Glasgow Rangers in the financial shite!

[Sluffy]

Basically the club has not been profitable for some years and its owner - Sir David Murray - has been subsidising it from the other businesses he owns.  Trouble is that they are in trouble too - and the bank - Rangers biggest creditor as stepped in and took control of the club.

The bank is looking to recover their debt and unless a new owner is found and soon it looks as though players will have to be sold in January.

This is what the BBC's Roddy Forsyth, Scottish Football Correspondent says about it -

Are Rangers - shocking as it may seem - effectively in administration? Or are they being asset-stripped? What other terms should one use when they are being operated by their principal creditor, whose strategy is to run down the inventory while trying to hawk the business?

Loads more here -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/scottishpremier/rangers/6433605/Money-talks-at-Rangers-as-Lloyds-Bank-pull-the-strings-and-ban-signings-in-January.html

[267]

Rangers in the shite, this is my reaction to the news

Party on good people.

[Chris Rabz]

Don't particularly like or dislike Rangers (prefer them to Celtic, just) but this is quite scary if a club of that size is struggling financially.

[Squidgy]

Don't particularly like or dislike Rangers (prefer them to Celtic, just) but this is quite scary if a club of that size is struggling financially.

I don't like either Rangers or Celtic TBH. Just remind me of the top four in England.

It is very interesting that they are struggling to balance the books though. As pointed out on another thread, it's only a matter of time before an established club goes belly up. It only takes a rich owner to get bored or someone to pull the telly money plug.

[aarons2009]

Rangers and celtic are not as good as they think, championship club at best with the players they have.

As for the rest of that league its a joke, it shows you how much money the teams have over their as gretna got into the top flight then somehow went into aminstration even though they were in europe.

[Big_Sharps]

I prefer rangers to celtic but do agree that there both terrible and championship at best , the fact rangers get tanked by anybody they play in europe proves that.

[bigsamsarmyusa]

Slightly off topic, but along similar lines, Paul Hart said today that he wasn't too pleased by the new owner of Portsmouth stating that he bought the club solely for the purpose of turning a profit!  Portsmouth and new owners are beginning to resemble a conveyor belt!

[Sluffy]

For anyone who is interested - the financial position at Rangers is getting worse!

The perception of some elements of the Rangers support is that, if their team can walk the tightrope to the end of the season and maintain their lead over Celtic, then there will be salvation.
That's the perception: here's the reality. The club is no nearer to being sold.
That's not a white knight on the horizon, more likely a horseman of the Apocalypse.
Dave King, whose name has been weaved with the potential purchase of the club since Sir David Murray first nailed up the For Sale sign, is the only genuine suitor.
All others are just buying chocolates and flowers for something that's out of their league.
Three transfer windows have passed with only outgoing business.
There is no reason to think the summer will change that format. And soon there will be wage capping at the club.
Paul Gascoigne? Brian Laudrup? Even Pedro Mendes? Preserve your memories, my friends, they are all that's left for you.
Even if Rangers win the championship this season and are rewarded with an automatic Champions League place and a consequent swag bag of about £10m, there will be little change - loose or otherwise.
That money won't pop through the letterbox for another 18 months or so and when it does they can redirect it to the local branch of Lloyds.
Re-investment in Rangers is not in the bank's thoughts. Well, as far as I know that is.
We would be better informed if Donald Muir, the bank's representative on the Rangers board of directors, would grant the media an audience.
More likely the bank will encourage Rangers to move on their high-earners like Kenny Miller and Steve Davis and probably even Walter Smith.
The potential exit of the latter seems beyond belief, like lightening the load on a plane that is struggling to gain height by throwing away the parachutes - but there you go.
I'm not crying any tears for Rangers' financial misery but it is a cameo of the toiling state of our national game.
Financially-crippled with an accumulative debt that would terrify even Mr Bill Gates.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8501233.stm


Rangers manager Walter Smith has warned that the club's financial problems will heighten in the summer even if they complete a domestic Treble.
Smith was asked to expand on his comments, made after Rangers reached the Co-operative Insurance Cup final with a 1-0 win over St Johnstone.
"It's not time for it at the present moment," he told BBC Scotland.
"But everything will not be all right at the end of the season. It will only get worse."
Rangers are heavily in debt and, while title rivals Celtic were able to bring in eight new players during January, Smith was unable to add to his squad.
Celtic's defeat by Kilmarnock on Tuesday left reigning champions Rangers 10 points clear in the Scottish Premier League and the Ibrox men followed that with victory at Hampden.
"It doesn't take away from the fact that we have a problem," said Smith.
"I think you need to be blind to think we don't have a problem that for a team of our standing we should not have and my concern is that that will continue.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8497395.stm

[azreal88]

As ever then, the question is "can Bolton take some advantage from this?".  Rangers have three or four players we could use and Coyle knows Scotland well.  Ranger's woes could be to our benefit.

[Big_Sharps]

Boughera seems a decent talent and a centre half who would be able to play it from the back rather than hoof it.

