A Guest blog by redlichtie for TSFM
From what I can see Mike Ashley is likely to be the only game in town for RIFC/TRFC fans unless they want to see another of their clubs go through administration/liquidation.
That particular scenario potentially allows for a phoenix to arise from the ashes but on past evidence it is probably going to be an underfunded operation with overly grandiose pretensions taking them right back into the vicious circle they seem condemned to repeat ad nauseam.
Ashley has the muscle to strongarm the various spivs to give up or greatly dilute their onerous contracts and I suspect that is what has been happening behind the scenes.
From Ashley’s point of view I believe that what is being sought is a stable, self-financing operation that he can then sell on whilst retaining income streams of importance to SD.
I also suspect that he will come to some arrangement with the SFA to dispose of his interest once he has stabilised the club.
The problem for RIFC/TRFC fans is that Ashley is not going to fund some mythical “return to where they belong”, though that is beginning to appear to be the second division of the SPFL where they are heading to have a regular gig.
Like at Newcastle, Ashley will cut their coat according to their cloth. This will mean, again like at Newcastle, a mid-table team with good runs every so often. If the finances can be fixed then they will have an advantage over most other Scottish clubs but in the main we will be back to actual footballing skills and good management being what is important (pace “honest mistakes”).
With recent results and footballing style clearly those are issues that will require attention and McCoist seems likely to present RIFC/TRFC with an early opportunity to address at least one aspect of that if he continues with his current “I’m a good guy” press campaign. It may take just one unguarded comment or action and he will be out.
But will the Bears go for Ashley’s plan? So far they seem antagonistic and still cling to their belief that the world owes them a top football club regardless of cost.
If the fans don’t get behind the current entity I can see Ashley deciding the game’s not worth it and cashing in his chips. Some ‘Rangers Men’ will probably turn up and create a new entity for The People to believe in and Ashley will continue to draw in income from shirt sales and, most likely, charging fans at the world famous Albion car park which he will then own.
The upcoming AGM is crucial and from what we have seen of Ashley so far he gets what he wants.
The crushing reality about to descend on The People is that there really is no Santa Claus. A Sanity Clause, perhaps but no Santa Claus.
@Zilch “Maybe Mr Lawell believes that his (my) club will make more money if some form of Rangers is facilitated into the top league? Maybe he is right? Maybe he doesn’t care how many of his own club’s fans he alienates on this? I for one hope that the growing demand from Celtic fans for accountability and social responsibility will give him and the board pause for serious thought on this.”
I believe the Celtic board has made a cold blooded business decision, and reckon more supporters will come back once The Rangers 2012, or whatever form they’re in by then, get to The Premiership, than current season card holders will stop going due to the insane lying, and cheating to make it happen.
There doesn’t seem to be much of the sporting integrity that Peter used to talk about going around these days.
I certainly don’t want to give up my card, but I’m sickened at all the outrageous cheating to get whatever team is playing out of Ibrox into the top tier of Scottish football, so I have a big decision to make at the end of the season.
Sarver says: “I think Rangers is a gem. It just needs some love and it needs to be polished.” and, apparently, its “a treasure in the community”… !!! Can I have some of what he’s been smoking?
More musings from Walter of Cardigan.
Smith insists a solution needs to be found quickly.
He said: “All that matters is that it comes to a point where you feel something has to be done.
“Sometimes as a football manager you reach half-time in a game and you have to turn to someone and say, ‘Do something’.
“That might sound simplistic and easy, but a lot of time in a football match it can go like that.
No sh** Sherlock.
And the press print this mince!
Hartsons Comb quote from the Record:
KJ: But Scottish football is not in a good financial place right now.
Isn’t it? I thought the levels of debt in Scottish football have plummeted over the past year or so, the mad-hatters tea party aside of course.
Correct Walter, and the day you faced up to having to turn to a bench that was only as good as the opposition’s was the day you walked away.
I note the following from the world’s greatest sports reporter.
“KJ: But Scottish football is not in a good financial place right now. There must have been other more obvious options?”
Is it not the case that Scottish Football has not been in a such healthy financial state for decades.
One has to agree that if you are looking to throw borrowed money at the game to achieve success and try and compete with the likes of the EPL, La Liga, Bundeliga then we are way way behind. However is that ambition actually healthy in itself?
When considering a country of 5.3 million people and the manner in which the game has changed over the last thirty years that should not be our aim.
Our aim simply should be to develop the best local grass roots talent available and if and when they break into the professional ranks they can get a sound footing in an SPFL that is known for playing exciting, intelligent & modern football and when teams play in Europe the opposition (regardless of the size of club) know they will have to be on their toes to beat one of our teams.
For those with the talent and ambition then they can head off elsewhere to further their career, make big time money and hopefully put on the dark blue jersey of their county.
If teams like Hamilton Accies can achieve what they have done on a relative shoe string then anything is possible with the right approach, a bit of innovation and getting rid of the Doom Mongers and Armageddonites who can’t see the wood for the trees.
Just on the Sarver interview (what I’ve bothered reading of it anyway). I love KJ’s carefully constructed conclusion. RFC need to lose money (apparently). Sarver can afford to lose money. ergo, why not lose it at Rangers, problem solved. 😆
Apologies if posted already.
Doesn’t look like the Easdales are going anywhere
RNS Number : 5726C
Rangers Int. Football Club PLC
20 January 2015
20 January 2015
Rangers International Football Club plc
(“Rangers” or the “Company”)
Holdings in Company
The Company announces that it was notified on 19th January 2015 that Alexander Easdale purchased 1,014,000 ordinary shares of 1 penny each in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) on 16 January 2015. As a result, Mr Easdale now holds 5, 256,110 Ordinary Shares in the Company, equal to 6.451% of the issued share capital of the Company. Mr Easdale also holds voting rights over, but does not own, a further 16,028,084 Ordinary Shares, representing 19.672% of the Company, meaning that in total he holds voting rights over 21,284,194 Ordinary Shares, representing 26.123% of the issued share capital of the Company.
John clark
Hope certain refs have received and read the same letter conroy got…..
2.13 to act at all times with honesty and integrity in relation to the performance of your duties as a Category 1 Referee. You acknowledge that acts of bribery or corruption by any person under the jurisdiction of the SFA are strictly prohibited. Such conduct will be treated with the utmost seriousness by the SFA and may result in penalties, including (but not limited to) demotion, suspension or expulsion, being imposed;
2.14 that you will not for the Season hold a season ticket for any club in membership of the SFA and that you will not constitute a shareholder; lender; or investor (such terms to be construed broadly) in or to any club in membership of the SFA.
Perhaps should be added…..”you will not officiate in any game involving a team for which you have or had held a season ticket for at any time”.
Although that would result in no west of scotland based officials being available for St Mirren games
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/u/easdale-increases-rangers-stake.1421740223
Sandy Easdale has increased his shareholding by a million shares, he now holds just under 6.5%.
I was amused by the authorship of the piece- Rebecca Gray, Crime Reporter. Is this some sort of subliminal message from the Evening Times?
Hmmmmm, I wonder who he bought them from? Do we have any ideas how the two camps are sitting percentage wise? It must be close ….
Has anyone noticed Mike Ashley falling down recently?
“This is Mike Ashley’s biggest problem – whatever you think of his tactics, his methods, his business acumen and so on, his absolute and utter refusal to give any kind of transparency regarding his actions, and therefore his unwillingness to share potential plans are his downfall.”
http://www.ibroxnoise.co.uk/2015/01/why-mike-ashley-just-wont-speak.html
Where to start?
tayred says:
January 20, 2015 at 8:59 am
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Hartsons Comb quote from the Record:
KJ: But Scottish football is not in a good financial place right now.
Isn’t it? I thought the levels of debt in Scottish football have plummeted over the past year or so, the mad-hatters tea party aside of course.
=========================
Exactly. But what KJ is saying is that Celtic and rangers are “not in a good financial place” because that is scottish football, one must always read as such, very few SMSM stories make sense otherwise.. One could argue that it only applies to rangers but, as cosmic truth alluded to in his post above, it may be that Celtic believe that they’ll be better off with a propped up rangers, I don’t.
