Rangers: What does the future hold?
Glasgow Rangers, the worlds most successful club, so what are they doing now in the third division of Scottish football?
The timeline for this demise starts officially on Feb 13th 2012, when the club officially went into administration. However, the road to destruction must have started far earlier, perhaps when buying Tore Andre Flo for 12million, almost double the previous Scottish transfer record. Or maybe it was buying players like Stensaas, Prodan, Maniero, Ostenstaad - all players who hardly kicked a ball for the team despite no doubt demanding a big wage from the club.
Maybe it was before then, when greats like Laudrup and Gascoigne were playing in the top tier of Scottish football when they could no doubt play at a higher level.
Who is to blame for the current situation?
The biggest culprit surely is Sir David Murray who in an attempt to make Rangers to dominate Europe, left them with unmanageable debts before selling the club to Craig Whyte for a pound - a man who's deals and movements leave a trail so mysterious that Sherlock Holmes could not solve it.
Should the players take the blame? A lot were brought in on big wages but never delivered on the European stage, despite domestic domination. Or what about the managers? Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat both had summers where £20million+ was spent. Unsustainable spending on this level meant subsequent managers such as McLeish an Le Guen were tightly hamstrung in the players they could afford to bring to the club, which ultimately left Rangers unable to compete amongst Europe's elite. At the end of the day it's the chairman who authorises what money can be spent.
All this goes without mentioning EBT's, a tax avoidance scheme which good accountants suggested to their clients they should avoid. The result of this, and alleged dual contract issues, is still to be seen. Again this all points back to Murray.
So what now? The club has gone from Murray to Whyte to Green in a series of sales which will no doubt be investigated. Who can the fans trust? Many fans still believe Whyte is involved, pulling the strings. What's more new faces such as Giovanni Di Stefano have expressed their interest in the club - a man who was part of Suddam Husseins Legal team. The clubs loyal fans still have no clarity in what will happen. Surely third division was not part of Charles Greens business plan, perhaps Administration again is likely, and what will the penalties of that be.
An uncertain future awaits this once great club which is now in it's lowest moment; surely over time they will return to the top of Scottish football, rejoin Europe's elite, or perhaps even join the EPL where a club of that stature can be allowed to grow and flourish.
The timeline for this demise starts officially on Feb 13th 2012, when the club officially went into administration. However, the road to destruction must have started far earlier, perhaps when buying Tore Andre Flo for 12million, almost double the previous Scottish transfer record. Or maybe it was buying players like Stensaas, Prodan, Maniero, Ostenstaad - all players who hardly kicked a ball for the team despite no doubt demanding a big wage from the club.
Maybe it was before then, when greats like Laudrup and Gascoigne were playing in the top tier of Scottish football when they could no doubt play at a higher level.
Who is to blame for the current situation?
The biggest culprit surely is Sir David Murray who in an attempt to make Rangers to dominate Europe, left them with unmanageable debts before selling the club to Craig Whyte for a pound - a man who's deals and movements leave a trail so mysterious that Sherlock Holmes could not solve it.
Should the players take the blame? A lot were brought in on big wages but never delivered on the European stage, despite domestic domination. Or what about the managers? Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat both had summers where £20million+ was spent. Unsustainable spending on this level meant subsequent managers such as McLeish an Le Guen were tightly hamstrung in the players they could afford to bring to the club, which ultimately left Rangers unable to compete amongst Europe's elite. At the end of the day it's the chairman who authorises what money can be spent.
All this goes without mentioning EBT's, a tax avoidance scheme which good accountants suggested to their clients they should avoid. The result of this, and alleged dual contract issues, is still to be seen. Again this all points back to Murray.
So what now? The club has gone from Murray to Whyte to Green in a series of sales which will no doubt be investigated. Who can the fans trust? Many fans still believe Whyte is involved, pulling the strings. What's more new faces such as Giovanni Di Stefano have expressed their interest in the club - a man who was part of Suddam Husseins Legal team. The clubs loyal fans still have no clarity in what will happen. Surely third division was not part of Charles Greens business plan, perhaps Administration again is likely, and what will the penalties of that be.
An uncertain future awaits this once great club which is now in it's lowest moment; surely over time they will return to the top of Scottish football, rejoin Europe's elite, or perhaps even join the EPL where a club of that stature can be allowed to grow and flourish.
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