Despite denial from the bank, it does appear that Lloyds Banking Group are now in charge of the day-to-day running of Rangers FC.
That was the exact words of Walter Smith in his post match interview on Saturday and the press reports since then have confirmed this. Lloyds have even placed their man Donald Muir on the board and he is effectively in control.
Make no doubts about it, Rangers find themselves in a very serious position. Administration is now a genuine possibility if no new owner is found within the next few months. The bank have even loosely threatened such a scenario will happen if the remaining members of the board do not lie down to their demands.
Murray has owned Rangers for twenty years
So the question has to be asked, how has a massive institution like Rangers, who have fifty thousand paying customers every week, been left in such a dire financial mess? Look no further than to point the finger at their owner for the last twenty years - Sir David Murray. The evidence against him is damming and there has to be very few people left who believe he has been good for Rangers.
When Rangers won nine in a row everything was going well, they were one of the biggest clubs in the world and could match the spending of anyone. Murray liked to boast about his and Rangers wealth which culminated in allowing Dick Advocaat to outlay over £50 million in transfers and a new £14 million training ground. It was only in 2003, when debts soared to around £80 million, did Murray find his first doubters. £80 million in the red is a huge sum and the gross mismanagement on his behalf and was the first sign of negligence that we would witness many more times in the next six years.
So what was Murray’s response to the financial failure he created? He stepped down as chairman and let John McClelland take the flak. Nothing better than jumping ship when it’s all going wrong eh? Since then and the treble winning team of 2003, Rangers fortunes on the pitch began to reflect what was happening of it. One title in the next five years allowed Celtic to dominate which was only halted last May when Walter Smith finally wrestled the championship back. That was so important as it meant guaranteed Champions League football and with it excess of £10 million income. Without that, who knows where Rangers would be now.
Today Rangers find themselves £30 million overdrawn and the bank has finally pulled the plug, demanding the majority of it back. Murray does not have that kind of money anymore and has again taken a step back from the club, although this time it appears he was forced to do so by Lloyds. His company Murray International holdings has huge debts and rumours are surrounding Edinburgh’s financial district that some of the companies within MIH may be forced into administration soon. Financially Murray has made a lot of costly mistakes and it appears they are finally catching up with him.
Rangers won the SPL title last year.
There is more to his bad ownership of Rangers than just financial. We have heard so many promises from Murray, what he is going to do and how he will do it. Remember the ‘moonbeams’ comments after he had secured Paul Le Guen as manager in 2006? This along with massive stadium redevelopment and a super casino at Ibrox proved just to be smoke and mirrors. We heard nothing about it after his revelations to the media. It is not unreasonable for Rangers fans to think they have been lied to by Murray.
Hugh Adam worked for Rangers for more than two decades and was able to see first hand what Murray was like as a business man and as a person. He wrote back in 2003:
“David tends to only appoint toadies and didn’t like the fact I was not prepared to be one. This is one of his weaknesses as an executive. Another is the fact that he is simply not an astute businessman. Rather, he is an impresario, a showman, what might be termed a buyer and seller, this extending even as far as the manner in which he has sold himself and his club through a willing media”.
That is a good summary of Murray and one that has been largely ignored by the popular press and many Rangers fans, who dared not to see the actions and possible consequences of their Chairman. He is quick to defend any negative publicity about himself but largely ignores it when it relates to Rangers, or their fans. True, sometimes the supporters do not help themselves but there are occasions when the club should come out and back them. This is what Celtic and their Chief Executive Peter Lawwell do consistently.
King is said to be interested in buying Rangers
Even ignoring what is written above, Rangers have never had a long-term plan while Murray has been at the helm. They have gone from season to season of downsizing with no real business structure or cohesion about the decisions they make. Any profitable business should have a structure and long-term ambitions because how else do you attract shareholders to invest?
