Civil War Says The DR

[chilledbear 16]

THE war for the soul of Rangers Football Club â?? a brutal and bloody conflict first revealed in these very pages â?? has entered a critical phase.

 

By the middle of this week, when the smoke should begin to clear from the battlefield of the boardroom, we will see who has been left standing. And, just as importantly, who has fallen.

 

In the meantime, the first casualty â?? as is always the case in such gory matters â?? has been the truth.

 

Once again Rangers fans have been misled as to the true nature of this savage struggle for power.

 

Anyone with Rangersâ?? best interests at heart knows a solution must be found or the consequences for the ravaged club might be too terrible for fans to contemplate.

 

Already the club is being torn apart from the inside. Chief executive Charles Green may be yesterdayâ??s man after standing down last week but he leaves behind a board in a state of disarray.

 

On one side of the divide stand Walter Smith, chairman Malcolm Murray and one other non-executive director.

 

On the other side are Brian Stockbridge â?? Greenâ??s financial director â?? and the two remaining non-execs. One of them is Ian Hart, who became particularly close to Green after being appointed to the new board.

 

Itâ??s three versus three in the battle for Ibrox.

 

Itâ??s up to the supporters to decide who they trust in all of this but it appears the Smith and Murray camp, as well as manager Ally McCoist, have huge concerns about the clubâ??s executive management.

 

Yes, Green may be gone but his allies from Zeus Capital are still on the inside and they seem equally committed to standing their ground.

 

What happened in the aftermath of Greenâ??s resignation on Friday points to what is going on behind the scenes.

 

First, it emerged that Craig Mather had been proposed to fill Greenâ??s role on an interim basis with the possibility that will become permanent.

 

Then came word that accountants from Deloitte were fronting up an independent probe into Greenâ??s affairs and, in particular, claims that the Yorkshireman was doing business with the clubâ??s disgraced former owner Craig Whyte. Both of these issues are fundamental to just how this war is won. And by whom.

 

Matherâ??s emergence has raised the level of alert for Smithâ??s side. They suspect he was hand-picked by Stockbridge and Imran Ahmad, who are still in position despite Greenâ??s removal.

 

Mather was described by Green as one of his founder investors. For a £1million payment, he was given the title of sporting director, overseeing Murray Park.

 

Nottingham-based Mather runs his own sports management firm. They focus on developing young players who may have been cast aside by clubs.

 

Itâ??s understood earlier this season he put together a team of such kids for a match at Murray Park against an appropriately aged Rangers XI.

 

They were thrashed and sent home again, presumably much to Matherâ??s frustration.

 

Since then, he has hardly been spotted in or around the training ground and doubts have been expressed as to what he has been doing as sporting director. All of which makes his sudden re-emergence as a possible CEO more remarkable.

 

Itâ??s anticipated Matherâ??s appointment will be pushed through, against opposition, this morning.

 

But the very fact that it was not simply rubberstamped during a scrambled board meeting on Saturday underlines the deep divisions at the clubâ??s heart.

 

The appointment of Deloitte astonished Smith and McCoist in particular, given that Stockbridge, Ahmad and Green are strongly linked to that firm.

 

Letâ??s not forget they hired Deloitte to assist in their takeover of Rangers and in Decemberâ??s share offer.

 

Given that the board had promised to launch an independent probe into the current state of the club there is disbelief that Deloitte â?? Greenâ??s personal tax advisers â?? could be shoe-horned into the front line of any inquiry.

 

And Murray and Smith have identified another man for this critical job and one whose credentials â?? of being entirely independent â?? they believe to be above reproach.

 

As McCoist said on Saturday, they realise the need for the club to be seen to be cleaning up from the inside out.

 

If Rangers are to survive then, crucially, they must be seen to be fixing their own damage.

 

Itâ??s not just the clubâ??s fans who must be able to trust the men in charge but also the football authorities, who may feel as if they have been misled once too often over the last two years.

 

There is a danger that anything less will reek of a cover-up and, at this particular stage, thatâ??s the last thing Rangers need to stand accused of.

 

Which is why Smith and Murray have lined up a Scottish businessman of impeccable standing to carry out this work. It is the Recordâ??s understanding they want him in position by the middle of this week with carte blanche to carry out whatever inquiries he sees fit.

 

He could do worse than to start by demanding certain documentation from Stockbridge and Ahmad. Like solid proof of the current state of the clubâ??s bank balance, for example, because although Rangers should have more than £20million in the account following Decemberâ??s share sale, not even Murray has been given sight of the evidence.

 

There are many more questions which need to be answered, most importantly, who owns Murray Park and Ibrox?

 

Because if these assets belong to Whyte or to anyone else, then Rangers are facing another battle for survival.

 

The question now is, will Smith and Murrayâ??s trouble-shooter be invited to head up the investigation?

 

Or will Matherâ??s expected appointment be forced through first to break the current deadlock?

 

The answers to the above will determine which direction this club are heading.

 

And which party has won the war for Rangersâ?? soul.

 

http://t.co/1MqRzlaOT5

Edited April 22, 2013 by chilledbear

[Frankie 8,150]

Please post links to the original material mate.

[chilledbear 16]

OK Frankie.

 

No matter what we think about leaks or certain newspapers, we are in as much turmoil as we have ever been.

 

Even if we get a truly independent and truthful report, it will not be seen as such, which will not let us move forward.

[Max Rebo's Big Blue Nose 0]

Should they not be talking about the other lots super title triumph...? Or the attendance at their party?

[MeAndMyWeePalJoe 12]

I have no idea what the truth is here but I would love to see a journalist write a piece without all that hyperbole.

 

Everything has to be 'brutal and bloody', daggers are frequently drawn and the slightest disagreement is described as ripping the club apart.

 

Much as I would like to believe that the board will do only what is best for the club I understand that there are vested interests and that there is money at stake.

 

But surely it's not unreasonable to expect grown men to sit down and find a compromise that is as close to a win-win as they can get then to move on.

 

Having sat on a dysfunctional board of directors I can confirm the obvious, it paralyses the company and stunts development and growth.

 

No-one can change who said what to whom or what Messers Whyte, Green et al. got up to last year but a strong united board can hopefully see us through the fallout. We need leadership .

 

It can't be good to face such choppy waters rudderless...

[JTP 0]

Assuming Green was a front man for Whyte and we were "duped" again ..................

 

What part would the SFA play in this given their stance on the whole "fit for purpose" scenario?

 

a hypothetical question btw.

[Bluedell 5,329]

I can't say that I favour Mather as CEO, but what makes Walter and Ally qualified to offer an alernative?

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I can't say that I favour Mather as CEO, but what makes Walter and Ally qualified to offer an alernative?

 

nothing. we need to do the requisite work involved in findng the best candidate and apointing mather would be nothing more than a power grab from zeus.

 

it would be a disaster for the club and we have to go about finding a ceo in the correct fashion as we need strong qualified leadership.

 

appointing delloit is also clearly wrong. we were told the inquiry would be independent but how can we take a not guilty verdict seriously from greens accountants. for green/ahmeds sake we need a properly independent commission as much as for the fans own good.

 

we need interviews and a proper search for a ceo and it should probably be someone most of us have never heard of before.

[Calgacus 8]

I'm not an accountant, but isn't it a bit worrying that the chairman and non exec directors haven't seen bank statements? (assuming the DR is accurate when they say this)

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I'm not an accountant, but isn't it a bit worrying that the chairman and non exec directors haven't seen bank statements? (assuming the DR is accurate when they say this)

 

i think we can assume thats from the horses mouth and it is INCREDIBLY worrying .