Now that we are at the end of the league season, and with respect to the job still to be done at Tannadice and McDiarmid Park, it seems like a good time for a post holocaust report.
Fig 1 Average Weekly Attendances SPL 2011-2014
Peppered around this page are three charts and a table* showing the attendance figures for the SPL in the last three seasons. A school kid could tell you that there is a positive trend in those charts and figures, but the people who run our national sport will look you straight in the eye and tell you “that can’t be right – Armageddon is coming!”
It is one of the most ridiculous and mendacious situations I have ever come across. The people who run our national game, aided and abetted by those in the MSM (sans the eye contact though) are actually trying to persuade us of how awful our game is and how unsustainable it will be in the absence of one, just one, club.
Think about that. The SFA and the SPFL trying to talk us out of supporting the game unless we all recognise the unique importance of one, just one, club. That is what has happened, no matter how they try to spin it. And despite evidence to the contrary contained in these figures, not one of them has admitted to an error, never mind the downright lies that they told to support the position they held, the one where anyone speaking of sporting integrity was mocked and ridiculed.
Whilst growing up as football supporter in the 60s, one of things I was constantly bombarded with via the medium of the tabloid newspapers was that football clubs should be grateful for the publicity afforded them via their back pages. These were probably reasonable claims, especially in the light of the relative lack of access to players and officials conceded to the hacks in those days, and the pre-eminent cultural position in which they helped to place football. Alongside that, the broadcast media, particularly Archie Macpherson’s Sportscene and Arthur Montford’s Scotsport could be relied on to talk the game up. Of course, there was something in it for the papers – sales. The more column inches devoted to the national sport, the further northward their sales, and consequently advertising revenues travelled.
Fig 2 Avg. Attendances excl Celtic & Rangers
The situation was further cemented by the fact that the press in that ante-interweb era held a monopoly over the exchange and dissemination of information. That symbiotic, win-win relationship between football and the press was as much a part of football reality as the Hampden Roar. It also endured for decades. The press would talk up the game to such an extent that folk often remarked that they hadn’t realised how much they had enjoyed a particular match until they had read Malky Munro or Hughie Taylor’s report the next day. Archie Macpherson is on record as having said the same thing about legendary commentator David Francey, “It was a much better game to listen to than to see!”
Today that symbiosis is broken. The press themselves, in print and in front of microphones consistently belittle the product, talk of crises and Armageddon, of our own version of the Eisenhower domino effect of clubs going to the wall one after another.
Aided and abetted by the two chief bureaucrats in charge of Scottish football, Stuart Regan and Neil Doncaster, who have consistently helped to hammer home the message that Scottish football is not good enough, and cannot sustain itself financially without Rangers, a club that could not itself sustain itself financially to the extent that it is being liquidated.
At a time when Scottish football was clearly in crisis, and badly in need of sponsorship which could mitigate the effects of that crisis, the press and the authorities sought to strengthen their own negotiating hand by making negative claims about the state of the game which never came to pass, and for which they have never apologised. The actual situation, which would not have been hard to predict had anyone actually bothered to analyse the business of Scottish football, is summarised quite easily by saying this;
- Since Rangers’ liquidation and subsequent absence from the top league, the average home attendance of the other clubs has INCREASED overall (See Fig 2).
- In this season, the other clubs have added 50,000 fans to home attendances compared to 2011-12 (the last year Rangers were in competition).
- In that time the league has been won (twice) by Celtic, and the other honours have been claimed by St, Mirren, Aberdeen, Celtic and (either) Dundee United or St Johnstone.
- In that time, both Dunfermline Athletic and Hearts (who both had historical financial problems) entered – and exited – administration after fan-led buyouts.
- Dundee United have cleared off their bank debt.
- Kilmarnock have restructured their bank debt, freeing the club from a precarious long-term situation.
- League reconstruction has allowed some money to trickle down to the second tier clubs in an attempt to mitigate the immediate effects of relegation and to reward ambitious clubs.
Looking at the table of attendances above, it is pretty clear that immediately upon Rangers exit, the overall figures took a dip. However there was little difference the in the figures if you leave Rangers out of the equation (Fig 3) – despite Celtic’s attendance taking a hit that year (down by around 5,000 per home match).
Taking Celtic out of the calculations, it is clear that there is a 6,000 uplift in this average (Fig 2).
It is still undeniable that less people overall are watching football (Fig 1), but the trend is upward if one leaves the Ibrox club out of the picture.
Furthermore, this statistic exposes the double edged sword that is retention of home gates. The fact that gates are not shared is predicated upon the notion that the bigger clubs do not depend on the smaller clubs for income. And since the smaller clubs are no longer recipients of big club largesse, their fortunes are not affected, at least not as much as was suggested by the Regans, Doncasters and Traynors of this parish. The “Trickle-Down” theory of Reganomics said otherwise – but clearly and demonstrably it was wrong.
The abandonment of gate sharing has made Scottish football less interdependent than it once was, but the irony is that it works both ways. There is hardly a club in the country that depends on Rangers for their own existence, and here is the news; small clubs are no longer financially dependent on the former Old Firm.
Fig 3 Excluding Celtic
The fact, that is F-A-C-T, is that Scottish Football attendances in the top division are on the increase. The absence of Rangers has made no appreciably negative difference to any other club, far less caused a catastrophe of biblical proportions.
Even if the fools who were the harbingers of our doom were simply guilty of making an honest mistake, it is clear that they are uncontaminated with the slightest notion of how the game in this country operates. The Old Firm may be dead, but the OF prism is still being peered through by Stuart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the vast majority of print journalists. The latter who failed to honour that age-old football/press symbiosis because they believed, erroneously that David Murray’s dinner table was the hand that has fed them for over a century.
The irony is that as job opportunities diminish in the print sector, so too will the fine dining and patronage. I think they call that evolution.
Two years ago, in the wake of the fans’ season ticket revolt which saw the new Rangers forced to apply for membership of the league and begin at the bottom, those same MSM hacks taunted fans about putting their money where their mouths were. The fans responded splendidly as our statistics demonstrate, but typically there has been no recognition of this either at Hampden or in the media.
And the message from those fans is this: Scottish football is not dying. Not any more. At least not as surely as it was when David Murray started to choke the life out of it in the late 80s. The supporters are returning in numbers to see a competition untainted by the outrageous liberty-taking and rule-breaking of the last couple of decades, and all but one club has emerged from the mire of the Moonbeam Millennium looking forward to a new era.
