The Time is Now

As the battle for hearts and minds of Rangers fans steps up this morning between Dave King and the current board, it is still mired in smoke and mirrors, which makes any decision from the Rangers support over what to do very difficult.

I suspect that Rangers fans will need to keep a record of the public proclamations and statements from both the current board, and from Mr King.

The problem for independent supporters is that there are so many Stakeholder groups claiming to represent the best interests of the club, from the current board, to King, to the Rangers FiRST movement, to the newly formed Union of Fans, that claims to represent the Rangers Supporters Trust, Assembly, Association, Blue Order, Union Bears and Sons of Struth.

The fact that the substantial groups in that “Union of Fans” here have not yet consulted their members before asking them to support a campaign not to re-new Season Tickets is largely overlooked by those pushing their agenda to force the current board out and force Dave King/Paul Murray IN.

The latest move by King is in response to the loans provided by Sandy Easdale and claims from Rangers CEO that the club had been in dialogue with King

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/graham-wallace-qa-rangers-chief-3181015

To be absolutely precise, these are the quotes from Wallace in the interview with Keith Jackson

“KJ: Haven’t you created a potential problem with other shareholders or would-be
investors who might ask why they weren’t invited to make a similar loan? And I’m talking here specifically about Dave King.

GW: The board has had a dialogue in recent weeks with Dave King. He has not been rebuffed by the board. He is not currently a shareholder. He has indicated he’d be an interested participant in a future equity raising at the appropriate point in time. Our shareholder base has also expressed willingness to invest in fresh equity.

Dave King has not come to the club with an offer, other than an interest in participating in a future equity.

KJ: Just to be clear, are you saying Dave King has not offered the club short-term funding?

GW: He has not done that, no. Dave is not a shareholder and he has not made the club any offer of financial assistance. That’s not a criticism of Dave King. I have not met him but as a board we have had some dialogue to try to understand his intentions because there has been a lot of talk about his interest in investing. There has been no other proposal made by him at all.”

Note that Wallace only mentioned King when challenged specifically about him by Jackson

While King released an official statement, and was quoted in The Scottish Sun as saying “Mr Wallace has never spoken to me or even attempted to communicate with me in any form whatsoever”

The Sun reported that King would release a statement that would detail him offering a £1M interest free loan to Rangers that was rebuffed by the current board
Note that in his official statement, King never claimed to have offered any such loan

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dave-king-official-statement-rangers-3185424

Rangers then released a statement on their website stating that the claims within the Scottish Sun were inaccurate. All the evidence would suggest that The Scottish Sun’s report of events bears little resemblance to either King’s position, or the position of Somers’ statement, which simply re-stated what Wallace said in the interview with Jackson.

The General perception across the support is that King offered an interest free loan that was rebuffed by Rangers in favour of the Laxey loan, due to the Sun’s reportage, and some hints on Twitter from prominent supporters close to Paul Murray.

While the usual suspects that head up various fan groups cover the well work ground of demanding board change, the response from the club to the support has been weak, and not of the substance that the wider fan base needs to make an informed judgement to continue to support the team by renewing Season Tickets, and to ignore calls for change.

Frankly, the longer they leave it the less credible they look, and the more credible King looks, whatever fans’ movement he chooses to further his aims.

Even if fans’ groups conduct themselves in a manner that doesn’t befit the Rangers way, and resort to lying, smearing and propaganda about the current board, frankly, if the Board cannot convince the whole support that the small band of activists are barking up the wrong tree, then we should all be joining the Anti board movement and demanding change.

It really is that simple

The concept of listening to fans via the “Ready to Listen” banner promoted by the club recently should be the reverse. The club should be ready to talk.

If the club is being managed properly, has proper governance in place, and has a plan to both be lean and be able to grow income streams, then the time to tell us in detail is right now

If the current board have run out of ideas and are struggling to create a workable business plan that will return Rangers to the top of Scottish football, then they should resign and make enough noise that Blue Pitch, Margarita and company have no option but to sell up to King

This constant battle and negativity is damaging the club and impacting our ability to recover as quickly as we need to.

Those custodians of the club have it within their gift to tell us.

What’s stopping them?

