The Daily Record - Jim Traynor

BBC documentary reopens Rangers' barely healed wounds

2012-05-25T05:53:31Z

RANGERS' administrators say they will take legal action against the BBC over their documentary into the sale of the Ibrox club a year ago.

The men from Duff and Phelps have been to their New York HQ to firm up a response to the programme with sources saying they've taken enough of a kicking.

Apparently they have had enough of being "used as a football". Now they know how Rangers' fans feel as their club lies on the floor broken and discredited.

There's little supporters can do but refuse to buy season tickets until they are told enough to convince them Charles Green, the latest would-be owner, has the club's best interests ahead of his own.

That is about all the masses can do but the administrators believe they can kick back, at the BBC at least. It's understood Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, as well as Duff and Phelps partner, David Grier, who was accused of being less than truthful in the documentary but denies any wrong-doing, were in New York taking instruction - another indication the clamour surrounding this saga resonates far beyond our own little country.

And so Duff and Phelps are heading back to court. First it was Ticketus, then Collyer Bristow and now the Beeb.

Their programme made a decent attempt to prove Grier knew discredited owner Craig Whyte secured £24million from Ticketus to buy Rangers from Lloyds Bank.

The administrators claim they've been defamed but the BBC are standing by their programme insisting they have enough evidence to prove Grier - who while he was with another company, MCR and advised Whyte on his £18m takeover - was central to the Ticketus deal.

The BBC have other emails which they say make it clear Grier must have known how Whyte was funding his buyout. The notes do refer to Ticketus and invoices but not for specific amounts or deals.

Duff and Phelps will argue the emails don't prove conclusively that Grier knew of Ticketus money being used to buy Rangers but the administrators have been given the go-ahead from their American masters to sue. The BBC have been here before, of course, because Whyte himself threatened court action last year.

That was when he was the subject of a first documentary into this saga which continues to throw up more questions than answers. For instance, if Duff and Phelps, who swallowed up MCR after the Ibrox takeover, or Grier knew of Whyte's Ticketus deal why would they have gone to the High Court in London to have that agreement ripped up? Wouldn't Ticketus' lawyers have stated they had evidence proving Grier knew of the deal his new firm were now trying to have shredded?

Ticketus haven't done that and neither have Collyer Bristow, the London legal firm used by Whyte during his takeover. Nor Gary Withey, who was with Collyer Bristow at the time and who also became Rangers' company secretary after Whyte had gained control.

Withey and his former company are being sued by Duff and Phelps for £25m but the question remains: Why would the administrators put themselves in a vulnerable position and invite the people they're taking to court to slap down documents proving Grier, therefore Duff and Phelps, must have known what Whyte was up to with Ticketus?

That doesn't make sense and neither does HMRC's approval of Duff and Phelps as administrators. The tax man could have objected to this appointment but didn't.

Surely if HMRC believed Duff and Phelps were compromised they'd have prevented them from becoming involved? But they didn't.

Mark Daly, the BBC reporter, did his best to move the story on and will stand firm even if Duff and Phelps do drag this into court but the onus is on them to clear the suspicions which have been swirling around since they were appointed.

In fact the Daily Record were the first to raise concerns about Grier having been with MCR, who earned about £350,000 having been brought in by Whyte's company Liberty Capital before reappearing with Duff and Phelps.

The BBC's man went to England to try to clear up the issue about a £250,000 payment from Rangers to "Regenesis Ltd - deposit for Banstead Athletic" but again the Record had been there first.

It was also the Record who revealed the Ticketus deal which was the beginning of the end for Whyte but with their on- screen graphics the Beeb made it all seem fresh. It was, however, a decent effort to drag this sorry story down a different path.

Although we might have expected greater revelations from Daly, who had worked on his telly doc for months, it was interesting viewing. It might even have been more than that if less screen time had been taken up by the Rangers supporter who looked like a caricature fan out of Only and Excuse.

Or do the BBC believe all Rangers fans are like Sammy Paterson?

And incidentally, surely they could have dredged up a proper newspaperman to appear on the programme rather than one who has no more than a vague idea of what this story is all about. Even Sammy was more plausible.

Hibs stars lost the chance to be legends

2012-05-21T06:25:12Z

IT WAS crisp and clear and it was fresh. The atmosphere above and around Hampden sparked and crackled like a downed electricity line.

There was something in the air as west met east but it wasn't malice.

There wasn't an Old Firm supporter in sight and it was such a pleasant experience.

No one waving flags of other countries in your face and no one spitting "Ya Fenian b******" or "Hun b******."

This was Scotland and Scottish football the way it should always be. This was a Scottish Cup Final to enjoy and to savour. An Edinburgh derby being played out in Glasgow and on the final Saturday of the season, too.

But like all good things it didn't last long. Not for Hibs anyway.

Their contribution ended as soon as the game started but the Easter Road side didn't just lose the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday.

They lost everything. Their pride, their credibility and their chance to become special.

Their players left Hampden with nothing other than shame and embarrassment. What on this earth were they thinking? Were they even thinking?

This was their time, their moment to put all the wrongs and failures of more than a century to rest.

When Saturday came Hibs' players had the opportunity to ease the pain and suffering of tens of thousands. They had the chance to become much more than mere heroes. Everlasting greatness awaited.

The stage was set perfectly with half of the national stadium coloured green. It was an inspiring spectacle and when your eyes took in the other half, the maroon side, it was breathtaking.

As the players went through their final warm-up routines, Hearts hero John Robertson walked around the track with Hibs great Pat Stanton, taking turns to carry one of the oldest trophies in world sport.

It was all building up to be something truly special - and then the ball started rolling.

Immediately it was obvious Hibs manager Pat Fenlon had got it badly wrong in the midfield, which Hearts dominated completely.

Why is it managers, who having been players and then students at coaching schools and who are supposed to know better than the rest of us, can't see the blindingly obvious?

Jorge Claros is not very good. Same can be said of Isaiah Osbourne and Pa Kujabi. And Lewis Stevenson wide on the left? Just stop that nonsense and let the boy play inside.

Rudi Skacel, operating just off the front line, should have had Claros (aka the pitbull) biting at his ankles from the very beginning but the little Honduran was never close enough and Skacel had acres of space. Having survived a car-jacking incident during which he took a bullet to the head, Claros is a remarkable specimen but he's not a player.

Fenlon made the change just before half-time - Ivan Sproule came on for Claros - but the manager should have known from the beginning his set up (4-4-2) wouldn't function properly against Hearts, who had much greater width in that area.

It was a surprise that Ian Black, playing his last game for Hearts, didn't run across to the Hibs technical area before kick off and thank Fenlon for setting his team up perfectly for the Jambos. Black probably couldn't believe his luck and within seconds he was dominating and bullying.

Within 10 minutes he'd clattered arm first into Leigh Griffiths and was lucky to escape any kind of punishment other than the foul given by referee Craig Thomson.

The challenge was borderline red but Black was in his element, although Hibs handed control of the midfield to this tetchy, fiery, in-your-face performer and Darren Barr.

He had a huge match, too, and he's only in the midfield because he can't get a game in his real position as a central defender.

Ryan McGowan and Skacel also excelled but really, they were given the freedom of Hamdpen by opponents who should be too embarrassed to go anywhere near Leith ever again.

Saturday was such a crucial and historic day for this club and even if you'd taken Hibs' woeful attempts to play this season into consideration you would still have been entitled to believe they could rouse themselves for this final.

But just about every one of their players - Stevenson apart - and their manager fell miles short of coming close to the passion and belief, albeit misguided, of the fans.

As a consequence of their team's capitulation their final was over a minute into the second half. Hibs lost a player, Kujabi, who was sent off, and another goal.

Although Kujabi tugged Suso Santana's jersey the foul was outside the box but the Spaniard then appeared to clip his own heel inside the area. The referee was correct to send Kujabi off but wrong to award the penalty which Danny Grainger belted into the net. Hibs were 3-1 down and the heartache began again.

Some supporters started to slink off Hampden's slopes and although fans should stay to the end, especially in finals, it's difficult to fault those early leavers. They'd played their part and were badly let down. Their suffering was just too much.

They haven't seen their team beat Hearts in any of the last 11 derbies and fear now they will never see Hibs win the Scottish Cup. Twice they've played Hearts in the final and twice they have lost.

Only 45 minutes before kick off Stanton, who must have been humiliated by this lot, said it wouldn't matter what the managers and coaches might have been saying because it would all come down to what the players believed. The old man was correct. Hearts believed absolutely, Hibs didn't.

At the very least, though, they could have tried to be good losers. Instead, Garry O'Connor, a wasted talent, tossed his medal to the floor just after he'd received it and Fenlon is in trouble for making the sort of gesture which had him raging at Griffiths when he did it.

Hearts fans were singing "There's only one Pat Fenlon" but if he expects Griffiths and other players to ignore rival supporters he should have set an example. He'll get much worse, maybe even from Hibs supporters, if he doesn't get a better team on the pitch for next season.

