Summary of Rangers situation

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In response to some of the more excitable comments from yesterday it might be worthwhile painting the possible scenarios for Rangers.

No Sale

If Bill Miller is unable to complete the sale (remember, he’s not even paid the deposit and has no intention of doing so), the club will reach the end of the season and run out of money.  It will then either expire completely or Duff and Phelps will try to cut a deal with Ticketus to allow Rangers to sell season tickets and retain more of the money than they are currently due.

Rangers could continue to operate in administration for a while to come; Motherwell were in administration for one week short of two years.  The club would be unable to afford player wages after they return to normal in 1 June so would be forced to pare the squad back, whether the ban on player registration remains or not.

Miller completes purchase and the SPL vote him into the league

If Miller completes his purchase, as it stands, the SPL board will have discretion to transfer an insolvent club’s share in the league to a Newco.  Neil Doncaster has pinned his colours to the mast on this issue, Steve Lomas explained St Johnstone’s willingness to also vote Newco in.  Celtic will vote against which means if either Motherwell or Dundee United vote in favour of Newco, they will be allowed into the league.

I have no doubt that both Motherwell and Dundee United will vote in favour of Newco.  The SPL will vote to introduce a new procedure for dealing with Newco on Monday but it’s far from clear this proposal will get enough support.

For Miller, there are complications with this issue.  He would inherit all football and financial penalties due for Rangers and would also be expected to pay Rangers football debts – around £3.5m.

You can largely ignore the £160k Fit and Proper fines from the SFA but the SPL inquiry into Improper Registration of Players for over a decade will be the biggest charge in the history of British sport.  We should be looking at fines commensurate with the financial benefits accrued and multi-year sporting punishments.

If the SPL rule amendments Newco are rejected on Monday (as I expect), there are some who are concerned SPL board will impose lighter penalties than those suggested by Neil Doncaster’s new rules.

Alternatively, Miller could tell the SPL to stuff it and apply to the Scottish Football League.  Ally McCoist has already threatened this in response to the already-imposed fines and the notion is popular among Rangers fans I know.  If the did this, Newco would not have to pay Rangers football debts and would be subject to no penalties or player registration bans.  They could budget for three years of lower-league football and then tool up for the summer of 2015.

You can expect some though talking from Rangers on going to the Third Division in an attempt to spook the SPL into offering limited, single-season penalties.

Among the many unknowns, we can be sure of a few things:

Rangers Football Club, established in 1872, is finished.

Some form of phoenix will happen, if not for next season, then probably by 2013.

The SPL will complete the inquiry into Improper Registration of players, whether Rangers exist or not.  If a Newco is granted Rangers SPL share, penalties will be punitive.

Notions that ‘Rangers’ are going to emerge debt-free, strong and able to compete as though nothing has happened is simply nonsense.  Their club is dead.  They will start a new club, it will either be back in the SPL unhindered in 2015 (or 16) or will be in the SPL next season, heavily burdened for many years to come.

My prediction is for the latter.

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  1. Tam Cowan is banging his flabby like chops that he’ll be demanding a steward’s enquiry if McCall doesn’t win manager of the year.

     

     

    Does anyone happen to know the last time, if ever, that the MOTY wasn’t won by the manager of the team that won the league?

  2. Snake Plissken on 5 May, 2012 at 10:22 said:

     

     

    The Celtic Board could threaten to resign from the SPL if a newco is allowed immediate entry.

     

     

    That would negate every argument in favour of the move.

     

     

    And negate any threat from LBG.

     

     

    It’s a strategy not without risks and therefore makes some people nervous.

     

     

    The Great Desmondo has never struck me as the nervous type.

  3. sparkleghirl on

    To trivialise things for a moment

     

     

    I note that “the stunning American beauty queen poised to become the First Lady of Ibrox.” is wearing a rather strange but most definitely green number in that daily ranger photo. Someone will have to warn her.

  4. Snake Plissken on

    joefillipishaircut

     

     

    I take your point but a vote from all clubs on this issue is in my opinion more fair than letting it reside with 5 men.

     

     

    Celtic, Hibernian and Aberdeen will vote no imho.

     

    Romanov is a wildcard but he knows he’ll make money if Hearts challenge for honours.

     

    Dundee United are 50/50

     

    St Mirren and Inverness unknown quantities

     

     

    Motherwell, St Johnstone, Kilmarnock will vote Rangers

     

     

    Rangers will vote Rangers

     

     

    Dunfermline are to be relegated and should have NO say in this.

     

     

    This could be a close vote and it will be better to know who voted which way – then we can boycott all the clubs who did.

  5. There is a distinct possibility that allowing NewcoRangers into the SPL would destroy or weaken every club except NewcoRangers.

     

     

    Ironical or what?

  6. Statemment from Bill Miller on the registration ban:

     

     

    “My head coach has temendous captaincy experience in the sports world, I’m told, and is good at answering difficult questions, so maybe he can explain things to y’all.. But our plan is quite simple. The Tennessee Rangers will be able to pick up a good young quarterback in the upcoming draft. If we manage to add a few decent pitchers then we will have a team capable of performing well in next year’s Premier Soccerball tournament.

