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.
Allyjambo says:
January 3, 2015 at 3:52 pm
andygraham.66 says:
January 3, 2015 at 3:45 pm
So possibly the majority of ST holders have turned up today!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Today’s game was always going to have a large attendance due to the date. History and tradition play a large part in the psyche of the older Rangers supporters plus the feel good factor of some perceived light at the end of the tunnel adds up to a good crowd even though some still chose to boycott.
On the subject of paying tribute it was a massive own goal by Somers and Llambias not to attend yesterday’s wreath laying ceremony. Both seem to be reading “How to make Enemies and P!ss people off”; author M.J.W. Ashley available from all good SportsDirects.
The CATNR1 with regards your pertinent point re onerous contracts and crowd levels, is it a possibility that those anonymous and in charge were happy to let a 30% share of trfc be taken up because;
1. Its of no value in terms of takeover or real influence
Except;
Where bears now beleieving in an imminent or likely future ownership of peepl minded belief structure could be in charge brings back the hoardes who are missing and stopping payments to said onerous contracts, and so the spivs get paid…..again.
And all be good in govan hood
@DP they will need to sell tv rights. They used the excuse of not being able to afford an egm when “the requisitioners” wanted one a year ago and I suspect money is even tighter now. They will probably not even be able to afford to pitch a tent on Ibrox this time round without sponsoship (memo don’t get Doncaster to arrange it)
By common consent January feels like the longest, most miserable month of the year.
However, this January may be a little different. We’ll see:
The developing power struggle at Sevco as the Blazers and Brogues have now entered stage right.
The SFA’s hearing on Mike Ashley’s involvement with Sevco.
The League Cup semi-finals at month-end and the first “Old Firm” fixture for 3 years.
As I said, enough to keep our minds off the dark nights and the cold … 🙂
Auldheid, I have PMd you on a wee question about Articles, if you’ve got a minute to spare. Thank you.
Hoopy 7 says:
January 3, 2015 at 5:10 pm
59 1
Do not be fooled. Nothing has been achieved by this apparent investment in TRIFC, if indeed that is what it can be called. ….
So why do some men who are outstanding in their field and who have made millions want to throw money down a black hole. At this moment in time I am of the opinion that it can only be that they , as the majority shareholders, can determine who appoints a liquidator, perhaps a liquidator who has a leaning towards Govan and who could be seen to operate with clean hands.
***********************
Not sure it’s as complicated as some may think. After the embarrassment of the recent AGM it’s very likely that several well-heeled bears (“Blazers and Brogues” for want of a better description) thought “enough is enough” and finally decided to take matters into their own hands. Realizing that this actually meant buying shares rather than expecting the club to be handed to them on a plate they acted. The developing power struggle will be worth the watching by us – and especially the players in the struggle as they could all take their eye off the prize and before they know it the club has imploded from within.
I’m not sure about the liquidation idea. Granted, it’s a clean way of unloading the onerous contracts but I have my doubts whether the bears would handle starting again in Division 3 as per 2012. First time round was probably a novelty but I have my doubts many would stomach it again.
scottc says:
January 2, 2015 at 8:30 pm
GoosyGoosy says:
January 2, 2015 at 7:49 pm
iMO
Next step. Call EGM to vote on res for MVL of RIFC
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If they were to push for an RIFC MVL though, would they not face a legal challenge from the minority shareholders demanding the repayment of the TRFC debt? Alternatively, do they take the properties and tie them up in RIFC then sell on TRFC to Real Rangers Men for a pittance?
,,,,,,,,,,
scottc
IMO
It’s a conspiracy worthy of an organisation where both CEOs (Reagan and Donkey) will be gone before 2015 2016 season commences
TRFC is to be stripped of its assets to offset debt owed to RIFC. It will have its playing licence withdrawn by the SFA and SPFL All that will remain will be its links to Ashley and the Onerous Spivs
,,,,,,,,,,,,
Next step. Call EGM to vote on res for MVL of RIFC
The logic is this
Ashley’s aim is to take ownership of the onerous contracts by a controlled liquidation of TRFC at a time of his choosing. That date would be after he had secured permanent control of TRFC by massive loans secured against all TRFC assets. This would leave the Institutions owning 31% of a debt ridden club with all its assets pledged to Ashley
So for the Institutions, the only way of realising any money back would be an immediate liquidation of RIFC before Ashley could get a loan offer secured on Ibrox and MP
That way TRFC would have to repay its debts to RIFC by transferring Ibrox and MP to RIFC. Ashley’s share of the liquidation would be limited to 10% plus repayment of his £3m loan. Players could be sold in Jan to reduce the amount due to Ashley
For the Institutions, confirmation that loans not equity was Ashley’s strategy was his refusal to buy their shares.
They couldn’t figure a way of orchestrating an immediate liquidation without increasing their holdings by buying even more shares.
Since
Before RIFC could be liquidated, the Institutions would need seats on the Board to outvote Ashley’s men They would also need the voting support of the 8-10% of ordinary Bears who invested in the IPO. The Institutions did not have the credibility to enlist the support of the fan shareholders.
BUT
The King /3Bear Group did
The Institutions will have told the King/3 Bear Group that in Jan Ashley was set to apply another large loan that would lock in control of TRFC
1 The King / 3 Bears needed to act before Ashley installed his loan.
So
IMO
The aim of the King/3Bear group is to go or an immediate liquidation of RIFC concurrent with a media blitz to convince the Bears that this is the only way to get rid of the Onerous Spivs
The recent statement by Doncaster is a contrived part of this upcoming media blitz. It was made deliberately to provide a recent reference point when the OC/NC issue surfaces during the media blitz. Throughout this campaign nothing will be said by the governing authorities or Celtic to upset the Bears as they are propelled towards another Newco. So Doncaster`s statement will be allowed by default to become the policy of the governing authorities
The RIFC liquidation will trigger repayment of TRFC debts due to RIFC. This will comprise all the unsecured fixed assets (Ibrox &MP) and the playing assets. The SFA will withdraw the TRFC licence without explanation All TRFC will own will be debts to Creditors including Ashley and the onerous contracts
RIFC will apply for an SFA licence to play at Ibrox. This will be granted with the entry point being the Championship in season 2015 2016
In due course TRFC will be liquidated and RIFC will change its name to TRFC
There is a mechanism for transfer of share to allow an owner and operator to restructure (ie. sell). That doesn’t require re-entry to the leagues. If they’re jumping, it’s in that direction. But, unlike Goosey I’m not convinced that’s the end game here. I think they’re trying to buy them all out from within. Big budget required for that mind. Doesn’t leave much for war chests.
upthehoops says:
January 3, 2015 at 3:27 pm
‘..Walter and Ally will be back, King will spend big, and Celtic must be really worried. ‘
———–
I think the worry that ALL the other properly run and controlled clubs might have was that somehow the more dishonest members of the boards of our football authorities might have been able to push through the acceptance of Ashley control of two clubs. That worry has perhaps been reduced by the curiously coincidental wandering into the woods by the 3Bs and King.
