From the TSFM Manifesto đ
A spectre is haunting Scottish Football â the spectre of Sporting Integrity. All the powers of the old firms have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Billy and Dan, Blazer and Cassock, Record and Sun, Balance Sheet and P&L.
Where is the football fan in opposition to these that has not been decried as a “sporting integrity bampot” by his opponents in power?Two things result from this fact:
I. Sporting Integrity is already widely acknowledged to be itself a power for good.
II. It is high time that Lovers of Sport should openly, in the face of the whole world, publish their views, their aims, and meet this nursery tale of the Spectre of Sporting Integrity with a manifesto of fair play.
To this end, Lovers of Sport of various partisanship have assembled on TSFM and sketched their manifesto, to be published on tsfm.scot.
Those who love sport though are challenged not just by the taunts of the monosyllabic automatons in the MSM, but by the owners of our football clubs who have displayed an almost total disregard to our wish to have a fair competition played out in the spirit of friendly rivalry. In fact the clubs, who speak those fine words, are not nearly as outraged as we are by the damage done to the integrity of the sport in the past few years .
In fact the term Sporting Integrity has become, since the latter stages of the Rangers era, a term of abuse; a mocking soubriquet attached to those who want sport to be just that – sport.
Sporting integrity now lives in the same media pigeon-hole as words like Islam, left-wing, militant, Muslim – and a host of others; words which are threats to the established order now set up as in-jokes, in order to reduce the effectiveness of the idea.
In fact, a new terminology has evolved in the reporting of football by both club officials and The Succulent Lamb Chapel alike;
“.. Sporting Integrity but …”.
For example
“We all want sporting integrity, but finance is more important”
Says who exactly?
Stated in such a matter of fact way that the obvious question is headed off at the pass, it is sometimes difficult to re-frame the discussion – perhaps because crayon is so hard to erase?
This is the backdrop to The Scottish Football Monitor and the world in which we live. Often the levels of scrutiny employed by our contributors are far in excess of any scrutiny employed by the MSM. Indeed our ideas and theories are regularly plagiarised by those very same lazy journalists who lurk here, and cherry-pick material to suit their own agendas; regularly claiming exclusives for stories that TSFM and RTC before us had placed in the public domain weeks earlier.
This was going to lead into a discourse about the love of money versus the love of sport – of how the sacred cows of acquisitiveness, gate- retention and turnstile spinning is far more important to the heads of our football clubs (the Billys, Dans and Blazers of the intro) than maintaining the traditions of our sport.
However events of Friday 14th November have given me cause to leave that for another day. The biggest squirrel of all in this sorry saga has always been the sleight of hand employed instil a siege mentality in the Rangers fans. The press have time and again assisted people (with no love of football in general or Rangers in particular) to enrich themselves – legally or otherwise – and feed on the loyalty of Rangers fans.
A matter for Rangers fans may also be the identity of some of those who had their trust, but who also assisted the Whytes and Greens by their public statements of support.
Our contention has been that rules have been bent twisted or broken to accommodate those people, the real enemies of the Rangers fans – and fans everywhere.
Through our collective research and group-analysis of events, we have also wondered out loud about the legality of many aspects of the operating style of some of the main players in the affair. That suspicion has been shared most notably by Mark Daly and Alex Thompson, but crucially now appears to be shared by Law Enforcement.
I confess I am fed up with the self-styled “bampot” epithet. For the avoidance of doubt, the “bampots” in this affair are those who have greater resources than us, and access to the truth, but who have lacked either the will or the courage or the imagination to follow it through.
We are anything but bampots. Rather, we have demonstrated that the wisdom of the crowd is more effective by far than any remnants of wisdom in the press.
I have no doubt that the police investigation into this matter is proceeding in spite of great opposition in the MSM and the Scottish Football Authorities – all of whom conspired to expose Rangers to the custodianship of those for whom football is a foreign language.
I have no doubt that the constant exposition of wrong-doing on this blog, in particular the questions we have constantly raised, and anomalies we have pointed out, has assisted and enabled the law enforcement agencies in this process.
If we are to be consistent in this, our enabling of the authorities, we MUST show restraint at all times as this process is followed through. People who are charged with a crime deserve to be given a fair trial in the absence of rumour or innuendo. We must also, if we are to continue as the spectre which haunts the avaricious – and the real bampots – be seen to be better than they, and give them no cause to accuse us of irresponsibility.
This affair has now evolved way beyond one club gaining unfair advantage over others. For all the understandable Schadenfreude of many among us, the real enemy is not Rangers, it is about those who enabled and continue to enable the farce at Ibrox.
This is now about systematic cheating at the heart of the Scottish game (in the name of cash and in spite of lip service to sporting integrity), and how the greed of a bunch of ethically challenged officials allowed another group of ethically challenged businessmen free rein to enrich themselves at the expense of the fans.
Whether laws were broken or not, the players at Rangers have come and gone and are variables, but the malignant constant at the SFA and SPFL are still there. Last night, even after the news that four men had been arrested in connection with the takeover at Ibrox in 2011, they were gathered together at Celtic Park with their Irish counterparts, tucking into succulent lamb (perhaps) and fine wines, doing some back slapping, making jokes about the vulgarities of their fans, bragging about the ST money they have banked.
The revolution won’t be over until they are gone, and if they remain, it is Scottish Football that will be over.
PW1874: what does a dog have to do to get boycotted by relict Rangers fans? Mention the L word in print?
neepheid says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:56 am
‘.. I wonder which clubs in Scotland have a perfect record of fair play and sportsmanship? Most people might name the one they support, but struggle to name any others?
