As most of you will be aware, the Guardian recently agreed to and accepted payment from CQN for an advertisement which was intended to raise awareness of the Resolution 12 issue, an issue pursued determinedly by Celtic shareholders for the last three years. Subsequently, and citing the thinnest of excuses, they decided not to run the ad. This developed hard on the heels of the Herald actually soliciting the business from the advertisers for their own paper, and then without even seeing the copy, refusing to move forward. (See CQN story here)
A troubling aspect of GuardianGate is that CQN were lied to. They were initially advised that the ad was to be removed after editorial scrutiny. Subsequently they were advised that the decision came from an intervention by senior officials.
We are now focused on a media conspiracy to impose censorship in favour of a multi-million pound industry – to the detriment of its small investors and paying customers.
So which was true – and which was the lie?
Here’s a thing about the truth; it is seldom complicated, which is why the failure by the Guardian and the Herald to deliver a straightforward answer implies that there may be more to this nonsense than any of us first imagined.
At this point, it is worth noting that the Guardian is currently running an ad campaign by Toyota, a company who have admitted lying to environmental regulatory bodies for years about emissions from their cars (the Guardian professes to be a major campaigner on environmental issues), but won’t accept a paying ad that asks some polite and important questions about the conduct of a multi-million pound industry.
The denial of the Res 12 guys’ right to ask questions (no accusations – just bloody questions) via the once assumed to be pluralist and free press, should be ringing alarm bells all over the country, and the substantive issue has become largely irrelevant as a consequence. We are now focused on a media conspiracy to impose censorship in favour of a multi-million pound industry – to the detriment of its small investors and paying customers.
Two so-called quality newspapers, have mysteriously, after touting for advertising business, refused that very same business, and have given no good reason for doing so. If the Guardian refuse to accept an ad, I don’t believe that is censorship in itself, but when the dwindling number of newspaper proprietors in this country conspire to arrange an effective blackout of ideas, that is quite clearly censorship.
And for something so relatively inconsequential as football, I can only assume that we have all stumbled on to something far more serious.
Given the recent media rhetoric about Russia Today and their forthright coverage of Chilcot and Tory Election Fraud, it seems that like so many of the players in this saga, the irony circuit in the collective press brain is now as devolved as a human tail.
There are dark forces at work in our country, and they are running riot with basic freedoms. However it is important to put the football issue into the proper perspective; if the media can go to these corrupt lengths for a game of football, what will they do to protect the capital interests of arms manufacturers, food producers and media dictatorships?
They may have lost the war, but through fix after fix at the SFA and the SPL, in the press and in the media, the authorities are winning the peace – basically by denying that any peace is possible until we all accept the notion that black is white, right is left, and wrong is right
Migrant fruit-pickers
© Scotsman
Back in soccer La-La-Land’s Mount Florida Fruit Factory, the football authorities most definitely lost the recent war. RFC went out of business and failed the fundamental task of any football club – to sustain itself. In allowing that to happen on their watch, the authorities failed in their most fundamental role – to keep RFC alive.
However through fix after fix, at the SFA and the SPL, in the press and in the media, they are winning the peace – basically by denying that any peace is possible until we all accept the notion that black is white, right is left, and wrong is right.
And still, even in this atmosphere, the major shareholders at all of our clubs sit and do nothing. Are they part of the problem, an integral part of the conspiracy? Or are they scared witless of the forces that may line up against them if they dare to grow a pair, like the Resolution 12 guys?
Sporting integrity has taken a back seat recently. Season ticket sales are up all over the place; Celtic provided a marquee manager; the red tops are ablaze about the ‘return’ of the Rangers; Hearts and Aberdeen are newly emerged from financial difficulty, and now enjoy the realistic prospect of new eras of success; and another competitive and exciting year beckons in the Championship.
In normal circumstances this would be fantastic news. But all of it is based on a Lie – the Lie that the game is run according to the rules, and for the benefit of all clubs. When the euphoria at Parkhead dies down; when TRFC are reinstalled (actually it will need to be with a shoehorn, but it will be done) as part of the old duopoly that sees the vital contribution made by the likes of Hearts and Aberdeen and others as insignificant; when the next major ‘bending’ of the regulations becomes necessary; all we will be left with is that Big Lie.
The clubs will eventually have to deal with that – and the complicit roles they played in ramming it down each and every one of our throats.
I hope we make them pay.
Another thing about the truth though is this;
Everyone with skin in this game, with the exception of the mentally deficient, know exactly what the truth is;
- RFC cheated;
- RFC evaded, avoided, and deliberately withheld payment of tax;
- RFC failed to register players properly over (at least) a decade;
- RFC lied to the SFA, the SPL and LNS;
- Whilst all the above was happening, RFC won over a dozen on-field prizes;
- The SFA rewrote the terms of LNS to better tailor their preferred outcome;
- RFC were punished by way of a £250k fine. No other penalties were suffered by RFC;
- RFC entered liquidation and a new club, which co-existed with RFC, began playing in competition BEFORE RFC’s SFA/SPL membership lapsed;
- That club (TRFC for differentiation purposes) just achieved promotion to the Premiership;
As long as we keep reminding everyone of those truths, as long as we continue to give them a voice, they won’t go away.
