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Miller withdraws bid to buy Rangers

Rangers (Getty Images)

An American won't be purchasing Rangers after all.

Bill Miller, a Tennessee-based businessman who appeared poised to take over as new head of Rangers after his bid was accepted by Rangers administrators last week, withdrew that bid on Tuesday, putting the club back in a tenuous and precarious situation when it appeared that it was finally ready to take significant steps forward. Miller's bid was accepted for it being the one most capable of getting Rangers out of financial turmoil and back to stable ground, but it was not a popular one with supporters given his lack of connection to the club.

"As soon as I was announced as preferred bidder for Rangers, my team began to press ahead with our due diligence," Miller said in a statement. "Until then, information had been limited to what was made available in the internet data room and questions addressed to the administrators and their staff.

"By late Monday night, it became clear to me that preliminary information, discussions and analysis were, unfortunately, more optimistic than reality. Having no intention of negatively affecting the potential outcome of the club's future and after hearing the message from Rangers supporters and fans loud and clear ("Yank go home!"), I notified the administrators today that I have withdrawn my bid for Rangers and will not be moving forward."

What do you think of this development? What do you think it means for Rangers and the U.S. internationals who play for the team?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. That was the point I made in an earlier post about Rangers. Damn nationalistic, racist bastards. Americans are too good to waste their time. Americans leave Rangers to their own misery.

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  2. Starla, I’m don’t think the notion of Yank ownership you outlined is completely inaccurate. American ownership tends to be concerned with profitability, which is a concept European soccer (football?) fans (among others) confuse with greed. The point of profitability isn’t to line the owner’s pockets: it’s to keep a club out of insolvency… you know, like Rangers.

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  3. Take off the rose-colored glasses and you’ll realize there are no world-beaters among those names. Smalling is no Rio. Cleverly is no Scholes. Young is no Giggs. Nani is no Ronaldo. Everyone agrees Utd need to spend big on a couple of proper stars to compete.

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  4. or invest in the NASL quick someone email him and congradulate the man for not buying into a crap club with crap supporters

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  5. yes because Ashley Young, Antonia Valencia, Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, David De Gea, Javier Hernandez, Nani, Tom Cleverly, Danny Welbeck… all 25 or younger….

    Nope, no young talent to speak of… ROLLS EYES….

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  6. They are probably pocketing more than Fulham’s budget of Man Utd’s money annually while City is spending to win. Money that should be invested in world class talent. Man Utd: no titles for you. And next year will be even worse with that aging roster, no goalie, injured old center backs, midfield carried by retired Giggs and Scholes and no top class forwards besides Rooney. It’s a one man Rooney show.

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  7. Agree with Kevin_Arnold….no politics on the pitch! If you want that, check out the Russian Film, Death Match!

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  8. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling were both purchased in the last few years and not blooded with Manchester United youth program… the club still spends more money than 90% of the teams in Europe each transfer window…

    Jones was bought for 16.5 million pounds from Blackburn

    Smalling was bought for 8-10 million pounds from Fulham…

    that 26 million is swoop for 2 players is more than Fulham has spent in the past 5 transfer windows… and Fulham’s owner is rich as can be…some fans just bitch and moan too much about things that don’t understand…

    Also… I always find it funny that the Manure fans get up in arms about the Glazers when the Tampa Bay Bucs fans in the US have far more to complain about when it comes to the Glazers management… (or lack there of)

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  9. The Glazers have done a good job with ManU. The key to their success has been to keep the club within its means. Aftger the Glazers are gone, the club will be able to sustain itself. Something that certainly can’t be said for Man City. Man U has much more responsible ownership than Man City. City will rue the day they get a new owner who is unwilling to burn the money.

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  10. Okay, so the “Yank” went home and now you’re going to lose your team. Idiots. Grow up, Ranger fans, this is the new reality: it is an international economy… borders mean nothing, nationality will soon mean even less. Yes, it’s painful and a little uncomfortable but, in the end, it will be a far better world for it.

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  11. True that. If he wanted a gangbusters biz deal, he would have gone into shale oil or something, not the fraking Gers.

    Let them drown.

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  12. I am sure you meant it as sarcasm but just so people are not confused… the guys sells and manufactures tow trucks… he is not a towing company by day…

    Interesting that a club in need of salvage was being rescued by a guy that makes a living off supplying companies that salvage…

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  13. I agree with your observation about ManUtd not spending as much on transfers in recent years, but I don’t think that ManUtd fans should complain about ManUtd’s on the field performance under Glazer’s ownership. In the EPL, Manchester United finished first or second (only behind Chelsea) every single year after the Glazers took over in 2005. During the same period, they played three times in the finals of the Champions league and won it once. Barcelona is the only team to do better in the Champions League during the same period. In contrast, in its entire prior history, before the Glazer’s takeover, ManUtd played in the the Champions League/Cup final twice 1967-68, and 1998-1999.

