As he waits to find out if his application for a minor role at the Football Association is successful or not Stewart Regan has one final chance to salvage some credibility from his term as chief executive of the SFA.
Deek Llambias doesn’t do much by accident, yesterday at Sevco’s shameful AGM the former Newcastle chief executive revealed that he’d be meeting the SFA today to discuss Mickey Ashley’s growing influence on the basket case at Ibrox.
If the switched-on Regan needed any further evidence of the embarrassment that the club he created in the summer of 2012 is causing Scottish football a casual look at yesterday’s events at Ibrox really should be the wake up call for the SFA to reluctantly take governance and say that enough is enough.
The day kicked off with David Somers telling the Alternative Investment Market that ‘there sadly still exists a great deal of anti- Rangers feeling, perhaps (although I hope not) even in the football establishment’. The chairman of any lower division club coming up with a statement like that would find themselves instantly in contact with the so-called Compliance Officer.
Not long afterwards scenes from the rowdy AGM filled social media as Sevco shareholders hurled constant abuse at their custodians with Somers barely able to contain his contempt for the investors that fund his lavish expense account.
If Regan has any doubts about the calibre of people running Sevco he can check out Mr Somers answer on onerous contracts. The Sevco chairman told shareholders that he’ll wrip them up and see the other side in court! That’ll be the contracts negotiated by Ashley and friends- the people that appointed Somers.
Is this the club that Regan wants to shoe-horn into the highest reaches of the Scottish game? Is this the club to lead Scottish football into a new golden era? Is this the club that sponsors will be falling over themselves to be associated with?
If the answer to any of the above is yes then it may really be social unrest multiplied by Armageddon for the game in this country.
Beyond the boundaries of the former Strathclyde Region, and even within it in certain pockets, the game is booming, clubs are living within their means, getting their houses in order, progressing and developing.
Scotland’s east coast is alive with success stories- Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts are debt free and bringing through their own young players rather than attempting to compete with the dubious financial practices used by Dave Murray to hoover up trophies and prize money.
St Johnstone, St Mirren and Kilmarnock fans have celebrated trophy wins over the last three years- Motherwell are preparing for a change of ownership as they attempt to copy the supporter led developments at Hearts.
While 12,000 huffed and moaned through Sevco’s dismal win over Livingston on Saturday 15,000 enjoyed Hearts extending their unbeaten run with a 2-0 win over Alloa Athletic at Tynecastle.
Regan was one of the architects of Sevco in the summer of 2012, as he meets with Mr Llambias he has the opportunity to redeem himself for that catastrophe and be known as the man that cast aside the Old Firm obsession that has clouded every judgement from Hampden in recent times.
After over-ruling their 3% ownership rule to assist Sevco in 2012, bringing Ashley to the table, the 10% agreement is required to be ignored in favour of 29.9% MASH ownership Llambias will plead.
What will that do for Scottish football?
Will it bring in a new era of success or chase away supporters across the country who see the football authorities applying tunnel vision to realise their dream of a team in blue from Ibrox ‘re-enacting’ the Old Firm rivalry that made life cosy for those at the SFA.
The club that Regan is dealing with today isn’t the tax payer subsidised beast of the nineties and naughties that could bring in 50,000 fans on a fortnightly basis and earn co-efficient points in UEFA competition. A look over the last seven days at Ibrox and a glance at social media will give Regan an insight into the success of the Sevco project.
Attempting to run a tribute act along the same business lines established by Murray has been a disaster from the moment membership was handed to Charlie Green who celebrated by joining in with the chants of ‘If You Hate Stewart Regan’ from the gullible and hard of thinking visiting Glebe Park.
Sevco is a dismal club, one that lives way beyond it’s means, stifles Scottish talent and offers lavish pay-off’s to a string of dubious departing executives while paying fortunes to mediocrity imported from Tunisia, Brazil, Lithuania and other outposts.
Ibrox is two thirds empty on matchdays, the club share price is standing at 18p despite a launch at 70p two years ago, yesterday shareholders defied the board by voting down a proposal to allow external funding of another share issue.
If Regan wants to redeem his CV he can show Llambias the secretive Five Way Agreement and tell him that there will be no further concessions from Hampden.
The unsustainable club can live within it’s means or fold. The rent-a-quote former directors that are forever bleating can start up their own club- be invited into the Lowland League and start to live within the same rules that apply elsewhere to clubs in Scotland.
We Are The People and their rightful place are history alongside Gretna and Third Lanark.
That bold decision would finally restore some sanity and respect to Scottish football. It’s Regan’s call whether he has the guts for that- if not yesterday’s pantomime will become a never ending circus with his fingerprints all over it.