Even in my own long ago experience of amateur football, every team was watching every other for any rule breaches …’
———-
‘Twas ever thus,even at primary school level.
But, again, the cheating/unsportsmanlike behaviour of one club or another is meant to be picked up by an honest set of ‘regulators’, who are supposed to apply and enforce the agreed rules, and discipline the would-be cheaters.
RFC (IL) was such a cheating club-big time! Were our Football Governance people honest and true in squaring up to that cheating? Or did they (rhetorical question!) bend every effort (and many rules) not only to avoid punishing appropriately (and meaningfully) the guilty RFC,but to accommodate a new creation with lies at its very heart?
It is a monstrous thing when the Rule- makers and Defenders of sporting integrity turn out to be worse than any individual rule-breaker. It’s the equivalent of Judges being corrupt, and Prosecuting authorities turning complicitly blind eyes to the crimes of their friends.
In my opinion.
blu says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:10 pm
Fishnish, just realised that St Mirren lost to Gretna in the cup that year â maybe the Mileson project is more worthy of your long-simmering resentment?
Itâs never-ending â Gretna beat Dundee and then lost to Hearts. Could we be happy with any of those winning a trophy at that time? Spartans should be awarded the cup retrospectively.
————————————–
No. There’s only one decent, honest club in Scotland that operates within normal financial constraints. They should be awarded it, since it’s a couple of years since we beat Hearts in the League Cup Final. đ
And… finchleyflyer…?
” I very much doubt that there is any underlying ill-will held against them across the football world.” Then I wonder why Spartans were laughably eliminated after the first round of voting last time they bid to enter the league?
There are doubtless good things about Spartans (as many people might believe there are about ‘other’ clubs) – I just wished to draw the attention of some blinkered fans on here to the warts…
scapaflow says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:27 pm
========================================================
I had no idea that Mr McMurdo had posted that piece.
However, it is appropriate though to issue the “compare and contrast” invitation.
Martin says:
December 2, 2014 at 1:07 pm
ecobhoy says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:42 pm
The Rangers store in Belfast will be replaced with a âSweatshopâ running store rather than a typical SD outlet.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/more-bad-news-for-rangers-fc-fans-as-city-centre-shop-to-shut-30783055.html
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Here was me thinking the shop only opened June/July 2013 as a Rangers Retail store. Funny how one organisations experiences so many problems with its history đ
I wonder who has been the winner and loser in the lease transfer – nah forget that. I think it’s easy to work-out who’s most likely to have turned a coin on the deal đ
Let’s hope the ‘Sweatshop’ doesn’t live up to its name by having staff on zero hours contracts.
Possibly a ‘Sweatshop’ for Glasgow Airport?
Occasionally the mrs and I will enter into an interchange about the amount of butter applied to various bread products by each of us. The first three slides in that SFL presentation contain so much butter my arteries started to clog up with cholestorol just from reading it.
The suggestions of “financial collapse” and “sporting opportunity is quashed for other clubs” â at the time were offensive. Reflecting on the document now, it is so sodden with irony I cannot tell which emotions I feel reading it.
Slide 5: “RANGERS TERMINATED OR SUSPENDED” makes interesting reading. As we know this did not happen so thankfully we do not have:
– Complete financial meltdown
– Settlement agreement is obliterated
– Fans are lost to the game forever
But thanks to the contrived efforts to disapply rules, invent others and dismiss “sporting integrity” these are precisely the issues that face The Rangers today (return to Ibrox from one faction notwithstanding).
I assume the settlement agreement is the distribution of finance across the various leagues rather than the Five Way Agreement but I’m not sure it matters.
I’m sure it was covered at the time but I also find it interesting that there was no option to follow existing rules at the time, say, a club applying for membership of the SFL.
ParanoidWellFan says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:56 pm
The original Airport shop was set up pre JJB, when both Rangers (RIP) and Celtic were expanding their retail operations. Celtic were approached by BAA to open one at the same time, as they were scared to show favouritism, and had Celtic not agreed, Rangers would not have been granted the licence.
==================================================================
That original shop you mentioned must have failed because the new one only opened – like Belfast – in June/July 2013. It was always a bit of a thorn in the sides of Bears that Celtic had an airport location and theu didn’t.
And it was one of the top demands made of CG by Bears that they should have an airport merchanise outlet.
Reminds me a bit of the pre-WWI jingoistic chant wrt to Dreadnoughts: ‘We want eight and we won’t wait’.
“That original shop you mentioned must have failed because the new one only opened â like Belfast â in June/July 2013. It was always a bit of a thorn in the sides of Bears that Celtic had an airport location and theu didnât.”
And it was one of the top demands made of CG by Bears that they should have an airport merchanise outlet.
Yes, both were casualties of the JJB deal, before that, Celtic & Rangers had shops in various towns and cities near each other, strangely, the Belfast shop closed, then re-opened in the same location, and the original airport store was right next door to the original Celtic one
fishnish says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:05 pm
1 1 Rate This
////////////////////
Fishnish
Could you please tell me
What Spartans done wrong?
Except point out Saints mistake
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:08 pm
1 0 Rate This
scapaflow says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:27 pm
========================================================
I had no idea that Mr McMurdo had posted that piece.
However, it is appropriate though to issue the âcompare and contrastâ invitation.
———
I heard Chick Young mention those redundancies on Sundayâs Sportsound. Quite critical he was too. One of them was a secretary who had been there since the days of Jock Wallace! Now that wee lady ought to write a book!
Seems hard to imagine that the 40 or 50 strong playing squad will not go untouched by cuts.
