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The National
07-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Murray's mea culpa won't wash, but Rangers board can learn
Thursday marks the 30th anniversary of a deal Rangers couldn't do these days. Even if they wanted to spend that £100m in the bank on tried-and-tested players instead of Japanese projects, neither could Celtic. Buying England's star midfielder in the current market would take more than a benevolent owner with deep pockets. They'd need Jeff Bezos writing the cheques. There were times when Sir David Murray spent like he, too, was married to Lauren Sanchez. The former Ibrox chairman would match or better the salaries on offer from EPL clubs to snap up England internationalists who, by rights, should have been nowhere near Scottish football. In his new autobiography, Murray encourages supporters to remember him for the titles, the trophies and the nights of arm-wrestling with Gazza instead of that unfortunate business with HMRC, Craig Whyte and a pound coin. He can take heart from the knowledge that there's always someone willing to let bygones be bygones. For every Rangers fan lining up to tell STV News where their old owner could stick his new book, there was another debating whether they should thank him for blessing the club with players like Gascoigne and Laudrup. Strip it down and so much of what Rangers did in those days – from signing Gazza to signing side letters – stemmed from the same mindset. The win-at-all-costs, risk-and-reward instincts which persuaded Murray to shell out a club record £4.3million for an injury prone, tortured genius with a tangled personal life were the same risk-and-reward instincts which convinced him that EBTs were worth a punt. Right up until the point when Gazza – like the tax avoidance – became more trouble than he was worth. Read more: The journey to Glasgow began the day he damaged cruciate knee ligaments in a reckless challenge on Nottingham Forest's Gary Charles in the 1991 FA Cup final. After a year on the sidelines, he joined Lazio then sustained another broken leg. Despite the self-inflicted injuries, indiscipline and suspect temperament, Rangers rolled the dice anyway. From signing Tore Andre Flo for £12m to shelling out £6.5m for Michael Ball, that's what they did. For two years the gamble paid out. In his fourth league game, Gascoigne guaranteed his place in the affections of the support by slotting a breakaway goal in a 2–0 win over Celtic at Parkhead. A brilliant hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win over Aberdeen then secured eight-in-a-row, en route to the coveted nine. By season three he'd moved from the back pages to the front. During a family break at Gleneagles Hotel he drank a potent cocktail of whisky and champagne and headbutted former wife Sheryl in their hotel room. The following day, the midfielder flew to Amsterdam and lasted 10 minutes as a makeshift striker before being dismissed for an assault on Ajax opponent Winston Bogarde during a 4-1 defeat in the Champions League. The time had come for Rangers to cash out. Much like the man who signed the cheque to land him in the first place, an Ibrox career which promised succulent lamb finished up a dog's dinner. The court of public opinion has been kinder to the slightly tragic figure of Gascoigne than it has to Murray. Despite Scottish football's hall of fame denying him a plaque on the wall, Gazza could still turn up at Ibrox for a half-time draw and secure a standing ovation. The only way Murray is likely to darken the door again is in a blacked out people carrier on a quiet night. Given all the hurdles he overcame – the recovery from a life-threatening car accident, 15 league titles, 20 trophies and an end to the club's sectarian signing policy – that must feel like a source of pain and regret to the former chairman. An injustice, even. Despite using his new book as a vehicle to extend a public apology to the support, however, there's no sign of the mea culpa making much difference. Few seem to buy the view that banks were partly to blame for lending the club all that money in the first place. And, while faceless jobsworths at HMRC are targeted for aggressively going after the club, Hector wouldn't have taken much interest in a football team in Govan if Murray International had steered clean of a morally dubious tax scheme in the first place. In a series of PR sit-downs to promote 'Mettle; Tragedy, Courage and Titles', Murray seem reluctant to dwell on either point. What he does offer is some unsolicited advice to the new American owners on the need to give manager Russell Martin the tools to get the job done. When a man has flogged a national institution like Rangers to Craig Whyte for a quid, his opinions tend to lose a bit of currency. Patrick Stewart, you suspect, will file them in the same drawer as King Herod's dossier on child minding. It can't be easy for a self-made knight of the realm to portray himself as the hapless victim of a timeshare salesman from Motherwell in an ill-fitting suit. Years since he first pedalled that line about being duped by Whyte, however, Murray clings to the hope that fans will buy the idea that a man who knew everything about everyone was, for one deal only, completely in the dark. If he believes that, they should get in touch; this column has a bridge to sell them. As the man himself admits, you couldn't run a football club the way he did now. The days of bringing in big-ticket, crowd-pleasing gambles like Gascoigne are pretty much over and, fun though they were, that's for the best. Signings on that scale were always unsustainable without the guarantee of Champions League group-stage football every year or the development of a successful trading model. The arrival of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers investment group offers a chance, in time, to push for both. To consign the car crash of 2012 to the rear-view mirror and, for the first time in years, create a sustainable football club. Ideally without the ghost of Rangers past popping up to remind them of the hubris, the moonbeams and the over-spending which drove them over a cliff in the first place.
