bids in for players we'll look at them.

 

"If we've got a business decision to make then we'll make it.

 

"The reaction to the Jelavic bid showed me we can't do anything right in some people's eyes. Even something positive â?? like us keeping one of our best players â?? was turned into a negative. All we can do is get on with running the club and make the decisions we need to make.

 

"Maybe then we'll be judged in the long term.

 

"There will be some short term decisions which will be difficult, but over the long term I believe we'll come out stronger."

 

Gers are facing a whopping tax bill which could run to £50m â?? and Whyte has confessed he could be forced to sell his biggest stars in January.

 

He said: "It's not the case we will necessarily need to but we might make that decision.

 

"I'm certainly not going to rule that out."

 

Whyte was hit with criticism for failing to help gaffer McCoist in the transfer market.

 

He admits that he DID make mistakes during the summer window.

 

He added: "Part of the problem was I didn't get in here until May.

 

"Had things happened quicker we might have been able to put more in place.

 

"Mistakes were made. By January, and certainly next July and August, we'll be much more organised in what we're doing."

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3810937/Whyte-fury-at-Lawwell-jibe.html#ixzz1XoQgkHVk

[ian1964 10,458]

We have to slash £7m off wages

 

 

CRAIG WHYTE last night vowed to drastically reduce Rangers' crippling wage bill.

 

The Ibrox owner wants to slice up to £7million from annual salary costs within the next two years.

 

Rangers paid out around £16m-a-year to players before Whyte took over. That figure has increased to around £21M after bumper new deals were dished out to the likes of Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Steven Whittaker.

 

But Whyte insists those days are now OVER as Gers look to their kids like Gregg Wylde. He said: "There is a culmination of factors in reducing costs and bringing in more income and we are looking at other commercial opportunities.

 

"But the wage bill certainly has to come down to around £14m or £15m.

 

"Our costs are significantly more than the income here.That has to be dealt with, we have to have a reality check.

 

"We have got to get to the stage where we at least break even and live within our means. We are very far from being there at the moment.

 

"We have a situation where we are geared up to be in the Champions League every season, that's our cost base.

 

"As we know, it is much, much harder to get there now. We have qualifying rounds to get through, we didn't manage to do that this season.

 

"We know what happened there, we got knocked out by Malmo, whose wage bill I think is £4.3m a year, and by Maribor, who have a wage bill of £1.3m.

 

"One of our players probably gets paid more than that.

 

"The fact both managed to beat us over two legs, says to me there is something badly wrong with Scottish football.

 

"To me, we have to be focusing on our grass roots, our youth system to bring players through instead of paying for expensive foreign players.

 

"The good thing is that we have got a load of very good young players coming through now.

 

"Guys like Gregg Wylde and Jamie Ness and so on have made it into the first team and I'm very confident about the future.

 

"I think that's where investment has got to go in the future.

 

"There seems to be this attitude that we should throw money at things, that we should go and spend £5m or £10m on transfers every season.

 

"I think the days of doing that in Scottish football are now gone.

 

"Investment is required at grass roots level and on players who maybe won't get into the first team immediately but can be brought on.

 

"An investment is exactly that. You bring a young player into the team, he can play with us for two or three seasons and then we can sell him on at a profit.

 

"That's what we have got to look at. That's the future for all of us in Scottish football."

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3810779/We-have-to-slash-7m-off-wages.html#ixzz1XoRT0Lz6

[ian1964 10,458]

If this had been any other club I would NEVER have touched it

 

 

CRAIG WHYTE describes himself as a turnaround expert.

 

Had he been buying any football club other than Rangers that's exactly what he'd have done.

 

Turned around... and walked the other way.

 

Whyte, 40, is now four months into his Ibrox reign and knows things are not looking good.

 

The government insists tax doesn't have to be taxing. But try telling that to Rangers fans all around the world terrified over the club's future.

