Look back and laugh

Ken Gallacher, The Herald 15 April 1996
Long, hot summer of superstar signings

THERE were those last week who tended to play down the notion that Gianluca Vialli could be tempted from Juventus to join Rangers. Now these doubters will have to reassess their thinking to come into line with football's new order. Rangers have done that, ahead of the game as they usually are when entrepreneurial skills are called into play, and they have held talks with the Italian, and they will not stop there.

In this potentially troublesome post-Bosman era, the Ibrox chairman, David Murray, is clearly setting out his stall. He senses the opportunity to add some new, glamorous, glittering names to those already at Ibrox, and at the same time impress upon the rest of European football that his ambitions for Rangers are without limit. If Murray and his manager, Walter Smith, can put together a truly international team at Ibrox, they could perhaps force their way towards a place in the elite grouping which dominates the money-spinning Champions' League. That is why a player of Vialli's stature assumed enormous importance for Murray and Rangers. Last season, Paul Gascoigne heightened the Ibrox profile in England when the Champions' League games took place. Vialli would do the same in his own country as Brian Laudrup and Erik Bo Andersen will do in Denmark.

Therefore a gamble of £6m spread over a three-year period could provide a massive payoff for Rangers. Vialli cost Juventus £12m when they signed him from Sampdoria four years ago. Now, thanks to the Jean-Marc Bosman case, he will cost nothing. In fact, the budget which Murray hands manager Smith each close season will not be used on transfer fees this summer but on securing top players and having them under contract for as lengthy a period as possible. In essence, the six or seven million pounds which was spent last summer bringing Gascoigne and Oleg Salenko to Glasgow could profitably land Rangers three or four players. Stars will be chosen from around Europe to stress the international quality of the Glasgow club. Smith has maintained that the essential heart of the team will remain Scottish but, at this moment, few of our native-born artisans attract attention from around the world.

Players such as Vialli do, and while Rangers await his reply to their offer, Murray has promised that if that deal does not stand up, another one will be put in place. I do not doubt that. Murray is once more raising the ante, just as he has done on a regular basis since taking over the reins at Rangers. His transfer fees over the past few years have beaten those of any other Scottish club. The salaries paid at Ibrox dwarf others in the premier division. Now he is pushing these salary limits even further, encouraged so to do by the abolition of the transfer fee. It is a bold initiative and one which, if successful, will make Rangers even more powerful next season. And the season after that, and on and on and on as the wealthiest club in the country simply becomes stronger and stronger. At the moment the target is a bigger share of the cash on offer in the Champions' League, and a team with top players from a clutch of countries can help provide that.

In the future the target is surely a place in any European League which seems certain to be formed. That may be several years away, but by that time Murray will have added to his international roster of stars and Rangers' reputation will have been established at a continental level.That is what the present multi-million pounds negotiations are about. The pay-off Rangers hope for is that spot among Europe's finest - in the meantime, their support will be entertained by some of the biggest names in the game. How the rest of the clubs in Scotland keep up is another matter and one which will no doubt be discussed in more than a few boardrooms over what will be a long, hot summer of superstar signings.

 

James Traynor, Daily Record, 2 November 1996

£80m TO SPEND
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Kenny will be given a roving role to go out and recommend - and try to attract - the best."We're not talking about young or middle of the road players - we're talking the VERY best. Dalglish will be given an open chequebook to make sure the big names are made an offer they can't refuse. Murray knows the name of King Kenny will not only help capture top stars, but will increase interest from potential investors. That Dream Team in Full Ajax attackers PATRICK KLUIVERT and MARC OVERMARS would immediately create a £15 million hole in the Ibrox funds - but would no longer be an impossible prospect.Paris St Germain's brilliant Brazilian RAI would also come into the equation and players like JURGEN KLINSMANN and PAOLO MALDINI would become targets. ​

Dalglish's brilliant record in England could prompt moves for ERIC CANTONA and ROBBIE FOWLER. Top agents like Edinburgh's Jake Duncan reckons even Barcelona's RONALDO would not be out of Dalglish's reach. If Rangers are making millions then the sky is the limit.​

 

Sunday Herald, 13 July 1999 KEN GALLACHER
David Murray reveals his ambitions for the Ibrox club

Rangers have won 19 trophies during your time as chairman, does that bring you a great
deal of personal satisfaction?

