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Firstly allow me to clarify something – the content of this blog and the information shared is done so with the express permission of the Union of Fans – following a full and frank discussion between myself and Chris Graham. Those who are interested in the finer details and legal aspects of the Season Ticket Trust are probably going to be disappointed; any queries you have will have to wait until the ST Trust website is up and operational.

What I did ask however was this:

 

If the board acquiesce to UOF demands who will then hold first charge/security on the stadium rights to our club ? The answer, as many undoubtedly suspected, is Dave King and Richard Gough, under the auspice of Dave King’s new company, Ibrox 1972 Ltd.

 

Quite simply as far as The UOF are concerned it all boils down to a question of trust, and they trust King more, far more, than they do the current board. It is all hypothetical of course, dependent on their scheme being successful, the Rangers board acquiescing to their demands and relinquishing the security for both stadium and Auchenhowie.

 

Many will have realised by now this would mean handing over the security of our club’s 2 biggest assets to 2 men who currently are not even shareholders in our club. They will not be accountable to the board or to shareholders, which at least in theory, is the current status quo.

 

I hope for the sake of our club, should this scenario ever come to fruition, that the UOF have exercised sound judgement in their assessment of Dave King, otherwise it will qualify as a blunder on a scale of magnitude with the ill-fated Men of Troy.

 

As the current board and King, with their respective aide-de-camps, battle vigorously for not only our hearts and minds, but also our season ticket monies, the whole debate has become extremely polarised, the language and tone war like, with little opportunity for either constructive or conciliatory dialogue. The problem is however that the dominant voices in the debate do not necessarily reflect the feelings of our support.

 

Keith Jackson touched on this last week in an article when he referred to the silent majority of the Rangers support – the ones who have no interest in off-field politics and whose sole interest is turning up each week to see the Rangers. Furthermore the polarisation of the situation and debate fails to take cognisance of fans who have no confidence in the current board but who are equally unenamoured by Dave King. Rather than choose between the two best prospective candidates it is more akin to choosing the lesser of 2 evils. A particularly sad indictment of where we currently are as a club.

 

To date, the considerable failings of governance by our current board which I highlighted in a previous blog, remain unresolved. In particular the veracity of the 120 day review remains under question as a consequence of claims by the Daily Record regarding the withdrawal of credit and debit card provision. Before we file these claims as the ranting of a “Rangers hating rhag” perhaps we should check the filing cabinet – look under “BBC & Craig Whyte”. I can only re-iterate the warning of a previous blog – we cannot afford to make the same mistakes of the past.

 

A few have commented on the madness of the situation facing us as a support. With trepidation, and a tinge of embarrassment, I quote from Dan Brown’s book Inferno, “Madness breeds madness”

 

The Rangers support should bookmark this moment in time, with its paucity of choice, for a future date, when next we sit down with any conviction to consider the merits of fan ownership.

Edited by D'Artagnan
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Firstly allow me to clarify something – the content of this blog and the information shared is done so with the express permission of the Union of Fans – following a full and frank discussion between myself and Chris Graham. Those who are interested in the finer details and legal aspects of the Season Ticket Trust are probably going to be disappointed; any queries you have will have to wait until the ST Trust website is up and operational.

What I did ask however was this:

 

If the board acquiesce to UOF demands who will then hold first charge/security on the stadium rights to our club ? The answer' date=' as many undoubtedly suspected, is Dave King and Richard Gough, under the auspice of Dave King’s new company, Ibrox 1972 Ltd.

 

Quite simply as far as The UOF are concerned it all boils down to a question of trust, and they trust King more, far more, than they do the current board. It is all hypothetical of course, dependent on their scheme being successful, the Rangers board acquiescing to their demands and relinquishing the security for both stadium and Auchenhowie.

 

Many will have realised by now this would mean handing over the security of our club’s 2 biggest assets to 2 men who currently are not even shareholders in our club. They will not be accountable to the board or to shareholders, which at least in theory, is the current status quo.

