No Old Firm derby this time round (video)

Rangers’ Scottish Cup 4^th Round exit at the hands of Dundee United last Saturday ensures that there will be no Old Firm derby in Scottish football this season for the first time since World War II.

Third Division Rangers were soundly beaten 3-0 at Tannadice by SPL outfit Dundee United in a match where the Glasgow giants looked both frustrated and out of their depth. Meanwhile, old foes Celtic also strode to a 3-0 victory against First Division Raith Rovers which books their place in the Quarter Finals of the Scotland’s premier cup competition. Both score lines reflect the starkly contrasting fortunes of the Old Firm rivals throughout the past 12 months.

In June last year, Glasgow Rangers – formed in 1872 – were liquidated after failing to resurrect themselves from administration. The club were put into administration by then chairman Craig Whyte as a result of unpaid bills totalling an estimated amount of over £55million including an alleged £21million owed to HMRC however this is currently being debated in court. As a result, Rangers as we know it, was formed as a new company which at the start of this season began its life in the 4^th tier of Scottish football.

The Ibrox side currently lead the Third Division by 22 points and look certain to be promoted to the Second Division.  However, Saturday’s loss to Dundee United, coupled with an earlier League Cup exit at the hands of another SPL side Inverness and a penalty shoot-out defeat to Queen of the South in the League Challenge Cup confirms that Rangers will not lift any silverware at Scotland’s national stadium this season.

On the other side of the Glasgow divide, Celtic continue to compete across three separate tournaments. The reigning Premier League champions look unlikely to concede the Premier League title and an 18 point difference over nearest rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle could see the SPL trophy return to Parkhead before we enter May. On Tuesday, Celtic Park will be packed to the rafters as Juventus visit Glasgow in the second round of the Champions League.

An impressive performance by Neil Lennon’s men in the group stages of the competition which saw The Bhoys defeat Spanish giants Barcelona in Glasgow and Spartak Moscow both home and away guaranteed qualification for the latter stages of Europe’s premier competition for only the third time. Only a dismal performance during a 3-2 defeat to St Mirren in the League Cup Semi-Final has blighted Celtic’s season so far.

Many argued that each half of the Old Firm could not live without the other in the belief that success could only be measured by the triumphs and failures of their adversary.  However those at Celtic Park and Ibrox were very keen to dispute this and they may have been proved to be right. Rangers are enduring slow, but steady progress during a period of re-building as they look to climb up the leagues at the first attempt. Celtic have been thriving domestically and are very much enjoying their spot in the European limelight. 

Just two seasons ago, Celtic and Rangers fans were treated to 7 contests as the clubs met 4 times in the SPL and on 3 occasions in the cups. However, supporters of the Old Firm will now have to wait until next season for the earliest opportunity to satisfy their craving for another famous matchup with their oldest, most bitter rivals.

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Comments

[shug]

There will be no more Old Firm derbies. The teams that participated in the derby were Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers. Glasgow Rangers were liquidated on Feb 14th 2012 and a Newco was formed and placed in the bottom tier of British football. Scotland's third division. They are not one and the same and therefore the last ever derby was won by Glasgow Celtic which seems fitting as they also won the first ever derby.

Fact's my friend. Facts.

[Tim Skelper]

FAO Readers

Shug is either poorly informed, or, more likely in my opinion, deliberately misleading.

Rangers FC, a club with unbroken history of over 140 years, and the World’s Most Successful Club, continues to exist – albeit in the lowest echelons of the Scottish Football League.

Numerous sources of information can be cited in proving the continued existence of Rangers FC – however, so as not to bore the reader with such a wealth of information, I will cut to the most qualified source – this being the following statement which was made by UEFA (European Football’s ruling body), in confirming Rangers membership of the ECA (European Club Association), and which stated the following:

"Rangers FC held ordinary membership with the ECA before entering into administration and later into liquidation…. In dealing with this re-application, ECA applied the terms and provisions of our membership policy and statutes. According to the prerequisites set out in the membership policy, Rangers FC did not meet the requirements to be granted ordinary membership (top division and European license). With regards to associated membership, the membership policy states amongst others that founding members are granted automatic membership”.

