Scottish Championship side Rangers' "financial woes deepened when the board failed to persuade shareholders to back a rights issue, leaving it to confront a bleak funding gap into the new year," according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The vote to defeat the board resolution "capped a tumultuous annual meeting at the Scottish football club on Monday" during which Chair David Somers and other board members were "heckled and booed by fans and shareholders." Somers "rounded on critics of Rangers, attacking criticism of the club from outside forces." He said that if the club was to return to the top in football, "we have to do it ourselves." The board needed 75% of the votes in favor of a resolution to "launch the rights issue, but did not even manage a straight majority." The resolution was rejected by 55.2% (FT, 12/22). STV reported new Rangers CEO Derek Llambias, Sandy and James Easdale and Somers were "all questioned by supporters and shareholders." Somers said that Rangers has been "living beyond its means for many years" and added that many of its recent cost-cutting measures "should have been addressed years ago." He also revealed that the club found there was a "lack of appetite" from shareholders to invest "extra funds paying wages and utility bills" (STV, 12/22).
FANS VOICE ANGER: The BBC reported the Rangers board was greeted with chants of "out, out, out" when members "took their seats." Further chants of "sack the board" and "scumbags" were aimed at Somers, Llambias and James and Sandy Easdale. Somers was "barely able to be heard over booing." There were more jeers when Somers announced he would "take two questions at a time" and
told the audience, "When you get to be chairman of Rangers, you get to
do it your way" (BBC, 12/22).
INFORMAL SFA TALKS: STV's Andy Coyle reported Rangers representatives are set to hold "informal talks with the Scottish FA" over shareholder Mike Ashley's influence at Ibrox. The club, and Ashley, have been charged with "breaches of Scottish FA
rules and are due to appear at disciplinary hearings at Hampden in
January." However the club will "speak with the governing body informally on Tuesday ahead of the judicial process" (STV, 12/22).
MCCOIST ON GARDENING LEAVE: In Glasgow, Gary Ralston reported Rangers on Sunday put Manager Ally McCoist on "gardening leave amid fears he was ready to use the Ibrox AGM to voice his anger at the running of the club." McCoist's three-and-a-half-year tenure as boss "came to an end after a day of frantic behind the scenes manoeuvres by the club's beleaguered board." Kenny McDowall, McCoist's right-hand man, "will take charge of the team for the rest of the season." The Ibrox club "confirmed the news of McCoist's departure" in a statement. McCoist claimed that he was "in the dark over the issue of addressing shareholders at the AGM." But if he was "offered the chance to speak, sources believe he would have used the platform to voice his disquiet about recent redundancies" (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 12/22).
