Loyal fans keep supporting Gers
James McIlroy at corby rangers supporters club
Rangers fans in Corby are devastated over the football club’s financial crisis but have vowed to stay loyal.
Manager Ally McCoist believes the fans will be most affected after the club was placed into administration and he has called for their backing.
Rangers, who played at the official opening of Corby’s new Steel Park stadium in November, have been docked 10 league points by the Scottish Premier League which effectively hands the title to Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Life-long Rangers fan James McIlroy, 49, of Derwent Walk, Corby, said: “This has been on the cards for a long time. We are devastated, but it’s not the end.
“It’s a really sad time for the club but the fans will support them forever, no matter how bad it is.”
Rangers were forced into administration over an unpaid tax bill of £9m which was accrued since Craig Whyte’s takeover in May last year. Paul Clark of Duff and Phelps, who was appointed administrator with David Whitehouse, promised to keep fans updated after holding a meeting with Rangers staff on Tuesday.
The unpaid £9m comes on top of two other tax disputes, the bigger of which could cost the club £75m, according to Mr Whyte.
Mr McIlroy said: “I don’t want to point the finger but Mr Whyte made a lot of promises that weren’t kept. He didn’t fulfill his promise to pay off debts and bring in new players.
“I have confidence in the administrators. Things will get sorted out but it will take a long time. In the meantime we’re 14 points behind Celtic.”
Mr McCoist, describing Rangers fans as the best in the world, said: “The team really need the support of the fans more than ever in this hour.”
Fans at the Glasgow Rangers Supporters Club, in Rockingham Road, Corby, and those at the Corby Loyal Rangers Supporters Club, which meets at Stewarts and Lloyds Bowl Club, in Occupation Road, both have travel sections which run coaches to the home games.
David Smart, 77, of George Blackall Court, Corby, another life-long fan, said: “It’s very disappointing. If Rangers goes to the wall, Celtic won’t be far behind them. They are the mainstays of Scottish football. I hope it can be sorted out.”
Administrators are expected to look at cutting costs, including job losses among playing staff.
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Comments
There are 6 comments to this article
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Subcomandante
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 09:32 AM@il Capitano - just think, your club KTFC might be playing Corby Rangers next season, haha!!
Ray Rodden
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:07 AMNot just football clubs fail to pay tax. Seems a well paid whitehall civil servant arranged for his salary to be paid to a private company free of tax and national insurance. Then this company paid corporation tax which is less than income tax. Seems everyone is at it, from football clubs, to highly paid civil servants to bankers. Everyone EXCEPT us poor mugs on PAYE. This country seems to have an awful lot more in common with Greece when it comes to tax avoidance than most of us think
The Larkins
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:00 PMCouple fo things....someone at Rangers didnt pay HMRC. Someone at HMRC must've noticed money wasnt coming in from Rangers. Also, how much has been 'wrote off' by HMRC from Vodaphone? Is it £7 BILLION.... Time for heads to roll.
il Capitano
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:23 AMgo and watch corby. they need a few fans.
TheCount
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:57 AMI hope the HMRC pursue this public company to the extend of the law. The tax payers should not be hit for a loss of £50-£75Million just to keep a football team going. Too many football clubs seem to think they can get away with running up debts then writing them off. Also, I read today West Ham actually was lent £40 Million from their local council !!! No one should be paying tax to help a football club. The club has for years been full of bigotry and bile and the country might well be better off without them. If Celtic fail as a result, then that's tough, if anyone's business if not viable it should be allowed to fail.
Comedian
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 09:48 AMI doub't Rangers will be allowed to fold,if they did Celtic would be left looking like a whale in a garden pond.And Scottish football would have even less credibility than it has now.
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