Well, today the full consequences of spitting in the face of one of Britain’s most ruthless businessmen have fallen, like a hammer, on the directors of Sevco Rangers.
Mike Ashley has emerged from his period of quiet reflection to stun Paul Murray and Dave King with an immediate demand that they pay back the ÂŁ5 million loan which remains outstanding.
He has asked for a board meeting to have this situation resolved, and in addition to this he is seeking clarity on exactly how the club came to be delisted from the AIM Stock Market and why they have yet to find a Nominated Advisor, enabling them to seek a place on another exchange.
Ashley has bided his time, doubtless watching as King and Murray have obfuscated and flapped in the wind.
That he gave them just enough rope to crawl out on the limb, before he sawed the limb off behind them, is hardly surprising.
This new Sevco board has conducted itself in the most shocking fashion, since way before they actually stormed the gates and took “control.”
Their whole attitude was one of aggression, refusing to compromise, almost as if they were looking for wars to get into.
In the middle of last month, they even spat in the face of the SPFL over ticket prices for the Championship Play-Off’s, a wholly un-necessary, even counterproductive, action which a number of commentators said was akin to starting a fight in an empty house.
When the SPFL called their bluff over that one, reminding them that the rules are for everyone (yes, I laughed too) they sulkily backtracked and announced prices as low as they could make them.
Not a lot of this makes sense. They lost money out of that deal, sure as Hell.
What they were trying to demonstrate was that they were willing to do that, on a point of principle, to deny other clubs access to cash they thought was rightly theirs.
The word “insanity” doesn’t even begin to cover that kind of behaviour.
The demonization of Ashley, however, took a special kind of folly.
I watched the recent investigation into Sports Direct, as I’m sure many of you did, and I saw a guy who tries to squeeze every penny out of every venture in which he’s involved.
Did anyone at Ibrox really think he’d simply go away? He owns 9% of the club.
Did they think that a guy who probably spends more, annually, on outside legal counsel, than Sevco pays out in running costs would fail to notice the rash of negative stories in unfriendly newspapers? That he’d sit and tolerate innuendo, snide comments, potentially slanderous commentary and open entreaties to “come ahead”?
I mean for God’s sake, how daft can you be?
It takes a special kind of stupid to try and provoke a battle with the guy who’s writing the cheques that are keeping your lights on.
It takes a certain demented skillset to isolate and alienate someone who’s only in it for the money and to start him taking things personally.
And all the while, we were being spoon-fed nonsense about how King had outflanked him.
Outthought him. Outmanoeuvred him.
What great strategy this was.
Now we see; it wasn’t strategy. It was lunacy.
Today the machine of Consequence is revving its engines.
Of course, this doesn’t have to end badly for the Sevco board.
If they have his money, they simply need to pay it back.
We’re always being told about how these are all high calibre individuals with a lot of disposable wealth, so the answer seems obvious to me; write him a cheque and be done with it.
Dispose of some of it. Give him what it takes to get rid.
If, as we’ve been led to believe, the answers to his questions are at hand for the Sevco board, all they have to do is provide them.
Do these things, and this matter is easily resolved.
But if the money isn’t there, they’ve got problems.
If the answers aren’t forthcoming they’ve got trouble.
And the painful truth – and it might be very painful indeed – is just this;
They had it coming.
They’ve been asking for it long enough.
hello James! sorry but i just dont get it,why would Ashley want this pittance(too him)back? surely hes got a good deal there already.
Because he strongly suspects they can’t pay it and that’ll mean he takes full ownership of the things secured against the loan
I think it more a case of that he thinks there taking the Micky and hes not going to let anybody push him around. Jelly and ice-cream anyone ,.
Its all been too crazy to take in this how charade.
Thats why nothing is what it seems,bit like the Matrix on LSD and buckfast.
I always thought Mike needs fans to be at games,so he could sell his merch,thats how he made his fortune,so why would he not get them onside,why would he pish off the bears???
Could it be that he is pished off with the threats and wants out???
Why would Mike pish off the bears so they wont buy any merch,i know they are the most gullible fans in the world,but surely even they would stop buying his merch.
James it’s only 5milion off the 50 million war chest,don’t see a problem,as I’ve said”jelly and ice cream when the Rangers die”……………………………………….
Have SevCo already spent the ÂŁ5M or is it still part of their working capital? If the latter and our new hero, Mike, gets his money back where do SevCo go from here?