“Founding Members”.

Case closed.

As an aside, Rangers FC, Scotland’s largest and most decorated of football clubs, continues to enjoy the largest average domestic attendance of any club in Scotland, and the 4th largest in the UK, whilst also enjoying the largest number of season ticket holders in the country – all in spite of the fact they play in their countries fourth tier against amateur opposition.

Furthermore, TV audiences for games involving Rangers FC are, on average, 40% higher than those involving the current League Champions Celtic FC.

In summary: RANGERS FC – THE ONLY SHOW IN TOWN

[shug]

<B> Have a wee read there, yer deluded </b>

Charles Green’s Sevco Scotland (now The Rangers Football Club Ltd) consortium did not buy Rangers plc, the legal entity formed in 1872.

They purchased Ibrox Stadium, the Murray Park training complex and a car park.

That is why Rangers’ SFA membership had to be transferred from Rangers Football Club to The Rangers Football Club.

You cannot "transfer" something from yourself to yourself!

The Rangers FC did not qualify for SFA membership as they do not have the three years’ worth of audited accounts required, so in a quirky deal, the SFA agreed to transfer the membership of the now defunct Rangers FC to the company who purchased the assets and business of the old club.

As a condition of transferring the membership, The Rangers FC had to agree to pay all debts owed to Scottish soccer clubs by the now defunct Rangers FC.

This week, following rumblings of discontent over The Rangers FC signing several players beyond the price range of most SPL clubs, Green announced that The Rangers FC has paid all debts owed by the now defunct Rangers FC.

Tomorrow sees the third round of the Scottish Cup, or the William Hill Scottish Cup as I suppose I should call it to give the sponsors their due. Sixteen ties between Scotland’s smaller clubs will take place to see who makes it through to the fourth round draw, where they will be joined by Scotland’s top sixteen clubs from last season.

But the crucial question that should be asked by serious students of Scottish football is perhaps not an obvious one. It is “Who are Livingston playing in the third round?”

Why is this so important?

Well, have a look at last year’s First Division table. We see that Livingston finished the season in fifth place. Now let’s look at the regulations for this year’s Scottish Cup.

Round Three

The clubs which, in the previous season, were members of The Scottish Premier League and those clubs finishing in The Scottish Football League First Division league positions one to four, shall be exempt from playing in Round Three of the Competition.

So Livingston should be playing in the third round, right?

Well, no. They have a bye and will enter the competition in the fourth round. But why?

The answer is quite simple. One of the clubs that finished in the top sixteen last season no longer exists. The former Rangers Football Club is now in liquidation and is no longer a Scottish league club.

The spare place in the Scottish leagues was taken by new club “The Rangers” who joined in the bottom tier. And as a third division club they came into this year’s Scottish Cup in the second round. A narrow 1 – 0 win over non-league Forres Mechanics saw them progress and they now have a third round tie against higher league opponents in Alloa Athletic to look forward to.

Now if, as some erroneously claim, “The Rangers” is in fact the same football club as the former Rangers FC, would this be case? Well, no. If the two were indeed the same then, as the rules make clear, a bye to the fourth round would have been secured. And Livingston would have been in the draw for the third round rather than having a weekend off.

So there you are. Proof according to the SFA, which runs the Scottish Cup, that “The Rangers” are not the same football club as former SPL club Rangers FC.

QED as they say. Quod erat demonstrandum.

In simple terms, here's my definitive answers to the same club/new club debate:

> It's a NEW CLUB.

> It's still "Rangers". Rangers are not dead, but their old club is. Fans are perfectly able to "follow Rangers til they die".

> Walter Smith was quite correct when he said, "Good luck to the new Rangers Football Club". For that's exactly what it is - a NEW RANGERS CLUB.

> The club or history do not "transfer" as no-one took over the old Rangers club. You cannot transfer history to another entity (even just the good bits).

> "Rangers" live on - but only as a new club. The old Rangers club owed at least £55m to hundreds of companies around the world, including the UK taxpayer - that's you and me.

