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!
timalloy67 says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 19:39
Is Ally actually asking that all teams be treated equally!!?
iki says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 22:39
…
TRFC raises action in court stating that Ogilvie is compromised because he may perceived to be trying to protect his own reputation by supporting the sanctions…
====================================================
That is so ridiculous – that because Scunner Campbell remained in office the whole inquiry/appeal process was seriously compromised – that you just might be on the money there !
Is he that smart that he was ‘playing the long game’ all along, to provide a final ‘life ring’ to his beloved club in a civil court action ?!
Brenda says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 22:51
2 0 Rate This
Stoap bleatin an moanin ally yir in the 3rd division toughen up ya wee whinger …….. Lol
=======================================
Like the t-shirt says, http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Zombies-Always-Moaning-Funny-Cult-T-Shirt-/00/$(KGrHqEOKoYE4uUltn5EBOPY0bSuL!~~0_12.JPG
paulsatim
Love it 🙂
Brenda says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 23:01
just so there is no room for doubt, its “funny CULT t-shirt”!!!
john clarke says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 21:09
2 0 Rate This
bayviewgold says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 19:33
‘..(ciao ciao siamo i ragazzi di billy!) ’
–
O, forse, i figli di Gulielmo!
———————————————–
Anché io trovato una canzone splendida – “il sash indossato il mio padre”
Copyright: Sevco Scozia.
I have no confidence that LNS’s inquiry will end in sanctions, punishment or Trophy stripping. It may well be scathing to an extent, but will not see justice done. I’ve said it before and many posters didn’t seem as sceptical. The same goes for BDO, there will be words of criticism, but no “justice”.
The reason I believe this is nothing more than that, a belief, a belief that RFC and those involved are simply “Establishment”. A small society in a small Country. BDO and LNS may not be direct members of this Establishment, but they are closely enough connected for them to know that friends of friends and associates of associates need a nod, a wink and a funny handshake. And that is exactly what is going to happen, just as it has at every crossroads throughout this sham.
I wish I could feel more optimistic.
ordinaryfan says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 23:17
I have every faith that LNS will be impartial and fair. He has everything to loose if he does not approach the inquiry with independence and integrity.
Keep the faith.
jean7brodie @ 22:52
Of course he wants all clubs treated equally, just as long as it isn’t Sevco, who are above all of that
McCoist used to really wind me up acting like a wee ned …….. Now he just makes me laugh 🙂 he’s just pathetic and day by day becoming more of an embarrassment for the sevco peepil ….. Still would love to know what he said to NL tho 🙂 🙂
ordinaryfan says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 23:17
‘…I have no confidence that LNS’s inquiry will end in sanctions, punishment or Trophy stripping…’
Long Time Lurker says:
Friday, January 4, 2013 at 23:38
‘.I have every faith that LNS will be impartial and fair. ‘
——-
I have already said that I believe that LNS’ tribunal will arrive at conclusions based on the evidence that the enquiry uncovers as to whether Rangers FC breached the SFA Articles.
And I expect that their application of the Articles to the findings of fact will be on a plane of judicial expertise that the two inadequate lawyers on the FTTT could not ( judging by their extraordinary decision) even begin to aspire to reach!
Given that we know that lots of paper evidence is likely to have been shredded, and that there are one or two known liars- or otherwise duplicitous persons- involved,and that LNS has no legal powers to institute searches of people’s houses, or demand their attendance to give evidence under oath, or to jail perjurers , and so on, it is possible that the enquiry might, in relation to the ‘evidence’ available , be forced to conclude that the accused is ‘not guilty’, or maybe, that the charges are ‘not proven’.
I served on a jury once.
The sheer uselessness of the Depute Procurator Fiscal, and the Police ( I was embarrassed for them, actually) meant that the case collapsed.
And two effin evil drug- trafficking swine smirked triumphantly as they walked free.
And they walked free, because although they were, and probably still are, the scum of the earth, the prosecution could not prove that they had actually committed the offence with which they had been charged.
The fact that we all ‘knew’ they were guilty wasn’t enough.
And, I have to say, thank God that we have such a legal system.
And judges and sheriffs of integrity who, unlike me-and possibly you- are able to leave their emotions out of the business of justice.
What concerns me, though,is that the enquiry is only into the alleged wrongdoings of a dead club.
If guilt is established, any penalties can be applied only to the dead club.
Retrospective expulsion is meaningless. Fines would be meaningless.
Stripping of illicitly obtained titles or honours is about the only ‘penalty’ that could be meaningfully applied.
And TRFC/Rangers International cannot be touched!
They cannot be expelled, or fined, or otherwise disciplined, because the SFA deem them to be a separate legal entity, and made an absolute balls-up of their own powers by allowing them into SFA membership as a new club, while simultaneously publicly allowing them to carry on as if in every respect they were the old club!
The SFA have created an insoluble problem for themselves and for Scottish football.
LNS will reach a verdict.
If the verdict is ‘guilty’, title-stripping inevitably follows.
The SFA will then have to deal with the enormity of the consequences of their own weakness,
cowardice and readiness to appease a beast.
Whereas, if they had been honest men, and upfront in terms of the proper application of the SFA articles, they would not have granted SFA membership to CG’s new club until such time as that new club met all the conditions of membership.
Had they so wrapped the cloak of integrity around themselves, the whole of Scottish, and European football, and ultimately, World football would have applauded them, and we would all have gained.
