[hibeejim21]

So a serious football finance question, lets not turn this into any mud raking as such.  On the surface and from a football revenue perspective, there is little difference between Rangers and Celtic, both get good crowds, both are big brands that attract good commercial opportunities, both benefit from the same broadcast deals and both get Champions league football (albeit getting further can make a big difference).  Desmond certainly has more money than King and has pumped a lot into Celtic but the club is far more self reliant than Rangers to start with. 

I assume that when Rangers came back from liquidation all their debts were wiped out and certainly revenue dropped while they rose through the leagues but once they were back challenging Celtic they would have been on a somewhat level footing income wise, so why are they always in trouble?  Is it down purely to bad financial management and overspending or is it something else?

Ever since Fergus Mccann Celtic have demonstrably been a bigger club than rangers, they have better commercial deals, more high profile sponsors, a bigger stadium, bigger transfer sales, they also have a far bigger worldwide profile via the irish diaspora. Rangers probably have more fans in the UK and northern Ireland but thats about it.

Theres a gap that started to appear and Murray knew it and used illegal methods to keep them ahead with the tacit approval of the SFA (who were well aware they were breaking UEFA licensing laws) with the nod and a wink, imperfectly registered but eligible, no sporting advantage garbage being used by the funny handshake brigade that permeate the SFA and Scottish society. Then of course the failed switcheroo with Craig Whyte which left them open to every vulture out there like Ashley and Green who filled their boots accordingly.

Celtic are now posting record revenue figures, and with champions league money coming up they have a great chance to widen the gap even further. Their opponents on the other hand have been hampered by poor choices on and off the field, not to mention appalling financial losses just about every year in a decade.

Scottish football is shite, with shite crowds and a shite rivalry at the top of its heap that eclipses anything else. All that matters is the CL money really. To date the huns have tried to attain it via pumping private money in via confetti share issues because as 0762 points out they can't get ahead of Celtic by living within their means. So its a jam tomorrow, and kick everything into the long grass type strategy for years thats prevailed. Not helped by the fact they have people of the calibre of King making decisions, resulting in every retail deal ending up in court.

The other problem the rangers have is they have to fund a squad revamp at a time when they may well be forced to live within their means.

And how the hell do you "come back" from liquidation anyway SCO ? That will be you an "enemy of the club" now.