IN CASE you haven't noticed, Rangers are already into Extra Time in their battle for survival. The club has no further income to come, having played their final game at Ibrox last weekend. Certainly there is still the end-of-season pay-out from the SPL to come, but, I suspect this money has already been allocated; there are also suggestions that the payment will be truncated, as the SPL diverts some of the funds to football creditors such as Dundee United and perhaps Hearts.
We will not speak of the penalty kicks to come; this will be one shoot-out in which it might be foolish to back the Huns. Because of - you know, the 10,000 lb gorilla, aka the Big Tax Case; then there is the fact that come 1 June, the high-earning players who agreed to take such huge pay cuts to keep playing are due to revert to their former level of remuneration.
I understand some Scottish-based companies in the company administration and liquiation game are delighted to have missed-out on administering Rangers these past months, given the level of scrutiny and abuse which Duff & Phelps have had to endure, I can see why this might be so. Many people have criticised D&P, or as I now call them Sooty and Sweep - since it is clear that Craig Whyte, the man who moved heaven and earth to have the company appointed as administrators, is doing the Harry Corbett bit and working them.
D&P are Whytey's pet administrators, never forget. There is a long relationship there and I have this nasty feeling they will do little to disturb the club owner. Incidently, we now hear that Mr Whyte is prepared to off-load his shares for the same £1 as he paid David Murray for them. Come on Craigie Boy, after all these months as Public Enemy Number One to Ra Peepul, the lest you could have done was asked for £1.50, taking just the £1 is a bitter blow to those who believe in profit margins.
OK, he may settle for £1; hopefully (for him) he has placed his cash and convertibles beyond British Justice, for we also hear that Ticketus want their £27 million back. As in all big disputes, I see some nice little earners coming along for m'learned friends, before everything is settled.
But, even if CW sells his controlling share-holding in the club for £1, he still has the floating charge on the former Lloyds Bank debt and he still owns Ibrox and Murray Parks. IF any of the alleged bidders, old, new and re-cycled are to give Ra Peepul what they want - they will HAVE to buy, or at best lease from CW, the ground and the training ground. So, CW cannot lose.
Even if liquidation happens, he will still - through his position as a secured creditor, get something back and you have to suspect, he worked so hard to get Sooty and Sweep in there to ensure, when it came down to: "Izzy-wizzy, let's get busy" - the magic would pay-off for CW.
I see Graeme Souness didn't take long to back out; restoring Rangers to pre-eminence was one tackle he was backing out of. Now we see Walter Smith being touted as a possible front man for another rescue package. As more than one Celtic fan of my acquaintance has said: "Why don't they just get the vet in and put this animal down?"
Why not, we have all become bored.
Scottish football is one sick beast. It has been ailing for years and, sad though it will be, perhaps the culling of the biggest beast in the local jungle will be the start of the recovery. The figures simply don't add-up.
To paraphrase Jimmy Reid and a couple of others: "There will be hooliganism, there will be vandalism, there will be bevvying. The world is watching and that's what they expect and will get." It will not be pretty, but Rangers as we know it are deid: "They are an ex-football club, they have expired, ceased to be, fallen off their perch, they are berift of life."
So, what will Celtic do? The least they can do is supply jelly and ice cream and host the wake - the Irish do that well after all. However, I suspect Peter Lawwell's crass promise to do what is best for Celtic might extend to trying to keep the corpse alive.
If Rangers' death is bad news for Ra Peepul, it is just as bad news for the Celtic Family - Capulet without Montagu, Hatfield minus McCoy, Celtic without Rangers - nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment