Rangers crisis: why Scottish football must shoulder some blame

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Many Rangers fans point to Sir
David Murray as to where it all began, many more identify Craig Whyte as the
instigator, but the reality is while both of these (and others) were massive
factors in Rangers’ travails, the most oft-forgotten one has to be upon Scottish
football itself.
That vote in 2012, to condemn the
newco to Division 3, has done arguably as much damage to Rangers as Whyte & SDM. Internally, they were massively at fault, and no one would ever
alleviate Whyte of blame for the plainly malevolent role he played especially,
but the ‘cut the nose to spite the face’ type hatred from the bowels of
Scottish football condemned Rangers every inch what our former
owners managed.

I fully expect SPFL fans outwith
Rangers to scoff at this, to claim I am ‘playing the victim’ and that Rangers
are ‘rightly reaping what they sowed’.
And yet, where is the evidence
for this?
The one massive jewel in the
‘hate the cheating Rangers’ crown is the Big Tax Case. The pursuit by HMRC of
supposed tax owed as a result of Paul Baxendale-Walker’s EBT scheme employed by
Murray was the
big stick to beat those evil Rangers with. Yet Rangers won the case.
“The majority view reflects the
argument that the controversial monies received by the employees were not paid
to them as their absolute entitlement.
“The legal effect of the trust/loan structure is sufficient to
preclude this. Thus the payments are loans, not earnings, and so are
recoverable from the employee or his estate.”
Baxendale-Walker, the pioneer of
the scheme relating to Rangers, said:
“This was tax planning which any
taxpayer – rich or poor – can use. We now know that it was legal and effective.
HMRC will now have to answer some very hard questions.”
So, no law-breaking there. Black
and white, as ruled by judges in an independent tribunal.
After this, the one thing left,
which absolutely was illegal, was then-owner Craig Whyte’s deliberate retention
of NI, PAYE, and VAT payments from players. The one which forced the club into
administration.
This was indeed completely wrong,
and the man knew exactly what he was doing. But did Rangers as a whole deserve
the punishment of being cast to division 3 based on the malevolent acts of one
criminal?
And yet, Scottish football fell
all over itself to beat the Club down when it had the chance. Everyone knew
Rangers would massively struggle to survive in Div 3, with critically reduced
income being the biggest component of such an obstacle. They even knew their
own Clubs would suffer hugely. But they did not care, because damaging/killing
Rangers was more important to them than their clubs’ survival.
A poll, carried out prior to the
newco vote, saw 55% of respondents say they would rather their own club went
bust than Rangers were allowed back into the SPL.
With small-minded petty hatred
like this, Scottish football and its fans did more to hurt Rangers than
anything we did ourselves.
Yes, Craig Whyte was a true
snake, intent on damage, and he broke the law. But the big carrot in the
Rangers-hating case was the BTC, the one ‘journalist’ Mark Daly so eagerly
condemned the Govan Club for – and he won a BAFTA for his documentary.
Which we now know was based on
absolute lies.
So yes, we take responsibility
for some of what happened – Whyte was our owner and he broke the law. But he
was intent on doing so, while our fans, management, players and internal staff
took the abuse from Scottish football head on. Oddly enough, rather than
‘punishing’ Rangers these days, SPL fans mock the club with Whyte references.
That does not strike me as
justice, it strikes me as a group of astoundingly petty, hate-filled fans
determined to make Rangers suffer where they can. Indeed, the fact the man is
actually popular among SPL supporters especially those from Parkhead, rather itself
symbolises the mentality.
This was never about ‘justice’
for Scottish football:
It was about hating Rangers.

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1 COMMENT

  1. So we have not to punish you for the actions of one criminal..yet your fans constantly sing vile songs about the actions of one extremely horrible little man..Jim the Pedro..can't have it both ways…by the way yours lost part of the big tax case which has still to be dealt with…if you going to report at least be honest..