As for the rest of us, let’s be clear, rangers are bad for business never mind sporting integrity, period. The sooner Stewarty Milne and his fellow chairmen/owners get to grip with this the better. The record shows.
And as for threats of tv deal withdrawals? Well, if the tv in question looks to the bigotfest as a selling point we have to ask if we want to be associated with that ethos. In practical terms, there are two places to be for having an unbeatable negotiating stance. One is at the top of the market, in demand, multiple bidders as per the EPL. The other is tail end charlie, an add on at best, a “might as well have” with a low (can’t get much lower) price as per SPFL. You could cut the tv deal by 25% and we would still be ok, it is not lucrative enough (at all in fact) for us to keep bending over for. Grow some cojones SPFL: dump the deal and sell it at a lower price (if need be) in a more fan convenient arrangement and build “the product” up to being of value rather than selling it cheap and making it fit that model.
Dumb question. nr. 855:
Where did Alex Easdale buy those shares, or, what I suppose I really mean is, who sold them?
Or did the broker just happen to have a million of them lying around?
Rumour on Twitter that
has been Arrested in France.. If its True that could make life very interesting at Ibrox 😀
Christyboy says:
January 20, 2015 at 9:26 am
Hmmmmm, I wonder who he bought them from? Do we have any ideas how the two camps are sitting percentage wise? It must be close ….
===============================================================
I think the most important thing about the Easedale personal/proxy holding is that it is just above 25% which means the mystery overseas investors can prevent an egm resolution for the disapplication of pre-emption rights which requires a 75% vote of the shareholding to be passed.
So it could be the Easdale mystery offshore shareholders – that the Easdale Camp hold the proxy voting rights for – are ensuring that extra shares can’t be issued which could dilute their shareholding and remove their ‘blocking’ power.
Alexander Easdale has purchased an additional 1,014,000 shares which could well have been bought from one of the mystery shareholders, he holds proxy voting rights for, either selling-out or reducing their holding.
The reason I consider that as a possibility is that despite Easdale buying an additional 1 million plus shares his overall personal/ proxy share vote has dropped by 0.1%.
As I posted yesterday it might be the time for some of the mystery overseass shareholders who don’t hold onerous contracts to decide it’s time to say goodbye.
While there is a bloc of existing shareholders that can prevent fresh shares being issued to new investors then control can be retained although it does restrict the level of cash that can be raised by Rangers.
All just part of the musical chairs being played in the boardroom. Not enough deckchairs for all those striving to grab a blue blazer off the shoogly pegs.
Sons of Struth
5 mins ·
The wires are on fire today with now a claim that SE new shares were actually Greens share option shares, I am unsure of this however a quick club statement would blow this one out the water
Rumours on the Twitter-sphere that Monsieur Vert had had his collar felt by Les Gendarmes. Related to TGEF’s appearance in court last week perhaps? The plot thickens
Ok, Grant Russell of STV has placed an updated shareholder list online (although someone will no doubt be along to correct it soon 🙂 )
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/305651-who-owns-rangers-our-detailed-breakdown-of-the-shareholders-at-ibrox/
Hartsons Comb says:
January 20, 2015 at 6:58 am
‘.. Mr. Sarver has spoken to Mr. Jackson of the Daily Record:..’
————
Thanks for that post, Hartsons Comb, from which I note Mr Sarver’s comment:
“…I think Rangers is a gem. It just needs some love and it needs to be polished…….. I hope it gets itself squared away.”
Very interesting language , expressing a somewhat unusual( for a hard-nosed business man) almost brotherly love for a bunch of strangers.
neepheid says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:00 am
Sons of Struth
5 mins ·
The wires are on fire today with now a claim that SE new shares were actually Greens share option shares, I am unsure of this however a quick club statement would blow this one out the water
===========================================================
Well that would be a cat amongst the pigeons. If you look at my post above that despite buying an extra 1,014,000 shares his overall % of the total shares issued counting personally owned plus proxy vote shares held has actually dropped slightly.