Simples.
heres an idea, might be extreme but in the end we all want the same thing and could be unified enough to make it happen.
why dont we the paying customer take our support/custom elsewhere?
it would solve all problems and could be the common answer we all want.
we start a new league, weve got 3 years or so to get it right, invite all clubs except newco trfc.
if enough fans do the old season ticket boycott again unless their club joins the new league then the clubs will be forced to seriously consider it.
only downfall i can see is no european places, but surely with the sfa only in control of the remaining few clubs they would have no choice but pass power to the new league.
then we could have a fair distribution of wealth through the leagues own tv channel like in holland etc. and use it to generate a competitive league.
more importantly we can have a transparent justice system for all future cheating.
leave the cheats, fraudsters and apologists behind and start afresh.
i understand their wont be much cash to start with due to the existing tv deal being left behind and no sponsorship to start with but we would have a base to build on with integrity and SPORT at its heart.
if we dont “take oor baw back” i reckon the game will probably die as soon as newco trfc hit the top league.
i do believe its an us or them situation, why should we die forever and newco trfc are allowed to come back as often as they want with their get out of jail free cards, bullying, intimidation, corruption and superiority complex still intact?
leave them behind, evolve and move on and create a league we can all believe in.
expecting action from the powrs that be in this country is just pissing in the wind, why not take “oor baw back?”
meant to say the clubs need to follow the fans because the fans can live without a corrupt league. we hold the aces.
For as long as I can remember I’ve struggled with obsessive thoughts, with severe ruminations that can interfere with daily life. My thoughts get stuck on something and like a broken record, repeat a certain fear over and over and over again until I scream out loud, “STOP IT!”
The French call Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder “folie de doute,” the doubting disease. That’s what obsessions are — a doubt caught in an endless loop of thoughts.
But even those not diagnosed with OCD can struggle with obsessions. In fact, I have yet to meet a depressive who doesn’t ruminate, especially in our age of anxiety. Every day gives sensitive types like myself plenty of material to obsess about. So I’m constantly pulling out the tools that I’ve acquired over time to win against my thoughts, to develop confidence — the antidote for doubt — to take charge of my brain, and to stop obsessing. I hope they work for you too.
jmaclure says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 08:24
Where did you copy this from?
Re the LNS enquiry.
I suspect the snails pace at which the SFA has gone about its business with mobilising the LNS enquiry , tells us all we need to know about their commitment and enthusiasm for ensuring that their own competition rules are adhered to.
I am slightly taken aback by fellow posters who believe that LNS will somehow find them guilty and league titles will be stripped as a consequence.
The SFA rules will be full of contradictions which will present our esteemed legal minds with ample wriggle room to simultaneously find them guilty but to then set a punishment, which falls well short of what your average fan would consider fair.
I believe the sanctions will fall on the individual office bearers and directors of them , and they will be banned from holding office at any scottish football club , plus barred from entering a Scottish football ground. Ironically, this should lead to CO resigning and perhaps he will be the sacrificial lamb in all of this.
There is also a case for financial penalties based on improperly achieved league positions and in order to prevent strangling the new club , this will be phased over 20 years.
In order not to strip titles whilst imposing financial penalties will be a tough circle to square for our legal brethren. In these circumstances, they will just fall back on the contradictions and vagueness of the rules. So there will be a case to answer sufficiently to impose financial sanction, however as the rules are unclear about loans they cannot strip titles. Easy they broke the spirit of the rules, bash the people and impose fines , however there will be sufficient lack of clarity to allow title stripping.
The whole saga will go to SFA appeal who will reject the findings and who will set-up a commission to clarify the rules. The new rules will be introduced and Hearts, Aberdeen, and Celtic will be the first to be fined for some small technical breach.
In summary, they will get off Scott free.
For those arguing, the 2 cheek principle earlier in the week, if you believe that any other club in Scotland would be afforded so many favours ( including Scotland’s current best proponents of professional football) then blinkered doesn’t really cover it.
For an organisation that had Smith, Peat, Dallas and to have a glimpse of their incompetence , brotherly protection, and their version of banter made public ……. It beggars belief that they will allow anything to happen to the brothers.
A very reasonable English work colleague (Edinburgh born parents) was explaining Scottish football to his fellow Englishmen , and he noted that once you take the ball round the Rangers centre half, you then had to beat the referee, to that we can now clearly add the SFA.
I’ve just read the obituary for Hugh Adam published in today’s Herald.
I think I can comfortably say that is is one of the most contemptible and disrespectful pieces of writing I have seen.
I’m not going to provide a link to it but I will quote the closing paragraphs (complete with misspelling).
“By the time of the slide into administration in February 2012 Sir David had sold the club – disastrously – to Craig Whyte. Mr Adam later gace a newspaper interview in which he accused Sir David of operating a dual contracts system in regard to employee benefit trust (EBT) payments to players and other employees.
“Mr Adam offered no proof over his accusations – his opening comment to his interviewers of “my memory’s not what it used to be” perhaps saying it all.
Mr Adam is survived by his wife Jean, to whom he was married for 60 years, and daughter Elizabeth.”
I think it is relevant to mention this here at it shows the level that some in the media are prepared to go to to defend the actions of those involved in the demise if RFC.
To include such a partial take on events in an obituary is both irrelevant and disgraceful.
To then compound that with the pathetic dig that follows really does beggar belief.
I don’t know who Robert McElroy is or what qualification he feels he has for writing this but I hope he, and his publication, are taken to task for this.
How must those close to Mr Adam feel on reading this?
Kilgore Trout, firstly, thanks for posting.
Why can’t they just write something decent and dignified about a man that helped Rangers so
much?
The part of the article that you quote is so contemptible. What will his grieving family feel?
Would the ‘Herald’ care anyway?
Hugh Adam’s only ‘sin’ was to be as honest as he could be. RIP Hugh Adam.
wulliemiller says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 03:18
15 4 Rate This
heres an idea, might be extreme but in the end we all want the same thing and could be unified enough to make it happen.
why dont we the paying customer take our support/custom elsewhere?
—————
Thoughts from abroad:
Radical, creative thinking Wullie. I prefer that to endless predictions of doom and visions of corrupt officials, even if they are accurate. There’s some similar ideas going around in the world of professional cycling I believe.
It’s revolutionary thought, though the plan might need a Fidel and Che. The danger is that it could be seen as being directly aimed at one club, rather than at the officials who’ve mismanaged the game for so long.
