When deciding to put my thoughts
to ‘print’ on this entry, I had to think long and hard about whether doing so
was a good idea. I have always tried to stay away from subjectivity and reports
facts only, but the longer I have run this blog (over two years now) and the
more entries I have administered to it, the harder I have found it to keep my
own opinions to myself and stick solely to the facts.
to ‘print’ on this entry, I had to think long and hard about whether doing so
was a good idea. I have always tried to stay away from subjectivity and reports
facts only, but the longer I have run this blog (over two years now) and the
more entries I have administered to it, the harder I have found it to keep my
own opinions to myself and stick solely to the facts.
Rangers, and all events
surrounding our beleaguered club, have turned from an excruciating soap opera
into an episode of the primetime show ‘Blacklist’. No one knows who to trust,
no one knows the ‘truth’, and the more morsels of ‘information’ we receive the
less we know who the good guys really are and who the malevolent forces might
be.
surrounding our beleaguered club, have turned from an excruciating soap opera
into an episode of the primetime show ‘Blacklist’. No one knows who to trust,
no one knows the ‘truth’, and the more morsels of ‘information’ we receive the
less we know who the good guys really are and who the malevolent forces might
be.
As we know this nonsense started
before administration, but the intensity has only increased since summer 2012,
as yet another drama played out on the tabloids and websites every other day.
before administration, but the intensity has only increased since summer 2012,
as yet another drama played out on the tabloids and websites every other day.
And the worst part is how Rangers
fans are being used as pawns in a power game which is every inch about agendas,
egos and personal gain.
fans are being used as pawns in a power game which is every inch about agendas,
egos and personal gain.
For example: Laxey Partners and
Sandy Easdale were recently approached by the club regarding a loan, ‘working
capital’ due to the financial bleeding crippling the Ibrox side. The £1.5M loan
was controversial – it was due to have £150,000 interest on the return, and
this ‘profit’ disgusted Rangers supporters, castigating said hedge fund as yet
another malevolent force intent on making money out the club.
Sandy Easdale were recently approached by the club regarding a loan, ‘working
capital’ due to the financial bleeding crippling the Ibrox side. The £1.5M loan
was controversial – it was due to have £150,000 interest on the return, and
this ‘profit’ disgusted Rangers supporters, castigating said hedge fund as yet
another malevolent force intent on making money out the club.
Meanwhile Easdale, now that
Stockbridge and Irvine
are gone from the club, has become the latest ‘bad guy’ in the soap opera, the
new villain of the piece. He is no angel, absolutely not, and I am by no means
defending the man’s character. I do not know him, nor the innards of his
business methods.
Stockbridge and Irvine
are gone from the club, has become the latest ‘bad guy’ in the soap opera, the
new villain of the piece. He is no angel, absolutely not, and I am by no means
defending the man’s character. I do not know him, nor the innards of his
business methods.
But what I do know is this; Sandy
Easdale has invested more than £1,000,000 in Rangers, well more. He is as big a
bear as you or I but somehow has been portrayed as a spiv and a crook. True, he
did do time for VAT fraud, hence I am not defending his life, but spiv? The man
is investing his own millions in the club yet is somehow a malevolent force.
Oh, and his offer of a loan came with no interest whatsoever, yet that was
conveniently ignored.
Easdale has invested more than £1,000,000 in Rangers, well more. He is as big a
bear as you or I but somehow has been portrayed as a spiv and a crook. True, he
did do time for VAT fraud, hence I am not defending his life, but spiv? The man
is investing his own millions in the club yet is somehow a malevolent force.
Oh, and his offer of a loan came with no interest whatsoever, yet that was
conveniently ignored.
Anyway, back to my point: Laxey,
‘bad guys’, demanding profit. So then comes a Mr George Letham, a businessman
who proclaims to be the ‘good guy’ and a ‘true bear’ and all fans rejoice at
his loan offer. Wait. Loan? They are praising Latham for loaning the club
money? Wait? He is also going to be making interest, like Laxey would have?
Admittedly only £50,000 but can you tell me how £100,000 kills Rangers, makes
Laxey evil and makes Letham a good guy with Rangers at heart?