> The old club could not pay the corner shop, the man who did the voiceover on the history video, nor the company who brought the shredder for Martin Bain.

> It could not pay these and other debts, so the old Rangers club failed.

> A CVA was essential for the history to be preserved. The CVA failed.

> Ally McCoist's club in Division 3 is not the same as the one that used to play Celtic, even if some of the people involved now, were involved then.

> The new club has INHERITED THE HONOURS but not the history of playing as the old Rangers club. That is to say, the current club did not earn the contents of the trophy room, they inherited them as assets. It's like me inheriting my Grandad's war medals. They're mine, but I did not earn them. I am not my Grandad.

> The new club may well lose some of its inherited honours if it is found that the old club fielded ineligible players. There is a case to answer. If this does happen, it should be remembered that the new club did not earn them.

> The new club is within its rights to say "Rangers then. Rangers now. Rangers forever" as a marketing tactic - for footballing purposes they can call their new club anything they want.

> Sky Sports began the season calling the new Rangers club "The Rangers FC", but quickly reverted to calling it "Rangers" after pressure from the fans. This does not mean that it is the old Rangers club - the one formed in 1872.

> The term "Old Firm" has no connection to Rangers' new club. It can be used in a historical context only, pre-2012.

> Liquidators BDO are wise to companies with a similar name, operating the same trade, having the same staff, premises and assets. If the newco is effectively trading as the oldco, but without the debt, then it is breaking the law. It is bizarre that Walter Smith is allowed on the board of a pheonix company, when he was previously a director of the oldco.

> This is just the start of the new club's story. Criminal investigations have been launched into tax schemes sold by a key shareholder in the new club, Richard Hughes, the co-founder of Zeus Capital.

> I have searched and searched for one easy to understand article that succinctly puts the same club/new club debate to rest, and The Times article (posted BELOW) absolutely nails it. And that is that.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
> "The SPL disputes that Rangers FC ceased to be a Club on 14 June 2012, and argues that the relevant date is 3 August 2012" (Scottish Premier League Commission)

> “140 years of history is formally ended” (The Herald)

> "As a result of appalling mismanagement, Rangers fans “no longer boast an unbroken line to the past...The emotional ties will remain forever but historical strings are severed. ” (Daily Record)

> (on liquidation) "the shell that it used to operate from – and I understand the history of it – would be the thing that disappears." (Paul Clark, Duff/Phelps)

> ”The Rangers Football Club PLC is a public limited company registered in Scotland (company number: SC004276) and was incorporated on 27 May, 1899. When the current company is officially liquidated, all of its corporate business history will come to an end. When this happened to Airdrieonians in 2002, all of the trophies, titles and records associated with the club were discontinued and a new club, Airdrie United FC, took over. Airdrieonians' official history ended in 2002, then Airdrie United's took over.” (BBC)

Charles Green’s Consortium did not take over the old Rangers club. Nor did it buy any shares. It bought the trophies as assets and formed a brand new club.

The new Rangers club are not entitled to any prize money from the previous club's campaigns. They do not have a 10pt penalty applied to them, as the new club is not in administration. They had to pay a fee to begin life in the SFL. As Charles Green admits, the new club has never played in the SPL.

The new Rangers club are not banned from Europe. UEFA deem all new clubs must play three years of football before they are eligible for Europe. The new Rangers club are not eligible to play in Europe for at least three years, even if they win the SPL or the Scottish Cup.

Throughout the old Rangers club's administration process, we were continually told that a CVA was the favoured option “TO SAFEGUARD 140 YEARS OF HISTORY and avoid liquidation.” The CVA failed.

Charles Green: (speaking about Dave King) "...for a man who is the second largest shareholder in the Club...to go out publicly and recommend that the creditors vote down the CVA it seems to me quite unbelievable because what we're doing in that is saying the history, the tradition, everything that is great about this Club, is swept aside. Why??!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEkbSD56hlY
(thanks to Stephen Gallagher)
______________________________________________
THE TIMELINE:
If it's the same club, corrections are needed from almost every media outlet in the land...

