A spectre is haunting Scottish Football

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From the TSFM Manifesto šŸ™‚

A spectre is haunting Scottish Football ā€” 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 ofĀ 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, butĀ 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 playersĀ 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 orĀ theĀ courage or the imagination to follow it through.

We are anything but bampots. Rather, weĀ 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 businessmenĀ free rein to enrich themselves at the expense of the fans.

Whether laws were broken or not, theĀ 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 someĀ back slapping, makingĀ 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.

 

 

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About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

4,164 thoughts on “A spectre is haunting Scottish Football”


  1. Arrrg IPad problem ……

    In addition, many of the SPFL clubs will be waiting for the Rangers who will encounter many difficult away fixtures , which will be offset by officialdom dominated fixtures at Ibrox.

    As far as all the garbage about Celtic wanting Rangers back in the league , our lads (in the team) will be chomping at the bit to hand out a hiding in February, although every game has a ? , if Mr Ashley and Liambias fund a few signings in January and then get thumped then they will be in serious trouble.

    They are new to a crazy 2 horse race , which traditionally is the default mode for Scottish football; all this calculating down sizing stuff will count for nowt when the Bears realise that the games up , 15K to 20K crowds will be the norm.


  2. Danish Pastry says:
    December 19, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    I tend to class the word ‘principal’ along with dignity and integrity and thought these were values that the SMSM, particularly the likes of Keevins and Johnston, considered laughable whenever mooted in the ‘Rangers saga’ by those expecting such things from the SFA/SPL. Or do they only form part of ‘Rangersness’, and are therefor only of importance to football when it suits the agenda of Keevins and his ilk? If the SFA had been formed of men of principal, so much of what has transpired in the efforts to save, then recreate, a Rangers would never have seen the light of day.


  3. alexander276 says:
    December 19, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    I think the reasonable position here is to accept the results of an exhaustive disciplinary procedure. I will however refrain from describing any other view as ā€˜parochialā€™.
    ===================================================
    I have no idea whether the disciplinary procedure was ‘exhaustive’ or not.

    What I do know is that many ‘exhaustive disciplinary procedures’ throughout the world and over the millenia have found innocent people guilty and sometimes put them to death with the lucky ones only being incarcerated for life or decades.

    I will never accept any Court of Star Chamber decision that is closed to the public and doesn’t, at the minimum, supply a full transcript of the evidence given.

    And why don’t I – quite simply, I might be an innocent guy dragged before it.


  4. jimlarkin says:
    December 19, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    Its Both.. In England the 2 things as far as Football is concerned are the same thing.. As of Today, Hereford Football Club no longer Exists, however whether a NEW club is created remains to be seen šŸ™‚


  5. Allyjambo says:
    December 19, 2014 at 7:28 pm
    16 0 Rate This

    Danish Pastry says:
    December 19, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    I tend to class the word ā€˜principalā€™ along with dignity and integrity and thought these were values that the SMSM, particularly the likes of Keevins and Johnston, considered laughable whenever mooted in the ā€˜Rangers sagaā€™ by those expecting such things from the SFA/SPL. Or do they only form part of ā€˜Rangersnessā€™, and are therefor only of importance to football when it suits the agenda of Keevins and his ilk? If the SFA had been formed of men of principal, so much of what has transpired in the efforts to save, then recreate, a Rangers would never have seen the light of day.
    —–

    The principal characters of the piece (CO, SR & ND) are, judging by their actions, hardly men of principle šŸ˜®


  6. Do we not get it yet.

    Bonuses elsewhere,

    Pretendygers the order shop not the fitba club.

    From FT

    March link

    http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2014/03/11/1797052/it-pays-to-be-an-owner-sports-direct-edition/?

    It pays to be an owner, Sports Direct edition

    Dan McCrum

    | Mar 11 11:42 | Comment | Share

    Sports Direct shareholders are a happy bunch. From less than a pound five years ago, the UK retailer is now worth more than eight, and the shares trade at almost three times their 2007 listing price. So time, perhaps, to thank the chief executive.

    From Tuesdayā€™s notice of the annual meeting.

    In December 2011, the Board stated its intention to seek shareholder approval for a share incentive scheme in which Mike Ashley, the Companyā€™s Executive Deputy Chairman, would be eligible to participate. This reflected the fact that Mike Ashley had received no remuneration for his substantial contribution to the Company since its initial public offering in February 2007, and that he is not a participant in the 2011 Executive Bonus Share Scheme (under which awards have been made to other executive directors).

    Which probably also reflects the fact that profit targets for next year are higher than expected, and investors are persuaded that the group isnā€™t about to buy struggling department store chain Debenhams.

    But, as the FT writes:

    The billionaire, who holds a controlling stake of 62 per cent in the sports goods retailer, will receive another 8m shares, which at a share price of 8.17p on Tuesday morning was worth Ā£65.36m and represents 1.3 per cent of the groupā€™s issued share capital.

    Mike Ashley has tripled his fortune, and his stake in Sports Direct is now worth Ā£3bn. So what additional incentive does he need to turn up to work in the morning? He would probably give up without that 2 per cent tip.

    It isnā€™t to begrudge Mr Ashley the cash, but to wonder what the principle is here. Share options were introduced to align the interests of investors and managers, to make executives act like owners. Some might say that becomes redundant when the chief executive is the owner.

