Financial Times article on Rangers IPO. How bitter does this article sound?

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

Free-ranging pay could foul Rangers’ IPO

By Kate Burgess

However triumphant on the field, soccer has rarely been a sporting investment. Yet Glasgow Rangers Football Club is floating on Aim this week. The shares are being served up at 70p each to loyal fans and professional investors.

This is the club that went into administration in February, having racked up debt and a tax bill of epic proportions, and was relegated to Scotland’s third division. It was just another case of a football company with poor financial controls paying players 10 times more in a week than most people earn in a year.

Research by insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor suggests 32 Scottish clubs are in financial distress.

Fans of Rangers’ IPO trot out that old million pound chestnut: it is different.

The fat has been cut out and what remains is pure protein. Rangers’ die-hard supporters regularly turn up to fill the Ibrox stadium close to its 51,000 capacity.

There is no debt, the expensive players have gone, leaving a team still well able to beat its rivals. Imagine, say followers, what Rangers could earn in sales of tickets and football shirts when it takes its rightful place in Scotland’s top league in a year or so.

At this point, the group’s backers become all misty-eyed and talk about cup wins, playing in Europe’s lucrative Champions League, selling TV rights for millions and juicy sponsorship deals.

Charles Green, Rangers’ far from dewy-eyed chief executive and a veteran of Sheffield United, reckons he can raise Rangers up without borrowing or overpaying for new talent.

He has promised to cap the payroll at a third of revenues.

That will be easy for the next year while Rangers is banned by the Scottish Football Association from transferring players.

However, it will be hard to hold the wage bill back once Rangers starts playing top-tier football where pay averages two-thirds of revenues.

Soccer’s governing bodies may be pushing for greater financial discipline and player fees may come down, but it will take time.

Mr Green can only be sure of keeping his promise if he makes more of Rangers’ brand and revenues soar.

Fans should brace themselves for a rise in ticket prices. The new merchandising deal signed with Sports Direct – whose owner, Mike Ashley, owns 8 per cent of Rangers – could really spice up revenues.

Brokers expect total sales to rise 45 per cent in two years to £46m, lifting the club out of loss into £12m in pre-tax profits by 2015, as long as costs are stable.

But all it needs is a couple of players paid £100,000 a week to derail those estimates.

And history is not on Mr Green’s side. It is notoriously hard to scramble into revenue-generating leagues without destroying profitability by overpaying players.

Rangers’ IPO has the characteristics of a turkey with a short sell-by date. It may look delicious on Christmas day but will not smell so good in a few months.

[RFC Eagle 4,888]

'But all it needs is a couple of players paid £100,000 a week to derail those estimates. '

Its clearly written by a half wit who has absolutely no knowledge of football and who is too lazy to do any sort of research at all.

[JM1872 3,821]

"But all it needs is a couple of players paid £100,000 a week to derail those estimates.

And history is not on Mr Green’s side. It is notoriously hard to scramble into revenue-generating leagues without destroying profitability by overpaying players."

Uneducated drivel. I do not believe we have ever paid a player £100,000 a week. Is this guy on crack?

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

It's a women who wrote it, she probably thinks we're in the EPL. 100 grand a week

Heres her e-mail address incase anyone wants to ask here where shes getting this 100 grand a week we're paying players from.

kate.burgess@ft.com

[JM1872 3,821]

Oh, a woman wrote it? I will say no more.

[GMac 1,405]

"But all it needs is a couple of players paid £100,000 a week to derail those estimates.

And history is not on Mr Green’s side. It is notoriously hard to scramble into revenue-generating leagues without destroying profitability by overpaying players."

Uneducated drivel. I do not believe we have ever paid a player £100,000 a week. Is this cunt on crack?

Probably. Don't think she's a financial analyst. more of a sort of shock-jock that expresses an opinion. Bill Leckie v Hugh McIllvaney. The people who do invest will go through our wage bill with a fine toothcomb. Plus, they'll be the owners of the club and simply wouldn't allow it anyway.

[JM1872 3,821]

Probably. Don't think she's a financial analyst. more of a sort of shock-jock that expresses an opinion. Bill Leckie v Hugh McIllvaney. The people who do invest will go through our wage bill with a fine toothcomb. Plus, they'll be the owners of the club and simply wouldn't allow it anyway.

Correct.

And if any of our players are taking £100,000 in SFL3, 2 or 1 then something's not right . Aye, take £100,000 a week to play in front of 20,000 at the San Giro - that's a task on its own. £1,000 a week to play at Ibrox every second week should be an honour for any player. Or even for nothing.