So how would the plan work viz-a-viz TRFC? You can’t suddenly exclude so many fans without some kind of reaction. Of course, they could be encouraged to seek admission to a league in another part of Britain. I’m sure a large number of the present fans would not be averse to a wee ferry trip each week. That would also open up the avenue of European football at some point. But would they actually be welcome elsewhere? As Oscar Wilde (might have) said: ‘The only thing worse than being a numptie is not being a numptie.’ So they might not be welcome – not even in what’s become the spiritual homeland for part of the support.
And what if an alternative follow-up or ‘breakaway Rangers’ was born in Glasgow? Would that be let in? It would be difficult to ignore it.
Another radical plan is for fans to agree to support an alternative local team, en masse. Even if it was for a short period the wee teams at the bottom of the current peckng order would get a welcome boost. But then again, the wee teams are proud and might feel patronised. Some of the best things I’ve read on the blogs this week were actually the comments from ‘wee team’ fans. On a thread called ‘The Value of having Rangers in the league’ QP fans were eloquent and also rather funny. So perhaps, if not an alternative league, a more serious long-term switch of allegiance in the current setup?
Wullie, I do like the idea of the alternative ‘People’s League’. The SPL was a breakaway in its time too. A new project would throw up massive challenges, but the carrot of something new, fair, and uncorrupted might just get enough fans, and clubs, on board. Especially so, if the hasty return of TRFC is seen as a done deal based on secret agreements arrived at in smoke-filled rooms. We were all impressed by players walking off the park in Italy because of racism. So there’s no reason fans can’t do a mass walk-out in Scotland in the face of perceived corruption at the very top.
ekbhoy.
‘In summary, they will get off Scott free’.
_________________________________
I always wondered the provenance of “Scott Free”
Could it be changed now to getting off ‘SFA free’?
yakutsuki @ 11:20
Thanks
“Would the ‘Herald’ care anyway?”
I hope that the family, or someone close to the family, make them care a great deal.
The LNS Inquiry will examine the evidence discern the facts and submit a report to the SPL. The SPL in a quandary on this one – It wouldn`t be having an Inquiry if it really didn`t need to. Problem is the SFA have had their go – The SPL haven`t. The SFA are seen by FIFA / UEFA has have done something – to `sort this out quickly` even it was the ridiculous plea bargain to get them to `accept` the transfer ban in lieu of expulsion or termination. The SPL will not the intimidations spectres that haunted the SFA, and such threats as delivered to QCs and requiring fire marshals on 24-hour duty.
I suspect one way under SPL consideration would be to pass the LNS Report and Recommendations straight over to UEFA and FIFA. It is after all UEFA / FIFA that introduced player’s registrations and contract payments protocols in cleaning up European and World Football – and latterly Financial Fair Play. SPL could off-load this one – pleading assistance and advice from the August high offices of Zurich. SPL will have done something then. By the time LNS concludes they`ll also have hoped their re-structuring ploy worked – that could have been in the 5-way stitch-up for all we know – displaying to UEFA their working to maintain accreditations. When re-structuring not accepted at least it`ll provide some window dressing and a powerpoint or two at Zurich forums. Could buy them time.
Buying time and hoping it all goes away – and forgotten – seems to be the game all round.
What could UEFA / FIFA do if the ball thrown into their court? Privately they would judge the authorities can`t get their house in order with an unruly child. Publically they`ll have to uphold their own rules on contracts and registrations – and pass the Report and Recommendations back to the SPL with their approval. By that time who knows what will have developed – will GW ever end up in Court? – will DG and D+P and the `sale` come under the spotlight? – will the 5-way have crossed any Insolvency Rubicon? Will the SPL even exist?
LNS possibly to the long grass – already somewhat full by the UTT, the IPA, Crown Office Investigation – but sure they can make space for another one – [only standing room left available alas 😉 ]
danish pastry, i havent thought this through but i see it as the only way, i didnt say a team from ibrox could not join though.
change strips and name and be clear they are a new club or pay off the debts they owe and they could join a new fair play league, no room for having their cake and eating it.
another point i was thinking about last night but didnt want to make the post to lengthy is that other leagues would probably follow our lead.
everyone wants competition, fair play, and sportsmanship but tv has largely taken that away du to greed which has bread greed amongst the clubs who currently profit.
i think its time to take oor baw back.
if we create our own league then we make sure the rules and stipulations for joining are fair and just, of which oldco and newco meet neither.
would put the fear of death into not just our own corrupt governing bodies but governing bodies world wide would start to toe the line including fifa and uefa.
its so simple, everyone sems to be looking at the problems faced with scottish football from the wrong angle.
take the baw back!
I presume Hugh Adam raised huge sums of money for Rangers legitimately whereas David Murray funnelled bank loans from BoS he never intended to repay into the club. Both funded the club’s success, only one obliterated it yet The Herald uses the good guy’s obituary to defend the charlatan. Beneath contempt. Shameful.
my keys are sticky hence the odd missing “e”, doesnt excuse bread for bred though. 😀
Kilgore Trout says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 10:44
I’ve just read the obituary for Hugh Adam published in today’s Herald.
I don’t know who Robert McElroy is or what qualification he feels he has for writing this but I hope he, and his publication, are taken to task for this.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Robert McElroy is recognised as the unofficial Rangers ‘Historian’ so the obituary clearly indicates how the ‘history’ of the club is being written. He was probably asked to submit the obit by the Herald and slipped in what I hold to be disgraceful remarks and it’s even more disgraceful that they weren’t picked-up by the paper which I fully expect, in the not too distant future, to follow the Scotsman doen the stank as circulation continues to plummet.