    At one level it is also a sign of how the pay of executives is oddly a non-issue, even given all the discussion of inequality. As Chris Dillow recently wrote:

    Whatever the cause, the fact is that the lack of outrage about CEO rip-offs is itself evidence of the great power they have ā€“ the power to keep some debates off the agenda.

    Ashley is a founder, and so is perhaps judged as an entrepreneur. Minority investors might not be so relaxed if it was a parent corporation that decided to award itself with an additional 1.3 per cent of the company, to reflect its successful ownership.

    Alternatively, maybe it makes sense as an efficient wage approach. Managers must be paid enough to stop them stealing from owners, so when itā€™s the owner in charge he has to be paid enough to stop him doing something on a whim, like buying Debenhams or acting in an even more unfriendly way to shareholders. Hence the attachment of a debt limit term to the option grant.

    It is proposed that, if shareholders approve the implementation of the Supplemental Executive Bonus Share Scheme, an initial grant of nil-cost options over eight million ordinary shares in the Company (amounting to approximately 1.3% of the issued share capital of the Company) would be made to Mike Ashley. This grant of nil-cost options would be conditional upon the achievement by the Company of EBITDA for FY2014 of Ā£330 million and EBITDA for FY2015 of Ā£410 million as well as a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 1.5x or less at the end of FY2015. If these performance targets are all met, the nil-cost options would vest in July 2018. In light of the proposed grant, Mike Ashley has informed the Board that he will not exercise his shareholder rights to vote on the resolution.

    Either way, as we said, shareholders are happy.

    The insiders, however.

    25 February, 2014:

    Director/PDMR shareholdings

    Sports Direct International plc. has been informed today in accordance with DTR 3.1.2R that the following Director had dealings on 25 February 2014 in ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the capital of the Company, which are held beneficially by him.

    21 February, 2014:

    Director/PDMR shareholdings

    Sports Direct International plc. has been informed today in accordance with DTR 3.1.2R that the following Directors and their connected persons have had dealings on 20 and 21 February 2014 in ordinary shares of 10 pence each in the capital of the Company, which are held beneficially by them.

    Related Links:
    Sports Direct staff in line for Ā£87.5m bonus ā€“ FT Alphaville
    Mervā€™s swerve from inflation control ā€“ FT Alphaville

    This entry was posted by Dan McCrum on Tuesday March 11th, 2014 11:42. Tagged with Executive pay, mike ashley, Sports Direct International.


  7. Pictish says:
    December 19, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    and

    TSFM says:
    December 19, 2014 at 4:34 pm

    I don’t usually comment much on posts like these, but tonight I’m making an exception as the circumstances are, well … exceptional.

    I understand what TSFM was doing in deleting the link. I have no problem with that. This is his house, and I know what the purpose of this site is supposed to be. That’s why not every piece I write ends up on here.

    I believed that todays had something to contribute to the debate. It was not a critique of Aberdeen, Logan or even a defence of Tonev. Not exactly anyway. And it was in no way an attempt to open up wounds.

    I am commenting because I’ve been accused of “conflating” the situations at Rangers and the Tonev situation, as if I’m indulging in whatabouttery.

    As anyone who READ THE PIECE as opposed to selectively skimming it, will already know, it was NOT ME who did that but assorted hacks, and the whole point of the article was to have a go at THEM for their suggestion that what Celtic have done is something of which the club should be ashamed.

    I’ve stated my views on the incident in question. I hope that by now it’s clear that my blog is not only a friend of this site and a supporter of its aims but one that tries to be fair to other clubs outside Glasgow, and indeed has tried to build bridges with the Rangers support too.

    I shouldn’t need to defend myself like this. I would hope what I write speaks for itself.


  8. James Forrest says:

    December 19, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    James

    Whatever the topic Ill always have a read


  9. James Forrest says:

    December 19, 2014 at 10:21 pm

    James

    Whatever the topic Ill always have a read.

    Dinnae fash.

    Just Tonev thing was getting wearing.

    Timing ?

    Some things lose momentum?

    Keep blogging James


  10. MA owns 62% of Sports Direct. Who owns the rest?

    News hounds is it perchancity anyone we know of?


  11. ianagain:

    Thanks for that mate.

    I’ll tell you guys, I think the work this site does is absolutely vital, and I consider it far and away the most important site commenting on Scottish football issues. I stayed away from writing anything on the Tonev verdict at all until the media started to hit Celtic with the hammer and then tried to compare our attitude in standing up for our player with the Rangers board’s belligerance over fines and Ashley.

    One has nothing at all to do with the other, and I thought they deserved a blast for the suggestion, which I find offensive.

    That was it. I didn’t realise it would create such a storm over here, where, as some people have said, the issue has been done to death.

    This site needs to be about more than squabbling. It is the one site with the potential to educate and inform – and even unify – the supporters of our clubs, with the objective of real reform in mind.

    Scottish football needs that more than anything. If you examine the reactions of Celtic and Hearts, for example, over the Ann Budge statements, what you find, when you strip away the rhetoric of the media, is two clubs who have shown each other a good deal of respect and want to work together to drain some of the poison from that fixture.

    Celtic – Aberdeen is a fixture that shouldn’t even HAVE poison in it. That should be based on mutual respect and, hopefully, a newly developing rivalry on the pitch.

    I understand the passion this particular incident has inspired, but I hope we’re not losing sight of the bigger picture. Dark clouds are gathering about our national sport again, and every one of us is going to have to put animosity aside if we’re going to prevent another summer like the one two years ago.

    That’s when this site is at its very best, and I do apologise to anyone who thinks I’ve done something to mess with that.