And what if, next time, it is Hearts or Aberdeen or Celtic, who make a desperate attempt to get an edge over their rivals (an emergent TRFC perhaps)?
The irony (and I exclude the TRFC fans who frequent this site) is that TRFC, despite having the weight of the football and press establishments behind them, are being done no favours at all.
The increasing pariah status of their club is a sad but inevitable consequence of the wrong-doing by the old club, because the fans (understandably to be fair) seek to side with their own partisan interests in the face of outside hostility.
But think of this. If the initial-ism ‘RFC’ above was replaced by the name of any other club in the country, wouldn’t TRFC fans be complaining as loudly as the rest of us?
And what if, next time, it is Hearts or Aberdeen or Celtic, who make a desperate attempt to get an edge over their rivals (an emergent TRFC perhaps)?
What if they run roughshod over the same rules that were broken before but remain unfixed? What if, as a consequence, a compliant TRFC are denied an opportunity to play in Europe, or compete in a final, or win a league?
Will we then still be ‘Rangers haters’ if we protest about that or merely Hearts or Dons or Celtic haters?
This is not about revenge – it never has been – and no amount of wishful thinking will make it so. For most of us on SFM, there is no RFC to have our revenge on anyway, so the accusation makes no sense.
What we are about, what we are all about, is weeding out the clucken wort in Scotland’s football garden on level six at Hampden.
And it appears that some extraordinarily powerful individual or group, with enough muscle to bend the fourth estate to their will, wants to keep us all away from that garden..
JC
A pint of light for 1s 4d I could afford two on my weekly pocket money. Ah those were the days when carrying an ID card wasn’t required.
BP
At the age I am I don’t slide as a rule, it is too dangerous.
Just to depress myself
I use this:-
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html
JC
£10 POUND A WEEK? IN ’64?
I started work in ’66 on £4 10s a week.
I walked ten miles to get there wearing only cardboard boxes on my feet. The boxes did for my lunch so I had to walk 10 miles home in bare feet only to get a rollicking from my dad because we couldn’t afford to keep replacing the cardboard.
And on Fridays I only…….. Oh? Hang on! That’s my Les Dawaon routine for the miner’s welfare. Sorry.
GOOSYGOOSYJUNE 14, 2016 at 10:50 6 0 Rate This
BBCFormer Celtic defender Mark Wilson believes that new Rangers arrival Joey Barton has played into Scott Brown’s hands by dismissing the quality of the Celtic captain ahead of their midfield battles next season. (Daily Mail),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And They Wonder Why Nobody Buys Papers?
==================================================================
Ah well, at least they got the ‘new Rangers’ bit right.
BP that was a waste of 20 quid…..They would never allow the rules to slide in Scotland.
Russia fined €150,000 and given a suspended ban from the tournament for their fans behaviour.
Swift and coherent action from UEFA within 3 days of the event.
Lessons to be learned for the SFA
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ck5_dEjWEAA1C09.jpg
sfa definitely has a (let it) slide rule.
So nobody wants a shot then? …..
BIG PINKJUNE 14, 2016 at 12:41
So nobody wants a shot then? …..
Nah – to young mate (not often I get to say that!) to have a scooby about slide rules! Besides I still have the calculator my dad bought me one evening in 1983, a long and wet walk down to John Menzies in town to buy that as my old one “ahem” broke so I needed a replacement quick. The old one was the size of a brick, had those screens that were around pre-LCD, and had a 12 volt battery driving it and was causing many in my class much hilarity. Somehow it slipped out of my hands on the stairs at school..tragedy!
Amazing the things your memory hols onto, I can recall that night clear as day (if that makes sense!). I have a new calculator, but somehow can’t bring myself to throw out my old Casio fx-451. Imagine being nostalgic about a school calculator eh!?
BIG PINKJUNE 14, 2016 at 12:41 2 0 Rate This
So nobody wants a shot then? …..
…………………
It’s funny you should ask, B.P. But I’ll pass on that. Having said that, I recently gave an old, but barely used Thornton S.R. to my grandaughter who is just completing her first year at High School. She had to stay off school on the day that the class was being introduced to ‘π’ (Pi) and was left in my charge with the assurance from her teacher (p.s.) mum that “Granda will teach you all about ‘π’.” So we explored Pi and its applications and to reinforce what she had learned, I dusted off the old instrument, which I don’t carry around as a – ‘you know what’ – and demonstrated a simple ‘π’ calculation. As I have a much cherished PIC Slide Rule inherited from my late brother, I handed on the Thornton (handbook and all) confident that the youngster will be able to explore all its capabilities, if she has the inclination! I’m afraid, after all this time, I couldn’t manage anything but basic multiplication and division calculations – and my head fair started to throb trying to make sense of the trig. and log. scales.
By the way, I think my wife bought the Thornton complete with original packaging, for a pound or two, from Bill’s Tool Store in the Barras, as a stocking filler, five or six years ago! I wonder why they don’t sell slide rules any more, they, at least, could always be trusted!
