Vital Rangers covered an interview with finance expert Kieran Maguire this week in which, with This is Ibrox, he reveals how the lack of Champions League football won’t see the need for a fire sale at Ibrox.
This, obviously, doesn’t go along with the media narrative that we are “skint” and that we are desperate to offload some of our key players, something that Maguire explains in more detail with Football Insider.
When explaining how Rangers budgets will not have been prepared purely with Champions League football in mind, he pinpoints another or European football’s massive clubs as an example of how the club will likely operate:
“They will have prepared a couple of new budgets this season.
“They will have had a base budget, first and foremost. And I suspect that base budget will not have included Champions League group stage money.
“I know, for example, that Man United prepare a budget each year based on qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the last-16.
“They then flex that up or down accordingly. Rangers will have written a budget and I suspect that budget will have been based on the Europa League.
“They will also have what we refer to as a ‘stretch budget’. That’s for if they exceed the target and qualify for the Champions League.
“With that, they can either repay debt, but I don’t think the people who are putting money into the club are interested in that.
“They can also look at individual capital expenditure projects, either in terms of infrastructure or player spend.“
The Price of Football author is a revered spokesperson when it comes to all things revenue and expenditure, his ability to simplify complicated matters makes him the best place to go to if you are ever confused about the financial status of Rangers – that he is completely neutral also gives a more balanced representation of the facts and figures.
Maguire is, of course, right, there is no way that Rangers will have budgeted on guaranteed Champions League money, we may have been guilty of that under David Murray’s stewardship but there is no way that we would contemplate that now, the repercussions could be catastrophic.
The attempts by some to paint a sort of doomsday scenario is as unsurprising as it is pathetic, we are a well run club now with directors who will put their hands in their pockets when they are needed most and have reinvigorated our infrastructure on and off the park.
Yes, there might have to be players sold, but that was always going to happen, it’s not cost cutting, it’s best practice. If players are into the last two years of their contract they should either be in talks to have it extended or have consideration given to any offers that might come in for them.
The ones that do depart will be replaced and because of the work of Dave King, Douglas Park and John Bennett, we have a man like Ross Wilson, who we can trust to ensure the continued growth of Steven Gerrard’s squad.