Bill

Saved

As Celtic prepare themselves to celebrate 3 in a row, with Rangers absent from the top league for two of them, imaginations are running wild amongst their supporters that they are now on the road to ten in a row.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/opinion/every-empire-can-crumble-but-make-no-mistake-10-in-a-row-is-on-for-celtic.23525085

Of course, Rangers don’t have our troubles to seek, but we are on course to return to the Premiership in August 2015, shortly after it is expected that Celtic will have secured their 4th title on the bounce.
No Rangers fan I know expects that we will win the title in 2016 on our return to the Premiership, as Celtic have been able to call on Champions League riches, and some astute dealings by Neil Lennon, to paper over the financial cracks at Celtic Park.

We do however, believe it is slightly presumptuous by Celtic fans that the biggest club in Scotland (that’s Rangers) will not be able to recover our rightful place at the top of Scottish football until 2023.

It strikes me more that those indulging in such conjecture are more likely to be trying to kick the Rangers support while we are down than actually believing it.

It may be that Rangers have more important fish to fry in the coming months than bother about retorts to this kind of nonsense, but Michael Grant can be assured that this article has been saved for a rainy day

Bill.

What Next?

Some Rangers fans may feel comfortable that the club has entered in to loan arrangements with Laxey partners, and Sandy Easdale, however, I will categorically state now that I am not one of them.
Following news last week that this was likely, it’s only this morning that some detail has been announced

While last week’s coverage suggested that the loans were investments in to the club in return for shares, the announcement this morning makes it clear that the facilities are indeed loans, with no option of shares for Easdale, meaning the club (we) are due to pay him back £500k before the season has even started.

Laxey have an option on Shares, but, given the sheer volume involved (Approx 304,750 shares at current prices) this would require an EGM to approve such a substantial issue of shares, and increase in voting power to Laxey, with an EGM facing a dilemma of accepting this, or saddling the club with a £1.12M Debt to Laxey at the start of the season.

On the face of it, while Easdale has been cute in presenting his loan as interest free, it is still a loan, and by no means an investment.

While Jack Irvine might try and bullshit the support on to believing that Easdale/BPH/AN Other have oodles of cash to “invest”, this deal proves once and for all that no such thing will happen.

Other investors have a right to be aggrieved, if reports are accurate that they were not consulted about these loans, nor given an opportunity to make their own proposals

It looks to these untrained eyes that Laxey are running the club, and have us over a barrel.

Like many supporters, I do not wish for many more months of the current movers and shakers at the club being at loggerheads with forces associated to Paul Murray as that conflict itself is damaging, but I feel that this current situation is unacceptable.

The problem is, while Dave King has been lurking in the background, it appears unlikely that he will launch a hostile takeover, as that would require significant purchases of shares from those very same groups who are in control of the club at present.

Unless King has a change of position and decides that lining the pockets of Easdale, Laxey and company is a necessary evil, then there looks to be few painless options for other shareholders and supporters.

Some will use this as an opportunity to drive Fan Ownership, however, the RST’s scheme is still being administrated by the same individuals who have repeatedly failed to communicate to their members about upheaval to their own board, so they cannot be trusted, while the alternative scheme being championed by some former RST board members is still in it’s infancy, and far from capturing the imagination of the levels of support it would need to make inroads in to the club’s shareholding.

So, where does that leave the normal supporter and minor shareholder?

In a pickle.

Firstly, we need some detail from Graham Wallace as to the “120 Day Review”, and what the current burn rate of spend at the club is per month, and the basis for these loans.
The level of communication is just not good enough.

Secondly, unless we get a credible and confidence building explanation from Wallace, we need to pick what option from those available to us, is the one we should lend our support to, whether it be the Rangers (Fi)RST movement, which some may think is just the RST without Mark Dingwall and Gordon Dinnie, The Remaining Supporters Trust, or pressuring King to invest.

Doing nothing does not look to be a feasible option.

If anyone has any brighter ideas, then I’m all ears

Bill

These People are NOT liberal

I’ve seen a lot of anger over Graham Spiers’ latest attention seeking column defending the Official Celtic fan groups campaign to chart the IRA anthem “Roll of Honour”

This vile song has been described in great detail on The Rangers Standard, and to a lesser extent on Vanguard Bears, so I certainly won’t be repeating the lyrics here, but I will stress that it is a song that praises Republican terrorists

http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/309-roll-of-dishonour-celtic-s-shame

Spiers surprises no one with his defence of such a disgusting homage to the Anti British Racists, bigots and killers of the “Brits Out” era of the Provos and INLA.

