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Off Topic Pointless point-scoring thread

Discussion in 'Celtic' started by RebelBhoy, May 15, 2012.

  1. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    “THE Rangers Football Club Limited (TRFC) and Sports Direct (SD) are pleased to announce that they have terminated all prior agreements between them and entered into a new commercial arrangement on terms substantially different from the terminated agreements. As part of the new arrangements, the Rangers Retail Limited (RRL) joint venture between TRFC and SD has ended and, going forward, TRFC will deal directly with SD.

    “The negotiations between the parties have been protracted and have not been smooth. In that regard, TRFC and SD thank PUMA for its assistance and patience during a period that has been difficult for them as official kit supplier to the Club.

    “TRFC has also expressed its thanks to SD for its willingness to restructure the arrangements between the parties. TRFC recognises that SD entered into legal agreements with a prior board at a time in the Club’s history when the future was very uncertain. SD’s willingness to restructure the relationship reflects confidence in the way the Club is now being managed.

    “For obvious reasons it is not the practice for the details of commercial arrangements to be made public. However, in view of the publicity surrounding the previous agreements and the resultant boycott by supporters of kit purchases we consider it appropriate to give supporters some insight into the new arrangements.

    “The new arrangements represent a fresh start for the Rangers Megastore, the relaunch of the Rangers Webstore and the sale of Rangers kit and products throughout SD’s stores.

    “The financial arrangements between the parties are transformed. TRFC will now receive by far the majority of net profits from the retail operations at the Megastore and Webstore together with an equal share of all net profits from sales through SD. TRFC will also obtain a priority dividend on the winding up of RRL.

    “The new deal will deliver real value for TRFC and SD. Supporters now have certainty that any money they spend on Rangers products will be hugely beneficial for the Club. SD will benefit from the increased sales and from the opportunity of demonstrating the part its retail skills can play in building and commercialising the Rangers brand which was always SD’s intention.

    “Both parties are delighted to achieve a successful resolution to the issues that have previously marred the relationship between them and bring an end to the protracted and costly litigation.

    “TRFC and SD hope that the new arrangements will be long standing but there is no longer a fixed commitment on that front. We will rely on our combined commercial performance and drive to cement the relationship going forward.

    “Rangers has traditionally been one of the best performing brands in British football and the Club believes the new arrangements can restore it to that position, providing funds to invest in the team and facilities at Ibrox and Auchenhowie.”


    "Both parties are delighted … " :emoticon-0136-giggl
     
    #8901
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2018
  2. Strange Nipples ST

    Strange Nipples ST Well-Known Member

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    The funniest thing about this story is watching the deluded huns trying to spin it as a positive story - along the lines that at least they'll be able to sell the tops and make a profit. It doesn't matter if it's Sports Direct or JD Sports or any other retailer the club makes money from the sales of merchandise regardless - or so the argument goes.

    Although this may be true, we have yet to see what action Ashley will take and how long it will take him to make it. And, without seeing the small print (which is clearly in Ashley's favour as yesterday's court case showed) there's no reason to believe that Ashley even has to match the offer of other retailers regardless of what's been written in the press. The sports people writing this stuff for their respective newspapers have no more idea of what's in the Ashley/Rangers papers than we do. It was only last summer that they were telling us Ashley was gone from Rangers for good.

    There's also the possibility of JD Sports and maybe even Hummel taking Rangers to court - JD Sports being the more likely of the two to do so.

    Also, for every hun trying to spin this is as good news there's the others urging fans to boycott the merchandise (Sons of Struth and that lot). Again, depending what deal is struck between Rangers and JD Sports this might not even affect Ashley's profits. If even half the fans who normally buy the kit do it this time then it's likely that SD will make a wee profit and Rangers make none at all.

    In simple terms, Ashley has Rangers with their pants down, bent over the table and presenting themselves for a right good rogering.

    And then there's the little matter of King coughing up £11m for the shares offer before he's found in contempt of court. Frankly it's amazing this hasn't been done already (the contempt of court, not King putting 11 million quid in a UK bank account.)