If authorities allow the new era to thrive by restoring sporting integrity to the agenda, then the numbers, like the opportunities available to more and more clubs, will grow. The question is … will they?
Admittedly, these figures, like any set of statistics, can be cherry-picked to suit almost any argument that you care to construct. The fact remains though, that whilst it would be fanciful and ridiculously over-optimistic to claim that they bear witness to a burgeoning industry, it is utterly dishonest to conclude that they represent financial Armageddon. Armageddon? Aye right!
upthehoops says:
May 27, 2014 at 9:33 pm
Cluster One says:
May 27, 2014 at 9:19 pm
Hope someone emails him with it
==========================================
Like he will have any shame.
It might just keep his trap shut for a bit though
That’s a cracking timebomb the bold Chico has left the Bears as his legacy. Bet even the hardcore fans in the BD won’t be singing his praises once this news breaks out. If it ever does…..
At least someone else is managing to squeeze some cash out of the deceased Govan club’s history… 🙄
====================================
“We are delighted that we have managed to secure a legend of British Football for a night at The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium. One of the most admired men in Rangers History, Graeme Souness will be hosting a Question & Answer evening and we could not be more proud.
Tickets for this event are extremely limited and are only available here – from our website. Tickets are priced at £30 and this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a giant of the game.
Doors will open from 6.30pm on the night with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm
Tickets Sold Out”
http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html
Thirty quid !!? 😯
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
May 27, 2014 at 7:04 pm
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JimBhoy says:
May 27, 2014 at 5:57 pm
The, ahem ‘onerous’ contracts are very well crafted.
They essentially bleed money out of the club.
A formal Admin wouldn’t shift them.
However an Administrator might ask some awkward questions.
When Laxey got the planned insolvency ducks in a row (Jan) they were not aware of the extent of these contracts or their provenance.
It all makes sense to them now…
________________________________________________
Personally, I genuinely struggle to imagine how there could exist any more onerous contract on any club than the one with the words ‘of employment’ at the top and Alistair McCoist’s hancock at the bottom.
Its probably not too presumptious of me to suggest that the ‘penny’ dropping on these onerous contracts somehow precipitated / coincided with the Senior Laxey wheeler dealer who brokered their involvement getting unceremoniously booted?
But could these contracts have anything to do with McColl’s reticence to march up the marble staircase as well (i.e. did he sniff a rat and put the lid back down slowly so as not to disturb anything?)
Did they have anything to do with the Cardigan’s unceremoniuous dash for the undergrowth several moons back (Did he notice that the ‘bag’ he had been handed by Green was ticking)?
We’re the contracts effected during the Smith/Murray tenure?
i.e. which of the ‘True Blue’ brogue wearers were on the scene when Charlie laid those ‘little chocolate eggs’ in the Ibrox basketcase?
More importantly: Do they predate the IPO and if so were they disclosed?
And if not: Who was steering this damn thing, and where the hell was the lookout???
Its really not going to end well for them, is it?
StevieBC says:
May 27, 2014 at 10:31 pm
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At least someone else is managing to squeeze some cash out of the deceased Govan club’s history… 🙄
====================================
“We are delighted that we have managed to secure a legend of British Football for a night at The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium. One of the most admired men in Rangers History, Graeme Souness will be hosting a Question & Answer evening and we could not be more proud.
Tickets for this event are extremely limited and are only available here – from our website. Tickets are priced at £30 and this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a giant of the game.
Doors will open from 6.30pm on the night with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm
Tickets Sold Out”
http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html
______________________________________________________
Q1. What was the £30k EBT for Graeme?
coineanachantaighe says:
May 27, 2014 at 8:12 pm
3 0 Rate This
Allyjambo says:
May 27, 2014 at 11:42 am
Alec Cameron …
======================
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcgv74698Qk Spot the horse’s a*se in the clip.
============================================================================
I worked in the Strathclyde Police stables in Salkeld Street around the time that happened. 1977/78, I think. The horse involved was an evil big b*gger named Adjutant. It was the most evil beast on the face of the earth with quite a badly deformed left shoulder, possibly caused by the size and weight of the monumental chip that it carried. I hated that horse and that horse hated me. It was my job to go in to his pen of a morning and wash his bits. The Police horses slept on beds of dried peat and when horses relax their bits tend to feel the effect of gravity and exhibit Geotropic tendencies, hence the need to give their bits a quick seeing to with a wet cloth. I took small satisfaction by making sure that when I attended to Adjutant the water was very fresh and extremely cold. Small victories and all that. Talk about giving me an inferiority complex? Good grief, this was abject humiliation and that horse knew it, I swear it would have a sneer on its face that asked how brave I was that morning. The answer was “not very, I remember Alex Cameron”. He had a bad habit of biting your shoulder if you turned your back on him, Adjutant I mean, not Alex Cameron, although I’ve never met the latter.
I had just recently returned to work after a period off sick due to fracturing a metatarsal playing footy (the only trait I have in common with David Beckham, if you can ignore running around in my pants). The horses were due to have their manes shaved and given skinheids for health reasons, to help with parasite control, not to make them look hard although it did have this side effect. I was holding on to Adjutant’s bridle to prevent him doing a runner out the door and averting the strong probability of sinking his fangs into members of the general public, no, this weapon of mass equine terror had to be kept under wraps only to be brought out as a deterrent when the two tribes went to war. With hindsight, this was the Gorbals in the 70’s so there is a strong chance that he would have been bitten back, but he proved to be a very effective weapon indeed. Anyhoo, the highly agitated Adjutant then decided that he would see how high he could lift me off the ground and reared up on his hind legs, ho-ho Silver like and crashed down with all his weight onto the concrete floor of the stables whilst using my slowly recovering and heavily bandaged and swollen big toe to cushion the impact and impending effects of gravity. I think this was the first time that a Police cadet had ever been transported to Glasgow Royal Infirmary and wheeled out from the back end of a horse box. That animated can of dog meat was highly persuasive in helping me decide that a career in Strathclyde Police was perhaps not a good path for me to follow.
That nag hated human beings, so God only knows why it attacked Alex Cameron…
Apologies for going OT, but i’ve been waiting a long time to vent my spleen regarding that creature from the seventh circle of hell that would have given Sleipnir itself a run for its money.
