Rangers FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2012/2013

Dempsey

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

That right offer could come down a few notches now though. Do you really see Celtic for example refusing a 5m+ offer for Hooper next season if rangers are decimated and not a serious threat?

Rangers dont set the bar for our expenditure and our transfer policy. Its failure to make european competition that will decide if certain players are sold or not. What happens to Rangers will have a minimal impact.

KeithAFC

ColeTrain wrote: »

Any player will be sold if the right offer comes in. That's always been the case.

Expect to see the board continue their strategy of signing younger players and looking to move them on after a few seasons. The days of signing Suttons are long gone. The future for Celtic are players with potential like Wanyama and free signings like Mikael Lustig. A good scouting system is the key to success.

This is the thing. Why would any young foreign player with any ability want to join Celtic in a league which they know they will win and the opposition will be piss poor, even more so than now? Not to mention that big game all players want to play in when they join either of the Old Firm. If the OF game doesn't exist any more, there is no real pulling power to get these talented players.

Celtic will not need even the best talented youngsters from abroad to win. Just pick up the best average players in Scotland and you will win the title easily.

Hooper for example is a good player. He will be sold on because what would be the pull for him to stay? You know Celtic are going to struggle to get back into the Champions League group stages and I have no doubt Hooper could find a club in the Premier League like Blackburn or Swansea and pick up bigger wages.

ColeTrain

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

That right offer could come down a few notches now though. Do you really see Celtic for example refusing a 5m+ offer for Hooper next season if rangers are decimated and not a serious threat?

Considering we paid 2 million for Hooper and the fact he's our main striker then yeah I think 5million would be knocked back. Look at the prices they're paying in the Premiership. If Andy Carroll can move for 35million and Jordan Henderson for 18million then you'd have to say 8-10m looks a reasonable deal for Gary Hooper. The fact Rangers are in turmoil doesn't matter if our players perform to a high standard in the SPL and hold their own in Europe.

Dempsey

KeithAFC wrote: »

This is the thing. Why would any young foreign player with any ability want to join Celtic in a league which they know they will win and the opposition will be piss poor, even more so than now? Not to mention that big game all players want to play in when they join either of the Old Firm. If the OF game doesn't exist any more, there is no real pulling power to get these talented players.

Celtic will not need even the best talented youngsters from abroad to win. Just pick up the best average players in Scotland and you will win the title easily.

Hooper for example is a good player. He will be sold on because what would be the pull for him to stay? You know Celtic are going to struggle to get back into the Champions League group stages and I have no doubt Hooper could find a club in the Premier League like Blackburn or Swansea and pick up bigger wages.

Hooper is looking to sign a new contract at Celtic. I find it laughable that you have so much concern for Celtic's progression!

KeithAFC

Dempsey wrote: »

Hooper is looking to sign a new contract at Celtic. I find it laughable that you have so much concern for Celtic's progression!

Contracts don't mean a lot these days. Perhaps Hooper signing a new contract could be just another way for Celtic to get more money for him. It isn't so much concern about Celtic. It is just this belief that Celtic will progress in Europe and sign more talented foreign youngsters if Rangers go to the wall. I don't see that happening for the reasons I outlined.

ColeTrain

KeithAFC wrote: »

This is the thing. Why would any young foreign player with any ability want to join Celtic in a league which they know they will win and the opposition will be piss poor, even more so than now? Not to mention that big game all players want to play in when they join either of the Old Firm. If the OF game doesn't exist any more, there is no real pulling power to get these talented players.

Celtic will not need even the best talented youngsters from abroad to win. Just pick up the best average players in Scotland and you will win the title easily.

Hooper for example is a good player. He will be sold on because what would be the pull for him to stay? You know Celtic are going to struggle to get back into the Champions League group stages and I have no doubt Hooper could find a club in the Premier League like Blackburn or Swansea and pick up bigger wages.

Fair enough the players do like the derby games, no question about that. But that's only four league games a season.

The young players are coming to Celtic for a few reasons. It's a big club and there's a chance to play in front a big crowd every second week. Celtic offer very decent wages. Another big reason is because it can be seen as a stepping stone to the Premiership or other big leagues. Look at Petrov, McGeady, Boruc, Nakamura. When their time was up they got their moves to good clubs. You could even look at the less prolific players like McDonald, Caldwell, McManus etc. If you do well at Celtic it's a good career move.
Also the trump card is the Champions league. If Celtic can break back into it then that's a massive incentive for more players like Matthews and Ledley to reject the lower tier EPL clubs. It certainly doesn't help your international chances either.
So if you look at it there is plenty of pulling power.

