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A cloud cluckoo land thread on RM is questioning whether fans miss the old firm games. Very bizarre given it is the highlight of the season aside from occasional CL games. Watching us is absolutely terrible at the moment and I can't wait to get back in the SPL playing them again.

How much money has been pocketed by so called board members since Craig Whytes takeover it is an astonishing ammount of money we are talking about close on £100 million pounds has went through the club and what have Rangers football club got for it, well come April we have £1 million pounds left, Now i ask you another question what has Craig Whyte got for it, What has Craig Mather got for it, What has Imran Ahmed got for it, What has Charles Green got for it, What has Brian Stockbridge got for it, What have the Easdales got for it? What will Jack Irvine get for it? Back this board at the clubs Expense as you will need to look yourself in the mirror every morning.

AS a listed company, the members of the Rangers Board have to be very careful and professional in the way in which we communicate information. This is clearly not the case for the requisitioners, who can make all sorts of wild and spurious allegations. My concern is that these unprofessional, wild allegations are being used just like bogey men were used when I was a child. But in this case, they are being used to frighten our supporters and shareholders. So, within the bounds of what I can say, I would like to put some of these bogey men to rest. Firstly, I read wild accusations that I may not be independent. This is usually accompanied by a list of names from the club’s past. Let me say categorically, that until I joined the Board a mere 4 weeks ago yesterday, I had never heard of Charles Green, Imran Ahmad, Craig Whyte, or any of the other characters in Rangers’ history. To my knowledge, I have never met them, nor had business dealings with them. Nor would I recognise them if I passed them on a street. When I was approached to join the Board, the Company had only two directors and the immediate priority was to preserve the AIM Listing. Surely it is naïve to think that there is any way the Nominated Adviser could have allowed anyone not totally independent to take on this position at that time? I have now read over two years of board minutes and they make very depressing reading in terms of the scale of their lack of professionalism and worse. The minutes make it clear, in my mind, that the boards of recent years have been totally unfit to run this club. The mystery to me is why people should now be considering that members of these boards, which presided over the problems we face today, should be considered for re-election. Although I have learned one lesson, which is that if you shout long enough and loud enough in the media, you may be able to reinvent yourself. Recent inaccurate and, in fact, completely untrue allegations have included a new bogey man about Jack Irvine's contract. I have looked at this and can say that he has a normal contract, with no bonuses attached and the figures quoted by Mr Scott Murdoch are utter nonsense. Let me also say that Graham Wallace and I are beginning a complete review of every contract that is in place. You can imagine that this is going to take weeks and then more time where contracts need to be changed. I have been on board four weeks yesterday and Graham less than that, but we have already begun this critical process. One area, where we are conscious that we need to focus, is in improving our communication and engagement with all Rangers supporters. We have already commenced work to identify what is required to fully engage with our fan base and we will be bringing forward some significant proposals in the near future. The Board is fully behind improving the communication and engagement with the fans. Another bogey man relates to the club's finances. We have said publicly a number of times that any talk of the club going into administration is completely untrue. Yes, we will need to make decisions to improve cash flows and strengthen the business, but these will be the right decisions at the right time. Another new bogey man thrown about by the Gang of Four is the suggestion that we might be thinking of selling Ibrox. We are not thinking about this. Where do the requisitioners get these ideas from? I promise you we have no intention of a sale. Brian Stockbridge suffers most from the lies thrown around by the people in the process of reinventing themselves. Even the requisitoners must understand that finance directors are members of boards and their actions are largely dictated by the board. Reading the minutes of the last two years or more, I see that Mr Murray was involved at board level for long periods covering contract and financial negotiations. It is not that Finance Directors make mistakes, rather that boards make mistakes, or worse. Without Brian, the club would, in my opinion, have been de-listed months ago and ironically the club should owe him a debt of gratitude for holding things together. Going forward, his new CEO, Graham Wallace, needs time to evaluate the whole structure within the business and the people within it. This will be true for Brian as for everyone else. For the good of the club, for the good of the supporters and for the good of the shareholders, I sincerely hope that the shareholders will get behind the existing board and vote for us. In addition, I encourage shareholders to vote against the four requisitioners. Firstly, because some of them were members or chairman of boards which failed this club in the past. Secondly, we need a Board selected from the best available people. Not just from fanatics who put their own personal interest ahead of the greater good of the club. If these people were to join the board they would be taking up positions which should be held in future by the best, professional people with Rangers true best interests at heart and not having their involvement driven by their own personal self interest. Best regards, David Somers http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5759-an-open-letter-from-the-chairman

http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/200-statement-to-rifc-shareholders-from-murray-et-al Too long to post to please click the link...

