RANGERS TAKEOVER: ANGER FROM JACKSON AS REALITY DAWNS AND DESPERATION SETS IN
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Becoming a cheerleader for a story you broke is something of an occupational hazard in journalism.
When you land that big exclusive before anyone else, you so badly want it to come to fruition, that, sometimes, it clouds your better judgement.
In the case of Keith Jackson and his Rangers Takeover story, which is now more than 2 months old, we can see this happening in real time.
Jackson Turns on “New Rangers Owners” as Takeover Remains Stuck
In his Monday editorial, headlined “Rangers Takeover Better Get a Move On”, Jackson struggles to conceal his obvious frustration.
Remember this is the same journalist who assured all the Rangers support more than a decade ago that, our hero, Craig Whyte was a “billionaire with off the radar wealth,” ready to lead Rangers into a new golden age.
By the following summer, Rangers were dead and Craig Whyte rode off into the Monaco sunset with considerably more than the 1 pound he’d used to buy the former football club.
Somehow, Jackson kept his job at the Record, despite being so totally misled throughout that entire saga.
This is probably the pick of Jackson impotent, irate ramblings from this morning:
“To be frank, Cavenagh and his legal team are making it more difficult with each day that passes without the paperwork being signed, sealed and rubber stamped on this impending takeover.”
Notice the shifting of blame, the denial of responsibility. It’s textbook stuff for someone who is slowly, but surely coming to realize that he’s been sold another pup.
I told all of you, dear readers, that this was exactly what would happen. I am no financial genius, I don’t think I’m even that good a journalist.
But I have developed a pretty good internal b*llshit detector over the years, and this story has triggered it from day one.
Yet Jackson, blinded by his own ambition and perhaps a desire to redeem himself for being so utterly humiliated by that prince of men Craig Whyte all those years ago, is now so hopelessly welded to this story, he’s lost all sense of perspective.
He also caveats any potential investment from Cavenagh and co with these words: “even though the American consortium might be coming, the smart money says nothing much is likely to change over the course of the next 12 months.”
That wasn’t what you said back in February, Keith.
Back then, you promised your readers a “transformational takeover” led by the San Francisco 49ers, who evidently are also barely mentioned in this latest article either.
This whole mess is unravelling. In all honesty I don’t take much pleasure in seeing a fellow writer, even one as obviously compromised as Jackson, reduced to almost pleading for his “exclusive” to come into reality.
Cavenagh might put some money into Rangers eventually, but it wont be much. Jackson is already trying to prepare his rabid audience for this eventual reality.
However, I think this will drag on for a while yet. Cavenagh seems to enjoy all the hospitality being thrown his way by Rangers.
My guess is he’ll enjoy quite a few more free lunches at the expense of the current board before he decides one way or the other.