Time To Think Out Of The Box

THE on-going case of 'Rangersgate' is a unique situation for Scottish football. It will never be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Very serious questions have been raised and will continue to be raised. It is not scare-mongering to suggest, the ramifications of events around that club threatens the credibility and indeed future of Scottish football.

The proposed CVA might happen within a time-scale which allows Rangers FC to continue to operate. It might not, in which case, liquidation is inevitable and although a so-called "Newco" might arise to carry-on the business of Rangers FC: to provide full-time professional football, out of Ibrox Park, for a long-established and large constituency.

Whichever of the above alternative scenarios eventually comes to pass - we dare not (unless we are seriously "Celtic-minded") think of the third scenario - liquidation, closure of ground, sell-off of all assets, demolition of Ibrox, sale of Murray Park, ta-ta Rangers, hello down-sizing of Scottish football.

Can Scottish football allow this to happen? Can the game up here allow "Ra Peepul" to walk away? My old mentor Ian Archer's brilliant line from the mid-seventies, when he described "Ra Peepul" as: "A permanent embarrassment, an occasional disgrace" to Scotland still holds good - and a doff of the cap to rangerstaxcase for reminding me of it en passant. But, is Scottish football in such a healthy state, it can allow all those committed, often over-committed fans, to simply walk away because they have no team to support?

It wasn't their fault David Murray's management strategy was flawed. Certainly, when Murray offered them a chance to get involved through his various share issues - not too many of "Ra Peepul" were prepared to put their hands in their pockets. If they had, maybe some of Murray's excesses might have been curbed.

It wasn't the fans' fault that Murray eventually virtually gave the club away to a spiv, chancer and probably (from the evidence which has entered the public domain) a crook.

It wasn't their fault this spiv (Craig Whyte) then deliberately set-out to upset HMRC and brought-about administration. It wasn't their fault that Whyte's pet administrators have apparently been less than scrupulous in their administration of the club and that another man whose credentials as a saviour (Charles Green) don't stand-up to forensic examination, has now emerged as the likely new owner.

It wasn't their fault that the SFA has failed in its duty of care in overseeing the good name of Scottish football - although to be fair, the above suspects: Murray, Whyte, the administrators and now Mr Green have hardly shown themselves worthy of the stewardship of a 140-year-old national institution.

Now, the SFA has to finally flex its muscles, sort-out the mess and either declare Rangers FC persona no gratia within Scottish football, or help restore it to the bosom of the Scottish football family. If they don't the consequences could be catastrophic, not least for them, if FIFA and UEFA decide they have lacked vigour in pursuing Rangers.

Many, many questions about this entire affair remain unanswered. Getting these answers will take time, time which, with the new season only weeks away, Scottish football doesn't have.

So - what to do? Here is the Socrates MacSporran big idea.

Since Lord Glennie has punted the decision as to how to punish those Rangers misdeeds which have been proven back to the SFA and since Rangers FC is on-record as being quite happy to accept a season's ban from the Scottish Cup - a sanction which the SFA Appeals Panel felt was unacceptable, I feel the SFA should step in as follows:

Rescind the Rangers FC licence to play in Scottish football for one season.

This means the registration of the retained players reverts to the SFA.

The SFA then transfers the Rangers FC operating licence to a "shell" club, with the playing side run by the existing Rangers FC management, but overseen by a board of directors elected from within the "Rangers Family" (the existing Rangers Supporters representative groups - Blue Order, Rangers Supporters Trust, Rangers Assembly etc), club legends, season ticket and debenture holders. Gordon Smith, John Greig, Sandy Jardine might prove acceptable figures as potential CEO, Chairman and directors for instance.

The shell club would take-over the registrations of the retained players, although, those who had negotiated free transfers at a given fee, while accepting a pay cut, would still be free to move.

The SFA then instructs the SPL to promote Dundee to fill the vacancy in their league (as per the rules) and the SFL to promote Airdrie United to their First Division and Stranraer to their Second Division, since they were the losing teams in the promotion-relegation play-offs, with the shell club filling the Division Three vacancy.

The Shell club then plays out of Hampden as Rangers 2012 or whatever, during the period that Rangers 1873 is supsended.

This move preserves the sporting integrity of the game in Scotland - the errant club has been punished, but the fans still have a team to support and, who knows, they might (hopefully) learn humility whilst in exile to the lower divisions.

While this team plays on, the wrong-doers can be dealt with separately.

I would suggest that there is prima facea evidence of financial wrong-doing etc, which should be examined forensically by a Scottish Government review panel and, where wrong-doing can be demonstrated, charges should be brought. At the same time, Duff & Phelps should be removed and an independent, established and competent Scottish-based team of administrators, of demonstrated probity, be appointed to sort-out the mess, liquidate Rangers 1873 and attempt to bring Rangers 2012 and the remnants of Rangers 1873 back together to play out of Ibrox in season 2013-2014 or 2014-2015 - with a presumption towards ownership by the club's fans.

The SFA and a board of trustees, responsible to the Scottish Government or SportScotland, should oversee the reunion, make certain the creditors have received the best-possible deal, and in particular that steps have been taken to re-pay in full those debts due to other football clubs, Scottish and foreign. They will have the final say on when the two entities are reunited as one.

The good name of Scottsh football demands nothing less.

Courting Disaster

WHEN I wrote my last blog posting, I had decided to say no more about Rangers. I had decided it had gone on far too-long and hard though it might be for Ra Peepul to accept - liquidation and a new start in Division 3 of the SFL seemed the only noble stance. In fact, I suspected, were this to happen, Rangers would return to the SPL a stronger club, not least because they would have had a nucleus of good, young players, who had grown-up together in the fight-back from Scotland's senior basement to the country's top-flight.

I felt too, without half of the Old Firm gate and television money and, with the likelihood that - without the sworn enemy to face, the more-distant members of the Celtic Family would not be so-keen to follow the Hoops. There was, therefore, a chance that the SPL playing field to which Rangers returned in 2015 or whenever, might be a more-level one; and certainly, without the Old Firm block vote, the cash cake might by then be more-evenly distributed.

That of course was before the Court of Session threw-out the Rangers' signing ban. All bets are now off, until the SFA comes back with the new sanction.

For me, I can see three possibilities.

They can either ban Rangers - be that the 1873 formation continuing or a newco - from the Scottish Cup for a minimum of one season, which I don't see as being a great hardship.

They expel the club altogether - which I feel they will be reluctant to do.

