We thought it would be good to show the audience we have had over the last few months, and to say thanks to all those who have helped to make this a thriving community in the short time we have been on the go.
A Happy New year to all from everyone at TSFM.
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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
About 55,000 tourists visit Liechtenstein every year. This blog was viewed about 3,500,000 times in 2012. If it were Liechtenstein, it would take about 64 years for that many people to see it. Your blog had more visits than a small country in Europe!
my thinking is that theyve waited until now so clubs wont face any fans boycott on half season tickets and will try and push everything else through before next seasons season tickets go on sale.
in my opinion scottish football is doomed unless someone trys to lead a revolution in the interests of sport and not money. get the sport right and the cash will come from tv companies etc.
if this goes ahead the way they want it to, then i think season tickets will take a big dip and will most probably send a few clubs into administration at least because this whole thing is just going to take fans for a ride.
no point bickering about rangers or sevco now, unless someone makes a stand the lord nimmo smith enquiry will become null and void and next year with the new set up could well be scotlands last as a full time league.
god help us cos we are dealing with a vast number of devils not just the one.
He was much more of a useful idiot at the Record. Big mistake.
Thanks to junglejamsie on KDS:-
Tom Engish is calling him out on twitter…
Tom English@TomEnglishSport
In regard to Jim Traynor’s piece on Rangers’ website. I was the one who ridiculed Watty’s comedy bid. What are you going to do about it Jim?
JJ
angus1983 says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 19:41
iki says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 18:23
Just listened to Longmuir and he referred to the pillars in strong foundations.
It was a phrase that stuck out from his previous rhythm and vocabulary.
——
Boaz and Jachin, was it?
Do these people really think that these references are actually “secret” in this day and age?
I despair.
____
“Hopefully we can get the fans and let them engage with the process as well because what we are doing in the foundations of the game – distribution, governance, play-offs, more meaningful games, a pyramid – those are the key things.” Stewart Regan
Foundations – Pyramid – Key
Blimey that kind of language appears to be catching on
ekbhoy says: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 19:27 9 0 Rate This
Guys,
Is the reason that they have not been asked for their views on reconstruction or as Traynor described it snubbed / ignored / insulted (can’t be bothered re-reading his drivel) is that they are Associate Members of the SFA and as such are not entitled to vote on any matters such as reconstructions.
————————
Spot on – because they were granted that membership as a NEW CLUB !
Go on Mr Traynor – keep whining about it – the more you challenge this the more determined you make the rest of us to keep reminding you. It’s a NEW CLUB. A NEW CLUB. A CLUB THAT IS NEW.
A club that only has a membership at all because of the failure of the authorities to deal with it properly.
Can’t help thinking that this reconstruction ‘rush job’ is just a distraction.
Some have mentioned already about a link between the LNS inquiry and the suggested, combined replacement body for the SPL/SFL.
If the LNS inquiry and/or decision is delayed until a new body is created, then it could muddy the waters still further. (?)
Perhaps the new body would not have jurisdiction, [deliberately] ?
And the argument from Charlie could be that as both the ‘old company’ and the overseeing body at the time of the alleged improperly registered players – i.e. the SPL – are now defunct, then it would be crazy to punish the newco TRFC, so ‘let’s move on’ for the good of Scottish Football etc…
Who in the new combined body would have the will/courage to see the LNS inquiry outcome through to a just and fair conclusion ?
A new body could be the ‘enabler’ to drop the SPL/SFL baggage and make a fresh start.
If the LNS inquiry is indeed delayed this month, then I would be very pessimistic about any further action being taken in this matter.
Did Chuckie keep saying he would never let his Rangers join the SPL because he knew this reconstruction was coming up! someone must had mentioned this before
Who would have thought that Scottish football would end up breaking ,bending ignoring and even making rules up only to end up so discredited and virtually the laughing stock of European football rather than just apply their association rules to 1 newly formed associate member .
Their ignominy could so easily have been avoided if only they
HAD APPLIED THEIR OWN RULES
how sad is that
justshatered says:
……
Anyway mirrenman I hope you enjoy your day out.
Ta..will try 😉
This little ditty from RM. re the Scottish Cup match with Dundee Utd.
‘why dont we all go to the game in tens of thousands, instead of walking to hampden again… will cost Dundee Utd a fkn Fortune.
Hand all the tickets back snd support our team from outside!!! They will hear us alright
win win ????
It will ruin Thompsons life by having every news reporter from all over the world their!!! No hospitality utd will shite themselves’
What kind of monster has been created here. Are they interested in Football at all?
..
——————————————————————————–
Thanks for the feedback on my posting from the the early hours of this morning. Been snoozing on the coach awe night, I’ll have to stop staying up so late and reading this bloody things 🙂
Re Jim Traynor’s piece can someone remind me what are these sanctions he claims Rangers have accepted? Apart from a delayed registration embargo, which they didn’t accept but went to court about, I can’t recall any other sanctions imposed on either old or new club except the initial 10 point deduction for going into administration.
Is my memory failing me or did I just miss the sanctions he’s talking about?
wulliemiller says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 20:09
my thinking is that they’ve waited until now so clubs wont face any fans boycott on half season tickets
*************
You could be right there
And the chant will be : “Not fit for purpose, o yes your not fit for purpose”
Or is that a split infinitive thingy or somet like that ??
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/40035032243/the-coming-storm
On everything wrong with the proposals.
In down south news, can anyone imagine the Bradford game going on right now happening in Scotland? And can anyone imagine such a great, joyful mass reaction if it did? No. And that’s a big problem.
