Scottish House Of Cards To Collapse?

Last updated : 13 February 2012 By Ed_Scottishfitba

broken rangers crest jpeg.JPGThere should be no football fan celebrating tonight regarding the situation at Ibrox. There but for the grace of god go many a club in the leagues in Scotland. The complexity of finance required to be gathered together to maintain the smallest of clubs is a minor miracle as anybody who has had to collect the subs from the players in the local pub side will confirm.  It only takes one small change in the foundations of the financial Tower of Babel for all the good work of so many working behind the scenes to go for naught as the fragile empire starts to crumble.
 
The merits of who owns what and how much is owed to whom is not for me to comment on as I don't know the full facts. I doubt if anybody knows or will ever know the full facts of how any club is financed to keep going. We do know that several clubs survive due to the generosity of directors, benefactors, fan clubs and volunteers to do all that is needed to get a game played. Bills need to be paid; income generated and expectations to be managed to stay in business. If any one of these three gets unbalanced, there will be trouble ahead. 
 
Football fans do not always take this into account when supporting their team. The majority want to see their team win and are willing to pay for the enjoyment that event will bring. A model of living beyond your means is not one which is sustainable. It has often been said that many junior clubs have better facilities and infrastructure than some league clubs. These clubs do not go for election to the league as they know to limit their ambitions so that they can continue to operate at a sustainable level.
 
The furore that will follow the planned move into administration by Rangers will not just affect one club. The whole structure of football is so interlinked between clubs and sponsors that a number of club accountants will not be getting much sleep tonight. Rangers players and staff will also be concerned about their future. The most expensive resource in any company is staff and they are also the easiest to release and save money. There will be lots of worried people in the west tonight and that is nothing to gloat about.