They tell the Court of Session to take a hike, by returning the same verdict of a 12-month transfer ban, while reminding Rangers, under FIFA legislation the club's only recourse is to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration in Sport, the global sport of football's deisgnated appeals chamber. They further remind Rangers that in by-passing the CAS and going to Edinburgh, they have placed the SFA in a position of jeopardy and should they again resort to the Court of Session, expulsion will follow.

Option 3 might by a tad extreme, but, by refusing to accept the SFA's authority Rangers were, in effect, saying: "We're too-big to touch". Such bullies MUST be tackled head-on.

Whatever transpires, by going to court, Rangers have made certain that things will change. The SFA will now HAVE to conduct a complete overhaul of their rules to make them water-tight and to avoid UEFA or FIFA getting involved and forcing change upon them.

Rangers have supposedly suggested that they will be let-off with their breach of football's rules (in going to the civil courts) because, they never questioned the SFA's right to punish them, merely didn't like the punishment they were landed with. We'll see, I don't see that playing too well in Switzerland.

I have felt for some time that Scottish, indeed British football is about to receive a severe shake-up. Several matters are coming to a head.

UEFA's financial fair play rules are about to kick-in; these will hit the English Premiership clubs badly.

There now seems little doubt that Rangers will lose the Big Tax Case, bad though this will be for the already listing club, it will prove equally serious for those English clubs in the Premiership and Championship who went down the EBTs route - and these clubs have always been HMRC's main target; their job was made somewhat simpler by Rangers' cavalier disdain for good corporate governance under the Murray regime.

The fall-out from the four Home FAs' and the British Olympic Association's total mis-handling of the selection criteria for the London squads, male and female, may well be another nail in the coffin of the notion of four separate FAs within the United Kingdom.

The FA's arrogant refusal to step back and join with the three Celtic FAs in forming a proper UK Football Board, specifically to handle the Olympic Games squads' selection and management, was a massive own goal. The BOA's arrogant refusal to entertain the agreed-upon "English" Team GB squads confounded the folly, while the FAW and SFA under-mined their quite proper objections by allowing matches to be played in Cardiff and Glasgow.

The United Kingdom's enemies within football now have reason to "get" the four Home Associations. By allowing Team GB squads including players from all four FAs to take the field, without the express permission of the FAW, IFA and SFA, the FA and the BOA are clearly breaching FIFA Statute 8, paragraph 3. This places in jeopardy, in addition to the four countries' international independence, their four places on IFAB, the laws-making International Football Associations Board.

Everything could come together, the four FAs copuld be forced to merge. Were this to happen, while the three Celtic FAs will find plenty within football keen to help them "nobble" the English, when it comes to the big jobs in the single entity UKFA, bang will go European football for the likes of Dundee United, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs (unless they become "Edinburgh United").

Rangers going to the Court of Session will be another stick with which FIFA can hammer the four UK associations - unless the SFA show hitherto hidden talent for avoiding big trouble.

Ironicaly for Rangers,who will be in no position to benefit from my Doomsday scenario, should the worst happen, the big beneficiaries of the whole sheebang will be Celtic. Can you think of another Scottish club which will be in a position to go straight into the UK Premiership which the UKFA will form after amalgamation?

Yes, the above is a Doomsday scenario, but, after this week's court case, it is I feel, a lot less unlikely than it was this time last week.

My Glass is Half-Full - But It Is A Wee One

I AM now 65-years-of-age; I finished my formal education at 17, therefore I have done 48-years in the workplace, during which I have been fortunate enough to work in the area which was my dream as a child. I have four children and six grand-children; unfortunately I have lost my wife of 40-years, but, fortunately, I now have another lady in my life.

I have a nice car and enough money to continue to live in a style which suits me. I could drop dead tomorrow, however, since my Old Man abused his body terribly and still made it to 81, I am hopeful, with my more-sensible life-style, of at least lasting as long - but not banking on this.

I ought to be content with my lot, but I am not. For my entire adult life, sport has been a consuming passion. I have written about some 60 sports, from American Football to Yachting, but mostly about football. It is the current state of Scottish Football which concerns me - we are going to Hell in a hand-cart, and to my mind, nobody is giving a shit about this.

The weekend just past was pretty-much the nadir for me. The on-going, snail-like progression towards the Rangers Train Wreck finally ploughing through the buffers at the end of the line is still THE big story; but, in the early hours of Sunday morning, things got a whole lot worse: USA 5 Scotland 1. That we should live to see this, to Scots of my generation and those still alive of the generation before us, 'tis unthinkable - this cannot happen.

But, it has. And what is the reaction of Scotland? Ach! it wis only a freendly. Whit dae ye expect - Levein couldnae pick his nose - noo, whit's happenin at Ibrox? Who are ra Sellik gonnae sign? Back tae oor ain wee middens.

I have written at length on Rangers. I now propose to abstain from further comment until something happens which is worthy of comment. Suffice to say, I still see liquidation as the only sensible outcome, no other option makes sense.

But the Scotland debacle - that's different. That I do feel free to comment upon. That result isn't a single calamity, to be taken in isolation. We've been on the slippery slope for years. Since Scotland re-joined FIFA in 1946 there have been 30 major international tournaments (16 World Cups and 14 European Championships); Scotland has qualified for the finals of a mere 10 of these - the World Cups of 1950, 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1998, and the European Championships of 1992 and 1998.

OK, we chose not to travel to Brazil in 1950, while we didn't enter the European Championships of 1960 and 1964, but these were abberations on behalf of the SFA - or maybe inspired decisions, made on the basis of: "If we go we'll get thumped, better to stay at home and keep the fans believing we're good".

Along the way we've had a few (perhaps over-) celebrated wins: Jimmy Cowan's Match in 1949, beating Austria in Vienna in 1955, defeating reigning World Champions West Germany in Stuttgart in 1957. The Wembley wins of 1963 and 1967, beating Spain in Madrid in 1963, our Hampden wins over the Czechs in the World Cup qualifying campaigns on 1974 and 1978 - and that's about it.

In fact, if you look at that list, just about the only two games which really mattered - which were "Must Win Six Pointers" (ok we only got two for each one, I know), were the two against the Czechs. These were, to my mind, the last time the Tartan Army  has assembled at Hampden knowing: "This one matters - we HAVE to win tonight".

The others, froth. Sure, we felt good afterwards, but, in the grand scheme of things - they meant little or nothing.

Once we were Kings - or thought we were. Now we are being gubbed by a nation, albeit a very big nation, to whom Soccer is just another minor sport, coming far, far behind Baseball - the national obsession - basketball, grid-iron and ice hockey in public consciousness of professional sport. Except, the USA has a superior record to Scotland in World Cup terms and they do have a national, long-term strategy for the development of football (real as opposed to grid iron) in their country.

