GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 18: A general view during the pre-season friendly match between Rangers and Newcastle at Ibrox Stadium on July 18, 2023 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Earlier on today, I put up an article on how the coverage of the Ibrox takeover continues to be ridiculous—verging on offensive.
But I had no idea just how bad it was. I had no idea that the central contention of this blog in relation to that EGM has been definitively proven correct, and that it was proved accurate on the day itself.
Sir Brian Donohoe—an Ibrox fan, shareholder, former MP, ex-chair of the Westminster Ibrox Supporters Association, one of the board members of first The Rangers Trust and then Club 1872, a man who is the head of his own investment firm—went to the EGM with serious concerns about the club’s new Articles of Association, concerns which today he has outlined to Matt Lindsay of The Herald.
There are two elements to this that are of particular interest to me. First, that Donohoe had read those Articles of Association before going to the meeting and that he went in with his eyes open and raised his concerns there and then.
Cavanagh answered him at length. Donohoe says he was not reassured by anything he heard. He remains unimpressed and deeply concerned about those Articles, calling them overly complicated and stating clearly that they effectively lock out shareholders. He’s absolutely right.
The second thing—and it’s arguably even more damning—is that Donohoe’s questions at the EGM, and the issues he raised, were almost entirely ignored by the media. Not just on the day. Not just in the recent aftermath.
But the media has been ignoring that story ever since those Articles of Association were published—as they legally had to be—weeks prior to the meeting.
We know this because this blog covered them in detail.
This is the only outlet in Scottish football which did.
Donohoe’s concerns were, and are, entirely warranted. These Articles don’t just close off transparency—they concentrate power in a small cabal. They allow for tightly controlled share issues. They provide mechanisms that all but legitimise conflicts of interest. The whole thing stinks.
And here’s the thing: I know there must have been Ibrox fans who read the article I wrote—or who looked at the documents independently—and came away uneasy. How could they not? These changes were a full-frontal assault on shareholder power.
But not one mainstream media outlet examined the implications of those changes before the meeting took place. Other than Donahoe’s intervention, they would be refusing to look at them even now. That is a scandal.
It’s a gross dereliction of duty. They focused on the £20 million—which, as I said from the start, was nothing but a smokescreen. A bribe, pure and simple. A distraction from the actual intent: to transfer total control of the club into the hands of a small group, with no meaningful checks or balances.
We have a media here that is ignorant, lazy—and frankly, you could add cowardly too. We give them stick for how they cover the club across the city, and rightly so. It reeks of fear. It reeks of bias. But we’re not ultimately the victims of that soft soaping treatment. No fans anywhere in Europe have been more poorly served by their media than the Ibrox support has been, and this has been true time and time again.
Those Articles were shocking. Their intent was transparent.
The story was right there. And nobody wrote it—except for us. A blog run by Celtic fans. And I feel sorry for people like Donohoe and the other Ibrox shareholders smart enough to understand what’s happened here. They’ve been betrayed, in part by the mainstream media but maybe even more spectacularly by their own fan media outlets, none of which bothered to investigate the matter for themselves.
The depth of Donohoe’s concern can be measured by his willingness to speak openly about possibly using his Westminster contacts to put pressure on the club—if he believes it is not being run appropriately. And yet, he must know that now the club has gone private, and now that a tight group holds all the power, there’s nothing Westminster can do. Especially when you factor in the Delaware registration setups. They’ve built a fortress.
The time to oppose this was before the EGM. Donohoe tried to raise the alarm. The Herald piece says he even tried to contact George Taylor on the Ibrox board, and his outreach was ignored.
You have to wonder: did he also try to go to the media to get them to pay attention? Was he rebuffed there too? It certainly wouldn’t surprise me. Because even the tenor of Lindsay’s article suggests they still aren’t taking this seriously.
But make no mistake: the story was out there. These Articles were being discussed. I put them into the public domain. I wrote about them at length.
Whether the media ignored that because of arrogance—that a blogger might know better than them is too much for some of their wee minds to take—or whether they didn’t want to upset the new ownership class, or they just didn’t take the threat seriously, it doesn’t really matter. They failed. Utterly.
We’ve no reason to believe that Donohoe didn’t approach them and ask them to take the matter seriously. In fact, we can assume that he did because why wouldn’t he want to show his concerns through that megaphone when there was still time for it to matter?
Lindsay’s article claims that Donohoe is warning that the Articles “aren’t fit for purpose.” But that’s actually a distortion.
These Articles are fit for purpose—the purpose being to cement total control and eliminate scrutiny. They might have replaced a two-page document with a forty-page monstrosity, but they work exactly as intended. They are fit for that purpose, which is precisely why people should be terrified.
Donohoe gets it. A few others might.
But it’s too late. I said in my own article—in advance of the meeting—that this was the moment to act. A campaign could’ve been mounted. But most fans didn’t even realise what was happening.
And still, nobody knows who’s behind this. We know Marathe is there to protect the 49ers’ interests. Cavanagh is the frontman. But who’s pulling the strings behind the curtain? We still don’t know. And now that the EGM has passed, it no longer matters. The assets, the club—everything—is now in their hands.
It’s done. The £20 million bribe worked. The deeds are signed away. The minor shareholders are out. Transparency is gone. Independent scrutiny is dead.
Ibrox fans lost their club on Monday.
And the media stood back and watched it happen. They didn’t want to know then and they don’t want to know now.
I applaud Sir Brian Donohoe. He cared. He tried. He can look at himself in the mirror knowing he raised his voice, even if it didn’t make a difference. He didn’t just show up and clap like some seal begging for a fish. He asked the right questions. He sought guarantees. He got none.