Trying to figure out what an onerous contract is exactly:
Onerous Contracts
Worth noting that the Rangers AIM prospectus appears to be clear on trademarks and IP ownership.
However I had never noticed before that the prospectus allows Rangers Retail to buy-out the TRFCL shareholding in Rangers Retail should TRFCL undergo a change of control or an event of default (including insolvency, material breach or if the IP Licence Agreement is validly terminated).
The IP Licence Agreement, according to the Prospectus, states:
I have to be honest and say I don’t understand that last bit but wonder who might have a valid claim against TRFCL intellectual property rights which were apparently purchased from D&P. Maybe it’s just a stanard clause inserted in this kind of agreement.
redlichtie says:
May 27, 2014 at 4:17 pm
‘..Today’s Press & Journal carries the news that “Former Gers boss Murray expands into oil and gas supply work” by acquiring Manchester-based Alphastrut.’
———–
Idle curiosity prompted me to look up Alphastrut.
BroguesRoguesAndILikeThePogues says:
May 27, 2014 at 10:49 pm
‘…I worked in the Strathclyde Police stables in Salkeld Street around the time that happened.’
————-
Super story! But was it your use of ice-cold water on his bits that caused his animosity ? If so, I think most of us would side with the horse! 😀
With regard to the relative competitiveness of the 2nd tier (now that the SPL and the SFL have merged, I struggle with the concept that the winners of the championship division of the league will not be league champions), surely it is only to be expected that the middle divisions will be more competitive. Teams that are better than the others will tend to be promoted, the poorer teams will be relegated and the remainder will inevitably be much of a muchness.
(Another way of looking at this is would be to view the Premiership as one tail of the distribution of teams with the likelihood of outliers, with the championship nearer the main body).
The fact that three of the biggest supported sides will not be in the top flight is rather like a rare conjunction of planets – it can only happen in exceptional circumstances. What might make things even more interesting is the temptation to “increase the bidding” in order to finish in the only guaranteed promotion spot (given the play-off clearly favours the premiership team). One of the flaws of the old SPL/SFL model was the huge gulf in income between 2nd in the SFL and 2nd bottom in the SPL. That encouraged clubs to gamble money they didn’t have on securing promotion. Spending £100k on new signings at Christmas made perfect sense if it could guarantee first place – but of course, if another team spent £110k, or spent £100k better, you were in trouble. I believe a few clubs are still counting the cost of having a “go” at promotion.
There is less of a cliff-edge now in terms of income, but It will be interesting to see if anything has been learned from previous financial poor practice. I suspect that if the title race is close, then one or more clubs will succumb to the temptation to spend money they can ill afford.
Oops, sorry. The horse story caught me in mid-post , which I thought I had deleted.( It was just to say that in April 2012, Alphastrut was worth minus £104.00 , and its parent company had signed an agreement with Murray Specialty Metals giving MM a global licence to manufacture and distribute its ‘alphastrut’ system.
The Gantry Issue comes back to bite with a vengeance.
I don’t think I need to reprise the Gantry story which has run in the last few days. However there could be a totally new aspect to it which might be simply explained but then again maybe not.
Rangers intended televising 10 away games in the SFL so were gantries available at these grounds and if there were that seems to rule-out any valid charge from a Broadcaster for erecting/removing them
Another little gem from the Rangers AIM Prospectus:
“The rights holders, IMG…”. What rights?
In the Prospectus, what is the difference between “The Rangers Group” and ” the RFCL Group”?
“Virtual Rangers, Rangers new hologram app is now available on android and iphone!”
Oh ma aching sides!
Ecobhoy
That indemnity clause in the Rangers Retail contract looks like a nasty surprise waiting to happen.
If CW ever does launch a legal challenge to the 5088 to Scotland switcheroo, then any adverse finding which might impact the ownership of rights would mean any and all payments would come entirely from Rangers. Mike Ashley is home free in any situation.
I think it is a standard clause, which is why there are reciprocal indemnities, but lawyers usually try to get it removed anyway as it just multiplies the pain if something really bad happens. In this case the existence of two Sevcos and the attempted invention of a difference between club and company means this indemnity really is high risk for Wallace & co.
The agreement to (have an option to??) buy out Rangers Retail is a bit strange. In an insolvency event you would expect a big fall in sales as the team struggles, so why would Rangers Retail want to throw cash at this? It might just be an option, but for it to be worth considering there would probably need to be a separate agreement making it worth Mike Ashley’s while to throw money into an apparently doomed enterprise. I wonder if that separate agreement would be with TRFC or RIFC?
essexbeancounter says:
May 27, 2014 at 5:44 pm
Wicked Para Handy…what on earth would McPhail say…?
================================================================
McPhail, wull nae hae a wurd oan the matter. He’s tae busy wi they penny novels o’ his.
Matty Roth says:
May 27, 2014 at 3:56 pm
“Are the people in charge of our game, the people charged with promoting it and the people whose job it is to report on it and offer their insight all so twisted of mind that they’d prefer to destroy everything good in our game rather than see it flourish without their beloved team winning everything that is on offer, be that by hook or by crook.”
___________________________
I think we already have the answer to that question, and it’s not good.
coineanachantaighe says:
May 27, 2014 at 8:12 pm
Thanks for that, a classic. Bet he never used the phrase ‘straight from the horses mouth’ ever again 😀
upthehoops says:
May 27, 2014 at 8:36 pm
Couple of points on that Bill Leckie smarm.
1) The next season didn’t quite work out as planned, and
2) I wonder what sort of deal Murray came up with to convince Laudrup to stay, and how did he finance it? Not long before the DOS scheme came into operation! Do we know whether or not the DOS scheme was the first of it’s kind to be used? Could some scheme have failed early and HMRC knocking on the door early, forcing RFC/MIH to settle, then look for a new idea, one that benefitted from the introduction of side-letters, perhaps?
Pure speculation, of course (it’s what happens once dodgy dealings are uncovered), but from the thrust of the article Laudrup was on his way, until DM came up with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Just sharing my thoughts as I read that pathetic drooling piece of lamb.
Apologies to TSFM for the stepping stone.