    It was not my intention. Far from it.


  12. Folks

    I really am interested in any of you chaps who have the finance site logins to discover just who are the remaining 38% owners of Sports Direct


  14. ianagain says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:28 pm
    5 0 Rate This

    Folks

    I really am interested in any of you chaps who have the finance site logins to discover just who are the remaining 38% owners of Sports Direct
    ———–

    You thinking stock in SD has been traded for onerous contracts?


  15. Danish Pastry says:

    December 20, 2014 at 12:10 am

    1

    0

    Rate This

    ianagain says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:28 pm
    5 0 Rate This

    Folks

    I really am interested in any of you chaps who have the finance site logins to discover just who are the remaining 38% owners of Sports Direct
    ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€“

    You thinking stock in SD has been traded for onerous contracts?
    ===========================================

    Danish

    No.
    MAs SD is limited to how much stock it gets. Add RR its exponentially bigger. Keep adding ?

    Its FC IP he needs nothing else.


  17. James Forrest says:
    December 19, 2014 at 11:01 pm
    ‘….This site needs to be about more than squabbling. It is the one site with the potential to educate and inform ā€“ and even unify ā€“ the supporters of our clubs, with the objective of real reform in mind.’
    ——–
    And that is a really important point to emphasise, I think.

    The general run of football supporters of probably the majority of clubs shared a common belief that our Football Authorities did us wrong, by opting for perversion of the facts rather than honest squaring up to the wrongdoing of one old club and the belligerence of the fly-by-night founder of a new club.

    that is, the real enemy of the integrity of Scottish Football is not the now dead club, or even the presently ‘on life-support’ new club, but the very people charged with the fair, just, equitable administration of our Sport.

    Essentially, it doesn’t matter that the individual cheating club was RFC(IL). Had it been another club, and the SFA had dealt with it in the same dishonourable,disgracefully accommodating way, we would still have all cried “Foul!”

    Because we know that there can be no Integrity whatsoever, no fair play, no level playing field, if the very legislative and administrative body is prepared to cheat and deceive.

    That is why I personally care very deeply that we all do our best to prevent the blog descending into an ‘anti-Rangers’ blog.

    It is an anti-cheating, anti-SFA cheating, anti-5 way agreement, anti-capitulation to ‘moneymen’ blog, moneymen who spit in the face of Integrity and challenge/threaten the governing bodies of our sport.

    By all means, as a side-show, let us investigate and probe and query what may be happening to the fortunes of the new club which, unfortunately, seems to cling to and rejoice in the baggage of the dead club.

    But let us do that in order only to try to ensure that our Football Authorities are not as accommodating with the present directors ( however wealthily backed)of what appears to be another rule-breaking new club as they were with CG and associates.
    To have had the soul of Scottish Football sold once to greedy men was once too often.
    That we should allow it to happen again is unthinkable.
    And only the united voice of us internet bampots stands in the way of it happening again.

    Ogilvie, Regan, Doncaster MUST be prevented from allowing Ashley to continue to have power to appoint his men to the RIFC plc board, and prevented from having a higher percentage of shares in RIFC plc than the rules currently allow.
    If the SFA don’t tackle this issue, then the game is a real bogey, and every club in the SFA will be a victim of surrender of principle to a big-money bully boy.
    In my opinion.


  18. ianagain says:
    December 19, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    “Pretendygers the order shop not the fitba club.”
    ————————————
    I’m trying to join the dots whereas you already have and coloured in the picture. Perhaps you could explain how this pieces together in a manner that even an idiot might understand?


  19. Any hoo

    I’m in RTC nostalgia mode.

    Anyone mind back to when the papers were “delivered” every morning without fail?

    Me and Goosy were planning hi jacking Schweppes motors to pay the debts?

    I almost cant believe this saga has gone on this long.

    Its beyond belief really.

    It definitely is now.

    SFA SPFL more useless than they were then.


  20. Castofthousands says:

    December 20, 2014 at 12:45 am

    1

    0

    Rate This

    ianagain says:
    December 19, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    ā€œPretendygers the order shop not the fitba club.ā€
    ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”
    Iā€™m trying to join the dots whereas you already have and coloured in the picture. Perhaps you could explain how this pieces together in a manner that even an idiot might understand?
    =========================================================
    Sports Direct are constrained as to the amount they can buy from Adidas and Nike as “SPORTS DIRECT”
    Rangers Retail are not I assume.


  21. And other fitba clubs. did I hear he had a tickle et some non league?


  23. ianagain says:
    December 20, 2014 at 1:00 am
    ‘Iā€™m in RTC nostalgia mode…’
    —–
    If it’s nostalgia you want, ianagain,I wonder what happened to ‘Porty Belly’,’Micknagopaleen’,’Kajun Firefly’,’John the fishfarmer’ and ‘Chic le freak’, and a host of other colourfully named early posters?
    Are they still with us under different names?
    And here am I, dull, prosaic, unimaginative plain John Clark(e)!


  24. Sports Direct announce the acquisition of SFA as the Scottish trophy delivery. European arm of their European sportswear business arm (UK division).
    SFA will become a valuable subsidiary of the RIFC marketing division of Sports direct retail, and will synergistically enhance the ability of RIFC to sell mass produced nylon trash at massively inflated prices to a a large and underdeveloped market segment, by means of their ability to reliably deliver shamelessly devalued baubles to those with significantly more money than sense and signifantly more sense than integrity.
    “we believe the premium we paid for this underperforming entity is more than justified by the strategic benefits that accrue to both parties!” said a spokesmen for sports Direct, when questioned, as he unveiled to an eager press, the figurine of a prostate SFA compliance officer kneeling in masonic salutaion before an imperious Mike Ashley statuette, as the all new Scottish cup trophy.


