thebooler 4,509 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 As he seeks to convince Rangers directors of the merit of his bid to buy the Ibrox club, Andrew Ellis will certainly not be able to build a compelling case on the basis of his previous experience in football.Establishing the business acumen and financial wherewithal of the 41-year-old from London, described variously as a property developer and an estate agent, will be the major issues for the men charged with assessing his suitability to purchase the majority shareholding of Murray International Holdings.But they will find it difficult to ignore Ellis' less-than-stellar involvement with two English clubs over the past decade, already the cause of considerable consternation among Rangers supporters.The son of former Queens Park Rangers chairman Peter Ellis, he tried to buy the west-London club in July 2001. His intention was to relocate QPR from their Loftus Road home to a new stadium close to Heathrow Airport which would be based on the Chelsea Village development at Stamford Bridge. Despite opposition to the plan from Hammersmith and Fulham Council and a rival bid from a fans' consortium, Ellis was granted a period of exclusivity to prove he possessed the funds to back-up his proposal. But he withdrew his bid in August 2001.Ellis re-emerged in December 2002 when he headed a consortium called Premier Sports Development which took over Northampton Town. He was viewed as something of a saviour by the Sixfields club at the time, controversial lawyer Giovanni di Stefano having earlier failed in his attempt to take over before turning his attention to Dundee.Appointed chairman of Northampton, Ellis' first act was to pay the £500,000 which was need to save them from going into administration as they suffered following the collapse of ITV Digital."It has been well known that the club has had financial difficulties in the past," said Ellis on his first day at the helm."I came down to have a look with one of my partners, and we decided we would take it further. We then got sucked in on the Northampton Town footballing drug and we are delighted to be here."But he did not remain addicted to the Cobblers for long. A suggestion that Northampton could merge with Milton Keynes Dons did not endear him to supporters and nor did his appointment of former England and Spurs defender Terry Fenwick as manager.Fenwick, who had been coaching in Trinidad and Tobago club football before being recruited by Ellis, lasted just 49 winless days.Ellis himself stood down as chairman on 10 February 2003, just two months after taking the helm and it seemed he had found running a football club far less fulfilling than he had hoped."Being at the helm of a football club is a 24/7 commitment which requires 110 per cent effort," he said. "Unfortunately, due to previous unfinished business ventures, I have found myself in a situation where I can no longer devote the necessary time and energy to justify the title of chairman of Northampton Town Football Club. While I am sad and disappointed, I can wholeheartedly assure everyone I am standing down for the best interests of the club."Ellis did leave a positive legacy at Northampton. David Cordoza, his brother-in-law and fellow member of the Premier Sports Development consortium, took over as chairman. He is credited with stabilising the club and remains in charge.Since leaving Northampton, Ellis has not been picked up on the footballing radar, other than as a regular attendee of QPR home matches. Clearly, however, the football bug is back and he appears to have had his sights fixed on Rangers for some time. RFC Holdings (Guernsey) was registered on 3 February this year as Ellis prepared his bid for the Ibrox club. The profile of the company, based on the South Esplanade in St Peter Port on the tax haven Channel Islands, describes it as an "asset, property, investment, intellectual property and other holdings company". It remains to be seen whether Rangers Football Club will be added to its portfolio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasGers 96 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 He doesn't have a stellar resume in football, but I'll wait to hear his plans and intentions before passing judgment- I think that's the most pragmatic solution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lylad 33 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 dont like him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry handsome 629 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 If he wants to buy the club and he passes all the tests then he must have access to funds, might not be his funds but someone elses.I have a sneaky that we will see King involved somewhere along the line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markybear 136 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 If he did come on board with us I'd like AJ to stay chairman. This guy doesn't seem to hav the nouse(I think that's how it's spelled) to do it himself Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimfanciesthedude 24,498 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 seems there is a lot more to the northampton time than meets the eyeso while his own decisions werent the best, the guy who he left in charge has turned the club round so to speak in a sense they are financially stablelike the OP above, ellis can buy us, but keep AJ to run the club perhaps, or even john mclelland, bring him back Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerson 2 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 dont like himYeah, he smells Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumshie 205 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I don't know his plans but I know that Ellis is simply the frontman for a consortium, which in my opinion is better than one man controlling everything. I also don't think they will buy all of Murray's shares. What is clear is that these guys obviously think there is money to be made from Rangers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNuts 552 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 dont like himYeah, he smells Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carsons Dog 9,878 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Whit school did he go to? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrsosPonytail 170 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 He will be eyeballing the land that Rangers own in front of Ibrox Stadium. That will be his biggest lure I reckon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccaff 0 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 holding company on a tax haven there`s a good start, although holding companies are a tax avoiding scheme and although legal they are morally wrong.this group sound like a bunch of chancers. rangers support down here seems to be growing year on year and i would not be surprised if this group only see our club and fans as a cash cow. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cumbria_blue 51 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 He will be eyeballing the land that Rangers own in front of Ibrox Stadium. That will be his biggest lure I reckon.Is that the football pitches in front of the main stand? I was completely unaware that we actually owned them. Do we own the Albion car park as well? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimfanciesthedude 24,498 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Whit school did he go to? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart_RFC 41 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I think we should wait and hear from the man himself on his intentions for us if his bid is succesful before making any snap judgements on him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboyrfc 296 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I think we should wait and hear from the man himself on his intentions for us if his bid is succesful before making any snap judgements on him.i agree Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maineflyer 2 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Whit school did he go to? You might not like the answer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko10 4 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 this man or his guys are not fit to own our great club Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carsons Dog 9,878 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Maybe he's in Opus Dei Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko10 4 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 what amazes me in all this our chairman from the usa knows mega money people and we get a failure from london(not happy) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markybear 136 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Radio Scotland just sayin that ellis will be providing most of the funds for us. There are others involved but he is the major player so they saysorry if repost Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
numansnewman 25 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 sometimes you get a gut feeling,i have suspisions about this guy,the fact that it is a consortium may be a good thing,but when banks get involved with "tax haven" companies,you always smell a rat..but SDM used to meet prospective rangers players in jersey as i recall.dont know enough about it tbh,just gut feeling...smith staying or going,will say something relating to this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebooler 4,509 Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 He will be eyeballing the land that Rangers own in front of Ibrox Stadium. That will be his biggest lure I reckon.Aye - Hotel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamFyfe 1,438 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Hmmm who knows Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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