Dave King goes on charm offensive to SPFL clubs- you can buy me lunch!

One month after threatening clubs that hadn’t mentioned title stripping Dave King is on a charm offensive- offering chief executive’s the opportunity to buy him lunch!

The move was uncovered last night on Phil Mac Giolla Bhain’s website, the same source that revealed Mr King missed the June EGM to meet Mike Ashley to discuss selling his shareholding in the cash strapped club.

Underneath the apparently friendly message there is the usual triumphalist tone reminding clubs of how they have suffered since Rangers went into liquidation in 2012.

Explaining his recent visit to Hampden the South African based criminal mentions ‘We discussed the importance of Rangers to Scottish football, repairing and improving the relationship with our fellow clubs. The last few years have brought challenges not only to Rangers but to Scottish football as a whole.’

It continues ‘I will primarily rely upon Stewart to build the ongoing relationship however I would be grateful if during the course of 2016 I could have the opportunity to meet as many clubs as possible.’

Stewart is believed to be financial whizz kid Robertson.

Mr King declined the opportunity to meet the directors of Morton on Saturday, despite jetting in from South Africa to appear in court last Thursday and Friday he opted out of watching Pep Warburton’s side drawing with the Greenock giants.

Despite monthly visits to discuss the company business, usually court matters, Mr King has rarely been seen at any matches, after last month’s AGM he returned to South Africa rather than stay on for an extra day.

The charm offensive demonstrates yet another u-turn by the serial tax crook but isn’t quite on the scale of the hokey-cokey £5m Sports Direct loan. After voting against repaying it at the June EGM Mr King told shareholders at the November AGM that the money was in the bank to be repaid. On Friday in court counsel for Sports Direct confirmed that the loan hadn’t been paid- 24 hours after Mr King’s counsel told Judge Peter Smith that the loan had been repaid!

That set of circumstances won’t come as any surprise to anyone that has kept an eye on the comments of the glib and shameless South African liar.

Shortly after Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs won the big tax case Mr King warned: “It is extraordinary that representatives of other Scottish clubs – who admit the damage done to Scottish football by Rangers’ removal from the Premier League – should even wish to re-engage with this issue.

“It is time those individuals, who represent other clubs, recognise their legal and fiduciary responsibilities to their own clubs and shareholders rather than submit to the uninformed ramblings of a few outspoken fans to whom attacking Rangers is more important than the well being of their own clubs.

“This is a misguided attempt (that will ultimately fail) to rewrite history and defeat Rangers off the park when their teams could not do so on the park at the time. The history of many other clubs would have to be rewritten if this illogical argument was to be consistently applied.”

Mr King’s offer of lunch is unlikely to be well received with most clubs under pressure from supporters to act against the financial shambles at Ibrox.

Despite a £2.5m going concern warning in Sevco’s annual accounts it seems that no action is being taken by the football authorities while Warbo talks up his January spending spree to keep the gullible fools distracted.

After Her Majesty’s win in the big tax case, where the club from Ibrox cheated every club they played for a decade, as well as Liz, supporter groups have again mobilised to push for justice. It seems unlikely that the SFA or SPFL will apply the sort of punishments handed out to East Stirling or Spartans for minor administration mistakes for a decade of cheating fellow members.

Meeting with Mr King is unlikely to be a popular move for any club to undertake, three and a half years of Armageddon has allowed most clubs to prosper with the debt levels that were being carried in 2012 wiped out with Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee United, Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle and others in good financial health while St Johnstone, St Mirren and Inverness Caley Thistle have enjoyed winning trophies by not playing against financially doped opponents.

Tomorrow Charles Green returns to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to appeal for his legal expenses in the Ibrox Fraud Case while the Three Bears are due to have their £3m crisis loan repaid at the end of the month.