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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
And all this is successful
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.
I am a normal supporter like the
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.