WHEN is the right decision also the wrong decision?
Well, for some of the SPL clubs who voted for Rangers to be kicked out of the top flight, it would appear the morally correct decision could be about to backfire.
Less than two weeks after an overwhelming majority – 10 out of 11 clubs rejected the Rangers newco's application to rejoin the SPL – clubs are beginning to back-pedal rapidly as the financial reality of that poll hits home.
Having placed the call in the hands of supporters, and to make the all-important move with sporting integrity utmost in their thoughts, it would seem the decision taken by SFL teams to send the Ibrox club all the way down to the Irn-Bru Third Division has forced a sudden re-think.
Today, representatives of the SPL clubs gathered at Hampden Park for fresh discussions on the best course of action; effectively, they will attempt to figure out a solution to a problem they could never have envisaged.
When the decision was taken to refuse Rangers entry, it was never assumed for a minute the plan to shoehorn the Light Blues into the First Division, therefore ensuring normal service within just one year, would be derailed by lower-league clubs.
With the potential threat of administration and, possibly, liquidation, now looming large for many of those SPL clubs, Rangers' European Cup- Winners' Cup icon Peter McCloy reckons they only have themselves to blame for being so quick to boot the Old Firm club out of the top flight.
"The SPL chairmen have hidden behind the term 'sporting integrity' when it comes to their decision to expel Rangers from the top flight but, for me, it would be better called sporting stupidity," said McCloy.
"They must have known the financial ramifications of dumping Rangers out of the SPL, and I find it staggering that they are now wriggling and trying to blame others.
"Look at it this way – what business do you know in the real world would vote through a measure based on so-called morals and sporting scruples which would threaten the demise of their own business or the loss of jobs?
"Yet, ultimately, that is exactly what these chairmen have done. It beggars belief. They have totally failed to see the bigger picture – and they could pay for that.
"I know it is possible they could force through a last-minute reprieve with the creation of an SPL2, but that would see them lose a lot of face.
"I believe, for that folly, at least one of their clubs will go to the wall in the four years' minimum it will take Rangers to get back up."
McCloy enjoyed a career that was garlanded in glory and saw him claim two Scottish League titles, four Scottish League Cups and four Scottish Cups, as well as that 1972 European triumph in Barcelona against Moscow Dynamo.
He also never missed a game during the club's legendary march on the double in the season of 1978/79.
But now he has warned that the callow kids of the newco Gers may struggle to claim a even Third Division winner's medal, should they, as now seems certain, start the new campaign in the basement of the Scottish game.
McCloy said: "This is going to be no canter through the divisions for Rangers. Almost all the big names have gone, or will be gone, and it will be a young Rangers team which will start the season in the Third Division.
"But, while the faces may be different, what will still be the same is the colour of that jersey they will wear.
"Every Rangers fan playing for a club in the Third Division who has never had the chance, or dreamt he would have the opportunity, to face Rangers, will be licking his lips at the prospect now."
He added: "The prospect of going to places like Peterhead and Montrose on a freezing cold midweek winter's night, with howling gales and driving rain stinging in your face, will bring the reality of the situation facing the club home.
"It is possible it could take another five years for Rangers to return at the top level.
"In that respect, guys like Lee McCulloch will have a huge role to play but all it takes is one bad injury and it could be a very tough season indeed."
Unlike his Cup-Winners' Cup team-mate and SportTimes columnist Derek Johnstone, McCloy refuses to point the finger of blame at the big-name players who have walked away.
The Ibrox goalkeeping legend, who played over 350 games in light blue over 16 years, added: "I don't blame these boys and nor should anyone else. It is a short career and particularly so in the modern game, and they have the security of their families at stake.
"I hope their contract situations are resolved and they can get on with playing their football. The only people to blame are the people who created this whole sorry mess – and they are meeting at Hampden today."