That suggests to me the new shares he bought could have come from one of the proxy shareholders he acted for. There are other explanations that could achieve the same thing but much less likely IMO.
If I’m right and if SoS is right then he could have been casting the Green proxy vote – which will go down like a lead balloon with the Bears.
I would think that would have been a risky route to go down but perhaps the attitude that most Bears have towards the Easdale Camp means it isn’t regarded as a problem.
John Clark says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:03 am
5 0 Rate This
Hartsons Comb says:
January 20, 2015 at 6:58 am
‘.. Mr. Sarver has spoken to Mr. Jackson of the Daily Record:..’
————
Thanks for that post, Hartsons Comb, from which I note Mr Sarver’s comment:
“…I think Rangers is a gem. It just needs some love and it needs to be polished…….. I hope it gets itself squared away.”
Very interesting language , expressing a somewhat unusual( for a hard-nosed business man) almost brotherly love for a bunch of strangers.
********
The choice of language struck me, too, John.
Was he being crafty?
mr Easdale’s share aquisition is a clear,unambigious statement to Mr King, that Mr Easdale is not walking away.
The most publicly acrimonious take over since Harrods, continues apace.
At the other end of Glasgow, a sad tale seems to be playing out. Cosmic called it right I think, a decision was made to support rangers, come what may, based on a cold financial rational. It would have worked too, had the wheels not come off, with the decision from the LNS commission. Since that decision, they have been desperately trying to put the wheels back on, hence the procession of Celtic Legends whispering sweet nothings about Rangers, while, ironically, the Rangers Legends tend their gardens.
When, the full story comes out, and it is going to come out, a number of reputations will be shredded. I find it personally sad, that the current Celtic CEO & board, will probably not be remembered for their wise and careful stewardship at Celtic, but, instead for the role they played in the shabby tale being played out at Hampden & Ibrox.
I see SoS are shining a bit of a spotlight on Ian Hart and calling on him to reveal what’s in the Pinsent Mason Report.
Hart IIRC was the only Scot in the original tiny group of Green’s Sevco 5088 investors. Went on to become a Rangers Board member despite a seemingly confused start which I wrote about back in July 2012:https://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/who-are-the-mysterious-sevcorangers-investors-some-answers-guest-post-by-ecojon/
Just a thought. Why are Easdale(s) and Ashley detested yet King is lauded. It makes no sense at all when King was part of the first death and there’d have been a second death if it wasn’t for the Es and MA.
Initially you might say Rangersness, but my theory is – well – really too simple to be called a theory. The first two are involved day-to-day and are not doing what the bears want and they don’t like it – instead the Es and MA are dealing with the realities of a club/company so deep in the shit they need a periscope. Meanwhile, King can still deal in dreams and promises without getting specific, without getting practical, without getting dirty. My prediction is that if he ever gets to the blue room and doesn’t bring a billion or two with him to fulfil his saviour role, the bears will soon be bating him and calling for a new RRM to take them back to where they belong.
Life is all about choices, but if you choose to choose a choice that is not available to choose, well that’s as bad as not choosing at all, because someone else will choose for you.
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:25 am
Every great story needs a theme tune, the only possible one for this tale is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etYHWZyRSMU
Ron.an.Math says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:53 am
Just heard a plug for 5 lives Nicky Campbell show lamenting Rangers fall from the giddy heights of the champions league SEMI-FINAL ( ? ) in 1994 ! ! !
Now I’m pretty sure they finished behind Marseille in a 4 team group ( bruges + psv maybe the other teams ? )
with a won 2 lost 2 drew 2 record courtesy of an outrageous fluke goal from Scott Nisbet in one game . . .
Appears its not just the smsm that inhabit an alternative reality these days ! Or is it me ?
______________________________________________________________
It was actually 1992/93 which was the second season of the new CL format. Only champions allowed (imagine that!) and two qualifying rounds to determine who made the group stages. There were only two groups containing four teams and the winners of each group made it to the final. You were allowed five subs and only three foreigners.
