Off Topic Pointless point-scoring thread

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Mike Ashley goes to WAR with the Rangers board and demands: Give me my £5m loan back NOW

NEWCASTLE owner also requests ANOTHER general meeting and asks for a full explanation into stock market delisting as he issues Ibrox chiefs with an ultimatum.

MIKE ASHLEY has turned his guns on the new Rangers regime by requisitioning a general meeting and asking for his £5m loan to be repaid in full.

Record Sport can reveal the Sports Direct tycoon made the highly aggressive move one week AFTER the Ibrox club’s interim chairman Paul Murray and director John Gilligan travelled south to open ‘peace talks’ at his Shirebrook HQ in Derbyshire - but five days BEFORE cops raided the premises as part of a probe into the commercial activities of former owners Craig Whyte and Charles Green.

In the letter, which is dated April 29, Ashley demands to know the ‘precise details’ surrounding the recent delisting of the club from the AIM Stock Exchange, a move which was triggered when Dave King teamed up with other high profile shareholders to successfully remove Derek Llambias and Derek Leach from the boardroom.

He also proposes resolutions which if voted through, would force the new regime to hand back a £5 million crisis loan which was agreed between Ashley, Llambias and Leach in January.

In exchange for the cash Ashley will hand back security over all the Rangers crests and badges, the club’s Murray Park training ground and Albion Street car park and the Edmiston House facility.

Record Sport can also reveal that Ashley had a negative security clause written into the deal struck with the previous board, which means Rangers cannot use security of Ibrox stadium in order to raise funds with any third parties.

The letter was sent two weeks ago, but Ashley has been complaining that he is still awaiting a response.

A source close to Ashley said last night: “This is a message to Dave King and his associates to put up or shut up. The board and the fans own more than half of the Rangers shares, so they have the power to vote this through - if they have the money.

“All they have to do is find the £5 million that he gave them in January and he will release security on the various brands, Murray Park, the car park and Edmiston House.

The GASL's kids were dreading this day :(
 
**** um.

If it was me I'd wait to the very last moment to pay him. Hes a bawbag and that doesn't change if hes involved or not involved with rangers.

Fat, slimy, scummy ****.
 
P.S.They even managed to hijack the whole referendum thing by jumping on to the Yes campaign.It became their party line.

Did Celtic even comment on the referendum?

I can't remember seeing anything and I'm sure it would have been big news if they had.


I know many of our fans voted that way too, but i am not having a go at any individual's views on that, but, those ****s united, for a cause that had much world wide sympathy.They chose the side that was perceived as the 'victims', yet again!

I didn't even know I was a victim :emoticon-0106-cryin
 
Gary Ralston (Daily Record) on the Succulent Lamb already.

DAVE KING arrived at Ibrox fit and proper this morning and made the Rangers dealings with Sports Direct a priority for his new regime. They were hit with a five grand penalty for failing to “behave towards the SFA and other members with the utmost good faith” and an additional £500 for issues related to dual ownership by the Newcastle owner. Ironically, in the bigger picture, the payment of the fine strengthens King’s hand as he takes full control of issues relating to the complex contracts negotiated between Sports Direct and the previous Blue Room regime. Don’t be surprised if Ashley is challenged in the coming months over the validity and legality of his Rangers contracts like he has never been challenged before.

Who knows, rather than being in hock to the Cockney billionaire to the tune of £5million, Rangers just might argue he actually owes them, opening up the likelihood of a long court battle, from which King will not flinch. After all, he spent 12 years staring down the South African tax authorities before cutting a deal in 2013 that saw him ultimately convicted of 41 tax convictions, forking out more than £44m in a deal he later described as “a favourable settlement”.

No matter, Ashley will not see his £5m any time soon as King is determined to expose deals he already believe throw up more questions than answers.

The ongoing battles with Ashley will form a key part of the boardroom agenda in the short term but there are other even more pressing challenges to confront. Rangers will know, maybe even as soon as Saturday afternoon,<confused> in which league they will be playing next season and a complete overhaul of the football department at Murray Park is on the cards over the summer, no matter what.

Stuart McCall may yet survive and although King has not sanctioned an approach to any other managers at this stage, he knows the importance of the issue, not least with season tickets due for renewal. Of course, this must all be funded and although a new rights issue will be launched in time, it is more of a medium term project, with immediate financing from King and his supporters most likely on a debt-for-equity basis.

The structure behind the scenes at Ibrox also needs to be addressed with a strong executive management team likely to be put in place in the coming weeks, with key positions such as chief executive, finance director, commercial and operations experts appointed. The current Rangers board is also politically lightweight. It would come as no surprise if King beefs up his team with more blue chip appointments, perhaps outsiders with financial and business acumen to add to the fans already in place.

Of course, the fallout continues from the decision of the eight-man SFA board to grant King fit and proper status, which was always at their discretion, even if he did not pass two key criteria on paper.

King was on the board when Craig Whyte wreaked financial havoc at Rangers and his long-running issues with the tax man could also have seen him fall foul of Hampden powerbrokers such as Peter Lawwell at Celtic and Rod Petrie at Hibs. King argued forcibly he has provided key information into the ongoing police investigation into the takeover of Rangers by Whyte. He also produced testimonies from the Court of Session, SARS, his bankers and other government agencies in support of his application.

Indeed, most of King’s business is done with the South African government and if he was so disgraced in his adopted homeland they would be unlikely to grant him the bulk of his work with Micromega Holdings, which oversees areas such as IT, procurement, recruitment and financial services.

King has been the subject of such intense scrutiny, including SFA lawyers who have examined with a microscope the veracity and competence of his claims to be appointed a Rangers director.
(Bullshit). The level of their scrutiny was unprecedented - and rightly so - but he passed every examination set. (More Bullshit)

King will no doubt look on with interest in seasons to come and see if others who are willing to invest in Scottish football are subject to the same vigorous level of investigation. The SFA have set a benchmark in their dealings with King. They will surely show consistency in similar dealings in future.



Looking forward to reading more ****e like this in the next few days. <doh>
 
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Who knows, rather than being in hock to the Cockney billionaire to the tune of £5million, Rangers just might argue he actually owes them, opening up the likelihood of a long court battle, from which King will not flinch. After all, he spent 12 years staring down the South African tax authorities before cutting a deal in 2013 that saw him ultimately convicted of 41 tax convictions, forking out more than £44m in a deal he later described as “a favourable settlement”.

<laugh> Making him sound like a hero for being a criminal.
 
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