0:00:01 > 0:00:01We are to give two years' notice of our resignation.
0:00:01 > 0:00:02Celtic and Rangers have forced plans for a subscription-based
0:00:03 > 0:00:09This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12In 1998, Scottish football signed a deal with BSkyB
0:00:12 > 0:00:14that brought the world to its door.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17The deal resulted in greater exposure,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21live TV coverage of matches, a focus on entertainment
0:00:21 > 0:00:24and a much increased pot of money to promote the game.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Football had become a global brand,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33and Scotland was keen for its share of the action.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38But the money came at a price.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40The contract affected kick-off times,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43top players demanded higher wages,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46and TV now called the shots.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It was a whole new ball game.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00For many, Scottish football's selling point was the drama
0:01:00 > 0:01:03of the Old Firm games between Celtic and Rangers.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07They may have attracted the viewers
0:01:07 > 0:01:10but they also brought their own problems.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Clubs desperate to compete in this new world
0:01:15 > 0:01:18were vulnerable to harebrained schemes,
0:01:18 > 0:01:22mavericks with money and ego-driven illusions.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25Almost overnight,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30the dual drivers of money and media transformed the game
0:01:30 > 0:01:34but left Scottish football struggling to forge an identity
0:01:34 > 0:01:37that would carry it into the future.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54COMMENTATOR: You are about to witness something rather special.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57There's an intensity and often a rawness at a live event.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03You could almost feel the stadium moving as a living entity.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07The perfect storm.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11A league decider at Celtic Park that Rangers could win,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14at the home of their bitter rivals,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17a 6.05 kick-off on a holiday weekend.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22The match is the climax to a newly formed business venture
0:02:22 > 0:02:25which began one year earlier in 1998 -
0:02:25 > 0:02:28the SPL, the Scottish Premier League,
0:02:28 > 0:02:31made up of the top 10 to 12 football clubs in Scotland.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35It had been formed to push the Scottish clubs
0:02:35 > 0:02:38into an increasingly globalised marketplace.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43This showdown will be watched by millions of people
0:02:43 > 0:02:47in almost 120 countries around the globe,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51such is the magnitude of this match.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The rights to broadcast the SPL games
0:02:54 > 0:02:56had been sold to Sky Television,
0:02:56 > 0:03:00giving them control over scheduling and kick-off times.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Holding an Old Firm game at six o'clock,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04at a time when, actually, they were getting so early,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07you were lucky if you had finished your breakfast
0:03:07 > 0:03:09if you were wanting to go to one of the games,
0:03:09 > 0:03:10they were getting earlier and earlier,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14and here was a game actually getting late, at six on an evening.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18It is one of the biggest fixtures in world football.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24The players in Old Firm matches are well warned before the matches
0:03:24 > 0:03:26about the possible effect
0:03:26 > 0:03:29of their behaviour on spectators,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32both within the ground and further afield.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Celtic is losing their discipline here.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47This will be a yellow card for dissent.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And a foul by McCann.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Stephane Mahe has to calm down here. He's off!
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Oh, he's gone back to have a pop at Hugh Dallas
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and his team-mates have got to get Stephane Mahe away,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06because he's losing it here, big time.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Ten players were booked.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Three were shown red cards.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18It's a third red card on a controversial evening in Glasgow.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20There were numerous pitch invasions...
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Ah, no, we've got a supporter on the pitch here.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27..and 113 fans were arrested over the course of the event.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Hugh Dallas has been hit by something.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40And these are shocking scenes at Celtic Park.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42There's that intensity and that rawness,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45which, in one sense, is what television wants
0:04:45 > 0:04:49when it wants live sport, but it doesn't want too much of it,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51because there's a line and, occasionally,
0:04:51 > 0:04:54that line is crossed, and that was one of those games
0:04:54 > 0:04:55where the line was crossed.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Well, they put us all to shame, these scenes -
0:04:58 > 0:05:01the atmosphere at this fixture is nothing short of poisonous.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I had, as my guest, the head of sport at Sky,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06and Vic and I looked at each other
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and we both realised that we had a problem.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Somebody else came over to us both
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and was gleeful because it was "great television".
0:05:15 > 0:05:17But I realised that the morning after
0:05:17 > 0:05:19was not going to be a lot of laughs.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26He and I spoke maybe five, six times over that weekend
0:05:26 > 0:05:31and both of us asked each other, you know, if we could continue.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Remember, the whole cornerstone of the SPL
0:05:33 > 0:05:36was based around that contract and the 6.05 game.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39That time had never been agreed by the police.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40If we had to move the time slot,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Sky would've been able to say, "We're walking away."
0:05:43 > 0:05:46That was a seminal moment - the SPL could have died then.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48The finances of the SPL would have gone.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51So that was two or three very, very heavy days.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Television's grip on football began in earnest nine years earlier,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00with the arrival of Sky Television.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05February 5th 1989 - the dawn of television's new age.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11One of their first moves was to invest around ?190 million
0:06:11 > 0:06:13in the English Premier League,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17giving them the rights to transmit English games all over the world.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22The armchair fans - and their subscription fees -
0:06:22 > 0:06:25were about to become key players in the future of football.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30The FA Premier League. Live, only on Sky.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38It took the arrival of Sky to make all the other broadcasters,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I think, around the world, realise how important sport was.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43People in Scotland would say,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45"I'm going to watch the game in the pub."
0:06:45 > 0:06:48What game is it? Doesn't matter, it's a live game.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Television was always important to football
0:06:53 > 0:06:57but it has become the absolute key financial driver of football.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The fans have become less important, in many ways,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and subscribers and television viewers
0:07:03 > 0:07:04have become more important.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11In terms of the drama that was needed to bring in an audience,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15there was no doubt what the SPL's biggest selling point was.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17People don't like to hear this,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19but Celtic and Rangers finance Scottish football.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22There is no sponsorship without Celtic and Rangers.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25There's no TV deal without Celtic and Rangers.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27The Old Firm are that kind of
0:07:27 > 0:07:29double-edged sword for the Scottish authorities, in one sense.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35Part of them, actually, you know, resent the circus that goes with it
0:07:35 > 0:07:39but in an age where all the football leagues look kind of similar,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42you have to differentiate yourself because you're in a selling market
0:07:42 > 0:07:44and the Old Firm offer you something that's different,
0:07:44 > 0:07:46that's distinctive and unique.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47So the kind of challenge you have
0:07:47 > 0:07:50is how do you kind of market that side of it,
0:07:50 > 0:07:55while recognising there is a kind of potential downside to that.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Erm...and that's...that's a kind of interesting dilemma.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05It was a dilemma that had haunted Scottish football for decades.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08This is now like a scene out of Apocalypse Now.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13It may have been a good story for television,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16but it wasn't so good for the country.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21One particular series of events revealed to the rest of the world
0:08:21 > 0:08:25the unpleasant underbelly of Scottish football and society.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29REPORTERS: 'Packages containing bullets
0:08:29 > 0:08:31'have been sent to the Celtic manager Neil Lennon...'
