Charlie Green has had a busy and slightly complex business history with many moves that have taken him into a number of business sectors. In view of the importance to Scottish Football of his stewardship of Rangers Football Club and his stated intention to float the club on the Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (AIM) I thought it might be of interest to look at his previous business history.
I emphasize the fact that that there are legal entities, which may have ceased trading or not achieved targets, whilst Charlie held a directorship implies no wrongdoing or lack of professionalism on his part whilst he was a director of any such organisation or, indeed, anyone else.
As Business Development Director of Manchester-based Texas Holdings Ltd (a privately owned conglomerate involved in a number of areas including property development and strategic investment services) Green was responsible for the acquisition by Texas of L. Gardner Group Plc, a West Midlands engineering group which was floated in November 1995. In March 2003 the Receivers were called in and the banks were reported to have lost £45 million in the collapse.
Green also orchestrated the purchase by Texas of a controlling stake in Sheffield United FC’s holding company and was responsible for its flotation in January 1997 and was chief exec until March 1998 and I think it’s fair to say that a significant section of the support were happy to wave him goodbye for a variety of financial and football reasons. However, I am leaving Green’s on and off-field footballing activities and his rag-trade dalliance to later posts so as not to over-complicate and muddy the issues.
The connection between Texas Holdings Ltd with L. Gardner Group Plc and Sheffield United FC’s holding company appeared in Annual Reports of Medical Solutions Plc which Green was a non-executive director of at flotation in 1999, becoming chief executive officer in February 2002 when the former CEO departed. Publicly available directorship records show that Charlie’s period as a director with Texas Holdings Ltd ran from April to October 1999 and from October 1998 to October 1999 with its letting subsidiary Peers Hunt Ltd.
However, by February 2002 Texas held almost 8% of the ordinary share capital of Medical Solutions which was ‘cash rich’ in 2002 with Green stating that 2003: ‘Is set to be a fast moving and rewarding year for the Group, which is well positioned for expansion.’
This duly followed in Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar in 2003 and 2004 but the 2004 Medical Solutions’ annual report described it as a ‘challenging year’ for the company, adding: ‘Having made significant investment into our operational capabilities in 2003, the level of revenue growth we anticipated did not materialise as quickly as we had hoped. This led to a drain on the Group’s cash resources.’
The disastrous state of the company, which hadn’t turned a profit for four years in a row, was publicly revealed in November 2004 with its value more than halved to £12 million and shares slumping 58% to close at 8.5p. Shareholders bombarded Medical Solutions HQ with phone calls angry at their losses as many bought shares earlier in the year at 35p when the company raised £2 million to fund expansion.
It was obvious that fresh money was urgently needed for survival and its jewel in the crown Dubai operation, bought only months before, faced being sold as: ‘A last ditch solution’.
Medical Solutions chief executive Charles Green – former Sheffield United FC boss – accepted his future was in doubt and stated: ‘f I get red carded at every meeting then I will be leaving anyway’ although he sought comfort in the scientist company chairman being supportive of his position.
Green, however, added: ‘We haven’t made any executive changes yet; we will be doing that and expect to make announcements in due course’.
The company acted swiftly and decisively and in January 2005 organised a share placement and offer and raised £5.7 million to stabilise the company. They then set about reversing the 2004 decline and by September 2005, Medical Solutions announced that CEO Green would be concentrating his efforts, for the foreseeable future, on the Group’s Dubai business with a view to maximising shareholder value and that his CEO duties would be assumed by the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
Mr Green’s contract had a 12 month notice period and he left Medical Solutions in August 2006 with a £200,000 compensation package and the Dubai operation was disposed of three months later.
Medical Solutions accounts show the company made payments for fees to HFG Ltd, which Green and his ex-wife were directors of, amounting to £147,000 in 2003; £210,000 in 2004; and £39,375 in 2005 but in that year Green became a Medical Solutions employee and the arrangement ceased. The 2003 and 2004 amounts matched the figures shown in the Medical Solutions Directors’ Remuneration Report. HFG Ltd was incorporated in 2004 and struck-off and dissolved in 2009.
The company’s Directors’ Remuneration Report also shows that in 2002 and 2001 Medical Solutions made fee payments of £152,450 and £2,500 respectively to Searby Farming Company Ltd in respect of Green who, with his ex-wife, were both directors of the cereal growing company from February 2001 until February 2004.
In November 2009 Green became a director in Our Enterprise Haslar Limited but this was terminated in April 2010. Andrew Parker Bowles, the former husband of Camilla, was a fellow director in the project to develop and regenerate the former Royal Haslar military hospital in Gosport, near Portsmouth, which included building a veterans’ village on the site.
Asked about Charlie, Brigadier Parker Bowles expressed surprise at his interest in Rangers and said he seemed more interested in horse racing and added: “We were all a bit surprised when he left because he had been driving the business.”
In July 2010 Green became a director in Fort Blockhouse Partnership Limited but in February this year the process to voluntarily strike-off began and the company is now dissolved.
In October 2010 Green re-joined Formation Group PLC as a non-executive chair having previously been a director with and founder chairman of Formation when it was floated back in 1992.
But just over a year later in February 2012 Formation Group Plc announced Charlie’s resignation as non-executive chairman and director with immediate effect for ‘personal reasons’.
Quick as a flash Charlie was on his travels and almost immediately popped-up as the non-executive chairman of the Singapore-based and Bermuda registered mining investment firm Nova Resources Limited which he resigned from in early May 2012 to “pursue other business interests”.
We now know what these opportunities were but the big question is whether a Rangers share flotation will save the club or turn into a lead lifebelt?
