Are former-Rangers players right to reject contract transfers?

The club formerly-known as Glasgow Rangers seems to be in pieces.

The SPL clubs have refused to let the new organisation Newco Rangers into the Scottish top flight and now players are refusing to have their contracts transferred to the newly established club.

Unclear

The future of the once great club is very unclear at the moment.

It looks like Newco Rangers may have to start in the Scottish third division and work their way up back into the SPL. Its a situation that must be breaking Rangers fans hearts.

They have along with Celtic been giants of the Scottish game and now the club could find itself in the depths of the Scottish football pyramid system.

Happy

Some people in Scotland seem to be happy that Rangers are in this sad state of repair. They shouldn’t be Rangers and Celtic are the two teams that attract television and sponsorship deals for the SPL. Without Rangers the league will be little more than a procession for Celtic next season.

I have surprisingly read Celtic fans saying that Rangers going into liquidation is a bad thing for them, despite the bitter rivalry between the clubs. Celtic fans know that without that rivalry the interest in their club and the league in general will decrease.

Players

Newco Rangers have offered Rangers players the opportunity to transfer their contracts over to the new organisation. Unfortunately for Rangers most players are choosing to head elsewhere. The likes of Stuart Whittaker and Kyle Lafferty have already agreed moves to Norwich and Sion respectively.

One of Rangers main players in recent years Steven Naismith looks set for a move to Premier League Everton according to reports, after he refused to transfer his contract to the newly-formed organisation.

Loyalty

Some Rangers fans have criticised the players for lack of loyalty. I think they are slightly harsh on the players as Rangers no longer exists in its original form. Had Rangers survived in its original form I’m sure all their best players would have stayed with the club.

However, I can understand the players not wanting to transfer their contracts as the future of Newco Rangers is completely uncertain. The owner Charles Green doesn’t even seem to know what league Rangers will be in next season.

Green has no right to criticised the players for not transferring their contracts. He is talking about players breaching their contracts by leaving as free agents. In fact the players had contracts with Glasgow Rangers, not Newco Rangers so they are doing no such thing.

I can understand that Green wants to get money for these players as Newco Rangers will basically be starting afresh but he can’t accuse the players of breaching their contracts when the company they had contracts with no longer exists.

Fans

The fans of Rangers are a very loyal bunch and it’s these hearty souls that I feel sorry for. These are the people that have been hit hardest by the liquation of their club. The clubs previous hierarchies create a mess that nobody could sort out.

Its meant that one of Britain’s biggest sporting institutions now no longer exists. Some fans will be bitter about the players leaving but I think most will understand that they can’t sign up to something that doesn’t guarantee a bright future.

Rebuilding

I hope for Rangers fans sake that Newco Rangers are a success and they eventually work their way back to the top of the Scottish game. Scottish football needs Rangers and I’m sure there is a lot of Scottish football fans out there that are very sad about the demise of Rangers.

Derby

The SPL will be a lot poorer for the lack of Celtic-Rangers derbies next season. Without these games Celtic will have very little competition next season. However, the players can’t be blamed for the mess that Rangers got themselves in and they shouldn’t be criticised for wanting stable employment.

Are Rangers players right to reject transfer of their contracts?