Rangers beat Lyngby in the first round then Leeds Utd in the second. As a youngster (12 years old, maybe) I attended the Leeds game at Ibrox where Gary McAllister scored an absolute screamer in the second minute. Strachan also played and must have been 35 at the time but was still outstanding. Cantona was in the team too. Rangers won 4-2 on aggregate to make the group stage where they would face Marseille, Club Brugge and CSKA Moscow.In the other group were AC Milan, Porto, PSV and IFK Goteborg. They won two and drew four to finish on eight points and were unbeaten in Europe that season (imagine that!) but finished one point behind Marseille who went on to beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final. Definitely no semi-finals, Nicky Campbell.
Whatever the thoughts on Rangers now it was a fantastic achievement at the time and a memorable season to be a fan. David Murrays ego seemed to expand at the same rate as the CL and football is now unrecognisable compared to twenty odd years ago. Just read again the eight teams who made the group stages that season, and had to qualify to do so, and ask yourself how many of them would get there now? That’s what happens when you chase moonbeams. This flood of money and advertising has lead to the commercialization of the game, our game, and has turned many fans off. I’m one of them.
Now here is the interesting bit. The Marseille owner, Bernard Tapie, was alleged to have made illegal payments to a number of Valenciennes players during the 92/93 season. The payments were for them to go easy on Marseille before the CL final. An investigation resulted in the banning of Marseille from next seasons CL, the stripping of their league title and eventual relegation to the second division. There were further allegations of bribery during the CL campaign that season but Marseille were ultimately allowed to keep their CL title.
While we are, understandably focused on the goings on in the Mean City, things are getting interesting in Edinburgh.
Hands off Hibs have rejected the Hiberinian Supporters Ltd proposals.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/hands-on-hibs-reject-club-s-new-share-scheme-1-3666797
I wonder if like, George Ffoulkes, Kenny MacAskill will come to regret wading into the football morrass
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:22 am
‘… I find it personally sad, that the current Celtic CEO & board, will probably not be remembered for their wise and careful stewardship at Celtic, but, instead for the role they played in the shabby tale being played out at Hampden & Ibrox.’
——-
The countervailing argument is that by resisting all attempts to provoke them into playing the ‘Celtic’ card ( which the SMSM would absolutely have loved and irresponsibly made much of) , the Celtic Board have played it entirely straight:
the problem is the whole of the SFA’s membership’s problem,
in no way, in no way, did Celtic cause the problem ( other than by their footballing success which worked SDM into a jealous frenzy!)
the SMSM would have gleefully painted Celtic as the instigators of RFC(IL)’s downfall if they had so much as said a word in public about the disgraceful events. (Look at how Lawwell’s throw-away remark about Celtic’s long history was dealt with)
It needs the majority of the SFA membership to bring their Board to heel and proper accountability for the lies and perversions they have been guilty of, and for their present pusillanimity.
John Clark says:
January 20, 2015 at 12:16 pm
John, how I wish I could believe that, we shall see, it is all going to come out in the wash.
Edit
keith jackson @tedermeatballs 48 secs48 seconds ago
I’m not going to use the phrase ‘statement klaxon’ again. But, yes, I think one will be along very shortly….
John Clark says:
January 20, 2015 at 12:16 pm
In public fair enough, yes I agree in that I believe they were correct to play a more placid role.
But I’m sure they had plenty meetings with the rest of the SFA membership. I can’t help but imagine if Celtic laid more pro-active cards out on the table that many of the other clubs would have been happy to follow. If silence was kept, or worse a Pro-TRFC line put forward, the “diddy” clubs were never going to rattle too many sabres. Raith Rovers, and the programme editor from Montrose perhaps being the closest observed exceptions to the rule.
Like Scapa says, lets hope it comes out in the wash. The cloak of silence around it just allows us all to come up with own favourite theories with little or no evidence to back them up.
12.27 and BBC radio scotland are giving Craig Houston air time to discuss “Rangers”, “the stock market” and the “boardroom battle”.
When are they going to get Angela Haggerty on again to tell them the truth??