  25. Ally McCoist opens up on WHY he’s walking: ‘It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make’

    ALLY McCoist yesterday revealed heā€™s walking away from Rangers so he can put his family first. The Ibrox boss told his board last week heā€™s invoking his 12-month notice period at the cash-strapped club. McCoist said: ā€œOnce I made the decision there was a sense of relief in the knowledge I wonā€™t be here in a year.ā€ DR 20 December

    I completely agree that protecting his family from whatever pressures he or they perceive is paramount. However, putting your family first, would not normally involve continuing in the job for another year surely? If the conditions of his job are such that his family are in need of protection as a result, then he should leave immediately. I know I would, Iā€™d hate to think that he would hang on, subjecting his family to more of the same, just to collect another bumper pay packet and bonus. I mean, the man is not exactly skint is he?


  26. ianagain says:
    December 20, 2014 at 1:11 am
    5 0 Rate This
    =========================================================
    Sports Direct are constrained as to the amount they can buy from Adidas and Nike as ā€œSPORTS DIRECTā€
    Rangers Retail are not I assume.

    ———————————————————————-
    I can’t follow your logic that MA’s strategy is to pump millions into RIFC so that he can access additional supply of Adidas/Nike product. Searching Rangers Megastore online shows no Adidas or Nike products for sale – replica kits are all Puma branded.

    I have no idea if Adidas/Nike are restricting supply to Sports Direct, but if they are, I don’t see why they would then choose to supply product through Rangers Retail, especially if it is obviously controlled by MASH.


  27. A number of matters in this saga have been playing on my mind lately and I’ve been unable to come up with any answers. So I thought I’d call in here and see if any clarity is forthcoming. In no particular order:-

    1. Ashley/Rangers were recently served with Notices of Complaint.
    I am assuming that this is due to their lack of response from the SFA request for information from them back in October.
    If so, why are they being given a further 6 weeks (to 26 January 2015) before they even have to answer the complaint. Almost 3 months will have elapsed by that point.
    If the Notice of Complaint was not instigated as a result of their failure to respond, then who instigated it? I’ve seen Chris Graham & the UoF getting the blame for it following a recent DR article claiming that “Rangers fans” had written to the SFA.

    2. In the build up to the AGM last year there was a lot of noise surrounding McCoist and the fact that he was proxying his shares to a supporters club.
    There’s no such noise this year. Given the sensitivities of who will be voting with who & how crucial 1 million shares (1.23%) could be, I would have thought it may have been something that our intrepid SMSM could have discussed with him. Or has he quietly disposed of his shareholding?

    3. A number of staff down Ibrox way have recently lost their jobs as a result of cost cutting measures. Having been made redundant a couple of times myself I take no pleasure from their predicament.
    However, have they all signed NDA’s (gagging orders)? Or are they, without exception, all loyal and true?
    It’s been reported that they were admin/non-football staff on modest salaries so I find it hard to believe they’d be subject to the type of gagging orders normally reserved for those who’d access to the inner sanctum.
    The tabloid press would normally be like flies round sh*** with an opportunity like this.
    This ties in nicely with my final point. Andrew Dickson (the media guy) was one of those who recently left, and who is now “freelancing”. It comes as no surprise that he’s very quickly being looked after in the tabloids, with regular pieces being published in the Record, Sunday Mail, Daily Mail, the Metro.
    I wonder if it has crossed his mind to contact a few of his ex-colleagues who’ve just been made redundant too for an “exclusive”. Or has he agreed to keep quiet too?

    Just thinking out loud!


  28. ecobhoy says:
    December 19, 2014 at 8:57 pm

    What I do know is that many ā€˜exhaustive disciplinary proceduresā€™ throughout the world and over the millenia have found innocent people guilty and sometimes put them to death with the lucky ones only being incarcerated for life or decades.
    ================================

    This is the part the media don’t seem to get. History shows us just because respected legal people hand down a verdict it can often be the wrong one. I’m not in any way comparing the Tonev case to this, but the wrong judgement was passed on the first Hillsborough inquiry by respected legal people. That is just one of the disgraceful miscarriages of justice I have witnessed in my lifetime, and all administered by respected legal people. Tom English, who appears to be an intelligent man, would do well to reflect on history before being so damning in his judgement, which was based simply on the standing of the legal people involved.


  29. Ianagain,

    I believe Oldham Athletic`s stadium, Boundary Park, has been renamed Sports Direct Stadium, and there is a kit deal with Sondico.


  31. Yerevan,

    On point 1, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the deadline for a response sees the Ibrox club and their Newcastle cousin through most of the transfer window. I would think a key reason for avoiding dual ownership would be to prevent any shady movement of players and funds between the clubs. The SFA, again, allow themselves, not only to do the wrong thing, but to be seen to do the wrong thing. Meanwhile, our clubs stand by and let it happen. I’m with Resin lab dog’s typo, above – time for the SFA to get their finger out!


  32. Up the Hoops says
    Iā€™m not in any way comparing the Tonev case to this, but the wrong judgement was passed on the first Hillsborough inquiry by respected legal people. That is just one of the disgraceful miscarriages of justice I have witnessed in my lifetime, and all administered by respected legal people.
    ————————–
    Dearie me you and Eco are killing this place with your Tonev stuff. šŸ™„


  33. Tonev may be a victim here not of some institutional bias but some accidental mishearing. It seems clear by his actions that Logan at least thought he heard something.