Reports suggest South African businessman Dave King is looking to buy the club either on his own or as part of a consortium. That has to be good news for Rangers but there are many stumbling blocks before it can happen, like the asking price and due diligence. King can be the saviour of Rangers like Fergus McCann was to Celtic all these years ago.
Murray’s time and influence looks to be over as the bank have taken full control over his investment. His legacy will not be of nine in a row, a UEFA Cup final or a first class training ground, but off financial ruin and possibly administration. Quite simply Rangers FC are in a worse position now than they were when he bought them twenty years ago.
Hibernian travel to Glasgow tomorrow with hope and some expectation that they will move to the top of the league by ten to five.
The encounter at Ibrox tomorrow will tell us a lot about how the league will shape up this season. The Rangers payers simply must give their manager and fans a big performance after the humiliation they endured to Unirea on Tuesday evening. Another defeat and the natives will become even more restless and anything bar three points will be seen as catastrophic to the champions. While their immediate Champions League future looks bleak, Walter Smith’s men must simply win the league again this year, not only to appease their critical fans but also to consolidate their financial position.
- The signing of Stokes shows the intention of the Hibs board.
For Hibs, they have the opportunity to push the Old Firm this season. Since the signings of Anthony Stokes and Liam Miller, they have been favourites to win third spot this term, but with the startling decline of Celtic and Rangers, can they go one better and split the Old Firm or even win the SPL? Such statements are often seen as fantasy and usually reserved for the fiction section of the library, but if they are ever going to do something of significance then this is their chance. This is what makes Saturdays game all the more appealing.
The Hibees only sit two points of the top in third place and have won the same number of matches as the Glasgow giants – five in eight games played. They have genuine quality in their squad which includes a raft of talent in the forward area. Stokes should get at least fifteen this year and with the promising early form shown by Riordan, Zemmama and Benjelloun suggests they do have the firepower to challenge the Old Firm. This is aided by new manager John Hughes who has rejuvenated a side fledging towards mid table mediocrity in recent years.
The match at Ibrox will tell us whether the players at Hibs genuinely believe they have what it takes to not only defeat the Old Firm in a one off match, but also throughout a whole season. If they can then we may be in for one hell of a year.
Celtic and Rangers suffered horrendous nights in Europe this week and it may finally provide a bit of realism amongst their support.
First Rangers were hammered by some tin pot Romanian side who had more skill, imagination and fight than the Ibrox side. The 4-1 drubbing is arguably the worst result for the Gers in their Champions League history. Before even discussing whether they can qualify or not, they need to address some serious issues like performances and effort, or lack of as the case may be.
Rangers players look on as they suffer embarrassment
Then it was Celtics night to be turned over by one of Germany’s finest. The problem with that description is this Hamburg team had most of the first eleven missing and still looked more comfortable than a confidence stricken Celtic. The result confirms their fortress Parkhead status is well and truly gone. One win in eight European matches at home would confirm this, and that was a meaningless match against Villareal.
The speed of the downturn both Glasgow giants have suffered in the last couple of years has ben startling. Two seasons ago Rangers made it all the way to the UEFA Cup final and Celtic reached the last 16 of the Champions League. This high Scottish football was on then has now been replaced with a realisation that the SPL is financially bankrupt. Both clubs rake in little over a million pounds in TV revenue which is not enough to compete at this level.
Tony Mowbrays European record has been poor
Andy Townsend after the Celtic game was left perplexed as to why they could not spend some good money on two or three players. Andy they have tried this with the likes of Hesselink, Donati and Gravesen, but it did not work and all it did was merely put them into financial difficulty.
All the Old Firm can hope for in the next season or two is to win the league and receive subsequent Champions League money. Even that is no longer guaranteed after next season unless more coefficient points are accumulated. The only hope they have is for some European League or the Premiership to accept their desperate begging, but this is unlikely to happen in the short-term and both have to accept it.
Ross County have not always been playing in the Scottish Football League. From their foundation in 1929, they began life in the Highland league until they were admitted to Division Three in 1994.