The Herald Scotland
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Murray's mea culpa won't wash, but Rangers board can learn
Buying England's star midfielder in the current market would take more than a benevolent owner with deep pockets. They'd need Jeff Bezos writing the cheques. There were times when Sir David Murray spent like he, too, was married to Lauren Sanchez. The former Ibrox chairman would match or better the salaries on offer from EPL clubs to snap up England internationalists who, by rights, should have been nowhere near Scottish football. In his new autobiography, Murray encourages supporters to remember him for the titles, the trophies and the nights of arm-wrestling with Gazza instead of that unfortunate business with HMRC, Craig Whyte and a pound coin. He can take heart from the knowledge that there's always someone willing to let bygones be bygones. For every Rangers fan lining up to tell STV News where their old owner could stick his new book, there was another debating whether they should thank him for blessing the club with players like Gascoigne and Laudrup. Strip it down and so much of what Rangers did in those days – from signing Gazza to signing side letters – stemmed from the same mindset. The win-at-all-costs, risk-and-reward instincts which persuaded Murray to shell out a club record £4.3million for an injury prone, tortured genius with a tangled personal life were the same risk-and-reward instincts which convinced him that EBTs were worth a punt. Right up until the point when Gazza – like the tax avoidance – became more trouble than he was worth. Read more: The journey to Glasgow began the day he damaged cruciate knee ligaments in a reckless challenge on Nottingham Forest's Gary Charles in the 1991 FA Cup final. After a year on the sidelines, he joined Lazio then sustained another broken leg. Despite the self-inflicted injuries, indiscipline and suspect temperament, Rangers rolled the dice anyway. From signing Tore Andre Flo for £12m to shelling out £6.5m for Michael Ball, that's what they did. For two years the gamble paid out. In his fourth league game, Gascoigne guaranteed his place in the affections of the support by slotting a breakaway goal in a 2–0 win over Celtic at Parkhead. A brilliant hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win over Aberdeen then secured eight-in-a-row, en route to the coveted nine. By season three he'd moved from the back pages to the front. During a family break at Gleneagles Hotel he drank a potent cocktail of whisky and champagne and headbutted former wife Sheryl in their hotel room. The following day, the midfielder flew to Amsterdam and lasted 10 minutes as a makeshift striker before being dismissed for an assault on Ajax opponent Winston Bogarde during a 4-1 defeat in the Champions League. The time had come for Rangers to cash out. Much like the man who signed the cheque to land him in the first place, an Ibrox career which promised succulent lamb finished up a dog's dinner. The court of public opinion has been kinder to the slightly tragic figure of Gascoigne than it has to Murray. Despite Scottish football's hall of fame denying him a plaque on the wall, Gazza could still turn up at Ibrox for a half-time draw and secure a standing ovation. The only way Murray is likely to darken the door again is in a blacked out people carrier on a quiet night. Given all the hurdles he overcame – the recovery from a life-threatening car accident, 15 league titles, 20 trophies and an end to the club's sectarian signing policy – that must feel like a source of pain and regret to the former chairman. An injustice, even. Despite using his new book as a vehicle to extend a public apology to the support, however, there's no sign of the mea culpa making much difference. Few seem to buy the view that banks were partly to blame for lending the club all that money in the first place. And, while faceless jobsworths at HMRC are targeted for aggressively going after the club, Hector wouldn't have taken much interest in a football team in Govan if Murray International had steered clean of a morally dubious tax scheme in the first place. In a series of PR sit-downs to promote 'Mettle; Tragedy, Courage and Titles', Murray seem reluctant to dwell on either point. What he does offer is some unsolicited advice to the new American owners on the need to give manager Russell Martin the tools to get the job done. When a man has flogged a national institution like Rangers to Craig Whyte for a quid, his opinions tend to lose a bit of currency. Patrick Stewart, you suspect, will file them in the same drawer as King Herod's dossier on child minding. It can't be easy for a self-made knight of the realm to portray himself as the hapless victim of a timeshare salesman from Motherwell in an ill-fitting suit. Years since he first pedalled that line about being duped by Whyte, however, Murray clings to the hope that fans will buy the idea that a man who knew everything about everyone was, for one deal only, completely in the dark. If he believes that, they should get in touch; this column has a bridge to sell them. As the man himself admits, you couldn't run a football club the way he did now. The days of bringing in big-ticket, crowd-pleasing gambles like Gascoigne are pretty much over and, fun though they were, that's for the best. Signings on that scale were always unsustainable without the guarantee of Champions League group-stage football every year or the development of a successful trading model. The arrival of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers investment group offers a chance, in time, to push for both. To consign the car crash of 2012 to the rear-view mirror and, for the first time in years, create a sustainable football club. Ideally without the ghost of Rangers past popping up to remind them of the hubris, the moonbeams and the over-spending which drove them over a cliff in the first place.
