English clubs slam door on Old Firm as entry rated 'not desirable or viable'

Published on Thursday 12 November 2009 21:48

THE Old Firm's proposed move to the English Premier League was rejected unequivocally yesterday when leading clubs south of the Border described it as neither "desirable nor viable".

Rangers appeared unperturbed by the move, with their chairman, Alastair Johnson, recalling that they had not been so vocal about the potential switch as Glasgow rivals Celtic. The urge to move to a bigger market than the SPL, however, was emphasised when the Ibrox club published results which showed their debt has risen to over 30million.

Rangers' day could have been even worse – but they were fined a relatively modest 20,000 (17,988) and ordered to pay costs as a result of the behaviour of some of their fans during the Champions League match against Unirea Urziceni in Romania last week.

The EPL's dismissal of the Old Firm's proposed entry was the only suggestion by Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside which was turned down out of hand. His other ideas, including a two-tier Premier League, will be considered as part of the organisation's strategic review.

"The clubs . . . were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable," a statement from the EPL read. "The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton's paper will now be taken forward with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010."

Johnston said he understood why that decision had been taking. "It is not surprising," he said. "Turkeys don't vote for Christmas."

The Rangers chairman also insisted that, although the club's debt rose to 31.1m for the year to 30 June 2009, they are now on a sound financial footing. The league champions lost 12.7m for the year, compared to a 7.2m profit for 2008 when they reached the Uefa Cup final, but Johnston insisted the club would still be able to trade – albeit within tough restraints – on the transfer market.

"As I said in our discussions with the bank, if we downsize the product on the field there is a cost in terms of income," he said. "If the team is doing badly, supporters do not turn up in the same numbers.

"We are under no obligation to sell players in January. If we do sell, it will be the decision of the Rangers management.

"What we do on the acquisitions side will be the function of difficult constraints. We can't have any more passengers, or any players who come and sit on the bench or only start a couple of matches. We are not going to make any purchases such as that of Tore Andre Flo."

Flo cost 12m almost a decade ago, and any purchases made during the next transfer window are unlikely to come to even ten per cent of that sum. Nonetheless, Rangers' agreement with Lloyds Bank at least means there will be no fire sale in January.

"Trading our way out of debt is not a priority at this point in time," Johnston continued. "The credit facility we have gives us a lot of breathing space.

"But we will not be able to be a competitive team, in terms of the ambitions which Rangers have historically had, within the confines of our current circumstances. So it is imperative that a new owner has the ability to fund our ambitions."

In a separate statement, Rangers chief executive Martin Bain expressed his disappointment at the fine by Uefa, who also ordered Unirea to pay 8,000 (7,195) for their lack of organisation at the match.

"It is extremely disappointing for both Rangers and the overwhelming majority of our supporters to see the club receive a fine of 18,000 from Uefa and suffer the consequences of the actions of those who took part in the disorder in Bucharest," Bain said.

"The moronic conduct of these individuals was wholly unacceptable and flies in the face of what we stand for as a football club. We will not appeal today's decision.

"The club made strong representations to Uefa regarding the wholly unsatisfactory crowd management prior to the match and Uefa has addressed this.

"As we have made clear, this in no way excuses the violent behaviour of some fans."

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