ian1964 10,409 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 I will keep knocking back buy-out bids unless they make the club stronger Sir David Murray by Darrell King RANGERS owner Sir David Murray today revealed how he almost sold the club last summer. But the Ibrox supremo did not feel that the interested suitor was right in terms of taking the club forward. The Edinburgh-based millionaire is approaching his 20th anniversary as chairman, and has said on a few occasions in the past year or so that he would sell up to the right person. But Murray - who again insisted major plans to revamp Ibrox and the surrounding area WILL be unveiled soon - remained at the helm despite the in-depth talks over buying his controlling shares. advertisementMurray said in an interview on RTV: "I repeat this again, I will not sell the club to anybody who I don't believe is in the best interests of Rangers. "I could have sold the club last summer when we had an opportunity to do a deal. But when I examined it, I genuinely did not believe it was in the best interests of the club. "Yes, eventually, I will go. All I can say is that when I do move on, I will hopefully leave the club in good shape and leave it to the right people to take Rangers forward. "As I come up to my 20th year, I have won 13 titles and 28 trophies overall. I have been reasonably successful, I have enjoyed the highs and gone with the pain of the lows - that is part of being chairman of a big club like Rangers. "If you haven't got the broad shoulders, then don't take it on and leave. But I am happy to take on the responsibility, it goes with the ticket. "We won the CIS Cup recently and that was very satisfying for all Rangers fans, including myself, and I would love to win more this season, that is what we are striving for. "I have always tried to be honest and treat everyone correctly. You can't keep everyone happy, everyone has an opinion, but I think throughout my stewardship I have always tried to have an integrity, and hopefully I will be judged that way when I finally leave." Rangers' plans for Ibrox have been met with raised eyebrows given the overall figures of �£750m that have been bandied around. Three options are being looked at, one of which would see the stadium rebuilt to a 70,000-capacity based on the Sapporo Dome in Japan, and Murray is adamant all will be revealed. He rapped: "There has been a lot of cynicism about this, but that is the way of things here in Scotland. But I had further meetings last week with councils and developers. "As soon as it is possible, and all legals are drawn up, we will make an announcement. "There is a wonderful opportunity to regenerate the whole of the area, the stadium, the areas across the road and the whole Hinshlewood area of Govan. "I hope our supporters will be pleasantly surprised when we make an announcement as soon as we can." Fans are more interested, as always, on what will happen on the pitch. Murray has vowed to back manager Walter Smith in the transfer market this summer, with a fund of �£10m said to be available. There was, of course, the �£9m sale of Alan Hutton to Spurs which offset just about all of the net spend last summer on 12 players. The chairman revealed that Smith wants to buy "three or four" first team picks instead of squad bulk like last summer. Murray explained: "The fact is we can only spend the income we have got. If we make a profit, then I'll spend it, if we don't make a profit we can't spend it. "People can moan and groan all they want, but we must balance the books as a football club. I have read people saying: Are Rangers a selling club?' We will only sell if the figure is seen to be one that you can't turn down, as with Alan Hutton. "That was a figure that we, as a board, could not turn down. We did not want to lose Alan, and initially he didn't want to go. "But he came round to the idea that it would be in his best interests, and give his family the security of a wage structure that was so much higher than he could ever get in Scotland. "I don't mind spending money on players who are young and who have their best years ahead of them. What we must not do is spend a lot of money on 30-year-olds when there is no residual value. "If you spend and invest on Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker, players of that ilk, then it's good sound business. "But where we perhaps got it wrong was buying players at the wrong end of their careers as we strove to get European success - that backfired on us. "Financially, this club is in good shape. We have funds to spend, we showed good interim profits for six months and we will make a profit for the year net of all costs 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 i had my doubts about the new stadium plan but it really does sound as if its going to come off. heres hoping 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,329 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 He contradicts himself. We spend big money on a 29 year old (McCulloch) but he wants to spend his cash on youngsters. He will only spend if we make a profit, but we spent in excess of �£10m last summer after making a loss of over �£6m. However it's good to know we will make a profit after qualifying for the CL, having at least 3 more rounds in the UEFA and selling Hutton for �£9m. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraser54 0 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Can people get of Murray's back please !!!! He has toke this club forward, gave the club many years of success. He is looking out for the best of the club, remember this guy has shelled millions of pounds of his own money into the club 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,329 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Can people get of Murray's back please !!!! He has toke this club forward, gave the club many years of success. He is looking out for the best of the club, remember this guy has shelled millions of pounds of his own money into the club You still have much to learn, Grasshopper. Other than the recent rights issue when he put in cash to support the club following his own financial mismangement, when else did he put in cash? The answer is �£10m at the same time as Dave King and that is all. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 You still have much to learn, Grasshopper. Other than the recent rights issue when he put in cash to support the club following his own financial mismangement, when else did he put in cash? The answer is �£10m at the same time as Dave King and that is all. Probably the first 6 million he bought the club for but after that it was rangers money he has played with. I suppose if he leaves us breaking even we will accept that the nine in a row and the Euro dream(or deep sleep) will have made it all worth it. To be honest i don't really want the new stadium as it cannot possibly be financed by Rangers FC and i fear that Ibrox will then be in the hands of a Donald Trump figure. Maybe the money boys can make me see different. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GREENWEBLONDON Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Hello from Greece, Brothers. Panathinaikos, the most famous representative of Greek football is today in crisis .The last 12 years results are more than disappointing as the club stayed away from any national titles, except 2004 when the team won the championship and the cup. Since then, Panathinaikos haven�t won any national title , finishing at the third place of the league for 3 years in a row ,staying away from the Champions League competition. On Sunday ,April 13th, Panathinaikos fans will rally at "Pedion tou Areos"(Athens biggest park) to express their frustration about the owners incapability and indifference (only 7 league trophies in 30 years under the current owners) and demand them to give the club at the hands of someone who really cares . Please forward it to Scottish media. Spread the news! For more details you can take a look here: http://tinyurl.com/5t4tsy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 This looks like a transcript of an interview broadcast by Setanta before the Dundee Utd game. I meant to bring it up then but forgot about it tbh. The stadium redevelopment intrigues me. Murray commented that he had meetings regarding planning permission so it seems it is definitely a goer. Could be part of a series of events that sees us firmly re-establish ourselves as the number one team in the country. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 The stadium stiff is exciting and I think the stadium does need a bit of a refurbish, especially the Broomloan and Copland. Its the best part of 30 years old now so it would be good to have it modernised for the next 40 years. Trophy wise, Murray has had a succesful era though - 28 in 20 years isnt bad which could also go past 30 this year!!! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 Sapporo Dome, retracable surface. But only holds 42,000 but can see where he is coming from basing on this one and this with 60,000 to 70,000 would be awesome. http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/japan/hokkaido/sapporo_dome.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapporo_Dome 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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