  2. utterly dumbfounded – yup you guys are blameless eh … shaks mi heid in disbelief
    grow a pair, own your shortcomings, turn this around. Stop pointing at anything but yourselves and start over.. I never hated your club – I'm starting to think I was wrong…

  3. Big question i've got is what are the powers that be who are supposed to be running the game in Scotland doing about Ashley? they have already said he has a case to answer regarding boardroom control and influence so why dont they do the job they're supposed to and block Ashley from any further involvement at Ibrox while he still owns Newcastle, dont allow Rangers to compete if he is still involved, drive him out.

  4. No one decided that Rangers were condmned to start in division 3. The fact is that the current Rangers are a new club and as such should not even have been admitted to division 3. Rangers should easily have made a profit in the lower leagues due to the large crowds that they had attending these games, That they did not is down to the management of the club, from the conmen in the boardroom to the worst manager they could possibly have. To see what your club should have done, just look at the opposition last night. That is where Rangers have gone wrong.

    • Rangers are not a new co , are you deaf and blind, the sfa stated Rangers history is intact before they entered div three and Doncaster stated less than two weeks ago that the club is the same Rangers fc and always has been
      All this is in the media and on the net do you're research instead of spouting that what you wish would would have happened also Rangers have WON the case of the ebt twice along with the six league titles that Celtic wanted Liewell and Doncaster to steal from Rangers.

  5. Rangers weren't ''cast into division 3'' as you put it. They were liquidated and the new club formed by Charles Green had to apply to play in the Scottish Professional Football League to the detriment of clubs like Spartans. No mention of the L word in your article indicates to me selective truth used by so many Rangers fans about theme club. Rangers died. Most Scottish football fans didn't like them and ultimately no one cares.

    • You are spot on mate, it is all about 'The Rangers' as Sevco were renamed 'The Rangers Football Club' in 2012 as they could no longer be called 'Rangers Football Club' as the old club had been called from 1872 – 2012 before they were liquidated.

    • Celtic have never been liquidated, fact.

      Third Lanark, Airdrieonians, Gretna and Rangers are all Scottish clubs who were liquidated, fact.

  6. It was never about hatred is was about fair and proper. What your post actually reads is "Scottish football needs Rangers therefore we should be able to do write the rules to suit ourselves and are answerable to no one."

  7. It the EBTs were legal because they were loans, then why didn't some of the great Rangers men who benefitted from them, simply repay their loans to bring the club out of administration?

  8. ok well seems there is a lot of people who will never make peace with the criminal element of what happened we understand people hated us before all of this and that they will all way swill the way we hated other clubs too that's fitba !! but remember fellow bears we don't need to visit any or all of the grounds in Scotland ever or for say 3yrs or so keep the blue pound blue mightier than the sword they've hung in there promising their banks itll be ok when gers come back re aligning debt etc well they'll never see any money ever from this bear ever watp

    • of course the ones above against the gers are all ok yeah yeah well like anybody freedom of choice if you want to go go as for the hatred you must be a queens park fan goodie every fan hates somebody sometime get real

  9. Interesting post,however some of the replies are the usual virtiol and pettiness associated with Scottish football,The sad reality is that the demise of Rangers football club is damaging Scottish football and a huge loss of capital into the bargain.The standard of our game is falling and the opportunities for young Scottish lads to come through is waining.The truth is that the now tedious Rangers saga is not so much about football and more to do with rich,greedy men willing to ransack their grannys house for a free packet of sweeties.Ignore the fact that this is a football club and see bankers,tax evasion(avoidance) by other industries and individuals as part of the problem that we all have to put up with.Personally I wouldn't put tuppence into any football club who lacked the integrity and respect for the supporters,as is the way at Ramgers

    • There's been more young Scottish talent on display for a long long time! If you had used some of them rather than paying money you couldn't afford on old has beens you might have some respect. You have zero respect from anyone because you've bought your way thru 2 part time leagues, with wages you can't afford

    • disagree that the demise of rangers is damaging Scottish football, Scottish football was on a downward spiral as soon as the overpriced overpaid foreign mercenaries started to make their way here, combine that with smaller leagues with more pressure for teams to win, young kids didn't stand a chance of coming through. Scottish football is dying on its feet and Messrs Regan and Doncaster are standing back watching it happen.