 

Whyte feels their pain, insisting he's one of them. He knew dark days lay ahead when he was in discussions to buy the club from Sir David Murray.

 

The situation looked so bleak he's now admitted he would have never have gone ahead with the deal for any other business.

 

Whyte told SunSport: "I'm going to have some tough decisions to make in the weeks and months ahead.

 

"But the fact is I bought control of the club because I'm a Rangers fan and I want the best for it.

 

"I know there are some really tough days ahead.

 

"But then I knew at the time of the takeover that the tax bill was a potential problem.

 

"I decided to plough on anyway.

 

"I did that because I'm a Rangers fan.

 

"To be honest, had I put the sensible business head on I probably wouldn't have done it. But I felt I could essentially save the club.

 

"Let's face it, this is a turnaround deal which is what I do, albeit this one is very different from previous deals I've been involved in because I'm in the public spotlight all the time now. But it's no different from the fundamental issues which need to be addressed.

 

"The truth is, had it just been any other business — or any other football club for that matter — I wouldn't have touched it. Definitely not.

 

"The tax issue is a big issue. There are a lot of historic issues here which need to be dealt with. A lot of deals done in the past several years which are not great for the club — but we're stuck with them. Basically there is a mess to sort out.

 

"I get people calling me up every day asking if we're going out of business. I've heard we're never going to play another match and things like that. It's all absolute nonsense."

 

Half the problem is that many people believe it's all smoke and mirrors with Whyte. A man without substance.

 

That he's taken charge of Rangers purely and simply as a money-making exercise — because he doesn't have any.

 

Other than him printing off his own bank statement and showing it to the world, hard facts are hard to come by where his personal wealth is concerned.

 

But for what it's worth Whyte insists he DOES have the cash to take Rangers where their supporters want to go.

 

Leaning back on his chair in the manager's office at Ibrox, shaking his head, he added: "It's all a bit absurd.

 

"How could I be sitting here if I didn't have the money? It's just ridiculous. Maybe I'm not Roman Abramovich but I never said I was.

 

"I have never claimed to have that kind of wealth. Some of the comments flying around are just crazy.

 

"To be honest I don't read most of the c*** which is online in particular.

 

"But last week, when I was subject to constant criticism, it's not pleasant. Listen, I cannot complain about that because I put myself in this position.

 

"I knew this was going to be a high profile role so I can't complain about it."

 

What cannot be pinned on Whyte is the financial mess Rangers currently finds itself in.

 

That's down to the previous regime, on Sir David Murray's watch.

 

Was there mismanagement during that time? Whyte nods his head and insists that there was.

 

He added: "Yes, I think that's fair comment. I can see reasons why certain things were done. Things were done to bring in more money quickly.

 

"But the club is paying the price of that now.

 

"Have I been shocked by what I've found. Yes, there have been some shocking things which have been uncovered. Absolutely, yes."

 

With Ally McCoist as manager Whyte insists they are in good hands arguably where it matters most — on the pitch.

 

He added: "I have a great relationship with Ally. We talk all the time and get on really well together.

 

"Generally we agree on everything that needs to be done.

 

"What people see in public with Ally is pretty much what you get from him behind closed doors.

 

"He's a Rangers legend and I enjoy sitting with him after a game with a glass of wine. We talk about all sorts of things.

 

"The closer you get to someone the more you get to know them and find out more there is to know. But we have a great relationship.

 

"We're sitting at the top of the league at the moment. We'll see how Sunday goes but the manager and his team are confident of getting a good result.

 

"But I think we've got a team more than good enough to win the SPL."

 

Despite the troubles Rangers face Whyte is convinced the storm clouds will soon disperse.

 

For the time being he's trying to focus on Rangers' next match — which just happens to be Sunday's Old Firm crunch with Celtic.

 

He added: "I'm looking forward to the game but then who wouldn't enjoy it?

 

"Maybe you should come back and see me afterwards, at the end of the match, and ask if I have enjoyed it.

