rbr

By Roddy Forsyth 11:00PM BST 01 Apr 2011 It soon became clear, though, that settling accounts was more on the Ibrox chairmanââ?¬â?¢s mind when he sat down in one of the stadiumââ?¬â?¢s plush lounges to offer a candid appraisal of the clubââ?¬â?¢s situation and the progress of the takeover bid being mounted by the London-based Scottish venture capitalist, Craig Whyte. By the time he had finished, he had delivered blistering criticisms of Lloyds Banking Group and Donald Muir ââ?¬â?? one of the bankââ?¬â?¢s placemen on the Rangers board. Johnston also confirmed that, if Whyteââ?¬â?¢s takeover is not concluded by close of business on Monday, Rangers are likely to go into administration if they lose their battle with HMRC over offshore payments to players. The clue that this was not going to be a soporific drone through questions of disposable assets and amortisations lay in the text of Rangersââ?¬â?¢ interim accounts to Dec 31, 2010, released earlier in the morning. They were pretty much in line with last yearââ?¬â?¢s equivalent figures, although turnover was down by Ã?£4.1 million to Ã?£33.7 million, with the same reduction in retained profit. The downturn was accounted for by home games postponed because of severe winter weather and by a five per cent reduction in season ticket sales, ascribed to the economic climate. However, amidst a note on the extension of credit facilities it was remarked that, ââ?¬Å?while we appreciate the support of the Lloyds Banking Group ... certain provisions imposed on the club continue to compromise, in our opinion, managementââ?¬â?¢s ability to conduct its role with maximum efficiency.ââ?¬Â There was meat in that and, as soon as Johnston sat down with a small group of correspondents, it was served up in ample portion and more or less raw. Asked how Lloyds had ââ?¬Ë?compromisedââ?¬â?¢ Rangers, Johnston said: ââ?¬Å?The bank look on us as a short-term project to the extent that at every opportunity theyââ?¬â?¢re not willing to concede that there isnââ?¬â?¢t an occasion or a transaction where they might want to participate. ââ?¬Å?If we sell players, do we have any certainty that we will get all the money, 90 per cent of it, 80 per cent of it, whatever? It makes it tough for our management to understand and to plan for selling players when we donââ?¬â?¢t know how much of the money weââ?¬â?¢re getting to keep. ââ?¬Å?The management team is reluctant to sell players because they donââ?¬â?¢t know if theyââ?¬â?¢ll get enough money to replace them. So when I say they compromise us, I mean they compromise our ability to plan three-year cycles. ââ?¬Å?They [Lloyds] have been fairly assiduous at saying, ââ?¬Ë?While we are willing to look at this on a case-by-case basis, weââ?¬â?¢re never going to give you carte blanche to think itââ?¬â?¢s all your money ââ?¬â?? if you get into the Champions League weââ?¬â?¢ll want part of itââ?¬â?¢. Therefore our management team is wary of doing certain things that in the long run might come back and haunt them.ââ?¬Â But wasnââ?¬â?¢t the purpose of having Muir on the Ibrox board to ease communications between the directors and the bank? ââ?¬Å?Letââ?¬â?¢s be very clear on the situation with Donald Muir ââ?¬â?? itââ?¬â?¢s a condition of our credit facility agreement that Donald Muir is the representative of the bank on the board. "Itââ?¬â?¢s very tough to engage in conversations at board level about strategies with the bank when we know that the bank guy is sitting there,ââ?¬Â said Johnston who, when asked why it had been denied previously that Muir was Lloydââ?¬â?¢s man, had a sharp retort. ââ?¬Å?I think it was Donald that denied that. Itââ?¬â?¢s been denied by a lot of people, but Iââ?¬â?¢m telling you what the issue is right now. I decided that I might as well,ââ?¬Â said Johnston. ââ?¬Å?What happened when I got here was that the banker that was involved with us refused to talk to our chief executive or to our chief financial officer. It was one of the most stupid aberrations that Iââ?¬â?¢ve ever come across and I said that to the bank. "He had never met our chief financial officer. He had never met Martin Bain [Rangersââ?¬â?¢ chief executive], so all the communications had to go through Donald Muir and Mike McGill, the other director, although essentially it was more through Donald than it was Mike. ââ?¬Å?So a lot of stuff got lost in translation.ââ?¬Â Would it be better for Rangers, therefore, if Muir ââ?¬â?? who is understood to have left the Murray Group on Thursday ââ?¬â?? also departed the club? ââ?¬Å?No question that his presence compromises things,ââ?¬Â said Johnston, although he added: ââ?¬Å?Iââ?¬â?¢ve always got on well with Donald Muir but I deal within the context of who he is.ââ?¬Â Johnston revealed that there were two HMRC issues, the latest ââ?¬â?? and much the smaller ââ?¬â?? being a claim by the tax authority for Ã?£2.8 million. ââ?¬Å?It relates to more than two or three players, but it relates to an issue 10 or 11 years ago ââ?¬â?? I donââ?¬â?¢t know the context of doing it,ââ?¬Â said the chairman. "As the Americans say, this one came right out of left-field. It really, really is frustrating. No one knew about it a couple of months ago ââ?¬â?? and let me put on record that if we did know about it we would have had to put it in our annual report and take liability for it in the accounts. ââ?¬Å?I donââ?¬â?¢t think it is a deal breaker. It wasnââ?¬â?¢t in any plan, it wasnââ?¬â?¢t in our budgets or anything that we have been trying to do. We have a very disciplined approach and I didnââ?¬â?¢t like that appearing over the horizon suddenly.ââ?¬Â As for the Whyte bid, it is understood that Murray had set a deadline of March 31 for completion but that other delays ââ?¬â?? including slow delivery of the bankââ?¬â?¢s authorisation for the bid to go through ââ?¬â?? required an extension. Still, it is surely a case of deal or no deal by Monday? ââ?¬Å?Exactly ââ?¬â?? that is the scenario that I am expecting,ââ?¬Â Johnston said. ââ?¬Å?I have to share with you the fact that amongst my fellow board members we have different views ââ?¬â?? but the board are reflective of my view which is, if we can get this thing right it will be good. ââ?¬Å?The club is the commodity ââ?¬â?? we donââ?¬â?¢t have a seat at the deal. We have to shove ourselves into the room. Our mission has been to represent Rangers Football Club and hundreds of thousands of supporters. We have no legal right to request it ââ?¬â?? but we have a moral right to request it.ââ?¬Â And if the deal fails and the HMRC judgment goes against Rangers in a few weeks? ââ?¬Å?Thereââ?¬â?¢s a 10,000lb gorilla in the room and you donââ?¬â?¢t know what its appetite is,ââ?¬Â Johnston replied. ââ?¬Å?Even accessing all the resources we have access to, we couldnââ?¬â?¢t pay the bill.ââ?¬Â From which the only conclusion is that, if there is no Whyte knight and if faced with an adverse judgment in the main HMRC case ââ?¬â?? which could amount to as much as a Ã?£30 million liability ââ?¬â?? Rangers would go bust after 139 years of existence. Johnstonââ?¬â?¢s silent nod of assent when asked that question was even more eloquent than any of the scalding words he had just uttered.

