Transparency from the Board re financial impact of Covid-19

Heisenberg

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
Barca, Juve, Bayern, and closer to home Hearts, Hibs, sheep - all clubs will be affected by the coronavirus lockdown and loss of earnings.

Rangers will not be spared and you expect difficult times for us, and actually, it pales into insignificance if our loved ones are falling ill with a horrible illness.

I've not been on here much but I haven't seen too many threads on the potential severe financial implications of the coronavirus on the club. But due to what we've been through in the past I'm finding it concerning that there's been little said (and the lines about funding in the statement about the appointment of Park are vague and woolly) from the club about our financial position and implications of funding stopping overnight. The one thing we wanted after 2012 was transparency, regardless of how good or bad things get.

In terms of a current threat, this is huge. I'm sure the Board are taking measures behind the scenes, and the players have been approached re a wage cut - but we deserve to know what's going on and if there are big issues ahead then we need to know early.
 
Heisenberg said:
Barca, Juve, Bayern, and closer to home Hearts, Hibs, sheep - all clubs will be affected by the coronavirus lockdown and loss of earnings.

Rangers will not be spared and you expect difficult times for us, and actually, it pales into insignificance if our loved ones are falling ill with a horrible illness.

I've not been on here much but I haven't seen too many threads on the potential severe financial implications of the coronavirus on the club. But due to what we've been through in the past I'm finding it concerning that there's been little said (and the lines about funding in the statement about the appointment of Park are vague and woolly) from the club about our financial position and implications of funding stopping overnight. The one thing we wanted after 2012 was transparency, regardless of how good or bad things get.

In terms of a current threat, this is huge. I'm sure the Board are taking measures behind the scenes, and the players have been approached re a wage cut - but we deserve to know what's going on and if there are big issues ahead then we need to know early.
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Agreed. Due to what has happened to us previously I think we are all that extra bit anxious.

There will not be a business in the country, never mind football club, that this does not have a negative impact upon.
 
Defo if barca are doing it,all clubs will do it,this as we no is a crisis,we love our club,as normality our loved ones and community come first.Be prepaired bears,as the worst has yet to come going by figures.season is secondary and a write off.We will do our duty and protect family friends,and our peers.We are football,and we are open to all,great gesture for our club to help nhs,all clubs should follow,this is not a dig,it should be a given.For bears in nhs,stay safe and fight hard,for bears who are carers,or being a good person I salute you all.catholic/protestant is irrelevant,we should help our neighbour.Proud to be a bear,and a part of community,stay safe people.
 
Craigie said:
I would be very surprised if this isn't being discussed by the board, management and senior players.

However, I have no interest in hearing about their talks. Once they have something concrete to tell the fans we will be told.
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Would imagine talks have been held,like every club.
 
No club is immune to the financial problems. Every team in world football will already either have made or are planning wage cuts. Lets hope the players play ball
 
Juve have agreed a 4 month wage break with their players. We pay our players more than enough - I would expect them to take a pay cut without arguing about it. Hard to be sympathetic if that means player x has to cut back on his shoe collection. They get paid to play football - and they won't be doing that for a while.
 
Unsustainable in any industry to carry on with massive outgoings and no income source. Given that this crisis looks as though it may last a long while something needs to be done sooner rather than later.
 
Iv mentioned my concerns for our club a few times and iv seen others do it too but not many. Its why i cant laugh at the likes of Hearts as it will only come back to haunt us. If the likes of Barca are feeling the effects of this you can bet we are too and its concerning.

Il say again that I will take no joy in any Scottish club struggling until i know for sure we are going to be ok.
 
We may be one of the teams covered by insurance?

If not then we should be asking for our euro money from uefa and any monies due from SFA/SPFL.

We should then reduce players pay to ensure the club can see out the crisis. Whatever it takes. Including letting go those who do not comply. No club will be immune. It could be 18 months before large crowds are allowed to gather again.

