A quick run round the developments of the last couple of days in what is becoming the greatest show on earth.
Some thoughts on the return of Mr Kennedy and his dispute with Mr Green – could Mr Green have been taken out of the loop by the investors?
What about the season tickets – you cannot charge Rogano prices for a Blue Lagoon product.
Why did Southampton pay anything for Steven Davis, and can BDO use that transaction as evidence of an undervalued sale? Why did Sevco get the cash?
Is it of note that football agents are gathering round the running of Sevco Scotlands’s team?
Four business days for transfer of membership…the clock ticks ever louder…
Lots of questions – fewer answers!
Brian Kennedy Comes Back
First of all, we have Brian Kennedy, who many moons ago appeared on the horizon as a Hibs fan who did not want to buy Rangers but if no one else did, he would do so to save the club.
He also said he would not form part of a consortium, as that was not how he worked, then he joined the Blue Knights of Paul Murray.
Yesterday he re-emerged again, this time on his own, following the Daily Record revealing his involvement.
Heeeee’s Baaaaack!
The BBC reported Mr Kennedy saying the following:-
“I have recently had several confidential meetings with a gentleman representing the shareholders of Sevco with regards to my interest in purchasing a majority shareholding in Rangers Football Club,” he said.
“The details of these meetings and the written offer I have submitted have been disclosed from within the club.
“Now that this has leaked, I have no alternative but to confirm that what is reported in the Daily Record regarding such matters is accurate.”
Several meetings…with a gentleman… interested in buying a majority shareholding…offer submitted!
That all seems very surprising, bearing in mind how much info has come into the public domain here!
Mr Kennedy suggested that the leak came from within Ibrox, but whether this was Sevco or Rangers he did not say.
However Mr Green fought back immediately. The following was posted on the official Rangers website.
Charles Green, Chief Executive of The Rangers Football Club said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the owners and board of the Club are not interested in selling a majority stake in Rangers to anyone.
“I have said many times we are happy to talk to potential investors who wish to join the consortium on the basis that no single investor will have a majority shareholding and they support our commitment to a share issue for fans.
“We have checked with all the official representatives of shareholders and none of them have had meetings with Brian Kennedy so we have no idea who the gentleman is he is referring to.
“He has not contacted any board members on this matter and we have never received any written offer from him.
“Many people had the opportunity to purchase the Club prior to our consortium but failed to do so, including Mr Kennedy. Talk of yet more bids is a distraction from the very real task of securing SFA membership and rebuilding the Club for the future.
“That is our sole focus and should be the priority for everyone with Rangers best interests at heart.”
In the words of Jimmy Tarbuck in “Winner Takes All”, “We have a difference of opinion here Geoffrey”.
Mr Kennedy responded, saying that he has now submitted proof of his bid, made on 27 June.
“This offer will remain on the table for an open-ended period of time,” he said in a statement.
“I fully respect it is the legal prerogative of the controlling investors to accept or reject any offers for the shares. But I remain ready, willing and able to support the long-term interests of Rangers Football Club.
“This evening, my lawyers have submitted to the offices of Zeus Capital, a copy of the offer document, along with proof of funding, that was considered and rejected by the controlling investors in Sevco around 27 June 2012.”
I read a suggestion that Mr Kennedy is doing all of this, not to actually acquire Sevco, or Rangers or whatever, but to raise his media profile in Scotland. It has definitely done so. For good or ill, that is a separate discussion.
As far as this goes, if Mr Kennedy makes public to whom he spoke, then we will know if he is talking nonsense, if Mr Green is, or if, behind the scenes, investors are trying to get out of Sevco. But without involving Mr Green in discussions.
Rangers Season Tickets
The following is taken from the statement that appeared yesterday on the official Rangers website:-
The decision has been taken to reduce season ticket prices significantly – full Adult and concession season ticket prices will be reduced by ONE THIRD and Juveniles will be reduced by 50%.
Prices for season tickets, which now include all 18 league games, start from £258 for Adults, £65 for Kids and £179 for Concessions.
The spin machine is still in place – this was not simply an announcement of prices, but in response to “numerous” calls from fans. Clearly there are thousands desperate to hand over their money, and Mr Green would be delighted to find a rush to the doors of Ibrox with season ticket cash.
The spin of the announcement however is palpably obvious. The report trumpets that the prices have been reduced! What a deal – roll up and get your season tickets before they are all gone!
Except the season tickets have come down in price, but still to far higher a cost than, as far as I was able to see, those of all Rangers FC’s SFL3 rivals, because the product being sold has reduced dramatically.
An excellent restaurant
It is as if the owners of the Rogano Oyster Bar changed it into a Blue Lagoon Fish Shop – the product has changed dramatically, even if the quality thereof remains high. You can’t charge Rogano prices in the Blue Lagoon!
An excellent fish shop
Sevco Scotland Ltd seems desperate for money – the normal sources of cash, namely from season tickets, has not come in yet. The threat to sue Duff + Phelps seemed bizarre and another sign of the cash pressures.
Will the reductions in season ticket costs work?
Southampton Pay £800,000 Fee For Steven Davis. Why?
Simple. To end the complicated procedures regarding the dispute on his registration. There was the potential for this matter to drag through a panel in Scotland and then get to the Court for Arbitration for Sport. Whilst a temporary registration had been given to Southampton for Davis, they clearly wanted to end the uncertainty.