19/02/12 - THE OBSERVER - “The current worst-case scenario has Rangers being liquidated and a new club rising from the ashes but being made to start anew from the fourth tier of Scottish football.” (Kevin McKenna)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/19/kevin-mackenna-rangers-scottish-football?INTCMP=SRCH

21/02/12 - EVENING TIMES - “Rangers will exit either through an agreement with their creditors – a Company Voluntary Arrangement – or by liquidation. The latter represents a break with 140 years of history” (Richard Wilson)
http://www.login.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/football/the-thin-blue-line.16812532

02/03/12 - THE SUN - “It’s more than two weeks since owner Craig Whyte plunged Rangers into administration — putting 140 years of history and tradition at risk” (Andy Devlin)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4168947/Nearby-a-Gers-hero-was-spinning-in-his-grave.html

04/03/12 - DAILY RECORD - “Last night Group 9 Sports released a statement on their website indicating that, if successful, they’d aim to emerge from administration by setting up Rangers as a new company. Kennedy will not stand back and allow the club’s 140 years of history to be wiped out. And he insisted any such move could put Rangers out of existence completely.” (Keith Jackson)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-scots-millionaire-brian-1118430

05/03/12 - STV - “Administrators Duff and Phelps raised the possibility over the weekend of the current club being liquidated, meaning a new club could be formed to inherit Rangers’ assets”
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/299754-dunfermline-have-problems-with-new-rangers-spl-entry/

06/03/12 - EVENING TIMES - "Administrators Duff and Phelps raised the possibility at the weekend of the current club being liquidated, meaning a new club could be formed to inherit Rangers' assets." (Ian Black)
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/league-warning-for-new-blues.16947729

31/03/12 - DAILY TELEGRAPH - "the shell that it used to operate from – and I understand the history of it – would be the thing that disappears." (Paul Clark, Joint Administrator)
Ally McCoist will accept the end of 140 years of unbroken existence for Rangers, providing a new version of one of the world’s most famous clubs emerges in strength." (Roddy Forsyth)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/9178433/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-adamant-club-wont-die-despite-revelations-new-owners-will-look-to-start-afresh.html

03/04/12 - SKY SPORTS - “"Liquidation is no good for Rangers. It will end 140 years of history.” (Craig Whyte)
http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,11095_7647561,00.html

03/04/12 - SKY SPORTS - “The Blue Knights hope to avoid liquidation, which would leave any new club arising from the current club's carcass facing a three-year ban from European football and open to further domestic sanctions even if they retain Scottish Premier League status”
http://www.skysports.com/trackcycling/article/0,29329,11095_7648664,00.html

13/04/12 DAILY RECORD - “Some Rangers fans believe the club's history, which would end with liquidation, must be protected but there is a shameful part of that history which they should want to forget and any newco should make it clear a new beginning means exactly that. A new club open to all from the very beginning.” (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/jim-traynor-column-rangers-must-1119155

30/04/12 DAILY RECORD - “A new club would be banned from Europe for three years and the Scottish Premier League clubs are meeting today to discuss points and financial penalties for such a club”.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-blue-knights-consortium-1120560

02/05/12 - DAILY EXPRESS - “BRIAN KENNEDY and his Blue Knights have gone on the offensive and claimed their crusade to save Rangers is the only one on the table that will guarantee to safeguard 140 years of history AND AVOID LIQUIDATION.” (Scott Burns)
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/317632/Brian-Kennedy-and-Blue-Knights-say-only-they-can-save-Rangers

03/05/12 - STV - “On an ongoing basis the [old] company that continues to be in administration will be cleansed of all its former problems and will at a later date be reunited, after a CVA, with the new club Mr Miller is going to create.” (Paul Clark, Joint Administrator)
http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/98034-rangers-administrators-cannot-give-100-guarantee-over-liquidation/

29/05/12 - THE SUN - “Without Rangers the league would be knackered. I know a lot of supporters are saying they should be liquidated and come back as a new club in division three.” (Stuart McCall)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article4343450.ece

31/05/12 - THE SUN - “Charles Green attended the SPL meeting and has a £5.5m deal in place to form a new club should the CVA fail.” (David Friel)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4347649/Rangers-are-leading-our-game-down-the-road-to-ANARCHY.html