 

I hope for the sake of our club, should this scenario ever come to fruition, that the UOF have exercised sound judgement in their assessment of Dave King, otherwise it will qualify as a blunder on a scale of magnitude with the ill-fated Men of Troy.

 

As the current board and King, with their respective aide-de-camps, battle vigorously for not only our hearts and minds, but also our season ticket monies, the whole debate has become extremely polarised, the language and tone war like, with little opportunity for either constructive or conciliatory dialogue. The problem is however that the dominant voices in the debate do not necessarily reflect the feelings of our support.

 

Keith Jackson touched on this last week in an article when he referred to the silent majority of the Rangers support – the ones who have no interest in off-field politics and whose sole interest is turning up each week to see the Rangers. Furthermore the polarisation of the situation and debate fails to take cognisance of fans who have no confidence in the current board but who are equally unenamoured by Dave King. Rather than choose between the two best prospective candidates it is more akin to choosing the lesser of 2 evils. A particularly sad indictment of where we currently are as a club.

 

To date, the considerable failings of governance by our current board which I highlighted in a previous blog, remain unresolved. In particular the veracity of the 120 day review remains under question as a consequence of claims by the Daily Record regarding the withdrawal of credit and debit card provision. Before we file these claims as the ranting of a “Rangers hating rhag” perhaps we should check the filing cabinet – look under “BBC & Craig Whyte”. I can only re-iterate the warning of a previous blog – we cannot afford to make the same mistakes of the past.

 

A few have commented on the madness of the situation facing us as a support. With trepidation, and a tinge of embarrassment, I quote from Dan Brown’s book Inferno, “Madness breeds madness”

 

The Rangers support should bookmark this moment in time, with its paucity of choice, for a future date, when next we sit down with any conviction to consider the merits of fan ownership.[/quote']The fact that you say "with a tinge of embarrassment" when you quote Dan Brown is telling, very telling indeed.

Maybe madness breeds not madness but blindness??

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I'm always intrigued by the horror that everyone feels when it is suggested that Ibrox could be lost to us, and yet we put no barrier up to anyone owning the club, which includes Ibrox.

 

As a consequence, we're witnessing a new desperation as we attempt to somehow 'secure' it.

 

The madness that is abroad is the madness of not wholly owning our club.

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Unless I am missing something here then if "Dave King and Richard Gough, under the auspice of Dave King’s new company, Ibrox 1972 Ltd." would have a legal charge on the stadium then there is no trust (in the legal sense) now and there doesn't seem to be any reason to create a trust; so it would appear that calling it a "Season Ticket Trust" is a complete misnomer.

 

Of course as we and Mr Graham know full well,"the Board has no intention of granting security over Ibrox" (though oddly no mention was made of Murray Park in the review).

 

So as you say D'Art "The answer, (is) as many undoubtedly suspected" and the devil may well be in the detail yet to come.

 

Did Mr Graham give you any idea as to when that might be? I am sure that those who are keen to give Messrs King and Gough their money are growing impatient for answers as much as those of us who are more interested in the wherefores of the situation.

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Unless I am missing something here then if "Dave King and Richard Gough, under the auspice of Dave King’s new company, Ibrox 1972 Ltd." would have a legal charge on the stadium then there is no trust (in the legal sense) now and there doesn't seem to be any reason to create a trust; so it would appear that calling it a "Season Ticket Trust" is a complete misnomer.

 

Of course as we and Mr Graham know full well,"the Board has no intention of granting security over Ibrox" (though oddly no mention was made of Murray Park in the review).

 

So as you say D'Art "The answer, (is) as many undoubtedly suspected" and the devil may well be in the detail yet to come.

 

Did Mr Graham give you any idea as to when that might be? I am sure that those who are keen to give Messrs King and Gough their money are growing impatient for answers as much as those of us who are more interested in the wherefores of the situation.

 

I think within the next few days BH.

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The fact that you say "with a tinge of embarrassment" when you quote Dan Brown is telling, very telling indeed.

Maybe madness breeds not madness but blindness??

 

Pray tell...what is telling, in fact very telling ?

 

That Im not a big Dan Brown fan ?

Edited by D'Artagnan
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