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Rangers Supporters Trust - February 2006 (Click here to view the full archive) |
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03 February 2006 The RST and The Blue Order would like to urge ALL Rangers supporters with tickets attending the match in Villarreal next month to be in the stadium at least an hour prior to kick off. By doing so we believe this can help encourage more noise and colour to be displayed for the vital second leg tie, while more importantly aiding fan safety and avoiding crushing. After the poor organisation that our support have had to suffer on European soil over the last few years, we feel the fans need to be aware of the dangers that could follow if, as might happen, many turn up ticketless and try to gain entry. Ticket demand is already massive and it's expected to grow further. As such, we urge all bears to attend the game with the safety of all fellow fans foremost in their minds. It is a massive night for the club and the support, more than ever, must play our part in making sure we hit the headlines for all the right reasons. Hopefully then every bear who attends the match can return home as safely and peacefully as possible while representing the colours that they wear with pride and passion. 09 February 2006 A meeting was held today, Thursday 9th February 2006, in the Boardroom, Ibrox Stadium at 11am. Sederunt - Rangers FC - Mr David Murray and Mr Martin Bain; RST - Malcolm McNiven, David Edgar, Mark Dingwall. 1/ FOOTBALL The Trust representatives put forward their views in forceful terms with regard to the organisation of the football department and the performances on the field. 2/ FINANCE The Trust representatives stressed the view that, as a matter of urgency, the financial base of the club needs to be strengthened on a scale commensurate with the club’s standing. In this regard, the ongoing speculation needs to be refuted or confirmed. The Trust representatives were assured that both areas would be addressed within the next 24 hours in a media interview to be granted by the Chairman. 10 February 2006 Trust chairman Malcolm McNiven today appears in the 'Points of View' section of 'The Herald' newspaper refuting inaccurate claims by Herald Chief Sportswriter, Graham Spiers. Letter as follows:
There have been numerous meetings between the RST and senior representatives of the club. David Murray has met with RST members on a number of occasions. The meetings have always been very open and conducted in a proper manner despite the failure to agree on a number of issues. Graham is correct to say David Murray is an 'amazing character' – this is certainly true. Anyone who meets David is always aware of his sharp wit and combative debating style. However, David Murray is the chairman of Glasgow Rangers FC and must be accorded the respect the position deserves. Those who treat him thus should not be called 'lapdogs'. 13 February 2006 Trust board member Stephen Smith writes about the challenges facing the regime at Rangers and how the fans can help. Article as follows (link to site below): RANGERS FAN'S VIEW IT IS ALMOST 20 years since Graeme Souness and former Rangers chairman David Holmes kick-started a revolution which changed the face of Scottish football. Looking round today's multi-national playing squads it is easy to forget just how earth-shaking it was when Holmes and Souness reversed the traditional north-to-south talent drain by attracting England skipper Terry Butcher and keeper Chris Woods. After he bought the club, David Murray then broke more new ground, working with Walter Smith to bring star footballers like Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne to ply their trade at Ibrox. But it has been a very long time since we felt our club was truly leading the way. Most Rangers supporters believe it is high time we took the lead again. Football fans, despite media caricatures, are not stupid and understand times have changed. The days of telephone number salaries paid to journeymen professionals are already declining as are the distorting effects of TV revenue. Most clubs accept that transfer budgets cannot vastly exceed their income streams. High expectations are matched by realism and this is no different among the Rangers support. We know the days of £12m transfers are long gone but it must be said that we have been filling Ibrox Stadium for almost two decades, are comfortably in Europe's top 20 when it comes to annual turnover, and hold the world record for winning our domestic league most times. These factors make it unlikely that fans will ever accept second best for our club. The events of the past week cannot be ignored. For Rangers as reigning champions to be fourth in the table in the middle of February is completely unacceptable. Speaking now as a Rangers fan of four decades and not as a fans' representative, some domestic performances this season have brought back unpleasant memories of season 1985/86 when we failed to win anything and hit a real low point. To me. this Rangers team looks poorly organised, one-paced and