Armageddon? What Armageddon?

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.

Average Weekly Attendances SPL 2011-2014

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.

ex Celtic & Rangers

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;

  1. Since Rangers’ liquidation and subsequent absence from the top league, the average home attendance of the other clubs has INCREASED overall (See Fig 2).
  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).
  3. 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.
  4. In that time, both Dunfermline Athletic and Hearts (who both had historical financial problems) entered – and exited – administration after fan-led buyouts.
  5. Dundee United have cleared off their bank debt.
  6. Kilmarnock have restructured their bank debt, freeing the club from a precarious long-term situation.
  7. 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.

table

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.

Excluding Celtic

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!

* Source ESPN          

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John Cole

About Big Pink

Big Pink is John Cole; a former schoolteacher based in the West of Scotland, He is also a print and broadcast journalist who is engaged in the running of SFM . Former gigs include Newstalk 106, the Celtic View, and Channel67. A Celtic fan, he is also the voice of our podcast initiative.

2,810 thoughts on “Armageddon? What Armageddon?


  1. More transparency from Hearts re the deal with Ann Budge

    http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/staticFiles/94/c1/0,,10289~180628,00.pdf

    The basics of the arrangement is that Ann has put up £2,237,950 of her money in a loan to BIDCO 1874 to fund the CVA., which in turn is repayable by HoM PLC.

    Ann will be paid interest of 6% per annum, calculated quarterly.
    There is an arrangement fee of £110,000 payable in December 2015.
    The Loan plus interest is payable in 5 years from now, although it seems that it can be paid up in instalments, other lump sums, or before the due date, without penalty (will probably depend on the level of pledges achieved).


  2. tomtom says:
    May 13, 2014 at 12:40 pm
    ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:13 am
    ===================
    I lived next to Balgray at the time of the application. Apparently Advocaat put the kibosh on it as it “was the wrong shape”. The original purchase price was I believe somewhere in the region of £4.3m. I can only surmise that when the deal fell through Kelvinside Academy offered them Auchenhowie as a replacement. It would be interesting though to see what the charge that Kelvinside have/had over Auchenhowie was about. Maybe they are entitled to a cut from any future sale?
    —————————————————-
    Well that’s an interesting piece of info – I never knew that Rangers were interested in Balgray playing fields.

    However my memory has been triggered a bit and I’m sure the SFA standard security over Murray Park was granted by Sevco Scotland Ltd and is registered at Companies House and, again from memory, you have to be noted on the Land Registry as heritable proprietors to legally grant a charge.

    there were two other charges on Murray Park but they were to two trusts associated with Kelvinside Academy and they were fairly short-term possibly 5 years although that memory of mine does seem to suggest if they were sold-on then there was a claw-back clause. But all now academic as the two charges have lapsed. The details are on another ‘puter so don’t have them to hand. Those charges were also on Sevco Scotland but not a lot of detail as I remember.


  3. easyJambo says:
    May 13, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    Compare and contrast 😉 Nobody knows at this stage whether the Budge plan will work or not, but, nobody can claim that Anne Budge hasn’t been completely straight with everyone.


  4. scapaflow says:

    nobody can claim that Anne Budge hasn’t been completely straight with everyone

    That remains to be seen.

    She seems credible and convincing, but some people found Whyte and Green the same. 😯


  5. scapaflow says: May 13, 2014 at 1:14 pm
    Compare and contrast 😉 Nobody knows at this stage whether the Budge plan will work or not, but, nobody can claim that Anne Budge hasn’t been completely straight with everyone.
    ========================
    The Management document (linked above) shows that Ann will be inheriting a bank balance of £602K, but after accounting for further income of £259K and expenditure of £961K to 9th May her opening deficit will be £99K.

    So BDO will have run the club for 11 months at a deficit of £99K, which includes all BDO’s legal fees / expenses etc. D&P ran RFC for 4 months with a deficit of £4.5M.


  6. Night Terror says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:12 am

    In summary, I couldn’t imagine a more promising set of appointments and dismissals at Tynecastle. I’m delighted and jealous.

    ———————————————————————————————————–

    I am delighted by events at Tynecastle over the last couple of days. If accounts are correct the changes have been in fruition since early February. Gary Locke’s late run of wins could not change decisions that had been made.

    Another rurmour coming out of Riccarton is that Levein is keen to bring in Ian Cathro as HOY. If true, Utd indeed may be worried about losing its young talent.

    Flywheel


  7. ptd1978 says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:30 am
    ———————————–
    You won’t often find me using the words “to be fair to” and “Tom English” in the same sentence, particularly without any words inserted in between, but I think you do the man a disservice, at least in relation to McCoist.

    English has called McCoist out on several occasions, particularly in the past 12 months, and been unafraid to do so. The written record shows that.

    In relation to Levein, the man is entitled to the opportunity to prove himself, but everyone else, whether fan or pundit etc., is entitled to his/her opinion.

    My opinion is that I would not want to support a team that sought him as its manager. His 4-6-0 tactics against the Czech Republic will go down in Scottish football history as a very black day for the game. Thankfully Scotland lost, and I dread to think of our reputation had we drawn. (Winning of course is not feasible with 0 forwards, yet the main objective of association football is to win)

    In addition, Levein’s services have not exactly been sought after since the autumn of 2012 and that says more than anything about his talent and disposition for a football management job.

