Rangers(in administration) were dumped firmly onto the canvas this afternoon after American businessman, Bill Miller - who was only granted preferred bidder status by the clubs administrators less than one week ago - sensationally walked away from his planned attempt to purchase the club.
Miller, in a statement, cited prior information he'd been given as being "optimistic" rather than based in "reality", and fan opposition, as the main reasons for his withdrawal.
"By late Monday night, it became clear to me that preliminary information, discussions and analysis were, unfortunately, more optimistic than reality."
"Having no intention of negatively affecting the potential outcome of the club's future and after hearing the message from Rangers supporters and fans loud and clear ("Yank go home!"), I notified the administrators today that I have withdrawn my bid for Rangers and will not be moving forward."
Joint administrator of Rangers, David Whitehouse, later confirmed that Miller "has decided not to complete his purchase of Rangers Football Club."
Whitehouse, in what will surely appear - to even the most gullible - to be little more than a fruitless attempt at saving some face, continued;
"Since Mr Miller was announced as preferred bidder on Thursday of last week, it is regrettable that more progress could not be made to further the sale of the Club."
“We have been informed by his advisors that there were a number of issues with which he felt uncomfortable including legacy contracts, the limitation of potential revenues and the expectation of required investment."
“As in any company takeover, the selection of a preferred bidder does not guarantee the completion of the sale. In this case, with time and money for Rangers running out quickly, it was essential to move the process forward with urgency. Mr Miller’s bid was deliverable to creditors and was the only deliverable bid on the table at that time. We had no other unconditional bid."
“Given the fact that Mr Miller did not enter into an exclusivity agreement, we informed all other known potential bidders at the time the door was not closed.
“As a consequence of Mr Miller’s bid being accepted, three other bidders have come forward to express their interest in buying the Club and these offers are being evaluated with the utmost urgency."
“There is every opportunity for these bidders to now complete the purchase of the Club prior to the end of the season.”
You know, the funny thing is that each time one of Rangers joint administrators opens their mouth or issues a statement, I am instantly reminded of Chemical Ali;
"Don't worry - We Are Winning!"
I can't think why ...