One year ago, Henry McLeish published his review into Scottish Football. OK, fair's fair, some tinkering has gone on around the edges - the SFA Board, for instance, has slimmed-down from 11 members to 7, there are now independent bodies where once Buggins & Co ruled by committee - but, the in-bred tribalism of Scotland still finds fault, and let's be honest, that isn't difficult.

No, we're in a rare old state and I don't see things getting any better, soon. However, I live in hope that the combination of the Rangers mess, defeat in Jackson, the fall-out (which is coming) from the London Olympics football debacle and other issues, simmering away just beneath the surface, might lead us to a brighter tomorrow.

But then, I've always been a glass-half-full kinda guy.

Is There A Plan C - We Might Need One?

GROUNDHOG Day continues. The dust is starting to settle after the BBC documentary on Wednesday night; the cyber warriors from either side have posted their pish ad nauseum; but still we wait, for the biggee - the First Tier Tax Tribunal findings, aka "The Big Tax Case".

There was a rumour on one of the threads on scotsman.com this morning, to the effect that HMRC would be making an announcement at 4pm this afternoon. Pardon me if I don't hold my breath; in any case, the verdict on the BTC will not be announced by HMRC, but by the Judiciary website.

The person claiming advance warning of the HMRC verdict was also, "sworn to secrecy" - Aye Right. The verdict will come, eventually, so we must wait for it. However, I cannot help but feel, given the length of time the FTT members have deliberated on this one, it may not be as cut and dried as some expect.

I predict an epic melt-down among the Celtic Family, in the admittedly unlikely event of Rangers winning their case, which in any event, will simply trigger an HMRC appeal to an Upper Tier Tribunal and so on all the way to the Supreme Court. This one could run for years and by the time a final, final decision is made, the way things are going, Rangers might have joined St Bernard's, Third Lanark, Kings Park, Leith Athletic, Airdrieonians and Gretna as a foot note to Scottish football history.

As it stands, Scottish football's Plan A is that, somehow, either as the result (increasingly unlikely) of a CVA, or, more-likely, as a so-called "newco", Rangers will be kept in the SPL next season, albeit with the fines and transfer ban still in place. Cue howls of outrage and not only from the Celtic Family.

Plan B is that Rangers die; Dundee are promoted to the SPL, with subsequent promotions within SFL Divisions One, Two and Three, to equalise club numbers. Then, as a "newco", Rangers are voted into SFL Division Three and carry-on, hopefully to speedily return to the SPL, where life will go on as it always has.

BUT, that might not work. If Rangers are liquidated, the players will revert to the "ownership" of either the SPL or the SFA. What happens with the solid remaining assets - Ibrox, Murray Park, the fixtures and fittings, all those trophies in the Trophy Room, not least the St Etienne bike of legend? Can City of Glasgow Council, inthese strained times, afford to buy them for display in the (We are the) People's Palace, or Kelvingrove? Or will they be spread to the four winds?

Just what about Ibrox and Murray Park? Rumour has it that one of Craig Whyte's first actions was to transfer ownership of the ground and training ground to one of his other companies. Any would-be "New" Rangers would have to either lease them back off him, or, be sufficiently well-funded for a buy-back. That could be interesting.

Still, Partick Thistle, having lost their tenants, Glasgow Warriors, might offer the Bears a den at Firhill, if CW's demands are excessive.

But, that would leave the SFA/SPL with a problem. If one of their two main cash cows is culled, how do they replace them. Wouldn't it be ironic if the demise of Rangers (and be certain, the club could die), was to be the event which precipitated REAL and lasting change to Scottish football.

Sure, tinkering around the edges has long gone on in Scottish football - in my life time, and I's a mere post-war "Baby Boomer" we have had 16, 18, 10, 12, 10 then 12-club top divisions. We have had various forms of competition in the League Cup - separate First and Second Division sections, leading to all-in knock-out quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. We have had all-in sections etc. There have been straight knock-out draws. We have had seeding.

The Scottish Cup has always been straight knock-out, but there have been varying degrees of tinkering here too. The Spring Cup came and went; ditto the Dryburgh Cup; we've had the Challenge Cup (in various guises); now the Juniors get into the Scottish Cup.

As I have said, lots of tinkering, but never real, sustainable, change for the better.

It would be nice to think that the probably demise of Rangers had got the thinkers - come-on, there have to be some thinkers in Scottish football, cogitating on the best way forward.

Or is that too much to ask for? 



The Grimaldi Affair And Other Side Shows

I HAD had a long and tiring day, but even allowing for that, the fact I fell asleep and missed the last five minutes of Mark Daly's much-trumpeted BBC Documentary: Rangers - The Men Who Sold The Jerseys might indicate, that while it did bring some new issues to light, it didn't radically extend the boundaries of humanknowledge.

We have all known for months that something has never been "right" about Craig Whyte, or his relationship with Duff & Phelps (or Sooty and Sweep as I call them - since with that firm, CW is really playing the part of Harry Corbett). We have also been aware that the way in which David Murray, his empire £700 million in hock to the Lloyds Banking Group, tried hardest to off-load Rangers FC - one small part of his overall business portfolio, but one which gave him more headlines and headaches than the rest of the group put together.

Anybody who ever read the financial pages of the Herald or The Scotsman was aware that certain people, including Murray had a very-cosy relationship with the Edinburgh Money Mafia, one which was put under strain once Lloyds took over the Bank of Scotland and the forensic money-making skills of the City of London were let loose on Edinburgh's Old Boys network - with mind-boggling results.

We were all aware that, when they were set-up by the Murray Group, EBTs were legal; but, anyone who had ever read the excellent rangerstaxcase blog was aware there were very serious doubts as to the way the Murray group had managed their EBTs and this was the cause of the HMRC interest in them.

We were all aware that Campbell Ogilvie, as a former Rangers employee, might be vulnerable once the searchlights were fully-turned on to the allegations of double contracts.

So, while Daly reinforced these conceptions, and gave us a few names of EBT beneficiaries - he didn't tell us all that much that was new. Certainly the e-mail of April, 2011 - prior to the Whyte take-over, looks bad for Duff & Phelps. The allegations of a conflict of interest involving that company MUST be investigated, while the SFA probably ought to (at the very least) suspend president Ogilvie on full pay pending a full INDEPENDENT inquiry into "The Rangers Affair".

The trouble is, this might have to be handed over to UEFA, given the fact that Scottish football is a swamp, with lots of mutually-loathing different tribes inhabiting it - can we find anyone Scottish and independent? I think not.

I would like to think the Scottish government might like to step in, but I don't think, with an independence referendum around the corner, Alex Salmond would wish to further alienate the Rangers/Unionist vote with findings which are bad for Rangers, or the Celtic Family and their sympathisers with findings which appeared to let the club off the hook.