‘bad guys’, demanding profit. So then comes a Mr George Letham, a businessman
who proclaims to be the ‘good guy’ and a ‘true bear’ and all fans rejoice at
his loan offer. Wait. Loan? They are praising Latham for loaning the club
money? Wait? He is also going to be making interest, like Laxey would have?
Admittedly only £50,000 but can you tell me how £100,000 kills Rangers, makes
Laxey evil and makes Letham a good guy with Rangers at heart?
Do not get me wrong, he probably
is a bear like the rest of us, but his offer is pretty much barely any better
than Laxey. Yes, it has saved the club £100,000 but he will still make profit
on it. George Letham is making profit from Rangers. And that makes him a great
guy, how, exactly?
is a bear like the rest of us, but his offer is pretty much barely any better
than Laxey. Yes, it has saved the club £100,000 but he will still make profit
on it. George Letham is making profit from Rangers. And that makes him a great
guy, how, exactly?
So let us go back to Easdale – a
man who was jailed for VAT fraud. A man who has done his time and who is
investing big time in the club.
man who was jailed for VAT fraud. A man who has done his time and who is
investing big time in the club.
And let us then bring Dave King
into the equation; the biggest blowhard associated with Rangers in the past
decade. Column inch after column inch, and nothing to show for it but a few
meetings and an ill-fated and frankly disgraceful Trust scheme withholding
season ticket cash. That one has thankfully faded, despite the support King got
with the card scheme. You know why? No one wants to throw several hundred at
people they have no reason to trust. Rangers fans, like all people, are not
rich, and when it comes to cash, our own circumstances and livelihood are
frankly more important than apparent moral highground.
into the equation; the biggest blowhard associated with Rangers in the past
decade. Column inch after column inch, and nothing to show for it but a few
meetings and an ill-fated and frankly disgraceful Trust scheme withholding
season ticket cash. That one has thankfully faded, despite the support King got
with the card scheme. You know why? No one wants to throw several hundred at
people they have no reason to trust. Rangers fans, like all people, are not
rich, and when it comes to cash, our own circumstances and livelihood are
frankly more important than apparent moral highground.
If Rangers fans are going to use
several hundred pounds, they want to support their club by watching the team
play football every other week at Ibrox. They want to use that money for a
tangible product, rather than investing in someone’s ego against the board.
several hundred pounds, they want to support their club by watching the team
play football every other week at Ibrox. They want to use that money for a
tangible product, rather than investing in someone’s ego against the board.
Why did I refer to Easdale a
couple of paragraphs ago? Because he is apparently a crook while King is not,
regardless of King’s tax evasion charges which he had to pay off out of court
to the tune of £50M. Why is Easdale the bad guy and King, equally guilty in the
eyes of the law, regarded by some as the Messiah?
couple of paragraphs ago? Because he is apparently a crook while King is not,
regardless of King’s tax evasion charges which he had to pay off out of court
to the tune of £50M. Why is Easdale the bad guy and King, equally guilty in the
eyes of the law, regarded by some as the Messiah?
It seems there is one rule for
the guy who says the ‘right thing’ and puts in no money, and another for the
guy who people just dislike and who puts in millions.
the guy who says the ‘right thing’ and puts in no money, and another for the
guy who people just dislike and who puts in millions.
And all this is successful
propaganda by those with agendas, using Rangers fans for those agendas and support.
propaganda by those with agendas, using Rangers fans for those agendas and support.
And it is beyond the pale.
And I know this accusation has
been levied at this blog a million times, but no, I am not Sandy Easdale, or
anyone on the board. Or associated with anyone on the board. Or commissioned by
anyone on the board. Nor am I Jack Irvine.
been levied at this blog a million times, but no, I am not Sandy Easdale, or
anyone on the board. Or associated with anyone on the board. Or commissioned by
anyone on the board. Nor am I Jack Irvine.
I am a normal supporter like the
rest of you and I love my club.
rest of you and I love my club.
And I am tired of seeing it used
in this way, of seeing fellow fans used in a massive game of dangerous
liaisons.
in this way, of seeing fellow fans used in a massive game of dangerous
liaisons.