What's the point in paying over the odds for average SPL players either? That's a policy that won't work. Scout the players from abroad and bring them in for less what the SPL clubs will be looking for. Any player outside the big leagues would jump at the chance to play at Celtic. The club is doing it right now and it's paying dividends. Why would they stop just because Rangers aren't there?

Jelle1880

An inquiry into the Rangers Charity Foundation has been launched after it revealed the crisis-hit club would receive most of its proceeds from a friendly match.

The Ibrox club are hosting a game between former players of both Rangers and AC Milan later this month.

It had originally been organised to raise funds for the Rangers Charity Foundation, which was going to receive 60% of all money gathered by the game on March 30.

The charity, which has donated more than £2.3m to various causes since it was set up in 2002, has reduced the amount it will take from the game to 10%, meaning the majority of the money raised will go to the club, which is currently in administration.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator confirmed it had been made aware of "concerns" regarding the game after the change to the benefactors.

A spokesman for the regulator said: "We can confirm that we have an ongoing inquiry into the Rangers Charity Foundation. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment further."

Rangers boss Ally McCoist, who is expected to feature for the Rangers side in the game, previously welcomed the move by the charity foundation.

He said: "It is a tremendous gesture by the Rangers Charity Foundation to forego the majority of the proceeds of the legends match to benefit the club and it is going to be an evening of nostalgia for all the fans, players and supporters."

The AC Milan Foundation is also due to receive a percentage of money raised by the friendly, which will see Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne featuring for the Rangers team, while the Italian team will include the likes of Paolo Maldini and Jean-Pierre Papin.

Connal Cochrane, manager of the charity foundation, added: "The club and the Rangers fans have been tremendous to the foundation over the last ten years and now it is our turn to stand alongside them and step up for Rangers. The Rangers Charity Foundation suggested the club should now benefit from the match and we were delighted that the AC Milan Foundation agreed."

Any odds on who raised those 'concerns' ?

Sad idiots.

AC Milan Charity agreed with it as well.

Dempsey

KeithAFC wrote: »

Contracts don't mean a lot these days. Perhaps Hooper signing a new contract could be just another way for Celtic to get more money for him. It isn't so much concern about Celtic. It is just this belief that Celtic will progress in Europe and sign more talented foreign youngsters if Rangers go to the wall. I don't see that happening for the reasons I outlined.

Strengthening Celtic's negotiating position can only be a good thing for a club that is in great financial health. We either keep a talented player or make a larger profit.

Celtic have downsized before and progressed in Europe, you seem to be ignoring that.

KeithAFC

ColeTrain wrote: »

Fair enough the players do like the derby games, no question about that. But that's only four league games a season.

The young players are coming to Celtic for a few reasons. It's a big club and there's a chance to play in front a big crowd every second week. Celtic offer very decent wages. Another big reason is because it can be seen as a stepping stone to the Premiership or other big leagues. Look at Petrov, McGeady, Boruc, Nakamura. When their time was up they got their moves to good clubs. You could even look at the less prolific players like McDonald, Caldwell, McManus etc. If you do well at Celtic it's a good career move.
Also the trump card is the Champions league. If Celtic can break back into it then that's a massive incentive for more players like Matthews and Ledley to reject the lower tier EPL clubs. It certainly doesn't help your international chances either.
So if you look at it there is plenty of pulling power.

What's the point in paying over the odds for average SPL players either? That's a policy that won't work. Scout the players from abroad and bring them in for less what the SPL clubs will be looking for. Any player outside the big leagues would jump at the chance to play at Celtic. The club is doing it right now and it's paying dividends. Why would they stop just because Rangers aren't there?

It is a big club but the problem is without competition from Rangers, slowly but surely over the coming years, attendances will drop because the interest will not be as great because you know you will win the league. That is why competition in football is the greatest thing about it. The best thing about sport is it is competitive. Even if it is between two clubs. You know you are in a title race and it is enjoyable to watch to see what happens.

Young players who could potentially go to Celtic could just as easily decide to join Swansea or Everton or Aston Villa. I don't think Scottish football has a hope in terms of the Champions League any more. I don't think even this current Celtic side is good enough to make it into the Champions League now. Take away the competition and the standard will get lower. It will be just about playing for the Championship every season in a one team league.