I have been convinced, for months, that liquidation is the only realistic outcome to Rangers' woes, followed by a fresh start in Division Three of the SFL. After last night, this looks ever more likely.

Not that the programme was totally-disappointing. The notion of Price Albert of Monaco, leading Roman Catholic, bob-sleigher and one-time play boy being a major player for douce, dour, ultra-Calvinist, "nae Papes" Rangers - well, I laughed. Trouble was, the Grimaldi connection was apparently a wee Whyte lie.

Nope, we have barely scratched the surface of The Rangers Affair - m'learned friends and a host of hacks will be busy for a good time to come.

Stop The Talking - Let's Have Some Real Action

TALK is cheap, actions can prove costly and with the lack of real action on the Ibrox front, there has been a lot of talking going on of late, not very productive or instructive talk at that.

But, homo sapiens loves to chatter, so, we had better get used to it. Throughout the entire Rangers crisis, the Rangerstaxcase blog has been to the fore in explaining events and explaining possible scenarios; yes, it is a fact that the guy behind this blog is a Celtic supporter - that much is acknowledged - but, this hasn't stopped it being the first port of call for anyone wanting a true steer on events.

There have been no new posts displayed on RTC since 5 May, over two weeks ago, but there has in that period, been over 7000 comments posted on the site. Clearly events at Rangers remain the talk o' the Steamie - as is shown here. We now really need something to happen, before we all go crackers.

Mark Daley's BBC Scotland documentary, due to be aired tomorrow night, ought to receive the biggest-ever audience for a Scottish-produced programme, if the on-line interest in Rangers is any guide. Let's hope he comes up with some real meat for us to get our teeth into - although, the most-hyped TV programmes often turn-out to be the most-disappointing. Daley needs to have found some new and damning evidence of lengthy wrong-doing at Ibrox, not re-hashed the same-old, same-old.

It would also be helpful if the result in the Big Tax Case was to come-out sooner rather than later. HMRC is on-record as saying that First Tier Tribunal outcomes are normally given within two to three months of the completion of the evidence-taking. We are now into the fifth month since the last piece of evidence in the Rangers' case was taken; this demonstrates the complexity of this individual case. However, given the hysteria which has surrounded Rangers' off-field problems, the pressure to properly complete this complex matter has grown and now needs to be released quickly.

I might be an old cynic, but maybe HMRC is waiting for England's first stumble during Euro' 2012 - then, while the world is calling for the heads of Roy Hodgson, Stevie Gerrard, John Terry et al, they can quietly release the verdict. It will have to, I feel, come out in the window between now and 12 July - well, it wouldn't do (if the verdict is bad for the club) to upset the Rangers family while they have their sashes and bowler hats on, would it?

With the lack of real hard news, all sorts of things have been siezed upon. Poor Neil Doncaster of the SPL said nothing very much on Monday, but has seen his utterances forensically (well ripped to pieces) by everyone and his granny.

Let's be clear on this - whether rescued via a CVA or post-liquidation by the formation of a Newco, Rangers, if playing next season, will still be Rangers. The club will be, either way, under new management - no Craig Whyte, no Sir David Murray. It will still play at Ibrox, it will wear the new strips which were first worn against Linfield.

If the CVA goes through, Rangers carries-on in the SPL under the handicap of the no-signings measure. If a Newco, while the new owners will have the ground and the history - which they have bought - then it ought not to be able to carry-on within the SPL, that much is certain. Liquidation should revoke Rangers FC's right to play in the SPL, Dundee ought to be promoted to fill the vacancy, with (I think) the losing finalists in the Division 1/2 and Division 2/3 promotion/relegation play-offs moving up to create a vacancy in Division 3 of the SFL.

Filling that vacancy should be the target of the management of any Newco Rangers. BUT, the fact that Mr Doncaster is floating the notion of the newco going straight into the SPL is confirmation that this scenario has been discussed within Hampden.

If it happens, then they (the SPL clubs) can scream, shout and yell all they like, but they will have trampled all over what little integrity their cosy wee cabal still has left.

The decision isn't Doncaster's to take, but you can be certain - he wouldn't have floated the notion of Rangers continuing in the league post-liquidation without the say-so of the other 11 clubs - and in particular of Celtic.

I have said before and doubtless will do so again. Rangers' biggest crutch in all this discussion about continuation in the SPL has been Celtic. The other clubs might struggle, they may well have to down-size, but, they will survive without Rangers. I do not think that could be said of Celtic.

They need Rangers more than any other club and they will do all they can to keep Rangers alive in the SPL, for without them, without the wee arrangement whereby the Old Firm always vote together on the big issues - they are vulnerable.

We Really Do Live In Interesting Times

CONGRATULATIONS then to Hearts; as a neutral who admitted to a gut feeling that Hibs' long, long wait for Scottish Cup success was about to end, can I say - I certainly didn't see that coming. A long-standing family commitment meant I have been limited as to what I have seen of the game, but it is clear, Hibs didn't turn-up. Wee Pat Fenlon faces a difficult summer of recruiting and re-energising.

But, what of Hearts? That is the question. 'Mad Vlad' has kept well clear of Scotland's ''Monkey Media'', we haven't a Scooby as to his intentions for next season. Should he stick to his guns and continue to insist that Hearts operate within sensible budget limits, well, this morning's feel-good factor along Gorgie Road is unlikely to hold much past the middle of August.

The likes of Ian Black and Rudi Skacel went out in a blaze of glory on Saturday, how does he replace them? Will Vlad even try? What happens with Paulo Sergio? A cup-winning boss who has done really well in difficult circumstances, with an unpredictable, absentee owner; he deserves to know, soon, what is happening at his club.

Maybe, just maybe - after the Green Gang are exposed as the charlatans I think them to be, and New Rangers get ready to start life, with their 'Apprentice Boys' young first team - Vlad might think Scottish football is worth continuing to invest in. Let's face it, somebody has to step up to the plate or the only thing which will prevent Celtic from winning a treble in 2012-2013 will be boredom and disinterest in the Parkhead Home dressing room. 

I must admit, I was intrigued last week by a suggestion that Craig Brown might persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to loan him one or two of the brightest of the Manchester United kids for a season's exposure at Aberdeen. Broonie, Erchie Knox and SAF go back a long way - I have a picture of a Scottish Schools XI from 1957 with Broon and Ferguson among the players.

