Perspective is difficult to find in these times, when information floods in from all angles on a daily basis. With this in mind, The Battered Bunnet put a day aside to give you a detailed summary (below) of how we go to where we are today. He pays particular attention to some of those who plan to be part of the game’s future, with a nod to those currently in control of the game.
It’s a fascinating read:
Scottish Football is in crisis, a crisis that has been 15 years in the making by the Directors of Rangers Football Club plc, compounded by a chronic lack of Governance and Oversight by the cronyistic SFA through the years.
Let’s revisit the cause of the crisis for a moment:
When David Murray bought Rangers in 1988, the club had won but 4 league titles in 20 years, and prior to the arrival of Graeme Souness, had been a Scottish League also ran for a decade. Souness, with David Holmes as Chairman, started the reversal of fortune and effectively restored Rangers as a player in British football.
Murray, giving credit where it’s due, transformed Rangers both as a football club and a business. Between 1988 and 1996, Rangers’ turnover increased by a factor of 5, double double and then some in only 8 years. During this time, the club became dominant in Scotland and competitive in Europe, while considerable sums were invested in the stadium and infrastructure, providing Rangers with a (comparatively) vast commercial resource to fund its football operations. While the club carried £9M of debt at this point, it was profitable, posting £2M surplus in 1996, and breaking even over the period of Murray’s tenure to that point.
By 1996 Murray had a valuable football business on his hands, and perhaps the smart play would have been to sell it. Football was in an expansionary phase, and there would have been a queue of interested and well bankrolled investors at the door. Instead, Murray chose to redouble his efforts, and taking Rangers ‘to the next level’ became the mantra adopted by the man and his increasingly fawning press.
Highlighting that Murray was not alone in thinking that Rangers could indeed become one of Europe’s top clubs, the following year Joe Lewis invested £40M in return for a 20% share. One wonders what Murray might have walked away with had he sold the lot to Lewis at that time, but he kept his hand in the game, and went all in over the following 6 years.
Between 1997 and 2003 Rangers lost an eye watering £152.6 Million. Joe Lewis’ £40M was gobbled up in jig time, followed by £20M of Dave King’s tax efficient stash, plus a £32M investment by Murray’s business, £6M from smaller shareholders, and a further £15M of NTL’s investment in the hopeless Rangers Media venture. At its nadir in 2004, Rangers net debt was a staggering £83 Million, a monument to the ego of David Murray and his ‘dream’ for Rangers.
Unfortunately, burning shareholders’ and creditors’ cash at such a breath-taking rate was not sufficient to fund Murray’s project, and the club embarked upon a series of schemes to pay players and reduce costs. A Discount Option Scheme saved over £2M between 1999 and 2003, while an Employee Benefit Trust framework saved £45M of payroll tax and gross wages between 2000 and 2010. It is worthwhile noting that the cost savings alone from these schemes gave Rangers a financial advantage equivalent to the total payroll of every other SPL team excluding Celtic.
We know now, thanks to the admissions of former director Hugh Adam, that ‘off the books’ payments to Rangers players had started as early as the mid-1990s, and the DOS and EBT schemes were simply formalising a by then established practice.
By 2005, with Rangers reduced to little more than a financial basket case, Bank of Scotland insisted that the club be brought back into balance, and following a failed public share issue, Murray’s holding company swapped £50M of Rangers’ debt for increased equity. The following year JJB paid £15M cash as a future royalty for a 10 year solus agreement on Rangers merchandise. Murray might very well have sold the jersey, but Rangers at long last had gotten rid of all but £6M of debt, and a new ‘sustainable’ plan was implemented, a plan that endured no longer than Paul Le Guen’s 26 games in charge.
When Walter Smith replaced Le Guen, the new plan was binned and Rangers once again embarked upon a ‘front loaded’ business model, with debt increasing on the back of player purchases and wages that the club could not sustain. By 2009 Rangers had £33M of bank debt and Murray’s companies, so long the guarantor of the funding, had utterly collapsed in the property and construction crash of 2008. It is worthwhile remembering that some £70 Million of Rangers’ losses through the years remains on the Murray International Holdings Ltd balance sheet, unpaid to the part-nationalised Bank of Scotland/Lloyds Banking Group.
Early in 2010, following an unusually long Tax Enquiry, Rangers received a Tax Assessment from HMRC for their use of EBTs in the preceding 10 years. The Bill for £24M, had a further £12M of accrued interest attached, and the promise of penalties to come.
