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..
Dave King, the biggest shareholder in the holding company which owns the shares in Rangers has been answering questions from the support of that club. I’m assuming it’s genuine questions and not a propaganda exercise based on “questions” specifically designed for him to get certain messages out.
There has been some patronising drivel so far, clearly designed to play to the hard of thinking, however this quote from his latest pontificating is probably my favourite so far.
“A club-wide player profile has been created that identifies the personal and footballing characteristics that we require of a Rangers player. ”
How exactly does Joey Barton, a convicted violent criminal who has served time at Her Majesty’s pleasure for battering lumps out of a 16 year old whilst drunk and wandering the streets in the early hours of the morning fit into that profile “… the personal and footballing characteristics that we require of a Rangers player. ”
He’s having a laugh.
In other news, Rangers have now joined up with Boclair Academy. The reason being, they asked Bearsden Academy some time ago and they said no. They did not consider the association appropriate.
Neepheid @1305
I too believe that the Res 12 efforts should be lauded and I hope that they get the result that their work deserves. All I was getting at was that their work would have been easier and had a greater chance of success had Lawwell given them the backing that the issues warranted. I am also displeased with the inaction of the other clubs especially my own. They all received the same documentation on the SFA’s malfeasance so they know what we want.
Oh, and just you leave my pussy out of it, he doesn’t want to get involved. He prefers tennis as half the rackets are strung with his relatives.
I wonder if Scotland’s free prescriptions are a factor in Warburton/Weir/McPartland/Miller/Robertson (or whoever is responsible for recruiting ‘talent’) signing up what’s been called ‘El Geriatricos’?
TRFC’ve now signed a 34 year old goalkeeper who played 2 first team games (in the League cup) last year.
Neepheid
Reiver
On CQN the other day in reference to dependency on the likes of Private Eye to pick up on the Offshore report and inability to pursue the UEFA licence issue, the lead blog made the very salient point that even if more were revealed, the mechanism to challenge in Scotland (my words) did not exist.
As an ex capacity builder those words rang very true and I’ve realised that Res12 is not just about the UEFA licence, it is about building a legal capacity to speak up for the supporters of Scottish football.
That capacity did not exist before April last year and when the legal road was embarked on for Res12 there was no funding in place to pay the legal bill.
A first tranche to deal with the SFA was provided by contributions from a narrow base.
There was a balance of that to draw on but insufficient to cover the total for the next stage of engaging with UEFA and as we all know now followers of Celtic and other clubs stepped up to the T Shirt plate and met the next instalment and I must at this point thank all those from all clubs who helped out.
It seems to me that supporters of all clubs interested in accountable governance could piggy back on this legal model to provide not only legal guidance in terms of monitoring if football rules are being followed but also if any breaches of the law of the land are taking place as well. Like fraud for example.
Such a model, where legal expertise is independently funded by supporters (T Shirts not obligatory) with perhaps a bit of PR bought in to counter the kind of spin away from good governance that we witnessed last week, to create capacity to challenge might become an unforeseen consequence of Resolution 12 which, whilst being waged from a narrow platform in issue and club terms, nevertheless has a much wider constituency.
I would encourage all supporters, all supporters trusts, associations and umbrella associations to consider building the legal and PR capacity to bring about accountability to an industry determined to resist it by all means possible.
Turn up at your next trust or association meeting and ask they add SFA accountability by legal representation to their agenda. If you are not a member join them then ask.
It would be a shame if having built some capacity, even if unwittingly, what has been created gets lost.
Call it serendipity but on the page facing the modest piece in Private Eye there is an ad for a Centre for Investigative Journalism conference 14-16 July. If we could persuade one of our leading contributors to attend I am sure we could crowd fund to share the burden. Alternatively could we generate a couple of pages to establish the problem of market censorship with a prize bursary for say £500 to any young journalist who best tackles the topic. If something happens in either direction I would chip in …
We are making little headway with the faux journalists in the Scottish press. Maybe real ones could be attracted to the topic. Like others here I am uneasy that there is more to this than a minor sports matter …
Auldheid
We already have those powers. We had them in 2011 when the idiotic idea that a new club should take a place in the top league was put to bed by fan power. The same could be done with the current issues but the different is that, with the complicity of the media(or the media being forced not to report), there is not the ability to garner enough support to force justice.
So the problem is that a facility needs to be put in place to hold the media to account. Or, if the media is being prompted by our political leaders not to report, then short of revolution the game’s a bogey.
A group that can put pressure on the likes of the SFA will never have the clout to solve the problem. The darkness created by the lack of proper reporting, whatever the reason, will ensure we fail.
Reiver, Take heart my friend. The truth will out eventually because of people like you on here, including Auldheid, JC and many others. Don’t despair.
Well, those who voted to leave the EU are all obviously just TRFC haters !
