The scale of the financial disaster facing Rangers has been exposed in today’s Daily Record.
Fourteen months after hailing Craig Whyte as a billionaire the Record has began to uncover the true extend of Whyte’s intentions after his £1 purchase of the club last May from Sir David Murray.
Speaking to former chairman Alastair Johnston and ex-director Paul Murray the financial problems of the club are laid bare without even discussing the upcoming tax verdict which could land the club with a demand for £49m.
The timing of the story comes on the back of a surprise appearance at Murray Park by former chairman David followed by an outspoken interview with Walter Smith on Radio Scotland.
According to the Record’s five page special titled ‘Whyte- the takeover and fans cash’ season ticket money for the next four years has been sold for a short term loan to ensure that the club can meet it’s outgoings through until the end of the season.
Asked about the deal to mortage season ticket money to cover day to day costs a spokesman for Whyte told the Record: “The suggestion that the Rangers takeover was funded through financing arrangements on season tickets is categorically untrue.
“Rangers FC is no different in that it has a working capital facility with Ticketus, as have many, many other clubs. It is a common arrangement in football. This facility was in place at Ibrox long before the takeover.”
‘Just call him a BILLIONAIRE’ is the headline accompanying an interview with Johnston in which the former chairman describes the way that Whyte was introduced to the old board with Johnston warning that: ‘I think that administration is almost inevitable because the debts of the club are unsustainable.’
Turning to the mortgaging of season ticket money former director Murray claims: ‘The documents prove to me that Rangers fans have paid and will continue to pay for the sale of their club.
In an opinion piece Record Sports Editor James Traynor explains that ‘Whyte has a strange style of business,’ which is particularly damning since the same author has regularly provided Whyte with a platform to tell supporters about his grand plans for the club.
As recently as on January 10 Traynor claimed that Ally McCoist was ready to splash the cash on Real Valladolid’s £2million-rated Javi Guerra.
On October 22 in a Record interview Whyte claimed: “We are in better shape now than at any time in the last two or three years. The tax case and the club’s cost base have to be sorted out but we are still in better shape.
“We don’t have the bank to worry about and whatever happens with the tax case Rangers will be fine.”
Following a critical documentary by the BBC in October Whyte withdrew all co-operation between Rangers and the state broadcaster, it remains to be seen if the Record suffers a similar fat.
Rangers’ accounts for the year to 30 June 2010, covering Whyte’s takeover, remain unaudited with no date set for an AGM.
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Bye bye to this rotten to the core club I for one won’t miss them or there knuckle dragging support on the day they go bust we should celebrate it every year like Christmas or a birthday. How silly must Keith ‘wealth off the radar’ Jackson feel now oh how we laugh . Hail hail
I have been on to the Record’s website. Is there any reason this does not appear? It would be interesting to red the reaction of their supporters, both in the media and in Scotland generally. Big story on deadline day.
You got to have a certain sympathy for the Rearangers support, by hiding the truth from them the Scottish media have helped the Whyte knight in disposing of the clubs assets as they did when minty was flogging all there prize assets.
The end is nigh.
It is mentioned on the BBC that they have borrowed 24.4 million against future ticket sales. This is surely more than 4 years worth. However, I have no idea how many tickets they sell perseason. I thought they sold around 35-40,000 tickets at between 500-600 quid therefore 4 years worth is surely the best case scenario (well what would you expect from the record-even at the death they are still putting on a positive spin).
Cant wait for them to go under.
Their unique brand of hatred belongs to the dark ages, sooner they go the better for all!
They deserve everything they get, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut in the 1980’s and early 90’s. 9 titles bought and paid for with Murray’s millions, followed by a decade of tax-fiddling to fund wages and entice players for other title victories
I love Hibs ‘nipping in’ for Claros as well. Not that they are nipping in. I know they’ve followed him for a while XD
Tic tocRangers
Aye Joe, looks like the penny has finally dropped with trainor,keevins and co.Can’t keep sticking the oul head in the sand like the bigotdome have been doing.
A friend of mine has a saying…. “they left him like the jews left Our Lord” The wolves are at the door for the “White Kight”. Like all rats do … if I go down ,I’ll bring you all down with me, watch out, SFA, Moonbeams,Mitty, laptop loyal and Co.
It’s very clear that the bigotdome are busted, forget about the tax demands,reality has struck.
IT’S PAYBACK TIME
Hail Hail
The most bigoted support and club in the world.Who gives a f*** when they become as extinct as the dodo.We should all have street parties to celebrate in conjunction with that wummin’s jubilee celebrations
does this mean that the cassino and the great architect’s master plan won’t be happening now ? , i spit on their grave , hail hail
A wee phrase that was taught to me by my old Irish Granda, D;nt fib or tell false stories, if you stand on a soft Turd it spreads, there;s more to this story
Make no mistake, the bigoted governing bodies in small minded Scotland will take care of rangers in a way no other club would be saved. The SFA, SPL and even the courts are busting guts to save them. Watch this space.
Wait a minute, one minute use all tell us the record is a ‘rag’ and not to believe anything in the ‘rags’ then suddenly when there is a story that suits celtic fans you report on it like its 100% true. A lot of celtic fans should grow up and concentrate on celtic. It doesnt matter what rangers do.
The season ticket money story has been reported many times from different sources online, this is just the 1st time the mainstream media has reported on it. If you took your head out of the sand for just a minut you too would know what Celtic fans have known for a long time.
craig in ally and craig we trust, are you blinkered
Craig: it’s not what’s in the story that matters, but the fact they’re even reporting this story–finally. Stories with a negative connotation for rangers were/are usually glossed over or given little mention. If these meatheads are at long last acknowledging this story then it’s squeaky bum time for the orcs. Mon the hoops!
The laptop loyal being exposed for all their pathetic hiding since Whyte took over is just as big a story as whats going on at Rangers.
GET ALL THAT YOU DESERVE
Nearly bought a Record this morning then I thought you’ll get it online later.
I just listened to Alistair Johnston being interviewed. Basically blaming it all on Whyte and the Bank for forcing the club to sell to Whyte.He was saying the 16-18 million debt to the bank was managable and there was no worries of Rangers being a going concern. Throughout the interview i never heard the tax case mentioned once. So the fact Rangers were about to be hit with a 50 million tax bill had no influence in the sale of the club and the bank were not concerned by that? Yeah right, so the party line is blame anyone except the people who cheated the tax man and put Rangers in this position to begin with.