Put up or shut up

[rangersxfc 265]

By GARETH LAW

Published: 36 minutes ago

RANGERS' administrators have told the Blue Knights: Put your money where your mouth is.

Bean counters Duff and Phelps have set a Friday deadline for parties to table official interest in the ailing SPL champs.

Ibrox director Paul Murray's consortium has been the most public of all the groups set to come forward.

But joint administrator Paul Clark insists that DOESN'T mean they are the most likely to take over the club.

Others from Scotland, the rest of the UK, the States and the Far East also want talks in the coming days.

Clark said: "I don't want to be specific about bidders, but there is at least one party from the Far East.

"We've had some interest as well from the American continent.

"There's been a number of meetings over the last few days and more are planned for next week.

"I've got two calls to two different parties over the weekend. We want only serious bidders left by the end of next week.

"We want to seek out anybody who has just been talking — and there are a few out there who have done a lot of talking.

"We want them, as it were, to put their money where their mouth is.

"Let's get them round a table so we know how many parties we've got.

"We have one or two parties prepared to talk to the media.

"Then you have other parties who have been quietly, slowly and diligently getting on with their business behind closed doors.

"We're taking them just as seriously as anybody who is on the front page of the newspapers saying 'I'm going to buy Rangers, you just watch'.

"If somebody wants to involve the media that's fine. If they become the owner they can sit on the front page of all the papers saying 'I did it'.

"But don't be surprised if the owner isn't one of the people who is media friendly.

"I am not ruling anybody out in this process, absolutely not.

"I'm just saying nobody should assume the only serious bidders are the ones who are in the public domain.

"I don't care how many bidders we end up with, but I want to know who they are, what they are and what their worth is.

"Then we can have more serious conversations about achieving the end goal, which is to get Rangers under new ownership.

"Next Friday we want to receive absolute proof of funding so we understand who they are and which camp they're in, because some people have feet in various camps.

"We want to know who exactly has their money. More importantly, we want some form of indicative bid where we see the price they'll pay. That will distil down however many parties we have at the moment to the final few."

Murray's group includes Ticketus, the firm who current owner Craig Whyte sold four years' worth of season tickets to in order to raise the cash to buy the club.

Clark said: "If the Blue Knights and Ticketus become the preferred bidder and prove they have the finance and can fulfil appropriate fit and proper tests, to my mind it's okay.

"I'm not going to comment on any individual, but undoubtedly this time around there will be close scrutiny from a number of parties — not just the football authorities — to look at the backgrounds of all people involved in any takeover.

"It's a careful balancing act for us because we want to get the best price and the most money. But we don't want a situation whereby the group that has paid the most money ends up with an issue of fitness or other grounds.

"The reality is, anybody who doesn't pass the fitness test won't necessarily be discarded there and then, but we have to treat them with extreme caution because the last thing Rangers needs is another Craig Whyte type character.

"The fitness of a new owner is going to be very important, but it's one for the football authorities.

"I suspect the SFA will be taking a look at their own rules to see if they require any adjustment. I don't know how quickly that could be done."

Clark revealed Whyte has been helping the joint administrators' investigations, but confirmed they believe he never put a penny into Rangers and will become IRRELEVANT to the future of the club.

He added: "Craig Whyte has, when we've asked him, assisted us. But we've seen no evidence whatsoever of any investment by him into Rangers.

"We can't see any monies that he has paid in. We can't see how he can have any secured creditor status, so we think his position is limited.

"I'm not going to give away the strategy of how we get to the final point, but Duff and Phelps are in charge of Rangers and we're making the decisions, not him.

"The fact that he's had to come in and supply us with information doesn't mean he's part of any decision-making process.

"He has no rights, in my view, to Ibrox or Murray Park. The only rights he could possibly have over them is if his secured creditor status was proven and he had any value to it.

"He doesn't have any value. So if he's not a secured creditor, he has no rights to Ibrox or Murray Park.

"The SFA have announced he's not a fit and proper person in accordance with their rules, so he couldn't come back. We never thought he was coming back to Rangers.

"I don't see him as ongoing owner of Rangers. I don't see him as important going forward. We're in control of the process.

"In terms of his influence on the outcome to all of this, I think he has little or no relevance. In terms of Rangers' future, medium to long term, he is absolutely irrelevant.

"The value of Craig Whyte's floating charge security is zero. If it's zero it has no impact. There is no money due to him.

"He paid no money, so there is nothing to assign to him. The money from Ticketus was paid into Collyer Bristow and those monies were from the sale of Rangers season tickets.

"Those monies were then paid to the bank so the company, Rangers, paid off the bank, not Craig Whyte. He put no money in."

