Football finance ‘expert’ Neil Patey has resurfaced to warn of the problems associated with Celtic’s Champions League windfall.
Throughout 2012 Patey was the go-to guy for BBC and STV as they sought reassurance that everything in the Ibrox garden was rosy.
Administration could be avoided, there were half a dozen potential buyers, a CVA will be accepted and al the rest were put forward while in the real world bampots everywhere counted down to liquidation.
Five years later and every other club in Scotland remains solvent even if the tribute act have struggled with the concept of trying to live in the same manner as their rivals.
Having £30m find it’s way into Scottish football should be a source of delight for most folk in the game with some of that UEFA money bound to trickle through to other clubs.
Patey sees things differently.
“Celtic’s finances dwarf the rest of Scottish football,” he told the Daily Record.
“They already had revenue far above the rest of the clubs but when you add the Champions League money on to their top line it puts them out of sight.
“No team in Scotland will be able to touch them. Rangers have their issues but the only likelihood of them catching up, even in the long term, would be if Celtic failed to reach the Champions League.
“You could see the impact in the last couple of seasons with no Champions League, the attendances were dwindling.
“Rodgers has given them a lift in terms of the match-day and season-ticket sales and with European football they have really kicked on.
“The prospect of Rangers finishing above Celtic and getting into the group stages looks incredibly unrealistic in the short to medium term. They are playing catch up and it puts them at a huge disadvantage.”
The old Rangers club enjoyed three consecutive seasons of Champions League money under Walter Smith but had to repay debt to Lloyds Bank while continuing to attract players with their EBT payment scheme.
When Ally McCoist lost the key to the Champions League Craig Whyte stopped paying HMRC and no wealthy supporters stepped forward with a plan to settle the debt.
Rangers Football Club were placed in liquidation in 2012.