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  1. The Rangers team under Pedro Caixinha is beginning to take shape. Five new signings have already joined the club, while the paperwork for three more is progressing through the work permit process. It is clear from the positions the manager has targeted and the qualities of the players he has signed that he identified the need for a new spine to the side and a stronger, more competitive mentality. Rangers' summer recruitment is not complete, with Caixinha still in the market for an attacker who can play wide and a central midfielder who can operate in deeper and more advanced roles. The club has had an offer for Jamie Walker rejected by Hearts and been linked with Kenny McLean of Aberdeen, with both players having entered the final year of their contracts. The work carried out so far, though, means it is likely that only three players from last season will remain in the strongest XI that Caixinha can field, since there have been no moves for a new goalkeeper, right-back or left-back. of the signings - the midfielder Dalcio and the forward Alfredo Morelos,who can both play centrally or wide - will likely add ballast to the squad. Challenges await Caixinha, not least how to maintain the morale and unity of the players who will inevitably be marginalised by his rebuilding work. Only four players have left the club so far, with the contracts of Philippe Senderos and Clint Hill ending, as well as the loan agreements for Jon Toral and Emerson Hyndman. Others will follow, with Ipswich having shown an interest in striker Joe Garner. The futures of defender Rob Kiernan, midfielders Matt Crooks and Harry Forrester, and forwards Michael O'Halloran and Martyn Waghorn, are also uncertain. With Barrie McKay yet to sign a contract extension and having entered the final 12 months of his existing deal, Rangers need to find a buyer for the winger this summer or risk losing him for only a compensation fee. What Rangers have added to the squad in Bruno Alves,Fabio Cardoso,Ryan Jack, Dalcio and Daniel Candeias is experience, energy, dynamism, width and an understanding of the style of play that Caixinha wants to implement. The Mexicans Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, along with the Colombian Morelos, require work permits, while Rangers also continue to pursue the Norwich and Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans, with the player surplus to requirements at Carrow Road and almost certain to leave in the summer. There is a mix of foreign and Scottish players arriving this summer, which ought to help avoid any cliques forming between those who remain from the Mark Warburton era and those who are brought to the club by Caixinha. The team's most likely starting shape is 4-2-3-1, and the manager tended to adopt an aggressive press and attacking style in Mexico, looking for his team to win the ball high up the park and transition quickly into the attacking phase. Candeias is an industrious figure out wide, and delivers crosses from the flanks rather than cutting infield, while Pena is a box-to-box midfielder who is dangerous in the final third. Jordan Rossiter and Jack will likely compete for a midfield place if Dorrans is eventually signed, but Caixinha has options, with Jason Holt having played often under the Portuguese manager in the final two months of last season. With the acquisitions of Alves and Cardoso, plus Jack's positioning to gain control in midfield, Rangers should be more defensively sound, but Caixinha also wants his side to be more dynamic in attack. He has worked with Candeias before, and knows the games of Pena, Herrera, Dalcio and Cardoso. Having spent two months in charge of Rangers at the end of the last season, Caixinha had the advantage of experiencing at first hand the characteristics of Scottish football and the qualities of their Premiership rivals, which should minimise the risk of his signings not fitting in. The new side has to gel, and existing players will need to either fit into the new regime or face an uncertain future. That scenario is also potentially awkward for Caixinha to manage, but his priority is to construct a Rangers team than can be competitive not just in one-off encounters next season but across the campaign as a whole.
