Ibrox fans and their media allies have fallen into a dangerous and obvious trap.

What is it with our media and the Ibrox fan groups that they don’t understand very simple concepts?

Let me tell you what simple concept I have in mind—the glaringly obvious fact that the alleged new investors do not have the money the media is pretending they do.

You see this constantly in reports about the Leeds chairman and the healthcare guy. The media always talks about how much the 49ers are worth as a brand or how much money this guy’s healthcare company handles in premiums.

Both the Ibrox fan media and the mainstream press push this narrative as if that cash is just sitting in the personal bank accounts of the two figures most centrally linked to the deal.

But neither of these guys is personally worth billions. The companies they represent may be valued in the billions on paper—they at least superficially deal in numbers that start with a ‘B’—but it is grossly misleading, at best, to suggest that these funds are readily available to those individuals. That is simply not the case.

I saw one Ibrox fan site attempt an analysis of how wealthy these people are compared to Dermot Desmond. When it came to Desmond, they correctly used his personal wealth as the barometer—he’s said to be worth around £2 billion. But then they claimed these new guys “dwarf” Desmond because the 49ers are worth around £6 billion and ParetoHealth has premiums exceeding £8 billion.

Now, I don’t know if these people are just financially illiterate, stupid, or if they simply believe everything they’re told by the Daily Record, but none of that money belongs to the individuals in question.

They’re comparing apples and oranges. Desmond has personal wealth. These guys represent companies with wealth on paper. That has nothing to do with how much money they personally have in the bank or can spend at will.

You get the impression that every time Keith Jackson writes about this, his own eyes glaze over, and he starts believing in the nonsense coming out of his own pen.

Because when you put it the way they do—when you throw around these big numbers—it starts to sound like fantasy land. That’s when you get people believing in 30 or 40 million pound transfer war chests in a summer window, as if that money is just sitting there ready to be spent.

And I genuinely don’t know if Jackson and his colleagues are unaware that this is nonsense or if they are deliberately leading the Ibrox support up the garden path. Either scenario is entirely plausible.

I don’t see how this ends well for their fans. The more this myth gets pushed, the more they expect billionaire owners with tens—if not hundreds—of millions available to splash out of their own pockets. And the more ridiculous it’s all going to look when reality finally bites, and they realise that isn’t happening.

Do you think anyone in the media will accept responsibility for pushing this narrative? Of course not. Instead, they’ll turn on the new board for behaving exactly like the old one. They’ll manufacture a scandal, whip up discontent, and push for another round of sackings and upheaval. And the press, which built up all these ridiculous expectations in the first place, will be right there for the ride.

It’s exactly what happened with the new CEO, Patrick Stewart.

When he first sat down with the media and didn’t give them the usual happy-go-lucky nonsense—when he actually had the audacity to suggest there would be tough times ahead—they turned on him instantly. It was as if he’d broken promises he never even made. And that’s precisely what they’re doing here.

They are making promises on behalf of these investors.

These new guys haven’t said a single word. The media is doing all the talking for them.

Now, in some ways, that’s the fault of those trying to push through this takeover. They haven’t got in front of the story. And yet, in other ways, I completely understand why they haven’t. They’re trying to operate professionally behind the scenes. They’re dealing with due diligence, legal matters, and securing 51% of the shares. They, at least, know what their priorities should be.

But there should be some pushback against the wild expectations being whipped up by the Scottish sporting press. Because if these guys do get their feet under the table, they will regret not managing those expectations when they had the chance.