9 February 2013 – Charles Green Q&A, Aurora Hotel, Sydney – The Home of The Sydney True Blues
The following is a report from Charles Green’s visit to Sydney for a Q&A. The notes were taken by a member of the Sydney True Blues as a volunteer. Anything reported below can not be taken as a direct quote as no audio recording of the meeting was allowed.
Introductions
Derek Kerr – Introduction to the event and welcome to our guests, Alan McKenzie, Jim Hannah and Charles Green. Thank you for making the journey to Australia and taking the time to come here today.
Ian Gray – Welcome everyone, I just want to start by giving a brief history of Rangers supporters clubs within Sydney. I arrived in 1997 and got straight into the clubcall section of the Rangers News to look for Rangers supporters in Sydney. As part of the Coogee RSC we would watch video recordings of the match which were 2 weeks old that family would send over from home. It was amazing. For Old firm games we would get around 200-400 people turn up.
In Feb 2012, just 2 weeks after the club went into administration we held the ORSA AGM in Perth and we had enquiries from people looking to set up supporters clubs in Sydney and the Gold Coast – the support has been phenomenal with the guys here in Sydney staying up until 2am to watch the games. We now have 11 RSC under the ORSA umbrella with additional interest to start clubs in Phuket and Indonesia. Right now the membership currently looks like this:
• Hong Kong – 15 members
• Perth – 79
• Adelaide – 18
• Melbourne 1 – 22
• Melbourne 2 – 20
• Northern Beaches – 20
• Sydney – 55
• Gold Coast – 18
• Brisbane 24
• Northern Territory – 14
• Kiwi True Blues– 28
Thanks to ORSA we managed to get 6 tickets to the UEFA Cup Final to fans in Australia. We also had Goram and Amoruso out here thanks to ORSA. There are well over 100 people here today which means there must be about at least 40 people here who are not members of the supporters club so I would urge all of you to join one of the clubs and show your support for Rangers.
DK – Thanks Ian, now its time for the main event. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Mr Charles Green.
Charles Green – Thank you for such a great welcome. In the past few days I have been to Dubai, Qatar, Perth, Melbourne and now Sydney and everywhere the reception has just been fantastic. I am learning each day how great this club is, it also makes me realise that all the hard work that we did in February to buy the club is appreciated. Its great to be here and I will make sure I don’t ramble on as much as the last guy!
- Defending The Club
In my short time at Rangers I have faced more charges than any other Chief Executive ever. I am told that my conduct isn’t right but I refuse to let people tread over this club and I will stand up for the club. I won’t apologise for telling the truth and defending this club.
- Background to Buying the Club
Back in February I was watching the News at Ten and the main headline was Rangers had went into administration and I felt a sadness for the club. I was mates with Colin Hendry and I had been to Scotland games at Ibrox – but I wasn’t a Rangers fan. I did know that Rangers were a massive club – although that is nothing to how massive I now know this club is. I was initially asked to buy the club and I said no. I was asked again and was encouraged to get a group of investors together. At that time I was planning to go live in France but I was encouraged to look into buying Rangers.
I wanted to get lawyers and accountants together to analyse the club and we had to trail through a 15,000 page report from Duff & Phelps. I was introduced to the media by Duff & Phelps as having exclusivity to buy the club. The administrators were running out of cash and it was the end of the season so there was no income for the club. Various different groups were offering to buy the club but were not coming up with any cash. In the end I paid £250k for exclusivity of the club. At that time the fans were questioning me, and none of the other investors wanted to go public. I was being accused of working alongside Craig Whyte and using his money to buy the club. Needless to say that wasn’t the case.
We were ready for both the Newco and CVA routes but by the 1st of August we still weren’t registered by the SFA and it was so close to not being registered in time for the game vs Brechin. If we hadn’t made that we would have been unable to play in the league for a full year. We were misled by HMRC and all the problems could have been avoided if we knew the outcome of the tax case sooner as Ticketus were willing to accept the CVA. We would have saved over £500,000 in legal fees if HMRC had been upfront.
HMRC are now appealing the decision against a company which is in liquidation and has no assets. They also have no chance of winning this. Rangers made huge mistakes in the past and did deserve to be punished, but not the fans or the staff working for the club. The people who should have been held accountable for all the mistakes have never felt any pain. It is now the fans who are paying for these mistakes.