Replaced perhaps by fear of tax-dodging recidivism on the part of an already convicted…..
And a propos of nothing much, is there a football club anywhere in the UK which has ( or may have)2 directors on board who have been ….?
Goosygoosy,
“The Institutions will have told the King/3 Bear Group that in Jan Ashley was set to apply another large loan that would lock in control of TRFC
1 The King / 3 Bears needed to act before Ashley installed his loan.”
————————-
This can’t be right as….
Phil MacGiollaBhain
@Pmacgiollabhain
I would not be surprised if the buyer of these RIFC shares was…ahem…close to the thinking of Big Mike.
31/12/14.
Way,way OT. But, whatever happened to the Leggoland blog, I miss his incisiveness and rapier wit, not to mention his inside track on all things Rangers (of whatever hue). As I
reside outside these ” Fair Isles ” I am afraid I may have missed out something about his non blogging.
GoosyGoosy says:
January 3, 2015 at 8:52 pm
Goosy, I was with you right up to this point, at the end of your post-
The problem is that once RIFC has been liquidated, it won’t be available to apply for, or receive, a licence or membership of any sort.
A Newco would be required to do that, and the problem for the 4 bears is that if the Newco is to trade as “Rangers”, then they won’t be able to have anything to do with it. And I assume that they have spent £5m with a view to actually running “Rangers”. Or am I missing something?
“
neepheid says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Not too sure, but I think it’s only directors of a liquidated company that are banned from holding a position on the board of a restarted company, as is the case with King. He was a director of RFC and so should be banned from holding a board position with RIFC/TRFC (but who knows with what this lot get away with?). If none of the 3 bears actually become directors of RIFC/TRFC, I doubt they’d be banned in the event of liquidation. I may be wrong, though 😐
grecian urn says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:30 pm
The ink stained, disgrace to the profession of journalism, got himself into a spot of bother, which resulted in him (and others), being warned off by Sue, Grabbit & Run. He hasn’t blogged since
scapaflow says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:57 pm
‘..The ink stained, disgrace to the profession of journalism.’
——————–
One of many such in the SMSM , you might have added. Not at all referring to people who steal other people’s stories. 🙂
One of the benefits of the last few years is that it has made fans more aware of other clubs and that size confers absolutely no entitlement to anything. Whether it be success, wisdom , voting power or influence.
I have found myself much more appreciative of the challenges faced by other clubs. I can’t bring myself to have much sympathy for Rangers , although I feel for decent bluenoses who only want a club they are proud of .
Special mention has to go to the fans of Hearts , Aberdeen , Dundee Utd and Dunfermline. They killed the notion of Armsgeddon stone dead. Hibs also are showing that life exists outside the “bubble”
Equally Accies , ICT and others have been refreshingly innovative .
Now all we need is for Sky to stop treating us as an irrelevance and we can really progress . Well that and regime change at the SFA & SPFL !
I think this is the time of year he comes off the prostate meds and goes off to Phuket 🙂
He was actually there at the the time of the tsunami. I was at Tynecastle that day covering a Hearts-Celtic match.
Andy Walker was relieved to be told just before kick-off that his brother in law (who was working there) was safe. Another (as it happens RFC supporting) member of the press (not GS – there are a couple of others!) informed us that Leggo was there too. His words were along the lines of, “Think of all the good folk who have lost their lives – and he’ll probably come back unscathed” 🙂
I paraphrase to make the story fit for family consumption.
A wise man said that administration called for a doctor liquidation an undertaker. In the parallel universe where that does not apply perhaps there should be not only penalties for administration but also for liquidation, the latter perhaps more severe. In reality there can be no penalty for liquidation because of the need for the undertaker.
Completely OT, of course. But it’s that time of the year, I suppose. As I write I’m listening to an interview with the great-grandson of Charles Dickens.And I’m hearing that Dickens visited a certain place where MY grandfather was a 17 year old lad.( My grandfather was born in 1851, but married in his forties, and died in 1937). And I love that kind of ‘nearness’ of history, when your mammy’s daddy as a boy might have met an older fellow who had fought at Waterloo.. and so on.
Sorry, carry on!
Barcabhoy
That game today certainly wasn’t an irrelevance. Apart from being full of good football, it was played at pace, with passion, and just he right amount of edge for a derby.
The chock-full stands gave it an unbelievable atmosphere (well it was Tynecastle i suppose)and a huge anmount of gravitas – and it was every inch the “event” or “spectacle” we want our sporting occasions to be.
I really didn’t have a gog in the fight, but it was compulsive viewing. If this goes on then Armageddon will take on it’s ironic meaning for good.
For good measure, I loved the banter on Twitter from Jambos Kickback. They announced that the Deby Draw video would be on sale at Easter Road on Monday morning 🙂
Allyjambo says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:44 pm
3 0 Rate This
neepheid says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Not too sure, but I think it’s only directors of a liquidated company that are banned from holding a position on the board of a restarted company, as is the case with King. He was a director of RFC and so should be banned from holding a board position with RIFC/TRFC (but who knows with what this lot get away with?). If none of the 3 bears actually become directors of RIFC/TRFC, I doubt they’d be banned in the event of liquidation. I may be wrong, though 😐
=====================
The problem as I see it would be the use of the name “Rangers” by any Newco which wished to continue the business after liquidation, especially a Newco which was connected with the Oldco, which it would be if there were common shareholders. However my knowledge on such matters is fairly out of date by now, so I’m happy to be corrected.
Barcabhoy says:
January 3, 2015 at 10:09 pm
‘Now all we need is for Sky to stop treating us as an irrelevance.’
——————-
Well, I would suggest we begin to treat Sky as an irrelevance, as a broadcasting company of, essentially, as culturally foreign as any European or American broadcasting company.
Am I, are any of us, really all that hellish more interested in English football than we are in Turkish or Italian or Norwegian football?
We will watch football, for the sake of football, certainly. But we don’t need the ‘Anglocentric ‘ crap of Sky ( or, indeed, of the BBC).
In my opinion, we don’t need ‘validation’ of our game by any English broadcaster, unlike Irish football people, who seem to NEED to be supporters of english football!
neepheid says:
January 3, 2015 at 10:58 pm
‘..by any Newco which wished to continue the business after liquidation,..’
———-
Careful, neepheid. There could be no question of ‘continuing the business’ after liquidation! 🙂
Big Pink says:
January 3, 2015 at 10:28 pm
5 0 Rate This
Barcabhoy
That game today certainly wasn’t an irrelevance.
—————
The game wasn’t , however what Sky pay to broadcast these games treats Scotland as an irrelevance
Thierry Henry £4 million a year as a Sky pundit compared to £2 million a year for SPL Champions for TV and ALL other commercial income
Nothing highlights better the 2nd class nature of Scottish football in Sky’s eyes
neepheid says:
January 3, 2015 at 9:36
The problem is that once RIFC has been liquidated, it won’t be available to apply for, or receive, a licence or membership of any sort.
