Warning from Blue Knights comes home to roost

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o Newco Rangers have £1.2m in the bank and the courts have just arrested £620k, leaving circa £600k available.  In early September.  Football clubs have their cash high water mark in June, after season ticket money arrives, with the low-point coming the month before, so is liquidation just around the corner?  Not necessarily.

The club has a couple of significant problems: it’s short of money and has significant monthly outgoings, but it also has assets, and may have buyers for those assets.

Murray Park is an outrageous folly and should be sold immediately.  Protests to secure it have been acts of self-harm; swallow your pride and sell.  This is a football club in acute danger, pretentions of grandeur, and Murray Park is exactly that, should be shed immediately.  Albion car park and the Edmiston House office building are superfluous property assets and could be sold without stopping football operations.

Mike Ashley has an asset Newco want back – stadium naming rights.  He could repatriate these rights as a sweetener in a deal to buy Murray Park, Albion and Edmiston.  Newco could leaseback the training ground, Sports Direct would be able to build a stonking big tracksuit shop on the Albion site and the club could boast to fans that they negotiated back Ibrox naming rights.

This might sound like a bitter pill but it will keep the lights on a little longer, makes irrefutable sense and is relatively painless.  The original Rangers existed for over a century without Murray Park, one of Scotland’s best run topflight football clubs’ Motherwell, train on a school sports field, Newco Rangers could do the same.  A little humility right now would be good for them.

There remains a problem: cumulatively, these assets are unlikely to be worth more than the £4m the club hope to raise in their proposed (not underwritten) share issue.  This is still not enough to see them through the season.  Expenditure for the last season accounts are available, 2012-13, averaged close to £3m per month.  The club will need close to £20m between now and season ticket renewal time.

Creditors must be paid or the club will go into administration.  To pay creditors, without sufficient income or credit, more assets must be sold, specifically Ibrox.

If they go into administration before selling Ibrox, don’t expect events to follow a similar path to the one Duff & Phelps took when administering Oldco Rangers.  Duff & Phelps were appointed by a liquidation specialist with a specific remit.  They even tried to sign a player.  Newco in administration would follow a more conventional route: redundancies would take place and assets would be sold to pay creditors.

Ibrox is the only significant asset administrators would have to sell.  It could generate enough to pay creditors in full and get the club through to the end of the season.  Finding a buyer would be the main challenge, but as we all now know, the club can stand or fall, but whoever controls Ibrox can continue to get a rental return from successor club.

An administrator could dismiss the manager and some other highly paid staff, reducing costs to a more manageable level, and pay ordinary creditors in full.

Newco Rangers need to finish in the top four to be in with a chance of promotion, which would be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one with the right manager in place.  They could be a top flight club next season.

This is not how fans wanted the Newco to progress but after they were unable to raise more than the £5.5m Charles Green’s consortium put on the table to buy Rangers assets, the future was mapped out.

Costs for police, insurance, electricity, IT, office staff, security and the million other items needed by a football club who occasionally host 50,000 people will be no less than circa £17m p.a – before you employ a footballer.

Newco’s income could rise from the £19m they earned in season 2012-13 (though possibly not this season), but there’s just not enough money to run a football team.  Scottish Premiership football would be a chastening experience, the levels of austerity required going forward would be draconian.

Fans can protest that they are watching the same old club all they like, but it’s not going to look anything like the Rangers you or I have ever known – and I knew them under John Greig.  And here’s the nub, the most optimistic financial projections are based on Newco selling the same number of tickets Oldco sold.  Would a Newco competing alongside St Mirren and Kilmarnock sell any more than the 23,000 season tickets they’ve sold this year?

The long-term financial fundamentals remain unchanged.  In 2012 the Blue Knights concluded there was no viable future for football at Ibrox if Rangers were liquidated.  Two years later all the evidence reaffirms that position.  This is a dead multi-club franchise.

Looking forward to the Maestro Match tomorrow.  See you there.

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  1. In the event of a Yes vote I would recommend that you should think about moving your savings to an English based bank to avoid the speculation that will take place during, at least 2 years of negotiations on Currency and Banking arrangements.

     

    After a Yes vote.

     

    speculators will be hovering about looking to make a kill on share values and currency exchanges.

     

    If you have a private pension are your investments going to be affected by a Yes vote?

     

    A scare story? Nah just my opinion.

     

    Say No to a Dominion of Scotland

     

     

    HH

  2. ….PFayr supports WeeOscar, I tried to debate with BillyBhoy05 previously on some of his posts which were not always accurate such as fictitious comments from Andy Murray and had no response, also cannot remember many Celtic related posts from him, hence my opinion, if wrong I apologise.

  3. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    There is a fecking bluebottle buzzing about my room, really doing my head in but not as much as cqn…

     

    nurse, pass the opiates…

  4. BCW

     

    I agree,earlier on I posted about a young lad in Germany tonight watching Scotland,

     

    it was literally the boys dying wish as he has terminal cancer and will be given no more treatment,

     

    I received about 8 responses offering prayers and thoughts,had I made a scathing comment on the referendum one way or the other I would have been inundated,

     

    I always thought this was somewhere to turn to for solace and compassion,maybe come the 19th it will be

  5. Celticrollercoaster supporting Shay,our bhoy wonder along the way on

    CultsBhoy

     

     

     

    22:37 on 7 September, 2014

     

     

    What got me re WGS was when TB passed away.

     

     

    He is a fine man and I will follow him.

     

     

    I hope he does Scotland proud!