    The whole thing is a major clusterfuck and I for one will be enjoying it for the foreseeable future.
     
    #8902
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  3. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    #8903
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2018
  4. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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  5. Strange Nipples ST

    Strange Nipples ST Well-Known Member

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    Steven Gerrard's Rangers Announce £14m Loss - As They Were Playing A Match


    Mike Meehall Wood
    Contributor
    SportsMoney I write about sports, politics, money and the points where they meet.
    • Last night was a showpiece night for Scottish football. In the capital, league leaders Hearts faced their rivals, Hibernian in one of the most hotly anticipated Edinburgh derbies in years. In Glasgow, Steven Gerrard’s Rangers faced third-placed Kilmarnock while on Tayside, perennial champions Celtic were in action against struggling Dundee.


      It was the first time this season in which all 12 Scottish Premiership teams had played simultaneously, and on a night when in England, only the lowly League Cup was on offer. TV eyeballs were focussed north of the border, with BT Sport dedicating two channels to show both Hearts-Hibs and Dundee-Celtic. The games kicked off at 7-45pm and everyone sat down to enjoy the action.

      If you were in the boardroom at Rangers, however, something else was on the agenda. The Ibrox club decided that 15 minutes into their game with Kilmarnock was the ideal time to release their financial results for last season, and with good reason: the figures showed that Rangers lost £14.3m, more than the rest of the league combined. For a club such as Rangers, who went bust and were liquidated in 2012 before being refounded in Scotland’s fourth division, the perils of poor balance sheets are well known.


      Turnover was up to £32m, but losses doubled in 2017/18, a season in which the club won nothing and went through two managers. The club borrowed more money to fund the losses, which in turn have seen the club’s debt rise to £12.6m. Some of this debt was absorbed by converting the cash into shares, a move which generated just £1.5m of new cash for the club.

      Rangers have spent around £20m on players since returning to Scotland’s top flight, but have recouped just 2.5m in player sales, resulting in a net spend of £17.5. In the same time, Celtic, who have won six consecutive trophies and seven consecutive league titles, spend more but sold far more, with a net spend of £9.7m. Aberdeen, who finished above Rangers last season and are a more appropriate comparison, have spent less than £1m on their squad.

      The club is heavily dependent on matchday revenue, as is the case for most Scottish clubs, with fans through the turnstiles contributing 70% of the club’s income. (For comparison, Bournemouth, the club with the lowest turnover in the English Premier League, derive just 4% of their income from matchday revenue, due to the TV money present in England). This cash is consistent - fans continued to come to games in the fourth tier - and can be supplemented by new revenue streams from merchandise in 2018/19 - although Rangers only managed to get replica strips onto the shelves long after the season had started thanks to a dispute with Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

      The bottom line of the bottom line is that Rangers have consistently lost money since their reconstitution after liquidation in 2012, and while they have taken steps to improve the stadium and the team, they are some distance away from turning a profit, let alone a profit that would see the club make any impact on their debts. A further £4.6 million will need to be raised by the end of this season in order for the club to continue to meet its debt obligations.

      "It was inevitable, given our dire starting position, that vast amounts of money would have to be spent on rebuilding our facilities and the various departments within them,” said Rangers chairman Dave King in the statement released during the Kilmarnock game. "These costs are reflected in the figures but it is important to highlight that the last financial year saw us normalize our financial affairs to the extent we no longer face questions about our financial strength when dealing with suppliers, other clubs and financial institutions.”

      The bad news in the accounts is something that might worry fans, but more worrying still might be the obfuscatory nature of their announcement. Rarely is good news released in such a manner. Supporters of the Ibrox club will get a chance to question Dave King and the directors at the club’s AGM on Tuesday, November 27.

      Naturally, given the time at which the accounts were released, few media outlets in Scotland have run big on the news that the country’s second most important club is hemorrhaging money. The bread and butter of football journalism in Scotland is, of course, football, and with a full programme of league fixtures including an eventful Edinburgh derby to cover, the dry business of sifting through Rangers’ accounts was never likely to feature on the back pages. The story did appear low down on the websites of the Daily Record and The Scottish Sun, but one had to seek it out and it was presented with no analysis beyond the quotes from Dave King that appeared in the club statement. On Rangers fan media, the losses were hardly discussed: which was, of course, exactly the intention of Rangers when they released it at the time they did.