Most bizarre of all is that the SFA havenât yet established whether Ashely has any real influence over Ibrox đŽ
tcup 2012 says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:53 pm
2 0 Rate This
Fishnish
Could you please tell me
What Spartans done wrong?
Except point out Saints mistake
———————————————-
My initial post tried to draw the distinction between rule book and moral ‘rights and wrongs’.
If you couldn’t understand what I was trying to infer from that, then there’s little point in me persevering.
It must be the Spartans way…
ecobhoy says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:22 pm
…
Reminds me a bit of the pre-WWI jingoistic chant wrt to Dreadnoughts: âWe want eight and we wonât waitâ.
=============================
ecobhoy, you must be the oldest Internet Bampot, by far… đ
[Couldn’t resist: apologies in advance.]
Fishnish
“Then I wonder why Spartans were laughably eliminated after the first round of voting last time they bid to enter the league?”
“Laughably” is an extremely pejorative term. As I said, I do not believe that Spartans’ failure to be voted into the league is due to some sort of commonly-held view of the club’s manner and attitude, which appears to be your implication. If you know differently, I’d be interested to hear.
MA offers to underwrite the ÂŁ8M share offer, in return for: security over Ibrox & Murray Park, full title to The Albion CP and Edminston House.
The SFA will then find itself faced with the choice of allowing dual ownership or condemning sevco to oblivion.
‘Real Rangers’ people and current shareholders will be faced with accepting the offer and fully subscribing, rejecting the offer and running out of cash and into admin, or part subscribing the offer leaving MA with ÂŁ70m worth of assets in his tender care.
Ounerousity beckons!
Danish Pastry says:
December 2, 2014 at 3:15 pm
=======================================================
Harsh austerity has finally arrived for the non-football side.
Moreover it is only the beginning.
For the avoidance of doubt my sympathies go to the ordinary workers in this train wreck-they’re utterly blameless.
I agree that the football dept will feel the axe too-but in January.
fishnish says:
December 2, 2014 at 3:27 pm
2 2 Rate This
tcup 2012 says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:53 pm
2 0 Rate This
Fishnish
Could you please tell me
What Spartans done wrong?
Except point out Saints mistake
âââââââââââââââ-
My initial post tried to draw the distinction between rule book and moral ârights and wrongsâ.
If you couldnât understand what I was trying to infer from that, then thereâs little point in me persevering.
It must be the Spartans wayway
///!///!!!!!!!
What morality? What are you even if trying to imply?
The rule’s were in place
Saint’s broke the rules So morally were in the wrong
It was a mistake on Saint’s part
So I will ask again
What did Spartan’s do wrong?
Was Walter Smith compensation paid to the SFA ? / Update
========================================================
As expected, this question is still unanswered.
I contacted or forwarded the email chain I had with Darryl to the following;
– Scottish Govt : CashBack Programme which provides funds to the SFA
– BDO : SFA auditors in 2007
– Grant Thornton : current SFA auditors
– The National
– The Sunday Herald
– Roy Greenslade [The Guardian]
– Stephen Thompson [Dundee United]
– Livingstone [Commercial Manager]
The only response I got was from the Scottish Govt. which mainly stated they relied on and had accepted the auditors’ role.
I didn’t really expect a specific response from the SFA, or from the above, but the objective was to emphasise to Darryl/the SFA that the Bampots do not accept anything that comes out of Hampden at face value.
I was hoping that the Smith compensation question would be asked of the SFA in the background, and it was encouraging to see on Twitter that Darryl at least acknowledged that the question had been asked again.
If there is another ‘fix’ in the works to save/assist the Govan club, then the SFA must know by now that there are a lot of fans out there who are already seriously disillusioned with their pitiful ‘governance’ role in Scottish football.
davythelotion says:
December 2, 2014 at 4:43 pm
====================================================
Of course Ibrox and Murray Park are still subject to a contingent liability from Sevco 5088.
Deloitte put in the accounts again.
Your Throw
McMurdo’s latest rant makes me wonder how the reasonably articulate can jump from supremacy to victimhood without ever approaching objectivity.
What selecting and twisting of documented facts makes that possible?
How do you absorb enough of a documented fact to reject it as hatred or comspiracy without it impinging in anyway on the logic of your new world view?
It’s probably too late for this Christmas but I think there could be a good board game in this whole saga: Go to Liquidation and victimhood, do not assimilate facts, no do not collect ÂŁ8m “investment”.
mcfc says:
December 2, 2014 at 5:49 pm
‘Itâs probably too late for this Christmas but I think there could be a good board game in this whole saga: Go to Liquidation and victimhood, do not assimilate facts, no do not collect ÂŁ8m âinvestmentâ.’
____________________________
‘Go To Jail’ card, perhaps? Or already used to great effect, the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card? Or even, ‘You Won 2nd Prize in a Greetin’ Contest, Collect 10 Hankies…On the Way Oot!’ card?
“It’s your 2nd birthday. Collect ÂŁ10.”
StevieBC says:
December 2, 2014 at 3:35 pm
ecobhoy says:
December 2, 2014 at 2:22 pm
âŚ
Reminds me a bit of the pre-WWI jingoistic chant wrt to Dreadnoughts: âWe want eight and we wonât waitâ.
=============================
ecobhoy, you must be the oldest Internet Bampot, by far⌠đ
[Couldnât resist: apologies in advance.]
============================================================
Possibly not the oldest – but probably the most crabbit đ
scapaflow says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:27 pm
13 0 Rate This
Phil has a new blog up
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/welcome-to-the-pity-party/
Compare and contrast with McMurdo minorâs âPity Partyâ
=====================================================
Interestingly the previous post on the McMurdo blog, from a guest contributor, is a relatively sane take on the root cause of Rangers problems..
https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/a-view-from-away/
Perhaps the fact that the chap lives in Canada may be a factor though…
parttimearab says:
December 2, 2014 at 6:46 pm
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Yes the Canada based chap seems to have a reasonable take on it.
