Andrew Ellis’ proposed takeover bid for Rangers has been met with scepticism by the newspaper sports editor who dealt with him during his ill-fated reign in charge at English club Northampton Town. Ellis is fronting an attempt by a company called RFC Holdings to buy out majority Rangers plc shareholder Murray International Holdings Limited (MIH), which in turn is controlled by Sir David Murray. But he spent a turbulent eight weeks at the helm at Sixfields in 2002.
Ellis is currently trying to convince an independent committee of the Rangers plc board that his plans to buy the Ibrox club are feasible. But Jeremy Casey, the sports editor of Northampton Chronicle, where Ellis last forayed into football, has warned supporters of the Glasgow club that Ellis' track record should give them cause for concern.
Casey, speaking in an interview to be broadcast on the STV Sports Centre at 10.35pm on Friday March 12, remembers Ellis’ spell with the Cobblers well, describing it as “shambolic”. He also insists that fans of the prospective Rangers owner’s former club will be shocked if Ellis manages to complete a move for the Scottish Premier League leaders.
"Andrew Ellis, when he first came in, everyone thought 'great, this is man who is going to take the club forward',” recalled Casey of Ellis’ arrival at Northampton. “He was saying all the right things.
"But then he left the club within eight weeks, stating business reasons. Who knows what they were. Within eight weeks he had left the club and it was a pretty shambolic eight weeks, to be honest.
"I am sure they [Northampton fans] will be amazed. Anyone who remembers that time and thinks that this is the same man who tried to run Northampton Town and he is now going to try and run a massive club like Glasgow Rangers... will be amazed.
"If it comes off, good luck to him but I'm sure anyone of a Northampton persuasion will be quite shocked at what they are hearing.”
Ellis also tried to take over at Queens Park Rangers in 2001, before meeting resistance to his plans to move the club out of the centre of London to a new stadium at a site near Heathrow Airport. After being given three weeks to prove he held the necessary funds to buy over the club, at which his father, Peter, was formerly chairman, he withdrew his bid.
A year later, he paid £500,000 to assume control of Northampton Town but, despite initially wooing the fans with his promises of Championship football, he quickly became unpopular.
"There was a link with [Paul] Gascoigne, there was talk of [moving to] Milton Keynes and moving the club around,” said Casey. “Everything that he promised wasn't delivered. But then, he was only here for eight weeks.
"He always seemed to be keen on getting a sound bite and saying the right things for the fans. How much he actually knew about running a football club, and what it took to make a stable football club, I'm not sure.”
Just under two months into his spell as owner, Ellis relinquished control to David Cardoza, his then brother-in-law, who was part of the consortium which bought the club over. Casey believes Ellis was simply a front man at the time for Cardoza.
“The money men at the club were always David Cardoza, who is now the current chairman, and his father, Tony. I think Andrew Ellis was just fronting up the consortium with him, I don't think he had any money at the time. Whether he's got money now, who knows?
"He was desperate to get involved in football. He clearly loved his football. But whether he knew much about running a football club is a different matter. It was pretty scattergun, what he was trying to do.”
Ellis’ planned takeover is now being reviewed by an independent committee of the Rangers plc board, who will scrutinise the finances and future plans of RFC Holdings consortium for the Glasgow club.
A statement on Rangers’ website on March 8 confirmed that talks had begun with the interested bidders, with a view to completing the sale of Sir David Murray’s 92 per cent shareholding in the club.
"Following press speculation over the weekend, the board of Rangers confirms that it has been advised by Murray International Holdings Limited that MIH has entered into discussions with certain interested parties, including Andrew Ellis, about the interests of MIH in Rangers Football Club that may lead to an offer or offers for the entire issued share capital of the club,” it read.
"The board of Rangers Football Club understands that discussions are at an early stage and there can be no certainty that any offer will be made for the issued shares of Rangers Football Club.
"In order to ensure the complete independence of the assessment of the merits for Rangers Football Club of any possible offer, the board of Rangers Football Club has set up an independent committee of the board (the "Independent Directors") comprising the chairman Alastair Johnston, John McClelland, Martin Bain, Donald McIntyre and John Greig to consider the full implications of any future offer for Rangers Football Club.
"The Independent Directors will ensure that any possible offer for Rangers Football Club is assessed on the merits for Rangers Football Club, its shareholders and all other stakeholders in Rangers Football Club including supporters.”
Neither Andrew Ellis, nor any of the RFC Holdings consortium who have lodged the bid to takeover at Rangers Football Club, were available for comment on Friday.
