Why Charles Green is Back

20
Why Charles Green is Back


Back again, Charles?
It had almost been boring had it
not? Rangers fans had gone a good three or four weeks without any major boards’
politics nonsense, or fan protest and the ilk. Long-suffering Bears were
actually arguing about football, and Ally McCoist.
My last entry analysed the
manager, his tactics, and the team’s performances.
But then, that could not last.
Literally 24 hours later news
broke on two separate counts, in a subject area that supporters have got beyond
sick of and that undid all the football-oriented discussion of recent weeks,
not to mention slightly overshadowing tomorrow’s flag day.
Sunday at Ibrox was supposed to
be purely about unfurling League One’s mast, while hopefully beating visitors
Hearts. Last but not least was the lovely moment when the Govan Stand would
officially be renamed the Sandy Jardine Stand.
But no, here we are bleating on
about Dave King, David Somers, Charles Green & a brand new name to the
Rangers world – George Soros.
The first story to break saw
chairman Somers discussing future share issues, and the opportunities for
investment. Asked on Dave King specifically, Somers replied:
“We are always open to dialogue with new
investors, including Dave King. On an occasion in the future when we might be
talking to new investors, I would expect us to have a courtesy conversation
with him.”
Many may disagree but I feel this
to be a weak, poor and incompetent response about a man who has openly attacked
the Club and tried to strange its coffers with the failed ST Trust scheme. If
someone attacks you with a knife in the street, you do not then ask them to
help heal the cut they caused. Dave King tried to hurt Rangers, and now Somers
has his cap out?
For me, the response here should
have either been ‘no comment’ or an outright ‘no’. I know the Club is in dire
need of finance, but given King has threatened to invest for 15 years (the £20M
story from the 90s is history) without anything materialising I believe he is
beyond a busted flush – consequently rejecting him is like saying ‘no’ to the
hopes of a lottery win before the numbers are drawn. You are rejecting the
occurrence of an event which is nearly impossible anyway.
Dave King could have pinched this
Club for less than £10M during the admin days, but was nowhere to be seen.
Indeed he could have taken it off Murray’s
hands for £2. He was the invisible man.
No sooner had that story made the headlines though,
when it was completely trumped by yet another public takeover threat from
former CEO Charles Green.
Not for the first time, the former
head of the Club made public waves about recapturing Rangers, only this time
purely as a proxy for American billionaire George Soros. This is what Green
said:
“I’ve got a number of people ready to
invest in Rangers. I’ve told people this is a great club and a great
opportunity. It’s one of the world’s biggest brands in terms of football. I
don’t want to go back to Rangers, I left unhappy last year and know it wouldn’t
be right to go back. However, to see where the club is now is a disaster.
Why Charles Green? I’m not applying to be the Messiah but I won’t let
the club continue to slide and become a laughing stock. What I’m saying is if
someone else can raise the money then great – if not, I’ll do it.
It’s a disjointed fan base and someone needs to stand up and say how it
is. I’ve made loads of mistakes I’m not saying I’m a good guy but I’m certainly
not the worst guy.
I wouldn’t be involved at executive level or operationally but if I
bring investors in, they’ll want some kind of representation on the board. That
could be me or someone else.
Raising cash is what I do. It’s what I’ve done for 30 years and it’s
all I do. What is important is that the club is saved. If the club doesn’t
raise cash, then it won’t be able to continue to trade.
If some fans would rather the club goes back into administration then
they are not real fans. Sit and wait and see what happens – if I don’t raise
the cash then that’s it but if I do the club will be stronger.
Fans need to unite. One week it’s the Sons of Struth and then the Union of Fans – there is no union of fans.
I’d love to see all the fans unite and hate me – at least then they’d
be united. It’s a disjointed fan base and someone needs to stand up and say it
how it is.”
George Soros – the new kid on the block?

In simple terms Green wants to
make more money (well, he would not do this for free would he) and believes,
among others, Soros (who owns around 7% of Manchester United) see Rangers as an
investment opportunity. Readers of my blogs down the years know I have always
been an advocate of Green, and that I never subscribed to the propaganda
against him. Yes, the guy wants to make cash, but he has never lied about that.
Here he appears to trying to get Soros to invest in Rangers (possibly buoyed by
Rangers’ popular American tour where obscure stadiums in California &
Ottawa were filled with blue jerseys) while using the cover story that he
genuinely cares about the Club.
Maybe he does, but to me this
does not matter – if Charles Green, who said, by the way, that he does not want
back at Rangers (to which the Union of Fans’ respond “Charles Green is not
welcome at Rangers” – bit slow, are they not?), can get American billionaires
to pump money into Rangers so that the Club can get back to a financial keel
while a few folk make a bit of cash of it, that is fine with me.
There appears to be a curious
belief among certain fans that Rangers are not a business, and that ‘how dare
these crooks make cash from our Club’. Apparently some fans expect rich men to
literally ‘gift’ them the cash for no return, because otherwise they are just
thieves. It is beyond naïve.
In the end, nothing will likely
come of this anyway, as is so often the case. But if Green can get rich people
to invest cash in the Club to help us through this period, obviously while they
get a return, it is something I would take.
He raises cash. It is what he
does. He gets paid for it.
No one does anything for nothing
in this life.

