RANGERS TAKEOVER: 49ERS FINALLY ADDRESS RUMORS, AND ITS EXACTLY WHAT CELTIC FANS EXPECTED
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
After much speculation, there has finally been some update, some acknowledgement from the owners of the San Francisco 49ers regarding their supposedly imminent acquisition of Rangers.
And its not the sort of news Keith Jackson will be scrambling to type up on his loyal laptop. At least not until he's had sufficient time to put a pro-Rangers spin on it. However, don't be taken in by the hype. Here is the real deal on what exactly the 49ers' owners said.
49ers Owner on Rangers Takeover: “We’ve Done Nothing, and if we do There’s No Financial Overlap”
Those were the words of Jed York, of the York Family, the owners of 97% of the San Francisco 49ers and their global affiliates under the 49ers Enterprises umbrella.
This umbrella currently includes Leeds United, whose own fans have recently complained that the relative lack of investment from the owners has placed their Championship promotion push in jeopardy.
York was speaking to US sports media outlet ESPN. The purpose of the interview was actually to address the rather modest approach the San Francisco 49ers have taken to investment in their own squad ahead of the next NFL season.
49ers fans have been asking the obvious question: “Why are you supposedly throwing money at foreign soccer teams, when it would be better used to make the 49ers more competitive in the NFL?”
It was here that York delivered the words that will, maybe, just maybe, finally shake some sense into the Scottish mainstream media’s coverage of this Rangers takeover sideshow and the non-involvement of the 49ers.
Speaking directly about the Rangers takeover 49ers link, York said: “We haven’t done anything there.”
So, there we have it, the first actual statement from anyone at the 49ers about Rangers since the Daily Record first started creaming their collective doughnut about it on a daily basis in mid-February.
And the huge update is: nothing has happened.
York did go a bit further, but its not the news Rangers fans wanted to hear, hence the Daily Record’s total silence on this story.
Addressing the possibility of bringing Rangers into the 49ers Enterprises fold, he said this:
“Leeds is obviously under the umbrella, but completely separate from the 49ers. Where we can tie brands together and sort of take our best practices of operating and things like that, we do, but in terms of financials, they don't overlap at all."
Sorry bears, this isn’t the sugar daddy you’re looking for. No massive cash injection is coming.
The reality of this is, if (and I still think it’s a massive “if”) 49ers Enterprises did somehow assume control of Rangers, austerity is the only way it can go.
Ever since they emerged from the festering carcass of the old Rangers in 2012, this new club has shown itself completely incapable of living within its means. Consistent eight figure annual losses have been the way ever since.
49ers Enterprises would not allow that to continue. But the only way to end it is through huge cost-cutting, and a massive dose of reality. Neither of these options have ever been palatable to a Rangers support raised on entitlement and expectation.
Ultimately that is why, for all their bluster, all their aggression and all their wasted millions, they remain far behind Celtic both on and off the park.
Until the Rangers support and their enablers at the Daily Record embrace reality, that will not change.