They should know fine well that Mr.King needs that Euro money to keep his club alive – again !
That’s democracy for you…
alexander276June 24, 2016 at 19:23
‘….. on the page facing the modest piece in Private Eye there is an ad for a Centre for Investigative Journalism conference 14-16 July….’
________
Your post made me look up the Centre for Investigative Journalism http://www.tcij.org/about-cij/our-speakers and on that page , I was reading about some of the journalists.
I scrolled down to Andrew Jennings, and in the bit about him, there is a link Transparency in Sport which I clicked on, and read through the story of what happened to one journalist.
I was struck by this passage:
‘Occasionally Khadija manages to smuggle letters from jail. They are optimistic, never bitter. She says she feels more free than the prosecutors. “When I watch the helpless state of the judges and prosecutors, I feel sorry for them. It is strange, but I feel confident when I see them in such a condition. I feel supremely free compared to such officials.” ‘
And I was struck because I kind of feel that way about the Big Lie propagators and propagandists, and the people who lied to UEFA, and the people in media and clubs who refuse to deal with that every-bit-as-pernicious deceit as anything that Mr Hickey of the IOC got up to.
You and I know that we are honest. They know that they are not.
We are, like Khadija, free. They are enchained in coils of deceit which they lack the moral fibre to break free from even if they had the will to do so.
How do they live with themselves? How can they head up a Sports administration based on systematic cheating?
Would any of the SMSM pack even get across the doorstep of the Centre for Investigative Journalism? How can they have the gall to style themselves ‘journalists’?
But how can we NOT pity them, while we seek to get them to amend their ways, and just tell us the truth and put the sporting record straight?
They are clearly not getting zillions of cash, or death threats, nor are they under threat of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment. So what is the reason for this low level ‘corruption’ of the sporting ideal?
What is eating them?
Jimbo @2109
I do not despair. I know there are irons in the fire that, all going well, I shall see some results from in the coming weeks.
My point was that we have power if we can communicate. Those that were responsible for the Arab Spring faced imprisonment, torture and death for spreading the word but they got the word out and were not punished for it because they were successful. Our case is trivial in comparison so why are we not able to spread the message? The worst that we face is apathy.
Reiver, From my own experience there are not that many like us on here. I’ve almost given up in trying to engage all the football supporters I know. They are not unaware of Res12 of all the jiggery pokery that went on with the SFA, but they are just not that interested. They are well aware of the bias of the press – have known it for years. As long as Celtic do well on the pitch that is all that matters. You might call them jelly and ice cream fans. Were happy to laugh along at the daily bad news coming out of Ibrox, but that is about it.
I think it will always be a hard core of dedicated followers like yourself and many others who will move things along.
Going by the amount of disgruntled Celtic fans threatening not to renew this season but with the Brendan Rodgers factor coming in, season ticket sales have went through the roof. I can only be left with the opinion that a huge amount of fans are only interested in football. Not the behind the scenes stuff. Maybe I should not be surprised or hyper critical.
Anyway carry on all the good things you do, it’s important.
“A club-wide player profile has been created that identifies the personal and footballing characteristics that we require of a Rangers player. ”
Translation- Cheap
JoeninhoJune 25, 2016 at 11:40
‘…Translation- Cheap’…………
________
and possibly with an appeal to a convicted criminal of a Chairman?’ Like calling to like’?
JOENINHO
JUNE 25, 2016 at 11:40
Cheap also often means old as well!
Would have been happy for Gilks to have come to Tynie as a back up goalie.
However him going to Ibrox means that he is now the fourth signing in their thirties.
Add to that list Miller and Lee Wallace’s new three year deal then if the 1st team squad is say 24 in number, a quarter has no obvious sell on value.
None of the remainder look like being a potential transfer goldmine.
When will the potential young talent coming thru the academy get a chance to develop and blossom and be shown to the market, if the oldies are getting a game?
So no European football for additional income and no sign, as yet, of having found that elusive nugget of gold to sell on for millions. Ex EPL players probably on a decent wage in relative terms.
Still tough times ahead to balance the Ibrox books IMHO.
jimboJune 25, 2016 at 10:43
‘…I can only be left with the opinion that a huge amount of fans are only interested in football. Not the behind the scenes stuff.’
____________
Perhaps so.
There are millions of punters who like to put a bet on. But I cannot imagine that there are more than a few idiots who would knowingly bet on a sports competition run by by a crooked administration, except maybe unless they knew in which way the particular game had been fixed.
50-odd thousand season ticket holders pay good money in order to get some satisfaction in beating a new club which they think would be the same as beating an old, extinguished club which cheated them and the rest of us for years? Where is the satisfaction in that ?