A Newco would be required to do that, and the problem for the 4 bears is that if the Newco is to trade as “Rangers”, then they won’t be able to have anything to do with it. And I assume that they have spent £5m with a view to actually running “Rangers”. Or am I missing something?
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Sorry neepheid
Should have elaborated on how the process could work
Explanation
It’s all in the timing
RIFC apply for MVL but are not actually liquidated for a few weeks
The SFA spring into action in the interests of Scottish football. They remove the licence from TRFC who have been deprived of players and a stadium or permission to play at Ibrox by its Owner RIFC
RIFC get the licence from the SFA on condition that it guarantees that any Newco buying the assets transferred from TRFC to RIFC will form a football club playing out of Ibrox and not for example building a supermarket
The licence then enhances the value of the assets before they are sold by the RIFC liquidator to the Newco consortium
And
Temporarily for the short period between announcing liquidation and formation of a Newco the licence is held by a Company in Liquidation
Just as it was held by RFC when it was a co in liquidation
I should not have called the Newco “RIFC” as this has confused what I meant
Asfaras the Directors being banned this could be oevrcome by using proxies for the brief period of the switcheroo
Barcabhoy says
Jan 3 2015. @ 11.03pm
I believe you are spot on. Sky`s treatment of Scottish Football over the years has been intolerable.
Scottish subscribers to Sky pay the same as their English and Welsh counterparts and deserve better.
They should remember that their name is BSKYB and think, “what does the first B stand for.
barca
fair point, but, as always, there were more than just Doncaster fingerprints on the TV deal
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/another-brick-in-the-wall/
Not anymore its not oddjob
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/11227115/Sky-drops-British-and-Broadcasting-as-it-completes-7bn-double-European-takeover.html
oddjob says:
January 3, 2015 at 11:17 pm
‘.. “what does the first B stand for.’
———-
To be entirely honest, I don’t know. But it mightpossibly ,in that irritatingly supremacist way that some folk have, stand for British=English?
Theoldcourse says
January 13 2014. @ 11.30 pm
Thanks for that. I must have been having an afternoon nap when they announced that.
However,even with a change of name, I have noticed no change of attitude to Scottish football, and I believe the monthly subscriptions are still the same.
ighlander says:
January 3, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Rate This
=======================================
Only three days into 2015 and an outstanding contender for post of the year.
The record number of TU says it all.
Chapeau.
Danish Pastry says:
January 3, 2015 at 1:34 pm
“Hasn’t the demise of the ‘Old Firm’ been the best thing to happen in generations?”
———————————–
I suppose from a theoretical economic perspective events are in some ways logical. The football market was saturated until supply matched demand at which point interest in the product tailed off. Subsequently there was a market correction that allowed the system to be brought back into balance.
I suppose the Auld Firm was the iconic remnant of the Ancien Regime that could not easily be relinquished since it embodied so much glorious history. It also allowed Scottish Football to continue to occupy a seat at the top table of European football since it was a saleable brand that was capable of providing strongish clubs for European competition. Its eventual demise may not have been foreseen but might in some ways have been inevitable.
I’ve turned on my radio on a few occasions over the last few days for the first time since the independence referendum. I hung about indoors today to listen to the Hearts-Hibs game even though a long walk was more appropriate to such a fine day. The open all mic’s format later in the afternoon provided me with some glimpses of the other second tier ties. In the past I would not have been interested in this level of competition but the travails of Rangers, Hearts and Hibs has brought some focus on the lower divisions.
I think Scottish football became so fixated by the Auld Firm and Europe that it forgot that there was anything else extant in the game. This is a natural mindset that is best illustrated when you hear the likes of Radio 5’s Alan Green pontificating upon the supremacy of English Premier League clubs. It is as if nothing else matters. I suppose we all like to associate ourselves with stuff that is considered significant but in truth this is a false reality.
The demise of the Auld Firm was the most astute business manoeuvre that anybody has never thought of; except for the Auld Firm of course. Even they will benefit in due course.
For ‘Armageddon’ read ‘market correction’. It was always going to happen at some point.
My post of 10.58 pm refers.
Let me say that in 1975 I travelled to Dublin to take up a job in that beautiful city.
I drove to Stranraer,got the ferry to Larne, and arrived in Dublin at about half four on a Saturday afternoon. I checked in at my hotel, and , being a wee bit like Dave King, did not have a refreshment at hotel prices, but wandered out to a nearby hostelry to catch the football results of the Scottish games ( in them days, I did not have a car radio, poor that I was). What was the scene in the pub? English feckin newspapers-Sun, Mirror, Exfeckinpress. What was on the telly? Nothing but English football! I could have been in feckin Manchester or Liverpool.
An experience like that leaves its mark, believe me. That was then. I’ve no idea what the present day situation is.
John Clark says:
January 3, 2015 at 10:58 pm
—————
I am an Irishman who has absolutely never had any NEED to support an English team and there are thousands like me. []
Domestic “soccer” is a poor third in Ireland behind the two GAA sports in popularity, perhaps even fourth behind rugby in attendance terms. That being the case, Irish television covered Gaelic football and hurling from its inception and there was little or no coverage of domestic soccer because of lack of resources. This led to Irish fans getting their fill from English TV, which was superior and more glamorous than the Irish game, and so the cult of the Irish fan of English football was born. But as I said, there are still many thousands of us who have resisted this facet of cultural imperialism.
[] The same phenomenon is growing in Scotland, or hadn’t you noticed?
Smugas says:
January 3, 2015 at 8:53 pm
“There is a mechanism for transfer of share to allow an owner and operator to restructure (ie. sell). That doesn’t require re-entry to the leagues.”
—————————–
I’m out of my depth in business matters but there is something about a ‘solvent reconstruction’ that is tapping away at the back of my brain. HirsutePursuit posted up a series of rule changes many months ago and highlighted significant entries. Given the passage of time I cannot be sure but I think the solvent reconstruction avenue was introduced as part of this change process. How this all knits together I’m not at all sure.
Again GG’s decoupling of TRFC/RIFC and accompanying juggling of assets has some vaguely recognisable shape to it that I do not fully understand but which his speculation seems to silhouette with each stroke.
John Clark
@ 11.39pm
British = English
________
I know exactly what you mean. The amount of times I had to correct the ignorant way friends and colleagues spoke of England winning another medal, and I include my dear wife as possibly the main culprite, during the Olympics drove me to distraction. Chris Hoy, in particular must be very proud of the medals he won for England. The amazing thing, for me at least, was how difficult it was to get across just how wrong they were. A great many people, including some reasonably intelligent people, have no idea about the make up of Great Britain. I honestly had to explain to some people during the referendum that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were actually separate countries and formed the United Kingdom (or Great Britain). Even those who understood the diference between British and English found it amusing, in a quite condescending way, that it actually mattered to me, and every Scotsman, Irishman or Welshman.