I don't know who wants to watch that or invest in it from a TV point of view.

Any player outside the big leagues would jump at the chance to play at Celtic. The club is doing it right now and it's paying dividends. Why would they stop just because Rangers aren't there?

Foreign players don't join the Rangers or Celtic because they want to compete against Motherwell or Kilmarnock or Aberdeen but to compete and experience the Old Firm games and to compete against one another to see who wins the title. Take that away and what is there honestly to attract talented foreign youngsters? I don't see any. All you will have is a even worse league than now and no competition for the title. Doesn't sound very exciting to me.

Coillte_Bhoy

Dempsey wrote: »

Rangers dont set the bar for our expenditure and our transfer policy. Its failure to make european competition that will decide if certain players are sold or not. What happens to Rangers will have a minimal impact.

Well we will have to agree to disagree on that. I think the evidence of the last few seasons would suggest the board are happy just to do enough to keep a wee bit ahead of rangers, but even this didnt translate into league success so we shall see. Now with rangers not a threat for the foreseeable future at least i fear the bar may be lowered and as i said before i think we will not be as an attractive to prospective players. I do hope im wrong, needless to say.

ColeTrain

KeithAFC wrote: »

Young players who could potentially go to Celtic could just as easily decide to join Swansea or Everton or Aston Villa.

Can them clubs offer them first team football? Look at Matthews, Forster, Hooper, Wanyama, Forrest. All first names on the team sheet. I doubt that would be the case in the EPL.

KeithAFC wrote: »

Foreign players don't join the Rangers or Celtic because they want to compete against Motherwell or Kilmarnock or Aberdeen but to compete and experience the Old Firm games and to compete against one another to see who wins the title. Take that away and what is there honestly to attract talented foreign youngsters? I don't see any. All you will have is a even worse league than now and no competition for the title. Doesn't sound very exciting to me.

I don't think the majority of the players join because they want to be in a title race. You're looking at it from a fans point of view. The players will join Celtic because of the reasons I went through in my other post.

KeithAFC wrote: »

I don't think even this current Celtic side is good enough to make it into the Champions League now. Take away the competition and the standard will get lower. It will be just about playing for the Championship every season in a one team league.

We'll see.

The squad is improving all the time. They handled themselves well in the Europa league and the more they stick together the more they improve. In with a good shout I reckon but far from a certainty.

Eirebear

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Well we will have to agree to disagree on that. I think the evidence of the last few seasons would suggest the board are happy just to do enough to keep a wee bit ahead of rangers, but even this didnt translate into league success so we shall see. Now with rangers not a threat for the foreseeable future at least i fear the bar may be lowered and as i said before i think we will not be as an attractive to prospective players. I do hope im wrong, needless to say.

This.

Celtic could have destroyed Rangers over the last 3/5 seasons with the right investment into the squad, keeping themselves in the frame europe wise while doing that.

Instead they lost 3 in a row and struggled in continental competittion.

That said, it is possible that lawell knew this was coming, and was playing the long game and that we'll see significant investment into Celtic over the next couple of years.

It's a huge gamble, given the European situation.

KeithAFC

Eirebear wrote: »

This.

Celtic could have destroyed Rangers over the last 3/5 seasons with the right investment into the squad, keeping themselves in the frame europe wise while doing that.

Instead they lost 3 in a row and struggled in continental competittion.

That said, it is possible that lawell knew this was coming, and was playing the long game and that we'll see significant investment into Celtic over the next couple of years.

It's a huge gamble, given the European situation.

This could be true but the question is why would he invest now if he doesn't need to to win the league?

Eirebear

KeithAFC wrote: »

This could be true but the question is why would he invest now if he doesn't need to to win the league?

Because Celtic's only hope of staying a "Big Club" and single handedly keeping Scottish Football (as it stands) afloat is by becoming a Rosenborg type club and consistantly doing well in Europe.

RoryMac

One point I think some people are missing is how hard it will become for Celtic to even qualify for the Champions League if they are the only club earning coefficient points after a year or 2.

Celtic would need to be getting out of their group more often than not and unfortunately I don't think we're at that level.

