Rangers AGM 2016: All you need to know:Joey Barton to Mike Ashley and share issues.

[pete 2,499]

16:35, 14 Nov 2016

Updated 16:46, 14 Nov 2016

By Alan Clark

 

THE Ibrox club's annual general meeting will take place at the Clyde Auditorium on Friday, November 25 at 10am.

 

Rangers manager Mark Warburton with chairman Dave King and others at the 2015 AGM

 

A COMPANY'S annual general meeting is usually boring, run-of-the-mill events that you'd rather avoid.

 

But not when it comes to football clubs. And especially Rangers Football Club.

 

Over the past few years, the Ibrox club's company meetings have been barnstorming, pitchforks and fire-style occasions.

 

That was until, of course, Dave King and friends rode in to oust the previously unpopular regime - to say the least - and take control for themselves.

 

King and the rest of the Gers board held their first meeting last year and this one will be in the same setting with much of the discussion centred around similar topics - but with an added twist.

 

Here's a look at what's on the agenda next Friday and what's likely to happen:

Boardroom reappointments

Dave King in the directors box

 

After the introductory speeches and acknowledgement of the recently-released annual accounts, there's the routine start to voting proceedings with what are known as ordinary resolutions.

 

This will be the second year in a row where this area will have no controversy compared to times before, where shareholders attempted to get rid of the likes of the Easdale brothers, Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge by voting against their re-election to the board.

 

 

The first resolution is to "receive and adopt" the financial statements before resolution two through to seven are individual board reappointments - including chairman King, vice-chairman Paul Murray and director Douglas Park.

 

Campbell Dallas LLP are up for reappointment as the auditors and resolution nine pertains to the board deciding on remuneration for those auditors.

 

The final ordinary resolution, if passed, gives the directors of Rangers authority to issue shares. It's on the agenda each year as the permission from shareholders with their vote from the year previous expires each time the AGM comes around.

Special resolutions (share issue)

Getty Images Rangers Chairman Dave King looks from the Hampden stands

Rangers Chairman Dave King looks from the Hampden stands

 

Last year, there were two special resolutions but this year's meeting lists just the one. Resolution 11 is officially called: "Authority to Issue Shares for Cash/Disapplication of Pre-emption Rights" - a right mouthful.

 

In layman's terms, the board are asking shareholders to vote to allow them the power to issue shares for cash that don't need to be offered to existing shareholders first - thus theoretically opening the door for external investment at Ibrox.

 

Despite losses being halved and revenue increasing in the accounts from June 2015 to June 2016, Rangers are still trailing significantly behind Celtic in the income stakes and the Gers board will be looking at this as a potential added source of cash into the club's coffers.

Questioning over Joey Barton

SNS Joey Barton has hung up his Rangers tie

Joey Barton has hung up his Rangers tie

 

Once the ordinary and special resolutions have been voted on, questions from the floor will be invited to be directed at the board.

 

One issue that is bound to be addressed by shareholders is the Joey Barton fiasco that led to Mark Warburton's marquee summer signing agreeing a pay-off deal to leave the club.

 

Some supporters feel the club handled the situation quite shoddily, which saw Barton suspended initially for a week after a training ground bust-up but the midfielder didn't play another game in blue.

 

He remained suspended for around seven weeks before both parties negotiated a get-out, but fans and shareholders alike will want to know why the process took so long.

 

Barton was reported to be on around £20,000-per-week at the club, with his wages paid up until January in the pay-off that was agreed, and the board may be asked if that cash will now go towards a replacement.

 

With the other marquee signing Niko Kranjcar injured for the rest of the season, coupled with the Gers' indifferent start to the Premiership season, questions will no doubt be directed at King and Co with regards to transfer budgets and targets for the upcoming January transfer window.

The rather large elephant in the room

Daily Record Dave King is determined to escape from Rangers' retail deal with Mike Ashley

Dave King is determined to escape from Rangers' retail deal with Mike Ashley

 

Mike Ashley just doesn't go away.

 

And no, we don't mean from the canteen at Shirebrook, we mean from Rangers' affairs. The Newcastle owner still holds just under nine per cent of the shares at Ibrox and a vice-like grip on the Ibrox retail arm, Rangers Retail.

 

Fans are still boycotting official merchandise in their thousands but with no indication of when they'll be giving the nod to start buying at the club shop again, they'll seek more information on a timetable.

 

Very much related to that concern is the £4million legal claim launched by Rangers this year against a number of former directors and Ashley, with the club alleging Green, Imran Ahmad, Brian Stockbridge and Derek Llambias negotiated commercial deals with Sports Direct below market value.

 

They also believe Ashley unfairly benefited from the alleged negligence - so shareholders will want an update on the progress of that claim.