To mark their birth The Staggies first match was against a Highland select league side and a huge crowd of 1200 people attended the event. Few would realise at the time that they were about to witness the start of one of the most successful clubs in the north of Scotland.
In their first year of existence they managed to secure the North of Scotland Cup and were to earn the reputation as a side who played fast and attacking football. Despite this initial success, County had to wait until 1967 to secure their first league triumph and it was made all the more sweet with the team being made up of mainly young, local boys.
County were initially more famous for their Scottish Cup runs than their league success and in particular, surprising league clubs in the earlier rounds. Eight times in total were County able to turn them over, which includes a famous 4-0 win away to Forfar in 1994. This, aided by two further Highland League titles in 1991 and 1992, meant the Dingwall outfit were enjoying the most successful period in their history. It is perhaps then no coincidence that they, alongside rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle, were permitted to join the Scottish Football League for the start of the 1994/95 season.
Victoria Park
It was this decision by the powers of the Scottish game that finally allowed County to realise their full potential. They won back to back promotions at the turn of the century, which allowed them to compete in the second tier of Scottish football. First they won the Third Division Championship in 1999, and the following year a third place finish was good enough to go up, due to a restructuring of the entire Scottish league system.
Despite a temporary glitch, when they were relegated in 2007, County bounced right back the following season and are now genuine title contenders for the Irn Bru First Division. This is backed up by a stunning 3-1 win away to bitter rivals and ex SPL side Inverness. To maintain their tradition of being a cup side, they have appeared in the Scottish Challenge Cup three times, a trophy played out between league clubs excluding the SPL. Their crowning glory came in 2006 when they defeated Clyde on penalties and it was a debutant, Jason Cooks, who scored the deciding spot kick.
County have had their fair share of famous players, especially more recently. Former Old Firm stars Mark Hateley and David Hannah are just two who have pulled on the dark blue shirt. Now though, youth seems to be the key to future success and they are investing in it with the help of ex Celtic and Rangers Youth supremeo George Adams.
During all of this, Ross County have also continued the redevelopment of their ground at Dingwall. The modernisation of Victoria Park means it is now seen as one of the best stadiums in Scotland. Plans are also in place to upgrade the seating capacity and for the installation of under soil heating should the dream of reaching the SPL finally becomes a reality.
Manchester United may have taken all three points last night against the German champions Wolfsburg, but there is an obvious element missing to their play this season.
Okay, they have taken maximum points in the Champions League so far, a win away to Besiktas before the 2-1 win over Wolfsburg, and they are top of the Premiership. This, though, hides the fact that they just do not look as threatening and imposing as they have done in the last three years.
Take Ronaldo, and to a lesser extent Tevez out of your side, then you are bound to struggle. It does not matter how good a manager Sir Alex Ferguson is, he cannot magically make the likes of Nani a better player. It is all about building a side to face new challenges and hopefully for their sake, be successful.
Carrick celebrates his winner last night.
The replacements for the two departed are less than inspiring. Valencia is good player, but no more than that. He is quick, skillful and has a decent delivery on him. In truth though, he’s a poor mans Ronaldo and will not be nearly as effective as the attention seeking Portuguese forward.
The Michael Owen transfer is one that appears to have no risk attached to it. No transfer fee and on a pay as you pay deal, United will not waste money. The problem with Owen is a history of injury problems. He is already out for a few weeks after last nights groin strain and this presents a problem for Ferguson, which is he has no direct replacement due to the Tevez sale. More has to be expected from Berbatov, who has flattered to deceive and Rooney is now being asked to play upfront on his own. Rooney will develop into a better player if he is given the left hand side role and thus more freedom across the park. Neither of the two look capable of scoring the goals consistently, which United need to make a credible challenge to the Champions League and to defend their Premiership crown.
As far as i am concerned the Champions League is between three teams – Barcelona, Chelsea and Real Madrid. This year looks to be a building one for the Red Devils and possibly spend some of the Ronaldo money when the right player comes around next summer.