 

"But hopefully I'll be saying the same thing.

 

"What I've found is that you can't enjoy the games in the same way as you did as a fan. You can never really relax and enjoy it.

 

"I'm looking forward to Sunday. It's obviously the biggest game of the season domestically. And I plan to enjoy every minute of it."

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3810811/Gers-supremo-on-turmoil-at-Ibrox.html#ixzz1XoT14hPH

[ian1964 10,458]

WHYTE ASSURES RANGERS FANS

 

 

Craig Whyte has assured Rangers fans that the club's future is safe in his hands.

 

Concerns over the club's solvency were raised in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Friday by Glasgow law firm Levy and McRae, who took action to secure payment of a £35,000 bill.

 

Rangers later hit out at comments made during the hearing in a statement which described the concerns as "unfounded, unwarranted and nothing more than scaremongering tactics."

 

The Ibrox club then condemned a "whispering campaign" after legal papers apparently relating to former chief executive Martin Bain's claim against the club for unfair dismissal were leaked "illegally".

 

The Scottish champions are also involved in two separate cases with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, both relating to payments made before Whyte took over as owner from Sir David Murray in May.

 

The club have not paid a £2.8million tax bill which first emerged in April relating to payments made to staff from 1999 to 2003, but they are believed to be disputing a fine that goes with it.

 

And an on-going tax tribunal, which could reportedly could cost the club up to £49million, will resume in November.

 

Whyte moved to ease any fears that Light Blues' supporters may have with regards their club's future.

 

"Rangers will always be there and playing at Ibrox," he told Press Association Sport.

 

"They will be there long after I'm dead and buried.

 

"The press we have received over the last week has been horrendous but we are in a better position than we were a year ago.

 

"Lloyds debt has been paid off and we are in control of our own destiny.

 

"We accept that there are challenges ahead.

 

"There are other issues but everyone is aware of them and we are working our way through them but as I say, the club is in a better position than we were a year ago."

 

Referring to the leaked document which caused such a stir over the weekend, Whyte said that Bain has a "cheek" pursuing his claim.

 

"There was a lot of stuff in the document which was opinion and which we don't agree with," he said.

 

"Every Rangers fan will see it for what it is.

 

"It could not be taken as partial and some of it is absolute drivel and ludicrous.

 

"The most ludicrous thing of all is that Martin Bain is looking for £1.3million from the club. He has a cheek."

 

Bain was unavailable for comment.

 

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/scottishpremier/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/11/09/12/SOCCER_Rangers_Whyte.html

[chilledbear 16]

We know what to expect in the January Window.

[Craigy1881 79]

Everything he is saying makes sense, we know he has a giant mess to sort out from the previous owners and to be fair I think it will be a few years yet before we can really judge Craig Whyte. The positive notes are that he genuinely seems to want the club to be run in a correct manner which seems obvious that it was not previously.

 

We just need to take it a week at a time and see where we are after the tax case, but I feel far more assured with Whyte at the helm than I would be if we were approaching the tax case with the old regime in play.

[gisabeer 409]

we need to rid ourselves of the tax case. until we do we will always have a cloud hanging over ibrox.

 

and whyte at least is upfront about our affairs.

[Bluedell 5,356]

Craig Whyte, centre, the Rangers owner and chairman, told a press conference: 'I didn't buy the club to see it fail'.

 

When Craig Whyte met Scotland's written media on Monday, he insisted that such a catch-up had always been planned. The Rangers chairman and owner said he had merely brought forward the discussion "given the negative, malicious coverage we have had in the last week or so".

 

What cannot be denied is that Rangers have been in the spotlight, and in a way which was alien to them during the free-spending, occasionally brash years of the past decade.

 

Whyte said: "We have inherited a mess from the previous management."