[Goianegra 4,710]

A lot of our players will be lucky to make £100,000 a year

[geronimoo 1,574]

"Fans should brace themselves for a rise in ticket prices"

We already know this, everybody knows as we go up the leagues the prices will rise, I may be wrong but hasn't it also been said by how much % it will be rising.

"But all it needs is a couple of players paid £100,000 a week to derail those estimates."

Nearly pished myself reading that, have we ever had a player who even came close to earning half of that, £100.000 per week she dreams more than us.

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

I would be surprised if Rangers ever went above 25k over the years.

[pcbear 10,932]

No wonder our banks were nearly fucked with ahem "experts" like that in positions writing rubbish, 100k a week ffs!

Thats more than the full first team earns woman.

[dummiesoot 16,285]

Still trotting out the debt and tax bill of epic proportions i see. Sure that included a faux hmrc debt.

Still smarting the lot of them.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

the article does not sound bitter - it sounds like it was written by someone with only superficial knowledge of football - Scottish football in particular

[offminorthreat 1,467]

A few players on £100k a week hahahahahahahahahahhahaha PMSL.

Imagine the squad we could have if that were the case :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

[CanadianBacon 2,088]

Has "Tarrier" oozing all over it.

Who is this cow anyway?

Should I "Tweet" her telling her she talks a pile of shite?

Maybe if she didn't read my "Tweet", the Plod's at Focus could contact her in my stead, allowing her to be "offended" at my comments.

Yes, Focus....the place that sells dodgy light fittings.

Fuck them I say.....and fuck this Tarrier cow.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

Aye, so we'll make pre-tax profits, as long as we don't pay a few guys 100k a week?

Darn.

I was really keen on signing half the England team.

[eosmhdo 1,879]

If that's the new wages on offer I might phone Ally up to arrange a trial for myself.

What a lot of piss

[bluedart1952 1,394]

A bloody woman, its time they were back doing jobs that they were designed to do, cooking and cleanning instead of fucking the country up.

[cushynumber 25,178]

the article does not sound bitter - it sounds like it was written by someone with only superficial knowledge of football - Scottish football in particular

I would agree with that. Not bitter - just misinformed. I actually would like to see some 3rd party comments that are knowledgeable in the press re the IPO but then the "100K a week" comment ensured that this isn't one of them..

[Bad Robot 21,513]

With idiots like that running the country no wonder were down the swanny.

The article is embarrassing, I feel an email coming on.

[plymouthranger 4,282]

Other than that throw away comment it seems a fairly pro-us article, people are more paranoid than the t@igs themselves these days!

Apparently de boer was on around 35,000 a week, probably the most we'll ever pay anyone. I'm sure klos was on a similar amount and all, hence why we tried to get rid for the last few seasons.

[jimgers 565]

If the Times want to pay me 75k a year as one of their Journalists, I could write pish like that for them.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

I would agree with that. Not bitter - just misinformed. I actually would like to see some 3rd party comments that are knowledgeable in the press re the IPO but then the "100K a week" comment ensured that this isn't one of them..

You know its mis-informed by the £100k per week - not even Whittaker was getting that !

What I do dislike in the article is the notion that a team has to be in debt to win - Football finances are going to have to change radically - we could be fortunate in that we (hopefully) have learned the 'debt' lesson and will always work within our means - lots of other clubs are going to have to adjust (not least because of the financial fair play rules) and when that happens it will help level the playing field (and then we need a wee European League to even the TV Money distribution up)

[ZZed 4,559]

Sound to me as if she has quickly run the numbers (wrong numbers) through her head, assumed we would be an EPL type structure and bang a misinformed piece. The people who know about these things do the numbers carefully and if we were in trouble we would know by now, as the money men would say don't touch. But they have not and are interested in buying in to our club.

[nelsonRFC82 305]

I don't think it sounds bitter but rather quite staggeringly ill-informed.

Obviously the £100k comment has been picked up on, and yes that in itself shows her lack of knowledge of Rangers and/or Scottish football.

Also she queries how we will be able to prosper on our projected wage-turnover ratio compared with what is the norm in the SPL (33% v 66%), but having already stated in the article that "32 Scottish clubs are in financial distress", would it not be a sensible deduction to assume the norm is not sustainable?

Finally she says "Soccer’s governing bodies may be pushing for greater financial discipline and player fees may come down, but it will take time." Soccer!

Yes it will take time, but we are quite a few years away from competing at European level anyway, and so have a chance to put in place a structure now that well allow us to embrace such rules on clubs' finances when that time comes.