I have read a few hopeful posts to the effect that “Ibrox could be locked up while asset ownership is sorted out” This will not be the case. Sevco Scotland Ltd (aka The Rangers FC Ltd) owns Ibrox, Murray Park, and the Albion. The title to these assets is owned by Sevco Scotland Ltd according to the Land Registers. In terms of actual ownership that is no longer a matter for dispute under Scots Law. The owners of Sevco Scotland Ltd (RIFC plc) own oldco Rangers’ assets. That does not mean good news for Sevco FC supporters.

Craig Whyte’s legal path is to sue Sevco Scotland Ltd (either personally or as Sevco 5088 Ltd)- as well as any parties who may have helped in scheme. If he is successful in proving that he was defrauded by Green and Ahmad, he would not be able to simply reclaim the assets. If Whyte pursues a claim against Sevco Scotland Ltd- presumably for the value of his share of the assets and expected profits- his reward will be a financial judgement.

Let us assume that Whyte wins an award of £20m against Sevco Scotland Ltd. which would include his share of potential profit from the original deal. (It is worth repeating that this does not give Whyte any claim on Ibrox, at least not yet). As this sum could not be paid, Whyte would then go down a path with which Scottish football monitors have become quite familiar in recent years. He would initiate a Winding Up Order or try to have an administrator appointed. As the major creditor of Sevco Scotland Ltd, Whyte would likely have his choice of administrator- yet again.

The problem for Whyte is that the amount raised in a new administration process will not come close to matching how much he owes Ticketus. Therefore, this above board path is not one that Craig Whyte will want to take. It will be a raging certainty that Whyte’s goal all along in this process has been to secure a payment into an offshore bank long before a court judgement is delivered. Either he has asked for too much or Green and Ahmad did not think that Whyte would or could hurt them too badly. Someone has miscalculated here. Whyte still needs to demonstrate that he is, after all, a ‘poker player from the top drawer’ to extract a free and clear payment from this mess. Time will tell if he has a plan or whether he is just winging it.

On rumours that insolvency is imminent, I am not the loop on this. It seems unlikely to me that events could unfold in the timelines being discussed. (I think the Timternet is interpreting the underlying stories too literally). However, it does seem that the reincarnation of Rangers is doomed to die before too long. The combination of legal threats (Whyte and then the inevitable RIFC shareholder suits) plus cash burn rate make survival very unlikely. Under the misapprehension that Sevco FC would start life in the SPL, Charles Green’s club started life with a cost structure that appears to ensure that it will go through whatever sum was raised in the IPO long before arriving in the top tier of Scottish football. Short of a miracle investment from the outside or drastic cost-cutting on a scale that would endanger inevitable promotion, a date with an administrator awaits. When we add the in-fighting between the spiv and ‘Rangers-men’ factions, you would not bet much on the new club’s survival. How long does it have? I do not know the exact cash burn rate today and I do not know how much cash Sevco FC really has. Therefore, I will not put a date on their demise, but bar the intervention of an oil rich Emir, they look done for within the next year or two at the very best.

Of course, events could move much more quickly. In the coming weeks news from the internal investigation will emerge. I have read with interest assorted theories that say that the ‘Rangers-men’ are likely to try to use this information to wrest control of the club away from the spivs. This will likely mean that they have to crash the RIFC/Sevco Scotland Ltd vehicle into a wall and rely upon the SFA to transplant the soul of the club into another newco. The SFA do have the power to render all of the Sevcos worthless by withdrawing their membership and license. Effectively handing a new Rangers membership to the ‘Rangers-men’ would effectively rid Scottish football of Green and Whyte in one fell swoop. The ‘Rangers-men’ have an old pal at the head of that organisation. We should not be too surprised at how far they will be willing to go to gain control. This theory has one major problem and that is where to play. Ibrox could not be guaranteed to be available for rent immediately, but I am sure that the idea is being considered.

If the notion of the ‘Rangers-men’ killing both Sevcos seems far-fetched, I ask- why did they ask for the internal investigation? Assuming that the Malcolm Murray/Walter Smith sect on the RIFC board have no interest in a cover-up, what else can they do with a report that if leaked could put their club’s SFA membership and license in question? If the Craig Whyte connection is proven and the prospect of a Whyte lawsuit given credence, they will be able to paint a picture through their many media friends of the need to return the soul of Rangers to fit and proper ownership. They might even have a good point if it was not for the fact that so many of these ‘Rangers-men’ presided over the collapse of what should always have been Scotland’s richest club.