This ‘slide rule’ discussion is totally lost on us ‘youngsters’…
So back on topic.
An eye-catching headline extracted from an SMSM rag yesterday;
Admittedly, it is published in the gutter-level DR, and the story was generated by one Sepp Blatter…so take it with 2 big buckets of salt just in case – but perhaps a bit of useful finger-pointing away from FIFA towards UEFA all the same ?
=================================
“Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter claims he witnessed rigged draw for European competition”
…
“It was for a European competition. Only one team has managed that. It was an Italian side.
“You can see the balls that are drawn identified either by making them hot, or if they have been cooled. I was a witness.”
Despite witnessing the corruption, Blatter claimed he was not in any way responsible for the act, saying that he himself had never drawn the teams.
“I’ve never drawn lots,” said Blatter. “Other presidents did. They have taken the balls themselves from the pot.”
Blatter [sic] added: “I was clean to the last.”
=================================
Mibbees UEFA have training courses for their national association members on how to ‘manage’ competition draws ?
And the perennial hot/cold balls story might not be just a fanciful joke wrt Scottish Cup/League Cup draws then ?
These stories of slide rules brought back to mind one day long ago when a complete stranger stopped me in Sauchiehall Street outside the old John Menzies shop. I think he was in such a state of shock and awe he just had to tell someone his story. He said he had been in the store and asked for a set of Log Tables and the server replied that they did not sell furniture!
Does anyone remember the more advanced and complicated Otis King Calculator which was a circular slide rule?
Never used a slide rule but when stocktaking in the late 60s early 70s we used Ready Reckoners.
Never used a slide rule but in the late 60s and early 70s we used Ready Reckoners for stocktaking. Everything changed 1975 with the introduction of hand held data capture units and of course calculators.
STEVIEBCJUNE 14, 2016 at 15:59 10 0 Rate This
This ‘slide rule’ discussion is totally lost on us ‘youngsters’… 10So back on topic.
………
I did try to bring the discussion back on topic with my last sentence …..
“I wonder why they don’t sell slide rules any more, they, at least, could always be trusted!”
PROHIBBY
“Its funny you should ask, B.P. But I’ll pass on that. ”
I don’t know if it was deliberate or not but that was an exquisite example of the SlideRule Pass from PROHIBBY
That’s alright, John. If anyone is feeling left out though
http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/sim/n909es/virtual-n909-es.html
StevieBC
June 14, 2016 at 15:59
Attached
Can”t say I like the direction this site is going.
Slide rules??
What happened to the days of filling the quiet times with fish puns and biscuit jokes!!!
” KPMG Severs Ties With Scandal-Hit FIFA “
http://www.wsj.com/articles/kpmg-severs-ties-with-fifa-1465826039
===============================
Just read this at lunchtime, and looks like KPMG have dodged a potentially, hugely expensive bullet.
After the Swiss affiliate had signed-off FIFA accounts for the last 16 years, whilst simultaneously missing sundry ‘dodgy’ payments / bonuses etc.. it looks like the local laws there will mean no further action against KPMG Switzerland.
But if FIFA was a public company, you would have a class action[s] here in the USA, seeking megabucks from KPMG and its professional indemnity insurance provider. Mibbees not on the same scale as Arthur Andersen wrt Enron – but a high profile and highly damaging / expensive court case has been avoided.
I was also going to write that I assumed that KPMG [USA/global HQ] would manage to avoid charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, due to its legal structure…as I wrongly thought that KPMG would be headquartered in NYC.
However, you do indeed learn something new every day…
“KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”) is a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International…”
Very smart.
WOTTPIJUNE 14, 2016 at 19:36
Quit acting the cod and join the club
StevieBCJune 14, 2016 at 19:38
‘…“KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”) is a Swiss entity. ‘
_______
Well, thank the Lord for that!
It might after all, in words that a Scottish QC might choose to use, have merely been ‘a manifestation’, or ‘the spirit of Auditing’, or the ‘what it stands for’ of KPMG, or some such.
The Directors are clearly smart enough to get the hell out any situation that might, conceivably, have brought about their demise as an actual legal entity, in a way that the dumbkopfs/shysters at Ibrox were not able to do, despite every assistance-licit and/or illicit- provided by the SFA!
wottpi June 14, 2016 at 19:36
‘..What happened to the days of filling the quiet times with fish puns and biscuit jokes!!!’
________-
That’s a cracker, wottpi, but I can’t quite plaice the reference.
Coming back OT, I was idly fiddling about looking to see what ‘The Guardian’ is saying.
I passed over the extraordinary story of the allegations made against the late Sir Clement Freud, and came across the ‘Scott Trust’ and thence to this:
“Support Guardianlies.com
The aim of this website is to bring to light how politically-motivated journalists lied and used their influence within Britain’s media to have an invented, provably false story accepted as fact throughout the nation.”
Ach, so, mein Herr! The Guardian has form!
To be sure, the charge of making up lies in order to bring down former Prime Ministers is maybe a fabrication by the Guardian’s political enemies.