Posted by Ecojon
Random Thoughts Re Scots Law by Paul McConville 
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I still feel Mr Green will push the boat to the point of selling all major assets,claiming he really, really did try this time!
thumps up on that read ecojon well enjoyed reading about cg past deads none of the msm have done any reports good or bad the bit a liked best was
“his CEO duties would be assumed by the company’s Chief Financial Officer” that means hes not that good with numbers am thinking and all his floats have went down hill after a couple of years .
Great work ecojon. Can you imagine what state Celtic would be in if wee Fergus hadn’t come along when he did and this man Green had! I venture to suggest that it would be US that would be playing in the Third Division with a ten thousand capacity stadium. I feel sorry for the few dozen genuine rangers supporters who have little option but to trust this charlatan; he’s the only show in town and its not a very entertaining prospect. He’s probably got his next venture lined up as we speak, hence the outspoken bile of late. It’s only a matter of time before he is a footnote in history.
@dombhoy67
I still shudder sometimes when I think of the alternative without Fergus – he was a difficult wee bugger but as straight as a die.
Eco,you obviously are well read in the dealings of Mr Green and usually then open up the discussion to the posters which range from learned debate to conspiracies involving the Illuminati!
Can you give us the same opportunity regards Dermot Desmonds business past.Is it true that he ran his own EBT type loan deal with Charlie Haughey?
An in depth analysis of the Glackin report by your good self would be a hoot and a wee gander at the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal tend to tickle the cockles.
Cam, should the business affairs of Dermott Desmond be of interest to you, and bearing in mind you appear to have concerns regarding his track record, feel free to investigate and submit your findings to Paul for consideration.
That being said, tell us, what is the relevance of the business affairs of Dermott Desmond, Ecojon’s post and the potential lead lifeboat created by Charles Green and his planned AIMS flotation?
The postings by Paul McConville, Ecojon et al have proven to be factual and informative. If I was a potential shareholder or fan of the club you claim to love and support, I would be concerned about what I have just read and ask relevant questions. Consider the impact of CG personal aims against those of the club you claim to love so dearly.
I’ll leave the obsessive investigating to the Bhoys,it seems to be their forte.I do appear to have touched a nerve by, as a bhoy with a thicker skin pointed out, suggesting that all business dealings can look shady depending on the tint of your glasses.
If thousands of Bears are following a madman into a minefield are you asking me to believe that as an act of kindness the Bhoys are telling the Bears where the mines are??
Not a single Gers fan will buy any shares to assist Chico’s pension fund but we will keep supporting the team.Chico time shall pass and the will of the people will sustain the mighty Gers.
If the Coyote Pete masterplan had sneaked under the radar then the Gers would be in the SPL with points deductions,transfer embargo’s,financial penalties and playing on red ash with no boots.Integrity?
As a fan of the noble art of pugilism, any boxer will attest that there is nothing as scary as having landed your best punches but seeing your opponent still standing, getting ready to hit back.For Celtic,read George Foreman looking into the eyes of the Greatest.
I’ll now ask the Bhoys to come on an imaginary journey.The tax case verdict reveals debts of say 500 million quid,an investigative blogger called O Toole finds a copy of a sales invoice that legally signs over ownership of Ibrox and Murray park to Glasgow City Council.Phil MacGubbalubalub is voted in as Lord Provost and erects a 300 metre fibre glass Maris Pier on the newly flattened site.Documented evidence of Greigy having worn womens panties whilst playing is presented to Uefa and all titles won in those years are stripped under trans gender legislation.A new history of Glasgow is written by George Galloway,the colour light blue is banned and any remnants of Ally’s army are led away to labour camps,force fed jelly and made to watch Riverdance dvd’s.
The inferiority complex would still be there,the Calimero Syndrome would ensure websites,radio phone ins would be swamped with tales of masonic conspiracies.Me?,i would just sneak a wee look at my helicopter Sunday dvd.
@cam
I actually think the share response from the Bears might be higher than you anticipate as it forms part of the frenzied mantra about every penny taken in STs, merchandise sales, pies & Bovril, is going towards supporting the team. Especially given how close Rangers fans came earlier in the year, not just to staring into the abyss, but nearly sliding into it, I am sure they will even go into debts to buy shares although their final tally will still be a drop in the ocean.
At the end of the day in financial terms their sacrifice is meaningless – NB I refer to financial terms not emotional ones which I can’t fault them on for wanting to support their club. Green has always envisaged them owning 15% of the shares with the 85% held by HNWI, savvy investors and various other sources they are the ones who are important to the floatation as, of course, are the mystery investors.
How are their loans secured – do they get shares or do they already have debentures or will their shares have special rights? There are dozens of questions which could be asked around this area and I have to say that I haven’t really seen any sign of any Rangers supporter – these days – actually ask any pertinent questions.
@Cam, you fall by your own petard. By your own comment you intimate that you share the concerns of Ecojon when you state “Not a single Gers fan will buy any shares to assist Chico’s pension fund but we will keep supporting the team.Chico time shall pass and the will of the people will sustain the mighty Gers.” You fall by your own petard as you do not trust CG.
no one is casting doubt on your right to support the team of your choice.
Ecojon’s post highlights why you should doubt the man, the difference is that you fail to consider how CG’s strategy is likely to negatively impact on your beloved team.
Your imagery is spectacular but is bigoted and delusional. Remember it is not roses you are smelling, it’s manure being fed to you by CG!
First rule in boxing,,protect yourself at all times.Your hands are too low and your chin is not tucked in,therefore a wee jab is in order.
The fans will of course go to the games,buy cheap season tickets,merchandise and wave the Blue pound in the face of the Small Issue sellers like Petrie,Thompson,Milne etc.That ,my confused friend is supporting the team.
