Whyte knight too late as Rangers title hopes run on empty
The weekend saw journalists publicly snipe at each other over what Ibrox chairman Alastair Johnston had or had not said when he addressed Rangers situation with the media on Friday.
However, what is more obvious is that the delay in Whytes arrival might yet prove to be costly for the ailing champions.
The 3-2 defeat by Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday – when a win would have taken the Light Blues top of the table after Celtics game against Inverness had been cancelled earlier in the day – revealed again weaknesses and deficiencies in the Rangers squad which have surfaced from time to time this season.
The confidence taken from beating Celtic in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final at Hampden a fortnight ago appeared to have been lost during the international break.
Losing the lead once at home is unusual for either Old Firm club but to do it twice does not augur well for Walter Smiths men as the championship races enters its last few weeks and the pressure intensifies.
The Rangers boss had Madjid Bougherra, Kyle Lafferty and Vladimir Weiss out injured against United with long-term injured Kirk Broadfoot still not ready to return. However, his selection problems were not highlighted by the fact he was able to name just five substitutes as well as playing Steven Whittaker in central defence, but by the fact that Salim Kerkar was one of his replacements. Many Gers fans believe Kerkar is only at Ibrox because he is the pal of Bougherra and certainly there has been little indication that the management team has any faith in him.
It would be wrong to blame Lloyds Banking Group for the state of the Rangers squad at the moment. Very wrong. The crippling debts are a result of years of mismanagement but the banks influence this season has had a material effect on the team.
Smith is on record as saying that the bank have been running Rangers and Johnston confirmed that and the suspicions of many Gers fans last week when he said that, “certain provisions imposed on the Club continue to compromise, in our opinion, managements ability to conduct its role with maximum efficiency.”
Had Whyte taken over before or during January, as had been mooted, then top scorer Kenny Miller probably would not have been sold to Bursaspor for less than half a million pounds. Who knows what the bank were thinking when it seems obvious that retaining the Scotland striker would have undoubtedly helped Rangers chances of retaining the SPL title and with it the prospect of Champions League riches.
Had the Motherwell-born tycoon been in charge then Smith would probably been given the money to buy one or two players or to get a better quality of loan player in than David Healy and El-Hadji Diouf, neither of whom have contributed much since their arrival. Maybe the money would have been found to satisfy the talented Kris Commons, who pitched up at Parkhead and made an immediate impact.
Rangers fans will never know but what they do know is that both Old Firm clubs have now played the same amount of league matches and the Hoops are two points clear. Celtic might be asked to play four SPL games in eight days but the Parkhead club are much better equipped than Rangers to handle such demands.
Neil Lennon has a bigger and stronger squad than Smith. Even though Andreas Hinkel and Daniel Majstrovic are injured the Celtic boss had 21 players from which to choose at the weekend. There appears little between the Glasgow giants this season but if it comes down to the numbers game and nothing else, then Celtic will have the edge going in to the latter stages of the campaign.
Smith had called for a resolution to the takeover saga on Friday but did not believe that it had anything to do with the United defeat. “I dont think so, I dont think there is any problem in that respect,” he said.
However, the damage might already be done.
And if Celtic win the title then it will be Whyte who will be under immediate and fierce pressure to provide the money to reclaim it back.
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