 

Rangers want a judge to declare the Partnership Marketing Agreement void but it will likely be the case the board are legally incapable of giving any detail to shareholders on where this currently stands.

 

It won't stop the questions coming, though.

The burning issues from left-field

Rangers stars quench their thirst with some water - provided by the local church

 

Every year at Rangers and Celtic AGMs, you always get the absolute left-field of all left-field questions.

 

At Celtic, it's usually about Rangers and at Rangers it's usually about the reintroduction of an orange kit or recruiting a club chaplain.

 

Sadly, though, we don't hold out much hope this year of hearing why Rangers have been stealing the local church's water supply and therefore saving cash on the water bill.

 

That's despite some heavy hitters reporting to the contrary.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-agm-2016-you-need-9257965

[der Berliner 3,471]

At Celtic, it's usually about Rangers and at Rangers it's usually about the reintroduction of an orange kit or recruiting a club chaplain.

 

Somesuch was asked at the last AGM?

[the gunslinger 3,366]

What's the last bit about.

[pete 2,499]

What's the last bit about.

 

I believe that was another story from the deluded that Rangers had tapped water from a local church for Ibrox because we couldn't pay the water bill.

[jhunter 0]

I believe that was another story from the deluded that Rangers had tapped water from a local church for Ibrox because we couldn't pay the water bill.

 

No

 

come on

[pete 2,499]

No

 

come on

 

I guess it was a Celtic joke stemming from this story.

 

Churches to fight water charges

 

11:32, 6 Mar 2008

Updated 04:40, 26 Oct 2013

By Dailyrecord.co.uk

 

LOCAL churches and charities are being urged to get involved in a major campaign, launched on Monday, to fight the introduction of water charges.

 

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LOCAL churches and charities are being urged to get involved in a major campaign, launched on Monday, to fight the introduction of water charges.

 

For over 50 years charities and churches have been exempt from water charges. The proposal to remove the exemption from 2010 could result in churches and charities, including village halls, being faced with crippling water bills.

 

Rev Norman Hutcheson, of Dalbeattie Parish Church, has signed a petition and is sending a letter to the Scottish Government to express his concerns. He said: “This is of great concern to us. I have already signed the petition and we’re writing to the Scottish Government.

 

“We have a suite of halls which includes a lot of plumbing for our eight toilets and urinals. It isn’t just churches who will be affected. I sit on a couple of village hall committees and they already have to deal with living a hand to mouth existence trying to raise enough funds. It’s not as though they have huge memberships which could cover the extra costs. We unreservedly oppose the move to introduce water charges and would urge everyone to support the campaign.”

 

With charities and churches playing a vital social role the imposition of water charges may prove to be the last straw for many such bodies, including everyone from charities who have their own premises, to mothers and toddlers groups meeting in the local church hall.

 

It has been estimated that churches could face annual charges of £1,000 or more, depending on the size of the premises. The cost to maintain the current exemption is £2.4 million a year.

 

Castle Douglas Parish Church has sent a letter to the Scottish Government. Treasurer, Fiona McGregor, said: “It is totally unjust. We have a church hall which is sometimes in use from 9am until 10pm but at other times it is shut. It serves the community and we charge very little for its use. We don’t know the likely cost but it will have a considerable impact. It could be £1000 or more.

 

“All churches are being asked to write to the Parliament putting our case. We wrote and received a bureaucratically bizarre reply asking if they could put our letter in the Scottish Parliament library and enclosing a form for us to sign giving permission. We’ve also written to MSP Alex Fergusson.”

 

Anne Corson, from Stewartry Council of Voluntary Services (SCVS), fears rural halls may be badly affected if the water charges are imposed. She said: “This could have a serious effect on those village halls which are charities. We’ve heard of one hall in Angus which would have to pay around £1400.”

 

The campaign includes a petition to maintain the current reliefs and exemptions - which will be submitted to the Scottish Parliament – and is available for signing on the parliament’s website.

 

By Wednesday over 500 people had already signed.

 

The petition – ‘Water Charges Relief’ is available on http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/list_petitions.asp

[StuGers 477]

I guess it was a Celtic joke stemming from this story.

 

It's not a joke though, they genuinely believe it.

[Frankie 8,307]

Haha - funny stuff from Aldo...

[pete 2,499]

It's not a joke though, they genuinely believe it.

 

I guess the most extreme idiots would have but I can't really believe many intelligent people would.

 

I read about it a few weeks ago but filed it under crap straight away. Just the logistics of it make it bullshit.

[StuGers 477]

I guess the most extreme idiots would have but I can't really believe many intelligent people would.

 

I read about it a few weeks ago but filed it under crap straight away. Just the logistics of it make it bullshit.

 

Do you think they even take logistics into account? If some of those sites wrote that it was passed through a teleportation device they would lap it up and buy the associated t-shirt