Rangers Banter Archive January 13 2015

13 Jan 2015 21:06:21
To my fellow Bears that are in brain overload with all the goings on at our club.

I have been studying every single email, press release and story concerning Rangers board current and through all the changes over the last 2 years. I have studied everything available on King, 3 Bears, Sarver and every name mentioned to date with Rangers and our problems both board and debt wise.

I also put a long shift in reading University/College papers online available with regards to business takeover and boardroom change tactics employed in business and politics.

One thing stood out like a sore thumb:

The 'Bad Faith Negotiation Model':

This is where negotiations are started between parties where one of the parties has absolutely zero intention of reaching a solution and is only interested in self preservation and opposed to any change no matter what the outcome, whilst appearing outwardly to be open to change.

This really rings so true in 2 instances that if you look at both make it 100% clear what our board are up to:

Duff and Phelps after appointment by whyte, his chosen Administrator (still find that incredible should have been BDO), negotiated with various parties but it was clear after the fact that Green and his consortium were their preferred bidders from the get go, they were employing 'Bad Faith Negotiation Model' tactics, appear to be open to other offers then either do not communicate properly or fob them off with excuses and stick to chosen preferred bidder.

This is EXACTLY what our board have been doing with every party that comes to the table with an offer of help. Either in Sarver's case not even entering into any meaningful discussions. In King's case coming up with excuses regarding not being "shown the money" whilst sending begging emails to save their own skins and not to benefit of Rangers FC. Even after that when the 3 Bears do "show them the money" they do the same 'Bad Faith Negotiations' with Irvine and Easdale stating they are pleased to deal with the Bears and outwardly seeming to be protecting Rangers interests but as we see yet again this is just a tactic to avoid any lessening of their power base and to protect the board's interests not Rangers FC.

The scary thing about these clearly obvious tactics, when looked at as I have, is that there can only be 2 outcomes they intend and both involve Ashley. Either he is yet again allowed to loan against Rangers assets and sell players like Wallace and possibly Law or worse he manages to sell and then lease back Ibrox and MP which is the end game all of us fear most.

Looking at how he treats Newcastle as a business for his financial gain and advertising of his company I am very worried he will out of spite do everything he can to secure every possible means of security against our assets prior the an EGM and his board's removal.

I hope this makes everything clear to my fellow Bears who are as scunnered as myself at every time we seem to reach a positive the board always manage to find a way of ruining it for us and Rangers.

My only conclusion after all this is a total boycott of all merchanise that goes to Ashley and boycott of selected games (we have to show the team support in bigger games or risk miss playoffs and disaster against celtic), we must have support against Hearts, Hibs and tims. Every other game is an option to totally boycott and get the message over. This is a compromise between the boycott all games Bears and the Bears that just can't face not supporting the team on match days.

RTID and always supporting team redsox555

13 Jan 2015 21:28:19
O well George I,all have my say to. guy on Clyde talking about a note of notation, its a document that should have been drawn up when sevco 5588 became sevco Scotland. the green duping of whyte. on this document green would need to state his intention for sevco Scotland, it . could. have had a loan on Ibrox on this note. say 6.5m.with green paying 5.5 m for the company. we could have paid for our own take over. and that is why bomber asks.show me the deeds

Very good post redsox. But how many fans were jumping 4 joy when duff nd phelps were appointed?

Redsox555. You make some great points, your clearly an intelligent guy, but I for one will not be back until the rats have gone, I buy my dads season ticket each year for him he's nearly 80 he phoned me today to see if I wanted a ticket for the cccccc game, because he's still boycotting I told him no, that's the first time in my life I've ever refused to go to a game against them, don't get me wrong I will be jumping for joy if we get a result, but I and many many others are sick of being treated like s*** by people who probably couldn't even name the four stands at Ibrox. I have no problems with fans who go to games because I can understand the emotional pull on their heart, but I sympathize more with the true fans who are breaking their hearts by staying away, Like my mates and my old man and the thousands of others.