I’d be interested to ask Phil, or others equally close to the action, if Hib’s relegation has caused any sort of rethink down Govan way (never mind in the east) . I accept Phil has already indicated matters are well beyond “a plan.” On the one hand focus has obviously switched to the Championship and if Sevco need anything its focus. Competition will fill the ground again and sell more jerseys and pies. TV monies will almost certainly be up, well they do have a gantry after all! On the flip side, there is, god forbid, the possibility that they won’t romp to the title. It would take a brave man to bid £1 for the club just now if CL revenues are his expected repayment source. Alternatively I think its a given that discussions re reconstruction regardless of any 3 year SPFL moratorium will be dusted off.
From a sevco perspective (apologies again to the rest of the division) I now see a two tier outlook (colt clubs anyone???) There’s still the £25m CL dream which if someone wants to go for then good for them, but there must be easier, less risky, less thankless ways to make money one would have thought. But there is also a window now for a mini Rangers – to forget the ‘challenging THEM’ model for a second and switch instead to a shorter focus, get the hell up strategy instead. The bears would run with it – as long as it works of course – but do they have the money to even do that?
Or are they simply too far gone?
I believe that the whole ‘tax-free’/’tax-paid’ scam started, for certain players and individuals, with the signing of Mo Johnson in 1989. Did MJ, himself, not allude to receiving as much from Rangers ‘after tax’ as he was offered by Celtic before tax?
The MSM talking up the championship as opposed to the premiership. Absolute garbage. There are more than three teams in the mix, of that I am certain. The Falkirks and Dumbartons of this world are not to be discounted. In fact, looking into my crystal ball, I predict Ian Murray, Dumbarton manager will succeed Ally when he is sacked early on in the season.
Anyway, as has been pointed out, Hearts are skint, as are TRFC2012 while Hibs under Butcher were diablolical. None of the three have much cash and will have even less being in the division lower than they would prefer. Only two go up, so the scenario may arise that any one of the three, in fact none of the three could go up.
Why is there an air of assumption that it’s TRIFC and another. TRIFC are utter garbage, skint and may not see out the season, so why is there an expectation among our lazy journalists that it’s a done deal. I wonder what the odds are on any team outside TRIFC winning that league because I think it’s a very good bet.
scottc says:
May 28, 2014 at 9:57 am
Although at that time I’d suspect it was no more than Murray saying to Johnson that ‘we’ll give you whatever Celtic offer, but we’ll pay it after tax!’ I think it shows that the idea of ‘after tax’ was in Murray’s thoughts and these thoughts probably quickly moved on to ‘tax free’. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a number of schemes were tried, but quickly caught by HMRC and settled – so no publicity, before the DOS scheme was introduced.
DonegalT,
The rationale of TRFC winning through is simply the onset of realism. Not in that TRFC will win against all odds, complete the fairytale journey, whimsical dream ya de ya but rather that, if the old model wasn’t well and truly proven to be entirely unaffordable previously then an additional season out of the limelight would set them back probably a decade or more – hence my post above.
What it does do in my opinion is completely slam the door on an admin situation since even the peepil would struggle to come 5th (playoff) starting on -15.
Donegaltim says:
May 28, 2014 at 10:01 am
” so why is there an expectation among our lazy journalists that it’s a done deal.”
_______
It’s all just part of the TRFC PR, and they don’t even have to request or pay for it!! Just as before, it’s not really what’s best for a club from Ibrox, this drooling spin. Clearly the vast majority of bears think that, regardless of how many season tickets are sold, they will still, at the very least, have the same squad of players as they did last season, and so be able to win the league at a canter (not necessarily so); so why bother buying season tickets?. Whether this suits King or the board doesn’t matter, nobody’s going to print the reality, because it’s not nice and doesn’t sell papers.
ptd1978 says:
May 28, 2014 at 2:01 am
I think a possible answer to the advantage of a declining sales scenario for SportsDirect is possibly explained in the Rangers Aim Prospectus:
Now as far as I can see there is no reciprocal agreement that Rangers can buy-out SportsDirect. In any case we should never forget that the 51% shareholding TRFCL has in Rangers Retail was IMO just another means of green wool being pulled over the eyes of Bears and, of course, our useless SMSM.
Because the 49% of shares held by Sports Direct have different voting rights from those held by TRFCL which means they count double in any votes involving financial matters giving the actual voting split as 98 to SportsDirect and 51 to TRFCL. Sports Direct already control Rangers Retail in every aspect of any importance.
And then comes the cruncher about SportsDirect and the issue of worldwide licences wrt the intellectual property of Rangers should Sports Direct take over Rangers Retail:
Perhaps one of our insolvency experts could cast an eye over this because my reading of this agreement is that it might well survive the insolvency of TRFCL and leave Sports Direct able to produce genuine branded Rangers kit for however many new Rangers clubs are foirmed on what could be a never ending journey with an unknown destination.
Still nice to know that there will always be a ready supply of kit available for a steadily diminishing band of Bears who aren’t wearing the black and red. Perhaps some Bears are showing a lot more foresight than we give them credit for.
Perhaps the reported Puma angst isn’t so much concern solely over sales but the whole future of the Rangers IP rights and who has a licence to ‘brand’ kit.
On the possible re-negotiated TV deal to cover Championship matches.
I do hope that Doncaster and co set out with the clear intention that it will be an ENHANCED deal for the SPFL and not just a redistribution of money. The success, in drama and excitement, of the play-offs this season must surely be a great bargaining tool, let alone the fact that there are so many clubs capable of winning the Championship next season. It would be a pathetic effort if they don’t also insist on a contract that covers two or three seasons of Championship coverage, after all, all three of the ‘big’ clubs could remain there for the next, and subsequent, seasons. The question, or is it a problem, is, do Doncaster and the SPFL board realise just how strong a bargaining chip they’ve been handled, or will they still be blinkered by the ‘Rangers effect’?
Allyjambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 10:18 am
scottc says:
May 28, 2014 at 9:57 am
Although at that time I’d suspect it was no more than Murray saying to Johnson that ‘we’ll give you whatever Celtic offer, but we’ll pay it after tax!’ I think it shows that the idea of ‘after tax’ was in Murray’s thoughts and these thoughts probably quickly moved on to ‘tax free’. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a number of schemes were tried, but quickly caught by HMRC and settled – so no publicity, before the DOS scheme was introduced.
==========================================
Don’t see anything to disagree with there although I wonder if Murray would retain denyability if someone else made the arrangements wrt the player. I suppose it could be someone from the admin or football management side and I’m sure they might expect a nice little bonus too – but would it be netto ❓ 😈
It is now abundantly clear that Neil Lennon resigned due to the humiliation of failing to get his team relegated to the best league in the world.