He and ex-board member Paul Murray – who is also a member of the group that is trying to win control at Ibrox – met with representatives of 60 Rangers supporters clubs in Belfast last night. And he didn't sugar coat the message that an institution that had designs on being kings of Europe less than 20 years ago remains on the precipice – 18 months after it entered administration. The future can be bright, however, with ambitions to play in a European Super League down the line – but only if the club is on a secure footing. "I personally think that the club is in danger if we don't get a win here," said Malcolm, who is likely to return as chairman if the vote on December 19 goes the way of his group rather than the current board being re-elected. "I don't see how it's going to be funded. The official statement from the last fans meeting with the current board said that they would have £1m cash left in April. "They spent quite a lot of that already in pay-outs so I don't know how much longer it will be before it runs out – probably before Easter if things don't change dramatically or unless they have investors lined up, which they haven't said they have. "We do have, both private and institutional investors, who will back us." The picture in Govan has never looked bleaker. Craig Whyte bought the club for a mere £1 in May 2011 from David Murray. By February the following year it was in administration and within six months Rangers found itself in the Scottish Third Division for the first time in its illustrious 140 year history. While things are improving on the pitch after last season's promotion success, off the field uncertainty remains. Paul and Malcolm are working to put Rangers back on an even keel and rallying the support of the club's Northern Ireland fanbase is crucial to them – hence the reason why they made the trip across the Irish Sea. Paul Murray said: "These are the customers of the club and unlike an English club, in Scotland the fans are the lifeblood of the club with the money they spend on season tickets, merchandise etc. "What I find disappointing is that last Thursday in Glasgow nobody from the current board came to address the fans and they didn't even reply to the email invite to come to Belfast, which I think is a really shoddy way to treat the customers."The fans saved the club last year and to not engage with them just isn't right." Their attempts to gain control of Rangers have met a number of barriers already. Paul was removed from the board almost three years ago. Malcolm was ousted as chairman earlier this year. They are, however, refusing to give up. Even in the last few weeks they have to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to win the nominations at the AGM. "I want to get involved to help save the club," said Malcolm (pictured). "This time last year there was a short period when we thought that things were looking pretty good. We raised £22m, had a clean balance sheet, had full asset ownership. Unfortunately with all of our difficulties most of that cash has disappeared on non-investment activities. "Investment activities mean spending money on the stadium or players – that's what a football club does – but the money has been spent elsewhere and it needs tight cash control for the future, new funding – which we have access to -and get the faith of the fans back." "This puts us in a position to go to any of the institutional investors who are still wavering and say we have the customers overwhelmingly behind our group to clean this up for the future. That's why it's important. "I was an institutional fund manager for over 30 years. In 30 years of trying to sort companies out this is the most complex situation I have ever seen, Ending up in the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh to get nominations at an AGM is outrageous and a waste of company funds. It could have been done months ago." It's only five years since Rangers were in the Uefa Cup final. Twenty years ago this season they were in what was effectively a Champions League semi-final against Marseille. Those days can return according to the Malcolm. He said: "Anything can happen, but we have to be in financial health to be involved." That's my mind made up then

I have been asked by a friend in work to join this, for £12.80 approx per month. Anyone know anything about it and if it is a good thing and worth it or not. Thanks in advance guys. SC.

The 4 new board candidates will publish their's today.

THE four nominees seeking election to the Rangers board at the annual meeting later this month have published a Rangers constitution which includes pledges to retain Ibrox and limit non-executive director pay and expenses. The four men - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson - have all signed the constitution, and they have urged the current directors to do the same. There are eight pledges, which formalise any future board's stance on core principles. They include "ring-fencing Ibrox" and ensuring that future boards can never sell the stadium; that "no director (including his/her family members or close business associates) shall have any financial interest in any contract involving the club; and that "all non-executive director fees are to be waived unless the club is in Europe". "We drew up the constitution because of feedback from fans and shareholders," said Murdoch. "We've met all of the institutions and most of the rest of the shareholders and there were a lot of questions about Ibrox. As far as our plans are concerned, we would never consider anything like the sale and leaseback of the stadium, there is no way we would ever get rid of Ibrox, it is our spiritual home. "We wanted to put down some simple commandments which we have signed up to and which we hope the existing board will also adhere to. We're not sure about the chairman [David Somers], and we're certainly not sure about Brian Stockbridge, while the other two [new] directors [Norman Crighton and Graham Wallace] have to prove their independence." The constitution pledges commitment to "fan representation on the board", an undertaking "to ensure that all executive directors' salaries and bonuses are approved by a Remuneration Committee and subject to market benchmarking", "total transparency in all club affairs", "no long-term debt" and the assurance that "all shareholders are treated equally". Rangers supporters, who continue to protest against the current board, were angered at the 100% bonus of £200,000 that the finance director Stockbridge took for Rangers winning last season's third division title. There is also concern that most of the money raised in last December's Initial Public Offering of Shares has been spent and Stockbridge's estimate that only around £1m will be left in the accounts come April. "A number of the institutional investors, as well as some high net-worth Rangers supporters, will invest if there is a clean board at Ibrox," Murdoch said. "We believe [Charles] Green is still in the background pulling the strings. The [AGM vote] is going to be awfully close. We are hopeful, and quietly confident." Richard Wilson http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/board-nominees-urge-current-directors-to-sign-their-rangers-constitution.22867626

