Well its Official!! Rangers are being run by Bankers
Published: October 24, 2009
Well as we suspected all along since the resignation of Murray as Chairman, the bank is now running Rangers Football Club. Its Official! However lets all await Walter Smith getting a slap on the wrist for stepping out of the party-line at Ibrox, or possibly the lack of a contract on offer in January after failing to give Smith any assurances on transfer budgets.
Rangers manager Walter Smith was speaking after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Hibernian, the Ibrox boss expressed frustration and concerns about the lack of players at his disposal after Lee McCulloch became the latest player to join the list of growing casualties.
Any hopes of Smith bolstering the squad in January is unlikely after Smith’s bombshell that HBOS is controlling the spending at the Ibrox club.
“Is that not obvious to everybody?” asked Smith. “As far as I’m aware that’s the case. David Murray has stepped down (as chairman) and they have placed a representative of the bank (Donald Muir) on the board so as far as I’m aware that’s the situation. It’s obviously not a good situation, it’s not a situation that anybody wants the club to be in. It’s been up for sale for a while.
“It’s not the bank’s fault, if the bank has to take over in these circumstances they are not going to invest in a football club, are they? I think we have been fairly honest about the situation. The players at the club have been up for sale since January and we haven’t bought a player for what will be 18 months in this transfer window.
“These circumstances have been here for a while now and I’ve been perfectly aware of them and, despite some headlines, have never complained about it. I’m not complaining about it now. I’m just saying to you it’s a fact and it’s a fact of life just now for a lot of companies throughout the world who are having a struggle financially at the moment.
“When David Murray stepped away from the club, I felt that was a bad thing for Rangers in the sense that he tried as hard as he could over the 20 years to invest in the club and now we don’t have that situation. The quicker that gets cleared up, the better it will be for Rangers.”
It will come as no surprise to those of us who have been reporting the financial troubles behind the scenes at the club. And now that the bank has placed a puppet director on the board to watch over the goings on at the club, it is safe to say that whatever money the club pulls in from the Champions League, competition prize money or player sales will be syphoned off to pay towards the increasing debt at the club.
It doesn’t make for good reading for Rangers fans who were given reassurances from their new Chairman Alastair Johnston back on 28th September, when he said, “This club is not run and operated by the bank, but we do rely on the bank for financing.”
In effect the club is being run in unofficial administration mode, with every financial decision having to be given the thumbs up by the bankers. This would mean that if or should I say when Kris Boyd rejects the offer of a contract on reduced terms when the January transfer window opens, the bank will accept any reasonable offers from clubs to buy Boyd to prevent him going for free in the summer.
With the half yearly report from the second part of last season delayed and allegedly being published next month the official accounts should show the level of trouble the club is in. That’s if the report is published an in full.
Our fanzine The 12th Man will be covering the subject, in more depth within our next issue which will be published at the start of November. The article called Rangers in Crisis will look at the financial goings on at the club, board room changes and other aspects of the club that the mainstream media have failed to cover given their need and reliance on news stories handed to them by members of the Rangers board and officials.
Tagged with: bankers, hbos, Rangers
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23 Comments on "Well its Official!! Rangers are being run by Bankers"
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George on Sat, 24th Oct 2009 10:48 pm
Try to contain your glee, there’s a good chap. I think Walter may be overstating the position somewhat. So the bank have a guy on the board. He is a Rangers fan who specialises in turning around companies. Sounds like a good appointment to me.
Editor on Sat, 24th Oct 2009 10:54 pm
How is Walter overstating the position somewhat? Maybe he has just had enough of toeing the partyline and decided to air his grievances in public after having enough with the stuffed shirts preventing him from doing his job properly and with the required funds to turn the clubs fortunes around.
Contain my glee? Do I like to see clubs in trouble financially? Not at all. Even the rivals of the club that I support. Without Rangers in the equation, Celtic and their board will not strengthen and will take the cheap option to try and win the league. They did it last season and the gamble didn’t pay off.
Without a strong side or should I say a remotely threatening Rangers side, Celtic will not strive to improve if they know that they will not face any serious threat.
dannybhoy on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 1:02 am
Good point editor you can only be better than the opposition the reason Celtic were so good in the 60s was due to the high quality of opposition in Scotland.I miss read your headline BTW i thought it said wankers then i realised it was bankers!!!!!!!!!!!!