However, the charge of making stories up( whether because they were daft enough to be ‘duped’ or because there’s a bad bast.rd working for them) about ‘French language’ adverts not being conformable ‘in tone or content’ is not at all a fabrication. That is what the ‘Guardian’ actually did.
They as a matter of fact misrepresented the truth, every bit as much as our Football authorities misrepresented the Truth.
Have they apologised yet to the Res 12 people?
Bit quiet on the politics front so I thought I would try to elicit an articulation of your hopes and fears for your individual clubs next season. What would you consider a success, what you think is a failure, and what is the least acceptable outcome?
My tuppenceworth;
Celtic:
Hopes:
To win the league and see signs of a cosmetic improvement in how the team plays. More entertainment I suppose.
Also to compete a bit better in Europe and start to rebuild the co-efficient.
Fears:
Being humiliated again in Europe. Time will tell whether that unhappy phenomenon is manager or playing-staff related
Ok BP
Dons
Hopes
Win SPFL (beating Celtic (4) and Sevco (3) times), SC, SLC and Europa League.
Fears
Win none of the above.
ps: note you have no fears about Celtic not winning the league.
Celtic:
Obviously agree with everything BP states but in addition,
Hopes – that we have slightly smaller squad and a better balance re. positions and cover. (Difficult one this in terms of numbers because if things go to plan we will play a huge amount of games, but how do you keep a biggish squad happy and motivated?).
Fears – that our scouting policy does not improve.
Was just thinking about the ‘huge number of games’ comment I made. Last season we played 62 games, League, Europe & cups. That doesn’t take into account friendlies, testimonials and we didn’t get to the cup finals.
Added to that, the amount of games our internationalists play in and the risk of fatique & injury increases. (Mikel Lustig).
We couldn’t do it with 22 players.
There has to be a plan that the players buy into and not the haphazard system of the last two years.
Hopes
That the guilty parties in the SFA are chained naked in George Square with their RS McColls in a vice, and that a weekly lottery is arranged, with the winner allowed to give the vice handle a wee tweak.
Fears
That I won’t win the lottery.
Hibs
Hopes – That we sign Messi, Ronaldo, and De Gea on EBT’s
Fears – that we get caught and go bankrupt.
Hopes – that we get treated exactly like RFC and rise from the ashes as the same club and with no debt.
Off topic but relevant all the same.
Philip Green currently giving (IMO) an honest account of the structure of his business dealings in relation to BHS and Arcadia, just shows all the bull that’s written (and believed) by msm, so far he is coming over articulatel, witty and knowledgeable, pity a certain glib and shameless charlatan refuses to discuss and worse is not asked questions that could clear up a lot of the uncertainty surrounding his alleged investment in Newco.
Whilst we’re on the subject of integrity, I had to laugh at Blatter’s feeble attempt to explain what has become a further blot on his already tattered reputation. Amazingly he stated that he was witness to cheating by a football authority but as he was not physically involved, it was in his opinion ‘nothing to do with him’ so to paraphrase, ‘I witnessed my drinking colleague consuming a bottle of whisky get in his car and drive off’, aye very good, it just shows how the morality needed is amiss in the sport of football.
I haven’t seen this mentioned on here,or on the radio,and it’s only a wee couple of paras in the ‘Scotsman’- Ms Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has now passed an eligibility test and will indeed become the Secretary-general of FIFA next Monday.(news of her appointment was reported, of course, about a month ago, so it appears that the FIFA folk have been doing ‘due diligence’).
She’s a strikingly competent looking woman- I certainly wouldn’t take home an opened pay-packet! Working for the UN in Nigeria, she’ll be able to spot corruption from a mile off, if the stories about hugely widespread corruption in that country are in any way true.
Corrupt officialJune 15, 2016 at 09:54
‘….chained naked in George Square with their RS McColls in a vice…’
_______
Condign punishment indeed, for the SFA guilty.
No use for the guilty men of the SMSM, though- they are completely bereft of R S McColls. Something more fundamentally oriented would be needed-like a red-hot poker up their jaxies!
Apropos of nothing, this popped up on my facebook timeline as something I shared three years ago. Might provide some clues as to why Scottish football clubs cannot come together to tackle governance as they are either trying to get a bigger slice of money or trying to keep afloat in the aftermath of reduced money.
http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2013/06/14/4390/#.V2E8VdIrKUk
And this from four years ago on the Sevco vote… http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2012/06/30/4134/#.V2E_1tIrKUk
Any fan looking for info on whether there’s a time bar to challenge & take cases to UEFA here it is. Art 37. https://t.co/whiclVjKeR
John Clark @ 12.01
Couldn’t we just ask them to a/ actually pay to get into the football they so clearly take for granted and b/ tell them after 10 years of so doing that the relatively significant sums that they have invested were actually wasted since the game was rigged anyway but now that the rigging has become apparent and a perfect opportunity to reinvigorate the game has presented itself that they should just shut up, stop over thinking it and continue to pay in the sums in time-old fashion, to recreate the same ends as before, you know, for the good of the game n’that. Oh and by the way, the ultimate beneficiary of the monies has to be allowed to publicly rub their noses in it at every opportunity that presents itself.