    I am happy to be disproved but the concept of a non-interfering director of football, especially one with the very high opinion of himself that Levein has, has rarely worked in practice and there is no surer thing (other than another insolvency event for a team called Rangers) than that the Levein-Neilson relationship will end in tears, and sooner rather than later.

    That will be a shame for all of the loyal Jambos who have supported their team magnificently this season, on and off the park.

    I am left bemused as to where Ann Budge took advice from on this matter as, in all other respects, she appears to have done a sterling job, not least emphasising the importance that 140 years of proud history not be lost by the enduring and humiliating shame of a liquidation.


  8. Shyster Flywheel Shyster says:

    Another rurmour coming out of Riccarton is that Levein is keen to bring in Ian Cathro as HOY. If true, Utd indeed may be worried about losing its young talent.

    I’d be surprised by both of those suggestions. Cathro seems to be making the move to senior coach, and HoY at Hearts would seem to be a backwards step for him. Even if he does arrive, he’s more to do with the much earlier development of kids, so he’d be setting up a system that would start at the bottom age group and bring players through in 5+ years. He’s been away from United for a few years now and the players he had the biggest influence on are now worth money Hearts can’t afford.

    If Cathro arrives, expect poor youth team results and a clutch of proper footballers hitting the first team in about 7 years.


  9. In view of Ann Budge’s quite specific comments about the 140 years of history being saved by avoiding liquidation, have any RFC* fans groups been commenting on her or having a go at her? I don’t think she was bear baiting, but wonder if the more reactionary ones have taken it as such.


  10. Off on holiday in a few hours so only time to say that this Jambo is quite relaxed about events so far at Hearts. Sorry to see players leave, and wish them well, I will always remember what they did for the club in it’s hour of need. Glad to hear no jingoistic nonsense. I think Craig Levein will do the job well and hope Robbie Neison will prove to be a wise appointment.


  11. Slimshady
    I agree that English is one of the better analysts when looking at Sevco, but that’s damning with extremely faint praise.
    He had discussed McCoists salary in the past, but is happy to let it go unmentioned as well when analysing the state of finances, or the future of the team.
    Compare to his analysis of Levein where he knows the square root of jack, but is happy to be as strong, or stronger in his criticism based on his personal dislike of the man.
    I feel I have to defend the 0-6-4 game a bit – not much though. His coat was on a shooglin’ peg long before that and it was deliberately midrepresented as anti-football. My reading from watching the game was that Levein felt the team would benefit from an attacking midfielder holding up the ball rather than any of the strikers he had available. If Smith or Mcleish had done it, it would have been seen in a more positive light. Compare though to Mourinho’s 0-5-5 in the first leg of the champions league semi – and he had much more capable strikers available.


  12. EasyJambo @11.08am
    Ann Budge: “I’m going to the SFA tomorrow to present our budget…. Our whole objective is to live within our means.”

    —————————————————–
    Oh to be a fly on the wall at such a meeting.
    Imagine M/s Budge, explaining her novice status, asking the following questions as openers:-
    a) Why should club chairmen be obliged to justify projected budgets to a body who have shown precious little financial acumen in their own commercial dealings in the recent past ?
    b) What action has been taken against any club whose 2013/14 out-turn bore no comparison to their budget forecast?
    c) Can clubs seek financial recompense from the SFA in the event that losses accrue as a result of any club’s failure to fulfil their 2014/15 fixtures?


  13. Night Terror says:
    May 13, 2014 at 1:47 pm

    I’d be surprised by both of those suggestions. Cathro seems to be making the move to senior coach, and HoY at Hearts would seem to be a backwards step for him. Even if he does arrive, he’s more to do with the much earlier development of kids, so he’d be setting up a system that would start at the bottom age group and bring players through in 5+ years. He’s been away from United for a few years now and the players he had the biggest influence on are now worth money Hearts can’t afford.

    If Cathro arrives, expect poor youth team results and a clutch of proper footballers hitting the first team in about 7 years.

    ———————————————————————————————————————————-

    You may well be correct. What I heard was that Levein was looking to bring in Cathro. I just assumed it would be at HOY as Neilson was going to be 1st Team Coach.

    Levein’s certainly has a plan to restructure the club from U8s all the way up to U20s so maybe he is looking for Cathro to be the overlord.

    Flywheel


  14. I think I’ve seen it all now 🙄

    The so-called Bear Land ‘Experts’ now regard themselves as geological/engineering experts. It’s a highly complex area only fully understoof by experienced professionals who work in that field. Still humility is a rare commodity at Ibrox.

    But the Bears are peering down the boreholes at Celtic Park confident they are on the right road and believe they have unearthed a major find to bolster their flagging State Aid claims. They still haven’t found the secret tunnel right enough 😎

    Possibly the dimmest of the Bear diggers believes he has revealed a major flaw in a document submitted to GCC in support of the fantastic new development at Parkhead in the Auld Celtic Triangle.

    He twitters: ‘Coal workings present at shallow depth beneath rockhead.’ I ask you! Rockhead = Bedrock = THE bottom.’

