In an attempt to win back Ibrox as chairman, Dave King has issued a challenge to the Rangers board, putting them in a high-stakes EGM battle.
Furthermore, according to the former head of Light Blues, Rangers needs outside funding totalling £50 million in order to fulfil their goals for the upcoming campaigns.
Following John Bennett’s retirement as chairman due to poor health, King had his sights set on a spectacular return to Ibrox, according to an article published this week in The Rangers Review. It is known that influential voices in the boardroom are now not very interested in interacting with South Africa.
But that hasn’t stopped King. And as the big shareholder prepares for another boardroom brawl, he has asked the established Ibrox hierarchy, now led by John Gilligan on an interim basis, to stand up and be counted.
In a statement to the Rangers Review, King stated, “We need to find the right CEO and construct an executive team that will take the Club forward.” “Hiring a recruitment firm will be costly and ineffective. This choice serves as more evidence of the board’s detachment from reality and its poor hiring practices.
“I can totally see why a few powerful board members don’t want me back. They are aware from previous interactions that I will not put up with board members who genuinely don’t want to work and are just in it for the “jacket and tie.” I pose a challenge to the board: if it can, for once, put aside self-interest and prioritise the supporters.
“You must immediately call an Extraordinary General Meeting and submit your candidatures for reelection, just as I did to remove Ashley. In response, I shall propose my own nominations as well. I will not vote, and neither will any of the current board members who currently shield one another from one another. For obvious reasons, John Bennett and George Letham would not be allowed to cast ballots either. In this manner, we may (for once) let supporters choose who they want to lead their club.
Gilligan has assumed the role of chairman of the RIFC plc board, which is also composed of George Taylor, John Halsted, Graeme Park, Alistair Johnston, and Julian Wolhardt. With the exception of Gilligan, those individuals have been there for a while, and King feels that since Steven Gerrard won championship 55 three years ago, the hierarchy has squandered millions on players and managers.
Board sources have rejected King’s assertions of “investor fatigue,” but the businessman from South Africa maintains that outside funding is the only option following expensive initiatives like the reconstruction of Copland Stand and New Edmiston House.
King remarked, “But those same anonymous people want the opportunity to do it all over again.” John Bennett attempted to turn things around after taking control, but he lacked the financial and people means to do it.
It’s incredible that the same people who brought us into this mess want to maintain control by appointing their own professional puppet as chairman, who won’t know anything about the Club and won’t have any financial stake in its success. Rather than trying to stop them, we are sleepwalking Celtic into titles 55, 56, and 57. This board will live on in the annals of the Club.
“It would take the Club at least £50 million to accomplish our short- to medium-term goals, but with the current board structure, that amount could never be raised.” To advance the Club and transform into a contemporary football club, we require funding from a significantly larger and wealthier base as well as from parties that will be willing to commit more (over time).
King earlier sold some of his shares to Club 1872, leaving him with a 14% holding in RIFC plc. Taylor, Wolhardt, and Halsted collectively hold around 21% of the market.
Bennett made the decision over the weekend to resign from the top table following a turbulent tenure as chairman. King has now intensified his attempt to return to Ibrox, where he served for five years prior following the regime change in 2015.
King remarked, “The simple fact that not one of them was willing to show their face by stepping in as interim chair when John stepped down due to ill health is the most clear demonstration of the complete lack of leadership of this faceless crew.” “They should be ashamed! It is not the Rangers way to lurk in the shadows at times of need, which is why I have extended my offer to help once more.
“I would support a better choice if it existed. However, I cannot support a rudderless, leaderless board that is in its own self-created crisis.”
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