But that's for later because this final isn't over yet for Fenlon. He'll have to explain himself to the SFA who'll be getting in touch shortly. Just watch out for the postman Pat.

Classic Hampden final is just what we need

2012-05-19T06:25:05Z

TODAY Edinburgh comes to Glasgow. And you'll all be needing your tea.

Come on in and help yourselves. Oh, and thanks for coming.

There's plenty of sauce for everyone, so what'll you have? A pint, or 10? A half? Gentlemen's measures of course. You don't know just how much of a relief it is to see you all.

It might not be what the nervous systems of both Hibernian and Hearts need but a Scottish Cup Final, a season finale between these two, is exactly what the rest of us require right now.

Finally and thankfully, something to make us forget about Rangers and the year-long saga of their collapse.

Cars, buses and trains will bring more than 50,000 from the nation's capital to the Scottish game's capital to bear witness to what is the most important match Hibs and Hearts will ever play.

This derby is one of the oldest rivalries in world football and although the clubs met in the 1896 Final - I could be wrong but I think Jim Jefferies and Pat Stanton were at that match - played at Edinburgh's Logie Green with Hearts winning 3-1, the raw, skin-tingling excitement and knuckle-biting fear generated by today's game have reached new and almost unbearable levels.

Hearts have won the cup six times with their last triumph coming in 2006 when they beat now-defunct Gretna, while Hibs have lifted the old trophy only twice. But Hearts are propelled into this Final using the confidence amassed from a run of 10 derby matches without defeat as fuel, although their rivals should also be buoyed having secured their SPL survival.

However, it is a fact that Hearts have the stronger squad and if Paulo Sergio's players have enough energy left and can hit their best form Hibs will struggle. Their darkest
nightmare might just become reality.

The Easter Road side haven't experienced national cup success in 110 years even though they've been in eight finals since their last victory losing four times to Celtic, and once each to Airdrie (you're welcome), Aberdeen, Clyde, and Rangers.

It's no wonder there were Hibs fans who despaired of ever again seeing the Cup carried down Leith way. But when Leigh Griffiths found the net five minutes from the end in last month's semi-final against Aberdeen to give them a 2-1 win, hope began to rise again in the hearts of Hibs.

Heading into the Final they are believers. But probably at night, when the lights are doused and sleep won't come, they are also desperately afraid.

The fear of losing a ninth Scottish Cup Final since that day back in 1902 when Andy McGeachan scored the only goal to beat Celtic, will travel with Hibs' fans today. And it will be one of manager Pat Fenlon's priorities to make sure his players are not also weighed down by history when they step on to the Hampden turf.

Above all, they must consider themselves capable of forgetting what has gone before otherwise Hibs will suffer their worst and most traumatic defeat.

They were thrashed 6-1 by Celtic in the 1972 Final but even a single-goal defeat today would have more far-reaching consequences. Losing a Cup Final to any club is painful enough but defeat by Hearts in such a high-profile game and after so many other Final near misses?

That would be an act of cruelty beyond our comprehension. Some Hibs fans might lose the power, the will to leave their darkened rooms ever again. They might never smile and become lost in a place somewhere between hopelessness and misery. Greece, I think it's called these days.

Simply because of Hibs' desire to banish from deeply-scarred minds the horrors of past final-day failures the very thought of being outdone by Hearts has probably been enough to cause grown men to stop dead on Leith Walk. Their shoulders would have sagged. And then they'd have wept quietly before walking on.

Don't try telling any of them it's only a game. It isn't. Not today.

This is historical. It's about more than a century of hurt and today a gaggle of players, none of whom could have laced the boots of the Famous Five or players like Stanton, O'Rourke, Brownlie and Blackley, have a chance to make everything all right.

Fenlon's group can become heroes if they beat Hearts. Even if they never play another match their names will be remembered by Hibs and their supporters until the end of time.

Griffiths, or Garry O'Connor, who scored the opening goal in the semi, have the ability and either one could make the difference between Hibs losing or winning. But Griffiths will have to be fully focused because he is prone to acts of stupidity and could easily be wound up by opponents.

Ian Black, who'll be playing his last game for Hearts, will be well aware of the fragility of Griffiths' temperament, not that anyone is suggesting for a moment that the midfield enforcer will be seeking to take advantage. However, players do know that if they poke fingers around inside Griffiths' wireworks he can short circuit.

Then again, Black has also been known to blow up and he just might have enough on his own mind trying to remember that timing is everything. Especially in the tackle.

But he can be a key player this afternoon just by making sure no one dominates his area while also trying to make Hearts play and provide decent service to Craig Beattie, provided he has fully recovered from his hamstring injury.

And then there's Rudi Skacel, who can be anonymous for ages before pouncing to make all the difference. He must contribute if Hearts are to pump but it could all come down to one moment of nervousness, one mistake. It might even come down to penalties.

But despite the fact Hibs' fans are actually drawing a ray of hope from their dismal Cup story - Irishman Dan McMichael was manager when they lifted it in 1902 - they could be in for the blackest day in their history. They have another Irish manager this time but Hearts do have the better players.

Yet Hibs could feel liberated as they know they're secure in the SPL and winning the Cup, which would change the course of history, would be a wonderful thing for all of them.

But remember also Hearts have had difficult times this season. There were months when the players and staff didn't get their wages yet here they are in another Scottish Cup Final.

They can take a sense of pride on being one of the last two clubs standing and the fact they aren't carrying the same historical baggage could give them the edge, especially if they score first.

So, Gorgie or Leith?

Gorgie, I think but then I thought Barcelona and Real Madrid would beat Chelsea and Bayern Munich and look who'll be playing the Champions League Final in the spectacular Allianz Arena tonight.

It was also my opinion Airdrie would beat Dumbarton in the first leg of the First Division play-off final on Wednesday night but they didn't. No matter, we'll sort it tomorrow at our place - but today?

Hearts. Just. No wait, it'll be Hibs. Defeat would destroy too many. Fate just can't be that insensitive... or can it?

Anyway, no matter who wins thanks for coming. We all needed the break.

Don't sit back and do SFA this time

2012-05-14T06:25:47Z

ALREADY we know Charles Green breathes through his ears. He could talk the hind legs off a donkey. Or a club off an administrator.

In fact, he's done exactly that.

Yesterday, when the most hated chief executive of Sheffield United - his words, not mine - finally broke cover he spoke all right. Then he spoke some more. And more. And more.

Words didn't just trip from his lips. They teemed out. It was torrential and just how someone who had so much to say for himself managed to glide into Ibrox under the radar must remain one of this sorry saga's mysteries.

But he did it and although it was about 40 minutes before he stopped for oxygen what exactly had he said that should have Rangers' fans heralding a saviour at last?

Not very much at all. Green didn't talk about a budget that would be made available to ensure Rangers would be competitive and he couldn't reveal the identities of his large backing group drawn from the UK, Middle East, Far East and Asia.

He was quick to point out that "we are not dealing with people of disrepute" but prefers to get the CVA agreed before uncovering the names of the others.

Fine but Rangers fans would prefer to know now, not that they could do much about it if they didn't fancy any of the backers.

It's already too late to stop the process. As we heard yesterday there is no reverse gear and Rangers are being passed into new hands. Perhaps a dozen pairs of them.

The aim is to get Rangers up and running again as quickly as possible and if the CVA route is blocked by HMRC a newco will be formed, although some of the investors would pull out if the second option has to be brought into play.

Okay, again fine, but a little more information yesterday would have helped ease the minds of an army of fans who have been left drained by the events of the past 12 months.

They deserved that at least rather than a "thank you for your support and understanding" message from the administrators, although Green did say one thing that should have pleased the fans.

He believes no one person should own a football club and made it clear no Rangers investor will own more than 15 per cent of the business, something which should be of great comfort to the supporters after the chaos and humiliation caused by Craig Whyte.

His short but disgraceful reign dragged Rangers to the brink and forced the game's governing bodies to sit in judgment. The SPL imposed a 10-point deduction but could yet hand down further punishment while the SFA asked a judicial panel to rule after interviewing former directors.

Whyte was fined £200,000 and given a life ban from the game and the club were hit with a £160,000 fine and told they can't deal in the transfer market for a year.

Rangers' appeal will be heard on Wednesday but at the end of last week the judicial inquiry's report was made public.

And it was damning, not of the owner because he's impervious to criticism but of former directors, even though it is difficult to see what more they could have done to prevent Whyte from getting his hands on the club.

Even after the takeover they did their best to raise awareness of Whyte's mismanagement but neither the SFA nor the SPL moved a muscle to help.

They didn't even attempt to ask a single question of Whyte, which was strange considering a former director actually approached an extremely high-ranking official in one of the two governing bodies and made his fears about what was happening at his club known.

Wonder why that wasn't in the report or why there was no mention of police having been informed last summer of suspicions held by former directors. And why was no attempt made to speak with the man who sold the club, David Murray?

It is suggested there are inaccuracies in the report and at least two of the former directors insist they've been misrepresented in it.

One is also enraged because he claims he was led to believe whatever he said would remain within the confines of the interview room and that there would be no electronic recordings.