The new Saint
The fact that they agreed to pay £800,000 for a player who they could have got for nothing, suggests that this is still a good deal for the Saints. Davis was sold in 2007 for £4 million, and in 2008 for £3 million. He is now 27 and possibly at the peak of his career. Sale prices of over £5 million were being bandied about previously.
Quite how Sevco Scotland Ltd has ended up with this much needed cash is interesting. They have been paid a fee for a player who never, as far as the player was concerned, had any legal connection at all with that company.
I suspect that the liquidators will be having a close look at transactions like this when they come in. Should that money have gone to oldco, for the creditors?
If not, does the fact that the value attributed to player registrations was just under £2.75 million, and this one fee for a disputed transaction is almost one third of that, suggest that there was a sale of assets at an under value?
We shall see.
The Gathering of the Agents
Paul Stretford, the “controversial” football agent, is assisting newco Rangers.
Paul Stretford with Jeffers and Rooney
Grant Mather, the new investor, to the tune of £1 million, is also a football agent.
Why would football agents be involved in the running of a football club? Is it for the love of the game, or is it business?
Bearing in mind that, if Rangers FC plays this season, many young players will be thrust centre stage, it is clearly a good move by Mr Green to bring on board people who can maximise asset values. One would expect to see young players who make a success of the opportunity being sold off to generate cash for all concerned, and to fund Rangers FC’s ascent back to the SPL
The Big Tax Case – Why the Delay?
On the face of it, it seems a long time to wait for a judgement. However this is a commonplace feature of the judicial process.
The hearing lasted many days. Clearly there was a great deal of evidence, possibly even about many individual transactions amongst many individual trusts. There may too have been extensive and detailed legal submissions.
The Tribunal needs to make findings in fact regarding all the essential issues, and also findings in law applicable to the facts.
The process of writing as judgement can be a lengthy one, as in addition the Tribunal members have other things to do – both in their “day jobs” and with other Tribunal commitments.
Many years ago I knew of a damages claim where, after three days of evidence, the Sheriff reserved judgement, or in the Scottish jargon “made avizandum”. We waited for a decision…weeks passed…months passed…nothing emerged.
The way of taking up the issue of a delayed decision was to make an enquiry/complaint to the Sheriff Principal, effectively the Sheriff’s boss.
However the general view was that making such a complaint or enquiry ran the risk that the Sheriff, if the decision was not yet complete, might, in a normal human way, be influenced subconsciously against the party making the complaint.
We therefore waited more, and almost a year later, a decision appeared. In that case it had not required all that time to frame the decision, but it was simply, I am sure, a matter of having the time to sit down undisturbed and to consider all of the relevant evidence and legal arguments.
Whilst there are guidelines for when decisions might be issued, they are only guidelines. The decision will appear when it appears.
Suggestions that HMRC are delaying the decision, or that the Tribunal is reluctant to issue a decision for fear have no foundation. The case is in the hands of the three Tribunal members and they will issue their decision as soon as they can. It could be next week…it could be next year.
As with all of the issues above, we shall see.
Pre-Season Friendlies
Rangers had to cancel a friendly with Kelty Hearts due later this week. The Fife team blames the SFA but one could equally say that Rangers FC agreeing to play matches when it did not have a licence was taking a big risk, especially as the reports seem to suggest that the stumbling blocks are partly of Rangers’ own making.
Rangers FC has played closed door matches. These must not count therefore as “official” games and so Rangers FC believe that they can play these without a licence.
The terms of the players’ insurance might be interesting. Are they covered for playing in a non-sanctioned match, or is treated as training?
As far as the other teams are concerned, what is their position if, for example, a player was injured by negligence of a Rangers FC player? Would insurance cover be in place?
Driving a car without a licence invalidates insurance. Does playing a match without a licence do the same?
What Happens Next?
Rangers FC’s Ramsdens Cup match at Brechin is a sell out. It is due to be shown live on BBC Alba.
The embarrassment and financial costs of Rangers FC not being able to play the game would be enormous, and would cast grave doubts over whether the team plays any football in the coming season.
There are four days to go.
Will Sevco stand its ground?
Will Ally McCoist walk away if Sevco agree to the SPL investigation regarding dual contracts continues?
Will the SPL and SFA agree to drop the investigations?
When will the SFA re-convene the Appellate Tribunal?
There is an awful lot to be done in four business days!
Posted by Paul McConville
Random Thoughts Re Scots Law by Paul McConville 
If you put your car on the road without a road fund licence the authorities can take it away and crush it. Who is crushing Rangers? It looks like Rangers themselves.
Excellent stuff as ever Paul, love the Tarby reference. Although I beg to differ that the Blue Lagoon is an excellent fish shop – back in the day it was the preserve only for drunk students. The chipper halfway up Low Waters Rd is the bees knees
The problem here is we could probably add another page of questions such as:
Have the SFA reviewed Sevco’s financial documents and passed them as Ok?
Or have they just given up on trying to work out who actually owns Sevco?
Who came out with this “five way agreement NEEDED” bollocks? There has been no name on the reports or any source.
When are BDO taking over?
Has Sevco paid the £5.5MM for “Rangers” yet?
Are all the other necessary licences, insurances etc in place by Sevco?
How can the SPL threaten to not pay the SFL their legally due amount?
Who won the rights for the SPL fixtures?
And on and on – I’m sure the other more learned posters here could add a few….
This saga is frankly unbelievable, but it makes the working day go faster…
The end of your report reminded me of:
Watch next weeks episode of “Soap”.
It truly is a soap opera with just as many comic characters and plots.