Dempsey

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Well we will have to agree to disagree on that. I think the evidence of the last few seasons would suggest the board are happy just to do enough to keep a wee bit ahead of rangers, but even this didnt translate into league success so we shall see. Now with rangers not a threat for the foreseeable future at least i fear the bar may be lowered and as i said before i think we will not be as an attractive to prospective players. I do hope im wrong, needless to say.

Eirebear wrote: »

This.

Celtic could have destroyed Rangers over the last 3/5 seasons with the right investment into the squad, keeping themselves in the frame europe wise while doing that.

Instead they lost 3 in a row and struggled in continental competittion.

That said, it is possible that lawell knew this was coming, and was playing the long game and that we'll see significant investment into Celtic over the next couple of years.

It's a huge gamble, given the European situation.

There will be a financial contraction in the SPL and Celtic will adjust but I believe that will come naturally as we get rid of the deadwood from the squad.

I believe that Lennon has improved immensely since taking charge, certainly not as naive as he once was and certainly has a more settled squad. I believe the current squad is capable of qualifying for the UCL via the champions qualifying route, certainly the best placed route was always far more difficult to negotiate.

Anyways, I'm going to leave the scaremongering to the Rangers thread. The talking up of the implosion of the SPL and the collapse of Celtic seems to be your final comfort as you hit the wall in super slow mo.

Eirebear

RoryMac wrote: »

One point I think some people are missing is how hard it will become for Celtic to even qualify for the Champions League if they are the only club earning coefficient points after a year or 2.

Celtic would need to be getting out of their group more often than not and unfortunately I don't think we're at that level.

Exactly.

Dempsey wrote: »

There will be a financial contraction in the SPL and Celtic will adjust but I believe that will come naturally as we get rid of the deadwood from the squad.

I believe that Lennon has improved immensely since taking charge, certainly not as naive as he once was and certainly has a more settled squad. I believe the current squad is capable of qualifying for the UCL via the champions qualifying route, certainly the best placed route was always far more difficult to negotiate.

Anyways, I'm going to leave the scaremongering to the Rangers thread. The talking up of the implosion of the SPL and the collapse of Celtic seems to be your final comfort as you hit the wall in super slow mo.

And we're the deluded ones?
Where do you honestly think this "Financial Contraction" will take Celtic?

Sure, they may win the one horse race league over the next few years, but what else?
Are they good enough for Europe? Without investment, recent history would show otherwise.

So not only are you going to take a hit on TV Deals, which in turn will affect sponsorship deals. You will also take a hit on European money, which in turn will hit sponsorship deals again.

Yes, Celtic seem to have performed admirably in financial terms over the last decade - but where will it leave you in the long run?

Lawell has no choice now but to take a gamble - if within the next two or three years he can build a squad capable of holding their own in a CL group, being at least in the Europa league after Christmas then i agree, Celtic will be fine.
If not, the sponsorship starts to dwindle, along with everything else.

Dempsey

Eirebear wrote: »

And we're the deluded ones?
Where do you honestly think this "Financial Contraction" will take Celtic?

Sure, they may win the one horse race league over the next few years, but what else?
Are they good enough for Europe? Without investment, recent history would show otherwise.

So not only are you going to take a hit on TV Deals, which in turn will affect sponsorship deals. You will also take a hit on European money, which in turn will hit sponsorship deals again.

Yes, Celtic seem to have performed admirably in financial terms over the last decade - but where will it leave you in the long run?

Lawell has no choice now but to take a gamble - if within the next two or three years he can build a squad capable of holding their own in a CL group, being at least in the Europa league after Christmas then i agree, Celtic will be fine.
If not, the sponsorship starts to dwindle, along with everything else.

There is nothing deluded about what I'm saying at all. For every negative point you can make, there is a positive alternative that can be explored by the club. Very easy to be negative, just as easy to be realistic and know that Celtic can & will adapt their business model to minimise the impact.

Also we've dealt with tv deal collapses before, this is nothing new to Scottish Football. The hit on a tv deal can only be a maximum of 3% to Celtic. Plenty of clubs are getting into multiple kit sponsors, training kit sponsorships & even stadium sponsorships. Celtic also have alot of players they want rid of, reducing our expenditure there will also help. There are plenty of things that we can do, we are hardly going to stay static using an outdated business model and hope for the re-emergence of Rangers. Get realistic!

