Green under fire all the way to the Ibrox boardroom

Sports writer

Saturday 9 June 2012

C harles Green struck a bullish tone yesterday when he claimed that season ticket revenue from Rangers fans "will not be abused the way it was before".

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Richard Wilson

However, his motives and means continue to be strongly questioned by influential supporters of the Ibrox side, including Paul Murray, leader of the Blue Knights consortium that tried to buy the club.

Green was reacting to criticism from Dave King, the Rangers director, who told creditors not to vote for the Company Voluntary Arrangement proposal funded by the £8.5m loan, at 8% interest, that Green's SEVCO consortium are using to buy the club. King also urged fans not to renew their season tickets, or at least only if the money is held in an escrow account and protected until the new season.

"It's not difficult to put together a deal to acquire the club under existing circumstances," King said. "The question is how can you fund it going forward? I [said] Craig Whyte wouldn't see the season out and I predict Charles Green wouldn't see a season out, either. Charles Green doesn't have the money to run the club and he's relying on the season ticket money to fund the acquisition."Green denies these claims and he insisted that his consortium will purchase the club on Thursday, either after a positive CVA vote, or as a newco, since he believes that he has a binding agreement with Duff & Phelps, the administrators, to buy the assets for £5.5m. Green maintains that he has deposited a significant amount of the £8.5m, and also that future funding is in place, which raises questions about the motives for launching the season ticket renewal campaign yesterday, while the club is still in administration."On the basis the receiver is already holding cash, I struggle to see how I can use season ticket money to buy the club," Green said. "We have documented the fact we are going to raise another £20-30m. There is a 28-day cooling period, should the CVA go ahead. Until that ends, any monies that come into the club are held in a secure account and I have no access. "The season ticket money is crucial. Only creditors have [control over the CVA] and if it is rejected, we will immediately default into a newco route. There is nothing anyone can say to change the fact my consortium will acquire the business next Thursday."Many Ibrox fans remain wary and that anxiety was given a voice by Murray, whose consortium thought they had bought the club only for Duff & Phelps, who are under investigation by the Insolvency Practitioners Association, to suddenly opt for Green."Why are we allowing [to take control of the club] a guy with no Rangers affinity and who is not prepared to disclose any details of his bid?" Murray said. "The fact that he has been brought to the table by Duff & Phelps, who have a lot to answer for, should concern every Rangers fan. The whole process, including the recent ludicrous comments by Craig Whyte, needs a thorough investigation. He is deluded and the fans will never forget his shameful role in the problems the club face."The supporters should not buy season tickets until they know what they are being asked to buy in to. The club is now at a crossroads and we should not allow Duff & Phelps to determine our future. We need to have the club's destiny determined by 'Bluenoses' who will look after the club and not more investors who are focused on global branding rather than the reality of Scottish football."Green says that if the CVA vote is successful, he will name his investors on Thursday. He would then be appointed chief executive, although he added that he does not intend to work at the club for long."My job is to remove the debts, get Rangers on a sound footing and put £20-30m in the bank. Once that is done, I'm of no use to the club at all. It is important to be transparent because you get found out."However, King believes the deal with the administrators should not go ahead. "If there isn't any demonstrated capability [of future funding], it should fail, and fail quickly," he said. "Then at least Duff & Phelps are in a position to negotiate with the only real answer at this point, which is the Blue Knights."From discussions I've had, there are a number of people who would get involved, but only if the club can be acquired by like-minded people and will be properly funded. My understanding is that he [Green] doesn't have funding and all we're into is the same situation we had with Craig Whyte, where the funding will come out of the season ticket sales, and that will run dry around August or September."

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Green under fire all the way to the Ibrox boardroom

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