I have never told lies. I am the biggest shareholder at Rangers with an 8% stake. We can never get to a situation where one man has sole control again. That’s why we need fans to invest and buy shares in the club. The stock offering was extremely successful and that was a result of the confidence that the fans gave the City of London – seeing 49k fans turn up every week.
On Tuesday I was in Qatar at the European Club Association Conference and I was sat with the Chairmen of 3 Italian clubs – AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus and I offered Juventus the use of Murray Park while they are in Glasgow next week. We have a lot of friends in Europe and they can’t believe the treatment that Rangers have faced. Growing up I was always taught that when someone is down, you help them back up. That hasn’t been the case with Rangers. People have put the boot in at every opportunity. It is absolutely crazy as you just have to look at the Sky viewing figures or the attendances in the SPL to realise what a mistake it was. During the summer I was told by other Chairmen that they had no choice to vote us down as their own fans were refusing to buy season tickets – I even offered to pay for the 3,000 season tickets that one club normally sells. They told me they could’t do it as there were fans protesting outside their stadiums. None of these decisions were based on business. If we had stayed in the SPL we would have had more bills but we would have had £30M more revenue and Deloitte had helped to advise us that HMRC couldn’t win the tax case. We suffered due to poor decisions – if HMRC had made a decision sooner there would be no newco.
Meanwhile I am getting grief from everyone while I am trying to fight to save the previous titles that were trying to be stripped from the club. I was ready to pack it in but Ally asked me not to leave. Ally couldn’t come out publically and back me as Walter was just putting a bid together so he couldn’t be seen to be backing me over Walter. I was happy to work with Walter and he has since told me he is happy his bid collapsed.
- Orlit
We have cash in the bank and are debt free – there is not a single club in Italy without debt. We have £20M in the bank. We have no borrowings yet people are still trying to make mischief. The Orlit situation. We had agreed to pay introductory fees to the stockbroker of 5%. Now we are doing so well they are asking for £230K more and have placed a winding up order against the club! It is complete nonsense and they will not get a penny from me as I will never give in to blackmail and threats.
- Craig Whyte
Craig Whyte has approached us and said he wants 6 tickets in the directors box plus a payment of £1 million. I said that we should offer it to him but let it be made public that he is back in Glasgow. I’m sure if we told people Craig Whyte was at Ibrox we would have the biggest attendance ever. Everyone is now looking to steal our success and people are looking for huge entitlements.
- The Future
I won’t work after Rangers – this is the most satisfying job I have ever had. But of course the shareholders can vote me out. No one has sole control. We operate tight controls now. We need to strike a better balance between running as a business and satisfying the fans. When I was at Sheffield I paid £500k for a Flo brother – Rangers paid £11.5M too much. The club were spending far too much on players and wages. Yet we are still unable to sign players and have no idea what league we will be playing in next season – absolute madness. It is hurting us as it affects decisions – shirt sponsors, TV deals. We also have to face difficult decisions such as the opportunity of stadium naming rights – more on that later.
I have been accused of pandering to the Rangers fans by the media. I didn’t go out of my way to win over the fans, I simply told the truth. I spoke to a fan who was renewing his season ticket for the 30th year and he said that I was the first time anyone from the club had ever spoke to him. That can’t be right. That’s why I have went to the USA and Belfast and I am going up to Stornoway to meet the fans and hear your views. It is so important to listen to the fans. I am looking at business development in Asia and the Far East. Rangers have let down the 600 supporters clubs we have worldwide. Melbourne RSC are celebrating their 30th anniversary and Rangers haven’t done enough to capitalise on the global fanbase. I’m sure if I went to the South Pole I would find a RSC. It is a lost opportunity to not capitalise on this global presence.
- Jim Traynor and Media
We have brought Jim Traynor on board. He is not a Rangers fan but he knows Scottish football inside out. I asked him to leave the BBC / Daily Record as we need to be able to control the media and Jim is a great asset. Serious action is needed with regard to the media. The Old Firm have always had a huge influence over the media but with Rangers not speaking out for the last 5-6 years had given Celtic too much power. Dominance was now held by just one club and that was not healthy. The reaction of other journalists to us winning the tax case was unbelievable with one editor with his head in his hands and the other claiming it was ‘a fucking conspiracy by the government’. Jim had lost faith in the media. Jim has something on everyone in Scottish football and now he is working for us you can guarantee there are quite a few people on Immodium now!
