It's official. The Rangers Football Club plc will be liquidated and a new company, known right now as Sevco, will attempt to acquire its assets. With these assets Sevco (or any other consortium that may come in for a late bid for the assets) will apply to the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football Association to allow the club known as Rangers Football Club to continue competing in the league they are currently in. The consequences of this 'NewRangers' have been speculated on for so long that it feels like it has already happened however it's only now that they can be fully explored. For clarity NewRangers have left behind at least £50m and potentially more than £100m in debt owed to creditors. This money was either a legal responsibility or was given to Rangers as credit in good faith. The creditors will vote to reject settlement of this debt in a pence in the pound agreement, unsatisfied with the best terms laid out by the company's administrators Duff and Phelps. For almost twenty years OldRangers as a corporate and sporting entity have behaved recklessly in a pursuit for footballing glory both domestically and on the continent. This recklessness has manifested itself in the amount of bank debt amassed, the non-payment of social taxes and the apparent careless abandon the club had for the rules of both the SPL and SFA. It's not an exaggeration to say that the behaviour of OldRangers is truly a scandal on many fronts. Despite everything else it will never be known how Scottish football may have looked today without the detrimental effect of a dominant giant warping reality for its own ends.
So what happens now to NewRangers and Scottish football? Well, not without warning, this story of slow financial car crash becomes relevant to the future of every football club, every football league and every football fan in Scotland. It's perhaps important to look at this future in two ways; what is morally correct and what is the process in determining what actually happens?
Will NewRangers be allowed to play football in Scotland? A key hurdle to whether or not NewRangers can continue at all as a football club is the transfer of OldRangers' SFA membership. This is voted on by the main SFA board which currently consists of six members: Stewart Regan, Chief Executive; Campbell Ogilvie, President; Alan McCrae, First Vice-President; Rod Petrie, Second Vice-President; Tom Johnston, Junior FA & Barrie Jackson, an independent non-executive director.
The main SFA board should have seven members but Ralph Topping, representing the SPL, recently stepped down. You would think the board would need have a full quota of seven before a vote of this importance is undertaken. Unless you sit on this board it's unlikely you have an idea of how the vote will go. The SFA are different from the SPL in that they are the governors of the game and not a league of self interest and must act as such. The SFA decision on a transfer will happen after an SPL vote as the SFA can only approve transfer of membership once NewRangers have a competition to play in, whether it's in the SPL or in SFL3. This could be seen as the rubber stamping of a decision already taken by the leagues under the jurisdiction of the SFA.
If the SFA membership is transferred will NewRangers play in the SPL? If it was my choice, no. The sins of OldRangers are too great and vast across different spectrums, not least sporting ones. The failure to appease creditors with a Creditor Voluntary Agreement means that they are liquidated and the company that has operated football in the Scottish game for 140 years ceases to exist. Letting them back into compete with a fresh start financially, even with points deductions and league revenue reductions, is a massive smack in the face to every other football club in Scotland who work within their financial limits without achieving SPL status or winning trophies.
It's not my choice and the decision rests with the chairmen and decision makers of the SPL clubs. A meeting will be called and if the custodians of LimboRangers are allowed to vote then seven 'Yes' votes out of twelve will be required for the transfer of SPL share from OldRangers to NewRangers to happen.
There is no best guess as to how this vote will pan out at the meeting. It's possible even now that positions aren't fully formed on a decision within these clubs and a number of factors have to be considered. For me, as a fan who pays money into football, the only factor is the sporting integrity of the league i.e. how can this entity be allowed in above others such as Dunfermline (who were relegated) or Dundee (who finished 2nd in SFL1)? For the chairmen it's natural that the financial impact will come into consideration. It would be shortsighted to only take into account the financial impact of a lack of Rangers in the league such as reduced TV income and the lack of travelling Rangers fans. Fan feeling is strong enough that the financial impact of a NewRangers needs to be taken into account too. Many fans, myself included, would vote with their feet and their wallets. Importantly fans of most clubs have made this very clear with sustained pressure. The precedent for a NewClub to be allowed back into the league they play in without some agreement with creditors is virtually non-existent despite the misleading words of SPL chief Neil Doncaster. It would be embarrassing and tragic to be trend setters.