Bayern Munich are easily one of the most recognisable names in European football. Yet they are no longer living up to their much heralded reputation and their dominance of the German league is being threatened. One title in three years is not something the Bavarian outfit are used to.
You also have to go back eight years to learn when they last one a European trophy, a penalty shoot out victory against Valencia in the Champions League. In 2007 they even missed out on a place in the tournament because of poor domestic form the previous year. They returned to Europe’s premier club tournament in 2008 and reached the quarter finals, but the true state of their decline only became apparent when they were trounced 5-1 on aggregate by Barcelona. The Klinsmann experiment did not work and you would be hard pressed to find a football pundit who would rank them alongside the top English and Spanish clubs. It appears Bayern have now settled in the second tier of European football, alongside the likes of Porto and AC Milan.
Or have they?
Van Gaal has spent big this summer.
This summer has seen a mini revolution take place in the south of Germany. A new coach and a raft of skilful, but expensive players have arrived at the Allianz Arena. Dutchman Louis Van Gaal has been appointed as head coach, not only to reclaim the Bundesliga, but also to make a serious impression in Europe. Van Gaal has great experience with Barcelona, Ajax and the national team, but his success rates have also varied.
At Ajax there is no doubt. Champions League winners in 1995 and runners up the following year, with a squad assembled from their famous youth academy, brought him about a reputation as one of Europe’s top coaches. His time in Barcelona started well, but his insistence on creating a Dutch clan in Catalonia turned sour and the infamous white handkerchiefs started to spread across the Nou Camp.
Van Gaal has still got a lot to offer football and his experiences at top clubs could be exactly what Bayern need at this time. The fact that he has also been given total autonomy over team matters, something unheard of in Munich, tells us as much as we need to know about the challenge Bayern hope to mount.
Attracting a top coach means also means giving him a huge budget to work with. Nearly £70 million has been outlaid in transfer fees alone, the fourth highest in Europe after Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City. The likes of Arjen Robben (£22 million), Mario Gomez (£27.6 million) and Anatolyi Tymoschuk (£10 million) have all been brought in to raise expectations amongst the Bavarians.
Robben could be the most significant transfer of the summer if he can stay fit for the full season. With Van Gaal’s preferred 4-3-3 formation, he could shine alongside the brilliant Frank Ribery. This is the key to Bayern’s hopes, as when on form, these two can be as good as anybody on the planet. Add in the quality of players such as defender’s Daniel Van Buyten and Holger Badstuber, midfielder’s Marc Van Bommel and Thomas Muller, it becomes clear that Bayern now have a big squad, full of ability, to fight both on the domestic and European front.
Ribery (left) and Robben (right) are pivitol to Bayern's success.
Defensively could be their achilles heel, but that was also said of a certain Barcelona treble winning team last year. The key, which Barcelona showed, is to keep possession of the ball and have the ability to score from almost anything. Bayern now have that and more. Gomez, Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose can all compete for the position to finish off the high number of chances they are surely going to be given.
One would suspect May 2010 at the Bernabeu could prove a tad optimistic, but Bayern Munich have got their act together and they may yet threaten the Anglo Spanish dominance in the years to come.
[If football has a soul, it resides in the fan. He or she daily sacrifices for the love of the team. This involves the donation of time and money. It demands a high price in emotion, too. Football clubs regularly, even casually let you down. This is not cynicism. It is the basis of any sort of football wisdom. The fans will do most things to watch a football match.] Hugh Macdonald, The Herald, 16/02/2008
Football or being a fanatic football follower has its price and I know this from my own personal experience. Each fan will tell you their club is different in that it is more than a club. It embodies the whole community and It has soul and class which makes them special. The nearest club to this statement would be probably be FC Barcelona and even then they do have increasing moments of selling themselves out.