Torquemada says:
January 4, 2015 at 12:19 am
——-
No question of me feeling superior,torquemada.
Without getting too political, we have our cultural cringe, our colonial mindset here as well: Scotsmen who would rather be English and have for generations aped English customs and manners and fawned on English ‘royalty’ and generally have kissed the London arse.
My point basically was that there is ,in Dublin at least, a class of person similar to those in Scotland who voted ‘no’ in the referendum, preferring to be England-orientated and who look to England as their spiritual home.That is their choice. It is not mine.The choice of Dublin ‘garrison’ folk is their choice. It would not be mine.
As I see things.
AJ/JC
Unhappily for Celtic in 1967 in the wake of Alf Ramsey’s 1966 “Animals” jibe, the misapprehension in Argentina that Glasgow was in England (or at least that there was no difference that mattered between England and Scotland) caused the ill-feeling that led to three of the most violent games of football I have ever witnessed (although unlike BroganRoganTrevino&Hogan I only saw the last two on TV).
Some of the Racing Club players actually expressed regret at what happened to Celtic since the passge of time had educated them somewhat in the cultural differences between UK nations. The misapprehension though does still prevail – here and elswewhere. The general term “Russian” is still applied lazily to many of the former Soviet republics.
I heard more than one footballer and several press guys refer to Shaktar Donetsk as a “Russian” team when I travelled there to cover a Champions’ League match in 2004/5.
Big Brother syndrome I expect, but it does all the little brothers no favours at all.
@johnclark: no wonder you cringe if you think that 55% of voters in Scotland want to have England as their spiritual home. I think you may have misunderstood what the referendum was actually about.
Ironically as an ex-pat Scot living in England no-one.is more proud if Scotland or more vociferous in its defence than me. I have now got my defence of my “anyone but England” supporting stance honed down to “50 weeks a year you tell me my team’s sh1t, my national team’s sh1t and that we don’t belong on the same pitch as your Sky money-doped clubs and 50 year under-performing National side and whilst you may decide to back plucky little Scotland in neutral situations, to ask me to do so smacks of neediness”.
And speaking of slapping down arrogant English folk (which is not all), try this re ref: “you literally begged us to stay in the UK, you were too scared to go it alone. You offered us everything to stay… Its England that NEEDS Scotland ”
I dont believe that neccessarily, but it dies put the shoe on the other foot…
John Clark says:
January 3, 2015 at 8:59 pm
====================================
Following on from my original post regarding Radio Clyde and Dave King I decided to break with habit and actually listen to some of their phone in last night to get a taste of what they were saying. Hugh Keevins simply made a complete fool of himself by constantly painting a scenario of Rangers spending big and what will Celtic do to respond. It was simply a case of finding a way to get the boot into Celtic for any reason. Keevins also decried Celtic for having no ambition which was just pathetic in my view. Celtic have to live within their means like every other Scottish club bar one. Thankfully the other two pundits, Fraser Wishart and Ian McCall, were far more realistic in terms of just how much is needed simply to keep the lights on at Ibrox, never mind the £40m it would take for Keevin’s prediction to come true. Wishart also pointed out that even if such money was made available, all it would do would be to help create an unsustainable business once again.
jockybhoy says:
January 4, 2015 at 5:57 am
‘.. I think you may have misunderstood what the referendum was actually about.’
———
I appreciate your point, and own up to having spoken in a too exaggeratedly and scatter-gun manner in trying to make mine. ( I was rather more reflecting on past generations of the landed classes and , of course, their English public school descendants, who still have rather too much influence on our daily lives).
upthehoops says:
January 4, 2015 at 8:32 am
Following on from my original post regarding Radio Clyde and Dave King I decided to break with habit and actually listen to some of their phone in
———————————
The way to listen to them, or to Adrian Durham on Talksport and the like, is to think of them as providing the same level of sporting insight as, say, Cartoon Network. Debate is on the level of a cat and a mouse bludgeoning each other with frying pans, humour generally at kids’ level but with an occasional subtext for the adults tuning in, something to pass the time when you don’t want to have to think too hard.
Having said that, Cartoon Network may actually offer more insight at times on the Rangers situation – Pinky and The Brain as Ashley and King (one of them’s a genius, the other’s insane – ‘tomorrow we take over the world!’), Courage the Cowardly Dog etc – although I accept that I might be reading more into those than the makers intended
Q & A from BBC website. Surprisingly no mention that a recent share purchase has been made by a convicted tax evader, and whether that is an issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30667547
Castofthousands says:
January 4, 2015 at 12:29 am
I’m out of my depth in business matters but there is something about a ‘solvent reconstruction’ that is tapping away at the back of my brain.
============================================================
Solvent or corporate reconstruction encompasses a wide range of different processes and options but the one I think that would attract Rangers most would be a Company Voluntary Arrangement/Administration aka a CVA.
There is a short guide to the process which gives a fairly clear explanation at: http://www.ashurst.com/doc.aspx?id_Resource=6328
A big advantage of going down this route for a distressed company is the business continues to trade under the control of its directors as opposed to under the control of a court appointed administrator/liquidator.
On one site it states: ‘A CVA can rapidly cut costs allowing you to terminate employment contracts, leases, onerous supply contracts with no cash cost’.
This is intersting for me as the received wisdom to date appears to be that only liquidation can terminate the onerous contracts at Ibrox. I’m no insolvency experts and obviously have no knowledge of the terms of the onerous contracts so I don’t know how factual the statement is.
upthehoops says:
January 4, 2015 at 9:35 am
Q & A from BBC website. Surprisingly no mention that a recent share purchase has been made by a convicted tax evader, and whether that is an issue.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30667547
========================================================
I think you should re-read/refresh the article as it does deal with the King purchase in various places. Perhaps you’re reading an old cached version of the story which was updated yesterday to include the King material.
A bit of a left field suggestion and possibly covered before.
We all believe Charles de Normandie has RFC IP/Image rights sewn up to such an extent that bookies (and others) have to “photoshop” pretty much everything but the blue shirt out of promotional material. Is it possible that he had this tied up so completely at the time of the 5 way agreement that he managed to get a clause included meaning that no new agreement could be made which would see his image rights accompanied by other logo’s unless/until TRFC were playing in the top division?
The IrnBru SFL sponsorship of the SFL to 12/13 was a done deal already tbeing the last season of a 2nd three season sponsorship. Did they have an option on a further 3 year deal and were making noises about taking it up? That could be one reason behind the rather hurried restructure which saw the demise of the SFL.
It could also explain Doncaster’s apparent incompetence in not being able to tie up a deal and the recent noises about one being in the offing.
With Hearts looking like there would have to be a major implosion not to secure the automatic play-off spot it wouldn’t bode well for Hibs, QoS and Ross or St Mirren (the other most likely play-off contenders) as a large number of honest mistakes may be needed in order to ensure a commercial boost for Scottish football by means of TRFC winning promotion.