    Oh Really ❓ I can only scratch the surface when it comes to understanding bore hole results. But one thing I do know is that not only are bedrock and rockhead two different and distinct layers but the definitions change depending in what context they are used.

    A geologist usually defines rockhead as being the base of the newer unconsolidated superficial deposits on a site forming the ‘geological rockhead zone’ separating the younger deposits above and the bedrock below composed of older, consolidated rock formations.

    However an engineer is more interested in the ‘engineering rockhead’ which forms the base of the ‘engineering soil’ as defined by BS5930:1999 – the UK Code of Practice for site investigation. For the dim Bear the two rockhead zones I have mentioned can be totally different or even identical but whatever – the one thing they have in common is neither is ‘bedrock’ either from a geological or engineering standpoint.

    I know the Land Berrs love their Euro Regs so let me assure them that BS5930:1999 has been harmonised with EN 1997 – Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design. Who knows maybe they’ll find the Westthorn geotechnical report buried there as well 🙄

    However an engineer investigating a site wrt its suitability to support structures would be more interested in determining at what point the ‘engineering’ rockhead zone could safely support the proposed development. Obviously a lot of time and expense can be saved the shallower the depth that adequate ‘engineering soil’ support is available without having to go down to the deeper bedrock.

    And one thing that must always be remembered about underground geology is that the layers arent laid-out like Celtic’s bowling green playing surface – which allows great football to be played – but the layers fold, change direction, create loops and hundreds of different anomalies caused through the earth’s creation and geological events over countless millennia. Then of course there are all the associated mining problems to be found all over the east end including Westthorn which the Berr Land Experts are in denial over.

    That’s why it’s so difficult to interpret the underground landscape unless you adopt a professional approach which entails having the necessary knowledge and an open mind to interpret the results without fear or favour and most defo not with an agenda based on an all but defunct culture 🙄


  15. smartie1947 says:
    May 13, 2014 at 2:51 pm
    EasyJambo @11.08am
    Ann Budge: “I’m going to the SFA tomorrow to present our budget…. Our whole objective is to live within our means.”
    —————————————————–
    Oh to be a fly on the wall at such a meeting.
    Imagine M/s Budge, explaining her novice status, asking the following questions as openers:-
    a) Why should club chairmen be obliged to justify projected budgets to a body who have shown precious little financial acumen in their own commercial dealings in the recent past ?
    b) What action has been taken against any club whose 2013/14 out-turn bore no comparison to their budget forecast?
    c) Can clubs seek financial recompense from the SFA in the event that losses accrue as a result of any club’s failure to fulfil their 2014/15 fixtures?
    ———————————————————————————————
    Can we add :
    (d) What protection is the SFA offering against clubs overspending to secure promotion, ending in administration or even liquidation?
    (e) When are the rules to be changed so that any club having an insolvency event does not at the same time get promoted?
    (f) Where on the SFA website are the financial submissions of all the other clubs as was promised some time ago?
    (g) What steps have been taken to develop a credible ‘fit and proper person’ test? Should this be outsourced to an independent organisation used to checking the bona fides of clumpanies and individuals? A recent example of such a review and rejection might be fairly easy to find.

    Scottish Football needs the SFA to get a dose of Annmageddon.


  16. redlichtie says:
    May 13, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    Can we add :
    (d) What protection is the SFA offering against clubs overspending to secure promotion, ending in administration or even liquidation?
    (e) When are the rules to be changed so that any club having an insolvency event does not at the same time get promoted?
    (f) Where on the SFA website are the financial submissions of all the other clubs as was promised some time ago?
    (g) What steps have been taken to develop a credible ‘fit and proper person’ test? Should this be outsourced to an independent organisation used to checking the bona fides of clumpanies and individuals? A recent example of such a review and rejection might be fairly easy to find.
    ==================
    I believe I can answer those points on behalf of the SFA (President Ogilvie is such a busy (and very decent) man these days)

    d) None
    e) Never
    f) Nowhere
    g) None

    I believe that covers it, but if not, no doubt the SFA will be in touch shortly.


  17. Looks like a Glasgow club that I have a soft spot for (visited as a neutral many years ago) have managed to find a way to alienate a large part of their core support by relocating a home singing section credited with creating a much improved atmosphere to another part of their ground. High handed, poor justification,lack of consultation, poor communication = supporter alienation. All in one simple step!

    More on this thread:

    http://www.wearethistle.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/9665-keep-the-north-stand-red-and-yellow/page__st__380

    Hopefully the Board of PTFC will re-consider what appears, to this outsider looking in, a barking mad decision!


  18. ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 1:13 pm
    8 0 Rate This

    tomtom says:
    May 13, 2014 at 12:40 pm
    ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:13 am
    ===================
    I lived next to Balgray at the time of the application. Apparently Advocaat put the kibosh on it as it “was the wrong shape”. The original purchase price was I believe somewhere in the region of £4.3m. I can only surmise that when the deal fell through Kelvinside Academy offered them Auchenhowie as a replacement. It would be interesting though to see what the charge that Kelvinside have/had over Auchenhowie was about. Maybe they are entitled to a cut from any future sale?
    —————————————————-
    Well that’s an interesting piece of info – I never knew that Rangers were interested in Balgray playing fields.