So much for the SFA's slick, new and transparent system of justice. But it seems to me this report, which, when you cut through the pompous legalese actually says little that wasn't already known if you'd been reading the papers, leaves the SFA in a tricky position.

The panel was independent the SFA will insist but nonetheless it is part of their system and the findings make it clear the governing body believe those former directors should have done more to expose Whyte's regime. Apparently they should have asked more questions of him and then reported to the authorities.

So who will ask the questions of Green and his posse?

There is no chairman or chief executive to grill Green. And there are no directors who can force him into a chair and then shine a bright lamp in his face.

So whose responsibility is it this time?

Duff and Phelps are in control but the administrators can probably empathise with Lloyds Bank as they dive under their desks trying to escape a never-ending barrage of criticism.

They'll be desperate to get out and back to normality so who will get the answers Rangers fans want from Green?

Let's see. Well, we have two governing bodies, the SPL and the SFA, but since the former can't agree on the time of day the job probably should fall to the latter.

After all, they are supposed to be the custodians of our game and because there are no Rangers directors the SFA, you might think, are obliged to quiz Green and demand he show them his plan in full detail.

But an SFA spokesman said they don't have a "fit and proper persons test".

Unbelievable.

The onus, he said, is on the clubs and pointed out: "The selling party who, in Rangers' case are the administrators, have to sign off saying in their opinion and after due diligence, the people taking over are sound."

Get real. The administrators just want to go home but the SFA have a duty to protect by asking questions such as who are these people Green doesn't want to name yet?

He says they have "fantastic connections" but to what and to whom?

How much working capital will be set aside - this is important as Whyte's calculations fell far short - and will there be regular board meetings with full disclosures?

And what will happen to the assets? Will they be moved, even temporarily to a newco, or incubator company, as Bill Miller would have done? Will they be placed in another company altogether, as one of the other would-be owners might have done?

The administrators will know but aren't telling.

The game's hierarchy must see they can't stand back and do SFA this time although no one is suggesting Green is the new Whyte. Not for a moment am I suggesting that but after what Rangers have gone through questions must be asked. Sorry, but this one is down to the SFA.

Blue Knights must act now to save Rangers

2012-05-09T07:25:19Z

"No point saying I told you so."

An obscure American with no emotional, spiritual or intellectual connection with Scotland, never mind Rangers, pumping £11million of his hard earned cash into Ibrox?

In Bill Miller's world, Rangers mean nothing.

Despite the fact he might have been told about the widespread resistance against his proposed buy-out, like another Tennessee son, Davy Crockett, he was never going to be King of football's wild frontier.

The man is a trucker and truckers don't get involved in games played by men in short trousers.

I mean, how would Miller be able to go to the Grand Ole Opry without a red neck, although you'd probably need one of those in the first place.

Rangers fans made it clear they didn't want him. Indeed, they had always regarded him as Millerlite.

But when you consider Rangers' administrators Duff and Phelps pressing the SPL to adjourn Monday's vote on liquidation sanctions you'd have to be extremely naive not to think they had been given some indication Miller was about to reverse his rig out.

But forget him. Although the SPL's reluctance to agree sanctions means Rangers have until May 30 to find a buyer the situation is now dire.

The Ibrox club are at a T-junction. They don't have a crossroads, they can go only one or two ways.

One road leads to possible salvation, although that route will be pitted with potholes - and the other ends in oblivion.

Right now it appears Rangers are headed for the destination that was on the map from the very beginning of this sorry saga - liquidation.

Unless the Blue Knights step forward, but this time with more conviction than they have previously shown.

Former Ibrox director Paul Murray, I believe, means well and has the god forsaken club's best interests at heart although he alone cannot save them.

That's why he tried to do a deal with Ticketus, who claim they are owed £27million because of a deal done with shamed owner Craig Whyte. That proved impossible.

Then along game a shark, or to be precise the owner of Sale Sharks. Brian Kennedy, a Scot - and a very wealthy one at that - indicated weeks ago he would step in and save Rangers if he believed they were going to the wrong person.

After Miller's announcement yesterday, Rangers are sinking fast to the bottom of the ocean.

So what does Kennedy do now?

He muscled his way into the Blue Knights consortium and then said he thought Miller was the right man to buy control. Turns out Kennedy was wrong, Miller has dropped his interest.

So what happens now? Does Kennedy remain another large fish in the small Scottish sports pond or will we see his dorsal fin break the surface?

The time for posturing and treading water is over. It's time for Murray and the Blue Knights, or Kennedy to bite.

Too many people have been engaged in a grotesque dance around a dying club for too long and if anyone is genuinely interested in saving Rangers they must act now.

Murray can't do it on his own, he needs help and right now it seems he needs Kennedy, who has been flitting in and out of proceedings for weeks.

It's almost as though he has been toying with the emotions of people who regard this club as their reason for living and if he's not serious he too should do what Miller has just done and say, "No thanks, I'm out".

But he has been telling anyone who would listen he would save this club from closure. It might have been bravado, it might have been a rampant ego, it may have been a desire to be known. Who knows? Who cares?

Kennedy now has to follow through. He said he would help this club and now the preferred bidder has stepped back the way is clear for Kennedy to lead the Blue Knights across the Ibrox threshold.

But who are the Blue Knights? We know Murray is there, we know Kennedy is one of them also and car and luxury coach tycoon Douglas Park is another. Do they have the drive?

Because if they do nothing within the next few days they will all have added to Rangers' misery and at the end of this month the only procession towards Ibrox will be the funeral cortege.

A considerable number of people have suspected Kennedy has been doing nothing more than courting publicity but whether he likes it or not he's in too deep.

He, Park and Murray must now deliver or be exposed as pretenders like all the others.

No doubt they can use the same excuses as that bloke from Singapore Bill Ng, some anonymous people from Asia, or even the reason thrown out by Miller yesterday but the fact remains the Blue Knights said they were Rangers' only hope for salvation.

Prove it.

Let's see that lance point the way forward or let us catch even a fleeting glimpse of that great white dorsal fin. Gentleman, you said you would save Rangers, do so.

The fans have been led an exhaustive Tennessee dance, talk is wearing thin. Is Kennedy going to opt out and head to killing fields elsewhere or join Park and co by parking the bus and set about saving Rangers for the long haul?

SPL chiefs scared to vote on sanctions

2012-05-08T07:22:43Z

COME on gentlemen. Stop the pretence.

This will-we-won't-we hammer Rangers sideshow has become
an acute embarrassment.

After another day of blustering and bumbling it should be clear to us all the SPL has become the world's centre of indecision.

Poor Neil Doncaster must be at his wit's end dealing with such a dysfunctional lot.

Yesterday, at the second time of asking, the men who run Scotland's top clubs failed to reach any kind of consensus on sanctions to be imposed on members who lurch into insolvency.

The crisis at Ibrox forced them to assemble at Hampden last week but that meeting was adjourned until yesterday.

Up for discussion were points deductions and serious financial penalties in the event of a club going all the way down the drain but again a vote was adjourned. Nothing will be done now before May 30 at the earliest.

The SPL insist all the financial fair play issues were put on hold because Rangers' administrators Duff and Phelps handed in a note asking for an adjournment. And all those club chairmen who had made it clear weeks ago that sporting integrity and the game's credibility were the priorities said: "Oh, well okay. Let us know when we can proceed."

What they probably said was "Thank f*** for that" then sat around for several hours to make it appear they were actually engaged in meaningful talks.

What a shower of invertebrates.

When Rangers were placed in administration in February, fans and directors demanded all kinds of sanctions and it seemed clear football wanted to punish the Ibrox club for their financial madness.

But twice now the SPL have had the chance to agree on new sanctions and twice they have bottled their responsibility.

The problem is that after the outrage, which led to bold claims about what must be done, the state of this stricken game's finances came back into focus.

Even those chairmen who might have been out to even some old scores or who were being driven by the agendas of stronger, more influential men, had to face reality. Bringing in heavy sanctions against liquidation wouldn't just affect Rangers - they won't be hit at all if Bill Miller buys the Ibrox club's assets and places them in a newco before the end of this season - because any SPL club facing liquidation would face those same punishments.

And of course there are several top-flight clubs already bracing themselves for new and more punitive interest charges on loans and overdrafts. But unlike Rangers, who could survive through a newco, even if it meant them dropping to the Third Division, a few of the others just couldn't be resurrected.

This reality, and the need for the money Rangers' continued presence would generate, is what stops them from doing what their fans want. But it's a bit disingenuous to claim a decision couldn't be taken yesterday because no one knows what is going to happen to Rangers.

Surely the SPL realise they need to have sanctions in place to deal with future insolvency events?

A note from Rangers' administrators shouldn't have made any difference and if the sanctions had been discussed and agreed upon the SPL would have clawed back some pride at least.

Not that Rangers can be sure they'll be rescued at the end of this week.

Preferred bidder Miller was given until May 11 to seal his deal to buy Rangers out of administration - but surely that deadline has just been extended.

If there will be no decision on sanctions before May 30, why would Miller rush to get his work completed by Friday.