Yes I am suggesting the 5-way-agreement would be a sabotage but we know its been that anyway. Yes it would at least have required the collusion of at least Regan and Doncaster but, though a massive fail, they have been pretty much hellbent on ensuring the armageddon they predicted came true and that would have helped. And yes I’m suggesting that commercial considerations would outweigh sporting integrity but then its already been obvious that the SFA/SP(F)L and the teams playing out of Ibrox have been applying that mantra for at least the last 3 years
UTH @ 9.35
Sorry if it doesn’t suit but it wasn’t.
Upthehoops
@ 9.35am
Standard PR puff piece that reads like something the 3 bears handed to the BBC. This Q&A style of article seems to be popular these days and I suspect it’s a method the poorer quality scribe finds easier to produce. It is, of course, false, as no one is asking anyone any questions and no one provides any answers; it does, though, create the impression of an authoritive piece.
Instead of this relentless PR campaign on behalf of the 3 bears the media outlets would be better employed trying to ask Ashley or his representatives what their own plans are to deal with this threat to their position at Ibrox. I doubt they’d have any success chasing an Ashley interview but Llambias and the Easdales might well supply some insight more worthwhile than imaginary Q&A sessions.
ecobhoy says:
January 4, 2015 at 10:09 am
==============================
My point relates to there being no discussion over whether King would be allowed by the SFA to hold power. However, the particular writer is probably keen to avoid any discussion on that at all.
Richard Foster not fnding life easy. Is this usual for players of struggling clubs? I’ve heard about this kind of thing in Italy, but Scotland?
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/richard-foster-abused-for-taking-son-to-carnival-1-3650304
Highlander says:
January 3, 2015 at 12:09 pm
404 1 Rate This
Highlander outstanding this should be sent to every club.
upthehoops says:
January 4, 2015 at 10:24 am
ecobhoy says:
January 4, 2015 at 10:09 am
==============================
My point relates to there being no discussion over whether King would be allowed by the SFA to hold power. However, the particular writer is probably keen to avoid any discussion on that at all.
=======================================================
I actually think you have misunderstood the purpose of the article which was to assess the possible switches in power from the recent share purchases/sales.
It is a well-written factual piece and whatever anyone’s view of whether Wilson is a bluenose or not he has consistently produced solid information-rich material to a much higher standard than any other SMSM journo IMO.
It’s the kind of stuff that provides one of the few rays of hope in our almost totally discredited Scottish media. It isn’t a piece full of hot-air speculation but one well worth a read as it’s factual and he makes balanced conclusions drawn from the facts he presents.
As I said earlier he didn’t address the SFA position wrt King’s shareholding because the SFA can’t legally take any position as he doesn’t, unlike Ashley, have an interest or any control in another football club. He is simply a shareholder and unless he personally holds 51% or more of the shareholding then the SFA can do nothing and if they did they would be slapped-down by a real court irrespective of what one of their mickey-mouse tribunals decided. Not only would any such move by the SFA be contrary to UK & Scots Law but European as well.
That’s why Wilson didn’t raise the matter – simply because it isn’t an issue in the article he wrote. Personally I doubt if it ever will become an issue.
Obviously if King wishes to join the Rangers Board at some point the issue of his SA tax conviction will come-up and his former Rangers’ directorship. Personally I think he will bide his time on that move as he has bigger and more important fish to fry.
Till then the SFA can and will say nothing about his shareholding unless it goes above 51% – I believe King will be well aware of that and I would be amazed if he hasn’t already cleared the ground with the SFA.
PS: Of course technically King isn’t even a shareholder which is New Oasis 🙂
@ecobhoy
This is an interesting and informative piece.
http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/index.php/scotland-home/10262-termination-and-disclaimer-of-contracts-under-scots-insolvency-law
Back in the day I posted here (or was it RTC?) that Lord Hodge had effectively scuppered any chance of a CVA because D&P had no power to rip up the Ticketus contract.
Big Mike is in an even stronger position than Ticketus in that he effectively controls Rangers Retail – the company that TRFC have contracted with.
Others parties can claim damages for non performance; but their contracts too will continue and TRFC will only be protected from the full effects of those contracts as long as the administration period lasts.
IMO, if due to onerous contracts, TRFC is operating an unsustainable business, they only way the business can continue is by a sale of business and assets (sans l’histoire as they might say in Normandy) via a liquidation of the company.
And the relentless PR campaign continues . . .
Aidan Smith in Scotland on Sunday today believes that Rangers must survive so that other teams’ supporters can swap war stories of having survived Ibrox. And Scottish football is wouldn’t be edgy enough without TRFC or whatever else they become.
An interesting and original angle, if nothing else.
From @lawtop20
As argued before the ‘same club’ argument becomes irrelevant if the registration process and subsequent membership are both invalid.
Allyjambo says:
January 4, 2015 at 10:16 am
Instead of this relentless PR campaign on behalf of the 3 bears the media outlets would be better employed trying to ask Ashley or his representatives what their own plans are to deal with this threat to their position at Ibrox. I doubt they’d have any success chasing an Ashley interview but Llambias and the Easdales might well supply some insight more worthwhile than imaginary Q&A sessions.
==================================================================
Q&A sessions have been about as long as I can remember and are a useful tool for gathering info in the one place. They’re not as ‘imaginary’ as you seem to believe as often the questions actually emanate from readers contacting the media organisation or the journo direct.
The new social media inerreaction also provides much more access and interfacing between readers and journos.
It seems as though the problem here seems to be Richard Wilson rather than the content of his article and that really is a shame. I’m the first to decry any journo producing mince especially if it’s agenda mince.
I actually have respect for Wilson and his writing – I have attacked him previously over a few articles and no doubt will do so again. But generally I know I can trust the facts that he presents and I also know that when an error is pointed-out to him he corrects it asap.
As to the relentless campaign on behalf of the 3 Bears well as a Celtic supporter I have lived with that for almsot 60 years so I have a fairly good understanding of it.
The one really positive thing about that media campaign is it has produced and nurtured a huge percentage of the Rangers’ support that is incapable of rational and deductive thinking and which has fractured asunder when the pressure was applied.
I actually have no doubt that Wilson and others have made repeated requests for a face to face with Ashley and I really doubt if that will happen.
Llambias will say nothing whatsoever of media value as Uncle Mike might not be happy with that and, in any case, at a time like this Llambias is severly constrained by AIM as to what he can say.
As to the Easdales – well does anyone actually care what they think or have to say. They are fast becoming a total irrelevance and their usefulness is coming to an end.
So if we don’t have actual face-to-face Q&As then I’m afraid we are stuck with the ‘imaginary’ ones and I’m glad that at least some reporters are putting hard work into producing them and not just spouting the Tom English style of hot air blarney.
I really think you have to draw a distinction between pundits and journos and also accept that from a news interest point of view it’s hardly surprising that Rangers and Ibrox is at the centre of coverage.