Satisfaction of Truth and a return to Integrity that will make watching Scottish Football a worthwhile sporting entertainment ,will lie in having the cheating SDM’s team retrospectively expelled, and stripped of illicitly obtained titles and honours, and the whole disgusting 5-way fix rescinded, and guilty men held to account.
If people choose to line the pockets of cheats……..more fool they.
Daily Record 25th June 2016
Exit shock Brits are ready to do a Tony Cascarino and bag an Irish passport.
“The English-born former Celtic star famously qualified to play for Ireland through his grandad who was from the Republic of Ireland which led to him being granted an Irish passport in 1996”
Are you sure?
Daily Record 20 Mar 2008 Updated 11:32, 1 Jul 2012 By Greig Thomas
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tony-cascarino-i-should-have-played-for-scotland-971967#fG32yZJGm7KrJ3vG.97
OOPS
and
theguardian Sunday 29 October 2000
“In the book, Cascarino relates how he was first called up by Ireland in 1985 when he was at Gillingham. Having always thought his maternal grandfather was Irish, he believed he was eligible under the ‘one grandparent’ rule.
Cascarino submitted ‘evidence’ of his Irish antecedents to the Irish embassy in London and began playing international football. He had played against Switzerland, Russia and Denmark before he heard back from the embassy. ‘Finally, the envelope arrived and they were all there, all my mother’s documents – and a letter saying it had been declined.
‘It seemed odd but I didn’t follow it up. I didn’t need to. I had won three international caps. And for the next 11 years, I continued playing for Ireland with my British passport.’
.. and they wonder why nobody buys papers!
Oh dear, I’m in moderation. Here is what I wrote without the offending word.
Just watched the NI v Wales game and am left even more determined to succeed in our efforts. It wasn’t a great game but either team would have seen off Scotland. My anger at that is not toward the Scottish players or the various Scottish managers. It is against.. well I don’t need to say who cos you already know.Rangers supporters will say the decline is because of their team’s absence in the top league but the truth is the decline started and coincided with SDM’s destruction of football integrity. I do not believe that it is any coincidence that the decline in the ability of the national team and the financial manipulation at Ibrox occurred in parallel. It was not the Ibrox club that caused it but it WAS the SFA and the various iterations of the league bending to the will of that club that had a great affect. Too much effort put into promoting one club and, latterly, trying to ensure its continuity saw us slip in the home international standings from second to fourth.I want these b!”*rds, and their attempts to push their “flagship” to the fore, out. I want a fair sport and I want it soon!
I was reading Andrew Smith in today’s ‘Scotsman’.He seems to have reprinted an old(?) statement by that other Charlie, Stillitano, rabbiting on about a ‘Rivalry Cup’ in America.[ It would have been helpful, Andrew, if you had told us when and where Stillitano made that statement and whether you were there or got it from a press release?].
The piece was not at all interesting in itself. I mention it only as another example of how our hacks, with nothing useful to say, will fall back on propagandising , and using any kind of old sh.te from any kind of old ‘Charlies’ to keep the myth of the ‘Old Firm’ alive.
We had the same this afternoon ,with the usual crew on Radio Scotland manufacturing any kind of infantile ‘talking points’ in order to speak about the twitter war of words between the jail-bird and Brown.
John C.
Every word you type I agree with but I’m afraid there is not a lot like you. How many go to the bother of attending the COS? You, EJ, James Doleman and GrantSTV, that’s about it. 4 out of hundreds of thousands. I hang my head in shame in that respect. But in history, everywhere, it just takes a few.
You will go down in history for asking a question to which the answer was ‘nothing’. That guy is as despicable as your are honourable. I’m saying no more. As I said to Reiver earlier, keep on doing the good stuff that the rest of us appreciate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTM7E4-DN0o
A wee bit controversial seeing as we have voted to leave Europe. But Wagner is brill.
Jimbo
What wing does he play on?
Is he to young to play at Ibrox?
Jimbo,
Is that before or after Natalie Wood?
Keeping safe I think. The dude on the left is John Clarke and the guy on the right is Auldheid. My heros.
Something went wrong
JOHN CLARK
JUNE 25, 2016 at 19:57
============================
They like their cheeky chappies.
Barton’s form would appear to be
1, Beating up a 16 year old when drunk, described by the judge as a “violent and cowardly act”.
2, Actual bodily harm on a team-mate, where he knocked the other player unconscious and punched him repeatedly whilst on the ground even after he was already out.
and
3, Stubbing a lit cigar in a team-mates eye during a Christmas party.
How they laugh at his twitter antics now.
To be fair Scott Brown has got drunk and given a pizza a right good going over. As was widely reported in the Scottish press.
Not a lot of people know this, BP is a great musico. A fantastic guitarist.
Jingso.JimsieJune 24, 2016 at 16:24
I wonder if Scotland’s free prescriptions are a factor in Warburton/Weir/McPartland/Miller/Robertson (or whoever is responsible for recruiting ‘talent’) signing up what’s been called ‘El Geriatricos’?