I suspect their response would be “How long and how hot would the poker be exactly?”
HEN1RIKJUNE 15, 2016 at 12:53 2 0 Rate This
Any fan looking for info on whether there’s a time bar to challenge & take cases to UEFA here it is. Art 37. https://t.co/whiclVjKeR
According to this the tim limit is 10 years, It was my understanding that the time bar was 5 years, or was that the shelf life of a Dime Bar?
On the matters that concern us the statute of limitations is five years. Any official action by a member sets the time clock back to 0.
JOHN CLARKJUNE 15, 2016 at 10:45…Ms Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura has now passed an eligibility test and will indeed become the Secretary-general of FIFA next Monday…She’s a strikingly competent looking woman… Working…in Nigeria, she’ll be able to spot corruption from a mile off…
======================
Well it would be refreshing that a woman heads up FIFA.
IMO, I think Ann Budge has added some much needed credibility to Scottish football.
The only worry I have is that one person cannot change an organisation’s culture alone.
If the FIFA President is up against the same old faces / practices, then nothing will change.
…unless she starts by ‘letting go’ of several senior members of FIFA – to send out a clear message.
[Assuming of course that she would actually have that authority.]
Or, it will be more of the same, but less blatant – and with a more media friendly FIFA figurehead in place.
Hope I am totally wrong of course.
Is Warbo still on holiday? Or have I missed something? Any news you guys who look at other sites?
Re. Warburton, I heard something interesting the other day. Apparently he has only spoken (presumably by telephone) once since the Cup Final. And it was to The Sun! Now as far as I know L5 deal with The Herald, ET & DR. Sounds like a snub to me. Good job Joey Barton came on the scene for a wee bit of deflection.
bordersdon June 15, 2016 at 15:43 Is Warbo still on holiday? Or have I missed something? Any news you guys who look at other sites?
——————————————
On today’s lunchtime STV news summary the announcer told the nation that Mark Warburton has just brought in another player – rather than saying Rangers has acquired a new signing. The fact that the newsreader’s script was drafted in this way suggests that the great man has been quietly beavering away these last three weeks in the arduous task of talent spotting.
So much for those fans of other lesser clubs who assumed he had slung his hook down Ibrox way and was merely sunning himself on a tropical beach.
jimbo
It seems that Phil and The Sevco Pimpernel had a convivial chat on the phone the other day.http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/talking-to-mark-warburton/
By all accounts, a nice guy…
However, the SMSM are desperate to bring up his name as much as possible
Perhaps they could try the ol’ St Pauli mask trick:https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jun/15/st-pauli-manager-misses-unveiling-signing-man-in-mask-ewald-lienen
phils latest
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/hanging-on-the-telephone/
tonyJune 15, 2016 at 18:17
______________________________________
Problems with Phil’s site!!!
Another post from johnjames,that guy puts some amount of work on his web site , if someone told me it was ecobuoy it would not surprise me .mind you when he goes off on one it could be James forest boy does that guy need an editor :- )
Theredpill,
Johnjames doesn’t suffer fools gladly but my goodness he does put a power of work into his site. The thing I like about him is he doesn’t hold back in his observance of matters regarding all aspects of football in Scotland without fear or favour. A bit like on here, CQN. The Clumpany, James Forrest, Etims. Remarkable for a Rangers supporter especially. Sometimes I worry about his safety in terms of citations and his own personal safety. I have read some pretty nasty stuff on him in a certain Rangers blog. I suppose it goes with the territory when you host an honest blog.
Then the main stream bambots mock the social media for remaining anon. Who can blame them? If the usual suspects in the SMSM were to ask the same questions and make the same comments they would need at least two bodyguards.
Couple of questions:Has Phil’s site been sevco- taged ?Anybody believe that JJ is really a Govanite ?Allez les Bleus !
SIXTAESEVEN
Phils site is working OK for me .
Have CFC made a statement re RES 12? Nah, didn’t think so. Are fans of the OLD FIRM the most gullible fans in world football?
THE UNGRATEFUL DEAD
JUNE 15, 2016 at 22:18
Have CFC made a statement re RES 12? Nah, didn’t think so. Are fans of the OLD FIRM the most gullible fans in world football?
===============================================
I was never a fan of the term “Old Firm”, it supported the nonsense that there was some sort of link between Celtic and Rangers.
Given that the Rangers referred to in the term “Old Firm” no longer exists it is even more meaningless now than it used to be.
THE UNGRATEFUL DEADJUNE 15, 2016 at 22:18
Have CFC made a statement re RES 12?…
=============================
Valid point.
IIRC, it had been ‘rumoured’ [?] and/or widely expected that CFC was about to issue a statement imminently ?
To be honest, I don’t know where it came from, but that – combined with a popular, new manager – hasn’t harmed ST sales at all.
14 JUNE 2016
Chairman Invites Your Questions
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
IMO
If any proof was needed that MW is gone it was the official statement released yesterday on the TRFC website
It invites all supporters to fill in a form with their question to the great man himself (deadline midnight 16 June). These questions will be rapidly reviewed and answered as soon as possible as a further demonstration of the transparency with which the Board has operated since it took over 12 months ago.