Oh and one other point for Jim. He finishes his article with the words “Tolerance and sanity. That’s what Rangers will demonstrate and maintain”. Can he provide any examples of how they will do this. Does 30,000 of your fans at a Queens Park game singing about being up to their knees in a certain liquid best exemplify tolerance and sanity? Or did you have something else in mind?
tolerance and sanity.
the wise words of the dalai lamba.
gie’s a gonk says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 21:34
Oh and one other point for Jim. He finishes his article with the words “Tolerance and sanity. That’s what Rangers will demonstrate and maintain”. Can he provide any examples of how they will do this. Does 30,000 of your fans at a Queens Park game singing about being up to their knees in a certain liquid best exemplify tolerance and sanity? Or did you have something else in mind?
========================================================================
Isn’t that why they persist with their red socks up to their knees?
Here is something semi-literate to read.
You dont work for the real/ old/ deid Rangers.
Don’t be a fool like CG, hanging about for the champions league anthem at a home game, take your retirement when it comes.
Rangers will not be fast-tracked into the Premier Division
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2259167/James-Traynor-releases-statement-Rangers-fast-tracked-SPL.html
Absolutely correct James. Rangers will not be fast-tracked into the SPL. Nor indeed will their replacement.
In fact, if The Rangers had any sense of decency whatsoever, they would have declined the fast-tracking of their entry into the SFL3 in favour of more established and deserving clubs. But as we all know, they had the brass neck to try to gain entry into the SPL and, when that failed, then hoped for undeserved entry into SFL1.
Now, after all that, they have the unmitigated gall to suggest that they won’t be fast-tracked up several levels higher than their station?
Personally, I’d prefer to have Bertie back as the Scotland boss. And I don’t want that under any circumstances.
wottpi says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 17:47
easyJambo says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 17:20
Not sure that it isn’t the same trade.
This site has two at 400k (one around 11 am) but only lists the cumulative trade as 418k
http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareTrades.asp?shareprice=RFC&share=rangers_int
Could be intertesting if it is two lots though
————————————————————————
Just had a gander at the site.I don’t know whether there are 2 sales and not 1.
If you read the figure just above the deals list it shows trades of 418,284.
However,if you look at the box above to the left(I have it as I’m registered with the site.I don’t know if it shows if your not registered) it shows the following:
Rangers Int Share Price
90.50
Bid 89.00
Ask 92.00
Volume 819,217
If there were 2 sales,this would make up the extra 400k.
You have to laugh (if not, you’ll cry) at Regan’s latest misrepresentation of supporters views.
What a patronising oaf!
Rangers will not be fast tracked to the SPL because they do not expect the SPL to exist.
If, as has been reported, the SPL & SFL are to merge, corporate responsibility for both bodies will lie with the new entity. To protect current income streams (sponsorship, intellectual property and TV contracts) the businesses of the SPL and the SFL will almost certainly be legally subsumed into a merged entity. As the owner of both businesses, the new body will have no legal impediment to press ahead with the enquiry into alleged dual contracts. The new body can apply the rules of the SPL – just as they applied at the time – and mete out such sanctions as are/were available.
It is only if the SPL were to be simply wound up (and its current members apply to be admitted to the SFL) that the LNS enquiry could be abandoned. In that case the SFL would have no jurisdiction over alleged past rule breaking in the SPL. However, in the unlikely event that the SPL do disappear, I think the SFA could (if they wished) launch their own enquiry and apply such punishments/sanctions as they see fit.
I believe it is extremely unlikely – because of Sky and other multi-year contracts – that the SPL will dissolve itself. In the current financial climate, it is difficult to imagine that sponsors would voluntarily transfer contracts to the SFL at the same value. I also don’t see what would persuade 75% of the current members to allow new members in at the top of their structure.
Actually, I don’t think 75% of the SFL members will agree to a merger in the current climate either. The merger will happen;but probably not until 2015/16.
I have been wrong before.
Am no very good at rolling these things chuck but have a drag it’ll settle your nerves.
———————-
Lord Wobbly says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 22:10
Rangers will not be fast-tracked into the Premier Division
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2259167/James-Traynor-releases-statement-Rangers-fast-tracked-SPL.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9789347/.html
James. Given that the new Ibrox club didn’t have the integrity to decline the fast-tracking of their entry into the SFL, it is no surprise that they feel they should be included at Scottish footballs top table. But as they are competing in SFL3 (albeit WAY above the level they should have started at) they should have the same say as the other clubs in that division. No more, no less.
I may be missing something here: the enquiry into additional payments to players (nothing to do with dual contracts necessarily) is being undertaken by the SPL on behalf of the SFA (which would act as an appellant body against any sanction). So, it is an SFA invesigation which does not ultimately depend on the existence or otherwise of the SPL.
One other instance where a clear statement from the SFA would have cleared up any confusion (for CG).
Just one thing about league reconstruction and the supposed non-promotion of The Rangers – cast your mind back to the major reconstruction of 1994. My team (Clyde) finished in the bottom 5 of the first division, and were joined by the teams in positions 2 to 6 in the 2nd to form the new second divsion. Stranraer, who finished top of the 2nd were promoted over the bottom 5 into the 1st division. No problem with that, as Stranraer were champions so deserved to be promoted. Why wouldn’t the same thing happen this time around?
On Traynors rant – I think he’s forgotten that he’s now (officially, anyway) an employee of The Rangers, and can no longer peddle ill-informed, ‘barely literate’ nonsense with impunity. If I was Peter Lawell, I would be incensed that an official from another club was making libellous allegations about my team on their official website, and would be preparing legal action.
As has been mentioned by other contributers, Green may have made a massive mistake in appointing him.
Rangers will not be fast-tracked into the Premier Division
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
And they wont be fast tracked into heaven either
Nope
Its the bad fire for them
Over on RM, Traynor is now being hailed as a hero – amazing how the rabble’s view can be turned around by a bit of rabble rousing. This is the man who, back in the summer, said Rangers were dead and they were going mental. Hand that feeds and all that …
Not my view the analysts view:
Settlement as of 8 January
Rangers International Football Club Plc broadly unchanged, finishing the session with a change of 0.00%. The stock opened stable against the previous close, and traded within range throughout the session, before rising to a close near the day’s high hit at 90.5. The technical scenario for Rangers International Football Club Plc in the last week shows the security lagging behind the UK FTSE All Share. As compared to the related index, the security has shown a lower performance.
what if the new agreed league setup had stipulations that not all the new members could meet, who would take their place ?
I’m a first time poster here but have been following to RTC and SFM on a daily basis for the past year. I have supported Hearts for 35 years. Like most of the posters on here I had nothing against Rangers (nor have I anything against any other team), although I finally stopped buying into the “honest mistake” refereeing theory when Barry F played “basketbaw” in the league cup semi. My interest in this blog is in seeing a fair application of the rules (whether they relate to taxation, corporate law or the administration of sport), otherwise I won’t be attending any more professional football matches in Scotland. I fear the worst, but won’t give up hope. Congratulations to all the regular posters for the quality of your writing (semi-literate my a.se!), and for refusing to give up in the face of the onslaught from Mr Traynor and his friends in the MSM.
A couple of points. Although there were 3.5 million hits last year, I wonder how many regular blog readers this relates to. I must have looked at the blog at least once a day on average (maybe more) for the last year. I would conservatively estimate I looked at it 500 times. If you take that as an average that would take only 7000 regular readers of the blog to reach 3.5 million hits in a year. The most number of thumbs up I’ve ever seen for a post is I think 250 or so. I would have thought that with even 7000 readers there would be more TU’s than that for the most popular posts. I think the blog needs to be brought to the attention of more people to have more chance of influencing the wider Scottish football public. Perhaps everyone could e-mail a link to it to everyone they know who is interested in the well being of Scottish football, and tell them the purpose of the blog.
Secondly, on the legal debate about the existence of the club as separate entity from rangers Football Club (IL) there is an interesting Scottish Law Commission report (No 217) on Unincorporated Associations available on the Scottish Law Commission’s website:
http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/publications/reports/summary-table-of-all-reports/
It contains the following text at paragraph 1.4:
“The legal status of unincorporated associations
1.4 Scotland shares with the other parts of the United Kingdom a law of unincorporated associations which rests upon common law and has been little developed by statute. Its most striking feature is the absence of legal personality5 accorded to associations and clubs which do not choose to establish themselves as companies or as some other form of incorporated body. Put shortly, the current law does not recognise the existence of such organisations as separate legal entities.”
troyblain says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 22:59
Like 3 years of audited accounts 🙂
Schneeb says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 22:46
Over on RM, Traynor is now being hailed as a hero – amazing how the rabble’s view can be turned around by a bit of rabble rousing.
======================================================================
It’s not at all surprising. They prove more and more the truth in the song I keep posting….
“We are the angry mob,
we read the papers every day
we like who we like
we hate who we hate
but we’re also easily swayed”
Fits them to a tee – how many more? I reckon if Neil Lennon said something bad about Celtic, they’d worship him as well
Thanks for the history lesson Mendacity.
A worrying precedent. Still don’t get why winner of 3rd would bypass 9 teams on the way down though. A team with a cleaner record than Mrs Mop singing this is the way we wash our clothes would struggle to swing that one you would have thought.
Obviously I do get why, I just don’t get WHY.
smugas says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 23:13
It’s the sporting integrity angle – if a team wins the league, then they deserve some form of promotion. It’s natural justice. I must admit, leaping 9 teams does seem like a lot! I know 5 was bad enough, but then, my view might have been coloured by own team being relegated as consequence of it!
BTW Anyone else think it’s only a matter of time before Traynor starts to use phrases like ‘Odious Creep’ on his website statements?!?
ecobhoy says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 17:49
‘…..As far as I can make out he won’t just be just distributing exclusives to his favourites but trying to build the offishal club website into the one-stop shop for all Rangers fans wanting news on the club….’
—
Good observation, if I may say so.
Mr Traynor’s former associates- I doubt whether they are friends, in spite of Tom English’s tweet that he will amicably share a succulent pie with Mr Traynor on Saturday- will no doubt be fearful that the intention is indeed to marginalise the local print press as a source of footballing news about the new club.
remember. there are 500 million people out there who cannot buy a Scottish newspaper, but who can click a mouse and read nothing but the good news that Mr Traynor will provide on a daily basis, and by so doing produce an income stream.
A small investment in web-site software that translates the fat man’s words into any or all of the world’s languages on screen, will see that 500 million staring with joy and wonder at the constant stories of heroic effort, as their new club successfully battles against hostile forces, with a grim determination not only to shed sanguinem, but triumphantly splash about in it until their knees get wet.What an exciting prospect, for any and all kinds of advertisers.
(Sorry! got carried away for a second with that image).
Seriously, though,I think huge numbers of us now get most of our football information from the internet and other social media.
And Mr Traynor knows this. ( Yes, the same man who very recently boasted that he wasn’t into the new (!) communications technology, was clearly telling porkies ( lamb ies?)! Sure, hasn’t he read enough posts to be able to call us all ‘semi-literate’?).