Sky pump billions into the game
The Premiership is an easy example to look at and it has highlighted the issue. The majority of clubs are now owned by foreign investors who have no love for the game itself, but see it as a financially rewarding investment. SKY TV has a lot to do with this but it cannot be made accountable. Although they are the main perpetrators for a football division, they are merely a business who have invested billions into the game. They have not bought any clubs, well not directly anyway.
Clubs from Derby to Liverpool have been bought out by Americans, Russians and financiers from the Middle East. They have sought to change the working mans game to the prawn sandwich brigade, where only people with capital can afford to attend, do so. The others, who have an unhealthy obsession with their team, just get into debt following their team across the country and even Europe until their bank stop lending.
This is the real evil football faces as it moves into the second decade of the twentieth century. Not as some say the diving and cheating or the foreign imports plying their trade in the game. I’m not saying these factors are unhealthy, because they are, but there is a much bigger picture to look at.
Supporting a team, to descend into cliché, through thick and thin is expensive and emotionally draining. It can relocate your mind from reality. In a sense it is a never ending soap opera. A never ending story unless you have the misfortunate wisdom to be once a follower of say Third Lanark or Clydebank.
Over half of all Premiership clubs are foreign owned.
Not every club can be successful each year, but there can be special moments when your team has won the league on the last day of the season, staved off relegation or having just beaten your local rivals by five. The majority of the time though is hurt, pain and disappointment. It is a real sacrifice to follow your team when you have the realisation that the directors are more interested in fleecing you for your last penny than understanding your anguish at your clubs plight.
To be an “Uber” fan was much easier in the bygone days when it was a game and a relatively cheap one. Now to be “real fan” involves the sacrifice of friends, family and a healthy bank balance. It is impossible to have enjoyable social network whilst attached emotionally to something that will never return the favour.
I will always have my team, those who know me best can vouch for that. However, to take a back seat and distance myself from the fixation would seem to be a plausible and reasonable thing to do. Its not falling out of love with the game, but just to redirect the focus into other areas of it. A football club is quick to take something from you, but you will never get anything back.
It is not often you find a city in England where Rugby is more popular than football, but in Bedford they are the exemption to the rule. Despite not being one of the country’s most glamorous clubs, the Blues have been able to mix it with the best through the years and the 2009/10 season could provide them with their long awaited return to the Guinness Premiership.
Since 2000 Bedford have been stuck in England’s second tier, now named the Championship, but with a respectable third place finish last term and with an excellent start to this season, there is more expectation this time around.
Former Welsh Internationalist Mike Rayer was appointed Director of Rugby in 2005 to make that dream seem possible and year on year they have been knocking on the door at the top end of the table.
“We are very pleased with how things have started. We would much rather be winning than losing, but its early days and we must keep our feet on the ground.”
Bedford's Mike Rayer
There is now a new structure to the league, which replaces the old automatic promotion to the Championship winners to a more modern play off system involving eight of the twelve division sides. This gives Rayer’s side even more opportunities.
“Our goal is to get into the top eight and into the playoffs, but I am not sure whether promotion is realistic or not. It is important we build year on year and have a sustainable business.”
One suspects Rayer, a former back for Bedford in the 1990’s, understandably does not want to get too carried away. The last time the Blues were in the Premiership they struggled to cope financially, but this has all been changed to more prudent management.
“We need to be rock solid as we were almost burnt to the ground once before in the Premiership. Our aim is to be sustainable on and off the pitch and live within our means.”
A common way to get over the financial restrictions is to have a well organised and successful Academy of youngsters. This is a system that Rayer looks to despite it having a low budget of less than ten thousand a year and most of that is spent on the wages of coaches and travelling expenses.
“The Academy is becoming increasingly important for us and it is great to grow your own. We do not have any external funding for it. It’s all through ourselves, but despite this it gets better and better as we move through the years.
Could this be the year for the Blues?
