ian1964 10,448 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 A countdown clock is running on Rangers which has far, far graver consequences than any transfer window slamming shut. Could it be Rangers themselves which close? The outlook is becoming so bleak for them even that cannot be ruled out with total certainty. Liquidation still seems an unlikely outcome but the prospect of the club going into administration has moved from unthinkable to looking pretty much inevitable. It may not be long now before a statement is released confirming that Rangers, drowning in debt, have been placed in the hands of an administrator. It's not about whether they win or lose the tax case against Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. They could sink before the outcome of that is known in March or April, or else they could collapse later even if the verdict goes their way. What's becoming clear is that Rangers are living a hand-to-mouth existence where debt levels are unsustainable, income does not match expenditure, and something exceptional such as the sale of Nikica Jelavic is necessary just to pay the bills and keep the wolves from the door for the next few weeks. BUT THEN WHAT? HMRC are all over Rangers. They aren't just interested in the big tax case, or the smaller one for an outstanding £2.8m fee; those are legacies of Sir David Murray's reign. HMRC are also investigating an entirely new set of issues and concerns which pertain totally to the takeover by Craig Whyte and his subsequent actions as owner. They have interviewed former directors about the acquisition and about potentially outstanding VAT sums, including £5m which will be due from what is being referred to as "mortgaging the season-tickets". Whyte has admitted using season-ticket projections for the next four years to secure loans worth £24.4m from an agency, Ticketus. He has denied using that money to buy Rangers in the first place and claimed that was a separate £18m from one of his companies. But if that is the case, where is the evidence of him investing serious money? Rangers' biggest spend on a player under him has been £1.5m on Lee Wallace, some of which has still to be paid. Madjid Bougherra was sold for £1.7m and Jelavic for around £6m with, it is believed, £3.5m paid up front. SO HOW IS THIS LIKELY TO UNFOLD? A club goes into administration either voluntarily or when creditors file a petition. Clubs first pay football-related debts (wages and fees to other clubs), then HMRC gets some of the money it is owed. Whyte may soon have to accept that he can no longer maintain Rangers as a going concern and pay the bills. WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF GOING INTO ADMINISTRATION? Going into administration amounts to a rescue package which nearly always allows a club or company to survive. A licensed insolvency practitioner, the administrator's intention is to maintain the club as a going concern. It would secure partial repayment for Rangers' creditors and should avoid the club going into complete liquidation and ceasing to exist. After the administration the club re-emerges with new directors and a refreshed balance sheet. But it is no easy fix: there would be job losses among the off-field staff and redundancies, too, for players. WHAT HAPPENS IN FOOTBALL TERMS? Rangers would be docked 10 points in this season's Clydesdale Bank Premier League â?? no more, no fewer. That is an automatic and mandatory penalty imposed the moment the SPL receives court notice that a club is in administration. No vote or decision needs to be taken. The points come off immediately. Rangers would fall 11 points behind Celtic and be seven ahead of third-placed Motherwell as the table currently stands. If Rangers believe the league title is a lost cause without Jelavic (or any quality goalscorer, for that matter) it would be in their interests to go into administration sooner rather than later. If administration happens during the close season they would start next season on minus 10 points. Ten points will be docked in every season in which they remain in administration. A club can be docked more than 10 points in a season only if it goes into administration more than once in the same campaign. Rangers would also be prevented from signing any players, either permanently or on loan. They could sell players, though. Much as January was, then. COULD THEY BE RELEGATED TO THE THIRD DIVISION, AS LIVINGSTON WERE, OR DOCKED 25 POINTS, AS DUNDEE WERE? No. They'd have to be relegated from the SPL (virtually impossible even with a 10-point deduction) and come under the auspices of the Scottish Football League, which can impose far more severe sanctions for being in administration. The SPL punishment is 10 points. COULD THEY PLAY IN EUROPE? Every club needs an SFA licence to compete in the Uefa tournaments. That is granted only if the club proves it doesn't owe money to other clubs, its employees or Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The SFA needs to see audited accounts before a licence can be granted to play in Europe. So far, Rangers have not submitted such accounts to the SFA. They have until March 31 to do so, although there is some leeway for up to two weeks after that. But unless those audited accounts land at the SFA Rangers will not play in Europe next season, whether they are in administration or not. WHAT IS THE HOLD-UP WITH THE AUDITED ACCOUNTS? This is another question that Whyte must answer. Last month he said that an audit of the finances would be complete "on or around January 31" but yesterday he told the Rangers Supporters' Trust that it had still to be done and, what's more, he could not call an annual general meeting until it had been finalised. Whyte