[Shaft]

It is sad to see arguably Scotland's biggest club in such a financial mess, you expect clubs with big attendances to be financially strong but the problem is there is absolutely no money in the Scottish game. Other than gate receipts there is so little money coming in elsewhere. SPL clubs are receiving less TV and prize money than Championship clubs are receiving. They do have champions league football almost every season which is massive to them but they just can't afford good enough players to get very far in it.
If Bolton were in the SPL and not getting the Premiership TV and prize money we'd be finished very quickly.

They need to join the Premiership, Celtic and Rangers need it so badly but it will never happen. I don't see how Rangers can ever be better than this. There are so few good Scottish players about and no one decent from abroad wants to play in the SPL. The Scottish league is in rapid decline, its in a terrible state and I cannot see how it will improve.

[bigsamsarmyusa]

Them joining the Premier League is a catch 22 though.  If they joined (they'd first have to earn it), they'd not compete with the top 4-8 teams so the money they receive would be less; and, they'd also have to compete financially for the same players that the majority of the rest of the clubs are in for.

[azreal88]

There are some good Scottish players, the trouble is they don't stay in Scotland very long.  Celtic lost some of their better players to Boro in the Championship for God's sake (and needed to, to sort out their finances).  The players with a strong level of potential leave as soon as the opportunity arises.  Players want to earn as much as they can and play against the best players they can, and that means the EPL.  Rangers will struggle to keep Fleck, Davis, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Papac or any of their players capable of playing in the EPL or for a top Championship club.

Rangers don't have the same level of players they had even 5 or 10 years ago.  It used to be that most of the players in the Rangers or Celtic starting 11 would improve an average EPL team.  Now they may have 1 or 2 that would do so (maybe even 3-4 for poor sides).  There is a bright side though.  As the old firm decline it may make the league slightly more competitive.  The smaller clubs are have been much better run and the lower pressure has meant they do not have the same demands laid upon them by fans to sign stars.  Given how much difference CL money would make to a club like Hibernian, one season in 2nd spot for a club like that could change the whole complexion of the league.

It would be no bad thing for Scottish football in general for the old firm monopoly to be broken.

[Tom]

Yes, but if Celtic and Rangers joined the English Leagues, they'd have to start at the bottom a la Swansea and Cardiff - somehow I can't see the 2 Glasgow teams wanting to risk a few years in the very lower divisions, before working their way up the leagues.

Also, if the Old Firm leave the SPL, I highly doubt the TV firms would pay as much in TV Revenue, as the main attractions of Scottish Football will have left.

[Sluffy]

Bump.

Just been hit with an 'estimated' tax bill of £24 - which could rise with interest payments and penalties to an eye watering £54 million!

They are already struggling really badly with just a £30 million debt - they will be sunk if it rises to £80 million!

Huge tax bill 'could saddle Rangers with £80m debt'

RANGERS Football Club could be saddled with a debt of up to £80 million after being hit with a colossal tax bill.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/glasgow/Huge-tax-bill--could.6298287.jp

[Manny]

Just been hit with an 'estimated' tax bill of £24 - which could rise with interest payments and penalties to an eye watering £54 million!

Who did they borrow the money from? £24 to £54million is a bit steep! 

[Jamster26]

Well at least we are not the only team that is fcuked.

[Sluffy]

Who did they borrow the money from? £24 to £54million is a bit steep! 

They didn't borrow the money.

As far as I can understand it was a tax dodge on how they paid their players wages (for a ten year period or so).

The taxman wants his (our) money and estimates that to be about £24 million that has been dodged during that time.  Interest will have to be added - and there will be penalty payments for defaulting on the tax as well - so the bill could come in around £54 million all things added in.

All this is not connected with the £30 million or so debt that as crippled them for the last few seasons.

Things are going to be hard for Rangers for the next few years.

[Squidgy]

I'd love to see either them/and or Celtic go tits up.

Despise the pair of them.

[Diana Prince]

Scottish football = Pub League standard. Fúck them.

[Squidgy]

Scottish football = Pub League standard. Fúck them.

Exacbloodyactly

[Big_Sharps]

I would rather Celtic go under, I hate the potato picking (unts.

[Squidgy]

I would rather Celtic go under, I hate the potato picking (unts.

I've never understood that mentality.

Why does someone in England hate a team in Scotland because they are associated with southern Ireland?

It's all a bit retarded (and probably worthy of another thread) IMO.

Scottish football is shíte. Why not suport Cardiff or some equally dull team?

[Diana Prince]

I've never understood that mentality.

Why does someone in England hate a team in Scotland because they are associated with southern Ireland?

It's all a bit retarded (and probably worthy of another thread) IMO.

I think the logic is that a number of Celtic fans show their allegiance to terrorists in songs and banners/flags and the club's lack of voice in renouncing it.

[azreal88]

Rangers have some good players (a very few).....time to get the cheque-book out.