StevieBC says:
December 2, 2014 at 5:26 pm
23 0 Rate This
Was Walter Smith compensation paid to the SFA ? / Update
========================================================
As expected, this question is still unanswered.
The only response I got was from the Scottish Govt. which mainly stated they relied on and had accepted the auditorsâ role.
=========================================================================
Stevie…10 out of 10 for your persistence, but…”The only response I got was from the Scottish Govt. which mainly stated they relied on and had accepted the auditorsâ role….”
So here we have a Government department, dispensing taxpayers’ funds to a body notorious for its lack of financial transparency, merely depending on a firm of external auditors, to say if anything is untoward in the accounts…and bearing in mind as I have already posted, the auditor’s report is addressed to the shareholders/members, i.e. the clubs and their respective chairmen/CEO’s…words fail me (for once according to Mrs EBC!)
parttimearab says:
December 2, 2014 at 6:46 pm
3 0 Rate This
scapaflow says:
December 2, 2014 at 12:27 pm
13 0 Rate This
Phil has a new blog up
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/welcome-to-the-pity-party/
Compare and contrast with McMurdo minorâs âPity Partyâ
=====================================================
Interestingly the previous post on the McMurdo blog, from a guest contributor, is a relatively sane take on the root cause of Rangers problems..
https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/a-view-from-away/
Perhaps the fact that the chap lives in Canada may be a factor thoughâŚ
============================================================================
The guest contributor, Mr Alan Maxwell, makes any number of sane objective points, even mentioning the “L” word…and on more than one occasion…is that because he is in Canada, safe from the fallout?
I’ve just read the blog linked by parttimearab above on the McMurdo guest blog, and despite it’s inaccuracies, it is like a breath of fresh air in comparison to McMurdo’s own blog that follows. I won’t link it because I just wouldn’t, the man (McMurdo) is so deluded but steadfast in his bigotry, he doesn’t have to say bigoted things for it to shine through. Like all bigots, it’s everyone else’s fault. Reading what he wrote literally made my skin crawl!
What really amazed me, though, was how someone who could write so much ill founded tripe could give someone so much more grounded the opportunity to post on his blog. Doesn’t he realise that the two consecutive blogs were so far apart in what they were actually saying that it doesn’t make sense to have them featuring on his site, at all, let alone side by side? One, the sane one, was saying that the old model just wouldn’t work, while nothing but the old model would be good enough for McMurdo. One cries out for sanity, while the other, McMurdo’s, is just insane, continuing to blame others for the mess his club, at the hands of their god, Murray, got themselves into!
The really sad thing is that the writer of the more grounded article clearly admires McMurdo! So a man calling for sense at his club still shows support for the ills that permeate from Ibrox. The more I think about his ‘sensible’ post, the more I realise it was just about a better way of getting back to ‘where they belong’, and all that brings with it!
“Rangers refuse to answer new questions about retail revenues
…But those same accounts raise questions which Rangers declined to answer on Tuesday: Why is there ÂŁ3m relating to retail sitting in the bank that the club cannot touch? How much money has the club actually received from this over the last two years? And why was there an agreement which saw more than ÂŁ400,000 paid to Sports Direct to buy stock at a higher amount than it was sold for?…”
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/301952-rangers-supporters-group-calls-for-boycott-of-club-merchandise/
=====================================
So STV confirms that at least it asked pertinent questions of TRFC.
So what about the SFA then ?
To start STV off – here’s an easy one to put to Regan…
“Why do you think that a significant number of Scottish football fans – of many clubs – do not want Campbell Ogilvie as the SFA President ?”
Even if you don’t get an answer, at least confirm that the question was asked !
:slamb: :slamb: :slamb:
Rangers manager Ally McCoist braced for Ibrox fire-sale:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11269147/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-braced-for-fire-sale.html
Martin says:
December 2, 2014 at 8:35 pm
1 0 Rate This
Rangers manager Ally McCoist braced for Ibrox fire-sale:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11269147/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-braced-for-fire-sale.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Rangers announced last week that the club had made an operating loss of ÂŁ8.3â million (believed to be a world record for a third-tier club).”
`Rangers refuse to answer new questions about retail revenues`
MILLIONS been and being ripped from working folk
That`s how it is
tp
Martin says:
December 2, 2014 at 8:35 pm
Is this article genuine? It seems to be rather bold for a member of the MSM, or at least the bits in brackets are a bit micky taking in the following paragraphs:
“Rangers announced last week that the club had made an operating loss of ÂŁ8.3â million (believed to be a world record for a third-tier club) and chairman David Somers admitted that a similar amount of investment was required in order to keep them afloat.”
&
“McCoist has yet to be informed that he needs to move players on (âNot at all â absolutely notâ) but he accepts that such judgments will be taken out of his hands as the current entity struggles to survive. âI would think financial decisions might not be mine,â he said. âI will possibly be included in the conversation and the decision. It goes without saying that very few managers make financial decisions at clubs.”
I must say, though, that it’s a pretty good article in terms of not trying to put a ‘things not all that bad’ spin on it! Even the quotes from McCoist don’t sound like he thinks things are going to go all that well. Of course it wouldn’t be Super Ally if he didn’t get his excuses (for failure) in early!
Allyjambo says:
December 2, 2014 at 8:57 pm
Completely genuine – Absolutely!