Perhaps the administrators are buying time for someone else,
the Blue Knights maybe, to make another move should Miller reverse out at the end of this week. But what if he doesn't? What if he waits until May 29?

No time left then for anyone else to step forward, and remember Duff and Phelps have said the last of Rangers' money runs out at the end of May. And another thing, how on earth can the other clubs expect their fans to buy season tickets when they won't know if Rangers will still be in the SPL?

This delay could cost the game a fortune. Is it a condition of entry to Hampden's top level that logic and reason are checked into the cloakroom along with the coats?

Money men must stop keeping Gers fans in dark

2012-05-07T06:20:32Z

THEY try their best to come across as real people. Men with feelings, who go home at night to wives and kids.

And do they read bedtime stories to the children? If so, what kind?

A toss-up probably between Secrets of Corporate Insolvency Law or Snow White and the Five Dwarfs? Reduction in numbers. It's what administrators do for a living.

It's just too damn difficult to think of them as normal people.

They must have a rogue gene that makes them want to slash and cut while we all try to keep our distance.

No, insolvency practitioners aren't normal at all and that's why real people, who end up in all sorts of trouble by pursuing their business dreams, are afraid of them.

They're like lawyers and bankers. And wasps. They're necessary evils.

We need the legal profession to defend us against injustice, even if they are so expensive you end up having to pay them more than you'll ever win in damages.

Then you have to turn to the bankers to get loans to help pay the wigs.

On the way home you'll get stung again, by a wasp. But at least they're crucial to the eco system, although they'd be of greater value if they'd just stick it to lawyers and bankers. And administrators.

The team from Duff and Phelps who have been striving to keep Rangers afloat for the past three months insist the club's survival has always been a priority - but the vast majority of the supporters don't believe that.

Neither do one or two of the would-be buyers who have taken a close look at Rangers recently.

They are highly suspicious of the time it took to name a preferred bidder and they also believe there have been times when the administrators told them one thing in private, before saying something different in public.

A few days ago, former Ibrox director Paul Murray, who led the Blue Knights in their crusade to gain control of Rangers, was so angered by what Duff and Phelps had briefed a press gathering he called into BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound programme to contradict the information that had been given out.

It was unlike Murray, who has always used a careful and studied approach but he'd had enough.

He sounded as if he'd finally run out of patience - but of course, earlier that day it had been announced Bill Miller, and not the Knights, was preferred bidder.

The American got the jump on the Knights even though he didn't hand over the £500,000 exclusivity fee everyone had thought was a non-negotiable requirement.

Murray's group were certainly told they'd have to pay up to gain pole position but Miller is in that position without handing over any cash.

However, he has deposited the amount he is willing to pay for Rangers' assets - thought to be around £11million - in a lawyers' account as a 'statement of intent'.

Okay, fine. But he still hasn't paid any money and if by close of play on Friday, the deadline for a deal set by the administrators, he retreats out of the purchase he can withdraw his money and go back to his tow-truck business.

He won't be out of pocket, apart from the money he's paid already in legal and consultancy fees.

But that's no different to the Knights, who also paid out plenty for advice, yet were left in no doubt that had they paid an exclusivity fee when they had the chance several weeks ago they'd have forfeited that amount if they didn't buy Rangers.

You can sort of understand where Murray is coming from and why he wanted people to know that, as far as he's concerned, more questions should be asked of the administrators.

And he's right.

So is former Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston, who is now asking why Duff and Phelps have not handed over documents he believes could help the Crown Office and Strathclyde Police investigation that he called for only days after the club was placed in administration.

Johnston is worried the process seems to have stalled because the police are still waiting to get a look at any information that may be held by Duff and Phelps and may also be
relevant to launching a full probe into Craig Whyte's Rangers buy-out.

That's why, acting on behalf of Johnston, legal firm Levy and McRae wrote to Duff and Phelps last Thursday asking why they haven't yet produced the information requested.

Is it just me or does anyone else find that a bit odd?

After all, you'd think anything that might further undermine or expose Whyte would be extremely helpful to the administrators, who themselves have launched a £25m damages claim against the legal firm he used during his takeover a year ago.

The administrators are suing Whyte's takeover vehicle, the Rangers FC Group, and legal firm Collyer Bristow for 'consequential losses' - but clearly Johnston believes Duff and Phelps have been slow to help his cause and he's correct to demand answers.

Although the administrators were quick to reply to his letter - Detective Chief Inspector John Cuddihy was copied in - there was no real explanation of why they haven't provided any of the documents Johnston believes would strengthen his move to bring Whyte to book.

Yet, it seems there is little more he, or the police can do until Duff and Phelps provide the assistance Johnston wants and needs.

This lack of urgency must be surprising to Johnston and to Rangers fans who all know early on in the insolvency process the administrators were quick to let everyone know Collyer Bristow appeared reluctant to hand over documents they needed to make sense of Whyte's affairs.

Why haven't the administrators helped Johnston when his action might be able to uncover something that really would render Whyte an irrelevance? Why wouldn't they be desperate to help someone else who also wants this man held to account for his chaotic reign?

It doesn't make any sense but it might help if someone from Duff and Phelps tries to explain why Johnston and the police are still waiting.

So are the fans, the very people the administrators have been encouraging to keep the faith. They have - but they shouldn't now be kept in the dark.

Has Bill Miller left himself enough time to buy Rangers?

2012-05-04T11:00:00Z

THE trucker from Tennessee had better get his ass in gear.

This Rangers takeover has already rumbled on too long and although the end of the road is in sight it's now a race against time.

Can Bill Miller deliver his payload by next Friday's deadline set yesterday by Rangers' administrators Duff and Phelps?

He believes he can and although this drama has a huge cast list of baddies who did nothing but over-complicate and delay what should have been a fairly straightforward administration process, the Ibrox club's fans finally saw light in the darkness.

That the glare comes from the spotlights of Miller's heavy towing group rather than the Blue Knights' lantern shouldn't blind these supporters to the fact that right now Tennessee William's plan is their best hope.

It is claimed his bid, which involves removing the club and assets from the top company into a holding newco while a CVA is worked through separately, is the only one likely to squeeze agreement from HMRC.

It is understood the revenue weren't too impressed by the Blue Knights' offer so rather than the Scots it's the American who is close to becoming Rangers' next owner.

But he has only a week to examine every aspect of Rangers' business, or what's left of it, and then sign and seal the deal, which means he'll really have to get his rig into boogie (Rangers fans should look it up, they'll need to get used to trucker speak).

That he will eventually turn out to be their saviour no one can say but that same doubt would have hovered over the Knights had they been given the go-ahead yesterday.

Even though Brian Kennedy and Gordon McKie, the man Kennedy would have appointed chief executive, as revealed by Record Sport on Tuesday, turned up to speak with administrators yesterday morning it was too late.

The Blue Knights missed their opportunity a couple of weeks ago when Duff and Phelps made it clear all Paul Murray's gang had to do was come up with the £500,000 exclusivity fee.

Ticketus were still with them at that time but were having second thoughts and now Murray, Kennedy and Ticketus can only shuffle nervously on the sidelines while Miller and his people weigh up the pros and cons.

They'll be joined there by the fans, especially those who'd made it clear they didn't want Miller.

But whether they like it or not it looks as though the keys will be handed over to him, although the supporters are entitled to proper answers.

Miller issued a statement yesterday saying it's a great honour and privilege to have the chance to buy the club and although he stressed it is his intention to protect Rangers' history the fans need more.

They need to see this man in the flesh. They need to hear him explain why he, an American with no emotional or family connection to the club, wants to be owner.

Why? He's never been to see Rangers play. He hasn't even set foot inside Ibrox. What's driving him?

But at least he has no intention of paying Craig Whyte a penny let alone the £1 the disgraced current owner handed over to David Murray a year ago this Sunday.

That should sit well with the fans and so should Miller's refusal to do a deal with Ticketus, who loaned Whyte the £18million to clear Rangers' bank debt on the strength of future season-ticket sales.

The support can only pray Miller is genuine, that he looked and saw an opportunity to do something good with a huge sporting club that had gone bad.

After a few years of constant speculation over their future and then the last 12 months of sheer agony and embarrassment they deserve respite and hope.

And if the fans are spared the pathetic posturing and crass bravado which has surrounded the administration process that too would be a welcome change.

Rangers have been used as a platform for wannabes for far too long and if Miller brings all of that to an end he'll deserve a measure of thanks for that alone.

David Murray has been criticised for selling to Whyte who has been savaged for bringing the club down but there are others in the fans' crosswires.

The administrators because it has been a long, drawn-out process which continues to pay off very nicely for them, although they'd argue the job ran over because of difficulties outwith their control.

The game's governing bodies, who can't make up their minds what they want to do with Rangers, have also been accused but the bidders themselves failed to come up with "real" offers.

They blabbed and briefed and constantly blamed administrators for dragging their feet when, in fact, most of the bidders kept asking for more time. Then they'd say "it's not our fault. It's the administrators. They won't hand over the club".

And that was true. Absolutely.