TRFC’ve now signed a 34 year old goalkeeper who played 2 first team games (in the League cup) last year.
===========================================
I thought that the name Matt Gilks a familiar ring to it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Gilks
An internet search revealed that he had in fact been resident down here in NR1 for the 2007-08 season.
He arrived on a free and left the following summer without having played a single minute of first team football.
However, his claim to fame is that he was the makeweight in the transfer that brought club (and now national) legend Wes Hoolahan to the Fine City from Blackpool.
Perhaps Sevco are hoping that lightning will strike twice, although they may struggle with the cash element of the cash plus player deal if they can identify a suitable transfer target that matches the personal and footballing characteristics that they require of a Rangers player.
ReiverJune 25, 2016 at 20:44
‘…JimboWhat wing does he play on?Is he to young to play at Ibrox?’
____________
Sadly, his Liquidation process was completed a number of decades ago, and he is deader than the Rangers of SDM and CW. But his spirit, his ethereality, his ‘what it’s all about’ as described by a leading QC is alive in concert halls-but not so alive as to let his creditors get to him!
Back to the music, brass always outplays girly strings. (that includes you BP)
Big PinkJune 25, 2016 at 20:57
‘..Is that before or after Natalie Wood?’
_______________
I can’t believe it’s taken me about ten minutes to make the connection between (Robert) Wagner and your post!
And when I think of how John Wayne got Natalie back from the Indians!
John C my friend, I don’t know if you like classical music or not. but this is worth listening to. Same goes for my Rangers fans on here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTM7E4-DN0o
Despite my hopes I see the wearer qualifiers the Magic Hat wearer has decided to continue open his gob and let his belly rumble. This time it is about lack of pre-season preparation time and the league cup.
I have been giving the guy the benefit of the doubt but I am quickly coming to the conclusion he is a clown.
By the end of last season he had got to the point he had a chance of Europa League football.
I doubt Hibs are moaning and groaning because they have 2nd round qualifying ties on 14 & 21 July. Better to be there than not.
Similarly if Warburton has the slightest clue about what his board expects then, without cup success, he should at least be trying to get 2nd or 3rd spot in the Premiership this coming season.
As Hearts and Aberdeen know this involves games starting next week before June is even over.
Will he be spouting forth in the direction of Uefa if T’Rangers qualify for Europe and ask the whole football world to hold back just to accommodate them!
As I say, a clown in the making!!
ReiverJune 25, 2016 at 19:25
“My anger at that is not toward the Scottish players or the various Scottish managers. It is against.. well I don’t need to say who cos you already know.”
——————————–
It is to stretch credulity to blame the current absence of the national team from the Euros on off the field events over the last few years. Nevertheless I have some sympathy with the outlook.
The issue is leadership. Strong leaders have integrity and can imbue loyalty in their cohorts. Their actions have an overall logic to them that manifests itself over time. They have a strong vision and are not blown off course by incidental events.
It could be tangibly argued that these qualities are absent from the upper tiers of sports administration in Scotland. Not to at least consider this connection is remiss. If you can’t formulate a strategy and follow it through to its logical conclusion then how can you possible measure your own success.
The Scotland team has every bit as much opportunity to achieve success as any of the other home nations. There have been a number of players on display at the Euros that are either playing or have played in the Scottish league (McGinn, McLean, Ledley, McGeady, Davis etc). The absence of strong and coherent leadership in the SFA should not be underestimated as a deadweight on national team performance.
CastofthousandsJune 26, 2016 at 01:42
‘…..The absence of strong and coherent leadership in the SFA should not be underestimated as a deadweight on national team performance.’
___________
I would generally agree with that, CoT.
But would further suggest that perhaps
the tunnel vision,
the distorted (some would say, perverted) mind-set of certain individuals in positions of leadership in the SFA over the last couple of decades ,
and the unhealthy influence and connection with one club owner who exercised an almost hypnotic power over the shape and character of Scottish Football through his ( now seen to have been a lot of cheating bolloks!) ‘millions’, and his de facto control of the SMSM hacks by bribing them with pieces of succulent lamb,
can also be considered as contributory factors in the decline of our national team effort.
WOTTPI, according to MW the revamped league cup has impacted on his ideal preseason preparations for what will be a very important season for his team. I don’t think he his asking for any special treatment and all managers at some point complain about the fixture list and scheduling of games.
There has been endless speculation about his summer of silence but now as the season approaches I’m sure many on here will be delighted to once again have the opportunity to find fault in whatever comes out of his mouth or whatever appears in the papers, which is not always the same thing.