Lord Wobbly says:
December 2, 2014 at 8:47 pm
…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11269147/Rangers-manager-Ally-McCoist-braced-for-fire-sale.html
=========================================
And McCoist making a Freudian slip on the vulnerability of TRFC ?!
â…Iâd love it if this was our last Petrofac Cup campaign and I mean that in the nicest possible way,â he said. âIt maybe makes the game at Alloa that bit more special. âWinning it in our final year would be the ideal scenario…â
đŻ
Martin says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:05 pm
đ
StevieBC says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:07 pm
That is a brilliant spot, Stevie.
Lord Wobbly says:
December 2, 2014 at 8:47 pm
14 0 Rate This
âRangers announced last week that the club had made an operating loss of ÂŁ8.3â million (believed to be a world record for a third-tier club).â
———-
That wiz a stoater, m’lud
Speaking of losses, I thought I read that Mr (Sir) David Murray (for it is he) is off building homes somewhere. Aren’t all his enterprises supposed to be penniless/debt-ridden?
For your entertainment I give you this:
“The Scottish FA will host its inaugural Convention at Hampden Park tomorrow (Wednesday 3rd December) with a star-studded line-up of guest speakers providing insights across the whole spectrum of football.
Hosted by BBC Scotlandâs experienced broadcaster, Richard Gordon, the Scottish FA Convention 2014 is a knowledge and information sharing platform for the members, sponsors and partners of Scottish footballâs governing body.
It is part of a proposed modernisation of the Scottish FA Council, with members voting at next yearâs Annual Meeting for a more modern, dynamic and representative format; one of the last remaining recommendations of the Henry McLeish Review of Scottish Football.
Confirmed speakers include Barry Hearn, Chairman of the hugely successful Matchroom Sport, who will discuss the global success of his boxing, darts and snooker divisions. Helmut Sandrock, General Secretary of the Deutsche Fussball Bund [German FA] will present on the journey to becoming world champions.
Joe McLean and James Hichens of Accountancy firm Grant Thornton will explore Scottish footballâs future while Alex Stone, Social Media Manager at world footballâs governing body, FIFA, will tell the story of the first fully connected World Cup in Brazil last summer.
Scotland National Coach Gordon Strachan will close the event with a Q&A on the teamâs progress approaching the midway point of the European Qualifiers.
There will also be fascinating workshops on maximising sponsorship investment and an exclusive look behind the scenes at the Scottish FAâs Judicial Panel process.
Stewart Regan, the Scottish FAâs Chief Executive, will introduce the event and update the audience on the Scottish FAâs strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision. He believes the Convention is an essential next step in the ongoing development of the game.
He said: âI am proud to host our members and invited guests from across the whole spectrum of Scottish football: member clubs, affiliated bodies, boards, council and staff and, of course, the wider football family.
âI am also excited by the stature and breadth of speakers we have managed to attract to the national stadium, ensuring there will be something for everyone regardless of club, position and budget.
âThe Convention is intended to become an annual event shaped by our members for the benefit of our members. The programme is intended to look at the key areas of the Scottish FAâs strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision, with presentations from experts in the field in the areas of Performance, Strong Quality Growth, Growing Footballâs Finances and Leading the Game.
âIt will be thought-provoking and idea-generating. We are committed to our ongoing programme of investment at all levels of the game, and equally committed to modernising and innovating off the field.
âThis journey must be done together, with the assistance and support of all our members and the Convention is another step in the direction towards a prosperous future for Scottish football.â
Stewart Regan, the Scottish FAâs Chief Executive, will introduce the event and update the audience on the Scottish FAâs strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision. He believes the Convention is an essential next step in the ongoing development of the game.
He said: âI am proud to host our members and invited guests from across the whole spectrum of Scottish football: member clubs, affiliated bodies, boards, council and staff and, of course, the wider football family.
âI am also excited by the stature and breadth of speakers we have managed to attract to the national stadium, ensuring there will be something for everyone regardless of club, position and budget.
âThe Convention is intended to become an annual event shaped by our members for the benefit of our members. The programme is intended to look at the key areas of the Scottish FAâs strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision, with presentations from experts in the field in the areas of Performance, Strong Quality Growth, Growing Footballâs Finances and Leading the Game.
âIt will be thought-provoking and idea-generating. We are committed to our ongoing programme of investment at all levels of the game, and equally committed to modernising and innovating off the field.
âThis journey must be done together, with the assistance and support of all our members and the Convention is another step in the direction towards a prosperous future for Scottish football.â”
__________________
In particular, I like “There will also be fascinating workshops on maximising sponsorship investment and an exclusive look behind the scenes at the Scottish FAâs Judicial Panel process.”
Would we learn anything ,if we were flies on the wall, about how to try to maximise sponsorship? Of course not: we know that the best way is to just break rules secretly to try to get a brand new club with a potentially big support into the top division in place of a disgraced cheating liquidated club.
Judicial panel process? We already know how to work this process to advantage by withholding relevant evidence and information.
The sheer effrontery of the SFA in talking about ‘leading the game’ is hard to bear.
Oh, for some media man to ask hard questions in the Q and A session!
John Clark says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:44 pm
…
the Scottish FA Convention 2014 is a knowledge and information sharing platform for the members, sponsors and partners of Scottish footballâs governing body…
=================================
But there is no space for the most important stakeholders: the fans / customers ?!
“Respected and Trusted to Lead”…my @rse ! đż
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
December 2, 2014 at 5:43 pm
â°â°%%%%%%%%%
I paddle in the shallow end of the murky pool that is the sevco. I believe however that MA has it taped. The contingent liability is like a plook in sevco’s coupon, everyone’s too polite to mention it.