Alastair Johnston, who had replaced Murray as Chairman of Rangers following the crash of Murray’s business empire, had a decision to make. In the summer of 2010, £36M tax demand in hand, and an appeal against which scheduled for October, Johnston was planning the coming season’s business. He could have chosen to sell the top footballers which would have brought in around £20M of proceeds. He could have chosen to run the club on a reduced cost model, one that was profitable on domestic football alone, thereby banking a further £20M from their participation in the Champions League. Had he done so, and ring fenced the cash, Rangers would have been in a position to withstand losing the Tax Case Appeal without bankrupting the club.
Alastair Johnston and his Board chose not to. He chose instead to spend money increasing the size of the squad, with £4M spent on Jelavic alone. Whatever else you hear about Rangers’ sorry plight, remember that in the summer of 2010 Alastair Johnston and his Board decided to prioritise football results ahead of the very existence of the club. That was the last time that Rangers’ fate was in the hands of the Club. From the moment the decision was taken not to act, Rangers’ fate was sealed.
Craig Whyte’s bizarre 9 month tenure of course is attracting all of the headlines, and Murray’s reckless disregard for shareholders and laws have precipitated the crisis, but Alastair Johnston, along with Paul Murray, Martin Bain, John McClelland and the rest doomed the club by their inaction in the summer of 2010.
We are now aware that Rangers’ use of unlawful tax strategies had a consequent impact on the proper Registration of their players. I won’t pour over the relevant rules here, suffice to say that in making payments to players via undisclosed agreements that were not provided for in the football contracts lodged with the authorities, many of Rangers top players have been ineligible to play in official matches for a decade or more.
As if it couldn’t get any more damning, the very Directors of Rangers who conceived, implemented and administered these contractual arrangements, were simultaneously Directors of the SFA and the SPL, the bodies responsible for Governance and Oversight. Step forward John McClelland, Martin Bain and Campbell Ogilvie. That Ogilivie is currently President of the SFA simply beggars belief. It appears as though Football in Scotland has been bent for 2 decades, and the people responsible were running the game.
There is a current SPL Inquiry into this issue, and perhaps that will reveal the true extent of the breaches of rules, but from the information now available in the public domain, there is a prima facie case for voiding the results of hundreds of matches in which Rangers have participated over the years, and stripping the club of any titles won during the period. The expulsion of the club from the game is talked of. In terms of athletes and duration, it represents a bigger sporting fraud than the Balco case, and is on that basis, the biggest scandal in the History of Sport.
Did I say a ‘moment’? Forgive me, but it has taken a little while to describe 15 years of malfeasance and deception.
In summary, in the 15 years from 1996 to 2011, Rangers have spent a staggering £168 Million more than they have earned. They have saved a further £47 Million of payroll costs via the use of questionable tax strategies. They have corrupted the rules of the game from the inside. And now they are bankrupt, with the very real prospect of £100 Million of creditors being turned over in one of the biggest corporate failures in Scottish business history.
Against this backdrop, Scottish Football has to divine the way ahead. We have to figure a way out of this mess and build a new future. Everything must be on the table, everything that is except narrow self-interest.
Following a Liquidation, if a group of supporters of a dissolved Rangers get together and start a new football club, one that looks like and sounds like Rangers, playing in blue shirts at Ibrox or elsewhere, I say good luck to them. Of such like-minded people are Football clubs are born. There is clearly a business opportunity given the size of the support for the old club. The pathway is straight forward: Put a Business Plan together; Invest the necessary Capital; and Apply for membership of the Scottish Football League. If the club prospers on the park they will be rewarded with promotions and will emerge into the top flight in their own merits, self-respecting and respectful. Such qualities does Meritocracy provide.
That is a decision though for Rangers supporters. The rest of us need to figure out a new plan. Without Rangers there will inevitably be less money in the top league, fewer fans perhaps, less TV and sponsorship money. We need to accept that reality and respond to it.
I suggest we look towards Cooperation, Collective Interest, Inter-Dependence.
The hardest hit will be those clubs most reliant on the money lost. Redistribution of TV income should be considered. No question.
Youth Development should be looked at again, not least because for most clubs it will define their future. Closer cooperation amongst the clubs can yield benefits for both clubs and players. A modified Draft system might be appropriate, whereby players graduating from Under 19/20 are available to be signed by other clubs in a predetermined sequence, perhaps with the developing club having a first option on 2 players, the remainder co-opted into the draft.
