Seven years ago the club lodged it's intention to go into administration

Laudrup1 said:
I always has suspicions and people in the know who told me about him were entirely right in every way about what he was going to do.

I heard a story the other day with regards to the data system at the club and how he essentially had a private line which was untraceable in relation to actual club business. It'd be interesting to see those emails

There's no doubt in my mind that we were utterly screwed by a white collar criminal and it's a disgrace that no charges ever stuck on it all.
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When he first surfaced in December 2010 (I think it was), I was able to search the press archives and find stories of him fleeing Scotland circa 2001 owing creditors, employees, etc. Yet he'd become a billionaire in the meantime, apparently. The whole thing seemed 'off' from the start, imo. Not claiming any prescience on it but he was clearly not what he said he was.

I shudder to think what chaos was wreaked on the club at the time and our information systems, private data would have been one of them. We've been compromised and the effects will last for years.
 
Another source of pain (and depression and anxiety) was the years I'd spent on here, in RST, and in pubs and clubs trying to tell people of the dangers...so few believed anything serious could happen. I was so sad, and worn out, when the shit hit the fan.
 
7 years ago, feels like yesterday. It happened on a Tuesday if I remember correctly. On the Friday I finished early and went to Ibrox, just to walk round it and was interviewed by a Real Radio reporter. A horrible, horrible time, I don't want to go through that experience ever again.
 
I remember sitting watching SSN at my mates house as the news broke.

I’d have been 15/16 years old at the time and didn’t really know what was going on but must’ve been on here day after day trying to understand the severity of the situation and what was going to happen.

I’ve never been more proud of a group of people than the Rangers support though. Everyone wanted us dead and there was a time when the club looked like it was slipping away but we kept fighting and when 55 comes we’ll all deserve a huge fucking party.
 
The day the floodgates opened. It's absolutely mental to think of the shite we had to put up with.

If you came on here at any point from that awful day in 2012 till the 2015 EGM, you would never have known this was a football board. Nobody talked tactics or team selections cos it barely mattered.

Sad to say i don't think we will ever get proper justice for the crimes against our club.
 
felix_nieto said:
What caught me by surprise was the incessant tirade of hatred from all angles especially from people who were prior to that considered to be friends.

Workplaces, pubs, stag do's, weddings etc etc etc - you name it, it was inescapable.

I will never, ever forgive or forget.
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Was just about to post something similar.

The sheer outpouring of hatred from the entire foul landscape of Scottish football in those dark days, particularly fans and custodians of other clubs, was genuinely staggering and caught me by surprise too. You are correct in saying it was inescapable, I work in Edinburgh and it was incessant from all and sundry regardless of club allegiance. Strip the titles, fine and ban us, don't give us a licence etc - seemed like there was no punishment that was considered off limits or that could satisfy their bloodlust. They didn't just want to dance on our grave, they wanted to get off their tits on the misery it was causing us and piss, puke and shit on it too.

To this day, I'm still not sure where that level of unbridled malevolence towards us came from. I can sort of understand the glee from the Celtic minded (although so wretched, given their own vile and sordid history eclipses anything that could be considered as a misdemeanour in the financial running of a club) but it was like a switch flicked for the rest of the scottish clubs fans and the bile spewed forth.

Maybe I'm a bit naive...was it always there, simmering under the surface? Had our decades of success scarred these clubs so much that they thought it was all fair payback? Undoubtedly, the media helped set the tone as the "cheats" narrative was immediately, unanimously and ruthlessly established. But still, to this day I struggle to understand the mindset of the countless plebs who unquestionably believe that our proud and magnificent club is the root of all evil and won't even consider that maybe, just maybe, we were right royally shafted by a succession of charlatans, regulatory bodies and placemen who just wanted to watch us burn. Especially when these same clubs and fans bend the knee so subserviently to the real villains of Scottish football.