      The recent slump in performances, the bells and whistles of day-to-day life as a football fan and the ongoing media circus around celebrity manager Steven Gerrard are all topics that occupy both media and fans more than the admittedly dry details of profit and loss. But as the Annual Report goes basically unmentioned, so the same conditions that created the club’s problems in 2012 are reincarnated. Back then, there was a culture among many in the Scottish media that was known as “succulent lambism” - a sycophancy towards Rangers that stemmed from a knowledge that positive stories about the club sold papers better than anything else.

      The “succulent lamb” refers to a column by Jim Traynor, then a Daily Record journalist, who was invited to dinner with the then Rangers owner, Sir David Murray. Traynor was lampooned for producing content that appeased the Rangers owners and deflected attention from the fact that then, as now, the club was losing money hand over fist. When the club went bust in 2012, many journalists held their hands up and admitted that they had not done their jobs regarding accurate reporting of financial issues at Rangers. Jim Traynor, however, was made Director of Communications at the new Rangers in December 2012, a position he still holds.

      “I think the Scottish mainstream media admits that in 2012 it was woefully ill-prepared,” says Roger Mitchell, who ran the Scottish Premiership between 1998 and 2002. “Now there is no excuse. Do your homework guys. Or don’t dare complain your industry is dying. The Rangers financial position is worthy of transparent debate. Their fans deserve it. How many of them say they didn’t know what was going on under Murray?”

      “I think that line is actually disingenuous and people in life see what they want to see. Well, someone needs to educate them really well this time because it is going the same way. Back then there were so many compliant and malleable hacks fighting for favor via sycophancy in the court of Sir David. Surely we are better now.”

      In happier news for Gers supporters, the club can expect their numbers to improve slightly for this season: they are in the Europa League Group Stages, which brings in increased television money and matchday revenue from additional home games. Celtic are also in the same stage of the same competition, so competitively they will gain nothing, but that £14m might not be so large next year. So long as their backers are willing to sustain such losses, a repeat of 2012 will not be on the cards.

      The principal problem remains a gap between the expectations of their supporters - to compete with Celtic and win the Scottish Premiership - and the reality, which is that in the vast majority of football leagues, most of the time the team with the most money wins and Celtic are simply on a different financial plane. A simple, gradual increase in profitability could see the club return to former glories, but based on these accounts, that is a long way off for Rangers.


      This is the sort of article you hope someone in the Scottish press would write but you know they never will. Good analysis, incisive and the truth about Rangers (both the old and the new) laid bare. It appeared in Forbes online.
     
    #8905
  6. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    An article written for the Observer Magazine, seven years ago ...

    "Douglas Kilpatrick is a lifelong Rangers aficionado and is uncomfortable with the easy assumptions about the opprobrium that surrounds the Celtic manager. "To some in my tradition, Lennon represents the sum of all fears, and religious prejudice on its own does not explain all of this," says Kilpatrick. "The influence and sense of entitlement which has sustained many working-class and middle-class Protestants have declined in the last decade or so. Some Scots just can't cope with this all at once and their response is suitably atavistic. But it will pass. There is too much healthy respect and goodwill between the majority on either side for it not to."


    Will it?



    https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/sep/17/football-why-kill-neil-lennon?CMP=share_btn_tw
     
    #8906
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2018
  7. DevAdvocate

    DevAdvocate Gigging bassist

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    <laugh> If only eh?
     
    #8907
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  8. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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  9. Strange Nipples ST

    Strange Nipples ST Well-Known Member

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    Financial results show that Rangers are back on track

    By Bill McLoughlin
    Posted on November 6, 2018

    Although we’re not quite halfway through the seasons, it’s not far-fetched to say that Steven Gerrard has completely transformed Rangers this year (his win ratio is worse than Pedro's)

    After years of Celtic dominance, it now looks as though The Gers will be able to compete with their arch-rivals (this view's based on nothing but blind optimism). While winning a title might be too early this season, in the next few years Rangers should be back at the top of the table and competing for as much silverware as possible.

