Step up and pay: The Rangers Fans Wake Up (From The Evening Times) D-Day is approaching for Rangers fans as the fight for their club reaches its defining moment. The Light Blue legions have decided it is time to step up and pay and Chris Jack speaks to Ross McAdam of the Rangers Supporters Trust and Rangers First director Ricki Neil about the surge in support for fan ownership amongst the Ibrox faithful How many new members have signed up in the last few weeks and what do you think is behind the recent momentum? RST: Almost 1500 since the New Year. Our membership is now over 4000. In the last week alone, several individuals have invested over £1000 each in BuyRangers. I think there have been several reasons for the great increase. Firstly, fans have been encouraged by the recent share purchases by Dave King and The Three Bears, of course George Letham is an RST board member and George Taylor contributes to BuyRangers. Fans see how important it is for change at the EGM and are determined to help see it across the line. Buying shares is the only way to do this. Having many influential figures such as Richard Gough, Paul Murray, Lynsey Sharp and even Salim Kerkar signing up hopefully inspires fans to join. RF: Close to 3000 members, each paying monthly into our fund to buy shares collectively, to give us a total of over 5000. We were experiencing regular growth each week but on the day that Messrs Taylor, Park and Letham bought significant shareholdings it seemed to fire some sort of starting pistol, encouraging those that could afford just a few pounds rather than hundreds of thousands of pounds to join rangersfirst.org and get collectively buying shares. Was the news about Mike Ashleys security over Ibrox and Murray Park the tipping point for many fans? RST: Absolutely, you just have to look at the numbers who were outside the front door of Ibrox before the game on Friday night. We have been used to setbacks over the past few years but the thought of Ibrox being used as security when there is an offer from others not using Ibrox has broken a few fans. There was a great feeling of unity before and during the game on Friday and the increase in BuyRangers membership has certainly demonstrated that this is the case. RF: For some it was certainly. For others it was the bell for the final lap of the fans race to control our club, a sign to get in the sprint finish and really up the pace of spreading the word about RangersFirst. Do you think more fans are now taking an interest in off-field matters and have found their voice? RST: In recent years most have fans have taken an interest in what has been going on off the field. It has been impossible not to as there is usually a new story every day. Some of the card displays have shown that fans do want change and these have definitely had a positive effect but hopefully more are realising that the most effective way to ensure change is by purchasing shares. We offer a great scheme to do just that. The power lies as a collective. RF: What has happened recently is more fans have realised that their small contributions through our collective purchase of shares model can actually empower them to make a difference. The fans have gone from having to watch all this happen to the club, with no legal power to change it, to realising that actually we can, when gathered together, make a real difference and have a real voice. Why has this not happened until now? RST: The recent share purchases from the Three Bears and Dave King have shown people that buying shares ensures power and change. Many fans have never been convinced about greater fan involvement but with the recent history at Rangers, hopefully more are seeing the benefits it can have. RF: It is all to do with empowerment. RF has empowered individual fans, small groups of fans and Supporters Clubs that we actually can do something about it. How many members, and how much money, can fan ownership schemes realistically attract? RST: It is difficult to put a realistic figure on this but if the 200,000 Bears who travelled to Manchester in 2008 paid the minimum £5 per month, that would be £1million per month which at the current share price is 4 million shares a month (5% of the company). Greater fan involvement is no longer a pipe dream, it is now a reality. RF: This month alone so far we have raised over £100,000. As for the future, realistically you have to compare our club with others doing similar things. Hearts have 8000 members in their scheme, contributing £1.4m per year. Can we beat that? Of course we can. Bayern Munich have 200,000 members, can we beat that? That might be a bit more of a challenge but we welcome the chase. With the General Meeting coming up, what will you be doing to make sure fans have a vote and use their shares? RST: Firstly, we would encourage all fans to sign up to BuyRangers and ensure we can purchase as many shares as possible before the EGM. We will be polling our members in due course to see how they would like us to use the shareholding. We will also be taking proxies from fans as we have done at the past two AGMs. We would encourage all fans with shares to ensure they use them. RF: When the resolutions papers are published we will poll all of our members on how they want our block of shares to vote, we will also be issuing information to help folk fill in their own forms where they own shares directly and we can also take proxy votes. We will also be seeking more information from those standing for board positions. Joining the board of Rangers should be an honour and we would expect new board members to want to communicate with our members. We really hope that, going forward, Rangers can become an example for forward thinking engagement between its owners and supporters and that supporters will be invited to participate in the direction and running of the club. Could the votes of supporters tip the balance to oust the board? RST: Without doubt. It is believed the fans individually own around 10% which could have a massive say in the outcome of the EGM. We will be purchasing more shares in the very near future as well so the more people who join BuyRangers will allow more shares to be bought. With the Three Bears and Dave King owning around 35% and the Easdale block & Ashley owning around 35% it is essential all fans use their vote. RF: By all accounts they could, of course it will be unclear until the day just how close the voting could be, but certainly ignoring the shares held by fans groups and by small shareholders (circa 12%) would not seem wise. Is fan ownership, or greater fan involvement in the running of the club, realistic at Rangers? RST: Definitely. We have a fantastic relationship with many of the high profile Rangers fans seeking change at the club. George Letham is a RST board member and BuyRangers contributor and George Taylor and Paul Murray contribute as well. John Gilligan, who has been proposed to join the board, was former Vice Chairman of the RST and is still a member. Having such a good relationship can only strengthen the fans position in having a greater involvement. RF: Of course it is. Every Club in Germany from the smallest to Bayern Munich have the Fans voice at the centre and, while not 100% comparable, it has done them no harm. Will there come a time where BuyRangers and RangersFirst join together? RST: We are willing to work with all Rangers fans to benefit Rangers. At present, the two schemes are being reasonably successful but there is still much work still to do. Hopefully both schemes continue to prosper. RF: We are a member driven organisation and nothing will happen without our members wanting it and voting for it.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 15:48:40 +0000
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