Celtic Diary Friday 17 April : 3am Thinking: Are They At It Again ?

You would have been in self isolation indeed had you not noticed the screaming and wailing from Ibrox now that nearly every other club in Scotland has decided to act in their own interests and vote for an early end to the season, which will allow them to take stock of the current situation, and plan ahead for hopefully a fresh start next season.

But not “rangers “, and that bugs me.

And the SPFL, so keen to bend over backwards for them in the past, have suddenly turned against them as well, prompting calls for suspensions, resignations and a bloody good kick up the arse.

A war of words, in public, between the club/company and the authorities.

None of it makes sense, so I’ve been thinking.

It’s accepted that “rangers ” needed £10m just to see out the season. That cannot be denied, as it’s in their accounts.

Hang on….did someone say accounts ?  ( Yes, you , you fucking idiot-Ed )

We’ve not seen any submission of any accounts to the SFA from Ibrox, and yet a pish stained drunk-we know loads of them -tells me they are at the SFA- and they don’t make for good reading.

Well, that depends on who is reading them, of course, if it was me I may actually call them really good reading, and would perhaps need to purchase a pair of corsets to make sure my ribs remained intact after my sides had subsided and my tears had dried.

Could that explain the desperation for money from Ibrox during the tantrums over the ending of the season ?

Not entirely, because the prize money alone would not fill the gaping hole in the finances. That would take the sale of Morelos, Tavernier and probably the main stand to realise.

But it’s that time of year again, the time of year when all clubs must submit their accounts to the SFA, who then forward them to UEFA, who then allocate licences for teams to play in Europe, and “rangers ” need that European money.

As we have seen in the past, the SFA have one or two people-no pun intended, honest- who have been known to turn a blind eye to little irregularities such as crystallised tax bills in order to circumvent rules set by UEFA to make sure that their favourites are given a fighting chance to avoid an insolvency event.

European money coming in later can often offset debts now, but as Craig Whyte found out, having a diddy manager in place can destroy all the hard work done by the men behind the scenes.

So, in the early hours of the morning when sleep doesn’t come easy, a train of thought left the station in my fertile and perhaps over active imagination.

We know that the media, and the authorities , in Scotland subscribe to the “We need a strong “rangers ” philosophy “, and we know that the game, for better or worse, is marketed around the bigotry and poison associated with that game among anyone who has never actually been to one.

We also know that the authorities are prepared to do anything , including breaking the rules, to perpetuate that situation.

We know that “rangers ” are on the brink of an insolvency event. They’ve said as much themselves, and we know that they are desperate for cash.

Remember the demand to play the Livingston game twenty four hours after it’s postponement, much to the annoyance of their opponents ? The desire to play the Ibrox Glasgow derby, now forgotten as it’s become obvious that people would have died ?

With football stopped, for an unknown length of time, there is no money coming in to Ibrox, and therefore the insolvency event that would be the result of not getting that £10m through the door must be a little closer.

If they were to undergo an event, they would lose an automatic 15 points, putting them twenty eight points behind Celtic, with nine to play.

Not only would they have conceded a ninth successive title to Celtic, they would have uniquely lost it both on and off the park.

Imagine the meltdown then….which would hit season book sales, merchandise-though no kit deal means there’s not much of that, and more importantly, any further share dilution or directors short term loans.

Now, another consequence of an insolvency event would be exclusion from European football, as it would be in those accounts that they were waist deep in sticky brown stuff, with no one on hand to pull them out.

One can only wonder if the racket they’ve been making, which they say is for the good of the small clubs, was actually on behalf of themselves, especially given that they have absolutely no previous for altruistic behaviour, especially where money is concerned.

Their support would happily see every other club go under, and are in fact threatening to boycott all the other grounds again, because those clubs have not seen that “rangers ” wanted to help them, and so they must be punished.

That alone doesn’t make sense, and so with the mainstream media in Scotland currently firing at the “shambolic ” SPFL, who, remember, are the clubs, could it be that the new men on the block there are not as keen to support any shennannigans as the SFA have been ?

The SFA have remained remarkably quiet on this issue, when perhaps they could have mediated.

So perhaps they could put my mind at rest.

Do the SFA have the Ibrox accounts, which should have been submitted by now in order to process an application for European football next season ?

If so, is everything in order ?

If it isn’t, does that explain the cry for help and early disbursement of prize monies, which whilst not enough to completely ease any financial issues the club /company may have,  but perhaps cover the waterfront just enough to allow for European football next season, by making it look like they are still a going concern ?

Are the events of 2011, the core events that led to Resolution 12,  being repeated behind closed doors at Hampden, and is that why “rangers ” are currently filling the pages of the papers to deflect away from any difficult questions about their viability as a football club ?

Or company.

Something isn’t sitting right, and I’d like to see the SFA clarify that all is in order, something that no doubt Peter Lawwell will be looking into.

None of this is his fault, of course, but if he fails to act a second time should it be proved that an Ibrox entity has had a little help from its friends, then his position would become untenable.