unmotivated. Rangers do have talented players, including the nucleus of a team which won the title in fine style only nine months ago, but all too often the players have failed to compete physically and mentally with opponents. Fans forgive a lot of things, but lack of effort is not one of them. Alex McLeish made history in leading the first Scottish club to enter the second phase of the Champions League. He is in an elite managerial band with a treble-winning season under his belt, but the horror show of Season 2003/04 has already been eclipsed by this season's spineless, tame collapse. It is a shame that his managerial tenure which started with two notable cup victories now looks destined to end in domestic failure sweetened only slightly by progress in the Champions League. As David Murray has accepted this week, a restructuring on and off the park is now necessary to put Scotland's most successful football club back where it should be. Since he has presided over a dozen title wins and a period of sustained success on the pitch, every Rangers fan I know is looking for chairman Murray to offer a lead. There are many different opinions about Mr Murray but with more than 91% of the shares in his pocket he remains the pivotal figure in any discussions about the future of the club. Despite rumours to the contrary, the Rangers Supporters' Trust has a healthy relationship with the chairman. As an independent organisation we offer the frank, robust and honest opinions of supporters. Nor is he slow in telling us when he thinks we've got it wrong, but both parties want the same thing - a thriving, progressive football club, successful on and off the park. The Rangers family is worldwide and the Trust was set up in 2003 to give Rangers supporters a vehicle to invest in, and have a say in, the running of the club. We take great pains to ensure the views of the supporters - the main investors in the club - are listened to and acted upon, and one of our aims is to have at least one democratically elected supporters' representative on the Rangers Board. We recognise that every supporter must do his or her bit to help our club in its time of need. Later this month we will launch a scheme allowing Rangers fans to save money and buy shares in the club. These shares will be the property of each individual who invests and will be held in trust by the RST, who will aim to funnel investment into specific parts of the club's business. Any additional money raised will be used by the Trust to build up our shareholding, eventually giving us a significant part of Rangers shares, and through that, a real stake in how our club is run. It is time for everyone involved with Rangers to pull together and find a way through this present situation. 17 February 2006 As many of you will know, the Trust is holding it's 3rd Annual Dinner on the 11th March. Normally these events are usually for Trust fundraising but this year, as it's the 10th anniversary of Jock Wallace’s death, we will be making a donation to a Parkinson's Disease charity. We obviously want to raise as much as possible and would ask as many of you as possible to come along and support the event. However, if you can't make it for whatever reason you could still help us make money. If any of you know of a business that might be willing to donate something to the event or if any of you could donate something personally we'd be eternally grateful. It might even be your time. For instance, if you're a chef you could volunteer to cook for a dinner party for six, that type of thing. All donations would be considered and it's amazing how much money can be raised from the most simple or inventive of items. Anyone donating will get a mention in the event programme. As such, if you can help, please email joanne@rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk as soon as possible. Thanks in anticipation. 23 February 2006 Following the resounding successes of our previous two annual dinners, the Trust is pleased to announce the date of this year's dinner will be Saturday the 11th March. The venue is Òran Mór in the West End of Glasgow. Doors open at 7pm and the 3 course dinner (plus coffee and mints) will be served from 8pm. The cash bar will be open from around 7pm till 2am. Gordon Smith will be our main speaker of the evening and we are delighted to announce that former Scotland manager Craig Brown and superb Scottish comedian Frank Robb will complete the line-up. Tickets are limited to 200 and are expected to sell out very quickly. These have been kept to a very reasonable £50 per person or £500 for a table of ten. All monies raised will go to further increasing the RST's shareholding in Rangers FC. You can now buy tickets securely via our online booking form or by sending a cheque (made payable to the Rangers Supporters' Trust) to: The Rangers Supporters' Trust
Keep an eye on the site for more info regarding this exciting event. Please contact us through the site regarding any questions regarding the dinner. Please note that Rangers are at home to Kilmarnock that day. |
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