JC and others re the effect of the apparent ahem, loss of focus, and it’s impact on the national team, as was wonderfully and eruditely opined to me in the pub last night:
…aye, we’re p!sh, but surely without all the nonsense we’d have been less pish!…
incidentally, note to Jim Traynor and his level 5 gangsters. Must try harder Jim. Sevco were easily topic number 6 after the football (obviously), the referendum, the proposed local bypass and a couple of other topics probably best not repeated for reasons of political correctness!
anyone seen this ?
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-to-let/property-58653869.html
are they that skint
tonyJune 26, 2016 at 11:17
‘..are they that skint ‘
______
I may be wrong and getting confused, tony, but when we were all trying to find out who owned Ibrox, I think I remember noticing that Edmiston House ( or part of it) was regularly rented out to some concern or other., so this may not be a sign of desperation.
It will be interesting to see who rents it, and what the length of the let is, though.
MW at it again lol
Furious Mark Warburton has hit out at the make up of the BetFred League Cup.
Sevco open their campaign away to Motherwell on July 16 followed by matches against Annan Athletic, Lowlands League side East Stirlingshire and Stranraer.
The new look format has been warmly welcomed across the Scottish game giving clubs valuable match practice ahead of the league campaign rather than a procession of pre-season friendlies.
Warbo, who used to work as a high powered city trader, moaned his way throughout last season and hasn’t held back as he slaughtered the League Cup fixture schedule.
“We face four games in nine days, we play 16th, 19th, 22nd and the 25th with the hardest one first,” he moaned about the opening match at Fir Park. “Any team would like to have probably a five or six-game pre-season programme building up in quality and intensity.
“We are going to play Charleston Battery for a warm-up game — and it is just 45 minutes for two separate 11s and then the next match is Motherwell.
“I just find it, for us, far from ideal. I am being very polite saying that.
“So you go to high quality opposition then face Burnley on the 30th. Look at the actual details, as a squad of players in pre-season the idea is to try and get a six-week period but when you have that many games it’s play, recover, play, recover, play, recover.
“There’s no work being done. You’re not doing style of play. You’re not working on tactical aspects or your specific parts of your game. Why four games in nine days?”
Most managers with a weekly wage budget that dwarfs the annual budgets of Stranaer, Annan and East Stirling would be quite happy with those sort of fixtures but it seems that the former Brentford chief thinks differently.
Warbo hasn’t yet recorded his delight at signing 34-year-old goalkeeper Matt Gilks on a free transfer. When 37-year-old Clint Hill signed Warbo refused to comment with the club website lifting quotes from Harry Redknapp to proclaim the swoop.
Imagine this guy gets paid to talk pish.
incredibleadamsparkJune 26, 2016 at 09:43
‘…but now as the season approaches I’m sure many on here will be delighted to once again have the opportunity to find fault in whatever comes out of his mouth or whatever appears in the papers, which is not always the same thing.’
________
I suspect, ias, that I am not alone in having no personal animus against Warburton: he is not the only football manager to run off at the mouth, trying to be upbeat to keep the support on-side without making himself a hostage to fortune , and frequently contradicting himself in the process. (Remember, he has to take instructions from a really ‘g and s’ teller of porkies..)
No, the animus is, I think, directed at the( literally) unbelievable SMSM who treat his every word as worthy of the most elaborate propagation , praise and respect as if emanating from an amalgam of Alex Ferguson, Jock Stein, and the other managers who were/are universally recognised as worth listening to, instead of being of no particularly greater value than that of, say, a new manager of very limited football experience ( however great a ‘city trader’ he may have been!)
I’m sure the poor chap winces every time that particular qualification is mentioned by the hacks, knowing that people such as ourselves tend to equate ‘city trader’ as being another way of saying ‘Del boy’ or ‘barra boy’, in pretty much the same way that we now think that ‘court-appointed Administrators’ really means……..
I guess managers will have different views on what the ideal preseason and preparation is for their players. It certainly won’t be a one size fits all senario for clubs.
To me this is another non-story that some are getting worked up about. Poor old MW can’t seem to win with some on here. Criticism for keeping quiet and then abuse for breaking that silence.
We can be an irascible bunch on here at times. It’s going to be a long season.
INCREDIBLEADAMSPARK
JUNE 26, 2016 at 09:43
I have no problem with Warburton having issues with regard to how the new League Cup format is hampering his ‘ideal preparations’ for this coming season.
I am sure, as he says, other mangers across Scotland may have similar concerns. However the vast majority of such complaints would be warranted because they will have either limited opportunity or no directive from their boards to nab a European spot and the League Cup may indeed be a distraction to the priority of having a successful league campaign.
Warburton on the other hand knows, from his board and fans, that he is expected to deliver Euro football next season.
Therefore the new League Cup format and the timing of games is surely an ideal testing ground for what is required with regard to pre-season preparation, should he and his team be successful in securing a Europa League in 2017/2018.
Even if he got the prized ‘title 55’ his CL qualifiers would start mid July in the same way Celtics first tie is on 12 July this year.