0:08:31 > 0:08:34'..continue to investigate a parcel bomb campaign
0:08:34 > 0:08:35'against Celtic manager...'
0:08:35 > 0:08:40'Police confirmed Lennon was sent a parcel bomb designed to kill.'
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Here we were,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45in socially enlightened, 21st-century,
0:08:45 > 0:08:47fair and just Scotland.
0:08:47 > 0:08:54But amidst us was this high-profile captain, then manager, of Celtic,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58who was being subjected to a - there's no other way to put it -
0:08:58 > 0:08:59a campaign of terror.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02'Two Glasgow University students
0:09:02 > 0:09:04'who attacked Celtic star Neil Lennon admitted
0:09:04 > 0:09:06'drunkenly chasing the footballer in his car
0:09:06 > 0:09:08'before spitting and abusing him.'
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Neil Lennon arrived and Martin O'Neill arrived -
0:09:14 > 0:09:19two high-profile Catholic figures in football,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22they came to Scotland from Northern Ireland -
0:09:22 > 0:09:23and it all kicked off.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Issues that Scotland thought had been consigned to the past
0:09:30 > 0:09:32were suddenly re-ignited.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38He expected a certain amount of abuse.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41I think, obviously, when it got really out of hand...
0:09:41 > 0:09:43You don't mind the hate mail,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47but when bullets are sent through the post to you,
0:09:47 > 0:09:52I think that's when it can get absolutely nasty.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53He was going to stick up for himself.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58He would comment in the press, he would defend himself verbally,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01he would sometimes defend himself physically.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05He wasn't going to take any of this abuse lying down.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08ANGRY SHOUTING
0:10:11 > 0:10:14Skirmishes, arrests, inquiries and summits -
0:10:14 > 0:10:18recorded, photographed and broadcast
0:10:18 > 0:10:19to every corner of the world.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24The story ran and ran,
0:10:24 > 0:10:27even as the aggression towards Lennon heightened.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38I was about seven or eight yards from where it happened.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42I remember thinking,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44"Can you imagine, on Match Of The Day,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49"seeing Arsene Wenger being attacked by a fan, or Jose Mourinho?"
0:10:49 > 0:10:52You just couldn't conceive of it.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54And it perfectly captured
0:10:54 > 0:10:59the tragedy of Neil Lennon's experience in Scottish football.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00It summed it up.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It wasn't make-believe. It wasn't fiction.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It wasn't a spoof film - it actually happened.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12It was really embarrassing for Scotland and Scottish football.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15It was tragic. It held up a mirror to us
0:11:15 > 0:11:19and it showed a very ugly image back to us of what we were.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27The Scottish game was paying the money men in blood -
0:11:27 > 0:11:32television audiences first, social consequences later.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34But it still wasn't enough to save them.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Satellite television and the money it brought in its wake
0:11:42 > 0:11:44was having a profound effect on the game.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50In June 2000, Sky injected another ?1.1 billion
0:11:50 > 0:11:52into the English leagues.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Scottish clubs, desperate for the same level of funding,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00attempted a renegotiation of their terms.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05The SPL, they seemed to feel that English football was being paid X,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07so they should be paid X.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10But it's not like-for-like, you know?
0:12:10 > 0:12:12It's two totally different things.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16You know...people in Scotland love to watch English football.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I'm not sure people in England love to watch Scottish football.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Scottish football is a little boy with the nose pressed against the window.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29On the other side of the window
0:12:29 > 0:12:32is English football...and the billions.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It's a glass window, but it's, like, ten feet thick.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40We have entered into commercialism. We have made a deal with the Devil,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and the Devil doesn't pay over the odds for what he doesn't want.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45We had done internal studies
0:12:45 > 0:12:49that talked about us getting almost double the monies
0:12:49 > 0:12:51we were getting on the current contract.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53The clubs were getting very excited,
0:12:53 > 0:12:58so excited that they started arguing about how to split the pie.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00That argument took six months.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Six months - long enough for the dot.com bubble to burst
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and for the planes to hit the Twin Towers.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16That money was no longer on the table,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18so the argument had been futile.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20It created a huge amount of bad blood.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22But we had missed our moment.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Someone at the SPL said to Sky,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28"You're insulting Scottish football, take that offer off the table."
0:13:28 > 0:13:29So they took it off the table
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and went and insulted the English Football League instead,
0:13:32 > 0:13:33who were happy to take the money,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and I think the SPL suffered.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40The SPL had just turned down
0:13:40 > 0:13:43the biggest - and only - deal on the table.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Without that money, Scottish clubs could not compete
0:13:46 > 0:13:50with other European clubs on the global stage.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53But Mitchell had an ace up his sleeve.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55The clubs hatched a plan to go it alone
0:13:55 > 0:13:59with a bold proposal for a self-run football television station -
0:13:59 > 0:14:01SPL TV.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Our only other option is to do our own channel.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09People didn't know what that meant
0:14:09 > 0:14:14so we had to spend a lot of time studying it, market research,
0:14:14 > 0:14:16preparing it - six months.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19And after every month, we went back to the clubs and said,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21"Here's our update, here's our update -
0:14:21 > 0:14:22"are you all up for this?"
0:14:22 > 0:14:23"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."
0:14:23 > 0:14:29I didn't think SPL TV would ever fly.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31I thought they were sabre-rattling.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35They were just trying to create competition where none existed,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and I don't believe that it was ever serious.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40It was an innovative venture -
0:14:40 > 0:14:43especially in the days before YouTube and social media -
0:14:43 > 0:14:48but the bold business move relied on a united front.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50So when it was discovered Celtic and Rangers
0:14:50 > 0:14:53had been in secret negotiations to leave the SPL,
0:14:53 > 0:14:57joining the better-resourced English Premier League,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00the death knell was sounded before it had even begun.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06At the last meeting, Celtic and Rangers said no.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It was a bit of a surprise that they said no -
0:15:09 > 0:15:13so much so that the ten clubs asked them to leave the room
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and resigned from the league.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18We are to give two years' notice of our resignation.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22Celtic and Rangers have forced plans for a subscription-based
0:15:22 > 0:15:24SPL television channel to be abandoned.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26At a meeting of the 12 clubs this morning,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28the Old Firm wouldn't back the deal,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30which effectively puts an end to it.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34So you can imagine the whole project at that point died.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38And financially, it was a disaster for Scottish football.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42And that wasn't the only problem they faced.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Roger Mitchell decided to give the negotiations
0:15:44 > 0:15:46with the broadcasters one more go,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51but found at one of his appointments with a friendly television executive
0:15:51 > 0:15:54that Rangers and Celtic weren't the only ones
0:15:54 > 0:15:56operating behind closed doors.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00He said, "Roger, you don't really know what you were dealing with."