And we have become,or are at least are becoming, well-versed in the art and practice of crosschecking ‘factual’ information with other sources.( On this blog certainly, people constantly call for references to independent sources to justify statements made)
Not only that, but we have seen very clearly , and tonight’s SportsoundSpecial- which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way ( and didn’t Alan Preston come across as a thoroughly honest and decent ‘pundit’ ?) -emphasised the fact, that just because somebody writes for a newspaper or works in ‘football’ does not of itself validate their point of view, or make it more sound than yours or mine.
Sports writers as fans?- who now needs them to help boost attendances or disseminate propaganda?
CG and Mr Turncoat Traynor seem to think that RFCInternational certainly do not.For them, websites and the ‘new’ social media are the way forward.
Chick Young and company may find that they are shoved into the cold- no more easy quotes, no ‘inside’ information, no access to training ground gossip.
it could be the making of them, if they could but see it!
But Sports writers as proper journalists, unconcerned about whether they get ‘favoured’ with exclusive titbits, or freebie lamb chops, and not afraid of being ‘excluded’ – oh, for a few of them!
John Clarke
If you are one of the semi-literate, then i reckon that makes JT an elephant with a crayon in its trunk.
Or just a semi.
Schneeb says:
Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 22:46
Over on RM, Traynor is now being hailed as a hero – amazing how the rabble’s view can be turned around by a bit of rabble rousing. This is the man who, back in the summer, said Rangers were dead and they were going mental. Hand that feeds and all that …
—————————————————————————————
anyone got a link or can copy and paste the quote from james traynor that rangers were about to die and nobody cares?
can it be put on the blog headline, the same as RTC used craig whytes quote of
“what they are saying, is 99% crap…” [please mr TSFM]
Jym traenur yu ur a klown? A fink a huv 2 poynt oot thit evn semy liturit bampots licke masel cun stil poot forwart relivint opinyins evn if amurny as ded brayni licke yu obvyusli ur
luv rob,
i meen reb,
ucht, i canny evn smell ma ain naym.
I’ve been in the pub tonight, Central Scotland.
A well respected Ibrox supporter (and I have to add a decent guy, aged 67) was telling all and sundry that he expects bother at Tannadice when the cup tie in February takes place. On being asked why he believed this may occur, given few Ibrox supporters will be in attendance, he told us all that troublemakers from ‘down south’ have made it clear they will be in Dundee that day.
Is he referring to Charles Green?
rab: would that be a tumescent or detumescent semi?
Rangers FC as we know them are dead. It’s all over. They are about to shut down for ever but not a single person among the game’s hierarchy was open for comment.
They’ll slip into liquidation within the next couple of weeks with a new company emerging but 140 years of history, triumph and tears, will have ended
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/james-traynor-spl-will-not-be-able-1129166
thornlyboy says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 00:14
—
‘rab: would that be a tumescent or detumescent semi’
——-
Sadly,clever and attractive female QCs were not in my mind when I posted.
I’m afraid it’s only hope that springs eternal these days.:(
Ouch! I was thinking of JT as the semi…
Thornlyboy.
Both. He is swollen with self importance, but his ramblings are flaccid and impotent.
From the censorship I reckon one of the mods is a member of the craft.
http://www.scotzine.com/2013/01/jim-traynor-sporting-integrity-what-about-journalistic-integrity/
Jim Traynor: Sporting integrity? What about Journalistic integrity?
By Andy Muirhead
So James Traynor has started his new job as Head of Communications with an article that continues where he left off with the Daily Record – but this time he is being paid directly by Rangers Football Club to write the pro-Rangers rhetoric he has been peddling for months.
His first article was typical of the new Rangers mentality – attack, deflect and threaten.
He started his debut piece by talking briefly about the league reconstruction proposals, which had been agreed in principle today.
But it soon turned into the all too frequent rhetoric that emanates from Ibrox Park since Charles Green took charge, targeting those clubs who chose sporting integrity over a club who chose to run up huge debt in their quest to buy domestic and European glory. A club who boast about being debt free when businesses across Scotland and even in England have to come to terms with losing money that they worked hard for and were never repaid. From face painters to local garages to charities to the ambulance service and that is before we get to the debt that they owe HMRC – the small tax case.
Now Traynor and his media cronies at Ibrox are trying to take the moral high ground over clubs in the top-tier choosing now to think of their finances over their fans.
Traynor stated on the official Rangers website: “Whatever happened to that new and bold notion that fans were all important? It isn’t that long ago clubs, particularly those in the top flight, were solemnly insisting that ignoring the views of fans would be akin to financial suicide.
“Remember? It was when the game was wrestling with the problem of what to do with Rangers. All the clubs were squealing that the wishes of fans had to be granted. If you swallowed any of that bilge you probably also believed in sporting integrity.
“Of course it was all nonsense. Sporting Integrity was a cloak of convenience, albeit a rather thin, practically transparent one, behind which club leaders huddled together to come up with sanctions.”
Rangers were punished by the Scottish Premier League – not because of the club’s failure to pay their tax bill, nor their failure to pay the small businesses the money that they desperately needed to pay their own bills – but for breaching SPL rules in regards to going into administration and then liquidation.
The issue of EBTs and dual contracts that Rangers utilised during their time in the Scottish Premier League is still to be ruled on by the top flight’s governing body – despite the calls from Ibrox to cull the investigation because they won the first tier tax tribunal, an investigation that they themselves have boycotted because they claim that it has no jurisdiction over the club now.
Even Traynor stated that the club deserved to be punished, he added: “Rangers had to be punished, they deserved to be punished but it seemed as if additional penalties were being randomly introduced depending on who was in which meeting.
“Many Rangers fans like to think the frenzy to cause the club as much additional pain as possible was driven by one club but that wasn’t strictly the case. Many fans of many clubs waded in but this is not to say Celtic fans or their club didn’t attempt to influence the outcome of debates on Rangers and possible sanctions.