ParisLoyal on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 8:56 am
I may be wrong but is this the same Donald Muir of PriceWaterhouseCoopers who has a history of being parachuted into a company as a chief financial restructuring officer?
PWC are of course well known as Administrators called in by the receiver to ‘run’ a company when that company is placed into “administration”.
This smacks of ‘receivership’/'administration’ doesnt it?
When a PLC is put into administration there is usually major financial curbs placed on trading and a restructuring of the business usually takes place. Assets are sold when it is deemed logical to sell. I seem to recall that a good proportion of Ranger’s assets are not actually owned by Rangers but by other companies – some owned or at least operated by Don
ParisLoyal on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 9:16 am
ald Murray (Allegedly).
The entire Rangers Football Club plc looks very asset light but this is difficult to substantiate because of a certain cloudiness in the company’s business reporting.
Has Rangers been fleeced by outside parties? Who now owns Murray Park and the land adjacent to ibrox (which was reported as being bought up in the hope of a supercasino and hotel business – which fell through)? Is Ibrox remortgaged and second mortgaged?
Why is Alistair Johnston so silent? Why has Rangers not appointed a Chairman who will act on the club’s best interests who would be available locally to provide good PR and to show the country and possible investors that the club is not leaderless and rudderless?
These questions are the same questions that the Scottish press have been avoiding asking for quite some time.
Are Rangers bankrupt as they appear to be in administration? If they are in administation is this being hidden and played down by the establishment and the banks because such an admission would i believe lead to points deduction in the SPL?
Of course if i was the administrators i would not like to admit it if i could hide this fact. 10 points deduction would mean less fans through the turnstiles, less shirts being sold, less interest from corporate sponsors and advertisers and even possibly the loss of participation in the Champions League next year. A massive loss of income for the club all round.
When are we going to find out the true state of affairs and when are the Scottish press going to ask Rangers some serious questions?
No i don’t mean Chick YOUNG;
Hail Hail!
Dominic on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 10:41 am
If my memory serves me right the Bank of Scotland were going to put Celtic out of business for owing 7 Million pound. So how much in debt are rangers then ? bearing in mind this is the same Bank. I think we should be told. Also any update when work is going to start on the 750 Million pound Stadium complex. Will the Daily Record ever print a cracked rangers club crest ? So many questions, I wont be holding my breath waiting for any answers.
You've been rumbled! on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 7:48 pm
Here we go again, more thinly disguised glee from the master of drivel, Editor; the one who proclaims impartiality when it comes to reporting all things Rangers. From your rather clumsy double-entendre headline(rhyming slang the Cockney’s call it), to the diabolical grammar that’s evident when you’re rambling on about the shortcomings of Rangers (it must be all down to the excitement)it seems you can hardly contain your joy.
Anyway – it seems our private e mail correspondence (which mysteriously dried up from your end when I hit a few home truths) discussing my fist thoughts about your far from impartial nature were not unfounded.
I don’t suppose you’d have the guts to reproduce verbatim our correspondence would you? I’d be happy for you to do so, let the listener’s decide?
Naw, I didnae think so.
You’re a bigot and a fool… and not a particularly clever one.
Editor on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 8:20 pm
First of all archie, as per your correspondences after the third or fourth email that was about three pages long I just couldn’t be bothered replying to your drivvel which was the very same as your first email sent to me. And what double entendre headline? Are the club not being run by bankers? again dissecting sentences and twisting them to make your own end.
And thirdly where have I ever been bigoted on this site? Point it out to me and everyone on here? Do you actually know the meaning of bigotry or a bigot?
But as with the usual suspects in attacking this site and myself you can’t just help the personal insults can you? You try to be smart and clever at the start and by the end your just spouting childish insults – oooo I’m not particularly clever eh? You claim that my grammar is rotten yet your comment is littered with them also. Pot calling the kettle black or what?
And listeners? Didn’t realise the site was on audio format? And finally Archie am I just to ignore the latest news coming out of Rangers football club? Am I not allowed to report on such issues? Oh wait thats right, because I am not a Rangers supporter I am not allowed to criticise the club or the fans because I don’t have the right or should I say whatever I would say is lies, or gloating or bigotry filled opinions.
The only bigotry on show was from those fans singing the billy boys at Saturday’s game against Hibs. Yep its everyone elses fault not Rangers.
And there was not mystery about further emails being sent from me to you, I got bored and had better things to do with my time than replying to someone who has his head so far up his own arse that he can tickle his tonsils with his tongue.