I did start to leave a comment on the Herald obit page but, out of respect for Hugh Adam and his family, decided against. If there had been more people like Adam around to stand-up to Murray then IMHO Rangers would not be in liquidation. I love McElroy’s shifting of blame for the demise of Rangers onto the collapsing world economy – if that were true how did all the other football clubs with relatively tiny supports and income survive the financial crash which destroyed the mighty Rangers?
other rules could and should be implemented such as crowd behaviour such as discriminate chanting = 5 point deduction and 5 home games played behind closed doors for 1st offence.
put it this way, if its a fair play league then rules and implementation of these rules can be translucent not transparent.
if we had our own tv channel then meetings by our governing bodies could be shown on the tv channel like bbc parliament.
lets fix whats wrong, weve got plenty to work with after the shambles of the last couple of years.
this is the age of social media, let the revolution begin in our sport.
if a team from govan doesnt want to play fair and thinks its superior to the rules then like you say they can join another league.
theyve destroyed all faith in this set up, why should they automatically join the new set up unless they CHANGE!
like i keep saying “TAKE THE BAW BACK!”
IMO the dual contracts investigation (stop laughing at the back) will do nothing to alter anything regards ragers fc (deceased) .
There will be threats galore and the MSM propaganda will be ramped up to levels never seen before .The very first comment from CG or his dog whistling manager should be met with a precise and unequivocal statement from the SPL and then immediately backed up from the SFA that this inquiry has absolutely nothing to do with CG or TRFC it concerns only RFC 1872 .
The fact that it won’t be is the reason nothing will be done and it will end in the mother of all whitewashes .Once that decision is taken there will be no going back and in the passage of time it will be exposed as the biggest corruption ever to have taken place in Scottish (or even European ) football .
The trouble I have with it is ,that threats from mere supporters would not be enough to have brought it about ,no it would take a lot more than that and there in lies the problem all other Scottish football fans have .
Just sit back and think for a minute what this club has done and exactly what sanction it has faced and where Scottish football and the MSM hold the newest club in our game a club they keep telling the REST of the Scottish football paying fans that we can’t do without .
IMO this has been a concerted campaign by more than just some football fans threats to have even got us to where we are now ,let alone what we will witness before the end game and that is why our game will be nothing more than footballs equivalent of the WWF, as for it being a sport ,don’t make me laugh
“Mr Adam offered no proof over his accusations – his opening comment to his interviewers of “my memory’s not what it used to be” perhaps saying it all.
The above extract from the obituary of Mr Adam is perhaps the worst I have come across in modern times.
A front page apology from the Herald should be the minimum required.
Two panda
I cannot see the Scottish legal, football old pals act, sending anything outside the confines of the corridors of Hampden.
Keep it in-house with the brothers.
Re the Herald’s outrageous obituary, surely the FTTT provided proof, and how about the first SPL inquiry that showed the prime facie case which was seen as nearly as bad as match fixing? Disgraceful journalism.
Senior says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 11:40(Edit)
I always wondered the provenance of “Scott Free”
Could it be changed now to getting off ‘SFA free’?
________________________________________________________
Ironically in this context, a “scot” was a medieval tax. To go “scot-free” was to pay no tax
Senior says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 13:03
A front page apology from the Herald should be the minimum required.
======
They can apologise on the front page, the back page, or not at all so far as I’m concerned. They have had their last penny from me, and I have written to their editor today to tell him so.
As a Celtic fan, i admit that i don’t know very much about Hugh Adam, the little that i do know suggests that he was a man of huge integrity and courage, a man dedicated to his club, who was intelligent and innovative. One of his innovations was the rangers pools and this provided the club with the funds to rebuild Ibrox after the terrible loss of life left the club devestated. A man who deserves to held in total respect for his contributions to life and football and never sullied by the spiteful words of lesser men. Thoughts with his family, may he rest in peace.
Re the Herald slating Hugh Adams
Is this the Hugh Adams that built RFC pools into the biggest football club pools in Europe
Is this the Hugh Adams that through the pools revenue practically built Ibrox to the stadium it is today (Murray never built it ,he even got the fans to finance the club deck built buy HIS companies steel these fans then lost all their investment £7m when Murray’s folly liquidated the club .
Is this the Hugh Adams that reluctantly sold his 96,000 shares in the club he served so well because he could see where D Murray was taking them .
The only thing Hugh Adams got wrong was that he said if the club did not change it would lead to Administration time only proved that to be an UNDERSTATMENT .
The Herald should hang their heads in complete SHAME at that article making it to print
THE GLASGOW HERALD AN UTTER UTTER DISGRACE
wulliemiller says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 12:13
4 0 Rate This
take the baw back!
———
Great slogan and positive, constructive thinking. I like the idea. I’m just throwng a few thoughts into the mix. If the SPL could be created as a mechanism for greed and self-interest, then this idea could work as a catalyst for fair play and a properly-governed game. Scotland could lead the way here, as you mention. I especially like the idea of points deductions and closed-door matches. It might serve to isolate and marginalise numpties in an instant.
instead of SPL and SFL, we should have the SFPL – Scotland Fair Play League.
As others have stated the league governing body and rules would be constructed around a mission statement that would focus on fair play and fair treatment of all teams and their fans, no boycotts, threats or bigotry.
very hard punishments for stuff we want rid of such as violence, racism bringing the game into disrepute etc. should be welcomed as these offences would be nipped in the bud almost before they started.
chic green and ally would shut up if every time they opened their mouths they cost the club £££s and points.
even without our own tv channel governing body meetings could be played live or recorded on the internet.
the “heid yins” would be less inclined to act in a corrupt manner if we were all watching.
and every 4 months or so there could be could be a meeting with our governing body and supporters groups, make our new governing bodies of the future answerable to its customers.
A postcard from Marbella
Dear Ally
Sorry to hear you could not get away, oh well someone has to mind the store so to speak.
Temperature here in mid 80’s, my golf has improved with all the extra practice.
Also what with all the excercise and eating more salads, I have lost 8lbs (sorry Ally)
See you in a fortnight and enjoy Peterhead in January
Neil
jonnyod says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 13:37
This rewrite of history from that obituary got me.
