What Scottish Football Can Learn From Aldershot Town

The Rangers have all but won their first ever top flight title and they have performed well this season. Naturally, they’ll celebrate and wind up rivals. That’s par for the course and, as their rivals, we have to take it and just ignore it. However, myths of continuity shouldn’t be ignored by Scottish football if we want to have a game with integrity. Particularly when a club was liquidated due to using illegal EBT payments, which a former manager admitted gave them an opportunity to compete for trophies that they wouldn’t otherwise have been able to attain. Not a penny was paid back to the many creditors, other clubs or local businesses.

After Rangers’ liquidation, we were asked to believe that the company was liquidated and that the club exists through the new company (Sevco). The old company sold all of the assets and business to Sevco. The report by the Administrators said:

“The sale of the business and certain assets included the sale of the Company’s right, title and interest in its SPL share and SFA membership. Following the sale of these assets, the sale of Ibrox and Murray Park and the transfer of the Playing Staff to Newco the Company was no longer in a position to meet the criteria for membership of any of the Football Authorities and therefore no longer operates a Football club.”

Those assets were indeed transferred, but what about “Rangers”, the football team?

It (the club) is not a legal entity.

Charles Green’s counsel Mr Jonathan Brown, told the Court of Session back in November 2015:

“Sevco Scotland did not buy the club, they bought the business and assets of the club. There is a difference between the company and the business assets, but not between a club and a company. A club is an undertaking of it’s owners. As it has neither capacity of personality, no-one can be CEO of a club. The idea that someone can be CEO of an undertaking is just nonsense.

“I realise that Rangers being the same club is a matter of life and death to some, but it wouldn’t be a proper legal case without the elephant in the room getting mentioned. The team are paid by Sevco, play at a ground owned by Sevco, trained by a manager who is employed by Sevco, fans buy tickets from Sevco. Rangers was a basket of assets that could be sold, but these were not indivisible. The players went one way and the ground another, where is the ‘club’ then?”

Furthermore, QC Alan Dewar representing Charles Green at the Inner House Court of Session said: “The Rangers Football Club does not exist, it is an idea in people’s minds, a myth of continuity. No-one knows what The Rangers Football Club is but it has no legal personality.

“You can only be the chairman of an entity that has a legal personality. Sevco Scotland, and it alone, bought the assets and carried on the business. The concept of the Rangers Institution continuing exists only in the minds of die-hard supporters.”

Perhaps Scottish football can take a leaf out of Aldershot Town’s book. Indeed, the club’s website reads as follows:

“On March 25th 1992, Aldershot FC became the first Football League team to fold during the season since Accrington Stanley in 1962.

From the ashes came phoenix club Aldershot Town, who were formed on April 22nd 1992 and managed by ex-Aldershot FC centre back Steve Wignall.

The “new” Shots began life in Isthmian League Division 3 and opened the 1992-93 season in a carnival atmosphere at the Recreation Ground against Clapton…”

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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