Murray: I'm not interested in personal glory. After the cup final - which I left five minutes
early, by the way - I went back through to Edinburgh to have dinner with friends. I didn't
even go to the celebration party. That was for the players. I only join them when they
lose and they don't do that too often, I am glad to say.

There has been a wage explosion following Bosman. Do you see danger signs for clubs in
this?

Murray: Yes. Some of them will go bust. I don't say that about the top teams, but
the middle-of-the-road teams in England - the ones who are trying to keep up
by using television money - will find themselves in trouble.I don't know where
some of the medium-sized clubs get the money to pay the kind of wages they
are currently paying to players.I don't see it happening here in Scotland but there is a
problem in the south. The big clubs will survive - they will always survive - but the others
tucked in just below them could be in serious bother.
Something has got to give - and something will.

 

The Herald, May 2000
KEN GALLACHER​

Murray's Blueprint
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Just as promised, Rangers are moving on to another level from the rest of Scottishfootball, as chairman David Murray announced a new investment of £53m for the Ibroxclub, with a further massive cash boost soon to follow. The eventual cash injection couldsoar as high as £80m as Murray guides the club into what he believes will be a new,golden era for the Scottish champions. The money involved, the biggest financial boostfor any Scottish football club, will enable them to move into Europe's elite over the nextfew years. Yesterday, however, Murray maintained, as always, that he will not turn hisback on Scottish football to play in any other league, and that while he remains in chargeof the club, he will retain a responsibility to the domestic game."It is clear from this latest move, however, that the Glasgow giants are setting an agendathat no other Scottish club can match - and that appears to include their Old Firm rivals,Celtic, who are trailing by 15 points in the Premier League championship and are nowlooking at a financial gap which the Parkhead club might not be able to bridge. Therehave been hints around Glasgow that Celtic could be ready to attempt a share flotation oftheir own, but it would seem unlikely they would be able to match the financial clout thatMurray has put together. The Ibrox chairman promised his shareholders good news and amore prudent financial strategy at the last annual meeting of the club. He has nowdelivered this by taking on board several very heavy financial hitters, South AfricanbasedDavid King is worth around £300m - £20m of which he is investing in the club hefollowed as a young man in Glasgow."
​

The Ibrox chairman has spent several months and many sleepless nights piecing togetherthe plans which will eliminate Rangers' debt, currently sitting at around £40m, providefinance for the new training centre and the soccer academy which will be housed there,and still allow cash to invest in new players. He said: 'I want to make it clear from theoutset that while our small shareholders, our supporters who have an interest in the club,will have the opportunity to invest again if they want, there is no pressure on them to doso. The bulk of the rights issue is being taken up by myself and David King and someother smaller investors, including Alastair Johnston, who is a long-time Rangers'​

supporter.'

 

Iain Dey, The Scotsman 13 December 2002​

'Scottish football is bust' says Murray
​

"Football is bust," Murray said. "Rangers and Celtic will survive because they're brands. I've got a 50million pounds debt at Rangers. But we can service that, and we can pay that back because we've got a stadium, we've got a training ground, we've got players. But at other clubs which have got debts, you wonder how that can ever be repaid. There's no assets. "Rangers' stadium and players could be worth £100-£150million depending on what day of the week it is and how you want to value it. That's the business."​

 

James Doherty, The Scotsman 24 March 2004​

Ibrox takes a gamble on casino to restore fortunes
​

"RANGERS Football Club has unveiled an ambitious £120 million plan to transform Ibrox and the surrounding area in Govan into an entertainment complex complete with casino. The Scottish champions confirmed the development will include a casino, private flats, a community sports facility, a health care centre and hotel and conference facilities. The club chairman, John McClelland, said the proposals, which have been drafted with Glasgow City Council, should generate substantial profits for the club and create more than 2,000 jobs. The entertainment complex, in partnership with the US-company Las​

Vegas Sands Inc, is worth an estimated £80 million alone."