Had Blue Knights put a huge offer in of say 15million cleared in funds it would have made Duff and Phelps choice of Green hard to justify. They did not help matters by making the offer a "factored in" offer (factoring expected monies due for Jelavic and debts owed to us), this allowed Duff and Phelps to jump on the Green offer and recommend it was accepted before any other offers could come in.

That is very annoying for me when you think of the wealth of the parties involved and the fact that THEY could have done the share issue recouping all the money they laid out and saving Rangers millions in "set up costs" that Green and co signed up to so readily. Benefitting people they chose financially and not Rangers

I have to say if you think on the eventual money that could be recouped through us being in top Scottish league, in europe, sponsorship, stadium naming rights and eventually kit deal when Ashley's is either cancelled or expires. Why are they not making high share price offers to get to the 51% finishing line? That seems logical and the only way forward as negotiations with this board are totally pointless.

redsox555

I have posted many times about the fact that the blue knights never put in a better offer but u must realise they were being left with a play staff that were costing a fortune and there membership of the s f a clouded they thought they would let green do the spade work then buy him out for a pittance but charlie was not so daft turned them down then proceeded to rape rangers right left and centre

Totally agree royalblue

Redsox. I don't think it would have mattered much (post5) I think once white got involved it was game shot and match, all very well planed, from duff and phelps to charleboy to Ashley, these feckers do this stuff for a living (asset strip)and are all in cahoots, just like most second car dealers know each other, game plan from day one IMO they have probably been planning this whole scheme, since the seen Murray was trying to sell.

13 Jan 2015 22:51:52
spot on with this post mate a wonder how many season ticket holders would renew if Ashley ect still in charge next season if this funding package is not accepted or any other offer for the good of the club I would also expect a massive backlash from the fans we are all fed up with there excuses they have had there time and done nothing for the club part from drag us down

George123 my thoughts on it exactly I came up 18 months ago and handed out with help of the lads that eventually set up Sos. The flyer was called "The Old Firm Long Firm" and listed exactly what you are just saying it was a planned fraud initially then the next stage a similar asset strip using invoices and 'friends/associates' to redistribute the money through numerous fees and consultancy quotes. The police have a record of one such invoice Stockbridge asked to be issued for "services provided" and the girl that was asked to issue it contacted the Police as no such services were in fact provided. This is just one of many many things the police have on files and why the charges were recently brought against whyte and gang of 4.

I would draw your attention to Aidan Earley and Banstead AFC football team. 250k transferred to him by whyte from Rangers! Why? What services were provided? This is called cash asset stripping and one of the ways both whyte and the green board have drained over 50million out of Rangers. Add insane salaries, bonuses and countless payoffs for guys hired then dismissed.

The whole thing is a game plan used by these type of people again and again until they are barred from any company Director involvement. That said change your date of birth a little and as whyte managed you can get round the Director banning.

Sick to death of them all.

redsox555

Royal blue I have been to 6 games in the time since whyte became involved initally due to my being based in London but in the last year down to not being prepared to pay a penny to persons that are not interests in the good of my football team.

I will only buy the red/black kit and anything Rangers connected as long as I am 100% that nothing goes to the board or Ashley's businesses.

I hope we will be able to help the team somehow in future by buying goods elsewhere and not having to fund Ashley's con kit deal.

I agree total kit and match boycott however it is not for everyone and we have to at least try to understand our fellow bears love of club to the extreme they cannot boycott. That is why selected boycotts to involve them also would be sensible

Hoping for an EGM announcement soon is my best thoughts on things. King/3 Bears are being critisised for their silence but isn't that how they eventually got 34% share deals done by doing and not talking? These men a savvy and shrewd business people they have a plan I am 100% on that so keep the faith.