Fire up the rolls & slice, pour a cuppa and enjoy/suffer the latest epistle from your local Handwringer in Chief. Liberal democracy is a good thing. It certainly has its faults, but overall a system which allows you to disagree with it without consequence is always preferable to one which imposes penalty on speech or thought. You might think, given the experience of the 20th century, that this is a lesson humanity has finally learned, but alas the lesson of history is that mistakes are seldom, if ever, absorbed. These thoughts came to mind last week as I re-read my copy of Clive James's wonderful 'Cultural Amnesia', a collection of essays on the effects of totalitarianism on humanity and the humanities in the last century. As always with Mr James, it is genius written with the lightest of touches: the best kind of teaching. You can pick up a copy for about £3 on Amazon and I'd heartily recommend it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultural-Amnesia-Necessary-Memories-History/dp/039333354X The defence of freedom of speech was quite the hot potato this week, with some idiot celtc fans feeling the need to compare a 14th century bandido with a 20th century murderer. As if the 700 years in between hadn't taught the Irish anything; no, they were fit to be subjected to medieval methods of warfare. If only they could see how insulting they are to the people they stupidly profess to defend! And in fairness, loud had been the opprobrium from on high within Parkhead. Mr Lawwell don't like it, Mr Lennon don't like it, and surely the final nail for celtc fans, even Mr Spiers, he don't like it. But what is it they don't like, exactly? Well, the timing and the place. Not the picture of a mentally unbalanced killer with a persecution complex added to a natural penchant for psychosis on banners, but the doing of it in such a way as to embarrass celtc fc. In what was probably a throwaway but nonetheless revealing comment last week, Mr Spiers was of the opinion that 'there are rights and wrongs about the IRA but the football is not the place' to discuss them. I have spend a few days trying to think what the 'rights ' of the IRA were and have drawn a blank. Perhaps some other readers can write in with their solutions to this problem. A free bus ride around Belfast town centre, loudly setting out your thesis, will be the prize. On the rare occasions I think about Ireland, I guess that in the long run of history, it will probably end up as the one country. Not exactly plan 'A' to make you popular in amongst the Vanguard Bears, but there it is. But if it happens, it will be through democracy, not violence. Terrorism is always wrong. So here's where poor Clive James is roped in to educate the wretched Mr Spiers and his pals in the east. Terrorism is always wrong. Whether it be Bobby Sands or, as we discovered last week, some madmen in the British Army running about acting like an Argentine death squad, it is always wrong. And using it to score cheap points is always wrong, and not just on the grounds of timing - on the grounds that rehabilitating terrorists in the way that celtc fans and the BBC have done this week ('IRA hunger striker' is so much less aggressive than 'terrorist murderer', isn't it?) is dangerous to democracy. As the lessons of the 20th century showed us, we need to be on our guard against those who would deny free speech. It may seem hypocritcal to ask for free speech and then deny it for the Green Brigade, but with the freedom to speak comes the need to speak with responsibility. No more throwaway remarks about 'rights and wrongs', some things are always wrong. You don't have to be a cynic to wonder where the Scottish Journalist's Book of Adjectives to Describe Current Buns went this week: no 'vile', no 'songs of hate', no 'embarrassment to Scotland in the 21st century', 'no sectarian bitterness', no quotes from Peter Kearney about how awful it all is. Just 'rights and wrongs' and 'maybe the wrong time and place'. We can only hope that such lunatics as Bobby Sands never return to our shores to demonstrate to the likes of Mr Spiers just how thin the divide between liberal democracy and terror in our society is. Hopefully he will get 'Cultural Amnesia' for his Christmas - one way or another, he, and the celtc fans, need to get the message: terrorism is always wrong. But, as always, there's a but. And while it has been lovely to bask in the reflected inglory of the other mob this week, we must be careful what we wish for. For should the amazing happen and Vincent Lunny actually dare chib celtc for once, you can bet he will be on uber-Orange alert for something to even up the score. And we will give him the ammo he needs, I fear. 'What's the handwringer moaning about now?' I hear you ask. Well... 'Super Rangers' for a start. It is going to have to go, and it would be better if we did it rather than had another war. But even that is a bit old hat, and I'm not keen to have that same argument over again. What's bugging me is maybe something that Lunny wouldn't notice, but a super sensitive handwringer such as myself does. When big Daly got us off the mark against Arbroath, about 50 Bears chose to express their happiness with a burst of The Sash. You may think that a coincidence: I don't. I think it was a classless and tasteless riposte, along the lines of 'Aye, well, you may have scored, but don't think we're going anywhere!' At least they left out the add on, which about 10 Bears didn't at kick off. Nevertheless, what a nice touch to thank a model professional. I hope they get over it, and soon. Now, I actually think that reducing the idiot rump of our fan base to about 70 or 80 away fans is something pretty amazing, and the club and most of the fans ought to be congratulated for it. But they won't, you know they won't. In a society which falls over itself to avoid offending the sensibilities of IRA supporters you know that as long as one Bluenose yells FTP we will be hauled up. We could easily lose the musical two fingers to Jon Daly, and we should lose the forbidden line in Super Rangers. It will make them look worse, and that's always good! And especially, we could lose the UVF tribute lines....terrorism is ALWAYS wrong, remember. Weirdly, in Scotland support for terrorism seems to be considered slightly less offensive than what I stubbornly believe is meaningless yells from football fans with a drink in them. You'll never persuade me that the Green Brigade were all steaming when they rattled up what must have been the least catchy slogan last week, and you'll never persuade me that the vast majority of 'sectarian' events in Scotland are little more than Rangers-Celtic tittle tattle. But that's how the chips are falling, thanks in part to liberal consciences like Mr Spiers'. We can't let distaste for the like of him push us away from defending liberal democracy, but there are one or two things we could do to make it better. It may make you feel slightly sick to actually have to tell people this is 2013: it should do. But Mr Lawwell, Mr Lennon, Mr Spiers, and our own hero-worshippers: terrorism is always wrong.

