MURRAY'S RETURN?

SIR DAVID MURRAY could well be poised to make a dramatic return to the chairmanship of Rangers for a second time.

That is one conclusion which may be drawn from the revelation from Portsmouth that it is with Murray they have been negotiating over Rangers attempts to sign striker Tommy Smith.

Yet, amazingly this bombshell news was buried away, halfway down a story in Tuesday's Daily Mail, rather than given the sort of prominence an old newshound such as myself would have made sure it had.

However, even these ageing old eyes are still sharp enough to spot something which is newsworthy - one definition of which is something which is not already known.

The story came from Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou, and the fact that he is the administrator, and not someone usually involved in football may explain his straight talking and the candid nature of what he said, as opposed to much of the double talk which forms a part of the game at managerial and boardroom level.

For those of you who missed the story what Andronikou said was this: ''We have agreed a fee with David Murray at Rangers.''

And those few words is what made the story newsworthy, for, as far as everyone has been aware, despite remaining as the owner of the club, since resigning as chairman and from the board a year ago, Murray no longer has any participation in the day-to-day running of Rangers.

Certainly when manager Walter Smith made the declaration of his honestly held view last season, that Rangers were being run by Lloyds Bank, Murray's influence had not only waned, but actually disappeared.

That though came at a time when he had put Rangers on the open-to-offers list and was actively seeking a buyer for the club.

It can surely be no conincidence the news from Portsmouth that it is Murray was has agreed the fee Rangers will pay for Smith, comes at a time when it was also revealed the club remain on the open-to-offers list, despite Murray's statement last month that he no longer wanted to sell up.

Of course all of this could be nothing more than a coincidence.

Or it could be the straws in the wind which indicate that Murray may be tempted to take over the Rangers reins again, just as he did a few years ago when, after a period during which he remained on the board, but stood down from the chairmanship, he returned to the top.

Whether or not Lloyds Bank have, or will, play any part in what the make up of the Rangers board has or will be, is something else which is unclear.

One thing though which will happen should Murray return, is that the power of chief executive Martin Bain will diminish. There was a time when I would have agreed to that being a good thing. Not now!

 In fact I believe Bain's greater freedom to make decisions and his increased power since Murray left the board and the chair was filled by Alistair Johnston, who spends the overwhelming majority of his time in America, has been an extremely good thing for Rangers.

Those in the know tell me  many of Bain's better ideas, plus his desire to publicly defend Rangers from many of the outrageous slurs perpetrated against the club by many in the media - and by rival football organizations - were thwarted by Murray.

Certainly those close to Smith say the manager has absolute faith in Bain and, indeed, his presence as chief executive may even have played a part in Smith deciding to stay on for another season in charge.

Last year the club's AGM was not held until the unusually late month of November. It will be worth keeping a close eye on when the annual audited accounts are finally published, and when they are put before the shareholders for approval.

For the events immediately before the publication of the accounts, and in the period leading up to the AGM, could well provide more straws in the wind. Hints which can help observers determine whether or not Murray will return to the Ibrox board as chairman.

In alerting everyone, by floating that first straw, Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou, has no doubt sparked off a debate.

Or at least his comments will do, now that I have realised the full import of his words and brought them to the attention of a wider audience.

ENDS