I would have thought he would be looking at the experience of having limited time to prepare a ‘Euro Ready’ team over a short break as an opportunity as opposed to a problem.
It is the possible future scenario of T’Ramgers in Europe that make his moaning on this issue hypocritical and nonsensical.
INCREDIBLEADAMSPARKJUNE 26, 2016 at 12:27
Warburton’s silence was indeed welcomed apart from the lack of the respectful congratulatory message to Hibs for winning the cup.
Once again a hypocritical stance from the one he had earlier in the year with regard to how he expected others within the game to treat him.
As I keep staying, most likely a decent guy but one who has been infected with Rangersitis that can cause the patient to spout clown like nonsense every now and again.
I find it interesting that MW doesnt have any complaints about a minimum of 9 hours each way trip to the US, two days after each trip where jet lag will have a negative effect on the quality of any discussions regarding tactics and team shapes for the coming season. This to only play one game against abteam who wouldnt give an East of Scotland league side any challenge.
Naw, much better to criticise the fact that they have to play fellow Scottish teams whose prep time is only better than his side’s because they didn’t embark on an 8000 mile trip for a kick about.
At least me now know that his time of silence and contemplation didn’t include any retrospection on his content for media consumption.
WOTTPIJUNE 26, 2016 at 12:40
As I keep staying, most likely a decent guy but one who has been infected with Rangersitis that can cause the patient to spout clown like nonsense every now and again.
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People involved with Rangers are free to say what they like, as they know the media will not hold them to account.
WOTTPI, spouting ‘clown like nonsense’ is far from exclusive to one manager. I suppose I’ve yet to be particularly offended by anything MW has said or done. Doesn’t mean he is always in the right.
JOHN CLARK
i knew edminston house had rental space i never thought copland road did i thought that was football club business in there,as you say,wait and see
TONYJUNE 26, 2016 at 11:17
anyone seen this ? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-to-let/property-58653869.htmlare they that skint
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Looking at the external photographs, I couldn’t help but think of that imfamous estate on “The Bill” where a fridge usually lands on a squad car while plod are up door-chappin’.
The new LC format is the same for all clubs taking part, however how clubs prepare is an individual matter for each club to organise as they see fit. Maybe Warbs is not swinging haymakers outward, but inward?.
With players on zero contracts, I suppose it would be a bit rich to ask them to return early from holiday when they are not being paid. He himself, seemed to be on a “Work to rule” during the holiday period, not taking calls and leaving any new signings to others.
Taking a purely football perspective I would have thought the LC structure as suitable, intense yes but suitable, to help him get his league team up and running. People are talking about his targets for next May. I suspect MW has as his top priority a settled (if ageing) team comfortably sitting mid table absolute minimum on 31st august else he won’t be seeing May anyway.
I’m sure I read all MW’s thoughts about the revamped League Cup ‘way back when the format and fixtures were announced, and it’s nice to see that he hasn’t changed his position. As Reiver points out, though, the USA trip looks illogical from his point of view and it would be nice if an intrepid reporter were to ask him to explain how the trip will help ready his side for the rigours of the playing schedule he is complaining about .
As an aside, Kyle Lafferty actually looks like a decent footballer nowadays.
I was (a)musing on Twitter that it is a pity the Scottish football media were not responsible for reporting on Brexit as by now it simply would not have happened.
I think MW’s outburst re pre season and fixture issues was made as it dawned on him that the BIG teams did not have to play in the early rounds. All bluster to keep the ‘Relevance’ meter set at 10.
As I understand it there are four teams competing in Europe, they do not play in the early stages of the league cup, as they will be representing Scotland in European competition.
Other than those four every other club is in exactly the same position with regards the league cup.
It will be interesting to read what the other 37 managers think about it.
CARFINS FINEST, I’m not too sure I’d call it an outburst or say with any certainty what is going on inside MWs head. I would say that preseason-gate (it clearly deserves that suffix now) has certainly been elevated to an undeserved level of relevance on here. All numbers on our relevance meter go to 11. Which is one louder than 10.
HOMUNCULUS, I’m not too sure every other club is in the same boat. I know Peter Houston is very much in favour of the competition as he’s never been much of a fan of meaningless preseason games.
PH likes it but MW doesn’t seem too and I’d say they are both right because each club involved will have their own unique set of circumstances.
INCREDIBLEADAMSPARK
JUNE 26, 2016 at 16:00
HOMUNCULUS, I’m not too sure every other club is in the same boat.
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Sorry, I’m not with you there. As far as the league cup is concerned there are only really two groups. Those who are competing in Europe and as such don’t play in the early stages, and everyone else.
Unless I have missed something, everyone else enters at the same stage. They are therefore all in the same boat.
Some might like that, others not, but that is a different question.
