Whyte on STV News

[North Rd 2,860]

Craig Whyte: The Rangers owner has spoken to STV News. Pic: © SNS Group

Rangers owner Craig Whyte has told STV News he should have put the club into administration four months before he did.

Mr Whyte, speaking a day after he was fined £200,000 and banned for life from “any participation” in Scottish football by the Scottish Football Association for breaking SFA rules and bring the game into disrepute, said he should have put the club into administration in October.

Mr Whyte appointed administrators Duff and Phelps in February. The administrators are still trying to find a buyer for the club, with ex-Rangers director Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium and American businessman Bill Miller bidding for the club.

On February 14, when the club went into administration, Duff and Phelps revealed the club had not paid £9m in PAYE and VAT since Mr Whyte took over in May 2011. When asked about this non-payment, Mr Whyte responded: "We had £4m frozen at the bank.

"We took advice at the time to wait until the January transfer window (before we paid PAYE, VAT etc) but perhaps we should have put it into administration in October before the debt built up but it’s not a decision to take lightly.

"We were in regular dialogue with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and at one stage they asked us not to go into administration."

Mr Whyte also said he had no preference over Mr Miller’s bid or that of the Blue Knights and insisted that his arrival at Rangers did not make things worse for the club.

He said: “Nobody has spoken to me about this (the bids) since Friday. I’m willing to talk to anybody who’s interested. What everybody is missing here is that when I bought the club for £1, it was a mess long before I bought it. I certainly haven’t made things any worse.

"It’s a difficult time at the moment but the problems existed long before I took over. To blame me for everything is absurd."

Asked about the prospect of Rangers being liquidated, he commented: "I would really hope not, but the SFA haven’t been helpful. The administration process has taken longer than it should have done.

"I don’t think I made anything worse than it already was. I took decisive action to put the club into administration which should have been the solution to all the problems."

Mr Whyte struck a £25.3m deal with the ticketing agency for just over 100,000 Ibrox season tickets until 2015. The Rangers owner earlier admitted using £18m of that money to wipe out the club’s debt with Lloyds Banking Group, essentially allowing him to complete his takeover last year.

On the Ticketus situation, he added: "There was all sorts of advice given back then, from three sets of lawyers, financial advisors, the advice was that it wasn’t financial assistance. I’m not a legal expert but I took the advice of legal advisors.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’m not used to dealing with the glare of publicity. With hindsight everything should have been put out into the open from day one. But we are where we are. I’m dealing with the rest of my life. If anybody wants to talk to me they know where I am."

Mr Whyte, in his interview with STV News, did not add to comments he made about the SFA’s decision on Monday night to fine him, the club, impose a lifetime ban on him and ban the club from registering players for 12 months.

He told Press Association Sport: "Tell me how it is going to affect me? I couldn't care less. It makes no difference to my life whatsoever - and good luck collecting the money. It's a joke.

"It is very harsh on Rangers. I am surprised at how harsh the SFA have been on a club which is going through tough times at the moment.

"Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football. The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media."

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-cen...medium=twitter

[RFC55 108,791]

Die ya fucking rat bastard!

Hope he was hit by a bus after the interview

[broxibear87 129]

Craig Whyte: The Rangers owner has spoken to STV News. Pic: © SNS Group

Rangers owner Craig Whyte has told STV News he should have put the club into administration four months before he did.

Mr Whyte, speaking a day after he was fined £200,000 and banned for life from “any participation” in Scottish football by the Scottish Football Association for breaking SFA rules and bring the game into disrepute, said he should have put the club into administration in October.

Mr Whyte appointed administrators Duff and Phelps in February. The administrators are still trying to find a buyer for the club, with ex-Rangers director Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium and American businessman Bill Miller bidding for the club.

On February 14, when the club went into administration, Duff and Phelps revealed the club had not paid £9m in PAYE and VAT since Mr Whyte took over in May 2011. When asked about this non-payment, Mr Whyte responded: "We had £4m frozen at the bank.

"We took advice at the time to wait until the January transfer window (before we paid PAYE, VAT etc) but perhaps we should have put it into administration in October before the debt built up but it’s not a decision to take lightly.

"We were in regular dialogue with HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and at one stage they asked us not to go into administration."

Mr Whyte also said he had no preference over Mr Miller’s bid or that of the Blue Knights and insisted that his arrival at Rangers did not make things worse for the club.

He said: “Nobody has spoken to me about this (the bids) since Friday. I’m willing to talk to anybody who’s interested. What everybody is missing here is that when I bought the club for £1, it was a mess long before I bought it. I certainly haven’t made things any worse.

"It’s a difficult time at the moment but the problems existed long before I took over. To blame me for everything is absurd."