King/3 Bears and Sarver sounds good to me in future (surely people know now he has zero links to Ashley as they have treated him like s**t and knocked him back?)

redsox555

M. A has his first crisis loan due in April with interest due on top of it. The Easdales emergency loans are at least interest free. I personally think the ownership deeds for Ibrox will possibly put off any investors as it's still unknown, surely someone somewhere must no who has them plus the off shore share holders & Charles Greens penny shares, hounouris contracts or whatever there called are water tight. 3years on & nowt has changed, Look at hearts for instance, admin was done the proper way cutting there cloth too suit, gelling a good team together & a future business plan, hibs motherwell fans ownership schemes, Aberdeen debt free along with St Johnston Dundee united, we all said due to us not being in SPL a few would go under! Yes they all will miss out money from our absence but all have decent infrastructures & business models, whilst we are still imploding from within & as for fans groups we all should unite stand as one & get the message across to the board spivs etc that WE are the life blood, there always talks about boycotts etc, now is the time for a mass demonstration be it outside or leave at half time or some bloody thing to get our point across, the same way Celtic ousted the Kelly's out on there arse & demanded change, I wish out there we had a rangers man with a bunnet

Redsox - you conveniently forgot who the original preffered bidder was as far back as 3rd may 2012 when D&P announced


We would like to thank all parties for their efforts in seeking to submit bids which preserve the long history and success of the club.

"We are delighted to announce that today we have received an unconditional bid for the business and assets of Rangers Football Club plc from Mr Bill Miller which has been accepted and he is now the preferred bidder.


"Mr Miller now proposes to complete his transaction by the end of the season.

he was criticised by the blue knights followed by demonstrations and the rest they say - is history

JG

Red Sox the main reason I knew about the long firm is that I know guys that done in for a living years ago, get old pub reopened run up stock then up and off, leaving the brewers out of pocket, all done for very little cost, but good enough profit, a few grand, they used to say to me it's easy money, but that is pennies to what these feckers are doing, plus the brewers could afford it, and nobody was left with hard feelings, unlike this board they are hurting a very loyal support.

Bill Miller was a joke offer he hadn't carried out due diligence properly, that said you are correct they did appear to accept that initially possibly the size of initial offer left them no choice, but it is a fair point.

redsox555

Redsox I remember the Banstead carry on very well mate, though I gave you a mention a few days ago, I stated that I agreed with you from day one, there were no excuses really, told there plan before hand, told all about charleboy, there was nobody willing, nor wanting to listen, I've always wondered why

13 Jan 2015 19:51:45
Evening troops. don't know about you guys but anybody else want the boasts of guidetti and zeefuik rammed down their throats starting on Friday night?!. come on Rangers at least don't go down without scrapping like hell. I still believe we can turn them both over : ) hope ibrox is jumping Friday night see my fellow bears there

13 Jan 2015 20:47:59
im afraid you won't see me there mate I will not go back till the parasites leave the building even if we where playing Barcelona on Friday night

Agree hopefully that tge rally cry they need. But when s smith says players not looking forward 2 old firm then wot???

Born blue though I won't be there (boycotted) I would be very surprised, no flabbergasted if guddetti is there, as I think first team to offer him big wages and he will be out of parkhead faster than an express train, that lot are downsizing big time, they put spin on it ie we only need 20or22 players lol, we they know without our blue pound next saeson they will be downloading, taking freebies, cause they are skint IMO, and would never admit it, Ffs they will struggle to win the league this season, even winning league if they don't qualify for Europe they are fecked

13 Jan 2015 13:03:45
according to the Scotsman Sarver tried to stop the sale of Lewis Macleod as a condition to his offer there was a clause stating there had to be a transfer freeze. looks like he was putting the clubs best interest first also he is smart enough to know if you want to be the best you have to keep your best. how much will it cost for Rangers to replace a talent like Macleod like for like 2 or 3 million i'm sick to death off all this carry on at Rangers the one man who had the cash the business brains but most of all the willingness to stick cash and his head above the parapet to try and take us forward has had to walk away.

now we hear nothing of King and the three bears are in talks with Ashleys puppets about power sharing. Each one of the three bears and king has the wealth to do what Sarver tried but none are willing to put up that kind of cash.

i really don't think the three bears or King has the cash nor the balls to take on Ashley but the American had plenty of both so unless they stand up and be counted then in my opinion they should sell what shares they have to Sarver and let him take on Ashley and Greenocks answer to the Kray twins.

