After weeks of getting others to fire his bullets for him, it appears Dodgy Dave King is now making his move.
With a revolting Ibrox support up in arms over their club’s acceptance of less than half what Celtic will receive for taking part in November’s Sydney Super Cup -and Ange Postecoglou’s homecoming tour – Dave King is now it appears offering to supply the £3m the Ibrox club would forego should they bow to fan pressure pull out of their role as Celtic’s support act down under.
As reported in all the tabloids today King is now positioning himself in a way that leaves the Ibrox Board, headed by the used car salesman, little room for manoeuvre. Here’s Daily Record’s report:
‘Dave King has offered to personally plug the £3m shortfall in Rangers accounts if the club rips up the deal to play an Old Firm Friendly Down Under.
Record Sport understands the former Ibrox chairman made his pledge to the board over the weekend as fan protests against the controversial Sydney Super Cup proposal spilled onto the pitch at Dens Park, repeatedly interrupting a vital top flight clash with Dundee.
Sources at the club insist King has offered to cover any losses incurred should Rangers withdraw from the four team tournament – including the costs of a potential massive legal bill for breaching a contract signed with the tournament’s Australian organisers.
It’s unclear at this point if King has asked for a seat on the board in return for his cash offer – having already had one request for a boardroom return booted out earlier this year.’
Dave King before the Betfred Cup Semi Final defeat to Celtic at Hampden Park on October 22, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
After all, the reason given for their acceptance of the crumbs falling from Celtic’s table was that theRangers, currently being bailed out by ever increasing amounts of soft loans converted to shares confetti, would receive more from this trip than they would in broadcast revenue for an entire Scottish Premiership season, not something a group of directors having to bail out a financial basket case of a club could afford to sniff at.
Whether the offer is genuine or not, and whether King would stretch to reimbursing the penalty clause for theRangers exiting the Australian tour stage left, rumoured to be in excess of £1m, it will certainly ensure an Ibrox support have someone they believe thinks as they do – perish the thought. Meanwhile the club itself, having called their support a ‘rump’ in yesterday’s ill-judged public statement, are not being viewed as the saviours they’d hope to be, this despite pouring their personal fortunes into the club to keep the lights on.
If King is doing nothing else, he’s winning the PR battle with ease at the moment. And as King, up to now, has got others to the bullets for him, David Graham appears to have decided shooting his own ammunition into his foot is the best response.
And to think International weeks are often slow for news!
Shaun Riley
