Rangers and Sports Direct

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Rangers and Sports Direct

This is a touchy topic. We’ve had a lot of questions from regulars asking why we’ve not covered the Sports Direct shambles; why we’ve ‘whitewashed’ the whole thing.

And it’s true, we’ve avoided it like the plague because frankly we’ve been enjoying the football side of things far too much of late to wish to descend back into the murky politics which blighted both the club and this site for six+ years.

It was an ugly time for us and not one we got any pleasure from. We’d rather moan about a missed shot from Alfredo Morelos or yet more awful defending from Big Tav – because that’s the kind of whining football fans are supposed to do, not complaining constantly about boardroom piffle, court cases and revenue issues.

Plus we also have the huge season opener coming up in two days and distractions from that are not welcome in all honesty – we have a trip to Aberdeen which could well define our whole season, just like the previous two openers (Hamilton in 2016 then Motherwell last year) did.

So forgive us if we don’t really want to get mired down in the whole thing while important on-field issues are more crucial.

If you want ‘some sort of opinion’, then yes, the board has made a pig’s ear of the Sports Direct contract, and yes, it may well have lost us £3M plus given Ashley the complete upper hand.

It’s diabolical that our fans cannot buy the shirt, again, and that we’re back in this toxic place of it being taboo now to obtain one because doing so is going through Cashley’s stores and into his  pocket. Probably.

Honestly the latest episode of the fiasco leaves us cold. We’re fed up with it. More and more Rangers are about the football and the club now, so when one of these little chapters appears we want to run away from it.

We know we have a responsibility to you, our readers, and our club, but quite honestly this is a complete mess that the board (and previous boards) caused and other than moaning, we’re not quite sure what power we or any other fan group, forum, organisation or anything else has to prevent it.

The last we heard is it was settled out of court, naturally at more cost to the club – although we have no idea how accurate that is.

If you wanted an incisive and detailed analysis of the affair this isn’t the place to go.

We just want to support our team.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. Yep, let's keep the postitive vibe going. So true it's a mess we can't sort out for now. Let's 100% concentrate this month on giving SG and all of us the start we so crave.WATP

  2. I see sports direct still run their advertising at Ibrox. Why not greatly increase the charges and get our money back ,I assume that there is no legal set limit to what we can charge…if they don't pay up then tell them to do one.

    • JP,

      I like the idea but suspect there will be an enforceable contract. When it expires, price can go up

  3. Whoever it was on the Rangers Board that went to court and wasted time + an additional £500,000 of resources should be summarily dismissed. Total incompetence; our Executive don't appear to know what they are doing. Not surprising really when our GM is a failed Motherwell CEO!

    • Summarily dismissed, sues for unfair dismissal, wins, we are more out of pocket. You would have to show negligence, possible, or sabotage, unlikely. But court costs would be another £500,000.
      I agree it was a very stupid idea to sign anything from SD without careful exmaination and hope the responsible person is ousted, but suspect not that easy

    • Sadly, so true. This highlights long-standing questions about their competence and also that of their legal advisers. At Executive level, these are the same clowns responsible for appointing an unknown manager of questionable pedigree, plucked from that football hotbed of the Middle East, and sanctioning him wasting a fortune on totally inappropriate player recruitment. Those responsible should have walked, or been pushed, on that issue alone. If you add other issues like the complete mismanagement of the Miller and Wallace situation, they seem incapable of doing anything properly.

    • Add to that the lawyers who looked over the initial contract which ended the 7 year notice with SD last year.

  4. Good on ya IN.
    It is nice to read about football. Not all of the static causing accouterments.
    I personally could give a rat's behind about merchandise. I also feel that many other people would care much less about it if they were able to focus on winning football. When it rains it pours. Negative on the pitch only amplify the negatives off.

  5. Bottom line if Ashley has matched the JD offer then the deals still good for us. Whether we like him or not it doesnt matter, as long as the deals right.
    Its the boards fault they missed this and its time now to stop the petty and personal war between us and SD, its only costing the club. If the deals the same then we should not worry who else makes a profit, JD or Ashley, who cares, its business, dont have to like those we do business with. Lets not cut our own throats for the sake of a personal war. Fs if that were the case we wouldnt play or deal with any of the teams in the SPL!!

  6. It’s nothing short of a disgrace SD are still involved in any way shape or form. Yes they have matched our commercial deal, so we are not losing any money in the pound but they are set to make money off our backs… this mob are toxic.

    It would be interesting if the fans refused to buy from them. Surely that would represent a material change in condition where simply matching the existing deal would still represent bad business for the club and loss of revenue. Why that hasn’t been put forward in mitigation is beyond me.

    Replica Football tops are for kids and adults wearing the strip is pretty skanky in my book, so it doesn’t directly affect me. It does indirectly affect all fans who pay money to the club so in that respect it’s nothing short of a fucking disgrace. We’ve gone years without buying merchandise, another year of the same would surely force the hand of those making commercial decisions.

    Sadly the thousands of skanky bears champing to buy replica strips won’t give a flying fuck so we are are all wasting our time whinging about it.