Apologies if I misunderstood what you were saying.
HOMUNCULUS, whether people like it or not is very much the question that has been debated today. The date of the tournament will have an impact on the preseason plans of the clubs involved in the early stages. MW has highlighted this as an issue for him. It may not be an issue for others.
There are part time clubs with their players and staff and full time clubs with a different set of considerations. There are the individual clubs finances during preseason and each manager trying to plan for the season ahead. That’s why I say not everyone is in the same boat. The start date of a tournament is only a small part of the overall picture.
Adam
I can’t help but feel that MW and yourself are viewing this whole issue from a standpoint of what you believe your team should be considered to be. The truth is that ALL teams not playing in Europe start at the earliest stage. That is the position your team is in and that was known as the possibility well before the Scottish cup defeat. Had your team won then they would have been facing just as early a start but in Europe. Carry on through to later in the season and consider your management’s reaction to having games being forced upon you in a frequency comparable to the next few weeks because of the old format League cup and perhaps weather. I think we know that complaints would flow just the same.
In my view the complaints now come from a desperation to win SOMETHING this season and the wish to treat the League cup more seriously then many teams do. MW did afterall dismiss the Petrofac Cup last season as not being the start of your season. The tune changed later when it was the only trophy to be placed in the cabinet. The option to embrace the change is there. It has the advantage to be used as THE preseason build-up, to bed in the players and iron out tactical plans in a competitive situation. Not in useless friendlies that take the team half way around the world to play one pointless match. The new format has the added advantage of taking some pressure off the later parts of the season when real congestion can strike.
We at the smaller clubs have watched on as the Ugly Sisters have moaned their way to achieving change that suits ONLY them and in some cases, like the ability to cancel a game to play a money spinning friendly, have seriously disadvantaged other clubs.
We are the ones who have more right to complain.
INCREDIBLEADAMSPARK
JUNE 26, 2016 at 19:11
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This is what I said
“Other than those four every other club is in exactly the same position with regards the league cup.”
I remain of the same opinion. 4 clubs are playing in Europe. The other 38 are playing in the early stages of the league cup.
As far as the league cup is concerned, Rangers are in exactly the same position as the other 37 clubs. You seem to feel differently. I’ll happily leave it at that, no point in going round in circles.
REIVERJUNE 26, 2016 at 19:31
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Who are “the Ugly Sisters” if you don’t mind me asking.
REIVER, I can stop you at your first sentence and say that is not what I think. I have never thought that. So, with respect, you are totally and completely wrong in that feeling about me.
As as for your last paragraph I have posted similar on a number of occasions from the very start of the SFM. Please take my posts today for what they are: a belief that MW gets unfairly criticised on here at times. That is all and I will not be misrepresented as holding views which I have never had.
Aw’ come on Homunculus, surely I do not have to explain that to you. Just remember that I support one of the diddy teams, albeit one that has the Scottish Cup in its trophy room(well closet then). Our gripe is normal with regard to two teams that hog the limelight in Scotland.
Adam
Apologies if I misread you on this, I am fully aware how reasonable you are. It’s just that I cannot see any other reason for the objections to the new LC format. MW should be aware by now that his club will have an input into changes in competition formats(and if history tells us anything, probably more than other clubs) so if he has any objections he should take it up with his board. Or perhaps he is still not speaking to them yet.
As to him getting a hard time on here I must disagree. The amount of moans and complaints he had in public last season is closely related to the number of times he used the word “respectfully”. In that respect he probably isn’t much worse than Stubbs and he made me cringe at times. The thing is, I probably didn’t give him a hard time on here because, quite frankly, Hibs never crop up on here( or just about anywhere) as a subject of conversation.
I don’t mind managers having complaints it is just that they have to be valid ones otherwise I find them a pain in the ass.(I’m avoiding moderation on this one)
Homunculus
June 26, 2016 at 19:45
REIVERJUNE 26, 2016 at 19:31 ===========================
Who are “the Ugly Sisters” if you don’t mind me asking.
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Two cheeks is a clue!
REIVERJUNE 26, 2016 at 20:20 Aw’ come on Homunculus, surely I do not have to explain that to you.
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Yes please, I wouldn’t want to be accused of putting words into your mouth.
Why, Homunculus, it is Celtic and Rangers of course.
As in the pantomime, they are always making us poor little Cinderella clubs miserable.
In no way shape or form are Hibs a diddy club. In fact I don’t like the terminology for any club.
HOMUNCULUSJUNE 26, 2016 at 19:45 0 1 Rate This
REIVERJUNE 26, 2016 at 19:31===========================
Who are “the Ugly Sisters” if you don’t mind me asking.
