Govan No More?

I think it's almost inconceivable that Ranger Football Club will not continue to operate out of their famous Ibrox home in Govan - on the banks of the River Clyde.

But there's no doubt that the Glasgow club has been brought to its knees by what appears to be organised tax avoidance - which is of course a very dubious business practice.

I expect the first calls to be made any time now to strip the former Rangers owner - Sir David Murray - of his knighthood for services to football.

The crisis now threatening to overwhelm the club is all about trying to avoid Rangers FC paying its debts - which may run to £50 million.

The current owner - Craig Whyte - who bought the club knowing full well that this debt albatross was hanging around its neck - is now threatening to put Rangers FC into administration and possibly to liquidate the club altogether - in its present form.

In theory it is possible under company law just to shut the whole thing down - start up a new Rangers FC Mark 2 - and leave the creditors behind with all the debts.

Though life may not be quite as simple as that - I suspect - because the club's only big assets are Ibrox stadium in Govan and its training ground on the outskirts of Glasgow.

Because if Rangers were to be made bankrupt and liquidated - both the tax man and the public purse will have been denied millions of pounds.

The tax authorities may not be so keen just to let everyone walk away and start again - there may be issues of misfeasance and malfeasance for the owners to face - both past and present.

Now quite how all of this has happened is a mystery - just like Bernie Madoff and his ponzi pyramid selling scheme

But at the bottom of it all was an organised attempt to avoid paying proper taxes - by using high-risk, controversial financial instruments known as Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs).

Which benefited the club and at least some of its star players - while robbing the public purse of millions of pounds in taxes.

In some countries people get sent to jail for this kind of behaviour.

The problem for both Rangers and the UK tax authorities - is that the present drama is being played out right in the public eye.

Which makes it difficult to cut a grubby little deal - in which the club walks away - and pays only a small fraction of the money that is owed.