Gers fans know that any money raised from share flotations cant be used to strengthen the team at this time due to the hobbling strategy devised by the dark side.Chico very like The Bunnet,has declared his intentions,he will come,he will stabilise,make Gers attractive to investors,then he will get out of Dodge with a few dollars more.His rubbing it right up them,Yorkshire method of diplomacy is just what the Gers need at present along with a rabid pet lawyer.
Our method of mine detection is just to drive over the top of them clearing a path for generations to follow,follow, so the altruistic posters in green and white can be a little more obsessed with their own board/team/directors etc.
if you please.
If i took this as seriously as eco does i could present an image of dodgy dealing,failed companies,shafted shareholders in Mr Desmonds recent past, but that would be an unhealthy obsession.Tell tales are not to be admired.
Once the mighty Gers are in the safe hands of Mr Struths disciples,then a share flotation can be used.The Bears are keeping a weather eye on Chico’s navigating and on the storm clouds ahead.Coyote Pete and the hole in the head gang can put a few icebergs in our path but the Clyde built H.M.S Rangers is steaming on ahead.Bigotry i will leave to the likes of Coyote Pete’s fan’s chief,O Rourke.
If Chico delivers his promises then unlike The Bunnet he will not be shamefully booed.The survival of the mighty Gers is annoying a right few and conversely delighting the Bears.It may take years,decades but can you imagine the horror when the mighty Gers trounce the Celts on a green field?
Cam, can I respectfully recommend a subscription to ADDitude magazine – the section on Late Diagnosis may be of interest – http://www.additudemag.com/search/keyword/Adult%20ADD:%20Late%20Diagnosis.html
Willfully or not, completely missing the point.
@cam
If that idea floats your boat for a guest post submit away to Paul and I’m sure he will consider it 🙂
Two very accurate pieces about Charlie………..oops Charles. Lots of your detail was not in the public domain so I am guessing your paths have crossed, probably badly at some point. I felt you let him off lightly regarding the Panceltica affair and the broker fanfare (Hitchens) over this floatation which Charlie used to work for……………….Maybe it could be another story. It is linked to your commentary as one of the beneficiaries of Panceltica, Paul Fraser, was/is involved in the Hasler project which is currently doing nothing!
@100bjd
There are many bits of string and threads that exist and sometimes criss-cross but the problem always with something like this is being able to write something short and clear enough so that you don’t lose your readers as well as yourself. Btw this is nothing to do with brain power or interest just we all have a switch-off point.
I also do not make comment and everything to satisfy my standards has to be available as part of the public record. I don’t believe in un-named sources that exist in only two places: 1) a lazy journalist’s head and 2) as a false name on a journo’s eccies.
I had planned to be down in the area of Haslar last week on other business but it has been delayed but there certainly are interesting issues and in any case the whole history of the naval hospital is absolutely fascinating.
Hasler is indeed fascinating. Charlie was the front man there, charging lots of fees to fund the project by floating (a common theme) or consortium funding. Neither happened and Charlie left some very disappointed people behind. Charlie, as with Sevco,had no equity in the business other than an “earn out”.(like Rangers/Sevco). He failed and simply moved on to his next project which oddly, or perhaps not oddly was being touted around Manchester……RANGERS…….. Manchester………the home of MCR who were about to become Duff and Phelps and several assorted football agents and boutique financiers!
@100bjd
The main problem with Panceltica and Charlie’s direct involvement is that I have only ever found the Daily Telegraph article where he is mentioned as a deputy chairman I think extolling the virtues of the housing project.
Certainly I accept the links that flow from Panceltica to Haslar and the ‘consortium’ and also the Dublin-based Harcourt Group. You probably know that the Haslar site was valued at £85 million but sold for £3.5 million if memory serves me correctly by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). There was huge local opposition over the closing of Haslar Hospital which was sweetened by the ‘notion’ that a Chesea Pensioner style-village would be build for veterans to care for them in their later years.
Complaints were even made to the Military Police by locals who appeared to think there were irregularities in the sale process and that was one of the areas I wished to examine in my ‘field trip’ to the area.
It has now emerged that the MoD didn’t insist on any covenants being signed by the consortium legally guaranteeing the ‘village’ within the development and it now appears that there is no guarantee of it going ahead whenever the development begins if it ever does.
There may be information that you have on Celtica/Haslar that you do not wish to discuss publicly and if you like please send it to Paul and ask him to send it onto myself.
Cheers
Econ,
You are well informed. Charles performed his fundraising activities at Haslar and Panceltica under the radar, meaning only that he was not a “companies house” director. He was of course the leading player in both these events and certainly qualifies as a “shadow director” if nothing else. Panceltica managed to burn £55m cash in less than eighteen months. I have pasted a financial interview given by Charlie at the time and it is useful to note that the brokers extolling the float were one of Charlie’s former employees. For your information on Hasler, one of the major shareholders in Panceltica, was Paul Fraser who was allowed to convert his shareholding into cash because he was terminally ill. Paul, thankfully, is still with us running the controversial Hasler project. Interestingly a similar situation regarding a shareholders health happened at Kingsbridge, although again, and very happily the gentleman made a strong recovery.
• Ben Bland’s Market Forces . March 2008
The company, which will float at 100p with a market capitalisation of £236m, is hoping to benefit from the ongoing building boom in the Gulf States.
Panceltica is rolling out a new type of technology that allows it to build light-weight steel-framed structures in much less time than traditional construction techniques.
Panceltica’s key piece of machinery turns coils of high-tensile steel into pieces of metal than can be joined together to make houses and apartments.
