Supporters' Transfer Fund

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

For a few months now, I have been mulling over the idea of a 'Supporters' Transfer Fund'. A fund generated by us, the fans, and specifically used for transfer fees and all that is involved in signing a player. We are in our financially darkest times, where signing a player is so much harder than I could have imagined as a young boy growing up with foreign stars walking through the door, year after year.

So currently (and I'm making uneducated assumptions) our transfer budgets, non-existant as they may be currently, come from making an operating profit the previous season and we get an agreed budget with the bank. A budget we can afford to spend within out very strict financial operations currently. So in the summer, it appears the majority of what we spent was created by selling players with perhaps a couple of million as a budget agreed with Lloyds, which we spent. Now we've brought in £400/500K, which I'm hoping we will be able to use. But before we can have a transfer budget, we must cover operating costs, wages, and make repayments to what feels like a never reducing figure of debt to Lloyds Banking Group.

Do you think we could do with more for transfers? I do.

Now many of us buy season tickets, many of us buy as many matches as we can, there's Rangers TV, club merchandise, etc. Maybe in days gone by, buying everything the club could throw at you, would improve the clubs finances. But for many years now, it seems to me personally, that money has disappeared in to black holes, as well as declines in the economy, affecting how much we as a support can spend. But certainly for me, most of the money I can afford for luxuries, goes on Rangers and all that comes with it. As I'm sure is the same for most that use RM, other forums and majority of Bears everywhere.

So how can we make our money go further? In order to keep us at the top, to remain Champions year after year and get back in the black.

A 'Supporters' Transfer Fund'.

Whether it be an annual donation or a monthly/weekly direct debit subscription, a 'Supporters' Transfer Fund' scheme, run by the club, we could really make a difference and huge contribution to our club. Advertised on Rangers TV, Rangers News, over the tannoy on match days, in the programmes, everywhere! Even if we only managed half a million £'s a year, in these times, we need it! Obviously we would need the account published etc for transparency.

I know it may seem a bit far fetched, or unrealistic at first look, but I really think it could work. How many bears are there worldwide? I couldnt even start to imagine, could we say half a million at least? It must be more, but I'll use 500,000 for the sake of my example. So if advertising through the aforementioned channels could reach 200,000 bears, 20% of which decided they could afford to subscribe to £1 a week. That's £2,000,000 annually, specifically for transfers.

OK, so I'm making up number and making assumptions, but what could you afford if such a scheme existed? Personally, I wouldn't bat an eyelid at £10 a month leaving my account, knowing the difference it could make.

So without lambasting me too much, some questions for you the reader:-

1. Do you think this could work?

2. How much would you donate a month/year?

Providing you all don't think I'm mad (I promise I'm not) and enough people think this is a good idea, surely someone within RM could take this to RFC or RST or an AGM or something.

Anything is better than the lack of transfer activity we currently find ourselves in.

[rfcfraserrfc 262]

Fantastic idea

Each home game you would get 50 grand no problem

[Chef 436]

folks will say they pay enough for the dross as it is, but aye a good idea which has been mentioned before, and to be honest how else are we gonna meet the expectations of a lot of fans.

[Muff 245]

The club would still have to pay the wages.

I spend enough on The Rangers each season.

[AlCapone 7,678]

a non starter for the simple fact that if we raised millions and it improved the team then it would increase Murrays share price, its the poor helping the rich. Transfer funds should come from one source....revenue generated by the club.

I doubt many fans would even consider putting money in and who's to say that transfer Fees wouldnt get inflated to provide kick backs for the chairman.

[Raligt 2,541]

Only if the £10 a month goes straight into the transfer kitty.

I'm in

[nvager 498]

If 200,000 fans donated 10 pounds only = 2m pounds.

Not sure that that many would be interested.

Rangers could try organizing it by setting up a website and sending out emails asking for pledges/donations.

Fans could be asked to contribute at matches and supporter functions.

been talked about before, but nothing was ever done to my knowledge

[pcbear 10,924]

Its an obviously well thought out and eloquent post that deserves replied to, i'm sure that some of the supposed money/financial guys that get on here will cite many issues with it, but hey its a good thought, and sure is a sign of the times.

£12m Flo

£6.75m Ball

Plenty more but read that and weep.

[kplfishtank 4,679]

in reality ,though a good idea, where would this stop

if we "the fans" bought a player and that player is sold on do we get the transfer fee or do the club get it

who would sanction a move for players, and what if the fans reps disagreed with the managements player choice

[nvager 498]

in reality ,though a good idea, where would this stop

if we "the fans" bought a player and that player is sold on do we get the transfer fee or do the club get it

who would sanction a move for players, and what if the fans reps disagreed with the managements player choice

In reality if it was this simple/good it would have been tried out long ago.

[stuart54 218]

For the time, effort and thought that you put into this, you should be applauded.

Unfortunately, as you will see from the replies, a lot of us think that we are contributing enough to Rangers as it is and I include myself in that section.

