Ibrox board’s game of poker has come up trumps with PSV pot of gold
Financial analyst, David Low, claims that the Rangers board have the best poker faces in the business.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players reached the Champions League in midweek, 12 years since they last did so when Walter Smith’s side finished third behind Manchester United and Valencia.
Beating PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in Holland will see the Scottish Cup holders rake in upwards of £35-million from competing in the world’s richest club competition.
That money that will be more than welcome for directors who have had to dig deep in recent years.
Low – best known for his role as Fergus McCann’s right-hand man when the US-based businessman saved Celtic from being liquidated in 1994 – claims that the belief of Light Blues chairman, Douglas Park, and his executives that Rangers would eventually come good convinced them to keep punting.
Now they have their reward in spades. Drawing Ajax, Liverpool and Napoli means Rangers – Europa League finalists last season – really are back in the big time.
“It was a very important victory for Rangers,” said Low. “This is a business which hasn’t turned a profit since it was formed in 2012, and since then they’ve soaked up over £100m in losses in order to get to this stage.
“Their directors have been playing high-stakes poker, and their gamble – because that’s what it was – has finally paid off. They’ve won the bet.
“Last season, they lost two £40m games. One against Malmo in the Champions League qualifiers, and again in the Europa League Final against Eintracht Frankfurt, when victory would have seen them automatically qualify for the Champions League group stages.
“This year, though, they won when it mattered, beating Union-Saint Gilloise and PSV to reach the Holy Grail of the Champions League cash.
“That doesn’t mean they’ve caught up with Celtic in monetary terms. But it does
mean Celtic are still within sight.”
Low is convinced that Rangers must regain the title this season if they’re going to have a chance of cutting their city rivals’ lead in the Premiership’s rich list.
“You have to remember that Celtic have embedded financial advantages,” he added. “They’ve had cash reserves in the bank for the last 10 years, while I believe Rangers are still without access to an overdraft facility with a clearing bank.
“That is why all those soft loans were needed from directors in the past.
“Celtic Park also have 10,000 more seats than Ibrox Stadium, and that makes a difference when you multiply that figure by 25-30, depending on how many home games there are in any particular season.
“So Rangers progressing to the Champions League groups has helped them a lot. If they’d dropped into the Europa League, Celtic would have strode further ahead.
“There are a few ways in which Rangers can catch up. They can win more games and progress further in the Champions League this season, or they can play the transfer market better than Celtic.
“They hadn’t done so for some time, but the sales this year of Calvin Bassey, Nathan Patterson and Joe Aribo suggest things are improving in that regard.
“However, the best way for Rangers to catch up would be for them to win the title, go straight into the Champions League proper next season, and for Celtic to be eliminated during the qualifying rounds.”