But true because the bids weren't good enough to take to the creditors. But everyone shouted and accused, unable to hear Rangers' last gasps as they lay at the feet of all the showmen.

There is no doubt in my mind this club has suffered from the mock interest of too many who may have seen ways of making a fast buck. Opportunists all, trying to gain out of Rangers' woes.

And as a sideshow there's been the pious pap of cyberspace's sanctimonious nonentities. All in all this entire sorry episode hasn't exactly showcased the best of Scottish pride and spirit.

Crimes have been committed here, I suspect. Crimes against honour and against morality. Crimes, also, against Rangers and their fans.

Whyte, though, was the worst yet now, even after he's been exposed as not being a fit and proper person, there is nothing but glib comments and sneers whenever he surfaces.

Remorse? None at all.

Sympathy for the club's staff, who live with the fear of losing their livelihoods, and fans? More likely to get a kind word from the Devil or the Green Brigade.

This has been one of the most grotesque episodes in Scottish football's history and I was there in 1994 when Celtic almost went down.

But although they were saved at the last minute by Brian Dempsey and Fergus McCann, who outsmarted the old family dynasties ruling Celtic at the time, there wasn't the same degree of venom and vitriol from other fans.

Of course Rangers' lot enjoyed it but this time it just seems as though a great many more have revelled in the Ibrox club's plight.

And it also seems there have been unknowns trying to muscle into the spotlight and just as many pressing themselves against the walls trying to avoid detection.

Anyone seen Donald Muir recently? You must remember him, after all he was the man Lloyds bank put on Rangers' board to make sure the club wouldn't ask for more and to get a buyer so they could get the club off their books.

He has questions to answer, as do Lloyds. For instance, didn't they conduct any checks on Whyte or attempt to find out where he got the £18m from?

And what exactly was Kennedy's game? He has enough money to buy the entire game and said he'd step in if he felt Rangers were being handed over to the wrong person.

Why did it take him so long to team up with Paul Murray and his Blue Knights? And why didn't he make a serious bid and get the job done?

Maybe it was always his intention to be last man standing and pick the club up at a knockdown price, which could yet happen if Miller doesn't conclude the deal at the end of next week.

Last night hopes were high among those who have been speaking with him over the last couple of months but now it's his turn to break silence.

Miller needs to talk to the fans because he needs them to make this whole thing work. Trying to succeed without them would be like attempting to move a greasy side up 18-wheeler from Beer Town to Gay Bay. (I told you, learn the lingo.)

Celtic PA announcer is here tannoy Rangers fans

2012-04-30T06:20:41Z

IT was always going to happen. After all, Rangers have been complaining that the SFA, SPL, WRVS, RNLI, RSPCA, the entire world, really, want to take a kick at them.

So of course yesterday would be Celtic's turn. And it was a nice day for a shredding.

It was Sunday, the sun kept trying to peek out from behind fat clouds and when it did it felt like summer was blossoming. But as far as Celtic's fans are concerned something is withering.

Actually dying.

That something, they hope, is Rangers. That was in-your-face obvious in the way Celtic's fans celebrated their championship and the desperate plight of their ancient rivals.

The Three Degrees joined the Celtic party, too. Well, one of their great sounds did. When Will I See You Again belted out from the Parkhead speaker system.

Cheap shot? Perhaps but it was acceptable. It was just gallows humour, which football fans have always done better than anyone else.

But if we have just witnessed the 399th and final Old Firm match - and no one can be certain we haven't because no one knows for sure if Rangers have a future - Celtic's fans didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

Yesterday they rocked their stadium. They revelled in their ancient enemy's plight, even if many others believe Scottish football will suffer without the Ibrox club.

Celtic's support can rarely have experienced such heights of ecstasy with their clothes on, or during a match without actually getting their hands on a trophy at the end of the 90 minutes.

It is difficult to see how they will get this fix, this high, playing against any of the other Scottish sides.

Then again, no doubt Celtic's directors have been looking at life after Rangers, only not here in Scotland. Despite what they say about having a stand-alone financial policy this club's powerbrokers will be looking again very closely at exit strategies.

In fact, they've never stopped. They want something more.

Rangers just want a break.

A battalion from their support turned up and stood in defiance yesterday but their players were so subdued and lost against a rampant Celtic side that liquidation would probably have been less embarrassing.

Although better in the second half, Rangers weren't just hopeless. They were empty jerseys.

It was as though everything, the insolvency trauma and all its consequences, including savage wage cuts, the posturing of would-be buyers, the sanctions and the uncertainty, had finally crushed Rangers.

They had to run out of will and energy at some point, I suppose, but that they hit the wall at Parkhead made their collapse much more painful for the fans.

More than a few of the players - Kyle Bartley, who could have been sent off in 75 minutes instead of booked after a lunge at Emilio Izageurre, Lee Wallace, Mo Edu and Steven Whittaker - gave the distinct impression they'd rather have been anywhere else other than Celtic Park.

Even strolling down Edmiston Drive arm in arm with Craig Whyte would have been more enjoyable.

Who'd have thought it would come to this only 11 months after Whyte had walked triumphantly through the Ibrox front door?

Apart, of course, from all of those former directors who tried in vain to warn against allowing Whyte to get hands on their club. But not a single one of them will take any comfort now that the world knows they were correct.

They remain Rangers fans and yesterday was absolute misery for everyone with any feeling for this club, although they should steel themselves. The worst may still be to come.

Two bidders, the American Bill Miller and Paul Murray's Blue Knights, remain in the race to rescue the club before administration becomes full liquidation but even if Rangers do survive it will be many years before they recover fully, if at all, in the hands of either Murray or Miller.

Neither man intends throwing money at a squad rebuilding project and the squad clearly isn't good enough.

Perhaps, then, the fans should get used to days like yesterday, unless of course Rangers do slip into liquidation, emerge as a newco and start again in the Third Division.

A deeply forlorn Ally McCoist, another individual whose body language - there were no
remonstrations, no surges towards officials, no anger - suggested yesterday was the day it had all come crashing down on him, might not say so publicly but he recognises the merit in what would be the ultimate sanction.

More and more of the fans are also warming to the idea but only in defiance at everyone they believe has been conspiring to kick them while they're on the deck.

In fact, a substantial number of them are convinced the governing bodies couldn't have caused more damage and havoc had Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster flown over Glasgow in a B52 and dumped its payload on Ibrox.

The truth is Rangers deserve just about every one of the punishments and also the one handed out yesterday.

They just couldn't cope with Celtic's system which very quickly rendered too many of McCoist's players nothing more than spectators.

Neil Lennon's full-backs - Adam Matthews on the right and Izaguirre on the left - pushed right up leaving just Charlie Mulgrew, Glenn Loovens and Victor Wanyama at the back.

But they were making deep inroads, especially on the Celtic left.

Poor Bartley was so out of it that it seemed everyone, including pedestrians out on London Road, were passing him by.

Kris Commons had a free role and that asked questions of young Rangers midfielder Rhys McCabe.

But the 19-year-old had no answers and no experienced players able to lend a hand. They were all too busy just trying to get through the match.

They might even have been looking at the time when Charlie Mulgrew scored his side's opening goal in 16 minutes. Everyone in the stadium could see him steaming in on the left to connect with Commons' corner from the right.

Everyone, that is, except a single Rangers player. Commons scored a delightful goal for Celtic's second after half an hour as both Dorin Goian and Bartley were exposed and Gary Hooper grabbed the third in 53 minutes from a Georgios Samaras pass after McCabe had been robbed of possession by Commons.

But it was all over long before that. Just around the time Celtic Park burst into life as the teams emerged from the tunnel.

The day then belonged entirely to Celtic and their fans.

Sadly, unless Miller or Murray can save them, Rangers will belong to history.

Let's stop kicking Rangers to death

2012-04-25T12:29:00Z

LET'S all be clear about this. It isn't just Rangers FC who stand on the precipice.

Scottish football is right there beside them. We are all staring down at the rocks of ruin below.

Since the dark cloud of administration started gathering over Ibrox last year, arguments have raged about the value of this stricken club to the game.

Many believe the game would survive just fine without a club some love to hate. Of course we'd play on but would we prosper?

All those who insist Rangers aren't needed are deluding themselves because this club is massive. Whether we like it or not, the Old Firm are our driving force.

They attract TV companies, who pay millions to screen matches, and other clubs can attract sponsors through appearances on the box.

SPL money trickles down into the lower leagues every season and when they're on the road Old Firm fans help pay the running costs of other clubs and boost the takings of local businesses.

Take half of them away and more than football will suffer.

It's basic economics but the latest raft of sanctions on Rangers will make it harder than ever to find a new owner.

The timing of the latest punishments couldn't have been worse and now the American, Bill Miller, and Paul Murray and his Blue Knights are asking themselves if it's worth trying to save Rangers.

Time has almost run out. Soon the club administrators will have to admit defeat and let Rangers go into liquidation.

What then for our game and what would it say about the mentality of the people who influence it? Indeed, what would it say about Scotland when so many seem desperate to witness the death of this club?