  7. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have some local Blue bears manufacture a top available to all the fans and all proceeds went directly into our club. We’ve been blighted by this fat clown for way too long and the end is never in sight. We just want to support our club. Must agree IN its all about football now and we all need to get 100% right behind SG and the lads from here on in. Would just love to see a direct link between club and fans where we got to wear the jersey and fully back out club knowing all the funds are going EXACTLY where we want them to go. WATP��⚪️��

    • I wholeheartedly agree with what you are saying here Paul……
      IF we could get some lot to MAKE a certain type/colour of top (Orange and blue), and say for their work they'd receive a dunno (not being a businessman) say 25 to 29 percent on all tops sold and give ALL the remainder to RFC, then fans would all be happy and our Club could make loads, and NO JOY TO FAT MIKE, lol 🙂

  8. well said. Its more important to get behind our team and enjoy Gerards style of football. Don't think there's much we can do with SD that does not harm our club. So lets bite the bullet again and follow follow. As for the thugs that were involved on Thursdays disgrace, you're doing more harm to my club than Cashley. Take your thuggery somewhere else

  9. I fully agree with Ibrox Noise, for long enough fans have argued about the board, Ashley, King, sponsorship, politics et al and I personally am sick of it. The only people who can do anything, that’s isn’t to say fans that fans don’t have the right to voice their personal opinions, but it needs a Rangers fan with the money up front to buy Ashley out along with King , the board etc. to sort out the business side of it.
    I am more concerned about the damage fans, whether Rangers fans or others, who have been highlighted in violence pre and post the last two matches, with Aberdeen tomorrow, I hope it won’t be the third.
    On the park is what I like to comment on, whether good, bad or indifferent, let us all hope it is good.

  10. The problem is we don’t know all the facts cause it’s been done out of court. But the big problem is we have no choice but to deal with Ashley. He owns the only big sports retailer in the uk. And people mustn’t forget he has a very good size shareholding in jd as well. So we’re always going to have to deal wth him. And he will never draw a line under anything since he lost and he doesn’t like to lose. No doubt he will always be a pain till he dies

    • Well said. We don’t know facts.However I subscribe to fan shareholdinf( club 1872). Hopefully we can get a representative on the Board.Rangers could in good faith taken legal advice that didn’t deliver. More importantly to me personally is that next weeks game has again been changed from a Saturday to a Sunday at relatively short notice. I fly up from London and this costs me big time. And not just me.
      Can’t SPL F get their act sorted with TV companies.

    • Then we're stuck with whoever inherits his shit.I'm clinging to the hope that we negotiated a year's contract at the most.
      Why else not wait for a ruling from the judge after going so far?I won't be buying a thing from the creepy bassa.We'd have been better sitting out the 7 years.If he's got the 2 year rolling contract,then it's in perpetuity unless what I'm hoping has been done.

    • 'But the big problem is we have no choice but to deal with Ashley. He owns the only big sports retailer in the uk. And people mustn’t forget he has a very good size shareholding in jd as well'

      What a load of rubbish !
      Fans do not have to buy tops resulting in fat mike earning LOADSA DOSH, not at all, no….. simply do not buy them at all, wear what ye have.
      There are LOADS of other retailers out their also so No Need to deal with JD neither, body swerve em Both, use Roberts Stores or somewhere else, just MAKE SURE that this fat mike fellow gets not one dime, come the time !
      Rangers fans, all of us can make sure that fat mike had stayed away,
      BUY NOTHING FROM FAT MIKE'S SHOPS !

  11. Thanks for the update I.N,i for one just wanted to know wtf was going on with our shirts after the court fiasco.

    LETS GO WATP 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
    RANGERS 3 SHEEP 1

    • I'm thinking 2-1, perhaps even a 2-0 for us, pity them sheep…. OOouch !
      We've Won Five games out of Seven lately, Let's Go !

  12. We paid £3 mill to get out of a horrendous contract.
    Now Ashley is forced to pay going rate, apart from that rat Ashley back involved it's not a problem.

    • All we need DO, is not buy any cheap thing from fat mike's den of underpayment to his staff, fck em…. buy nothing from his Tinker shops, NOTHING, PERHAPS he will leave more quickly… he'll be Gone in 2 seasons anyway.
      This fat mike, he doesn't DESERVE a penny from hard-working Rangers fans, none….Give him not one penny, chase him off/away….. nuthing to be had here mike, now fck off mate.

  13. Sick of hearing this just get the kits sold to the highest bidder whoever that may be as long as we get the money from it. I don't care this Is getitng laughable now. Mike is needing to understand rangers only wanted a better deal and have every right to pursue a better deal if he doesn't like that then he's welcome to walk. We don't need any outlet just our own club shop would sell alot. People need to realise this. JD And sports direct take note before yous both end up getting hee to the haw.

    • Mmmm, not the WAY to approach fat mike and HIS Lot, starve em of cash, LET HIS LOT KNOW, we will Not be Buying if THEY are Involved, even in the slightest, let's CHASE EM !
      Not so long to go now, let's all make SURE that this fat mike as he's called, let's not Buy from his Slave Houses.

  14. The deal we have arranged must be a lot better than the shambles before, I,m not expecting the board to come out and tell us the exact ins and outs of it but we must put trust in them,,,,let's remember where we were 5 years ago,,(in a shitheap)

    • Nah, was Written in Stone, fat mike is on a Great Deal, and Gers fans are having to help LINE HIS POCKET.
      Buy Nothing.

      fat mike as is called…. Now He invoked the small print KNOWING that Rangers fans All wanted to buy the new top/s……..
      Let's all sort him and his like once and for ALL.

      Let's all act in unison, buy not one item, let this so called fat mike stew in his own GREEDY MANNER……. it's only for this and next season, then we are SHOT OF HIM !!!

  15. That deal is not for perpetuity anyways, i'm guessing. The contract will end, sooner or later. So then, we will get rid of the sweaty fat, Geordie top-hat, eventually. In the meantime, we'll have to suffer it. Concentrate on the team. But I might just boycott SD, regardless.

  16. Thursday night was fucking brilliant, my 14 year old son was loving it,,the best night at ibrox he has ever had,,let's fucking go

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