“It’s like putting together a Meccano kit,” explained Charles Green, Panceltica’s deputy chairman.
Panceltica claims that it can fabricate new houses or blocks of flats up to eight times more quickly than conventional construction methods, which rely on cement and concrete.
“We’re working on one project at the moment where we’re putting up four-story blocks, containing 32 apartments each,” Mr Green said. “We can build the whole structure in 31 days, going from a coil of steel to the skeleton of a building.”
While Panceltica is not bringing in any new money at this stage, it raised £55m several months ago via the increasingly popular route of pre-IPO financing. This allows companies to obtain new funds without having to worry about the immediate market conditions.
“Clearly you couldn’t pick a worse time to float from a market point of view,” Mr Green noted. “But we’re not concerned about whether the market is good or bad having already done our financing. The amount of management time spent doing an IPO is huge, so getting the fundraising out of the way lets us go back to building houses as opposed to carrying out due diligence.”
Panceltica brought two strategic shareholders on board at the pre-IPO phase, with Barwa Real Estate, a Qatari property group, and Ithmar Capital, a Dubai investment firm, both taking 14pc stakes as well as seats on the board.
Mainstream UK fund managers – including Merrill Lynch, Axa Framlington and Gartmore – are believed to have taken some of the £10m of existing shares that are on offer at the IPO.
Panceltica will have a tiny free float, with more than 80pc of its shares held by Barwa, Ithmar and other directors including founding chief executive Paul Fraser, who owns 26pc of the company.
But Mr Green believes the main objective behind the float – to help Panceltica attract high-class employees by enhancing its profile – will be unaffected by this lack of liquidity.
Panceltica is confident it can profit from the rapidly-expanding construction market in the Gulf States and house brokers Hichens Harrison are forecasting that pre-tax profits will rise from $27.7m (£13.8m) this year to $59.1m next year and $93m in 2009.
Some investors may be uncomfortable with the complex relationships between the company and its shareholders and customers. For example, Barwa is Panceltica’s biggest customer as well as being a major shareholder with a seat on the board.
However, the directors and strategic investors have entered into a series of relationship agreements so that shareholders will not be able to exert influence over any material contracts where there is a conflict of interest.
*** As it turned out Barwa were Pancelticas only customer and accused the company of building units of poor quality and would not pay. The debate rambled on Panceltica and it’s shareholders lost out. Paul Fraser and Charlie were the only winners on the Panceltica side (Charlie by way of success fee) and of course Barwa won the prize. Business deals and people in these deals have certain rhythyms
and modus operandi and my post is meant to illustrate certain similarities with the Rangers/Sevco transaction which are worth mentioning and checking against prior history.
theres a new phrase kindly brought to light by tbk over on tsfm a feel its well and truely a good 1 to describe charlies past deals “Onerous Contract”and if they werent that then they certianly do end up
I think we should be gentle with Bam, sorry, Cam. I for one can feel his pain, and liken it to the awful bellowing of the wounded animal as it watches the hunter closing in for the kill–or in this case the liquidators. We are supposed to be Christians after all. God bless you Bam, sorry, Cam.
You can damn Cam by calling him a bam, Dan (!), but I think the point he’s making (rather jovially, I think) is that not many people in charge of football clubs are as clear as the driven snow. And I think we all know that.
Nonetheless, while there have been rumours – or salacious gossip, as some would have it – that Mr Desmond has sailed ‘close to the wind’ in his past dealings, he does seem to have a pretty successful business record, one in which (even according to the worst rumours) he operated rather well in fairly exalted company. Indeed, he seems to have been a great asset to Celtic, even attracting top people to the club’s board – even from ‘blue-chip’ multinationals (eg, Lawwell).
In comparison, given the wealth of information excellently unearthed for us by Ecojon (fine work, sir), Charles Green’s track record does not seem to be one that engenders the type of confidence that would see real investment flooding into his Newco project. I may be proved wrong, but in the absence of any real promise of financial rewards for the next couple of years (season tickets will cover costs etc), the business record of the man in charge seems to be a big part of the equation for any sensible investor, – and I don’t think Mr G is floating anyone’s boat in that respect (pardon the pun).
I would actually love Rangers fans to get their own Fergus or Dermot – it’s a Glasgow team after all, and of course it would be good for everyone if there were two teams as big and as well-run as Celtic are today – but I very much doubt Charles Green is going to help the Newco club get even near that level.
As Green says himself, he is only interested in making his dosh and skedaddling, and details from his CV kindly provided here by Ecojon only serve to confirm this view.
Sorry, I seem to be posting under a previously registered name, so I suppose both will come up from time to time.
Kenny McCaffrey
@Kenny McCaffrey
Actually someone sent me an email this morning pointing out one of Charlie’s early pronouncements when he came to Glasgow that I obviously missed where he was quite clear about not being here in a year’s time.
It is my experience that shareholders want some kind of continuity in a management team who effectively ‘control’ their investment never mind expected profits.
So it will be interesting to see if that statement is included in the AIM submission details as I think it would ring alarm bells for an investor in any company and not just a football investment.
@dan
I haven’t practised any religion for a long time but I do have some affinity towards bits of Buddhism and we are kind to animals although there are karma problems for humans that come back as animals – but that goes beyond my knowledge or even interest – so I think cam can relax 🙂
Ecojon,
“Charles Green once did dodgy dealing X, Charles Green once did that dodgy dealing Y, don’t worry bhoy’s he’s a shifty fellow!”
Can I suggest your next contribution on this theme takes the above form and saves everyone, including your good self, a bit of time?
