By Graham Barnstaple
April 16 2012

The fans preferred bidders, the Blue Knights consortium, have today announced they have pulled out of the race to own Rangers, leaving only two runners.

The Blue Knights have pulled out today after Ticketus had been made a better offer bySingaporebased business man Bill Ng. This meant the deposit required for their bid would have to come from somewhere else. There was also an expectation they would be named the preferred bidder on Friday.

When this was not forthcoming they decide the whole business was becoming too complex and have stood back to allow Ticketus and Ng complete their bid and allow things to move forward.

Where this leaves the bid from American based Bill Murray is now unclear, and it also leaves the involvement of Craig Whyte up in the air.

The word is Ng has the finance to pay off all of the debts in full (apart from maybe the Big Tax case, which some are saying will be settled this week) but prefers a CVA to get Rangers out of Administration.

At least a CVA would keep the current club intact and allow the fans to retain the history and tradition of their club. It would also put an end to the debate about the formation of a Newco would affect things.

It will also be interesting to watch how much Ng would actually invest and therefore what kind of playing squad they will be able to build for the new season.