Boardroom Chaos at Ibrox, What’s Really Going On?

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With the ongoing chaos which
permeates the Ibrox boardroom, it is almost impossible to know where to start. But
I’ll give it a go.
Today saw the resignation of
Chief Executive Officer Craig Mather and non-executive director Bryan Smart.
Added to the resignation 2 months ago of Walter Smith as chairman, and the
departure of non-executive director Ian Hart last week it is safe to conclude
Rangers are not only deeper in the mire that acts like quicksand, but
fundamentally rudderless:
Rangers now have no board.
The only ones left are Finance
Director Brian Stockbridge and the Easdale Brothers, only one of whom is
actually on the board. The other is
on the sporting side, otherwise known as the Limited company.
So Rangers’ PLC board is
effectively two men now.
That is a summary of how it looks
on the surface. ‘Behind the scenes’, however, the pitiful mess that is Rangers
FC makes for even more damning viewing. The number of soap operas,
backstabbings, lies, deceit and betrayal would have Mr Struth turning in his
grave.
There is no honour any more.
What follows is a bit of an exposé
of some of the truly ridiculous nonsense most Rangers fans know nothing about.
I will not go into sources or indeed too much detail, but I will sum up the
events I have been informed of.
For a start, Rangers fans, myself
included, applauded manager Ally McCoist for taking a 50% wage cut recently.
Unfortunately the problem is this is, thus far, a complete fabrication. Ally McCoist’s wage remains at £875,000 plus
bonuses. No wage cut has yet been taken by the boss.
McCoist also recently outed
former director Ian Hart as a director who wanted him fired after the defeat to
Forfar. Not actually the case at all.
My understanding is Hart was only
critical of McCoist’s public verbal tirade against Charles Green (the whole ‘we
need a cup’ comment), who was once McCoist’s boss. And suggested to McCoist, had he been
his own employee, such a tirade from employee against himself (Ian Hart) would
have seen Ally fired. Hart did not
want McCoist fired, he was only being rightly critical (as I was at the time as
well) of McCoist’s frankly ludicrous outburst at former CEO now consultant Green.
There was also Craig Mather
making underhand dealings 6 weeks ago to ‘get rid’ of Hart and Smart as a deal
to appease Paul Murray and his ‘consortium’. In other words, Mather was trying
to make space on the board. That would have been acceptable had Hart or Smart
been consulted and given their blessing but this was behind their backs.
Hart also saved Rangers a lot of
cash by persuading Charles Green to quit with severance pay. Green could easily
have sued Rangers in court for a lot more. Just like Sandaza nearly did, and would
have won but for Rangers cottoning on to his case being so strong and settled
out of court.
Then there is Brian Stockbridge; he
did not take the bonus. He and
Mather have both publicly confirmed it and my understanding is that at least is
100% true. It remains in the accounts contractually and nothing more. That one
at least is honourable news but most fans refuse to accept it as the case.
Another piece of honourable news
is that Ian Hart was not paid £28,228 expenses. Instead he was just given that
in shares in the club.
The last thing I will touch on is
the slightly embarrassing plans for the AGM. Mather and Stockbridge are/were so
anxious about fan reaction they planned a 10ft stage with back exits and a
tonne of police (no joke) so that they could be protected and escape if things
got ‘heated’. For the executives to require body guards and a plan B is truly
the most absurd thing. What did they expect? A swarm of 50 angry bears charging
the stage wanting blood?
It is not a surprise Smart, Hart
and Walter Smith quit. Albeit it probably is a surprise to many that while
Malcolm Murray was the original ‘mole’, Mather and Walter were not averse to
the occasional leak themselves.
Rangers could not be in more of a
mess right now, with no board, no leader, no direction, and a now-postponed AGM
meaning new appointments cannot be made until just before Christmas.
Still, at least the stuff on the
pitch is worth cheering.

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23 COMMENTS

  1. Sad times for all you Rangers fans, with doubts about Kings fit and proper person status there are more questions than answers surrounding the club. It's sad to see such a proud institution as Rangers in this mess, sadly another administration may be on the cards. As a Hearts fan I now know how that feels, and I hope you guys can get together and sort this mess out. Scottish football needs a strong Rangers, bring back that pride guys.

  2. Calling bullshit on this for a number of reasons.

    1) You say Green was Allys boss when his comments were made (following the Forfar game). Untrue. Green was re-employed as a consultant, and was no-ones boss. I was unhappy about McCoist's comments following Forfar, (the wind, the pitch, the pressure), but Green was wrong to make his comments in the first place.

    2) Green could have been fired for gross misconduct for his "Paki-friend" comments, costing Rangers nothing. Rangers may or may not have lost any subsequent appeal, although I doubt they would have. This would have resulted in the absurd situation of a major share-holder suing the company in which he was part owner. Charles Green extracted the maximum amount possible from Rangers in the shortest time possible. If what you say is correct, Ian Hart assisted in this gouging.

