Rangers chiefs lose latest round of court battle with Sports Direct and Mike Ashley over merchandise

[pete 2,499]

1 hour ago, Frankie said:

This ongoing issue is a tricky one to comment accurately on when we don't know the detail of the contracts.

 

I have sympathy for the Rangers board as they're dealing with the biggest of all snakes in Mike Ashley whilst trying to rid us of a 'deal' that benefited SD a lot more than it did our club.  Years long litigation was always going to happen and it's frustrating for fans when we read about setbacks like the one of the other day.  With that in mind, it's vital the club ensure our lawyers are prepared properly and offering the correct advice.  However, even then, you're reliant on finding a sympathetic judge and it seems the common sense argument is no longer in vogue 

 

It's now time for Rangers to regroup and consider their strategy and legal advice.  Should person A or B fall on their sword in that sense?  Perhaps but that just means more time and money set aside for their replacement(s) to get up to speed on a legal argument that is already several years long.  And it still wouldn't guarantee success.  In fact, success might not be possible, just finding the lowest possible cost to ensure the retail money we make going forward is ours, not 

 

Let's not forget the terms of the retail contract and the fact we're still lowed money from it.  Let's not forget who the real enemy is.

 

“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” - George Bernard Shaw.

 

Unfortunately, we don't have a choice.

I don't think Blair can be taken seriously again by a court and should definitely fall on his sword. If a judge can read through all the papers to make a decision then a team of lawyers should be able to do that as well. God knows they are paid high enough and are likely to come out of this as the only winners.

[Bill 13,717]

Just now, pete said:

I don't think Blair can be taken seriously again by a court and should definitely fall on his sword. If a judge can read through all the papers to make a decision then a team of lawyers should be able to do that as well. God knows they are paid high enough and are likely to come out of this as the only winners.

You might be right about Blair but even if the rest of the board agreed with you, he could never be sacked while a judgement is pending that relies on his testimony. That said, the fact his words have now been ridiculed by a judge should make his departure a necessity now.

[der Berliner 3,744]

Just out of interest ... how long does our current contract with our retailers run? 2 years?

 

If it comes to an end and we are going into the next round, why not offer SD then a chance to match the offer (our dislike aside for a moment). If they do, we get a similar deal to what we have with our current retailers, no extra payments to SD. If they don`t want to, they won`t get any money either as we`ve met the obligations.

 

BTW, it is utterly beyond me that there is no business law in Britain that is able to challenge the deals done by Ashley`s place-men which were totally one-sided and not in any way profitable to anyone but Ashley and SD. This is third world stuff ...

[Gaffer 1,665]

On 24/07/2019 at 05:55, pete said:

It is Bullshit. Their only share could ever be on the profit and that will possibly be millions but not high in the millions. Well affordable to the club. The biggest crunch is we couldn't get Ashley off our backs.

I agree Pete, this I should nonsense.  Firstly, it won't be millions.  This is complicated enough without ridiculous reporting like this from the usual suspects.

 

I still think we are likely to be better off.  As I said earlier, our board is making mistakes but they're not stupid.  I want us to fight this disgusting man.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Gaffer

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[rbr 1,256]

11 pages and people still don't u understand or have read the judgement handed down , after everything we have been through have we learnt nothing , this thread is seriously depressing guys .

[Gaffer 1,665]

1 minute ago, rbr said:

11 pages and people still don't u understand or have read the judgement handed down , after everything we have been through have we learnt nothing , this thread is seriously depressing guys .

I think many of us would appreciate it if you could explain.  I think I understand but possibly not if others are so worried about it.

[rbr 1,256]

When DK released a statement in 2017 , stating the boycott was over and that fans were free to buy strips as a new improved deal had been struck with SD , he was being disingenuous, we paid £3 million to avoid SD taking personal action against DK and PM , also it ended the 7 year deal , and we reposed a new deal , allowing SD to match any deal in perpetuity , if they matched the terms they got to win the deal , if not the entire deal finished . 

 

Ok so far so good , it looks straight forward , what actually happened next , was Rangers entered deals with Hummel and Elite and never even informed SD never mind allowing them to look at the terms of these deals , SD took us to court and won , we ignored these court orders and carried on , we were taken to court again and lost again , and again and yet again .

Our company secretary has had his professional reputation shredded , for the 4th time , and our reputation for sticking to the terms of our deals is in the bin .

 

We owe money to SD for last year , this year and as of next year SD gets the contract back , the £1 million c is quoted by the judge as not being necessarily suitable to cover SD losses , however as of yet this part hasn’t been fully disclosed .

 

The only glimmer of hope is that the appeal we have in miraculously wins the day , however given that 3 or 4 senior judges have handed us our arses on a plate  I would find this highly unlikely .

[cooponthewing 1,139]

3 hours ago, rbr said:

When DK released a statement in 2017 , stating the boycott was over and that fans were free to buy strips as a new improved deal had been struck with SD , he was being disingenuous, we paid £3 million to avoid SD taking personal action against DK and PM , also it ended the 7 year deal , and we reposed a new deal , allowing SD to match any deal in perpetuity , if they matched the terms they got to win the deal , if not the entire deal finished . 

 

Ok so far so good , it looks straight forward , what actually happened next , was Rangers entered deals with Hummel and Elite and never even informed SD never mind allowing them to look at the terms of these deals , SD took us to court and won , we ignored these court orders and carried on , we were taken to court again and lost again , and again and yet again .

Our company secretary has had his professional reputation shredded , for the 4th time , and our reputation for sticking to the terms of our deals is in the bin .

 

We owe money to SD for last year , this year and as of next year SD gets the contract back , the £1 million c is quoted by the judge as not being necessarily suitable to cover SD losses , however as of yet this part hasn’t been fully disclosed .

 

The only glimmer of hope is that the appeal we have in miraculously wins the day , however given that 3 or 4 senior judges have handed us our arses on a plate  I would find this highly unlikely .

I think that’s a fair summary rbr; but as far as I understand it, even with all that happening  we are not facing an existential threat of any kind. That’s is what is freaking some people, as is the spurious rumours from the obsessive gutter dwellers. I’m only saying this as it’s what is in the back of people’s minds. 

If we don’t win any appeals-yes we will owe money but that would be the end of it. That’s how I understand it anyway? SD and the fat man still owe us £3m too which is up in court.

Edited July 24, 2019 by cooponthewing

[Gaffer 1,665]

There's still nothing that leads me to believe that we are in a worse position than we were previously, and in fact there's nothing to suggest that we are in anything other than a decent position in this fight.  Is there anything we should be concerned about?  The way this looks, we are in a better position financially so what is the problem?  In the businesses I'm involved in there's are numerous court cases, none of which will have a material impact on the finances, share price or reputation.  I realise we are all on a heightened state of alert given previous issues at the club, but I can't see why I should be concerned here.  Does anyone have anything that suggests otherwise?