Given the gullibility of the gullible and the MO of Level 5 this enables Level 5 to invent a whole forest of edible squirrels to feed the gullible Bears right through the ST renewal period.
Since the Q and A is between DCK and the fans and the replies can and will be orchestrated by Level 5 there will be no need for the media to ask awkward questions about the whereabouts of the missing Manager.
I bet the first press release will state that there has been a virtual avalanche of questions to the Chairman. The first few answers will almost certainly include reference to the demand for ST books and the need to apply as early as possible.These questions will be planted in forms completed by Level 5
Meanwhile
I predict a steady stream of invented stories will position the Bears for MW walking away with no actual confirmation being made until he has got himself another job. If this job is outside football the parting could be messy with legal action for constructive dismissal being threatened if his contractual bonus is not paid.
What a wheeze !
sixtaesevenJune 15, 2016 at 20:07
“Anybody believe that JJ is really a Govanite ?”
———————————
I could believe it but he’s not a viral strain. Sounds a bit contentious; what I mean is that he’s far more objective than one might expect of a football supporter. I don’t think football supporters need to be wholly partisan however. In answer to Big Pink’s question concerning hopes for the new season, I’d like to see an increasingly competitive top division so that Celtic have something to shout about in winning it.
Winning is good but winning dramatically is better. Winning fairly is a prerequisite. That’s where I think JJ might be coming from.
I’m not an avid reader of his site but generally follow the links when they’re posted here. I was reading one of his pieces a few weeks back where he exposed his backdrop. It read like a confession and had a tinge of authenticity about it that I found touching. It could have been fabricated but I prefer to believe in the general goodness of human nature, however naive such an attitude might be.
He appears estranged from his Rangersness but like any hereditary characteristic he is unable to turn his back on his family. He has chosen to redeem them than to condemn them.
Redemption is a powerful concept and its out there for all of us should we wander from the straight and narrow.
I was looking for an explanation of the magic hat reference made concerning Mark Warburton yesterday evening. Upon googling, the results did not look promising but I plumped for a Bears Den option (I think) in anticipation that this would be an authentic source. After reading I was left with the arcane conclusion that its some sort of masonic inference. Don’t quote me on that, the information source is not what I would consider to be high value but that was certainly the impression I was left with.
So there’s JJ, estranged from his father’s football team., observing these characters who are barking at the moon occupying the moral high ground in the Rangers franchise. What would you do in his position?
Burn the whole damn thing to the ground of course with all the howling lunatics firmly locked inside the tabernacle. Not literally of course. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Metaphorically however there could be no more noble a deed than to raise the whole edifice of misconstrued thinking to the ground.
I’m reading about this magic hat thing and its all nudge nudge, wink wink stuff. Take it to the secret lounge was the evocation. One guy thought he might need to resit his exam to get access to this fabled secret lounge. It really was completely through the looking glass with giant white rabbits et al.
I think JJ wants his football club back. I think he wants to jettison all the nonsense that has allowed its supporters to become blinkered to the realities that have paraded before our eyes over the last few years. I think he wants to win fairly. I think he wants to feel proud. Remember that, how proud you can feel about your football club.
When Celtic beat Barcelona a couple of years back I was working in an organisation that was not so conducive to my ethnicity or allegiance. I strode in of a morning; never referred to the game. Didn’t have to. The air was redolent with my compact self possessiveness.
That’s what pride in your football club can do sometimes. It a bit immature, a bit superficial but at moments like that you have the self esteem of Muhammad Ali.
I think JJ wants to feel that feeling and the only way he can do so is by calling it as it is. Nothing less is acceptable for a proud man.
HOMUNCULUS
JUNE 15, 2016 at 22:42
I was never a fan of the term “Old Firm”, it supported the nonsense that there was some sort of link between Celtic and Rangers.
Given that the Rangers referred to in the term “Old Firm” no longer exists it is even more meaningless now than it used to be.
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Celtic and previous Rangers seemed quite keen on the idea though
https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmownerid/search?domain=1&id=218706&app=1&name=the+rangers&postcode=
Old Firm bicycle pump, anyone?
I see that Dave King is holding a Q & A session with Rangers fans via the club website ‘in the interest of transparency’. Questions of course, have to be submitted in advance! I would imagine transparency will be the first victim of this exercise. However, as long as the media and the football authorities continue to tip-toe around his club in fear, King can say what he likes.
Kicker ConspiracyJune 16, 2016 at 00:39
‘….Old Firm bicycle pump, anyone?’
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The last date entered on the Nice Classification is 2003. Do you know whether that is still current? And /or would the new club have to have specifically claimed the intellectual property rights AS the new entity with new company number etcnand , obviously , jointly with CFC more recently?
HomunculusJune 15, 2016 at 22:42 ===============================================
I was never a fan of the term “Old Firm”, it supported the nonsense that there was some sort of link between Celtic and Rangers.
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I think it is at least arguable that they were both “comfortable” with the “Old Firm” badge and the domination they held in Scottish Football.
