As regular readers know, I believe that it is always advisable to follow follow the money at Ibrox.
I started doing that on this site at the start of 2009, and I could see trouble ahead for the original Rangers.
Well, you know how that played out.
The Ibrox klanbase bleated that no one warned them.
Bless…
Since Charlie and the boys bought the body parts of the dead club in 2012, it has been quite the shitshow.
With the exception of the Ashley interregnum (October 2014-March 2015), it has been financial chaos.
When Big Mike had his guys in the building, both Derek Llambias and Barry Leach started to get the business on a self-sustaining basis.
The chaps in UEFA would no doubt have approved.
After the Off Licence Putsch in March 2015 all of those safe bets were off.
The insane expenses culture was back with a bang.
This freeloading up the marble staircase was a feature of the original Rangers.
I would commend this excellent piece in Forbes Magazine from October 2012.
The author, was in the room when American entrepreneur Bill Miller was considering doing what Charles Green eventually did. i.e. buy the assets in a liquidation sale and start a phoenix club.
This is a key section from the piece:
Austerity. It may be unpopular and an affront to the personal sensibilities of some, but Rangers needs to learn to live within its means. It’s time to cut the fat from every department and rebuild an organization that values every pound and demands a return on any and all expenses. The club can’t afford to pay its manager over £1MM and then give every coach and executive premium healthcare, generous pensions, six weeks of vacation, exotic cars, free fuel, appearance fees and other perks. The club can’t afford to provide 45 employees with free cars. The club can’t afford to pay directors annual fees to simply attend matches, socialize and run up a large food and beverage tab. It’s also time to gently manage out that business line from every sporting club that is occupied by expensive past players who hold well paid positions, are protected from downsizing with overly generous notice periods and who do not bring professional skills to the table. Every financial and playing assumption must be challenged. This will not be easy and the new owner of Rangers, Charles Green, must be prepared to say “no” to people and processes that exist today.
The right leader will be comfortable being unpopular. Any new owner who is unwilling to stand up to what will be a powerful hue and cry from Rangers fans and supporters is not going to be successful. Rangers, like an undisciplined child, needs tough love. Rangers needs a strong hand now. There will be plenty of time for love and respect when the child grows into a mature and responsible adult.
A decade on, these are highly prescient words from someone with no emotional skin in the game.
Pritchett is a numbers guy, first and last.
Since Mr King left the Blue Room three years ago, the constant issuing of share confetti has been a feature of how the Ibrox operation has functioned.
Therefore, I’m indebted to football finance expert David Low for sending me the latest one.
As per the featured image 4.2 million shares have been issued bringing in £1m to the Ibrox operation.
Today an interesting theory was posited to me by a well-placed source.
This person is in a position to know the granular details of such deals at Sevco.
It was suggested to me that these funds were used to get the Raskin deal over the line.
Now, I currently have no way of substantiating that assertion.
Of course, there is nothing stopping the local media from checking this story out except ability and courage.
My source said that the monies would be paid to the Belgian side in the summer, and in the meantime, the funds were being held in an escrow account.
The bizarre thing about this share issue is that it so clearly goes against what was discussed by the Sevco High Command in a recent dignified conclave.
As ever, the Serious Professional was the grown-up in the room.
He was supported by another sensible head when he told the rest of the Blue Room brethren that FSR was the new reality.
Moreover, just issuing share confetti to cover costs could end up with the club getting a second yellow card from UEFA.
This observation doesn’t seem to have cut through.
I do get the idea that some of the Sevco High Command have not grasped the seriousness of the club being on a UEFA watch list.
That, in part, is down to the local media who have downplayed the significance of it.
That’s because they do not want to upset their dignified demographic.
It’s all part of Operation Soothe.
Unsurprisingly, the Ibrox klanbase were delighted with the news of this new investment.
They’re culturally hardwired to sit up and beg at the whiff of a sugar daddy, real or imagined.
Moreover, they tend not to attempt to look at the bigger picture or the long-term consequences.
We know how that can end.
The ironic thing is that Sevco’s best hope of longevity resides in the extent to which UEFA administers the “tough love” that Jon L Pritchett said was necessary for the “undisciplined child” at Ibrox.