Considering Celtic’s worldwide scouting network, is there potential to share information on overseas prospects with the other clubs? An easy thing to implement.
Looking at income, the huge imbalance created by the participation fees paid to clubs qualifying for the Champions League distorts domestic competition. Can we consider a distribution to all clubs of Marketing fees and likes from UEFA for our clubs’ participation in UEFA competitions?
Finally, what other means do we have, given the collective talent and resources of the top clubs in Scottish Football, to generate new opportunities, new market share, new income? If necessity is indeed the Mother of Invention, we are not short of need. Let’s get innovative.
Of course, all of this is based upon a consensual approach to the crisis we face. It is widely reported that the other 10 clubs in the SPL are meeting next week to consider an appropriate response to the problems we all face. Celtic have not been invited to attend. This in itself is a concern, as it draws something of a line in the sand between the interests of the 10, and the interests of Celtic. One SPL chairman told BBC Scotland: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change things.” Such change, hatched by the 10 other clubs and forced upon Celtic is not a cooperative approach.
Moreover, Celtic are by a distance the biggest box office in the league. This season attendance at Celtic Park equates to 72% of the total attendances at all other grounds excluding Ibrox. A series of decisions on restructuring the SPL and redistributing the proceeds from the competition that excluded the stakes of almost half of the fans in the league is surely invalid.
Quite what will these clubs do with their self-acknowledged ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change things’?
Perhaps the 10 SPL Clubs will come up with some truly radical and forward looking ideas that are at face value, innovative, imaginative and laudable.
Perhaps though they won’t. Perhaps their ideas will be a little more self-interested. That is certainly the form book in Scottish Football.
Redistribution of SPL TV and Sponsorship income that excludes the Champion team from the divvy? Why not eh. The 10 Clubs will have the SPL voting majority to do so.
What would the implications be should the 10 Clubs decide that gate sharing was the way ahead for the SPL? Certainly, in the absence of Rangers, they would carry the voting rights to approve such a decision, irrespective of any objections from the fans whose money would be redirected.
And indeed, the admission of a New Rangers directly into the SPL, bypassing all meritocratic and long established practices in the game worldwide.
Establishing a new business is a challenging activity. Doing so in the midst of the financial chaos enveloping Rangers is utterly fraught. Those considering such a move need to have confidence in revenue projections and market. In the case of a New Rangers, the arbiter of revenue is the League they will participate in. It is reasonable to assume that informal soundings have been taken by those considering a New Rangers project from those with the power to determine which market they will operate in.
I have no problem with Stephen Thomson of Dundee Utd picking up the phone and chatting to Stewart Milne of Aberdeen. Indeed, I would expect it in the ordinary course, never mind the crisis we all face. However, given the likelihood that those behind a New Rangers are right now making their initial pitch to each of the 10 clubs, it is somewhat distressing that those same 10 clubs should in short course arrange a meeting to discuss and plan the way ahead, excluding Celtic and the interests of half the remaining fans of the SPL.
Paul Murray, Martin Bain, John McClelland, Alastair Johnston, Dave King: The men who brought this disaster down upon the game in this country, who corrupted the game from the inside for a decade or more, who burned £100 Million of creditors money, who are responsible for ripping off the Tax Payer and the Football Fan alike, who failed to act on Rangers’ crisis when action was most needed, these men and their likes are currently negotiating with the 10 Clubs the conditions for the entry of New Rangers directly back into the SPL.
The very essence of Sport, the history of Football, and the future of the Game in this country is to be decided in the coming weeks by the chairmen of just 10 Clubs. In the hands of these men is the legacy of the game accidentally entrusted, and its future precariously placed.
At our moment of crisis, when wisdom and consensus are most needed, what direction will they take? Where will Scottish Football go from here?
To a new, mature, responsible and progressive place? Or to Hell in a Handcart.
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Saint Stivs on 10 March, 2012 at 16:39 said:
Oglach,
here it is over here.
Mrs H is out tonight, I now know what i can pass the time with, cheers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH2hVcC9DUI
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Well worth a watch. Griffiths Presents with an unbridled passion. He was obviously a huge admirer of Mick Collins.
Battered Bunnet…
Excellent essay and thank you.I have shared on facebook and urge others to do the same.
HH
Great article again.