0:16:00 > 0:16:03And he turned his computer screen around
0:16:03 > 0:16:07and showed our internal business plan for SPL television.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11That he had known everything from the start.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14People - I don't know who it was, but I can guess -
0:16:14 > 0:16:16had been telling him what we were planning to do,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18what I was planning to do.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20So it was like playing poker
0:16:20 > 0:16:23with your opponent knowing exactly what cards you had in your hand.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27All the money that had been there
0:16:27 > 0:16:30to allow them to compete in the new marketplace
0:16:30 > 0:16:31had just disappeared.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35I'm not angry about it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39I just feel that it was a huge missed opportunity.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44A more modest agreement with BBC Scotland kept live football
0:16:44 > 0:16:46on air for the next two seasons
0:16:46 > 0:16:50before the arrival of a new big money deal -
0:16:50 > 0:16:54this time with Dublin-based sports service Setanta.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Five years of stability followed
0:17:02 > 0:17:06and then rumours of the broadcaster's financial problems
0:17:06 > 0:17:08began to emerge.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I remember the very first time
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I appeared on radio in Scotland,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18going into the studio with a cutting from the Sunday Business Post,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Ireland's Financial Times
0:17:20 > 0:17:22from the previous week,
0:17:22 > 0:17:23and it was a brilliant news story -
0:17:23 > 0:17:25"Collapse of Setanta imminent."
0:17:25 > 0:17:28It hadn't been reported in Scotland.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31So I read it out on the radio
0:17:31 > 0:17:34and it kind of triggered this questioning of Setanta,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and eventually Setanta came out and said,
0:17:36 > 0:17:37"Yeah, we're in trouble here."
0:17:37 > 0:17:42And it was just another kicking for Scottish football.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45The clubs were going around with their hair on fire.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47You know, "We're not going to survive."
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Armageddon. Before the other Armageddon!
0:17:50 > 0:17:52That was the first Armageddon.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00One of the reasons the SPL was created
0:18:00 > 0:18:02was to provide a more profitable model,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05keeping all the member clubs financially solvent,
0:18:05 > 0:18:10but, with the collapse of the Sky and subsequent TV deals,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14financial ruin was back as a real possibility,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17especially for some of the smaller clubs.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Motherwell thought that spending money would be the best way
0:18:29 > 0:18:31of improving their fortunes.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35In what he saw as a visionary move,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the owner John Boyle appointed a former footballer
0:18:38 > 0:18:40as the Chief Executive.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44He's got considerable skill as a businessperson,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47as a person who knows the business of football,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49and his appointment as Chief Executive
0:18:49 > 0:18:53will be one further step along the road of building Motherwell up
0:18:53 > 0:18:56into one of the challenging clubs in Scotland.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Over McCarthy's head this time...
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Nevin, with Wilson...
0:19:00 > 0:19:01He's got round him.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Will he try one from here?
0:19:03 > 0:19:05What a superb goal by Nevin!
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Pat Nevin had considerable experience in finance.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12His university degree in commerce
0:19:12 > 0:19:14and his experience of running players' associations
0:19:14 > 0:19:17helped him shape a business plan.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19I explained to John Boyle,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21after looking at it for a few months,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24"This is going to cost you a lot of money.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26"And, if you want to be successful,
0:19:26 > 0:19:28"it's going to cost you a hell of a lot of money."
0:19:28 > 0:19:29I gave him three scenarios -
0:19:29 > 0:19:31a kind of average side, a half-decent side,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and a side that could get third or fourth.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It came out at roughly two million quid a year
0:19:36 > 0:19:38to get a side that would battle for third and fourth.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Two million quid losses per year.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42And he said, "Yeah, OK."
0:19:42 > 0:19:44And I went, "Really?!
0:19:45 > 0:19:47"OK, if you want to."
0:19:47 > 0:19:50So we put something in place there that worked quite quickly.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55It was a short-term solution to a long-term problem
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and it had been tried before,
0:19:57 > 0:20:02but the lessons of overspending had still not been learned.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Clubs continued to hope that the more they spent
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and the higher their spot in the league,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11then the more money would come their way...
0:20:14 > 0:20:16..but it was a gamble that rarely paid off.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20After the first season, we got straight up,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22battling with Hearts.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25A lot of teams had bigger budgets than us anyway,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27but we were able to punch decently around and above our weight
0:20:27 > 0:20:29for a period of time.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32But...I could feel it wasn't right.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37You don't feel good when there's a red part of the accounts.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40And that's when the problems kind of started for Motherwell,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42because, understandably, the owner thought,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45"Well, wait a minute, I was willing to lose X amount a year,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48"but I'm not going to lose X amount a year
0:20:48 > 0:20:50"plus another two million, or whatever it is, on top of that."
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Scottish football has been shaken by the news that
0:20:53 > 0:20:56the Premier League club Motherwell has gone into administration.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58The Chief Executive, Pat Nevin, has resigned
0:20:58 > 0:21:02and the court of session has been asked to appoint an administrator.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05The failure to agree a deal with Sky TV last year,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09and the collapse of plans for SPL TV,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12which we wholeheartedly supported,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14were bitterly disappointing
0:21:14 > 0:21:17and extremely bad news for us financially.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19It's going to be very painful,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21it's going to be very difficult,
0:21:21 > 0:21:27but it is, quite honestly, the only possible way forward.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30The players dismissed by Motherwell yesterday
0:21:30 > 0:21:32as part of a cost-cutting exercise
0:21:32 > 0:21:34say they feel bitterly let down by the club.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39I think we're talking about a war between football and business here.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43For the first time, the businesses are running all over football
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and that's hard to understand.
0:21:45 > 0:21:52It will be a slimline Motherwell on a much lower cost base
0:21:52 > 0:21:55and that may have a chance,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57in the current climate of Scottish football,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59of surviving.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Motherwell did survive...just.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06After narrowly escaping relegation from the SPL,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09they limped on, but without much success.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Subscription TV was where the money lay
0:22:15 > 0:22:17but Scottish football was still outside the party
0:22:17 > 0:22:21with its nose pressed up against the glass.
0:22:21 > 0:22:27Some clubs went for glamour in an effort to attract more TV coverage.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Dundee were uniquely connected to Italian football.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35And their management team were in charge, if you like,
0:22:35 > 0:22:37of bringing in players,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and they had these connections to, actually,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41some very, very talented players, of course -
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Argentinians, Italians and all the rest of it.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Dundee signed guys like Claudio Caniggia.