A reasonable deal, possibly making up lost pay when operational again could be included. The players should realise this and be grateful they are not furloughed on £2500 a month.

If this is still not enough we may need to know if our proposed new backer/funding has pulled out altogether, even in the short term, before the very last option of going to the fans for a reduced season ticket money plan.
 
There’s at least half a dozen threads discussing season ticket sales, cuts at other clubs etc so it has been getting discussed on here at great length. Even King’s statement and the one released by the Club talk of a committee being formed to look at and address the issue.

Of course it will cause us problems. In fact, it will cause us huge problems. We knew a while ago that we needed £10m to get through the season. That was before coronavirus. The Club statement says some of the required money has come in, some is planned and some is on hold.

We could put season tickets on sale. However, we don’t know what we’d be selling, when it would be starting or how many games it would cover. The potential purchasers are mostly now laid-off, furloughed or whatever and have little cash to spare. The Dhims started their sale and, after an early burst, sales dropped off a cliff according to reports in the Record midweek. Players taking a salary cut or deferral are other options to look at.

I don’t get the constant ‘demands’ for the Club to come out and tell us every fine detail. We know there’s an issue. We know it’s serious. It’s the same at every club and every club is striving to find a way out. Has Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs making their problems public actually changed anything for them? No, it hasn’t. It’s simply created some headlines in the media. Rangers will work out a plan, probably along the same lines as most other clubs, and then implement it. That’s when I want to hear about it, not now when all it would amount to is ‘we’re skint and we are looking at ways to deal with it’.

The issue is whether the plan the Club comes up with works, not when they tell us the finances have taken a hit. We know that bit already.
 
Heisenberg said:
In terms of a current threat, this is huge. I'm sure the Board are taking measures behind the scenes, and the players have been approached re a wage cut - but we deserve to know what's going on and if there are big issues ahead then we need to know early.
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Not being arsey here but why? What are you going to do about it? Unless you have tens of millions you are prepared to write off you don't need to know anything at this stage.
 
Heisenberg said:
Barca, Juve, Bayern, and closer to home Hearts, Hibs, sheep - all clubs will be affected by the coronavirus lockdown and loss of earnings.

Rangers will not be spared and you expect difficult times for us, and actually, it pales into insignificance if our loved ones are falling ill with a horrible illness.

I've not been on here much but I haven't seen too many threads on the potential severe financial implications of the coronavirus on the club. But due to what we've been through in the past I'm finding it concerning that there's been little said (and the lines about funding in the statement about the appointment of Park are vague and woolly) from the club about our financial position and implications of funding stopping overnight. The one thing we wanted after 2012 was transparency, regardless of how good or bad things get.

In terms of a current threat, this is huge. I'm sure the Board are taking measures behind the scenes, and the players have been approached re a wage cut - but we deserve to know what's going on and if there are big issues ahead then we need to know early.
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Some clubs will have business interruption insurance , it could well be we are one of them ?
 
Barrymoped said:
I would like to think most of our players will see sense and take the cut, I think almost every club will do something similar
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If our club and playing staff play this correctly a harmonious statement re players taking cuts or a three months freeze like juventus would send the right message and keep us all together . The last thing we need is any hint of disharmony during this tough period .
 
I reckon we will be alright. I think the Europa league run has helped massively with this £10m shortfall, as this would not have been forseen in accounts, and it’s probably given the board some breathing space in terms of short term finance.
the players, if necessary and requested to do so, should be taking a wage cut, or defer wages if we can’t be starting league back up for a number of weeks.
we shall see how things go, but I reckon we will be ok for the time being. Once we start getting into the realms of 3 months or so without income then things might look a bit different, and that will go for every club in Europe at this time. Clubs will start to struggle badly.
I think we are right not to come out and say how things are just yet.
 
