What would King be coming back to do?
In effect, sort out the mess. There is conflict between the board and the supporters, and the board and a group of shareholders who want the directors replaced by their own nominees. The situation would be resolved at the forthcoming annual meeting, but the nominations of potential new directors - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson - have so far been blocked by the board. Rangers will also need investment to sustain the club on its journey back to the top flight, then provide the resources to mount a challenge to Celtic. King is prepared to provide in return for control of the club's fiscal policy and the chairmanship.
What is the likelihood of him being voted onto the board as chairman?
Given Craig Mather and Brian Stockbridge flew to South Africa to meet King, it must be assumed they would back his appointment to the board. That would leave Bryan Smart and James Easdale as the decisive figures. The latter, along with his brother Sandy who sits on the football club board, owns or has control of almost 25% of the shares. If the Easdales want to remain the sole powerbase, they may not welcome King's return, since he is backed by popular opinion and has the wherewithal to take a controlling interest.
How will it affect the agm and the bid to appoint a new board?
If King was to return as chairman, it is unlikely to adversely affect the efforts of the disgruntled institutional shareholders. They want new directors appointed, in part to provide the board with more experience in corporate governance. King wants greater corporate governance, too. They also want new decision-makers in place before they consider investing more themselves. The presence of King, and the wealth he can call upon, would steady the ship at a time when the Rangers accounts suggest cash reserves will run out at some point next season. Four new directors could still be appointed if King is chairman. Equally, the incumbent directors could point to King's involvement as an endorsement of their efforts, particularly if he takes the chairmanship ahead of the agm.
Can King work with all parties?
He has long maintained that the fixation with the various different personalities of the Rangers situation has been a distraction from the real issue: the impending need for fresh investment. King is prepared to put money in, on his own terms, which would address the predicament. His presence as a controlling influence on the board might also placate the shareholders seeking change on the board. King could yet unite the different factions, at least in the short term. King is also confident that the Scottish Football Association's fit and proper person criteria would not present a problem for him.
What do the Rangers fans want?
Most would give their unreserved backing to King. Most would also like the infighting and uncertainty to end once and for all. If the incumbent directors salvage their positions at the agm, they would still need to address the rising indignation amongst the support at the way the club has been run. Protests have increased in size and volume, and would be likely to continue if the present board remains in place after the agm. If fans were then to spend less money on merchandise, or be slow in their uptake of season tickets next summer, the finances of the club would become stretched to near breaking point.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article