As widely expected, Rangers board-member in waiting Derek Llambias is now in Glasgow, running his rule over the club in his capacity as Mike Ashley's consultant before reporting back to his boss. Some might have been a little shocked by the revelation that Llambias would be happy to work with Ashley given that he walked away from Newcastle after the appointment of Joe Kinnear, but it seems the "bad feeling" that we were sold when Ashley apparently went behind his back seems to have been over-stated somewhat. Because, otherwise, why would Llambias be back in as Ashley's right-hand man? Reports have suggested that Ashley is coming in to nurse the club back to full health, but he doesn't really need to - in fact it would be better not to considering his continued (and desired) association with Newcastle. Llambias might have a track record of being uncompromising in negotiations and a notorious champion of stability (it was he who trumpeted the 8 year deals that the club are currently stuck with), but his strengths will be most useful in making sure that Rangers' assets are protected, or sold depending on their value. But not to the club - to the new man in the board-room. There's a reason Ashley has made that £2m loan - not enough money for anything really, considering how much money Rangers are currently haemorrhaging on a monthly basis - and Llambias' expected permanent appointment to the board has nothing to do with a football club. Predictably, it's all about business, and Llambias proved on Tyneside that he has the knowledge and the acumen to look after the financial sides of clubs a lot more than the football side - that was, in fact, his one obvious weakness. Despite Newcastle fans not taking to Llambias for most of his time in charge of Newcastle, he was apparently strongly liked by his staff and loyal in return: he just didn't suffer allegations and accusations based on emotion, which is why he reacted so poorly to local newspaper coverage in particular (the more emotional mouth-piece "of the people) and the fans themselves. When he said "you don't know how nasty we can be" it was an error in judgement, but it was one based solely on the fact that he was being painted as the pantomime villain by fans unwilling to assess his strong points. Llambias is in the frame to take over from Wallace as CEO of Rangers (he will apparently apply for the role), and while the more militant of Newcastle fans will send mournful commiserations to their Rangers cousins, he will actually be the right man for Rangers when they inevitably appoint him as the new man in charge. He will be affable to his fellow board members, fiercely committed to keeping the problems within the club secret (he's good at working in the dark) and dealing with them in a way that ensures one way or another that there is still a club to support, and he won't let anyone strip away assets and leave the club an empty husk. If there are any deals to be done to help preserve Rangers, at the same time as giving his boss' brand a boost, he will squeeze every last penny out of them: remember, this is the man who took Liverpool to the cleaners over Andy Carroll. And while he laughed and rubbed his hands with glee at what he'd pulled off, it took everyone else months to work out how genius it was. But that's the price of his leadership: you won't hear communication about anything until it's already happened, and then you'll either see fierce defensiveness or smug self-satisfaction (depending on what Llambias is announcing). Unfortunately, Ashley's concerns for the football team are secondary - if that - which is all but proven by the fact that he has sent Llambias, a businessman as opposed to a football man in conventional terms. His scouting mission is nothing to do with assessing the current state of the squad, but of the balance books, unsurprisingly, and while he might be seeking control of key accounts and assets (so he's in a powerful position whether the club survives or not) it will be Llambias' assessment that will confirm to Ashley that he won't need to own any more of the club to cash in.