I think we've dealt the a lack of UCL football over the past couple of years very well, financially speaking, our current business model is sustainable, so is our transfer policy. We are progressing well since the mess under Mowbray. We certainly wont need to cheat, use EBTs & under the table contract like Rangers did to be competitive. I think we'll adapt as we have done in the past and thats just being realistic.

bobmalooka

Eirebear wrote: »

Exactly.


And we're the deluded ones?
Where do you honestly think this "Financial Contraction" will take Celtic?

Sure, they may win the one horse race league over the next few years, but what else?
Are they good enough for Europe? Without investment, recent history would show otherwise.

So not only are you going to take a hit on TV Deals, which in turn will affect sponsorship deals. You will also take a hit on European money, which in turn will hit sponsorship deals again.

Yes, Celtic seem to have performed admirably in financial terms over the last decade - but where will it leave you in the long run?

Lawell has no choice now but to take a gamble - if within the next two or three years he can build a squad capable of holding their own in a CL group, being at least in the Europa league after Christmas then i agree, Celtic will be fine.
If not, the sponsorship starts to dwindle, along with everything else.

The aim has to be better involvement in Europe, either CL group stages or later stages of the Europa league. Luckily we are run by good businessmen who should recognise that Europe is the key to Celtic remaining a big brand.

You lot will be back where ye are now (probably healthier) in 5/6 years and then we'll be back to the same 'old firm' nonsense.

PauloMN

Eirebear wrote: »

Celtic could have destroyed Rangers over the last 3/5 seasons with the right investment into the squad, keeping themselves in the frame europe wise while doing that.

Instead they lost 3 in a row and struggled in continental competittion

Two points on this:

1) What do you call "the right investment"? Is that what Rangers did over the past decade and longer? No thanks, I would not want to have risked being where Rangers are today.

2) Simple investment would not have solved the problem. We had a manager who should have moved on earlier than he did (in Strachan), we had a change of manager which was a disaster (Mowbray) and then we had the misfortune of missing out on the league by one single point. Investment alone isn't the answer to everything - clever spending, an astute manager and scouting network and a settled team is what we have now and is why we'd be champions this season, regardless of 10 point deductions.

I'm confident we can make a dent in Europe over the coming seasons. We can't do anything about the mess Rangers are in. We can't do anything about what Rangers's possible absence from the SPL will do to the coefficient other than keep trying to progress in Europe.

In any case, Rangers won't be out of the game for long even if the worst happens.

TheBuilder

Islam Feruz, even less popular with Celtic fans now...

Apparently his village in Somalia have offered to donate some strips to us during this tough time

PauloMN

Ah well The Rangers have no problem accepting charity these days anyway! :pac:

TheBuilder

PauloMN wrote: »

Ah well The Rangers have no problem accepting charity these days anyway! :pac:

Technically we're not doing anything wrong, despite your fellow fans best efforts to get us in trouble.

The club took over the organising and running of the friendly and the dinner associated with it and are making donations to both charities, not the other way about.

PauloMN

Relax, I was joking!

Anyway, technically wrong or not, it's morally corrupt, but I'd not expect anything less from The Rangers.

TheBuilder

PauloMN wrote: »

Relax, I was joking!

Anyway, technically wrong or not, it's morally corrupt, but I'd not expect anything less from The Rangers.

I know mate sorry I thought I had thanked your post, I can hardly get offended at a charity joke when I made one the post previous!

Pompey Magnus

TheBuilder wrote: »

Technically we're not doing anything wrong, despite your fellow fans best efforts to get us in trouble.

The club took over the organising and running of the friendly and the dinner associated with it and are making donations to both charities, not the other way about.

Does that mean the tax relief that would have applied to the money generated had the game been run by the charity will no longer apply? If so then fair enough.

TheBuilder

Pompey Magnus wrote: »

Does that mean the tax relief that would have applied to the money generated had the game been run by the charity will no longer apply? If so then fair enough.

I presume so, the club have on the official site that they've taken over the running of it and with us under so much scrutiny I'm sure they wouldn't try and avoid it.

Jelle1880

Matthew Lindsay ‏ @MattLindsayET Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Glasgow-born, South Africa-based businessman King will sue Murray for non-disclosure of the Ibrox club's full financial position. #rfc

1m Matthew Lindsay ‏ @MattLindsayET Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Rangers director Dave King has today confirmed he is going to sue former owner Sir David Murray for £20 million. #rfc

3m Matthew Lindsay ‏ @MattLindsayET Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
NEWSFLASH! An explosive development in the Rangers crisis this morning. Remarkably, fans of the Ibrox club are going to love this one. #rfc

****ing in there King, sue the bastards for all he's worth.

Pompey Magnus

Jelle1880 wrote: »

****ing in there King, sue the bastards for all he's worth.

He also claims liquidation of Rangers is inevitable.