“Of course they did. And they are still at it on social media sites and on blogs clattered out by individuals who are no better than semi-literate.”
And there we have it Traynor targeting those on social media sites and blogs. Blogs and those on social media sites don’t have the benefit of his huge wealth of journalistic experience of 37 years. Not to mention 37 years of having our work looked at and edited by sub-editors.
Traynor looks upon social media and blogs as the anti-christ, but with the whole newspaper industry evolving to utilise blogs, social media and the internet – the likes of Traynor are dinosaurs and refuse to evolve with new advances.
Answer me this what major company in the world, even a football club, has a Head of Communications who does not utilise every aspect of media to promote themselves, be it Facebook, twitter, blogs etc.
Of course he will have his lackeys using these social media sites to promote articles, to promote interviews even to promote Traynor’s opinion pieces – while he continues to peddle his hatred for all things social media.
Traynor then delves into rhetoric, that would not be out-of-place in any one of the Rangers blogs that match his definition ‘social media sites and on blogs clattered out by individuals who are no better than semi-literate’. Even a former journalist pickled with the ‘water of life’ – who has decidedly more journalism experience than Traynor – is in need of a good sub-editor. Even when churning out articles hand fed to him by ‘pals’.
He continued: “This club, the biggest one in the country, were not invited to take part in talks which will shape the game’s future. We are then entitled to conclude that this club are not important, which is strange indeed when so many fans of other clubs continue to be obsessed by Rangers, who are simply getting on with their own affairs asking no favour from anyone. We do, however, expect commonsense to be applied, along with fair play.”
Fair play? Can you see me hysterically laughing? If not imagine it because after reading that last sentence that is indeed what I am doing.
Are Rangers simply getting on with their own affairs? No. Every week they round on someone or some club for having the gall to speak their mind. They demand apologies, they boycott matches, they demand to names be published of individuals in hearings when they know full well who sat on them.
As for fair play? Huge debt to buy titles, the alleged misuse of EBTs and dual contracts still to be ruled on by the SPL not to mention on the field of play with players and former players giving fair play a bad name. Kyle Lafferty anyone? Madjid Bougherra and Steven Whittaker manhandling referees? Lee McCulloch leading with his elbows and even Ian Black who ran to the papers asking for referees to give him protection from the big bad part timers of Division Three who were not scared to put in the boot to the former Inverness Caley Thistle and Hearts hatchet man.
Of course, all clubs have their divers, their players who lead with their elbows and who demand protection when they also stick the boot in – but are these clubs trying to take the moral highground?
He continued: “….Rangers will return to the top flight, which will of course have to be rebranded. Rangers will take a seat at the head of the table where, despite the latest insult of being shut out of reconstruction talks, we will act with the good of Scottish football in mind.
“We’ll work through the divisions and we will return stronger and better than ever before.”
The same lines that chief executive Charles Green has peddled since they were blocked entry into the SPL and entered the Third Division.
Traynor continued: “This club accepted their sanctions and moved on but too many others have been unable to do the same. They continue their assaults and while the deranged, who are using social media sites as conduits for their twisted agendas, should be ignored there are more than a few in the mainstream still maligning the club at every opportunity.”
Yes those in the mainstream, who he worked for and took a paycheck from while peddling pro-Rangers articles in the lead up to his job interview with Charles Green and subsequent period between being told that he got the job and peddling that poor excuse of an obituary in his final column for the Daily Record.
He may peddle the line about sporting integrity, but what about journalistic integrity and conflict of interest Mr. Traynor? Did you tell the Daily Record, that you had applied for a position at Rangers all the while writing those articles that had ‘Rangers application’ stamped on top of them?
Again I fail to see how Rangers have moved on, every week we have Charles Green doing his best Comical Ali impression, that puts Vladmir Romanov to shame and then we have the likes of Andrew Dickson who demands apologies from every Tom, d**k and Harry when it doesn’t fit with the Rangers party line that he sticks to like glue. The same party line he peddled under Craig Whyte, when the Motherwell-born BILLIONAIRE was leading Rangers 1872 to oblivion.
Morality, integrity and fair play does not sit kindly at the Ibrox boardroom table since the succulent lamb is now off the menu and replaced with a Donner Kebab from Pakora Junction on Paisley Road West. At least Charles Green can get his big Yorkshire hands dirty getting a hold of the kebab – although he has to put the millions he made in the recent share issue down.
Traynor then sent a threat to his former colleagues, who will not take kindly to a ‘mere’ club communications officer telling them to watch what they write about his employers who now pay him a bumper wage.
He said: “Word of advice gentlemen. From now on be very careful when talking or writing about this club. To paraphrase something said about another club, Rangers will not be treated less than others. And although there is no desire to pick fights, be assured that no one will attack Rangers with impunity.”
Of course he ended his first opinion piece from the book of Rangers quotes, which seems to be referenced too on every piece currently.
“….to quote Bill Struth: “Never fear, inevitably we shall have our years of failure and when they arrive, we must reveal tolerance and sanity. You do that, you will emerge stronger than before.”
Tolerance and sanity? I take it he has missed all of Green’s statements and his version of the Queens christmas speech? If that was Rangers showing sanity then god help us all. We can live with an idiotic league system of 12-12-18 but a Rangers that is as sane as that Christmas message? Even Vladimir Romanov and Angelo Massone would be looking at that one and thinking twice before bursting out laughing.
In effect Jim Traynor’s opinion piece stinks of being ghost written by his pal David Leggat, whose work is now no longer gracing our newspapers – thank god – just his wee blog.
