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Message from chairman, dave king


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http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/staticcontent/tickets/ST1516/DK_LETTER.pdf

 

 

 

Dear fellow supporter

 

Rangers Football Club is about to commence the next chapter of a remarkable 143-year-old story that has spanned the ages and inspired countless supporters over many generations. Our Club has a deep and rich history but Rangers is as much about its future as its past. It is in remembrance of past generations and my hope for future generations that I write to you today. I am immensely proud to be Chairman of this wonderful Scottish institution and I am mindful of the delicate situation the Club is in at this critical juncture in its history. It is absolutely vital that the board and fans join together to restore Rangers to its natural and more recognisable position - both in Scotland and internationally. Like all of you who read this letter, I have always taken pride in being a Rangers supporter. It is something I inherited from my father who, in turn, inherited the legacy from my grandfather. This is what Rangers fans do. We pass on our pride and belief in Rangers to our children. That is why Rangers truly is a Club for generations. Our unrelenting pride and belief in Rangers has helped us through the last few years, which have been the toughest for supporters in the Club’s long history.

 

The reality is that from the time of the Craig Whyte acquisition the Club has lurched from one crisis to another and it was ultimately the stamina and endurance of our supporters that led us towards the new era that began with the removal of the previous board on the 6th March 2015. I assure all supporters they now have a Board they can trust to restore the Club’s fortunes. It is a Board that will ensure sufficient funding will be in place for Rangers to compete for the Premiership in the coming seasons and the Board will do so in a manner that does not take the Club back to the financial precipice. This rebuilding process should have commenced three years ago but for reasons that we are all too familiar with, this didn’t happen and it is incredibly disappointing to us all that Rangers remains in the Championship. However, we must now turn that into an opportunity.

 

As a fan I was desperate for us to gain promotion to the Premiership but as a businessman I was alert to the risk that this entailed. The simple fact is that the Club is not yet ready to make a challenge for the Premiership title. Even with the economic gulf that Rangers enjoyed against those with whom it was competing we could not win the Championship.

 

We struggled throughout the season and, despite the best efforts of Stuart McCall we struggled, even in those play-off matches which we did win. We now find ourselves having to restructure both on and off the field and it must be clear to all fans that this could not be achieved easily in the little time we have before the commencement of pre-season training. Spending another season in the Championship is an undesirable reality and we have to start with rebuilding the footballing side so that we end this next season as champions of the Championship and ready to compete for the Premiership title. We must target players who have the quality and desire to play for Rangers. We must also ensure that the football structure we put in place provides a sustainable and successful future for the Club. However, even with new investment your Board cannot do this on its own. That is why I am asking you to take season ticket sales to a record level. The football you have watched over the last season does not justify the price you have paid but we want and need to do better. Our Club cannot, and must not, get to the point where we celebrate mediocrity. The Rangers Football Club has, for over a century, been the biggest Club in Scotland and will be again. That is a non-negotiable for me. Our Club stands at a crossroads and the next season is critical to our future.

 

This must be the last season we spend in the Championship and an intelligent and realistic strategy to drive Rangers back to the very top as quickly as possible is required. Over the last year I have witnessed just how much so many of you care for Rangers. The last several years have been anything but easy and it has been your unflinching support and love for our Club that has held it together. It has been the historical willingness of fans to back the team by purchasing season tickets and supporting the Club’s retail operations and creating new ventures (such as Rangers Pools, now Rangers Lotto) that ensured long-term success and domination in Scotland. It is not so long ago that Rangers had the second most profitable football brand in the UK. I will be engaging our retail partners to find a way forward to deal with the current concern of fans that purchasing replica kit and other merchandise does not support the Club to the extent that historically has been the case. I will make further comment on that topic in the coming weeks. Although my present focus is on new season tickets I also want to create a way for supporters to participate in the Club that goes beyond what we have seen in the past and creates a new legacy for future generations.

 

The Club will seek to innovate and grow in partnership with our supporters and more detail will be conveyed in the not too distant future. I ask you to buy season tickets for two important reasons. First, it is vital to the rebuilding of the Club that Rangers is restored to its natural economic power in Scottish football and internationally. As stated above, this is fundamentally derived from supporters attending games because investment from shareholders can make a difference when dealing with funding shortfalls but is not a long-term solution. The second reason is that I believe supporters are being presented with a unique once-in-a generation opportunity to acquire a season ticket and retain it in the family for future generations. The Club is presently at an all-time low but we are on the way back. This is a chance to watch a Championship winning team next season and to look back in the future with satisfaction at the part you played in rebuilding your beloved football team.

 

This is an opportunity your father never had and one that your children should be spared. There is nothing like watching Rangers playing and winning and it is our duty to make sure our children can experience and enjoy that special feeling without suffering as you have done. In addition to the need to rebuild the first team squad we must stop merely paying lip service to youth development. Auchenhowie must become the envy of all and it is equally important that Rangers recruiting systems are also fully restored after years of neglect.

 

All of this will require money and that is why I am urging every supporter to buy into what we are trying to achieve for Rangers. All season ticket proceeds will be fully invested in the footballing activities of the Club. The wrong types have been removed from the Club and for the first time in years there is hope. We can all be confident that there will be no more squandering of money. Hopefully we can share the vision to return Rangers to the pinnacle of the domestic game within two or three years and thus become European regulars again. We can and we must do that because our Club is too big to settle for anything less. So, the average price for a ticket for season 2015-16 is £411 representing a relatively modest 5% increase which is necessary if we are to generate the levels of finance required to achieve our immediate goals. I do not believe we should talk in exact numbers because we do not know precisely how much it will cost to rebuild and restore this wonderful Club.

 

The required funding for this new season alone could change significantly depending on how discussions with our retail partners are concluded. We have to spend immediately to rebuild the football staff at all levels but we can’t say for certain how much it will cost to forge a team to win the Championship. What I can say, however, is that if I, and other investors have to put in an extra £5m for this season that’s what we’ll do. If it requires more, for instance £10m, so be it.

 

The crucial point is this: We can only do this together. We must all invest in our Club’s future. This is the only way we will regain our pride, status, position and credibility. This is our Club, our time and we must make sure we succeed for the generations who have gone before and for those who will follow us.

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We are Rangers!

 

I've always been a fan anyway, to beg people to buy ST's is beyond me after all the crap we've had to go through.

 

If I want it I'll take it, if you beg me then you belittle it.

 

Put the product on the park and I'll follow follow as before.

 

Don't beg my money ffs!

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We are Rangers!

 

I've always been a fan anyway, to beg people to buy ST's is beyond me after all the crap we've had to go through.

 

If I want it I'll take it, if you beg me then you belittle it.

 

Put the product on the park and I'll follow follow as before.

 

Don't beg my money ffs!

 

We are the Rangers family, you don't beg from a family member, he's asking us to support the club with our money.

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We are the Rangers family, you don't beg from a family member, he's asking us to support the club with our money.

 

Are you sure about that? This club is far bigger than those who claim to have the fans at heart.

 

Begging letters can have a negative effect. Would be better if the board come out and 'boost' us rather than write words.

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The required funding for this new season alone could change significantly depending on how discussions with our retail partners are concluded.

 

What the eff does that statement mean?

 

It's clouded in non-transparency ffs!

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