    3) The minutes which were released for the recent supporters meeting with Mather and Stockbridge did not say that the bonus was untaken or returned. It said the Stockbridge NOW realised that his bonus as FD should not be based on football performance. The following is quoting Stockbridge from the meeting:

    BS – "the terms of my contract are public – £200k bonus for each of the NEXT THREE YEARS. I voluntarily agreed to remove my bonus payment that had been agreed for THOSE years. It's about delivering financial performance, I'm not taking an automatic bonus. Expect that post-AGM my remuneration and bonus will be announced. With hindsight I should have been rewarded for financial performance not football basis."

    "With hindsight" and the "next three years" implies to me that last years bonus was indeed banked and that Rangers won't be seeing it back.

    Also board appointments can be made at any time and just depends on the existing two man board and the NOMAD.We didn't need an AGM to appoint Mather or Easdale so we wouldn't need one to appoint directors now. In fact the statement to the LSE regarding Mather and Smart would seem to indicate that appointments are expected and the references to "consensus amongst major shareholders" implies perhaps a comprimise will be forthcoming.

    Not sure why you are still defending the current (or should i say former) board members. After Monday's ruling by Lord Tyre, I would have thought it obvious that they were trying to pull a fast one regarding the AGM and that should be setting of major alarm bells. The fact that they are all now running for the hills seems only to confirm this suspicion.

  3. To be fair ….a lot of what you have said is true and anyone with an ounce of sense can see that we are up shit creek without a paddle or a bucket to bail us out….in other words fellow bears, thanks to all the back stabbing schenanigans and goings on from 'Real Rangers men'…we have no one and not a hope in hell of attracting any decent investors….who the hell would invest in us when all we do is bite the hand that feeds us, stab people in the back and live in cloud cuckoo land……sadly the bheast from the east has triumphed…..the Trojan Horse approach worked a treat for them …and our blindly led fans are to blame …fantastic, you couldn't have scripted it better if your name was Cardinal O'Brien…..well done lads we have for all intent and purposes pulled the pin out and lay on top of the grenade

    • What a lot of BULLSH+T i am not in the least bit concerned by what has happened , and when Stocky goes i will be OTM ……….we are well in hand , and by people who care about Rangers …………. dont you worry about that , but i am really sorry to P on your bonfire ! it was going so well too ! .

    • Yeah… no. If we are up shit creek, who was it that steered us here.

      Supporters of the current board have continually derided McColl/Murray but to blame them for our current state is nonsense.

      Simply put the board tried to pull a fast one.

      McColl/Murray were asked to get involved by some shareholders (how many remains to be seen) and requisitioned an EGM. The board bitched and moaned about how much this would cost and how the should be left alone to do their thing. Then they started playing silly buggers looking for everything to be authenticated and find out who were the beneficial owners and so forth. This was a stalling tactic. When they finally got all the info they asked for, they assured McColl/Murray that they would take the business forward at the AGM once the accounts were out and save some money. McColl/Murray agreed. Then before the accounts were out McColl/Murray put forward their nominations for the AGM. The board tried to block it, put forward some scare stories about how they must be retained at the AGM or nobody would be steering the boat and the printing costs and other misdirection. McColl/Murray challenged all that in court and won.

      Are you not concerned that, regardless of what percentage of shareholders are being represented by McColl/Murray, the current board seem terrified of taking them on at either an EGM or an AGM. If the requisitioners don't have real shareholder support, what are they worried about. And if they do, then don't they have the right to have their voices heard.

      Now they are all abandoning the ship (to continue the analogy) and your blaming the guys standing on the shore.

      Despite what Charles Green thought and said (not sure if there is any difference between those two things) he did not own Rangers, he was not Rangers and it was never, and should never have been all his descision.

      Regarding all the authentication and beneficial owners nonsense, ask yourself, was the requisition to appoint James Easdale scrutinised so closely? And why have we had three NOMADs in under a year.

  4. If Paul Murray and his cronies succeed in getting their feet below the boardroom table, they better show they deserve it after their behaviour here. Not to mention the way they've "used" supposed Rangers fans to orchestrate all this turmoil and unrest. Blazer Chasers…….please go home.

    • Don't be an absolute A*******,….
      Murray and his cronies as you put it, have the undesirebles and the industrial rapists running scared.
      Funny how Mather ,after all his spouting,decided to 'bolt' as soon as the court ruled against him…why??
      It's as obvious as night and day…they all have something to hide.
      How any Rangers fan in their right mind can want any of this 'mob' over our own Rangers men is beyond beleif.
      The club, the fans and some normal investors have been carved up to a disgraceful level over the last few years, and diluded individuals like you back them up….absolute idiotic.
      I could go on..and on, but what's the point, because to some people, the obvious isn't very obvious.
      Frightening!!!

