Rangers prepare for stormy AGM

The annual meeting of the clubs shareholders takes place this morning at Ibrox. The event promises to be a stormy affair as answers are sought from frustrated and worried fans concerned at the troubles, both real and perceived, at the Glasgow giants.



It's certainly not an easy time to be a Rangers fan. The club are up for sale, heavily in debt and facing a management walk-out in January - perhaps not the best time then for an annual general meeting.

The Rangers board, perhaps sensing that this will not be a walk in the park have decided on an early start - 11 o'clock - hoping that not too many will be able to get the time off work to attend.  But football is a passionate affair in Glasgow, and nowhere more so than at Ibrox, a club facing an uncertain future.

For those attending, there are three questions that need to be answered.

Q1: Who is really running the club?

Walter Smith opened a can of worms back in October when he stated that Lloyds bank where in control of the club, a statement that drew a quick denial from owner David Murray.

But there can be no doubt that the bank are concerned at the state of financial affairs at Ibrox. Donald Muir, a man with over 25 years of experience in business and a finance director of Murray International Holdings Group (who have debts of £759m) was placed on the board apparently at the behest of Lloyds Bank - the clubs major creditor - to manage the clubs debt, currently estimated at some £31m. It should be stressed that Muir is being paid by David Murray, not the bank, but his real role on the board is open to debate.

Fans claim, probably quite correctly, that it is Lloyds Bank, through Donald Muir, that are really running the club, including having a say over any and all transfer dealings - a source of great frustration for manager Walter Smith.

That Rangers fans are suspicious of Muir is evidenced by a joint statement from the Rangers Supporters Trust and the Rangers Supporters' Association calling for the re-election of Donald Muir to be opposed at today's AGM. The action is unlikely to succeed, but the message is clear, and the fans want to know exactly what Muir's remit is, and how much influence he has in deciding the clubs future.

Q2: Are there any buyers on the horizon for the club?

In recent weeks there have been many reports of potential buyers, but none have gone on to develop into anything serious. This much was confirmed by David Murray himself in an interview with the Scotsman back at the end of November.

In that interview, Murray expressed his frustration at why Rangers are being singled out for close scrutiny when there are clubs with bigger financial problems: he named Ipswich, who he claimed have bigger debts than Rangers, and Preston, who lost £10m last year.

But neither Preston and Ipswich are as big as club as Rangers, a club with an illustrious past and winners of the most domestic league titles in the world.

Dave King, a Glaswegian businessman now based in South Africa was an early front-runner in the race to buy Rangers, but King is currently fighting a £100m tax bill with the South African government; until that issue is resolved, he is unlikely to be in any position to expand on his £20m investment nine years ago. He remains, however, a non-executive director on the board of the club.

The latest candidate to emerge from the shadows is Graham Duffy, a lifelong Rangers fan who plans to lead a consortium of investors in a bid to clear the debts and turn the club around. Like King, Duffy is a foreign-based businessman. His plan is to sell the club back to the fans over a three year period at a cost of £1000 per share, with 15,000 fans per year buying into his scheme - in exchange for a vote and say in the running of the club. Duffy reckons he can raise £45m with his plan, and hopes to focus on youth development to ensure continued growth for the future.

Whether Duffy's plan has legs remains to be seen, but there are many supporters hoping that this is the way forward: a club, free of debt, owned by the supporters.

Q3: What is happening with Walter Smith?

The frustration that Smith - back in his second spell at Ibrox - faces is that he is  unable to build a squad to hold on to their league title. He has threatened not to renew his contract in January unless funds are made available to him to bring in fresh talent, but given the plight of the clubs finances he has more or less been told to sell before he can buy.

The playing staff have effectively been up for sale for most of the season, and with only Kris Boyd attracting attention (he turned down an offer to go to Turkey, and negotiations with Birmingham broke down earlier this year when personal terms could not be negotiated) it looks as if most of the current squad will remain in place until the end of the season: and that will more than likely mean the end for Walter Smith.

Aside from the financial troubles (the club made a loss of £12.7m for the year to 30 June, 2009), the results on the park are far from satisfactory. A terrible Champions League campaign saw the club go without a single win to date. Even with one more game to go against Seville, the club are guaranteed to finish bottom of their group, a group from which many expected them to do a lot better than they did. Rangers even missed out on Europa League football which might have gone some way to re-establishing credibility - as well as the bank balance.

It is clear that Rangers need to bring in fresh talent to reinvigorate the side and reestablish their dominance over the Scottish game. But until the financial troubles are resolved, it is unlikely that there will be new faces at Ibrox.

Although Rangers are still very much in the hunt to retain their SPL crown, performances this season have been far from stellar and there have been hints of trouble in the squad that point to low morale. Kenny Miller followed up a verbal assault on Madjid Bougherra by aiming a punch at the Algerian star following his late return from international duty, while a war of words erupted in the dressing room between David Weir and Kyle Lafferty, as Weir criticised Lafferty for his efforts on the pitch.

This sort of in-fighting would have been unthinkable with the Walter Smith of old, perhaps suggesting that he's grown tired of the troubles surrounding the club. In recent weeks we've seen both Smith and McCoist look on apathetically as Rangers struggle and stutter through their season.

We think Walter Smith will stay on at the club after the New Year - though we think it's unlikely he'll take the Scotland job when, not if, he's approached by the SFA. There's no denying that Smith is an important part of the Rangers package that's currently up for grabs, and keeping him on board may be instrumental in getting the club sold.

For chairman Alastair Johnston, running his first AGM, it will be a baptism of fire. At a time of great uncertainty at the club, Johnston has drawn criticism for his low profile at a time when leadership and clear direction is what is required. He'll get a chance to show his mettle today, but it certainly won't be an easy time.

Answers will be sought, but whether the shareholders will get them remains to be seen.