“but it was the collapse of the banking world, something wholly outwith Sir David Murray’s control, and the merger firstly between the Bank of Scotland and the Halifax Building Society and later between HBOS and Lloyds Banking Group that created the real problems for Sir David and Rangers.”
This is bollox. The collapse was something that Murray and his banking cohorts were THE CAUSE OF. Lending money to folk who could not pay it back and folk who could not pay it back taking it with no thought to risks.
I could not count the number of “cheques” from credit card companies I shredded that arrived unsolicited during that period of banking madness through my letterbox.
In the summer of 2008 Murray spent more than enough on players to cover the potential tax bill from the EBT case. He had a choice then and he behaved as he always had done – he took a punt on Ranger’s future and then punted that future to any mug wanting to pay for his poor judgement.
He did not have to borrow more, he could have shredded the cheques and seen Rangers live to benefit from that decision (as I have) but he acted foolishly and BDO will find this although whether it will be reported or not is another matter.
To use a wise man’s death to defend the act of a fool is a depth I thought even they would not plumb.
On the duplicity at the Herald I belatedly came across this article from 30 December by Richard Wilson.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/2012-review-rangers.19790197
Apart from his incredible suggestion about what the media should now be doing that Alex Thomson derided
” Newspapers once broke the stories, but as the Rangers saga showed, they are now better placed to analyse them, to provide perspective, reason and commentary.”
Wilson gives examples of how they/he do it badly.
Wilson says “Yet many clubs have changed ownership and ownership structure during their histories, and have remained the same entity.”
What he does not say that under FIFA/UEFA FOOTBALL rules the term used to describe a club is “legal entity” which embraces both company and club and it is UEFA’s unwillingness to recognise Rangers as on ongoing legal entity under their own rules that has prevented them obtaining a UEFA licence. I appreciate and go along with the argument that culturally they are the same entity but legally both in civil and football law they are NOT the same entity and sooner or later the fiction that they are will be exposed..
Wilson then goes on to say
“Once the Scottish Football Association transferred Rangers’ original licence to Green’s consortium, it was recognised by the governing body, UEFA, and more recently the European Club Association, as the same Rangers: 140 years old.”
This is tripe. Again under UEFA rules a club licence cannot be transferred, it is there in black and white. What happened was the SFA granted The Rangers a National Club Licence because, as a non SPL club, UEFA FFP licensing criteria does not apply and they did so despite there being no three years accounts as required by the rules. The SFA National Club Licensing rules allow the licensing authority a degree of discretion if a club fails any of the criteria and for commercial reasons, used it, but Wilson if he is going to provide analysis rather than break stories had better get his facts right.
What we are seeing here is an attempt to rewrite the true history of Rangers downfall and one has to wonder just what hold Sir David Murray continues to have over the press and just who else in Scottish society is protecting one of its “noblemen” and why.
There is far murkier banking and political story beneath all of this that BRTH has referred to in some of his posts.
Where is he btw?
Jim Spence @bbcjimspence
So 2 leagues of 12 going to 3×8 after a split looks like being in place for next season.
“To use a wise man’s death to defend the act of a fool is a depth I thought even they would not plumb”
Brillianr Auldheid.
rab says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 13:29
32 1 Rate This
As a Celtic fan, i admit that i don’t know very much about Hugh Adam, the little that i do know suggests that he was a man of huge integrity and courage, a man dedicated to his club, who was intelligent and innovative. One of his innovations was the rangers pools and this provided the club with the funds to rebuild Ibrox after the terrible loss of life left the club devestated. A man who deserves to held in total respect for his contributions to life and football and never sullied by the spiteful words of lesser men. Thoughts with his family, may he rest in peace.
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The way this man was treated by the MSM after his interview with Alex Thompson was an absolute disgrace. He was portrayed as a muttering, senile idiot by every single one of them. This is a man who simply told the truth, as he did when he said many moons ago that RFC were unsustainable. He foresaw the downfall of RFC long before ANYONE else, long before even Murray himself. Yet he is portrayed as an fool?
Hugh Adam was a man of genuine integrity, a man who should have been begged to take up a position of influence at the top of Scottish Football.
I hope his family are aware that supporters across the Country hold this Gentleman in high esteem, and that we are disgusted by the way he was, and is being treated by the disgraced Succulent Lambers and the rest of the shameless RFC appeasers.
auldheid
The re-writing of history falls nicely in with the re-writing of rules as far as the SFA/MSM have dealt with the ragers debacle .It all falls into one agenda.
The Herald in their piece has shown us all just how far the MSM will push that agenda and how low they will sink in their efforts .
IMO Minty burnt his way through 1/4 of a billion ponds and it still ended with the death of the club ,you could understand that happening in the bloated EPL but for it to be in the SPL it really is quite astonishing ..
Yet the MSM agenda is working and working very well,I am amazed at how many Sevco2012 fans will argue that they are the same club and they even repeat the CG /AMc propaganda verbatim .
I know it’s in Sevco 2012 interests to perpetuate the myth and that is understandable, in fact it;s essential to the new clubs existence but when do they all think it will be safe to just come out and tell the Sevco fans the truth ,what is it they now fear ? do they think they will all just walk away or do they think they are not sensible enough to handle the facts . IMO the time is fast running out to clarify the status of Sevco officially because if CG and the peepil are allowed to continue on their present strategy there will be no winners at the end of it all .
The denial of all the sevco fans to what has happened to RFC is one thing but for the rest of Scottish football to be browbeaten into their view of the events (see Montrose apology ) is something entirley different and that is way it’s going ,anyone speaking about Sevco 2012 outwith Sevco’s view is jumped upon from all sides and no one defends them at all ,this .far from persuading the rest of Scottish football that Sevco 2012 are the same club only leads the sevco fans irrational outbursts against everyone else in the game (see D Utd boycott)
IMO the SFA have handled this debacle very badly for Sottish football and very well for Sevco 2012 whoever is at the top of the SFA has not been doing their job properly ,or depending on what exactly they see their job as they may think they are doing an excellent job .
