King- No more investment
Having shed eleven players at the end of last season, as well as returning five loanees to Newcastle, outgoings during June and July would have been drastically reduced.
Mr King, who was described as a glib and shameless liar by a South African judge, promised a ‘whatever-it-takes’ budget for the new manager when he launched the sale of season tickets in mid June.
Late this afternoon the club announced that it had sold 30,000 season tickets, way short of Mr King’s 45,000 target. With no sign of investment from the South African based tax criminal, no sign of an auditor, nominated adviser, share listing or share issue the finances of the club remain fragile.
Saturday’s Petrofac Cup win over Hibs seemed to wipe away all of the clubs financial concerns with Mr King happy to add his comments to the statement.
“This is what the Board is aiming to achieve,” he claimed as season ticket sales soared past the 30,000 mark. “The fans are starting to focus again on what is happening on the pitch and this is a sure sign that behind the scenes everything is falling into place and running more smoothly.
“I am aware some fans have been concerned about the amount of investment in the club and hopefully they will now appreciate that not only are we spending millions on player costs but we have also invested the funds required to meet the club’s costs on a monthly basis during the recent months when there has been no income. We have been doing this since we were successful at the general meeting on March 6.
“The manager has also been signing players because we are trying to build a new team capable of winning the Championship and progressing from there. Players will continue to be added but I want to thank those fans who have bought tickets and urge others to do the same.
“I want this to be a special season for Rangers and one that lays the foundations for our return to the top flight and, as I have said before, we can’t do it alone. We need the support to be with us all the way.”
Mr King’s comment about ‘invested the funds required to meet the club’s costs’ seems to be a reference to three loans of £1.5m put in by himself and the Three Bears consortium. Only the most gullible would interpret a loan as investment.
With Mike Ashley owed £5m and no worthwhile income outside of ticket sales it seems certain that the season ticket money will have gone on running costs long before Christmas forcing the club to look for further loans with all assets other than Ibrox Park already given as security to Mr Ashley.