As they wake up to a new week, Rangers fans might be pondering a "what if" scenario. They might be contrasting the fortunes of Paul Le Guen in taking Paris St Germain from mid-table mediocrity to the relatively lofty position of second top of Ligue Un with those of Barry Ferguson who has yet to win an SPL title since playing a lead role in ensuring Le Guen's premature exit from Ibrox and who is now facing football oblivion and a legacy of disgrace. What might have been for both men and for Rangers if Le Guen had stayed?

Last week, on duty for Scotland, Ferguson disgraced himself, his team-mates, his club and his country by indulging in a thoroughly unprofessional drinking session in full view of the public gaze and then compounding the damage by behaving like a recalcitrant and disrespectful yob. For me, it all serves as further proof of Ferguson's lack of class, his arrogance, his inflated opinion of himself, his disrespect for authority and the standards expected of those representing their country. It also signals his complete lack of understanding of his responsibility as a role model for young and impressionable football fans. I applaud Rangers and Walter Smith for acting quickly to show him the door. The SFA, and George Burley in particular, should have acted with the same sense of urgency, but instead contrived to present a "fudge" and a barrage of mixed messages. Finally, they got it right and issued the life ban to both players.

It might be harsh, but it is right that neither Ferguson or McGregor pulls on a dark blue shirt again, but they are not the only ones worthy of our collective disapproval following this tawdry and embarassing escapade. The SFA hierarchy, the management team and the other players involved should all be examining their parts in what has been a most distasteful and regretable series of events. All are guilty and all should face scrutiny and potential sanction. Perhaps the other early-bird drinkers should be charged too and have their day in court. Ferguson's misdemeanors, however, are magnified by the fact that he is a senior player and captain of the Scotland squad, a role that comes with the responsibility to act properly and to show a good example. He did the opposite and his "above the law" attitude means there can be no mitigating circumstances.

Looking back to the days leading up to Le Guen's departure, Ferguson was identified as the ringleader of a dressing-room drinking club which was deemed to be having a negative effect on performance and morale. Le Guen had the temerity to suggest that an approach which embraced dietary discipline and modern sports science was more likely to result in success than team bonding bevvy sessions. Barry and his gang begged to differ. Unfortunately, the Frenchman's eccentric signing policy and early run of poor results combined with a peculiar linguistic style and sometimes bizarre post match analyses already had the natives pretty restless. It all began to remind me of the classic tale of the residents of Hartlepool during the Napoleonic Wars, who hanged a monkey dressed in military costume thinking it to be a French spy .(Google it if you don't believe me.) As the spat developed, sides were taken and David Murray opted to bow to the prevailing "opinion" of the baying mob and a toadying press who believed that Ferguson was more important to Rangers than Le Guen. The Rangers family closed ranks. Le Guen walked away without a thin dime, but with his integrity intact. Ferguson prevailed, but history will show that this was something of a Pyrric victory.

Rangers lost - big time.

They lost a highly rated young manager who needed more time to exert his influence on an institution paralysed by its precious traditions and a yobbish dressing room culture presided over by Ferguson. They lost the opportunity to move into the 21st century and become a modern and sophisticated European football operation. They lost the chance to start from scratch and build a squad that might, in time, threaten Celtic's domestic dominance. Most Celtic fans believed Le Guen would have turned Rangers around and were glad to see him go, while feeling sympathy for the way he was treated. Instead, David Murray chose to go backwards. In appointing "Rangers men" Walter Smith and Ally McCoist to run the football operation, he opted for the old days and the old ways. As a result, they have been unable to introduce innovation into their coaching philosophy and remain mired in the past.

Worse, their failure to change on the football front coincided with a serious downturn in the club's financial fortunes. The excesses of the Advocaat era, written starkly in the balance sheet, caused the money men to wince. Chickens came home to roost and previously patient bankers became impatient. They may never sink completely, but Rangers are now holed below the water line and in perilous financial waters. There seems little prospect of attracting lifeboats in the form of additional investment or a willing buyer.

Should Celtic win the SPL this season, Rangers will need to negotiate very tough qualification rounds to get anywhere near the Champions League. If they don't make it, the financial pressure will grow further. Even if they do find some money down the back of one of the Blue Room sofas, the job of tempting new playing staff to Ibrox will be a near impossible task. A club with dwindling resources, little prospect of playing Champions League football anytime soon and destined to live in the shadow of their biggest rivals doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun for footballers with the usual mix of ego, pride and ambition. Without access to funds, burdened by debt and unable to add quality to the playing staff, Rangers could face a long period in the wilderness and it would only be a matter of time before the fans begin to vote with their feet.

When all of this happened to Celtic back in the early nineties, fan power was instrumental in removing a dysfunctional regime. Shortly afterwards, Fergus McCann paraded down Kerrydale St on his white horse waving a business plan bearing the signatures of willing bankers. A new era began. Celtic is now a business with revenues almost double those of its city rivals and virtually debt-free. It continues to benefit from the steady stewardship of a progressive and outward-looking PLC board.

The difference in 2009 is that the traditional models of business financing have collapsed. I doubt if anyone at the top of Lloyds Banking Group will be cutting Rangers any slack. Business plans based on any club outside the top ten of the English Premiership will fail to convince an already nervous investment community. David Murray has already underwritten at least one share issue too many and has stated his intent to sell. Unfortunately, a club going nowhere on and off the park is not an appealling prospect at any time far less in today's climate. Potential Sugar Daddies are circling their wagons and digging in. It seems pretty clear that there is no big Rangers "fan" out there with deep enough pockets to relieve Murray of what was once the jewel in the MIH crown, but has now clearly become a burden and a drain on cash. To add further woe, events in Manchester last May did little to enhance the brand image of the product. The only hope might be a consortium or a clairvoyant Emir who knows when future European League reconstruction will turn on the TV revenue tap again north of the border and wants to do a Man City.

Barry Ferguson can't be blamed for all the difficulties at Rangers, but his behaviour two seasons ago and his petty victory over Le Guen was a turning point in the club's fortunes and, perhaps, its history. Le Guen represented a chance of a better future for Rangers - a step change in the evolution of its culture and its development as a sporting institution. They elected for the status quo which, in any business, is the same as going backwards.

A return to the "traditional" Rangers management style allowed Ferguson's small-minded and yobbish influence to remain and grow and his latest acts of selfish delusion have only increased the possibility of an apocalyptic doomsday scenario for Rangers Football Club.

Barry Ferguson - Rangers legend!