Another stunning swoop to buy Rangers and provide Walter Smith with a war-chest for transfer activity has emerged this morning.
Fresh from the non-existent Andrew Ellis, or was it Graham Duffy, or a reclusive Scots-born Florida based billionaire story the latest saviour goes by the name of Craig Whyte.
Behind the blazing headlines of the self made business success story from Motherwell a google search of his actual business interests throws up a predictable can of worms.
Whyte’s credentials appear every bit as dubious as those of Ellis or Duffy but should provide a welcome deflection from Rangers troubled finances over the coming weeks.
Talks are reported to be on-going- again similar to the Duffy and Ellis stories- with Whyte ready to pay David Murray £6m and take on the club’s debt which apparently remains around the £30m mark.
The key player in the ‘deal’ will be Lloyds/TSB with Walter Smith the public test for how serious the ‘deal’ is.
With David Murray’s business empire heavily in debt it’s highly unlikely that Lloyds/TSB will sanction the sale of Rangers especially with property assets worth over £100m without a penny coming in to reduce the debt.
Selling a football club without the Ibrox Stadium or Murray Park assets would be highly dangerous with Dundee in danger of going out of business over debts of £500,000 because they no longer own Dens Park.
In May of last year with celebrations at their height in anticipation of the Ellis deal going through Smith put a massive dampener on the hype.
The Ellis spin machine had promised new three year contracts for Smith and his management team, a new deal for fans favourite Nacho Novo as well as redevelopment of the stadium and land around Ibrox.
Asked about a new contract for himself on Sky Sports News Smith quickly poured cold water on the Ellis deal.
The Rangers boss said: “He can say what he likes about me but I would be obliged if he would speak to me before he mentions anything else in the newspapers again.
“I agree with Sir David Murray, if somebody is going to come in and take over the club then do so instead of talking about it in newspapers.”
American based Rangers chairman Al Johnston was equally sceptical of Ellis’ negotiating style.
He said: “The situation regarding Mr Ellis’s proposed buying of Rangers has gone on way too long — so let’s just say I am sceptical about it.
“Not only that, but when Ellis first made his intimations about being interested in buying Rangers back in March, I set up a meeting and was all set to fly out to meet him, when that meeting was abruptly cancelled.
“I find it surprising and perplexing that, for someone supposedly keen to buy the club, Mr Ellis has had no direct contact at all with anyone at Rangers Football Club.
“On this point, two weeks ago, I made another request to hold a meeting with him, knowing that I was going to be in Britain, but I heard nothing back. So I find all of this conduct pretty surprising.”
The news of the latest ‘deal’ has a very predictable ring to it, lots of headlines and promises with no substance.
It almost suggests that there is blueprint to Rangers takeover tales.
The latest deal follows a predictable pattern and will almost certainly fizzle out as Whyte’s credentials are examined by the bank and the would-be owner discovers that he is inheriting a club that has sold off virtually every asset and that there is very little prospect of turning Govan into the new Las Vegas in the current- or any other- financial climate.
As Whyte enjoys his 15 minutes of fame and adulation a dish of humble pie rather than succulent lamb will be served with the inevitable failure of the first Rangers takeover of the season.
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