JJ’s latest
https://johnjamessite.com/2016/06/16/a-statue-of-limitation/
I see that the “National” has decided to break ranks with the rest of the SMSM and ask the question- where’s Warbo?
http://www.thenational.scot/sport/the-kicker-please-ask-what-is-going-on-with-mark-warburtons-new-contract.18850
The article goes on to claim that Warburton has been seen at Auchenhowie recently, which is news to me. But it does also question the Warchest, which is heresy of a very high order indeed-
The article is just the kind of football piece that I hoped for from the “National” at its inception. Not many signs of life since then, but could this article indicate that at least one Scottish media outlet is prepared to deviate from the Level5 narrative so assiduously adhered to by the usual lapdogs? I hope so.
And if the “National” increases its circulation as a result, that would send an interesting message to the rest of the conspicuously failing Scottish media.
BORDERSDON
JUNE 16, 2016 at 11:40
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Just to be clear on this “I was never a fan of the term “Old Firm”, ” means I was expressing my own opinion. I have heard a large number of supporters and pundits using the term, I make no comment on either club’s stance on the matter, nor do I express an opinion on how other clubs or supporters view the term.
I have never liked the term, if other people are comfortable with it that’s fine.
HOMUNCULUS JUNE 15, 2016 at 22:42 I was never a fan of the term “Old Firm”, it supported the nonsense that there was some sort of link between Celtic and Rangers. Given that the Rangers referred to in the term “Old Firm” no longer exists it is even more meaningless now than it used to be
Celtic and previous Rangers seemed quite keen on the idea though
https://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmownerid/search?domain=1&id=218706&app=1&name=the+rangers&postcode=
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Had a look at the UK and EU trademark websites
The terms “Old Firm” and “The Old Firm” were jointly registered by Celtic and Rangers as a UK trademark on 20 March 2001
The UK trademark lasts 10 yrs
https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark/after-you-apply
However this period appears to have been superceded by EU law which records the expiry date as 20 March 2021
Extract from EU Register
OLD FIRM (210)/(260)Application numberUK00002264673(270)Application languageen(220)Application date2001-03-20Application reference31/G0240GBt1/002Trade mark officeUnited Kingdom – UKIPO(190)Registration officeGB(111)Registration numberUK00002264673(151)Registration date2002-03-01(141)Expiry date2021-03-20Series of2(550)Trade mark typeWord(551)Kind of markIndividual(511)Nice classification39Current trade mark statusRegisteredOpposition period start date2001-11-14Opposition period end date2002-02-27Applicant identifier218706NameCeltic F.C.Limited and The Rangers Football Club plc Applicant incorporation country codeGBAddress countryGBAddressCeltic Park, Glasgow, G40 3RE, and, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, G51 2XD, Scotland
(511)Nice class number 39List of goods and services Transportation services; travel agency services; arranging of tours; booking agency services for travel; arranging of travel, travel courier and guide services; consultancy, information and advisory services relating to all of the aforesaid services.
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Which poses an interesting question
If a trademark is jointly registered and one of the joint owners is liquidated does the other party inherit ownership after the legal liquidation date or does the trademark lapse?
Because
If ownership reverts to the other party then Celtic FC own the trademarks for “Old Firm” and “The Old Firm”
And
Celtic can prevent any other party from using that trademark in the areas trademarked without their permission
Likewise
If the trademark lapses on the date when RFC plc is legally liquidated then it cannot be transferred or recreated as a jointly owned trademark without the agreement of both parties
Meaning
Celtic have the power to decide if the trademark terms “Old Firm” and “The Old Firm” should die on the date when RFC plc is legally liquidated
And if they choose not to continue using this trademark
They will be making a statement on the OC/NC issue
GOOSYGOOSY
JUNE 16, 2016 at 15:53
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I ad thought similarly, though not in as much detail.
HOMUNCULUSJUNE 16, 2016 at 16:41
GOOSYGOOSYJUNE 16, 2016 at 15:53======================================
I doubt very much that Celtic would want to distance themselves from or do anything to “damage” the Old Firm tag. There is too much money to lose in not continuing the myth. They may not openly lend support to it, but deny it? Nah.
GOOSYGOOSYJUNE 16, 2016 at 15:53
Which poses an interesting question If a trademark is jointly registered and one of the joint owners is liquidated does the other party inherit ownership after the legal liquidation date or does the trademark lapse?
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we did notice that just before the scottish cup semi final between celtic and a club from ibrox. That two major sponsors of the scottish game were no longer going with “The Old Firm” headed football coupon as was normal before 2012. But now just head there football coupons celtic v rangers.
So there may be something in what you say,the term “Old Firm” no longer exists it is even more meaningless now than it used to be
Cluster OneJune 16, 2016 at 17:58
‘….So there may be something in what you say,the term “Old Firm” no longer exists it is even more meaningless now than it used to be.
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Yes, indeed.