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4186167/Now-lets-see-the-colour-of-your-money.html#ixzz1olMxB8TU

[Turnberry18 3,204]

If calling themselves The Blue Knights is anything to go by then it doesn't look good. Paul Murray has not proposed anything dynamic. If this tax case is indeed a "red herring" then it beggars belief that something serious is not about to project investment in Rangers.

[jdocherty72 215]

No, No NO!!!

Please, not The Blue Knights

Ticketus are only part of the deal for one thing, to get their money back.

[rangersxfc 265]

If calling themselves The Blue Knights is anything to go by then it doesn't look good. Paul Murray has not proposed anything dynamic. If this tax case is indeed a "red herring" then it beggars belief that something serious is not about to project investment in Rangers.

administrators do not see the big tax case as a problem .....think fans and the media have over looked this

[Jimfanciesthedude 25,623]

see this part

"He has no rights, in my view, to Ibrox or Murray Park. The only rights he could possibly have over them is if his secured creditor status was proven and he had any value to it.

say for talking sake that Craig Whyte's guarantee to ticketus is the real deal and it is invoked by ticketus, would that mean Whyte then does become a creditor

[Eastcoast Al 1]

administrators do not see the big tax case as a problem .....think fans and the media have over looked this

Surely it is a massive problem, if a tax liability of £9-15 million can send us into administration the potential of a Further £50 million liability is not just a trifling matter to be easily dismissed.

If the creditors of which HMRC appear to be one of the largest ( assuming we loss the big tax case) decided to play hardball I think the administrators thoughts on this may change significantly.

[54andcounting 627]

If calling themselves The Blue Knights is anything to go by then it doesn't look good.

"Let's get them round a table"

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

"The reality is, anybody who doesn't pass the fitness test won't necessarily be discarded there and then, but we have to treat them with extreme caution because the last thing Rangers needs is another Craig Whyte type character.

Clark revealed Whyte has been helping the joint administrators' investigations, but confirmed they believe he never put a penny into Rangers and will become IRRELEVANT to the future of the club. He added: "Craig Whyte has, when we've asked him, assisted us. But we've seen no evidence whatsoever of any investment by him into Rangers.

"We can't see any monies that he has paid in. We can't see how he can have any secured creditor status, so we think his position is limited.

"I'm not going to give away the strategy of how we get to the final point, but Duff and Phelps are in charge of Rangers and we're making the decisions, not him.

"The fact that he's had to come in and supply us with information doesn't mean he's part of any decision-making process.

"He has no rights, in my view, to Ibrox or Murray Park. The only rights he could possibly have over them is if his secured creditor status was proven and he had any value to it.

"He doesn't have any value. So if he's not a secured creditor, he has no rights to Ibrox or Murray Park.

"The SFA have announced he's not a fit and proper person in accordance with their rules, so he couldn't come back. We never thought he was coming back to Rangers.

"I don't see him as ongoing owner of Rangers. I don't see him as important going forward. We're in control of the process.

"In terms of his influence on the outcome to all of this, I think he has little or no relevance. In terms of Rangers' future, medium to long term, he is absolutely irrelevant.

"The value of Craig Whyte's floating charge security is zero. If it's zero it has no impact. There is no money due to him.

"He paid no money, so there is nothing to assign to him. The money from Ticketus was paid into Collyer Bristow and those monies were from the sale of Rangers season tickets.

"Those monies were then paid to the bank so the company, Rangers, paid off the bank, not Craig Whyte. He put no money in."

Anyone still think that Whyte is controlling the actions of Duff & Phelps?

[rangersxfc 265]

Surely it is a massive problem, if a tax liability of £9-15 million can send us into administration the potential of a Further £50 million liability is not just a trifling matter to be easily dismissed.

If the creditors of which HMRC appear to be one of the largest ( assuming we loss the big tax case) decided to play hardball I think the administrators thoughts on this may change significantly.

worst come to the worst i can see the new owner/owners suing david murray for the tax liability.......rangers vs murray is what i think the blue knights are after dave kings statement backs this theory up

could that have been why he never sold the club to paul murray in the first place

[Thermopylae 15,288]

I don't think they called themselves the blue knights ... did they?

[rangersxfc 265]

I don't think they called themselves the blue knights ... did they?

the paul murray consortium sounds a bit borin

[donrfc737 30]

i agree with doc....they want their money back....bk???? hope not..

[TexasRangers 21]

I guarantee you that they will not get there hands back on the club,they have no real money behind them,just borrowed money to top up there bid.They are lets say peed off that they have no clout at Rangers anymore and want there toy back.

ps Its quite strange how Dave King is suing David Murray when they still own a business together.(Still trying to figure out the angle on this one) Don't you worry ill out you scoundrels when the papers cant get there facts correct....Every single one of them Murray,whyte,the wee murray,King the lot of them have all been in bed together at some point....Time for a new beginning Rangers and leave the con men behind !