BEARGER

Millwall and Coventry also cutting ties due to lack of supplies.

Southampton FC have announced that their retail operation will be shutting down for a short though unspecified period of time due to issues with an external third party, read on for more details. Saints have announced on their official website the need to shut down both online operations as well as their retail outlets, due to ongoing issues with Elite Sports Group, the external third party who manage the retail side of things for not only Southampton FC but a number of other clubs. Although this is said not to be a long term issue, it does mean that all sales of merchandise will cease for a short period. A look online shows Elite Sports Group to be "the Exclusive Brand Partner of Danish Football brand Hummel. We activate Bespoke kit programmes for all our clubs, and also manage some of our clubs retail and online operation." They also seem to provide other merchandise for club's that are not related to the branded playing kit and training gear. This seems to suggest that the problem for Saints will be stock, although they will have a supply of merchandise, how much of a stock they have and indeed who owns the stock could be open for debate, when it runs out it will take time to source new suppliers etc and that could mean that the lucrative Xmas market could be missed. The full statement reads as follows "The club was recently made aware of significant business and fulfilment challenges being experienced by our external third-party retail partner, Elite Sports Group, who manage the online and physical retail operation of a number of clubs, including ours. We have been working with Elite Sports Group to fully understand what those challenges are and how we might minimise any disruption for our fans. However, following further developments today, we have taken the difficult decision to end our partnership with them. This decision allows us to proceed with our contingency plan, but will unfortunately result in the unavoidable closure of our online and physical stores for a short period of time. We will communicate further once we have confirmed timings for reopening our retail stores, and more information on how we can ensure existing orders are fulfilled. However, in the meantime, any fans who are concerned about existing orders can contact retail@saintsfc.co.uk. With Black Friday sales and the Christmas shopping period upon us, we recognise the importance of this time of year for supporters wanting to purchase gifts and are doing all we can to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We thank all our fans for being patient at this time and apologise for any inconvenience."

Hummel/Elite are having financial troubles at present.

Japan manager dresses like a Rangers manager.

Dave King has lit the fuse ahead of next month’s powderkeg Rangers AGM by revealing he’ll be voting against the re-election of chairman Douglas Park. The former Ibrox chief has jetted back into Glasgow ahead of the December 6 shareholder summit to declare it’s time for a change at the top of the marble staircase. The South Africa-based tycoon has voiced fears that Rangers will be left behind if they do not find the fresh impetus needed to challenge Celtic’s domination of Scottish football. Park is on the lookout for a new manager after sacking Gio van Bronckhorst on Monday, with the Dutchman paying the price for allowing their Old Firm rivals to surge nine points clear and towards an 11th title in the last 12 years. Now King - who mounted an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge Park’s son Graeme from the Ibrox boardroom at last year’s AGM - is coming back for the main man Asked if fans should back the chairman’s re-election, the Castlemilk-born tycoon said: “What I would say is I’m not voting for that. The situation is recoverable. "I think we can be back winning the title, but the way things are going at the moment, unless changes are made to the leadership of the board and the executive of the club, I fear we’ll be stagnating for a long time to come.” King has been involved in a long-running dispute with the men he once joined forces with as they wrestled control of Ibrox back from Mike Ashley in 2015. The fall-out stems from his decision to stand down from the board just as the Covid pandemic was sinking its teeth into the club’s balance sheet. King, still the club’s biggest individual shareholder, has spent much of the two years-and-a-half years since sniping from the sidelines - with his attacks ranging from the failure to deliver on budget promises to former boss Steven Gerrard in the wake of the club’s 2021 title win to the treatment of supporters as customers and “ATMs”. The former Ibrox supremo - who also plans on voting against a motion allowing the board to issue shares to hand-picked investors - said: “The fact is, I was already having concerns about where this regime was headed. “I felt some of the things happening were unacceptable, un-Rangers-like. The treatment of ex-players, the treatment of supporters. I felt voting against Graeme would make that point. “I had to put my money where my mouth was and use my vote to go along with what my concerns were. It was heading in the wrong direction. “I didn’t like the way Steven Gerrard was forced out of the club. It’s not the way to treat people that delivered a title for us. I couldn’t not vote with my conscience. “We really should have invested and kicked on. We could have bought Steven what he wanted. There were reasons why I had to go (from the board). “At the time, I felt the board would continue. I regret what happened. When I go back to 55, we should have kicked on with a great manager and defended the title. I think the board thought they could do it on the cheap.” King has struck a deal with Club 1872 that could one day see the fan group take control of his 15.13 percent stake in the club. But he hit out at the board’s refusal to engage with the organisation, saying: “Douglas makes the point that he’s put in all this money and he’s not letting supporters tell him how to spend his money. “I’ve put in more than Douglas. I’ve put in more money than any one person in the history of the club. But I’ll tell you what. The supporters have put in a lot more than me. “They put in more than any investor and always have done. Just be honest with the supporters. Tell them what you are doing with the money. Then they’ll still back you.