 

Stephen Halliday, The Scotsman 8 October 2004​

Murray Silences Ibrox critics
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DAVID MURRAY yesterday produced arguably the most polished performance witnessed at Ibrox so far this season when he cruised unscathed through his first Rangers annual general meeting as chairman for three years. Despite providing no specific detail of how he intends to fulfil his recent pledge to eradicate the club's £74million debt within the next year, Murray was afforded a largely rapturous welcome back to the front line of the Rangers command structure by an audience of around 1,500 shareholders.
The proposed rights issue, which Murray hopes will raise £57million for the club and which he will personally underwrite through his Murray International Holdings Limited company, was approved unanimously and will be undertaken within the next twomonths."My intention is to wipe out the club's debt completely within the next 12 months," said Murray, whose recent £8.7million acquisition of ENIC's shares in Rangers took his controlling interest in the club to 86.3 per cent. "I'm prepared to take my share of the blame [for the debt] but I have plans and schemes in place which hopefully will alleviate the problem."
There were also echoes of Murray's Old Firm one-upmanship of old as he stated Rangers' intention to earn £10million a year from a new kit deal, double the amount Celtic announced when striking their recent contract with Nike. Rangers are in talks with two companies to replace current kit suppliers Diadora.
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Sep 22 2008 Traynor

Isn't There Enough In The World To Worry About Without Beating Ourselves Up Over Line In A Song?

WHAT? You are not offended by the Famine Song? Sorry,but you are a racist.

If your anger doesn't simmer at the very sound of this ditty then you, my friend, are as bad as the people singing it.

You, too, are tainted by a hatred of Irish Catholics.

That's the logic applied to this little number being belted out by some Rangers fans.

And you will detest it.

You will abhor it. You will write to your MSPs, MPs, UEFA, FIFA, the EU and the Vatican.

This is the most divisive, anti-social and downright malicious trend to be visited upon us yet.

God Almighty, what next?

Falkirk can't be called the Bairns because it might encourage *****philes to buy season tickets.

Dundee United shall no longer be known as the Arabs in case it inflames problems in the Middle East.

Hibernian's ground will have to be renamed so that other religions are not offended.

Queen of the South can't be called Queens because Republicans and gays will be upset.

Dumbarton must have a complete name change as it could be deemed derogatory to people of limited intelligence.

And that brings us back to the offenders and the offended.

There are old folk among us who might freeze to death this winter because we are all being held to ransom by the power companies.

There are young families who will lose their homes because greedy bankers and lenders were allowed to vandalise the global financial system.

And depending on where you live or how much you have saved you might die because some authorities will not pay for life-saving medication.

These are outrageous. They are national disgraces and should shame every one of us.

So please, don't tell me a line in a song about the decade-long potato famine that made people flee Ireland in their tens of thousands in the middle of the 19th century is what we should be beating ourselves up about. The Great Famine was aterrible time and it was a disgrace that so many people were allowedto starve to death or die from related diseases but surely we have more going on around us today which demands such levels of disgust.

You know what, a great many of us are sick and tired of the ridiculous behaviour of groups of Old Firm fans, who aren't even interested in the game any more.

The only points they seek are the ones they believe they collect every time they run clyping to a politician.

The line that seems to have offended a number of Celtic fans is something like: "The famine is over, why don't you go home?"

It's supposed to have enraged one fan so much he put in a complaint that had Irish diplomats raise concerns with the Scottish government.

Unbelievable, but if any politician even attempts to tell Rangers' fans to drop it we'll be entering into dangerous times that will threaten our right to free speech. This line is not inciting violence against anyoneand it isn't celebrating the fact one million people died because of potato blight in the 1840s.

If anything the line is mocking the often cloyingly sentimental longing of Celtic fans for the old country and if you accept that's all it is then it might even border on humorous.

Actually,if some top comedian,a Billy Connolly or a Frankie Boyle had said something similar everybody would have been slapping their thighs.

So when did the gallows humour of the terracing, which for decades has made us all smile by cutting right through pomposity and politically-correct boundaries become such a terrible thing?

Look, if Celtic and their fans wish to hang on to and protect their Irish heritage to the point where it actually seems mawkish that is absolutely fine. No one has any right to insist they celebrate their Scottishness instead and, of course, that should mean they have no right to impose their will on others.

And why is it a shock to them that Rangers fans will react in some way? Is it really surprising the other lot see this Irishness as anti-British?

If only we could all just be Scottish and proud, too. Like many Scots I have fairly strong Irish roots but Ireland isn't my country and never will be.

I'm sorry if that insults anyone but I am not offended by someone who doesn't share my view or does not believe that one day we will be a thoroughly decent, modern and thriving nation.

Somehow I cannot see why this line should offend. And don't start sloshing in that bilge about how big a race crime it would be if people were singing our immigrant communities should go home because the troubles have subsided in their own countries. There are some who believe they shouldn't be here in the first place and that we should never allow in asylum seekers but these people are probably racist.

However, if any of these groups took to gathering regularly in sporting arenas to sing and long for their homelands and the old ways they, too, might be mocked.

