There is nothing like the Old Firm in the US .. that's why Bill was so keen to buy Gers; GERS IN ADMINISTRATION: WHAT NOW FOR CLUB? EXCLUSIVE Miller really thought he could turn around a club with huge fanbase says top adviser.

Byline: KEITH JACKSON 

IT was the one word which came to mind from the moment it emerged Bill Miller first wanted into the driving seat at Ibrox.

Why? Why did a tow-truck tycoon from Tennessee, with a personal wealth of around pounds 50million, want to risk more than pounds 11.2m of it on the rescue of a ravaged soccerball club from Glasgow? He may be the main investor in Chicago management firm Club 9 Sports but the fact this mystery man would risk so much for a strange club, in an unfamiliar sport and from a country just marginally bigger than one of his trucks never did stack up. None of it.

But yesterday, as Miller ran for the hills with his wallet in his hands, one of his closest advisers finally came clean on what motivated the 65-year-old to get so close to gaining control of an 140-year-old football institution on the other side of the pond.

Club 9 Sports chief executive Jon Pritchett had been talking Miller through his bid from the moment he chose to go it alone after splitting from an original 12-man American consortium.

UNIQUE And yesterday it was Pritchett who was on hand to explain why Miller had walked away from the negotiating table and - almost as intriguingly - what possessed him to take a seat there in the first place.

"My wife has asked me the same question," laughed Pritchett when asked to explain why a couple of hard-nosed Yankee businessmen were even considering spending so much time and money examining the ongoing crisis in Govan.

Pritchett added: "Bill has always had an interest in sports ownership and looked at many opportunities.

"Over time we have started to appreciate what a unique experience UK soccer is - especially something like the Old Firm.

"Forget the lack of TV money and some of the other negatives. We were looking at a club with 50,000 attendances and a fanbase in the top 20-25 in the world.

"Whe it runs, how im attrac When you understand how deep how multi-generational and important it is, you see how attractive the club is.

"There's not much in the US I could compare it too other than college football or college basketball and you can't buy one of those.

"T coco boBm H els bad for it. them. "But the other thing about Bill is he has made a lot of money fixing broken things. He finds things that nobody else wants, that are in really shape. He just has a knack He knows what to do to fix "On this side of the ocean we are starting to understand just how global soccer is and the potential of its really big brands.

"If you look at the model we are familiar with in the US, it's not that these big brands make money. The goal is not to lose money and let the assets appreciate over time.

"The LA Dodgers sold for over $2bn last month. When Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys 20 years ago he paid over $100m and it's worth $1.8bn now.

"Look at Manchester United and Liverpool. If these clubs are run right, if they don't make losses, then in time they'll be more valuable. So if someone goes in and risks fixing a club like Rangers, then Bill would have been able to hand down to his children a very valuable asset or sell it for a big return in time.

"That was why he was interested initially."

PRECIOUS If only Miller had taken time out to tell the understandably suspicious Rangers fans that this time next year they could all be billionaires, then maybe they wouldn't have rushed to turn him down. Then again, perhaps not.

The truth is, these fans have been pushed to their wits end ever since Craig Whyte pitched up outside the front doors of Ibrox last May.

Since then they have seen their cherished club stripped bare of its dignity. As a result a beaten and bruised Rangers are now left on life support - and these fans may never trust another with it again.

But Pritchett hopes someone else can be found to pick up the pieces. He said: "I hope it can still be saved and I think it can be.

"But somebody else is going to have to spend the money required and to make the hard decisions.

"To run that organisation is not going to be cheap. It will also take time to turn it around."

But, for now, time is a precious commodity time Rangers can ill afford and Brian Kennedy warned in these pages last month that the administrators might be signing the club's death warrant if they chose Miller's bid, only for the money to then disappear.

Kennedy predicted Miller would walk away and waste valuable time in the process. These words were not well received in Tennessee but Pritchett insists no lasting damage has been done by his man.

He said: "Bill and his team spent four days making a decision. It wasn't two weeks or 30 days.

"But Brian is right. Ultimately, on crunching the numbers, the club is in a worse state than we envisioned. You have to build your own model to realise that.

"But will four days make a difference between Rangers surviving or going into liquidation? I'm not sure about that."

CELTIC boss Neil Lennon he last night admitted for a swift resolution saga.

hopes takeover to the Rangers Bill Miller On the day US bidder out of a deal to buy the insisted pulled Ibrox club, Lennon stricken has gone on too long.

He said: "I think we all want it it's the turmoil It's disappointing, than it resolved. on far longer dragged have so I think wants should a everyone resolution sooner than later."

CAPTION(S):

EASY OPTION: n Miller will be spending his time with his wife Becky rather than his money on Rangers