And you claimed in your emails that you were not in fact a Rangers supporter, yet every word that you typed and sent to me and likewise this recent post just proves that you are a Rangers supporter. Otherwise you would not be so venemous in your defence of the club, its fans against an article written about its financial state. At least I have the balls and the guts to state from the start that I am a Celtic fan and have never hidden the fact – why are you trying to hide the fact you support Rangers? What are you ashamed of?
dannybhoy on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 8:26 pm
Why cant(we are the) people handle the truth?????????????????????????
Editor on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 8:28 pm
Well Danny the truth shall set them free and in our next issue of The 12th Man, we have a feature article on Rangers and their real state that the mass media do not want to report on – dunno why – but we will cover their current financial state, the latest developments in the news this weekend, the hypocracy of the Bank of Scotland and one or two other wee tit bits. Sure to get me a few more death threats and folk saying I’ve been rumbled for the 257th time.
dannybhoy on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 8:40 pm
Sounds interesting btw what happened to your live updates this week?????
Editor on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 10:14 pm
Did not have the time to do them danny – should return soon though.
Dominic on Sun, 25th Oct 2009 11:00 pm
Well said Ed. When Celtic where in crisis it was constantly in the news. Rangers were high and mighty from Sir David down to the supporters. Now Rangers truly are in crisis and nothing from the press ?????????????????????
You've been rumbled! on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 8:29 pm
Seems you jumped the gun! The banks aren’t running Rangers… it’s offishul byraway.
You really must try harder.
Liam... on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 9:16 pm
Yeah, Editor I was shocked to hear the Billy Boys on Saturday. Pretty disappointing, so it was.
ps I think when it freezes over we’ll get’s hell cracked crest before we get’s a newspaper with a Rangers cracked crest on it. Good to hear the journos giving Walters an easy time of it today on the TV too.
Editor on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 9:34 pm
so Walter Smith is lying then eh?
This coming from the same club who said that they will be building a super casino complex for £700 million????
You've been rumbled! on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 10:34 pm
This coming from the same club who said that they will be building a super casino complex for £700 million????
Where did you read this? Or is this more of your made up drivel? Quotes if you please.
Dominic on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 2:54 am
Youve been rumbled ‘the banks arnt running rangers’ lol ‘keep believing’ Do you also believe in the tooth fairy ?
Editor on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 8:04 am
lol look back at David Murrays commments from 2007 – a new stadium and hotel complex for 700 million plus a super casino which all fell flat on its face…. and if you don’t know anything about this then you have been on another planet for the past four years. It was in the papers – splashed all over them as well as the tv with murray talking bout it.
You've been rumbled! on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 7:27 pm
See you’re wrong again. Murray had plans approved for a super casino development, but it went to Manchester. Secondly, the figure stated for the proposed (very important word, proposed, in this context) development of the Hinshelwood area was 350million. This was approved by GCC in context of the general redevelopment of the Govan area.
He did state, however, that these plans were unlikely to come to fruition in the current financial climate. The proposed (there’s that word again) plans to develop the stadium, of which there was three if memory serves, were also shelved in view of the financial climate at the time.
Once again your rambling, plucking disingenuous (there’s a word you’ll need to look up)statements out of thin air, and bandying daft figures about for nothing more than comic effect.
Editor on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 7:36 pm
lol is that right archie keep believing your drivvel.
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/01/06/rangers-s-secret-700m-blueprint-for-ibrox-78057-20275903/
ooo wait 700 million didn’t I say that – my god archie YOUR WRONG!
You've been rumbled! on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 8:45 pm
No, the development of the Hinshelwood area was 350million. The evidence is there, you just need to look and read.
The casino was scuppered, and the stadium development was shelved. The 700m figure was press speculation.
Please stop reading the SM and using it as a trustworthy source, it only adds to the lack of credence in your articles.
Dominic on Tue, 27th Oct 2009 11:41 pm
youve been rumbled, take off the blue tinted specs. The press were happy to print the plans for Ibrox and Murray said it would happen. But the press arnt pressing rangers for an update on this. Remember Celtic and Cambuslang ? the old Celtic board were hounded and there was even a documentry about it. The Scottish news even went to London to the Office of Stradivarius who were the company that were going to build the stadium. The same media who are giving rangers an easy ride. You are so deluded. Wake up to reallity. Your team aer in a bad situation and you cant handle it. BORROW BORROW HA HA HA. GIRFUY