    • I hope you are correct that more young Scottish lads are getting their chance and that the state of Rangers has no baring on their opportunities.I hope I am wrong.I should declare my interest as a Rangers supporter.However I do accept what went on was wrong and that the purchase of many foreign duds did nothing to improve the Scottish game.To that extent I agree with the second comment that perhaps Scottish football was on the wain 20 to 30 years ago when all clubs indulged in purchasing foreign players instead of home grown talent.I should also point out that I also acknowledge that respect has to be earned and some of the bile vomitted up on other postings is not something I will ever be associated with.Most football fans are not like this and neither are Rangers fans.Nevertheless I was trying to point out that the people running Rangers at present do not have the slightest regard for football let alone Rangers.Rangers are not rich wealthy,greedy individuals.They are the 40-50000 ordinary punters who would normally turn up to see their team winning on a Saturday.There is a bigger picture which I hope will not destroy OUR game

  10. Compare your situation to that of Airdrieonians. The company controlling their league share was liquidated and so the league place was lost. Why should Rangers be any different? A new company had to be formed and reapply to the league, this was rejected and the place went to Gretna because it was reported that it was setting a dangerous precedent that might see cash-strapped football clubs disappear only to reappear under a different guise.Again why should Rangers be any different? Rangers Version 2 should have had to reapply and it's disgraceful that the football authorities allowed Rangers a league place at all until they were properly re-elected to the league.

  11. With all the lies cheating and deceit associated with The Rangers over the past 30 yrs,I wouldnt be surprised is David Murray could walk.! Hes a Govan Kaiser Sousua

  12. mr anonymous why don't you go back to supporting your own child abusing club instead of trying to mock an article that is only telling the truth your club knows only to well what lies and deceit as your club is a dark master at it always cheated never beat

  13. Further evidence of the delusion within rangers ranks. The very idea that the biggest failure in your situation is scottish football itself only justifies the resistance against allowing the accepted rules to be ignored by spfl and sfa. The EBT issue is still open to appeal, rangers accepted responsibility for the small tax case and if the those in charge of the club felt so confident in proving the legality of the system why did they actively obstruct the investigation?

    The responsibility for this situation rangers are in lies firmly and squarely with SDM and nobody else. The ' I was duped' stance was insulting to everyone and any attempt to justify it is no more than blind loyalty.

    Rangers had the opportunity to show humility and take the responsibilty to move on positively but yous just couldnt do it.

    My best mates are gers supporters and they have my support in trying to get to the truth. I agree scottish football isnt of good a standard but its not been great for years. The spfl clubs with exception of Motherwell are now spending within their means, the edinburgh clubs are clearly working in the right direction while gers sites like these are stuck in the past and hellbent on blaming everyone else. My mates still go to the games and support whatever team is on the park but they have voiced shame at last nights events. You tube videos, radio reports and newspaper accounts have only confirmed the destructive elements of your club. Until rangers are cleansed from top to bottom the remainder of scottish football will continue tiew your club as millstone.

  14. Rangers pleaded guilty on 8 of 55 counts of tax cheating. If you were guilty on 8 of 55 murder charges, you're still a murderer. Rangers are tax cheats. Like Dave King.

  15. tax case still going on,,,,250thousand pound fine for doing suposedly nowt wrong my a,.se ,,,getting 2 semi,s yet still hadnt payed ebt fines to s,f,a, resulting in cup money being witheld,,,ashley where do u want to start,,,,,,if u put ure sons of struth,,first rangers,,u,o,f,,and all the other stupid named grioups together,,,,u might get one worth listening too,,,mind its your manky mob that suposedly dont mind being liked,,,

  16. Rangers should never have been liquidated as HMRC should never have been listed as a main creditor holding over %75 of the votes as it turned out we only had to repay back a fraction of the tax payments they were claiming we owed through immoral but not illegal ebts

  17. Rangers spent top much money and ultimately couldn't meet their financial commitments. You are annoyed that they weren't then treated as a special case and givem a slap on the wrist. Any 'punishment' less than Division 3 would have been unfair on other clubs.

