The Ghost of Ibrox Past: David Murray's Untimely Return to Rewrite History

After 14 years in hiding, former Rangers owner David Murray has re-emerged with a new book, igniting fierce debate and accusations as he tries to rewrite his legacy amid the club's historic collapse.

It has been 14 years since Sir David Murray, the man who presided over Rangers Football Club for over two decades, retreated into the shadows and away from the public eye - well the football world that is. Now as new owners take control at Ibrox, Murray has re-emerged from the woodwork - not to offer quiet reflection on days gone by - but to peddle his new autobiography, "Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles."

This foray into the spotlight by Murray is nothing more than a desperate attempt to rewrite history, to try to ride the coat tails of the latest feel good factor at Ibrox to make more money from the same fans he took for a ride and left to go down on the sinking ship as he abandoned it like the rat that he is.

However, the general sentiment among the horde suggests that Murray’s book is destined for a bonfire on the 12th rather than the find a place in the homes of the Rangers supporters.

Murray is no victim - despite his attempts at revisionism

The book aims to cover his business career, his recovery from a horrific car accident, and his tenure at Ibrox. However, it is his narrative surrounding the sale of Rangers to Craig Whyte for a nominal £1 that will truly stir the hornet's nest.

Murray has always claimed that he was duped by Whyte, claiming that he made the decision to sell Rangers in good faith and with the facts in front of him. And nothing has changed, Murray is still trying to paint himself as a victim, a man misled by a charlatan rather than the man ultimately responsible for leading Rangers to the brink of collapse - with Whyte a convenient and willing patsy inheriting a club already on a ruinous path.

Murray’s tenure at Rangers was one of extravagant spending, big name signings, an impressive trophy haul, and an end to the club’s century old hiring policy of No Catholics allowed. But all of that has been trashed thanks to his use of Employee Benefit Trusts, and dodging tax on wages going to those big name signings that they would not have been able to afford without doing the dirty on HMRC - on the advice of a lawyer-turned-pornstar.

He laid the groundwork for the club’s financial collapse and as the day drew closer with the Big Tax Case fast approaching, Murray fled. The sheer attempt by him to claim he had ‘no notion of the ruinous path he had set Rangers on’ is a bare faced lie.

How could a seasoned businessman of Murray’s stature have sold the club to someone like Whyte without thorough due diligence? He had plenty of contacts in banking and other financial institutions across the UK and Europe, let alone the business community. Indeed, news reports from the time, including some of his own words, contradict his current stance, highlighting a club that was already tarnished before Whyte's arrival.

If Rangers were in such a fine state of health, why did its owner sell the club for a pound to Whyte, if not for the mess that Murray had created at the club? Only a few years earlier, Murray rejected a buy-out bid because he believed it wasn’t in the best interests of the club.

But rather than holding his hands up to his part, Murray doubled down and started pointing fingers, first at the bank for calling in the loans [more on this later] and at Peter Lawwell - then Chief Executive at Celtic now chairman of the club.

Murray accused Lawwell of ‘revelling in the demise’ of Rangers and wielding ‘far too much influence’ in Scottish football. In fact, Lawwell lamented the loss of Rangers as they [along with Celtic] were a significant generator of revenue for the Scottish game.

But once again, it reeks of desperation from Murray and the clear victim mentality of an addict, never taking responsibility for their own actions, all the while trying to find ways to blame anyone other than themselves. That it wasn’t their fault.

It was also no coincidence that Murray chose to sit opposite Ewen Cameron - a radio DJ, a blowhard Hearts fan - a man who had to be held back and escorted away by Rangers security guards at the unveiling of Steven Gerrard in May 2018 for trying to pass himself off as the scouser’s proctologist. Rather than a real journalist. Murray knew that Cameron wouldn’t ask the hard hitting questions, wouldn’t hit back on his revisionism, he would just sit there and ask the scripted questions while he creamed his drawers at his hitting the big time.

Media complicity - The failure to do basic reporting on Whyte

Back in 2011, I was knee deep in the Rangers takeover story. Running the Scottish football site Scotzine, Whyte was heralded by the Scottish mainstream media as the man to take Rangers onto greater glory. But, despite all of the reporting, not one journalist not one media outlet looked at Whyte’s history in business, they just published what they were told in press releases from both Murray and Whyte’s camps. Something didn’t add up - and after just FIVE minutes online - it was clear as day. Whyte was no great hope.

I wrote an article ahead of Whyte’s takeover of Rangers called ‘Craig Not So Whyte’ in early 2011. But lawyers acting on behalf of Craig Whyte contacted my then UK hosting company to demand the removal of the article or face legal action. Under pressure from the hosting company, who didn’t care that everything was verified with facts - the article was pulled. Soon after, I moved hosts and re-published an updated version of the article in May of the same year.

The article offered a crucial insight into Craig Whyte at a time when he was being hailed as the new blue messiah by the SMSM, Rangers club hierarchy, prominent Rangers supporters, and ordinary Rangers fans themselves.

