Rangers – solvent or not?

Rangers owner Craig Whyte has issued a statement today in reaction to all the negative financial news surrounding Rangers.

After visits from Sheriff Officers and HMRC to serve papers on the club and a couple of visits to the Court of Session to fend of potential creditors, including former Chief Exec Martin Bain, Whyte has been forced to come out with a statement to let everyone know Rangers are in good financial health.

He started his statement by saying, "First, the board would like to make it absolutely clear that, at Ibrox, it is business as usual. The club is trading normally and has a strong balance sheet.

"The board finds it reprehensible that the law courts have been used in recent days to suggest the club is on the brink of insolvency. It is not.”

This all seems contradictory to everything we have been hearing from Judges and Lawyer in the Court of Session, are these people just scaremongering in hope of bringing down a major Scottish institution.

He then took a side swipe at Bain as well, "As chairman, I find it breathtaking that the former chief executive, who was in post when this issue emerged, has now sought fit to seek legal protection from its potential consequences.”

He has a point here with Bain taking a decent salary from the club for a number of years and as Whyte points out, is partly responsible for the current financial plight of the club.

On the other hand, if anyone knows the financial state of Rangers it could be Bain and if he is looking to protect his money by arresting funds maybe there is something wrong!

Although Whyte ends up with a warning to the Rangers fans, "As I explained publicly earlier this week, Rangers FC faces challenging times ahead - as do many football clubs.

"The current costs of the club against existing and potential revenue streams make it imperative the club operates within its means. There can be very few businesses today that are not taking this outlook on life.”

So where does all this leave Rangers, it would appear there are financial issues at Ibrox but depending upon who you believe to what extent they reach.