We plan to transform our use of media – starting with a Rangers App for iPhones. Jim Traynor will be out here in Oz next week. We will be holding an interactive phone in where you can speak face to face online and will get the chance to ask questions to myself and Ally directly. We are building a TV broadcast unit in Argyle House so we can control our own productions – there will be no political correctness or boundaries and it will be a fully open forum to discuss. We will also film the aboard meeting – a first in UK PLC history. Fans have a right to know what is going on.
- Cross Border Leagues
SFA have now admitted they have been speaking to UEFA about cross border leagues and that they wouldn’t oppose Rangers leaving Scotland. This was denied 6 months ago. They haven’t been telling the truth yet I am on a charge by the SFA every month for bringing the game into disrepute by telling the truth.
I told Neil Doncaster I wouldn’t be attending the league restructure meeting as I can’t vote. It is ridiculous we can’t vote. The rules change like the weather. Now we don’t want to listen to the fans, less than a year after being told the views of fans were the most important. I have been looking into us playing in the Conference as it would be a higher standard than what we are playing in now. I have 2 legal opinions that we should sue the FA under the EU treaty for fair trade. To not let us play in that league falls under anti-competition legislation and I have written to the Prime minister to explain this. I will explore every opportunity and do what is right for Rangers.
- The Rangers Support
We sold 38,500 season tickets this year. 9,000 did not renew this year due to various reasons. I am hopefully that most of these fans now trust me and will come back next year giving us even more season ticket sales. We have a lot more young people coming to games and that is good for the future of the club. We are making friends on all of our away trips and all of the local pubs and shops love it. In Annan the local shops ran out of beer when we came to visit. We have Russian and South American camera crews following the rise of Rangers – this helps to raise our profile abroad. We have paid the price for our mistakes so there will be no more apologies from us.
- Boycotts
I was asked by a fan if we will boycott all away games when we get back to the SPL. No. The Dundee United boycott was to make a stand against their chairman who tried to harm our club. That fans boycott was for one reason, but the fans drive on the players. I would love to see the opposite and have so many fans turn up to away games that some of our fans are turned away despite the fact these teams can’t fill their own stadiums. Maybe we could borrow some of the empty seats from Celtic! A taxi driver who was a Celtic fan actually asked for my photo and thanked me for saving Rangers as he said without Rangers there is no Celtic. There is no spectacle of Old Firm matches anymore.
- League Reconstruction
In the next 4-6 weeks I will be wanting the outcome of the league reconstruction. At most it will take us another 2 years to get back to the top. We performed terribly against Dundee Utd last week and we need to build a side that can compete and get in Europe. We can never be bigger than Manchester United or Barcelona – we are dreaming if we think we can. I was told to only ever dream when I am sleeping. Dreams when you are awake only distract you. We need a different model – we need to look at Ajax and Sporting Lisbon and Porto. These teams compete well in Europe every year. We need more out of Murray Park and we need to buy young players from teams. Not Messi or even Fabregas who is sitting on the bench behind Messi. We need the youngsters with great potential but don’t get a chance because they are stuck behind Messi and Fabregas. We need a mixture of 1 or 2 experienced players alongside a young team.
I am wide awake to the tough realities we face but I am confident we will deliver success over the coming 4-5 years. I am now happy to answer any questions that you may have, unless the question is ‘will I buy a round?’ – the answer is no!
- Q&A
Q – Hi Charles, what school did you go to?
CG – I left school at 15 and went to work in the mines. It was not a comprehensive or grammar school. But I always worked hard. Seeing you all here I see what a diverse group you are but you are all part of the one family and I feel part of that family. I want to be part of it for the next 15 years.
Q – When are you going to invite Linfield to Ibrox?
CG – As we speak, Andrew Dixon is fixing this. Before the end of May – as soon as they have secured a European place for next season. I am also in talks to have a friendly with Arsenal and we will be buying back our shares in Arsenal. I am sure you have also heard the recent reports about Gazza and I will be looking to arrange a game with Newcastle to raise funds to support Gazza – a Rangers and Newcastle legend.