0:22:46 > 0:22:47Who would have thought of
0:22:47 > 0:22:49an Argentinian World Cup star
0:22:49 > 0:22:50singing for Dundee?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52You know, they were signing players from all over the world
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and, for a wee while,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57it was one of the finest Dundee sides I'd seen for years.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01There's a game against Clyde midweek
0:23:01 > 0:23:07when Fabrizio Ravanelli comes off the bench and scores a hat-trick.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14We were almost bewitched by the romance of these players -
0:23:14 > 0:23:16their fame, their kind of celebrity.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19They were paying these players way beyond
0:23:19 > 0:23:22what their 5,000-6,000 crowd could ever justify.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28The intention was to sell them on and the experiment ended in failure.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30And whilst it might have been a great rollercoaster
0:23:30 > 0:23:32for Dundee fans at the time,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35it tipped them into administration for the first
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and then subsequently a second time.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46With no lucrative sponsorship or broadcast deals in place,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48the clubs fell prey to individual deals
0:23:48 > 0:23:50from anyone with money to spend.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Gretna's new five-year plan involves a 6,000-seat stadium
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and entry to the SPL.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00OK, it sounds ridiculous for a town of less than 3,500 people,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04but, with Mileson's millions, it might just be possible.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09Brooks Mileson was a self-made multi-millionaire
0:24:09 > 0:24:14who had taken advantage of the expanding financial services market
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and had an interest in sport.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21I will put in the investment that's required here
0:24:21 > 0:24:24to meet the requirements and our ambition.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28I got sent down to Raydale to meet Brooks.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30So I had never seen him.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32I didn't know who he was.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34And I go into the wee kind of boardroom
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and I'm looking about for this guy, and there's a guy hoovering.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38This guy's hoovering and I'm like that...
0:24:38 > 0:24:41He turns round and I says, "I'm looking for Brooks Mileson."
0:24:41 > 0:24:43"Oh, come here, you silly fool." Big cuddle.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45"Hi, I'm Brooks." And that was it.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47I'm like, "What you doing, doing the hoovering?"
0:24:47 > 0:24:49He says, "Everybody does anything here.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51"I wouldn't ask you to do anything I wouldn't do myself."
0:24:51 > 0:24:54And, right away, you're in love with the guy.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57It was like a kind of carnival.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02My first game, there was guys on stilts, there was fire-eating,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04there was candyfloss everywhere...
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It was just a family-orientated club.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16This was a story to rival anything offered by the Old Firm.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Even if it was just one man's bank balance that was funding it.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23David Graham... This is the title...
0:25:23 > 0:25:24He squares it...!
0:25:24 > 0:25:26IT'S THERE! Unbelievable!
0:25:26 > 0:25:30James Grady has won the league for Gretna!
0:25:30 > 0:25:32You would not believe...!
0:25:34 > 0:25:36That was his dream. Owning a football club.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39He was the guy in charge but he was still a fan.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42He still travelled up with all his pals to the games.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43He never went into boardrooms.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Three promotions in three years has never been done before
0:25:46 > 0:25:47and might never be repeated.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52There was no organisational structure in place
0:25:52 > 0:25:54to question how one small team from the lower divisions
0:25:54 > 0:25:57could storm through three leagues in as many years,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59and whether it was sustainable.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Brooks, smelling success,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11continued bankrolling the club with even more lavish weekly gifts.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Bonuses included borrowing his luxury sports car,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17as he doled out wage cheques personally.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Mileson did finally acknowledge the club's precarious situation.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28It can't be run viably.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30If you were trying to run this viably,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32we'd have a part-time team, as it was in the past,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34which is why we were in the lower leagues.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Despite the problems, he pressed on.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41The tiny club rose up through the ranks
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and reached the showpiece event of the season -
0:26:43 > 0:26:45the Scottish Cup Final.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49If you want a morality tale about Scottish football,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51go to the cup final in which Gretna play Hearts,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55which was greeted in the Scottish media as a fairytale,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58and, in lots of ways, the sad thing about this was
0:26:58 > 0:27:03here was a club predicated on an ego-driven fantasy...
0:27:05 > 0:27:09The affable, single-minded moneyman had bought his way to success,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11bringing with him on the journey to Hampden
0:27:11 > 0:27:13thousands of very happy customers.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Brooks and everybody else within the club
0:27:17 > 0:27:20are in a Portakabin selling the tickets with Tupperware boxes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23They've got the tickets in one box and the money is going in the other.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26You're like that to yourself... "This isnae right.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28"How can we be in a cup final here?"
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It was an absolute Ponzi scheme.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34It was a con of the worst kind.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39And they're playing in our national cup final
0:27:39 > 0:27:43and clowns and idiots are calling it a fairy tale.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Do me a favour.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Buying good players to improve a club's future was nothing new,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54but this was the first time it had been done in such a blatant way.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11The dream continues!
0:28:14 > 0:28:16So the penalty shoot out begins...
0:28:16 > 0:28:17Skelton steps up...
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Off the crossbar, and Hearts have won
0:28:20 > 0:28:22the Tennents Scottish Cup 2006!
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I'm convinced that, on that day,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31a warning shot was fired about the failures of Scottish football.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33'Do not spend what you can't afford.'
0:28:33 > 0:28:35And Gretna did it in ways that were...
0:28:35 > 0:28:40Actually, the best word I can think for it was "shameless".
0:28:44 > 0:28:46It was a house of cards.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49One small push and it would all topple down.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52And, just a few seasons after the cup final,
0:28:52 > 0:28:54topple it did,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57when Mileson suffered a rapid deterioration in his health.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It think it fell away so quickly
0:29:02 > 0:29:05due to the fact that, when Brooks took unwell,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07he couldn't communicate.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10And his wife, Jerry, took the decision where,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14"Unless my husband tells me to write a cheque for anything,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16"it's stopping."
0:29:16 > 0:29:18And it was that quick. It was that day.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20No other money came into the club.
0:29:29 > 0:29:35The club's income from football is insufficient to sustain it.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39It cannot pay its wages, it cannot pay its commitments,
0:29:39 > 0:29:41without the support of Mr Mileson.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Following a board meeting on Friday 7th,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48the directors passed a resolution
0:29:48 > 0:29:50to place the club into administration.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Brooks Mileson died in November 2008.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01He left financial chaos in his wake and a club and fans in mourning.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10With no long-term strategy in place,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14few checks on the ownership of clubs and little coming in from TV deals,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17the clubs were growing increasingly dependent on anyone
0:30:17 > 0:30:21who had the money and desire to own a football club.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27The rapidly changing social circumstances around the world
0:30:27 > 0:30:31would also have a significant effect on Scotland's game.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35REPORTER: The Soviet parliament today formally voted the USSR
0:30:35 > 0:30:37and itself out of existence.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39The break-up of the USSR
0:30:39 > 0:30:43had brought into being a whole new breed of oligarch.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46The most famous was Roman Abramovich at Chelsea in England
0:30:46 > 0:30:51and in Scotland arrived Vladimir Romanov,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55greeted like a conquering hero by the weary Hearts fans.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58FANS CHANT: Vladimir Romanov!