This meeting of the ten is becoming a real concern for our club.
I dread to think what proposals will come out of it.
Like many have said i hope our club are well prepared.
Keep up the great work Paul.
The question now is one of how Scottish league football should look going forward. We’ve had commissions and reports aplenty – although did Jim Farry’s wee committee ever produce anything? But now there is an opportunity to look again, and these chances don’t come along too often.
Whether there are ten clubs or twelve in the top division, whether we have an SPL and three other divisions or SPL 1 & 2 along with two others doesn’t concern me greatly.
But any structure must stand on principles that include financial fair play and sporting integrity. And that means those in the top division must have earned the right to be there fairly. Any new team invited to join the league structures must work its way up as ICT have done and several are currently trying to do.
No to Newco in the SPL.
A fairer split of tv and commerical income is reasonable. But then so is a greater share for those clubs who are successful and who generate much of the revenue. If we can develop a model that meets both of those drivers then I will be happy.
Gate income is a little different. The home team puts on the match, bears the costs of doing so and supplies the vast majority of the fans. It must also take the lion’s share of the revenue. Yes, the away team should get a share but it should be a small one.
Celtic is the big fish in a small pond. We therefore deserve a major say in how the league structures operate. But I’m sure we will be open to discussion with other clubs so that their interests can be looked after too.
This is the bottom line (along with the 2 contract aspect !!!!!!!!!!!!)
BBC
“If the HMRC do not agree then there is no route out. Nobody is going to come in and pay £60m/£70m to Rangers because that money will never be recouped.
“They still have massive problems.”
googybhoy ♥ Celtic and Integrity on 10 March, 2012 at 13:23 said:
jmccormick on 10 March, 2012 at 12:28 said:
Happy Birthday….
Your saints day include St.John Ogilvie and St. Kessog.
*St Kessog the pre-reformation patron saint of Scotland, after which there was no way that the calvinists would have an Irish Catholic, who actually lived in the country preaching and converting the pagans, they opted for a Palestinian fisherman.
TBB – splendid work, sir!
My opinion? Destination: hell. Conveyance: handcart.
TBB – very powerful stuff.
A very good piece of work, TBB is to be applauded.
Two or three things need to be added, to this discussion and all future ones on the topic of “What do we do?”
First, Celtic’s future is in Scotland: any ideas of playing in any other league are simply incredible, to use a fine phrase of Paul’s. Talk and writing about a place in England, or in a notional European league, are just wastes of breath, keystrokes and ink. There is not a shred of evidence that Celtic have any hope at all, now or at any foreseeable time in the future, of becoming a part of a football league based anywhere other than Scotland. Just think about that … not a shred, not a single straw in the wind, hint, wink – nothing. Fantasy.
Second, the other Scottish clubs are permanently disadvantaged by the great disparity in income between themselves and Celtic. Naturally they want to correct this, and I, for one, agree that they are right to. The only substantial source of additional regular income that they have in prospect is gate money, and they will demand a big share. Again, in my view, they are perfectly justified to.
Paul’s argument that it’s Celtic fans’ money that they are after is specious. Celtic fans pay to see football games, and football games have two participants. The home team has the trouble and expense of building, maintaining and policing the venue, so it’s right they get a bigger share of the gate; but 100 per cent, or even 90 per cent, is grossly disproportionate. The long-established practice of the Scottish Cup, in which our club has cheerfully participated for more than a century, looks fairer and truer to the spirit of the game.
TBB
Superb article, well said.
Anyone going to phone Jabba the delusional spreader of disinformation this evening!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPcod8IS214&feature=player_detailpage
Tontine Tim says
*St Kessog the pre-reformation patron saint of Scotland, after which there was no way that the calvinists would have an Irish Catholic, who actually lived in the country preaching and converting the pagans, they opted for a Palestinian fisherman.
Every day is a learning day Tontine.
HAIL HAIL
The battered bunnet . respect for a wonderful piece., . That article should be copied pasted and sent to every football club , every football fansite .and every newspaper editor the length and breadth of britain . Oh and UEFA as well . Open out what has happened up here and the lengths some are going to to protect tax dodgers
jimtim.
leftclicktic on 10 March, 2012 at 17:10 said:
Tontine Tim says
*St Kessog the pre-reformation patron saint of Scotland, after which there was no way that the calvinists would have an Irish Catholic, who actually lived in the country preaching and converting the pagans, they opted for a Palestinian fisherman.
