29 Jan 2014

Red, Whyte and blue: the Rangers saga continues

Just when you thought it was all over…

It may no longer be panto season, but the curtain never seems to drop on the Rangers Show – no doubt that is just how the lawyers and accountants want it.

This morning comes a call from the Craig Whyte camp. For some time now the word in Glasgow is that the disgraced former Rangers owner has been having some colourful discussions with people there concerning his ongoing claim that he still owns the club.

Glasgow Rangers club owner Whyte watches from the stand during their Scottish Premier League soccer match against Hearts  in Edinburgh

I simply relate to you what was said to me today and you can make your own judgement about it.

My source insists, vigorously, that Craig Whyte’s claim to own the Rangers assets is alive and well and we should all “expect significant movement in the legal case in the next few weeks”.

The source insists the previous transfer of assets under the then boss Charles Green has no legal basis and will be contested openly in the near future.

Many had rather assumed Mr Whyte’s claim over Rangers, already set out in a lengthy legal document, was dead in the water or lacked the necessary funding. Not so, according to the source who says the claim that Mr Whyte’s ownership of the club “absolutely extends to Ibrox site, the training ground, the players, the entire entity as it stands”.

“There is no question about that, ” he continued. “The ownership of Rangers by the Sevco company of which Craig Whyte is a director is beyond question.”

No doubt many around Ibrox will just laugh this off, and they may or may not be right in so doing. But with the club asking players to take pay cuts, times remain financially critical at the club. So the timing of Mr Whyte is as unwelcome there as it is deliberate.

So, somewhat taken aback by all this, I asked how Mr Whyte would see all this actually working out in the real world.

The scenario unfolded to me would be a legal merger of the disputed camps laying claim to Ibrox under the banner of Craig Whyte’s Sevco and no doubt a new share offer.

Since he has been banned from Scottish football for life and is as near as one can get outside North Korea to being a Non-Person in Scottish football terms, a degree of caution might be advisable in all this.

I understand, for instance, that Mr Whyte believes the ban would not hold up in court for a second, were it to be so tested. Many may choose to differ with that sentiment.

As ever, it totally depends upon where you stand and like I say, I put this out and it’s for others to judge. Though one thing appears certain, the Craig Whyte Claim has not gone away.

We’ll know if this is all just more bluster and hot air in the coming weeks, it appears.

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