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Where do you start with Vladimir Romanov?
0:31:01 > 0:31:02I mean, here's this guy
0:31:02 > 0:31:06who gets involved in the banking system in Lithuania
0:31:06 > 0:31:11during a time where Russia and the various independent states
0:31:11 > 0:31:16are privatising their gas and their electricity and their oil
0:31:16 > 0:31:20and all the rest of it and all sorts of bandits are flooding in there
0:31:20 > 0:31:22and Romanov, through his banking,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25becomes involved in Scottish football.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Some people would say, well, actually, at the time,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31he was looking to set up a Lithuanian Ukio Bankas,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34his Lithuanian bank, with a headquarters in Edinburgh
0:31:34 > 0:31:36to move into the banking system here in the UK -
0:31:36 > 0:31:39that's one of the kind of theories around it.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45Romanov saw in Hearts an opportunity to play on the global stage -
0:31:45 > 0:31:47a chance to promote his bank,
0:31:47 > 0:31:52its logo emblazoned on all the club's merchandise.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56TRANSLATED: They will be champions of Europe in ten years' time.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01TRANSLATED: I promise to build here a new stadium.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05And it will be a stadium with the best atmosphere in the world.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Hearts had been in financial turmoil for years.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Badly in debt, the board had taken a controversial decision
0:32:16 > 0:32:19to sell the stadium for housing redevelopment.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23REPORTER: It's the end of an era for Hearts Football Club.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25After months of speculation,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28a deal has been done to sell off its Tynecastle ground.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31REPORTER: Nothing short of the arrival of a major new investor
0:32:31 > 0:32:34can secure Tynecastle's future now.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40This sale had been a step too far for the loyal fans
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and they mounted a campaign against chairman Chris Robinson
0:32:43 > 0:32:45in a bid to prevent it.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55You should be ashamed of yourself, you fat bastard, ye.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59You pile a' shite, you fucking parasite fuck.
0:32:59 > 0:33:00Parasite!
0:33:00 > 0:33:02After several failed attempts
0:33:02 > 0:33:06to buy into Dunfermline, Dundee and Dundee United,
0:33:06 > 0:33:09this gave Romanov the chance he had been waiting for.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11APPLAUSE
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Within minutes, Hearts supporters changed their loyalty
0:33:14 > 0:33:17from a local businessman who had been with the club for years
0:33:17 > 0:33:21to a bank-owning oligarch with mysterious motives.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33The financial injection had immediate results -
0:33:33 > 0:33:35the team headed the league.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Generating huge media interest...
0:33:37 > 0:33:40FANS CHANT
0:33:40 > 0:33:44..television channels flocked to Tynecastle for live coverage,
0:33:44 > 0:33:47documentaries and rolling news reports.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50"We can win the league but I buy the players" -
0:33:50 > 0:33:54that's the message from Hearts major shareholder Vladimir Romanov.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58There was the occasion where the boy Tall came for a trial -
0:33:58 > 0:34:01we didn't think he was quite to the standard.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05He went home and then within the next week, he arrived at the ground,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08he'd signed a three-year contract and he was in my squad.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13So, I think when that moment happened,
0:34:13 > 0:34:14it was never going to work out.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Burley had achieved great success.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21His team were riding high at the top of the league,
0:34:21 > 0:34:23ahead of the Old Firm,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27but after a number of high-profile disagreements with Romanov,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30George Burley was sacked.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Quite incredible. I think we'd played 12 games at the time
0:34:35 > 0:34:39and I think we'd won ten and drawn two.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42They're going to play it long at the moment and here's Skacel.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46Now Pressley! He's equalised for Hearts!
0:34:46 > 0:34:48There was obviously disappointment
0:34:48 > 0:34:50because George had built a good rapport with the players,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54we had a real belief in the way that we were playing.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55I always remember this -
0:34:55 > 0:35:00he'd been at the club for three months and on his mantelpiece
0:35:00 > 0:35:02sat three Manager of the Month awards
0:35:02 > 0:35:04and we were losing our manager
0:35:04 > 0:35:07so, you know, in that respect, it was quite bizarre.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08Romanov had the money
0:35:08 > 0:35:12and he also wanted to have his say in how the club was run -
0:35:12 > 0:35:17a strategy that put him at odds with almost everyone.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19The treatment of some individuals
0:35:19 > 0:35:21during that period of time was horrendous.
0:35:21 > 0:35:27The honesty, the transparency, just in all the things that I think
0:35:27 > 0:35:30are really important in the foundations of a football club,
0:35:30 > 0:35:36I thought were being disregarded and it got to the point
0:35:36 > 0:35:41where I felt I had to speak out on behalf of all of these people.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48A lack of stability, and a constant turnaround of managers,
0:35:48 > 0:35:51it was up to the man who had to deal with it on an almost daily basis
0:35:51 > 0:35:54to question in public what was really going on.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59The club captain summoned the media.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02There is only so much a coaching staff, a captain
0:36:02 > 0:36:04and certain colleagues can do
0:36:04 > 0:36:08without the full backing, direction and coherence of the manager
0:36:08 > 0:36:10and those running the football club.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13The last two years have been very testing for the players.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16Together, we have faced a number of challenges.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19I worked hard at retaining some degree of unity.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22However, due to the circumstances,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25morale understandably is not good
0:36:25 > 0:36:29and there is significant unrest within the dressing room.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40At no time did Vladimir ever come and face me
0:36:40 > 0:36:42after I made that statement.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44I don't think he had the courage to face me.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50I felt let down.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54You know, I had went from being a captain there for many, many years
0:36:54 > 0:36:59to being exiled, but again, the amazing thing was
0:36:59 > 0:37:04the day that I was told I no longer had a future at Hearts,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07I was also offered the assistant manager's job.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Pressley left in 2006.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16The club limped on under Romanov for another seven seasons.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19Romanov brought in more and more Eastern Bloc talent,
0:37:19 > 0:37:24building a team in his own image but with no clear purpose.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28I believe, at one point, we had about 80 players on the payroll.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32None of that made any sense.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36There was no stopping him.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41He became this reckless and kind of egocentric owner of Hearts
0:37:41 > 0:37:45who took them on this kind of rollercoaster journey...
0:37:47 > 0:37:50..and then, of course, sacked their manager and another manager
0:37:50 > 0:37:53and another manager and sacked just about anybody
0:37:53 > 0:37:55that ever said anything that he disagreed with.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58I mean, it was unbelievable, it was almost like he was a Bond villain
0:37:58 > 0:38:00or something like that and here he was
0:38:00 > 0:38:03in charge of a Scottish football team.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15In 2008, the global financial system went in to meltdown.