🙂
“don’t worry bhoy’s he’s a shifty fellow”
Great news, but it’s not something WE are at all worried about. 🙂
Quite obviously, the manner in which the Red, White and Blue Green has united the Rangers fans behind his hyperbole is evidently getting up the noses of your kind.
Let’s be honest, having your attendance for the flag-day curtain raiser being dwarfed by the Rangers crowd v East Stirlingshire wasn’t part of the “RIP Rangers” agenda.
Regardless of the substance behind his offerings, bold as brass Charlie has been helped make Rangers the big story, and made the club box office.
40,000 season ticket holders on the back of Green’s banter, surely that’s granting him more credit than he deserves?
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/06/never-interfere/
If we were truly as bad as you seem to believe, we would offer no interruptions.
@carl31
Thankyou for that link – the explanation was fantastic and it’s the kind of thing that really excites me as I love words and language. Never knew the site existed before – now that is a place I could get obsessive about 🙂
Excellent carl31
Carl31,
A very cool site…thanks.
he’s taken your money, but he hasn’t delivered the goods yet – on or off the field . If you think CG is the new Messiah, you’re living in a fool’s paradise.
@AB
I tend to reserve final jusdgements in most things until the dust settles and the main polayers have left the field. I will remain true to that and analyse the Charlie effect once it reaches a conclusion. I do hope it all ends well for Rangers but that is for the future to tell.
One thing I find hard to understand is the urgency to have an AIM Flotation when the club is awash with all the cash generated off the spending of the fans. It can’t be spent on players for quite some time so why is it needed? What will it be spent on? Have you any suggestions to make which might expand our understanding and light the darkness for us?
anyone can create excitement and fervor from a bunch of baying hungry dogs can they not?
Particularly if a particular type of meat is on the menu.
@AB
“Regardless of the substance behind his offerings, bold as brass Charlie has been helped make Rangers the big story, and made the club box office”.
But they are laughing at you, not with you.
AB I do not support Rangers or Celtic and I am a bit agnostic about religion in general. My point here is that i believe I am independent. However what is important for me relative to this subject is Scotland and the belief that people, in this case Rangers fans, should be educated to understand enough business process to make informed decisions about serious issues involving their club.
Firstly this whole issue is causing Scotland pain. Friends are falling out, Scotland,s football team finds itself in the middle of the politics, there is talk of social unrest and some serious commentary from Charlie, in an attempt to get Rangers fans on his side, that has put sectarianism back thirty years. This is not good!
Secondly the articles by Ecojon are not character assasinations of Charlie to have a dig at Rangers fans in my opinion. He is simply performing some professional due diligence on the man and the deal. Rangers fans were let down in the last purchase of the club by Craig Whyte and one of the main learning points was that the due diligence on Whyte was fatally flawed. Your club paid a huge price for this mistake and you should never make this mistake again. Enter Ecojon doing due diligence that again has not been done, other than by those massive bears at Duff and Phelps. I hope you are beginning to see my rationale here as Duff and Phelps do not care about your club. If Ecojon had written similar articles about Craig Whyte’s checkered past it may have prevented catatstrophe or at least presented the supporters with some much needed reality. Trust me Ecojon,s facts are 100% and you need to regard his commentary as neccessary due diligence that nobody else has done.
In conclusion, I fear the whole debate is pretty academic, as Charlie is here to stay until he runs out of cash and the whole process of administration starts yet again. Make sure you are part of the due diligence process the next time.
Brilliantly put sir!
@AB
Just in case you have any doubts on this let me make it clear that I only accept suggestions from people that I have respect for and that most certainly doesn’t include you 🙂
Fine.
Continue boring everyone to death with the mundane fruits of your, evidently time-consuming, obsession with Rangers’ Chief Executive.
I might get past the second paragraph without being distracted by paint drying in the next one.
You are a Celtic supporter, aren’t you?
AB – so why bother commenting then?
@AB
Let’s deal with the paranoia and conspiracy theories immediately then shall we? Does being a Celtic supporter actually affect the validity of the information I have provided? Oh silly me, of course it does when you are a Rangers supporter – go and get a life or at least an education.
Is your problem the fact that I have presented facts without comment or personal attack or unsourced paranoia and leave it to the readers to make what they will of my scratchings?
I am a Celtic supporter and have been open about that since I first started posting on here. There are those in the Celtic support who are no better than those in that of Rangers but thankfully there is a lot less of them. Some of that is down to the club attitude and in particular Wee Fergus but most is down to the overwhelming majority of decent supporters in the stadium.
History and origins are important to Celtic as to every other football club but supporters must always be on their guard against those who would hijack a club to be used for ends other than those of a football agenda. It must be remembered that society changes and all of us have a moral duty to strive and see that the future is better than the past and I don’t mean just in purely financial terms.
And being an optimist I firmly believe that the best history is always yet to be written and when I talk about history I talk about social and economic history that affects and involve mere mortals and not the history of Kings & Queens and the ruling classes.
Coming from a mixed religious background and having attended Catholic and Proddy schools (and that is what in actuality they were before Non-Denoms) I have no agenda against Rangers and have often argued my personal opinion that they are important to Scottish Football which is something that does not find universal favour with supporters of some other clubs.
I have no obsession with Charles Green but find him a fascinating character and I think the closest personification I have ever come across to the ‘Great Wizard of the North’. He is a man whose story will live forever as part of Rangers history.
I also have a long-abiding interest in the way that the wealthy make even more dosh and move money about and one of the areas where that happens is in various ‘markets’ and that includes Stock Exchanges. How I choose to spend my time is up to me and equally how you choose to spend your’s has nothing to do with me. Will I care whether your read my posts or not? Not in the slightest because having read many of your posts I know that you have a closed obsessive mind and are beyond help.
