The Definitive Answer

One of the issues kicked about on ja606 recently is whether or not Rangers get to preserve their history following their insolvency event. A number of Celtic fans keep posting about who are Rangers etc? I believe though I have the definitive answer as to whether or not Rangers are still the same club and keep their history. It will not surprise you that as a Rangers fan my position is that they do keep their history. I have though a precedent previously set in Scottish football to back up my argument.

No reference to Leeds, Boro or Fiorentina is required for my argument. A similar scenario unfolded previously within Scottish football and with that precedent it shows that Rangers keep their history.

Hibs are a famous club and I believe that even those outwith Scotland who have a passing interest in Scottish football will know about Hibs. Can any of you though tell me of the top of your head as to when Hibs were formed? the clue is in their club badge:

http://www.cbfootball.co.uk/images/hibsBadge_large.jpg

Having been formed in 1875 Hibs are one of the oldest clubs in Scottish football. They have a long and proud history. They also are the winners of major honours within Scottish football including the Scottish Cup in season 1886/87.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1886%E2%80%9387_Scottish_Cup

The Hibs as we know them today though did not start playing league football until season 1893/94. The reasons for this are numerous. In summary though following assistance provided to Celtic in their formation in 1888 a number of players were attracted/stolen to/by Celtic (depending on whose version you read) leaving Hibs with a weakened team. As they had a restrictive player policy the avaialble talent was diminshed by the loss of these players. At the same time financial mismanagement along with an unscrupolus committe member stealing funds and the founder of Hibernian FC passing away the club ran into severe financial difficulties. This led to the club losing their home ground and not applying for league membership at the beginning of the 1890's.

This left Hibs FC homeless, without players and without a competition to play in. The committe though rallied round, raised funds sufficient enough for them to put a deposit down on a new ground (Easter Road), form a team and thereafter apply to the Scottish League into which they were accepted into the lowest division which at that time was Division 2. This new Hibs was formed in 1893 after an 18 month hiatus following the financial problems of the old club.

To this day though Scottish football recognises Hibs as having been formed in 1875. Their club crest carries this date. All records carried by the SFA, SPL and SFL show Hibs as a club that was formed in 1875. The Scottish Cup won by Hibs in 1886/87 is still attributed to Hibs despite the fact that this new Hibs was formed in 1893 some six years after that triumph.

Effectively that is because the club itself despite the insolvency event never went away as such. They may have had a break in their timeline, had no football for about an 18 month period, no ground, no players etc but as the club itself was still in existence even without these tangible assets they were deemed to be the same entity when they got themselves sorted out in 1893.

On the basis that Scottish football recognises Hibs as still being the 1875 club despite their 1891 financial difficulties shows the approach Scottish football has previously taken to this problem. The fact that a majot honour in the Scottish game is still attributed to Hibs shows that their history is intact.

The world may have been a different place over a hundred years ago but even today in courts throughout the land there are legal precedents used that still apply today. On the basis of what happened to Hibs and the approach that Scottish football has adopted to Hibs it is clear that Rangers as a club still continues and its history is intact.

Some may point to teams like Third Lanark and Gretna to name but two but the difference with these teams is that they died without anyone saving them. Third Lanark had their name bought by an MP in an attempt to revive the club and their history but various attempts never got of the ground. Gretna never received a buyer and therefore were liquidated as a whole. No assets including the name were bought by anyone.

On that basis can we bring an end to the history argument erroneously debated up until this point?