Scotsman
06-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Sir David Murray sorry for Rangers sale disaster but defiant over EBTs and untainted trophies
Former Ibrox chief speaks out ahead of autobiography release Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sir David Murray, the former owner of Rangers, has apologised to supporters for his part in the financial disaster that befell the club in 2012. Murray sold Rangers to businessman Craig Whyte for £1 in 2011 but within a year the Ibrox club was placed into liquidation over unpaid tax bills and forced to restart in the fourth tier of Scottish football. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The financial difficulties were exacerbated by a large debt accumulated under Murray's ownership, where £47million in tax-free loans were paid to players in staff in the form of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs). Rangers chairman Sir David Murray pictured at the Murray Park training ground in 2008. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 Murray has spoken to the BBC to mark the publication of his autobiography, Mettle, and revealed he regretted his decisions and said sorry to fans and club staff. "Of course I'd apologise," he said. "I'm not one of these people who run a company and hide. It was a terrible moment, and I apologise to all the staff, good people, and I know many of them to this day. I'd hope in hindsight, they look at the facts and think I was put in a very difficult position." Murray denied failing to conduct due diligence on Whyte, who had been introduced as a 'high-net-worth individual' but was unable to pay the bills to stave off administration and subsequent liquidation after borrowing £26.7 million against future season ticket sales from the firm, Ticketus. "I went on the facts in front of me," Murray stated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Craig Whyte bought Rangers from Sir David Murray in 2011 but within a year the club had been liquidation and demoted to the Scottish Third Division. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602 Murray also stressed that "they didn't do anything illegal" when challenged on whether it was morally acceptable to deprive the NHS and other public services of funds so wealthy footballers could pay less tax. "Footballers are getting paid too much," he added. "Not just at Rangers, everywhere. It's avoidance. People do that." Murray has accepted that his Ibrox legacy has been tarnished by the events which surrounded his sale of the club, but insists that the trophies won during his period at the helm were not tainted by the use of EBTs, denying that the scheme allowed the club to gain an unfair financial advantage.
Daily Record
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
David Murray tarnished Rangers legacy and naive fans falling for Peter Lawwell nonsense must remember one thing
Andy Newport manned the phone and it was a fiery start to the week Record Sport's Keith Jackson isn't buying the narrative being pushed in Sir David Murray's new book. And neither are today's Hotline callers. Our chief sports writer has taken a swipe at the former Rangers owner's claims he was duped over the sale of the club to Craig Whyte in 2011. And Lewis Fotheringham, Mount Ellen, reckons Jacko was spot on with his assessment, saying: 'I have got to praise Keith Jackson's very personal column regarding David Murray. 'Murray says that he cared deeply about Rangers, but selling the club to Craig Whyte has tarnished whatever legacy he had. "This very action led to our eventual demise which we have never truly recovered from, despite that league title in 2021. Murray is as much to blame for our downfall as Whyte is." And Liam Birney, Paisley, took issue with the former Ibrox chairman's blast at Celtic chief Peter Lawwell: 'So some Rangers fans are falling for the nonsense that Murray is spouting about Peter Lawwell doing Rangers a wrong. 'Can I remind them all it was under his tenure as Chairman that EBTs were used and that when he sold the club to Whyte for a quid, they were well down the road to liquidation. Also, is it not a Rangers or Celtic objective to bury their biggest rivals? Take some responsibility David!' Meanwhile, Lawrence Shankland's future remains up in the air after he skipped the flight to Hearts' pre-season training camp. But Alan Flett said: 'I'm sick fed-up of hearing that Rangers should sign Shankland. He's no better than what we've already got. 'I'd have Cyriel Dessers over Shankland every day of the week. Michael Beale, Philippe Clement and now Russell Martin have had the opportunity to sign Shankland and none of them did. Doesn't that tell you something?' Regular caller Gordon Ashley ruffled a few feathers with his swipe at Hamza Igamane's potential transfer value. George Wilson, West Sussex, said: 'Rangers-obsessed Gordon Ashley apart from seemingly having insider knowledge about the potential sale of Hamza Igamane says Celtic play at a higher level in Europe. 'Unfortunately they have been a total embarrassment and regularly humiliated in Europe for the last 25 years. 'Last season they suffered several more Champions League hidings and only won three out of 10 games against the absolute worst three side out of 36 teams in the competition. 'Rangers on the other hand played Nice, Lyon, Spurs, Man Utd, Fenerbahce and Athletic Bilbao, who were collectively better than most of the dross Celtic faced.' Alfie Mullin, London, added: 'Gordon Ashley claims that Celtic get higher transfer fees than Rangers do for their players because they play at a higher level in Europe. I suggest he replace the word 'play' with the word 'lose'.' Michael Emonds took aim at another called: 'Once again Jimmy Murray shows his ignorance in his understanding of the Celtic business model - which is to buy players for the right money, improve them and sell at a profit. 'He says the answer is scrap the model and sack serial winner John Kennedy and coach Gavin Strachan, get in new coaches to bring the young players through. 'But he doesn't understand that's the job of the pathway manager, who until recently was Darren O'Dea, who has just left for Swansea City and was last week replaced by Shaun Maloney. So let's see how many hopefuls he can get through the ranks.'