Good to see this - apparently the booked suite holds 500 people!

VoiceAndColour footballfansceneUK 1h #Aberdeen fans with banner outside #Hampden today in protest against corrupt SFA & SPFL leaders. pic.twitter.com/DlSq47Y6g3 https://twitter.com/VoiceAndColour/status/407131705959411713/photo/1/large

Here's the latest bitch-fest from our Club's board of directors... http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5670-board-statement

http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/195-fans-meeting-analysis-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place First things first – I must say I’m pleased that last night’s meeting at the Hilton in Glasgow went ahead. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it due to family commitments but the hard work of the organisers and those who tweeted updates meant I was able to be there in spirit; if not in person. As someone who has criticised McCollco long and hard for not reaching out to the wider fan-base, I can only praise them for finally going to the support for what seemed a very open and challenging Q&A. But, there’s always a bloody but nowadays, it’s debatable just how useful this meeting was. Yes, further negative points were made about parts of the current board; yes, McCollco did highlight a few areas where they’d seek to improve matters; and yes, most fans present seemed impressed by the talking done. Fair enough. Unfortunately, I’m not convinced that enough was said to really persuade huge swathes of our support that the issue is as simple as voting for X instead of Y come the AGM in December. In saying that, to his credit, Jim McColl did underline that himself and was definitely the most conciliatory of the top table in acknowledging the difficulty in suggesting none of the present Rangers board are worth backing. Indeed, I think that was the most important point made of the evening. Let’s not forget that as we retreat to the trenches this morning. At almost two hours long the meeting was certainly well attended, most of the questions valuable and many points well made – both by the top table and a few obvious critics from the floor. In that respect, it was a pity McCollco appeared unable to underwrite their opinions with genuine evidence to confirm them. For example, we were told MediaHouse is on a huge financial package to operate PR for the club yet this was denied immediately by the company online. Jack Irvine doesn’t have many fans amongst the Rangers support but are we really to believe he earns more than the majority of the playing staff? In addition, I’d agree with the criticism of Brian Stockbridge and the contention his position is certainly untenable going forward. However, if his performance is poor (and it is) then I’m not sure I could vote for Paul or Malcolm Murray to replace him given neither of them set the world alight during their own periods on the board. Consistency on that basis is required so it may be only Alec Wilson and Scott Murdoch may be agreeable. I particularly liked the cut of Wilson’s jib but given both of these gentlemen were involved with previous failed Blue Knights bids, just how much faith can we put in them? That’s up for debate for sure… With that in mind, we can at least praise McCollco for being prepared to go to the fans and hold an open meeting like last night. The empty seats at the top table which were reserved, more in hope than expectation, that the club would send along a few representatives arguably said a lot about the existing board’s reluctance to be accountable to fans and shareholders. Of course next month’s AGM will determine their situation but I’m already disappointed by new chairman David Somers’ eagerness to release petty statements on the club website. He and Graham Wallace may have only been in their jobs for two minutes but at what point will they consider a similar meeting with fans to iron out the various issues that were evident from last night? Is waiting until the more formal AGM really an option for them or should they look to answer our concerns beforehand? The next 3 weeks in the lead-up to that event will be fascinating – if not tedious and tiresome. Indeed, it could be argued that fatigue will induce the kind of apathy that has helped place us in this ongoing awful position. Such a luxury isn’t one we can afford if we want to secure our club’s future and, preferably, improve the way we’re represented in the longer term. To that end, the final meeting point made about not standing back and allowing the situation to pass us by was another important one. Not just in terms of clarifying many of the problems we have with the existing board (or their linked predecessors) but by asking more from McCollco who, once again, struggled to put the meat on the bones of their ‘manifesto’ last night. Scouting, PR, fan representation, director pledges, break-even budgets and asset ring-fencing may all sound impressive ideas but it would be argued anyone could highlight the same areas for improvement. What the support needs is the finer detail – not least how the club will be funded from our financial low point of next April which is now less than six months away! The golf courses of South Africa certainly appear more attractive to Dave King than sitting beside his fellow fans sorting out the club’s future. In conclusion then, while this article discusses last night’s meeting, attention now must turn to the club itself. Irrespective of what we think about McCollco, the existing boardroom is wholly responsible for the future. They may wish to release more soporific statements blaming other people for the challenges ahead but the buck stops with them. Last night McCollco made an effort (imperfect or otherwise) to engage with the support to show why their nominations are a better option instead of or, perhaps more accurately as Jim McColl conceded, alongside the incumbents. It’s now up to the Easdales of this world (we’re continually told they hold a large percentage of voting rights) why their plan is a better one. Yet they’ve given us no indication of how they intend to fund and run the club. As it stands the support and shareholders are between a rock and a hard place. Can anyone address that or will the farce continue?

