I wanted to post this on the Daily Record site to counter the conspiracy theories that abound, but you need to register your Facebook account and I can't be bothered with that nonsense, so you fine people will have to put up with my ramblings.
As those with sense know, the transfer embargo and fine is from the SFA not the SPL - with that in mind, the timings point is pretty much in line with their recent decisions...
Dundee November 2010 - deducted 25 points mid season and banned from signing players until they came out of administration. That decision was taken while they were still trying to find someone to replace Melville. It put Dundee on minus 10 points and 20 points behind Morton yet they still found someone to take over.
Livingston August 2009 - relegated to Division 3, decision taken while negotiations were ongoing with the prospective new board but who had at that point, based their takeover on First Division football. That could have driven them away but they still decided to get involved and take over the club.
I am not denying that the timing of all 3 decisions was tough on the teams, but the Rangers fans dribbling about the timing being an intentional nail in the coffin just doesn't stand up when you consider the above examples. It's the past mismanagement of finances and outstanding questions (EBT and HMRC in particular) that are the main things preventing a swift takeover. Dundee and Livingston had debts and creditors but they were transparent to their administrators and the interested parties. It's the mire Rangers find themselves in and the stuff that's been coming out of the woodwork that's the issue.
It's also worth noting that if Craig Whyte hadn't delayed the original hearing from the 6th April then this would have come out a couple of weeks ago! The timing is down to him demanding a delay in the first place.
Regarding the punishment, the SFA have their hands tied by the SPL in terms of what they can do to penalise Rangers competition wise, so to punish them with the transfer embargo and financial penalties is pretty much all they can do, other than prevent them entering the cup competitions. This really is the only way they can show they're not tolerating such financial mismanagement in Scottish Football any longer and with that in mind I think that the SFA is for once being relatively consistent and should be commended.