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The Forbes article is very good. There was another series of articles about Rangers implosion that I think was called “Too Big to Fail”, the term the Forbes one used. Can’t remember who wrote it, but it addressed the phenomenon of clubs not taking risk management seriously if they feel they will be bailed out. Everything that ended up happening shows that the SFA and SPL got their own risk management wrong by allowing a Scottish football model that relied on the fiscal soundness of two clubs without checks that they stayed capable of reliance upon. No lessons have really been learned on all sides.
Has anyone any idea how much confetti Sevco are allowed to throw around before they fall foul of UEFA regulations?
It’s just a joke they are constantly allowed to do this while everyone else lives within their means.
Got a bill to pay? Just issue another 5 million shares. It’ll be alright.
The inbuilt financial inequality is killing competition in virtually all domestic leagues in Europe.
The EPL has partially bucked this trend by becoming the major sportswashing league and is in process of killing European competition. No doubt related to London being the international money laundering capital.
Top European clubs respond by trying to form a Super League.
Talk about looking through the wrong end of the telescope.
Funny how even American Football (the national game of the most capability country) understands that encouraging competition between teams with a form of redistribution is the best way to enhance the game.
It appears that Scottish domestic game is canary down the mine for lack of competition and corruption.
The European club game will die in next 15 years due primarily to greed and corruption.
Well, well. if Micky Beale wasn’t telling the world that he’s for the off following his instruction to his players to allow Thistle an equaliser what else was going through his mind?
No doubt the Scottish media will be championing Beale’s sense of fair play but even in victory their fans won’t see it like that.
Going through to the Scottish Cup quarter finals will bring in more money than the recent share issue.
Given the financial background Beale’s actions today looks suicidal and a clear message that he wants out.
Just watched the first half of Thistle at Ibrox.
Unlikely that Thistle can hang on but if they do then the boys in blue’s season is down to one game, League Cup Final.
Can you imagine the pressure on the shoulders of the Rangers players if that’s the scenario?
Do they look as if they could handle it?
I would love a sevco fan to tell me how they feel about the big tax case, HRMC failure payments and the ebt debacle. It’s always never discussed but they want to hold on too all they had?
My grandson supports Man City ( I know) and when I jokingly said they were in trouble, he laughed and said the lawyers will get them off again. I believe the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) changed a £30 million fine and a two years ban from European football to a £10 Million fine for not co-operating. There is corruption everywhere and usually it’s the poor who pay for their “sins” but ironically in Scotland it’s the club with the most debt (albeit “soft”) which hold all the aces.
Not just the media providing the soothing but their previous experience in dealing with football authorities is probably making the lm careless… they are just not used to being governed or hel accountable. And like 2012, their fans will do nothing to stop what’s happening then claim they had no warning before wailing about them being ‘punished enough’. Oh, and lest we forget a scapegoat or few.
I’m not sure we can equate world financial crises to Sevco. They’re a football,team at the end of the day,
They don’t care about macroeconomics, as long as the can goes a bit further away they’re happy.
Perhaps the most effective reality check for sevco could come in the summer?
The Ibrox club has lost out on the SPL title – with the automatic CL Group stage place with c.£30M income.
IF sevco were NOT to qualify for the CL Group stage with the inexperienced Beale at the helm,
then the repurcussions could be far more immediate and obvious than UEFA sanctions?
Interesting that in your previous piece you mentioned the 2008 financial crisis as having an affect on the Ibrox operations . The last year has seen the squeeze on many , with energy costs in particular escalating and interests rates rising from 0.25% to 4% those who live on the never never are being particularly hit. There is a saying that “when all else fails they take you to war” the rhetoric of the West has been notched up a degree or two and pressure on the public to support intervention has never been higher . There is , bar a couple of vocal Irish politicians in Bruxelles a lack of cooler heads promoting peace and talks . The financial crisis of 2008 may be a walk in the park for what is to come . The issue with 20008 was too much debt , their answer was to create more debt (QE) and lower interest rates to zero , it worked for a time but as one politician who shall remain nameless said ‘you can’t buck the market’ All cheap money did was fuel more borrowing . Our debt now is unaffordable and the vulture capitalists are hovering , add that to Uefa’s stricter rules and it’s tough times for companies lacking liquidity and loans outstanding.
have sevco repaid directors loans? are they not liable to repay the scottish govt loan?
Cheating again?