Same thought “Soap” big difference it was funny, this is just sad. Mr Kennedy put up or shut up. As for the license who will blink first, my money is on the SFA.
Good summary, Paul, although as grabthegrass says the list of questions appears limitless at this point. One I thought you might cover is the fine line the SFA are trying to walk on the transfer embargo. My understanding is as follows:
1. It cannot be a punishment, since that has already been ruled ultra vires, so it must be a condition of the licence being granted. This is fine since the rules allow the SFA to set whatever conditions they like on granting a licence
2. However, presumably the point – from Sevco/Rangers’ point of view – is that accepting this condition immunises them from whatever the Appellate Tribunal might want to do – i.e., it effectively resets the clock and says “let’s just act as if Rangers had never taken the SFA to court over this, and we’ll stick with transfer embargo”
3. But that’s not what happened in the real world. Lord Glennie has referred the case back to the AT saying precisely that the transfer embargo was not a punishment available to them. And the AT is independent of the SFA – the SFA cannot tell it what to do. So at some point the AT (with its now changed membership) must reconvene to consider an alternative punishment
4. So the key question is how will the AT regard Sevco/Rangers’ acceptance of the transfer embargo? Will they say (i) “that’s ok, we’ve got what we asked for in the first place, our job is done”? Or will they say (ii) “Rangers still haven’t been punished beyond the fine – since the transfer embargo is now a condition of its licence, not a punishment as such – and the crimes were of the worst possible level below match-fixing, so we still need to consider what punishment we will apply to replace the transfer embargo struck down by Lord Glennie?” (“And our choices are suspension, expulsion or kicking out of the Scottish Cup…”)
I think the AT taking the 4(ii) view of the situation would be a bit of a disaster for the SFA, no? How feasible is it that the AT could take that view? Indeed, is there any link to Lord Carloway’s departure?
It’s pretty clear that whoever is coming up with this in the SFA has no grasp whatsoever of their own rule book or the finer points of law, si ti probably hasn’t occurred to them. In any case that is next weeks problem, let’s get Sevco signed up first…. Of course they should have this expertise to hand, but given their handling of this issue so far, it doesn’t look like they are being listended to.
I am a little surprised Lord Carloway has walked, but he appeared to be having a large sense of humour failure when it came to another judge taking issue with his findings. Of course everyone else then trying to undermine the ATs independence could have had something to do with it as well. I would hope / guess that whatever document is signed by Sevco and the SFA, that it includes a clause saying you can’t take us to court, much as Leeds signed with the English League that was held up in an FA tribunal. So many questions, so few answers…
Many thanks once more Paul for this blog.
Maybe one remark: “Will Ally McCoist walk away if Sevco agree to the SPL investigation regarding dual contracts continues?”
I really don’t understand why Sevco should have the option to agree/disagree to the dual contract investigation. There are rules in place and once they are broken it must be reacted accordingly. There is no space for negotiations or any deals.
Thanks Paul – excellent round-up (still amazes me the mainstream press hasn’t ever provided such a service, which must have a huge potential readership).
Re the season tickets, 20,000 at £258 a pop just about covers what Sevco ‘paid’ D&P for RFC – minus the amount they are said to be in dispute over. Add the Kennedy revelation (kudos to the Broken Record for doing some work for a change) and some would see a exit strategy coming together.
Looks like things are coming to the boil (or should that be ‘maybe a boil is about to be lanced’…)
***On a completely different tack – that of actual footballing matters – I heartily recommend to fellow visitors a new website that provides well-written and entertaining ‘skinny’ on all the teams and issues concerning Div1, 2 & 3. It’s called Tell Him He’s Pele (.com), named after what John Lambie famously said about a Jags striker who came off the field so badly concussed he didn’t know who he was. “Tell him he’s Pele and get him back on.” Worth a look just for that.
All highly entertaining/amusing! However, for the real fun await the arrival of BDO as liquidators & their forensic accounting of the two cretins endeavours over the past six months.
Just what Duff & Phelps (at that stage a prestigious firm) thought they were getting when they offered partnerships to the three stooges, remains to be seen. To become a laughing stock within the legal/accountancy profession would seem an unlikely ambition, but hey who knows!!
The latest Rangers debacle in the shape of Brian Kennedy would funny if it didn’t have such serious consequences for Scottish Football.
And we are all left in a quandary wondering who actually speaks for Rangers in whatever ‘face’ it chooses to present to the world at any given moment whether it be oldco, newco or Sevco. I can even see Tesco walking away in the not too distant future if it can’t figure out who it is dealing with.
We start off with Green in the spotlight – the man who read for the part of Rangers supremo and who seemed to cheerfully admit that he wouldn’t be investing his own money into the club but apparently would be happy just to take a £3 million commission based on a £30 million Alternative Investment Market flotation organised by him.
But right from the start the Rangers audience has been bitterly divided on whether he is a comic singer or a saviour.
He then appears to have exited stage left leaving Coisty to step forward into a cameo role leading what are absolutely critical negotiations with the SFA. Now we may all have differing views on Ally’s strengths as a foootball manager but as to skilled financial negotiator I think we are all agreed on that one.
What worries me most about Ally and the SFA negotiations is the simple question – What legal power does Ally have to speak for, negotiate, or bind the shape-shifting wounded creature which now broods behind the Ibrox facade, presumably trying portray a united image of power and stability?
I have no problem in Coisty being in the room with the SFA and Rangers directors but merely to offer advice to his board members on footballing matters. Why don’t the SFA tell him to sit down and shut-up if he strays beyond this narrow remit with his bluster.