All I know is that if there was any doubt about the honesty of our game it was cleared up last season .
Last one out switch off the lights
RR fan contacted bbc sportsound to question simon mensing being listed as suspended, but he is playing today for RR…
they went to check it out with RR.
answer – SFA got it wrong !!!
Auldheid
As you say Ragers could have put aside money to deal with the EBTs pressuming HMRC would not have proven all the 108 cases ,so why did they not even try to do so .Do you think that it became essential for RFC 1872 to put out of business for something other than HMRC s interest of the EBT scheme .
Could there be an even bigger problem regarding the running of that club ?.
Also what happened to the WTC 4.2
auldheid
Sorry should read
What happened to the WTC £4.2m admitted by RFC 1872 regarding payments made to R DBoer and T A Flo were these payments declared to the SFA /SPL
PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THE HERALD WEBSITE ANY HITS:
Hugh Adam
Robert McElroy
Football director and businessman;
Born: September 1925; Died: December 29, 2012.
HUGH Adam, who has died at the age of 87, ran the highly-successful Rangers Pools and its successor, Rangers Lotteries, for more than 30 years, and was a former director of the football club.
Rugby union was his first love and throughout his life the oval ball game remained his main sporting interest whilst in football his loyalties lay with Hamilton Academical.
The Rangers Pools had been founded in 1964 – run by David Hope – and from its inception was an outstanding success, raising funds for the Rangers Development Fund, responsible for the redevelopment and upkeep of Ibrox Stadium. Mr Adam was appointed to run the pools in 1971. which over the next 30 years raised in the region of £18m – a substantial contribution to the redevelopment of Ibrox Stadium into the ultra-modern arena of today.
Whilst undoubtedly a shrewd operator, it was perhaps an indication of his lack of football knoweldge that at a time when Jock Wallace was leading Rangers to two trebles in three years he expressed a desire to see reserve team coach Joe Mason appointed as manager.
Mr Adam was co-opted on to the board of directors of Rangers Football Club in 1986 in recognition of his work with the Development Fund following the Lawrence Construction acquisition of the club the previous year.
The David Murray takeover in November 1988 would change the club forever, but the Edinburgh-based businessman, who had experience in sport with the Murray International Metals’ basketball sponsorship, did not have control of the Rangers Pools or Development Fund, both of which were independent companies run by a separate board of directors of which Mr Adam was chairman.
It was an indication of the measure of Hugh Adam’s shrewd business acumen that he was effectively untouchable in his post with a cast-iron contract that at any time allowed him a 12-month notice of termination, that was in any case extremely unlikely provided he retained the confidence of his own board.
Under Sir David Murray – who was knighted in 2007 – Mr Adam continued to serve on the football club board, but his relationship with Sir David was strained to say the least, the Ibrox chairman deeply resentful of his inability to acquire control of the Development Fund.
Changes in the law and the introduction of the National Lottery resulted in Rangers Pools no longer enjoying the turnover it once had, although Rangers Lotteries continues to this day.
The undercurrent of ill-feeling between the two men came to a head in June 1992 when Mr Adam refused Sir David’s request to resign from the Rangers Board. A bitterly-contested Extraordinary General Meeting was called at which Sir David forced through Mr Adam’s removal despite the opposition of many shareholders.
To general surprise Mr Adam returned to the Ibrox board 18 months later following a rapprochement with Sir David and would remain in charge of the Development Fund until retiring at the age of 70 in April 1996, although he remained on the football club board until September 2000.
He remained a critic of Sir David. The two men had never got on – and by 2002 the former Development Fund boss had sold his shares in the club and publicly denounced the Rangers owner, criticising his tenure of the club as reckless and a dictatorship, allegations he substantially repeated some seven years later. It had become clear that the relationship between the two men had become untenable. Many with some justification accused Mr Adam of having his own agenda. There was no doubt that the club’s level of liabilities was at times at an uncomfortable level – but it was the collapse of the banking world, something wholly outwith Sir David Murray’s control, and the merger firstly between the Bank of Scotland and the Halifax Building Society and later between HBOS and Lloyds Banking Group that created the real problems for Sir David and Rangers.
By the time of the slide into administration in February 2012 Sir David had sold the club – disastrously – to Craig Whyte. Mr Adam later gace a newspaper interview in which he accused Sir David of operating a dual contracts system in regard to employee benefit trust (EBT) payments to players and other employees.
Mr Adam offered no proof over his accusations – his opening comment to his interviewers of “my memory’s not what it used to be” perhaps saying it all.
Mr Adam is survived by his wife Jean, to whom he was married for 60 years, and daughter Elizabeth.
another red card for a team playing newco. 10 men elgin and a goal down, could it be a new world record for red cards in a season going for a certain team?
wulliemiller says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 15:47
1 0 Rate This
another red card for a team playing newco. 10 men elgin and a goal down, could it be a new world record for red cards in a season going for a certain team?
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Sevco are blazing a glorious trail against 10 men teams of part timers. Ally Mcoist thinks his team deserves a well earned rest after competing against these teams of 10 every week, because the SPL Clubs are being given a break! Unfortunately the other SFL players can’t jump on a a plane to the Maldives for 2 weeks because they couldn’t afford it and they wouldn’t get the time off from their usual jobs! Silly Sally.
Joking apart, and possibly just wishful thinking. Were sevco not to be invited to Jim Spence’s premier league 1 & 2 party it would effectively mean they would win division 3 and not be promoted, they would remain in the bottom league (notwithstanding having trampled over spartans, cove etc to get there). That would have a certain ring of justice to it and would thus be an easy sell to all the clubs, especially the bottom 7 of the 2nd division that would otherwise miss out on their own twice yearly paydays (I am of course assuming LNS will find evidence aplenty but effective punishments strangely hard to find, and stick). I wonder what Chuckie would say?
OK I’ll answer it myself. Of course the reaction will be “regrettably this piece of devious back stabbing leaves us no option but to announce a further share issue” etc etc.
jonnyod says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 15:35
I think it was simply hubris at its worst.