    However my memory has been triggered a bit and I’m sure the SFA standard security over Murray Park was granted by Sevco Scotland Ltd and is registered at Companies House and, again from memory, you have to be noted on the Land Registry as heritable proprietors to legally grant a charge.

    there were two other charges on Murray Park but they were to two trusts associated with Kelvinside Academy and they were fairly short-term possibly 5 years although that memory of mine does seem to suggest if they were sold-on then there was a claw-back clause. But all now academic as the two charges have lapsed. The details are on another ‘puter so don’t have them to hand. Those charges were also on Sevco Scotland but not a lot of detail as I remember.
    ———————————————————————

    Link to Herald article on Rangers buying Balgray.

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/murray-s-high-hopes-for-a-new-dear-green-place-rangers-buy-kelvinside-accies-rugby-ground-as-training-centre-in-bid-to-stay-on-the-ball-1.364027

    The land at Auchenhowie was donated to Kelvinside Academy by a wealthy Scots whisky magnate called George Christie (possible first name Roderick but he rarely used it). I was told around the time the Murray Park deal was being mentioned that the donation contained a clause that the land could only be used for sporting purposes that benefited the local community. A few years later there was a big stooshie in the Evening Times about Rangers legends being turfed off the park when they were having a kickabout and Derek Johnstone whining on Clyde that they ‘allow’ a local school access a few nights a week but they should not have treated the legends in that manner. The local school was Kelvinside academy which anyone who knows the area can confirm is not that local. Many pupils are part of the local community though.


  19. Taysider says:
    May 13, 2014 at 3:44 pm
    4 0 Rate This

    OT

    Taysider, looks like I’ll be in among your fellow supporters on Saturday (you are an Arab?). Turns out the SFA has a small number of tickets available for neutrals/others, although there is no neutral/family area, as such. Very helpful lassie sorted me out with a couple. Was trying to swell the Saintees ranks but their allocation is sold out. In fact, I was told the final itself was heading to be a sell-out. Very appropriate blog title BP


  20. Danish Pastry says:
    May 13, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    It’s the avatar that gives it away Danish! 😉

    I hope you enjoy an entertaining game between two pretty evenly balanced sides (as United have lost our last three encounters maybe St Johnstone are the favourites?) Both teams planning a display. Would have been great to see a joint one spelling out “armageddon” at the start!


  21. I can assure you NightTerror that Ann Budge will be straight with everyone. Scrupulously honest and above board. The Jambos have got a good person in charge.


  22. Does anyone know who will be presenting the Cup this weekend ?
    Can’t find anything on the SFA website.

    Will the lesser-spotted Ogilvie be attending ?
    Wonder if the fans will voice any advice towards the SFA…? 🙄


  23. “RANGERS are to travel will travel to the south coast to take on Bournemouth in a pre-season friendly at the end of July…

    The club are also set to confirm a pre-season tour of the United States in the near future, as part of their preparations for the 2014/15 season…”
    http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/rangers-plan-bournemouth-trip-and-summer-us-tour-1-3407479
    ==================================
    Bournemouth – yes
    US Tour – don’t think so.


  24. Night Terror says:
    May 13, 2014 at 1:23 pm
    …………………………….
    Fair point…regards promises…lets see how much of Ann’s plans are carried through…and if they are not how much evidence is presented to explain why…as opposed to what was witnessed over at Ibrox aided and abetted by the PR spin and lies from the SMSM…

    How much support and assistance will Ann be given by the Scottish press?..


  25. StevieBC says:
    May 13, 2014 at 6:03 pm
    ………………………

    The US is what the big boys do…and they desperatly need people to think they are still playing with the big boys…

    Lets see what the excuse is when it doesn’t happen…probably blame Peter Lwwell


  26. Rangers, as was, also enquired about purchasing Glasgow University’s old playing fields at Anniesland Cross. The deal was never concluded and the site is now largely occupied by a Morrisons Supermarket. There was some surprise at the time as the site was very convenient for Ibrox and required less of an outlay than Auchenhowie.


  27. John Clark says:
    May 12, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    “In the early days, it was possible to imagine the institutional investors thinking that, with the SFA’s and SPL assistance, a few millions of CL money would be guaranteed to come rolling in by now.”
    —————————————–
    Your comment struck a raw nerve with me. One of the very few explanations why reputable institutional investors would have got mixed up in a distressed football club would be the possibility that their investment would have been in some way underwritten. Not the sort of underwriting you could put in a share prospectus however. No: Underwritten in such a way that what was on offer was some kind of unfair advantage. That would be worth a small punt to investors who are likely enticed by the prospect of a loaded dice.

    The discussion on sporting integrity perhaps fails to apply the maxim that there is no such thing as sporting integrity until the participants choose to apply such a tenet. History has forever been written by the victor. The high ideals we wish to be applied may not be the norm, despite the experience of our own lives. If the saga has proven anything it is that most of the playing fields are crooked and nuanced. Home advantage is everything.

    This sporting integrity malarkey may well be a new concept which might explain why its ethos is proving so difficult to gain adherence.


  28. Paulmac2 says:
    May 13, 2014 at 6:04 pm
    How much support and assistance will Ann be given by the Scottish press?..
    That will indeed be an interesting thing to observe.