I've ranted a bit there and not even got started on the shameful and unprecedented actions of Murray, Whyte, HMRC, D&P etc. Save that for another day. But as others have said, we should nevet forget what happened to us in 2012 and everything thereafter, whilst also taking immense pride in where we are now in comparison. I firmly believe that very few, if any, clubs in world football could have survived what we did and us fans have proved our loyalty countless times over even in the darkest of days. When it comes, the roar of joy and defiance that will greet 55 will be incredible and this bear cannot wait to experience it.
 
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I think we will only truly have the time to sit back and look through everything that happened once we win 55 and the power within Scottish football is back with Rangers.

A movie should also be made to highlight the dangers of what one man can do to an entire institution. Rangers the movie would be incredible, not just for us, but for all football fans. Let this never happen again.

A football club shouldn't just last for 140 years, it should last forever. At this moment in Rangers history we as fans are still technically seeing the early days of Rangers if you put it into perspective if you look at where the club could be in say 360 years from now.

Could we be playing in a new stadium? The EPL, then a British league, then a European league, then a full world league? Could Rangers become one of the biggect clubs in world football by that time?
 
Stormed out of work that day, as all the mentally challengeds predictably rounded on any bluenose, shockingly aided and abetted by supporters of all manner of SPL and SFL clubs. I knew we were disliked, but I couldn't believe some of them getting in bed with the filth. Haven't engaged in any club football chat outwith Rangers supporters in any capacity ever since and never will. Other than a massive get it right fucking up ye at the appropriate moment.
 
dublinbluenose said:
I thought the darkest day in the whole period was when the Ashley and the other rats won the agm.i thought we were losing the club forever
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In many ways, the winter of 2014 and spring of 2015 was worse. The summer of 2012 at least had a galvanised support and the possibility of a fresh start post-Murray and Whyte. The Ashley era would have seen people drift away and the club become a mid-table SPL outfit, at best.
 
The thing is, admin was inevitable with the EBT tax case, it was just a case of when (and would have been a good few years later after all the appeals). Our downfall was c*nts like Whyte and Green being involved when it hit
 
Hard read that, little did we know it was just the beginning. I remember the minute I found out, one of my customers walked in the door, straight into my office without even a knock... "We're in Admin" and walked out.
 
One of my 'Kennedy' moments which I will never forget. Out walking with my daughter's dog round the local rugby pitch when I heard the news on Radio 5. I think I would have seriously assaulted Whyte if he had been within my vicinity that day. The years that followed were dark until the day that Dave King and the 3 Bears got us our club back.
 
Porto Loyal said:
The thing is, admin was inevitable with the EBT tax case, it was just a case of when (and would have been a good few years later after all the appeals). Our downfall was c*nts like Whyte and Green being involved when it hit
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I disagree. My opinion has always been that if we had had a genuinely responsible business savvy owner a deal could have been done with HMRC to reach a settlement after the first two tribunal cases concluded in our favour. Our fate, however, was sealed on the day that Murray gave his shareholding to Whyte.
 
It’s funny to see all the moonhowlers outside of HMV and Fopp just now demanding it changes its name to Sunrise Records following their administration.

That has happened hasn’t it????
 
The start of the most depressing period in our history and something we're still experiencing the financial ramifications from, to this very day. It'll be a few years yet, before we're back to achieving the wealth, status and professional success that was stolen from us. Never forgive, Never forget.
 
Any of us who loved the club were deeply hurt by it. Many have said it-it was avoidable I was daft enough to believe we were too big and/or someone with the financial clout would save us.

Murray and Whyte will die in infamy for this. An institution that meant so much to so many cast aside for personal gain.

We are not over it yet and I think that\s what propels partly the bi-polar nature of these times. Only a league title will mean we are back. And we will be.
 
Just horrific, beyond comprehension at the time.

7 years on and we are very much recovering from this still - but what a support we have.
 