I wonder if Traynor sees the irony that he is now nothing more than a jumped up blogger on an official website. Welcome to the world of semi-literates James, the next time our paths cross – which they have done on numerous occasions at games and press conferences I will be sure to say Hello Hello and give you a wvae.
For clarity.
JT is the semi.
John Clarke is beyond reproach in my opinion.
rab says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 00:25
‘….He is swollen with self importance, but his ramblings are flaccid and impotent..’
—
That’s such a very fine line that ( forgive me!) I checked quickly to see if it was a quote from Alexander Pope or Oscar Wilde or Horace or other master of the brilliant epigram.
It looks as if it is yours.
Creative genius.
Who else thinks that Trfc quietly approached Celtic and asked them to remove the last ever OF game comment from the clubs website, and got told to bolt.
Its only since that comment appeared that Trfc have dared to mention Celtic in derogatory terms.
Celtic have never feared rangers, but have never been in a powerful enough position on their own to defeat the unholy trinity of rangers, sfa and msm. Now though, with practically ever other club and their support beside Celtic, we all have enough strength to see this through to a fair conclusion. This is not a typical Celtic v rangers issue where the msm can influence opinion and split the other clubs supporters into camps, or the sfa can rule in rangers favour and appear to have assessed the facts and decided Celtic where in the wrong. This is purely a right or wrong issue and the other clubs support can clearly see a right or wrong side.
And we are all right.
John Clarke.
Yes it was my own and thanks for the comment.
Can i suggest we get a room before one of the many fine wits on here makes that joke.
😉
I wonder how Mr Traynor knows that Celtic FC tried to influence sanctions on newco. As far as I can recall Mr Lawell kept a very dignified silence during the demise of RFC despite many in the MSM desperate for him to make a statement. Mr Traynor if he was aware of this during his time with the DR would surely have went to print with this knowledge. Is his piece then based on information gained from within ibrox? If so it gives you an interesting insight into the feelings towards CFC from within ibrox.
Good to know too that Mr Traynor is keeping up to date with the new media. Hello Jim 🙂
Traynors attack on Celtic will be met with total silence or at best “not worthy of comment”.
You can tell they are really really hurting and seeing them rocking up to the likes of Annan is very, very funny.
Enjoy every para from the former tea-boy , Struth , it will be the bewildering pyramid metaphors next.
Most unequivocal comments I have seen yet that this is not about accelerating TRFC up to the top flight:
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/aberdeen/206819-aberdeen-chairman-no-one-will-be-invited-into-new-league-set-up/
At Aberdeen’s AGM on Wednesday evening, Milne confirmed that the 24 teams would be taken from the SPL, the SFL First Division and the Second Division, meaning Rangers would not be “fast-tracked” through the league.
“There is a chance [the new structure] could be in place for next season if all three organisations (SFA, SPL and SFL) get behind it with the right approach over the next three or four months,” Milne said.
“We should have the capabilities to resolve some of the current issues and if we can seriously advance things during January and February there is more than a fighting chance of getting it up for the start of next season.
“The two leagues of 12 would be made up of the 10 teams from Division One and the two top teams from Division Two.
“No one would be invited into the league.”
I believe Traynor’s epistle of hate and madness to be the usual deflection tactic.
However supremacist, I don’t believe the people in charge are actually stupid. Statements like this serve a threefold purpose – to feed the bears, and to ensure everyone else’s time is consumed in throwing their hands up in horror for a while, and to help keep TRFC in the headlines.
Meanwhile, I suspect something else afoot. The precedent of Stranraer’s promotion during reconstruction has been set. Areyouaccusingme provides the distant early warning above. TRFC must be fancying their chances of going straight into Stupid League 2 next year, as a “sporting integrity” “honest reward” for winning Div 3. Just wait and see. I, for one, shall exit stage left should that come to pass.
Further, what in the name of dog do we need reconstruction for in the first place? Is this season not one of the most entertaining and bile-free you’ve ever seen in your life? What exactly is driving the proposed change?
Oh, and, Mr Traynor, I’ll take you on in a literacy competition any time you like.
Traynor is now officially another washed up hack with a blog. There is a concern that his PR department will collude with the Scottish press to shape the narrative of the day, but I do not see why we should give him any validation by actually discussing the content of his rants.
Attack the collusion if and when it comes; ignore the content.
After all, he is just another internet bampot.
Good morning folks, there’s been a lot of talk about the gullibility of TRFC fans especially with JT feeding them now.
I grew up near a guy whose family were Rangers crazy, and when I say crazy, I mean fanatics through generations.
Father and son travelled together on the local supporter’s bus. If results favoured them and Celtic were defeated, the mother used to bring the dog down to meet them off the bus, the dog bedecked in gers scarf and hat, no less.
If results went in Celtic’s favour, the whole family retired immediately after their Saturday tea.
Curtains drawn, lights aff, bed!
The son worked for my friends Father, a local painting business, and refused to paint the chapel.
The boss said, ‘Fair enough, just work your notice then.’ He then compromised, but requested that he be allowed to wear his RFC scarf whilst painting!
He (jnr) had a very exclusive RFC car reg worth a fortune, and had 2 top price season books for Ibrox.
After all the shenanigans with administration, sevco, etc. he declared ‘That’s it! Finished!
My club are gone, and this lot won’t get a penny out of me!’
As much a fanatic as he was, he said ‘This is not the club I supported.’ and has completely
turned his back on the newco.
I know it’s only one man albeit with two season books, but it’s a start, however small.
I don’t know what he gets up to on a Saturday now, maybe goes to Tesco with the wife? Maybe
he watches another team? I haven’t found out yet.