Campbellsmoney says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:31 am
8 0 Rate This
“The rights holders, IMG…”. What rights?
In the Prospectus, what is the difference between “The Rangers Group” and ” the RFCL Group”?
=========================
From the prospectus, definitions section at page 119/120
I can’t help with the IMG rights.
Allyjambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 10:45 am
0 0 Rate This
On the possible re-negotiated TV deal to cover Championship matches.
The question, or is it a problem, is, do Doncaster and the SPFL board realise just how strong a bargaining chip they’ve been handled, or will they still be blinkered by the ‘Rangers effect’?
__________________________________
I would question if they are in a strong position. How much is extended coverage of the Championship really worth to BT/Sky?
Considering that they already have 15 TRFC matches (which will no doubt include all those against Hearts/Hibs) the media companies would probably be looking to add the Edinburgh derbies and maybe another 5-10 matches focused perhaps on Hearts/Hibs.
Is that really going to be worth even seven figures over a season?
Campbellsmoney says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:31 am
In the Prospectus, what is the difference between “The Rangers Group” and ” the RFCL Group”?
———————————————————————-
Defns from Prospectus:
Company: Rangers International Football Club plc, a public limited company incorporated in Scotland under the Companies Act 2006 with registered number SC437060.
Rangers Group or Group: The Company and all subsidiary undertakings of the Company from time to time, and specifically as enlarged by the Acquisition of RFCL and all its subsidiary undertakings.
RFCL: Means The Rangers Football Club Limited a private limited Company incorporated in Scotland under the Companies Act 2006 with registered number SC425159 which acquired the business and assets of the Club from RFC 2012 plc.
RFCL Group: RFCL and all other subsidiary undertakings of RFCL from time to time.
Campbellsmoney says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:31 am
“The rights holders, IMG…”. What rights?
====================================
I assume IMG is IMG Licensing – one of the biggest independent licensing companies in the sports, fashion and media world.
But the really interesting bit is this:
This raises a number of questions if IMG held the rights for SFL matches. Did they also hold any rights for SPL matches and do they hold any for the SPFL?
It also tends to blow the poor bumbling Doncaster and Scottish football clubs theory out of the window. IMG are at the top level in the world with dealing with TV companies and selling them product and it appears their expertise in getting the best deal for Scottish Football TV deals was only a phone call away.
Of course this takes us back to the emails released by CF about the – I assume – negotiations with IMG. I know I have them somewhere and have been looking but if anyone has them pls let’s see therm as they could be important for understanding what was going on now that we have other bits of the puzzle.
enough is enough says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:51 am
“Virtual Rangers, Rangers new hologram app is now available on android and iphone!”
——————————————————————————————-
“Virtual”
Almost as described but not completely according to strict definition.
Or,
Not physically existing as such but made to appear so.
Good Morning
Totally disagree that the second tier of Scottish Football is the place to be. The teams in that division are there because they deserve to be there and by virtue of that do not play a superior brand of football to those in the top division.
Another attempt by the daily rags to convince the masses that anywhere TRFC are is the place to be.
Doncaster and others are inept at getting the best TV deals. Why is it that other countries smaller than Scotland can command substantially more for football than we can?
We need to get good negotiators in place.
All the posturing about TV deals and the exitement of being in the championship is deflecting yet agai rom the real problem.
Do TRFC have sufficient money to start the season and complete it?
The SFA and SPFL as part of their remit for the sound governance of the game have a duty to enquire and satisfy themselves that they will be able to complete their fixtures.
My advice to Regan and Doncaster is to take a day off from worrying about TV deals and get over to Govan and ask serious questions and demand proof of the position.
If stories are anywhere near true that the RIFC/TRFC cannot muster the money to repay the loans then action needs to be taken by our governors now.
The regulators at AIM should also be active in seeking the same assurances.
In the meantime the Tooth Fairy will be visiting a home near you soon.
Found this on jamboskickback, I don’t know if it has been posted here before. ‘Rangers Transparency’ is a new name to me. Don’t think there’s anything earth shattering but some might find it interesting.
Sons of Struth @SonsofStruth 4h
Is this why Cenkos are no longer the clubs NOMAD? It would appear they possibly didn’t agree with the appointment… http://fb.me/2VAwaTzDA
Sons of Struth @SonsofStruth 5h
Make your own mind up who picks the directors and why they do what they do…. http://fb.me/6AyNlMsVn
mcfc says:
May 28, 2014 at 11:47 am
On intellectual property and onerous contracts I remember Mr Green saying on camera “I bought the history” – not “we” or the “club” or the “clumpany” but “I”. It may have been an inconsequential slip or it may have been a peep into the dark recesses of his master plan.
===================================
I have often pondered over that phrase and what it means. I probably think that most likely it was Green just being Green.
But if he actually personallybought the history I think that raises the issue of what ‘history’ actually means.
It would appear from the AIM Prospectus that is doesn’t include include IP Rights or recognised Rangers Brands such as club emblems as they are clearly shown as being bought by TRFCL from D&P. So if the Prospectus is wrong then AIM have been misled – either accidentally or wilfully IMO.
But if the Prospectus is correct then we have to look back to when the deal was done with D&P by Sevco Scotland because in a way it was bought be Green as he was the sole shareholder and sole director of Sevco Scotland which was later renamed TRFCL.
I struggle to see how Green is tied-into an enduring contract on IP and emblems – however as I posted earlier this morning perhaps Rangers Retail could have an enduring exclusive worldwide licence to use Rangers IP rights and Brands if SportsDirect bought-out the TRFCL interest in Rangers Retail.
However I hesitate to come to a decision as the full terms of the agreement between Sports Direct and TRFCL aren’t public so who knows what might lie there ❓
There is some value to be had on a stadium after all. The SRU have sold the naming rights for Murrayfield to BT in what is reported to be a £20M deal and also covers sponsorship of the 7s and other teams.
http://sport.stv.tv/rugby/276885-sru-sell-murrayfield-naming-rights-to-bt-in-multi-million-pound-deal/
I guess that with the Rangers Retail deal all tied up, Mike Ashley doesn’t need to be splashing out on another “Sports Direct Arena” in Govan.
ecobhoy says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:09 pm
I have often pondered over that phrase and what it means. I probably think that most likely it was Green just being Green.