  2. Richard Wilson piece, who for me is the best journalist out there who covers us, though to be fair, that's not saying much http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35414328 Rangers' recruitment process needs to be reassessed By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland 1 hour ago Rangers missed out on signing Toumani Diagouraga So far, it is doubts that Rangers have acquired during the January transfer window. The plan was to sign Toumani Diagouraga from Brentford and Michael O'Halloran from St Johnstone, but both deals stalled. The former has since moved to Leeds United, while Saints manager Tommy Wright intends to select the latter in his Scottish League Cup semi-final team against Hibernian on Saturday. In the meantime, focus has fallen on comments made previously by Rangers chairman Dave King, about over-investment and the level of finance required to re-establish the club. The club ought to review their entire recruitment strategy at the end of this window, since at least one of the manager's preferred targets moved elsewhere, but that includes more than the level of finance available. O'Halloran (left) remains with St Johnstone for the time being High wage bill King and fellow investors will have provided between £15m and £19m by the end of the season. That includes share purchases as well as loans for working capital and funds to pay back Sports Direct's £5m loan. Given the ongoing investment that will be required to restore Rangers to a solid, stable, self-sustaining business, King's estimate of £30m from himself and others may well turn out to be fairly accurate. Rangers currently run the second-highest wage bill in Scotland but are arguably not extracting full value from it as a legacy of contracts offered to players by previous regimes, making the club wary of paying out too much in wages. Eleven players joined in the summer, with four of those deals involving transfer fees and three of them being loan arrangements with English Premier League clubs. Frank McParland joined the club as head of recruitment in October and, in the current window, Harry Forrester and Maciej Gostomski have joined on short-term deals, while Josh Windass and Matt Crooks signed pre-contract agreements to join in the summer. But the failure to sign Diagouraga and O'Halloran will frustrate manager Mark Warburton. Warburton (left) joined Rangers from Brentford last summer The valuations of the sellers and the prospective buyer were not significantly different but, like many deals, there are further details, including add-ons, that potentially raise the price and payment terms to be factored in. It weakened Rangers' hand that both signing targets entered the public domain almost as soon as talks began and were clearly the manager's priorities, so handing the selling clubs the edge. The football industry may be a hive of gossip but it is possible to keep transfer moves private long enough to prevent negotiations being influenced. It is also common practice for a shortlist of options and alternative targets to be drawn up, since no club has a 100% success rate in its transfer dealings. Lessons to be learned King spoke about securing players for the Premiership and investing in the squad, so missing out on transfer targets cause those remarks to be revisited. Since Diarougaga went elsewhere and O'Halloran remains at St Johnstone, the whole recruitment process has not worked as smoothly and effectively as Rangers would have liked. Those players signed on permanent deals last year have all contributed to the team establishing itself at the top of the Scottish Championship, in which they finished third last season. Progress is evident. That work won't necessarily be undone in this window, but lessons need to be learned from it if Rangers are to deliver "at least another five players at an equal or higher standard before we go into the Premier League" as King pledged in September.
  3. The owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team has made an £18m offer to buy a controlling stake in Rangers. Robert Sarver, an American financier, made the offer just after Christmas in an email to the Rangers International Football Club chairman David Somers. Sarver, 52, asked the board to call a general meeting to ask shareholders to approve the issuing of new shares. Subsequent share purchases by Douglas Park's group and Dave King make his bid unlikely to succeed as it stands. Sarver, who also owns the Phoenix Mercury Women's National Basketball team, submitted his offer at the same time to WH Ireland, who manage RIFC's listing on the Alternative Investment Market. The American, who is chief executive officer of Western Alliance Bancorporation, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was also prepared to spend an additional £15m to buy out any remaining shareholders should his offer have been accepted. He was initially committed to buying 100% of Rangers, but with Park, George Letham and George Taylor now owning almost 20%, and King almost 15%, that is unlikely. At least another 15% is held by supporters who are unlikely to want to sell their shares. At least 75% of shareholders would have to agree to new shares being issued to a non-shareholder at a general meeting, after resolution nine was defeated at the annual general meeting in December. However, the BBC has learned that Sarver is prepared to work alongside fans' groups and other Rangers-supporting businessmen. "Sarver is a serious player with superb credentials," a source close to the deal told the BBC. "He is a very well-funded, long-term investor with an impeccable 30-year business pedigree. "He knows what it takes to make major sports clubs successful and would bring a tremendous track record to Rangers. "He has three sons who are all very keen footballers and he watches their games every weekend. "He is regarded as a straight-talking and very determined guy with a genuine passion for sport and an impressive record of success at the highest level of US sport and business. "Of course, he sees this as an exciting opportunity to invest in a major sporting institution, but given his involvement in the NBA, he fully realises that, without the broad support of fans, any proposals are doomed to failure. "For that reason he is very keen to build a broad-based coalition of fans' groups and prominent supporters who have the club's best long-term future at heart. "Sarver's previous involvement in major sports shows that the £33m would just be an initial investment. If you are going to rebuild a major club like Rangers and get it back to the very top of the game on a stable and sustainable basis, additional funding will be needed, alongside a strong, experienced and highly professional senior management team. "The response of the club's board to this proposal will be extremely important. If there is a genuine wish to act in the best long-term interests of the club, this should be a very straight-forward decision." Rangers declined to comment.