  5. Let's not forget the part those fans reps played in the current situation either. Mark Dingwall and the even more ludicrous Chris Graham have created division the likes of, our support may not recover from. Both of these so called fans reps have been smearing good Rangers members of staff and fans since all this rather untidy mess began.

    What exactly were those two promised in return for their help?

    Who sanctioned these two morons to smear Rangers board members?

    I'm afraid the Rangers I supported as a boy is a thing of the past now that we have morons like this speaking on our behalf.

    • What a load of bull*** – you sound like that lying c**t McTurdo who just spouted any propaganda fed to him by those robbing bastards on the board!
      I would much rather listen to someone with INDEPENDENT thought like Dingwall or CG than some of the pish being spouted on here!

  6. What a load of old nonesense…all you high flyers who claim to know what is going on. Granted I would say that this article is even more bull than the reactions created from it. Fortunately this has all been written in the cards since the day the business was liquidated.

    And I say fortunately, because Rangers are exactly where they ought/should & probably more importantly, where they want to be, since the liquidation shennigans began. Anyone who has been reading anything with any depth or substance on this business coming out of liquidation, administration, call it what you will. Well it clearly leads you to the fact, that you need a:
    fall-man (White) :
    loud-man (Green) :
    reign man (Mathers) :
    & a host of boardroom bottom feeders (Ahmad, Smart etc) to pull the club, donkey-esk out the mire. Is all part of the side show, a typical dirty, nasty business shuffle, re-shuffle, misdirection in tactics.

    The club now on a level playing field, money in the bank, no debt, a decent team on the park, a loyal (albeit slightly disgruntled) support. & all the while the old guard sitting poker style/stand off, waiting for the right moment to make their move. The final couple of cards will now be shown, as we see the usual suspects showing their hand (King, Wilson, Murray, Murray et al). I don't doubt for one second, that the way they have dealt with this whole affair is outrageous, imorale, disgusting. But alas the boys at the big table, never got where they are by playing fair, did they.

    Much like politicians, they fu*& up, scarper off into the Maldives until the dust settles, then appear over the hill like knights in (muddy!) armour, as some sort of saviour figures.

    The club will of course get stronger. And the ironic thing is, it will be with the guys who were here when this all began. As I said: this has all been written in the cards.

  7. They have threatened the very fabric of what being a Rangers fan means….our club was founded on principals that set us apart from others….thanks to these puppet masters we are no longer a club with any honour left…..sad sad day when I think that….and for those who say "i am not in the least bit concerned by what has happened" ….wait and see when the 'True Rangers men' all you idiots keep banging on about, actually rock up with empty pockets and broken promises….who are you going to blame then? Better if you turned your hate and anger on the bheast from the east and all the crap they have been throwing at us ….wake up people….we are fast running out of time while we fight amongst ourselves. Disgusted with the whole lot of it and for a club with the proud traditions we once had it is very very hard to take. I am a double season ticket holder and travel miles to games….that shows far more commitment than any of those currently in the frame to take over the club who have never even bought a pie or a program. I don't want any of them near my club, seeing that smarmy faced Murray on tv the other day playing to the camera as if he was someone to trust actually disgusted me…..he is nothing more that a louse and should crawl back under his rock and do us all a favour.

    • Think he's right you need sectioned !! wit has it got to do with the bheasts ? who got us to follow Green ? Ahmed ? Mather ? Super backed them and we followed ffs !! then Walter was wheeled out and again we followed !!! How many penny shares did it take to sell us out AGAIN ? Real Rangers men my arse !!!

    • Have to agree with the post that was put first ,, it is a sad day and one that will only start the next round of fighting. The rehbels the ones that openly call us sevco on their supposed rangers sites will take the developments as some how a victory and push on. This whole saga has become a pig in a poke. But when all the dust settles I just hope we have a club left after all the infighting and threats. Has anyone check to see if dingwall has raided the kitty again when this has been going on ?? bit of deflection never hurt any ones eh

    • Strange how the sensible posts come from people who can see the wood through the trees and do not need to be aggressive, abusive and downright ignorant to get their points across. My guess is you posters normally go on the highly enlightening sites like Follow, Follow….stand with the kids in the Broomloan Rd and slag off anyone who has an opinion that differs from the garbage you try and peddle.

      True Rangers men support their team in times of crisis, buy an extra top, punt more into the 50-50 and are proud to call them Rangers fans….not followers of a Newco called Rangers….go back under the rocks you crept out from under and leave true Rangers fans to get behind whoever is in charge and whoever dares to save our club from extinction….irrespective of who they are….when these shower invest and get us in the right track I will support them too, until then I will not give them or their bully boys and fat controllers the time of day

  8. well if Murray and co, now get in that'll be the famous glasgow rangers back to licking the arse of the rest of Scottish football and apologising for ruining the game in Scotland, the dignified silence will be strictly adhered to. but it won't be long before those extra special fans like Graham and his cronies realise their error and turn on them. there's plenty of shit going on at Ibrox, we're the laughing stock of world football, talk about scoring own goals, the Tims are having a field day, unfotuneatly we're just a joke team in every sense of the word JOKE.

