Keith Jackson: Starve them out?

[ian1964 10,761]

........No it's time for Dave King to step up and pay.

 

KEITH believes it's time for Ibrox investor King to put his money where his mouth is with the club's Murray Park training ground under threat.

 

IF Dave King is serious about rescuing Rangers then he had better get a move on.

 

In fact, come to think of it, he may have procrastinated too long 
already because this basket case 
of a business is staring its next disaster dead in the eye.

 

Very soon someone will have to blink and before you know it this club could find itself minus a training ground if it’s not careful.

 

In five days from now the curtain will come down on season ticket renewals and when it does,
bedraggled chief executive Graham Wallace might as well sound the emergency klaxon because unless there is a late stampede between now and Friday, Rangers will be right back on the brink.

 

Raising money against Murray Park might then become almost inevitable, assuming insolvency is to be avoided as Wallace so bullishly insists it will be.

 

It was interesting to note that the current board made no comment at all about the security of their Auchenhowie HQ when categorising Ibrox as ‘sacrosanct’ the other day.

 

The truth is Wallace was busy discussing the merits or otherwise of raising funds against Murray Park with former financial director Brian Stockbridge at the turn of the year.

 

Stockbridge wanted to push the button back then but Wallace at least had enough sense to resist. However, Wallace also made it clear that such a scenario might need to be revisited at a later date and if the season ticket revenue really is about to be obliterated then that date might well be now.

 

Also, given the enormous scale of Rangers financial requirements, there would seem little point in simply raising a couple of million quid in the form a secured loan – like the deal Wallace brokered with those nice hedge fund folk from Laxey Partners just to keep the floodlights on till the end of winter.

 

A full-blown sale and leaseback would certainly bring in significantly more money but at what price to a club which continues to be robbed of its soul from the inside?

 

Which brings us back to the man who would be King and his plotting in South Africa.

 

King has lent his name to the Union of Fans’ plan to starve the club of its biggest single source of revenue but he’s done so from a distance, almost half-heartedly, while this club’s supporters have been busy whipping themselves up into a state of high doh.

 

That King did not attend the launch of this scheme in person, nor even make sure that his recently- recruited wingman Richard Gough was there to deputise, sent out more muddled messages to these fans who want nothing more than a leader in whom they can place their trust along with their cash.

 

But then this is the Rangers civil war we are talking about.

 

If there is a way to mishandle public relations then you can bet your last blue pound someone in this abomination will find it – even though you can barely move for gurus spinning furiously for one camp or the other.

 

King says his attempted coup is not in any way reliant on public opinion, which is probably just as well because he hasn’t done enough to win over the rump of the fans. The vast majority want to believe in him but need to see tangible proof of his intentions.

 

If Friday’s final tally of sold season tickets is as low as many are predicting then this will be an
indication of how little these fans trust the characters inside their own boardroom rather than a show of faith in the man who wishes to topple them.

 

It would also leave the board with a couple of options – selling off the family silver or engage immediately with King, who is ready to talk.

 

So far, King has done nothing much more than kick up a stink by issuing sporadic flurries of statements, most of which have told us nothing we did not already know. He has been heavy on promises – talking boldly of blowing £30million worth of his children’s inheritance – but feathery light on substance.

 

So if he is serious about acting – and for the record I’m sure he is – then right about now would seem like an appropriate moment for him to start digging deep.

 

King has made clear his reluctance to line the pockets of the very
shareholders he blames for making such a mess of the club. While this is an admirable position, the more time passes, the less realistic it appears.

 

And all the while, Rangers fans are wrestling with their own consciences and fretting over whether or not to hold their club to ransom.

 

King could remove all that
confusion and guilt from their
shoulders at a stroke by ploughing some of his own millions into the very account that has been set up for their season ticket cash.

 

If those who run the club will not accept his money then why would any individual feel the least bit bad about hanging on to their own £400?

 

Better still though, King should rethink his strategy and find out exactly how much it would cost to make those shadowy investors lurking behind the likes of Margarita Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita disappear once and for all.

 

Ultimately, this is what will be required if Rangers are ever to be properly ‘cleansed’ and now Friday’s iceberg is approaching, maybe those lucky enough to have stuffed their pockets with penny shares might realise it’s time to abandon ship. Even if they sold now for as little as 20p a share they’d still make mind-boggling returns on their investments.

 

The thought of making them rich might make King’s skin crawl but, even so, this would seem like a price worth paying. He could always ask Fergus McCann who had to perform a similar U-turn when bringing down the Kelly and White dynasty across the city.

 

A deal could even be structured that would allow King to be given some of the money back, much like the £2.5m Ann Budge has just had to pony up to make sure Hearts are a 
Lithuanian-free zone.

 

King could do any of the above and instantly cement his status as a genuine hero among the club’s rank and file. The longer he waits though the more time is running out for his club.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

one would hope that such an action would finally end this lot with the fans.

[Super Cooper 0]

one would hope that such an action would finally end this lot with the fans.

 

Sadly not, they are more likely to turn on each other and question their loyalty to the club. That's how stupid some fans are being, well one forum in particular anyway.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[True_Ger_1872 2]

King NEEDS to do something other then just come out with a statement containing more questions we know the board will not answer.

 

Fans are pinning their hopes on him - if he is not prepared to step up and do something then he needs to call it a day and the club can try and progress.

[jhunter 0]

Might have been better if this scheme was designed just to pressure the Board - lets face it they are not going to grant the security - if King had pledged the amount of say 40,000 season tickets to the account and done it that way.

 

buy your season ticket through him , installment plan and all - considering the Board can't even offer that.

[calscot 0]

When it comes to business and ranking all the players in this game with the board, the fans and the pundits, I think it seems obvious that King has the portfolio to show he's number one. He's demonstrated he knows the strategies more than anyone so you'd have to be daft to assume he doesn't have a very cunning plan.

 

There are plenty of obvious reasons not to put money up yet with my wedge betting on the fact he's trying to push the current, major share holders into a corner while keeping the share price very low, giving him a lot of leverage if he ever gets the opportunity to buy them out for a reasonable sum.

 

However, he's entering a new arena where he not only needs to play a political game to win hearts and minds and all that, he's actually using the emotions and trust of fans to move his pawns around the board. He's putting distrust of the current board into the mindset of those who matter most, but you have to wonder if he's forgetting that to replace them, he needs to perform moves to instil plenty of trust in himself.

 

It does seem time for him to think about starting to lead from the front like Wallace at Stirling Bridge, rather than sipping gin 35 miles behind the trenches like the top generals during The Great War. The latter doesn't work so long for free thinking volunteers who are not prepared to be cannon fodder.

 

He's set the stage, sent out the warm-up man, the audience is primed, and he now needs to take his entrance before the mob grow restless and his time comes and goes, followed by howls of derision and maybe some rotten fruit and veg.

 

Nobody likes an anti-climax.

[andy steel 0]

He's demonstrated he knows the strategies more than anyone so you'd have to be daft to assume he doesn't have a very cunning plan.

 

He'd better.

[Mike_Hunt 0]

what would be a shame is if this "starving out" the Board affects our ability to be active in the transfer market with strengthening the team. If it happens and we fail to get promoted, will the fans blame themselves?

[buster. 5,257]

what would be a shame is if this "starving out" the Board affects our ability to be active in the transfer market with strengthening the team. If it happens and we fail to get promoted, will the fans blame themselves?

 

There are bigger things in play regarding the longterm future of the club.

[simplythebest 0]

There are bigger things in play regarding the longterm future of the club.

 

We're a football club there is nothing bigger than getting back to the top