says the delays relate to the HMRC tax hearing. That's a very vague explanation. IS COMPLETE LIQUIDATION AND THE END OF RANGERS LIKELY? Rangers going out of business altogether can no longer be entirely ruled out, although it is still thought to be an unlikely conclusion to the current situation. It would depend, if the club did go into administration, on whether agreement could be reached with their creditors over repayment term. If, for example, no agreement could be reached with Ticketus' parent company (if they were the preferred creditor, rather than Whyte) full liquidation would be possible. MIGHT ALLY MCCOIST RESIGN OVER THIS? A matter of daily speculation. His chances of winning the league look all but over without Jelavic, although he is in an almost criticism-proof position given supporters realise the conditions he must work under. Eventually he could feel he is on a hiding to nothing and decide to escape the stress of dealing with it. But if McCoist is deeply frustrated about Whyte he might feel he'd be letting him off the hook by walking out. Nothing is likely to happen until the summer, at the earliest. WHAT IS THE SFA'S ROLE? The SFA can suspend or terminate a club's membership if it goes into administration, which would prevent it from playing in any league, but it has never previously done so. WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW? Whyte must explain why Rangers seem to be in meltdown. The biggest question is: if he didn't use the season-ticket money to buy the club, what happened to the £20m-plus of supporters' cash? It hasn't gone on signings . . . Michael Grant http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/is-it-unthinkable-that-rangers-could-cease-to-exist-as-a-football-club.16648763 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,184 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Reasonably fair I guess but I don't like the suggestion administration is inevitable. Without the author knowing the result of the tax case, admin is no more or less than 50/50. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Reasonably fair I guess but I don't like the suggestion administration is inevitable. Without the author knowing the result of the tax case, admin is no more or less than 50/50. His slant is that it is probable even without the tax case Frankie he is not even taking that into account. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gers4Life 0 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Let's just hope and pray that we come out of this mess a stronger and better club, fingers crossed... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forlanssister 3,059 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 His slant is that it is probable even without the tax case Frankie he is not even taking that into account. Alas that's a fear I share..... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Alas that's a fear I share..... If that is the case he will be shiting himself if we win the tax case. that is the time all will be revealed if not before. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 If that is the case he will be shiting himself if we win the tax case. that is the time all will be revealed if not before. Pete, if we win the tax case Whyte will find a way out because he certainly isn't going to waver our £18m debt to his "company" as he's promised and produce the remaining £20m investment over another 4 years that he promised. It's not going to happen. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,287 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Whyte must, Whyte has to, Whyte needs to ... yes. And preferably to the press first and foremost. Does or did Dermond Desmond ever explain anything to the press? Did Fergus McCann? Does any other owner of a football club? Or ever has? The press jumps on that huge HMRC bandwaggon, the support follows suit and cries even louder when Whyte does what all chairmen do: tell them what he has to and keeping the information he thinks no-one has a right to know - himself and some directors aside. On a sidenote, Rangers will not cease to exist, administration or not. Obviously, should something very nasty come to pass, would the support as a whole dig as deep into their own pockets as they cry foul on everything Whyte these days? I harbour my reservations about that ... but will get myself a ticket for the Euro 19m jackpot in the German lottery this weekend! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancornetto 1 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I agree with dB in some ways. Why should Whyte have to explain every business decision that he makes when doing that could potentially scupper any future plans? The Fergus McCann comparison isn't really apples for apples but the similarities are obvious, I seem to remember wee Fergus making every penny a prisoner and frustrating the fans with zero spend on the team. Look how that turned out. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluedell 5,356 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Whyte must, Whyte has to, Whyte needs to ... yes. And preferably to the press first and foremost. Does or did Dermond Desmond ever explain anything to the press? Did Fergus McCann? Does any other owner of a football club? Or ever has? Has any other owner mortgaged 3-4 years season ticket money? Has any other owner done this and then produced accounts that don't appear to contain said money? What if whyte has fraudulently taken £24m from us (although I'm not saying he has)? When should the questions be asked? Now or when it is too late? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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