Of course, he dresses up his defence of The Green Brigade, and “Fans Against Criminalisation” as some kind of uber liberal approach to free speech, with some disingenuous waffle about “The Irish Question” thrown in to try and justify not being able to take up a stance against murdering bigots and gangsters.

Taking up a liberal stance inconsistently though exposes him as having an agenda following years of distinctly non liberal posturing and campaigning against Rangers songbook

He’s as transparent as cling film

He’s also presumably free to write whatever provo-cative filth riles decent thinking people in Scotland, therefor The Herald is equally culpable for allowing publication, just a few days after reporting Celtic fans “success” at having Roll of Honour charted.

I monitored a number of Rangers fans challenging Herald editor Magnus Llewellin last week on that disgraceful front page and he failed to reply.

This further insult to the Rangers support from Graham Spiers in the same newspaper, should serve as a reminder to Rangers fans, and to decent people across Scotland that this newspaper should be shunned, and it’s editor told why it is being shunned. If you are going to stop buying the newspaper (better late than never), then you have a duty to tell the editor why. For good measure you should tell the regional MD of Newsquest Tim Blott why you are no longer buying his product.

This is not a job for someone else. This is a job for me, and you. All of you.

During Llewellin’s time as Deputy Editor and then Editor he has overseen a drastic reduction in circulation and income. The Herald’s circulation is in the region of 40k, down by 7k in the year, and only further reductions will reverse their disregard for decent people in Scotland.

Magnus.llewellin@heraldandtimes.co.uk

Tim.blott@newsquest.co.uk

As Spiers was writing his piece, Glasgow University students were celebrating the election of Edward Snowdon as Rector. It seems that joining the military, then putting your colleagues and your country at risk of terrorist attack is something to celebrate in Glasgow

There is something fundamentally wrong that the University can accept such a candidate, but I for one was not surprised. If they can employ and defend Jeanette Findlay, for her outspoken support of Irish Republicanism, then they too are worthy of scrutiny.

I don’t doubt there are increasing numbers who feel that the wrongs in this country need to be addressed, and are of the view that none of Scotland’s political elite or media establishment represent the majority

It is for this reason that I have started writing some non football content for http://thescottishunionist.wordpress.com/, and I’d suggest my readers pop over to a site that I feel could be the beginnings of something very special

Bill.

What Happened To This?

From the Herald

13 Dec 2013

Perhaps it's just the headline that was misleading.

Rangers investor to crack Blue Pitch and Margarita mystery

Greig Cameron
Deputy Business Editor
Friday 13 December 2013
A RANGERS shareholder with decades of experience in fund management has begun high-powered moves to reveal the identities of the people behind the secretive Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Funds.

The investment professional, who asked not to be named, is a long-standing season ticket holder at Ibrox, said he has consulted a "mainstream" law firm in London to investigate the options available.

He intends to take the matter further down the legal route if the board at Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) are unable to provide answers.

He said he wanted to know what exact efforts the current board (RIFC) has made to uncover who is behind Margarita and Blue Pitch.

He said: "I am getting a bit irritated with this obscurity about Blue Pitch and Margarita.

"If [the board] say we don't know then I want them to make a public report saying that. If they do know who is behind it they should be telling us.

"I think the fans really need to know the identities of the people behind these holdings. That is only fair."

Blue Pitch has four million shares in RIFC, equivalent to more than 6% of the share capital, with Margarita holding 2.6 million, or 3.6%.

Both are believed to be backing the current regime at the RIFC annual general meeting on December 19.

Shareholders are being asked to vote at the AGM whether to retain chairman David Somers, chief executive Graham Wallace, finance director Brian Stockbridge and non-executive director Norman Crighton.

Along with several other resolutions there will also be votes on whether to accept Malcolm Murray, Paul Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch.

The fund manager indicated he will pursue the identities of Blue Pitch and Margarita regardless of how the AGM turns out.

He said he would like to have access to the latest financial incomings and outgoings at RIFC and see details of commercial contracts.

The possibility of disenfranchising secretive shareholders was raised last month by former RIFC chairman Malcolm Murray.

That option is thought to relate to a section of the Companies Act 2006 which states a company has the right to know the beneficial owners of shares held in nominee accounts.

A company has to maintain a register of such interests which must be available for shareholders to see.

If that is not made available one possibility is for the voting rights of the shares to be suspended