Every day is a learning day Tontine.
==========
Scots calvanists may like Palestinian fisherman but the Israeli navy do not!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PVoHhuZqrQ&feature=player_detailpage
Sir Paul
They tell us,that, the “Blue Knights”, are preparing a…
“Very Attractive Offer”…which. IF Accepted.. wull allow
the Aforementioned, Blue Knights.. tae tak over the Reins
of the Benighted Club.
Ah fur Wan..
Am Jist Bustin’ Ma Buttons..in Anticipation.. of finding oot..
Jist whit this.. “Very Attractive Offer” wull Be.
And Where Hiv these “Blue Knights” Bin Hiding Awe this Time,anyway?
Where wur They… when the Beleaguered Club wiz Foist Pit oan
the Selling Block.. a Coupla years Ago??
How come , they didnae mak an Appearance,at that Time.. when
Mr. Murray… The First..
Wiz Searching High and Low.. in mounting anxiety…in order..tae Find a Suitable Person tae Sell his Club Tae?
Unfortunately,HIs efforts in finding that Person.. were maist Discouragin’.
And so, Mr.Murray,wiz Forced.. by lack of Interest in his Advertised Sale… tae Search..
LOWER and LOWER. until.. He ,Eventually, hit Rock Bottom.. and Hid tae start turning over Rocks.. until. He found.. A Silly Young Corporate. “Wid Be” Raider.. under wan of those Rocks??
Young Whitey, wiz the Best suitor fur his Club, that The Diligent.. or.. ,mair like.. DILATORY.. Mr.Murrray…the First.. could come up wi’!
Check. that..
Whitey,wiz the ONLY. willing
Buyer of The G.A. . that Mr. Murray.. The Foist..
Could Come Up Wi’!
In retrospect..
A Calamitous Choice!
Which,in Ma Opinion .. wiz a Sheer Desperation Play, by the Said.
Mr. Murray. the First..
Who had but WAN dearest wish, oan his Mind..
And that wiz…
tae Finally Extricate.. HImsel’,from his present endagerment..
as he struggled tae keep his heid above the surface..o’ the Financial Swamp.. intae which. He had Gaily. led HIs Club.
If the Confident “Blue Knights” feel that their .. “Can’t Miss” ,Business
Plan wull involve the Use of a CVA.. as part of their Sure Fire Plan.. with which they wull Bind Up the Extensive Wounds of the Ailing Enterprise..and staunch the Bleeding..
Then , AH hiv Some News fur them…
Fur there is ,also.. another Meaning of the Initials..
CVA..of which Ah happen tae Be .. aware..
And that ..in Ma opinion, wid be a Mair Appropiate Meaning..in this Case…than the Meaning
of those Initials ,which, the Michty “Blue Knights”. are using.
The Letters “CVA”.. also , ur,commonly, used tae Describe.
A Medical Condition ..which is called.
A.. “CerebroVascular Accident”
Which describes A Rapid and Very Severe Loss of Brain Function.. due to a Disturbance in the Blood Supply, tae the Brain.
and, again…
in Ma Opinion
The “Blue Knight” Dinnae Need tae Seek a CVA..Fur the Furtherance
of thur Rescue Plan..
Fur….They hiv wan of Those.. in Place, Already!
Kojo
Laughin’ ..even Mairer.. If that’s Possible?
Any news of Kyal’s progress and will Bronnie start tomorrow?
TBB
Fantastic synopsis. When I was listening to the pompous Jim Traynor and his wee laddie Spence on Radio Shortbread at lunchtime, I was trying to explain this to my 14 year old son in between random swearing at the radio.
My ire is fueled by anti-corruption and not anti-Rangers sentiment. The men who ran that club (past tense) and there media chums have brought the good name of this country into disrepute. The whole world is laughing at us now.
To paraphrase the scene from Trainspotting. It’s a sh1te state of affairs to be in, and all the fresh air in the world won’t make any f—–g difference.
Feel better for that!
Phenomenal piece! Sadly I genuinely fear the end is nigh, not for them but for our hopes. We have stood alone since 1888. We stand alone in March 2012 and we will be left alone by the clique that is Scottish football and perhaps even Scottish society. I truly despair.
A very depressed H H
TBB:
Magnificent. That deserves a wider audience.
Fancy doing a minor re-write, and passing it to Paul for addition in CQN 7?