We look for one or two a year to come through from it and right now the scrum half’s Will Chudley and Darryl Veenendaal are two who are showing great promise. There are always plenty of opportunities for youngsters here because we don’t have the budget to go out ad buy top class players.”
When speaking to Rayer it becomes apparent that this is a real family club who understand the situation. It is an ambitious, but they also know their limitations. Despite losing their best players every year it does not get them down and they just work harder to maintain success. A supportive chairman and a crowd of three thousand plus does go a long way to making Bedford competitive on the field.
“I understood the situation when I first took the job, but I enjoy developing players. We have a great chairman who helps us as much he can.
It’s a tight knit management structure we have here where everyone is allowed to express an opinion.”
On his own role at the club, it appears Rayer is very much hands on and he likes to get involved as much in the coaching side as well as in the management part.
“I’ll wash the kit or whatever. We have very few members of staff, so I spend as much time as possible on all sections of the club. There is lots of crossover and whatever needs doing I’ll do it.”
Whether he can lead Bedford to promotion remains to be seen, but with the structure this club has in place it would be foolish to write them off.
Craig Gordon has thrown his thoughts on ‘divegate’ by declaring he would be happy if one of his team-mates was to do the same as Eduardo or Aiden McGeady.
Gordon, who is set to start for Scotland after a long lay off through injury, empathises with anyone who seeks to gain an advantage through ‘simulation’, but still admits it can be frustrating for goalkeepers like himself.
He said “It’s not a massive thing in our country. But if it wins a game, if a Scotland player does it and we end up in the play-offs, do we still feel badly about it? I’m not sure.”
Gordon: Let's do an Eduardo
The Sunderland keeper can see the obvious advantages in playing in such a way and feels Eduardo has been judged far too harshly.
“I am very annoyed if someone does it, especially if they get the penalty. But on the other hand he won himself and his club a place in the group stage of the Champions League and guaranteed Arsenal £16 million. He probably got close to £16 million in bonuses so you can see what it means to players to win the game by any means possible.”
Scotland faces a double World Cup qualifier against Macedonia and Holland at Hampden Park next week, with wins needed in both matches if they are to have any chance of making the play-offs for South Africa 2010.
‘That’s why we’re champions,’ sang by the Rangers support on Sunday after an unlikely victory at Tynecastle. Who could blame them?
Down to ten men after 13 minutes, then a goal behind to a side who had recaptured some form that achieved 3rd spot last term. It was not looking good for Walter Smith’s men in their attempt to defend the title they worked so hard to win last year. A gallant second half performance got them level through Lee McCulloch. Then up step super sub Kris Boyd to fire the Gers to all three points and achieve the improbable.
Kris Boyd after scoring the winning goal in injury time
Celtic may summit the table, but it was Rangers who hold the most impressive results so far.
Okay, we are only in match day 2 of the SPL season and you do not win any prizes at this stage, but it puts down a marker to the rest of the league saying ‘we are here to stay.’ Goal hero McCulloch was obviously delighted and he did not understate the importance of the triumph.
“This shows we’ve got character. After not playing our best in the first half, you’re up against it with a man down away from home. To go out and score twice while not giving them any clear-cut chances is great. It says a hell of a lot about us.”
Rangers showed that type of character which has been evident across the city and one that has been missed at Ibrox in the recent past. Would they have turned the game around two years ago? Doubtful. This side has proven they have enough in them to go through turmoil and what they lack in quality, they more than make up for in sheer will and desire.
This may have become because of the number of Scottish players in the squad. Last week’s win over Falkirk saw 9 home grown players start, while the number only dropped by 1 against Hearts. This core group of players could mean a better atmosphere around the place and a tighter bond amongst the team.
Winning the league so emphatically at Tannadice, the grave yard of all grounds, has given the club more confidence, which will have been aided by events in Edinburgh. The next time Rangers are in similar trouble, they know they have got out of it before and can do it again. This could be important in what promises to be another fascinating tussle at the top of the SPL league table.