  4. Rangers lose their must-win game at Hearts By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland The glory of Hearts' victory over Rangers belonged to Robbie Neilson, but the focus was inexorably on the opposing manager. Ally McCoist would have expected nothing less, although he must now feel as if the scrutiny is stalking him. There is no sense of perspective to call upon when a team that expects to challenge for the title has dropped five points in the space of one week, three of them to the league leaders. Hearts are now nine points clear of Rangers, and that gap is a graphic illustration of the persistent shortcomings of McCoist's team. Where does it leave the manager? In a perilous position. Some fans have already decided that the evidence of almost two-and-a-half seasons of the journey back towards the top flight is enough to condemn the manager. When he replaced Lewis Macleod with Kris Boyd during the second half at Tynecastle, McCoist was barracked by members of the away support. The criticism alone will not faze him; McCoist suffered worse during his playing days but overcame it with a sustained and triumph-laden spree of goals that established him as the club's greatest ever striker. McCoist bounced back from criticism early in his career to become an Ibrox legend The adulation of those years will never diminish, but management is a different environment. Rangers must beat Hearts in both of their remaining meetings this season, and hope that Neilson's side also drops points elsewhere. It is only November, no lead is insurmountable, but there have been plenty of indications that Rangers are failing where Hearts are succeeding: in teamwork and consistency. Much of the occasion at Tynecastle was chastening for Rangers, even if the visitors were the more dominant side in the opening half, playing with determination and certainty. Yet Steven Smith's sending off for a recklessly uncontrolled tackle was only one of several misdemeanours from the Rangers side. It was Hearts, with younger, less experienced players, who kept their heads. The home side also started with six homegrown players. Rangers had two in Lewis Macleod and Smith, although the latter came through in a previous spell of his career and has since played elsewhere before returning. Both clubs suffered financial collapse, but Hearts were not preyed upon by opportunists and the club has rebuilt quickly and effectively. Off the field, Rangers are still dysfunctional. That has impacted on the recruitment strategy of recent years - there is still no scouting network - and McCoist has often had to manage resourcefully in that regard. Even so, the squad is well-packed with top-flight players and only Celtic have a higher wage bill. Hearts goalscorer Holt wheels away in celebration after opening the scoring The sum of the parts should be more. Nicky Law, David Templeton, Dean Shiels and Kris Boyd are all players who were in good form for their previous clubs but have not reproduced if often or effectively enough at Ibrox. McCoist could point out that plenty of players down the years have failed to handle the switch to either half of the Old Firm, but Rangers have also been performing in a less pressurised environment, since there has been no real challenge in the lower leagues (albeit the support still demands that every game is won, and in some style). Rangers were rugged, committed and, certainly at the outset, commanding at Tynecastle. Even at 2-0 down, there was no defeatism amongst the players, and McCoist could take heart from that. Even so, while aspects of the performance were not damning, the circumstances were: Rangers went into the game six points behind and needed to win, or at least not to lose. They had already lost to Hearts at Ibrox , and to Hibernian, while Alloa Athletic have twice held them to a draw. Those results constitute a damning critique of McCoist's management. He should be delivering better performances from this team. Too often, it seems as though Rangers are reliant on individuals shining, rather than the team as a whole. Fans gripe at the tactics and some of the selections - as fans always do in challenging times. McCoist would no doubt argue that Fraser Aird, Shiels and David Templeton have not grasped the opportunities this season to play so resoundingly well that the team could not do without them. Templeton has struggled to make an impact at Ibrox McCoist has to manage these situations, though; the job is essentially about problem solving. He needed more support and better executive management of the club in recent years, but he also has to deal with the situation he is in regardless of the background to it. Given that Rangers have no chief executive, no finance director, not enough plc directors and not enough money to last until the end of next month, there will probably be more pressing issues for the board to address. McCoist has moved into last chance territory, though. Some fans have already made up their minds, and if he does not turn them back then the consequences are inevitable. McCoist has been too cautious at times, too reliant on tried and tested strategies. There was no timidity at Tynecastle, but Rangers still fell short, with some of the players letting their manager down. The focus should be on Hearts and the accomplishment of their season so far, but the drama is at Ibrox. Belief in McCoist is dwindling. In many cases it has vanished altogether. If he is to turn this situation round, it has to be immediate.
