The disaster at Ibrox continues. Rangers FC is now officially defunct. A new company, THE Rangers FC, exists on paper, but exactly who will play for it, and in which league, no person can say. 2012-13 is set to begin in a month and a half, so the schedules have been published, but with the tacit understanding that there could be a lot of rescheduling to follow. The SPL schedule includes a team called Club 12, which might be The Rangers, or if not them, then possibly Dundee or Dunfermline. They don't know. Somehow there's no contingency plan for this kind of thing. Any solution will produce outrage from some quarter, because outrage is what Scottish football is all about. That, and never meting out the same punishment twice.
What are the possible outcomes?
The Rangers might be voted back in to the SPL on July 4th. Some of the other clubs have calculated that they stand to lose heavily at the gate if The Rangers are not on the schedule. But reinstatement will be proof to many that there is no integrity left in the Scottish game. There'd be outrage in Livingston for sure. And it's beginning to look as if the other SPL clubs have begun to reason that not having The Rangers around would be to their advantage. Hearts, Dundee United and [Aberdeen, or maybe not] are all set to vote against readmitting the Ibrox cheaterbox.
The Rangers could be demoted to the First Division. This compromise scenario surfaced last week, and involves a bundle of face-saving reforms, including shifting the First Division into the SPL as SPL2. A lot would have to happen very very quickly for this scenario to happen. There'd be outrage in Livingston again, but at least the Livi supporters would be able to yell about it when The Rangers visit. I'd expect that Partick Thistle would be very pleased to have The Rangers in the division. Rangers/Partick is an underappreciated Glasgow derby. Thistle last played Rangers on September 28th, 2008, in the League Cup.
Are Dunfermline or Dundee prepared to fill the gap in the SPL? The Pars finished twelfth, and have since dismantled their SPL squad. They would be guaranteed to finish twelfth again. Dundee are a good pick to win the First Division this year, so they might be a better choice.
The Rangers could (very many would say should) be demoted to the SFL Third Division. Some of the Third Division clubs would have difficulty accommodating the hordes of Glaswegians who would be descending upon their villages each Saturday. But Queen's Park, who play at Hampden, with its 50,000 seats, would have no problem. Queen's Park last played Rangers on August 20th, 1991, also in the League Cup. Rangers/Queen's Park has not been a regular Glasgow derby for years if not centuries.
No word of The Rangers joining the Second Division.
And conceivably The Rangers could sit out the year, and tour the globe playing friendlies. The organization has often floated the idea of leaving Scottish football, for England, or an international league.
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