    Rangers existing financial problems are the fault of the club. Was it necessary to have international players on thousands of pounds a week to beat teams like East Stirling?

  18. EBTs were proven illegal in the 5/6 cases where the side letters were found. Small Tax Case (discounted options scheme) also illegal yet uefa license given despite this also contrary to rules as was the new clubs entry into league football without prerequisite accounts.

    The football policies and ridiculous wages paid are as much to do with your troubles now as the onerous contracts the directors put in place.

  19. You manky tramps got away with the biggest crime in world football can't remember any body saying that the beggars should be tossed out the league

  20. theres no a team that didn't have fans who were customers of
    Lloyds or r.b.s. banks.
    these banks owed a million times more than rangers and were insolvent.
    I don't here the fans who were customers condemming these people because the
    government saved there hard earned money. funny old world eh.

  21. I never saw a single comment on any site where any of us took any blame at all, just bravado and pish.And if not caring that everybody hates us is part of being the people, count me out.

  22. See the obsessed are more interested in Scotlands's most Successful club rather than their own kiddie fiddling disgusting club but hey I feel your PAIN & RAGE RTID 54+3

    • I used to be a neutral but look at the copmment just above from one of your own. If you are typical of "the people" God help you all.

    • That's just typical of the kind of supporter who folow,follows .. brain dead moron,s a blight on Scottish football, would we truly miss them ?? Buckfast might , The shell suit makers of the world would , but scottish football no ……. administration looms … hopefully that will be the end …..

  23. What Rangers fans and football fans around the world are witnessing is a classic boardroom brawl. The principle participants are clear in their objectives. As for the fans..who cares. They are suckers and keep returning to Ibrox and don't forget they buy the Mike Ashley merchandise.. As for Ibrox and Murray Park..If the board went to a bank and tried to borrow 10 million don't you think some of the value for Ibrox would have to be put up for collateral.

  24. E.B.T.s are a loan repayable by a recipient or their estate.In that case when are the people who recieved these loans going to pay them back to the Liquidators to settle with the club creditors or will they as usual employ the double standard of walking away from the debts while holding on to the delusional notion that the history remains.

  25. Absolute lot of tosh. your teams in the doldrums because you cheated ,spent money you never had ,won trophies you didn,t earn honestly,yet still it,s someone elses fault ….as for scottish football suffering how ,Aberdeen,Dundee, Dundee utd ,Hearts,Hibs are all showing an increase in crowds now that it,s becoming an even playing field … All are starting to develop youngsters and are playing possesion football ,actually things are starting to progress ,We don,t want Rangers ,don,t need them …. Hopefully you will just disappear… a car park or a shopping mall where eye brokes once stood would benefit scotland more , maybe even a sports direct !! .Lol.

  26. Unfortunately you appear to have missed that rules were broken and as such the authority's have in some respect been extremely lenient with the New Rangers.(my book cheated)
    Unlike Gretna or Airdrie, this new entity was allowed to start in the lowest division of Scottish football…Why? Il agree with your assumption that "Scottish football must shoulder some blame " in the thinking that they should never have been allowed to join the League. It was a blatant case of one rule for Rangers and another for everyone else. This whole farce would not be happening if the powers that be had actually followed their own rule book.? still you can always keep to your opinion of blame culture, seems to have worked well for you with this new regime and the ones to follow follow…..

  27. you're not Rangers anymore!!

    140 years of history condemned to death by your own hand.

    Shame the bigotry lives on with the new club that plays (for know) at The Sports Direct Arena.