===========================================================================
Eco – I tend to agree that it was just Green being Green – carried away in the moment by his own importance. – but having read many contracts over the years my suspicious/mischievous side sees a list and immediately looks for what’s missing, what’s been excluded – and why.
As part of its media strategy, RFCL acquired the registered trade marks “Broxi Bear”, “Rangers”, “Rangers News”, “Rangers Travel”, “The Gers” and the current and previous Club emblems from RFC 2012 plc pursuant to the APA, .
Where’s “Ibrox” – does he hold the naming rights to the field of dreams ?
Allyjambo says: May 28, 2014 at 11:51 am
——————————
That was my alter ego that made the post on JKB. I posted it on the basis that “Sons of Struth” now appear to accept the original CF disclosures as fact.
I suppose it reflects a leap of faith for an increasing number of Bears who are now willing recognise the reality of the situation they find themselves and how they got there.
Finance chiefs say it will take Rangers 10 YEARS before they can challenge Celtic as Scotland’s No.1 club
WHILE the Hoops climb to 37th in the top 50 brands in football, valuation experts are unable to give Ibrox club a rating and predict a decade out of the spotlight.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/finance-chiefs-say-take-rangers-3615406
On the subject of TRFC being able to fulfil their fixtures next season, I asked the SFA if they have done anything about this possibility and the 120 day review………….. and here is their reply:
Dear Mr XXXXX,
I acknowledge receipt of your email. I would advise you to contact the SPFL direct regarding your query as fixtures are a matter for that league.
I understand that the day report was an internal club review and therefore not appropriate for the Scottish FA to take any action on.
I trust that this clarifies matters for you.
Kind regards,
Sandra Buchanan
PA to Chief Executive
Scottish FA
Tel – 0141 616 6004
Mob – 0771 234 0594
Quite staggering really
osmichaggis says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:37 pm
On the subject of TRFC being able to fulfil their fixtures next season, I asked the SFA if they have done anything about this possibility and the 120 day review………….. and here is their reply:
Dear Mr XXXXX,
I acknowledge receipt of your email. I would advise you to contact the SPFL direct regarding your query as fixtures are a matter for that league.
I understand that the day report was an internal club review and therefore not appropriate for the Scottish FA to take any action on.
I trust that this clarifies matters for you.
========================================
Quite staggering really
========================
Actually I don’t find it staggering in the least – it’s just further recognition that the SFA doesn’t give a toss about Scottish football fans other than the 36K ST holders at Ibrox.
Hello hello – is there anybody still buying STs for Rangers 😆
ecobhoy says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:37 pm
WHILE the Hoops climb to 37th in the top 50 brands in football, valuation experts are unable to give Ibrox club a rating and predict a decade out of the spotlight.
============================================================
Extraordinary – someone will have their cahonas on the block for not passing that article through the MSM Lamb Mincer. Neil Patey will be along shortly to restore normal service.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/finance-chiefs-say-take-rangers-3615406
easyJambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:26 pm
” I posted it on the basis that “Sons of Struth” now appear to accept the original CF disclosures as fact.”
—————————————
Despite this Damascean conversion, I think SoS might still find themselves all at sea as they make their journey back to their rightful place at the top of Scottish football. Even with peeled eyes and an open mind the parade of documents from Charlotte and elsewhere over the last couple of years has been a rich pageant capable of overwhelming sensory perception. Trying to make sense of it all in retrospect is an unenviable task. The sight of instructions from Lebanese lawyers will likely bamboozle as much as enlighten.
“I understand that the day report was an internal club review and therefore not appropriate for the Scottish FA to take any action on.”
pinsent masons report on the other hand………..
ecobhoy says: May 28, 2014 at 12:09 pm
—————————
In addition to the information about the joint venture in the RIFC prospectus, I think one of the most interesting points of the TRFCL & Sports Direct agreement is highlighted by a statement in the Rangers Retail accounts (to Apr 2013).
“Employee wages and salaries are recharged from The Rangers Football Club Limited, Rangers Retail Limited has no employees”
RIFC also highlighted a “strong increase in sales from Sports Direct Retail partnership” in their interim accounts (to Dec 2013), pointing out that Rangers Retail had contributed £4.75M to their turnover, up £3.6M on the corresponding period in 2012.
On the downside, the RIFC accounts also alluded to an increase in the operating costs of the Retail business to £3M, up £2.6M from £0.4M.
The RIFC accounts went onto specifically exclude Retail staff costs when attempting to show a reduction in wage costs across the group “Excluding the retail business, staff costs of £7.5m are £0.8m lower than the comparative period. This reduction is net of £0.5m severance payments to former employees.”
The actual terms of the agreement remain unclear when you see references to cash in the bank being unavailable for use as working capital. “Included within cash balances is £1,669,000 relating to Rangers Retail Limited, which is not immediately available as working capital to the Group as a whole.”
Rangers Retail (not TRFCL) also had a £1.5M loan facility with Sports Direct although it hadn’t been drawn down as at Apr 2013.
As a business arrangement, and a joint venture, it all looks a bit bizarre.
ecobhoy says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:37 pm
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/finance-chiefs-say-take-rangers-3615406
—————————————————————-
“Provided it can establish a solid, scandal-free, financial footing and return to the top flight, they could be challenging for the title of Scotland’s most valuable brand within the decade.”
Provided it can remain “scandal-free”, they could be challenging for the top brand title in ten years? If Carling did caveats…
Scottish Rugby have announced a £5 million per annum sponsorship deal with BT. The SPFL still has no sponsor and it seems very little is being done about this at this moment in time. Are the big wigs awaiting the emergence of TRFC in the top league to allow for the trumpeting of a fantastic new deal struck all because TRFC have joined the party? It would certainly suit their narative
easyJambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 2:10 pm
The actual terms of the agreement remain unclear when you see references to cash in the bank being unavailable for use as working capital. “Included within cash balances is £1,669,000 relating to Rangers Retail Limited, which is not immediately available as working capital to the Group as a whole.”
=======================
Nothing is straightforward in this saga. The truth is, as Ecobhoy has pointed out, that Rangers Retail is not, in any real sense, controlled by TRFC, at least not in any sense that I would understand the word “control”. Since voting power resides with Sports Direct on financial matters (and you have to ask yourselves what matters are not financial with a retail operation), then any cash in the Rangers Retail bank account is only available to TRFC on the say so of Sports Direct (Mike Ashley).
