ian1964 10,416 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 RANGERS legend Walter Smith yesterday revealed he wants to save the club on behalf of fans as he fronted a sensational last-minute bid to buy the football giants. The 64-year-oldâ??s attempt to snatch the club from the grasp of new owner Charles Green was the latest in a long string of offers made for Gers. Smith is now hoping pressure from fans will force Green to sell to his consortium but he has been told he will have to cough up at least £20MILLION. Smith vowed: â??Our overriding objective is to ensure that the stadium, the history and everything else magical about Rangers Football Club is protected and nurtured back to good health.â? Former manager Smith made the statement setting out his hopes as he tried to buy the Ibrox club for £8million just HOURS before former Sheffield United chief executive Green became owner. Gers fans were ecstatic when Smith revealed he was being supported by billionaire Jim McColl and motor magnate Douglas Park in his efforts. But their dreams were shattered when Green announced he had finally picked up the keys to Ibrox after resurrecting the liquidated club as a â??newcoâ?. In a bizarre twist yesterday Yorkshireman Green offered to make Smith the clubâ??s CHAIRMAN â?? and begged for all sides to â??pull togetherâ?. He said: â??Itâ??s effectively me in the hot seat now â?? we came here to rescue Rangers thatâ??s what we have done. â??Letâ??s get rid of the negativity and letâ??s pull together. If Walter Smith wants to be chairman of Rangers Iâ??ll appoint him.â? Green also denied he had been involved in a bust-up with manager Ally McCoist, far right, after it was reported he was going to resign. He said: â??The issues Iâ??ve read about Ally are rubbish. The reality is Walter and Ally are big pals and Iâ??m nothing to Ally. If thereâ??s a chance Walter is going to put a bid together, Ally would support Walter, thatâ??s what I would expect.â? But he said he would not hesitate to bring Smith on board along with McColl and Park â?? and claimed his finance director Imran Ahmad would be happy to take their investment cash. Green said: â??If Walter, Jim McColl, Douglas Park want to be an investor in this club this man (Ahmad) will take cheques off them and put them in Rangersâ?? bank account, not in his bank account, not Charles Greenâ??s bank account. They can come on the board and be party to what we are doing. If these people want to be involved and bring a cheque at the same time â?? fantastic. Weâ??ve had four other emails or contacts from high net worth individuals who are saying â??What would you take to go?â?? But we are not going to sit around and wait â?? if we hadnâ??t come along this club would have closed.â? The Smith consortium were last night believed to be weighing up their next move â?? after being stunned by the £20million they were told to stump up. Mr Ahmad said despite only paying £5.5million for the club, Green and his consortium had shelled out up to £2million on professional and advisory fees and they had coughed another £2.5million for the clubâ??s operating costs. Smith said of his consortiumâ??s offer: â??This is an acquisition designed to stabilise the club and ensure history does not repeat itself. We are not in this to take money out of the club but more so to do whatever it takes in a turnaround plan to ensure within a few years the Club can be passed on intact and to the right people.â? Mr Ahmad said he thought Greenâ??s idea to make Smith chairman of the football board was a â??brilliant ideaâ?. And he said: â??This is a formal offer â?? we would be delighted if he came on board. The point about Walter is â?? if you really want to help the club the door is open. Thereâ??s a blank canvas in terms of starting from scratch and he can be part of that.â? But last night Clyde Blowers boss Mr McColl pleaded with Green to sell. He said: â??I would issue a public appeal to Charles Green to strongly consider selling the club to the Walter Smith consortium. â??This would be in the best interests of Rangers Football Club, the Rangers fans and all of Scottish football.â? And fans chief Mark Dingwall warned Green that supporters would not buy season tickets if he and his consortium shunned club idol Smith. He said: â??Any battle between Green and Smith will only have one winner. Mr Green has spent money but he has not bought the fans and he has not bought the history. Clearly, Walter Smith has no faith in Mr Green and that is why he has made his move. â??I suspect Rangers fans will withhold season ticket money until Mr Green sells to Walter Smith as that will starve him of income.