0:38:15 > 0:38:20The system in which Romanov was a participant collapsed.
0:38:24 > 0:38:30His business rode the storm but he was eventually cornered in 2011.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Sought by the authorities for suspected embezzlement and fraud,
0:38:38 > 0:38:41hounded into hiding in his homeland,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45Romanov left his staff, players and fans back in Edinburgh
0:38:45 > 0:38:51sifting through the rubble, looking for money that wasn't there.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52No idea yet, no idea.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55REPORTER: Hearts Football Club will go into administration
0:38:55 > 0:38:58within the next 24 hours.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01The Edinburgh club has been in financial meltdown for some time
0:39:01 > 0:39:04with debts of ?25 million.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08We have inherited a fairly bleak situation,
0:39:08 > 0:39:13in terms of there is no cash in the club at the moment.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16That particular day, when they had that press conference,
0:39:16 > 0:39:18I walked out of Tynecastle,
0:39:18 > 0:39:21I thought this is... this could be curtains.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23And there is also no income due to the club.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27I mean they, the messages they were sending out were so grim.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30So that's put us in the situation where...
0:39:30 > 0:39:33It's been very regrettable but, as of today,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36we've had to make 14 administrative staff,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39nine full-time and five part-time, redundant.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42The vibe was so, so negative.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45We've got to be honest, it's as desperate as anything I've seen.
0:39:53 > 0:39:58But, you know, from that potential disaster
0:39:58 > 0:40:02grows this kind of inspirational story.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Trying to look at the positive side of it,
0:40:05 > 0:40:07we all know there's a huge fan base here.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13Hearts had something that Gretna didn't - rich community roots
0:40:13 > 0:40:18and a large fan base who might just provide a saviour.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22I was approached initially by the group that is now
0:40:22 > 0:40:24the Foundation of Hearts.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27They kind of felt that the supporters needed to stand up
0:40:27 > 0:40:31and try and take a little bit of control of the club.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Entrepreneur, computer software and IT specialist,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38and with a degree in psychology,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Ann Budge is an award-winning businesswomen
0:40:41 > 0:40:45and a Hearts season-ticket holder.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48I did think, this cannot be rocket science.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53There has got to be a way of running a football club
0:40:53 > 0:40:57without losing millions of pounds ever year.
0:40:57 > 0:41:02What if I help so I'll basically advance the funds,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05buy the club and then let the supporters take time
0:41:05 > 0:41:08to buy it back again.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13A football club isn't a toy, rich man's or otherwise, it's a business.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15It shouldn't be played with,
0:41:15 > 0:41:18it should be run appropriately and properly.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Desperate for cash,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Romanov's administrators agreed to the fans' offer,
0:41:26 > 0:41:28with Ann Budge's help, to buy the club.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Could fan ownership with community backing succeed
0:41:33 > 0:41:36where individual and corporate efforts had failed?
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Romanov was only one of many bank owners
0:41:45 > 0:41:47devastated by the global financial crisis.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Even businesses deemed too big to fail,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52such as the Royal Bank of Scotland,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56collapsed but were rescued by the taxpayers.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Then it was the turn of one of the biggest institutions
0:42:00 > 0:42:04in Scotland's game to come under scrutiny.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06If somebody wants to come in and do a better job than me,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08and wants to take a serious interest,
0:42:08 > 0:42:09I'm happy to talk to them.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12But I don't think it's about money. I would be reasonable to deal with
0:42:12 > 0:42:15if I thought it was in the best interests of the club,
0:42:15 > 0:42:16but all the people who said
0:42:16 > 0:42:18they're going to do this, they're going to do that
0:42:18 > 0:42:19and they're going to raise money,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21and the share schemes from the trust -
0:42:21 > 0:42:24none of that comes to fruition, nobody has delivered an offer
0:42:24 > 0:42:28that is serious and, in my opinion, in the best interests of the club.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Rangers had once been valued at ?110 million
0:42:32 > 0:42:36but over the years, that value became a fantasy.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Just like the signs of the global financial crash,
0:42:40 > 0:42:45the warning signs at Rangers had been ignored, even denied.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Of course there's money available - this is Rangers Football Club.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50The basic overdraft of the football club at the year-end
0:42:50 > 0:42:53was ?21 million and I'm comfortable with that,
0:42:53 > 0:42:55the shareholders are comfortable with that
0:42:55 > 0:42:57but it makes great, sensational copy for you people
0:42:57 > 0:43:00who want to make it look as if we're in a crisis or something.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Rangers Football Club
0:43:02 > 0:43:04have just announced their worst-ever annual results.
0:43:04 > 0:43:05Allowing for interest,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08the Ibrox club has lost just over ?35 million...
0:43:08 > 0:43:10It did take a while for people to say,
0:43:10 > 0:43:12"Hang on, this is unsustainable,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15"this is industrial-scale spending.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18"How in the name of God can they afford this?"
0:43:21 > 0:43:25There was a famous interview with Hugh Adam, the Rangers director,
0:43:25 > 0:43:28who said this will crash and burn
0:43:28 > 0:43:30and it will happen sooner or later
0:43:30 > 0:43:33because that is business -
0:43:33 > 0:43:36you cannot have those outlays with that income
0:43:36 > 0:43:38and hope for a happy ending.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The financial situation also had a considerable impact
0:43:44 > 0:43:47on what happened on the pitch.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49When I came to Celtic in the year 2000,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52and say Rangers were spending ?12 million
0:43:52 > 0:43:54on a player like Tore Andre Flo,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58they were bringing class players from the continent and across
0:43:58 > 0:44:02and looked as if they were able to afford to be able to do that.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07David Murray had found a loophole in the tax system,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10giving him more disposable cash than the rest of Scottish football,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13allowing him to buy more players.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18Don't take salaries, don't pay tax, just take loans called EBTs,
0:44:18 > 0:44:19Employment Benefit Trust.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21Just take these loans,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25you don't really have to ever pay them back, and you just get cash.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28And you don't have to pay tax on it or PAYE -
0:44:28 > 0:44:30that means you can buy more expensive players,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34you get an advantage on the pitch. "Yes", says David and the lads.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36The first ten years of the century they do this,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Rangers win no fewer than 12 trophies.
0:44:38 > 0:44:39While all this is going on,
0:44:39 > 0:44:43?47 million is shelled out in these loans,
0:44:43 > 0:44:45and directors buy second houses in France,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49Rangers get expensive players, success on the pitch.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53In making use of EBTs, Rangers drew on advice from tax specialists
0:44:53 > 0:44:56and subsequently some judges agreed with their position
0:44:56 > 0:44:58when tested in court.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02What Rangers were doing was no more than
0:45:02 > 0:45:05part of that Wild West, out-of-control global culture
0:45:05 > 0:45:08where tax avoidance - as opposed to tax evasion,
0:45:08 > 0:45:10which is of course illegal -
0:45:10 > 0:45:13is ingrained in everybody's culture everybody is doing it,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16and if you're doing it better than the others,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18you gain commercial advantage.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23COMMENTATOR: This could be the championship-winning goal
0:45:23 > 0:45:25if Mikel Arteta can hold his nerve.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29You seen how close it was in terms of winning the championship -
0:45:29 > 0:45:31it was a goal in it.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36We were so level, it wasn't...