    But it is ludicrous to link these events to the great injustices of history and in any case these instances do not seem to hinge on the protocol of balance of probability or whatever.Moreover if we are to drastically rebalance the rules in football disciplinary tribunals what would be the consequence? It would make racism of the type asserted in this case consequence free. What is the greater injustice? Turning a blind eye to sneaky racism or the theoretical possibility that in two tribunals in front of experienced decision makers someone may be mislabelled? Those who want error free justice might prefer the second form of injustice to the first, but in their principled position of requiring absolute certainty they might also find it difficult to convict other victims of one on one abuse – rapists, child torturers, etc. There is more than one moral high ground here.


  34. Bill1903 says:
    December 20, 2014 at 8:58 am

    Up the Hoops says
    Iā€™m not in any way comparing the Tonev case to this, but the wrong judgement was passed on the first Hillsborough inquiry by respected legal people. That is just one of the disgraceful miscarriages of justice I have witnessed in my lifetime, and all administered by respected legal people.
    ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€“
    Dearie me you and Eco are killing this place with your Tonev stuff. šŸ™„
    ==========================================================
    Obviously uth is well capable of answering for himself. I have consistently stated that I don’t know what happened or didn’t happen between Tonev and Logan.

    I also happen to believe that alleged racist offences should be tried in public in the criminal courts.

    And a very important element of that isn’t just the heavier sentence on conviction but the investigation being carried out by the police. I wonder how many of the players at the game were actually questioned?

    But one thing I am certain of is that there would be a greater incentive to answer questions truthfully and that wouldn’t just apply to the players directly involved but to everyone who was in a position to have heard the words exchanged.

    As to ‘killing this place’ I post on a wide-range of topics on a daily basis but I also often respond to a poster who has posted on something when either I disagree with their position; want to understand their position more fully; or argue for my own position.

    So my post numbers on any subject which interests me would probably be in a rough proportion to the total number of posts on that subject. feel free to check that out if you wish.

    As to UTH’s mention of previous miscarriages of justice I would simply add that there have been many even in my lifetime and probably a helluva lot more that haven’t and will never see the light of day.

    The problem with a lot of the major miscarriages which have come to light such as Hillsborough and many of the alleged IRA bombing convictions is that they happened because of directives – implied or otherwise – from the very top of the Establishment.

    But there are many reasons for miscarriages taking place and a lot aren’t intentional but simply accidental or through a collections of ‘facts’ or ‘probabilities’ that appear to make a solid case but which often fall apart when looked at dispassionately after a passgae of time.

    I obviously believe the Tonev/Logan case is well worth discussing as is the Paton incident because both in their own ways raise issues about SFA governance and discipline procedures. I actually thought that was one of the mainstays that brings disparate posters to this site.

    However there are many topics on this site which don’t interest me and therefore I seldom read posts on them. That’s not to say they aren’t important and shouldn’t be discussed but I choose often not to participate and quite often that’s because I feel I have no expertise to offer.

    I will not be upset if you don’t read any more of my posts whether they been on Tonev/Logan or anything else. However I retain the right to post on whatever takes my fancy as long as it remains within the blog’s remit and moderation.

    I have no problem in extending the same courtesy to you.


  35. tcup 2012 says:
    December 20, 2014 at 8:27 am

    http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ally-mccoist-reasons-behind-rangers-4842819

    I think you exaggerated how much information was given, though McCoist does show much more insight into his own ability than many of us imagined:

    ‘but I donā€™t think I could manage or coach any other team in Scotland.’

    Possibly the most honest thing the man has ever said!

    Again Ian, you exaggerate the amount of information given in this piece, as ‘blah, blah, blah’ says so much about the SMSM.

    http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-you-4842816


  36. Pictish says:
    December 20, 2014 at 10:13 am
    alexander276 says:
    December 20, 2014 at 9:14 am

    Tonev may be a victim here not of some institutional bias but some accidental mishearing. It seems clear by his actions that Logan at least thought he heard something.
    ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€”ā€“
    I thought it was decided that Logan was probably the victim here? But weā€™ll just go round and round in circles with ecobhoy and upthehoops comparing it to more and more ludicrous miscarraiges of justice. Whatā€™s next from our resident legal experts ā€“ Spanish Inquisition?
    =========================================================
    All miscarriages of justice by their very nature are ludicrous but very serious for the individuals adversely affected by them. As such I would never treat them lightly.

    I think the SFA have decided Logan was the ‘victim’ but that doesn’t mean all posters here believe that to be the case. And they are entitled to their view.

    If you had actually read my posts you would see that I have no idea what happened and on the scraps of reasoning supplied as ‘evidence’ of Tone’s guilt I am not persuaded.

    But that’s not to say that Tonev is innocent or that Logan is guilty of anything. My belief is that alleged racist incidents on the field of play should be investigated by the police and heard in the criminal courts.

    Others may well disagree with that position and they have every right to. It seems that some people appear to be attempting to make this a: ‘My club right or wrong’ issue’.

    That is not my position and never will be as football and Celtic aren’t my whole life – they are simply a part of my life. As such I believe I have a wide and open view on Scottish football issues.

    What is important to me that the sport is governed fairly in the interest of every club without fear or favour and that sporting integrity is the beating heart that sustains it.