Interesting stuff....

RANGERS Football Club is delighted to announce details of an exciting new partnership with Global Image Sports that will see the sports management company represent the club in North America. Rangers Soccer Schools already have a well established programme in some regions of North America - including successful camps in New York, Florida, Indiana and Kansas which have introduced the Club to a new audience - but we are always looking at ways to develop and enhance our activities. Our association with Global Image Sports, as their exclusive Scottish partner club, will help increase the exposure of Rangers Soccer Schools across the Atlantic. The Rangers North American Academy will host a series of Elite Player ID Events in 2014 culminating in the RNAA National Camp, all staffed by Rangers fully qualified and professional coaching staff. Greg Statt, Overseas Development Officer at Rangers, said: "North America is an important market for the Rangers Soccer Schools brand to target and having a company as experienced as GIS representing us out there can only be a positive. "Their expertise will help enhance our profile across the Atlantic – where we already enjoy a vibrant overseas programme that has seen over 5000 participants from 15 countries taking part to date. "This partnership will see a massive increase and awareness in the club's Soccer School activities in North America allowing us to make contact with thousands of players, coaches and new supporters across the region. "Global Image Sports have a successful track record partnering with European clubs for all to see and aim to increase brand awareness for the club in North America while also potentially unearthing a future star." Rangers Manager Ally McCoist added: "It is great that this partnership has been created and I look forward to seeing how the relationship grows and hopefully a young player from these camps can follow in the footsteps of Carlos Bocanegra, Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya and Fraser Aird and join us one day at Murray Park." Mike Kelleher, Chief Operating Officer of Global Image Sports, said: "We are delighted to announce this partnership with Rangers Football Club, one of the most prestigious clubs in world football. We look forward to offering further opportunities and experiences to even more players and coaches in North America via this partnership." To find out more about the partnership or how to get your club involved please contact Robert Roddie by email – Robert@globalimagesports.com or Greg Statt – greg.statt@rangers.co.uk. Global Image Sports is a sports management company that provides opportunities and experiences via the formation of strategic partnerships in the sports industry. It prides itself on a professional approach to its business activities and strives to be the market leader in its field while offering its customers unrivalled service and satisfaction. For more information go to http://www.globalimagesports.com or email info@globalimagesports.com http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5651-gers-seal-american-partnership

New Rangers chairman David Somers has turned his fire on the ‘Gang of Four’ trying to shake up the Ibrox boardroom — and urged shareholders to vote down their attempted rebellion. Somers directly questioned the credentials of former chairman Malcolm Murray, ex-director Paul Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch, the four ‘requisitioners’ seeking a place on the board. In an attack immediately described as a ‘smokescreen’ by the Murray-led group, the chairman — promoted from interim to permanent just last week — expressed doubt over whether they had even filed the necessary paperwork needed for the AGM on December 19. Arguing that they hadn’t obtained consent from the Stock Market or from the SFA, and that their nominations have not been properly proposed under the club’s own Articles of Association, Somers said: ‘There can be no guarantee that each of these individuals will be found to be suitable to act as a director of the company or that the board would be able to function properly.’ Under the plan being fronted by Paul Murray, with help from Jim McColl, the current five-man board will have to stand for re-election at the AGM. If they are swept from power, the new men would take control. A source close to Murray and McColl attacked Somers’ statement as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘a smokescreen using technicalities’, while confirming that all the nominations would be properly filed at least seven days before the AGM, as the rules dictate. The decision by Somers to seek popular support ahead of the meeting is interesting, partly because many had assumed that the board already had more than enough votes to quash Murray and McColl. Isle of Man-based hedge fund managers Laxey Partners, who increased their shareholding to over 11.5 per cent recently, pledged their support last week. That was considered to be enough to tip the balance against the requisitioners. If Somers is chasing votes, though, it may suggest a recalculation of exactly what is needed in order to stave off a popular vote for wholesale change at the top. Rangers manager Ally McCoist, meanwhile, has offered a positive assessment of new chief executive Graham Wallace, who saw the team win 3-0 at Arbroath on Monday night. ‘I’ve met Graham a couple of times now and things have gone very well,’ said McCoist. ‘We had our first meeting last Friday at Ibrox. I then got a phone call from him saying he had changed his diary and he was coming up to the Arbroath game. ‘That was great. He came along to the hotel, we had a cup of tea and I introduced him to the players. ‘It was very positive and the meetings we’ve had so far have been encouraging. He seems to be a football man, which I have to tell you I’m thrilled about. ‘Graham’s CV is as good as anybody’s. He’s Scottish, so he certainly knows Rangers, and I don’t have any doubt he knows what is required here to take the club back to the top. ‘The most important thing is the club. Our relationship is very important and, from speaking to Graham, all the indications are he’s very aware of the problems we’ve had in the past.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2514148/Rangers-chairman-David-Somers-hits-Ibrox-Gang-Four.html#ixzz2lpwVTcpS Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

http://www.therst.co.uk/buyrangers/ The Possible Dream: Fan Ownership http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/fan-culture/293-the-possible-dream-fan-ownership

