Rangers AGM took place yesterday and with the vitriolic events of years gone by a near distant memory there was much to look forward to, and if anything, it is at least a clear demonstration that we are now in safe hands.
John Bennett, our Deputy Chairman laid out how the club’s ethos stands as a business model and how events on and off the pitch are intertwined as they look to achieve success in both areas.
Detailing the “four pillars” that are an internal term used to describe the holistic approach to the club’s development, Mr Bennett spoke about fan involvement, commercial progress and European football, however, the final aspect of the model is perhaps the most interesting and one that has been neglected for decades at Ibrox, player trading:
“The fourth pillar is not yet standing, but it is being built painstakingly, led by Ross Wilson and his team and that is, of course, player trading. It is called trading as it is purchasing and selling. The second bit is integral to our model as well.
“Many people have actually commented on that round the annual report – it is quite clear that is the fourth pillar.
“It is being built – if you look at our ‘monetisable’ assets, if you put it that way, in-terms of the players, it is certainly a lot higher a value. There have been numbers thrown around, but I can tell you this – I don’t think anyone would dispute that it is an awful lot higher than what we are carrying in our balance sheet.
“One thing is clear – you could describe them as ‘monetisable’ assets, but you don’t want that to translate into selling them at values that don’t reflect their full and clear value.
“You have seen that last year when we have said no to bids for our players. It has to reflect our valuation and if that is the case, we will have a decision to make.
“So while player trading is the very important fourth pillar of our business model, what we have not got ourselves into a position is where we have to sell to validate the model.
“Yes, it is right to say there has been deficit funding as we have gone on, but we are very, very fortunate we have loyal supporters, and we also have very loyal investors.
“That has been a very deliberate strategy in a sense to front-load the investment to make sure we are not in a position to take some bid that undervalues our players.
“You saw that last year – we will not accept that and the model doesn’t rely on that fore-selling.”
We have, historically, been horrendous for tearing up contracts and paying players off or accepting offers for players way below their market value, that Celtic have made the best part of £100million over the last decade in player sales compared to pretty much the fees we received for Josh Windass and Lewis MacLeod, then you can see where he is coming from.
Do you trust the Rangers board?
Yes
No
It is part of Dave King’s original plan to see us become self sufficient and not reliant on shareholder investment, a decent European run offsets the need to sell players, as does a solid recruitment team, use our midfield as a perfect example – assembled for less than £500k but worth considerably more now.
Unfortunately it is just where we are in European football now, we are a stepping stone for the likes of Alfredo Morelos or Glen Kamara, if we get them in cheap, develop them, then sell them on at a massive profit, the club both on and off the pitch, as desired, should be successful.