Daily Record turns on Craig Whyte

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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