Latest news with #Club1872
The Herald Scotland
14 hours ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Why regime change is required at Club 1872 not just Rangers
No, it took an arduous trek across the Alps in a blizzard and then three days of kneeling outside a castle in northern Italy in the snow wearing nothing more than a sackcloth for the medieval ruler, who had been excommunicated for his sacrilegious act, to be welcomed back in to the bosom of the Catholic church by his old nemesis. Henry's penitential 'Walk to Canossa' in 1077 is regarded by historians today as being the ultimate apology, the mummy and daddy of mea culpas, the gold standard of contrition. It is fair to say the amende honorable offered up by Club 1872, the Rangers supporters' group who at one point in the not-too-distant past were the second largest shareholders in the Ibrox club with a stake of 10.71 per cent, earlier this week fell some way short of it. Read more: 'We sincerely apologise to contributors for our relative silence,' read a statement on the group's official website which revealed they had held a 'very positive meeting' with new chairman Andrew Cavenagh, chief executive Patrick Stewart and other senior executives. Director Euan Macfarlane echoed that sentiment in a series of posts which he put up on the social networking website X (formerly Twitter) which gushed about Cavenagh being a 'supremely impressive individual' and stated 'we're confident in our new custodians more than ever'. He wrote, 'I would reiterate our apology for a long period of silence.' The reasons given for the complete lack of contact with their members during the past six months were 'regular changes to senior decision makers' and 'confidentiality considerations and sensitivities' while a 'live takeover' was in play. That sounded fair enough. Best not to interfere and muddy the waters during a complex and delicate process. Right? Wrong. Brassed off Bears were, unlike Pope Gregory VII when Henry IV came, quite literally, crawling a millennium ago, unwilling to forgive and forget. This is a quality family newspaper which is read by nice little old ladies and impressionable children alike. So it would be wrong to publish most of the online responses to the long overdue missive. Here, though, are a handful of replies which are printable. (Image: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group) What a waste of time for our chairman and chief executive. A new leadership team needs to take over. I am ready to pull my contribution. Hopefully you will get chased. Resign from your positions and let others take charge. Nobody trusts you. Absolute jokers. Only in it for yourselves. Crawl back under your stone. A complete reboot is required. Club 1872 was launched back in 2016 when separate fan ownership groups Rangers First and the Rangers Supporters Trust merged. Dave King and his associates had seized control of the Govan institution from a despised and distrusted regime the year before and optimism abounded. Membership and contributions steadily increased early on along with their shareholding. Their ultimate goal – to own 25 per cent plus one share and so have the power to veto any major decisions – seemed an eminently achievable objective during those heady days. It did not take long, however, for things to unravel in spectacular fashion. Complaints about communication, transparency, governance and independence have been rife since. The number of members has nosedived as the unhappiness with the group's stewardship has risen. An acrimonious attempt to oust the board four years ago resulted in the police being called in. Those who currently hold sway undoubtedly, regardless of the frequent accusations which have been levelled against them, want Club 1872 to play a key role at Rangers moving forward and the Ibrox club to flourish on and off the park. But there is no future for the organisation with its current custodians in place due to the distrust which, rightly or wrongly, exists among the support. Regime change is required. Read more: The Fan Advisory Board (FAB) have shown they are an independent body and are far from toothless since coming into being two years ago. Their actions during the Graeme Souness tifo row last season, to give just one example, underlined that. They let directors know in no uncertain terms what they thought of their condemnatory statement and swiftly made that public. Some supporters would be happy to continue with just FAB representing their interests and feel it would be for the best if Club 1872 sold up and closed down. But far too much money has been spent by far too many people for far too long for that to happen. Plus, being a significant shareholder gives them, even with a new owners snapping up a 51 per cent stake, a different kind of influence. Rangers fans are positively ebullient just now about what lies ahead under the 'supremely impressive individuals' who will take control at an EGM in Glasgow on Monday morning. With good reason. The new hierarchy seem to have the ambition, the means and the smarts to make a real difference. That said, there was mass euphoria when Craig Whyte came in, when Charles Green took over and when King rode to the rescue. It remains important for supporters to wield some power going forward. This honeymoon period won't last forever. But a Papal pardon wouldn't absolve the current Club 1872 directors from their sins, real or imagined, of the past.