As I read the joint venture agreement, if Sports Direct put forward a proposal for RR which TRFC can’t agree to, then Sports Direct can buy out TRFC’s share for half the preceding year’s profits of RR. Since Sports Direct control the financial side, surely that means that they could make a few judicious provisions in the RR accounts, resulting in nil profits, the following year generate a dispute with TRFC, and then acquire RR for nothing. Or am I not reading it correctly?
In my view the Deloittes have made a mistake in consolidating Rangers Retail in the accounts of TRFC. Control clearly lies with Sports Direct, and Rangers Retail should be consolidated in the Sports Direct Group accounts, in my opinion. More smoke and mirrors.
easyJambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Cheers, Easy, hope you don’t mind my steeling your post, just thought some on here might find it useful. It certainly does seem that some, at least, are waking up to reality. Must be quite a shock, though.
pau1mart1n says:
May 28, 2014 at 1:16 pm
“I understand that the day report was an internal club review and therefore not appropriate for the Scottish FA to take any action on.”
pinsent masons report on the other hand………..
_______
Ah, but you see, Paul, the Pinsent Mason report was a report NOT to take any action over. That was the sole purpose of it. The 120 day report, on the other hand, was a report, supposedly, TO take action over. In SFA reasoning, an internal report that, ahem, clears TRFC is worthy of SFA’s notice, while, on the other hand, a thoroughly damning internal report is for TRFC’s consideration alone. I thought you’d have got that by now 😉 We must remember, too, that inaction is the SFA’s watchword, unless, of course, action can be taken against one of the 41 other, whipping-boy, clubs that they like to make judgements upon.
Maybe they are not looking for sponsorship deals for the SPFL just now because if something changes (a relegation here, a promotion there, an insolvency over there) then everything would have to be renegotiated. After all, that seems to be how their contracts work.
What Every Would Be Sponsor Knows
Let’s be honest, even without onerous contracts, a spiv infestation and Lebanese lawyers, it would take a superhuman business turnaround to get The Rangers to the end of the coming season intact – let alone promoted. The exact cause and timing of this incarnation’s demise is up for debate – but personally I’d give them a 95% plus chance of severely embarrassing the SFA, SPFL and MSM before May next. So the obvious question is, when does enlightened self-interest begin to trump blind loyalty to Ibrox and all it represents in the corridors of these august institutions. When do they stop pretending the parrot is resting and start making provisions for its internment – or do they continue to follow Michael Palin’s script and become immortalized in comedy history. Silly question – I’ll get my coat.
Resin_lab_dog says:
May 27, 2014 at 10:48 pm
StevieBC says:
May 27, 2014 at 10:31 pm
At least someone else is managing to squeeze some cash out of the deceased Govan club’s history…
—————————————————————————————
“We are delighted that we have managed to secure a legend of British Football for a night at The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium. One of the most admired men in Rangers History, Graeme Souness will be hosting a Question & Answer evening and we could not be more proud.
Tickets for this event are extremely limited and are only available here – from our website. Tickets are priced at £30 and this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a giant of the game.
Doors will open from 6.30pm on the night with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm
Tickets Sold Out”
http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html
______________________________________________________
Q1. What was the £30k EBT for Graeme?
====================================================
On RM, someone has quoted that the Louden can hold “well over 250 in total”.
So that’s maybe a conservative estimate of £7,500 for a wee Q&A session from Souness ?
And assuming he’s not doing this as a freebie, [and not for charity as no mention on website], perhaps the follow up question could be;
Q2. Will you be declaring your income from tonight Graeme to HMRC – just to keep your tax affairs in order ?
[And then run… 😆 ]
When an Ant Causes a Million Ton Landslide
For those who can’t quite imagine a progression of events that could cause another insolvency / liquidation event (MSM are you there?) – may I suggest some light reading courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catastrophe_theory
Catastrophe Theory
This is the mathematical study of apparently stable, slow moving (linear) systems that suddenly flip and undergo massive possibly violent (nonlinear) changes due to a tiny change to a parameter previously considered insignificant.
Or as Suzanne Vega put it:
When heroes go down
They go down fast
So don’t expect any time to
Equivocate the past
When heroes go down
They land in flame
So don’t expect any slow and careful
Settling of blame
StevieBC says:
May 28, 2014 at 5:38 pm
________________________________
Loved that one Stevie 😀
Watching Scotland game, what a fantastic display from all at the game, brilliant!
Scotland needs a strong African fan base!
Scotland unfortunate to only get a draw. Should have had that 2nd goal in the first half when the Nigerian GK threw the ball into the net without any assistance. Definitely on the up. As is the rugby with that mahoosive sponsorship deal and Glasgow Warriors into the Rabo league final against Leinster on Saturday. What Armageddon…… 😀 😀 😀
What are the options?
• Muddle on hoping for change or a saviour
• Liquidation
• Cease Trading
• Administration
• Internal re-structuring
• Control cash-flow
• Raise Finance
Let’s start with controlling cash flow – a dead duck if they haven’t enough cash – see;
Muddle on? – Needs more than just a full ticket take-up – assets & IP blown – no reserve
Administration – takes time, expensive – and the Courts could have their own sport
Liquidation – fast, clears the base – but as with admin – & some could face investigation[s]
Internal re-structuring – clearly they’ve tried that – sensible options resisted or blocked
Cease trading – quietly buries the financial pillaging [they think]
Raise Finance – tried externally – internally no point – or if managed – a dead compromise
My tuppenceworth is they cease trading but buy time to last minute to extract max pay-back
Cue disablement of Saviours
Cue the tickled tummy SFA
Cue the dog-lead twits at the SPFL
These spivs mean business – and business is banked cash – Its Bears Cash they want [crave]
They`ll keep this cash-cow going as long as they can – SFA & SPFL willing imbecile patsies
And there`s no end of Bears happy to have their loyalty endlessly exploited
– They think
That is changing
• mrstpb
}
twopanda says:
May 28, 2014 at 10:18 pm
“• mrstpb”
———————————–
Well argued and concise analysis Mrs TwoPanda. Certainly puts your husbands fragmented efforts in the shade. Bullet points and everything.
There is a lot of expectation of the second going but for me schadenfreude that sweet is only served chilled in a long stemmed glass. A person need not be so greedy to expect so much in one lifetime.
Since it’s the calm before the storm…mibbees…
A headline from the ‘impartial’ BBC, just to make you groan in advance of the commentary at the World Cup.
