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Keith Jackson: Time has come for Dave King to prove his worth


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KEITH says it's time for Dave King to prove he can see a plan through to the end and says his actions from here on in will determine his legacy at Ibrox.

 

DON’T know what the equivalent is in South Africa but in Castlemilk, where a young Dave King grew up, the vernacular goes something like: It’s time to p*** or get off the potty.

 

Today, of course, King is a million miles removed from the hard-knock streets of the Glasgow housing scheme he once called home.

 

But those who have stayed closest to him over almost 40 years of sun-kissed exile – and you can count them on the fingers of one hand by the way – insist he has never lost touch with his roots.

 

King, they say to a man, remains steeped in his past. Fiercely proud of his working-class upbringing and crucially, at least where this week’s events are concerned, every bit as passionate about the football club he left behind. He remains, to use another home-grown term, the embodiment of a “Rangers man”.

 

It is this one basic credential above all others that separates King from the succession of

fly by nights, chancers and opportunists who have at one stage or another taken on lead roles in this seemingly endless Ibrox narrative.

 

If these supporters cannot place their hopes and trust in one of their own, then all trust and all hope might perish for good. Throughout the past three years of turmoil and the relentless chaos unleashed upon them by the Whtyes, Greens, Ahmads and Stockbridges, King has been viewed by the boots on the ground consistently as the man most likely to save them from their plight.

 

Unlike all the characters above and even former chairman Sir David Murray, who played his part in lumbering them with this list of charlatans in the first place, King shares a lifelong emotional attachment to the cause.

 

In their eyes, the only difference between them are the millions King has stuffed in his bank account. If these people won the lottery tomorrow they’d have Rangers saved by Saturday.

 

So it stands to reason King will one day feel a sense of duty to do the same. Does it not?

 

It may be more pertinent to ask why has it taken him so long to take a stand? Or indeed to

question if finally, this time, he intends to see it through to the end?

 

Only King has the answers. What the rest of us do know, however, is his actions from here on in will determine his legacy.

 

He’ll either go down in history as one of the all-time giants of the Rangers story. Or he will fail in his objective and risk being dismissed as a footnote.

 

Either way the real Dave King biography is about to be written.

 

Certainly his sudden re-emergence on to centre stage in the past few days appears to suggest his time is now. By pointing his big guns at the top of the marble staircase and taking on the current regime King has sent out a rallying cry to these supporters.

 

They answered with one voice yesterday. They are with him all the way.

 

This is as clear a case of “them v us” as Fergus McCann quite brilliantly utilised 20 years ago when he harnessed the power of the people to bludgeon down the big doors at Celtic Park.

 

But McCann did more than simply talk a good game. When push came to shove the little man with the big bunnet also proved to have deep pockets and a willingness to empty them for Celtic’s benefit, as well as his own.

 

King can quite legitimately point to the £20millon he previously pumped into Rangers as hard evidence of the colour of his own money. There has been a whispering campaign about this in recent weeks with shadowy suggestions that King quietly recouped around £18m worth of that investment.

 

For the record this has been denied to me not just by King himself but also by Sir David Murray. The two men, incidentally, are no longer on speaking terms and have not been for a

considerable time. Apparently, for 20 million different reasons.

 

But even though King has had his fingers badly burned in the past it does seem reasonable to ask why he has remained on the outside looking in on this omnishambles for so long.

 

Occasionally, he has dipped a toe in the water before scamper-ing back up the beach. Late last year for example he even arrived in Britain amid a great flurry of excitement, fluttered a few eye-lashes, held a few conversations and then retreated back to the solitude of his own world without nailing down a deal.

 

King’s doubters, of which there are many, insist he has had ample opportunity to wade into this debacle and to buy his way into a position of power. In other words, to do a Fergus.

 

It is worth remembering here, however, that King’s long-running tax issues first had to be resolved. With that in mind, he has only really become a viable player in this game in the last six months when he settled his affairs by agreeing to write a cheque for an eye-watering £44m.

 

This is in itself creates another couple of issues.