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20 COMMENTS

  1. At what price, the bulk of the last money he raised was trousered by his friends and himself. I know he is not doing it for nothing but he wants as much of it as he can and would take the lot if he could.

  2. When Rangers were in administration Dave King couldn't buy the club as he still had tax issues outstanding in South Africa

  3. Charles green was a victim of the narrow minded people who have risen to prominence in Scotland. Mr Green tried his best to put Rangers on a more stable footing than they were in Murrays day he is the man who should be held to account for Rangers being in the state they are in at present. How he has not been subject to an official enquiry is beyond the thinking of many people who supported some of his dubious decisions such as Dick Advocat and Torre Andre flo

  4. I agree with Anonymous. Once bitten twice shy. Charles Green filled the board room with a bunch of his greedy mates and each one tried to get more than the other. It does not matter how much money he can raise I would not touch any of it because there would be a hidden agenda you can be sure of that.

  5. No problem with people making money when they invest in a business and the business makes money…
    but Rangers is LOSING money, yet people are still making themselves rich as Rangers makes losses.
    Rangers needs to learn to live within its income even if that means it takes longer to reach the top. One liquidation was enough – never again!

  6. Is Charles Greens wee Paki pal (his words) not suing us for £500,000,the amount of bonus money Green promised him after we won the third division.WTF

  7. well Charles Green did save the club and for that we should be all greatfull because with out him we wouldn't have a club to support and your right people or buissness men don't do things for nothing, in life you get nothing for nothing if he can get an American billioner too invest in the club then great because the men in charge just now cant get anyone too invest and they have tried so Charles Green is right their is no union of fans every one seemstoo say they represent all the fans well they don't represent me and if Charles Green can get investment in too my club and save it from anymore embarrassment then great because all these great white knights like Jim McColl ,Dave King and all the other 15 minutes of fame guys had the chance when the club was up for grabs had the chance and failed so if Charles Green can get the investment in and help the club then great good luck too him ,

  8. We need to get real , No ONE will do it for nothing , King wanted one of the biggest football brand names on the world on his CV , he wanted it for nothing , Couldn't get it so split the biggest support in the world down the middle and left the club support squabbling amongst themselves and faded , An investor who generates money and cash input and is good at it .. is what we need , if he makes money !!! what did we think he was there for !!

  9. Is Charles Greens wee Paki pal not suing us for £500,000,the amount the afore mentioned Mr Green promised him if Rangers won the 3rd division title.Do not let this man anywhere near Ibrox again

  10. We have to be real and realistic , If we get an Investor and or someone on to the board who can generate investment (and is good at it ) grab him /her, Do we all think that someone will come in ,do it for nothing , work himself to the bone then walk away with a big round of applause ? Dream on , King wanted Rangers for nothing , Split the biggest support right down the middle because it didn't go his way , then faded into the background , Be warned , he will come back again and look to upset the apple cart . If we go into the top flight (SPL) in the current situation I suspect our days are numbered , AGAIN , get someone who can generate investment , let him make a few quid then walk away if he/ she wants to ,

    • What on earth are you on about??!! Dave King didn't split the fan-base down the middle – the shysters and crooks who have walked away with millions split the fan-base not Dave King and to suggest otherwise are the rantings of an imbecile! !

  11. You continue to trust a man who directly oversaw the wasting of 70 million pounds of Rangers money over a period of less than 2 years yet you repeatedly vilify a man who voluntarily gave 20 million of his own money for the sole purpose of making Rangers stronger.
    Charles Green saw an opportunity to make money, grabbed it with both hands and milked it for every penny he could. The fact that he could bask in the avalanch of publicity that came with the job was a major plus as far as Green was concerned and its that desire to again see his face in the papers and plastered all over the web that has prompted this latest outburst. He has no backing from American billionairs, the man is a chancer just one rung higher in the evolutionary ladder than Craig White. He will continue to pop up every few months to feed his own ego but he will never again have any influence in our club.
    Dave King on the other hand will in the not too distant future have significant and hopefully even a controlling influence over Rangers and I along with I believe the majority of rational fans look forward to this happening.