Muir leaving MIH was just a cover , he WAS placed on the Rangers board by Lloyds , AJ made that point well known to journo's today , it was also Muir who held the financials back

Anyone who thinks less of David Holmes only need look back at the way he publically brought Souness and the players to heel after the Hibs debacle , and everyone respected him for it , he took no prisoners , staff or press , but alas those days are well in the past

Your name has appeared on a few sites awaiting your views , your are now unofficially the man , the internet community holds its breath until the man known as bluedell says , profit or loss ......lol

Also there are 3 home games missing , plus the 2 Scottish cup ties against the filth and also the 2 home Europa league games , I'm off to my bed my head hurts

Note 1: The exceptional item reflects a provision for a potential tax liability in relation to a Discounted Option Scheme associated with player contributions between 1999 and 2003. A provision for interest of GBP0.9m has also been included within the interest charge. Is this a seperate tax issue Frankie or is this the period when the EBT was operating , these figures only seem to muddy the waters even further

Sorry mate but weve been on our arse for the last few years , there aint many clubs whose entire first team squad was put up for sale and an agent given the job of flogging as many as possible , that only fell on its arse when the media was given the heads up by a friendly ex manager .

Murray's problem will always be one of wasted opportunity , he took over at a time when we had so many advantages over not only our biggest rival's but the rest of Britain , we had international captains from 7 teams on our books at one time , money in the bank , a full stadium every week , yet it was all allowed to fritter away because everything was short term . He quite rightly can point out that there was very little opposition to his spending , but that can easily be argued away by his bullish behaviour and his apparent 100% confidence trick of smoke and mirrors . That idiot from the RSA James MacMillan was interviewed yesterday stating that fans had become fed up because of the last " couple of years" , christ almighty we have been going through this groundhog day for nigh on 10 years , yet this clown states on live tv we are getting a bit miffed because of a couple of years . I dont really know how this will pan out , but we need Murray gone and the sooner the better , to have any owner who hides behind every and any person or organisation to save his own skin is pathetic , whether it's John McLelland , Martin Bain or Lloyds the fact that the one person who is 100% in control never speaks out says everything you need know about him .

http://rangerstaxcase.wordpress.com/ ,, When ever you get a few minutes Bluedell , looks like McGobblegiver has been busy again , in amongst bouts of depression , and the comments are pretty good too