MA knows that he can do what he likes vis-Ă -vis sevco, he knows the smsm will back him because they need sevco. He knows CW’s busy.
MA will rinse sevco like a borrowed chamois.
StevieBC says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:52 pm
‘.But there is no space for the most important stakeholders: the fans / customers ?!’
——-
Not even for Supporters Direct, even as observers, I would imagine ( though I don’t know for sure, to be sure.)
If I knew how to organise a flash mob outside Hampden..:smile:…
davythelotion says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:56 pm
0 0 Rate This
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
December 2, 2014 at 5:43 pm
â°â°%%%%%%%%%
I paddle in the shallow end of the murky pool that is the sevco. I believe however that PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
December 2, 2014 at 5:43 pm
â°â°%%%%%%%%%
I paddle in the shallow end of the murky pool that is the sevco. I believe however that MA has it taped. The contingent liability is like a plook in sevcoâs coupon, everyoneâs too polite to mention it.
——————-
Aye – a plook on the a..r.e of the most insidious, pungent and infectious entity to invade Scottish society in the last 100 …sorry 3 … years
occam says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:12 pm
###
Razor sharp!
davythelotion says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:15 pm
1 0 Rate This
At last!! đ
davythelotion says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:15 pm
So feel free to apply unguent as you see fit!! đ
A flea sinking it’s teeth into a hair on the end of a buffalo’s tail:
http://www.4-traders.com/SPORTS-DIRECT-INTERNATION-9590226/news/Sports-Direct–Call-to-boycott-Ashley-controlled-club-shops-19482803/
John Clark says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:44 pm
For your entertainment I give you this:
“There will also be fascinating workshops on maximising sponsorship investment”
=======================
Compulsory attendance for Mr N Doncaster perhaps â đ
Re John Carks post on the SFA event!
Some wee questions for this blog…as it is clear fans are a complete irrelevance to their strategy day
1 What odds Regan et al have never even heard of this blog?
2 What odds if by chance they have …that they couldn’t give a tinkers cuss about what anyone on here says and does?
I’ll keep saying it until blue in the face ..until we get the oxygen of support from someone of substance in the press ..we get nowhere !
Right now there appears to be zero appetite anywhere there to have a go at the SFA for their outrageous behaviour in the last few years ..Is there any way we can change that?
Martin says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:28 pm
****
More like a gnat biting a flea biting a fly biting a bluebottle biting a dadylonglegs biting a spider biting a fly.
Lots if biting, very little blood.
Tailothebank says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:41 pm
‘..Right now there appears to be zero appetite anywhere there to have a go at the SFA for their outrageous behaviour in the last few years ..Is there any way we can change that?’
———
A little bit too pessimistic,TotB.
First, I think it is highly likely that Regan and Doncaster and the whole 6th floor are very aware of TSFM.
They will be aware that PMcG posts on it, they will be aware that some of us who have written to them have mentioned a connection with the blog, and they will be very aware of Auldheid’s correspondence with Harper MacLeod, and Darryl will ( unless he’s thicker than even I think he is) will at least occasionally put two and two together about the provenance of other searching email correspondence, even if TSFM is not mentioned by the people who write.
Secondly, like all guilty people, they know in themselves that they are guilty.Their primary concern now is to hang together and not break ranks lest they hang separately.They believe themselves safe since they signed a childish pact with the devil, binding them all never to reveal the truth.As long as none of the parties rats on the rest, they think they cannot be got at.
But, of course, sooner or later, one or other of the parties will rat. That’s what rats do: they act like rats.
And what do guilty people do? What else other than continue to lie, continue to pretend that they have done no wrong, continue to use every means of communication ( easy enough, when they also are without principle).
Upfront, the Football Authorities may appear to be untroubled and unconcerned. But in reality, they are whistling in the wind. They set in train a sequence of events which will work its way eventually to their unmasking as liars and cheats.
Inevitably! though it may take time.
So, be of good heart. The goodies, in traditional panto style , will win.
I know, and you know, that none of the individuals principally concerned in this affair could look us squarely in the eye as we challenged them over their behaviour.
We’ll get them in the end.And they know it.
davythelotion says:
December 2, 2014 at 11:01 pm
0 0 Rate This
So – Deep Heat to start and then … cut to the chase???…
I know smsm are hopeless but wonder if the balance of focus were to swing a bit more towards SFA as an accountable body there might be a faster resolution here. Absolutely no criticism of all the effort heretofore expended – we are the sum total of our history on the blog – lurkers and major players (I place myself well down the former category).
Taxi in NYC last week – once I corrected him about the Scottish rather than Irish accent, driver asked about Rangers – I said what about them, they were liquidated 3 years ago – he said he would correct his pals đ đ
Keep up the good work!!
ailothebank says:
December 2, 2014 at 10:41 pm
16 1 Rate This
Re John Carks post on the SFA event!
Some wee questions for this blogâŚas it is clear fans are a complete irrelevance to their strategy day
1 What odds Regan et al have never even heard of this blog?
2 What odds if by chance they have âŚthat they couldnât give a tinkers cuss about what anyone on here says and does?
Iâll keep saying it until blue in the face ..until we get the oxygen of support from someone of substance in the press ..we get nowhere !
Right now there appears to be zero appetite anywhere there to have a go at the SFA for their outrageous behaviour in the last few years ..Is there any way we can change that?
=================================
The people at the SFA read this blog.
The people at the SFA know what the Scottish football supporter thinks of their organisation.
The people at the SFA know we have asked the questions.
The people at the SFA know they have lied, deflected, prevarocated in response.
The people at the SFA know there are compromised people in post, not only the CEO with his ÂŁ95,000 EBT.