  5. Forgotten priorities at Rangers Published on 20 October 2013 Richard Wilson Fifteen months have passed since Rangers began the 'journey back to the top flight'. For all the trauma and economic damage that preceded it, this was still an opportunity for the Ibrox club. Starting in the bottom tier, with the faith and commitment of the fans fully restored, Rangers could rebuild. It was a chance to enhance the football operation, and restore alliances within the Scottish game; to revive the best of the club. Progress has been made on the field, but otherwise it is an opportunity squandered. Seven directors have departed, two chief executives have stood down and Rangers International Football Club are now on their third nominated advisor (nomad), which manages the company's listing on the Alternative Investment Market. That is a period of grossly damaging upheaval, and regret ought to be the overriding emotion once the anger subsides among the fans. Charles Green promised much with his brand of chutzpah and gruff charm, but the hyperbole has evaporated to leave a state of alarm. The mood among staff within Ibrox is despairing. Craig Mather's departure leaves the club without a chief executive, and Bryan Smart's subsequent decision to stand down means RIFC has just two board members. It was with a hollow smile that Kenny McDowall answered a question on Friday about whether the coaching staff might look to add to the squad in January by saying, "we don't know who to ask". Black humour was a coping mechanism during the worst of the administration process last year, but should have been banished now the team are performing so capably. The nomad, Daniel Stewart, has been trying to find consensus among the shareholders, but the firm are out of their depth in coping with the demands of opposing sides. It is more likely to take discussions between Sandy Easdale and Paul Murray to seek a solution to the need to appoint new directors and a capable chief executive and chairman ahead of the forthcoming annual general meeting. If not, AIM will step in. The regulators prefer to leave the nomad to sort out issues but if there is no progress by the middle of this week shares could be suspended, something that would infuriate the institutional investors. Easdale and Murray represent two groups of shareholders. Easdale holds the proxy votes of the likes of Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings, the mysterious funds behind Green's consortium, while Murray is working on behalf of the institutional investors who want credible directors and proper corporate governance restored to the board. If no decisions can be reached before the agm, decisioon reached then will be the final arbiter. Non-executive director James Easdale, and Brian Stockbridge, the finance director and company secretary, will be up for re-election at the agm, while Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson will be nominated as new directors. The two groups of shareholders have essentially the same number of confirmed backers, so the vote is too tight to predict. If it wasn't, the Easdale brothers would simply appoint their own directors and executive staff safe in the knowledge they would prevail at the agm. Instead, they are prepared to open discussions in private. Off the field, Rangers are a mess. There has been no progress rebuilding the club's battered reputation other than the widespread acknowledgment that their fans have rallied to the cause in remarkable numbers, home and away. The club still have no voice or influence in the power structure of the Scottish game, let alone within Uefa or even politically. Until new directors and executives are in place, Rangers are damaged. The relationship with supporters has broken down too, with protests at every match. The Easdale brothers are now front and centre, their motives and intent still to be revealed. Former director Dave King is ready and willing to take the role of RIFC chairman and the necessary paperwork has been completed, but no progress has been made on his appointment. Contrary to certain briefings, neither the AIM nor the SFA are likely to prevent his return as a non-executive board member, and the support would welcome his experience and commitment, yet he is still on the outside. Meanwhile, the football department is under-resourced, outwith the first team. There is no scouting network, fewer youth coaches and the sports science department badly needs investment. Rangers were seeking to rebuild in such a way that on their probable return to the top flight they would be strong, able to compete, sustainable and working in partnership with the fans, but that remains out of reach. "There's no scouting structure, since Neil [Murray] left," McDowall said. "We've got enough contacts, but we need to get the whole thing up and running again. A club of this size has to have a scouting network." There are reasons for optimism, though, with the first team developing into an effective unit and young players emerging into promising talents, the most accomplished being Lewis Macleod. "He is as good as anybody I've worked with," McDowall said. "Even if we'd stayed in the SPL Lewis probably would have broken in. He can handle the temperament and play that level of football. He's having to learn [playing on the left], but he's young and he has the ability." Macleod offers reason for hope at a time when Rangers fans are mostly aghast at the state of the club
