End Game?

Go G YellowScreen · Apr 2, 2012

In recent weeks Rangers haven't exactly experienced anything which could be called a sense of security but, justifiably or not, there has been a tentative optimism around the place. Players slashed their wages to protect jobs, bidders emerged who wanted to take over from Craig Whyte, a fighting fund raised precious dough, some minor bills were paid off, they had the enjoyment of beating Celtic and basking in the nostalgia of the lucrative legends game. After Black February, and the shame of slipping into administration, March allowed the club to feel that it was rallying to save itself.

But this is April. And now there is a sense that Rangers are in the eye of the storm, a period of relative calm before the next wave of potentially catastrophic developments. It is now only a matter of weeks, perhaps days, before a verdict from the first-tier tax tribunal, which could leave them with a bill for Â£24m in unpaid taxes, Â£12m or so in compound interest and perhaps the same again in penalties â Â£49m is the hypothetical sum which has been widely reported for more than a year, and if anything close to that is confirmed it will still seem as shocking as being struck by lightning.

That "big tax case" verdict is the game changer, the potentially apocalyptic outcome which underpins the entire Rangers story and has administrators Duff & Phelps talking about liquidation more readily now than they did when they arrived on the scene a month ago. It would not be true to say that they ever discounted liquidation, but in their initial briefings back in February there was a breezy confidence about not having to go down that route. That no longer applies. Perhaps they suppressed the likelihood of liquidation in the hope of making the club seem more attractive to bidders. Now the very real prospect of liquidation "needs to be put out there", said Paul Clark.

Whyte used to be utterly dismissive of Rangers going into administration. And then it crept into his interviews, and then it was mentioned routinely, and eventually he plunged them into it. What's giving Rangers supporters panic attacks at the moment is that the same could be happening with liquidation. It's as though Duff & Phelps are trying to soften up their audience for the bad news which could be on its way. Some will try to interpret it optimistically, and claim that it will always be Rangers to them, even if the company itself is brand new, but that does nothing to change the fact liquidation would be a disgraceful end to the club in its current form. They are hugely vulnerable to that and not a single individual has held up his hands to take the slightest bit of blame for it.

Whyte has been emphatic about not being prepared to deal with Paul Murray, which gives the Blue Knights a huge headache. Club 9 Sports, the American bidders, are wide open to the idea of liquidating Rangers. The bid fronted in Singapore? How on earth can supporters trust a consortium which has told them absolutely nothing about who's involved, their motivations, or how much money they intend to invest?

It's pretty clear that the administrators haven't been bowled over by any of the bids. If they haven't been especially impressed by the amount of money on offer to pay off the debts â remember, Duff & Phelps' primary responsibility is to the creditors â what does that say about how much cash any of the bidders will devote to future funding?

For Rangers, the picture is bleaker today than it was on the day they fell into administration.
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http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport...for-rangers-and-its-not-looking-good.17194623

How did it come to this?

Rustie bugmuncher · Apr 2, 2012

i wonder if rangers fans on ff still think this is an april fool.

Go G YellowScreen · Apr 2, 2012

the shadowknows said: ↑

i wonder if rangers fans on ff still think this is an april fool.
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I heard about that but thought it was a wind up. Surely even they couldn't be that thick?!?

Rustie bugmuncher · Apr 2, 2012

SaTan's Evil Twin said: ↑

I heard about that but thought it was a wind up. Surely even they couldn't be that thick?!?
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who knows but they have refused to see what has been going on all along so why should this be different. it was not that long ago that any tax liability would fall to MIH and it was only kerrydale st accountants making trouble.

End Game?

Go G YellowScreen Well-Known Member

Rustie bugmuncher Well-Known Member

Go G YellowScreen Well-Known Member

Rustie bugmuncher Well-Known Member

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End Game?

Go G YellowScreen Well-Known Member

Rustie bugmuncher Well-Known Member

Go G YellowScreen Well-Known Member

Rustie bugmuncher Well-Known Member

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