The people at the SFA know we are not going away, goodnight Darryl đ
John Clark says: December 2, 2014 at 9:44 pm
âThe Scottish FA will host its inaugural Convention at Hampden Park tomorrow (Wednesday 3rd December) with a star-studded line-up of guest speakers providing insights across the whole spectrum of football.
…
Confirmed speakers include Barry Hearn, Chairman of the hugely successful Matchroom Sport, who will discuss the global success of his boxing, darts and snooker divisions.
__________________________________________
What a good choice of speaker for the SFA – I notice that he is not down for discussing how to make money out of owning a football club (Leyton Orient) outwith footballing related activities!!
Hearn bought Leyton Orient in 1995 and the Brisbane Road land freehold for their stadium is owned by London Borough of Waltham Forest and the 999 year lease from Waltham Forest is just ÂŁ1 per year according to The Leyton Orient Fans Trust. In 2004, the Council entered into a deed of variation to the ground lease which excluded the 4 corner sites of the ground from the Leyton Orient lease and enabled them to be separately sold for the development of flats. As a result of this agreement they received a sum of ÂŁ7.35m with just ÂŁ1m being agreed as payment to the Council who owned the freehold – of which he paid a ÂŁ500k instalment a year late!
In 2009 Leyton Orient sold the stadium with itâs 990 remaining year lease to Hearn’s Matchroom Sports Limited. Matchroom then granted only a 20-year lease to the club, rent-free for the first five years, then ÂŁ180,000 a year for the next five years, and reviewed again in years 10 and 15.
Add to that, after their bid for the Olympic Stadium was turned down and after fully supporting Tottenham Hotspur’s bid, he then demanded a judicial review of West Ham’s successful bid and also threatening to take it to the EU for illegal state aid (all these clubs supposedly getting illegal state aid!). Hearn then demanded that West Ham groundshare the Olympic Stadium with Orient – seeing no other way of being able to vacate Brisbane Road so that it could be redeveloped. When this failed he sold the club 5 months ago!
Had an urge to fire off the email below.
Sent to Regan/Darryl/Snell at SFA, the Scottish Govt contact, and several media outlets.
I am making a reasonable assumption that there will not be a significant number of fans [any ?] – or fans’ representatives – invited to the Conference.
========================
“Dear Stewart,
as a life-time stakeholder – and paying customer – of Scottish football, I would appreciate answers to three very simple questions below, about The SFA Convention today.
Here is an extract from the SFA statement, which quotes yourself as follows;
“[Regan] said: âI am proud to host our members and invited guests from across the whole spectrum of Scottish football: member clubs, affiliated bodies, boards, council and staff and, of course, the wider football family…
“The programme is intended to look at the key areas of the Scottish FAâs strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision”…
âThis journey must be done together, with the assistance and support of all our members and the Convention is another step in the direction towards a prosperous future for Scottish football.â
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1848&newsCategoryID=3&newsID=14079
==============================================
1) How many fans – a.k.a. paying customers – have been invited to The SFA
Convention ?
2) How do you expect to deliver on the fourth SFA Strategic Pillar;
“Respected and Trusted to Lead”
if your organisation repeatedly fails to respond to fans’ enquiries ?
3) How can any organisation ‘make a journey together with stakeholders to make a
prosperous future’- when the customers are routinely ignored and treated with
apparent contempt ?
I look forward to your response.
Regards,
[StevieBC]”
Danish Pastry says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:33 pm
‘.. Arenât all his enterprises supposed to be penniless/debt-ridden?’
——–
Indeed they are troubled- but he personally and his sons are riding high on the hog, never fear. They will not want.
Except, perhaps, in the area of moral rectitude.
How hard it must be for any son/daughter to have to live on the wealth of a cheating father, who is reviled by honest folk , a revulsion that sets at naught the false ‘honours’ and ‘respect’ which their father was granted.
Which of us would wish to have a dad who was so publicly a cheat?
South0fThe Border says:
December 3, 2014 at 1:16 am
‘..What a good choice of speaker for the SFA â
———-
Like calling unto like……Bad basta.ds, all of them!
StevieBC says:
December 3, 2014 at 1:24 am
‘Had an urge to fire off the email below…#
————————
And more power to your elbow, StevieBC. Well done.
Whether there may be a reply or not, the record will show that the questions were asked.
And our memories are long, and will reach far into the dying days of those who have betrayed our trust and presently continue to live a lie.
In the name of Sport, supposedly!
South0fThe Border says:
December 3, 2014 at 1:16 am
‘.What a good choice of speaker for the SFA â I notice that he is not down for discussing how to make money out of owning a football club (Leyton Orient) outwith footballing related activities!!’
———
And there we have it! Guest speaker at the SFA Convention is a ….bird of a feather with the SFA.
God Almighty, are we beset by rogues, and chisellers, and cheats, and CG-types?
Who can put up with this? Who would want to put up with this rottenness?
How can our club chairmen not see that they are killing their own golden geese by allowing the SFA board any kind of credibility? How stupid must they be, to accept a corrupt governance?
It fair gars me greet.
Well, MIH are apparently potless, but didn’t the family property firm pick up lots of nice ex-MIH property at very reasonable prices?
John Clark says:
December 2, 2014 at 9:44 pm
….The sheer effrontery of the SFA in talking about âleading the gameâ is hard to bear.
Oh, for some media man to ask hard questions in the Q and A session!
===================================
If only Phil was invited!
scottc says:
December 3, 2014 at 5:42 am
10 0 Rate This
Well, MIH are apparently potless, but didnât the family property firm pick up lots of nice ex-MIH property at very reasonable prices?