That needs to go in as a feature.
The bottom line is this: If a Newco get’s back in, Celtic are finished. In which case, the club may as well resign promptly, and with dignity, rather than suffer a slow painfull death as fan’s ebb away to spend money on something far less soul destroying.
In reality, that is Celtic’s pitch to the 10
Just nipped out to put a wee investment on the rugby result at our local bookies. Spent nearly 20 minutes educating 4 thick bears as to why their collective premis that the ‘ranjurs would come back even stronger’ was utter garbage……..
They still couldnt see how murray had ruined their beloved club and all that it stood for, and clearly have no idea about anything which is happening beyond ……Brian Kennedy has loads of money and will save them or if not one of the other ‘hunners of folks’ who Alex McLeish says will help them out……
After my 20 minute sermon (plagiarising the BB’s great work) they were so depressed I even felt sorrry for these dim, thick and completely ignorant loyal supremicists…..
Houston on Shortbread just said the game is near sold out, less than 200 tickets left for the UTD sections.
So a live on tv game, will have near 14,000 crowd at it.
Huns, we dont need no stinkin huns.
The Battered Bunnet.
Respect. Excellent piece of writing.
Hopefully it will help puncture the jaw dropping Cognitive Dissonance of Scotland’s Hacks and Fitba Blazers.
Scottish Football is in deep Craig Whyte.
Battered Bunnet
Magnificent post.
Me Mo to Burnley78.
The security cameras caught you outside that bookies.
SWEARY WORD ALERT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8x_59EjZOs
TBB:
Magnificent. That deserves a wider audience.
Fancy doing a minor re-write, and passing it to Paul for addition in CQN 7?
That needs to go in as a feature.
share
—————–
Terrific article. However stuff the rewrite, there wasn’t a word of that article that didn’t need saying and isn’t completely relevant
TBB
Wow a truly exceptional review and reflection of where we are and how we got here.
TBB
Excellent
Paddy T
Well done to the Battered Bunnet.
The best article I have read on this site.
Needs to be widely distributed. Obviously, we still await conclusive proof of some of the claims being made but it’s an open secret that the evidence is indeed out there.
Brilliant analysis but why no conclusion? The final paragraphs offer a passive response to the issues wherebye we wait for the proposals from the 10 SPL teams. If Celtic have ideas on how to improve the dire game in Scotland then now is the time to express them. We should call a meeting and make it clear that we can offer changes that are for the overall good of the game. Lets not wait to be told.
Posted on FF by the resident zoomer Leggat
__________________________
Saturday, 10 March 2012
HOSTILE BID COULD CLOSE RANGERS – Exclusive
RANGERS are at the mercy of a hostile takeover which could see the club closed down.
The news that the astute Paul Murray has struck a deal with Ticketus is a big step in the right direction towards returning Rangers to safe and sensible stewardship.
But as things still stand, anybody with enough money could move in and make the administrators an offer they can’t refuse…and not just from a financial viewpoint either.
Some folk suspect dark forces have been at work in the background.
Be that as it may, the fact remains that Rangers are more vulnerable to hostile forces than they have ever been in their illustrious 140-year history. There is nobody inside Ibrox with the clout to stand up and protect Rangers from the club’s many wealthy and extremely well connected enemies.
Think about it! And Rangers supporters must do exactly that in order that they heap plenty of pressure on the Duff and Phelps Two, Brian Clark and David Whitehouse so they know their every move is being watched.
So Clark and Whitehouse know that if the Doomsday scenario comes to pass they will be held accountable by the many millions who support Rangers and who are scattered throughout the globe.
Clark has already admitted that the motives of some of people who have expressed an interest in buying Rangers have to be questioned.
WHY?
Who are these people? What are their questionable motives?
What Clark said was a direct quote from him in Friday’s Daily Record, the newspaper that has led the way in this whole sorry tale since it kicked off the WHYTE SCANDAL by exposing his dodgy deal with Ticketus.
There was another direct quote from administrator Clark which set me thinking and set alarm bells a jangling. It was that some individuals have attached themselves to more than one consortium which has expressed an interest in buying Rangers.
Now, before some of my colleagues – those who see Scottish football through Peter Lawwell’s eyes and describe it from his script – dismiss this as the ravings of someone who has just reported UFOs in his back garden, let me pose a question.