  6. Analysis: only money will solve Rangers' board crisis Published on 21 August 2013 Richard Wilson Even the departure of Charles Green involved a contradiction. ?¨It was first reported that he stood down, then Rangers' statement to the Stock Exchange later yesterday afternoon said that his "consultancy agreement" had been "terminated", and finally a club statement said that the board's decision had been "unanimous". However it was phrased, the Ibrox directors decided that the club needed to sever its ties with Green, again, to try to find a route out of its current difficulties. Context is significant, though, ?¨and the immediate future remains an uncertain proposition. Green, after all, remains the largest single shareholder and has an alliance with James Easdale, the Ibrox director, and Sandy Easdale, who are both shareholders and who have stated their intention to increase the size ?¨of their stake. Other board members have been distancing themselves from the one-time chief executive, and the statement to the Stock Exchange revealed it was Craig Mather, his successor, who held the talks with Green to inform him of the termination of his contract. Had Green stayed, it would ?¨have been an indication that the Yorkshireman and the backers he retains among the shareholders were still the most significant power brokers at the club. Even now, Green could in theory requisition another General Meeting in the future, if ?¨he believes he has enough votes to carry the resolutions. As of last night, though, the current situation was at an impasse, but a solution needs to eventually be found. People are currently jostling ?¨for control of the board. Some shareholders were uncomfortable with Green's presence and influence. They requisitioned a General Meeting, with resolutions seeking the removal from the board of Mather, the finance director Brian Stockbridge and the non-executive director Bryan Smart; then proposed the appointment of Paul Murray, the former Rangers director, and Frank Blin, the former executive chairman of PricewaterhouseCooper. The requisition is backed by several of the institutional investors, as well ?¨as the Glasgow businessman and entrepreneur, Jim McColl, and they may believe that going to the GM and being confident of winning the vote means that there is no need to compromise. They have more to gain from winning the GM than they do from accepting a solution. Ultimately, though, the question is about money. Green and his backers will only accept a certain price for their stakes, and he has said himself that he would take an offer of 50p per share. Some wealthy Rangers fans, such as the former director Dave King, are prepared to put money ?¨into the club, but do not want to pay Green and his backers a premium for their shares. That, in part, is because the club itself needs money. Before the end of the season, Rangers will require additional investment. There is £10m left in the bank, according to Stockbridge, and that will not carry the club through until next year's season tickets are sold. Green has a track record of raising funds, since last year's Initial Public Offering of shares brought ?¨in £22m. Yet that money has been spent, as has much of two years' worth of season tickets. Cost-cutting is required, but that alone will not ?¨be enough to stabilise Rangers. The existing shareholders, if they can be persuaded that the business plan will generate increased revenue and so the share price will see its value restored, may then be willing to submit themselves to a new round of funding. Many might be wary of new shares being issued, since it would potentially dilute their own shareholdings, but the likes of King would be keen to receive a stake in the club in return for financing it. ?¨If new stock was issued at 70p, the original launch price, the existing shareholders may be more willing to accept a second share issue. It is these financial issues ?¨that are underpinning the moves being made to alter the make-up ?¨of the board, as well as possibly facilitating a change in the balance of the shareholder base. The closing price of the Rangers shares yesterday evening was 43p. The fall has been stymied in recent weeks, but may react to further large sales - around two million changed hands in only two single transactions last week, when the former commercial director Imran Ahmad reportedly sold the bulk of his shareholding - but also the GM, the accounts that are due next month, and the annual general meeting that must follow. Control of the board means controlling the costs and controlling how new investment is sought. ?¨It may also allow an element of control on how the shareholder base changes. These are high stakes, and the brinksmanship will continue. Money is always the most powerful motivator.
  7. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/the-unravelling-of-rangers.21842437 "They have the season-ticket sales to bail them out for a few months, but they can't make Christmas without new cash ... and who will supply that? Fan investors.
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