Remember SDM (to his credit) had gone the develop your own route with the appointment of Paul Le Guin but Rangers players themselves did not like that regime.and Walter Smith was brought in in Jan 2007 and began to build the team that eventually won three titles from 2009 to 2011.
The turning point though was immediately after going out of the CL in early Aug 2008 to Kauanas (in that respect failure to qualify for the later stages of the CL has twice proven very costly to Rangers future simply because they budgetted on the premise that they always would qualify and that made the name of the game for them survival rather than just winning and for the rest of us a new motivation other than sectarianism).
The SDM/Smith spend and sales can be found here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aq2m3ggkEX2RdDZsUlEzQkg5U0NUZ08xajhtbUJWcXc#gid=0
and in my view it was simply the idea of Celtic building on their 3 iar under Gordon Strachan and the need to keep the Ibrox faithful faithful under those circumstances, that was the deciding factor. Note the spend in 2007 and 2008, the latter before the bank crash but after Kaunas and when the big tax bill was on the table.
Hubris is defined as excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance, and if you have the bank in your pocket and the ears of the “great and good” not to mention media ladogs the last thing that SDM could decide to do was to be prudent.
You might as well expect a scorpon not to sting.
although the third div gets them again, so third div will be all for it.
the second div ones left in the eighteen only get sevco once instead of twice.
some will most likely never see them at all?
how will they react to that?
everyone wins with current setup. lot of losers in new scheme.
ordinaryfan
That’s not an obituary, that’s no more than a “hit piece” on a deceased gentleman unable to defend his good name. To also use this article to defend SDM and his corrupt regime goes beyond the pale. It’s an absolute disgrace and this so- called journalist should be brought to task. I for one will never buy this sorry excuse for a newspaper until this is retracted.
pau1mart1n says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:21
I assume you were coming back on my post Paul.
I take the arguement about one money spinning game per season not two, and I was also writing on the basis that the staus quo simply wasn’t available (and by not issuing special invites would avoid the all for one and, erm, one for one arguement).
Can you expand on the “Some will most likely never see them at all bit”. Ta
jonnyod says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 15:39
Ah the wee tax case conundrum. The one where Sherriff Officers turned up at Ibrox in August 2011 because of unpaid tax when the SFA granted a UEFA licence in April/May?.
I think CW paid something towards this in May (£500k?) which allowed both parties, the SFA and Rangers to say an arrangement had been made with HMRC that allowed the licence to be granted under UEFA rules. That arrangement appears now to be just a sham, but the SFA should have picked up on it possibly in June and certainly Sept of that year after it became public knowledge that the bill was unpaid in full.
They did not and the reason why and what they were told and why they accepted what they were told is all part of the mistrust mountain that is Rangers legacy to Scottish football.
As I said previously loss of that CL money at the hands of Malmo and Maribor probably contributed significantly to their eventual liquidation and given the steps the SFA have taken since to preserve the Rangers business it is difficult if not impossible to accept that the same SFA did not do their best to ensure that the distressed Rangers were not going to be deprived of the CL money that, had they performed on the field of play, would have saved them.
If ever there was an opportunity for the SFA to prove their innocence it is in the publication of dates and exchanges between themselves and Rangers on this issue. They have been asked often enough and have insisted all was in order without providing supporting evidence.
the ones that drop down from spl2 and pass them on the way up won’t get the chance to make new friends with sevco.
assuming that sevco win the new bottom league.
& assuming sevco will join spl2 – chuck might say no, we want to stay……….
pau1mart1n says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:34
Got you. A step too far methinks. What actually is the proposed criteria for promo/relegation from SPL2 to Div3(title as appropriate)? 2 up 2 down? Play off?
Humble Pie says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:27
1 0 Rate This
ordinaryfan
That’s not an obituary, that’s no more than a “hit piece” on a deceased gentleman unable to defend his good name. To also use this article to defend SDM and his corrupt regime goes beyond the pale. It’s an absolute disgrace and this so- called journalist should be brought to task. I for one will never buy this sorry excuse for a newspaper until this is retracted.
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It is as shocking and disturbing a piece of propaganda and appeasement I have ever seen. Genuinely disgusting. The author of this, Robert McElroy, should be sacked immediately.
I know it will be of no comfort to his family and friends, but this piece will stand the test of time and will be used as one of, if not THE pinnacle example of MSM bias and propaganda. A huge error by The Herald letting this go to print, unless they act swiftly and distance themselves from the piece and more importantly its Author, they will face a huge backlash from readers. And unfortunately for Robert McElroy, his fellow Succulent Lambers will even have the sense to leave him to face this one alone.
ordinaryfan says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 15:42
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PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THE HERALD WEBSITE ANY HITS: (Edit)
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A long term Herald reader, I stopped early last year because of the material published about the BTC. On occasion they seemed to be rivalling the redtops for the paucity of reporting. It’s shocking though the level to which they’ve stooped today when printing such contentious material about a dead man.
Don’t regard it as a boycott, simply the best way I can hurt them is by depriving them of my cash. It’s a free country but I do wish others would do the same.
Auldheid (@Auldheid) says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:31
Auldheid, Did the wee tax case money that was owed, not fall into the same category as the non payment of PAYE/NIC, that say the judgement handed down as ” One step away from match fixing”, Which led to the Transfer embargo ruling. i.e. It has already been dealt with.
The transfer embargo was the punishment for all of RFC1872s crimes under the leadership of Craig Whyte, with the latter receiving a fine and being banned Sine Die.
Also I think you’ll find they are not going to pursue this matter any further, i.e Awarding matches 0-3 that the two players played in. Sweep, carpet.
which transfer embargo ? is that the current one or the one that Rangers 1872 had thrown out in court to have it overturned. What did the SFA do about that ?
Aulheid
I remember well your posts on RTC about the issuing of an Euro licence during this time and I still believe you were correct in your posts ,as you say just another part of the mountain ..