A great idea though.

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

A passionate but ridiculous idea. We pay enough into our club already to have a transfer fund every year. Were not asking for wholesale change, just a plan, a vision to take us forward.

Would you trust the current regime to spend your money wisely? I grudge giving them money just now but cant really help myself. And thats the barrell they have us over sadly.

Maybe if we were not repaying millions towards old transfers, debt and interest, we could take our club forward but the current imposters in charge of our club have shown nothing to suggest they could do that.

[fiddyp 15]

in reality ,though a good idea, where would this stop

if we "the fans" bought a player and that player is sold on do we get the transfer fee or do the club get it

who would sanction a move for players, and what if the fans reps disagreed with the managements player choice

I think the act itself would be to give the funds for the club to use on players that it deems worthy. You get into all sorts of bother when not all people donating would be potentially happy with a certain signing. You could argue that a certain criteria must be met with regards to transfer policy (ie don't sign shite spl players etc) however, this would need to be a complete leap of faith and blind trust in the club to spend the money that has been donated wisely. Now this hasn't always been the case and one can argue that the club hasn't utilised the revenue wisely that it obtains through orthodox revenue streams.

On the other hand a charity could be set up that collects the donations and has a transfers panel appointed by the donors (say muff for example) who the club could approach with a transfer target for approval and the funds could be allocated. On paper it could work.

But then again why the fuck should we. If someone actually ran our club like a business then this would already be happening and supporters wouldn't be feeling as if they have to make more of a contribution in already tough economic times.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

OK so the idea itself is more far fetched than I probably first thought, but there has to be something we can do. I know like Muff and others say, they give enough money as it is. But I think we could change the direction of a small amount of our money.

DJW - those types of proposal are good too. Fan ownership despite being dismissed by many, has to be better than this.

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

OK so the idea itself is more far fetched than I probably first thought, but there has to be something we can do. I know like Muff and others say, they give enough money as it is. But I think we could change the direction of a small amount of our money.

DJW - those types of proposal are good too. Fan ownership despite being dismissed by many, has to be better than this.

But we would just be giving our money to the very people who have put us in this mess. Surely fans wouldnt be daft enough to buy into that?

The amount of tens of millions we, as a club, have wasted in the last decade is scary.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

But we would just be giving our money to the very people who have put us in this mess. Surely fans wouldnt be daft enough to buy into that?

The amount of tens of milliosn we, as a club, have wasted in the last decade is scary.

Yeah I see that, but I didn't mean blind donating. My thinking was month by month published accounts with current balance and detailed documentation of how the money was utilised.

I think Muff mentioned the wages...if there was a little more money to spend on the players, we would have less wasted wages on short term free tranfers and loaned squad player deals, so the wage budget wouldn't necessarily have to be altered to accommodate new signings.

[SirWalterSmithLegend 206]

Yeah I see that, but I didn't mean blind donating. My thinking was month by month published accounts with current balance and detailed documentation of how the money was utilised.

I think Muff mentioned the wages...if there was a little more money to spend on the players, we would have less wasted wages on short term free tranfers and loaned squad player deals, so the wage budget wouldn't necessarily have to be altered to accommodate new signings.

Thats what we are doing right now mate, we are pumping millions into the club, with not a care in the world by the majority of where their money is going. Im not saying they dont care, but fans are telling SDM and Bain with their pounds spent on the club that they are happy. Im not, i give my money, but what can i do, as a lone voice? Everytime anyone dare speak up about the mess we are in, someone comes in and throws f*cks into them throwing past glories and reputations at them.

I dont believe the club would ever be that open with fans. Nice thought, but even if that were done, i wouldnt trust the people in charge to spend our money wisely.

I just do not see any sense in fans parting with any more money while the bank are calling the shots and the ones who put us in the mess are still here.

[Polo 1,439]

Repost!

http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=174246&st=0&p=1058623614entry1058623614

[andyspeake 0]

Only if we can have a say in who we sign with the money, wages used by the fund etc...

[jimgers 565]

£10 a month and i'm in

[Skelf 1,153]

Repost!

http://forum.rangers...entry1058623614

This is a more intelligent post TBH.

[Polo 1,439]

This is a more intelligent post TBH.

[thebooler 4,509]

A good idea in pricipal but it's not feasible for all sorts of reasons.

The way ahead is for the club to add say, £10 on to each season ticket, and £1 onto the price of a matchday ticket, which would be put into a fund for the manager.

This would be used for the sole purpose of buying players.

It would need to be available for all fans to see though, and nae jiggerypokery!

[disgruntled_bear 157]

Non starter, especially under this current regime.

[butthole 152]

Its a good idea in principle, but not a realistic one. It depends how it would work, if that cash was seperate from any available budget, and therfore it was known what player(s) this cash was used for, it would not only put tremendous pressure on the manager to make sure we get a signing that will excel, but also an enormous strain on the player himself. If he turns out to be a flop, or cant get in the team, imagine the reactions!