KeithAFC

Good. Sue that Murray for everything he has got!

Jelle1880

Pompey Magnus wrote: »

He also claims liquidation of Rangers is inevitable.

Yeah, I saw that.
Here is his full statement.

STATEMENT ON RANGERS FC BY DAVE KING
Having had the opportunity to visit key stakeholders and to properly consider the information now available to me I would like to comment on certain matters that I have hitherto refused to comment on. My own visibility of the true state of affairs was being actively restricted and, as it turns out, falsified by Craig Whyte and I did not wish to add to the strongly held but unconfirmed rumours that were already being played out in the media.
1. Craig Whyte-
I met with Craig Whyte during my recent visit and he provided clarity on the funding position. His true financial commitment was not by way of cash (as he had previously advised me) but rather guarantees that he and/or companies associated with him had given to Ticketus. He confirmed to me that Ticketus has no recourse to the football club. Hopefully the administrators will be able to confirm this. The upshot of Craig Whyte's confession is that the fans were duped. Immediately upon the acquisition of the club by Craig Whyte (far from being debt free as was trumpeted by the Murray Group and Craig Whyte at the time) the club was in a much worse economic position than before and had no chance of survival even if we had progressed in Europe.
2. The Murray Group-
I purposely did not meet with David Murray but did meet with Mike McGill who was a member of the Rangers board at the time of the acquisition and was intimately involved on behalf of the Murray Group in securing the sale to Craig Whyte. I am absolutely satisfied in my mind that Mike McGill (and hence the Murray Group) had no knowledge that the proof of funds supplied by Craig Whyte's attorneys was secured by season ticket sales. I am further satisfied that the Murray Group would not have proceeded with the transaction if the true source of the funds had been disclosed. The Murray Group had every right to rely on the proof of funds letter that was supplied by Collyer, Bristow.
3. Collyer Bristow-
The role of Collyer Bristow requires further investigation as this legal firm appears to have behaved in a manner inconsistent with its natural duties and responsibilities. I met with Gary Withey, on two occasions, during my recent visit and I do not believe that it is plausible that he was actively involved in an attempt to deceive the shareholders, fans, and creditors of the club. I do however continue to have concerns about the discharge of his duties as company secretary for Rangers. There is a true version that has yet to emerge regarding Collyer Bristow's role and knowledge of events.
4. Administration-
I do not believe that there is a reasonable prospect that the company can come out of administration. I believe that liquidation is inevitable.
5. European football- The club will not meet its financial requirements before the UEFA deadline. There will consequently be no European football next year and liquidation might extend that by another 2 years. The harsh reality is that Craig Whyte has abused the loyalty of the fans by trading that future loyalty for cash in a manner that has excluded the club's ability to provide the very product that the fans were expected to pay for. To have done this, and then blatantly lied about it, is an abuse that no fan of any club should have to suffer.
6. HMRC-
Now that I have evidenced the true position I wish to commend HMRC for showing the maximum restraint that it possibly could have under its mandate to collect taxes that are due. The empathy that HMRC has demonstrated to the club and its fans is particularly gratifying given the abuse perpetrated on HMRC by Craig Whyte in withholding ongoing tax payments to fund the club- while simultaneously pretending that he was using his own funds.
7. Going forward-
t grieves me to state that it seems inevitable that the footballing institution will survive but the company won't. This will entail many hurdles (that will be overcome) including 'Rangers (2012) Ltd' having to reapply for membership of the SFA etc. It is a sad point to have reached, but if managed sensibly, it can result in Rangers returning to its former glory as a football club in the shortest time possible. We must all strive to ensure that an appropriate ownership structure guarantees that this event is never repeated. We must remember that our footballing friends across the city came very close to the point that we now find ourselves in. Scottish football needs a strong Rangers and Celtic- but perhaps in a slightly humbler form.
8. My own present position-
I seem to be one of the few people who actually invested cash into the club. I have made a claim of GBP 20 million on the basis of non-disclosure by the then Chairman, David Murray, of Rangers true financial position as far back as 2000. Other shareholders may feel deceived like I do and wish to take similar action. (David Murray will no doubt argue to the contrary and the merits of this will be dealt with in due course in the appropriate forum.) For present purposes however, I simply want to advise the fans and fellow shareholders that any benefit I receive from my claim will be fully reinvested into the restructured football club. I remain 100% committed to the Rangers football club and will do whatever I can to advance its interests.
9. My own future position-
I intend to remain involved with the club, at least on my present basis, post-reconstruction if that is at all possible under the new ownership structure. I am however alert to the raw sentiment around the need for Rangers to have 'fit and proper' persons at its helm. In view of my own well-publicised and acrimonious legal disputes with the authorities in South Africa I have taken it upon myself to approach the SFA in that regard in advance of considering an increased role in the club going forward. I will be guided by the SFA's response in that regard.