  37. Logan/Tonev ….. as the spanish might say ” Ā”Basta ya!” – Enough already šŸ˜


  38. Resin_lab_dog says:
    December 20, 2014 at 2:01 am

    Robbyp says:
    December 20, 2014 at 3:11 am

    Glad I did not read these last night. The rest of the house would have awoke at the sound of my uncontrollable laughter thinking I had flipped.

    Everybody needs a good laugh. šŸ˜† šŸ˜† šŸ˜†


  39. In my opinion further debate on TSFM about Tonev is very unlikely to add any value to the blog. Just my opinion.


  41. Brian McNally @McNallyMirror Ā· 2h 2 hours ago

    Rangers resignee McCoist: ā€œThe last 3 years have been taxing…” Not quite how Hector & his HMRC chaps saw Ibrox non-payments!
    šŸ˜†


  42. Celtic supporting Jim Murphy MP on Aff the Baw today.

    Reeked of vote-winning charm offensive by a political apparatchik, but to be fair, some very good thoughts on Scottish football.


  43. Some clarification from me, and certainly my last word on the Tonev issue.

    I have no idea whether Tonev is guilty or not, he may well be. The only point I was making is just because a respected Judge rules on a case where there is no corroboration does not make the verdict beyond dispute like some of the media have implied this week, especially Tom English.

    No more from me on this one.


  44. Only had time to speed read this blog in the last week or so but I’m surprised there hasn’t been more discussion about Derek Llambias being named CEO. Apologies if it has already been said, but this is pretty significant isn’t it?

    Up to now we’ve wondered where was Mike Ashley going with TRFC? Loaned them enough to look under the bonnet but Phil has said the message back from Derek was just how seriously troubled this business was. Insolvency loomed. If I was Derek I’d have been a bit surprised at a response of OK, hear what you say, I’d like you to be CEO!

    Yes, this is a I don’t really care message to the SFA re their dual ownership concerns but more fundamentally what does it say about Mike Ashley? OK maybe he sees an opportunity for the right MASH – TRFC contracts to make a buck. But I also wonder, could it just be that he is the type of guy who thinks (maybe rightly?) that he can succeed in a challenge that everyone said was doomed to failure. A sort of business machismo? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting a throw money away approach. All the noises are that austerity is on the way, hence the man who doesn’t walk away now wanting to… well walk away but not for a year!

    Much speculation as ever, but I have always been fascinated by what motivates people who frankly already can have whatever money can buy.


  45. Agree Jim Murphy was disappointingly well informed, interesting and genuinely good value.

    Kudos to willie miller there too. As RW and CY dived head forth into a predictable I’m bigger pals with ally than you competition it was miller who said I think there’s maybe a slightly bigger issue to be dealt with first tbh. Clearly RW and CW saw the Ashley injection as a foregone conclusion.

    Jean. It’s not surprising he used the phrase ” taxing”. It is taxing, you know, paying tax n that. You could be so much better if you just didn’t bother with all that little people nonsense!


  46. Do we think Roberto Mancini would be wise to rely on the use of Murray Park to train his squad when they are in Glasgow in February?


  47. Here’s a prediction after MA visits the SFA, in future the Scottish Cup will be sponsored by SD and everybody will be happy šŸ™‚


  48. Why do BBC Sportsound block Open All Mics? It’s not full match commentary? How many Scots around the world would like to listen in? I’ve got a choice of about 8-9 EPL matches live from on telly from my provider but, to be honest, would rather listen to Open All Mics. The annoying voice telling me about ‘contractual agreements’ blocking the broadcast is very English sounding. It’s a conspiracy šŸ˜€

    Over to SSB, who, to be fair, are unblocked. Pundit joy as a goal goes in at Ibrox. Sombre tones report a Hearts scoring at Tyncastle. Funny stuff.


  49. Taysider says:
    December 20, 2014 at 2:22 pm
    =================================
    Re Llambias being appointed CEO. Most of us seem to be of the view (from what I’ve read) that the SFA will accommodate Ashley at the end of the day. Perhaps it just goes into the mix with everything else amidst our attempts to get fair governance in our game.


  50. upthehoops says:
    December 20, 2014 at 3:33 pm
    1 0 Rate This

    Taysider says:
    December 20, 2014 at 2:22 pm
    =================================
    Re Llambias being appointed CEO. Most of us seem to be of the view (from what Iā€™ve read) that the SFA will accommodate Ashley at the end of the day. Perhaps it just goes into the mix with everything else amidst our attempts to get fair governance in our game.
    ———-

    Agree with UTH. It was the most expected and unsurprising development that it probably hardly merited comment.

    @Smugas, Murphy made some very decent observations on the game (while shamelessly punting his book). Trying to appear a man of the people and no doubt succeeding with some listeners. Glad he got a free university education. Lucky him.


  51. Was in my Mothers earlier and she had Clyde on,not for the sport ,she is 83 and knows better,but it was background noise,I happened to hear Archie [WOOOSSSHHHH] on and he was telling us about the poor crowd , at approx 14.55,he had Shug the arithmatician out with his abbacus counting the crowd ,entertaining stuff,really focused,I then left and tuned in on the car radio ,the first in a long long time,jeez ,somethings in life do change ,sometimes for the better ,sometimes for the worse,Brenda what do you take to listen to this guff its truly right up there in the cartoon world of make believe unlike the other issue in Scottish Football,the nightmare that is the SFA ,I just wonder what MA has on them as sure as night follows day he has found something or someone has given him the goose with the golden egg ,Regan would accept being a shelf stacker in a supermarket if he could get the job ,he just cant quit as that would give the game away,as for his boss ,he is the preverbial caught in the headlights and is hoping the end is swift,are Panto’s not meant to be full of laughter.