Just die Sevco…quickly
Jimbo
I am led to believe that even if the monkeys don’t buy the merchandise, Sevco have to buy the surplus stock from him, so it does not matter whether he sells merchandise at games or not. I think that MA is in it for the long term, although I am happy to be corrected. It is the same for Desmond, why own a big fish in a very small and skint pond. I suspect that there is a bigger picture on the horizon, whether that is joining the EPL or a Northern Atlantic league as was suggested a few years ago, I don’t know. I just think that there is something brewing.
not a man to get on the wrong side of.intentional who knows.?.
Will The Rangers board not be able to pay now that the new season tickets are being sold, or are they not yet being sold at Ibrokes?
At the very least it will hit there rebuilding ability and see them trying to secure more of those free transfers of their over 35yr old ex players and fish supper stars.
Mike Ashley is like anyone who is an investor and he is entitled to make money from his investment. He was good enough to keep them afloat when they needed money in hours and they repaid him by slandering his and his company’s name.
You scumbags talk a load a shit
What specifically do you have a problem with?
Stop me if I misplace a fact –
Ashley gave a loan to rangers to keep them going.
In return he took the crest, training ground etc as security.
He has the rights to sell the kit through his retail stores.
The new rangers board have invested nothing and rangers still need money to survive into next season.
Ashley has asked for his ÂŁ5m loan back and there really are just two options – pay it or don’t (going into administration).
How else do you see it unfolding?
Boywonder, I’m sure that you have a coherent and logical train of thought on this matter, so could you be a tad more specific?
do you think that the little ‘boy wonder’ is a tad upset here?
probably can’t understand anything that doesn’t begin with . . .Once upon a time.
TAINTED TAINTED TAINTED
The only “TAINTED” titles were the one’s that were won when you were paying your shitty players via EBT’s. Not only did you’s con the SPL but you’s ripped off every tax payer in the UK!
boywonder is just a deluded zombie MCG , funny how our honest league triumphs are tainted and their titles they cheated to win are ok in the eyes of the zombies , they paid wages with money they didnt have , used unregistered side contracts(EBT`S) , dodged tax for decades and the only reason titles werent stripped from the cheats was that particular club died and there was no point flogging a dead horse , and this year in particular the replacement rangers have been trading insolvently with crisis loans every other month just to pay wages and basic running costs , IT`S NOT OUR FAULT OTHER CLUBS CANT AFFORD TO COMPETE WITH OUR RICH CLUB , WE CAN ONLY BEAT WHATS IN FRONT OF US AND FOR THE MOMENT THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE 3 YEAR OLD CLUB . SIMPLE AS THAT
yous let your club die … yous let your club diiie … a quid in the bucket … yous let your club die , yous let your club die … yous let your club diiie … yous said that yous loved them … so why did they die , yous let your club die … yous let your club diiie … rangers supporters … you let your club die . HAIL HAIL GLASGOW CELTIC 127 YEARS UNBROKEN “NEVER LIQUIDATED” HISTORY.
Lol yeah buffycat, that’d be my guess as well 🙂
The huns DONT have that sort of money, so that Liar king will have to pay ashley the full ÂŁ5million out his own personal stash. which will sicken him to the back teeth. Brilliant.
(either that or he could do yet ANOTHER share issue, lol, how many have they done now? 6 or 7?)
The answer for Sevco is very simple:
Pay off the ÂŁ5m loan and another ÂŁ20m to buy back the merchandising rights, win 3 play off rounds to get into the Premiership, pay off Super Ally along with his bonus (reportedly ÂŁ400k) if promoted, pay off Kenny McDowell, continue to pay 2 directors who don’t serve on the board, replace 12 out of contract players with world beaters, invest the ÂŁ50m “warchest” wisely, win the league and finally dominate European football – back to their rightful position.
I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
A cunning plan indeed Kenny. Alas, there might be just the tiniest flaw in the logic….:-)
The only “TAINTED” titles were the one’s that were won when you were paying your shitty players via EBT’s. Not only did you’s con the SPL but you’s ripped off every tax payer in the UK!
Listen really carefully folks , Dave king CANNOT take moneys from south Africa, the law of that land deems moneys made their WILL stay their, no loop holes whatsoever so kingy bhoy is goosed & skint outside south Africa.