While we’re waiting for the next “announcement”
A few news stories have converged recently. Firstly there’s the 1% owning more than the 99%, then there’s handbags between Chris Bryant and James Blunt about posh boys in the media, then there’s the ongoing The Rangers saga.
The common feature is “privilege” and the most notable feature of privilege is that we are blind to our own and hawk-eyed about those we perceive to have more. As a species we are also highly attuned to the injustice of lost privilege, often without understanding that it was privilege in the first place rather than a basic human right bestowed by our preferred deity. So loss of privilege is indistinguishable from intolerable injustice in the mind of the “victim”.
James Blunt seems ignorant that privilege is not about having a mediocre musical talent but having the contacts, free time and money that privilege brings to exploit that mediocre talent to the detriment of those with much greater talents, fewer contacts and less time / money. Meanwhile many, mainly in politics and the media, condemn the richest 1% without thinking to calculate their own position on the inequality ladder. Having won all the gods’ lottery by living in a rich, stable, liberal, democratic country, they are most certainly nearer the top 10% than the middle. Remember that democracy, free-speech, free education, free health care, the benefits safety net, freedom of religion (or none), freedom of sexuality and freedom from endemic corruption are considered unthinkable luxuries by so many in the world.
So when you hear someone raging about the injustice of a ban on fox hunting or HMRC persecuting their club or prejudice against those who speak RP (yes, BBC R4 earlier this week), don’t get infuriated and shout at the telly (as I often do) just understand that it is in our genes, it is a fundamental blind spot of our species – and check your own privilege and check your own position on the inequality ladder.
Btw, to be on the median global income in the UK you’d need a post tax income of £55 per week (£2,860 pa) for a family of two adults and two under 16s. Likewise, £660 per week post tax (£34,320 pa) with the same family would put you in the top 10%. An MP with no other earnings is close to the top 8% (£67,060 gross). A media type on £100k pa gross is around 4%. Our top rate of income (50%) tax kicks in around the 1.8% mark i.e. £150k pa gross.
https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/how-rich-am-i
Robert Sarver allegedly states;
“I think Rangers is a gem. It just needs some love and it needs to be polished”
I think The Rangers is a turd. Even using strong gloves and any amount of polishing it remains a turd.
mcfc says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:34 am
24 0 Rate This
Just a thought. Why are Easdale(s) and Ashley detested yet King is lauded. It makes no sense at all when King was part of the first death and there’d have been a second death if it wasn’t for the Es and MA.
Initially you might say Rangersness, but my theory is – well – really too simple to be called a theory. The first two are involved day-to-day and are not doing what the bears want and they don’t like it – instead the Es and MA are dealing with the realities of a club/company so deep in the shit they need a periscope. Meanwhile, King can still deal in dreams and promises without getting specific, without getting practical, without getting dirty. My prediction is that if he ever gets to the blue room and doesn’t bring a billion or two with him to fulfil his saviour role, the bears will soon be bating him and calling for a new RRM to take them back to where they belong.
Life is all about choices, but if you choose to choose a choice that is not available to choose, well that’s as bad as not choosing at all, because someone else will choose for you.
——–
A parcel o’ rogues versus a fine sonsie face wi’ a nice helping of mash! 😉
‘Lay on, …..,
And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!” ‘
Nearly time to raise a glass 🙂
Ron.an.Math says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:53 am
……………….
Ahhhh….the old 8 team semi-final gig….along with the never to be forgotten 16 team quarter final…them was the days!!!
Occam, MacBeth could have been written for Rangers – Begone foul spot!
“She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. “
Stand down statement watchers
It’s only The wee guy who hangs on to others coattails putting his tuppence in
Oh good grief, the statement alert was for Murray Minor taking out life memberships for the rangers trust & Rangers First, promising fan ownership.
Out, Out brief candle indeed
Twitter can be an amusing medium:
On PA wires: Paul Murray claims Rangers are finally on the verge of ending their post-liquidation nightmare.
— Andy Newport (@AndyNewportPA) January 20, 2015
Reading his statement he is basically saying
We will own the club
Fans will finance how successful that club is
Ron.an.Math says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:53 am
……………….
