If Carlos Bocanegra, Maurice Edu and Alejandro Bedoya were thinking of wading through the tough times Rangers and sticking around for another season, they might want to reconsider their options.
In the wake of the club's financial turmoil, liquidation and takeover by new owner Charles Green, Rangers essentially need to start their franchise from scratch. That entailed forming a new company, leaving their history behind and hoping that the rest of the Premier League would accept that while welcoming the club back into the top flight with open arms. It appears, however, that last part won't be happening.
Under their current circumstances, Rangers need a two-thirds majority vote among the 12 Premier League clubs to be readmitted into the Premier League, and six teams — Aberdeen, St. Johnstone, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian — have reportedly stated that they will not vote in Rangers' favor, leaving the club destined for a place in the lower tiers of Scottish soccer. The official vote is set to take place July 4.
When the Premier League's schedule was released June 18, Rangers were not on it, and instead a mysterious "Club 12" took their place while the team awaited its top-flight fate. That fate appears to be sealed, and the club with so much history and success in Scotland will need to win its way back to the top.
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