12/06/12 - THE GUARDIAN - “The liquidator overseeing the current club's extinction”...“Whether Rangers, as a new club formed by Green, are accepted into the SPL, and on what terms, is to be determined by the clubs.” (David Conn)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jun/12/rangers-deeply-disappointed-hmrc-move?INTCMP=SRCH

12/06/12 - DAILY TELEGRAPH - “Rangers in crisis: the final whistle sounds on Rangers’ 140 years of history”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9327256/Rangers-in-crisis-the-final-whistle-sounds-on-Rangers-140-years-of-history.html#

13/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “THE formation of Rangers in March 1872 was a walk in the park – its death in June 2012 a shambolic slide into the abyss...However, as a result of appalling mismanagement they no longer boast an unbroken line to the past. The emotional ties will remain for ever but historical strings are severed. In time, they may weave a new history that might start with the Third Division title in 2013.” (Gary Ralston)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-ibrox-club-need-1129107

13/06/12 - THE SUN - “The really sickening thing about all of this is it was avoidable. All it would have taken for that was for someone to be honest. Pay your dues, give the tax man what he is owed. Instead Rangers have died.” (Richard Gough)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4369672/Culprits-must-pay-price-after-killing-off-my-club.html

13/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “They’ll slip into liquidation within the next couple of weeks with a new company emerging but 140 years of history, triumph and tears, will have ended. No matter how Charles Green attempts to dress it up, a newco equals a new club. When the CVA was thrown out Rangers as we know them died. They were closed and a newco must start from scratch.” (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/james-traynor-spl-will-not-be-able-1129166

13/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “the reality is that in technical terms, the doors are closed on the history of Rangers...There will be plenty of pedants who feel the old Rangers are now gone, and technically they are right.” (Kevin Drinkell)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/new-company-maybe-but-rangers-are-still-1129143

13/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “Green is poised to push ahead with a £5.5million deal to buy the club's assets and form a new club, which would need to apply for membership of the Scottish Premier League and be excluded from Europe for three years.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-players-will-not-be-in-breach-1129188

13/06/12 - THE SUN - “I wanted to be able to confirm that, yes, their derbies really WERE the greatest game on earth, rather than tell the truth that they were bile-flecked re-enactments of centuries-old religious wars. It’s a cause of genuine sadness that this has never come to pass, so maybe that’s one of the things new owner Charles Green could look at as he rebuilds a new club from the rubble of liquidation” (Bill Leckie)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/4369629/Today-is-about-the-fans-the-players-the-greats.html

14/06/12 - BBC NEWS - “Charles Green has completed his purchase of Rangers' ASSETS in a deal worth £5.5m.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18447530

15/06/12 - THE HERALD - “Air of unreality as 140 years of history is formally ended in less than nine minutes...The Rangers creditors drifted in through Exit 50 at Ibrox Stadium just before 10am and by 10.09am they were on their way out. In those few minutes 140 years of history had been rubbed out”. (Teddy Jamieson and Richard Wilson)
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/air-of-unreality-as-140-years-of-history-is-formally-ended-in-less-than-nine-minutes.17876625

15/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “PFA Scotland insist Rangers players are not obliged to join Charles Green’s new club under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE), which ensure all employees are given the chance to join the new company under the same terms.” (Greig Thomas)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-newco-club-will-be-powerless-1129322

17/06/12 - THE SUN - “Union reps at PFA Scotland believe the new club has no hold over anyone who doesn’t want their contract to transfer across from the now defunct Rangers.” (Robert Grieve)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4377274/I-dont-do-walking-and-I-wont-do-talking.html

19/06/12 - BBC NEWS - “"Sevco 5088 would not be able to apply to change its name to 'The Rangers Football Club Ltd' until either the original company is fully dissolved, a process which can take about a year to complete, or the receivers give the go-ahead for the name change to take place.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18509619

19/06/12 - BBC NEWS - “We wish the new Rangers Football Club every good fortune” (Walter Smith)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18503656