I know the limitations faced by even honest hard-working journos and I don’t expect them to achieve the impossible no matter how frustrating my thirst for knowledge might be.
I note that no club has gainsaid or in any way challenged Doncaster’s lies on the immortal club that is Rangers. It can thus be assumed that he spoke for all SPFL clubs and that Scottish Football now resides in its own Wonderland divorced from objective reality.
I wonder if it is the knowledge that Football Clubs have now departed the world of the real which has led to the deals at many clubs to remove bank and other debt. The lesson learned from the financial world is that Football Clubs are not real companies and that any lending to them, which was always fairly high risk, has now become an impossible risk, as they can at any point vanish with debts unpaid only to reappear as the same entity sans said debts.
ecobhoy
@ 11.22 am
I am well aware that the ‘questions’ are the ones that the bears will want asked and that the Q&A method of producing an article has been around as long as people have asked questions and answers have been provided. This is fine in a situation where the target readership is well educated in the subject matter, such as articles dealing with investment and takeovers appearing in the Times can expect an audience, in the main at least, well versed in such matters and can recognise whether or not the writer is expressing his own opinion or that of people who actually know the answers to the questions.
More to the point, the ‘questions’ presented are of the type that one half of the power struggle would want asked, as the answers all paint them in a light they would want to be painted in – as is the objective of PR. What’s more, the answers all provide comfort to the bears, something the MSM has continually done, much to the disadvantage of the bears as it has turned out.
It is not the role of the BBC to provide a PR platform for anyone, but to provide information, good or bad, and they can do this as they are not reliant on sales figures or advertising revenue.
As I stated in my earlier post, one of the problems with this Q&A style of writing is it gives the article an authorititive air that it doesn’t hold nor deserve which could easily mislead anyone unaware of the authors limitations and/or bias. As ever he has ignored the flip side by not including any ‘questions’ that might provide bad news for his targeted readership. Questions such as, ‘what might Mike Ashley do next?’ or, the most informative question and answer he could give many TRFC supporters, who seem to be labouring under a false impression of the answer, is, ‘did TRFC receive any of the money the 3 bears paid for their shares and, do they still have this £6.5m to invest?’
Now, I know he cannot give an accurate answer to the first question anymore than to those he did ask, though he can to the first part of the second, but it is not one the 3 bears would wish highlighted while probably preferring the last bit to remain unasked for as long as possible. He even included reference to the £6.5m figure without pointing out that, as far as he is aware, the full amount might not now be available.
By missing out questions that would provide insight into the downside of any power battle he has done no more than create a PR piece for the 3 bears and Dave King, and has done it in a style that lends authorative weight to what, if it has not been handed to him by the 3 bears, is merely his own meanderings.
HirsutePursuit says:
January 4, 2015 at 10:59 am
@ecobhoy
This is an interesting and informative piece.
http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/index.php/scotland-home/10262-termination-and-disclaimer-of-contracts-under-scots-insolvency-law
===============================================================
@HP – indeed a trip down memory lane but no less interesting for that. Don’t know if you’ve read: http://loveandgarbage.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/rangers-and-ticketus/ which is useful.
The huge difference of course which strengthens Ashley’s position as opposed to that of Ticketus is that Rangers Retail Ltd is a joint venture company registered in England which – if the Rangers AIM Prospectus is to be believed – has a termination clause detailing what happens following a termination and insolvency is specifically listed.
Without seeing the actual contract it leaves us relying on the prospectus which basically states that Ashley through one of his companies can buy out the 51% Rangers shareholding in RR for IIRC 50 or 51% of the previous year’s profit.
It also appears to ensure that the worldwide licence right to use Rangers’ Brands also continues. However I can’t help but wonder if that aspect takes us back to a possible ‘Ticketus’ scenario in terms of the brand ownership. We assume it is owned by the Scottish-registered TRFCL but obviously there has been much recent discussion as to whether that’s the case or not. The ownership might well be outwith Scottish legal jurisdiction – in this saga anything is possible.
I have never been persuaded by the various excuses provided as to the need to change the English-registered Sevco 5088 to the Scottish-registered Sevco Scotland but IMO it’s obvious if Sevco 5088 had remained the purchasing vehicle of the Rangers assets then s178 of the 1986 Insolvency Act:
I hope no-one was looking into their crystal ball back in May/June 2012 and concluding the best way to protect onerous contracts would be to remove them from English legal jurisdiction and switch them to that of Scotland.
I am sure that would never be the case because obviously those charged with the stewardship of any company would want to ensure if they ended-up with an onerous contract that it could be terminated as easily as possible.
It may be that what Lord Hodge stated at the time could well prove relevant in the near future:
One of the weaknesses in the article you link to is that it concentrates on administration and liquidation and indeed LH IIRC accepted that most ‘admininistrations’ end-up in liquidation. However it doesn’t really deal with a CVA. Perhaps LH should be limbering-up for that one coming before the CoS shortly 😆
IMO
In the run up to Liquidation of RIFC
The media campaign supporting true blues will gather steam. Expect a parallel negative campaign lumping together Ashley and the Onerous Contract Spivs. Dastardly men with no interest other than getting a return on their investment. People who think throwing money down the Ibrox drain isn`t worth the trophies and titles it guarantees. An MSM consensus will develop that the only way to get rid of these baddies is an RIFC liquidation event
Putting an end to RIFC will be portrayed as a “Good” thing to do. Something the whole of Scottish football has been longing for. Something that will bring some sanity into uncompetitive league where silly wee diddy teams disgrace the whole country by getting into the top 4
………………
And if you`re tempted to think this is fanciful………well you aren’t the target audience
All the evidence suggests the overwhelming majority of Bears haven`t a clue about company law and believe any misguided guff they learn from the MSM. Providing of course it sounds like the kind of thing they want to hear. Having swallowed 3yrs of this nonsense The Bears won`t take a lot of convincing that liquidation of RIFC can remove Ashley and the Onerous Spivs leaving TRFC nice and clean for a new beginning under real Rangers men
By the time they understand that TRFC is now a shell co which will also be liquidated , another Newco will have been formed out of the ashes of RIFC.It will have the sole aim of “continuing the history” of RFC and TRFC ( for sure the history of Sevco Scotland won`t be mentioned)
The gullible will be told that Ibrox, MP and the players contracts can be bought from the RIFC Liquidator The SFA will state that the license goes to whoever owns Ibrox. For good measure the media will repeatedly quote Donkeys nonsense about OC/NC being an immortal template for dealing with football insolvencies.
And if that sounds like confused logic to a befuddled Bear.
The Bears will be encouraged to think they are simply getting a new “holding co” for the “eternal “club with True Blues at the helm
….he has consistently produced solid information-rich material to a much higher standard than any other SMSM journo IMO.
I’m sorry ecobhoy but you have clearly been at the ginger beer.
RW, since back in the RTC days, has been a consistent and persistent advocate of Trfc’s return to the top flight both in print and live on various Newsnight Scotland interviews.