    • I think if you look at the trail of evidence the £20m was given to Rangers so the RSA tax man couldn't get hold of it…and by all accounts SDM paid back £18.2m of the 'soft loan' …so please do not think King has the money or the will to bail us out because he doesn't.

      I am a very rational fan and I for one do not want him or any of the other detractors darkening the marble staircase at Ibrox, We need someone with serious money and we need it quick, someone with serious money does not try and get in back door for free, they put money in upfront and say it as it is.
      King and his cohorts couldn't buy the club when it was going for £1 so don't give me the man with £20m to invest, smoke and mirrors ia ll you get from people like him and that's the last thing we need now.

    • You've obviously not been paying attention here. As stated in the second comment on this post King could not buy Rangers when it was up for sale because his assets were frozen due to the investigation by the SA taxman. Now that his tax issues have been resolved he very clearly is in a position to invest in Rangers and has made it clear that he intends to do so. What he is not going to do is throw millions at the club while it is being run by people who have no loyalty to us and who, understandably are looking to make as much profit as the can in as short a period. If King invested money now it would be distributed between the institutional investors and the board and none of it would benefit the club. King has got to be sure that any investment he makes in the club stays in the club and is used to make us stronger not to make a few individuals richer.
      Also contrary to the post Rangers can never be successful if it is run purely as a business. Green and his cronies bought the club for very little knowing that with the big tax case out of the way there was a huge potential for them to make money short term. The value of the club was rock bottom and they knew that the by floating the club on the stock market the share value would increase greatly to reflect the real and potential value of what is a Scottish institution. Overnight these guys made a lot of money but they never had any concern about the club. As long as these guys have made their profit they really couldn’t care what happens to the club.
      Nobody today is likely to make any money investing in Rangers shares. In business terms it makes no sense, that’s why the current board are having such a hard time raising money. The reality is that the only people who are likely to put money in the club are people who can afford to and are prepared to make a long term investment with little or no chance of any return on the investment. That means people who love the club and are literally willing to “gift them the money for no return”. Like it or not Dave King is one of these people, perhaps the only one and the board knows that. That’s the reason that despite King saying and doing many things that have hurt the current board they are still ready and willing to sit down and talk with him.

  12. Danny you are keen to quote Dave King but fail to mention the tens of millions of investment that THIS present board promised they would get in! This board have failed so miserably at doing that to the extent they were about to borrow money at a grossly inflated interest rate just to keep the club running and now they want a new share issue for exactly the same reason! Where the f*** is the investment that these clowns promised?! The fact is that no-one will invest in a loss-making club such as ours unless there is some shady deal going on in the background and if Charles Green is involved you can be sure that that will be the case!!

    • Not that Dave King would have anything to do with shady dealings right enough. If Charles Green can get people willing to invest in the club, we should welcome him back with open arms. This was the man who saved us when Dave King and the rest were nowhere to be seen. He also stood up for us at all times (something we hadn't been used to) and refused the attempts to strip the club of trophies. He was always up front about being here to make money, but said that he would make money for Rangers too. However, some short-sighted people, egged on by the Rangers-hating press, couldn't wait to get rid of him. You're moaning about no investment, but because you don't like Charles Green, you want to be picky about what you're going to accept. Get Green back, get some investment in and get shot of Ally. The quicker, the better.

    • I'm not sticking up for Daventry King! However, you are obviously happy with the shady 'onerous contracts' that Green left our club with – whether Stockbridges bonus or Ahmads commission – who knows what other legacy costs he has left us with?!
      And Green may well have 'stuck up for us' – but I'm not so easily pleased by his obvious playing to the gallery and am more embarrassed by his blatant lies about connections with Man Utd and the like and his totally class-less 'Paki friend' comment!

  13. So after assurances that we had no chance of facing a second administration this is exactly what we are facing. This current board is now begging for four million pounds by mid September or we are potentially finished as a club as a club. And this is happening when the board are fully aware that Dave King is willing to invest up to 30 million if he is given a significant voice in the running of the club.
    Your defence of this clearly incompetent board and your unjustified hatred of DK is madness. This board has to go and go now. King has to be given the control over the club that he is willing to pay for. If this doesn't happen we might not have a club at all.

  14. So we now find out that your hero Charles Green had sold the naming rights to Ibrox to Mike Ashley supposedly for a whole pound then spent a quarter of a million pounds of Rangers money trying to fix his little blunder.
    Green the magnificent money raising businessman.
    I think it's about time you posted another blog to explain if you intend to continue to advocate for Green and if you intend to continue to support this current board, whos most influential menber bought Greens shares and inherited from him the voting rights for the secretive Blue Pitch and Margarita Holdings.

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