If there is a single Scottish coach and club combination to which SAF might entrust his fledglings, then that combination is Broon and Aberdeen. Having seen a very young United team play Ayr United off the park last July, I have few doubts other than a fistful of such unpolished diamonds, coached by Broon and Knox and playing for Aberdeen, could immediately turn the Dons once more into title challengers. To me that's a cheaper option than buying low-level foreign imports.

Of course, until we alter the entire mind-set of Scottish football, from top to bottom, we will get nowhere, which is another reason why I feel  it would be no bad thing were Rangers to completely melt-down and a new sense of reality bite in the game up here.

The greed is good, top-down model hasn't worked since 1975 - it's time we had a re-think as to how we run and play the game up here.

Today's About Football - Remember That?

FOOTBALL - you remember: two teams, 11 men per side, 45 minutes each way; extra time and penalty kicks if necessary: the object of the game is to score more goals (that is when you put the ball into the net between the two sets of posts at either end of the park. The team which scores the greater number of goals win the match, and in the case of today's match - the Scottish Cup.

I just thought I would remind you all up front; after all, in recent weeks football has apparently been about CVAs, liquidation, double contracts, EBTs, administrators, creditors, potential new owners and a great deal of discussion, dissemination and dispute.

I have a sneaking suspicion that today just might be the long-awaited day for the Hibbees, we may get another emotional rendition of Sunshine On Leith. This suspicion is based on nothing stronger than gut feeling and the fact that, for the first time in the club's history, Hibs are the "home" team in the final.

However, the game is a local derby, abeit being played nearly 50 miles from home; and as anyone who has been in football for more than one half-game will tell you, when it comes to local derbies, you can take nothing on trust.

My first job was in Edinburgh and I found it strange - to someone brought up in Ayrshire Junior football plus the Old Firm - the lack of hate between the Jambos and Hibbees with whom I worked. In fact, four of the boys at work, two Jambos and two Hibbees used to go together to whichever club was at home that weekend - only splitting tribally for the Derby games, before meeting up afterwards for a drink and some mutual winding-up.

So, I am fairly easy about whichever side wins. They both deserve their day in the sun and my only hope is that we get a great final, one to remember for more than the fact of it being the first all-Edinburgh final since Queen Victoria was on the throne.

THE ABOVE said - we have to turn (again) to the on-going dreich drama of the Rangers problem. The buzz is spreading through the Scottish media village that the BBC's Mark Daly has unearthed some spicey stuff for his documentary, to be aired in midweek, about Rangers. The word is that Sir David Murray will be getting pelters in this ne, having thus far, escaped any kind of forensic study thanks to the presence of pantomime villain Craig Whyte.

It will be interesting to see what transpires post transmission. I predict a riot.

THE Hampden final isn't the only one taking place today. There is of course, the European Cup Final in Munich, between Bayern and Chelsea. Chelsea were, in my view, the luckiest team on earth to beat Barca in the semi-final. I honestly don't see Lady Luck smiling on them two rounds in succession and believe home advantage will work in Bayern's favour; and no, Chelsea will be beaten long before the inevitable climax, should it come down to a Germany v England penalty shoot-out - ze Germans win.

A Newco Will Still Be Rangers

QUE SERRA serra, as Miss Kappelhoff so-memorably sang; but, as yet we are no nearer knowing what will be with Rangers. That of course has not prevented furious debate on-line and in the newspapers. Since the arrival on the scene of Charlie Green and his mysterious backers, the debate has perhaps grown more-intense, here is someone who (apparently) seems intent on seeing the thing through.

This week there has been much debate as to the status of the new company which looks likely to follow the liquidation of the present Rangers. Liquidation will be the only option should Mr Green fail to get the CVA (Creditors Voluntary Agreement) which is his preferred option for getting the club out of administration.

The Celtic Family are, naturally, in the forefront of those claiming that any "Newco" - be it Rangers 2012, Govan Rangers or whatever will have no history and no rights to the impressive back catalogue of 54 Scottish titles, one European competition won and over 100 domestic trophies won.

Nice try guys, but, the bad news is - even if it comes down to liquidation and a Newco, Rangers will still be Rangers and still entitled to all those historical trophies.

In the event of liquidation, the affairs and assets of Rangers (let's call the club Rangers 1872, to differentiate between the old and new clubs -Rangers 2012) will be sold-off and the cash thus raised used to meet the debts of Rangers 1872.

So, the buyer will get: Ibrox Stadium, Murray Park, the blue strips, the history and the name. What the buyer will not get, but will have to apply for and acquire, is a licence to operate a football club within membership of the SFA and either the SPL or the SFL.

Now in an ideal world, any newco bringing to the table Ibrox, the blue strips, the history and the name, plus the support which these things bring in terms of the army of fans, would surely be waved straight into the SPL.

But we are not in an ideal world. We are in tribal, somewhat backward Scotland. The fans of the other clubs, and in particular The Celtic Family, want Rangers punished - for the as yet unproven "cheating" involved in the alleged double contracts and Employee Benefits Trusts used in recent years: for the alleged favourable penalty decisions and goals chalked-off by allegedly "bent" pro-Rangers referees: for the fact that over the past century Rangers have been simply too-successful.

Tribalism demands that, now, while Rangers are vulnerable and friendless - they be thrashed as never before.

If HMRC wins "the Big Tax Case", thereby proving Rangers cheated, then for certain - the club ought to be punished by the football authorities. Nothing less than expulsion from the SPL to the lowest level of the SFL will suffice.

I believe such a move might be the re-making of Rangers.

Let's be honest here. Scottish football cannot allow such a massive fan base to be eliminated from the game. If Rangers vanish, so too will a good proportion of their fan base. Some will certainly find other clubs, but many will find other things to do of a weekend.

Keeping Rangers in the SPL is the easy option for those other clubs happy to take the two bigger gates per season from hosting Rangers, rather than getting out there and marketing their club to such an extent that they attract extra fans over their other 17 home SPL games.

But, keeping a guilty-of-cheating Rangers in that league would be appeasement on a grand scale; cheats must not prosper and in that case, Division Three beckons. Who knows, it might do the Bears some good to spend three seasons visiting the likes of Cliftonhill, Stair Park, Central Park Cowdenbeath, Links Park or Somerset Park. I doubt if it would do much for their in-bred arrogance, but, I live in hope.

Whatever happens, oldco or newco, the Rangers entity playing next season will be a radically different animal from that inthe season just ended. I would presume the big-name players with some market value: McGregor, Davis, Lafferty, the Americans for instance, will already have instructed their agents: "I'm a star - get me out of here". Steven Naismith might fancy half a season to prove his fitness, before heading south. Certainly, if it does come down to playing in Division Three of the SFL, these guys will not be seen for blue stoor - they cannot afford to hang around in that league (mind you, it might be interesting to see if they could go through the season unbeaten, winning every league game at least 3-0).