Paulski54 said:
I reckon we will be alright. I think the Europa league run has helped massively with this £10m shortfall, as this would not have been forseen in accounts, and it’s probably given the board some breathing space in terms of short term finance.
the players, if necessary and requested to do so, should be taking a wage cut, or defer wages if we can’t be starting league back up for a number of weeks.
we shall see how things go, but I reckon we will be ok for the time being. Once we start getting into the realms of 3 months or so without income then things might look a bit different, and that will go for every club in Europe at this time. Clubs will start to struggle badly.
I think we are right not to come out and say how things are just yet.
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We will have the gate money from the Europa, less significant cost, but I’m fairly sure the ‘real’ money from UEFA comes much later in the season. I’m surprised there’s been no mention of UEFA, like the SPFL, paying out some of the money early.
 
AllyRFC said:
Iv mentioned my concerns for our club a few times and iv seen others do it too but not many. Its why i cant laugh at the likes of Hearts as it will only come back to haunt us. If the likes of Barca are feeling the effects of this you can bet we are too and its concerning.

Il say again that I will take no joy in any Scottish club struggling until i know for sure we are going to be ok.
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We have the biggest support in Scottish football. The Diddy club fanbases genuinely don't care or are too busy typing yet more Sevco porn on the internet to notice their own mob going down the pan.
 
Valley Bluenose said:
There’s at least half a dozen threads discussing season ticket sales, cuts at other clubs etc so it has been getting discussed on here at great length. Even King’s statement and the one released by the Club talk of a committee being formed to look at and address the issue.

Of course it will cause us problems. In fact, it will cause us huge problems. We knew a while ago that we needed £10m to get through the season. That was before coronavirus. The Club statement says some of the required money has come in, some is planned and some is on hold.

We could put season tickets on sale. However, we don’t know what we’d be selling, when it would be starting or how many games it would cover. The potential purchasers are mostly now laid-off, furloughed or whatever and have little cash to spare. The Dhims started their sale and, after an early burst, sales dropped off a cliff according to reports in the Record midweek. Players taking a salary cut or deferral are other options to look at.

I don’t get the constant ‘demands’ for the Club to come out and tell us every fine detail. We know there’s an issue. We know it’s serious. It’s the same at every club and every club is striving to find a way out. Has Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs making their problems public actually changed anything for them? No, it hasn’t. It’s simply created some headlines in the media. Rangers will work out a plan, probably along the same lines as most other clubs, and then implement it. That’s when I want to hear about it, not now when all it would amount to is ‘we’re skint and we are looking at ways to deal with it’.

The issue is whether the plan the Club comes up with works, not when they tell us the finances have taken a hit. We know that bit already.
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Correct,this is survival,alot of clubs will fall before us,uefa have some bail bond to post.as I have said,we as in scotland have not hit the peak yet,at a guess,June to relax shutdown.this season has gone.
 
How much income have we actually lost though as all the season ticket money was in?

Matchday income is how much and we only had a few home games left?

As said above maybe the extra UEFA rounds have gave us much needed income
 
rayrangers said:
How much income have we actually lost though as all the season ticket money was in?

Matchday income is how much and we only had a few home games left?

As said above maybe the extra UEFA rounds have gave us much needed income
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Where is the money coming from to spend right now and over the summer.

Last years season ticket money was spent running the club over the season.

The issue here is cash flow, particularly for a cash only business.
 
Valley Bluenose said:
I don’t get the constant ‘demands’ for the Club to come out and tell us every fine detail. We know there’s an issue. We know it’s serious. It’s the same at every club and every club is striving to find a way out. Has Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs making their problems public actually changed anything for them? No, it hasn’t. It’s simply created some headlines in the media. Rangers will work out a plan, probably along the same lines as most other clubs, and then implement it. That’s when I want to hear about it, not now when all it would amount to is ‘we’re skint and we are looking at ways to deal with it’.

The issue is whether the plan the Club comes up with works, not when they tell us the finances have taken a hit. We know that bit already.
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100% agree with you. We don't need to know the details. Would you like your pay discussed in public?