10. Paul Murray-
In the interim I will be putting my full support behind Paul Murray's initiative to secure the future of the club. Paul is a very smart businessman of undoubted integrity and a man who holds all that is sacred and traditional at Rangers football club very close to his heart. He is exactly the type of man the club needs at this time.
11. The previous board-
I worked happily with the previous board and was immensely saddened by the way that some of them were excoriated by the media for no reason other than that they strongly opposed the sale of the club to a man who appeared to have insufficient funds to take the club forward. Martin Bain, Paul Murray and Alastair Johnston were fired immediately upon the takeover for voicing their concerns. The Ranger's spin doctoring machine then started to work overtime to discredit them, both individually and collectively. We now know the truth and hopefully those three loyal Rangers fans can now be fully welcomed back to Ibrox Park with full appreciation for the role that they have played in working tirelessly behind the scenes to expose Craig Whyte for what they truly knew him to be- and what all fans now know him to be. This cancer might have continued longer without their continued probings.
12. Martin Bain-
Martin deserves particular mention. I have chatted to him a few times since he was forced to resign. Despite the lies and untruths that were being leaked about him to the press he never wavered in his loyalty and commitment to the club. He never wavered in his commitment to the fans and he was determined to expose what was really going on. The club was fortunate to have Martin at the helm as CEO for many years and was even more fortunate to find him continue to act in the interests of the club after he was unjustifiably removed from that position and unjustifiably deprived of his fair contractual settlement.
13.
John Greig and John McClelland-
Both of these gentlemen were, like me, not fired from the board after the acquisition and soldiered on in the best interests of the club until they reached a point where they reluctantly resigned rather than be associated with the failing governance at the club. That was the early warning sign. I haven't spoken to John McClelland but I can confirm (from my recent discussions with him) how pained John Greig is to have been unable to attend his beloved Ibrox. Hopefully he will shortly be able to resume his rightful iconic place in the director's box.
14. Previous titles-
I have noted the recent media comment about Rangers being stripped of previously earned titles. While this makes good headlines, I am absolutely confident (now that I have a good sense of the true position) that this will not happen.

Some weird stuff in there, for example the part about Bain.

lubo_moravcik

The former Rangers owner Sir David Murray has reacted with "incredulity" to the threat of a £20m legal challenge from Dave King, a member of the troubled club's board.

King issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday, pointing to both current and historic financial matters at Rangers, who are now in administration. Craig Whyte bought the Ibrox club from Murray for £1 last May. In the statement, King refers to his own money losses in Rangers and makes a direct allegation of "non-disclosure" against Murray.

King said: "I seem to be one of the few people who actually invested cash into the club. I have made a claim of £20m on the basis of non-disclosure by the then chairman, David Murray, of Rangers' true financial position as far back as 2000.

"Other shareholders may feel deceived like I do and wish to take similar action. (David Murray will no doubt argue to the contrary and the merits of this will be dealt with in due course in the appropriate forum.)

"For present purposes however, I simply want to advise the fans and fellow shareholders that any benefit I receive from my claim will be fully reinvested into the restructured football club. I remain 100% committed to the Rangers and will do whatever I can to advance its interests." King had also claimed it is "inevitable" that Rangers will tumble into liquidation.

A spokesman for the Murray Group issued a response which read: "We note with some interest, and much incredulity, Dave King's press statement. It is difficult to understand his motives, given he has been a director of Rangers since 2000.

"Throughout the period of his directorship, Dave King has attended and participated in regular board meetings, including those approving the annual audited accounts, received board papers quarterly, had full access to the executive management of the club, and been privy to the same detailed financial and commercial information as every other board member. In the event that he actually lodges a claim, we would vigorously defend it.