————-
Haven’t really followed it but a story caught my eye yesterday about Murray Homes investing ÂŁ77m in a project in Fife.
It’s almost as though Murray’s former bankrupt business continues as a newco. But I confess to having a Pooh bear brain, so must have misunderstood it. Could never happen with a football club fortunately, uh, hang on …
Brigadier Bowels vouches for Charles’ interest in the gee-gees:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/would-be-rangers-owner-charles-green-1128312
Danish Pastry says:
December 3, 2014 at 7:19 am
Not sure about a project in Fife but this made a big splash in the Motherwell Times đ
http://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/news/local-headlines/a-start-at-last-for-murray-s-homes-1-3622466
http://t.co/RtAsmZJVZc
From the Record, I know, but seems like pretty fair comment on the cup attendances at the weekend.
@Martin
Yes, that was it. There was also some green site project in Fife too, I believe. It is incredible. Over here he’d be known as a ‘Konkursrytter’ â an ‘insolvency rider’! Good name for one Charlie’s horses
PS In the previous post the Brigadier was, in fact, Bowles, not Bowels. Too much listening to old re-runs of The Goon Show methinks.
John Clark says:
December 2, 2014 at 11:21 pm
——————————————————————
I think it’s worth remembering that the sleazy Hampden-based participants are all about self-survival and a major part of that is to ensure that they manage to slip-away before the proverbial hits the fan – as it will.
That’s why although it might look as though TSFM and other questioners are having no effect they actually are just by raising the questions and noting the non or evasive replies that are trotted out.
We will get them eventually as long as we don’t tire in what is a righteous task – but we need to spread our message further and supply football fans with the basic knowledge to further campaign for a root and branch reorganisation of the SFA and the corrupt who exercise power there.
There’s no point in waiting for a SMSM Sugar dadyy to come along and do that job – that simply isn’t going to happen. We have got to look to the internet and learn from it and determine how best to use it. I will do a separate post after this one to sound-out a few ideas which if TSFM could reach agreement on we could reach-out to a Scottish wide audience – and beyond – which stretches beyond football supporters.
Hope that’s whetted a few appetites đ đ đ
Danish Pastry says:
December 3, 2014 at 9:20 am
I like the sound of that word âKonkursrytter’. I’ve added it to my vocabulary and will try to slip it into conversation whenever opportunity arises. đ
Great to see the very creditable Derek Rae welcome Scotland’s new daily. Surely a opportunity for some proper sports journalism, too? A fresh start, perhaps. And maybe worth exploring any possible contacts.
PS Martin, for authenticity, pronounce the ‘y’ as the ‘ou’ in ‘you’. Next week, adjectives đ
neepheid says:
December 3, 2014 at 9:10 am
Other than reduce the cost, muted by supporters on football sites for years (so at least the writer’s catching up), he didn’t offer one explanation for the low attendances nor any new solution. A worthwhile, in my opinion, point he could have made was the daftness of scheduling the 3rd round of the Cup at the start of the Xmas shopping ‘experience’ when the ‘cost’ becomes much more of a factor. Even from where I am (Derbyshire), it just didn’t feel right to have the Scottish Cup ‘proper’ start before the New Year.
No doubt, though, that the poor attendances are a worrying factor, and need addressing. I wonder if Mr Regan will use this at his Convention as an example of how well he and his mates are doing in finding new ways to entice big money sponsors!
Still, I expect his convention will bring executives from all over the world – to find out how NOT to run a business!
A picture paints a thousand words – I don’t suppose you’ll see this one from the weekend in the next prospectus.
http://i4.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article4737351.ece/alternates/s615/JS51954858.jpg
AJ
I would have thought that the chief response for the execs would be,
“We can’t believe you’re getting away with what you do and we just wanted to come and see for it ourselves!”
All apart from the German lad. His response will obviously be “and why would you do that?”
From the Sons of Struth Facebook Page
Sons of Struth 22 mins ¡
We have recently received information that suggests Rangers board have swapped the naming rights to ibrox (sold to sports direct for ÂŁ1) for the rights to sponsor our shirts during the recently announced “normalisation” of our merchandise deal.
I would welcome comment from our chairman on this matter to clarify the situation and I’m sure someone in the mainstream media could put the question to him.
——————————–
It would certainly explain why MA might agree to drop the naming rights
In fairness Charles of Normandy – he’s been in the horse racing game for some years and his colours are green and pink – probably chosen long before his involvement with you know who. No French races are included – I was looking to see what other horse names he’s chosen – but we’ll have to wait and see.
http://www.racingpost.com/horses/owner_home.sd?owner_id=46500#topOwnerTabs=owner_stats_summary&bottomOwnerTabs=owner_horses
But then he goes and spoils it all by saying something stupid like; âThe colours are red, white and blue â be in no doubt.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-rangers-chief-executive-charles-green-4737228
He just can’t help himself – can he !
And after extensive research the same article asserts: “And he even kitted out the jockey in red, white and blue for its first race in France.”
Surely this rag is being sold as a newspaper under false pretences. Come on Anne Robinson – get on the case.
Scottish Cup Attendances
I wonder if the SPFL and the SFA actually talk to each other when arranging fixtures.
The next round of the Scottish Cup will take place exactly one week after the League cup semi finals, so virtually no league games for the first two weeks in February.
The Scottish ties could be a big anti climax, given the expected hype regarding one of the semis, coupled with the fact that none of the games will be “free” to season ticket holders.
Great planning? I think not !
Rangers deal with 32Red was only signed in April 2014 and was for 3 seasons, so it’s unlikely that there will be an immediate change on the shirts, unless there are break points in the contract, or part of the period is an option.