Rangers need a period of calm.
There has been upheaval in the boardroom and individuals who might otherwise have been focused on driving the club forward have instead been involved in attending to various crises. That alone has been destabilising and it will be the end of May before the club can truly begin the process of trying to establish the long-term foundations of a new regime.
In a sense, the first year of rebuilding has been lost. That might have been inevitable, since it seems inconceivable that Charles Green's reign would not run aground at some stage. The successful launch of Rangers International Football Club on the Alternative Investment Market last December was a significant achievement, but Green wasn't a conventional chief executive. His brashness and forceful nature helped to pull the club and the fans together last summer, but it was too disruptive to serve Rangers in the long-term.
A clash of personalities and ideology with Malcolm Murray, the chairman, was another problem. The latter is adamant that everything ought to be done strictly by procedure, but sometimes off-the- cuff decision-making and dynamism are also important. Murray, too, felt that Green lacked the gravitas and decorum for the role. Yet his own behaviour has, at times, caused directors to wince. Murray is a formidable individual in terms of corporate governance and boardroom machinations, though, and once the dividing line was drawn amongst the directors, he held firm.
As a lifelong Rangers fan, who was instinctively uneasy with the management style of Green and Imran Ahmad, he found an ally in Walter Smith, the non-executive director. That allowed the disagreements to be portrayed as Rangers men against the newcomers, even though that was not always wholly accurate. The situation has often shifted but Murray eventually prevailed after persuading the board to launch an independent forensic examination of Craig Whyte's claim that he was involved in Sevco 5088, the company that was to buy the club in the event of Rangers Football Club plc achieving a Company Voluntary Arrangement last summer.
When RFCplc was liquidated, Sevco Scotland bought the business and assets, with Green and Ahmad later claiming that they "shafted" Whyte. The independent examination, by the lawyers Pinsent Masons and the accountants Deloitte, is likely to conclude at the end of next week. There are no indications of any legitimacy in Whyte's claims and Murray has subsequently widened the scope of the investigation. He wants to remove Brian Stockbridge, the finance director who joined the club at the same time as Green and Ahmad. Yet Stockbridge has always stressed his independence from Green and Ahmad. He lives in Scotland, with his wife and child, and has always considered his position at the club as a long-term commitment, whereas Green and Ahmad were passing through. He has also sided with Smith in some boardroom votes and was directly involved in Ahmad's departure. The examination has been stringent, but uncovered no financial dealings that do not have a legitimate purpose or paper trail. In the meantime, directors have become exasperated by Murray's failure to lead the board, and the club. Craig Mather has stepped into the breach, to become interim chief executive, but it ought to have been Murray who grasped control of the situation.
Even Smith reluctantly accepts that, despite Murray's obvious feeling for the club and its history, he has not risen to all of the challenges. Although Smith was furious at the procedure of last Monday's board meeting, in particular the involvement of Green, who was allowed to remain as a director until the end of May, he remains committed to his role. He was on the brink but understands that his departure now would be ruinous for Rangers. The club needs stability, but also people at the top who the supporters can relate to. Smith, and Ian Hart, another non-executive director, are the only two individuals who fill that role.
They intend to begin the process of seeking a new chief executive. A second board meeting was held last Tuesday, without Green's involvement, but the vote of no confidence in Murray still stands and the intention is for him to step down at the end of the independent examination. He intends to stand his ground, though, and may even attempt to change the balance of power on the board by seeking the appointment of new directors, or lobby for the support of existing or new shareholders.
Cenkos and AIM are irked by the developments at Ibrox and have firmly urged calm. That is what Rangers need, but season-ticket sales are imperative, since the money raised in the IPO cannot be lost to running costs. Fresh investment or cost-cutting will also be required on the journey back to the top flight. These are delicate times at Ibrox, when the demand is for unity and clarity of thinking.
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