Coisty appears to be incapable of spotting the chalk lines which mark out the various positions for camera shots and has mistakenly put the fans in the spot reserved for the club owners/shareholders.
Sometimes their interests don’t coincide and Coisty as a member of the management team has made the fatal mistake of siding with the mob whose main demands will lead to no football for Rangers this coming season. Oh they’ll get to keep their history in books they publish themselves complete with sealed pages where the real history, as recognised by every other football fan in Scotland, is hidden. And they can dream from now to doomsday about how they would have marched straight up the SFL3 on their road back to world domination. It won’t happen unless they accept the inevitable.
Fine, if that is what Rangers fans want, then it is up to them to choose that and it is not for me to argue against their decision.
And if things couldn’t get any more confused Brian Kennedy returns to the stage in a parachute having been dropped by Bomber on one of his kamikaze missions.
But it appears to have been anything but a soft-landing with Kennedy’s news that he has been discussing a late smash & grab raid with a ‘gentleman’ at Ibrox. Green immediately renounces this as nonsense and basically brands Kennedy a liar.
Kennedy counters with the claim he has been dealing with Zeus Capital who previously claimed that they and associates have invested in SevGers. So has Green been sidlined by the moneymen?
Is he being held in captivity in a Swiss Castle by the true beneficial shareholders and only his voice sometimes allowed to be heard in the outer world beyond.
One thing for sure – it looks as though this comedy is far from over – I keep wondering when Ally will lead the march of the faithful to save the silverware – which I fear will turn into the march of the lemmings.
@ Myself 🙂
I’ve just remembered a tv documentary I saw years ago explaining that lemmings don’t actually fling themselves off a cliff in mass suicides. A TV company in Norway or somewhere had twisted the original dry scientific explanation of whatever they did into a brilliant exclusive with no truth but which is now accepted world-wide as fact.
Perhaps Ally should reflect on what the media can whip-up with ill-considered and intemperate words. The final effect might not be what he expected could well be more injurious to the future of Rangers than just taking the medicine now and getting back ASAP to playing football.
Has anyone seen any report of why the SPL think they are ‘entitled’ to a cut of any TV rights deal that the SFL reach and is it the SPL faceless men or the SPL clubs that are now scrambling for any crumbs?. If it is the latter then it does nor reflect well on those who voted not to transfer the SPL share to Newco but they still want to make money out of the remains. I have no problem with trying to get as much money for Scottish football as possible, however it should be for the good of all Scottish football. The SPL made the right choice in the first place but must now recognise that they need to change their financial strategy to account for that choice. The money raised from SFL TV rights belongs to the SFL, the ‘big boys’ need to get some big balls and change for the better.
Kennedy must be some businessman-wouldn’t pay £7million for 100% of Rangers and now wants to pay £5.5million for 51% of Sevco-a company with considerably fewer assets than Rangers.
Best post in a long time Paul, in my humble opinion of course. Ah its like winning the lottery everyday.
what I find most astonishing and depressing is that the attitude of the new owners is no better than that of the old ones. stuff the creditors, manipulation of the authorities to the extent they are almost running the show now and a generally threatening and bullying manner which bodes ill for the future. as for the authorities their mantra of sporting integrity is wearing very thin. the latest unseemly struggle over the issue of a licence ( for petes sake) is nothing but a naked scramble for money and anything goes in pursuit of it.
thought bdo come in 31 july? first thing they must do is ensure the fee for davis goes into the creditor pot. and what are d and p up to these days? still racking up fees for what exactly?
Be realistic PG, what you talk of goes on all over the game.
Celtic themselves do their fair share of bullying in the pursuit of more money. Their rhetoric on the so-called “gang of ten” was as disgraceful as it hypocritical.
Don´t talk about sporting integrity without mentioning the SPL clubs stance that said sporting integrity was ok up to the point where we decide it is no longer important. Rod Petrie, you really do look a fool.
As for the Davis “fee”, it was undisclosed and Southampton denied the 800K figure saying the fee was “nominal”. The 800 number came from an “inside source” which it seems is believed when it suits.
If you don´t like the scrambling around for ever smaller amounts of money, I recommend that you give up Scottish football.
There should be no discussion at all with the Ibrox club. There should be no mention of media rights because if they do get accepted into div 3 they need to do their apprenticeship for 4 years. The tv negotiations should be sfl/spl, nowt to do with the Ibrox club. There should be no mention of POSSIBLE sanctions for the dual contracts as this will be decided by an independent panel and probably UEFA. There should be a deadline take it or leave it simple as that….
Rangers were content to screw themselves up and disrupt the whole of Scottish football and it seems they still have bargaining rights. Their ex players and support backers, those who came to the table late it seems still make a mockery of the club.
If the SFA do NOT see this as a major gamble accepting a club that is, for now, so unstable, that is constantly churning up issue after issue, that is publically slated by their own fans, ex players etc, that has a couple of major cases to answer as cheats in their very own competitions then to me there is something wrong in this whole scenario.
To the ibrox club and faithful and all who are associated, We are all “the peepul”, putting yourselves out there as better than everyone else has got you in this mess and you continue with the arrogant bullish style as if you are the victims… You have systematically raped Scottish football for years and it’s now time to accept a punishment and change the attitude and join Scottisg football again, with a clean slate and learning from what has happened and believing that no club or fan set are BETTER than anyone else. Believeing equality and humility would have seen you in a better place had that been the MO thru the past few months.
one of the best posts written here so far.excellent jimbhoy
I can’t believe that no-one has highlighted the most shocking and outrageous bit of news to come to light in the last two years, namely the statement by Kennedy to the effect that: “I have no alternative but to confirm that what is reported in the Daily Record regarding such matters is accurate”. This revelation has turned everything we have held dear about Scottish football in recent decades on its head. I no longer know what to think or who to believe.
