Ibrox investment is small change for Ashley

Mike Ashley likes a punt. He’s been known to win and lose over a £1 million pounds a throw on the roulette wheels of some of London’s swankiest casinos, and of course he has a passing interest in football as well. So far his interest in Rangers extends to £3 million in interest-free, albeit secured, loans.

The question for Rangers fans - and by extension all Scottish football fans - is what game Mr Ashley is actually playing. Britain’s 23rd most wealthy individual appears to be taking his relatively modest interest in Rangers seriously.

£3 million may be a few bob more than the rest of us would consider pocket money, but Mr Ashley plays at a different level. Whilst the man in Sauchiehall Street might look to strike it lucky at Supercasino.com Mr Ashley might be more inclined to simply buy the whole operation outright, just for the fun of it. His net worth is estimated £3.75 billion - give or take the small change.

And that’s what makes his moves at Rangers so odd. He can’t buy the club whilst he’s involved at Newcastle, and nobody would ever imagine that he’d walk away from there. He’s ridden through enough stick to have proved that several times over.

So that begs the question, are we simply seeing a sharp eyed business man toying with one of the biggest names in British sport simply for the sake of promoting Sports Direct? Or is this an opportunist smash and grab raid to seize an asset and a brand whilst it is going cheap?

Whatever the underlying intention, there is no doubting that Ashley is taking his interest in Rangers personally: all the recent boardroom wrangles at the club have seen a reinforcement of the merchandising tie in with Sports Direct as well as effectively giving Ashley the whip hand when it comes to shaping the board of the club going forwards. But is a long term involvement really all this is about?

The club insist that of the three offers to refinance recently, Ashley’s proposed loan top-up was the only one that passed due diligence. There is, inevitably an irony in those words being attached to the club at a time of such disharmony, especially since, on paper at least, Ashley’s offer was the one that stood to put the least cash into the club.

With an AGM due before the start of the New Year Ashley’s indeterminate status as a sort of ghost backer cannot be sustained for long. In what has all the hallmarks of a brinkmanship manoeuvre, we are all left waiting and watching.

At the moment there are far more questions than answers at Ibrox. The staff cuts that followed what has been described as ‘Ashley’s power grab’ suggest that his input is being felt in practical day to day terms. Even the SFA have expressed frustration at his refusal to communicate fully with them. Ashley is keeping everyone guessing - and for all the collateral damage, it does appear that that is precisely how he likes it.

What happens to Rangers is not the be all and end all of Scottish football, but television sponsorships are bought and sold on the basis of iconic brands and high-octane clashes between so-called ‘big sides’, not to mention the importance of Rangers’ away support to the rest of the league. Rangers are undoubtedly one of those big clubs, even if they do appear to be being treated as little more than a rich man’s punt right now.

Mike Ashley: What's the cost of a £2 million loan?

Tough times at the Ibrox at the moment, will Mike Ashley be the saviour?

As news was announced that Mike Ashley would be providing Rangers with a £2m crisis loan, the magnate's first order of business was to cull Graham Wallace from the chief executive's position. Wallace, who had been at the club for 11 months, will most likely be replaced by Mike Ashley's good friend Derek Llambias, who has been a long-term associate of the Sports Direct owner and has already been installed as a consultant at Ibrox.

Mike Ashley, the current chairman of Newcastle United, played the hero last Saturday and provided the struggling Rangers with a £2m interest free crisis loan. Not only does he own a 9% share of Rangers, but he also has naming rights to the stadium and will propse replacements for two members of the board who are set to move in.

Does that seem like a pretty fair deal? What's the true cost of this £2m interest free loan?

Well, according to an agreement with the Scottish Football League, Mike Ashley cannot own more than 10% of Rangers while he owns Newcastle United. With other shareholders having more voting rights (as they own more of the club), Mike Ashley needed a way to swing power his way. The loan, presented as an act of generosity, is more likely a political move. The club now has this loan swinging over its head like a weight and Ashley, if needs be, can threaten to drop it when he pleases.

Furthermore, Brian Kennedy, who offered a similar package worth £3m, was quickly met with stern words from Mike Ashley's solicitors. Mike Ashley seemed hell-bent on pushing this deal through and he did, using any means possible.

So, what does this mean for the financially struggling Rangers?

With all this political nonsense going on in the background, it cannot be easy for Ally McCoist to concentrate on what's important: the football.

Rangers currently sit second in the Scottish Championship, seven points behind current leaders Hearts and with a game in hand. A recent 3-0 win against Dumbarton, with goals from Boyd, Wallace and Miller, kept Rangers in touch but Hearts remain undefeated while the Ibrox side have slipped up against both the leaders and fellow promotion contenders Hibs.

It may show that, although things were falling apart in the background, Rangers, who should be up there at the top, can manage with the pressure of their current financial climate. It can't make easy viewing at the moment for Rangers fans, who don't know whether or not their club is going to plummet into administration at any time. This loan from Mike Ashley should be quash those fears for now but raises even more questions about the future.

They next face Dumbarton again, this time in the Scottish Cup. Although on paper it looks an easy game for the Glasgow giants, but that it doesn't make it easy when it comes to football betting.

Could the recent changes create a real stir in the Rangers camp?

St Johnstone couldn't capitalise on any financial fallout on the pitch at Ibrox as Rangers progressed in the League Cup quarter final last night night.

Will a Scottish Cup trip to Dumbarton be trickier? It probably shouldn't be. But you just never know.

Written by Gordon Milligan for the Scottish Football Blog.