23/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “And I believe concern over the new club's finances has prompted Brian Kennedy to make a £5.6million bid for a controlling interest.” (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/james-traynor-rangers-new-season-1189199

24/06/12 - THE SCOTSMAN - "Publicly, the SFL will be required to do their dirty work in co-opting a new member, a new club – as Charles Green’s Sevco consortium-cum-company that currently can’t even register a football name or football players should eventually become – and placing them in the highest, instead of lowest, tier in their set-up"
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/sfl-division-three/carve-up-would-see-spl-clubs-say-no-to-newco-rangers-but-soften-the-blow-for-all-concerned-1-2373102

24/06/12 - DAILY RECORD - “The uncertainty surrounding the new club, especially in terms of what league they’re going to play in, has been a major factor in my decision (to leave) ...I have concerns about who is in charge of the new club...Will I ever come back and support the new club? I haven’t thought about it.” (Steven Naismith)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-i-havent-quit-rangers-1130179

26/06/12 - SKY SPORTS - “With the new club unlikely to gain enough votes to allow them entry into the SPL by fellow clubs at the League's AGM on July 4 uncertainty over their future is growing amongst players.”
http://www.skysports.com/skysportsnews/story/0,,19494_7843070,00.html

01/07/12 - THE OBSERVER - “Of course a new club will rise from the ashes of Rangers FC.” (Kevin McKenna)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/01/kevin-mckenna-rangers-celtic?INTCMP=SRCH

04/07/12 - BBC - “Rangers will not play in the Scottish Premier League this season. SPL chairmen met at Hampden to vote on the new club's application to replace the old Rangers in the top flight.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18703183

04/07/12 - THE SUN - “It was also revealed the new club had been preparing to apply to the SFL for a couple of weeks and stated the newco Rangers would play in the appropriate division.”
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article4410854.ece

04/07/12 - DAILY RECORD - “We do not consider that the newco’s allegation of breach of contract will stand up to scrutiny and in the event of the players’ registrations not being issued to a new club, we’ll look to FIFA and/or the Court of Session for a speedy remedy.” (PFA Scotland lawyer)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-charles-green-threatens-1165975

13/07/12 - BBC - “Rangers chief executive Charles Green says he will not challenge the vote by the Scottish Football League to place his new club in Division Three.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18813407

14/07/12 - BBC - “Another unknown is how the footballing authorities - SFA and Uefa - would react to any new club while the old club still had outstanding debts to footballing creditors (other teams) totalling more than £3m. Mr Green's ambitions for a new club may also be thwarted if liquidators from BDO decide to challenge the asset sale.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18441178

15/07/12 - DAILY RECORD - “Green bought Rangers and their assets yesterday for £5.5million, just hours after Smith revealed he was spearheading a group to buy the new club." (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-ibrox-fans-to-snub-1129316

17/07/12 - EVENING TIMES - “I would like the clubs and UEFA to recognise these are not my debts”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/gers-uefa-plea-over-oldco-debt.18177973

17/07/12 - BBC - "the fresh dispute comes in the middle of negotiations with the Scottish Football Association for a membership that would allow the new club to start life in Division Three." (Chris McLaughlin)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18881004
(thanks to Sam Keenan for link)

18/07/12 - THE SUN - “Sevco are still waiting to hear if the new club have been granted SFA membership ahead of their entry into the Third Division.” (Paul Hughes)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article4437352.ece

19/07/12 - THE SUN - “And IF they are allowed to enter the top division an independent commission will decide if it’s the old club or the new club that has a case to answer over EBTs.” (Paul Hughes and Robert McAulay)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article4380923.ece

19/07/12 - MARKETING WEEK - “Coca-Cola, which signed a two-year deal with its sport drink Powerade to be the 54 times SPL champions official soft drink in December, says it will continue its relationship with “Rangers FC” but declined to comment on its future with the new club.”
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/tennents-to-stick-by-rangers-newco-for-now/4002587.article

20/07/12 - EVENING TIMES - "any deal cannot be finalised until the Scottish FA grants membership to the new club" (Darrell King)
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/sfl-bids-to-sell-tv-rights-for-gers-games.18199244

