Gerspride conference, Sat 14 nov

[bmck 117]

The hypocrisy of some sites is breathtaking, my brother who posted as boydscores has been banned by Rangersmedia, apparently he understands the Rangers accounts only to well, he should for reasons that will become obvious at a date in the future. If you don't agree with the party line it appears that over at Rangersmedia, appears the little general plays the timm card and you are gone, how about that frankie.

 

Frankie wont be back for a few days. Tomorrow even, maybe. I dunno. I've only been to RM once, but I liked it.

 

Anyway, there is no party line here, but we do ask that you stay on topic and not spend too much time slagging off other sites. Let's keep this for discussion of the RST event.

[bmck 117]

First post so bear with me, I was told by a mate who was at the meeting that there was a small turnout of about 150-170, is this a barometer for the future and the apathy it appears that exists about our present situation.

 

I think it's a measure of a few things. There's probably that, but there's also concerns about the RST. I do think that once you get to a situation where someone says "We need you to sign up �£X per month for Y months to save the club" you'll get more than a couple of hundred people, though.

[Bluedell 5,408]

The hypocrisy of some sites is breathtaking, my brother who posted as boydscores has been banned by Rangersmedia, apparently he understands the Rangers accounts only to well, he should for reasons that will become obvious at a date in the future. If you don't agree with the party line it appears that over at Rangersmedia, appears the little general plays the timm card and you are gone, how about that frankie.

 

I've no idea why he was banned but he certainly doesn't understand the Rangers accounts well and this has been shown up on several occasions.

[boss 0]

I've no idea why he was banned but he certainly doesn't understand the Rangers accounts well and this has been shown up on several occasions.

 

I'd just echo what BD has said. I didn't know he had been banned either.

[spanner 0]

Thanks guys, I don't know enough about money things to argue about the finer points, all I can say without giving anything away is that he works for Lloyds TSB Asset Finance Division at quite high level, I on the other hand am just one of the millions of unemployed.

[calscot 0]

Thanks guys, I don't know enough about money things to argue about the finer points, all I can say without giving anything away is that he works for Lloyds TSB Asset Finance Division at quite high level, I on the other hand am just one of the millions of unemployed.

#

 

No wonder he was banned! Probably lucky he didn't get a good kicking too...

[ian1964 10,562]

Will we ever get a group that the fans want/trust to take the lead for this ???

[ian1964 10,562]

Rangers fans have been warned it's now or never if they want their voice heard in the bid to save their club.

 

Around 150 supporters gathered at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon to hear influential fan groups outline the role the Light Blues legions can play to preserve the future of the cash-strapped SPL champions.

 

The Rangers Supporters Trust organised the Gers pride conference but made it clear all major fan groups, including the Rangers Supporters Association and the Rangers Supporters Assembly, are united in their desire for change.

 

They will now forge ahead in the coming weeks with details of an investment drive they hope will encourage fans to commit what they can afford with the long-term aimof taking control of theclub.

 

The groups also plan to appoint a famous Rangers figurehead, quite possibly from the nine-in-a-row era, to act as their public face and give even greater credibility to their survival scheme.

 

Stephen Smith, chairman of the Rangers Trust, said: "The clock is ticking and January is not moving in the calendar. The banks have indicated that's crunch time and if we're not under new ownership by then our crown jewels are likely to besold.

 

"We could lose Pedro Mendes, Steven Davis, Allan McGregor and Madjid Bougherra and that would directly affect the chances of Rangers winning the league and qualifying for the Champions League, which is so important to the financial performance.

 

"In terms of representing the Rangers support we'll work and talk with anyone short of Lucifer and Dermot Desmond. We'll meet anyone who has the best interest of Rangers at heart."

 

Senior figures from the three fan groups are working together behind the scenes on the best vehicle to drive fan investment, with their ultimate ambition to make Rangers fully owned byits support.