First time I've read your blog but I have to agree with everything you've said. I will be re-newing my season ticket anyway and maybe an additional one as well.
There is one hell of a difference between 150k and 50k well there was when I went to school
Think you are missing his point, the real question, why is the club still in so much trouble finacially, 40K to 50K wanting to watch the team succeed and we own our ground and training facioities (at least I think we do) and yet we need money, wait a minute how much is the manager paid or the players (all 50+ first team squad), yet we still have no apparent youth development or am I missing the point. Simple business plan, 40K season tickets, loads ofmmerchandising opportunities, first team sqaud with an average age of 20 tom23 for the next 3 years and slash that wage bill, you heard it here first or did you?
Easdale brought in by Green. Green and friends (Stockbridge, Ahmad, Mather etc) have taken £20m out of the club. Why should Easdale be trusted? I agree with your comments re King but at present he's the only game in town that isn't orchestrated by Green. I wouldn't give one penny to the people in charge, it'll only be 'lost'.
At least the interest quoted by Mr Letham is not to be taken out of the club but reinvested in Shares!!!
Excellent piece, and I couldn't agree more with every point, albeit you were slightly harsh on GL.
The only agenda I have is helping my team get back to where they belong.
Anyone who accuses you of being anything other than a bluenose does not deserve to be heard.
Keep it up brother.
Your blog is spot on. Rangers will be getting my season ticket money, not the rabble-rousing attention-seekers who are only too willing to tear the club apart for their own agendas. Far too many fans are being taken in by these fly-by-night schemers. Also, as you point out, Sandy Easdale has put his money where his mouth is while King just talks a good game. All this stuff about Green is a load of nonsense too. It's about time people stopped listening to the troublemakers and give the board a chance to get on with their jobs.
Agree with you entirely as I suspect the vast majority of real Rangers supporters do. Why kill the club by withholding season ticket money?
Sandy Easdale has definitely NOT 'invested more than £1,000,000 in Rangers' – he has BOUGHT SHARES and that is not investing in the club ffs!! It is absolutely shocking that you write on matters Rangers and through either ignorance or design create further confusion – no wonder 'no one knows who to trust'!!
I look forward to your response to my comment?!
So Sandy Easdale, has bought more than £1,000,000 worth of shares and you're saying he hasn't invested in Rangers? I don't know how many he bought at the IPO, nor I suspect do you, but that kind of money would surely suggest a pretty big commitment whichever way you look at it. As for the other would-be board members, to my knowledge Dave King, Paul Murray and Malcolm Murray have bought no shares from either Rangers or anyone else.
There in lies the problem, no cach because we are spending more than we earn and have done so for years, even the good years, why else are we in the financial state we are in. Just think, you own your own business with 40K of customers who want to pay to watch your product, are extremely loyal and a brand that is probably attractive to a worldwide audience of millions, yet your business loses money despite owning your main assets, so what is wrong, lets start with the wage bill, why are we paying these costs when in truth we have loyalty, we have opportunity and yet we continue to pay way over the odds, it cannogmbe hard to balancemte books and bring success without having to buy it, which is what we continue to do!
@Anonymous 2 April @ 23.53
The Easdales havent bought in the IPO – and they haven't invested 'in the club'! They have bought shares from various sources incl Imrad Khan and they are in it for themselves – barely a penny of their investment has gone to the club itself and lets not forget that we were fed the line that Craig Whyte was a 'real Rangers man' and look what happened there!!
How can you possibly know that the Easdales are just "in it for themselves" or that they are not "real Rangers" Men? That's only an opinion. And so what if they bought shares from Imrad Khan? If they hadn't, someone else would have. I'm not saying that I know that they're going to be great for Rangers, as I don't know them personally and as yet don't know their plans, but then, neither do you or anyone else. Plenty of people, however, are not willing to give them the chance to prove themselves. I'll need to take your word for it that they didn't buy shares in the IPO, but, even if they didn't, as I said, the £1,000,000 shows a big commitment. The £500,000 interest-free also loan also looks like a pretty decent gesture.
john
You are wrong Easdale put his money in before the share issue so that money went to Rangers the same as my £500 pound of shares
Not sure what you mean by 'his money' or the amount you seem to think he put into the club?!