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One sister married a billionare, well she was duped into believing he was a billionare.And after spending all her money on prized gems had to get loans just to keep the lights on.She soon divorced the not so billionare and waited for a another billionare suiter to come along.In the meantime she had to demote her expectations.After one or two near misses she found a millionare in SA and got hitched,but she still wanted to keep her original name.Time will tell if this millionare is her prince or king in waiting? But friends of who they are many of the second ugly sister are telling her she is getting duped again,but love is blind as they say and hearts or crests may get broken again
REIVER, no worries. I just had to make that point as firmly and, hopefully politely, as possible. Im really not that person in your post. I do disagree with you (and everyone else) about MW but then what would this place be like if we agreed on everything?
REIVER
JUNE 26, 2016 at 20:59
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Rangers have been in existence since 2012. During that time they have made their way up through the divisions and are now in the premiership. Celtic have played them twice, in cup competitions. As far as I am aware there are no commercial links between the two.
What in your view links them to Celtic more than any other club. Why in your view are Celtic and Rangers “the Ugly Sisters” as opposed to any other club and Rangers.
Ugly sister? There is no way CFC is ugly. The kindest most generous and charitable support from their inception.
What’s in a name?
Scottish football has long had and now has again two dominant organisations who historically have utilised a unique and particular mix of fan recruitment and retainment criteria which arguably allowed them to continuing to punch above their weights in gaining more than their fair share of fan revenue.
A kind of non virtuous circle and a licence to print pound notes that other clubs could not match.
Whether they ever worked together formally in the past or just had enough native cunning to informally exploit their unique historical differences and perspectives would be an interesting debate.
In many ways financially they needed each other to allow them to be of dominant size and the rest of our clubs needed and relied on the crumbs from the TV money that our 2 big clubs delivered.
That was the unique set of business and commercial viewpoints that framed and allowed the nonsense in 2011 and 2012 and it links our chairmen in a fully complicit set of actions by their paid employees at SFA and SPL.
The unique differences and perspectives I would also suggest have more to do with the current high level of season tickets at each of our 2 big clubs than the standard of football that will be on display in season 2016-2017.
Logically I think they need and feed off each other in a commercial sense.
A bit of an ugly reality for fans out-with the two big camps – yes I can see how that point of view arises.
Money corrupts.
Jimbo,
I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ?
It is funny how so many on here seem reasonable debaters until they are faced with a subject that is even the slightest bit negative to their own club. Then though, they take umbrage no matter the facts of the subject matter.
Do you think that clubs other than the big two have no right to complain when the money grabbing disadvantages their own business.
The SPFL introduced a rule that ONLY advantaged the big two. “OK guys, if you get the offer of a friendly that will make you a lot of money, you can ignore the fact that another club in the league has expected that, under the rules of the league, to have a match against you and just cancel it”
It doesn’t matter that this usually happens in the early part of the season when the weather is more conducive to a big turn out or that the fans have already spent money to go to the away game or that at the beginning of the season the smaller club with a smaller squad will no yet be troubled with injuries to key players. No just you guys head off and fill your already bulging coffers that already give you a bigger advantage than the rest of us.
To be honest, when I see the reaction on here to these sort of issues, it doesn’t half make me reconsider whether you are embracing the concept of this site, which is to hold our football authorities to account, but more your concern is attacking the other half of the erstwhile Old Firm.
To be impartial you need to accept that there are faults at ALL clubs including your own.
Re the Old Firm
I think Homunculus summed it up well a few days back on what were his own personal views of the ‘The Old Firm’ tag, in that he never liked the term in the first place that for him it hasn’t had any relevance at all since 2012.
I suspect many a poster on here who supports Celtic and indeed other clubs will hold similar views.
However the fact that the Old Firm, and all that entailed, existed cannot be denied.
Similarly the fact that some Celtic supporters will still relish the ‘Old Firm’ derby cannot be denied.
In some cases it appears the ‘Old Firm’ association was seen as being used to the advantage of the two clubs to the disbenefit of others. However at times it has been useful to try and break down some of the divides in the West of Scotland by trying to have the two clubs work together to combat the unsavory stuff. The success of that is of course questionable.
I think what is certain is that Celtic, as a club, will be treading very warily with regard to them being seen as getting too close with the club from Ibrox for the time being.
The SMSM will of course pay the Old Firm tag at every opportunity because they believe it is what people want.
How much traction that gathers from a Celtic point of view is up to the club and the fans.
I think we can really only pass comment when we see what the coming season brings.
REIVER
JUNE 27, 2016 at 10:09
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Simple question, do you believe the current Rangers playing in the SPFL is a new club formed in 2012, or do you believe it is the same club as the one currently in liquidation.
If it is the former, then as I said before why are you linking Celtic to this new club which they have played twice in cup competitions and have never met in a league match. As far as I am aware the sponsors are different and there are no financial links, that was different in the past but it is the current position.
If it is the latter, then I respectfully disagree and am happy to leave it at that.