My issue with it is had the payments given to both players been declared to the relevant authorities and the silence on this issue leaves me deeply suspicious .Why the investigation into the BTC EBTs yet none into the WTC which was clear of any appeal due to RFC admitting liability .
There does seem to be so many questions in this farce that do not get answered and that is no coincidence in my view .The fact that ex ragers 1872 employees were roaming the corridors of power at this time only adds to the suspicion all was not above board ,until these questions are brought into the open and answered our game will always carry the stigma of corruption .
troyblain
It will be the transfer embargo that started after the window closed thus allowing the sanctioned team to buy a team to amass a 7m wage bill in the Scottish third division .
ordinaryfan says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:45
4 0 i Rate (Edit)
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I suspect McElroy is a freelancer and not a Herald employee. Doesn’t make a jot of a difference to the Herald’s responsibility to publish. He has previous on Scottish Newsnight. Despicable individual.
We have known for 2 to 3 years that RFC 1872 were teetering on the brink of administration. Who was lending money to Rangers 1872 when they were signing the likes of Nikica Jelavić and more often than not puting a more expensive side on the park than Celtic when the teams met.
It seems to be irresponsible lending on a grand scale. Rangers 1872 also had a chance to cash in on players in order to stave off administration but decided against this. Not paying taxes last season also seems to suggest that the plan was always administration at best.
This whole episode makes a mockery of the tax authorities chasing individuals with the full force of the law whilst allowing this type of charade to run through to a predictable conclusion.
Palacio67
No I don’t think the WTC was anything to do with the disrepute charge and
Yes swept under the carpet I fear
troyblain says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 16:56
It was the original transfer embargo that the COS found to be illegal and referred back to the 3 man panel. Since the only punishment after that was expulsion ( Or a very light suspension from the Scottish cup), they agreed at the 5 way agreement to run with the earlier embargo thus ending the need to go back to the panel who would have scuppered sevcos existance.
Still no punishment from UEFA for going to the COS in the first place.
I posted a week or so ago that when the media repeat the ‘same club’ line then we, as supporters, should ask the question why they, as journalists, are not demanding an answer to the question of why the SPL runners up of last season are now playing in Division 3?
They should ask this question of the SFA because it has allowed a team to be demoted three divisions, prize money withheld, and a transfer embargo imposed.
They need to justify this if it is the same club and remember if it was a mythical ‘holding company’ that went bust then that would have no effect whatsoever on the football club because it wasn’t the holding company that had a licence to play football. Unless they are telling us that when the holding company went bust it had won all the titles/cups etc then Chas Green has been sold the history of ……………………………….. well nothing really. Remember if there was a holding company it was called Wavetower and it still exists and has not been in administration or pending liquidation.
The problem the media have is that on this and other blogs there are people who quickly and expertly dissect every piece of information released.
So the media need to justify their stance as to why the same club could not play any pre-season friendlies because it had no licence and why the new incarnation had to change its name TWICE so that it ended up something close to the former clubs name. To simply repeat they are the same club without any evidence is what they are reduced to while the case that they are a different club is overwhelming.
It has almost become a case of a child’s row in the school yard with each one shouting ‘it is’ and the other one ‘it isn’t’. Just as well it is pantomime season although many believe it has never ended since last year.
It is for the media to present evidence that they are the same club and when I say evidence I mean more than Chas Green’s inconsistent ramblings and the fact that forty thousand people turn up every other week. If that is all that is required to make something fact then I hope Chas doesn’t announce that the earth is flat and the forty thousand customers agree because the media will need to pronounce it as fact.
Ultimately I have no problem with Chas spouting that they are the same club or indeed ‘The Rangers’ fans believing it but the authorities, or whatever passes for officialdom in this country, should be the ones to knock this on the head.
Over to you Stewart and Campbell it’s not as if you are conflicted in any way in this debacle………….……………………………………………………
Oh and if they try to wriggle over this then what were they negotiating up until 8 o’clock on the Friday before the season kicked off. Remember that was when they sneaked out a press release just after the start of the openning ceremony of the Olympics!!!
On reading, on here, of the disgracefull obituary for the late Hugh Adam in the Herald, I felt compelled to compare him with a man like Fergus McCann. Both men prepared to make the hard decisions, and say it as it is, no matter who it displeased, and both graced with an amazing financial accumen. Neither, I think, sought personal fame but were prepared to use publicity to further their aims for the benefit of their respective clubs, although in Adam’s case he appears to be a man who did most of his best work in the background. Had Murray not had such an iron grip on Rangers, or if the supporters had recognised him for the charlatan that he is, before it was too late, then Adam was, I am sure, the kind of man to have led them back from the brink. Unlike Murray, he provided Rangers with millions of pounds in real money and a legacy of a magnificent, paid for, football stadium, way ahead of every other club in Britain. In the last few years of his life he was prepared to speak the truth, in the interest of Rangers FC, despite knowing that his name would be sullied by the hordes, including those who graced the directors box for years even before Whyte came along, and find his legacy forgotten. That is a mark of integrity. But then, they don’t do integrity, do they?
Here is an example of the illustrious share certificate that will now adorn the living room walls of the Sevco faithful (copied from Celtic Minded)
http://i48.tinypic.com/iyfmgz.jpg
It does confirm that the bears now have a stake in a brand new international holding company.
Tommy says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 17:32
I see the certificate also claims RIFC ownership of ‘The Rangers Football Club’ founded 1872. I am positive that The Rangers were in fact founded in 2012. Nonetheless, I could have made any supporter of ‘The Rangers’ one of these certificates for about a fiver and saved them a few hundred quid.
Humble Pie says:
Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 17:38
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I suppose BDO should ask why a company they’re currently liquidating are included on this certificate but I’m not holding my breath.
I they want evidence of Phoenixism,it’s right there.
The 1872 rangers football club `ownership` is presently under the control of Court of Session appointed liquidators and the creditors