Psst….you were taking about the ‘it’s a knockout’ show where the 2 semi’s had 4 teams in each?
We will be successful anyways. But if youse give us lots of your cash we will be more successful, just look at our track record.
neepheid says:
January 19, 2015 at 1:26 pm
130
Yet another Celtic legend who seems to have had some sort of Damascene moment-
“MARTIN O’NEILL believes Rangers have been treated harshly by the football authorities.
And he also reckons Scotland’s top flight has suffered as a result.”
_____________________________________________________________
All the more incredible when you consider this is coming from the man who was manager of Celtic at the height of Rangers’ cheating largesse and who lost two SPL titles on the last day of the season to teams where nearly every player on the park was on an EBT. If you expect anyone to feel aggrieved it would be him. Chris Sutton, who I recall being highly aggrieved at the time, is another who has taken succulent lamb to forget his previous principles. Yes, the highly paid footballer/manager lives in another dimension from the mere fan and his sporting integrity niavete
Paul Murray “We have seen what happens when directors with no feel, no understanding and no real concern for Rangers are in control.”
Yes Paul, and we’ve seen what happens when directors WITH feel, WITH understanding and WITH real concern for Rangers are in control.
And your point is ? ? ? ?
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Aye – and a ghost or two in the background.
Hubble, bubble … 👿
It would appear there is a major PR offensive on the go…and we maybe subject to an overwhelming amount of cow dung exposure…please be aware…that depending on how desperate things become this may develop into a severe case of Horse sh*t..with a smattering of utter bo**ocks…fear not…for it will pass…
The reason for this rather serious uplift in PR maybe a sign that there needs to be a positive injection to assist in calming the pre-semi nerves..because its a big game for the new club.
thanks for the clarification incredibleadamspark . .
Thought it was that season too . .the leeds game rang a bell . .
Not knocking the achievement per se . . it would prove to be an early toe in water soon to be brimming with sharks after all . . marseille you mention , other match fixers like juventus down the line and will we ever know how many others . .
Crucially this was at a time when I a Celtic fan in my innocence and naivete could find myself supporting the ‘scottish team in europe’ particularily against the english champions . .
I could even feel aggrieved for rangers when marseilles shenanigans were surfacing. .
ALAS . . now I’m just another angry +disillusioned mug who thought we had football authorities who could be held to account when cheating was uncovered a la Farry . .
As Thomthethim alluded earlier maybe they are just too CRAFTY for the likes of me eh ?
anyhow why do they feel the need to blatantly LIE about historical FACTS like a four team “semi-final” (liked that ) 😆 ?
According to Phil
. . . Project Sevco could be a tester for bigger projects in England
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-sevco-experiment/#comment-114663
Paulmac2 says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:36 pm
It would appear there is a major PR offensive on the go…and we maybe subject to an overwhelming amount of cow dung exposure…please be aware…that depending on how desperate things become this may develop into a severe case of Horse sh*t..with a smattering of utter bo**ocks…fear not…for it will pass…
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‘Ostile ‘Orace will be gracing us with his presence any minute!!
Have you noticed that King has called a “General Meeting”, not an Extraordinary General Meeting – which is indeed extraordinary because he aims to fire the entire board and place his fit and proper self in charge – with only 34% of the votes secured so far – according to the MSM.
Am I being too pedantic to wonder why the “Extraordinary” has gone missing from the PR output? Or does this not register as extraordinary on the The Govan Extraordinariness Scale.
mcfc, from the RIFC Articles of Association:
I hope Alex Neil and his assistant Frank McAvoy are a success at Norwich. What a great job they did at Hamilton and what a wonderful gesture by the club towards two loyal servants. It also shows a fantastic appreciation of their own fans. Yet another good news story about Scottish football.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/20/hamilton-charge-10p-neil-mcavoy
An open letter to Martin O Neil
Dear Mr O Neil
You were a great Celtic manager and gave the Celtic support some wonderful memories.
Top of the memory list has to be the bitter sweet season of 2002/03 when you took Celtic to Seville but lost out on the SPL title to Rangers by a goal.