    It’s tempting to say that as long as it’s fair coverage then she couldn’t have any complaints, but when other teams, one or two in particular, have had supportive and club PR-driven coverage, fair doesn’t seem, err, fair enough.


  29. theoldcourse says:

    I can assure you NightTerror that Ann Budge will be straight with everyone. Scrupulously honest and above board. The Jambos have got a good person in charge.
    =====================================
    While that is reassuring she may find it difficult when so many of the people she will have to deal with are the opposite of what you describe. I read she is going to present her budget to the SFA tomorrow. They will have the cheek to sit in judgement of what is presented while at the same time granting the club from Ibrox a free reign to operate as it likes, completely unaccountable to anyone.


  30. ecobhoy says:

    May 13, 2014 at 10:31 am
    The Spivs however I refer to don’t break the law and aren’t criminals – they operate just within the system and bend the rules but they don’t actually need to break the law because there are millions of gullible fools out there begging to throw their money away often motivated by a large dash of greed albeit possibly conned by sales patter promising huge returns.

    The word DUPED somehow comes to mind 😉


  31. wottpi says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:06 am

    “…I have still to hear anyone come up with an explaination of where the return is…”
    ——————————————-
    The club has been spending more money than a Champions League finalist over the last couple of years so that money is going somewhere. GG’s point about football clubs being a potential cipher for funds that might otherwise be more easily traceable may indeed have merit. The comment above concerning ‘Freakonomics’ suggested that in a capitalist environment, where not specifically prohibited by regulation, irregular methods of circumventing the rules will almost inevitably emerge.

    In this regard being part of one cash based business might be seen as fortunate but to be part of two might be considered contrived.

    Perhaps a walk up next season is part on an emerging plan.


  32. Ecobhoy, two things re:Bear Mining Engineers.

    1. Ten times worked void thickness of suitable rock cover means the ground is stable, less than that borehole and pump in cement/grout until it stops.

    2. Ask The Rangers Historian, he is one of Scotland’s foremost Mining Engineers!
    Haha!


  33. http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-zeal-of-the-convert/#more-4659

    Phil states: ‘I understand that Margarita, for example, currently holds the catering contract for the club/company/celestial entity and it is very generous indeed.’

    That’s interesting and does that mean that a large shareholder can be financially involved on the commercial side of the company without it having to be declared anywhere? I wonder how many other original investors have a finger in the pie?

    And here was silly old me trying to figure-out in a post earlier today why the likes of Margarita hadn’t cashed-in their chips and gone. They’ll need to be careful or their chips might get well fried 😆

    Back on 1 April the undernoted was posted on here by nowoldandgrumpy from: http://www.lse.co.uk/shareChat.asp?page=1&ShareTicker=RFC&1#8733882

    Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Trust are connected to the Abela family from Lebanon via the Barbel C Abela Trust (Abela Jnr’s mum) and family lawyer Mazen Houssami. The main reason they want to keep their involvement secret is a certain conviction for fraudulent bankruptcy involving a catering firm in Italy. The fact that Rangers officials are scared to even mention the name Abela speaks volumes. The millions of pounds that have evaporated from the club are the “legacy issues” that the current Chief Executive speaks of. Is it not time that the board at Ibrox began to tell the full truth about what has gone on here?

    I commented that I wasn’t so sure about the Blue Pitch connection but with what Phil has said tomight the chips might be falling into place for Margarita although I’m sure they’ll be too hot to handle for the SMSM 🙂

    Now who do we know lurking in the background has a catering background


  34. Hi, first time post. Does anyone have any info on ST sales at CP to date? I read a few posts commenting on the match day experience / atmosphere at Sundays game. It certainly was big improvement on the majority of the previous games this season. However, both attendances and atmosphere have been very poor. IMO the best atmosphere at a domestic game this season was the cup tie v Aberdeen, unfortunately most of it was supplied by the travelling support. For what promised to be a competitive home game I don’t understand how fewer than 25,000 Celtic turned out that day.

    I have also noticed some support for increasing the number of teams in the top league.While playing four times a season is not ideal I don’t believe we have the
    strength in depth in Scotland to increase the number of teams in the Premiership.


  35. ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 11:13 am

    “I have no wish to become the victim of paranoid conspiracy theories but I do ponder over my recollection that the Kelvinside Academy playing fields are still at Balgray just off Great Western Road…”
    ——————————————
    I have occasion to stroll past this locale a few times a year and can bear witness to its retention by the school you have referred to. Not only has it been retained but the facilities have been significantly upgraded over the last decade. A small part of the site was sold off for housing development some time back and this may have freed up funds for the complex that now exists on the site.

    Any suggestions that Kelvinside Academy could have been involved in, what to the uninitiated might appear, fraudulent acquisition of planning permission mus be placed at some distance from myself. I am sure that the development of their traditional site only emerged when plans for Auchenhowie ran into understandable difficulty.

    Before all you conspiracy theorists out there get going, no, I am not suggesting that any planning grant for housing at the Great Western Road site is in any way contrived upon the whole scheme. I don’t have any information to suggest that.


  36. Celtic67 says:
    May 13, 2014 at 3:52 pm

    Good read Celtic67 and it probably answers the leasing mystery because Rangers were going to lease Balgray for 3/4 years until Kelvinside Academy had built their new sports facilities at Auchehowie and then Rangers would have bought Balgray.