I just thought I’d share this wee story with you all, as it’s reassuring to hear wee titbits of
honesty like this in an ocean of denial sometimes.
Every time I think back to where we were this time last year and then think of where we are now, it makes me smile.
It also makes me grateful.
Grateful to David Murray.
I am particularly grateful to him because by his actions he caused the lid to be lifted on the whole stinking corrupt mess that was RFC(IL) ,the SFA, the MSM, and to a lesser extent the SPL & the SFL.
The smell still pervades the Scottish Game.
But now of course, everyone knows where the smell is coming from and what it is.
Time to open the windows.
Time to clear out those who dress in the stinking clothes of corruption.
It will be a struggle.
They won’t make it easy – quite the opposite.
They’re already preparing the foundations for a brand new stinking corrupt mess in the guise of league reconstruction.
It’s what they do.
They are corrupt.
Q. What must we do?
A. Use our power as consumers.
Q. What must we NOT do ?
A. Nothing.
Ps. David. Forever grateful.
I hear TSFM getting a mention from Phil Mac Giolla Bhain here discussing Jim Traynor
http://media.newstalk.ie/archive
Off the ball section 3
48 minutes in…
yakutsuki says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 09:21
So you hail a guy, who is a bigot, not going to Ibrox as some sort of victory.
Bit of skewed thinking if you don’t mind me saying so.
I’m glad he decided not to go back, we can do without his type and plenty of us
are going, young and old.
That is the strength of the club, like it or not.
So…………Who is to be deciding who heads up the new unified ruling body?
What is the process for deciding the make up of the ruling body?
What are the skill requirements of the job applicants?
Why are the people who so badly failed our game allowed to shape the game?
You sack managers before transfer windows, not after,
Ogilvie, Regan, Doncaster, Longmuir should NOT be involved in shaping the game.
Justice, resignations, or if required – sackings THEN reconstruction. Personally, I think things are working not too bad now, we should give some time to let things settle first, most seem to be enjoying the competition this year.
This rabble rousing statement by JT our finest ever fully literate sports journalist caught my attention.
“Rangers will return to the top flight, …… despite the latest insult of being shut out of reconstruction talks”…..
The sad facts are that the new organisation who are playing at Ibrox have been and will remain fully represented in all discussions – especially the pre discussions that get held ahead of all meetings. (I say this because in business the real decisions are nearly always made in closed rooms before group meetings).
So saying Rangers are “shut out” is just not true and to paraphrase one of our exceptional wordsmiths may even be semi-literate.
And as James knows in addition the new organisation who play at Ibrox have all other angles covered too, James via – the SFA SPL and SFL executives and MSM who remain harmonious in their loyalty to the new club and uphold their interests and keep them in all loops. Also we know the majority of Club Chairmen have two scarves – (one for their “local” or “diddy” club and one for their “big” club).
After years of inaction our game is being changed and the mugs at the back of the queue are the fans.
In no other business would you find such cynical dismissal of the consumer with Regan even patronisingly telling us yesterday we need to be “educated” to come round to his new plans.
But all that will happen is we’ll soon get back to a “Groundhog Day Duopoly” where two clubs dominate the silverware and the revenue.
And that is a disaster scenario for our game.
We need a Scottish Football Spring.
Reconstruction is needed – we all agree and there have been enough fan surveys to come up with one or two proposals which should be costed up by honest bean counters – and then properly researched with the fans (who are after all the stakeholders)
There is no holy grail and no terraces lined with gold – just medium to long term business modelling and hard commercial decisions needed.
TSFM are a power for change but we cannot do this without forming alliances with organisations like Fans Direct.
Their capable boss Paul Goodwin needs to get stripped and play a real role and in my opinion stop warming up on the margins.
So Paul. Get Stripped.
We need you and your organisation to be a rallying point alongside TSFM (and others).
Just represent the views of the fans and don’t let the “Armageddon Power Point Trio” and their various masters sideline you.
And why not consider writing a blog for us on the plans – the same way that Stewart Cosgrove has on other stuff because we are all on the same side to plot our future, – which is not the 12, 12, 18, fudge hastily cobbled together by the “Armageddon Power Point Trio”.
During Traynors rant, he forgot to mention that TRFC do not have a vote as they are Associate members. Of course by mentioning that fact, he would be admitting they were s new club.
Taysider says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 08:49
Most unequivocal comments I have seen yet that this is not about accelerating TRFC up to the top flight:
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/aberdeen/206819-aberdeen-chairman-no-one-will-be-invited-into-new-league-set-up/
At Aberdeen’s AGM on Wednesday evening, Milne confirmed that the 24 teams would be taken from the SPL, the SFL First Division and the Second Division, meaning Rangers would not be “fast-tracked” through the league.
=====
Thanks for the link, Taysider. However I do not come to the same conclusion.
We need to focus on the fact that TRFC will be in SFL2 at the end of this season. Milne says “The two leagues of 12 would be made up of the 10 teams from Division One and the two top teams from Division Two.” But of course, at the end of this season, once promotion and relegation are sorted, then all the teams in SFL2 at that point will be level on nil points, no games having been played. So how do you decide the top two?
I believe that however it is decided, TRFC will magically be anointed as one of the “top two” and elevated to SPL2 for the start of next season. That is what the authorities want, that is what the clubs want. Who cares what the fans want? They calculate that by season ticket renewal time, the fans will have forgotten all about any dodgy business to shoehorn TRFC into the SPL, and it will be back to business as usual.
All this talk of sporting integrity, coming as it does from the most heavily compromised and conflicted set of characters in the history of the game, is just a load of baloney. We are being led up the garden path. The question is, are we prepared to be led anywhere by these maggots? I truly hope not.