Asked about the prospect of Rangers being liquidated, he commented: "I would really hope not, but the SFA haven’t been helpful. The administration process has taken longer than it should have done.

"I don’t think I made anything worse than it already was. I took decisive action to put the club into administration which should have been the solution to all the problems."

Mr Whyte struck a £25.3m deal with the ticketing agency for just over 100,000 Ibrox season tickets until 2015. The Rangers owner earlier admitted using £18m of that money to wipe out the club’s debt with Lloyds Banking Group, essentially allowing him to complete his takeover last year.

On the Ticketus situation, he added: "There was all sorts of advice given back then, from three sets of lawyers, financial advisors, the advice was that it wasn’t financial assistance. I’m not a legal expert but I took the advice of legal advisors.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’m not used to dealing with the glare of publicity. With hindsight everything should have been put out into the open from day one. But we are where we are. I’m dealing with the rest of my life. If anybody wants to talk to me they know where I am."

Mr Whyte, in his interview with STV News, did not add to comments he made about the SFA’s decision on Monday night to fine him, the club, impose a lifetime ban on him and ban the club from registering players for 12 months.

He told Press Association Sport: "Tell me how it is going to affect me? I couldn't care less. It makes no difference to my life whatsoever - and good luck collecting the money. It's a joke.

"It is very harsh on Rangers. I am surprised at how harsh the SFA have been on a club which is going through tough times at the moment.

"Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football. The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media."

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/west-cen...medium=twitter

At least he's right on one point.

[The Godfather 71,856]

Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football. The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media."

Only bit that is true in the whole article.

Murray and Whyte can get to fuck and every mention of them at Ibrox should be painted over!

[gunslinger 270]

if the club needed administration and he didn't put us in it . I think that's illegal.

[LegendofCoop 17,273]

Delusional, arrogant, remorseless idiotic PRICK!!!!!!!!!!!

[Smile 26,600]

His last part of his statements spot on.

['o'rangerblue 89]

You can't trust a word that comes out of that snakes mouth.

[djbroxybear 660]

Whyte is right Slippery Dave had the club where it is before Whyte took over, I believe Murray and Whyte are in it together, Murray gives Rangers away for £1 to save his MIH folding and Whyte takes over after all the due diligence he knew the state Rangers was in fuck i think every fan knew the state the club was in. He took a gamble with the tax case looming and called the bluff and it backfired. Whyte is either a dead man walking or he is very clever and going to redeem himself.

David Murray has got away with this but reality he is the cunt to blame for us being in this situation.

[The Godfather 71,856]

For all that he is a fucking sack of a man he at least tells it like it is regarding Scottish football and the SFA.

We need someone within the club to come out and make these statements as we are an open target for everyone these days.

[Gers4life 0]

The guys a creepy wee rat. Time for Murray to be held for his action on this

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

What a cunt.

[Jonok 1,245]

If I had Nimmo the Dimmo standing in judgment of me I would be raging as well,the guys a nutjob who is well capable of whitewashing when it suits him

http://scottishlaw.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/curious-case-of-magic-circle-gay.html

[SkiBunny 441]

I have a genuine query if someone could help.

What should have happened when Whyte took over? I mean specifically. Like should we have kept the Lloyds debt for another couple of years and paid the PAYE on time. Should Whyte have paid for the running of the club out of his own pocket instead of reaching a deal with Ticketus?

Is the main issue that he bought everything for £1 on the agreement that he'd use the cash it would've cost him to pump into the club??

Cheers.

[GOAT 30,449]

I really hope Whyte has a stroke.

[Guardian 4,281]

We don't need to blame Whyte for EVERYTHING to want to kill him.

What he did do, is more than enough.

['o'rangerblue 89]

I really hope Whyte has a stroke.

I hope he gets a right serious case of lead poisoning.

To the stormtroopers, I mean from a pencil ya mad fuckers......pushing right through his eye into his brain.

[WVB 2,560]

If I had the option, I would strangle Craig Whyte with the intestines I had just ripped from David Murrays body.

[North Rd 2,860]

I just hope i live long enough to read about him in the papers again

re: jailed, or even better, "D@##"

[2daludaludalu 390]

He states if anybody wants to talk to me they know where I am. Well Craig I'm pretty sure there are a few bears who want to 'talk' to you!

[rangers_1993 68]

I feel sick even reading this guys name now

[bluenose48 951]

What a cunt.

Sorry niether one of them is a cunt.

Cunts are useful, much loved and admired things. LOL

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

So he doesn't have a problem talking what are we waiting for then?

[Madina 3,808]

The guy has no shame. Bringing about the current mess we are in and near destroying us, yet he still wants his face on the TV. He should be locking himself away somewhere, feeling ashamed at his actions of a so called Rangers fan. I don't wish ill of people but I make exceptions for him and lennon