Could Glasgow Rangers kill the English Premier League?

Firstly, I am not an accountant, but I can read between the lines, and I can comment upon what I know to be true. 

Recently, HM Revenue and Customs got their fingers burned - severely - when they took Harry Redknapp to court, in what they considered to be a watertight case. Depending upon who you believe, they wasted upwards of £10m of UK tax payers money. This wasn't supposed to happen, as HMRC rarely go to the extreme lengths we witnessed without believing that they will win, and remember this was all about a 'small' sum of a couple of hundred thousand pounds.

HMRC have popped up again, but this time in Glasgow, Scotland, stating that they want their £50m back from Glasgow Rangers, who are now headed towards administration (they have already been deducted 10 points). HMRC have also just forced Hearts, today, to pay their tax bill in full, as the club would have been forced into administration, too, had they not paid it.

Evidently the HMRC are on the warpath, and word has it they are using Rangers as a test case (and, in part, revenge for the Harry Redknapp case). But a test case for what?

Most Premier League clubs have a debt, but debt in of itself is not a bad thing (if you have a mortgage, you are in debt), but some clubs are really struggling with bad debt, and the HMRC is owed a lot of money. On top of this, for years, the UK Government has been very vocal about football clubs and the amounts they owe; they want reform, but they also know they cannot force it upon them. Or can they?

If HMRC have everything go their way with Rangers, that could potentially open up the door allowing them to go after English clubs due to the precedent set, and if so, the Premier League will be most definitely in their line of sight.

Take Everton for example. Last season it was stated they owed around £45m (this is obviously not all owed to the HMRC). Whilst this is not a huge amount, comparitively speaking, they are unable to service that debt, and so it will continue to grow - Manchester City owed (last season) £41m, but is not a problem for the club, the same is true for Manchester United's £590m.

Everton has been desperately looking for a buyer, but they are not the only ones; there are a few who are very quietly seeking their own buyers, and it is all because they are in un-sustainable debt, and need massive cash injections.

Portsmouth FC was the first Premier League club to enter into administration (they are doing it again with a tax bill of around £1m, and HMRC want it now), and it barely survived. Now imagine another three clubs going down this route, or five, or ten. What would happen to the Premier League then? Clubs being forced into administration by the UK Government determined to get tax payer's money back.

And who does that leave? The big boys of course, who have phenomenally wealthy backers. And, naturally, you cannot have a Premier League with half the clubs in the courts fighting for survival. Outcome? Difficult to speculate upon, but with the European Club Association (ECA) due a vote in 2014 as to whether to continue being a part of UEFA, it wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility that new leagues could be set up, even the much talked about European Super League, which would create revenues that make today's look like pocket money.

And all because Glasgow Rangers is going into administration. Now maybe this is a case of 2+2=5, but maybe not. I am not suggesting that I want this to happen, nor am I wishing any ill-will on any football club, but I would suggest that we all keep an eye on what is happening at Ibrox, because if things take a turn for the worse, it could be your football club next.

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