The likes of big Kirk Broadfoot, Lee McCulloch and David Healy could probably be prevailed upon to hang around, they are after all "Rangers Men", to guide the kids through hard times. Actually, three seasons of progression through the SFL just might be the best long-term thing for Rangers, allowing their brightest young players to grow into professional football.

Indeed, I would wager that a relatively-young Rangers team, maturing over three seasons in the SFL would be more than capable of winning the SPL in season 2015-2016. Now that season would see an explosion in interest in the top flight in Scotland. 

Will The Last Person To Leave Ibrox Please Put Out The Lights

WHERE is the SSPCA when you need them? That rare wild animal BlueBear Scoticus-Ulsterus is mortally wounded; the flames are (figuartively) lapping around its protected reservation, Ibrox Park, its greatest indeed only predator Boarus Celticus is waiting to pounce on the carcass. Surely somebody should step in and humanely put BlueBear out of its misery.

After last night's SFA Appeals Tribunal ruling, which upheld the sanctions imposed on Rangers for the trespasses of the Craig Whyte regime, there can be no way back for the club. If any misguided Hun still thinks the Green Team is the answer, get real. I Don't think we will see Mr Green and his cohorts for blue stoor as they high tail it back to South Yorkshire. Liquidation beckons ever more loudly than before.

The honourable thing for Ally McCoist and the remaining loyalists to do would be to strain every sinew to ensure that Rangers 2012 - the successor club to Rangers 1872, which will perhaps fall even before the end of this month, if not, certainly during June, is as ready as they can be for life in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League.

The plan must be, to get through the three SFL divisions and back to the SPL by May, 2015. After all, as the Appeals Tribunal pointed out, Rangers 1872 has 40 registered players, surely enough of those can be transferred across to Rangers 2012 to give them a fighting chance of winning the Third Division next season.

That said, as I have blogged before, the sensible move to me would be: pick-up Ibrox and Murray Park, plus those players who do not exercise their right to a low-cost move as cheaply as possible: buy a troubled English club, such as Portsmouth, then amalgamate the two entities and move the joint club to Ibrox. Do not join the SFA, SFL or SPL: do not have anything to do with Scottish football - then concentrate every effort in reaching the English Premiership as quickly as possible.

That is the way to make money out of Rangers's self-inflicted wounds, to remain in Scottish football makes no economic sense.



This Aint No Florida Fun Trip - This Is The Road To Rio

IT HAS all gone quiet down Edmiston Drive way, which is perhaps for the best, while Charles Green and his mystery backers go through the books and determine if they can indeed pull together a CVA, or if discretion is the better part of consolidating their cash and they tell Sooty & Sweep: "Thanks, but no thanks".

This allows me to turn my attentions to other aspects of Scottish football, such as the international squad's end-of-season jolly to face the USA. Time was, at the end of the domestic season, Scotland's finest headed for Europe. The style for these trips was set by wee Hughie Gallacher in 1930 - starry role in a Parisian win over La Belle France, followed by a wee swally down Montmatre way and an effective two-year ban from playing for Scotland.

These European trips continued annually until the 1960s, when the increasing fixture list of competitive games - World Cup and European Championship qualifiers made such tours a thing of the past. There were good trips, bad ones and indifferent ones; highs such as beating Spain 6-2 in Madrid in 1963 or reigning World Champions West Germany 3-1 in Stuttgart in 1957, or Austria 4-1 in Vienna in 1955, were mixed-in with lows such as losing 5-0 in Vienna in 1931, 3-0 in Paris in 1948 and 4-0 in Vienna in 1951. I have spoken over the years to some - players and "blazers" who went on these trips and all agreed it helped mould the various squads into Scotland "teams".

So, if the squad does indeed bond in Florida, good and well. I do, however, hope Craig Levein gets something positive out of the trip. For instance, given that two of the three goalkeepers - Allan McGregor and Craig Gordon - will be moving-on from their current clubs during the close season (I cannot see McGregor staying with Rangers), then surely now is the time to find out if Blackpool's Matt Gilks can cut it internationally. We need to find out new formations in defence, midfield and up front, in fact, with the World Cup qualifying campaign starting in September, Levein ought perhaps to have more than just one game lined up - our squad is in a bit of a state of flux.

THEN there is Saturday's Cup final to think about. I hope this isn't the Kiss of Death, but, I honestly fancy Hibs to finally end those 110 years of hurt by winning the thing. Sure, on paper, Hearts will start as slight favourites, but, in O'Connor and Griffiths, Hibs have the sharper cutting edge and on the day, that just might carry them home. Nothing against Hearts, several cousins, having gone to Tynecastle Secondary, wear maroon regularly, but another emotional rendition of "Sunshine on Leith" come shortly after 5pm would be no bad thing.

OF COURSE, the Scottish Cup Final is a mere appetiser, the really big end-of-season jamboree will go on on Sunday, 27 May, at Livingston, when Shotts Bon Accord try to stop Auchinleck Talbot from winning the Emirates Scottish Junior Cup for the tenth time.

The one thing which can beat Talbot is their own over-confidence; but Tommy Sloan is a wily-enough manager to nip any such thoughts in the bud. I still think the 'Bot will win, but, Shotts will give them a game.

I am not in favour of Livvi as a venue - I have never liked the ground; however, it is the right size for the Junior Cup final, it will be pretty-well full and the atmosphere will be great.

Speaking of Tommy Sloan - I cannot help but think Ayr United missed a trick when they didn't go for Tucker as replacement for Brian Reid, who really deserves a medal for how well he has managed United over the past five years, before resigning earlier this week after their play-off loss to Airdrie United.

Tucker as manager, with Mark Roberts as his assistant would, for me, have been the better appointment, but good luck to Mark in his first managerial post - it will be a difficult learning experience for him.

Elliot Ness Is On The Case

SINCE Sunday, Charlie Green has been going around as if he is already Capo di Tuti Capi of the Govan family of football's Scotia Nostra. Fronting a press conference at Murray Park, seated beside Sandy Jardine in the Directors' Box at Perth, ushered into the away dressing room to address the troops prior to kick-off.

Haud-oan there pal; he hasn't, as yet, put a single penny into the Rangers rescue; he hasn't completed due diligence on the books; he hasn't put together the CVA which is the main plank of his attempted rescue and - most-crucially of all, the terms of any such CVA have not been put to, far less agreed on, by the creditors.