22/07/12 - DAILY TELEGRAPH - “No other completely new club would have been allowed to enter the bottom tier. It is also true that no other new club would have been even considered for membership of the SPL.” (Ewing Grahame)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9418724/Rangers-in-crisis-Sevco-have-until-Friday-to-gain-SFA-membership-and-play-football-next-season.html

22/07/12 - THE SUN - “Hearts chief Vladimir Romanov led the attack by insisting Jambos WON’T vote for them. Dundee United followed suit last night while Motherwell revealed that they will let their FANS decide the fate of the new club — a move that will almost certainly mean a third ‘NO’ vote.” (Paul Hughes)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article4387832.ece

24/07/12 - DAILY RECORD - “further complicated by the fact the SFA have now given Green a strict deadline that must be met if he wants his new club licenced to play football in any league.” (
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/raith-rovers-chief-launches-furious-1131547

29/07/12 - BBC - “Scottish Premier League clubs voted against accepting the new club into the top flight and the Scottish Football League clubs voted them into Division Three instead of the First Division...Asked to expand on what he meant by bigotry, Green turned to pressure placed on SPL clubs by their own fans not to allow the new club into the top flight.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19040706

29/07/12 - THE SUN - “With Rangers, a new club starting a fresh chapter, Nelson is aware the hand of history will be upon every player’s shoulder when kick-off comes.”
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4460493/For-Brechin-keeper-Craig-Nelson-this-will-be-as-good-as-it-gets.html

29/07/12 - THE SUN - ““Rangers newco should apply to the SFA for admission and apply direct to the SFL in the same way that any other new club would do.” (Stewart Milne)
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article4400738.ece

30/07/12 - DAILY RECORD - “Ibrox fans have sung heartily for years about following their team to places such as Dundee and Hamilton. Unsurprisingly, there was never a verse inserted for Brechin. Yet in this small Angus town at the local-parklike venue they were summoned here to see their new club start a new life.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-match-reports/ramsdens-challenge-cup-brechin-rangers-1190550

31/07/12 - BBC - “Stewart Regan has no plans to resign as Scottish FA chief executive despite criticism of his handling of the crisis resulting from Rangers' demise. Some club chairmen called for his resignation after voting against the new club playing in Division One.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19068235

31/07/12 - BBC - “And SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster and Scottish FA counterpart Stewart Regan had both warned of dire financial consequences should the new club not start life in Division One.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19070877

03/08/12 ESPN - “A new club, The Rangers Football Club, rose from the depths of despair and competed in its first game July 29 against second-division outfit Brechin City in the Ramsdens Scottish Cup. “
http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8229000/scottish-premier-league-preview-joe-prince-wright

03/08/12 - ESPN - “Charles Green, the chief executive of the new club, admitted as much when comparing his club to some of those he claimed had kept Rangers out of the SPL due to bigotry. He said: "We've not got the debt that any of these clubs have.”
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story/_/id/1129412/north-of-the-border:-rangers-begin-a-new-life?cc=5739#

03/08/12 - SKY SPORTS - “Charles Green's company, who changed their name from Sevco Scotland to The Rangers Football Club this week, were granted a conditional licence last Friday after applying to transfer the membership of the soon-to-be-liquidated Rangers.”
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11788/7960503/SFA-rubber-stamp-Gers-membership

03/08/12 - BBC - “Doncaster had come in for criticism following his dire predictions for the financial future of the SPL if the relaunched Rangers were not admitted to the top flight. He repeated the same concerns when the new club sought a place in Division One.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19120228

13/08/12 - CNN - “New club forced to start in Scottish Football League 3”
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/11/sport/football/football-rangers-sfl-debut/index.html

15/08/12 - STV - “The Ibrox side waived any claim to £2.55m in prize money from the league for the 2011/12 season”
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/dundee-united/150386-rangers-and-spl-in-dispute-over-unpaid-dundee-united-ticket-money/

17/08/12 - BBC - “SPL clubs voted against accepting the new club into the top flight and the Scottish Football League clubs voted them into Division Three instead of the First Division.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19298734

