There is a confusion of opinion around Rangers: is Craig Whyte a saviour or a danger?
Will Ally McCoist be a success or a failure? Do the manager and the chairman enjoy good relations? Will the tax case be won or lost? Did Nikica Jelavic ask to leave or not? It is in a time of such uncertainty that speculation becomes the prevailing mood, and every detail is contested as though it is the fundamental concern.
Supporters are torn between believing in Whyte since no-one else was prepared to buy the club at such a precarious time; worrying about the extent of his wealth and the decisions he might make in the coming months; and casting some rancour towards the previous boardroom regime. The importance of involvement in the title race and hostility towards Celtic will never be diminished, but they seem like empty gestures when administration – and the 10-point penalty that it triggers – seems increasingly likely.
Rangers are on the brink of a profound upheaval, but the critical issue has barely even registered. What happens next? What kind of club are Rangers to become? In the absence of any substantial evidence that Whyte and fellow director Andrew Ellis have the financial wherewithal to fund a resurrection at Ibrox, the widespread assumption is that, post-administration, they would sell the club and so make a profit from their involvement. There is nothing untoward about this, particularly if they are able to deliver a debt-free club, with the ownership of the stadium and the training ground intact, to a new owner.
Under different circumstances – his wealth and business background were established, and unquestionably provided the means for his takeover – Fergus McCann rescued Celtic and restored the club to a position of financial strength. Yet McCann was able to choose the moment to sell his shares on his own terms, and make a profit.
He left ordinary Celtic supporters owning a significant tranche of the club, with the single largest shareholder being Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond. Whyte and Ellis may choose a similar approach and launch a share issue but their other option would be to sell to single bidders. Either way, Rangers fans must be alert to the opportunity, and the perils, that lie ahead.
Leeds United and Portsmouth are the most high-profile English clubs to have entered administration, and afterwards both were vulnerable to the attention of businessmen whose interest was in stockpiling a quick fortune.
Further instability ensued. There is little protection against unscrupulous individuals, and football tends to offer the circumstances for greed and egotism to flourish, but supporters remain a powerful and influential presence.
This is a chance to draw together into a body of like-minded fans and use the power that comes with speaking for the club's lifeblood. Supporters can affect events, or, under the auspices of a single body, such as the Rangers Supporters Trust, or the Assembly, become stakeholders in the future by pooling resources to buy shares. Mostly, though, fans need to use their voice smartly at a time when the club's future is so baldly exposed.
Manchester United fans attempted to rail against the Glazer family, but could not compete with their wealth. Yet politicking, and corraling a mass of support, was still an effective tool. For now, the imperative is to maintain scrutiny of Whyte and his actions. The chairman once pledged that £25 million would be invested over five seasons, yet where is that money now? He once denied he had borrowed money against future season ticket sales, yet it turns out that he had. We can only speculate as to how the £24.4m borrowed from Ticketus has been utilised.
"Everybody has to appreciate the current situation within the club is very serious," McCoist said. "I would hope circumstances, more than anything, dictated the fact that we accepted a bid for Jelavic and didn't replace him because we can't afford it. The welfare of the club is greater than getting results, believe it or not. I would never say we undersold [Jelavic]. We made a healthy profit."
The team was downsized under Walter Smith and the same scenario has begun to unfold for McCoist. Beyond all his rhetoric about believing in his squad and having the means to overcome Celtic in the title race, the truth is McCoist's work has been undermined by decisions taken in the boardroom. Yet he remains supportive of Whyte.
"We are in a serious predicament here, with this tax case coming up, whether we go into administration," McCoist said. "Craig has received a good bit of stick this week, but I can only tell you, having met him three times in the last week and speaking on the phone every day, he's of the same opinion as me. We both want what's best for the club. I can understand that giving me all of the money for Jelavic is not in the best interests of the welfare of the club. I ain't daft."
For all that they communicate, though, McCoist does not know how Whyte plans to deal with the outcome of the tax case. The manager can only say, forcefully enough, that he knows the chairman has "a battle plan for every scenario" and will tell him what is happening when the time is right.
"He's organised," McCoist says. As should the Rangers fans be. This is a pivotal moment in the club's long history. The current form of players, the merits of the manager, even the title race itself, are of little concern in comparison. Rangers are in a vulnerable state.
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