chilledbear 16 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/alan_pattullo_despite_rumours_there_s_no_going_back_for_david_murray_1_2077885 Published on Thursday 26 January 2012 01:44 IT MIGHT make for a good headline, but the notion that Sir David Murray could somehow end up back at Rangers is a fanciful one. His return to Murray Park, reported to have occurred on Tuesday, has caused a stir. Some Rangers supporters might have greeted the news with a groan, while others, having grown more and more dismayed with the slow-burning nature of Craig Whyteâ??s tenure, could easily be persuaded to welcome such an outcome. Murray, though, wouldnâ??t be one of them. He is surely relieved that the annual headache of finding a way to win a two-horse race is now someone elseâ??s department. The current palaver of identifying targets from abroad and then actually managing to get them into a Rangers shirt is a reminder of the joys of owning a football club. Murray may miss the profile but much of the glamour has gone. Rangers move in shallower waters these days. Murray was described as looking on from the balcony of Ally McCoistâ??s office as a bounce-match took place below. It had been hoped that this game would allow McCoist the chance to run the rule over a number of trialists. However, by the time it had kicked off the most significant of these transfer targets had high-tailed it to Wearside, in a bid to win a move to Martin Oâ??Neillâ??s Sunderland. The inference seemed clear. Rangers are in a chaotic state â?? the worst since pre-Graeme Souness days, according to former midfielder Jim Bett â?? and Murray could be the man to return, possibly while riding on a horse called hubris. Others interpreted Murrayâ??s visit to mean that McCoist was consorting with the former chairman behind owner Craig Whyteâ??s back. It is a conclusion which is easier to arrive at if you also happen to believe that the Rangers manager is becoming ever more frustrated by an off-field situation at Ibrox, one which threatens to undermine his status as a club legend. All the ingredients of a great football drama were there. It included the added spice of a walk-on part from Oâ??Neill, who stands accused of luring Zlatan Muslimovic from Rangers to Sunderland in a move which causes the Ibrox club fresh embarrassment. Football loves a narrative which involves the return of someone to a former life, and the thought that Murray might be looking out the candy-stripe tie again would turn the recent story of Rangers into an even bigger pantomime. Murray, newly remarried, is surely aware of that. He is known to be enjoying an existence which is not defined by his association with Rangers FC. He often complained that while the club amounts to only a small proportion of his business empire, it took up as much as 80 per cent of his time. It was a way of life for him for 23 years so it seems unrealistic to think that, just eight months on from selling the club, he should be completely divorced from it. However, he might now think twice about popping into Murray Park â?? he is reported to have attended a scheduled appointment with the club doctor â?? although it seems strange that he shouldnâ??t be permitted to visit a place which still bears his own name. There is a persistent rumour that Murray is set to reclaim possession of the club should Whyte fail to meet certain obligations. This appears to be a complete non-starter. If Whyte hasnâ??t agreed to take on the debts, and the tax case, then why else would Murray have agreed to sell the club for the token price of just a single pound? And why would he want Rangers back again if the club was proved to be in such a state that initiating its recovery proved beyond the current owner? It is now Whyteâ??s problem, although the result of the issue with HMRC â?? which relates to payments made on loans to players as long as a decade ago â?? is not certain to go against Rangers. The tribunal, held last week in Edinburgh, is believed to have gone as well as could be expected for the Ibrox club. But it is because of this case that Murray remains attached to Rangers, whether he likes it or not. While Murray isnâ??t straining to hear news of each new Rangers signing target it would be wrong to think he is not waiting rather anxiously to learn the outcome of this tax case, with the conclusion expected to be delivered within five weeksâ?? time. He knows if the finding goes against Rangers then the outlook does not look good for the club. Administration is viewed as being highly likely. It isnâ??t what he wanted for the club, clearly. He is also more qualified than anyone to know what it would mean for him in the rapacious world of business. Whyte would have no qualms about declaring they were left with no option by the excesses and mistakes of the previous regime. Murray sold to someone billed as the only serious player in town. It was the only way out at the time but it could have come at a cost. Now he must wait for the outcome of a tax tribunal to learn how history will judge him. It is not a prospect anyone would relish 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 I thought this was interesting. 'It is now Whyteâ??s problem, although the result of the issue with HMRC â?? which relates to payments made on loans to players as long as a decade ago â?? is not certain to go against Rangers. The tribunal, held last week in Edinburgh, is believed to have gone as well as could be expected for the Ibrox club'. I don't know the author, so don't know how to take this about HMRC. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,870 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I thought this was interesting. 'It is now Whyte’s problem, although the result of the issue with HMRC – which relates to payments made on loans to players as long as a decade ago – is not certain to go against Rangers. The tribunal, held last week in Edinburgh, is believed to have gone as well as could be expected for the Ibrox club'. I don't know the author, so don't know how to take this about HMRC. Alan Pattullo 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,908 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Pattullo is a big pro-SDM man so the positive nature of the article is not a surprise. Just more speculation - this time to paint the villain of the piece as the loving (estranged) father. Discount. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Alan Pattullo Meant don't know much about him. Perhaps despite what Frankie says, Murray was giving good news yesterday. We all know how he likes to disappear when there is bad. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,908 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Meant don't know much about him. Perhaps despite what Frankie says, Murray was giving good news yesterday. We all know how he likes to disappear when there is bad. That's a fair point of course and SDM would have been well aware that his appearance would get tongues wagging. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
capstans 0 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I thought the artible was very poor, it is mostly rehash and supposition, not a single quote from the man in the headline. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 A nothing Rangers story on the day Septic are up before UEFA, shock horror. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aweebluesoandso 290 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Sdm is far too Mhedia savvy to be photographed at Murray Park, then shortly after being linked to any catastrophe that would befall Rangers should we lose the tax case. The games afoot and it's all too elementary dear Bears, Moriarty is pulling the strings. We must look for consistency. Where there is a want of it we must suspect deception. Sherlock Holmes. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dutchy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Must have been a bad news day as none of that was news, merely speculation based on previous speculation. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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