Rangers that season won the treble under Alex McLeish
I note your view that Rangers have been punished enough but I wonder if it is a view you would still hold if you knew that.
1. Ronald De Boer was paid for the first half of that season by an illegal ebt. Not an ebt that Rangers are still contesting with HMRC but one for which they accepted liability because they had lied to HMRC about the existence of the side letter to De Boer that was part of the tax arrangement they had with him since August 2000.
2. You were kept in the dark about the above because details of that side letter and why the ebt in question was illegal were kept from the SPL when they commissioned Lord Nimmo Smith to investigate the use of ebts and side letters at Rangers. How De Boer ‘ s ebt from August 2000 was treated as legal is something that the SPL have failed to answer.
There are punishments and there are consequences and what is happening to Rangers is a consequence first of their behaviour and second the ongoing consequence of avoiding the football punishment that would have to have happened had the nature of the De Boer ebt not been hidden from those charged with the investigation.
How much less hurtful would 2002/03 feel now if you knew it was a title you had lost by unfair means?
I am not suggesting that the 2003 title be stripped or awarded to Celtic but the truth behind it has to be told so that pronouncements such as yours are made based on the facts.
You and Celtic and our support were cheated. If you can forgive that then so can I, but let’s not pretend what Rangers indulged in from 2000 is anything but the total corruption of Scottish football of which Celtic were but one of the many victims.
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2015 at 10:49 am
As I posted yesterday it might be the time for some of the mystery overseass shareholders who don’t hold onerous contracts to decide it’s time to say goodbye.
While there is a bloc of existing shareholders that can prevent fresh shares being issued to new investors then control can be retained
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2015 at 11:22 ammr Easdale’s share aquisition is a clear,unambigious statement to Mr King, that Mr Easdale is not walking away.
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Could it possibly be that some of easdale’s proxys have intimated that they were getting out, thus forcing a buy up of their shares to prevent the bloc falling below 25%, maybe even got a good price?
jimlarkin says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Phil’s analyst could well be right, putting rangers to one side, The Ashley Diet Plan, like most designer diets, is very bad for the patient, and very good for the quack doctor
Seems the gossip started by Sons of Struth over the gendarmes visiting Charles is just nonsense – apparently he is in London having a knee operation….no doubt he will be sprinting again in the near future……..
The Clumpany @TheClumpany 17m17 minutes ago
Charles Green Arrest Fairy Tale | Bill McMurdo’s Weblog https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/blog/
Does mr McDowall have to work his notice in his original job or as caretaker manager? Surely as caretaker manager it was only ever temporary ……… Till the board chose one of the queue of top class guys waiting to step into mr mccoist’s brown brogues 😕
Brenda says:
January 20, 2015 at 3:29 pm
When the constant gardner was previously the manager, was Mr. McDowall not employed as assistant manager? That being the case, if the manager goes, is not a basic aspect of the assistant manager’s remit to step in and manage?? Or has KM taken 2 steps back to focus on coaching?
The Exiled Celt says:
January 20, 2015 at 3:07 pm
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Seems the gossip started by Sons of Struth over the gendarmes visiting Charles is just nonsense – apparently he is in London having a knee operation….no doubt he will be sprinting again in the near future……..
The Clumpany @TheClumpany 17m17 minutes ago
Charles Green Arrest Fairy Tale | Bill McMurdo’s Weblog https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/blog/
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He is coming on Sky Sports news any minute for an interview with that neutral Jim White 🙄
Paulmac2 says:
January 20, 2015 at 1:36 pm
It would appear there is a major PR offensive on the go…
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More MSM revisionism from Andy Newport in today’s Telegraph;
“Dave King paid authorities in South Africa £44m last year to halt a tax investigation”
Is Mr Newport suggesting Mr King paid 44 million to the irregular unit in SA so that he would then pay a 44 million fine to avoid 82 years in jail? I am not a ‘scottish mathematician’ of the Malcolm Murray type but someone might put me square on that to coin a phrase
New blog from BRTH …