Dave King Interview in Papers Tomorrow

[Frankie 8,218]

I'm pleased King is prepared to invest such sums but it's not just a case of signing players. Without a scouting system of any repute and without a well-run self-sustainable club we'll only be bust again further down the line while in Scotland.

 

I want people like King and Wallace (and the Easdales for that matter) to stop talking about money and start showing how they intend to turn Rangers into the kind of secure modern business we can all be proud of.

[ian1964 10,563]

Dave King insist he'll not give up fight for Rangers until he has keys to Ibrox in his hands.. no matter the cost

 

IN an explosive Q&A with Record Sport, the tycoon broke cover to make clear his position after being accused of letting fans down and letting the Ibrox board off the hook.

 

AN uneasy truce in the battle for Rangers has been called.

 

Dave King has retreated to South Africa, having urged angry supporters to back off while the current regime comes up with a business plan for the club.

 

Yesterday, though, the exiled tycoon broke cover to make clear his own position after being accused of letting fans down and letting the current board off the hook.

 

Here, in an explosive Q&A with Record Sport's Keith Jackson, King comes out with all guns blazing and insists he will not give up the fight until he has the keys to Ibrox in his hands - no matter how much it may cost him.

 

KJ: You have been accused of muddying the waters and taking a huge backward step. Can you explain your position?

 

DK: Quite frankly I don’t give a damn what people say or write about me.

 

I will do whatever I think is best for me. The media and the fans will make no difference to my success or failure.

 

KJ: So what is the key then?

 

DK: That’s obvious. The fans and the media have been all over this for a couple of years but there’s been no change. We had an agm which in my view was badly timed. You are not going to achieve regime change based on irritation.

 

This is a boardroom decision, it’s a business transaction, and that’s what will decide the future.

 

KJ: Are you saying fans should drop their protests?

 

DK: Protesting would be silly. The board has given assurance as a public company. It would be a criminal offence for them to mislead the fans. They have said it is their intention to compete with Celtic and in Europe and it’s vital they are held to that. Go for it boys. Show us your business plan.

 

The fans should sit back and say: ‘The next move is yours.’

 

KJ: And what do you hope that move will be?

 

DK: The board say we are going to compete with Celtic and we’ve raised £100million. The bonus being that the £100m doesn’t have to come from me!

 

KJ: OK, so what do you expect?

 

DK: Something more modest but given they have made a public commitment I think the board has to at least offer the fans a business plan which shows there will be a big investment in the squad. Right now the squad we have might not even win the Championship next year.

 

We have to cut the wage gap between ourselves and Celtic in preparation for the return to the top flight but that money won’t come from institutions. That is when I would hope to step in, with the fans, and take a very substantial shareholding.

 

KJ: In the meantime, what do the fans do with their season ticket cash?

 

DK: My recommendation is to do nothing until they see the business plan. If there is a commitment to raise funds then the fans should back it. But if the business plan turns out to be more modest then the fans will have to think very carefully.

 

Withholding season ticket money is a huge decision. But let’s give the board the chance to demonstrate that they will honour what they have publicly stated.

 

KJ: What do you expect when the interim accounts are published?

 

DK: I know money was wasted and I’ve heard all the Charles Green stuff. But all I care about is where we go from here. The club has no money. They have taken an obscene loan from Laxey Partners and now it’s got to be repaid somehow.

 

Where is the money coming from?

 

KJ: You said you wouldn’t leave Scotland until this was sorted? But you’re in South Africa. Why is that?

 

DK: It was sorted. If the board had said: ‘Dave we don’t give a damn. We’re cutting wages by 35 per cent,’ which is what I heard their previous plan was, then I would have had a fight on my hands.

 

But they said: ‘Dave it’s not true!’ And that was sufficient. But if the business review involves a reduction in wages then they are breaching their responsibilities, morally and legally. It would be an immense breach.

 

KJ: You talk about increasing budgets. Shouldn’t Rangers adopt a less hubristic approach?

 

DK: My view is my view. I half joked to the fans that if I take over as chairman of Rangers then within six weeks some of them will be trying to get rid of me. There will always be fans who grumble. But a business plan should be based on common sense.

 

There are two income streams available to Rangers. One is from the fans, the other is access to the European pot. Right now Celtic own that pot.

 

The only way we can access that revenue is to compete with Celtic. To do that, in our first year back we are going to have to treble our wage bill as a minimum. Depending on how Dermot Desmond responds we may need to make it four times bigger.

 

Somehow we must bridge the gap and understand that we will not get back to the top unless the costs lead the revenue. That won’t come from institutions, it’s going to come from soft investments. I’m willing to provide that soft money.

 

If we compete with Celtic then Europe looks after itself. But we are going to need a big injection of capital.

 

KJ: Isn’t this a high risk strategy for a club which has come through such financial trauma in the last few years?

 

DK: It wouldn’t be a loan. It would be equity. The club wouldn’t have to repay it.

 

I have lost £20m in Rangers already and I’m happy to lose another £30m because I love

the team.