    I couldn’t resist cutting and pasting the undernoted from the article – I know I know I’m wicked and I’ll go taera bad fire 👿

    THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND 😈

    ”We have got to streamline the whole operation,” said Murray. ”I have no doubt that lack of a consistent surface on which to train has put our players at a big disadvantage. Training on heavy ground has sapped their legs and hampered development. ”Many major clubs have gone out of their way to have the same training surface as the one they play on. We will do the same. A consistent surface, under our own control, will provide a chance to enhance preparations and skills.” Murray’s plan is for Balgray’s surface to be identical to that at Ibrox.


  37. andycolo says:
    May 13, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    Rangers, as was, also enquired about purchasing Glasgow University’s old playing fields at Anniesland Cross. The deal was never concluded and the site is now largely occupied by a Morrisons Supermarket. There was some surprise at the time as the site was very convenient for Ibrox and required less of an outlay than Auchenhowie.
    ========================================

    The Herald article that Celtic67 referred to might answer your query as well: ‘. . . Glasgow University’s ground at Westerlands, which Murray recently tried to buy. That proved too dear a green place after building planning permission was granted, and Murray was beaten to it by Aberdeen FC’s executive vice-chairman Stewart Milne. His company, Stewart Milne Homes, paid a reported #7.8m for the site – just a few hundred yards from Balgray.’

    I have always been very cautious at the values and costs of building Murray Park as every press release issued seemed to inflate it 🙂


  38. From Twitter
    SPLstats ‏@SPLstats 1m
    318 different players made appearances in this season’s Premiership. 169 of those (53.1%) were Scottish.

    ==================
    Maybe just me, but I find that statistic quite depressing.


  39. Castofthousands says:
    May 13, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    I don’t actually think that there is any suggestion that Kelvinside Academy acted fraudulently in its planning application but let’s just acknowledge that things worked out well in the end for both Rangers and the school.
    ========================================
    So all’s well that ends well 🙄 Although will it end well for Rangers if Murray Park has to be sold? Well they’ll get a few bob and might manage to pay a month’s wages so that’s a bonus.

    Still there’s always Gullane although perhaps these day the environmental lobby might take action to protect the dunes.

    I am a wee bit confused though when you say: ‘I am sure that the development of their traditional site only emerged when plans for Auchenhowie ran into understandable difficulty’. There were no difficulties with the plans for Auchenhowie and permission was granted and there wasn’t even a charge by the council for ‘financial planning gain’.


  40. Cooked Goose is popular in La Belle France – Allegedly
    We peasants can’t understand Cooked Goose in French so we abbreviate to CG 😉


  41. ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 8:54 pm

    “I am a wee bit confused though when you say:…”
    —————————————–
    I presumed that KA’s failure to follow through on their development plans for Auchenhowie was due to some kind of glitch. Celtic67’s post above fleshes out the chain of events and would have resulted in a different wording by me if I had read it before making my post.


  42. ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    I have always been very cautious at the values and costs of building Murray Park as every press release issued seemed to inflate it
    ===============================================
    Had Rangers told the media Murray Park cost £35M to build, they would have reported it without question and would report it without question to this very day. I am utterly convinced of that.


  43. I believe if anyone is able to look back on Ranger Rumours the Bold George detailed many aspects of where the money was literally pouring out to Directors wives companies for one, he also Identified HR people who were running a reign of terror amongst the staff at Pretendygers. I’m talking well back into Greens time. That’s akin to The catering contract where the IPO money went. It was a free for all.


  44. Must have been some marvellous Business Plan and Projections given out to the SFA, IPO lot, Duffers?
    They certainly got a new membership / license, AIM accreditations, and a `sale`.

    All good Fit and Proper Persons no doubt 😉


  45. So we know it makes sense to drop season ticket and gate prices if you are in the bottom tier. After all people aren’t that daft to pay premiership prices for the lower standard.
    However a wee rise would have been justified for the third tier.
    But hang on there was those new strips to buy and three versions for those who were interested.
    Therefore why not freeze the ticket prices so fans can buy the strips thinking their overall spend is going to the club.
    Except is it really and how much is heading to Geordie land?

    Wouldn’t it be great if they could do the strip trick again while raising ticket prices and bring out a new one or two. Especially as we know the price of strips never comes down.
    What’s that you say, there are two new ones one their way for 2014/15!!

    Oh and just a thought what else do fans buy that never comes down in price.
    Eh that will be the food sales and catering for the corporates.
    Could it really be the case that some shareholders have a finger in that particular pie?
    (Pun intended)

    With a little help from Phil’s latest maybe I am answering my own question about where the returns might be for some investors.


  46. wottpi says:
    May 13, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    Oh and just a thought what else do fans buy that never comes down in price.
    Eh that will be the food sales and catering for the corporates.
    Could it really be the case that some shareholders have a finger in that particular pie?
    (Pun intended)

    With a little help from Phil’s latest maybe I am answering my own question about where the returns might be for some investors.

    If Phil is right (and I see no reason to question him) and Margarita have the catering contracts, surely the pies they sell are pizza pies?


