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Rangers fans react with delight as controversial finance chief resigns after 18

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Bothwellbear

Bothwellbear 1,392

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Rangers fans react with delight as controversial finance chief resigns after 18 months of eye-watering losses

25 Jan 2014 07:23

SUPPORTERS' chiefs spoke of their relief last night that the figure seen as the 'bogey-man' of Ibrox had finally left the building.

Rangers-finance-director-Brian-Stockbridge-1901888.jpg Brian Stockbridge has left Rangers

Garry F McHarg/FOCAL Scotland

RANGERS supporters reacted with delight last night to the departure of Brian Stockbridge as financial director at Ibrox.

Stockbridge became the bogey man of Edmiston Drive in his 18 months at the club as he presided over a time of eye-watering financial losses.

He was the man who told fans projected losses for the financial year to June 2013 would come in at

£7million, just months before they were announced at £14.4m.

He was also the frontman for an IPO that raised £22m and handed out more than £6m in fundraising costs.

His breakdown of figures at the club agm in December was met by howls of outrage by disgruntled and disgusted shareholders.

Morally, Stockbridge was viewed with suspicion after filming Malcolm Murray seemingly drunk on a night out while making cruel comments as the former chairman stumbled from a restaurant.

Ethically, Rangers fans never forgave him for accepting a £200,000 bonus after the club won the Third Division to add to his salary of £200,000.

Stockbridge said he gave the money back – this was confirmed by new chief executive Graham Wallace in an interview last week – but it’s believed he had come under pressure from

investors Laxey Partners.

Laxey have become increasingly influential behind the scenes at Rangers and even have a placeman, Nigel Crighton, on the club’s board to safeguard their investment.

At the same time, Stockbridge’s former employers, Manchester-based financiers Zeus Capital, cashed in their chips earlier this month when co-founder Richard Hughes sold two million penny shares he bought for little more than £20,000 for almost £600,000.

The Rangers board, including the influential Easdale brothers, have decided that Stockbridge is now expendable as they bid to win back fan trust under former Manchester City chief executive Wallace.

Supporters have welcomed the decision of Stockbridge to step down from a position he had occupied since May 2012 as a vital move forward for the club as they claw their way back towards the top of Scottish football.

Drew Roberton of the Rangers Supporters Association said: “Graham Wallace is clearly showing just who is boss and is sending out a clear message that he is here to do business and is unafraid of making tough decisions.

“If it needs done he’ll do it. This is a message of intent from the chief executive and hopefully he starts as he means to go on.

“Stockbridge will not be very well remembered by Rangers fans. He did not endear himself to anyone who was unhappy with the financial position of the club. As finance director, he appeared not to address the key issues surrounding the club and his manner was contemptuous to those who dared ask questions.

“There had been speculation before the agm a deal may have been struck to remove him then, that he would be a sacrificial lamb.

“Maybe the appointment of Wallace ultimately sealed his fate. Who knows? The statement says he resigned but he never struck me as the type of man who would give in and walk away.

“In all honesty, I can’t believe he wasn’t sacked in light of the Malcolm Murray episode.

“I don’t know how much this will do for supporter confidence but it has put a smile on the face of many.

“But we’ve also got to be realistic. This is only the first of many tough decisions Rangers will have to make to put the club on a sound financial footing in the future but Mr Wallace appears to be the man to take us forward.

“He has taken some big decisions already and let’s hope this is the first step along the road to recovery and that we see only positive things for the club moving on. He has moved up the Christmas card list of the Rangers supporters.”

Stockbridge is a former colleague of the despised Imran Ahmad at Allenby Capital and Zeus and his departure is another break with the links of the past, including Rangers’ controversial former chief executive Charles Green.

However, Green, in particular, is believed still to hold influence via the proxy shareholding of up to 30 per cent that is currently controlled by the Easdales and includes the shareholding of the likes of original investors Blue Pitch and Margarita.

Rangers Supporters Assembly chairman Andy Kerr sees the bigger picture but hopes the resignation of Stockbridge at least is a move towards clearing the boardroom until it is occupied by directors the supporters can truly trust.

Kerr said: “Stockbridge was always perceived to be a link back to the past and there was a lot of dissent around him at the recent agm.

“His resignation potentially clears the path to better things for the club and hopefully we can go on and cut all ties with that previous regime.

“There has been a significant drain of our finances the last couple of years. In isolation his £200,000 bonus for the team winning the Third Division was ridiculous.

“When you broaden it out to include his whole stewardship he had some questions to answer. Even if someone sanctioned some of the costs around the IPO in the first place, for example, it still happened on his watch.

“As recently as the agm he was telling us there was nothing to worry about financially when anyone with even a basic grasp of arithmetic knew there was. There will be few tears shed for him.”

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Bluepeter9

Bluepeter9 5,167

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To add to the intrigue a plan, still in its early stages, is being discussed by influential fans to wield greater influence by ring-fencing season ticket money away from the club and into a separate and secure account.

( this was in the story on the thread that got deleted)p

What - that's a new one !!

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Bluepeter9

Bluepeter9 5,167

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"To add to the intrigue a plan, still in its early stages, is being discussed by influential fans to wield greater influence by ring-fencing season ticket money away from the club and into a separate and secure account."

Wtf

Yep I just posted that as well - wtf !

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Ger_onimo

Ger_onimo 20,488

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To add to the intrigue a plan, still in its early stages, is being discussed by influential fans to wield greater influence by ring-fencing season ticket money away from the club and into a separate and secure account.

( this was in the story on the thread that got deleted)p

What - that's a new one !!

What?! And how would they do that exactly? I might ring-fence some season ticket money to buy a house.
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RFC Eagle

RFC Eagle 4,888

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Think it'll be Andy behind this move.

Why doesn't Andy stop hiding behind SoS and come out and speak for himself? Give us some facts and evidence that the current board are not doing the best for Rangers and you may gain some support. Stop spending your cash on bedsheets and van hire and use it to buy shares, then have your say.

Any attempt to 'ring fence' season ticket money is just a boycott with a different name. I'm ring fencing my money from these clowns and actually buying a season ticket as soon as they're available.

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STEPPS BOY

STEPPS BOY 76,222

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Why doesn't Andy stop hiding behind SoS and come out and speak for himself? Give us some facts and evidence that the current board are not doing the best for Rangers and you may gain some support. Stop spending your cash on bedsheets and van hire and use it to buy shares, then have your say.

Any attempt to 'ring fence' season ticket money is just a boycott with a different name. I'm ring fencing my money from these clowns and actually buying a season ticket as soon as they're available.

I agree with you to a certain extent..

Andy puts in serious cash and it's not only certain members of the board he has a problem with..

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bilko89

bilko89 507

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Another possibility..

I'd have thought "influential fans" would mean fans who actually put money into club via hospitality boxes and the members club.

That's what I HOPE. Although, Mr Dingwall and others have called themselves fans spokesmen before so I wouldn't be surprised if they are now "Influential fans".

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