0:45:36 > 0:45:37It wasnae true.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41He can!
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Rangers have won their 50th title!
0:45:46 > 0:45:48So, if they didnae pay the same kind of money that
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Celtic paid their players, we would have been behind them.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56You wind up being a football club which is buying players -
0:45:56 > 0:45:59in its own words - that it couldn't otherwise afford,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03to gain...presumably and seemingly sporting advantage,
0:46:03 > 0:46:05otherwise why would else would you do it?
0:46:05 > 0:46:08It gained sporting advantage, they win 12 trophies in
0:46:08 > 0:46:09the first decade of this century
0:46:09 > 0:46:12and, lo and behold, no-one's paying tax.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16The spending at Ibrox was based on loans and debts,
0:46:16 > 0:46:20and the banks demanded a closer look at their accounts.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24At the point when the banking crisis happened,
0:46:24 > 0:46:29the cosy relationship David Murray had with the bank began to change.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32They started to want to call in all the major debts they had -
0:46:32 > 0:46:35not just Rangers, but all major debts -
0:46:35 > 0:46:36and a condition of the debt
0:46:36 > 0:46:40was that they put a banker on the board of Rangers.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Who was seen... You read about it in the press all the time,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45where they were turning around and saying,
0:46:45 > 0:46:47"This guy is stopping them buying big players"
0:46:47 > 0:46:48and all the rest of it,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52and you're thinking, "Are you really getting what's going on here?"
0:46:52 > 0:46:56HMRC issued the club with a multimillion pound tax bill.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59David Murray was forced to act.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04David Murray had got to a stage where when he sold Rangers -
0:47:04 > 0:47:09a global brand name with some of the largest, most devoted,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12most passionate, most loyal fans in the world -
0:47:12 > 0:47:15he had reduced that to an edifice which was worth ?1.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18And the only reason it was sold for a pound was because
0:47:18 > 0:47:20he was desperate to get rid of it.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22He had to, he was under pressure from his own bank,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25from the Murray Group - the Murray Group were in trouble -
0:47:25 > 0:47:28erm, and he had to off-load it.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32That is a catastrophe, and that is a financial mismanagement
0:47:32 > 0:47:35of big business, big culture, big football
0:47:35 > 0:47:37the like of which I don't think we've seen anywhere else,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39certainly on these islands.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46If I move on from Rangers, I will leave it in the hands
0:47:46 > 0:47:49of people that I think have put their best into the club.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Only guy that will buy it is a bizarre,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54slightly Walter Mitty character called Craig Whyte.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56APPLAUSE
0:47:56 > 0:47:58Can I ask how it feels to be walking in, the dawn of a new...?
0:47:58 > 0:48:00It's very exciting.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06The supposed billionaire, who didn't
0:48:06 > 0:48:08turn out to be a billionaire at all.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11And I remember talking to David Murray in the preamble
0:48:11 > 0:48:14to the final deal being done, because I had never spoken to
0:48:14 > 0:48:16Craig Whyte up until that point,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18and I said, "What's he like?"
0:48:18 > 0:48:21And Murray said, "He reminds me of a young me."
0:48:23 > 0:48:26I thought, "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
0:48:26 > 0:48:30And he told me he was convinced that Craig Whyte was the answer.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36If Craig Whyte was the answer, I didn't know what the question was.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40STUART COSGROVE: Craig Whyte only arrived
0:48:40 > 0:48:42because there was an opportunity,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45an organisation was being sold by someone that knew
0:48:45 > 0:48:48that the debt it was carrying was unsustainable.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53In the first interview I did with Craig Whyte,
0:48:53 > 0:48:57he had said, "Other than being a slightly regrettable event,
0:48:57 > 0:48:59"I don't see what the big deal
0:48:59 > 0:49:03"about Rangers going into administration would be."
0:49:03 > 0:49:06And in hindsight, you can see that was the plan.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12REPORTERS: Rangers have lodged an intention
0:49:12 > 0:49:14of going into administration with the Court of Session.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17..with Rangers on the verge of administration, what are the...?
0:49:17 > 0:49:19..contend with even greater adversity.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22What we've done today was the most practical way forward
0:49:22 > 0:49:24to safeguard the long-term survival of Rangers,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26which is what we're all about,
0:49:26 > 0:49:28and prevent the possible closure of the club.
0:49:28 > 0:49:29FANS SHOUT OVER HIM
0:49:29 > 0:49:31We hope to continue discussions with HMRC,
0:49:31 > 0:49:33and have practical proposals in place.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35I've spoken to the manager and the staff
0:49:35 > 0:49:37and supporters' representatives this afternoon,
0:49:37 > 0:49:41and have outlined the position. This is a difficult day for Rangers,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44but we will emerge a fitter and stronger club. Thank you very much.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46BOOING
0:49:46 > 0:49:48ANGRY SHOUTS
0:49:48 > 0:49:52He's a coward and he must go! He shouldnae be allowed to rule.
0:49:52 > 0:49:56We need to know what's happening at this club. That is the problem -
0:49:56 > 0:49:58nobody seems to want to talk to the fans.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01The fans are the people who bring the cash into this club
0:50:01 > 0:50:04to make it run, and that's what needs to happen.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07That house will stay open!
0:50:07 > 0:50:09And the fans will make sure it stays open!
0:50:09 > 0:50:10Cos we are the people!
0:50:10 > 0:50:13We are the people, and it'll never be taken away fae us.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17THEY CHANT: Whyte must go! Whyte must go! Whyte must go!
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Since the inception of the SPL,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30five of its members had entered administration.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35But now Rangers were heading for an even greater demise - liquidation,
0:50:35 > 0:50:40which would mean exclusion from the professional football leagues.
0:50:40 > 0:50:43It was very, very difficult for the Scottish press
0:50:43 > 0:50:45and for other branches of Scottish society,
0:50:45 > 0:50:49to deal with the idea that there might be no Rangers.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53I think they found that perilously difficult to imagine,
0:50:53 > 0:50:57and in lots of ways it was beyond the idea of how they framed the way
0:50:57 > 0:50:59that Scottish football was.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02This is about big sport,
0:51:02 > 0:51:05like big banking, going badly out of control.