Yes they have a minority - sizeable but a minority nonetheless - of fans who have brought disgrace on all of us but Rangers mean too much to so many more civilised people. It makes no sense to push them over the cliff.

Yet that's exactly what the SPL and SFA appear hell bent on doing. Frankly, they're now taking turns to kick Rangers while they're down.

And Rangers' fans believe it is vindictive. They could be right and more than a few in high places, who have been whispering in corners of the corridors of power, need to set aside their own prejudices and vested interests.

Of course the chicanery of Craig Whyte and the willingness of Sir David Murray, below, who must accept a massive chunk of the blame for Rangers' sorry state, cannot be excused but it is madness to hold the club responsible.

Put aside the EBT case, which could land Rangers with a massive bill, and forget for a moment that Whyte didn't pay tax on the club's wages.

These issues are being dealt with but right now the biggest impediments to Rangers' survival are the SFA and SPL.

It is astonishing that at as time when crowds are dwindling and other clubs are in financial peril those responsible for the game's well-being are falling over themselves to help kill off one of its biggest attractions.

If Murray and Miller are scared off because of merciless governing bodies who could yet throw down further sanctions, liquidation will be Rangers' fate and one of Scotland's biggest institutions will cease to exist. And after that? Scottish football could also find itself on the road to ruin.

Please, stop the gloating. Stop trying to beat a club senseless before it really is too late.

Transfer ban could be killer blow to Rangers' survival bid

2012-04-24T15:45:00Z

RANGERS supporters were apoplectic last night and threatening all sorts of reprisals after an SFA independent inquiry found their club guilty of serious breaches.

The Ibrox club have been fined £160,000 and banned from signing any players older than 18 for a whole year.

The financial penalty is bad enough for a club that's just about penniless but the transfer sanction could be a killer. Make no mistake, this is a punishment which could finish Rangers off.

They are certain to lose players at the end of the season - in return for massive wage cuts players negotiated new clauses in their contracts which will make their departures easy - but won't be able to replace them.

Paul Murray and Bill Miller would be raving mad to buy Rangers with that restriction attached and, in fact, both are reconsidering the wisdom of getting involved with such a stricken, seemingly God forsaken club.

Rangers have lurched from one crisis to another but last night's brutal news could lead to the Ibrox doors being padlocked.

And all because of Craig Whyte, who was hit with a £200,000 fine and given a lifetime suspension from Scottish football. Sadly, his ban comes a year too late.

Last night, as they fermented and agonised it was difficult to work out who Rangers' fans wanted to hit out against first and most.

The SFA? Certainly but what about Whyte, who thinks he believes he should have a seat for life in the Ibrox directors' box?

If he's smart he'll think again on that but if he was thinking at all last night when he heard the verdicts it wasn't about the club he has all but ruined.

"Tell me how it is going to affect me? I couldn't care less," he said. "It makes no difference to my life whatsoever - and good luck collecting the money. It's a joke.

"It is very harsh on Rangers. I am surprised at how harsh the SFA have been on a club which is going through tough times at the moment.

"Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football.

"The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media."

Whyte's response was cold and crass and ignored completely the fact that he more than anyone is responsible for the hurt and the trauma being visited upon this club.

Of course David Murray reigned during a period of wild indulgence spending money on players the club couldn't afford and the full impact of that folly has yet to be felt.

The verdict on the EBT case hasn't been announced but the damage could be as much as £60m.

Even so, Rangers were not in danger of insolvency when Whyte took over last May.

The bank debt was down at £18m but Whyte's refusal to pay bills, especially those due to HMRC, pushed the club to the edge of the abyss.

Last night's verdict from the SFA's independent hearing, however, threatens to tip Rangers over the edge into liquidation.

Be in no doubt that's how serious these fresh sanctions are and the ban on signing players for 12 months could be the final nail in the coffin.

This is a hellish development for Rangers and certainly the two remaining bidders, Murray and Miller, were re-assessing after recovering from the shock of the latest punishments.

Rangers will appeal the verdict but they had already been convinced their arguments against punishments would make Lord William Nimmo Smith and his panel realise there was only one person to blame.

Yet, Rangers and their manager Ally McCoist have been battered more than Whyte himself.

The SFA's hearing just might have made Rangers worthless and their fans are entitled to be bemused and angry. They are also justified in feeling they and their club have been abused as well as abandoned by many in the Scottish game.

There has been a disturbing level of glee over Rangers' plight. Among fans of other clubs, fair enough. But inside boardrooms?

The timing of the announcement by the SFA took most people by surprise and although the hearing was entirely independent surely Nimmo Smith and his colleagues must have been aware the club's administration process had reached a delicate stage.

This is not to suggest they should have avoided doing what they believed to be correct and fair but they might just have called time on an ancient club.

And if sanctions imposed by them lead to the closure of Rangers because bidders walk away, the gentlemen who sat in judgment must also accept their part in the club's demise, if liquidation flows.

Nimmo Smith and Co won't be in the same hall of shame as Whyte and Murray, who sold the club to a charlatan, but they'll have played their part.

As will the SFA and SPL, who have aways given the impression that they have been more interested in punishment than rehabilitation.

And it's the innocents who will suffer. Rangers' fans have been a disgrace in the past but the tens of thousands of decent people who support this club don't deserve what's happening to them right now.

And it could get worse depending on the outcome of the SPL's meeting on Monday.

The top-flight clubs will consider other heavy sanctions to be imposed should Rangers now slip into liquidation but just how many times are they to be kicked while on their knees?

The authorities are in danger of leaving themselves open to accusations of bloodlust and Rangers' fans will never forgive them. Nor should they.

Rangers bidding farce must end now

2012-04-23T05:54:09Z

AND another week has come and gone. That's now 70 days and still counting for Rangers.

Yet for most of that time would-be owners of varying degrees of credibility have been circling Ibrox, swooping occasionally but never landing.

It's quite bizarre. They all say they want to own Rangers but it's as if they lose their nerve when it appears they might be close to winning the race for control.

Actually, they've been behaving like frightened first-timers at the local palais. They've been skirting the edges of the dance floor, each one shaping up to make his play by cutting in on a couple of girls with big hair dancing round their handbags.

But they always back out at the last moment and, just like those old palais lads, Rangers' bidders keep inviting one another to go first.

The fans must be sick and tired of reading or hearing one of the bidders say: "I'll step aside if it means someone else is able to save the club." Too courteous to be true that, if you ask me.

In fact, it's pathetic and a bit of a cop out because if any of these bidders has the wherewithal to rescue Rangers, do it. Stop messing about. Enough of the posturing. Get the cash out and get on with it.

You'd have thought that if any of these bidders was absolutely determined to grab this club and drag it out of administration that's exactly what would have been done. Long ago.

They'll say, as one or two of them have already, that it's down to Duff and Phelps. Too intransigent and slowing the process because they want to make as much money as possible out of Rangers' meltdown.

Okay, but if any bidder believes that is what has been going on then he should have been even more determined to cut off the administrator's income stream.

Unfortunately a proper bid - one that could have been presented to the club's creditors, especially HMRC, and made their eyes widen - has still to materialise.

That's been the problem, that and the way one or two have used Rangers for their own ends.

Ego trips most likely but while they've been busy courting publicity the chance of Rangers suffering a further insolvency trauma looms larger with every passing day.

Although the administrators would never say so publicly, the absence of a bid with real substance and structure means liquidation is not far away.

In fact, time is up and that's why Duff and Phelps' Paul Clark spent his weekend making it clear that today someone must make a genuine offer and put down the exclusivity fee.

That's supposed to be £500,000 but it is suspected the administrators would settle for half that amount as there is no more time remaining.

Either Paul Murray or Bill Miller has to make his play and become preferred bidder, which incidentally would merely be the start of another period of consideration
and number crunching.

Miller's bid, if he does make one today, will be the more complex of the two. We know that because a statement he released on Friday spoke of putting the 'heart' of the club into an 'incubator company,' the administrators working to 'radiate the toxicity of past sins' out of the 'patient,' and a 'new corporate entity'.

Confused? Don't worry, we all are but basically Miller is looking at liquidation and a newco, something which scares Rangers' fans when actually it shouldn't. Starting again, but in the Third Division - which isn't part of Miller's plan - could offer the club their best and quickest chance of full rehabilitation.

The Tennessee trucker has loads of conditions attached to his proposal but he must realise he'd have to compromise on many of those to keep the game's authorities onside. If he doesn't he won't succeed.

However, what is impressive about the American - although we still have to be wary of his motives - is his refusal to deal with Craig Whyte or Ticketus.

He insists neither should be entertained or attached in any way to Rangers when they exit administration or re-emerge as a newco.

Murray, on the other hand, says Ticketus must be included in any rescue operation. It's his belief that having them on board as part of the solution rather than remaining on the sidelines as one of the major problems will lead to a quicker recovery.

If Miller succeeds and becomes owner, Ticketus would then launch a legal action which could drag out over a few years but that doesn't seem to concern the American millionaire.

He's also not that interested in anything Whyte, who still controls the majority shareholding, might say or have the audacity to do.