Remember on admin day there being a rush to appoint the administrators, Whyte wanted Duff & Phelps, HMRC wanted their own guys. Information was sketchy and many thought it was HMRC who had forced the administration event so wanted Whyte to get his choice of people
 
Remember the day well as I was just waiting for approval to join the FF membership.
It came through that day & started off my almost 1100 posts on the old site.
 
I was up snowboarding at Nevis Range. Got down to the McDonalds in Fort Bill for my phone (which had been out of range) start pinging all over the place. The news was out. I remember driving through Glencoe choked, devastated, defiant, angry and about another 500 emotions running through my head.

I will never forgive or forget the following weeks and months and how we were continually let down and vilified. It has got to the extent that hatred for Rangers and the fans is at fever pitch because the MSM de-humanised the club and it's support and made it absolutely fine to hate all things Rangers.

The day we cement those bastards and seal number 55 will be the sweetest feeling ever. I am not normally a particularly emotional person but I will have a moment or two of 'quiet reflection' that day. My mind will drift back to that McDonalds car park and everything we've been through since.
 
paintyourwagon said:
As its something I have almost blanked from memory. What was our status in the league the day it happened were we behind by that point? I know we blew a considerable lead.
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The day it was announced we would be going into administration we were one point behind and they had a game in hand. We were very much in a title race.
 
See as much as it’s gruelling to read back through that, (because let’s be honest, it was an unbelievably dark period) doesn’t it also make you feel a good bit of pride knowing we came back from it?

I think the rest of the shite in the country had it in their head we’d have 100 odd fans turning for games and we’d slowly fizzle out completley as the spivs held their tight grip. I don’t think they envisaged our support continuing to show up in their thousands, breaking attendance records, fighting tooth and nail to cut the cancer from the club, boycotting Ashley’s stores etc etc.

I think as horrible is it is, a lot of people should be immensely proud with how they dealt with it, fought the good fight, and together with King and co, ultimately rid the club of the blood sucking leeches who tried to sink it, returning us back to where we were (or almost where we were, the comeback isn’t compete until 55).
 
Coatbridge Chancellor said:
Some very prescient posters on that thread. Others who were,shall we say, less so. I was so grateful it didn't happen on my birthday (15th).
Just a scary and horrible time to be a fan.
The Ibrox disaster will always be (God willing) the worst thing to happen to the club as loss of life was worse than a bad few years but even then in 71 you knew the club would be fine and move on. You couldn't say that with certainty in 2012.
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I share your birthday!

It’s hard to believe how much worse it got after going into admin. It just seemed to get worse and worse when you thought nothing else could be worse. I remember sitting trying to imagine what it would be like with no club to follow and thinking how it would effect my grandad.
 
mdingwall said:
http://forum.rangers-mad.co.uk/showthread.php?838307-RFC-lodge-intention-to-go-into-administration

A few bitter moments since then but we survived.
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The amount of crap we have went through is unreal. I'm actually shocked Craig Whyte is still on this earth.

I realise he wasn't necessarily the root cause but by f*ck he didn't help.

I feel sorry for the many bears that have passed away in the last 7 years that never got to see us back towards the top of scottish football.
 
Terrible times but depressing that 7 years later we are still on the wrong end of blatant corruption in Scottish football albeit the club is in a massively better place.
 
Day after day you were just expecting more bad news,the darkest days of our club.
On a side note reading the old board right few posters names that where very prominent no longer post for different reasons.
 
I read that and my blood runs cold. We survived but I had so so many nights where I’d sleep little or not at all thinking I wouldn’t have a club to support soon.

Working in a call centre for Sky at the time had just come in to start my back shift and seen the news on the big TVs hanging from the ceiling displaying the news. Refused to start my shift and nearly got sacked. The longest shift of my entire life hung up on countless people because I physically couldn’t concentrate or listen to some whiny prick going on about his faulty broadband when this was all going on.
 
Steven adamiak said:
Gut wrenching. Remember the Killie game at home after it was a strange feeling. Distinctly remember the whole stadium breaking into ' whos the 19th Century Terrorist in the black' felt like proper siege mentality that day.