Type 'easdales' into google and it should bring up a Rangers Standard article by Chris Graham about the bruvvers and their shareholdings and about how they acquired them.
easdale and king these convicted fraudsters should not be near our club once a theif always a theif we should go down on our kneess and ask sir david a man of his word someone ally can trust back on his terms
Sir David?! The man whose egotistical financial mismanagement precipitated our descent into this mess in the first place?!!
You couldn't make it up!!!
Ian Taylor
David Murray!!!! The man who introduced us all to craig whyte ! David Murray the man who used RANGERS to promote himself and his own companies ! David Murray who squandered NTL money ,sold the merchandise contract and outsourced catering to his own family . David Murray who agreed to ebts that got us into strife ! David Murray with every fiver we have a tenner except we didn't and neither did he !David Murray the man who sold Edmiston House and the carpark BACK to RANGERS ! David Murray brought great times and players to RANGERS but look at the price we have had to pay for his gross mis-management of our great club. David Murray back at IBROX you must be fkn kidding he will be lucky to escape jail well this sordid mess with whyte becomes clear.
At the end of the day, this is only one persons view, though I do agree with 90% of it.
The Easdale's have put their money in, Sir David used his companies and other people's cash.
I believe that my club still do not have the right caretakers in place to take my club to the next level, but I believe we have the best available at the moment.
Next level, is that not missing the point, we have abust company, we contimue to hemorrhage money, continue to ask for loans, why, we have a great fan base, own our home and training facilities and yet we still cannot see the woods for the trees. We should be in a great position for ever, we should have no debt after liquidatiom, we have a superb and loyap fan base and in simple truth, we continue to lose money because we pay inflated salaries and have a poor development and signing policy, we should be in clover, developing the best young talent, but no, all you hear is the financial difficulties. We have, save for the team across the city the opportunity to monopolise on Scottish talent (both player and coaching), what do we do instead, perhaps we have the best players, perhaps the best management team, however we are paying too much at the present time if we are having to ask form short term cash, something continues to be very wrong.
How much have the Easedale's actually put into Rangers?
More than Dave King, remember he got at least £18 million back or were his own accounts and the SA courts wrong?
Well I for one ( one of the many ), will not be blindly putting my hard earned cash into the pockets of the present board or D.King. There is an alternative, that being paying at the gate for each game. This will supply adequate finances for the club to continue to be run. If after 20 or so games, the board have shown sufficient acumen in the honest and transparent running of the club, then and only then the purchase of a half season ticket make sound sense.
Sorry, but it looks like you'll be one of the few rather than the many who will not be buying a season ticket. Most supporters realise how damaging to the club this course of action would be. You want the board to show "acumen" but want to starve them of money. How's that going to work? How about giving the board a chance and if things aren't working out, complain THEN? They haven't even been given the 120 days yet. It just seems to me that no matter what the board do and no matter what they come up with after the review, some people are determined that it won't be good enough.
Enlighten me where did two lots of season ticket money and £22.4M IPO money go in eighteen months,we had £21M in the bank 31 December 2012 and on 31 December 2013 we only had £3.5M of which only £1.8M was actually available
Spot on, it went on inflated salaries and continues to so, remember who we are playing at prestent, remeber what league we were in, are in and what league we will plah in next year, yet we pay a kings ransom. Fo what, once we are back in the top league, we will complete no matter what, it just does not make any commercial sense to pay what we are paying except, perhaps we want another liquidation!!
Enough is enough this board has gone through about 48mil yet some of the fans still want to give them more give King a chance nd see if he follow through with his promise to put money in
Why doesn't Dave King stop arseing about and just purchase a controlling interest of shares , he can afford it he keeps telling us . Then he could go ahead with the share issue and put all this grief the punters are suffering to an end !
Think about it, DKcomes in with his £30M, at the rate we are going through money (current wage bill), the money will be gone in less than a year once again, he will want control, he will have to pay for it and he will still have to address the mess that is our clubs financial abyss
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