Perhaps you should take the time while the blue paint dries to actually examine why you post here and what you are trying to achieve and share your thoughts with us but repeating tired old arguments ad nauseum in parrot-fashion really doesn’t cut it on this board although I am sure in your other place it may well do: In the Valley of the Blind the one-eyed man is King 🙂
Open your eyes and your mind and you might actually be able to do some good for your club.
@ab your very unfair in your hiyper criticial article review people are intrested in greens past he as dodgy as whyte and more comic like
your deluding the topic drithaling obesessed am telling ya now its all lies move along timmy nothing on heres true lol
I have followed the blog here[at first through rtc] with growing interest and admiration.This is my 1st post on the net . I am a St. Mirren fan.Myself and fellow buds had equal ‘disdain’ for the old firm. However in march 2012 the then RFC company secretary Gary Withey was invited into Love St. by a Saints director who was attempting to buy the club.There were two potential buyers, the other bid came from a supporters group.Mr. withey allegedly asked to see players contracts and enquired about any EBTs.The director in question was eventually sacked but this behaviour plus the rumours about Bury FC left Buddies’fans furious. This is why Saints fans pressurised
the owners to vote against rangers entry to the SPL, not bigotry ,anger yes,but a reasoned response to an attack on our club. My point is i suppose is that this is not solely about rangers, my club was directly affected and hypothethically could have faced extinction all to facillitate rangers survival.Excuse us if we don’t have much sympathy for them as it seems like they can’t learn from past mistakes. Ecojons post seems to indicate that there are red flashing warning signals about Green’s past business activities! This is not just about rangers or celtic it could affect all of scottish football. I can’t believe there aren’t any rangers fans out there who aren’t questioning/worried about the situation.
Many thanks Bud, and welcome!
The Withey St Mirren imbroglio was one of the more odd aspects of an already bizarre saga!
It was a strange episode and i thought at the time pretty much as the king of beers had suggested. I would love to see this story padded out if anyone has more information.
Jim Obviously I have a bit of time on my hands today hence my observations. My take on St Mirren was actually pretty simple. If you are running a deal then you have to understand what is known as “the downside risk analysis”. The Duffers in their pre administration role as deal advisors would be well aware of this. So if my client buys Rangers and there is a fair risk that the big tax case can kill their company then i would suggest a prepack administration (could not work) or more radically line up a purchase of an SPL club by a known third party who can then purchase Rangers from the Duffers dark side exactly as Charlie did. Airdrieonians purchased Clydebank in a similar way albeit with different motives. St Mirren would change their name to Rangers, play at Ibrox, buy the honours (difficult to have a straight face with that one) and continue in the SPL. The St Mirren stadium etc could then be sold to the Supporters Trust who would start again with St Mirren United or whatever. That’s my guess here.
@jimbhoy
An interesting and humorous take on this can be found at http://www.twohundredpercent.net/?p=18027 [sorry i don’t know yet how to post the link directly] as well as other general football matters and the rangers saga.As a footnote, the saints director in question,Kenneth mc Geogh approached Ticketus for funding re. his bid and was told-thanks but no thanks.Gary withey worked for Collyer Bristow[as well as being rfc company secretary] Mr mc Geough employed Collyer Bristow as his advisors and solicitors in his proposed takeover bid. Must go lie down my head is spinning.
Hats off to you ecojon. First class work. Simply compare the output from the internet bampots to that of the mainstream media and see which one offers the most value to readers.
There is a gap in the market for a publication that harnesses the combined talents of chaps like yourself and many others who frequent these sites. It would put, and I suppose already does, the MSM to shame…
Is Charlie Boy’s wife a Director of Rangers?
I only ask as I see from the article, she likes to follow him from boardroom to boardroom.
I wonder if he came to Glasgow with the intention of pulling a fast one and making a fast buck out of asset stripping what ever he could get his hands on?
I’m sure if that was his intention, then he realises now, just how dangerous it has become for him being involved with FC Sevcovia. If the share flotation is a disaster, then he will need to do more than move from safe house to safe house to keep “The People” from tearing him apart.
His excuse for “Walking Away” will have to be a brammer, but will i’m sure, involve blaming everyone else but himself.
In the mean time, he needs to get those 9 players in from Newcastle (Snigger) before the
@geddy Lee
The lady I referred to was his second wife and I believe they are either separated or divorced so I doubt if she will show-up at Ibrox.
However, you do raise an important point as there are major rumblings within Ibrox from a section of the support, who all sit together, objecting to the way they are being treated by the police both inside and outside the stadium. They are also at loggerheads with the Ibrox head of security and calling on Charlie to get thing sorted out.
Apparently they had received certain assurances that they could expand their section to accommodate an increased number of fellow-songsters but that this has been rescinded.
Of course, as you might have guessed, it’s all a conspiracy because Celtic fans aren’t treated in the same way by the police – perhaps because they don’t act in the same way might be the answer. Of course the boys in blue, as usual, end up the filling in the middle of the sandwich and no doubt to assuage the now-familiar avalanche of Blu Power they might be forced into flexing ‘muscle’ at Parkhead. And so the vicious spiral downwards which started this years feeds upon itself and grows in momentum.
Charlie has made all his public pronouncements about the ‘enemies’ of Rangers so how does he deal with the cries for assistance from a well-known section of his support. It may well be that as he has their ST money why should he care as he may have no intention of being here next year and is on record as saying he wouldn’t be.
And of course maybe after the AIM Float a deal will be struck with Ticketus after all CW showed what a wonderful way that ius for raising money although I think this time Ticketus would ensure that it didn’t fall intio the same legal trap that it did last time.