MARKINCH MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT Everyone in the footballing community will either remember or have heard of the Ibrox Disaster on January 2nd 1971,Sadly that day 5 schoolboys aged between 13 and 15 years from a little town called Markinch in Fife lost their lives in a crush. The street where 4 of them stayed has a memorial stone facing down it however recently vehicles have been driving on the grass around the memorial making it unsightly and harder to maintain. Markinch Community Council, Fife Council and Glenrothes Loyal Rangers Supporters Club have investigated the erection of a wrought iron fence around the 5 remembrance trees and the memorial, the lifting of grass and replacing it with granite chips and possibly a bench if funds can stretch. We feel this enhancement will give the memorial the prominence it deserves and also make it more conspicuous to the many visitors who come from worldwide to pay their respects, The whole project of fence, landscaping and a bench is approx £10,000 with the fence alone being £7650.://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/markinch-memorial-garden-project

Peter Bosz anyone? Just realised he was out of a job after being sacked by Lyon. I voted for Dyche.

There’s nothing wrong in pointing out a managers record as to why you would not wish him to be our next manager.

Beale at QPR, P 21, W 9, D 4, L 8, goal difference +2. I don’t get the clamour for him.

It’s looks like they have incorporated the old site into the Founder Trail website, makes sense. Thanks.

I thought it was the site that the Founders Trail guys setup at first giving historical details. No worries plenty more on internet.

http://www.thegallantpioneers.co.uk

Some more good news?

Is The Gallant Pioneers website still available? Abroad at moment and cannot get it to load, long time since I last looked so could be guys have closed it for some reason.

Thanks for that, I’ll share my winnings with you.

Qatar 0 - 3 Ecuador England 1 - 1 Iran Senegal 1 - 2 Netherlands USA 1 - 2 Wales Argentina 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia - JOKER Denmark 2 - 0 Tunisia Mexico 1 - 1 Poland France 3 - 1 Australia Morocco 0 - 2 Croatia Germany 3 - 0 Japan Spain 2 - 0 Costa Rica Belgium 3 - 0 Canada Switzerland 1 - 1 Cameroon Uruguay 2 - 2 South Korea Portugal 2 - 1 Ghana Brazil 3 - 0 Serbia

