There is now a timeline for Rangers supporters to follow.
In a little less than six weeks, the Rangers International Football Club annual general meeting will be held at Ibrox, and the shape of the next stage of the club's attempt to return to its old stature is likely to become clearer. As Dave King discovered, attempting to broker a consensus is impossible while certain individuals still harbour personal enmities. The AGM is likely to be a fraught affair.
In a matter of hours last Thursday, David Somers' appointment as a non-executive director and acting chairman was published by the stock exchange. One newspaper reported tenuous links to Craig Whyte and Charles Green. He brings with him a strong and robust corporate CV, but his presence does not address fundamental issues. The shareholder base is fragmented and volatile, and the club will need additional funding.
In King's view, two further share issues are required to generate the capital to allow the club to compete on its eventual return to the top flight. The institutional shareholders want new directors - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson - while another block of shareholders, accounting for a roughly similar size of holding, want the status quo to continue, at least for now.
Many fans believe it is no coincidence that the AGM will be held days after Green's lock-in agreement ends, allowing the former chief executive to sell his shares. They form part of the block in support of the current directors, and the votes are held in proxy by Sandy Easdale, whose brother James is a non-executive director.
Green currently has an agreement with Sandy Easdale over the sale of these shares. If Easdale completes what is likely to be a seven-figure transaction, he will be the largest single shareholder. He currently also has a proxy agreement with Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings, two members of the consortium led by Green that bought the business and assets of Rangers Football Club plc last summer.
Whether the current directors, or the nominees, or a mixture of both, inhabit the boardroom after the AGM, they face the same problem: finance. The Easdales want long-term involvement, but cannot bankroll Rangers' rebuilding. The institutional shareholders will only put in more money if they are happy with the board and its direction.
Meanwhille, King waits in the wings. He held productive talks with Sandy Easdale and Paul Murray, but other shareholders were against his plans to strike a compromise deal.
Rangers fans still have questions. Who are BPH and MH? What will happen after Green's lock-in period ends? And will either side really want to go to an AGM vote and risk suffering a public defeat?
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