Dave King explains why he wants Rangers chairman return and reason why he's gone public
09/16/2024 09:22 AM
Ex-Rangers chairman Dave King has thrown his name into the ring to return to Ibrox following the resignation of John Bennett over the weekend.
King retains the biggest single share of Rangers Football Club through his subsidiary New Oasis Limited, owning just over 14% of the club and 63m shares.
Some may be wondering why then, in the wake of Bennett stepping down due to health reasons, does Dave King need to go public in order to notify the Rangers board of his availability.
Dave King did an interview with the Rangers Review over the weekend which saw the South Africa-based businessman go public with his wishes to return to Ibrox.
In it, King took aim at the pre-existing corporate structure at Rangers and questioned the leadership of the current regime at Ibrox.
Having left his role as Rangers chairman in 2020, believing the club to be in good hands, in the years proceeding his exit, the Gers have gone backwards in their eternal battle with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
In a fresh interview, Dave King has now been talking to TalkSPORT about his intentions and laid bare why he wants to return and – perhaps most pertinently for supporters – why he chosen to go public.
Why does Dave King want to return to Rangers?
"What I've done is I've made myself available," said King. "And the reasons for that are… having seen John step down, under normal circumstances, I would expect someone else to step up.
"Someone from the board to have stepped up. To me, the absence of someone stepping up, those who do know what's going on and who can step in on behalf of John, because you'd normally when the chairman steps down someone else steps up.
"When I heard that what the board have decided to do is just kind of outside and get a headhunter and try and get a chairman and CEO.
"The job at Rangers is very different from chairing a public company.
"Right now the club is in crisis, to what extent I don't know, only those inside do know, but certainly the operational issues within Rangers are a challenge.
"A lot of the policy procedures and processes that were in place at the time that I stepped down have been hollowed our during Douglas's reign.
"And I thought if no-one is going to step up and we're going to have to go some external city type appointment, which I'm absolutely certainly will not take the club forward, as the leading shareholder perhaps I can step up for a period of tie.
"So I've made an announcement that I'm available to do that.
"I think something has to happen fairly quickly, the club lacks leadership in all aspects of the club."
After touching on the delayed reconstruction of the Copland Stand, King said: "I thought, I've got the biggest interest, there is a crisis.
"I think it needs someone to step in quite quickly so I'll throw my name in the hat."
King also claims that Rangers have 'wasted' the vital resources the club did generate over the last few years from the Europa League run and the high profile sales of Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey.
Dave King – who paid a glowing tribute to John Bennett – also claims that ex-chairman Douglas Park 'rejected' a 'substantial' proposal from an American-led consortium which had given King 'proof of funds'.
There was also an indirect criticism of Michael Beale's tenure, where King claims 'managers (were) being allowed to do their own thing with no oversight from the board', ignoring previous recruitment processes which were about finding the right type of player suited to the Ibrox environment.
Ultimately, the ex-Rangers chairman believes there has been a fundamental breakdown in the pre-existing corporate processes, leadership and structure which has now translated on to the pitch.
Why has Dave King gone public with Rangers chairman plea?
King's introduction was then knocked back by ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, who questioned King's public and 'vociferous' approach to the situation.
Probing the Rangers shareholder about why he has taken this public process as a way of notifying the board – something which points to, at best, a lack of communication and, at worst, a rift in the club's ownership – King suggested his process at Rangers would not be 'comfortable' for many of those in situ.
"I think it's not going to be comfortable for some of those that are in place right now," said King.
"So yeah, some of the incumbents would not like the idea of me coming back. I think they know how I work, I am fairly direct.
"I would expect results and results quite quickly, and I expect people do put their shoulder to the wheel, which I think is not what's happening.
"So yes, I could imagine that there are some within the club who might be ore comfortable an external opponent.
"But the question is from the club's point of view. That they've advantages that I am the largest shareholder, so at least there's a strong economic interest on my part to get things right.
"And secondly, at least I've got a track record of energy."
When asked if this was more of a call to action, rather than a serious appeal to return, King replied: "I would like to come back.
"It wasn't my intention, but it would be my intention now to actually come back. So it's not really a call to action. In that sense, it's not a wake up call.
"I think it does need someone to come in quickly.
"It needs someone with institutional experience, but not an outsider, I don't think, who is going to spend months or whatever trying to get his arms around the department.
"In needs someone to come in quickly and I think there's two major objectives.
"One is to reintroduce the operational policies, controlled procedures, processes, that have gone missing over the last couple of years and get the club up to speed there.
"Secondly, to find a new investor."
When asked what levers King would need to pull in order to regain control as chairman, King responded: "Look, I've had discussion with other parties around it, who I would need support of.
"It's not something I can do on my own. Certainly there is a move by interested parties with vested interests both within and outside the board, who understand that there is a level of urgency."
Later King added: "Can we take the time to first of all get a recruitment agency to go and try and find a chairman and the CEO?
"That will take months, it'll cost hundreds of thousands of pound which we'd rather spend on the team, quite frankly.
"I don't think we have that time and I don't think bringing in someone without institutional experience and understanding of Rangers and understanding of Glasgow is gong to give us a short-term turnaround.
"So I think the turnaround becomes a longer turnaround and then my fear starts to become as a fan.
"It's not a question of stopping 10 in a row which was my previous objective but right now the thing we do hang on to is we're still the most successful club in the world, and if we slip too long then we might lose that honour as well."
Rangers Board risking Ibrox apathy with chairman call
There's a lot to unpack for frustrated Rangers fans who've backed the club to the hilt for a lifetime.
No matter the personal hurdles supporters have had to overcome, they continue to pour their hard-earned cash into the team and with living costs at an all-time high, the pressure is rising.
The biggest fear for the hierarchy of Rangers Football Club is an apathetic support who are turned away by persistent failures at the top end of the club.
The Gers need leadership and by the sounds of things, there is a distinct lack of it from the boardroom to the hallways and then into the dressing room.
Dave King knows Rangers, he has a vested interest in the club for a number of reasons, and the case for the businessmen's return is growing increasingly strong.
But will the current Rangers board and shareholders put aside their differences in the best interests of our future?
King himself sums up the dilemma perfectly.
"I think supporters if they're going to continue to support the club as opposed to become apathetic, need to know that the people who're there are going to lead the club, must be visible, must be transparent and must provide a way forward."
This next move is a crucial one.
