So the latest Rangers finances are in.
That means the annual AGM at the Armadillo isn’t too far away.
I know more than a few articles have already been written on it. But anyway here’s my two cents.
For a start it’s risible to advertise losses of £3.3 million as any kind of good news when you take into account the general financial climate that continues to exist in Scottish football.
In fairness though even the DR and the BBC, in their never ending quest to curry favour with the Rangers board and gain access back into the blue room, don’t seem to be trying to spin the positives too much. Ultimately it’s a huge loss considering their available revenue streams.
The notion of saying “We made a big loss, but it’s a less big loss than the previous year’s big loss so happy days … right?” is the type of short sightedness that continues to hamper them so from our perspective long may it continue.
As expected Dave King tries willfully to spin the positives none the less.
In doing so he also exposes that their only real major available revenue streams, that being ticket and hospitality, have more or less peaked. They sold 42K season tickets which is as good as it’ll get and the average attendance increasing to 44K won’t increase much either due to Ibrox’s capacity limitations coupled with the fact the product is piss poor as home draws with Hamilton Accies, Ross County and St.Johnstone would indicate.
There’s no way they can justify a price hike either.
If you’re an Ibrox season ticket holder you’d be as perplexed at that notion as everyone else is at a Matt Gilks post match interview.
Their retail and merchandise is locked down until 2020 with Sports Direct.
Mike Ashley knows that. We know that. Now it would appear that they now know it too. King’s statement is tantamount to a white flag. He references it as a ‘debacle’.
I suppose that’s how he would reference a merchandising agreement that isn’t weighted in his favour and the Sports Direct deal most definitely isn’t. Last year at the AGM King proudly boasted about how he had secured the funds to pay back a pesky £5 million loan to a heartless capitalist that had kept the club he loved solvent.
The stage management of the announcement was akin to a vaudeville magician pulling a rabbit from a hat.
From there the claims were that the contracts would be challenged and defeated, the Ibrox equivalent of “this time next year Rodney we’ll be millionaires.”
But nearly 12 months later and the status quo pervades.
In that time various cases of litigation and counter litigation have taken place between Ashley and King though technically it has been between Sports Direct and Rangers. The truth is it’s been a clash between two gargantuan egos.
On the surface Ashley has had his nose rubbed in it somewhat but the greater truth is that if King’s thinking was he would shake the tree and apples would fall out. If you’ll pardon the pun, he’s on to plumbs. Ashley has been chastised in open court and will have to pay some legal costs but the contracts remain in place and water tight for the foreseeable future.
You can’t help but think that if cool heads had prevailed then a proper sit down could have been organised and perhaps as King likes to say a more “favourable” agreement reached. Instead threats and a staunch bravado were employed which got the fans onside but effectively took a flame thrower to any bridges leading to Shirebrook.
The only other income option is player trading and their squad is currently worthless.
There must have been some hope that players such as Tavernier and Waghorn would have seen their value increase dramatically. But so far the move up to the Premiership has seen those two looking wanting. Some of the summer investments would indicate that following Celtic’s model of developing then selling on young players for major profits as was the case with Wanyama, Forster and Van Djik is the long term plan.
Though in this case even minor profits would suffice.
The Joe Garner investment indicates something else entirely.
What exactly that is I’m not quite sure.
The other spin is this “European football revenue” line.
King used this before the Cup final in May too. The claim is that accessing European football is a money spinner. It certainly can be. Indeed it has the potential to be easily the most profitable aspect of a clubs on field ventures in any given season.
But that’s only if you make the group stages and really only then if you make the Champions League group stages.
We’re light years ahead of them and it’s been a year on year struggle to make the groups.
The booby prize of the Europa League has only ever been achieved due to seeding and a parachute from play off round elimination in the CL.
Ask Aberdeen how easy and financially rewarding it is to get through 4 rounds of knockout European football. They’ve won in places like Holland and Croatia yet still haven’t got anywhere near the Europa League group stages.
When Celtic made it to the Europa League last 32 two years ago I don’t remember any headlines relating to associated riches being accumulated. The Europa League really is the poor relation financially to the big competition we’re in this year
King then alludes to further shareholder investment being required to see them through to the new year and beyond. This has become so par for the course it ought to have its own section at every AGM over there. This must be the “enviable position” he talked about last November when he said every club in the world wished it was as well run.
Whilst it’s true that nothing is being borrowed from external sources such as banks or building societies the fact is that soft loans whether they be from shareholders or fans groups are still just that. Loans. And if you take a loan from someone then you’re in debt to them. Debt is debt. It also overlooks a deeper truth, the one that dare not say its name, that the club would be getting commercial loans if it was able to, if anyone was willing to offer them … which nobody is.
In addtion, by forcing – sorry encouraging haha –Â together the various different fans factions into Club 1872 all the RFC board have effectively done is reduce the number of calls, stops offs and candlelight dinners required when the begging bowl comes back out and another unsecured loan is requested.
What was it…….500K they were into Rangers First for last January?!
That was money initially raised to buy shares by the way.
I’m sure they’ll get it back … somewhere … somehow. But the likelihood is it has just been added to an ever increasing list of IOU’s.
Now taking all that into account and added to the ongoing Joey Barton situation (now that really is a debacle) and the potential pay off there as well as the ongoing rumours of major renovation works being required at Ibrox one does have to wonder what exactly Dave King can muster from up his sleeve this year.
Ultimately he needs cash……and lots of it.
An imaginary inheritance and someone else’s wine cellar will not suffice.
Paul Cassidy is a blogger and writer who has contributed to and edited a number of other Celtic sites. This is his CelticBlog debut.