NBA Phoenix Suns Owner Robert Sarver "stuck the boot" into the Scottish Championship side Rangers board by revealing that "he failed in an attempt to block the sale of Lewis Macleod to Brentford," according to Keith Jackson of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The American financier "came out with all guns blazing in a tea time TV interview, hours after throwing in the towel" on his attempted £20M ($30M) takeover. Sarver "blamed the current beleaguered regime for failing to properly engage with him despite his attempts to pump life-saving cash into a business which is in desperate need of fresh funds." And, "in a move which will further infuriate large sections of the club’s support," Sarver told how Chair David Somers and CEO Derek Llambias broke the terms of his opening £18M ($27.3M) bid for control by selling Macleod just 24 hours after he had insisted upon a freeze on all transfers out of Ibrox as a condition of his offer. Sarver said, "As a part of the conditions for my first offer, I had in it that they couldn’t sell any players. Then, the day after I submitted the offer, they sold one of the more promising young players. So that deal was kind of crushed." Sarver "was asked how the Rangers board had responded to his offers." He said, “Boy that’s a good question. I really never could get them to engage meaningfully in any discussion. At the end of the day that’s why I formally withdrew my bid because I couldn’t get them to the table. I never received a counter offer or any discussion of substance." Sarver’s withdrawal from the battle for control of Ibrox "has left Douglas Park and his consortium in the box seat as they attempt to buy a foothold in the boardroom by handing the club the emergency loan it needs to avoid insolvency" (DAILY RECORD, 1/12).
SMITH GONE FOR GOOD: Former Rangers Chair Walter Smith revealed his regret at rejoining Rangers -- "and insisted he will never again work at the club." The nine-in-a-row winning manager "was briefly involved in one proposed takeover bid for the crisis-rocked club before being appointed as a director under Charles Green." A brief four-month spell as chairman followed and he has since admitted that "he has one big regret." Smith: “I probably wouldn’t have joined the board at all. It was just the way things turned out." There will however be no "official" return for Smith, who enjoyed two spells as manager at Ibrox and is "still viewed by the fans as one of the only figures recently involved at the club that they can trust." Smith: "I will go and watch the games as a fan. I go every now and then, not every week and it’s always interesting to see them play, but I won’t go back in an official capacity again" (DAILY RECORD, 1/13). STV reported Smith "urged the warring factions at Rangers to sort out the mess at Ibrox and insists whoever takes over must act in the interests of the club." The Ibrox legend said that "winning back the trust of supporters is imperative as they try to win promotion to the Scottish Premiership" (STV, 1/13).