Another weekend with no game...sigh. Here's your Sunday morning 'long piece' a day or so early. Today's musical accompaniment is Hannah Georgas with 'Enemies'. Takes a while to get going but grows on you, kind of like a modern Suzanne Vega. Living with other people isn't always easy. Look at cities - the number of urban dwellers who look for ways to escape tells its own story: living with other people creates tension. So it's no wonder that many of the 20th century's finest thinkers on cities and how to live in them from countries which suffered the most devastation to their cities: having seen their countries convulsed for the better part of the entire 100 years, you can't be surprised that so many French and German intellectuals turned their minds toward how to improve the world for the future. Le Certeau, Foucault, the wonderfully named Lyotard...but what about the Germans? Unfortunately, for many Brits raised on a TV diet these last 40 years, mention of the word 'Germans' brings on a kneejerk reaction where an image of Hitler appears unbidden in your mind, either sauntering 'neath the Eiffel Tower or giving it laldy at one of the lads' night's out he and the rest of the gang were fond of. There he is at the podium, one fist turned backward on his left hip, his right hand karate-chopping an imaginary swarm of bees as he yells 'Niemals! Niemals! Niemals!' A strange man, indeed. But hardly the definitive image we want to take forward of that country, surely? Adolf's ubiquity on British cable TV is now such that it is only a matter of time before someone decides to hive off another arm of the History Channel into a dedicated Hitlery Channel. They may as well: from serious, academic studies such as The Nazis: A Warning From History or The World at War, through well meaning but poorly (cheaply) made cut-and-paste jobs like Secrets of the Nazi Gold to the recent, alarming trend in US low budget movie making to use Nazis as almost a comedy stooge - Nazis From the Moon, anyone? It's a real film, although even it is eclipsed by the appalling bad Nazis From the Centre of the Earth. What Jake Busey, so effective as the ghostly psycho the in Michael J Fox movie The Frighteners, is doing in this trash is anyone's guess: but any answer other than paying off a gangster's bill will reflect very badly on him. Hopefully America, given it provides pretty much the cultural compass for the world, won't go down the Nazi obsessed route the British media is addicted to. If you think the next four years, with day by day accounts of World War One are going to be full on, just wait, if you're old enough, until 1933 - I should think you will have a minute by minute account of what Herr Schicklegruber was up to from the day he assumed power until the Fuhrer's butler served up the cyanide and Lugers in the bunker. Given I'll be 63 in 2033 I imagine I will be either (a) dead or (b) gaga so it won't matter to me. I don't envy the rest of you, though! I suppose it shows how getting your image, your public perception out from under some kind of media imposed identity is not easy. Hence the reluctance in Britain to take people seriously who have names like Mearsheimer, Gadamer, or Bauman. Stuck in a Dr Strangelovian timewarp, we see them as sinister candidates for the experiment room rather than people who may offer something positive. Michael Schumacher, it's true, was popular, but his popularity in the UK was of the grudging respect kind last seen in veteran Desert Rats when they were talking about Rommel. In my lifetime I can think of only Prof.Heinz Wolff, woolly-haired boffin of TV science-fest The Great Egg Race, who has been accepted in Britain. Even he was looked upon with grave suspicion by my mother, although admittedly she was bombed out by the Luftwaffe in the 40's and has never forgiven 'the Germans' since. We as Bluenoses know all too well that if you don't control your own image, others will happily control it for you, and those others will almost certainly have nefarious intent. Our current status in the game - if this were India we would rank somewhere between pariah dog and untouchable street sweeper - have led many, me included, to adopt a defiant stance of 'get it up ye!' and to hold ourselves apart from the rest. They'll need us more than we need them, I have said, and meant it. Now, I'm not so sure. When veteran sociologist Zygmunt Bauman recently took a look at urban life, he diagnosed it to be suffering from two separate but connected illnesses, which, in the time honoured fashion of the intellectual, he gave the unfriendly names of mixophobia and mixophilia. The former sees fear of other groups than one's own run rampant, and those who can do so barricade themselves into gated communities with security guards, gradually losing the ability to communicate with the others outside, the fear of whom grows the more they become unknown. A self-perpetuating cycle where no one wins except, presumably, Barratt Homes. Mixophilia, meanwhile, seems a bit optimistic to me, a happy city with lots of mixing between classes and sects, Bauman foresees 'benign, and often deeply gratifying and enjoyable daily encounters with the humanity hiding