Now as big lies go even Hitler and Mr Speer would be proud of that,,,”Celtic fans don’t act in the same way”.
Take a toddle along the Gallowgate,open your ears,read the banners,listen to the songs.
Your crown of fair mindedness has slipped a tad with that belter!
Ask Coyote Pete why his cheeks clench at the thought of tackling the ultras amongst his support.
Apathy has been the mighty Gers biggest failing in recent years but now the midges are becoming troublesome,its time for some pest control,all done in a humane fashion of course.
Your knowledge? and info regards Chico’s past and even his personal affairs belies any normal curiosity.Good lord man you are outed as an obsessive of the first order!
The first few paragraphs of this latest injection of literary Valium sound more like the musings of the blogger with 3 names.My image of you sitting in your legal office ,checking your shares whilst carrying out your duties as a knight of the internet have been cruelly shattered.
Mr MacGubbalubalb’s jawbone of an ass is a more noble weapon than the stiletto approach favoured by yourself.
@cam
Oh the selective use of bits of someone else’s posting to suit your own agenda – I actually thought you were better than that but now I see that your jolly jape quips are just a front which you use to mask and hide your bile.
You stated: ”Celtic fans don’t act in the same way” when in fact the full quote actually is “perhaps because they don’t act in the same way might be the answer”. Most fair-minded people would agree there is a world of difference between the quotes but to someone like you with a narrow vision you are capable of twisting anything to suit your own ends.
As you are probably well aware I have often posted on here and pointed to the fact that Celtic has its nutters that I don’t agree with mainly because they attempt to use a football club as a vehicle to progress a separate agenda which has nothing to do with football. I believe that they are a much smaller percentage of the fan base than found at Rangers and I believe this is mainly down to club management attitudes and also a more distanced attitude by the vast majority of Celtic supporters.
I see you make no mention of the other post in the same thread where I state: ‘There also may be questions of civil rights involved in the searching and photographing but I have the feeling that will probably be taken care of club rules and ticketing conditions.’
That was me recognising the legal ‘issues’ raised by the Bears re the searching, questioning and phorographing that the Bears in the section were complaining of. Would it have suited your biased agenda more if I had totally dismissed their complaints and just said well the cops must have good reason for what they are doing. It may well be that the cops do have but my response was not to dismiss the Bear argument out of hand because an attack on the civil liberties of amy groupo can lead to it spreading to others.
I don’t expect you to understand my attempt to be even-handed as sadly I have come to the conclusion that this attitude is not one held by bigoted people who think not just that their argument or position is the correct one but that it is ALWAYS the case.
To sum up: I will never laugh again at what I thought was your genuine humour – I now know what you are and it ain’t funny.
You are putting up smoke sir,,,the difference? between the quotes is akin to splitting a hamsters pubic hair
I couldn’t care less regards the searching of fans at a football match,so any effort by yourself to appear fair minded is called distraction by magicians.
I think an in depth article by yourself into the spending habits and share portfolios of Chico’s kids may be overdue.
Seemingly a persons character can be deduced from the way their childrens pocket money is invested.
Apologies if my public outing of your goodself has caused pain but now you can dispense with the stiletto and wield a more manly instrument.
En guard!
@cam
I never ever did think you had any interest in civil liberties but just in a very narrow viewpoint and to the aim of advancing that viewpoint at the expense of the rest of society’
Keep blowing your some-rings because if anyone has been outed it is yourself and what a sad-faced clown you actually are behind the jolly-jape mask.
not just the 9 Newcastle players but those 3 Billionaire investors as well.. what ever happened to Them ?????
@Phil Spicer
What about the 20 investors announced in May whose identity was going to be announced the following week? LMAO 🙂
Con’t: The cup competitions really get going.
Govan expects, and can surely only be fooled for so long.
@ cam I actually liked your piece earlier, as the regulars on this site know I am a Celtic fan but pretty much open minded and it’s good to hear from anyone who can add to what paul puts out, good and bad (preferably not ugly comments) and especially witty and funny, which i like.
I knew John Grieg had a secret, but you forgot to mention SDM and the goat thing…
I think you are spot on about Rangers survival and chico’s time and good luck on that journey and I think any rangers fan putting money into the club now would be nuts… From a Celtic man’s perspective it does look like the Rangers fans are hanging off every piece of nonsense Green spouts and he constantly denigrates Scottish football. Personally i just want to see the man shut up and let whatever is gonna happen take it’s course and we can all get back to the fitba’.
Calimero 🙂 awesome, I had to think about that one…Showing my age.
ecojon,
I saw a remarkable, hand wringing diatribe about “Police brutality” aimed exclusivley at Sevcovians, over on the VILE Bear’s Den Site. I found it rather disturbing , not only with the appalling content of the article, but the disgraceful reactions coming from the forum members.
Bad enough that they openly now advocate attacking Catholics in the street, but to claim the treatment by the Police is down to “Alex Salmond’s Jacobite Government” was beyond belief.
Such frightning hate filled ignorance is a danger to social stability, and is becoming a mainstay of that Site.
Maybe now with all the disgusting comments about the police, and the threats to attack them when they are in plain clothes, will help to get that cesspit closed down as a matter of urgency.
The increasing attempts to introduce sectarian politics to the debate over there is sinister, and wreaks of unionist manipulation.
You may well be correct. Not long ago the papers reported NI Unionist politicians coming out in support of Rangers (IA) and raising funds. And let’s not forget that the Orange Order used Ibrox for cere,onies in the 70’s and 80’s.
@geddy Lee
It’s quite clear that the ‘line’ is very anti-SNP and pro-Union which is fine in a free speech context but I can’t help but wonder what this has to do with a football club. I think in most Scottish football clubs there will be a mix in their support as to how they will vote in a referendum.