Please watch this from 14mins on…
http://youtu.be/zI9zb_9jXO0
P.S. I normally read your posts and agree with much of what you opine.
All the best for 2015.
iceman63 says:
January 4, 2015 at 12:09 pm
I note that no club has gainsaid or in any way challenged Doncaster’s lies on the immortal club that is Rangers. It can thus be assumed that he spoke for all SPFL clubs and that Scottish Football now resides in its own Wonderland divorced from objective reality.
I wonder if it is the knowledge that Football Clubs have now departed the world of the real which has led to the deals at many clubs to remove bank and other debt. The lesson learned from the financial world is that Football Clubs are not real companies and that any lending to them, which was always fairly high risk, has now become an impossible risk, as they can at any point vanish with debts unpaid only to reappear as the same entity sans said debts.
========================================================
I think we have to be fair – clubs will need time to digest what was said and probably have to deal with it at individual Board meetings. And it is the festive season after all.
However I have absolutely no doubt that the issue will be the subject of intense debate and that there will be plenty of cross-club discussions taking place.
I haven’t even penned a missive to my own club yet and will do so next week as I am still deciding exactly the points I wish to raise and how best to formulate them.
As to football clubs disappearing and reappearing – that happens all the time in the ‘real’ world through thinly disguised phoenix companies and it’s invariably perfectly legal although without morality as small employers and employees usually bear the brunt while the fat casts grow fatter.
And lenders who know what they are doing only lend when they have their dosh secured on specific assets and lenders to football clubs are no different in this regard than lenders to any other companies.
In any case I won’t be losing any sleep over moneylenders and I’m sure they won’t either as they seldom lose one thin dime.
I really think we have to retain some perspective on this issue and concentrate on the only issue that really matters which is: Sporting Integrity and not get lost in side issues.
Allyjambo says:
January 4, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Just listened into SSB and heard Keevins going on about £30m as referred to by Upthehoops.
The problem is as you suggest, not that questions are being asked or explanation of circumstances are put forwards but that certain questions and explanations are not being provided to give any hard of thinking bears a dose of reality and a balanced viewpoint.
It is a simple job for the likes of Paxman or Wark on programmes like Newsnight to allow two politicians have their say and then interrogate each on them by switching between view points in an attempt to get the bigger picture.
There has been no balance or detailed explanation whatsoever in relation to the down sides of what may still lie ahead.
While I appreciate paid journos have a job to protect and may not wish to take the flights of fancy some of us bampots are inclined to, there is certainly a gap to be filled in relation to covering the bigger picture more effectively.
Lets just hope Richard Wilson does a follow on Q&A to explain the levels of cash required and if this is at all possible, if the four bears are aiming for a ‘quick fix’!!!
With regards the beebs Q&A session, I can see a few ” Haud oan a minute, I thought we bought shares in the club ” type exclamations . Perhaps a few light bulbs beginning to appear but if you’ve still got the blinkers on, you’ll never see them !
Iceman63
@ 12.09
While agreeing entirely with the sentiment of your post I think it’s a bit harsh to expect a response so soon. The Premiership sides all had matches on Friday with the rest on Saturday, so little time might have been available to assess the statement and frame an answer. There might be further dalay as a result of a large number of supporters contacting them on the subject. It may also be necessary to discuss the matter at board level before framing a response.
We all will, of course, be keeping a watching brief for the next few days 🙂
PS. Looking forward to seeing the smiling and yearly alternating boardroom faces at this years Loving Cup Ceremony assuming that hasn’t been hit by the Austerity measures. 😛
wottpi says:
January 4, 2015 at 1:19 pm
===================================
What I find depressing is that the vast majority of the media seem to be clinging to a hopeful return of the Murray days rather than facing the reality of clubs having to live within their means. It does not take a business genius to see there is no longer a bank that will allow Rangers to spend what they like. There is no Oligarch or Arab willing to provide £300m in soft loans. Ashley could possibly do that but it would not make business sense for him. The others trying to gain power may be wealthy compared to most people, but will not be able to throw £30m away every season to chase rainbows. How do the media suggest this spending spree is going to be financed? What part of having to live within your means don’t they get?
stifflersmom says:
January 4, 2015 at 1:09 pm
….he has consistently produced solid information-rich material to a much higher standard than any other SMSM journo IMO.
I’m sorry ecobhoy but you have clearly been at the ginger beer.
RW, since back in the RTC days, has been a consistent and persistent advocate of Trfc’s return to the top flight both in print and live on various Newsnight Scotland interviews.
=================================================================
I would be happy to see your evidence from articles he has submitted as a journalist as opposed to comment pieces. He is of course perfectly free to comment and if he has done so openly I respect him more than if he is like so many who claim to support alternative clubs.
I don’t find it strange or suspicious that if he is a Rangers supporter that he would want his team in the top flight. Indeed if he didn’t I would be deeply distrustful of him.
I am not really bothered by anything he states from a personal viewpoint – but then I’m not bothered by what anyone says from a personal viewpoint as everyone is entitled to their opinion whether I agree with it or not.
And as to anything he might have said as a pundit then I don’t regard that as journalism and that goes for all pundits. I never listen to them on the radio or TV because they are simply part of the entertainment light comedy business which has no connection with journalisk in my book.
Personally I have never doubted that Rangers at some stage will return to the top flight of Scottish Football. They will get there irrespective of my views.
My interest has always been more on what kind of Rangers gets there although that is heavily dependant IMO on what kind of club the Bears want.
Things are changing and the attitude of many Bears is changing but the real battle for me lies in making Scottish Football Governance more accountable and transparent and that is probably the best way I know to assist Rangers fans to make the best informed choice possible.
But if they don’t that’s up to them. They will have to eventually or they won’t have a club.
And if they get to the top whilst living within their means, observing Financial Fair Play and practising Sporting Integrity then that’s football as they say.
Well its pretty obvious that staying away had the desired effect.
As predicted gates back towards a more sustainable level (after squad downsizing).
Lets hope sustainability becomes the TRFC mantra above “domination” and superiority thinking.
John Clark I’ve replied
When I typed a recent post about Neil Doncaster’s ludicrous pronouncement regarding his pet club, I had to trim some of the text for fear of people losing the will to live whilst only half way through reading it. I hope you will indulge me if I randomly post a few more of my thoughts, since recovered from the cutting room floor.
I briefly mentioned in my previous diatribe how ineffectual the BBC’s senior football correspondent Chris McLaughlin was during the interview/propaganda exercise. It was patently obvious that the BBC wasn’t going to get any interview at all with the secretive Doncaster unless it was done on his terms. This of course meant that there would be no difficult questions and the format and content would be predetermined by Doncaster. Indeed Doncaster was so keen to get to the raison d’etre for the interview that he forgot to wait for McLaughlin to ask whether the bastard son was actually the same club as its late, similarly financially inept parent.