behind the frighteningly unfamiliar scenic masks of different and alien races, nationalities, Gods and liturgies'. I remain doubtful how enjoyable daily bumping into hordes of celtc fans would be, especially in a city with trams, but I do take his point: hiding ourselves away in a ghetto will, in the long run, do more harm than good. Hang on , though, I hear you cry. What about Timmy? When O'Neill appeared, they drew back into the cultural enclave, they've never come out of it since and they're doing alright, aren't they? Well, not really, no. Although they have people at the top of the game and are very much the country's strongest side, there are two caveats. First, obviously, we handed it them on a plate, both due to our implosion and our mismanagement of the game during the SPL period. If we were to pursue the Germanic theme of this piece a little further, you could call the SPL period the Weimar Republic and the present lot the early days of Adolf. It certainly looks like a one party state, anyway. Given the delusion which appears to run rampant through their support - 'we bring smiles wherever we go' must rank up there as one of the best lines of this or any other year - perhaps Stalin's self-delusional Soviet Union would be a better comparison. Secondly, in broad terms they are dying every bit as much as the game as a whole. Although many Bears see the Sectarianism Legislation as directly only at them, it reflects a wider belief in Scotland that the day of Old Firm bigotry is past. Teams may be multicultural but the fans you are obliged to step past, usually pished and almost always giving it something from some idealised Irish folk history song book certainly are not. Scottish society, which seems to have been taking a look at itself in recent years (probably due to devolution and the independence referendum) has clearly concluded that shibboleths like the Old Firm are shibboleths no longer and must either change or wither. I think we're both doing a pretty good job of withering at the moment, crowds or no crowds, the mutual hate and societal impact of recent events causing disquiet among those who are fans of neither club. How appealing will the present antipathy be to the generation which comes along after us, which has to have the last few years explained and which, like all new generations, will probably look at us with the same unconcealed contempt my son directs at me when I tell him to cut his nails or tidy his room. Certainly it will keep me going for years, this hate, but as a long term marketing strategy it is lacking. We exist in the Scottish leagues, and we're going to have to come to some kind of understanding with the Scottish leagues. Hans Gadamer, in a book called Truth and Method, explained that mutual understanding can only occur when there is a 'fusion of horizons' between peoples. This fusion can only come about through shared experience and that shared experience can only come about in a shared space: if we exist in a vacuum, our horizons, whatever they may be, will be ignored in favour of everyone else's. Given how much everyone else's appear to accord with those of celtc FC, this is a genuine worry, but more broadly, if the OF continue on their road to cultural isolationism, they may well both be victims of the rest of society's impatience and end up moribund. This may seem needlessly pessimistic to celtc given their CL money, but it goes out as soon as it comes in and even it is far from guaranteed. Another German, philosopher Emmanuel Kant, talked about a general association of mankind: 'allgemeine vereinigung der menschheit'. For this Scot, who suffered at school trying to get his bunged up nose and gutteral, throaty accent around the romantic cadence of French, German is a godsend - it is basically 'say what you see' and none of that Froggie rubbish about silent letters or nasally stops. It even sounds like English. How two countries with so many similarities as the UK and Germany ended up so far apart is one of the great questions of the century gone by, but it's generally ignored in favour of endless programmes about Hitler, Goering and the rest. Unless we take steps to address our current position in the game: no power, no influence, no friends, nothing other than a sometimes useful chip to throw down for small clubs looking for a payday - we may end up more a curiosity rather than a vibrant player, and contribution we might have to make ignored in favour of bone-picking over the last few years. Given the present shambles that is the club, any kind of future vibrancy may seem like lunatic optimism but we fans have a duty to at least try and shove the club into engaging with the outside world. A voice which is constantly telling everyone else to go stuff themselves is unlikely to win many arguments. I suppose at some point we have to engage: even if the ultimate aim remains the annihilation of certain clubs,we don't have to shout it from the rooftops. The AGM is coming up: there will be a possibility of change, though it varies from day to day and depending on who you read. How I hope we seize this chance, for the alternative is terrible: Rangers from the Centre of the Earth, anyone?