  52. From The Sun

    Jackie McNamara blasts Paton spitting ban

    Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara has hit out at the SFA, branding them a ā€œpantomimeā€ outfit after Paul Paton was slapped with a two-game ban with no grounds for appeal. Jonny Hayes, the alleged victim of Patonā€™s spitting, said Paton had done nothing wrong.

    McNamara said: ā€œWe laughed about it being pantomime season just the other day and itā€™s proved to be the case. He added: ā€œIf one of our players had spat on him Iā€™d be the first to come down on them. Spitting is the worst thing you can do to someone.ā€

    McNamara also said that Hayes and Derek McInnes ā€œdeserve a lot of creditā€ for defending Paton.

    I didn’t realise the incident had incurred a 2-match ban: ‘With no grounds of appeal’. I didn’t even realise that a punishment could be inflicted without any appeal being allowed.

    I wouldn’t agree that spitting is the worst thing you can do to someone. I would think that cynically tackling a player in a way that might or does break bones and might end his career is much worse.

    I’ll keep an eye on Tom English and his tweet reaction now that he has two further managers who don’t accept SFA decisions and have the temerity to voice their opinion.

    However I wouldn’t be in the least surprised if Jackie got his knuckles rapped for the Pantomime crack as we all know the SFA haven’t a humorous bone in their body corporate despite all the laughs they bring us.


  53. ecobhoy says:
    December 20, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    I didnā€™t realise the incident had incurred a 2-match ban: ā€˜With no grounds of appealā€™. I didnā€™t even realise that a punishment could be inflicted without any appeal being allowed.

    The SFA regard an individual not accepting the punishment offered, in the Paton case a 2 match ban being offered, as the ā€˜appealā€™.


  54. The People have spoken, according to twitter the Ibrox crowd has just made it into 5 figures.

    Officially 28,053 though.


  55. ecobhoy says:
    December 20, 2014 at 4:56 pm
    ================================

    Personally I thought Jim Murphy was generally very good on Off the Ball today.


  56. ‘This site needs to be about more than squabbling. It is the one site with the potential to educate and inform ā€“ and even unify ā€“ the supporters of our clubs, with the objective of real reform in mind.’

    Never been on for a while and it seems there has been some mild criticism of Celtic.

    I agree with the posters quote from above, stop the squabbling, lets get back to what we are really good at

    Attacking all things Rangers and especially that Ally McCoist

    šŸ™‚


  57. andygraham.66 says:
    December 20, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    I think that when TRFC text in the crowd numbers to the BBC their phone is using auto-correct, with a default of 28,000, as set by Lord Charles šŸ™„


  58. ecobhoy says:
    December 20, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    I am amazed at the personalised ire that Jim Murphy has attracted on this site ā€“ also slightly worried that it doesnā€™t seem to be for any footballing comments but for his political affiliation.

    ===================
    Have some posts regarding Murphy been removed? I can’t seen any mention of his political affiliation.


  59. I wonder if any ‘journalist’ will be brave enough to enquire after the ‘adjusted to take account of reality’ attendance figure this time round!


  60. yourhavingalaugh says:
    December 20, 2014 at 4:37 pm
    8 0 Rate This

    Was in my Mothers earlier and she had Clyde on,not for the sport ,she is 83 and knows better,but it was background noise,I happened to hear Archie [WOOOSSSHHHH] on and he was telling us about the poor crowd , at approx 14.55,he had Shug the arithmatician out with his abbacus counting the crowd ,entertaining stuff,really focused,I then left and tuned in on the car radio ,the first in a long long time,jeez ,somethings in life do change ,sometimes for the better ,sometimes for the worse,Brenda what do you take to listen to this guff its truly right up there in the cartoon world of make believe unlike the other issue in Scottish Football,the nightmare that is the SFA ,I just wonder what MA has on them as sure as night follows day he has found something or someone has given him the goose with the golden egg ,Regan would accept being a shelf stacker in a supermarket if he could get the job ,he just cant quit as that would give the game away,as for his boss ,he is the preverbial caught in the headlights and is hoping the end is swift,are Pantoā€™s not meant to be full of laughter.
    ———-

    @yourhaving, I only realised today that Clyde Super Sevco Broadcasting had dear old Archie on Clyde 2 whooff’ing direct from Ibrox, and he’ll be at Easter Road next week. SSB is the only unblocked stream of Scottish fitba coverage for us exiles, so fair play to them.

    The callers, some of them, are very good. The best ones tend to be harangued by the pundits, though.

    The best way to approach SSB, if you do listen, is to treat it as part sport, part comedy. After years of the Sevco pantomime it’s the best way to follow that too, imo.


  61. ecobhoy: you have introduced slants into the Murphy discussion which I clearly never referred to in any recent post.

    If you take people as you find them, can you perhaps do the same for written content, instead of dreaming up sub texts?


  62. ecobhoy: let’s leave it at that, little point in prolonging such discussions.


  64. Oh Dear
    it looks like the SSB Xmas duo of Archie and Shug’s schooling has been laid bare ,they where adamant there was approx 10k in the ground at kick of and maybe had risen to 15k by 10min into the game,with the official attendance being given as just over 28k ,where the gates left open ,we should be told because if not the old duo are desperately in need of a specsavers appointment for xmas,then again it explains some of the guff that Shug tries to tell us he has seen every week.