Q – Over the past 12 months the media has been full of misinformation and lies. With Jim Traynor now on board are we going to go on the offensive or go after individuals who have harmed the club?
CG – We have 3 potential positions. 1 – stay where we were and let everyone walk all over us. 2 – go to war with everyone. But wars are draining and they are not constructive. 3 – is the middle ground and Jim Traynor is a great weapon. We can use him to harm anyone who wants to harm us. I don’t want to go on the offensive, I just want us to be allowed to get on with ourselves and for everyone else to focus on their own business.
Q – Where is the future for Rangers in Europe such as the Europa League?
CG – Europe is a massive opportunity. The Champions League Final will generate over £1 billion for the clubs involved. And there are clubs looking at refreshing the Europa League. We need this as the format is stale in Scotland and fans lose interest quickly. Next year I want a stronger Rangers who will be competitive in the cups. But we cant buy until Jan 2014. I will only accept a move to a higher league if we get the transfer ban removed. Otherwise there is no point in being in the higher league and being disadvantaged. Stuart Regan thought I was all talk when I threatened to refuse to play this season unless we backed him. The balance of power has now shifted and the future is bright for Rangers.
Q – Thank you so much for saving our club. What can we do to ensure the future success of the club to allow my son to follow Rangers?
CG – I had a meeting with Central Coast Mariners today, they have great facilities. Scottish talent will never be enough so we need to look at other players from overseas. Ji Sun Park at Man Utd is a great example of this. He is a great player from a commercial sense. We need to set up an academy for talent in Australia, Japan and China. Central Coast can be a feeder club for us. I will be bringing teams over to Scotland. Rangers will be going to the USA this year and Indonesia next year. We will be hosting friendlies at Ibrox. Claudio Reyna will be helping us set up an academy in USA. We need a mix of cultures to build a side which can compete. We have a goalie in our under 17 team who is amazing and teams in England want him. This is also our future through our own academy. Many players walked out on Rangers for personal gain. Naismith said I turned the Rangers fans against him – but if he loved Rangers so much he wouldn’t have left. These are players without honour and they will never be back at Rangers. Players like McGregor, Naismith, Whittaker and Lafferty are not welcome back.
Q – Talk in the past about casinos around Ibrox – are there any plans for the future?
CG – The previous plans were so grand and were too far-fetched. I am working with planners on new schemes. I bought back the Albion Car park and Edminston House. We were paying £400,000 a year in finance a year to Lloyds for the car park. I paid £1.4 M to buy this back. I want to move Ibrox complex from in front of the stadium and create a walkway to the ground for families – similar to Wembley Way. We bought Edminston House for £1 million. The ground floor will become the new Rangers shop and the current shop will become a ticket centre so fans don’t need to queue outside. I want to open a fan museum and create a café bar so that fans can spend 3-4 hours at Ibrox on a non-matchday.
Q – You have done more for Rangers in the last 6 months than Murray and Whyte in the last 20 years. Thank you so much.
CG – Thank you.
Q – Whyte was a complete disaster. How do we ensure the guy after you is not the same?
CG – When our share price went up many investors took their money and left and that is fine. Rangers are currently only valued at £60M. We will be worth half a billion in 5 years. We are selling shares in an institution and many fans have invested so will help to control the club. The latest Deloitte report shows that when you exclude the money from Sky TV Rangers are bigger than Aston Villa, Sunderland and Everton combined. With TV money, we will be massive.
Q – Have you ever considered changing surname?
CG – Yeah – Will do it once we win Champions League.
Q – Is it realistic that we can move to England?
CG – If teams from Wales get in then teams from Scotland get in otherwise they are breaching EU free trade laws. We are looking into this. UEFA/FIFA don’t let football matters go to court but this could be the Bosman situation all over again only for clubs and we are pursuing this.
Q – How much have you fell in love with Rangers?
CG – Well the last time I went without sleep for 4 days was on my honeymoon!
William de Chermont – Thanks everyone for coming today. We really want you to join ORSA if you are not a member. Thanks to Ian Gray for the past year. Thanks to Gary Coutts from the Northern Beaches. Thanks to Billy Moffat and most of all thanks to Charles Green – you are welcome back any time.
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The Sydney True Blues – The Official ORSA Registered Rangers Supporters Club of Sydney CBD.
