Gary Ralston
FEARLESS VERDICTS EVERY DAY IN RECORD SPORT the prospect of Rangers being relegated this season, foreseeing a hefty points deduction and player fire sale if they fall into the abyss.
The same bookies who closed the book on Alex McLeish being named new Rangers boss last month when he had never received so much as a phone call about the position.
Rangers are in debt to no one but their investors, all wealthy fans who pledged to convert much of their loans to equity when a new share issue is launched, most likely later in the year.
Forget the fact they’re supporters, why the hell would they pull the plug and plunge the club into further financial chaos knowing they’d lose almost everything they have put in?
By the end of this year King will have committed around £40m of his business fortunes to Rangers – half of which was frittered away, much to his disgust, by former chairman David Murray. In the last 12 months alone he has written a £3m cheque to rid the club of the influence of Mike Ashley and £1.5m to UEFA to ensure his team’s UEFA licence.
He has bankrolled Pedro Caixinha, however botched the project, and only this week signed off on a package for Jamie Murphy that will ultimately cost his club the guts of £2m.
There was £1m set aside to pay Aberdeen compensation for Derek McInnes and almost the same again on the table for a salary had the club’s former midfielder decided to leave Pittodrie for Edmiston Drive.
Undoubtedly King must be held to account. He rode roughshod over the takeover panel, for example, who recently concluded he acted in concert with the Three Bears and demanded he offer 20 pence to all shareholders for their stock, around two-thirds of their current value. King has appealed, which will keep it kicking around the legal long grass for a few months.
He’s confident of his position. If he loses? He’ll have to fork out around £300,000 for a prospectus knowing no one will sell for the price he is legally bound to offer while his family trust fund, New Oasis Limited, ring fences £10m just in case.
The geography of the Rangers board is far from ideal with King in South Africa and Alastair Johnston in the States, while Park spends quality time in Spain. Other directors have bases in London and Hong Kong and mischief can certainly be made when strong boardroom leadership is lacking on a daily basis from G51.
That’s something King may do well to consider and address. But hold on, a call’s coming in – he’s been spotted at the Ladbrokes on Copland Road.
He’s slapped £100 on Pep Guardiola at 500,000-1 to become his first-team manager next season. Administration? Aye, right.