“Did the 1966 World Cup mark the birth of modern football?”
Whilst I will have to suffer the grating American-sports style commenting – e.g. offence and defence – but at least I will avoid ‘1966’ references every 5 minutes!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z9txxnb#orb-banner
Allyjambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 11:51 am
Sons of Struth @SonsofStruth 4h
Is this why Cenkos are no longer the clubs NOMAD? It would appear they possibly didn’t agree with the appointment… http://fb.me/2VAwaTzDA
Omg Is Craig Houston Charlotte?
Say it is so!
Just back from Fulham. Good performance, loads of training ground trickery. Unlucky to be equalised,
More non Armageddon, troops in good form. Nigerian band top hole.
Anyone know where Davy and Graham are?
Had small libation in the Whole in the Wa, followed by up market drinks plonk at Gordon’s Embankment place, few snifters and etc on the boat.
If anyone finds them please remind them the luggage is at Kings Cross.
Thank you muchly.
Night night – soon
enough is enough says:
May 29, 2014 at 12:26 am
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Allyjambo says:
May 28, 2014 at 11:51 am
Sons of Struth @SonsofStruth 4h
Is this why Cenkos are no longer the clubs NOMAD? It would appear they possibly didn’t agree with the appointment… http://fb.me/2VAwaTzDA
Omg Is Craig Houston Charlotte?
Say it is so!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Are SoS now getting info before TSFM (rather then with the usual *SMSM delay) ?
omg Say it isn’t so!?
Help! I don’t think I’d know what to do if I encountered a well informed bear!?
Stare him down or run away? Which is it!?
* The ‘kJackson’ (symbol Kj) has recently been adopted as the SI unit of ‘latency’ i.e. delay in information transfer within telecomms. 1 kJackson represents an informational lag of the order of about a month per kilobyte.. . and the unit is based upion the approximate time delay between some volume of relevent information being accepted as established fact, and Keith Jackson’s reporting of a sanitized version of it in the daily Record.
In some rural areas of the Scottish hinterlands, where there are very slow internet connections within communities that rely on newspapers being delivered by boat (in fine whether conditions only) for communication with the mainland, the information transfer speeds can be as slow as a fraction of a nanokJackson on occasion.
A tourist walks into a newsagents in a rural area of the Scottish hinterland, and asks for a newspaper so he can catch up on the football news. The newsagent recommends Keith Jackson’s writing in the Daily Record, and asks the tourist if he would like to read that day’s news or the news from a month previously. ‘Why, today’s news please’ responded the tourist. ‘Well, if you’d like to come back in a month’s time…’
I’ll get my souvenir Heelan’ coo
Tartanwulver
Keefs got it slightly different from the rest of us .
Us = Todays news is tomorrows history
Keef= History is tomorrows news ,
are you want to tell him
Was reading the news about the BT deal with Scottish rugby. Apart from the obviously positive news, I was also struck by how professional their website looked (I know, but I notice these things) and its lack (thankfully) of the embedded ads used by the SPFL.
Mentioned this before and thought it was due to their short history as a unified league body. But a quick switch to the SPFL page and there are still four quite ugly, embedded ads, one of which — right across the top banner — is inviting me to book a test drive with Citroen. The others are for party tents, William Hill’s £25 free bet, and Sennheiser. William Hill aside, I have nothing against the companies. But with its entire layout the SPFL has contrived to project an online image of being downmarket, amateurish and cheap. As dear old Blackadder put it: “Baldrick, your Filet Mignon in sauce Bernaise look like dog turds in glue.”
“That’s because they are.”
I’m afraid it’s a sticky poo award for the SPFL website. Btw, I wonder if the high rugby heid yin is awarded a Doncasteresque bonus?
http://scottishrugby.org/news/14/05/28/scottish-rugby-secures-historic-sports-sponsorship-bt
http://spfl.co.uk/news/
Resin_lab_dog says:
May 29, 2014 at 1:23 am
Omg Is Craig Houston Charlotte
Say it is so!
=======================================================
So prescient – “Say it Ain’t So Joe” by Murray Head – but I prefer the Roger Daltry version.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVGTVrQd6M
Say it ain’t so, Joe please, say it ain’t so
That’s not what I wanna hear Joe
Ain’t I got a right to know
Say it ain’t so, Joe please, say it ain’t so
I’m sure they telling us lies Joe,
Please tell us it ain’t so.
They told us our hero has played his trump card
He doesn’t know how to go on.
We’re clinging to his charm and determined smile,
But the good old days have gone.
The image and the empire may be failing apart
The money has gotten scarce
One man’s word held the country together,
But the truth is getting fierce
Say it ain’t so, Joe please, say it ain’t so
We pinned our hope on you Joe
And they’re ruining our show
(Ooo Babies)
Don’t you think we’re gonna get burned
(Ooo Babies)
Don’t you think we’re gonna to get turned
We’re gonna get burned
We’re gonna get learned
enough is enough says:
May 29, 2014 at 12:26 am
Ignorance showing through (I’m sure), but who on earth is Craig Houston (‘we have a problem’)? Is he yet another Z list celebrity (that’s Z list in the world of Scottish football celebrities) created by yet another TRFC faction?
MCFC … I’ve been asking after you … Well really what i was curious to hear was your take on Mr Graham Wallace C.E.O … ? … And his time at Maine Road
Were you once m.c.f.c. … ?
Mr Houston … Head Honcho at UoF
whisperer says:
May 29, 2014 at 11:01 am
Thanks for the info.
His initials are CH, hmm…CHarlotte? = Proof positive, I think 😕
It’s easy to be disparaging of Craig Houston but from what I see of him he single-handedly has organised more Bears to demonstrate against the Board and controlling shareholders than anyone else. I don’t need to either agree with his tactics or his motives to acknowledge that fact.
I also tend to judge a person by how they actually act rather than what they say they are going to do and I am certainly impressed by Houston’s public stand against the Easdales which I haven’t noticed any other Bear being prepared to do.
So I won’t detract from the efforts of any Bears trying to tackle the problems that exist at Ibrox – at least they’re doing something. It might not work out but they’re actually having a go. the alternative is to do nothing and watch their club either die or slip into slow decline until everything of value has been extracted.
Obviously there are quite a lot of football fans whose fervent hope is that Rangers is totally destroyed and never resurrected. They are entitled to their opinion but it isn’t mine.