My first born came along at the end of 2012, definitely helped to occupy my time and mind.
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ref didn't add on time at the end of first and second half...probably wanted it to end asap.

but my outstanding memory was on Edmiston Drive when John Brown stood on the steps on a summer's evening. There was thousands.. "Who are Rangers ?..Charles Greene isn't Rangers!....YOU are f uc king Rangers ..and if we're playing in a public park next season we'll all be there !." I felt hope then that we'd live through this because I'd been shocked by what happened and feared our future
 
I was going through the most traumatic time in my personal family life.
Sir Duped and Whyte better not bump into me anytime soon.
 
Bitter sweet,Bitter about the hatefest that became a national obsession that continues to fester to this day,Sweet because I returned to supporting the team I had drifted away from for nearly two decades with only the occasional trip to a game,Now I miss very few home games thanks to my much treasured season ticket.
 
It’s still raw, it changed me and my views on the game / society in general. I hate Murray for what he did, will never forgive what he did allowing an opportunist to pilfer the club.

Through the protests there was a sense of great camaraderie. It helped soften the blow of us giving up great seats when fellow bears did the same and spoke passionately above their regret about doing so.

Looking back this site gave great detail but in equal measure hope that the blue knights would prevail, sadly the stitch up by D&P dealt with the Deals on the table put an end to that.

How no one went to jail for this is still a disgrace.
 
Klos 1 said:
One of the worse days ever. The months that followed were horrendous honestly can look back now & see how much it affected me actually probably affected us all. It was consuming my every single thought, I would try to sleep & couldn’t it would just go round my head constantly. Just a horrible shit time for us all.

However it only strengthened my love for our club & for my fellow bears & really was probably only FF that kept me sane. Dark days will never be forgotten but now we are in the light thanks to the current board & Stevie G & when we get 55 it will be all the sweeter.
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Well said.

I thought I loved the club ( like so many others) but those day, weeks and years made me realise it was far deeper than that. It's part of my and many people's DNA.

As many of said "Never forgive and never forget" NEVER.
 
I remember walking back after the Killie game and carloads of them drove past screaming die die and all their abuse
These were dark days
 
Horrible times, as others have touched on people couldn’t wait to put the boot in and the he attempted stripping of trophies for a license was a disgrace.

Will be forever thankful to McCoist at that time too who fought tooth and nail to make sure that didn’t happen, and I’d say behind closed doors there was more he did we never heard about.

As a support I feel the journey has brought us closer. Some of the best away days I’ve had have been since that day.
 
Was working down in Portsmouth at the time. I remember sitting in my digs in just total shock.

Amazing how far we have come when I look back on that day.
 
Was at a gig in Sleazy's that night and one of the band members (how apt!) made some comment about "jelly and ice cream when Rangers die". I was ready to go tonto, but probably would have had the whole place kick the shite out of me. Was really down for those years. I lost a lot of love for football and haven't really recovered it. Hardly watch it now, apart from us.
 
Kinbo said:
Jelly and ice cream when we win 55
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No doubt the jelly and ice cream banter will be kicking about tomorrow at work but I’m taking a big bag of popcorn in defence. More than happy to sit back, enjoy my popcorn, and watch what unfolds in the coming months. I fully intend stifling any jibes with the offer of some popcorn to my bantering foes. That will no doubt put them securely back in their box. Popcorn could well be, the new Jelly and ice cream.
 
an absolutely appalling time that still abides

a score of thieves and incompetents thieving from the Rangers support, who through it all showed they're world class.
 
I had a day off work and got a text from a pal that Whyte's laywers were at the Court of Session.

The one and only time I've been ITK :(.
 
Showed a lot of folk for what they truly were. I'll never forget. I'll never forgive. Ever. But saying that, being able to look back. It was so hard but I feel very humble and going to Ibrox these days has an exta special feeling that I can't describe.
 
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