Contributor Blog – Rangers Accounts Review FY22 Club 1872 is pleased to present an expert review of the latest Rangers accounts from one of our Contributors. Rangers accounts, released last week, finally reached an inflexion point in the club’s recovery from the impact of 2012, with record revenue and an operating profit for this first time, driven by on-field success as the team reached a European final and the much-vaunted player trading model which kicked into gear with the sale of Nathan Patterson to Everton in January 2022. Revenue Rangers recorded its highest-ever revenue (£86.8m) in the year. It is worth noting that this does not include the sale of Nathan Patterson, which is treated elsewhere. Revenue increased 82% versus FY21 (Covid-19 impacted) and 47% versus FY20. This year’s revenue growth has come in all the club’s revenue streams. The fans continue to be the primary source of revenue, with matchday revenue accounting for 48% of the club’s turnover at a quite an incredible £41.9m – £17.4m, of which was season ticket money. The Europa League prize money increased from £11.2m in FY21 to £17.3m. A modest increase given we reached the final. However, it is partly driven by poorer group stage performance (two wins and two draws versus four wins and two draws in FY21). Commercial revenue was £27.7m in total, which is split as follows: Commercial Partnerships and Sponsors – £7.3m Broadcasting (Sky + RTV) – £7.2m Retail – £5.5m Other Commercial Activities (typically uplifts for on-field performance) – £4.7m Other revenue – £3.3m Interestingly, much of the above commercial revenue comes from the Rangers support rather than 3rd party agreements. James Bisgrove’s recent interview with Heart & Hand suggested that around 70% of commercial revenue comes from fan spending including RTV, MyGers and merchandise. Other Income Other income relates to the sale of Nathan Patterson. A gain of £11.2m was recognised regarding the disposal of player registrations, of which Patterson will account for the vast majority, if not all. It should be noted that the company’s cash flow statement shows that cash received in respect of player sales was £5.2m, a significant departure from the amounts that were briefed at the time to various outlets, including fan media, that most of the initial fee was to be paid upfront. Expenditure The club’s most significant expenditure is salary costs. We have seen a considerable increase in first-team wages in recent years, peaking at £37.8m this year, a 13% year-on-year increase. John Bennett also confirmed in his recent interview on RTV that the first team wage bill had further increased this year. Given the significant revenue increase, first-team wages were 44% of revenue. There does remain a risk that a poor European season could put this under severe strain. Non-first team wages were £17.0m giving a total salary cost for the year of £54.8m (63% of turnover), a year-on-year increase of 15%. Player Acquisitions and Amortisation Rangers have again invested in the playing squad. FY21 player acquisitions were lower than the previous five years at £7.5m. FY20 purchases were £16.8m as an example. The accounts note a further £15m being spent this summer; therefore, total investment in the playing squad has reached £60m in the last five seasons. As a result of the continued investment in the playing squad, player amortisation has also increased. In layman’s terms, when a football club sign a player, they do not expense the full transfer fee to the profit or loss account. Instead, it is included on the balance sheet and released over the length of the player’s contract. For example, the £3m transfer fee for Rabbi Matondo will be expensed at £0.75m per year of the four years of his contract. The accounts also note that a further £15m was spent on players post year-end, i.e. the summer transfer window, taking the spend across the last five windows to £40m. Operating Profit The headline figure of a £5.9m operating profit is hugely encouraging and our first for some considerable time. The operating profit is driven mainly by the £5.2m of ‘Other Income’, primarily the £4.25m compensation received from Aston Villa for our previous management team and an insurance claim (presumably related to Covid-19 support). The payment to Sports Direct (more on this later) is not included in this figure as it is deemed a one-off cost. Infrastructure/Capex As John Bennet pointed out in his RTV interview, the club spends considerable resources on Capital Expenditure. A total of £5.8m was spent in FY22, taking total Capex since 2015 to £20.4m – with over half of this in the last two financial years alone. It should also be noted that the accounts state that the club has committed to spending a further £9.6m – presumably related to completing Edmiston House and the Blue Sky Lounge. Investors There was a significant movement within the club’s funding during the period. The debt that the club carries has been rationalised and now remains relatively simple, with John Bennet (£10.3m) and Julian Woldhardt (£1.9m) remaining the only shareholders with loans in the company with additional facilities with an unnamed high street bank (£1.4m) and the Scottish Government Covid-19 support loan (£3.2m). Contrary to some speculation, the club is not debt free as can be seen from the table below. Debt Amount John Bennett £10.3m Julian Woldhardt £1.9m Bank Loan £1.4m Scottish Government £3.2m £16.8m The shareholder loans accrue interest at 6%, are secured against Edmiston House and are being repaid quarterly through to July-28. The loans can be repaid early and it remains to be seen if that is the case following the end of this accounting period using the funds received from the sales of Bassey. Aribo and from Champions League qualification. However, if it is in place through to its term, the interest payment on the loan will be a not insignificant £2.3m – mainly going to John Bennett. John Bennett had his existing facility repaid in the year (£6.55m); however, the above facility was put in place after this repayment. Dave King had his loan facility (£5m) repaid in the year, as did George Letham (£2m). The latest facility from investors takes the total loans provided since the regime change in 2015 to £101m. Of this, £22.7m has been repaid, £66.1m has been converted to equity, and the remaining £12.2m is outstanding. It is now clear that the period of board members and investors providing loans to be converted to equity (shares) ended around the start of this calendar year. The club is having to repay funds out its own revenue to those investors, rather than releasing shares (which is essentially free to the club). It is worth noting that Chairman, Douglas Park has not provided any loans during the period despite indications at the last AGM that this may be the case. In fact Park has not provided any loans or taken any equity for over 18 months. Parks of Hamilton (Holdings) Ltd have however entered into a commercial agreement with Rangers which appears to be worth £500k a year for 10 years. It is not clear what the terms of this agreement are or what Parks receive in return. The agreement was mentioned in the recent cinch court case and was put in place around the same time as the SPFL entered into their own commercial agreement with cinch. Cashflow The club generated £9.7m of cash in the year. As shown below, the strong day-to-day trading performance yielded £15.3m cash. Player acquisition and Capex remain significant outlays (£22.6m) being supported by the sale of Nathan Patterson and additional investor loans. Legal Disputes A common feature of Rangers over the last few years has been very public court battles. This financial year was no different, with several disputes (old and new) playing out. Firstly, the prolonged battle with Sports Direct. The announcement in May that the dispute had been resolved was met well but with some degree of nervousness about the cost. Unfortunately, those fears have been well founded, with the disagreement costing the club £8.25m, of which £1.5m has so far been paid. The payment terms of the balance is unknown. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the end of the matter, with Sports Direct or affiliated brands releasing Rangers strips before the club and Castore suggesting there may be more to the settlement than just a financial matter. A further cost of £1.25m is recognised for ‘other legal disputes’; however, these are not described. The club also acknowledges that it “is involved in a number of other legal disputes”. It is unclear what these relate to but one obvious possibility is the Sydney Cup debacle. Interestingly, the previously mentioned legal proceeding initiated by Rangers against Elite for a sum of £2.3m, which the club believes is owed from previous retail operations, is no longer mentioned. Summary FY23 accounts will likely look similar, with Champions League qualification resulting in similar prize money figures as the run to Seville, given our dismal performance on the park, plus the sales of Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo which were not included in these accounts. Unfortunately, whilst one side of the player trading model has started to bring results in the form of transfer fees arriving with the club, it is difficult to argue that the buying side has. Close to £40m has been spent in the last five windows, and it is difficult to see that value on the park as the club languishes 7 points off the pace in the league and had an abysmal Champions League campaign. Indeed, just John Lundstram and Antonio Colak of those signed across those windows have played more than 50% of available minutes. The average age of the squad has also increased and starting a Champions League game with nine players who played in Gerrard’s first season would not have been expected by the support coming into the season. It is essential that the club capitalises on its current financial stability and does not stand still. Investor loans are now at an end with the club looking self sufficient for the first time in a long time. That is clearly a positive but there is a worry that some of the European and transfer income has at best not been used wisely and at worst has been wasted. Views expressed in contributor blogs are those of the individuals who submit them and don’t necessarily reflect the views of Club 1872 or its representatives.