It may be that Rangers fans perceive Celtic supporters to all be nationalist and republican and, who knows, how much that factors into their opposition to Independence.
Personally I think from my experience that Celtic fans hold different opinions and it may be that the hardliners in the Rangers support might discover they can’t control what Bears do in the secrecy of the ballotbox nearly typed confessional there 🙂
@Geddy Lee I obviously haven’t read what you have but i would be interested in why the Rangers security guy turned down the proposed expansion of that section and indeed why it is so heavily policed and filmed it seems…. Anyone want to speculate?
@JimBhoy
Have undernoted a bit from one of two RM main posts on the subject which explains a bit. Will be interesting to see how Green reacts to their appeals. There also may be questions of civil rights involved in the searching and photographing but I have the feeling that will probably be taken care of club rules and ticketing conditions.
Certainly a change of mood from a few weeks ago when they were expecting Green to sit amongst them and do The Bouncy and they had a thread on what songs he would join in on. The song he sings now is: ‘Money, Money, Money’ and as he has their season ticket money the next big pot is the AIM float.
UNDERNOTE
Despite positive discussions at the start of the season with the Ticket Office in which they said it wouldn’t be a problem for them to accommodate this, it has now become clear that the Head of Security, David Martin, is not going to allow the move to happen. This was confirmed this week in a meeting in which he outlined his reasoning behind this decision.
Put simply, he believes that the behaviour of supporters in BF1 is not in the best interests of Rangers Football Club and often breaks numerous ground regulations. He believes that an expanded section will see an increase in this “behaviour” and will become uncontrollable.
We, of course, pressed him on what he believed these instances of bad behaviour were, but apart from the crowd surfing (something which is enjoyed by the majority of fans) he refused to name any others. It seems that supporting the team for 90 minutes at Ibrox is against the rules.
Mr Martin and Strathclyde Police have also decided to pin sectarian singing at away games firmly on the Union Bears and Blue Order, despite no sectarian songs ever being sung in BF1. It seems that investigation has gone out the window, and the powers at be have decided to pick on the most vocal sections of the support and are hoping for the best. This was another reason given for not allowing us our section move and expansion.
Every week supporters in section BF1 are subjected to full body searches at turntyles, every flag and banner being filmed before being allowed entry, intimidation inside and outside the stadium from stewards and Police as well as being filmed for 90 minutes by the anti-football unit of the police whilst individuals inside the club give details of our members to Police to add to their intelligence database. All this for daring to turn up and support our team.
JimBhoy,
the Ranger’s Media Site has the whole paranoid filled rant on their site, as it was written by what looks like one of their main contributors. It’s astonishing stuff, and shows the majority of Sevcovians have lost the plot completely.
I’m sure FC SEvcovia@s new Head Bouncer will turn out to be a Filt#y Man#y Ta#g. LOL. Seriously though, I yhave no idea why they are being treated aggressivley (If they are of course) at Ibrox. Maybe their new English controllers actually see this section asan embarrassment. Only they can answer that.
The body searches away from home is to try and prevent the imbeciles among them from throwing flares and smoke bombs around in such confined spaces.
The banners are being inpected to stop and more embarrassment to Scotland, especially abroad.
That’s all I can think of.
Oh Sorry for the state of above post, but I really must go. LOL
@eco maybe i have a different understanding of “crowd surfing”, google backs up what I thought it meant and I have never seen any crowd surfing in a football crowd, does green really know what this means??. The closest i have been involved in similar would be standing at the old rangers end and the crowd sway moving you 5 metres in any direction.. 🙂 ah the good old days.
I have never seen any football home support have flags filmed except maybe by security cams I would assume. The strange thing in this story for me is my astonishment that the police (if the story is true) at the big House doing anything to clamp down on sections of the home crowd, it would suggest someone has been complaining and as the big house is normally 99% bears I can only assume it must have come from their own. Maybe not… For the police to act proactively in this fashion for a small section of the club there must be some real concern…
@JimBhoy
I think the searching could be for flares etc. I suppose the initial complaint could have come from the police because of fears involving public safety and in view of the Hillsborough developments I think they will be ultra-careful in this area.
Of course it might be that Green, as I think it was Geddy said, is worried about what potential large and institutional investors might make of faux ‘Ultra’ behaviour, content of the banners and the smoke bombs. Perhaps if Green gives an anwer to his fanbase they might get a bit of transparency and their questions answered.
@JimBhoy
I think the section concerned has tip-up seats – the ‘surfing’ isn’t the forward and back that you would get in say a standing area but sideways to and fro if you get what I mean.
The safety aspect may well be tied into the club safety certificate which is probably issued by Glasgow Council although I suppose it might be a Scottish Government responsibility – not sure about that one.
@feddy lee. if the site was to close the police would find it harder to trace and monitor them so its better to have the site than not if its serious the mi5 would step in and notify the police up here a wouldent worry about it as they are only trying to stop justice over the ebts and the rest of the cases that are live due to the oldco misdeeds ,poor alex were slateing him for the fabric of the nation comment and the sevconians are up in arms calling him a jacobite its a no win situ for him a bet he wished he keep his mouth shut and they died lol
mick,
‘bet he wished he keep his mouth shut and they died lol ‘ What are you talking about?
@martin mouth shut means dident say fabric of nation died well they did they being oldco died then were tributed by the new green team what did you think a ment ?
@mick
Ah think martin is wishing he never asked mick – he’s now lying fown in a darkened room sucking aspirin 🙂
Paul… a wee update on L.Gardner, Green and Media Pro Sports.
http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/single/?p=12080012&t=8781404