My report exposed a significant disconnect between the media's portrayal of Whyte and his reality. Whyte's wealth was consistently exaggerated by the press, I questioned the media's failure to investigate Whyte's past, particularly his alleged flight from Scotland under the shadow of a massive tax investigation to the tax haven of Monaco.

There were specific instances of alleged financial improprieties by Whyte, including one of his company’s Vital UK Limited going into voluntary liquidation with £600,000 in debts, and a liquidator's report suggesting Whyte struck a secret deal to transfer assets to the Bahamas and failed to register employees for PAYE tax. If that wasn’t enough there was also a High Court admission by Whyte owing £3.5 million to a single creditor, protests from 700 workers over unpaid wages, and a Glasgow woman pursuing him for an unpaid industrial tribunal award. Furthermore, there were lawsuits against Whyte, such as the £90,000 debt owed to One Stop Roofing, and notes that Whyte's company Tixway was in the process of being struck off by Companies House for failing to file accounts.

At a time when Whyte was walking down Edmiston Drive to a heroes welcome, my article painted the real picture of the man.

I could find all of the information within minutes, then Murray’s claims of being duped are even more tenuous. How could the extensive financial issues and alleged legal challenges surrounding Whyte, have escaped the due diligence of a long-standing Scottish industrialist? This information underscores the perception that Murray either failed to conduct his due diligence or ignored the warning signs, further making him complicit in, rather than a victim of, the subsequent collapse of the club.

When I questioned journalists on the reasons behind their failure to look into Whyte’s background, The Scotsman’s Moira Gordon made the excuse that ‘today’s journalists don’t have the time to do any digging in a person’s background’. No Business reporter from any Scottish media outlet looked at Whyte either and not one looked at the debt issues surrounding Rangers Football Club - until the club was lurching towards administration and Murray was no longer at the club. Make what you will of that.

But no one affiliated with Rangers cared about the truth or if they did, then why would they believe an article written by a Celtic-minded blogger when Scottish journalists didn’t find this out - despite the Record’s Keith Jackson claiming a year later that he was at the forefront of the story. Threats of legal action from Whyte’s camp followed, as did death threats from Rangers fans online, my address was published along with other addresses they believed I lived at or frequented, they even posted up photos of houses that I supposedly lived at by taking screenshots of Google Street View. My wife was the target of rape and death threats - during a time when she was pregnant - from Rangers fans. Years later, my reporting on anything to do with Rangers led to them concocting additional lies about me being a wife beater and my kids being taken off me - all because of their club dying and my covering of it.

I wasn’t the only one who faced threats over this period. There were a few ‘internet bampots’ who faced the wrath of the horde and eventually some journalists who raised their heads above the parapets also faced the same wrath.

As a side note, I have to highlight the work that the late Paul McConville did not only on his own blog, but also for Scotzine explaining some of the finer financial and legal points to yours truly and writing his own articles along the way.

A Legacy of Suffering

We saw the tear stained faced of Rangers fans as they laid siege to Ibrox on the steps of Edmiston Drive, enduring their club’s painful collapse through administration and into liquidation. The headlines that they couldn’t pay face painters, that they owed money to the ambulance service and paper boys, not to mention the charity commission criticising the club over their misconduct in relation to a legends game against AC Milan - that was supposed to raise funds for charity but funds were redirected into the club.

No one at Rangers can call themselves victims. Not even the supporters. They were the ones who lauded Murray’s ‘for every fiver they spend, we will spend a tenner’ mantra. They didn’t for a single moment question where this money was coming from. It certainly wasn’t Murray’s money that was for sure. It was the Bank of Scotland’s.

Karma really is a bitch, and how it duly delivered. They had to watch Celtic become the dominant force in Scottish Football in the 21st century and overtake their trophy haul that was waved in the faces over Celtic fans for decades. Now all they’ve got to be proud of is a rusty auld bike, some pennants hanging from the ceiling, and ceramics from all over the world bought by the new club from Rangers 1872.

Murray the opportunist

The timing of Murray’s book launch is perfectly timed as I mentioned earlier in the article. At a time, when there is a new feel good factor at the club, Murray has taken the opportunity to hit the headlines to try to shift copies in the hope that he doesn’t rival Liz Truss in epic book failure sales.

Despite claims of the book’s proceeds going to Erskine, a veteran’s charity, this does not absolve him of blame and responsibility of the club’s death.

At a time, when Rangers fans were looking forward to a new era under the 49ers and Russell Martin, Murray’s re-emergence has reopened old wounds and reignited old controversies. His attempts to reframe his role in Rangers' demise, shifting blame and seeking vindication, have largely fallen on deaf ears.

Time has not restored Murray’s battered legacy and his book will be seen for what it is - a self-serving narrative designed to airbrush out his part in the collapse of Rangers 1872. Even the most knuckle dragging Rangers supporters are unlikely to forget and forgive a man who is ultimately responsible for the death of their old club.