Well maybe just more of the same, the succulent lamb is finished but there is still some gravy to be mopped up and who better to lick the platter than those at the Record…
Have to laugh at you lot.
When a Rangers leaning journalist writes something that doesn´t go along with your basic overview, it´s another example of how the unbalanced MSM operate to an agenda coming from Ibrox.
When the opposite happens, it´s a breath of fresh air that someone can tell the truth.
Whilst I do recognize that SDM and subsequent did use the media (often via Toxic Jack at Mediahouse) they used it as a tool to keep the support ignorant of what was going on rather than a weapon against the rest.
Celtic use the media to further their agenda aswell, it would be rather silly to argue that they didn´t. They not only use the conventional media but use CQN to help co-ordinate and broadcast.
@Marching on Together
Whenever I hear the phrase ‘I have no alternative’ I always brace for a lie but in this instance who knows whether anyone is telling the truth. I seldom come to the defence of Traynor but from memory I don’t think he had the whole story in his exclusive and had probably just been given the steer that the Kennedy deal was still live as it was still on the table.
just when I thought things could not get madder, it now appears sfa and spl are colluding to get a slice of the SFL tv pot ( now suddenly so desirable for div 3 games) for the SPL as a condition for issuing a licence to sevco. this is the same spl who declined to let sevco into their league. blackmail hypocrisy… words fail. does regan wake up every morning thinking what can I do today to screw things up even more than they were yesterday?
I would just like to know whether it is the SPL clubs or the SPL board that are demanding a piece of the pie, as far as I was led to believe Celtic et al could manage without Rangers?.
IMO and reported a few weeks back the majority of the media deals had some reference to the OF being a part of the deal. So I can only Surmise that these companies have come in saying they want to keep the deal or maybe extend some but with the inclusion of the Ibrox team, hence we do not have one footballing association as suggested by Mr henry Mcleish circa 2010 but 3 who couldn’t organise a p!ss up in a brewery.
Without knowing what the various rule books have to say on this matter my gut feeling has got to be that the SFL has every moral right to fix its own deal for TV rights. But they should play clever and have a deal that extands beyon three years and I would say 5 is probably the max they could achieve. But it means that even if SevGers go up in 3 years there is still a carry-on of TV income.
Obviously there are other possible outcomes that complicate things slightly like Cup competitions but I’m sure it can be hammered out.
But what I haven’t really seen discussed is what is the SFL position re the annual £2million drip-down from the SPL. It seems easy to argue if they have their own deal then the drip-down should cease. But what then if the SPL decide that if Rangers return to the SPL that the tap is firmly off for future drip-down TV money.
Personally I am a bit dubious at just how keen TV will be in SFL3 Rangers and the money that they will stump-up. I find it hard to believe it will rival the riches of the mysterious Orient. Obviously, there will be no sound carried from any of the matches for obvious reasons.
Let’s be serious, who is going to be interested of the novelty value of an SFL Rangers after the first 2/3 matches except dedicated Bears and I would expect, given the thunderous protestations of loyalty ringing across the land that they will attend every away fixture where enterprising ‘diddy’ clubs will have large screens erected for the excess Gers clamouring at the gates and baying for entry – does that rings any bells?
And then of course there will be pie stalls galore with mick hired as the Pie Commissar with his clipboard and pie counter – a job that must be done a the SPL have demanded a percentage of the pie sales which have been lost to SPL clubs and eveyone in Scottish Football knows that mick’s the man to keep track of the pies 🙂
Good point, @ecojon, on what the SFL negotiating their own TV rights would mean for the £2m.
Wonder how the SFL would have felt if this had all been presented to them as a choice – “tell you what, diddies, we’re going to give you one of the Old Firm to have in your league, and you can negotiate your own TV rights and sponsorships and all that, but we’ll take back our £2m p.a. What do you think? Can’t say fairer than that, can we?”
Think they might have preferred the £2m.
@ADM
And don’t forget the pie money 🙂
How could I forget the basic driver of Scottish football finances?!?
RANGERS Chief Executive Charles Green hopes SFA membership will be secured within the next 24 hours.
Part of the deal will be a signing embargo for a year from September 1 but it means Rangers can sign players now ahead of the new season.
Speaking exclusively to RangersTV, he revealed that a deal is now very close.
He said: “We are making good progress. I spoke to the chief executive of the SFA, Stewart Regan, this morning and that went very well.
“I have also just spoken to Neil Doncaster and I will be meeting both of them later today.
“I’m really hopeful now that within the next 24 hours we can have this thing signed and sealed and Alastair can start loading his players on a team coach to go up and try to win a match on Sunday.
“Most of the things are now clear to all parties.
As far as I am concerned now we have no outstanding issues with the SFA. It’s now purely process and documentation.
“We have no issues with the Football League and just some minor points to resolve with the SPL and I’m hopeful we can to that today.”
—————-
Am I the only one, but every time I listen to or read something that Charles Green says, about 20 questions jump into my head that I would love to ask him?
Looks to me like the SFA will grant him his membership, but will wait until the last minute.
Every time Charles Green has said what he hopes will happen he has ended up disappointed. We’ll see.