  7. Nacho Novo’s adventure at Legia Warsaw is over. He will be back to Spain in one week.

  8. Joe Filippis Haircut,

     

     

    They are not talking about giving all clubs a vote – the Board will still make the final decision.

     

     

    What they have said is that the clubs will be canvassed. The Board members will then argue that they simply went with the majority view so it isn’t their fault really.

  9. Zbyszeb

     

     

    i am sure the words of the steward to oldtim are very apt at this time…

  10. Big Nan on 5 May, 2012 at 10:30 said:

     

     

    And that is what is so galling about the prospect of the other SPL clubs voting them back in, forever to be distant challengers, with the odd cup win forever more.

     

     

    This is a golden opportunity to restore some competiveness to the SPL, sure for a couple of seasons Celtic will be top dog, but a challenge would arise from the following pack without Celtic and rangers both strangling the financial life out of the league to stay level with each other, I am sure a better league would emerge.

     

     

    Vaultbhoy

  11. One thing is for certain. The game in this country will never be the same again.

     

     

    It either continues as a farce, only now totally exposed for ever. Or someone brave will have to make a bold move to rid it of the small spineless bent governors who see it as a gravy train above all else.

     

     

    For Celtic to say ‘We voted naw but what can we really do?’ Won’t cut it at all.

  12. Vaultbhoy

     

    As I understand it the other 11 clubs would not be voting as such but simply being canvassed for their views.

     

     

    This is so the three chairman on the SPL board can say “we only did what the majority wanted.”

     

     

    The chairmen are all afraid of having a hun hitman paying them a visit if the vote Newco to Div 3.

     

     

    I can honestly see any right-minded fan of any club stop attending when the WWF soccer show is so blatantly corrupt in favour of one club.

     

     

    Can only imagine the reaction if we had stolen from the taxman and other clubs.

  13. theglasgowcelticway on

    Do these other clubs not have ambition?Belief is that they will be voted back with a ten point penalty,transfer embargo for one year.Even though they’ll have a weakened squad surely twenty to twenty five points docked would be better for teams with ambitions of second and third places.Remember this is all about revenue,supposedly,so the higher the league position the more cash.

  14. Fortunes Favour Mibbes on

    Mornin all,

     

     

    Why is there still talk of shoe-horning the zombies into the SPL??

     

    Didn’t UEFA make a statement on this yesterday that effectively rules it out as a possibility?

     

    Are the SFA and SPL unaware of this and carrying on regardless (keep feeding them that rope please) ?

  15. Nacho Novo at Legia Warsaw

     

    20 interviews about big Legia club, wonderful Rangers, death threads from Celtic supporters, best Rangers and Legia fans in the world

     

    10 missed sitters

     

    0 goals in league

  16. Got a wee bit worried there,Headline in paper

     

    ‘OLD FIRM STAR’S SHAME’then a realised ,bad news OF = HUN.

     

    What a relief.

  17. sparkleghirl on

    Fortunes Favour Mibbes on 5 May, 2012 at 10:47 said:

     

     

    No. UEFA statement, as I understand it, refers only to licence for UEFA competition. SFA/SPL can go their own sweet way.

  18. theglasgowcelticway on

    Has anyone heard a Rangers fan state what their punishment should be?I would love to hear their opinion on it because,as far as I can tell,they all think Ranger’s were wrong,very magnanimous of them,but not one has said what should happen to them.

  19. You threaten actions (albeit over a laudable matter of principle) however, those you threaten crease up laughin’ and call your bluff… what do you do next?

  20. sparkleghirl – I think Auldheid has been making this point for weeks, the UEFA club license is the SPL club license. There’s no separate SPL license.

  21. TGCW

     

     

    I’m sure I heard one hun claim that they should be grounded for a week and be in bed by 9pm!!

  22. sparkleghirl on

    SonsOfErin on 5 May, 2012 at 10:56 said:

     

     

    So, if UEFA rules say they can’t have a UEFA licence (the statement seems pretty clear on that) and SPL vote them in anyway, what then?

     

     

    I must say I thought there was something somewhere about member states making the decisions over national licences.

  23. Fortunes Favour Mibbes on

    sparkleghirl/ Gordon J

     

     

    Cheers fholks.

     

     

    Still seems to me that any attempt by our local football “authorities” to do this will bring them a whole heap of trouble from UEFA, which in my mind is long overdue.

     

     

    The SFA can’t go on as it is for much longer. Even its own recent self-appointed investigation slated it. That’s just another example of its total incompetence :) The fact that Campbell Ogilvie is still there is an example of its other failings.

  24. There are two big games this weekend. One is tomorrow afternoon and the other is later today…

     

     

    … Monopoly – my house.

     

     

    And remember when it comes to Monopoly – your family are no longer your friends.

     

     

    Also, friends – what’s Paul’s contact e-mail.

     

     

    Ulysses McGhee (Esq.)

     

     

    St Stivs – I pick up my sink today. Will relate the full saga later. And Aiden, if you’re reading – you’re some man!

     

     

    U

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