It’s just over a hundred years since Captain Robert Falcon Scott endured incredible hardships before finally staggering to the South Pole only to discover that Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten him to the prize. He perished on the return journey and the sycophantic British press portrayed him as a hero rather than the foolhardy, though courageous man he actually was.  It was hard for the press to accept that Johnny Foreigner had beaten their boy to the prize. Today we see the unedifying spectacle of Walter Smith seeking to plant his flag on the bones of the former Rangers Football Club.

Like Captain Scott, Walter arrived too late in the day. Charles Green, like Roald Amundsen, knows his stuff. He moved swiftly and decisively to gain control over the bones of the extinct dinosaur that was Dignity FC. Smith, a handy front man for the money men, can rely on elements of the laptop loyal to pressure Green into selling up and moving on. Crucially, the bulk of Rangers fans will see Walter as the icon they can rally behind. This is crucial as the season books are due to renewed and many won’t buy until Walter’s gang are in charge. The ‘Dream Team’ have allowed Charles Green to hold all the important cards and he is already saying, via the Newco’s non-executive Director, Imran Ahmed, that the Green group want their £5.5m investment back, another £10m they claim to have spent on legal fees and a further undisclosed ‘multiple’ of the total! This looks like a group setting up a rather inflated bargaining position but the implication is clear, if Smith and his group want the club then it’s going to cost them a lot of money. The battle for control of the Newco comes as the mess caused by Rangers FC causes meltdown in the Scottish game.

Fans across the land are not buying season tickets in significant numbers as many are waiting to see the sanctions imposed on ‘The Rangers FC’ before committing to what will be seen as a tarnished league if it contains an unpunished and unrepentant Newco. The SFA, meanwhile, are raging that Rangers and the SPL have dragged Scottish Football to a chaotic ‘critical mass’ where self-interest and petty rivalries are threatening the very future of serious top class football here. The Governing body, who licence all Scottish clubs, are seeking a merger between the SPL and SFL as well as a raft of other changes which ensure more equitable distribution of money and a pyramid league system. Can this be done in six weeks before season 2012-13 kicks off? It’s a big ask but he alternative is more uncertainty and anarchy.

The SPL Chairmen will wait until the old Rangers is officially wound up and an application received from Newco FC to join the league. How they will vote is uncertain. A few weeks ago it looked a shoe in with scare stories about loss of revenue making clubs baulk at the thought of excluding the biggest cheats in Scottish Football History. Fan power and a total lack of remorse from Rangers has made many think again. For once, in the internecine world of Scottish football rivalries, it is a broad alliance of SPL fans who are demanding that the Newco should be treated like any other applicant to the league and start at the bottom. Chairmen are taking fans opinions into consideration and the 8-4 majority required by the Newco looks seriously under threat.  Despite the fact that the inept Duff and Phelps will be voting using Rangers SPL share, the Newco is still not certain of the required majority. It is also to be hoped there is no secret ballot as fans have a right to know how their club voted. Take note Mr Lawell! Scottish football is at yet another crossroads. How they deal with the Newco and reconstruct the whole system remains to be seen but the current chaos caused most of all by the greed and arrogance of one club must never be repeated.

 

 

Tirnaog

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About the author
David Scott
owner of cybertims.net Website of the Cybertims Celtic supporters club. Live near Glasgow with my wife and three very grown up Children.