If they did not have the cash how do u think they purcased the share and are working on rescue package of£6.5 million they would not attempt to takeover without the money give them some credit

13 Jan 2015 13:36:50
So many chancers and wideoes over the last few years. The investors without an agenda or dodgy reputations are refused entry at every turn.
Rangers are no longer the club of our past. Never will be the same no matter what.
Finished.

Bigwull why don't King or the three bears stop messing about and do what Sarver done make an offer for the damn club attempt to buy the rest out instead of jockeying around trying to gain some kind of power it won't be long before the three bears and king turn on each other as I can foresee Ashley playing them like a fiddle.

Saver made an offer that he new could not purify just as king and co must get the biggest % of share holders votes there is no chance the board or ashley for that matter will come to an agreement with king and co it will be purely simply who has the biggest share holding savers was a put up job for ashley ed do u think savers bid wa genuine

Sorry I pressed submit then before typing in my reply. So I will reply now.

From what I am told, Sarver is always on the lookout for more sports teams (or franchises as it was called, but I hate that term) to add to his portfolio. Apparently he is a big sports fan and loves the buzz of owning a team, so I am told by someone who knows him and has worked with him.

He tells me that the pair of them actually had a chat about soccer, as they both enjoy the sport. So I can only assume he genuinely wants to get involved with what must seem an opportunity to buy a major sports 'brand' for a knockdown price.

When you consider the amounts required to begin an MLS franchise, for instance, Rangers must seem like a bargain!

Bigwull I understand your suspicion mate but I think Sarver was the real deal he is way to influential and way to well respected both in business and in US sporting circles to be one of Ashleys cohorts. my only beef with king is his level of inactivity over the last year as for the three bears well I had high hopes for them but if the story is true regarding them talking to Ashley regarding a couple of seats on the board the that in my books is sleeping with the enemy

Lochaberbear we do not know the positions of both parties % wise but I am quite sure if the three bears king and co we not be talking to ashley if they had the beatings of them is I have said blue pitch and margareta may hold the key power wise but they are ticketus and won't sell unless they get at least £1. 25 /share until the bears can command the nec% they will settle for seats on the board but they will still want to take club over the next couple of weeks will see the position clear

Think its a bit early to start knocking the 3 bears and kings intentions we need to give them time which ano we don't have a lot of but they will have a plan set just hope they show there cards soon

13 Jan 2015 02:08:16
Mornin Bears,

After King and the 3 Bears bought their shares we all thought "This is it" and felt that the long long wait for our redemption was over, it isn't.

We now have a splintered shareholding of MAJOR investors who cannot/will not agree on anything as it will be seen as capitulation to the other party (s) and a weakening of postion, Ashely will not budge when their is a dollar to be made, face facts, the guy did not become a Billionaire by being gregorious and forthcoming in his business deals, it's using the letter of the law to defeat the spirit of the law in all cases, this is a fight to the death!

My question to the more financially minded of my cohorts is:

What will it take for him to walk?

He won't give up his shares for 20p which is more than he paid, what about 25p? 30p? more?

We don't know!

What we do know is he has hijacked the board, has the Easdale brothers in his pocket (love to know the incentives) and will use them to block any offer that does not meet his requirements of capital investment versus return, he also will not want anyone undermining the legitimacy of the retail contract and it's stranglehold over future finance streams - their his, end of story!

After 3 years of questions and a host of people in a position to answer we still do not know the fundamentals:

Who owns the rights to all our assets?

So we move to Mr King and the 3 Bears, what will they do? What CAN they do realistically when they have not publically garnered the support of the other investors to oust the board and stabilise the company by a majority shareholding or a group vote? As they can't get board votes due to the Easdales proxy shareblock and Ashleys men on the board already it's tied up in favour of board influence versus majority shareholding.

Is your head swimming yet? Mine is!

The simple answer is that when I win the Lottery this week I will make a ridiculous offer to buy these people out, ironclad the contracts and give Rangers back to my people to purchase through a season book come first "Buy the club" scheme.