 

Not only does it pose an obvious question as to how much money he has left in the pot but also, King’s critics raise serious morality issues about the prospect of Rangers being saved by a man who was described as a “glib and shameless liar” by a South African judge and who faced a total of 322 criminal charges.

 

Again, they have a point.

 

Had, for example, Whyte appeared on the steps of the front door carrying baggage like this he would have been chased all the way down the length of Edmiston Drive and Rangers might have been spared from all this ignominy and suffering.

 

But this is where King’s standing and status with the supporters kicks in. This, in fact, is what makes him an entirely unique case. King’s supporters remain convinced by his intentions to do only what is right for his football club.

 

And that would be something of a first where this Rangers saga is concerned.

 

They argue, quite correctly too, that there’s hardly a successful businessman to be found anywhere in the

commercial world who has not attempted to run rings around the tax man.

 

It is what these people do in order to maximise their profits. King is certainly no different in that regard.

 

But what makes him stand out from the rest is his “Made In Castlemilk” credentials and the inbuilt sense of belonging which still brings his mum and sister to Ibrox every other week.

 

There have been other wealthy good Samaritans along the way, such as Brian Kennedy and Jim McColl – men who clearly meant well but who ultimately just didn’t care quite enough to make the kind of sacrifices which will now be expected of King.

 

This time the strong signals from South Africa really do indicate he is ready and willing to bear this almighty load, that he has now engaged fully into the fight for his club and he will not retreat until the war is won.

 

With King now organising his travel plans and expected to pitch up in Glasgow some time soon the next few days and weeks will determine his fate and that of his football club.

 

The King will either claim his rightful throne. Or abdicate the potty once and for all.

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Seems fair enough to me.

 

As for the point about his SARS issues meaning he couldn't invest previously, I'm not so sure about that. There's means and ways of getting round anything - ask DK's Mother or Imran's Aunt... ;)

 

I'd say that if DK can get to Scotland by (or for) the Dunfermline game that gives him a fortnight to put together a plan to best move forward. We'll soon see what he's made of.

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These last few years, think of all the names that have been inside the Rangers tent, and the even greater number hanging around outside with intent?

 

It's all been an exercise in short termism, no visions; just another huckster grasping a bag of magic beans.

 

My conclusion, they are all cnuts until they prove otherwise.

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Seems fair enough to me.

 

As for the point about his SARS issues meaning he couldn't invest previously, I'm not so sure about that. There's means and ways of getting round anything - ask DK's Mother or Imran's Aunt... ;)

 

I'd say that if DK can get to Scotland by (or for) the Dunfermline game that gives him a fortnight to put together a plan to best move forward. We'll soon see what he's made of.

 

There was a quote from a SARS spokesperson at the time saying that they were watching him like a hawk for any evidence of him trying to get round his investment ban and if he was caught doing so it would prejudice his whole case , Frankie.

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He's talked the talk, time to walk the walk. He's got to have a battle plan ready to use, If he comes to Glasgow to jaw jaw with the Spivs then give them the time they need to form their own defensive battle plan like McColl and Murray did, then he's wasting his time and ours.

 

The support (well i am ) are ready again to put their money where our mouths are, putting our collective season ticket money into a fund that could be used to buy Rangers, with the threat of withholding said season ticket monies if the Spivs won't sell their shares. With this money and Dave King's deposit of however much? we could then buy a controlling stake in the club, everyone who contributes an amount equivalent to the price of one ST (or however many ST they want to buy) eventually gets their season tickets when a transfer of shares is complete.

 

If the RST and individual shareholders, even the new Rangers First scheme could pool all our shares together under Dave Kings leadership, we could then form a club memebership scheme where everyone can conribute to the upkeep of our club going forward. I would rather put a set amount every month into the club membership for the upkeep of Ibrox, youth policy ect rather than buying further shares.

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As Frankie said previously the 120 days and the season ticket renewals don't clash immediately there will be a period of time between both events , hopefully in that time there can be some sort of agreement going forward by both parties , whether its another share issue I don't know.

 

I do know the club will be announcing a new membership scheme with Mark Hately leading a board of approx 12 fans but when this is going to happen I'm not 100% on , but what ever happens it needs sorted out asap and definetly before this time next year.

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