 

I don’t want to be arrogant but it might be easier for me to lose £30m than it is for some fans to afford season tickets.

 

Some of them struggle to put shoes on their kids’ feet but they buy season tickets because they love Rangers. I am the same. I just happen to be in a more fortunate position and I want to do something about it. I am not going away.

 

KJ: You sound confident.

 

DK: I am. It’s a game of chess but ultimately, Rangers are too big to allow any other outcome.

 

KJ: People said that about administration.

 

DK: Not me. I said administration and liquidation was definite.

 

But right now, as long as there are people like me – and even if I carry the burden on my own – then Rangers will get back where they belong.

 

KJ: Have you ring-fenced the money you think will be required?

 

DK: No, but I have had discussions with my family and told them: ‘This is your inheritance I’ll be spending.’

 

And even though they are all South Africans they have said: ‘Dad, go for it!’

 

It’s their inheritance but they have said: ‘Spend it and don’t worry about it.’

 

KJ: After your tax issues in South Africa, you have enough cash to see this through?

 

DK : Of course I do. I would not be doing this otherwise. I have paid the bill for my taxes and that’s done.

 

I could have sat here quietly but I’m doing this because I want to do it.

 

Would it be irritating to lose £7m? Of course it would. But would it change my lifestyle? Not even remotely.

 

If I was buying Chelsea it might be slightly different.

 

KJ: Why not just buy the current regime out then?

 

DK: The club needs my money not the shareholders. Charles Green doesn’t need the money.

 

I don’t want to hand over my money to buy a bankrupt club. Where does the money come to build the team?

 

Every single pound I put into this I want it spent on the team and on the facilities like Murray Park and Ibrox. Why on earth would I want to give any of that to Charles Green?

[Frankie 8,218]

Some great sound-bites but no detail whatsoever.

 

Exactly how does King intend to secure the club's future? of course money will be needed (and lots of it) but it's the business model that needs most work. What's the point in huge wage-bills if you can't afford them down the line? How much of a gamble is it to spend upwards of £30million if the club isn't stable and self-sufficient at management/board level?

 

So many questions and despite all today's media coverage, still very few answers.

[Darthter 542]

Before a single penny is spent on ANY new players, a credible scouting system needs to put in place, otherwise we will end up spending over inflated fees/wages on mediocre players who are signed because we have no other options.

 

You don't need to spend big to get decent players....spend wisely!!!!

 

Also a good hard look at some of the youths already @ the club. Any new player coming in MUST be better than what we already have, otherwise what's the point in signing them at all. A trust in some of these players is also needed - if they're good enough, they're old enough!!!

[der Berliner 3,424]

For the time being, I'd like to see what Wallace intends to do with regards to wages et al. While there has been much gnashing of teeth about the 14m loss in the first year and the much tortured "loss of a a million per month" argument, you would like to know how the club fared without certain extra, bonus, sell-off, and send-away payments. We obviously need some sort of shrewd wage cap, one that is good enough to ensure decent enough quality on the park and a healthy account off it. That this will be tricky in our current environment is obvious, but on the other hand we don't pay our top players wages of 15 to 30k as we did pre-admin, which is hardly mentioned these days.

 

Right now, King is still advocating the share issue and everything seems to go or fall with that - at least with his investment. A bit of diplomacy might be needed to convince the institutional investors to agree here and one would hope that King goes that route this time around.

[Zappa 0]

Very interesting indeed that Dave King's insinuating Charles Green is still a significant shareholder in that Q&A with Keith Jackson.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

It's what I have long said. Indeed I've said it since green said wages would be 33 percent of turnover. It won't work. If Celtc are spending 30 million a year on players we will need to get close to that. The board need to realise that and plan accordingly. Because if they don't it won't be a boycott it will be apathy from some and outright revolt from others. Either way the ground will be half empty.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Very interesting indeed that Dave King's insinuating Charles Green is still a significant shareholder in that Q&A with Keith Jackson.

 

Well he sure didn't sell to Easdale like we were told he would. Not that I ever believed it.

[Darthter 542]

If Celtc are spending 30 million a year on players we will need to get close to that.

 

They are spending 5 times what we are, and where has it got them this season??? Humiliated in Europe, and out of both domestic cups. Granted they have won the league which will give them a shot at the CL next season which will boost their coffers if nothing else.

 

We should concentrate on our own spend & our own team - for their wage budget, Ceptic are nothing special.

[der Berliner 3,424]

Okay, just trying to get the reason behind this Green argument. I for one believe that King just threw him in for good measure. Green himself was essentially only a "major" minor shareholder. Most of the others are essentially the same, be that Ashley, Prior, Easdale, Blue Pitch, Artemis et al. Laxey shot to the front of the queue, but still only hold 12 %. Should it come to a grand decision, some of these parties have given proxy to Easdale or the like, at least up till now. So would someone explain to me how Green or some other "puppet master" draws the strings behind all these seperate investors and might drain any invested money from the club right now? If possible as objective and serious as it gets, since conjecture and assumption and "ain't that clear" does not help one single bit.