But his conscience is clear. And that might not bring him much comfort—but it’s more than almost anyone else over there can say.
I for one James am delighted with the way it all worked out.. Your warnings, although well intended, caused the reverse effect, a fenian talking sense to them is like a red rag to a bull for the brotherhood. I had been counting the days until Happy Monday hoping no one had intervened and spoiled the cunning plan before it got off the ground. I was even singing to myself on Monday morning that ‘ Todays the day the teddy bears have their pitch nicked’. It was the beginning of the end for them, and I await with relish the pain and suffering that is still to come.
And although I love my country, I am not a bitter man….Oh yes I am!
Hi James
Your journalism has been vindicated by Brian Donohue of all people. Another asset stripping of a soccer club by a secretive monied cabal, aided and abetted by scribblers who think journalism is publishing press releases and fans whose obsession with winning something has allowed them to hand over their club to extractive money men. And to misquote Oscar Wilde to lose one club etc
Tho we’re yet tae see what the future does bring, it still amazes me how these people, can walk so blindly into situations time after time. If ahm correct here, when Whyte came tae ibrox, one of their most respected ever players and PR man at the time, John Greig made clear his doubts about Whyte and resigned. They wouldn’t listen tae him either and we all know the rest. Beggars belief how they never learn.
If this takeover is going to be bad for the huns and their bigoted support that’s fine by me James, Hail Hail.
Why are they still being referred to by every reporting body as the 49ers? When we all know it’s not them.
Why have the soldiers of hunnery fallen on their knees swallowing what’s thrust on them I don’t know either but I do hope it’s their biggest fear.
A secret stealth Catholic consortium with the intention of finally wiping the mythical lie that is rangers off the face of the earth and their biggest fear has come true striking them the final fatal blow. The unseen Fenian hand rides
James, I applaud your investigative blogging/journalistic/insightful articles yet again.
You did your homework, laid it all out in black and white, for which the red, white and blue hordes that had the pleasure of reading, would have dismissed as mad Fenian hysteria!
That we have an smsm that choose to continually ignore any adverse reporting of this takeover or the Ibrox club, is as shameful and completely unsurprising as we’ve all come to expect !
They really should be of no consequence to any of us, as the smsm continue to pore & speculate over their latest transfer targets, rumours & signings!
I’m only really interested in who or what our club will sign. If we do this properly and effectively, we do not need to concern ourselves with events happening elsewhere.
A bigger concern to Sevco might just be staying ahead of Hibs and Hearts.
Till then ! HH
Interesting to see who they do sign which will tell us a lot about the new board.
The first two signings a loan deal and free transfer may give a clue.
Will they spend any money?
I can see a few Leeds United fringe players coming on loan.
Any update on the church parade being brought back that is the most important issue ?.
Gretna Rangers, could be closer than the fans think.
Bloody Hell Davie M – You’ll have The Sevco Hun Hoards marriages falling to bits with The Gretna (Green) Rangers…
Mind you Glasgow was Green & Whyte !!!
James you need to cut our mainstream sports writers some slack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They possibility didnt understand the impact of the new Articles being offered??? Mind you they could have asked a writer on the business desk for there thoughts on it. Maybe not as you repeatedly said they kept pushing the £20 mill pish as if it was gonna launched them way a head of us
even though donoghue dropped the O’ in his name to be fed the soup and embraced all things hunnery i fear Hatchet kavanagh may have other intentions for sevco in what lies ahead , if you peel back the layers i am sure you will find a man of Irish decent who’s forefathers had to change the spelling of their name when they arrived in the US to be accepted by the anglos in power there at the time , i do know that caused a lot of resentment in the ensuing years .
I reckon going by James excellent research and understanding of the situation that A C has only one interest and that is not the dilapidated castle greyskull but taking candy from the knuckle draggers , i remember some years ago a knuckle dragger proudly boasted to all that the children would have no new shoes for christmas as the season ticket was more important to them , and i say to them don’t worry cos ye’ll be joining the children on yer uppers afore Hatchet is finished with ye !!! Gwan A C ya good thing yer playing a blinder kid !!! Chortle
Bertie
Don’t think Cavanagh had to change his name. Strange he spells it Cavenagh. The Irony is the usual way it is spelled is Kavanagh, but get this this is for the benefit of a non Irish spelling there was no K in the Irish /Gaelige alphabet. So Cavanagh/Cavenagh you could argue is even more Irish as it reflects the true position. Wonder how that is going down Govan way.Btw I should declare an interest, I am a Cavanagh
Bertie basset, Kavanagh will just smile and say….
“It’s not personal it’s just business”. Kerching…..
To borrow from Oscar Wilde: To lose one club may be regarded as misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.
I really don’t get why Donohoe didn’t use his Westminster contacts in the press to put his doubts in the public domain before the horse had bolted. OK he tried to contact people and didn’t get a response but, if he was that concerned a wee call to a friendly hack from england in one of the sister papers might have raised the alarm. Anyway it’s all very mysterious and none of us know what they’re up to, which is the point of the Articles of Association so we have get our own house in order.
Brian Donohoe should know that Westminster has no locus to intervene in matters relating to Scottish sport, these being devolved to the Scottish Parliament, which has – so far – made no attempt to follow England’s lead and introduce legislation to have an independent Football Regulator. We may laugh at the Gullibillies now (yes, let’s!) but we should be pressing for Holyrood to bring in a Bill to ensure that football in Scotland is subject to greater scrutiny and that supporters’ interests are protected: where the Nouveaux Huns have gone, there also could go Celtic.
That Donohue guy probably reads and admires The Celtic Blog James !