Admin less likely in short term

Robbed of the ability to accept credit cards, or roll-over Standing Order fans’ payments, by all accounts season ticket renewals at Newco Rangers has been considerably less than those of fellow lower league club Hearts.

Notwithstanding all of this, the Ibrox club’s remarkable PR people this morning published an article titled “Season ticket waiting list”!  Waiting list!!  Every word is priceless.

I’ve long maintained that anyone looking for a strategy in any of this was misguided but one thing you can be sure of, the lawyers will be giving advice on when to flush the club down the lavvy (ven.).

Newco have banked season ticket cash from a few thousand people, giving them a liability to stage football games until May next year.  If they are unable to stage those games, they cannot spend, or continue to accept, that money.  None of this was relevant before deadline day, but the extended deadline passed yesterday, so the club now have their primary indicator of how much income they will receive this financial year.

If the board believe they do not have enough income to finish the season, they must stop spending – and accepting – season ticket money, and ask the court to appoint an administrator.  Despite the apparent inevitability of this, the board can roll the dice for a while yet.

They can reasonably claim to have an expectation thousands of more tickets will go before the season starts, or that the club can embark on another share issue, but in the meantime, they must continue to pay wages and other costs.  Cash is king when you don’t have bank support and hundreds of staff will continue to earn wages over the summer months.

Wages and other costs will need to be met for May, June and July, before Newco’s biggest vat bill of the year becomes payable in the first week in August.  Ticket sales would need to pick up incredibly in the coming weeks to see them through this.

I don’t expect administration this week.  The club has cash in the bank, has a theoretical chance of turning things around and, as far as we know, is meeting all liabilities when due.  The more likely time administrators would be required is when creditors cannot be paid on time.

There’s an interesting media angle on all of this. Graham Wallace is a hired professional, there to deliver a future for a football club in distress, no more and no less. Sections of the media compliant with ‘the rebels’ (cough) are now telling readers he has made several sackable offences.

It suits King & co if anyone with a modicum of competence to leaves the premises. This campaign is brutal, but remember, don’t go looking for a coherent strategy, there isn’t one.

Speaking to season ticket renewals

Saturday’s magnificent Scottish Cup Final had a fitting home at Celtic Park but the Celtic show only rolls on if you, me and tens of thousands of our close friends want Celtic succeed as much as Newco’s fans want their club to fail, by buying our season ticket.

The most important ticket deadline in football is THIS FRIDAY, 23rd May.  Be there, or be less shamrock shaped.  When it comes to supporters, faithfulness trumps loyalty any day.

After watching St Johnstone win the Scottish Cup, in what was a genuinely thrilling final on Saturday, you could not come to any other conclusion that this was a fantastic season for Scottish football.  Celtic were irresistible in the league, Aberdeen and Dundee United resurged, Motherwell were again Best of the Rest, which is not quit the league title it could be, but still an achievement.  I’m loving the game this way.

Congratulations to Atletico Madrid for achieving what seemed impossible only a few months ago.  Congratulations also to Barcelona fans, who applauded the league winners in recognition of that achievement.  There are some good guys in the game.

[calameo code=000390171873c910154bd lang=en page=106 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]