This relationship between interviewer and interviewee reminded me of the interaction between David Murray and the fawning mainstream media, who would report Murray’s PR spin, unchallenged and virtually verbatim, in order to have anything at all to report. It further reminded me of The Rangers imposing reporting restrictions on the BBC, as if part of the establishment would ever consider again reporting any nasty truth about the establishment club(s).
All this withholding of the truth only began to make some semblance of sense when I inadvertently stumbled across the internet website http://www.bearessentials.co.uk
Much to my surprise, this online technology emporium was aimed primarily at journalists and writers, and indeed the webstore proclaimed in bright flashing lights that its current best seller was a specialised hack-friendly computer keyboard, available at a substantial discount. It transpired that there was good reason for this discount, namely that 30% of the alphabetical keys were missing. These brand new pieces of technology had been manufactured specifically for journalists and they were identical in every way to a standard QWERTY keyboard, except that the letters A D I L N Q O and U weren’t present. Now I’m not the sharpest tool in the box but, perhaps heartened by the knowledge that I’d once managed a four letter word in Countdown when Rachel Riley bent over too far, I quickly came to realise how useful this keyboard might be to our press, lest they inadvertently typed the word LIQUIDATION on any old bog standard keyboard in error.
This phenomenal piece of kit was probably a best seller throughout the west of Scotland this Christmas due to its ‘peepul-friendly’ qualities. How many times have you heard or read ‘Rangers’ fans freely and cheerily mention ‘going into admin’, as if that was the end of the bad news story. Indeed they talk about ‘going into admin’ in a not too dissimilar way to the way that you and I might mention going into Starbucks or Costa. Incidentally, those who do mention ‘going into admin’ on a Rangers forum clearly haven’t bought one of the new keyboards yet as there’s an obvious letters crossover problem.
I’d always assumed that our less than intrepid journalists and their Rangers Media-friendly audience deliberately avoided using ‘the L word’ at all costs. I can claim to be at least partially right in that it was all down to some tools.
Apologies for the above further ramblings, but I do hope I’ve made my point perfectly clear.
With regard to John Clark’s Dublin experience and without offering further comment (for now) on either cultural imperialism or the role of television in football, I had a similar experience when I was in Oslo for a weekend a number of years ago. I think I caught the lunchtime flight from Stockholm, and remember the train from the airport passed close to a football ground at which a match was in progress. Once I had checked in to my hotel, I went for a wander, and noticing that a bar in Karl Johan’s Gate was showing English football popped inside for a pint to see if I could find out how the Pars were getting on – we had lost 7 in a row, but John Yorkston was standing by the manager.
Sadly, albeit unsurprisingly, there was no information on Scottish football on the sidebars or ticker-tape, but I did find it somewhat odd that the bar was half-full of Norwegian Man Utd supporters who clearly preferred TV coverage of a foreign game rather attending a game in person. We were soon joined by fans of a local team when their game finished (I think we were an hour ahead).
With regard to comments on England and Britain, it should be remembered that the UK and Great Britain are not synonymous, neither are Holland and the Netherlands, although that doesn’t seem to be such a big deal (MVG is from Brabant, BTW), and it seems to be acceptable to refer to the USA as simply “America” or “the United States” (when that other North American nation is sometimes referred to as the United States of Mexico).
upthehoops says:
January 4, 2015 at 1:46 pm
It does look like we are dealing with a scorpion’s nature.
A New Year Parable
A fox and a scorpion came to a torrent. The scorpion asked the fox if he would swim over with the scorpion on it’s head above the water.
The fox said “But you will sting me and I will die.”
“So will I” said the scorpion.
The fox thought about it and agreed to take the scorpion across the raging river..
Half way over the scorpion stung the fox. As it drowned the fox said “why did you do that? You will die too!”
The scorpion said “I cannot help it. It is in my nature.”
End of parable.
If we are to cross a river with TRFC in the top tier I want my club supplied with a crash helmet!
That crash helmet contains a domestic version of the most relevant parts of UEFA FFP.
Barcabhoy suggests this is being resisted by TRFC/TRIFC backers. Without FFP we are doomed to return to the same unsustainable model that has brought the game into such disrepute, I’m surprised the bookies still take bets on it.
wottpi says:
January 4, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Allyjambo says:
January 4, 2015 at 12:43 pm
The future must really be bleak when even Neil Patey hasn’t been trundled out. I noticed a post on a Bear Site a couple of days ago actually wondering where ‘that finance guy is that always appears when there’s good news’. I’m afraid a lot of missionary work is still required.
I have watched many posters on here who I have great admiration for struggle to answer that question or even reach a consensus on the subject. And I have lost count of the number of times in the last 18 months that liquidation was imminent and unavoidable.
Sadly there has always been too much hidden from us to make any educated guesses on the financial manoeuvres at Ibrox. We simply don’t have a clue and it would appear that successive waves of Board ‘virgins’ arrive and leave without knowing either.
I make no bones that I regard RW as at the top-end of Scottish sports journalism because he appears to have a brain and some understanding of business matters which is more than a little helpful wrt the Rangers story.
However to investigate and write a fact-based story and not one heavily dependent on flights of fancy and PR spin would be beyond his individual capability.
It would require a team of journos and support staff as well as financial and legal experts. And while he is involved in this story someone will need to cover for his normal day-to-day work.
Will the Beeb sports desk invest that kind of money and effort? They might if the almost daily news stories coming out of Ibrox dry-up.
But at the end of the day does it matter the level of cash required? They’ll either raise it or won’t – that’s the real story that will interest most people and not anoraks like myself.
As to whether the 4Bears are looking for a ‘quick fix’ it seems to me that’s an easy one to answer. They will be looking for a ‘quick fix’ but there will also be medium and longer-term plans.
And there will be numerous stories generated by each stage both the initial speculative ones as to what might happen and then the more informative one when various milestones are reached.
That’s the news industry for you – it will react to what’s actually happening although it will be naughty in a bid to increase sales by predicting nonsense to get a reaction from punters who have yet to learn what the media is all about which is making money 😆
McCaig`s Tower says:
January 4, 2015 at 2:27 pm
From Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
The biggest International Soccer Couch Potatoes
Country TV Viewing as percentage of Households with TVs
Croatia 12.4%
Norway6 11.9%
Netherlands 11.5%
Based on that and a number of other factors Norway came top of the list of countries that love football the most.
Excellent book btw.
Auldheid says:
January 4, 2015 at 2:32 pm
Without FFP we are doomed to return to the same unsustainable model that has brought the game into such disrepute, I’m surprised the bookies still take bets on it.
============================================================
The reasons bookies make book is because it’s in the nature of the punters to gamble – that doesn’t change even if they know the game is rigged. Like the scorpion they simply can’t help themselves 😎
But to be serious FFP is the foundation of Sporting Integrity and maybe that’s what we should be fighting for so that we can truly start anew.
Sometimes the old battles have to be put aside to win a greater prize. Perhaps that’s the real lesson to be learnt.