I don’t know whether the SFA are dragging this out deliberately or through incompetence, although I have my suspicions, but this is ridiculous now. All the teams who haven’t had promotions ratified yet are being messed about: they can’t prepare properly for the new season yet in case it all falls apart. I thought that a close call with a ‘no confidence’ vote from the SFL clubs would have given Stewart Regan the required kick up the arse, but it doesn’t seem to have had any effect whatsoever.
Maybe he’s looking forward to the increased media spotlight the Olympics will bring…. now then, about this very bumpy carpet Mr. Regan…..
Great article with one exception – Southampton denied they paid 800K for Davies. The source of the 800K transfer was a Daily Record understands. Southamptopn deny it.
Josef Goebbels – if you repeat a lie often enough, it will become the truth
Probably it is £800K to some dodgy agent, and diddly squat to oldco/newco Rangers.
Chaos from Ibrox is a dog bites man story. The man bites dog story will be Order at Ibrox.
@exiledcelt
The £800K was always a joke – but I saw it reported the other day it was £300K which is nearer reality but still a joke. I did think they might go £80k or so but I think that is even too high. But Green has got to have good news to stop his investors reaching for the mogadon.
I wonder if Green was speaking face to face or from that Swiss castle dungeon where the thumb-screws are being applied.
I am now really confused – Is Green now confirming that the agreed SFA statement of agreement last week was accurate. Why are we now in another week – was it all down to Ally’s motor-mouth. Och well, there’s some good out of it as the lemmings don’t need to jump of the cliff to be let-down – they can just be marched down again.
Just to recap – the embargo is fine and Ally can sign players up until 1 September – strange I always thought he could sign players at any time it was just that SevGers couldn’t register them with the SFA and even that had been lifted last week until 1 September in the amicable agreement reached which Sevco later said was under duress. Today Green says everything that his chairman flung out last week is fine and that talks today with the SFA ‘went well’. Are they speaking a different language to the rest of us.
One thing I did notice tucked away in an STV Q&A piece is:
‘Agreement with the Scottish FA over the sanctions has been the major stumbling block but other information has to be given. Duff and Phelps, administrators of the old Rangers company, have submitted documents to show that they believe Green and his investors to be “fit and proper”, while Sevco Scotland have to provide business plans and details of their intentions.’
That suggests that the SFA have thrown in the towel on due diligence which, if true, may well come back to bite them in the ass in the not too distant future.
Amazing though how skilled Green is at handling Reichstag Fires – maybe he has Lord Watson as a consultant 🙂
Kennedy appears on the scene and drops a cluster-bomb from Bomber’s incredible flying dream on SevGer and all attention is switched to sweetness and light breaking out between Green & the SFA – proof by Green to his support that you should never send a boy to do a man’s job. Still the boy does get a mention and is sent off on the team bus to Coventry or Brechin or wherever.
Ah notice he made his broadcast using Rangers TV – so he could be in that Swiss Castle under duress 🙂
Interesting what came out when his lips moved: ‘”As far as I am concerned now we have no outstanding issues with the SFA. It’s now purely process and documentation.
“We have no issues with the football league and just some minor points to resolve with the SPL and I’m hopeful we can to that today.”
So has ‘title stripping’ become a minor point or has it too been dropped from the agenda as would appear to be the case with due diligence.
On a footballing matter, anyone work out how many players are still at the Ibrox club and how many are 21 yrs of age before the end of last year? Include in that the 3 proposed new signings are they close to the max 22 that can be registerd in the SFL? Maybe this is something else they want to negotiate as a rule change..!!!
As the start of this post says – many questions, no answers. I think green is trying to put a positive gloss on the fact that he might have caved in on all fronts. I’m sure it was “good progress and went well” if the conversation went something like “So Charles, have you accepted all our points?” “Yes” “Good, we’ll see you tomorrow for the signing. Oh by the way we can’t quick make out who actually owns Sevco, but don’t worry – I’m sure no one will ask us if we found out – it is confidential after all. See ya.”
The killer phrase though is “Most of the things are now clear to all parties” Talk about a non statement.
One question I would like answered is has the SPL share been transferred to Dundee? A brief glance at the websites of BBC Sport, Sky Sports and even the SPL still refer to Club 12.
Now, I have not been near Dens in the passed couple of weeks but I am willing to bet that it still says ‘Dundee Football Club’ above the entrance and not Club 12! Of course the SPL may have sold us a dummy and have invited ‘Club 12 du Octubre’ into the league. Last time in checked they were still playing in Paraguay – but hey this is the SPL we are talking about.
The Brian Kennedy malarky is merely the routine course of the ‘Greater Fool Theory’ that I posted about a couple of months back. I still doubt that Sevco will kick a ball this weekend and that this is part of the peculiar form of brinksmanship being played out.
I think this was one part of the so called 5 way agreement…
I have also just heard a rumour that the Killie v Dundee game will be postponed until 5 way agreement struck
Don´t worry lads, Rangers will be playing football this season !
As will Dundee be taking their place in the “Sporting Integrity up to a Point SPL”, good luck to them.
Charles Green on Rangers TV today said that that no single investor would be sold a controlling interest in Rangers.
He also said that the offers that had come in were less that the amount his consortium had paid for the Rangers assets.
So if someone comes up with lets say 30 million for the for the whole caboodle. He’s going to turn it down flat.
Not so sure his consortium has or even can pay yet.