  47. ptd1978 says:

    May 13, 2014 at 2:24 pm

    10

    6

    Rate This

    Slimshady
    I agree that English is one of the better analysts when looking at Sevco, but that’s damning with extremely faint praise.
    He had discussed McCoists salary in the past, but is happy to let it go unmentioned as well when analysing the state of finances, or the future of the team.
    Compare to his analysis of Levein where he knows the square root of jack, but is happy to be as strong, or stronger in his criticism based on his personal dislike of the man.
    I feel I have to defend the 0-6-4 game a bit – not much though. His coat was on a shooglin’ peg long before that and it was deliberately midrepresented as anti-football. My reading from watching the game was that Levein felt the team would benefit from an attacking midfielder holding up the ball rather than any of the strikers he had available. If Smith or Mcleish had done it, it would have been seen in a more positive light. Compare though to Mourinho’s 0-5-5 in the first leg of the champions league semi – and he had much more capable strikers available.
    —————————————————————————————————————–

    I agree with you here ptd1978. The criticism of the 4-6-0 borders on the hysterical. CL’s rational for the formation is reasonable and this formation has been adopted for a crucial, tricky away fixtures by Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the Spanish national side since. Levein believed the Czechs were vulnerable to a counter attack and loaded the team with midfielders who play on the front foot, hoping to draw the Czechs over the halfway line. It did not work but at least he tried something different.

    That formation has become a stick with which to beat CL, but IMO the treatment of CL has more to do with his personality than football. All available evidence points to CL being a stubborn man with a degree of arrogance to boot, but much like Night Terror, I feel compelled to defend him as a football manager, he is hardly the first or last footballer to be guilty of stubborn arrogance, actually it could legitimately be argued these are useful attributes for anyone seeking success in the game.

    If we cast our minds back to when CL was appointed, Scotland had just parted company with George Burley who had attempted to play an expansive game, right to his last match, and was slated for it. (is it just me or do mangers who have no connections to the big two seem to get a sour press….no exclusives…..no golfing outings with insiders = no sycophancy from the Glasgow hack pack?) Burley’s tenure exposed a culture amongst his Scotland team many had thought left us in the 1990’s. Picture the scene, arrived back in a hotel at midnight following a defeat away in a crucial qualifier, the senior players ask if they can have a pint……. the following morning at 9am, with the next qualifier 48 hours away, a clutch of those senior players are still propping up the bar? Then certain parties disgraced themselves further like spoilt children (ask Paul LeGuen!) in full view of the football world….remember Levein inherited this mess.

    The SFA required someone who will not attempt to play an open game on the field, and someone who would instil some discipline into the team off the field. Levein was the obvious candidate, he had done a sterling job at Dundee United revamping the entire footballing setup with innovative coaching appointments. This quickly turned United from relegation fodder to an established top half team who gave Celtic and Rangers nightmares. On the down side he had taken the SFA to task on a principle (not popular down Hampden way 😉 ) and had called out corrupt refereeing (not popular down Hampden way 😉 ) in a way never seen before or since. This suggests to me a man of substance and his appointment to Scotland was universally applauded, I cannot remember anyone against.

    There is no way Levein’s spell at Scotland can reasonably be described as a success, as Night Terrors insightfully describes, his tactics are characterised by ‘over thinking’ to say the least…..but at least he was thinking! (not popular down etc……..). Indeed his stats, in terms of victories, stands comparison with some exalted company, albeit against ‘inferior’ opponents, but this is certainly balanced by the ‘inferior’ players he had to chose from!

    Knowing Levein’s tendency not to suffer fools (Gordon Smith?) gladly, I would bet he had had a word or two with Mr English at some point, perhaps over the omission of Steven Fletcher, and this has deeply scarred Tom (diddums!). Here was another scenario where IMO Levein was unfairly crucified. I remember listening to the Sportsound discussion around Fletcher’s inclusion and the divide among the pundits was binary. The ‘hacks’ Richard Gordon, Tom English, Jim Traynor, Chic Young, Kenny McIntyre all demanded Levein be ‘the bigger man’ and invite the prodigal player to return……..whereas the ‘players/mangers’, Willie Miller, John Robertson, Allan Preston, Derek Ferguson, Craig Patterson….to a man, opined Levein would burn all order in the dressing room if he backed down. I know whose counsel I would take if I were CL.

    I wish CL all the best in his new role and hope the Jambos are back in the top flight next season, with the nightmare of insolvency firmly in their unbroken history. 😉


  48. ecobhoy says:

    May 13, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    The timescale as I understand it was that the sale of Westerlands was far advanced and it came as a surprise when RFC pulled out. The suitability of the site and its proximity to Ibrox seemed to make it ideal as a training facility.


