ian1964 10,386 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 By Tom English BBC Scotland, in his new job with the BBC Charles Green's latest Rangers contribution might not have been as barmy a cameo as those provided by porn baron Paul Baxendale-Walker or that business with the Northamptonshire clown, Mr Custard. However, in the odditorium that is Ibrox, Green's bombast of Friday was another cringe-making moment. His new life may have taken him far from Glasgow, to an 18th-century castle in Normandy, but it would appear that the Yorkshireman is still of the view that he was God's gift to Rangers. Self-regard was always a stock-in-trade of Green's; self-awareness, far less so. At a time when Rangers have taken out a £1.5m loan in order to keep the lights on, Green's poor-mouth performance about being under-compensated for his work at Ibrox was laughable and must have served as a firm kick in the unmentionables to every fretting Rangers fan. His reappearance was fitting in one way, though. Things have reached the point of a free-for-all at Rangers. Pot-shots are being flung left, right and centre between suggested saviour Dave King and the board. Charles Green Charles Green believes he was under-compensated for his work at Ibrox The supporters needed Green popping into this saga like they needed a hole in the head. You watched Green climbing back into the narrative and, in that moment, it was easy to imagine the Rangers supporters repeating that line from Jerry Maguire, the film about the sports agent played by Tom Cruise. Maguire/Cruise was at what he thought was his lowest point only for further mishap to befall him. "Jump into my nightmare," he said, sighing. "The water's warm." The way in which former director King and the current Rangers board are training their guns on one another in public is remarkable. It was only last November that King called for some kind of decorum among key people in the Rangers story. "The best interests of the club will not be facilitated by playing it out in the media," he said. So much for that plan. Ten days ago, King issued his Gettysburg Address on the state of the club. It was damning stuff. There was a response, of course. Then King responded to the response. Graham Wallace, the chief executive, responded to the response to the response and King responded once again. The tit-for-tat carried on. David Somers, the chairman, slammed King and King slammed back. Director Sandy Easdale got involved and King replied. Then King went again. This is mortifying stuff. King is calling into question the integrity of the board while playing down other integrity questions closer to home, such as those raised by his guilty plea and subsequent conviction for epic contraventions of South African tax law, which eventually cost him more than £45m in cash and assets. We know that many Rangers fans are behind King regardless. This was the man who previously invested £20m in Rangers and lost the lot. That wins him kudos. Equally, it's the same man who sat on Craig Whyte's board of directors and who, according to the SFA's judicial panel, failed to do enough to question the former owner's disastrous behaviour. It's a measure of the mindset of Rangers people that so many have placed so much trust in King, a man denounced as a "glib and shameless liar" by a South African court. “Who will win this battle? It depends on how serious King and his supporters really are and what lengths they will go to in order to get a result” If the fans pick King over the board - and they are, in increasing numbers - then that tells you a lot about how the current incumbents are performing. They have been saying for months that there is no pressing cash crisis, while at the same time taking out a short-term, and high-interest, loan of £1m from one of its institutional investors, Laxey Partners. Their 'nothing to see here' mantra rings suspicious. Apart from the £1m loan (and the bank charges associated with it) there is an interest-free loan of another £500,000 from Sandy Easdale. Why would a club with no pressing need for money take out an emergency loan and then secure part of it against club assets? They haven't adequately explained it. There are questions everywhere for the board and not many answers. The Rangers Standard website wrote about some wealthy Rangers-supporting businessmen who would have been prepared to offer the club loans at more favourable rates of interest than the Laxey agreement. John McClure was one such businessman. George Letham is another. The board are said to be considering ditching Laxey's deal and taking up Letham's offer instead. What does it say about this board of directors when a fans' website can track down wealthy Rangers supporters who are willing to loan money on more attractive terms than the club's investment committee could negotiate? These supporters run this website in their spare time. They are not on the club's payroll. As head of the Rangers investment committee, it is the job of director Norman Crighton to do this kind of business and he's rewarded handsomely for it. Former Rangers director Dave King Former Rangers director Dave King is keen on a return to Ibrox And yet, in the hours between putting in a day's work and putting the kids to bed, the fans can find better deals than he can? Crighton really ought to state his position on all of this. At the heart of this are the fans and their season-ticket money and the power they wield because of it. Rangers can't live without that cash. More and more the supporters are saying that the board are not getting it until they answer questions and bring transparency where currently everything is clouded. King and the fans' associations want to drip-feed the season-ticket money into the club by way of a trust. It's a device that could bring the board to heel or bring the club to its knees. It's high-stakes stuff, but the fans are mobilising, that's for sure. Mobilising behind King. He is said to be on his way to Glasgow soon for this showdown with the board. They should put the Rangers TV cameras in the room and sell it on pay-per-view. In a relative blink, the cash crisis would ease. Who will win this battle? It depends on how serious King and his supporters really are and what lengths they will go to in order to get a result. Equally, it depends on how much financial trouble the club is truly in and how short of answers they really are. To the former, the response is "very serious" and in the case of the latter the reply is always "not much trouble at all". But you learn to be sceptical about everything you are told in this story. Green's cameo might have brought an air of black comedy, but at its essence the fight for control at Rangers is a thriller - with a touch of horror thrown in. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26459395 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy steel 0 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Hardly Tom's best work. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Hardly Tom's best work. Not sure if he'll be too fussed about producing his best work (in terms of writing about Rangers) now that he works for the Pacific Quay CSC..... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Hardly Tom's best work. The content is reasonably accurate in a way but the tone is just snidy and contemptuous - as per usual. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy steel 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Fair enough points, but it would be sad to see him turn into just another bog standard hack. We've got plenty of those as it is! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) Seems like he wrote a good piece. Then as an afterthought sandwiched in a mini hatchet job about King and the SARS saga. Fair enough, you say, but he didn't balance this by anything about the current Board. Is English in tune with the BBC spin doctors already? Edited March 9, 2014 by bluebear54 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,219 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Rest assured, the Media Trolls will milk our story as long as they can. That does not make than any better Media Trolls though and we all know that karma can be a naughty bitch ... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchorman 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 It's all good and well being accurate but when it's only accuracy from one angle then it is imbalanced and bitter. Richard Wilson has written many an article praising what King brings to the table without the repetitive hatchet job done on him. [How many times do we need to read the same regurgitated stuff about King and his court case in SA before it could almost be false advertising to call it a newspaper?]. Take the comment - "And yet, in the hours between putting in a day's work and putting the kids to bed, the fans can find better deals than he can?". That is one of the most pathetic and inaccurate comments I have seen from a 'journalist' in a long time. King isn't trying to broker deals to get people to put more money in. Mr English - Dave King is sitting with the readies in the bank you muppet. He wants an opportunity to hand said readies over under the right circumstances. He is going to investors for support for his plan. Are the fans able to get that before him - No!!. You would almost think Mr English was trying to turn fans against King for some reason. Hmmmmm? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aweebluesoandso 290 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Tom needs to concentrate on the politics of sports, because his reading of the game is dire. I know rugby is his first love, but even in this his commentary is weak. He was on the panel for the Scotland Ireland match at Murrayfield, you would think being Irish and living in Scotland he would show some passion and a level of knowledge on both teams? Nope, boring and uninspiring analysis, so much so i tuned into classic FM. So it looks like we're stuck with his political analysis instead, even that's warped. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real PapaBear 0 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Take the comment - "And yet, in the hours between putting in a day's work and putting the kids to bed, the fans can find better deals than he can?". That is one of the most pathetic and inaccurate comments I have seen from a 'journalist' in a long time. You might want to re-read that section; TE is saying it about Crighton, not King 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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