 

In the short term they hope to work with a major investor but despite speculation linking Dave King with a takeover and reports of a mysterious Florida based backer noone has yet shown their hand.

 

However, if they do emerge in the coming weeks the Rangers fan organisations want to be in a position to support their plans, if they are acceptable, with significant investment of their own from rank and file supporters.

 

Smith said: "Our goal is to win the hearts and minds of the vast constituency of Rangers fans who are looking for leadership and direction. We're confident theTrust, the association and the assembly can achieveit.

 

"We're actively exploring the idea of a figurehead, an ex-player with an excellent profile, to bring home the message to Rangers fans not yet engaged in this process that thingsareserious.

 

"The best-case scenario is we float an investment scheme that attracts an enormous and immediate support fromthe Rangers family so we're in a position to invest money with the aim of making Rangers a membership-owned organisation.

 

"Worst-case scenario is we don't get the message across and the Lloyds Group plays even harder ball.

 

"The words of chairman Alistair Johnston haven ot been encouraging. It appears the banks have a major say in the operation of Rangers and that's not acceptable to fans."

 

Rangers supporters listened to addresses from fan representatives of Hamburg and Espanyol, with the meeting chaired by central Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe, a member of the House of Commons Rangers SupportersClub.

 

Jens Wagner from Hamburg revealed his club are entirely member owned and boasted a turnover last year of �£168million and a profit of�£9m.

 

Wagner said: "Most countries in Europe are democratically organised structures so why not our clubs?

 

"I'd even encourage Rangers fans to involve the bank in their talks because it might be no bad thing to have them as part of the club. They have the financial expertise and the fans have the heart.

 

"It might be the case Rangers decide to go for youth development and commit to that for five years. Sure, Celtic might win most of the trophies then but at least fans could say their club belongs to them."

 

Gers supporters were encouraged by the talk-in as a first step toward a better future for theirclub.

 

Gordon Stewart, 26, of Milton of Campsie, said: "I'm a fan of the Hamburg model and would love to see it as a long-term goal."

 

Drew Caldwell, 46, of Linwood, said: "Fan involvement is key. I'd like the club to recognise the support and engage with us."

[Union City Blue 0]

Personalities aside, the situation we all face together appears to be pretty bleak for Rangers and at the end of the day, that's why we're all here and that's what we all care about. Sometimes on the internet it's hard to recognise that we're all on the same side.

 

The way I see it, the fans could very well be required to put money into the Club in various circumstances and we need to get into a position to do that sooner rather than later. If Dave King rolls into town he might well want some financial input from us. If he doesn't and someone else appears on the scene, they might too. If they turn up late, we might want to put money in during January if players start disappearing. If nobody turns up at all, we might need to help the club sometime in January or in June. There are just so many possible scenarios at the moment that we could be facing - none of them particularly attractive unless the mystery white knight arrives and chucks maybe �£30m-�£40m in. There's no concrete sign of him yet.

 

Seperately, fan representation leading to ownership is not supported by all, but there does seem to be a lot of interest from a lot of people. It would be interesting to hear what people think would be the right models for Rangers and what structures etc people think should be put in place and using which principals etc. These will be the questions if and when this moves on a step or two.

 

I do understand that some people have a reluctance to get on board with the Trust as things stand for a variety of reasons, and for others it is a bridge too far in any circumstances. But as I say, significant supporters' contributions might well be required quite soon and at the moment the RST and partners are (rightly or wrongly) focussed on these eventualities. It would be good to hear more about what the folks on Gersnet would like to see with respect to this.

[Bluedell 5,408]

It would be good to hear more about what the folks on Gersnet would like to see with respect to this.

 

It was said that the Trust are looking at 17 different models at the moment. Rather than us reinventing the wheel, would it be an idea to highlight the main areas of differences between the models that are being looked at or what the main areas of connsideration are? That way we can discuss some specifics, rather than talk about abstracts and be miles away from what is being considered.