The Rangers

Full name	Sevco Scotland
Founded	2012
Ground	Ibrox Stadium Glasgow Scotland
Capacity	51,082
Owner	Charles Green
Chairman	Malcolm Murray[1]
Website	Club website

Sevco Scotland^[2] is a limited company formed in May 2012 as part of a bid to replace Rangers F.C. which entered liquidation procedures on 14 June 2012. It has applied to join the Scottish Football Association and to participate in the Scottish Premier League^[3] with the latter depending on its request to acquire the SPL share of former SPL club Rangers F.C.

Formation

The club was formed on 29 May 2012 as a means for Charles Green to acquire the assets from the football club Rangers F.C. (which trades as "The Rangers Football Club plc") should it go into liquidation. Green agreed a deal with the administrators of Rangers F.C. to purchase its assets for a £5.5million fee if the projected CVA proposal was to fail. The CVA proposal was formally rejected on 14 June 2012,^[4] hours later Green completed the purchase of the assets and various contracts which had belonged to the now-to-be liquidated Rangers F.C. for Sevco 5088 Ltd.^[5] Sevco 5088 Ltd's name was to be changed to "The Rangers Football Club Ltd." on the same day but is disputed by Companies House.^[6] Assets bought from Rangers F.C. included Ibrox Stadium, the Murray Park training facilities and other smaller assets.^[7]

League application

The club formally applied to acquire the SPL share of Rangers F.C. on 18 June 2012. The SPL have agreed to consider the request to transfer the share, thus the 12 SPL member clubs, which include current holders of the share, will participate in a members vote on 4 July 2012. The vote will need eight member clubs to accept the new club in joining the SPL, seven or fewer acceptances will mean that the club will have to apply to join another league, most probably the Scottish Football League.^[8]

Ownership and finances

On 14 June 2012, Charles Green issued a statement on the Rangers.co.uk website stating that he had completed the purchase of Rangers F.C.'s assets after they had entered liquidation earlier that day. Green also revealed the names of investors in the club as Alessandro Celano and Chris Morgan.^[9] Another consortium led by former Rangers F.C. manager Walter Smith had made a last minute bid for the assets which was rejected by Rangers administrators who already had a binding agreement to sell them to Charles Green.^[10] Walter Smith's consortium which was backed by Scottish businessmen Douglas Park and Jim McColl then made a £6million offer for the new club to Charles Green, however this was also turned down. Charles Green then offered Walter Smith a role and the opportunity for his consortium to invest in the club. On 19 June 2012, Walter Smith and his consortium pulled out from trying to acquire the new club.^[11] Smith's consortium was originally hostile to the Charles Green's club but on their statement issued cited that "We wish the new Rangers Football Club every good fortune."^[12]

On 20 June 2012, it was reported that two Glasgow businessmen, housebuilders and property developers Allan Stewart and Stephen McKenna were preparing a bid for the club worth about £11m.^[13]

Stadium and training facilities

The club acquired Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park on 14 June 2012 after the rejection of a proposed CVA meant that Rangers F.C. would enter liquidation. The properties were purchased for £5.5million along with various other assets.

Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium located on the south side of the River Clyde, on Edmiston Drive in the Ibrox district of Glasgow. It was the home ground of former SPL club Rangers F.C. for 113 years from 1899 until 14 June 2012. The Main Stand's facade, built in 1928 is a listed building.

Since 1899, two major disasters have taken place at the stadium. The first occurred in 1902 during a Scotland vs England international match, when a section of terracing collapsed, leading to the deaths of 26 people and over 500 injuries. The second disaster took place in 1971, during a Celtic v Rangers match. As the crowd were leaving the match, barriers on the stairway to the rear of passageway 13 at the Copland End collapsed, causing a crush and resulting in the deaths of 66 people, with over 200 injuries.

The training facility is located in Auchenhowie, near Milngavie in Glasgow. The facility is known as Murray Park after former Rangers F.C. chairman and owner Sir David Murray. It was completed in 2001 at a cost of £14 million. Murray Park was the first purpose-built facility of its kind in Scotland, and incorporates features including nine football pitches, a state of the art gym, a hydrotherapy pool, and a video-editing suite. Charles Green is open to changing the name of Murray Park and will let future Season ticket holders vote whether to re-name the facility, either the Moses McNeil Academy or the Davie Cooper Academy.^[14]

Club crest

The new club bought the copyright of the Rangers F.C. club crest and various other badges and crests during the asset purchase which took place on 14 June 2012.

Playing squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ROU Dorin Goian 4 DF  SCO Kirk Broadfoot 6 MF  SCO Lee McCulloch 7 MF  USA Maurice Edu 12 MF  SCO Lee Wallace 18 DF  USA Carlos Bocanegra (vice-captain) 21 MF  USA Alejandro Bedoya

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 GK  SCO Neil Alexander 32 DF  SCO Ross Perry 35 MF  SCO Kyle Hutton 36 DF  SCO Darren Cole 38 FW  ENG Kane Hemmings 42 FW  SCO Kal Naismith

Following the purchase of the assets of Rangers F.C. by Charles Green's consortium on 14 June 2012, Green stated that players who had contracts with Rangers FC had to transfer their contracts to his new company. It was suggested by Green that, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), any player who did not wish to do so would be in breach of contract.^[15] This interpretation of the law was rejected by the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland (PFA Scotland) who argued that the playing staff could decide whether to transfer their contracts to the new company. If not, they effectively became free agents since their original employer was liquidated.^[16] PFA Scotland chief executive Fraser Wishart, who had been a Rangers F.C. player in the 1990s under David Murray's administration, described the players as unsure of their future and "increasingly unhappy at having to operate in an information vacuum".^[17]

Players Rhys McCabe, Sone Aluko, Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker have objected to being transferred from the old Rangers football club to the newco.^[18] Whittaker remarked that: "We owe no loyalty to the new club, there is no history there for us."^[19] It was also reported that other senior players could reject the transfer of their contracts.^[20] The following week Allan McGregor, Steven Davis (who had been the captain of Rangers FC), Jamie Ness and Kyle Lafferty also declined a transfer to the newco.^[21] On 27 June 2012, Juan Manuel Ortiz and John Fleck rejected the transfer of their contracts to the newco.

Thus far the only senior players to publically confirm their intention to accept a contract with the new club are Lee McCulloch^[22] and Lee Wallace.^[23]

Non-playing staff

Board of directors

^[24]

References