     

     

    HH

     

     

    CRC

  6. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    saltires en sevilla

     

     

    22:40 on 7 September, 2014

     

    CRC

     

     

    Howdy

     

     

    I remember getting 1.20 oul’ Punts to sterling back in the day..

     

    ————–

     

     

    The oul’ Punts made a great noise when you slapped them down on the bar to pay for your stout! Felt like Sean T’ornton, so I did :-)

     

     

    HH

     

    BGFC

     

     

    QuietManCSC

  7. Anyhoos, who’s looking forward to going back to our bestest stadium in the whole wide wurld next sat. Aaaaam desperate to get back and see our new bhoys stuff the shee……. Cannie say that, We lamb them every winter. Aberdeen. KTF.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  8. mayanman In the event of a Yes vote I would recommend that you should think about moving your savings to an English based bank,

     

     

    Sorry this is rubbish what about Santander the Spanish bank is this safer than a Scottish bank and could you list the Scottish banks which are unsafe.

  9. 16 roads - Celtic über alles... on

    saint stivs

     

     

    22:35 on 7 September, 2014

     

     

    —————————————–

     

     

    Maybe not, bet ye a pound to a penny that he was the maddest goalkeeper of his generation though.

     

     

    Or that other looper, played for Newcastle and Hibs, can’t remember the name.

     

     

    HH.

  10. prestonpans bhoys dam justice for the 5 on

    CultsBhoy

     

    22:37 on

     

    7 September, 2014

     

     

    I found the latter stages of WGS team at CP boring however the transformation of our national team is good. We could make ……….. another wine I think………

  11. saltires en sevilla on

    CRC

     

     

    Lol- made a fine reassuring rattle

     

     

    “A bag ….for sleeping in?”

     

     

    HH

  12. ....PFayr supports WeeOscar on

    Yogiy

     

     

    No need for the apology

     

     

    I fought with Billy Bhoy 05 every time he was on

     

     

    Just thought I’d enlighten you

  13. Got this tip from a reliable source……Buy Russian rubles!!

     

     

    It,s all to do with wee eck,s plan B… As soon as the last trident sub is chased doon by Ailsa Craig,he personally will catch the ropes for the Russian equivalent arriving at Faslane and Coulport.

     

    We will not be joining the EU or NATO ,only the Warsaw Pact.

     

    This time next year we,ll be filling up our cars,tractors and boats with Oil and gas pumped from the Steppes straight into Grangemouth for 50p(22 Russian rubles)per Gallon.

     

     

    Only downside will be having to stomach the sight of hunners of long legged,blond Russian woman every where we go.Which,as all us old married mean means only wan thing…Mair clips roon the ear for getting caught lookin!!.

  14. mayanman

     

     

    That’s not WM, Oxford or Cambridge, Witney in Oxfordshire, most certainly not in Oxford.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  15. Celticrollercoaster supporting Shay,our bhoy wonder along the way on

    Big Georges Fan Club – Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar

     

     

     

    22:44 on 7 September, 2014

     

     

    Sounds a plan! Scottish pound 1.20 to the weaker English Sterling:-)

     

     

    No wonder they are panicking :-)

     

     

    HH

     

     

    CRC

  16. gordybhoy64

     

     

    I read it mate, many I’m sure will have reflected on that and gave thanks for what really matters to them.

     

     

    Don’t be put off by the lack of reaction or response………everyone reading your post would have been moved and offered a silent prayer.

  17. saltires en sevilla on

    G64

     

    Missed original post

     

    I am sure the trip will make many smiles and fond memories

     

     

    HH

  18. Big Georges Fan Club - Hail, Hail, Wee Oscar on

    gordybhoy64

     

     

    22:41 on 7 September, 2014

     

     

    ————–

     

     

    Missed it scrolling past these bliddy refurendum posts – sorry pal. Thoughts, of course, with the wee chap.

     

     

    Always makes me think of how lucky we have been with Wee BGFC and Miss BGFC – both have bad alergies, nuts could do them real damage, etc., but fundamentally both are happy and healthy. They can avoid what makes them ill, so it breaks your heart when you think about weans who are not so lucky. Prayers for the wee chap tonight.

     

     

    HAIL, HAIL

     

    BGFC

  19. Yogiy

     

    What’s going to happen to the Scottish Bank that’s majority owned by the British Government after a Yes vote? what’s going to happen when quantitive easing is stopped after a Yes vote.

  20. As I remember billybhoy05 was looking forward to getting rid of no voters after the vote. I feel there are many in Scotland who hold that view judging by the responses tonight.

  21. prestonpans bhoys dam justice for the 5 on

    Convinced two undecided to vote yes today with one sentence “if we are better together today then we are fooked”

  22. Every day is a school day

     

     

    What I learnt today on CQN……..

     

     

    People with aspirations of something better should not be allowed to vote

     

     

    Hope is over rated and if your hopes get dashed you will all get violent.

     

     

    Don’t dare criticise me, I’m too precious

     

     

    I was a dafty who thought the No campaign was all about fear. It isn’t on here though, it is all about remembering how inept we are. We are incapable and don’t let anybody here forget that.

     

     

    Mother England save us from ourselves

  23. gordybhoy64

     

     

    A thousand apologies. Was late on the blog and haven’t read back. Can you repost your original, as you know where it is. Soooo sorry.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  24. Mayan,an none of us can predict what’s going to happen. The financial implications and instability will be enormous.

  25. Actually I will need to sure any savings will be in sterling and not whatever currency Scotland produces. Even that ain’t good.

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