  66. Ok it’s a sure sign of old and grumpy when your instantaneous, knee jerk reaction to that photo is. SIT. DOWN.


  67. Some call on the evening Aff the Baw from Davie in Lossimouth. Withering criticism of glory hunting supporters who travel from every nook and cranny of Scotland to support one or other of the Big Two.

    Claimed these supporters, heading to Celtic Park and Ibrox, are killing Scottish football ‘stone dead’ and that the clubs concerned would sell Scottish football down the river by leaving at the drop of a hat, should the opportunity arise.

    Thank goodness it was Stuart and Tam and not Keevins & Co who took that call. In fact, Stuart’s response will probably put him in the wee diddy bawbag category by fans who make such pilgrimages to their chosen mecca.

    Great call, excellent points and sensible suggestion ā€” support your local team.


  68. Devils advocate a wee bit here DP. I don’t want to force someone to support, in this case, Lossiemouth (or Elgin city for his big team) if he particularly wants to drive 400 miles every week to support his team, glory hunting or otherwise.

    Where I have the issue is when that ‘position’ spectacularly implodes and it transpires that our ruling bodies will move heaven and earth, rules and finances to recreate it. A big problem. Huge.


  69. Good evening
    Just had a conversation with two people who were at Ibrox. According to them it was agony and the crowd was lucky to be half what the official attendance claims.

    Seems that over the past few days a lot of sniping has been going on in the pages of this blog.

    We must stay focused and concentrate on the big picture which is the ineptitude of the SFA and the rules they are prepared to ignore to get TRFC into play with the big boys.

    There is no Armageddon and the only people who will miss TRFC or any variation thereof is the gullible bears.

    Fed up listening to the nonsense spouted by those on SSB and elsewhere that Celtic needs a strong Rangers.
    No Celtic needs a strong league made up of clubs who play the game the way it should be and live within their means.

    Clubs who need to borrow every few months and raise share issues to keep the lights on are on the slippery slope to oblivion.

    If the SFA were given a choice by Ashley to take his money and control or lose TRFC, I wonder what the outcome would be?

    Fans on TSFM need to stick together for the good of the game.


  70. On Murphy:

    I see we have found another issue in which petty squabbling can be indulged.

    A couple of points;

    No-one mentioned his political affiliations and it is advisable not to draw inferences from remarks that may not exist.

    I attended university with JM and spent a lot of time with him during that period, therefore I know for certain that some of the personal stuff which has been levelled at him is (apart from being very un-TSFM like) untrue and in the realms of fantasy.

    For the record, nowadays he would most certainly not include me in his list of political allies or personal friends – quite the opposite in fact. However, I can’t have him, whatever my personal feelings, being misrepresented on this site.

    Like anyone else, Jim Murphy is fair comment if he gets himself involved with football. If folk want to get party political, that’s not really our area except where it encroaches on the footie.


  71. Smugas says:
    December 20, 2014 at 7:36 pm
    5 0 Rate This

    Devils advocate a wee bit here DP. I donā€™t want to force someone to support, in this case, Lossiemouth (or Elgin city for his big team) if he particularly wants to drive 400 miles every week to support his team, glory hunting or otherwise.

    Where I have the issue is when that ā€˜positionā€™ spectacularly implodes and it transpires that our ruling bodies will move heaven and earth, rules and finances to recreate it. A big problem. Huge.
    ———-

    I wouldn’t describe someone advocating the broad church of Scottish football in those terms šŸ˜®

    Actually, the point you make is similar-ish to what Stuart and Tam said in response to ‘Davie’. They suggested (if I heard them correct) that people who do make those journeys have some internal need to join a glory-hunting ethos that includes winning every game.

    It was an impassioned call and also included some very good observations about Ibrox. Left them out as there’s no need to cultivate TUs by doing what @rhapsodyinblue suggested this blog was good at.

    Anyway, at least it’s not Tonev or phantom political conspiracies šŸ˜†


  72. What was it about multi trophy winning Celtic/Rangers that first made you support them? Was the question i used to ask north east glory hunters in my youth.


  73. Quote below after interview with Ally McCoist today by Gerry McCulloch. Seems Walter set a precedent for Ally to follow. Can anyone remember if this made the press?

    Gerry McCulloch ā€@gerrymcculloch1 Ā· 38m38 minutes ago
    I put it to him that expecting to stay for 12 months was “bizarre and incredulous”. He disagreed and said Walter Smith did same.


  74. Bill1903 says:
    December 20, 2014 at 8:29 pm
    2 5 Rate This

    What was it about multi trophy winning Celtic/Rangers that first made you support them? Was the question i used to ask north east glory hunters in my youth.
    ———

    Was that rhetorical, or did you get an answer from them?

    Pal of mine in the early ’70s became an Aberdeen fan. He was born and bred Glasgow but was kind of disenchanted with the whole boozed-up rivalry of the Big Two and saw something attractive in Aberdeen. It was kind reverse glory-hunting in order to associate himself with a good footballing team that didn’t have the Glasgow bagage. A rarity, though, among those I knew.


  75. Just a thought re the Hayes Paton incident. Hayes appears to be an untrustworthy victim so should he not be punished with a ban! Our footballing authorities are being accused of making up an incident – surely that must be be stamped out (I realise stamping is not really allowed but rules can be made up)!

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