But it wouldn't necessarily be racist. It's called freedom of speech. It is a fundamental right that must be protected.

We don't all have to support what is said but we should back the right to say it, provided it is not overtly racist, sectarian or likely to incite violence.

There is a piousness about some Celtic fans and it's as if this support can do no wrong.

They seem to have adopted a holierthan-thou attitude yet I have not heard one person who claims to be upset by that Famine Song line speaking out against those who sing in support of the IRA or of Nacho Novo catching a bullet.

Neither have they spoken out about the twisted people who indulge in the most disgusting and horrible chat on fans'message boards.

Those are what I call offensive but even so I would rather have that than live in a place where we are not allowed to open our mouths.

In retaliation to the Novo threats Rangers fans contacted Spanish authorities and that was just as bizarre as the Celtic fan's complaint to an Irish politician about a stupid song.

Strathclyde Police should have dealt with the threats to Novo because they were of a violent nature and those Celtic fans on their imaginary moral high ground should have been more alarmed at that behaviour than anything else.

So, to all those, of any religion or race, who think Scotland is such a bad, twisted place full of bigots and racists there is only one thing to say.

Go.

Go on, just gather up your prejudices, take your suspicions and pack your loathing of Scotland.

Go find a better place to live and leave us to get on with the job of making something good of this country.

 

The SunAndy Devlin, 15 June 2005​

007 sewed up Hem
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DAVID MURRAY has revealed how James Bond star Sean Connery helped him lure Brahim Hemdani to Rangers. The Ibrox supremo roped in his close pal 007 as the Marseille captain swithered between Gers and German aces Bayer Leverkusen. Murray set up an airport meeting between the 27-year-old French-Algerian stopper, left, and Connery. The veteran actor convinced Hemdani to head for the SPL champs on a lucrative fouryear-deal. Murray said: "I enlisted Sean's help to sell Scotland to Brahim. Leverkusen were chasing him too and I arranged for Sean to meet him at Cannes airport to help sell Scotland to him. Brahim then flew over and had a good look round and I'm delighted he agreed to sign."​

 

The Herald

Darryl Broadfoot, 29 July 2005​

BARGAIN HUNT ALEX McLEISH'S CANNY EXPLOITATION OF THE TRANSFER MARKET HAS MADE RANGERS TITLE FAVOURITES​

THIS summer's shopping has cemented Alex McLeish's reputation as one of British football's most prolific and prudent Bosman customers. With the possible exception of Sam Allardyce at cosmopolitan Bolton Wanderers, few have negotiated the market as adeptly as the Rangers manager.Rangers begin the Bank of Scotland Premier League season as favourites for the first time under McLeish's stewardship and he has wasted little time equipping his squad for such heightened expectation. Brahim Hemdani, Jose-Karl PierreFanfan and Ian Murray, established defenders at Marseille, Paris SaintGermain and Hibernian respectively, have galvanised the club for a title defence and improved challenge in the ultimate proving ground, the Champions League. With SPL transfer budgets now regarded as a luxury, McLeish has again painstakingly pored over the Bosman directory and been rewarded for his diligence. Indeed, this season's Rangers starting XI could comprise seven players recruited for free. Ronald Waterreus, should he retain his place despite the return of Stefan Klos, Marvin Andrews, PierreFanfan, Murray, Alex Rae, Hemdani and Dado Prso are all ideal examples of McLeish's astute policy.

>>>>>> Celtic win the league by 20 points.........
[COLOR=#6b6867][/COLOR]​

 

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I just found this Dundee Courier article from last week.

Check the cheeky bastards' headline

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/sport/f...hare-of-ibrox-for-rangers-semi-final-1.274025

 

That's one of the best things to come out of the whole administration/liquidation debacle: the press no longer have that fear over Rangers like they did during Murray's days. Of course, there are still the usual lickspittles writing their moonbeams pish but the majority of sports writers are no longer of the Jim Traynor variety.

 

Despite all the moonbeamery coming from King the one thing about him is he is about the only one who would have the clout with the fans to be able to rid them of McCoist as a " manager ". That would make me sad as the hapless Alister is always good for a laugh.

 

a look at the future?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/.../rangers-manager-ally-mccoist-defends-3295114

 

Mccoist keeps saying the financial side has got nothing to do with him , when Wallace suggested the players take a pay cut , Mccoist was the first to say no chance .

 

"The supporters have done the right thing and supported the club for well over 140 years and that won't change."



He's like a stuck record.