Traynor - Walter, One call changed everything

[the gunslinger 3,366]

EVERY time Walter Smith thinks heâ??s finally managed to escape the SFA

â?? Scottish Football Asylum â?? he gets dragged back in. The ties that

bind are just too strong.

 

And his bonds just happen to be with the most dysfunctional inmate in

the madhouse. He keeps leaving but Rangers just keep sucking him back

in.

 

Yesterday the golf clubs were chucked under the stairs and Smith was

back on the front line, his mission once again to save the Ibrox club.

 

But Rangersâ?? need this time is greater than at any other moment in

their long history. Huge numbers of their fans believe the club wasnâ??t

removed from danger yesterday when Charles Green took over the newco

and are convinced they are merely heading down another road to ruin.

 

Yesterday the club was stripped of its name and became The Rangers

Football Club. A small change but one that will likely have massive

consequences.

 

Newco or not, The Rangers still face troubled times and donâ??t even

know if theyâ??ll be allowed back into the SPL or banished to the Third

Division.

 

And Green, who announced his new board, minus the big household

football name he promised, has no idea how many season-tickets heâ??ll

sell to a support that doesnâ??t have any belief or faith in him.

 

But while others played at becoming owner Green was serious and

finally got his hands on Rangers and all the assets for a mere

£5.5million

 

Already, the fans have judged. They want him out, especially after one

of their legends insists he uncovered a plot to get rid of him. Thatâ??s

certainly Ally McCoistâ??s belief and when the manager confronted Green

with his evidence on Wednesday no amount of bluster from the owner

could get him off the hook.

 

As Record Sport revealed McCoist has decided he canâ??t continue to work

with Green and when the fans read the story they turned in greater

numbers against the man Duff and Phelps willingly embraced.

 

Figurehead

 

McCoist or Green? No contest, you donâ??t mess with a legend and even

though Green met McCoist yesterday afternoon there was no healing

process.

 

McCoist was ready to leave but the

developments that hauled his mentor, Smith, back into play started to

unfold and so he held off.

 

Green unveiled his investors, a mere handful despite claims at the

start that he had 20 lined up, but it wouldnâ??t have mattered if heâ??d

enlisted Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, Rangersâ?? fans still wouldnâ??t

have been won over. Not now that Smith has broken cover as the

figurehead for a group that includes bus tycoon Douglas Park and Jim

McColl, one of Scotlandâ??s

seriously wealthy men.

 

And as soon as Smith spoke, promising transparency and honesty at all

times, the support demanded that Green, who said he would be in charge

for no more than a year, should go right now.

 

The former manager, who won 21 trophies over two Ibrox stints, is

revered by Rangers fans. In this their time of need they see him as

the only one who can save their club. But he doesnâ??t see himself as a

saviour, just someone who cares passionately about the club and who

felt he had to step forward.

 

Smith was approached early in April and asked if he would front a

group desperate to prevent Rangers from plunging deeper into trouble

but a solid and transparent plan couldnâ??t be pieced together in time

and Green made his blindside run.

 

Administrators Duff and Phelps made a binding and legal pact with the

former Sheffield Wednesday chief executive and at that point Smith, in

common with just about every other Rangers fan, thought that was it.

He feared the worst because, despite his charm and airy waffle, Green

just didnâ??t connect with the masses.

 

But he chimed with the administrators, especially his £8.5m CVA offer.

It isnâ??t known if that exact amount was ever deposited with Duff and

Phelps but when HMRC refused the CVA on Tuesday, Green was able to

secure the assets and transfer of ownership for £3m less.

 

After yesterdayâ??s meeting of creditors, Green believed his route was

clear. But it had become badly rutted, especially after the McCoist

bombshell went off. Then Smith stepped forward and within minutes of

releasing his declaration of intent, the Rangers fans reacted with

unbridled joy.

 

They assumed Green would accept the first offer and step aside. But of

course Green, who has put a lot of time and effort, if not a penny of

his own money, into buying the club isnâ??t easily fazed. Heâ??ll bluff

this out if he has to and last night one of his investors was

suggesting anyone who wants to buy them out will have to come up with

£20m.

 

Thatâ??s just not going to happen and Green will be in a vulnerable

position if he canâ??t sell season-tickets.

 

Greenâ??s problem is that because he is an unknown he lacks credibility

and football fans need to believe in their leaders. When Smith speaks,

fans listen and believe.

 

He said: â??I would hope that this offer is fully supported by everyone

in the Rangers family as without them the club cannot and will not

survive.

 

â??We therefore want to ensure honesty and transparency in everything we

do. We want to rebuild Rangers Football Club and in doing so return

the institution to the standards it is known for.�

 

He could have delivered that in Russian and heâ??d still have been

hailed. And this is what Green is up against now. Smith isnâ??t just

another bidder, heâ??s the real thing. Heâ??s a fan, a stalwart and

someone who has nothing but the clubâ??s interests at heart.

 

In return for his support Smith demanded his group sign up to an open

policy which would never exclude the fans. He insists they must be

kept in the loop and that they get the truth no matter how painful it

might be to hear.

 

Theyâ??ll love him for that and the men who kept asking him to come off

the golf course and get back to work knew they needed him. But until

only a few days ago he was still unsure if he needed this gig.

 

One call changed everything. He phoned his best mate at the beginning

of the week and when the conversation turned to Rangers the bloke on

the other end of the phone broke down.

 

Smith told me: â??I was holding the phone listening to a mate crying

because he feared for his club and I knew then I couldnâ??t stand idle.â?

He made another call and said simply: â??Iâ??m in.â? But so is Green, who

gathered his men around him and was standing firm last night.

 

Smithâ??s lot didnâ??t expect to breeze in but they know the fans who

wonâ??t buy into the Green party will subscribe to them, knowing they

can generate power together. And that people power can be a formidable

force.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I don't have a season ticket to not renew but if Walter gets in I will buy one and suppost a share issue.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I'm nearly in tears myself reading that.

[Guest cail]

I'm nearly in tears myself reading that.

 

Tears in the eyes and lump in the throat.

[CumbernauldGers 0]

Using the same media scum that we all ment to hate and that are ment to hate Rangers to do there bidding, hope your all proud of Walter?

[rbr 1,247]

Using the same media scum that we all ment to hate and that are ment to hate Rangers to do there bidding, hope your all proud of Walter?

 

When the prize is the Rangers for next to nothing , with no debt and no stain on your character because you allowed someone else to do the dirty work for you , them you will roll into bed with any old tart , principles , what principles

[Guest govansw1]

Yesterday the club was stripped of its name and became The Rangers

Football Club. A small change but one that will likely have massive

consequences

 

It's only a small change to the company name not the Club name isn't it?

[Frankie 8,157]

Unfortunately the media play their part in almost every issue in the country now.

 

No different with Rangers I'm afraid so it's not a surprise to have to navigate the odd bit of spin. I'm sure we're all capable of it.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Frankie

[Frankie 8,157]

And, again, please refrain for the tedious personal handbags.

[TheWeeBlueDevil 0]

Yesterday the club was stripped of its name and became The Rangers

Football Club. A small change but one that will likely have massive

consequences

 

It's only a small change to the company name not the Club name isn't it?

 

I might be wrong but im sure it was sevco who Changed their name to The Rangers football club , The new name of the company who now own Rangers fc and NOT Rangers football club who changed their name