The National
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Why regime change is required at Club 1872 not just Rangers
Popping down to his local Esso garage and picking up a box of Milk Tray and a bunch of flowers out of the bucket in the forecourt was never going to cut it. No, it took an arduous trek across the Alps in a blizzard and then three days of kneeling outside a castle in northern Italy in the snow wearing nothing more than a sackcloth for the medieval ruler, who had been excommunicated for his sacrilegious act, to be welcomed back in to the bosom of the Catholic church by his old nemesis. Henry's penitential 'Walk to Canossa' in 1077 is regarded by historians today as being the ultimate apology, the mummy and daddy of mea culpas, the gold standard of contrition. It is fair to say the amende honorable offered up by Club 1872, the Rangers supporters' group who at one point in the not-too-distant past were the second largest shareholders in the Ibrox club with a stake of 10.71 per cent, earlier this week fell some way short of it. Read more: 'We sincerely apologise to contributors for our relative silence,' read a statement on the group's official website which revealed they had held a 'very positive meeting' with new chairman Andrew Cavenagh, chief executive Patrick Stewart and other senior executives. Director Euan Macfarlane echoed that sentiment in a series of posts which he put up on the social networking website X (formerly Twitter) which gushed about Cavenagh being a 'supremely impressive individual' and stated 'we're confident in our new custodians more than ever'. He wrote, 'I would reiterate our apology for a long period of silence.' The reasons given for the complete lack of contact with their members during the past six months were 'regular changes to senior decision makers' and 'confidentiality considerations and sensitivities' while a 'live takeover' was in play. That sounded fair enough. Best not to interfere and muddy the waters during a complex and delicate process. Right? Wrong. Brassed off Bears were, unlike Pope Gregory VII when Henry IV came, quite literally, crawling a millennium ago, unwilling to forgive and forget. This is a quality family newspaper which is read by nice little old ladies and impressionable children alike. So it would be wrong to publish most of the online responses to the long overdue missive. Here, though, are a handful of replies which are printable. (Image: Ross MacDonald - SNS Group) What a waste of time for our chairman and chief executive. A new leadership team needs to take over. I am ready to pull my contribution. Hopefully you will get chased. Resign from your positions and let others take charge. Nobody trusts you. Absolute jokers. Only in it for yourselves. Crawl back under your stone. A complete reboot is required. Club 1872 was launched back in 2016 when separate fan ownership groups Rangers First and the Rangers Supporters Trust merged. Dave King and his associates had seized control of the Govan institution from a despised and distrusted regime the year before and optimism abounded. Membership and contributions steadily increased early on along with their shareholding. Their ultimate goal – to own 25 per cent plus one share and so have the power to veto any major decisions – seemed an eminently achievable objective during those heady days. It did not take long, however, for things to unravel in spectacular fashion. Complaints about communication, transparency, governance and independence have been rife since. The number of members has nosedived as the unhappiness with the group's stewardship has risen. An acrimonious attempt to oust the board four years ago resulted in the police being called in. Those who currently hold sway undoubtedly, regardless of the frequent accusations which have been levelled against them, want Club 1872 to play a key role at Rangers moving forward and the Ibrox club to flourish on and off the park. But there is no future for the organisation with its current custodians in place due to the distrust which, rightly or wrongly, exists among the support. Regime change is required. Read more: The Fan Advisory Board (FAB) have shown they are an independent body and are far from toothless since coming into being two years ago. Their actions during the Graeme Souness tifo row last season, to give just one example, underlined that. They let directors know in no uncertain terms what they thought of their condemnatory statement and swiftly made that public. Some supporters would be happy to continue with just FAB representing their interests and feel it would be for the best if Club 1872 sold up and closed down. But far too much money has been spent by far too many people for far too long for that to happen. Plus, being a significant shareholder gives them, even with a new owners snapping up a 51 per cent stake, a different kind of influence. Rangers fans are positively ebullient just now about what lies ahead under the 'supremely impressive individuals' who will take control at an EGM in Glasgow on Monday morning. With good reason. The new hierarchy seem to have the ambition, the means and the smarts to make a real difference. That said, there was mass euphoria when Craig Whyte came in, when Charles Green took over and when King rode to the rescue. It remains important for supporters to wield some power going forward. This honeymoon period won't last forever. But a Papal pardon wouldn't absolve the current Club 1872 directors from their sins, real or imagined, of the past.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Rangers takeover chief in Club 1872 summit as fan group break silence on key issues
The shareholders grouping have often been outspoken critics the club custodians Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh has held constructive talks with fan group Club 1872. The shareholders grouping revealed they had been granted a sitdown with the American pharmaceutical tycoon who spearheaded the recent takeover at Ibrox. Chief executive Patrick Stewart was also involved in the meeting which the group hope can help build bridges between them and the board. Club 1872 have been at loggerheads with the Ibrox hierarchy in recent years over a number of issues. They went to war with Rangers chiefs over their decision to participate in the Sydney Super Cup in Australia against rivals Celtic. The Ibrox club accused the of embarking on "propaganda war" but in the end they withdrew from the friendly Down Under over a wider supporter backlash. Now, though, they appear to been keen to create a better relationship with the new owners. Club 1872 have five per cent shareholding in the club and their ultimate aim is to have official representation at board level - but that is not on the table for the new regime. But they could still have a part to play in the new era as talks get set to continue and a statement read: "Club 1872 is pleased to announce that we held a very positive meeting with new Rangers Chairman and lead consortium member, Andrew Cavenagh and chief executive, Patrick Stewart [on Monday]. "Since John Bennett became chairman in April 2023, Club 1872 has been meeting regularly with Rangers to find a way forward on a proposed funding model which would fit with the club's strategy and allow renewed investment directly to the club for shares as well as funding key heritage projects of significance to the Rangers support. "At each stage of those discussions, progress was made but then delayed by the regularly fluctuating situation with the senior leadership of the club. We have met with three different chairmen and two different chief executives over that time. "We sincerely apologise to contributors for our relative silence during this time but we were dealing with those regular changes to the senior decision makers at the club and were mindful of confidentiality considerations and sensitivities in that ever changing landscape - particularly in recent months with a live takeover in play. "We welcome this early opportunity to speak to Andrew Cavenagh and outline our funding proposal, the significant funds we have available to invest and to gain an understanding of the priorities of the new owners. "We also had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming EGM, the change in the company structure and the investment strategy of our new owners going forward. "It is our intention to find a way in which Club 1872 can fit into that strategy that all parties are comfortable with and we were encouraged by our initial talks in that regard. "We will now continue those discussions with a view to presenting a proposal to contributors for their consideration in due course. In the meantime we will shortly publish our poll for the upcoming EGM."