If the SPL share transfer is rejected where will Rangers play? There is no automatic solution to this. It's not as simple to say Rangers will be relegated because they can't be. This is because the SPL and SFL are different organisations. The only reason promotion and relegation happens on merit between the two is because of written agreements. NewRangers would be in limbo. A space would open up in SFL3 as a team from SFL1 would likely take OldRangers' place in the SPL. In theory Rangers would then have to apply to compete there along with non-league sides such as Spartans. It seems likely that this application would be granted considering the real benefits the SFL would receive financially. Is there again a sporting integrity argument at this level? Why should a NewRangers take the place of a well run non-league side who could add something to the SFL structure long term in a way the likes of Ross County have done.
What happens to their history and trophies and are they liable for the sins of OldRangers? History itself is undoubtedly subjective. If you wish to believe this is a completely NewRangers and they start from zero trophies and zero wins then it's your choice, likewise if you believe this to simply be a continuation of the OldRangers. In the eyes of the SPL and SFA if NewRangers continue it's simply as a transfer of membership (or share in the case of the SPL) and not a new membership (or share). It's likely they will keep their historical trophy count with the football authorities. It has been reported by organisations such as STV that this has been the impression given by both the SPL and SFA to them directly.
Another result of this 'transfer' is that NewRangers would be liable for the sporting misdeeds of OldRangers. This would include the current SPL investigation into contract registration and the SFA punishment for bringing the game into disrepute in 2011. Heavy sporting sanctions can still be brought upon the club even if they are lucky enough to survive at the highest level. Financially and in the eye of the law they are not liable for any pending action against OldRangers such as the so called 'Big Tax Case', a stark reminder that what is morally correct is not always legally so. The fact that they may shed this financial and legal burden but retain the right to claim trophies gained is proof that the scandals of this saga did not end with OldRangers.
What does it mean for Celtic? Well there is no 'Old Firm' anymore. Any suggestion of this is now sliced through the gut with a different reality. Celtic now stand alone in Scottish football. The bloc of clubs with similar ambitions to each other can now step away from the Glasgow shadow they feel has stood over them for too long. Celtic are still a giant and still hold power in terms of sheer revenue and fan power. With this comes responsibility and while always looking for our own interests we have to make sure that Scottish football can grow with innovative and progressive ideas. This is the only way it can be if we are to exist here. Instead of working with Rangers to introduce measures such as two to ten voting we have to work with clubs from all over the country to improve as a club and as a league. Scottish football has been divided for too long and no-one is innocent in the matter. On the pitch, nothing changes. Regardless of where Rangers play next season we will always work to our own internal goals: winning the league and using it as a platform for decent progression in Europe.
Scottish football stands on a cliff, the cliff Rangers just jumped off of. It can choose to follow Rangers and catapult itself off or group together and ensure it steps away. Collectively voting to reject Rangers from the SPL does a job Rangers should be doing for themselves. In freefall they cannot see that the only way to salvage some sort of integrity out of this and move forward with a fresh start is to not apply to join the SPL at all and take their chances at the bottom of the SFL. This cleansing process is the only way Scottish football fans will accept Rangers in the short and long term future. If forced upon them and cried about there's no telling how long it will take to be forgotten. It's my opinion that they are lucky to have the option to cleanse themselves at all after the creditors, the people owed money by OldRangers, will deny them this opportunity on a corporate level.
We are at the climax of a saga which has had a grip on Scottish football for as long as I can remember. Whether in the background unknown fourteen years or in the headlines today it has had a lock on the neck of the game. To ensure that it can breathe again decisive action needs to be taken by the people with the power to do so. We all need a fresh start from the misdeeds of OldRangers, including NewRangers and its fans. With the growth again of fan voices from all clubs they should be wary. The true watchmen of football in Scotland don't exist in the boardrooms and they don't exist in the newsrooms. No amount of patronising from league chief executives can change that it's collectively known by fans of Aberdeen to Celtic to Dundee United to Kilmarnock when the wrong choices are being made for the game itself. It is a game after all and must remain so with approriate rules and approriate punishment. The alternative is a financial union of clubs pretending to compete with each other in front of heavily decreasing numbers of fans. Are NewRangers in the SPL worth that?
