Cash should be king for Rangers

YOU’ll get no argument from this quarter over Dave King raking in £13million for his Rangers shares. When the club were in dubious hands in 2015 King stepped up to the plate. The Takeover Panel took a dim view of how he did it. And he oversaw a few managerial mistakes along the way. But, like Fergus McCann at Celtic, King put his money where his mouth is. And, by hook or by crook, he leaves Rangers in a better place than he found them. The patience with Steven Gerrard looks like paying a generous dividend. The team are 11 points clear in the Premiership and they’ve stormed to the last 32 of the Europa League with a game to spare. With tactics made for Europe, you wouldn’t bet against them going far in the competition. But, for now, all of that is jam tomorrow. And, in the here and now, the timing of King’s decision to sell his shares to fans group Club 1872 is questionable. Rangers recently confirmed an annual loss for the financial year of £15.9m. And while you’d look at the current form and fancy Gerrard to win the league and deliver Champions League riches, they’re not quite there yet. These are tough economic times for everyone. For all we know Dave King needs the money. But right here and now, so do Rangers. With a projected shortfall of £23m over the next two seasons, chairman Douglas Park and director John Bennett have offered to bridge the gap with shareholder loans. The Rangers board would surely prefer to see the cash of fans go straight into the club rather than the pockets of their former chairman.