http://twitter.com/RFCSA_London/status/404311520798343168/photo/1

Yesterday brought another picture for the Ally McCoist photo album, another shot of the Rangers manager shaking hands with a suit and declaring his support for a guy, Graham Wallace, with a “good pedigree”. Without wishing to be unkind to Mr Wallace, whose CV is, indeed, highly impressive, we can, for now, file this photograph alongside McCoist shaking hands with the Easdale boys and, before them, Craig Mather and, before him, Malcolm Murray, and before him, Charles Green, and before that, Craig Whyte. It’s quite a collection. Wallace is going to have to forgive us our scepticism for the moment because too many men with “good pedigree” have been unveiled at Rangers over the last few years only to metamorphose into an embarrassment a little while after. McCoist has endorsed all of them and hasn’t got it right yet. It now appears that he’s throwing his weight behind the current board, saying on Friday that to do anything else at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting would be tantamount to career suicide. He followed that up by saying that he wasn’t just going to vote for the current board, as opposed to the requisitioners led by Jim McColl and Paul Murray, because of his own survival instinct but that he would do so because he felt it was in the best interests of the club. That phrase – as in, “I have the best interests of the club at heart” – has been bandied about Ibrox so often in recent years that it has now become almost as big a footballing cliche as “over the moon”, “game of two halves” and “sick as a parrot”. If it was true that all these boardroom people, from David Murray onwards, had “the best interests of Rangers at heart” then they wouldn’t have become such an epic shambles, now would they? McCoist, understandably, craves calm at Ibrox. He is fabulously well-rewarded for what he does but, still, these past few years haven’t been much fun for him. Giving his imprimatur to the current board is McCoist backing what he thinks is the winning horse, a symbol of his belief that the board will not be beaten at the AGM. A belief that they have become too powerful now to back against. That the decision last week by Isle of Man-based hedge fund Laxey Partners to buy more shares and then commit their support to the board, and not the requisitioners, was a key play in the battle for Rangers and that McColl and company are close to being a busted flush. McCoist has backed a few losers in this Rangers business over the last two years, but the smart money is riding on the board winning the big AGM vote in December. Rangers people are now entitled to ask about the strategy of the requisitioners. Little has been heard from McColl of late. Malcolm Murray gave it the cringe-making “No Surrender” routine in an interview he did with a fans’ group a few weeks ago, but where is the grand plan from these people? Telling the fans that they “can win the vote at the AGM simply because they must” is not exactly a gameplan. Malcolm Murray talks enigmatically about the level of support the requisitioners have from some unhappy and nervy institutional investors but won’t say from where it comes and what it amounts to. Sections of the Rangers support are busting a gut to try to bring about change to the board – change that is needed – but, all the while, what they are seeing is millions of Rangers shares being traded on the market and, seemingly, none of them being purchased by the McColls, the Murrays, the Kings – “the people with Rangers’ best interests at heart”. If this is a war, then the requisitioners appear to be fighting it with pop guns. If they want control of the club, then McColl and King combined have more than enough money to hoover up shares and put themselves in a strong position, but they haven’t done it. They have allowed the Easdales to do it. They have allowed Laxey to do it. They have allowed the opposition to strengthen their position, while the requisitioners have sat on their hands, vowing that they have major support from institutional investors. If they do, then they are going to win a famous victory. If they don’t, given all they have said, they are heading for a humiliating defeat. Let’s be honest, Rangers could have avoided all of this stuff years ago. Whyte was allowed in the door because no Rangers man would touch the club while the big tax case hung over it. The defence was that they’d have been mad to take it over while the big tax case horror show was still in play. Instead they stood back and allowed Whyte to finish a destruction job that David Murray had started. Later, Green was allowed in the door because the Blue Knights didn’t blow him out of the water, even though they had the financial wherewithal to do so. Yes, there are serious issues surrounding the performance of Duff & Phelps throughout that period, but the fact remains that Green was allowed in the door and, by the time McColl and Walter Smith and others made their move, it was far too little, far too late. Twice bitten. No, make that three times bitten. Still there is deep unrest, still there are mystery shareholders, still there is great uncertainty about the club’s finances and its future and still there is a lot of posturing from the requisitioners and, it would seem, not a lot of real action. McColl and King have the money to go to war and to win but they haven’t. It has reached a stage now where the Rangers manager has backed the board, partly because he has to, if he knows what’s good for him, and partly because he thinks he knows which way the wind is blowing in all of this. There’s been so much noise about Rangers men being concerned about the way the club is heading and yet there is a simple truth in all of this. If they are that fearful that the place is moving towards the rocks again, why have they not used their financial muscle to change the narrative – as Fergus McCann did when Celtic were about to go under? McCann arrived at Celtic, put his money down and did the deal to save the club. He didn’t talk, he executed. McCoist – like all managers – will have had cause at times to ask his players about hunger and whether they wanted victory more than their opponents. You could ask the same of the requisitioners. Not the supporters, who fight on in various ways, but the men who are in the lucky position in life to have the wealth to do the things they truly want to do. But do they want it enough? More and more, that seems to be becoming a rhetorical question.

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5616-joining-was-an-easy-decision A fair interview but I disagree with his analysis of the board at this moment in time.

Rangers' biggest shareholders will back the current board at next month's annual general meeting. Laxey Partners Limited increased their shareholding to 11.64% on Wednesday. Colin Kingsnorth, founder and director of the hedge fund, said: "I want to support stability so I think that means supporting all current directors. "Shareholder worries are the use of cash, transparency and corporate governance. The recent appointments seem to address that." Laxey's stance could prove crucial as the current board attempt to retain control, with another group of shareholders, including former director Paul Murray and former chairman Malcolm Murray, keen to oust them. With voting at the AGM expected to be close, the identity of the seller or sellers of the shares is also significant, depending on who they would have backed. But Kingsnorth told BBC Scotland: "I have no idea where the shares came from. I just bought them in the market." Asked if it was conceivable that Laxey could also vote the "requisitioners" - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch - onto the board at the AGM, Kingsnorth added: "Of course I could support the EGM people but I won't because their job is done. "They should claim some credit for forcing the club into action, but now it has I hope they accept that. "They would have supported (the new chief executive) Graham Wallace if he had joined them and I think they should be big enough to support him if the club supports him. "I doubt they will. A spurned chairman just wants to be loved again, but the club has moved on and I hope the new board drives it forward. They have the credibility, so why not. "The fact that cash has been spent badly seems fact, but what's the best thing to do now? "We'll get behind a professional board, make sure we never go into administration again, get the on-the-pitch stuff right." Source BBC ( need you ask )

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/exchange-insight/trade-data.html?fourWayKey=GB00B90T9Z75GBGBXASQ1 Time/Date Price Volume Trade Value Type 12:59:00 20-Nov-2013 41.00 3,328,672 1,364,755.52 Ordinary trade Interesting...!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25023927 Fair enough if it's a football debt it should be paid but this is over a year after the event. Get it sorted once and for all!