Craig Whyte gambles everything

As regards Rangers, events have moved faster than a Coatbridge resident who has spied a bottle of Buckfast fifty yards away.

So much for the 5-10 days they appearently had to appoint administrators; the taxman moved swiftly to try and get the men of their choice in charge of the affair, but Whyte kept half a step ahead of them and brought in a group from Manchester, Duff And Phelps (who sound more like an 80s TV police cop partnership). It has already been noted that a director of this company was actually involved in Whyte's original takeover - lending more credence to the theory that going into administration was always part of the Rangers' owner's grand plan.

Interestingly, the reason given by Duff And Phelps for today's move was not the potential bill related to the, shall we say, 'creative' ways Whyte's predecessors avoided paying tax for so many years. In fact, it finally emerged in the public domain that Rangers have not been paying their VAT and PAYE since Whyte's takeover...a cool £9 million. Whilst Sir David Murray undoubtedly deserves much of the blame for the current circumstance, it is also finally indisputable (as if there was much doubt left) that Craig Whyte is a shady character indeed.

This whole fiasco increasingly resembles a feud between Whyte and HM Revenue and Customs. There appears to be no chance of Rangers getting away with a slap on the wrist and an agreement on a drastically reduced and affordable payment. So by taking Rangers down the slip-road marked Administration, he has done the business equivalent of going all-in at a Poker table. He has bet everything on this move. He's hardly going in with pocket aces, but on the other hand he's not stuck with an off-suit two and seven either. (Anyone who doesn't play poker should just ignore the last few lines)

Don't forget that managing failing businesses appears to be Whyte's forte. He either turns them around and walks away with a big fat cheque, or lets them go bust and just walks away. I think it is safe to assume that he predicted the actions of HMRC today, and from his point of view, this is almost a no lose situation for him, business-wise. If the taxman caves in, then Rangers come out of this a bit worse for wear, but ultimately, after a few years of pain, there is a good chance that they return to their recent status by the middle of the decade.

Alternatively, if the taxman squeezes till the pips squeak, then Whyte lets Rangers go bust. He, it seems, can walk away with little or no financial loss, or alternatively will be in the prime position to pick up the pieces and start up 'Rangers 2012' or whatever the new club would be called. Of course, by this process (and indeed administration itself) lots of people - mostly those in the background, such as office staff, canteen workers, cleaners etc - will lose their jobs and suffer significantly (these are the only people involved in all this who deserve even a modicum of sympathy), but Whyte doesn't lose.

As Winston Churchill said after El Alamein, "This is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end. But perhaps it is the end of the beginning". Plenty will happen in the near future. With no prospect of selling players for four months, I wonder if the administrators will have to sack players in order to cut costs. We have the result of that tax tribunal to come in the next few weeks. And ring the 31st of March on your calendar - this is the date by which Rangers have to submit independently audited accounts if they are to be allowed to compete in Europe next year. If they don't get out of this mess by then, they will be denied a UEFA licence and wouldn't be allowed to compete in continental competition.

The SPL's reaction to all this will be extremely interesting to watch. Depressingly, the only penalty they can give Rangers at the moment is a 10 point deduction, which sends them plummeting to...second in the league, still, with a decent cushion over third placed Motherwell. Will they mollycoddle Rangers, or will they flog them?

L.