    In Gerrard, they have a new, young and hungry manager who has started to embed a playing style at the club and looks as though he’s made some superb signings over the summer, namely loanees Ryan Kent and Lassana Coulibaly.


    After four crippling years in the lower divisions, it was always going to take time for Rangers to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership. Financially, Rangers can’t compete with Celtic but according to their latest financial results, The Gers are in a much better place than before. <laugh>


    THE BREAKDOWN

    Rangers announced losses of more than £14 million between June 2017 and 2018 (yes, much better place than before). On the other hand, their revenue has grown by 50% to £32.7 million although that is nothing in comparison to Celtic’s revenue for the past year which was registered at £101.6 million (and there's little room for financial improvement unless Rangers qualify for the CL).

    Moreover, Rangers’ revenue over the last six seasons is almost £300 million less than their city rivals. While the financial disparity looks pretty bleak, with Rangers back in Europe and competing at the top of the table, their financial position should strengthen over the next few years as more revenue begins to come in (yes, let's ignore the millions going out the door paying wages, transfer fees, legal fees etc.)

    https://www.footballtransfertavern....-results-show-that-rangers-are-back-on-track/


    Deluded isn't a strong enough word for this loony!
     
    #8909
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  10. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    Hmmm - granted a hearing, even though there is no mechanism to overturn a (second) yellow card ... should be interesting to see the result.

    I suspect he got the 2nd yellow for being 'over-exuberant' in celebrating the 2nd goal, his actions of which he appears to admit & which is why both the goalkeeper & defender were annoyed by him - the linesman, presumably, informed Collum about it, though, of course, Collum would have seen it anyway, given (as we all know), he has eyes in the back of his head ...


    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-appeal-red-card-shown-13546474 guy
     
    #8910
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2018

  11. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    #8911
  12. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    #8912
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  13. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    Oh no, not tonight again.
    Daniel Charlie Brown Candeias!

     
    #8913
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  14. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    #8914
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2018
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  15. Mind The Duck

    Mind The Duck Well-Known Member

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    Miss this thread
     
    #8915
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  16. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    Start posting then?
     
    #8916
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  17. EspaniaCelt

    EspaniaCelt Well-Known Member

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    Hmmm, with Celtic's goal difference being 7 better, wonder what rules the BBC are hoping will be applied ....

    "Celtic moved three points clear after defeating Aberdeen 4-3 at Pittodrie and they will remain top going into the winter break unless Rangers win by four goals or more."


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46689017
     
    #8917
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2018
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  18. DevAdvocate

    DevAdvocate Gigging bassist

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    This is from The Sun's report on yesterday's game. It gave me a laugh.

    McGinn then became the first player into the book for a reckless, high challenge on Christie 25 yards from goal. The ex-Don went down writhing in pain and that convinced Collum to get his cards out and flash a yellow, although Celtic demands for a red infuriated the Dons players.


    But just as Celtic looked like seeing it out, Lustig conceded a senseless penalty kick by shoving Shinnie inside the box as he broke through.
    Again Collum got the decision spot on and with May off for James Wilson following Celtic’s second goal, Cosgrove stepped up to slam this one beyond Gordon.
     
    #8918
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  19. DevAdvocate

    DevAdvocate Gigging bassist

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    I mentioned this the other day on GC, no one listened.

    upload_2019-1-6_22-12-18.png
     
    #8919
  20. Strange Nipples ST

    Strange Nipples ST Well-Known Member

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    Gerrard and Rangers (Traynor) spend the season berating referees in interviews and press releases and nothing's said or done. Celtic release one statement and the SFA and Referees' Union feel the need to release press releases and say something needs to be done to protect referees.


    Willie Collum hasn't refereed a hun game since Sevco felt the need to raise a complaint about his performance. Let's see if we see a similar situation with John Beaton and Celtic.
     
    #8920
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