And the suggestions are that HMRC and Ticketus, the two big guns amongst those creditors may not be willing to play ball. Ticketus are, of course, sueing Craig Whyte for the reported £27 million they feel they are due. This promises to be a complex case; given wee Whytey's track-record, the cash he allegedly borrowed from Ticketus will be now be nestling somewhere offshore, well out of reach of the British legal system - and in any case - there are doubts in Scots Law as to whether or not Ticketus could legally loan the money to Whytey, without the permission of the other Rangers debenture holders.

HMRC, having been censured by the Westminster Parliament for letting some other corporate entities with apparently huge tax liabilities off virtually Scot-free, are now playing harder ball with the likes of Rangers. Also, there is the well-founded belief that Rangers will be only the first big football company to fall foul of "Hector" and his colleagues. IF they can nail Rangers, the millions they recoup from there will be followed by further millions from around the English Premiership and Championship. HMRC cannot be seen to be soft in dealing with these tax-dodging Jocks. Making an example of them will bring the English clubs they think are at it into line quicker.

Then there is the fact that, having taken too-much on trust when Whyte bought Rangers, and being forced to close and bolt the door well after Whyte - a person who failed football's "fit and proper person" test had leapt free - the SFA are looking closely at the make-up of the Green consortium.

They want names and backgrounds; they wish to make checks and since several names have emerged - rightly or wrongly - from people who have a poor reputation within English football, the SFA are keen to keep them away from the game in Scotland. In this instance, Stewart Regan, having formerly worked for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, is probably only too aware of the foul smell which lingers around Mr Green across the Broad Acres. Then there is the supposed involvement of Freddie Shepherd, hardly a paragon from his time with Newcastle United.

Green has not helped his case with his public utterances about providing Ally McCoist with if not a war chest, then certainly a transfer budget. Would you, if Rangers owed you money, settle for a ten pence in the pound settlement, only to see Rangers spending two or three million pounds on some exotic foreign striker? No, me neither.

There is also the collision between football law and Civil Law. Football's "pay football debts first" rules apparently conflict with Scots Law, which, in terms of a CVA or liquidation treat all creditors equally. Rangers owe money to Dundee United and Hearts in Scotland, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in England, Rapid Vienna in Austria, St Etienne in France and in Italy. UEFA are going to be asking what will happen to these debts. What happens if their appeal against the SFA sanctions falls and Rangers, either continuing via a CVA or re-established as a newcow is obliged to operate next season under the transfer embargo announced last week?

On the balance of probabilities - which is what we work to in civil law - the Rangers case is far from settled. There are more twists and turns to come and for all Mr Green's bluff and bluster, I still see liquidation as the most-likely outcome to this whole affair.

LIQUIDATION will naturally mean a Rangers Newco. Where will this newco play? Will it be set-up in such a way as to enable it to acquire an SFA licence to compete in Scottish football? If so, where will it play? Will the SPL usher "new Rangers" straight into their competition, or will they be required to start in the SFL? Might they even be invited to join the West of Scotland Superleague in the Juniors? In which case, while we may ultimately see the long-awaited and much-needed Scottish pyramid establised, in the short term, there will be much head scratching in Larkhall. Do the Blue Bears continue to follow-follow, or do they go to watch Larkhall Thistle?

Where will any newco play? There is a belief that the deeds to Ibrox and Murray Park have been hived off to another of Craig Whyte's companies. He might have sold his share-holding to Mr Green for £2 (nice 100% profit there) but, nowhere have I seen evidence that Green has also acquired the ground and training ground. If, as I believe he will have, Whyte has retained ownership of Ibrox and Murray Park, he will still have to be dealt with. Paying rental to Whyte for at least a couple of seasons will not make Rangers recovery any easier.

I don't think we will have a quiet, peaceful, pre-season. But, look on the bright side: Keith Jackson and Co will not be able to write so much pish about who Rangers are going to buy during the close season as they normally do. Nae transfers, nae pish talk in the Daily Ranger and the Hun. At least, with the Rangers revue continuing over the summer, we will be offered an alternative to England crashing and burning during the European Championships. And, from the SFA's point of view, it will keep attention away from their shameful and shameless conduct over the Olympic Games football.

Rangers - you have to love them.

Green For Go - I Still Think He's An Amber Gambler

WELL, well, well, so Rangers have been "saved" by the intervention of Mr Charles Green - a blunt-speaking Yorkshireman. Pardon me if I refrain from cheering. Having worked in that part of the world in a former life, I have found blunt-speaking Yorkshiremen to be, other than ruder, no different from the remainder of the English.

I am asuming here that Mr Green and his team have begun "due diligence" on the books at Rangers; given the Bill Miller team had barely opened their books before they reversed back across the Atlantic as quickly as they could, I wonder how long it will take the Green team to decide: "Oh Shit!".

Leaving aside the poor impression Mr Green made to the football world during his spell with Sheffield United and the uncertainty as to his motives, questions must be asked. For a start, he has a history of closing companies amidst allegations of "asset stripping" which is almost as worrying as was Craig Whyte's. Then there is the cloak of anonymity surrounding the other members of his consortium. OK, commercial confidentiality is one thing, but, how are we to know if the consortium are likely to meet the SFA's "fit and proper person" criteria? Will Mr Green, for a start? And, having been singed by Craig Whyte, will the SFA not look a little closer this time round? Indeed, can they afford not to? Right away, allegations of Freddie Shepherd's involvement concern me, given his colourful past with Newcastle United.

But, suppose the deal goes through, and as I write, there is no indication as to how HMRC will react on the "wee" tax case - far less the "big" tax case. Let's be fair to Mr Green, he has promised a club which will live within its means and be run prudently and properly. Well, this will be a first for Rangers FC over the last 25-years and perhaps longer.

How will this play with a fan base used to raptuously applauding the latest big-money signings on a rugular basis? How will it play with Manager McCoise, who is apparently wedded to the Souness-Smith-Advocaat-McLeish-Smith2 model of buying rather than breeding?

There is nothing wrong, per se, with regularly freshening-up the squad with injections of new blood - the problem is the way British football is wedded to the big transfer fee model. I would like to see Mr Green, or whoever, instructing his manager to recruit sensibly - through the purchase of Bosman's.

It says much about the intellectual powers of your average player that he is happy to allow his club to sell him during the final year of his contract, where, by holding out and seeing-out his contract, he could almost certainly prcure a better new deal for himself elsewhere under the Bosman regulations. Brian Laudrup did this when he moved from Rangers to Chelsea; ok, his time at Stamford Bridge wasn't successful, but he, rather than Rangers, profited from the deal.

More time on the coaching field, plus good use of the Bosman rules would surely make Mr Green a happy bunny, lead to financial security for Rangers and a fine future. If the club reverts to spend, spend, spend - how long before they are back in the smelly stuff?

