Vanguard Bears Admin have decided to publish the minutes from our delegates' meeting with Rangers Financial Director Brian Stockbridge.

Unfortunately we have been unable to have a face-to-face meeting with Paul Murray. We had hoped to publish both sets of minutes simultaneously, giving Rangers shareholders and fans a chance to scrutinise both, but with less than a week to to AGM we felt we could not wait any longer.

As with all meetings, Vanguard Bears can only take the answers we are given in good faith. Without evidence to the contrary, it is hard for anyone to contradict what is given to us. However rest assured that if any answers are proved to be incorrect then we will not hesitate to take action in addressing these issues.

It should also be noted that the minutes below are not verbatim, but are given as bullet points of the overall discussion.

Furthermore, with the impending AGM looming large on the horizon we would also like to reiterate that all members of VB and the wider Rangers support are encouraged to vote to the dictates of their own hearts and minds. Their vote is their own prerogative.

Hopefully after the result of this vote then ALL Rangers fans will accept the democratic outcome and work together for the good of the club we all support.

Finance

Mr. Stockbridge explained why the costs of IPO flotation were high, he came across as confident in his explanation of it, as an example; Lawyer’s fees were doubled as they were paid in both England & Scotland.

He confirmed that the doomsday quote by auditors of having “only £1M in the bank by April” was based on the current cash burn rate and assuming the worst case scenario where there would be no further incomings from now until April.

With regards to Ally taking a wage cut, he said that it was not as straight forward as was being portrayed in the press.

He inherited excessive wages for players not of the standard expected and he still has players on the books who are earning more than £7000 a week.

He realises that having a manager and two coaches taking a huge wage is not prudent for the league we are in.

Squad/Squad Management

Mr. Stockbridge wasn't happy with the way things were progressing with developing youth for sale to assist with future financing of the club. Agreed that the wage bill on the playing/playing management side of things was far too high for where we were in the league set up. He wanted Mather to address that for some time but Mather was too nice and didn’t want to rock the boat.

Mr. Stockbridge also thinks there has to be a realistic view on what can be spent now in order to prepare the squad for our return to the SPFL. Like all managers and Financial Directors there will be differences of opinion on what can be spent achieving this.

Craig Mather

Mr. Mather left of his own accord in part because he didn’t want to face the storm of an AGM, and partly because he was pressed into walking away by major investors who were unimpressed with how he was dealing with things. The time of departure was co-incidental to the court decision regards the AGM.

New Board Members

Mr. Stockbridge hopeful of appointing two Non-Executive Directors shortly. Both from a financial, corporate governance and non-football background. Both Directors will be involved in the decision-making process for the new CEO which is expected to be announced the week after the two Non--Executive Directors. New CEO will be of a level that has never been seen at the club before and has experience of working at a top English club.

It’s not Derek Lambiass, although he did say he knew him. The CEO will be instructed to sort out the playing side of things both financially & structurally. Likely to be paying similar for his services to what Criag Mather got (approx. £300k a year). One applicant already interviewed wanted £1.5m and was rightly rejected.

Annual General Meeting

He is very confident that the support is there from current shareholders to nullify any potential threat from the requisitioners. He expects Laxey Partners to side once again with the Board.

It cost almost £40,000 to reprint documents for rescheduled AGM.

Mr. Stockbridge said he was disappointed in the lawyers advising the club that they'd win the court case and said he'll be addressing that.

Investment

Mr. Stockbridge claims to have made good headway with regards to attracting interest from potential new investors, however a lot of these potential investors understandably require stability in the boardroom before they will invest, a fact that the people causing unrest for the club fail to grasp.

Sports Direct

Mr. Stockbridge claims he has renegotiated better terms on the merchandising contract with Mike Ashley.

He said he told Mr. Ashley that any stadium renaming has to be put on the back burner for now, regardless of a signed contract being in place for the renaming rights.

Media/PR

WiFi at Ibrox and the Rangers ‘App’ are poor and he is refusing to release it in its current form. The whole media side of things needs a complete overhaul.

The issue was raised about the company's PR strategy. Stockbridge said that Craig Mather was directly responsible for the hire of Jack. Irvine and Media House, that being said, while Mr. Stockbridge is acutely aware of the discontent amongst the support of aspects of the clubs PR, he says that it is a 'work in progress' and the club will be addressing it specifically, after the AGM has taken place.

Dave King

It is not cut and dried yet that Dave King will be allowed by the SFA to hold a position at Rangers. Mr. Stockbridge wants Mr. King on board, saying that Mr. King doesn’t give much away to anyone from all sides and plays his cards very close to his chest.

Craig Whyte

As far as he is aware Craig Whyte is not involved with either Blue Pitch or Margarita Holdings.

Paul Murray

Mr. Stockbridge thinks Paul Murray will continue his campaign of getting control even after failure at the AGM. Mr. Murray was offered a place on the Board but declined it and was asked to talk with the Board regarding the postponed AGM to come to an amicable agreement, but again declined.

Supporters and Supporters Groups

It is Mr. Stockbridge's opinion that there are disruptive influences in the support. He is keen to go down the road of introducing a Fans Membership Club. He is keen on establishing an Official Rangers Membership Scheme which would mean significant change in the way things operate currently. All of these ideas may of course change when the new CEO is appointed.

Malcolm Murray

We brought up the issue of the Malcolm Murray video, there had been four or five times that Malcolm Murray had been intoxicated and Mr. Stockbridge thought it wasn’t the standard expected of a Rangers Chairman. Stockbridge recorded Murray and showed it to a convened internal Board meeting comprising of Charles Green, Imran Ahmad and Malcolm. Murray. They all had copies of it. Mr. Green & Mr. Stockbridge deleted their copies. Mr. Stockbridge believes that Imran leaked the video to YouTube to get back at him.

Mr. Stockbridge said that he paid a £50k electricity bill out of his own pocket which is contrary to Malcolm Murray's claims that he himself paid it. Without official documentation or proof this is one person's word against another.

Malcolm Murray, whilst Chairman, signed off on the bonus contracts which Mr. Stockbridge, Mr. Green and Mr. Ahmad held.

Walter Smith

Email on Charlottes Fakes was doctored to suit. Mr. Stockbridge and Walter Smith corresponded on the phone where Mr. Smith agreed that he’d be taking on the Chairman role full time. Mr. Stockbridge has tried to get Charlotte Fakes shut down by contacting Twitter, however a new account appears just as soon as the previous one is deleted. Mr. Stockbridge says he doesn’t know who it is.

Blue Pitch & Margarita Holdings

Mr. Stockbridge can’t disclose the names invloved but said that there is a major insurance player who is involved with Blue Pitch.

He says he knows Rafat Rizvi but he’s not involved, and if he was on Interpol’s wanted list then why isn’t he arrested when he’s in London, which is often?

Mr. Stockbridge denied being the man behind Margarita Holdings.

When asked if the names of those behind both investment groups are known can we expect it to be a major problem for the fans and indeed the club, he said “no”.

Imran Ahmad

He is confident that Mr Ahmad won’t win his £500k claim. The alleged contract is worthless according to Mr. Stockbridge.

Puma/Blackthorn

Mr. Stockbridge didn’t agree with the one-year deal, and said he will try to negotiate longer term deals as it’s more beneficial. He denied that Mr.Green and Mr. Ahmad pocketed the Blackthorn cash.