As the controversial sports retailing tycoon,
Ashley, looks set to part from the Magpies in the near future, the
social media rumour mill has been running wild as speculation grows that Ashley
might be gearing up to take over the Ibrox club from the hands of Dave King.
It emerged earlier last week that current
Rangers chairman, Dave King, does not have the required £11m- £12m in funds
available if he is ordered by the courts to make an offer for remaining shares
in the club under the 2006 Companies Act, leaving many supporters pondering
what the repercussions of a potential ruling against the Rangers chairman might
be. If majority shareholder, King, is required by authorities to make an offer
for all remaining shares at the club then many wonder if this will pave the way
for Mike Ashley to regain a significant shareholding within the club and
provide the required funds necessary to support King.
Ex- Scotland striker Alan Brazil has gone on
record to defend the job that Ashley has done on the business front at
Newcastle, and suggested that he knows that many Rangers fans would be open to
seeing the businessman return to Ibrox in some capacity.
Speaking on his talkSPORT breakfast
show, Brazil told Arsenal legend Ray Parlour: “Another classic for you…Mike
Ashley.
“Rangers fans couldn’t wait to get him out
the door, But I know the way things are going at Rangers at the moment they’d
have him back tomorrow – the ones who are in the know.”
Before selling his stake in the Ibrox side to
supporters group Club 1972 back in June, Ashley had previously attempted to
increase his shareholding in the club to 29.9% as a return for providing future
investment in the side, however the SFA board “unanimously” declined Ashleys
proposal at the time due to current regulations in place that restricts owners
owning significant shareholdings in more that one football organisation.
Although now that the sports merchandise tycoon is set to sell English Premier
League club, Newcastle United, and part ways with the St James’ club for good,
many fans on twitter have began to speculate regarding the possibility of
Ashley still being interested in the Ibrox outfit.
Question put to me:: Do you think Mike Ashley is selling up Newcastle to buy a stake at Rangers?? It’s defo got me thinking 🙈@Gregco5088— Gareth Mclellan (@GarethMclellan) October 20, 2017
Right the rumours are mike Ashley still has his hand in Rangers and the retail deal we thought was in place isn’t quite what we thought— ANDY LACEY (@knighthawk1970) October 17, 2017
"Rangers fans would welcome back Mike Ashley because they are disillusioned with the current regime" - Alan Brazil - Disillusioned— Ewan ☺ (@Ewan_Carr) October 18, 2017
Mike Ashley is selling Newcastle. Imagine if he put his money into The Rangers. A real life billionaire. It would be a dream come true.....— Crazy Caixinha (@CrazyCaixinha) October 16, 2017
Mike Ashley owning rangers outright would be amazing. 2 billion wealth! We’d be competing against Celtic within 12 months— Bobby Brown (@WillieDeSept) October 16, 2017
Mike Ashley is coming for Rangers. You heard it here first!— Callum (@TMA84) October 16, 2017
If the rumours do prove to be accurate then
it is certain that fans will not react with open arms if Ashley does launch a
takeover. Fans groups and supporters clubs have already voiced their disapproval
with Ashley’s previous presence on the Rangers board during their 2014 - 2016
campaigns, when it emerged that he had bought the stadium naming rights for a
laughable sum of just £1 and planned to rename the Ibrox stadium to incorporate
the name of his sports retailing firm - Sports Direct. Ashley had previously
renamed Newcastle United’s St James’ Park stadium the ‘Sports Direct Area’
although after similar opposition from supporters groups the new name was
abandoned and Ashley has since apologised for the move.
In recent interviews Ashley has spoke with
regret regarding the failures at the St James’ club.
“The first thing you feel is stupidity, because as soon as you
know the hindsight of something, you know what you were doing wrong.
“For example, I thought it was the right thing to do was to
generate as much money as possible for Newcastle, so when people say to
me: ‘Whatever you do on an interview do not talk about changing the name of St
James’ Park!’
"Well I’m me, and I’m going to talk about making an error,
and I should not have changed the name of St James’ Park. I should not have
done that.”
It's possible that Ashley views a potential
Rangers takeover as a means to right his wrongs in football? Through re-establishing the Scottish giants as a competitive force in Europe its possibly seen by the controversial billionaire as an opportunity to improve his
tarnished reputation amongst supporters.
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