By Duncan Mackay
June 15 – An unsuccessful last-minute attempt by former manager Walter Smith to buy Rangers is hampering new owner Charles Green’s attempts to win over the supporters at Ibrox, he has admitted.
Green (pictured above) completed his £5.5 million ($8.6 million/€6.8 million) purchase of the 140-year-old club’s assets last night after attempts to avoid liquidation formally failed in a creditors vote.
But this deal ensures the business would continue in some form under a new name of The Rangers Football Club.
But Rangers’ supporters have thrown their backing behind the consortium led by Smith, winner of 21 trophies during his two spells at the club, including 10 Scottish Premier League (SPL) titles, which failed in a last-ditch £6 million ($9.4 million/€7.5 million) bid that included Glasgow businessman Douglas Park and Jim McColl to derail Green’s proposal.
A campaign by Rangers supporters to boycott renewing their season tickets unless the Yorkshireman sells the club to Smith is gathering momentum.
“All this negative energy dealing with this bid and that bid is diverting away from resolving outstanding issues with the SFA (Scottish Football Association) and sitting down with members of the SPL and asking them if we can come back in their club,” Green said.
“No-one had confidence we would buy the club.
“I’ve got confidence in Charles Green.
“I knew on February 20 we would buy the club.
“That’s why I’ve been working for four months.
Green has offered Smith a role as chairman of his football club board, working alongside the newly-appointed club chairman Malcolm Murray, a 57-year-old who is director of MWB Business Exchange plc, a company involved in the management of real estate.
But that seems likely to be rejected, putting a question mark over the future of the current manager Ally McCoist (pictured below right), who played under Smith (pictured left) and was then his assistant manager during his second spell in charge.
One of Green’s partners, Imran Ahmad, claimed the true cost of their purchase was £10 million ($16 million/€12 million) with professional fees and operating costs included and that the investors would only consider an offer in “multiples” of that total to walk away quickly.
“All we have is distrust, that I’m [former owner] Craig Whyte’s man or that we haven’t got any money, or that we’re going to use season ticket money,” Green said.
“It just goes on forever.”
American businessman Bill Miller, the preferred bidder to buy Rangers, pulled out last month partly because of opposition to him by the fans of the Glasgow club.
There appears no sight in end, at least in the short-term for Green either.
“Mr Green does not have the backing of the Rangers support and the longer he delays, the harder the situation will become,” warned McColl.
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