Rumour Mill: Rangers | Dunfermline | Dave King
Rangers ‘will be down to last £1m by April’
Rangers finance director Brian Stockbridge has claimed that Rangers will only have £1m left in the bank by April 2014. A summit convened by Stockbridge on Thursday night was the scene of the revelation to supporters, who were also told the figure did not take retail revenue into account. Rangers announced operating losses of £14.4 million last week, which, in the eyes of fans, further underscored the need for urgent investment. (The Sun)
Dave King wants Paul Murray on Rangers board
Prospective Rangers chairman Dave King has insisted that Paul Murray be appointed as a board member. The news adds a further twist to the club’s boardroom saga: Murray has spearheaded a campaign to oust the current board. It is also understood that Craig Mather and Brian Stockbridge have agreed in principle to appoint Murray on King’s say so. Murray and three others are embroiled in a court battle with the club to be allowed to have a say on the make-up of the Rangers board. It is also rumoured that King wants rid of the Easdale brothers, who currently own a 25 per cent stake in Rangers. (Daily Record)
Charlie Adam: Levein was right to criticise me
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Hide AdStoke midfielder Charlie Adam says former Scotland manager Charlie Adam was right to criticise him. The Scotland midfielder was publicly chastised after poor defending which led to a Gareth Bale goal when Wales played Levein’s side last year. However, Adam says he bears no grudges towards Levein, and admitted that he has failed to fulfil his potential in a Scotland jersey.
“I had a lot of respect for Craig Levein, I thought he was a good manager. When you get criticism from him, you take it. That’s part and parcel of being a manager. It would have been easier for him not to say anything.” (Scotsman)
Dunfermline saved from liquidation as Masterton challenge fails
A Dunfermline fans’ group is set to complete its takeover of Dunfermline next week after a legal bid by former owner Gavin Masterton nearly saw the club liquidated. The dispute centred over the Pitreevie training ground, which Masterton had insisted Pars United accept as part of the takeover deal. Pars United said that such a deal was unacceptable, and had Masterton succeeded in his case, or if no decision had been reached, the club would have effectively been liquidated. (Scotsman)
Ex-Rangers captain David Weir gets Sheffield United axe
David Weir’s first managerial posting has ended after just four months following Sheffield United’s decision to sack the former Scotland defender yesterday. The Blades have won just one of their 10 League One fixtures this term, with that coming on the opening day, and currently sit third from bottom in the table with just five points. (Scotsman)
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“There are different ways to win games, yes, but there is only one proper way to teach players how to play football. It is called foot-ball, so we use the foot and players should know how to pass the ball and receive it.... what I see here too often is a different style of football that does not involve every player on the park, and is not as enjoyable, either to play or watch. Still, we have too much ‘route one’ football; ‘keeper gets it and kicks it up the pitch, centre-forward wins a flick-on and the team might score a goal, or he knocks it down and everybody fights for the second ball. That’s what’s called a game of chance. A game of percentages. ‘Put it in there and there’s a chance it might fall to us’. That’s an uneducated, unentertaining way of playing football.”
“Men of King’s reputed wealth are not renowned for handing £20 million of their cash reserves to others to manage, as he did when he invested that amount in David Murray’s regime and it turned to dust. It is a myth, too, that King lost his stake when Rangers descended into administration; the shares were virtually worthless long before, as the Joe Lewis-owned, Daniel Levy-run English National Investment Company were also on their way to discovering. ENIC, like the former director Hugh Adam, sold their holding before it hit the floor, but recovered only £8 million of their original £40m. The consequence of that misadventure is that King is extremely unlikely to repeat the folly.”