Et Tu Brute

I HAVE felt for years that yer average Rangers fan - Billy King from Larkhall as we refer to him - has a long history of being shafted by those in a position of power. Back in the aftermath of World War I, with serious unrest in Ulster threatening to spread to Scotland and an "Orange" Church of Scotland management seriously concerned about growing powers for Catholics in Scotland, Rangers management thought it might be a good idea to become ultra-protestant.

Not that had a great history of signing them, but, suddenly Rangers decided "Nae Papes", thereby throwing petrol on the already smouldering sectarianism in West-Central Scotland - the fall-out we all know about.

It took some 70-years before the club knowingly signed a Catholic; they might have made a lot of other mistakes, and been the instigators of the living-beyond-our-means state of the SPL, but, at least, in signing Mo-Jo, Messrs Murray and Souness got something right. Not that the body of the Ibrox Kirk ever praised their move, forgave them or allowed the fact that Rangers now signed Catholics to get in the way of their in-bred sectarianism.

Billy King's grand-father and father - also probably called Billy King - supported the so-called "Orange" Scottish Unionist Party, which was absorbed into the mainly-English Conservative Party in the early 1960s; and, as we all know, within the London political bubble, Scotland is a small, far-away country of which they know nothing and about which they care even less.

BK and his mates loved Murray and Souness, they put Rangers back on top after a fallow period, they out-spent all the other clubs, they reinforced the We Are The People perception and won nine-in-a-row.

But, the years of over-spending and financial mis-management caught-up with the club and suddenly, with Souness long gone, the now Sir David Murray was found to have feet of clay. This led to the current malaise affecting Rangers.

But still BK and his mates cling to the old WATP beliefs, confident in the knowledge that Rangers will rise again.

I am not so sure. So big is the mess, such is the tangled state of the finances, the breadth and depth of the tax issues, I can see liquidation as the only solution to the Rangers mess. No sane business-man would touch the crippled club with a barge pole - there is no sense in buying the club in administration - purchasing the rump after liquidation is the only sound plan.

I think the SFA and SPL are coming round to that conclusion, which to my mind explains the announcement of new financial fair play rules, to be discussed by the SPL at the end of this month.

Basically - they have decided Rangers cannot be saved by a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, liquidation is the only answer - BUT - Rangers are too-big, too-important to the financial well-being of Scottish football that they must rise, phoenix-like from the ashes of liquidation with a new corporate identity: 'Rangers 2012', 'Glasgow Rangers', Govan Rangers' whatever they are called, and be allowed to carry-on playing in the SPL.

This might be good news for those amongst the 11 other clubs who cannot bear to wean themselves away from the milch cow of three or four Old Firm home gates per season, but, in my view, it is not in the best interests of Scottish Football.

We all know, the SPL voting structure calls for an 11-1 majority for the really big issues, mainly financial ones. We also all know, when  push comes to shove over money, the Old Firm will vote together, giving them an effective veto over how the cash is shared-out and allowing them to dictate to the other ten clubs.

Without Rangers' support, Celtic are vulnerable, and vice versa - so, when, following the inevitable liquidation, the "new" Rangers apply to join and are accepted into the SPL, I would bet the farm on Celtic proposing their admission.

This would then cause them massive problems back at Kerrydale Street. Ever since Rangers' problems first came into the public domain, on Celtic websites and across the 'Celtic Family' the schadenfreude has been fantastic. Sean South from Croy (Billy King's mirror image) and his mates have been salivating furiously at the thought of Rangers no more.

How will it play with them, when they realise those who are running the show at Celtic Park are in the vanguard of those battling to ensure "new" Rangers are inside the SPL tent, helping them piss on the other ten - rather than where the vast majority of the Celtic Family want them - dead buried and with the CF dancing on their grave?

Sean South and Co, like Billy King and Co, will realise, they are being royally shafted by the men running their club. Because, money talks.