Back in May, when Rangers had just stopped celebrating a third successive title and Craig Whyte moved in, with Rangers seemingly debt free, would they have believed the Ibrox club would be in their current situation?
And no matter what doubts they harboured about Whyte at that time, how many will admit they saw all of this coming? That Whyte would turn out to be a huckster, a trickster, a conman, and very possibly a common thief?
Nary a one I’ll wager.
So what if there was somebody out there meaning to do Rangers harm? Somebody whose riches scaled the peak of being a BILLIONAIRE….and then some?
What if he saw £80m as small change, well worth spending to kill Rangers?
Are there such people? Well, not in Scotland. But in a nearby foreign country? Mmmmm…….. Think about it!
Such a person, either boldly and with a brass neck, but more likely hiding behind nominees, could buy Rangers, which would give him Ibrox Stadium, the training ground in Milngavie and the Albion car park.
He could then decide that Rangers, as a football club, was being closed down. That would leave him with the three properties. None of which would give him his money back if he sold just now.
But what if he held on until an upturn in the economy and sold Ibrox and the Albion for building social and/or affordable housing? Of course he would need the help of Glasgow City Council.
Think about that!
As for the land outside Milngavie? I am sure a deal could be struck for upmarket housing to be built there, giving any such so minded and rich enough enemy of Rangers his original investment – or at least the guts of it – back.
Impossible?
Well two people, neither of them given to conspiracy theories, both senior professional men, who I put such a scenario to said it was unlikely, but not impossible.
For the original question regarding why Craig Whyte bought Rangers remains unanswered. Though the emergence of any hostile bid to buy Rangers and close the club could provide some answers.
Especially regarding just how Whyte can sustain a multi millionaire lifestyle with no visible means to support it. It must be a helluva big Giro he’s getting.
For the moment it is enough for Rangers supporters to be placed on red alert as to the danger their club is in. And enough for the Duff and Phelps Two to be made acutely aware of just how closely their every move is being watched.
Even when they retreat to their Glynhill Hotel hideaway in Renfrewshire. Or even check in at the more up market Grand Central in Glasgow city centre.
Well said BB, absolutely comprehensive summary of the history of this crisis and the options facing Scottish football.
If ‘the ten’ choose the path of narrow self-interest and destroy whatever integrity remains to the Scottish game Celtic’s response, both from the club and the support, needs to be equally as ruthless.
Hope we’re planning for all inventualties here…
PS: well done the Dragons!
Barcabhoy:
I agree but right now, at 2500 words, it’s six pages haha.
A truly remarkable piece of work.
TBB – an excellent piece of work sir. Credit where it’s due.
When the term Pre-pack Administration was first mentioned on Phil’s blog and here on CQN, I said that Scottish football could be set to give us the biggest slap in the face ever. Which would be saying something considering the many examples of bias shown against our club over the years.
Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the events and revelations of the last few months. The people governing professional football in Scotland can’t be trusted to do what’s best for the game in this country, it has to be taken out of their hands.
Surely by now we have a case to take to UEFA/FIFA detailing corruption, bias, criminal negligence and downright incompetence. The SPL clubs can make their own rules, but they still have to operate under the governance of the SFA, a football association that needs to be fully investigated by the European or World governing bodies.
We’ve been celebrating what we perceived to be the impending demise of Rangers and taken our eye off the ball. The club and support will have to fight on a number of fronts over the weeks and months ahead. The implications are huge – we either move forward with club/team/fans pulling in the same direction or we allow decisions taken by others to cause cancellations of season cards and forced sales of some our best players.
TTTT
TBB
To paraphrase the esteemed Kojo
I doff my titfer
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Leggat’s vodka supplements have arrived from the Ukraine I see ….
Good God, that article is a sketching from the loony bin … This guy has tripped all the way out. He’s worrying that our absentee landlord, using proxies, is going to pee away £80 million of his own money to close Rangers down?
Wow … that is mental. Conspiracy Theorists of the World Unite.
What an article BB! I’m still amazed that fans of the “gang of 10” don’t seem to realize just how serious this is and if they are cosying up to NewCo Rangers then Celtic should hand in their notice and resign at the end of the season. What would be the point of continuing to play in a crooked league? I’d rather play in the English Conference than play in a league that rewards cheating
I’ve said many times that if NewCo Rangers are voted straight back in then Scottish football would never see another penny from me.
Jabba etc are wondering why Ticketus became involved….?………honest !!!!