l November 23, 1988: Businessman David Murray, who amassed his fortune in the metals industry, buys Rangers from Nevada-based Lawrence Marlborough for £6 million.

l 1989: Rangers win their first league title under Murray's chairmanship, starting the nine-in-a-row run that equalled Celtic's own achievement between 1966 and 1974.

l 1989: Murray and Graeme Souness sign Mo Johnston for £1.5m from under the noses of Celtic. He was the first high-profile Catholic to play for Rangers. Players are routinely signed in multimillion-pound deals and given unprecedented wages. Souness leaves in 1991, to be replaced by his assistant Walter Smith.

l 1998: Murray replaces Smith with Dick Advocaat, giving the Dutchman millions to revamp the squad with signings such as Ronald De Boer (£4.2m), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (£5.5m), Arthur Numan (£4.5m) and Andrei Kanchelskis (£2m). In total, Advocaat spends £36m during his three-year tenure.

Advocaat also unveils plans for the Murray Park training complex in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire. It opens in 2001 at a cost of £14m.

l 2000: Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo is signed for a Scottish record £12m from Chelsea. He fails to make an impact and Celtic clinch the league. Murray declares: "For every £5 Celtic spend, we will spend £10". He secures investment of £20m from South African-based businessman David King, who is originally from Castlemilk in Glasgow. Murray's company invests a further £12.3m. But the debt to the bank is reported to stand at £48m.

l July 2002: Murray steps down as chairman and limits his day-to-day involvement in the club's running. He returns as chairman in 2004.

l 2007: Following an austerity era under Advocaat's successor Alex McLeish, Frenchman Paul Le Guen takes over, but lasts less than a season as his team suffers poor results. Le Guen was given around £15m to spend on players, signing nine, although few stay after his departure. Smith returns as manager.

l August 26, 2009: Murray, by now Sir David after he was knighted for services to business in 2007, announces he is to step down again as chairman, saying he has invested £100 million in Rangers.

l November 18, 2010: Scottish venture capitalist Craig Whyte confirms to the Stock Exchange he is considering making an offer for Rangers Football Club.

l May 6, 2011:

Craig Whyte takes control of Rangers.

l November 30, 2011: Rangers' financial figures show net debt has been halved to around £14m.

l January 31, 2012: Whyte admits using three years' worth of future season ticket sales to secure funds but denies using the money to fund his takeover.

l February 13: Rangers lodge their intention to go into administration at the Court of Session, although the club claims to have 10 days to decide if this is the right course of action.

l February 14: Rangers are placed in administration. HMRC moves to have Rangers put into administration over alleged non-payment of about £9m in PAYE and VAT following Craig Whyte's takeover.

However, the club calls in London firm Duff & Phelps to take over the running of the club. The SPL confirm the club will be docked 10 points.

l February 15: Administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse of Duff & Phelps, are appointed to oversee the club's affairs.

They say they have "no visibility" on the £24 million given to the club by Ticketus in exchange for future season ticket revenue.

l February 21: Craig Whyte admits using money from the sale of future season ticket income "to complete the takeover" of Rangers football club in May 2011.

l February 22: Rangers' second-biggest shareholder David King meets with manager Ally McCoist.

Former chairman Alastair Johnston urges the administrators to investigate whether Whyte breached the terms of agreements he made when he took over the club.

l Early March: The Blue Knights group headed by former director Paul Murray emerges as possible buyers ahead of Friday's deadline.

There is also interest from Singapore, the US and Brian Kennedy, the owner of Sale Sharks.