â? Green yesterday claimed to have backing from a string of tycoons as well as Scottish clothing company Glenmuir for his takeover. They included Glasgow-based businessman Ian Hart. However, moments after the announcement Hart denied he was part of Greenâ??s team and revealed he was backing Smith. Greenâ??s takeover comes after former owner Craig Whyte, who bought the club off Sir David Murray in May last year, put the club into administration in February. Since then businessman Brian Kennedy, John Pritchettâ??s Club 9 Sports, Singaporean tycoon Bill Ng, Paul Murrayâ??s Blue Knights consortium, and US truck tycoon Bill Miller have all made unsuccessul bids. Director Andrew Ellis was involved in a failed bid in 2010. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scot...#ixzz1xowVfJve 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Twenty million? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,341 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 WHat is a debt free Rangers worth? This is why McColl and Park should have done this weeks ago instead of fannying around. Now we are in the position that we have civil war instead of moving forward. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigy 0 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I think Green will sell quick, but he'll hope to start a bidding war before he does. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Just when you think it's all over. :fuming: I wonder if McColl would just slip away if the shoe was on the other foot? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The power lies in the hands of the fans. Fan groups should have one final meeting with Green and explain the position. Then ignore him. All season ticket holders should not renew. We've nothing to lose now, and the Wattie thing is right for the Club. We just know it. If it means a season out, then so be it. Green will just look like a fool and lose money. No fan in their right mind should support Rangers while he still thinks that he will win and run the Club. If it means Div 3 and start with nothing then so be it. The end result will be happiness. It'll be a long road - but with a happy ending. Green out. Wattie in. The £20m is a negotiating position. That's all. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,151 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Reliably informed opening offer of £6.5million from McColl et al refused by Green. The bidding war is under way. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The power lies in the hands of the fans. Fan groups should have one final meeting with Green and explain the position. Then ignore him. All season ticket holders should not renew. We've nothing to lose now, and the Wattie thing is right for the Club. We just know it. If it means a season out, then so be it. Green will just look like a fool and lose money. No fan in their right mind should support Rangers while he still thinks that he will win and run the Club. If it means Div 3 and start with nothing then so be it. The end result will be happiness. It'll be a long road - but with a happy ending. Green out. Wattie in. The £20m is a negotiating position. That's all. We let the club die by acting like big kids, who would be the fools then. A dangerous game being played here and the best thing the fans can do is back the club not Green or McColl, let them sort it out. I agree 20 mill is for effect and they would sell for about 12mill. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 its perfectly clear that if green hadn't come along the club wouldn't have closed. he talks some shite. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbr 1,247 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 WHat is a debt free Rangers worth? This is why McColl and Park should have done this weeks ago instead of fannying around. Now we are in the position that we have civil war instead of moving forward. As much as getting the club under Walter and McColl is something of a wet dream for this bear , I cannot but feel a great degree of symathy for CG and his consortium , just because Walter et all didn't want the stigma of actually being the ones to put the old holding company into liquidation should not be forgotten. That they have know appeared after the dirty work has been done , is in many ways quite shameful and is actually just another example of the shoddy way this whole episode has panned out from the day CW was given the keys of the front door . No doubt CG will be villified and mucho pressure will be applied with Wattie's favourite journo , Traynor , leading the way ,however he did fulfill what he said he would do , it appears the clyubs history is secure , I do realise he has made a lot of contradictory statements , but who hasn't in this entire mess , but the season start is fast approaching and no doubt pressure is being applied behind the scenes on players to refuse to TUPE over , bringing further uncertainty to us the supporters . who are looked on as almost irrelevant by the main players , bar paying us lip service and throwing us patronising titbits to keep us sweet . Just when you thought it couldn't get any more uncertain it does , good luck everyone. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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