21/08/12 - BBC - “It was the first game in the lower league for the new Rangers club”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19330552

03/09/12 - DAILY RECORD - "McCoist and Green are committed to opposing any move to have history books rewritten even though they accepted they had to begin again as a new concern after Rangers, the club with history, slipped into liquidation and closed. That should mean the titles aren’t really any of their business. But on the other hand, the SPL refused to hand over £2m, which should have gone to Rangers for finishing second last season, pointing out that the club no longer exists." (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/lawyers-set-to-cash-in-as-spl-and-rangers-1299399

01/10/12 - BBC NEWS - "After HMRC rejected proposals for a creditors agreement that would have allowed the old club to continue, Duff and Phelps negotiated a sale of assets to a consortium led by Charles Green for £5.5m."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19786824

03/10/12 - ACCOUNTACY AGE - "Following the failure of the CVA the club is now following the Premier League and Football Association structure, where the assets of the 'game', such as player contracts, are transferred to a new club and the old club liquidated. "
http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/2214222/hmrc-rangers-fc-bill-rockets-by-gbp73m

11/10/12 - FINANCIAL TIMES - "Sevco bought Rangers’ assets out of administration for £5.5m and then unsuccessfully applied to have the new club remain in Scotland’s Premier League"
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2761f4b6-136b-11e2-9cc7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29248bPcR

17/10/12 - BBC NEWS - "HM Revenue and Customs blocked a CVA (creditors agreement) that would have allowed the old club to continue. The old club, which remained in administration, has since been known as RFC 2012.
Continue reading the main story
“
START QUOTE

The new club, started by Mr Green's consortium, began life in the Scottish Third Division"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-19981266

18/10/12 - DAILY RECORD - "(Whyte) also added: “What other country in the world would deal with one of their biggest clubs in the way they have and demote them to the Third Division.” Wrong again, Craig. Rangers had to go there because they were a new club starting over. (Jim Traynor)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/disgraced-ex-rangers-owner-craig-whyte-1385032

19/10/12 - THE HERALD - "Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte is preparing to claim millions of pounds from the remains of the old club that collapsed earlier this year." (Martin Williams)
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/whyte-to-claim-millions-from-rangers-assets-sale.19179711

20/10/12 - INVESTORS CHRONICLE - "Debt-ridden Rangers Football Club went into administration in February, and Mr Green, leading a consortium of investors (Sevco), bought the trade and assets from the old club's administrators for £5.5m in June. It means that the new club - The Rangers Football Club Limited - is debt-free.

http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/2012/10/19/comment/chronic-investor-blog/rangers-ipo-likely-to-appeal-to-fans-not-investors-4K3OdfNlzZV4zBan7MLmDK/article.html

28/10/12 - THE SUN - "“Ally McCoist, Kenny McDowall, Ian Durrant, Jim Stewart — all fantastic people. It is still a brilliant club for me, although technically it is now a new club." (TERRY BUTCHER)

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4613608/Plights-out.html#ixzz2Afq1owRg

31/10/12 - BBC NEWS - "At the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Lord Hodge approved a Duff and Phelps motion to hand over what remains of the old club to liquidators BDO."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-20141946

26/12/12 <b> FIFA.COM </B "Rangers’ perilous financial position had been an open secret but there was still shock when, after 140 years of history and a world record 54 league titles, the club was consigned to liquidation."
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/news/newsid=1977017.html

30/01/13 - THE SCOTSMAN - "Rangers, as a new club, are currently only associate members of the SFL and aren’t allowed to vote at meetings until they’ve belonged to the organisation for four years."
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/sfl-face-pressure-as-spl-clubs-agree-league-changes-1-2763873

.

[Tim Skelper]

A great deal of text text there Shug... And I suppose it all boils down to this:

Are UEFA wrong, Shug?

Are the governing body of our game mistaken, Shug?

Because according to the highest body in the land, Shug, it's 54 league titles and counting.

[Big Joe Canoe]

The fact that Celtic fans are so utterly obsessed with “proving” that Rangers FC don’t exist anymore says everything you need to know on the matter.

Rangers: Then. Now. Forever.