The National
28-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Time has not restored Murray's battered Rangers legacy
The former Ibrox chairman has been busy promoting his new book, entitled 'Mettle', a play on the industry where he made his fortune and the quality he undoubtedly showed in abundance to overcome personal tragedies and live the life that he has. The one challenge though that it seems impossible for him to overcome is to rebuild his shattered reputation in the eyes of the Rangers support, to the vast majority of whom he will always be the man who sold the club to Craig Whyte. And for a sum 22 times less than the RRP of his book, no less. The subheading to the book's title – 'Tragedy, courage and titles' – is telling, because that only gives the story up to a point. Anything that came after that is deemed unworthy of inclusion in this short summation of Murray's life, while anything that came before his fateful exit from Rangers now, sadly for him, seems irrelevant to the Ibrox fanbase. (Image: SNS Group Steve Welsh) The book itself does include Murray's telling of his thinking leading up to that fateful sale to Whyte, and the context was that he, undoubtedly, was in a difficult situation. Lloyds were seemingly turning the screw on the Rangers chairman (though he downplays this) and urging him to offload the club, which owed the bank around £18m. There was the tax liability on top of that stemming from Murray's ill-judged use of the EBT scheme, which at that time was thought to be as high as £70m, though it was later reduced to around £20m or thereabouts after HMRC admitted to errors in their calculations and a subsequent settlement agreement. The bottom line is this, though. Without Murray embarking upon the use of EBTs, no matter how much he may still stress the legality of the scheme, HMRC would never have had cause to darken the Ibrox doorstep. Furthermore, Rangers would never have been in a position where they could be sold for a quid to a character such as Whyte. Most damning of all - and this is the part that doesn't pass the smell test - is that Murray argues he had no notion of the ruinous path he had set Rangers on when he handed the keys to Whyte. In his book, he says that he took that decision 'in good faith', and that he 'went on the facts in front of me'. 'A journalist asked me at the time if our due diligence should have been more thorough,' Murray writes. 'It's easy to look back and say: 'Yes, of course it should' but anyone typing Whyte's name into Google back in 2011 would have found one article from years before. Nothing else.' The fans are expected to believe that this feted businessman, who had spent years cultivating an image as a meticulously shrewd, savvy and abundantly connected operator, simply didn't know who he was dealing with when it came to passing on the club he had spent 23 years leading. That his background checks on the man went as far as a simple Google search. In short, they don't. Instead, the narrative that has gained most traction is that Murray knew exactly where Rangers were heading, and he didn't want to be the captain at the helm when the ship went down. That Whyte was a convenient fall-guy. If this is true, and I should stress there is no evidence to prove it, then as an exercise in saving face and safeguarding his legacy, it was entirely redundant. Instead of protecting his name, he has instead been christened with a new soubriquet – Sir 'Duped'. The inverted commas are, of course, always included to denote sarcasm. Whether he did know who he was dealing with in Whyte or not, neither position reflects well on him. If he didn't, he should have. Many Rangers supporters will never forgive him either way. (Image: SNS Group Bill Murray) In some ways, it is a great pity that it has all ended like this for Murray. The good times he brought to Ibrox were among some of the most memorable ever seen at the club. He broke down barriers, signing Mo Johnston. He was at the helm as the team brought home nine-in-a-row. Away from football, his fortitude is commendable and impossible not to admire. The proceeds of his book, incidentally, will go to Erskine, the veteran's charity. Ultimately though, the hubris that spawned his famous quote of spending a tenner for every fiver that Celtic put on the table was the same that led to his – and ultimately, to Rangers' – downfall. Not only do the supporters place the blame for what happened back in 2012 firmly at Sir David's door, but for the sorry state they have found themselves in for most of the time since. For the single league title in the 14 years since he left the club. For Celtic's subsequent domestic domination. And now, just as an exciting new era is dawning at Rangers at long, long last, even the timing of his re-emergence to shift the narrative away from the positive changes taking place at Ibrox this summer has hardly helped to restore his battered image. After 14 years, it appears nothing, not even the passage of time, will.
