THE board won’t be situated in a tent on the Ibrox pitch and the heckles won’t rain down from the stands. There will be no talk of ‘spivs’ or ‘rats’ and no fear from supporters over the motives of the men in the club ties.
The Rangers Annual General Meeting became the ideal way to kick-start panto season while the former Light Blues regime were at the helm but the shareholder summits have been far more serene affairs since Dave King, John Gilligan and Paul Murray climbed the Marble Staircase two years ago.
This time, though, the Gers board could face some tough questions from supporters when they take to the stage at the Clyde Auditorium on Thursday morning. Here, SportTimes looks at what the key talking points will be at the AGM.
THE MANAGER
When Pedro Caixinha was sacked last month, few would have envisaged there would be an empty seat at the top table.
Five weeks on, Rangers still don’t have a manager, though, and the back-to-back defeats to Hamilton and Dundee have hardened views on what many see as an unnecessarily drawn-out process.
King and Co. will be well aware that they can’t afford to get this appointment wrong after the disastrous Caixinha era but fans have questioned why the Portuguese was sacked with, it seems, no real plan of who to turn to and a preferred candidate in mind.
Rangers are heading into a huge run of fixtures, one that ends at Parkhead next month, and fans have become disillusioned at the inaction of the board as the season unravels before their eyes.
The pressure is on King to deliver a boss that is capable of transforming the fortunes of an underperforming side and giving the Ibrox crowd a much-needed shot in the arm. The clock is ticking.
THE TEAM
One accusation that cannot be levelled at the Gers board is that they don’t back their managers in the transfer market but their judgement has been questioned for the second consecutive summer.
Twelve months on from giving Mark Warburton a substantial budget for the return to the Premiership, Caixinha was handed several million pounds to rip it up and start again.
A Europa League exit, Betfred Cup semi defeat and a poor Premiership run later and it can safely be said that Rangers didn’t get value for money.
Having put their faith in the Portuguese, the Ibrox board are now left counting the cost and whoever is in the dugout come January will need cheques signed to improve a squad that is still some way off being capable of challenging Celtic. Can that be funded, though?
Performances and results have been far from acceptable and patience is understandably starting to wear thin amongst a fan base that will demand to know what will be done to put a winning team on the park.
THE FOOTBALL DEPARTMENT
The process to appoint Mark Allen as Director of Football rumbled on for several months, but having finally got their man Rangers now need him to deliver.
A new scouting structure has already been put in place and that must pay dividends from the off if the gap to Celtic is to close and the Gers are to boost their bottom line by turning hidden gems into polished diamonds.
Little is known about Allen’s strategy for youth development, player recruitment and the infrastructure at Auchenhowie and clarity is needed as to where Rangers are heading on and off the park in a football sense.
SHARE ISSUES
All of this, of course, will take significant sums of money and Resolution 11 is back on the agenda once again this year.
After narrowly failing to get shareholder approval twelve months ago, this motion should be passed this time around and that will allow for some of the soft loans from the likes of King and the Three Bears to be converted to equity.
Supporters will be asked to put their hands in their pockets once again and Club 1872 will need to stump up if they are to maintain their status as the second largest shareholders at Ibrox.
It is likely that more than one share issue will be held in the coming years but there is no indication yet how much will need to be raised.
SOFT LOANS
Rangers have relied on loans from King and investors such as Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor in recent years and some of those will be taken care of should Resolution 11 be passed by shareholders.
King has committed himself to providing more than £7million over the next two years but supporters will want to know who else will be able to inject funds as and when they are needed going forward.
There is also the not insignificant matter of King’s ongoing battle with the Takeover Panel and only time will tell what impact that has on the chairman’s personal funding plans and how Rangers are viewed in the City.
SHIRT DEALS
One of the main reasons that external finance has been required in recent years is the abnormal situation Rangers have been in regarding their merchandise revenues.
With the battle with Sports Direct now at an end, the Gers board will hope to see a significant rise in retail profits and this will undoubtedly be a welcome boost to the books.
The £3million paid to Mike Ashley as part of the new agreement made up around half of the loss that RIFC plc recorded to year end June 30.
Rangers could well be in the market for a new kit manufacturer and sponsors come the end of the campaign and those deals will have to significantly increase if the off-field gap to Celtic is to be narrowed.
SUPPORTER REPRESENTATION AT BOARD LEVEL
This has been talked several times over the years but has never looked like materialising. The stronger Club 1872 becomes, the greater the case that can be made, though.
The group already has a 10.71 per cent stake and a degree of influence but it was beset by issues earlier in the year and has other objectives to achieve first and foremost.
IBROX
This was another of the legacy issues that King and Co. inherited in March 2015 and it is one that has been steadily addressed in recent months as fans look for the stadium to be returned to its former glory.
A feasibility study into a safe standing area was completed earlier this year and would be a popular proposal amongst many supporters.
There is no prospect of a rail seating section being introduced before the start of next season, however.
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