  9. Looks like Paul Murray will get his own way and control of the club without putting a penny in investment into it ? another clever spiv in the making

    • i totally agree mate never liked murray and i never will but im sry to say some bears wouldnt know the truth if it bit them on the arse

  10. i hope our new club moves forward and the spivs are left with the liquidated one

    congrats pars fans for saving ur club

  11. Bheasts from the east? Trojan horses?

    Unbelievable that some of you still think this is not the fault of your own suits!

    No wonder you're in the state you're in, and getting worse by the day!

  12. If I was an outsider looking at what is going on behind the scenes at Ibrox in the boardroom I'd be in hysterics, but I am not an outsider. I have supported Rangers for as long as I can remember and I am now 59. I was one of the shreholders who lost my Rangers shares when the snake Whyte bought the club from David Murray.
    Where were the 'Rangers People' when we needed the club to be taken from Whyte? Tumbleweed…
    Every Rangers minded businessman wouldn't touch the club, because they were frightened off by the EBT case, justifyably in my books. Who in their right mind would want to inherit potentially £75+ million in debt, had we lost this case plus any other potential penalties that the scumbag Whyte generated.
    Charles Green and his consortium came in and 'rescued' the club, the Rangers we now follow progressing up the leagues.
    He was disposed of in the squabbling, culling or whatever you want to call it and he is now history, but some of his consortium still have shares in Rangers as do other major shareholders he attracted into the club.
    So now what do we have, two men on the board of directors and two former directors and two cohorts attempting to get onto the Rangers Board of directors. These men failed before to in their tenure on the board at Rangers, but they now come as saviours to take the club back on behalf of Rangers People.
    If King can be trusted and put more of his personal wealth into the club, or if McColl is prepared to inject some of his personal wealth into the club and any other Rangers or non-Rangers men put money into the club I welcome them, BUT ….Rangers fans should be as wary as I am about rumours, fact, fables and lies told by all businessmen who portray vested interest in getting onto the board at Ibrox, as asset stripping is still being mentioned as a way forward to fund the club. Selling Ibrox, Murray Park and the Albion car park and then leasing the same, isn't going away.
    Rangers fans have had a hard time, I have never felt so low in all my Rangers lifetime, but I have managed to try to keep an open mind, not jumping on any bandwaggon, scrutinising what is being said by the anti-Rangers Press and what is being said by our club and so-called Rangers bloggers , like McMurdo and Leggat, etc.
    Too many fans are having knee-jerk reactions, easily led individuals, day-to-day changes of opinion, with 'Sack-The Board' protestations, not that I agree or disagree with their opinions, freedom of speech I agree with, personal insults i totally condemn.
    Anyone I asked the question to in regard to what is going on with our club like; 'Who is going to replace the board when we sack them?', if i get a response in media named people i.e. the Murrays, etc , I then ask 'How are they going to generate funds and what funds do they have in place to stabilise and progress the club for the future?' ….TUMBLEWEED.
    I welcome whoever puts money, business acumen and stability, with a vision to get Rangers back to where they were and should be…at the top.

  13. Excellent post, nice reasoned and fair, in my opinion neither of the Murrays have enough to piss in a pot never mind induce some hard currency into Rangers, they bring nothing but bad memories and failed leadership to a club already crippled …..the future is less than desirable if these pair get anywhere near the Board.
    No one said what we had was great, we all knew it wasn't, but until something better came along it was stable and manageable, where as now we are back to the days of nowhere to go. If I hear the saying "Real Rangers men" again….jesus Christ the only true Rangers men were those who stepped in and saved us from extinction even though they were business men, they still did an honourable thing and preserved our history, what would people have rathered? As it panned out or we started from scratch and we all called ourselves Newco Rangers? I know where my preferences lie and yes I do agree with change but not with how it is being forced, short term pain for even longer term pain in my opinion if the Murry mob get anywhere near. We need an Ashley or someone of that ilk but the way we are behaving we couldn't attract anyone with any decent business plans for our future unless it met with approval from the idiots who spout their bile and garbage every week….you know what…I wish they would just bugger off, they are not true bears in my eyes despite their claim that anyone with an opinion differing to theirs is not, since I learned walk and talk I have been a proud Rangers fan and paid my dues for over 40yrs so like so many other true fans I am disgusted by the behaviour of some, its absolutely shameful and using the name of the immortal and impeccable Bill Struth in their cry's and blogs is sacrilege of the highest order

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