Mr Green may have bought the club; he may have a cunning plan for the future, but, I have a feeling there are a few more twists and turns to come in this long-running Rangers saga. The fat lady hasn't yet started her practice scales. 

Ridiculous - Yes: But Real Life Often Is

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.

In Extra Time, Penalties To Come - And No Pizza Ads

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.

Never Say Never - But

SO, Rangers was one wreck which Miller Industries didn't have the equipment to tow back onto the highway. One quick look at the books and even Tennessee rednecks could see it wouldn't work. What next?

Enter a mystery British consortium, with Graeme Souness involved. Pardon me, but this is a wee bit like reinventing British Leyland, with "Red" Robbo, the notorious shop steward, as CEO. Rangers' downfall can be traced all the way back to a single appointment - Graeme Souness as manager.

Prior to his arrival in 1986, Rangers had always bought-in players, but Scottish players, guys who actually got better through being full-time at Ibrox rather than part-time with any other Scottish club. Souness spent, spent and spent again on non-Scots, who needed to be really well-paid to move to this football and cultural back water and the age of over-spending which he ushered in ultimately landed Sir David Murray with the financial fankle which forced him to off-load to Craig Whyte and bring the impending disaster down on the club sooner rather than later.

Now, with Souness apparently involved, I would assume we will see another period of cash splashing, which will last only as long as the money does.

Time is not on the side of these new bidders. Rangers' season ends in Perth on Sunday. Those players who took a wage cut will shortly thereafter revert to their full whack, and with no money coming in, how will these wage demands be met? Meanwhile "due diligence" will be taking place on the books, and given the Yanks shit themselves at even a cursory look at these, who is to say Brits, even Brits with a Rangers leaning, will hold their nerve.

And there, in the background, holding a charge over the Lloyds Bank debt, owning Ibrox and Murray Park, sits the man who cannot lose - Craig Whyte. Nowhere have I seen confirmation that he will walk for anything less than £30 million.

Does the new British consortium have access to the (conservative estimate) £100 million it will take to put Rangers right? I think not.

That £100 million, by the way, does not include the massive "war chest" which Souness will insist on if he is coming in as Director of Football, or whatever - I don't see him returning as Manager or Head Coach.

And, if Souness does come back, what happens to McCoist? Now his managerial record isn't great, even allowing for the problems off the field, but, will he simply be punted by the new owners?

Every time I chew over the what happens next scenario - I return to the same conclusion, only liquidation is sensible; nothing else adds up. But, here again, when did financial common sense ever have anything to do with football?

When someone writes the book - they will have a sure-fire best-seller on their hands. 

Plus Ca Change innat

IF THERE is one thing I have learned from nearly half a century watching Scottish football, it is, do not expect the unexpected. For a nation to whom the Conservative Party is a thoroughly toxic organisation, we are awfully conservative in so many things. But, that I suppose is all part of our intrinsic charm.

A wee history lesson: 1890 - Scottish Football League is formed, so that the top clubs of the time could organise regular matches against each other - and make more money.

1975 - the Scottish Football League, forms a "Premier" Division, so the Top Ten clubs could meet each other more often - and make more money.

1998 - The "Top Ten" Premier Division clubs break away from the SFL, to run their own competition: The Scottish Premier League - and make more money.

2012 - The biggest club in the SPL are in dire financial trouble, through their own mis-management. This club is in administration, it will run out of money some time in June and if not sold to new owners by then, will be liquidated, thereby, potentially hurting the other 11 clubs. There is a belief that post-liquidation a new company will rise, phoenix-like from the ashes and this club will attract the failed club's huge support. Should this newco be (as SPL rules demand) forced to apply for membership of the SFL and from admission, work their way back to the SPL, or should they (against the rules, as written), be immediately admitted to the SPL - and make more money.

Guess which way the SPL are likely to vote today.

SHUGGIE Murray bid farewell to St Mirren Park on Saturday, after 468 league games for the club. Now Shuggie was no Tony Fitzpatrick, Paul Lambert or Norrie McWhirter. I was covering the Buddies when he joined as a 16-year-old from Coatbridge. I saw his debut; I rejoiced in his great winning goal at Forthbank which saved the club from relegation to Division Two; I have spoken with him often - nothing wrong with Shuggie. I wish him well in whatever he does in the future.

But, the truth is, he's not that good a player. He would not get anywhere near my eclectic choice of Best St Mirren XI - he wasn't even the best player in the St Mirren Under-18 team he was in.

However, that said - respect to Shuggie for making the most of his somewhat-limited talents and enjoying a longer career than more-talented Buddies contemporaries enjoyed. And that is the problem I have with Scottish football these past 25-years. I remember watching Shuggie during the season Saints won promotion back to the SPL. He was switched to the left side of midfield, the trouble was and is - his left foot is for standing on. To see a former Scotland Under-21 player almost tying himself in knots to get the ball onto his right foot so he could do something with it spoke volumes about the quality of coaching in Scottish football and about his application. By that time he had had over a decade of full-time football, but, still did not have the confidence or control to use his left foot - in what other sport, in what other nation would that be tolerated? Only in Scotland.

This, by the way, is not so much an attack on Shuggie Murray as on the standards we expect and enforce in the most-popular game in out country. Nae wonder we're shite.



JOHN Yorston, the Dunfermline Chairman, got some good publicity at the weekend with his call for sporting integrity in the matter of the SPL and: "How do we solve a problem like the Rangers". It was interesting to follow the on-line debate. Even the more-sensible Bears, yes, there are a few who can understand joined-up writing and do joined-up thinking; accept that should the on-going rescue attempts fail, any newco ought to start in Division Three of the SFL. But, still the WATP mob insist: "We are Rangers, we are too-big, too-important to be relegated; we are crucial to the survival of Scottish football; you need us".

I have known Sandy Jardine since we were both teenagers, I accept his great love for the club, but he lost some of the great respect I have long had for him with his tawdry performance as the mouth-piece of that ill-advised march on Hampden the other Saturday.

I like Alastair McCoist a lot, but he too let himself down with his intemperate rage against the SFA Tribunal - and I accept here, as I have said before, the need to keep the names of the three men on the tribunal secret says a great deal about the failings of modern-day Scotland.

The Blue Knights failed, I feel, in part because they wanted Rangers to carry-on as before, regardless of the fact - in the financial climate of the 21st century, the goal posts have moved.

Is there nobody inside Rangers prepared to say: "Sorry - we accept our punishment and will fight to re-establish this club's good name?"

That is what is needed - how long must we wait. If Italian football could survive the demotion of Juventus, then surely Scottish foobtball can scrape through without Rangers in the top flight.