LEGEND in the Scottish media industry has it that when, sometime around midnight on the fateful night in question, the Daily Record got hold of the first copy of the next day's Sun, with the "Splash" that Rangers were about to sign Mo Johnston - the paper's Night Editor telephoned Chief Sports Writer Alex Cameron with the story and asked what the Record's response should be.
"Dont be ridiculous", is supposed to have been "Chiefy's" response at having his slumbers disturbed with such an unbelievable story.
If the late and much-lamented "Chiefy" was still around today, I wager he would not be so-sure of the traditional conventions of Scottish football. For yesterday's events, not least the publication of the minutiae of the SFA's Judicial Panel's deliberations into the charges faced by Craig Whyte and Rangers surely blew out of the water any conviction that there was one rule for Rangers and one for everyone else.
Certainly we got answers to a few things which had been bothering us about the whole Rangers fall from grace - quite clearly Craig Whyte was a wrong un from the word go, however, for me, more damning were the revelations (only partial though they were) as to how he was ever allowed near the club.
Clearly, Sir David Murray, seeing the conglomerate he had spent a lifetime building-up facing some £700 million in debts had to do something and if that meant sacrificing Rangers, arguably the biggest drain on his capital and time, so be it. But, it is amazing that a man, so sure over so many years, should be so-easily duped (to use the buzz word in this issue) as to fail to take even the most-basic steps to check-out the would-be saviour of Rangers.
Murray had always insisted he wasn't the owner of Rangers, merely the current custodian of this great institution. If that was indeed the case, then he as owner of the bulk of the shares and his directors (puppets?) made poor, long-reviled Frank Haffey appear to be the safest of custodians.
The SFA publication of yesterday, heavy reading though many of its 63 pages are, could not have been clearer or more withering - Murray, John McClelland, Paul Murray, Dave King - even John Greig - "The Greatest Ranger" - all are blasted for their failure to do more than moan, whinge and walk away or be pushed.
As directors they had a duty to confront Whyte, to do more than they did. Now, as the club awaits the final death sentence and the inevitable squabbling over the remains, I for one fear for these guys, once the Rangers lunatic fringe starts wailing, gnashing teeth and rending garments.
Somebody should be getting in touch with whoever is now running Private Fraser's undertaking firm - for Rangers truly are now doomed, doomed ah tell ye; there is no way they can now avoid liquidation.
AND - just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, tucked away in Channel 4's Alex Thomson's blog yesterday was aninteresting wee graphic: the tangled Rangers financial web.
One item caught my eye, it was something of which I was unaware until I read it. Apparently, some time back Rangers settled with HMRC to the tune of £4 million, in respect of the contracts of the de Boers and Torre Andre Flo. This raises the question: if they had to pay-up back then, why didn't they fully check-out the implications of the use of EBTs? We are told that while EBTs were not illegal then, even as they set them up, Rangers were being warned that the model they were using was questionable.
Why did they push ahead? Why didn't somebody at the club seek an alternative opinion on the legality of their intentions? With that amount of cash at stake, you cannot be too-careful.
HOWEVER, it isn't all bad news. What philosopher could fail to be excited about the future, I will now spend some time thinking about the years ahead, in a Rangers-free SPL and what that might mean for Scottish Football.
Let's face it, not even wee weasly Michael Johnson can push for any Rangers "newco" being ushered straight back into the SPL. And, with one half of the two-headed monster brought down, the other half can be more-easily hobbled.
Things just might get better.
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