Miller is more gung-ho in his approach and probably much more abrasive than Murray, who has chosen the path with fewer potholes.

He no doubt believes that Ticketus, despite Miller's total disregard for the firm who gave Whyte £24m last year, hold the key to forcing the release of the owner's shares.

The plan might be to get Ticketus to deal with Whyte by saying they won't launch any legal action against him if he transfers the shareholding to them.

They'd then pass the shares on to Murray and his Blue Knights group.

That is a tidier way of dealing with the Ticketus problem although this arrangement burdens Murray with a £10m debt to the London-based lenders and that defeats the very purpose of administration.

The whole idea of administration and exiting via CVA is that you come out debt free. Then again, Ticketus would be helping finance the Murray salvage operation in the absence of full bank facilities.

It does seem that Murray, who was one of those who warned all along that Whyte had his cash projections all wrong, will himself be well short of the money required to give Ally McCoist a team with a fighting chance.

Recovery under Murray will be long and slow and there is no guarantee Rangers fans will show enough understanding and patience.

But as yet we don't know if Miller's way will be any better in that respect because although his statement was lengthy it offered no clues as to how much he'd make available for McCoist to buy players.

However, he's probably also taking a long-term view. Rangers' fans had better get their heads around the reality that their team will struggle to compete with Celtic at the top for more than a few years and in that time the Parkhead side would have several opportunities to claim some of the Champions League millions.

So, even if Duff and Phelps do accept one of the two offers today, exiting administration won't mean an end to the fans' pain. There are years of hurt ahead yet.

It's time to lay down the Lawwell on Lennon

2012-04-17T07:00:35Z

CELTIC will be mobilising their crack legal team ahead of Thursday, the day Neil Lennon will face three different SFA charges.

He's innocent, of course.

At least that's probably what he thinks but sadly so too do an awful lot of Celtic fans. Including, it appears, his bosses.

And so, buoyed by success in the past Celtic will be confident of forcing the SFA to buckle again in the face of legal argument.

The authorities were even railroaded into making changes to their judicial process, yet again the system is about to come under attack.

Fair enough. Certain issues should be challenged and the law very often is a bit of a backside but before Celtic send their people striding up the Hampden steps, robes flowing like the cloaks of superheroes, perhaps they should stop and think.

Do they genuinely believe their manager is entirely blameless?

Do me a favour. After all, Lennon isn't an innocent. Neither is he the epitome of decorum and there are times when his behaviour does nothing but tarnish his club.

Like Sunday, for instance. The sight of Lennon rushing on the pitch to challenge Euan Norris for awarding Hearts a penalty and denying Celtic another was, I'm afraid, all too familiar.

Shouting, face contorted in rage and finger jabbing in the direction of the referee followed by a stupid and crass comment on Twitter. Please, let's not pretend Lennon is entitled to react in this manner and that should be what concerns Celtic most. They need to do something about their manager.

At the very least their chief executive, Peter Lawwell, should have summoned Lennon and told him if he wants to continue he'd better clean up his act.

His tantrums are not becoming of a grown up let alone a Celtic manager. They are also now rather tedious.

Yes he ended a period of Rangers' dominance by delivering the SPL title which his side won by a mile. And it wasn't tainted because of the Ibrox club's financial meltdown but even so Lennon's success should not blind Lawwell or any of Celtic's directors to his excesses.

Often Lennon can be extremely engaging but there are too many other occasions when his lack of self-control lets him and Celtic down. Frankly, there are also times when he lacks class.

Images of him confronting referees along with some of his comments detract from what he has actually achieved and if Celtic do not sit this man down and force him to listen to reason, they run the risk of making many more trips to judicial hearings. Only the lawyers will win.

The first thing to be done is ban Lennon from using Twitter while he's Celtic manager and especially just after matches such as Sunday's semi-final. Hearts beat Celtic 2-1, winning with a controversial late penalty while Lennon believed his side should also have had a spot-kick, claiming Hearts' Andy Webster handled.

He didn't but Lennon was having none of it and was prompted to tweet: "Referee told players he thought (Victor) Wanyama handled ... feel so sorry for players and fans ... I think it's personal myself."

Get a grip, Neil. Was it personal when the officials allowed Gary Hooper's equaliser to stand when he was clearly offside? Of course it wasn't.

Twitter and other sites have their uses, or so we are constantly told and I'm sure there is a place, indeed a need for them in the modern world.

For instance, people with few friends and pretty empty lives can take part in random conversations with dozens of other equally shallow individuals.

Often they have lengthy keyboard discussions on weighty matters such as the softest loo rolls, the weather in Banff, or whether a Tesco tin of beans is better value than one from Morrisons.

They can also inform the world they are going to bed or that they've just taken possession of the latest mobile phone. Some people actually tweet that they've just had a cup of tea and a Kit Kat.

These sites must be important because they are immensely popular. But so is gambling and alcohol and both can leave you destitute and friendless.

Twitter is something of a haven for show-offs, the pompous, people who know not a lot but think they have all the answers, and the deranged. Sorry, but what makes all these anonymous people think what's happening in their lives is of any interest to those who don't know them?

Also, many of the tweets are vulgar. Too many halfwits with twisted agendas are attracted to these sites but if these very platforms allow people to let off steam and expound their half-baked theories they probably are of some use to the rest of society. They probably cut down on the number of nutters roaming the streets muttering to themselves.

But they are no place for managers, especially those who can't control their emotions. Lennon will likely face yet another charge because of his tweet on Sunday but first he will have to answer one relating to his comments after last month's League Cup Final when his team lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock. Lennon described referee Willie Collum's decision as "shocking and criminal" when he failed to award Celtic a late penalty and booked Anthony Stokes for diving. Lennon was offered a two-match suspension by SFA compliance officer Vincent Lunny but chose to contest it.

Also, there is the fall-out from an alleged half-time bust up with referee Calum Murray in the Ibrox tunnel during the last Old Firm game. Lennon has been charged with misconduct, acting aggressively and using abusing and insulting language towards the official.

He denies it but it seems to be never ending for this manager so Celtic must take him in hand for their own good and his. It is time they faced up to the fact Lennon needs to be controlled instead of indulging his meltdowns.

Nothing personal, Neil, but too often your behaviour falls a long way short of what many of us expect from a Celtic manager and if you want to know how a manager ought to behave in defeat take a look at Our 'Arry. Harry Redknapp was the victim of a nightmare decision by Martin Atkinson in the FA Cup semi-final when awarding Chelsea a phantom goal but Spurs' boss gave Lennon a lesson in professionalism and grown-up behaviour.

Chelsea were allowed to go two ahead four minutes after the interval. Juan Mata's shot stood even though there were a pile of bodies on the goal-line and there was no way the referee could have had a clear view of anything.

But Redknapp merely shrugged and said: "He must have taken a guess. He can't have been sure."

Redknapp went into Wembley's media auditorium and delivered a mature appraisal of the referee's performance that was free of malice. He said: "The referee's made an honest mistake.

"The ref hasn't done it on purpose. Refs don't do that."

Class, sheer class.

Knightmare - liquidation looms for Rangers if £500k fee isn't found

2012-04-16T06:20:49Z

PAUL Murray is, of course, correct. The appeal of Rangers is diminishing by the day and pretty soon it will be too late to save this club from oblivion.

With every passing day Rangers' value, both to those who want to own them and the game in general, decreases at an alarming rate.

The longer the Ibrox club remain in administration the less appealing they become. Their debt continues to rise and at the same time their prospects of a healthy future fall.

In fact, with every new dawn liquidation looms larger. A newco with all the points and financial penalties that would attract becomes more of a reality.

Murray, who leads the Blue Knights group, has been moved to warn the administrators that further delays are endangering Rangers' survival but perhaps this grave message should also be passed on to the two other bidders, Singaporean Bill Ng and Chicago-based Bill Miller.

Although the administrators haven't named them, it has become clear that before pressing home their bids these two groups want clarification from the SPL about the insolvency sanctions league chiefs hope to have ratified when the clubs meet two weeks today.

Rangers are as close to liquidation as they are to an exit via Creditors Voluntary Arrangement but time isn't on their side. The more the process is stretched out the shorter become the odds on Rangers being shut down.

The supporters can point their fingers at the administrators and blame them for the delays but even though it is the case that the longer Rangers are mired in administration the more money Duff and Phelps rake in, it's hardly their fault if at least two of the bidders insist on changing or qualifying their offers.

It's also true that Rangers would have been exiting administration long before now if just one of the bids had been high enough to convince creditors, particularly the Inland Revenue, to sign up to a pence-in-the-pound deal.

But the reality is this. Not one of the bids is especially tempting and unless HMRC - and they are the ones who hold the key to the CVA door Rangers want to squeeze through - can be persuaded to play ball, liquidation remains a distinct possibility.

But it is believed that so far the best bid, which is around the £14million mark, is offering the tax authorities only marginally better value than liquidation. And you also have to take into consideration the tax man's reluctance to cut deals.

He does do deals, of course, but it depends how powerful and influential you and your friends are in the world.

