Rangers set for D-Day meeting at Ibrox with Dave King poised to take over
Friday 6 March 2015 11:29, UK
The fate of the Rangers board rests on Friday's Extraordinary General Meeting at Ibrox, with Dave King looking set to take control.
The meeting will finally kick off at 11am at their home ground having already been cancelled twice at London hotels, with all the latest updates and coverage on Sky Sports News HQ and the Sky Sports Today blog from 6am.
King, a former director of oldco Rangers, says he has already been told he will win a 'landslide victory' at the EGM and will look to oust the remaining two directors on the club's board, CEO Derek Llambias and finance director Barry Leach, who have refused to step down.
King's side alleges Llambias and Leach are looking for a full contractual pay-off to their 12-month contracts, while King says he has no intention of agreeing to this. And with the club already confirming they have begun drawing down a second £5m loan from Sports Direct and still unable to trade shares until a new adviser (Nomad) is installed, there are still many twists and turns expected on Friday.
Speaking exclusively to Jim White on Sky Sports News HQ, a bullish King, who invested £20m of his own money into Rangers prior to it being consigned to liquidation in June 2012, insisted "transparency and accountability" were his key ambitions if his team won control.
"I am very excited for the first time in a couple of years," King said. "Everyone who has followed this saga will know I have made numerous attempts to try and get in a position where we could get the right structure on the board, the right people on the board, to take the club forward.
"The main gameplan now, and the main thing I have stayed focused on, is to try and get regime change and try and install on the Rangers board some like-minded individuals who know what the club is about and who know what the history is about.
"People who will give the fans hope that we will take the club forward into something they will recognise more as the real Rangers as opposed to what we have seen over the last couple of years. I feel we are at that point now. It has been a long road but I am asking the fans to remain calm to remain steady because after [the EGM] we will finally have a direction."
It will also be interesting to see how relationships develop with Mike Ashley, the owner of Sports Direct, who has a near nine per cent shareholding in the club. The Newcastle United owner has previously refused to meet with King but the prospective new chairman says it is likely some element of negotiation would be conducted eventually.
If King wins Friday's vote, a formal process will take place with Llambias and Leach leaving the board after Paul Murray and John Gilligan are appointed, with King set to delay his appointment to allow himself to be vetted by the authorities.
Sports Direct retain the right to appoint two directors to the board, as long as the £10m loan is outstanding. King’s camp has indicated there is no immediate need to repay the loan, despite the securities attached and the influence it holds over the club.
Sky Sports understand the board is likely to contain at least six individuals; King, Murray, Gilligan, plus possibly Douglas Park, and representatives of George Letham and George Taylor. A new CEO/Finance Director would increase this further, as would a possible fans representative.
If King is appointed as a director, it is likely that he, and Murray, will be asked by the SFA to justify themselves as “fit and proper persons” and this is not a guarantee following his convictions for tax fraud in South Africa. The stock market may also decide to act against King due to these convictions.
Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan is hoping the club can take a big step towards securing its future.
Regan said: “For Rangers fans in particular and for all of those that are watching what’s gone on over the last three years, I think it’s important that there is stability and harmony, and that whoever leads Rangers can actually get on with doing that and try and get the club back into some kind of positive shape again.”
How much money will King invest into the club? How will the changes go down with the Rangers fans? Who will replace current boss Kenny McDowall? What is the immediate and long term roles of Mike Ashley and Sports Direct? What will King's role be come the end of Friday?
After months of turmoil and speculation, some of the issues and questions surrounding the future of Rangers Football Club may finally be dealt with inside Ibrox stadium on Friday. Will harmony soon reign at Ibrox?
Get all the latest updates on events from Rangers from 6am on SSNHQ and the Sky Sports Today blog.
Read Charles Paterson's lowdown on Rangers and what might happen next.