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  14. I love this, absolutely love this. Again, I am a Celtic supporter, but as a sports fan in general, I feel nothing but sympathy for my friends who support Rangers (and yes, I do have many).

    What this reminds me of more than anything were my feelings when Enron went belly-up. At the time, I had friends who worked there, and who all lost their jobs. I felt real sympathy for them, but none whatsoever for the scum that run that “business” into the ground, nor for the business itself.

    I think that Rangers, like Enron, have done this to themselves with financial malfeasance, and then fraud, and the possible dissolution of that club is the only thing that is fair. In the short term, receipts may go down because teams will not get to play Rangers, but eventually, something else will happen.

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  15. How do we know this whole hundreds of emails from “Rangers” fans isn’t a diabolical scheme by Celtic to put the fork in their rivals?

    This just seems so dumb. Had Miller wanted to “suck $ of the club”, a club already in peril doesn’t seem the way to go.

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  16. I suppose I understand the sentiment from the fans after the Glazers, Hicks & Gillette and to a lesser extent, Randy Lerner regimes have not exactly been great for the club. Man Utd continues to do well, but because the club is highly leveraged they aren’t spending like they used to, so the Phil Jones and Chris Smallings of the world are coming up through the youth ranks into the senior team. While I know these guys are pretty good players, they’re not really Man Utd calibre players.

    On the other hand, Rangers supporters should be careful what they wish for, as they may end up without a club. Seems unlikely, but you never know…

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  17. +1

    Nashville could support a team, as could St. Louis, Atlanta, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida…. Miller please take a look at MLS, we need teams in the south!

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  18. maybe its something else: the fact that US isnt a soccer worshiping country. this attitude is very similar to the mexican reactions against us. hey, maybe its not racist after all.

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  19. he was offended that he was called “yank”, not the “go home” part. he’s a dixie hillbilly who made millions off of towing…trust me, his overpricing had led to him being called a name or two. but to call him a yank was just too low

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  20. I’ve said this many times they should go down to 3rd tier and come back the club has too many debts and the league itself has issues representing itself as a good league. But atleast Mr. Miller told the truth RFC can only blame themselves. And their ignorant fans.

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  21. H should buy into an MLS team instead and work on getting better stadiums for the team in better locations

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  22. Media now reporting he received hundreds of threatening e-mails from rangers fans using ugly language.

    Well done Rangers fans. Maybe Miller will supply the towing equipment to haul away the rubbish after Ibrox is bulldozed and the club liquidated.

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  23. Probably the notion that yank ownership means an owner who tries to make a buck and suck out as much $ as possible for himself from the club, while a rich oil baron is trying to spend his own money to win titles.

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  24. The Scottish national team fans and the Rangers fans are practically mutually exclusive sets. Don’t let the huns bad behavior rub off on the Tartan Army, who are first class.

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  25. So he decides not to buy a financially troubled team in a fifth-rate league with violent fans. Wow, what business acumen.

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  26. “Yank go home!”…well…if you would like to enjoy home…feel free to head down to Jacksonville for Memorial Day weekend at the beach.

    You can hang out at the AO Tailgate and relax a bit before the game with some free burgers and beer and feel free to talk about home much money you avoided loosing by not buying the Rangers. Then head into the stadium and you can watch some of the best players on the Rangers play for the US against Scotland and win. You can enjoy watching their fans (many of which might be some of those same “Yanks go home!” crowd) go home themselves in defeat.

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  27. Let the huns be huns. just like dealing with the tea party. they have no idea what is good for them, and have no mental fortitude to look at the big picture.. let the club burn to a pile of ash then.

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  28. I find it rather amusing when oil barons and russian mafia bosses are greeted w/ indifference while the mere mention of yank ownership draws angry protests…. where are the demonstration about those who managed a great club into this mess? Change is difficult I know, but… reality is: it’s an international game/business, and a global economy- pure nationalist representation has been dead for decades. Look at team rosters, club sponsor and fan bases. $%^#, the most glamorous/prestigious of Spanish Clubs wears the Qatar brand on its chest!

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  29. Screw em…They don’t want a Yank to come and save their A$$ES then they can go to hell. Good move by Miller in my opinion

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  30. So Rangers appears to have been outright lying about the reality of their financial situation… nice.

    Also, Rangers fans are out of control. Not like it isn’t something we already knew, but you would think they would respect “Yanks” a little bit more given how many times a Yank has done something season altering for them.

    They can go bankrupt for all I care at this point. The US national players needed to get out of there as it is.

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