"Murray Group fully intends to make further detailed press comment on the wider circumstances at Rangers once it considers this will not detract from or interfere with the difficult and delicate work of the administration. It is deeply regrettable and hugely saddening for all the employees and supporters that the club finds itself in its present situation."

Rangers' players are continuing talks with administrators over proposed wage cuts. Squad members are willing to accept a short-term but significant drop in salaries if it prevents redundancies but many of them are seeking contract incentives – including the provision of free transfers – before formalising the agreement.

Bear on bear action
Murray calls them 'the rangers' too

lubo_moravcik

TheBuilder wrote: »

Technically we're not doing anything wrong, despite your fellow fans best efforts to get us in trouble.

The club took over the organising and running of the friendly and the dinner associated with it and are making donations to both charities, not the other way about.

I heard it said earlier to the effect, that rangers are like some drunk walking home from the pub absolutely blootered, throwing punches and trying to fight with every **** before falling into a puddle of their own steaming pish.

Dempsey

It was only a matter of time that the blame game and the public handbaging started! Fair funny stuff from people that continually use the term 'dignity'

KeithAFC

lubo_moravcik wrote: »

Bear on bear action
Murray calls them 'the rangers' too

Just what people call the club. Don't see the big deal here.

Jelle1880

lubo_moravcik wrote: »

Bear on bear action
Murray calls them 'the rangers' too

I would hardly call David Murray a 'bear'.

And he's only commenting because King attacked him personally, that's how it always has been.

Attack Rangers ? No problem.
Attack Murray ? Lo and behold, off come the gloves.

lubo_moravcik

So is Dave King the new Whyte Knight?

PauloMN

Jelle1880 wrote: »

I would hardly call David Murray a 'bear'

A "bear" faced liar perhaps?

lubo_moravcik wrote: »

So is Dave King the new Whyte Knight?

Nah, he's already a king, why would he want to be a knight?

Oat23

A game between Rangers and HSV has been arranged for April 17th at Ibrox with all profits going to the home side. Hopefully a lot of fans come out for it.

Old Gill

Oatesy23 wrote: »

A game between Rangers and HSV has been arranged for April 17th at Ibrox with all profits going to the home side. Hopefully a lot of fans come out for it.

considering only 17k bothered for the cup game v dundee utd I wouldnt be too sure about that

TheBuilder

Old Gill wrote: »

considering only 17k bothered for the cup game v dundee utd I wouldnt be too sure about that

I would be very sure of at least 35-40k being there.

blahfckingblah

a game against HSV, I wonder which hates us more

TheBuilder

Team for today: McGregor, McCabe, McCulloch, Perry, Wallace, Mitchell, Edu, Davis, Bedoya, Kerkar, Little.

Subs: Alexander, Hegarty, Hemmings, Aluko, Healy.

5 subs, a striker and a centre mid in defence and 4 cm's in midfield, can't see us getting anything today.

ColeTrain

TheBuilder wrote: »

Team for today: McGregor, McCabe, McCulloch, Perry, Wallace, Mitchell, Edu, Davis, Bedoya, Kerkar, Little.

Subs: Alexander, Hegarty, Hemmings, Aluko, Healy.

5 subs, a striker and a centre mid in defence and 4 cm's in midfield, can't see us getting anything today.

Was Aluko injured?

TheBuilder

ColeTrain wrote: »

Was Aluko injured?

No idea, its possible he's being kept for next week as he's our most dangerous player and Dundee United are well capable of kicking lumps out of him at the back.

ColeTrain

TheBuilder wrote: »

No idea, its possible he's being kept for next week as he's our most dangerous player and Dundee United are well capable of kicking lumps out of him at the back.

Strange decision if that's the case given how many players you're missing.

TheBuilder

ColeTrain wrote: »

Strange decision if that's the case given how many players you're missing.

The more I think about it, it could be that he's playing Bedoya there as he'll track Jonny Russell more than Aluko will.

fionnsda

This is really poor quaity football ...even think irish league is better

_blank_

fionnsda wrote: »

This is really poor quaity football ...even think irish league is better

Linfield, Glentoran and Crusaders?

Watch much of it?

fionnsda

Des wrote: »

Linfield, Glentoran and Crusaders?

Watch much of it?

no just what you would see on tv, highlights etc