But surely that is working capital mate or`have I got this all wrong , surely if we make a loss without european football they cannot take the season ticket money , that would surely affect the asking price , aggghh my head hurts with this pish

I dont see how they can reduce anything as that money is essential to cover running costs , wages etc , even C/L money would take months to filter in . On a side note has the site been changed again , it looks fantastic now or is it just my computer is months behind

But what difference would that make to anyone Frankie , if the debt is �£20 million for arguements sake then that's the debt figure , the season ticket money would make no difference surely

sorry just reread that , pretentious pish

The rumour, informed opinion if there can be such a thing in this mess , is that he wants Smith to stay in some capacity , whether that be Director of Football or Chairman who knows

What everyone seem's to forget is that young players do not have any "form " in that they are very unpredictable due to their inexperience , we cannot have that with say 2 or 3 players the way we are down in numbers just now , every game is a must win , there is no room for error or sentiment

Commenttng on his Twitter account today, Lamont said the following to raity the story, "Story broken on Rangers fans' messageboard I've since had confirmed. Craig Whyte met Walter Smith and Martin Bain yesterday."

Dont you think we maybe are just getting a bit ahead of ourselves yet again , a young player makes 2 great runs and all of a sudden he's "ready" , lets give him 6 or 7 games before we jump in , but admire your optimism and hope your right about him

Possibly the best summation I have read on Diouf , that this waster is seen as a hero amongst some of our own only shows how far we as a club have fallen

I dont know anymore what people want out of a Rangers manager in these financially driven times , a cross between Mourhino and someone who doesnt spend any money just rears their own players , never plays negative and always entertains and scores loads of goals , always has 3 players for every positiion yet keeps the wage bill below �£25 MILLION

No your bang on it's Scotland where we get about �£2million from tv compared to the last place EPL team who gets over �£45 million before a ball is kicked , where the vast majority of the teams are in debt over �£100 million and rising and yet they still spend with impunity , Walter Smith has had money to spend but compared to the VAST majotity of teams who we play in Europe its peanuts , sometimes you dont miss something till it's gone . I cannot believe the critiscism when we aren't even on the same playing fiels as the majority of european teams , especially at this stage we are at right now , yet a team with an ever reducinig squad is meant to not only compete but do it with some style and entertain as well as win , christ you dont want much

Given all this negative rubbish about Walter in Europe since he returned, here are the true facts: Played - 40 Won - 9 Drawn - 17 Lost - 14 Goals for - 33 Goals against - 40 This includes double headers against Barcelona, Manchester Utd, Lyon, Werder Bremen, Fiorentina, Valencia, Seville, Stuttgart (twice) and Sporting Lisbon (twice). Away from home our record is: Played - 20 Won - 3 Drawn - 9 Lost - 8 Goals for - 16 Goals against - 22 That's away from home, in Europe, aqainst on the whole quality teams as mentioned above, with 9 games in a tournament where the mhanks haven't won a game away in 25 years. We've won in Lyon and Lisbon, and got draws in Manchester, Stuttgart, Eindhoven, Lisbon, Florence and Athens. By any stretch of the imagination that away record is fantastic for a club in our position!! We're not playing diddy teams in the qualifying rounds, we're talking of competitions proper against Europe's elite. And for those of you reading that rubbish about 1 win in 20, that same run has seen us draw 11 of those games, 7 out of 10 which have been away from home. In this god awful run we've picked up 4 times as many away points in the Champions League than the mhanks have achieved in their entire history!! I'll quite happily take another 5 draws if it takes us to Dublin!! Okay, we could have done better at home at times under Walter, but in the last 4 years we've been to the last sixteen of the Europa League three times, including the final, and this season's not over!! So well done Walter!! You're an absolute legend. I don't agree with your tactics all the time, but most of the time you get results and i'll always remember you as the greatest Rangers manager of my lifetime.

There are probably 5 countries , possibly 6 that are in and around the same position as us , from Switzerland in 16th position through to Greece in11th that continually swop around , Holland who are ranked 9th are too far away points wise and even Turkey in 10th and possibly Greece in 11th are just outwith our reach again due to the excellent work their smaller teams do in the Europa league . Andrew_2010 and myself have a wee idea of a thread we will work on and hopefully be able to get it out soonish explaining exactly how it works and various other points of interest .

Zappa I will have a wee go and then forward it to Andrew_2010 for his input and we can maybe get something out , the coefficient question is always brought up and is a mystery to many , ok with you andrew

For a minute I was worried Frankie was going to start Gersnet get togethers on the internet for the blinding price of a �£5 , �£�£ seems to be selling everything these days , what next bus trips round historic Rangers places of interest , oh wait a minute .........

Did this appointment not happen months ago , when our old penfold went to work for UEFA , talk about rehashing history