0:51:05 > 0:51:09It is about an organisation which perhaps perceives itself,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12and is certainly perceived by the authorities -
0:51:12 > 0:51:14and that is critical in Scottish football -
0:51:14 > 0:51:17as it was in banking, as being too big to fail.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19The brand must be protected.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23The power, the reach, the place that this club has, indeed,
0:51:23 > 0:51:28in Scottish culture must somehow be protected. It can't go to the wall.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35Rangers applied for membership of the football leagues,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38hopeful this would see them accommodated within the top tier.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49When it came to deals with the media,
0:51:49 > 0:51:53the SPL had backed the Old Firm brand with an all-in bet.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56Future prosperity had been built on that rivalry
0:51:56 > 0:51:58and displays of tribal aggression.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02But the rest of Scottish Football had had enough,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05and the fans of the other teams demanded to have a say
0:52:05 > 0:52:08in the unfolding drama.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11I think in this case, fan power really came into play.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14I think a lot of football chairmen who were keen to keep Rangers
0:52:14 > 0:52:18in the Premiership, for obvious financial reasons,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22found that their fan base just weren't going to tolerate it.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Our season ticket sales were about a quarter of what they would
0:52:27 > 0:52:29have been normally, at that particular time,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31and the fans basically said,
0:52:31 > 0:52:34"If you vote them back in, we're not buying a season ticket."
0:52:34 > 0:52:37The financial effect for us as a club of not having
0:52:37 > 0:52:40season ticket sales would have just been enormous.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43We went with what was right for our club. We had to do that.
0:52:43 > 0:52:44As many other clubs did.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50The decision to place Rangers in the lowest tier of the
0:52:50 > 0:52:54professional game would have been unthinkable only months before.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00The Scottish Football League's only acceptable position will be
0:53:00 > 0:53:03to place Rangers FC into the Third Division
0:53:03 > 0:53:05of the Irn-Bru Scottish Football League...
0:53:05 > 0:53:09GROWING FAINT, ECHOING: ..from the start of season 2012...
0:53:18 > 0:53:21It's an extraordinary story of how a club can be brought
0:53:21 > 0:53:27from the very zenith of Scottish football pretty much to start again.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30For me, it all goes back to David Murray and hubris.
0:53:31 > 0:53:38Spending money that he didn't have, ego, and the EBT disaster.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41I would blame David Murray for the collapse of Rangers.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Sir David Murray denies any financial mismanagement
0:53:50 > 0:53:53during his time in charge of the club.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56This period also saw a major restructuring
0:53:56 > 0:53:58of the football league system in Scotland.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02And despite the crisis at Rangers,
0:54:02 > 0:54:06the predicted downfall of Scottish football failed to materialise.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11From the perspective of some football fans,
0:54:11 > 0:54:13it's been a great period.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15We've seen lots of competitive football.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18There is no question that from the vantage point
0:54:18 > 0:54:21of St Johnstone fans, we've qualified for Europe
0:54:21 > 0:54:23three times on the trot.
0:54:23 > 0:54:24STADIUM ANNOUNCER: St Johnstone!
0:54:24 > 0:54:26CHEERING
0:54:26 > 0:54:29We've had some great wins, particularly away in Europe as well.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Meanwhile, the Highland teams are going on,
0:54:36 > 0:54:37getting to cup finals.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Inverness are winning cups and all the rest of it.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48From the point of view of many other clubs in Scotland,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51this has been a great era for the game.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56After four years and several changes
0:54:56 > 0:54:58in boardroom and club management,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01Rangers Football Club is now back in the top flight.
0:55:07 > 0:55:08It's dropped now for Grady!
0:55:08 > 0:55:12Oh, what a glorious goal!
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Football had gone global.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19But questionable decisions at the start of it all
0:55:19 > 0:55:22had left Scotland's clubs struggling to play catch up
0:55:22 > 0:55:24and vulnerable to predators.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31Watching the way that these bandits who had been in financial control,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35this series of robber barons, you realise that
0:55:35 > 0:55:37capitalists are in it for themselves.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39They're in it for a profit.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43It made me realise that fan ownership has to be the way ahead.
0:55:44 > 0:55:50One enduring constant throughout the lifetime of the SPL are the fans.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54Always there, always ready to help, it is the supporters
0:55:54 > 0:55:58who genuinely have the best interests of their clubs at heart.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02The Hearts supporters were remarkable.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07They were almost entirely progressive.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10"Don't look back, look forward."
0:56:11 > 0:56:13We're still quite a long way off
0:56:13 > 0:56:17from even fully understanding how it will work at Hearts.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21The one thing I'm sure of is that there's not one right model here.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24There are more examples of where it hasn't worked
0:56:24 > 0:56:27or where it's caused problems
0:56:27 > 0:56:30than there are of where it has worked.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34So I think there's still a lot of work to be done on that.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38I think there's a yawning gap opened up now between
0:56:38 > 0:56:42the authorities running the game and the football fan.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46And the football fan out there is thinking, you know,
0:56:46 > 0:56:50"You say constantly that you value us, you say constantly that
0:56:50 > 0:56:53"you're listening to us. Where's the evidence?"
0:56:53 > 0:56:56And I have to agree with them to a large extent, I don't see
0:56:56 > 0:57:00much evidence of football fans in this country being listened to.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05As the dust settles on the 30-year revolution,
0:57:05 > 0:57:10and wise heads make sense of the triumph, transformation and turmoil,
0:57:10 > 0:57:12the way ahead remains uncertain.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Our club football may be doing well at local level,
0:57:16 > 0:57:21but in the 17 years since that first failed Sky deal,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Scottish football has never managed to attract the investment
0:57:24 > 0:57:26that would deliver on its ambitions.
0:57:28 > 0:57:34Players, managers, oligarchs, bankers and tycoons
0:57:34 > 0:57:36have all attempted to play the game,
0:57:36 > 0:57:39but a lack of any sustainable structure at a higher level
0:57:39 > 0:57:41means that it's still every club for itself.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45And until that changes, Scottish football
0:57:45 > 0:57:47will continue to have its face
0:57:47 > 0:57:49pressed up against that glass window.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59If you're living in bed with an elephant, as the Scots were,
0:57:59 > 0:58:04there was a tremendous incentive for David to beat Goliath.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07There's something special, an elixir about football
0:58:07 > 0:58:09that is almost kind of alcoholic.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11If you don't want to play for your country,
0:58:11 > 0:58:14then there's something wrong with you.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17You've lost a game where the expectations were
0:58:17 > 0:58:20that you should win it. How do you deal with that?
0:58:20 > 0:58:24And the newspaper front page has got I should get the sack.
0:58:25 > 0:58:29Alex Ferguson walked in the room and said a couple of words.
0:58:29 > 0:58:30"Jock's dead."
0:59:01 > 0:59:05In an unforgiving time, Scotland had its heroes.
0:59:05 > 0:59:06Cooper has made it!