ANNUAL General Meetings are not usually the most exciting or headline-grabbing of affairs but there has been plenty to talk about at the last few gatherings of Rangers shareholders.

Fans and investors will congregate at the Clyde Auditorium on Friday morning for the RIFC plc AGM, the second since Dave King and Co. swept to power in March 2015.

The Gers chairman and his fellow directors were given a warm reception on a cold and wet Glasgow morning twelve months ago as supporters thanked them for their efforts in ending the bitter boardroom battle that had raged for a couple of years.

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It was far removed from the days when Graham Wallace lead out his board at Ibrox to a chorus of boos or the embarrassing event that saw David Somers and the Easdale brothers pitch their tent on the park and come under a barrage of not so friendly fire from the stands.

Thankfully those scenes are a thing of the past and matters on the field dominate the agenda more than those off it once again for Rangers.

But that won’t mean that the business side of things will slip down the pecking order on Friday morning. There will still be an elephant in the room, and it will be wearing Sports Direct trainers.

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King announced to some fanfare last year that the board had raised the £5million necessary to pay off the loan that was due to Mike Ashley. It was a positive step but anyone who thought it was the beginning of the end of the war with the billionaire was quite mistaken.

Ashley’s presence continues to linger at Ibrox and it will be in the courtroom rather than around the negotiating table where the talking will be done over the next few months.

When proceedings shift to questions from the floor, Ashley is likely to be at the centre of many of them. But shareholders could once again be left frustrated in their search for answers, with the pending litigation likely to prevent King from divulging too much information.

In terms of the order of business, it is the final Resolution relating to any future share issue that is the most important for the Gers hierarchy. External finance is still required at Ibrox and the passing of Resolution 11 would pave the way for a new share issue.

For supporters, that could be significant as it would allow Club 1872, who recently became the fifth largest stakeholders at Ibrox, to increase their shareholding by investing directly into Rangers.

Around £10million has already been loaned by the likes of King, Douglas Park and George Letham to fund the rebuilding job both on and off the park and the topic of transfer funds is sure to come up once again.

There could also be some tougher questions for boss Mark Warburton as well. The Englishman barely had to pick up a microphone last year as supporters directed their enquiries elsewhere across the top table.

Read more: Rangers 1-0 Dundee: Ibrox celebrations say it all for Mark Warburton's side

But a lacklustre start to the Premiership campaign means there is more pressure on Warburton’s shoulders than there was last time out and the performances of his side, and especially his summer signing policy, could come under the spotlight from supporters.

The Joey Barton saga is also likely to feature prominently but it would be a surprise if too much is said by Warburton about his former midfielder.

Unlike his predecessor Ally McCoist, the 54-year-old will not have to sit uncomfortably as fans vent their fury at a disgraced and distrusted board of directors.

The to-do list is still significant and the bill will still be hefty for those that are running Rangers but this is no winter of discount tent at Ibrox.