Basically, if you are a small business trying to survive in this recession and you owe say, £50,000, forget it. You'll be shut down pronto.

If you are a few grand short on your annual tax bill they'll take your home and sell it.

But if you are a multi-national and owe the nation's coffers £700m, your legal and financial people will be able to come to some kind of deal with the tax people over tea and biscuits.

That's just the way it is but even though the King of Scotland, Alex Salmond, had a quiet word with HMRC about Rangers being one of the country's old institutions and all that, someone will still have to offer a little bit more before this club can stagger out of trouble via a CVA.

And, of course, before that can happen Murray, Ng or Miller will have to be granted preferred bidder status and although joint administrator Paul Clark told the Sunday papers that Duff and Phelps believed they were "nearly there last week", the process was slowed again.

Clark also pointed out that all of the bidders attached conditions to their offers.

More significant perhaps, although it was delivered as an aside, was the line that one of the bidders had raised an issue over payment of the exclusivity fee, which is standard practice.

Clark refused point blank to reveal the identity of the bidder but it's my understanding that Murray had the opportunity to put forward a non-refundable deposit which would have led to the Blue Knights becoming preferred bidders and therefore favourites to get the club.

They'd certainly have been in pole position to take over and start the process of rehabilitating Rangers.

But it didn't happen even though Murray's group includes motor tycoon Douglas Park, London-based fund manager John Bennett and property expert Scott Murdoch.

A posse of others are also willing to buy into the Blue Knights' rescue package with Ticketus.

The finance firm, who entered into that now infamous deal which was the start of Craig Whyte's downfall, are still a main player.

Fearful of losing all of their money, Ticketus are apparently willing to accept only £10m of the £27m they claim they are now due from Rangers because of Whyte's folly.

Also, they'd be willing to let Rangers pay back the £10m on an interest-free basis over nine years.

Murray, of course, has stressed all along that Rangers must not go into liquidation and his agreement with Ticketus, although bizarrely yet to be signed and sealed, would ease the club's burden of creditors even though some legal experts continue to insist the London firm's season-ticket deal would be dismissed by a Scottish court.

However, Murray is anxious to avoid any lengthy and costly action and is now genuinely concerned that each day without positive movement is slowly killing Rangers. Yet, his group could have been well on their way to becoming preferred bidders if they'd put up the exclusivity fee, which I believe is around £500,000.

He will have his reasons but one might be that it's a lot of money to put up and then find at the end of the exclusivity period a deal can't be done. Then again, Ticketus might have influenced the decision themselves not to pay the fee.

It's a lot of money to gamble on a club in as much trouble as this one but it is a risk someone will have to take, although I strongly suspect the administrators would accept a smaller payment, maybe even £250,000.

If Murray and his rivals really do want to rescue Rangers through a CVA then perhaps a different view is required. Maybe they have to ask if a quarter-of-a-million, even half-a-mill, is actually a small price to pay.

Surely it would be if it made the difference between CVA and liquidation.

Rangers must start again in Division Three

2012-04-13T07:20:19Z

POOR Rangers. Poor, poverty-stricken Rangers.

They are being kicked mercilessly while they are down. According to their fans the 11 other top clubs are sinking the boot in for no reason other than spite and hatred.

But they aren't the only fans wailing about the injustice of it all because supporters of many clubs are equally incensed. They are also raging against the treatment of Rangers and in ever-increasing falsetto tones claim the punishment isn't tough enough. Again, a nation is divided.

Rangers' legions believe they are victims of a witch-hunt but the rest insist that instead of battering the Ibrox club with points deductions and financial penalties they should be banished to the depths of the SFL if they are liquidated.

However, only last weekend Rangers' support demonstrated their fear of liquidation with a show of red cards warning potential owners that emerging from insolvency as a newco was not an option. But it should be.

In fact, if these fans believe the other SPL clubs are determined to neuter Rangers while they are vulnerable and unable to fight back, liquidation shouldn't be a dread. It should be their preferred option.

Perhaps Rangers fans need to take a different view. The insolvency trauma, while painful and hugely embarrassing, needn't be an end. It can be a new beginning if eyes and minds could be opened up to a different and radical way.

threat

By now it ought to be obvious to everyone that if just one of the three offers to lead Rangers out of insolvency through the CVA doorway clearly represented better value to creditors than liquidation, the administrators would have awarded that person, or group, preferred bidder status.

And this announcement would already have been made despite the unhelpful timing of the SPL's desire to bring in further sanctions against "insolvency events".

The top clubs will meet at the end of this month when more than a few at the table will hope to have new punishments rubber-stamped in time to be used against Rangers should they be born again as a newco.

And rightly so. They should be hammered if liquidation is their fate for failing to pay the taxman and other creditors and no fan in his or her right mind should be arguing against further penalties.

The game must have suitable deterrents to prevent others from escaping debts in a similar way.

Such rules should have been enshrined in the SPL's constitution long ago, perhaps when Motherwell lapsed into administration back in April 2002. But even though the dark cloud of liquidation settled over Fir Park there was no talk of meetings to bring in new rules to deal with breaches of financial fair play.

Dundee slipped into administration 19 months later but still the SPL failed to address further sanctions for liquidation. Three months after that Livingston were dragged into administration and even after Gretna closed the laws didn't change. But now, as Rangers seek a way out of their financial problems, there will be talks to lay down new rules.

About time, too. But what about the time, Rangers fans are asking.

If the SPL had introduced proper insolvency procedures at the correct point they wouldn't now be under attack from all sides with just about every fan in the country believing Rangers are being treated differently.

Rangers fans say they've been singled out unfairly and the rest are adamant that because there is no threat of expulsion from the SPL in the event of liquidation this club is receiving preferential treatment.

Hold the back page! Rangers are being treated differently.

Well of course they are. They are one half of the machine which drives Scottish football and that's why the other SPL clubs, including Celtic, stopped short of insisting Rangers be thrown out of the top division if they can't be rescued from administration.

So, come the end of the month Hampden's boardroom will be packed when the clubs discuss further sanctions. Hypocrisy and cynicism will also be jostling for space because while more than a few in that room would love to see Rangers banished to the lower reaches they also know their own survival depends on the Ibrox club remaining in the top flight.

"Let's put the boot in but be careful not to deliver a killer blow - to ourselves, of course. Remember, we have to protect our annual benefits by delivering at least four Old Firm matches to our television paymasters."

Ladies and gents, remember the place and date: Hampden, April 30. You are invited to view Scottish football at its self-serving worst.

Right now it might seem as though Rangers are defenceless and unable to do anything about their plight but it's their own fear, of liquidation, which renders them powerless. This final strop on the insolvency road holds such dread for so many people but actually it shouldn't. Certainly not in this case.

Why do Rangers fans want to avoid liquidation? They are already in so much trouble it will probably take the best part of five years to recover but the rehabilitation could be quicker and less painful through a newco after closure.

It would be a different matter, of course, if the three bidders were all pledging to chuck millions at a team rebuilding job. That is what's required but Paul Murray and his Blue Knights aren't saying they'd lavish money on a manager. And neither is Bill Ng's group from Singapore nor the American,
Bill Miller.

They can't because they don't have that kind of cash and Rangers fans might have to get used to losing more often to Motherwell, Hearts, Aberdeen and the others while watching Celtic run off with the championship every year. They just wouldn't buy into that.

And it would be much worse if Rangers have to be reformed because of liquidation. Life in the SPL with all the new sanctions would be purgatory. It would, in fact, be virtually pointless.

But even if they avoid liquidation European football would be beyond a makeshift team for more than just next season so Rangers fans, and the three bidders, should see the sense in deciding themselves that closure, with a new beginning in the SFL's Third Division, might actually be the best way forward.

Rangers have only themselves to blame and it would be a fitting gesture if they said they deserve to be shunted all the way down to the very bottom. That rather than a rushed batch of half-baked new rules and points deductions over two or three years should be the punishment for liquidation.

Also, if Rangers fans believe they are being unfairly treated by the SPL then why wouldn't they want to get the hell out and leave the rest to get on with it. And if, as so many people appear to believe, the top flight would be able to carry on regardless without Rangers everyone would be happy.

But what if Rangers went into liquidation, were reformed and then insisted the newco suffer the ultimate penalty and remove themselves to the Third Division?

They'd be expected to win promotion back to the SPL after three years and if their fans continued to follow them the game's needy would benefit. The smallest and poorest clubs would have decent pay days and Rangers wouldn't be shelling out fortunes on players.

If their fans bought into the new Rangers they could stockpile season ticket money and by the time they made it back to the SPL they'd have much more cash for a better standard of player than they'd have for the start of next season if they remain in the top flight under new ownership.

The SPL clubs would be worse off because of restructured telly deals. Celtic wouldn't be immune and would have to play in the Champions League proper every season to get the kind of money they need.

Some Rangers fans believe the club's history, which would end with liquidation, must be protected but there is a shameful part of that history which they should want to forget and any newco should make it clear a new beginning means exactly that.

A new club open to all from the very beginning.