Seems to me Kennedy is onto something here. Put up the money to pay the original 5.5 million, give the green consortium 5.5 million in two years plus 10%. (free money) Get to own 51% the assets for under 12 million ( a figure well below the real value assuming the licence to play is granted and the potential for future earnings or sell on value). A good deal for a long term investor.
The deal may not go through, I’m sure there will be other parties waiting for the dust to settle, hoping Green can get the licence and take all the flack for giving up titles, but the numbers involved seem tailored to suit what looks like greens real predicament.
The Green consortium would also have a 49% stake. Could the really turn that down.
Not unless there is a better offer in the background.
Note to self : find glasses = less typing mistooks
Thought I’d share this.
Sitting in the pub last night, minding my own business, when in comes this very attractive girl, wearing not only a Rangers top but a scarf also. She then proceeds to give me the glad eye for half an hour, before bringing me a pint of lager and chatting me up for another half hour……..Finally she said to me ‘fancy taking me home?’….. I said ‘Sorry hen, but you’re not in my league!
In the story about justice, she was barred from the pub!!!!!!!!
H H
I reckon the real crux to SevGer’s survival is quite simply:
1) Do they have the £5.5 million to buy oldco?
2) If they do can they raise enough income to cover running costs?
3) If there is a shortfall between operating income and expenditure do they sell Murray Park?
4) Once Murray Park cash is swallowed-up in the Black Hole will existing investors put more cash in and/or can new mugs be found?
I think that the whole exercise is a very shacky house of cards and the main destabilising and also conversely anchoring issue is: How many season tickets can be sold?
A helluva battle is going on at the moment in Rangers fan websites over the issue. It is amazing the amount of posters with registration dates ranging from a couple of weeks to a few months are active which points to a highly motivated PR campaign in action.
They appear universally to be lauding Green to the heavens and view him as the saviour of the club. Strange that they were not members of the forums in the last 18 months when their club needed the. However I have no doubt that the more savvy support is well aware of what is happening – sadly for them and ultimately Scottish Football there really doesn’t appear to be another game in town unless SevGer collapses.
So we will all have to sit and wait and see how the cards are played. But the farce never stops with Green saying he was meeting Reagan later today and the SFA denying any meeting was scheduled.
Selling Murray Park is not really a runner to plug a cash-flow problem, unless there is someone out there who wants to use it for its existing purpose and has the readies.
If it is being sold for primarily housing, any purchaser paying serious money will make the deal conditional on getting planning consent, and further conditional on the number of housing units for which consent is ultimately obtained. I think you can safely make that a year from now, by the time this is all done. Also in the current financial climate, there are very few people out there able to take such a project on. So any sale in the immediate future IMHO would be for buttons.
Unless, there is a sale and lease-back, with Rangers paying rent to a commercial landlord, which coincidentally is what Leeds United did to raise money before they went into administration.
@Marching on Together
Yea, silly me sale and leaseback would be a preferred option and might actually get some of the current shareholders (if they actually exist) off Green’s back and leave their capital in but get lease payments as a ‘dividend’ so to speak which would of course possibly lessen the tax bill.
@cmh64
Once they have the money they won’t give a flying F*** about hanging about to blame anyone. The blame game helps at the moment as they need to keep potential ST purchasers onside. Apparently they couldn’t provide anything other than cash payments for Brechin tickets yesterday according to some bears and, if true, means they still haven’t got a electronic mechanism for ST sales.
I am sure that Mr Green would not go down the road of only selling STs for cash as that could cause reputational damage if he was thought not to be able to sign a bank up for the task.
Who would buy Murray Park or Ibrox before they have a guarantee that BDO will not repossess them on behalf of the creditors?
I can’t shake off the cynical part of me which puts your questions a bit differently:
1. Do they have the £5.5m to buy Oldco?
2. If yes, do they actually want to run a football team?
3. How can they get out of this with a profit and pass the blame onto somebody else?
I hate being this cynical, but nothing I’ve seen in the last few weeks convinces me that they’re not just trying to run the clock down beyond the end of July and the start of the season.
I’d love to be proved wrong.
Ecojon,
Charles Green does not have 5.5 million pounds sitting in a bank account to pay D&F at the end of the month.
The backers such as they are did not offer the investment funds free of conditions.
This is not news. There is no investor that I can think of who would not guard their investment by covering it with certain conditions being met before making funds available.
The conditions asked for have not been met.
In my last post I mentioned how convenient the numbers were. on the Kennedy bid.
Follow the money if you want to understand the business.
For a long term investor Rangers are ripe for picking.
What is the real value of Rangers?
If I wanted to buy a second hand Ford Focus, I could look to see what the same model with the same mileage sold for and be reassured that I had paid the correct price.
In the case of Rangers there is no same model, so I do what any car buyer would do. What does a similar car cost, say a Volkswagen Golf with the same specification.
Well you could look around the worlds football leagues to find a match for Rangers, but you don’t have to.
Celtic provide the best example possible for what Rangers could be worth for a forward looking investor.
The stock exchange lists Celtic as having a market capitalisation of over 31 million pounds. That’s not a sale price ( you have to be able to persuade an owner to sell) but it gives a starting point.
So how do you value Celtic and by extension value Rangers.
Player transfer websites value the Celtic playing squad at around 48 million pounds. Reading them in detail I found it easy to pick holes.
some seemed out of date, I found one that listed Paddy McCourt as a 1.5 million pound asset which gives a flavour of what’s on offer.
It’s a guess but lets say 30 million pounds.
The value of Celtic to an investor is inextricably linked to success on the park. To play in Europe is to play for big money.