That way our most loyal can have first offer on shares, no more dilution and also have first voting rights on elections for senior figures at the club as well as representation by our fanbae but I would insist on one group as all this division is ruining our chances of having a voice when we have neede it most, seems to have gone alright for Barca and let's look lower, Dortmund, a team worth their salt against anyone and totally fan based with an academy that produces talent by the bucket through great coaches and patience.

If it was my investment I would want to move forward and acheive something, use the fans, use the media, use the courts if you have to and to the Rangers men who are in it now:

We've done all we can, it's your move!

Charli3, I have to agree.
Easedale and his proxies seem to control everything, but we've no idea what he wants out of it. The club needs money, that is not in doubt, or it will fold again. There is nothing left for them to take (in monetary terms) that cannot be gained by selling the shares. What is the end-game for these guys??

I also agree with lee below and really do believe the Sarver bid was genuine and that he would have been great for us. I don't know if any fans out there (RST/UOF, etc) have any contact with King/3 Bears (or ever Sarver) but can we not get these three round the table (is that not what Sarver wanted) and some up with some strategy.

How can they knock back a takeover bid, in the best interests of the shareholders when there is no immediate prospect of a cash injection?

As usual, more questions than answers.

Charlie – All of the above is exactly why the Sarver bid was by far the best option for the future of Rangers. He was able and willing to take full control of the club
You ask what King and 3B, s will do, That’s anybody’s guess,
After all this time they buy shares but don’t take it the final mile to take them into a majority
Makes me wonder if they really want control, remember the original king consortium offer was for only 28% through the issue of new shares, why only 28%?
Probably because they stayed under the 30% number that kicks in the requirement to offer to buy out the other shareholders
What can they do is a different question
They can declare a concert party and make the offer to buy all other shareholder out, they only need a small percentage to sell and they will have over 50%, maybe they don’t want total control for some reason as that would mean they would have responsibility to elect the board to run the company
They can call an EGM to remove the board and elect new board members, they only need 40% of all shareholders to vote in favour of their resolutions, they already hold 34% with fan groups and others like Prior it should be odds on,
Aagain maybe they don’t want to be responsible for the board, much easier to stay as it is and blame Ashley Easdale and co
Seen some rumors that they will strike a deal to get one or two places on the board, maybe that will suit them, as again they will not be totally responsible
Lots of maybes above but they haven’t really told us what they are planning so we need to guess
JG

With ashley it boils down to his ego. he would see rangers destroyed before he lost to any incoming movement. I also agree the easdales are getting incentives of some sorts. I think it comes down to king paying over the odds to buy out other investors. as they have the swinging shares, which could swing this battle, a price worth paying. definetly.

13 Jan 2015 10:43:42
What I would like to know is what proxies exactly do the Easdales hold now? Laxey was their biggest proxy vote block and those shares were bought by the Three Bears recently. Who is left?

I feel that there will be movement this week on things. An EGM will be called by start of next week (only my opinion). At the moment positioning and choosing of sides will be taking place. Realistically what investor is going to think that the current board are doing a great job and acting in the best interest of even them. What dividend if any would have been paid. Rangers has not been profitable for a long long time now.

Charli3, Good post, but from day one I have thought that the ownership of Ibrox is the key to this shambles.
If, as the accounts state, Rangers own Ibrox lock, stock and barrel, why is it that it has not been used for a secured loan? Companies do this all the time when needing cash to trade and this is our current problem.
I still feel that something stinks about the murray/whyte sale and the subsequent release of the security on Ibrox.

Charli3
Great post, however feel Ashley has been behind whole episode from the start- Duffy & phelps! Still can't work out the end game for him, unless he can sweet talk the SFA. However the 3 bears and king have positioned themselves to make this meeting a waste of time.
Fridays game should be 100% boycott, live on TV and would make a huge statement.
It's the only way to drive them out. Can't understand the " I support the team through it all brigade" don't you see you are dragging this out.
Need a mass demo prior to kick off then find a pub to watch it in. Or a mass walk out at halftime. Need to do something. Said it before on this forum - the manky mob would have chased them by now.

Gers09. Total boycott, if the support walk out at half time, they are defeating the purpose, as they will need to pay in, with exception of book holders.