Will there be any promotion and relegation at the end of this season?
neepheid @ 09:58
The placings can only be decided on the league table at the end of this season
The 22 are pretty much decided, with one down one up from the SPL/SFL 1
The two final places MUST go to the teams who finish first and second in SFL 2
If this is altered in any way, the revolt of last summer, will look like a kindergarten tea party in comparison to what would follow such blatant corruption
borussiabeefburg says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 00:13
A well respected Ibrox supporter (and I have to add a decent guy, aged 67) was telling all and sundry that he expects bother at Tannadice when the cup tie in February takes place. On being asked why he believed this may occur, given few Ibrox supporters will be in attendance, he told us all that troublemakers from ‘down south’ have made it clear they will be in Dundee that day.
==========================================================================
Not too sure it will jut be just a few Ranger supporters as quite strong noises are coming from the Darkside again that thousands of fans should go to Dundee to have a protest against the way Rangers are being treated. Their rationale is that a few hundred cops won’t be able to prevent their right to demonstrate.
They are stressing this is a demonstration and not a picket but they reckon the game would be cancelled because of the threat of serious public disorder. It might be best if the SFA acted immediately and awarded the game to Dundee – seems a fair solution and would avert any potential crowd problems and hopefully lead to the hotheads being marginalised and give the wise heads more power to try and influence this voracious, poisonous and out-of-control ‘monster’ which is being created.
They reckon Dundee is a better venue than another march to Hampden. To be fair a few wiser heads are actually speaking against but they are so far in the minority.
On another note, watching the flag riot footage from Belfast it is scary the amount of Rangers scarves which are being worn by rioters, usually to disguise their identity.
jmaclure says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 09:33
No, I don’t condone bigotry, but perhaps you missed the point?
The RC’s locally didn’t really get upset about this type of man, his type of ‘bigotry’ provided
us with a source of entertainment really. We find folk like this hilarious!
He might not be perfect, but at least he’s not listening to the guff of Whyte, Green, Traynor
or any other apologists for that matter, and for that, I doff my cap.
The ‘Strength of the club’ that you mention is of no consequence to me. I take it you mean the new club? I haven’t a clue who they are due to play from one week to the next, or indeed what their results were unless I read it on here. That’s the ‘strength’ of them to me, insignificant.
If a bigot (even a joke one) removes themselves from the rallying point of their malady,that
to me is a step in the right direction.
Sorry this wee story upset you so much, it wasn’t intended that way.
finloch
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 09:42
“Reconstruction is needed – we all agree and there have been enough fan surveys to come up with one or two proposals which should be costed up by honest bean counters – and then properly researched with the fans (who are after all the stakeholders)
There is no holy grail and no terraces lined with gold – just medium to long term business modelling and hard commercial decisions needed.”
——————————————————————-
Agreed totally on this but before that the greatest binding factor in terms of coming up with a solution that is commercially viable across the board needs to be addressed.
That requires all supporters to recognise the interdependent nature of the business of football i.e that clubs NEED each other in order for their to be a business.
In my opinion it was ignoring the true nature of the football beast that created the conditions that in 2008 contributed to SDM taking the punt that he did on Rangers future. Winning titles or losing them should not and never again be a matter of a club’s survival as it undermines the integrity of the game..
If/when/once that thought has taken hold then clubs can start looking at the size of the total “pot” that they are playing to get a share of and that pot has to include UEFA money. As a Celtic supporter I can see this notion being unwelcome at present, but unless Celtic are able to ply their trade elsewhere Scottish football is never going to become competitive when the UEFA prize is more than a significant part of the pot that comes from the SPL itself.
This is the point where the spreadsheet comes in to look at a fairer distribution of the expanded pot (in new thinking terms) to see how title winners can be awarded sufficiently to hire players who can get access to the big money and yet leave more to go into the pot to be spread around other clubs.
Celtic have produced a successful business model that on the face of it should ensure access to the greatest amount of UEFA money for the foreseeable future but at the cost of competition in Scotland as the sums earned bankroll better players to make them more CL competitive and just too good for the SPL.
I think the game needs to take a step back and start seeing UEFA money not as a separate “pot” but as part of the one “pot”. It would be extremely interesting to see what the spreadsheets would come up with then.
nowoldandgrumpy says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 09:44
Not sure if that is the case. They are now full members of the SFA according to this report.
(Of course if they are now full members then what were they before? Eh, Full members, so why would it need to be announced they were now full members etc etc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19120224
Not sure what there status in the SFL is.
Once again perhaps a MSM journalist could challenge the various authorities to why T’Rangers have not been involved in negotiations as implied by Mr Traynor.
Maybe they were not involved due to membership status
Maybe they were not involved as it was part of the 5 Way Agreement
Maybe their non-involvement is no different from any other lower league club.
Maybe they were involved in the same manner as all other clubs and Mr Traynor, like his boss, speaks with forked tongue.
Given Tom English seems to be happy to go to war he should be the one to ask the questions?
Although I mentioned his name this morning, can we just use The TRFC spokesperson from now on. We should banish his name from this blog.
campsiejoe says:
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 10:11
0 0 Rate This
neepheid @ 09:58
The placings can only be decided on the league table at the end of this season
The 22 are pretty much decided, with one down one up from the SPL/SFL 1
The two final places MUST go to the teams who finish first and second in SFL 2
====================
How about the team relegated from SFL1? Or are you saying that there will be no promotion/relegation between SFL1 and SFL2? You see how they can muddy the waters if it suits? Check out mendacity’s excellent post at 22.44 last night. That is precisely how they can, and will do it. Unless the fans can put a stop to this lunacy.