 

The shape of Rangers' future depends on the extent – or otherwise – of that damage. Their biggest challenge in the coming months will not be defending the Scottish Premier League title claimed in May but attempting to see off HM Revenue & Customs.

 

The taxman is chasing Rangers over employee benefit trust payments to players, a historic loophole which the authorities have subsequently closed. If that case goes against them, estimates have put the potential bill as running to tens of millions of pounds.

 

With that in mind, Whyte's refusal to rule out a slip into administration is hardly a surprise. He denied, though, that Rangers could go bust.

 

"I didn't buy the club to see it fail," Whyte said. "Who knows what happens with the tribunal? Our advice is that we will win the case. If it becomes the case that we don't, then let's deal with that.

 

"Rangers will be playing at Ibrox long after we are all dead and buried. The club is not going under. I can assure everybody that, whatever happens, in the worst-case scenario, Rangers will still be here."

 

Yet other negative tales have entered the public domain. HMRC is seeking a further £2.8m plus a £1.4m penalty from Rangers, with sheriff officers appearing at Ibrox this month in relation to that case. Part of the bill was later subject to an arrestment order in Rangers' bank account.

 

"If someone sends a bill we don't just send the money and not check it out," was Whyte's explanation for that. "I hadn't seen the papers for it and until my advisers and I had gone through the papers with a toothcomb there was no way that was going to be paid."

 

Added to a subsequent court appearance over a £35,000 bill to Rangers from a legal firm, the picture to most onlookers is far from rosy. In Glasgow, it never takes much to fuel football speculation.

 

Whyte is adamant that a whispering campaign is taking place. "I think there's no doubt about that," he said. "There are people who want to besmirch the reputation of the club and see it fail.

 

"I'm absolutely determined to sort out the issues that need to be sorted out. There are going to be some very tough decisions to be made in the weeks and months ahead. I'm absolutely up for doing it. I'm going to sort it."

 

Bold words. Over the weekend, legal papers relating to an unfair dismissal claim, made against Rangers by their former chief executive Martin Bain, cast further doubt on the club's solvency.

 

Whyte flatly denied the suggestion that he has mortgaged season-ticket income as a means to borrow money. He also admitted Rangers have no current credit facility with a bank but claimed £80m worth of assets are on their balance sheet.

 

Whyte cleared an £18m debt owed by Rangers to Lloyds Banking Group. That debt was transferred from Lloyds to Whyte's company, Rangers FC Group Ltd. The fact he remains a creditor for that amount is almost certainly a safeguard in case administration is forthcoming.

 

Part of the scepticism towards Whyte stems from the lack of information about the Motherwell businessman's life and dealings pre-Rangers. That is in direct contrast to the scenario when the previous chairman, Sir David Murray, bought his shares in the club in 1988.

 

Whyte is perfectly open about the fact that outgoings have to be cut. That is symptomatic, he stressed, of a wider picture.

 

"I think the main thing is that people have to get real," Whyte added. "We are stuck in Scottish football here. Our costs are significantly more than the income we are bringing in. We have got to get to the stage where we at least break even and live within our means. We are very far from being there at the moment.

 

"We have a situation where we are geared up to be in the Champions League every season, that's the cost base we have got. As we know, it is much, much harder to get there now.

 

"There seems to be this attitude that we should throw money at things, that we should go and spend £5m or £10m on transfers every season. I think the days of doing that in Scottish football probably now are gone."

 

That is a fair assessment. Whether it is being used as a cover-up line for problems specific to Rangers, only time will tell.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/12/craig-whyte-rangers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Ffootball%2Frss+%28Football%29

 

:surprised:

[Bluedell 5,356]

We have to slash £7m off wages

 

CRAIG WHYTE last night vowed to drastically reduce Rangers' crippling wage bill.

 

The Ibrox owner wants to slice up to £7million from annual salary costs within the next two years.

 

 

Changed message now that he owns the club.

[Frankie 8,186]

He spoke well enough but I don't think we know any more than we did before.