Keith Jackson: beleaguered SFA board prepare to rule on Dave King

[pete 2,499]

Keith Jackson: Biggest storm yet set to batter SFA as beleaguered board prepare to rule on Dave King

 

23:33, 26 April 2015

Opinion

by KeithJackson

 

KEITH says all hell will be unleashed upon the SFA from one side of Glasgow or the other, whether they decide to endorse Dave King as the next chairman or refuse him access to the Ibrox boardroom.

 

SO you thought the SFA whipped itself into a fit and proper state last week? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

 

Because at some point between now and Friday, our game’s increasingly beleaguered top brass are about to stagger straight into the eye of a brand new storm – one so vicious it might make the Josh Meekings affair feel more like getting caught in a stiff Spring breeze.

 

The truth is Meekingsgate was a mini-tornado which was entirely of their own making. They created it with their own incompetence and by the time it had bounced along Hampden’s sixth floor, it had not just battered Stewart Regan and compliance officer Tony McGlennan but also exposed both men, leaving them looking vaguely ridiculous.

 

And to think, that was one they could have easily avoided.

 

Because now they are about to be engulfed by a monster of a tropical cyclone from which there can be no possible escape.

 

To put it simply, Regan and the rest of the SFA’s eight-man board will either endorse Dave King as the next chairman of Rangers or they will refuse him access to the Ibrox boardroom entirely.

 

Either way a final decision is expected before the weekend and no matter which way the wind ends up blowing, it’ll hit Regan’s office doors with hurricane force.

 

If only his organisation hadn’t made such an almighty mess of dealing with Meekings then it might even have been possible to feel genuine sympathy for a chief executive who knows, where King’s fit and proper status is concerned, he is completely and utterly stymied.

 

Whatever the board decide, all hell will be unleashed upon them from one side of Glasgow or the other. All Regan can realistically do now is hunker down and adopt the brace position.

 

But at least among the certain chaos King will finally be given an answer. And once his own position is clear, then perhaps Rangers will be better placed to begin addressing some of the key issues which have for some time been gathering like dark clouds on their own horizon.

 

Of course, King’s directorial status is unlikely to have any material impact on whether or not Stuart McCall can salvage promotion to the Premiership, and with each passing week it looks like being too much of a task for the stand-in manager.

 

He has inherited a thoroughly broken unit and there is very little to suggest that, should Rangers finish in third place after next weekend, McCall will be able to drag this team past Queen of the South over two legs, far less haul it all the way to the top flight through a further two rounds of play-offs.

 

But while this will understandably be dominating the thoughts of the club’s fans right now, there are bigger more fundamental issues behind the scenes which Rangers must confront and they do involve King’s plans as well as his cash.

 

He has spoken previously about pumping sums in excess of £30m into fixing Rangers from top to bottom but nearly two months on from his egm victory, not a penny has been transferred into the club’s account.

 

Why is that? And how come King has not, at the very least, coughed up the £5m required to pay off the loan which gives Mike Ashley so much added leverage inside Ibrox as well as ownership of badges and crests?

 

There may very well be tactical or strategic explanations for all of the above but until King feels qualified to speak up, then they will remain open to conjecture. And he won’t talk until the SFA has delivered a verdict.

 

In King’s absence, interim chairman Paul Murray has been taking care of the club’s business and last week he met with Ashley at Sports Direct’s HQ in Mansfield.

 

This meeting was an interesting development, an indication that Ashley may be prepared to loosen his vice-like grip on the club’s retail division in the interests of selling more strips and making more cash.

 

No agreement was found during almost four hours of exploratory talks but communication between both parties has continued over the past few days and Rangers believe a much fairer deal might yet be struck.

 

The board are confident of raising the funds needed to rebuild the club and if this is indeed the case, then it follows that King will be picking up a huge portion of the tab. Whether he’s adjudged to be fit and proper or not.

 

Again, this should all become clearer once the SFA has delivered its decision. If King gets the thumbs-up, then his first objective must be to lay out his financial blueprint.

 

If, on the other hand, King is not given the Hampden stamp of approval, then he will still surely have to explain where he and this club go from here.

 

Most of all, King’s new regime has an obligation to be open and transparent with its supporters before asking them to hand over cash for season tickets.

 

The uncertainty over promotion coupled with that of King’s future role has meant that the launch of renewals will have to stay on hold for longer than anticipated.

 

For all these reasons, Rangers need to have King’s status defined as quickly as possible and so the clock is now ticking on another round of SFA decision-making.

 

That noise you hear way off in the distance? That’s the sound of hatches being battened down at football’s Fawlty Towers.

 

I disagree, this is an easy decision. King has proved in the past he is fit and proper for Rangers as he has pumped money into Rangers.That is what the SFA must judge on. The fact he has had a fight with the tax man has nothing to do with his Rangers role

Edited April 27, 2015 by pete

[RANGERRAB 3,266]

I disagree, this is an easy decision. King has proved in the past he is fit and proper for Rangers as he has pumped money into Rangers.That is what the SFA must judge on. The fact he has had a fight with the tax man has nothing to do with his Rangers role

 

An easy decision ? We're talking about someone with 40 odd tax convictions with SARS. It is that alone which will decide his fate.

I do not think he has a prayer of being allowed to become Rangers chairman unfortunately

[trublusince1982 243]

lets face it the sfa fear the wrath of celtic fans far more than they do ours. Not sure why it has anything to do with them but its the world the sfa have built for themselves allowing such behaviour.

[Frankie 8,157]

As much as the media and (mainly) opposition fans love to build this up, I don't expect anything else than approval from the SFA.

[Rousseau 9,399]

If the SFA are running scared of any person/institution over which they are supposed to govern then surely their position is untenable? It's a ridiculous position for a Football Association to be in. Only in Scotland.

 

Nevertheless, the King decision is not easy, but I don't foresee any problems. The main issue was the tax avoidance, which has since been settled amicably.

[rbr 1,247]

If the SFA decide against him , he will simpy take them through the courts , the facts are that like him or loathe him , he holds Directorships in his native SA and has been cleared by their FSA and y the Court of Session over here , this is or rather should be a formality , but then we are talking about an organisation that cant get a simpl;e disciplinary issue sorted without m,aking an arse of themselves

[Waltersgotstyle 297]

If the SFA reject him - they would seem to consider themselves above the law.

 

If Dave King does not pass the test then I fear our game is in grave danger - People like Peter Lawwell would be seen to have too much of an influence at the moment for any decision to be made fairly.

[ian1964 10,427]

The current SFA board deciding on whether DK is a fit and proper person!,what a joke.

 

Oh!,and just what the f*ck has it got to do with the BHEASTS?

Edited April 27, 2015 by ian1964

[pollok-loyal 0]

An easy decision ? We're talking about someone with 40 odd tax convictions with SARS. It is that alone which will decide his fate.

I do not think he has a prayer of being allowed to become Rangers chairman unfortunately

 

The fact is SARS are one of his major customers, his company does a helluva lot of work for them,if they have no problem the SFA should have no problem.

[aweebluesoandso 290]

With Ashley having his lawyers questioning another of the SFA's decisions and fine, not to mention the rip roaring c@nt of a mess the SFA have made of things lately. Maybe just maybe they'll decide that giving King, a Fapp acknowledgement, will be the route with the least possible resistance?

Edited April 27, 2015 by aweebluesoandso