And whatever the new club may be ( ‘manifestation!, ‘the spirit of ’72’!, ‘the what-it’s-all-about’, of legal fantasy) it is most definitely NOT the Rangers Football club that is now In Liquidation, and no more entitled to the titles and honours of that club than it is to claim to be part of the ‘Old Firm’, which is a detestable term reflecting the grubby, unprincipled money-making mind-set of boards of directors and newspaper men.
In my opinion
Who profits most in the year 2016 from the name “old firm”or “The old firm”?
who benefits from this term between the two clubs the most?
who has the most to gain by the repeated use of the term “0ld firm”?
who would it hurt the most to have the term “old firm” ditched?
who can achive the most without being attached to the term “old firm”
what set of fans would rather not be associated with the term old firm?
@ John Clark – for next week’s CoS diary.
Thursday 23rd June
By Order at 9.45am
P1140/15 Note: HMA for order re failure to comply re Craig Whyte
Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service – Gildeas
easyJamboJune 16, 2016 at 20:49
‘..@ John Clark – for next week’s CoS diary.’
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Thanks, eJ. I was just about to look at the Rolls!
John Clark
June 16, 2016 at 21:08
“Thursday 23rd June By Order at 9.45am”
Thanks, eJ. I was just about to look at the Rolls.
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Only Brexit or Remain left John
CLUSTER ONEJUNE 16, 2016 at 19:56
This isn’t an anti-Celtic thing. Its business after all, despite all our emotional attachment to our own particular club, we know that without proper business management then clubs will end up like RFC, or Gretna or Third Lanark. Celtic make money from the Old Firm tag, they have done for many years. The Old firm tag has undoubtedly lead to an increase in income from broadcasters, advertisers and lets face it fans. The Blue on Green action is exciting to many (not all I know) and I’ll bet you there are some at Parkhead and Ibrox buying their season tickets this year to ensure they have their spot for that game, that competition again. Yes, I know there are a number who have walked away from their season ticket, and more power to them. Again, please this isn’t anti-Celtic (or anti-TRFC), it is human nature, it is what it is. So in many ways Celtic (the business) would be daft not to use the badge of dishonour that is the Old Firm to help create a little bit of extra cash.
*Who profits most in the year 2016 from the name “old firm”or “The old firm”?
Celtic and TRFC (But there is no Old Firm you say? I completely agree, but tell that to the BBC, or Sky, or BT) and yes to some extent Scottish football may be said to benefit – financially. It comes down to that old argument, they might bring a little extra money in from outside the game. But, is that small financial gain worthwhile when compared to the loss of fans from the other clubs as they see the sharing of the trophies between several clubs that we have seen over the past few years, return to the bad old days where two clubs pretty much share everything between themselves and completely dominate the game.
*who benefits from this term between the two clubs the most?
Does it matter who benefits most? Both benefit financially, they lose on many other respects, but financially both benefit.
*who has the most to gain by the repeated use of the term “0ld firm”?
The most… TRFC, propagates the myth.
*who would it hurt the most to have the term “old firm” ditched?
The two members of that club, and the SMSM. Both clubs created it as a trademark, so they obviously aren’t embarrassed by it, I can’t imagine either ditching it now. Actively using it, no. At least not for a few years yet, but they aren’t going to stamp on Sky or the Daily Record using it to sell newspapers or subscriptions.
*who can achive the most without being attached to the term “old firm”
Either, both. Its not about achieving, its about money.
*what set of fans would rather not be associated with the term old firm?
Sorry, cheap shot. At this time, undoubtedly the Celtic fans, I’d imagine a referendum would reveal they firmly support oldfirexit. I’ll await the press conference when the club announce they no longer support the idea of the Old Firm. I’ll not be holding my breath though.
Uhm…. those of the other 40 clubs!
woodsteinJune 17, 2016 at 01:13
‘..Only Brexit or Remain left .’
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Lord, that’s next week? I am astonished.
But I’ll take this opportunity to observe that The ‘In/Out’ referendum is about matters on which there is plenty of scope for honest, if impassioned, debate and discussion of matters about which none of us can have any certainty, only varying degrees of anxiety, and a level of fear that we might individually come to regret the way we decide, on whatever basis, to cast our vote.
Happily, in the matters of prime concern to SFM ( as I believe), there is absolute certainty and well established fact: a club was wrongfully assisted in its cheating, it nevertheless ended up being liquidated, a new club was set up and was wrongfully and absurdly permitted to claim to be the old club under new ownership, despite the fact that that old club is there in liquidation.
These facts render those who deny them as guilty as those who perpetrated or covered up the cheating of SDM’s RFC(IL) and/or continue to propagate the Biggest Lie in Scottish football.
In the face of the facts, there can be no legitimate debate, and no scope for any reason-based contrary opinion.
Facts, as oor master-bard and revolutionary Excise-man and gun-runner (who somehow kept his job instead of being strung up for treason! There must be an untold story there!) wrote, are ‘chiels that winnae ding’.
Curious one in the futures just released – why are Aberdeen and Hamilton scheduled to play all three of their games against each other in midweek!?
Curious one in the futures just released – why are Aberdeen and Hamilton scheduled to play all three of their games against each other in midweek!?
So that the mid week crowd gets the chance to see two Euro heroes?