Mr Alastair James Johnston warned the dignified world in 2011 that Craig Whyte “might not be able to pay our bills”.
Of course, he was correct.
Despite the ripping yarns about “wealth off the radar” the little guy in the cheap suit wasn’t a billionaire.
In the aftermath of the Craig Whyte trial, the North American based businessman stated that the putative billionaire should have been charged with “…the murder of an institution…”
Perhaps this chastening experience is what is making Mr Johnston challenge Mr David Cunningham King and his grandiose schemes.
Johnston is clearly the driving force behind the pro-Murty faction.
If that grouping wins through, then it will be a victory for financial common sense.
You may recall that Lord Cardigan had stated that there was no place for such a mindset around the boardroom tale at Ibrox.
If Murty is installed, then it will be based on cutting the budget and promoting what he can from the youth ranks.
The key concept will be sustainability.
Since the new club was created it has never been run on that basis.
There was the great cash burn of 2013 and since then it has been emergency loans that have kept the lights on.
There was only one period, from October 2014 until March 2015, that the sustainability agenda was pursued with vigour.
Since the Off-Licence Putsch put Mr David Cunningham King in power it has been debt financing via Other People’s Money (OPM).
The braggadocio apropos being in clover has intoxicated the home crowd at Ibrox.
It helps to convince The People that the debt-financed glory days can return to the stadium that John Brown played for.
However, it is a chimera.
It was very much a case of the OPM of the masses and it is The People themselves, in the main, who are bankrolling the operation.
The shortfall has been met by a few directors, but they’re maxed out.
Consequently, Alistair Johnston knows that this debt financing cannot end well.
The austerity or insolvency questions remain extant at Ibrox.
If you have been with me on this journey since 2009 you will know that The People scoff at the very idea of financial trouble at the Big House.
Consequently, their anguish in 2012 was so delicious.
Since the basket of assets was turned into a new club Sevco has been a basket case.
Indeed several senior business analysts in the Square Mile have stated to me that they are amazed that the current entity at Ibrox has survived thus far.
If Murty is appointed, then it is “simply the second best” that is the new tune at Ibrox.
The only unknowable then is how many of the current customer base will continue to follow follow because it will be cold in Celtic’s shadow.