But I would like a broad statement giving us a reality check. For example how much are we losing per week? Expected losses over 1 month, 3 months etc. How long can we continue trading? How can shareholders help? How can supporters help?
 
Shengus Malengus said:
Quite possible Rangers have played a blinder here by holding off.
Clubs around the World announcing these cuts and players voluntarily taking cuts will now make any player who was reluctant to do likewise look extremely self centred and even loathed.

I think we’ll hear something shortly.
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Agreed, can you imagine if we’d done what Hearts or Aberdeen have done? Patience and trust required from us. I believe our board will act pretty soon ...
 
Southernlion said:
100% agree with you. We don't need to know the details. Would you like your pay discussed in public?

But I would like a broad statement giving us a reality check. For example how much are we losing per week? Expected losses over 1 month, 3 months etc. How long can we continue trading? How can shareholders help? How can supporters help?
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C'mon mate, there's not a club in the World has done - or will do - what you ask. You really want them to say we are potentially going bust in x, y or z months?

It will be for shareholders, probably via loans - as always - and we fans, via season tickets or a membership scheme (or both) - as always - to help. That's inevitable and entirely obvious. We don't need anyone to tell us that. Who or what else is there?
 
Commentator said:
Not being arsey here but why? What are you going to do about it? Unless you have tens of millions you are prepared to write off you don't need to know anything at this stage.
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I know this is a different scenario but this type of mindset allowed 2012 to happen. There needs to be a balance this time round but saying you don’t need to know anything is absolutely wrong.
 
Fully agree with the OP.

We shouldn't be burying our head about this or believing that everything will be OK.

We'll be unable to sell season tickets, TV money will be on hold, corporate hospitality has stopped, sponsorship payments are on hold and our merchandise situation is a shambles. So we've got no revenue coming in for at least 3+ months. This situation not only affects all of us supporters but also the directors - their circumstances may have changed dramatically.

Unlike in previous years, we know we've got a board of directors who care about the club and who all are financially invested in us.

Despite having bears on the board, I've continually felt that it hasn't created a new era of openness and dialogue with the support. It feels like things haven't changed dramatically from the Murray days.

The club needs to know that we are here to help. If we need to pay and advance on future ST sales to help us get through the coming months then we will. If there's any revenue generating initiatives we should be supporting then let us know.

Be open and transparent with us and we'll be here for the club.
 
rayrangers said:
How much income have we actually lost though as all the season ticket money was in?

Matchday income is how much and we only had a few home games left?

As said above maybe the extra UEFA rounds have gave us much needed income
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All the season ticket money isn’t in.
The credit card companies don’t pay it all up front. They transfer the funds based on each home game played. So say the season ticket income was £19m. We would receive £1m per game. Our figures will be less than that because everyone doesn't pay by credit card but we will still being waiting for payment for the last 5 home games.
 
The players have got to be realistic about the situation and the Board has got to be straight with us as well. If our help is needed then the sooner we know, the better.
 
Heisenberg said:
I know this is a different scenario but this type of mindset allowed 2012 to happen. There needs to be a balance this time round but saying you don’t need to know anything is absolutely wrong.
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I know that this is your opinion but you haven't even attempted to explain why you need to know. What would you do with the information? Would you intervene? How?
 
The Board will know the score and act accordingly. The problem is that the more board statements released the value of them is diluted. I would prefer if the board kept things in-house until it felt it was really necessary to make the fans aware of the position. An additional point, why not have a share issue now to bring in some catch or set up a bond scheme where supporters can put money into the club.
 
Given that we had only 3 or 4 home league games left this season and with probably no home Europa cup games and no domestic cup football is this going to be as huge for Rangers as other clubs?

Most of our gate for home games would be predominantly season ticket holders anyway and by the time you factor in the cost of hosting I doubt we would have made any real substantial money for the rest of the season.

The problem will come like every club if we can’t sell season tickets.
 
