Duff & Phelps, BDO - Why Not Burke and Hare?

AT SOME point later this morning, the representative of HMRC will formally refuse to accept the details of the CVA being proposed by Messers Duff & Phelps; in effect the life-support system plug will be pulled out and Rangers will die.

The question then is, will Duff & Phelps the attending physicians, who failed to keep the patient alive, have time to sell-off the saleable organs (Ibrox, Murray Park etc) to Charles Green, or will the HMRC-appointed undertakers - BDO - take possession of the corpse and in turn become responsible for the organ harvesting?

I don't know enough about how these things work to say definitely, but I sincerely hope BDO has charge of the corpse, otherwise - things may get decidedly messy. Whatever happens, the accountants and m'learned friends will continue to live high on the hog, whilst the estate of the dear departed is divided up.

And, by the way, since he is a grade one chancer who has spent most of his life living on the edges of legality, don't be surprised if Craig Whyte hasn't left a few booby traps in the path of BDO and HMRC - I have a feeling they will find out that the deeds to Ibrox and Murray Parks are lying in some office in the Cayman Islands for instance.

SO, I intend saying no more about the corporate business side of things, I'll leave that to the guys on the business desks - other than a parting comment; the two pieces of real estate - three if you count the Albion car park MUST be worth more than the £5.5 million which messers Green and Duff & Phelps have valued them at.

What about the footballing side of things? What happens now? I honestly believe the demise of Rangers 1872 offers Scottish football a once-in-a-life-time chance to sort itself out. Will they take it?

Probably not - Scottish football is good at tinkering round the edges, not so good at real and meaningful change.

For a start, any thoughts of "New" Rangers continuing to occupy a place in the SPL have to be kicked into touch. I am not in the "They've cheated for years" camp. I appreciate these things don't have to be proven "beyond reasonable doubt", as is the case in criminal courts; the non-payment of tax/legality of EBTs issue is one for the civil courts, where it's the "balance of probabilities" rather than "beyond reasonable doubt" which counts. But, given that EBTs were legal when Rangers went down that route, it may be that Rangers use of them has been flawed rather than illegal and that difference is just the sort of area the legal brains love getting into - it can keep them talking and arguing for years. Then there is the area of what is and what isn't a contract - again sorting out the difference between a second contract and a side note will keep the guys in the silk gowns in school fees for Fettes and the Edinburgh Academy well into the 2020s.

So what do the admittedly duller brains within Hampden's corridors of power do in the meantime? Well a good start would be for the SPL to declare that since Rangers are in liquidation, their membership of the SPL falls. There is already evidence that Duff & Phelps' pairing of Sooty and Sweep have failed to even keep up to date with the less-than-taxing standards of administration demanded of them by the SFA or SPL.

The accounts are not up to date, certain necessary pieces of paperwork have not been completed - ergo with "Old" Rangers dead and "New" Rangers failing to meet the SFA's paper work demands, then the "New" Rangers cannot as things stand compete in the SPL in season 2012-2013. Get Dundee in - now.

But, what happens as regards the newco? On the face of it, they ought to be asked to apply for the vacant place in SFL Division Three which has caused by the promotions in the wake of the oldco's demise. Dundee's elevation will leave a gap in the SFL Division One, which should go to Airdrie - the losing side in the play-off final; their Division Two place will then go to Stranraer, who lost the Division Two-Three play-off final, leaving the Division Three vacancy to be filled.

This ought to be done by invitation. Spartans could apply, ditto one or more Highland League Clubs, perhaps Gala Fairydean or Preston Athletic might fancy a go, although I don't see any of the junior giants such as Talbot, Irvine Meadow or Linlithgow Rose throwing their bunnets into the ring.

"New" Rangers will. It will then be a case of the SFL deciding: do we want those awfully nice Rangers fans trampling all over our grounds or not? In that case, £ signs will flash in front of eyes and "New" Rangers will be in.

Of course, this scenario overlooks the on-going saga of the SAF Appeals Tribunal's decision on the crimes of "Old" Rangers; the transfer ban was kicked into touch, so the tribunal has to come up with some new sanction, which will apply to the newco. This has to be a hefty one, to appease the wolves at UEFA and FIFA and, as I have said before on these pages - I don't see Zurich and Nyon being satisfied with anything short of suspension for at least one year.

This, actually, is the SFA's get-out-of-jail card. Accept "New" Rangers into membership, but, suspend that membership sine die - with a commitment to review at the end of the 2012-13 season, to see what has been done to de-toxify the Rangers brand, allow for the Big Tax Case to be determined and to see what steps have been taken to sort-out the football debts of the "Old" Rangers.

If sufficient steps have been shown to have been taken - "New" Rangers goes into SFL Division Three at the start of season 2013-2014.

Meanwhile, Scottish football will have a season to see how we get on without them and, just maybe, the necessary changes can be put in place - three governing bodies into one - fewer "national" league teams - better "district" leagues, with (finally) a Scottish pyramid in place and an emphasis on bringing-through good, young, skilled, Scottish players.

The cure will be difficult, at times painful and could be a lengthy one - but - it just might work in terms of Champions League, European Championship and Champions League and Europa League success, some years in the future.