It’s not so easy to pin value down. With player values and results it can change quickly.
Rangers have the capacity to get back into a similar position that Celtic currently occupy (with backing) in four or five years.
Are Rangers worth 5.5 million?
Put it simply with all the market and football ups and downs, would you value Celtic at 5.5 million pounds.
Try finding a bank or any other investment opportunity that could offer you for 5.5 million pounds the sum that you would get by selling Celtic.
In just a few years!
There is a lot of money to be made it the Rangers fiasco.
@Martin
I agree with everything you say – Green got Rangers for a song, But what I can’t figure out is why he has had such problems in finding investors who can put money in without blinking.
He seems to be having to squeeze it out of them – When what’s his face the Zeus guy said that it was worth £50 million any day of the week I broadly agreed with him.
Green to me keeps sending signals of financial desperation which has always made me think that his £5.5 million is covered by acreage of investor conditions and I have certainly seen it somewhere recently reported that Green has a condition that he could walk away if they didn’t stay in SPL.
Kennedy’s stance I have never been quite sure about – it certainly seems to be designed to pressure Green but for what purpose and to whose benefit? His original offer was predicated on £2 million of football debtors money going to him which means it is only actually a £3.5 million offer which isn’t real even if Green doesn’t have any money.
One thinh I wonder about is why Green is so behind no being a shareholder – would this affect an AIM or small cap listing ion any way – just seems curious unless he really doesn’t have a tosser.
@Martin
And of course I meant to add that the key words are ‘long term investor’ – looking at Green’s record I don’t think he quite falls into that category and you are right for such a person or group it is a very attractive long term proposition.
£5,5m for Celtic. ? If Celtic were up for sale at £5.5m right now you should buy them and reap the alleged £7m they will get for Ki thus a £1,5m profit straight off the bat… 🙂
Buying or selling is pretty much based on timing…
The timing for rangers purchase could not have been worse obviously and has been bad for a few years with various debts and failed investments due to a badly run ship.
To buy out Desmond now would cost ya a fair penny. Celtic will have the CL pot to themselves if they manage to get to the group stage for the foreseeable now that their nearest CL pot rivals are dead..
The Old Firm notion is dead and buried, Celtic and the Ibrox club could not be further apart now and will likely be that way for a long time.
Its looking more and more likely that no team will ever play at Ibrox again.
I am wondering at this stage if Green will not be able to put it all together in the time left. Its going to be tight.
Paul stated “you cannot charge Rogano prices for a Blue Lagoon product”.
This made me think about the level of product on offer within the SPL the last number of seasons and my view is that we had two dominant teams (I did not say good teams), two or three mediocre teams and the remainder are poor teams. Overall the product has been very poor and there is no reason to believe this seasons it will improve. In the case of Celtic season ticket holders the matches they would have looked forward to the most would have been the games against Rangers but this is now gone.
Thus I believe there is a very strong case for the season ticket prices for all SPL clubs to be reduced on the basis of the quality of the product that they will offer.
Mibees ayes mibees naws….
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18972417
I cannot now recall what other possible sanctions are open to the SPL/SFA on top of the threat of stripping past trophies. If it is purely the threat to PAST trophies that is preventing a deal then Sevco have either lost all sense of perspective here or are deliberately looking to use the SFA as a scapegoat for the folding of the club, leading to a sale of the physical assets.
My niggling question right now is this, Is this saga all a sham or a scam? Because the story doesn’t seem like reality anymore. Too many lies. By sham I’m suggesting that none of the actors in this corruption blockbuster actually owns the stadium or the training ground and that ‘investors’ don’t really exist (as they didn’t for the previous 5 years when David Murray anounced he was stepping down as emperor of his own dung heap).Is it possible that Green, Whyte, Kennedy (and possibly D&P) are all (or in part) part of a bogus brigade put together to make it appear as though there are ‘investors’ and a Board of ‘businessmen’ behind newco. This charade then allows the SFA to put into motion the mechanics needed to give newco a licence i.e. it is a legitimate business backed by real investors. Coincidence that Green isn’t saying who the investors are; maybe either because they don’t exist or because they are crooks?
Or is this saga a scam, whereby they are all merely vultures independent of each other and are feeding over the carcass to screw as much as they can without paying creditors?
Because the script being told to us by oldco, newco, sevco, D&P, SFA and the atrocious scottish media and ex Rangers players and pundits isn’t adding up. In fact, the plot holes are now all over the script being peddled publicly.
I’d also like to know why were the broadcasting rights to Scottish fitba (with such a large fan base) so undersold compared with other small countries? How much profit/loss did SKY make out of its SPL broadcasting? It would be good if Paul could shine a light on that.
I could ask why the media isn’t pursuing answers from Ogilvie, Bain, David Murray, Gordon Smith, Walter Smith and the other deceitful directors and staff about EBTs but I think we all know the answer to that one already.
As the days go on and the footballing deadlines close in there is a real sense of the unreal about all of this… I still say the SFA/SPL/SFL should have MADE the hard decisions and those at Ibrox could get on with things instead of thinking they are still in the lead role here. We would have had clarity on all parts many weeks ago and all Scottish football clubs would be looking fwd to a new season of football on not more inevitable melodrama to come.
The play so far from last to first… Main players:
Green’s the fibster, Mccoist the sycophantic posturer, Brown, wattie and Kennedy the insincere sideshow, the Hampden 3 not fit for purpose, D&P inept, Whyte the crook and murray the megalomaniac.