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we are probably a bit better off in terms of high percentage of season ticket sales vs clubs relying on game by game match day income, plus getting an extra couple of european games, but the shit will hit the fan if we can't get season ticket money in from May due to the uncertainty both in terms of peoples income, and also no-one having a clue when the next season can start
 
Heisenberg said:
Barca, Juve, Bayern, and closer to home Hearts, Hibs, sheep - all clubs will be affected by the coronavirus lockdown and loss of earnings.

Rangers will not be spared and you expect difficult times for us, and actually, it pales into insignificance if our loved ones are falling ill with a horrible illness.

I've not been on here much but I haven't seen too many threads on the potential severe financial implications of the coronavirus on the club. But due to what we've been through in the past I'm finding it concerning that there's been little said (and the lines about funding in the statement about the appointment of Park are vague and woolly) from the club about our financial position and implications of funding stopping overnight. The one thing we wanted after 2012 was transparency, regardless of how good or bad things get.

In terms of a current threat, this is huge. I'm sure the Board are taking measures behind the scenes, and the players have been approached re a wage cut - but we deserve to know what's going on and if there are big issues ahead then we need to know early.
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Oh, the transparency thing again.
Why is the demand for “transparency” only heard when bad news is suspected?
Maybe there is no need for “transparency”.
Maybe the players, the staff, have asked that their decisions aren’t to be publicised.
Sometimes, there is no need for information.
 
Walters80 said:
Given that we had only 3 or 4 home league games left this season and with probably no home Europa cup games and no domestic cup football is this going to be as huge for Rangers as other clubs?

Most of our gate for home games would be a season tickets anyway and by the time you factor in the cost of hosting I doubt we would have made any real substantial money for the rest of the season.

The problem will come like every club if we can’t sell season tickets.
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This is exactly correct, it is the uncertainty of when season ticket money can be collected that makes it difficult to plan ahead, all the while wages of £3m/month require paying.

I'm sure this is not lost on the board, the fact that some of the biggest names in European football are requiring wage cuts strengthens their hand somewhat when it comes to the inevitable discussions with our players.
 
WeAr3Th3Pe0ple said:
Juve have agreed a 4 month wage break with their players. We pay our players more than enough - I would expect them to take a pay cut without arguing about it. Hard to be sympathetic if that means player x has to cut back on his shoe collection. They get paid to play football - and they won't be doing that for a while.
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I agree - I think History will be very unkind to those who would be unwilling to take a temporary pay cut with everything else that is going on.
 
Commentator said:
I know that this is your opinion but you haven't even attempted to explain why you need to know. What would you do with the information? Would you intervene? How?
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The lessons of 2012 should never be forgotten. All we need is honesty and transparency.

The poster didn't say he was going to intervene but we need the club to treat us like adults.
 
I feel the club are in a no win situation here if they announce anything to do with finance.

If our players have privately taken a pay cut then that's to be applauded.

If we ask the players to take a cut, there are sports hacks out there with no stories and would jump all over this as #administration no. ????

In this situation, I think any attempt at transparency wouldn't be a good thing.
 
OrigTommy said:
The lessons of 2012 should never be forgotten. All we need is honesty and transparency.
The poster didn't say he was going to intervene but we need the club to treat us like adults.
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Agree with 2012 sentiments, OT. But, I still haven't heard anything approaching a cogent reason for this. If nothing positive would come of this then I see no justification. Some may also say that adults would rationalise that at times in business, particularly trying times, it's better to keep your cards close to your chest.
Let me ask you, how would you benefit? how would the club benefit? I wouldn't benefit.
I'm not arguing about this all day so this is my last post on it, to me it's all a bit "are we there yet? are we there yet? are we there yet?" and far from 'adult'.
 
They are probably working hard on solutions in a very fluid situation...hardly the time to state things when they are working through it.

I think you only need to look at massive club's reaction to know we will be impacted heavily...the silence can't go on forever and if things get really bad so I get the need for transparency but not now.
 
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