Rangers takeover about to collapse

The latest Rangers ‘takeover’ is on the predictable brink of collapse.

Less than two weeks after the red carpet was laid out for Craig Whyte hopes of a January warchest for Walter Smith are fading fast.

The fact that Motherwell born billionaire Whyte has never appeared on the Sunday Times Rich List was probably the first sign that all wasn’t well with the deal.

Billionaire’s don’t normally require consortiums to purchase £30m businesses with the return of Andrew Ellis to the scene another pointer that the Whyte deal was heading for the buffers.

The initial fanfare to greet the takeover has fallen silent over the last ten days with the Daily Record bracing it’s readers for disappointment.

On November 18 Murray’s favourite newspaper boasted that the deal was at an advanced stage with Whyte glowingly described as a mini-Murray.

The fact that little is known about Whyte’s incredible business success didn’t seem to matter.

Between moving to Monaco in 1996 and buying Castle Grant in Grantown-on-Spey in 2008 next to nothing is known about Whyte.

When South African based Rangers director Dave King admitting that he’d never heard of the Motherwell born Rangers supporting billionaire some minor alarm bells started to ring as Rangers supporters sensed another case of deja-vu.

Whyte appeared to tick all the boxes for a would be owner of Rangers with the personal approval of Murray who has been desperately trying to sell the club and salvage his ailing business empire for four years.

News that the deal wasn’t running as smoothly as first anticipated appeared on the STV website last night when it was claimed that no deal was expected before Christmas.

Bracing Rangers fans for disappointment the Daily Record has an update on the story today.

A source from the Whyte-Ellis camp is quoted as saying: “It looks as if we are entering the end game now.

“Craig and Andrew will be up in Scotland very soon and after this final meeting with Sir David we will all know what the future holds for Rangers.

“The hope on all sides is they’ll reach broad agreement to press ahead with the deal. There will either be an announcement to declare ‘peace in our time’ or one to say the takeover is off. It is all coming to the boil at last.”

Cautioning against a deal going through the Record adds the old favourite that Murray will only sell to someone with Rangers best interests at heart adding ominously that: ‘no deal will be done unless Whyte and Ellis guarantee to pump no less than £5m a year over the next five years into a transfer kitty.

That clause looks likely to be the deal-breaker leaving Smith without a transfer warchest in January and Murray still searching for a buyer with Rangers best interests at heart.

Is it really just about one club? (guess who)

Craig Thomson: It’ll be difficult to continue without Dallas

Follow Video Celts on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube