Revealed: Plan for Rangers to enter English football in 2012

A footballer-turned-businessman has revealed there was a plan to exploit Rangers' financial meltdown by having the club start again in the lower leagues of English football.

Ray Ranson, who played for both Manchester clubs, Newcastle, Birmingham and Reading in a 17-year career, was approached about the possibility of taking over Rangers after the liquidation event in 2012.

The 58-year-old left Coventry City just the year prior after helping to save the club from administration in 2007.

Ibrox Stadium. Picture: SNS Group

He devised a bold plan to have Rangers start again as a newco in the bottom tier of the English league instead of going to Scotland’s League Two (then the Third Division).

Ranson told the Are You Not Entertained? podcast: “I have a mutual friend, who I’ll keep to myself, but needless to say is from a very, very wealthy family – Sunday Times rich list wealthy.

“He’s a big football fan and he called me up one Sunday morning asking if I knew the situation with Rangers.

“There were some corporate finance guys in Manchester who were looking at it and they asked me some advice on Rangers.

“I saw an opportunity, rightly or wrongly, with the club because of the of the liquidation of Rangers.

“For me, just starting as a Newco and transferring all the assets that’s easy. I was interested in other opportunities at Rangers.

“There’s always been the argument about Rangers and Celtic joining the football league and moving up through the pyramid system in England to eventually join the Premier League.

“It might have been controversial at the time but it was in the best interests of the club.

“The opportunity was there to think outside the box. The question was it better to go down the divisions in Scotland or seize the opportunity and go in to the third division of the football league.”

He added: “I wasn’t trying to change Scottish football, I was just trying to think what was best for Rangers.

“While I never spoke to Celtic, for obvious reasons, would that have been the catalyst for Celtic and beneficial for Scottish football?

“There’s the argument that Scottish football might be better off without Celtic and Rangers.”