Marcel Van Der Kraan (Dutch sports editor) on SSN “Gio aware or unrest among the fans but injuries are playing a big part. Gio on the understanding that he will be there after the world cup and knows he needs to work hard with the players.” FFS.

Is it £5M for Sands and £6M for Tillman, with BM having a buy back on Tillman.

Roofe is injured again, out for a couple of weeks.

Just in case we need them! The tie-break rules are as follows: 1. Highest number of points. 2. The best goal difference from the group matches played between teams level on points. 3. The highest number of goals scored between teams that are level. 4. The highest number of goals scored away from home between the teams that are level. 5. If two teams are still level after applying steps 1-4, repeat the steps and apply the above criteria exclusively to the two teams concerned. If the two teams still remain level, criteria 6 and 7 should be applied. 6. The best goal difference from all group matches played. 7. Highest number of goals scored from all group matches played.

At Anfield and again last night I thought he lost out when in 50/50 situations. You may well be correct about playing in a proper team, we need a manager for that though.

Sands - don’t see anything in this guy to be worth paying for at end of season. Last night his passing was poor, gave nothing going forward. If we have kept money back for him, purchase someone better in January. If there’s one available of course. Tillman - Nice touches but seems slow and easy brushed off ball in Europe. Also does not give enough in the defensive side of the game. At moment same as Sands, not worth paying for.

Rangers 2 - 0 Aberdeen FGS Colak

Been saying that for months. When did Kent last have a good game for us?