  49. ecobhoy says:
    May 13, 2014 at 10:31 am
    ecobhoy says:
    May 12, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    But again I ask myself why any professional investor would want to pour cash into a struggling football club unless they have a plan to make a good return on their investment. And I don’t see footballing activities providing that return.
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Could be a lot of nonsense
    But Take away the idea of “investing”. And substitute “moving cash into a legal hiding place”
    and you might get a clue as to why this Spiv infested business continues to attract Spivs.
    I think we always have to be careful about getting carried away with good conspiracy theories 😆 For starters – I use the term ‘spiv’ for a caricature of a slick-talking, sharp-suited, dodgy dealer who usually promises much more than ever actually materialises.
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Agree entirely
    I`m not alleging any law-breaking
    Using a football club to shuffle money around may well be a total figment of the imagination
    However
    EBTs are exactly the sort of project that would appeal to a Spiv
    So I start from the premise that the current TRFC Spivs didn’t introduce spivvery to Ibrox
    They are simply Spivs from a different part of the food chain who figured a new angle to spivvery that has been going on for years
    e.g.
    For a 10 to 15 yr. period the now defunct RFC were part of a large steel business that were loaned over £800m by some people running a bank.Lets give them the benefit of the doubt and say they were a tad reckless with OPM
    RFC were a cash business sitting inside this organisation that could provide a conduit for cash importing and exporting
    Many foreign transfer deals were done for cash with the actual price paid never revealed to the media
    For all we know the actual numbers booked were “adjusted” to allow for money movements that had nothing to do with the deals being done Likewise with the cost of “group services” provided to RFC
    i.e.
    The intra company accounting in this large company facilitated global cash transactions that could be buried in the books of the football club
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Getting up to date
    Anybody wanting to export cash to the UK would be delighted to be on the board of a UK cash business run by a top notch Spiv
    And if this conduit dried up suddenly he would be very keen to get it up and running again
    Especially if he was thinking of bringing his assets back to the UK
    Or if some of that cash started its life in the UK in the first place
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    As I said
    I`m not alleging any law-breaking
    Using a football club to shuffle money around may well be a total figment of the imagination
    But on the other hand
    Maybe not


  50. As a wee addition to my last post. Hibs must be (and rightly so) very worried right now, because whoever they face, that team are more than likely too good for them. Aint this armageddon just magic or whit?


  51. neepheid says:
    May 13, 2014 at 8:50 pm
    8 1 Rate This

    From Twitter
    SPLstats ‏@SPLstats 1m
    318 different players made appearances in this season’s Premiership. 169 of those (53.1%) were Scottish.

    ==================
    Maybe just me, but I find that statistic quite depressing.

    An interesting figure, but I’m not sure I would call it depressing. You would have to supply me with “better” figures for other countries to make me reach for the bottle….

    However, it piqued my interest and made me have a wee look at things via Wiki and ESPN (stats are inexact, but close to reality).

    Turns out that Thistle are one of the more Scottish teams with 64% of players who turned out for us being native, 68% if you include Conrad Balatoni (born in Leeds, moved to Edinburgh age 7, Edinburgh accent and a Hearts fan….). If you then calculate it on “starts”, Scots filled the Jags jersey on 71% of occasions. As to the rest:

    ICT are quite the reverse: only 17% of their starts were by Scots.
    Celtic: 27%
    Hibs 45%
    Ross County: 49%
    Aberdeen 55%
    Kilmarnock 58%
    Motherwell 58%
    Dundee United : 69%
    St. Mirren 69%
    St. Johnstone: 74%
    Hearts 91%

    Dylan McGowan provided the 9% of starts by non-Scots for Hearts, that particular stat obviously being a reflection of the position they were in this season.


  52. Armageddon?B*****ks. Crowd numbers up,play offs excitement,cup finals without you know who.
    Scottish football. Lions led by donkeys.


  53. Looks like the cup final crowd on Saturday is likely to be over 50,000. Dundee Utd close to 30,000, St Johnstone 15,000. Neutrals + SFA and Sponsor freebies will make up the rest.

    This neutral will be watching on telly, but I’m looking forward to it.


  54. Morning all.
    This mornings news:

    Dave king reported to FCA for trying to drive down RIFC share price.


  55. Re: Ranger propossed USA trip

    Don’t buy it. A group trip to the US dependent on the itinerary takes a lot of organisation and pre planning. It would also require a heavy outlay for tickets, hotels, coach hire, meals etc and I cannot see any travel firm and certainly not Thomas Cook providing credit having been stung by oldco for some £250k last time round. They may of course have a sponsor in USA but are Rangers at present a big enough box office pool even among US Rangers fans ! They would get humped by most US College teams which would do their reputation further harm. As I say I can’t see it unless it generates cash for them which it won’t. Somebody is spinning f**nies


  56. torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:

    May 14, 2014 at 7:51 am

    Morning all.
    This mornings news:

    Dave king reported to FCA for trying to drive down RIFC share price
    =====================
    Now that’s fit and proper.


  57. The guys pushing this Dave King led initiative have not looked in detail at the proposal, nor can they see the end game, they are merely ex-players or managers who have been persuaded to get involved for the good of Rangers. That is not a bad thing.

    I can understand why they do it but do not understand who will ultimately gain from it, other than Dave King himself. It could well be one, if not the only option to help rid the club of a cancer that is currently devouring them from the inside but this is only one of the cancers currently growing there.

    I don’t like John Brown but credit where it is due, I believe he took the high road and along with John Greig (who I do have time for) have shown a level of integrity that others should have shown instead of sucking up to every scheister that walked through the Ibrox doors over the last few years.

    The fact that the man voted the greatest ever Ranger, walked away, should have been enough warning for the fans. All the signs have been there from day one and only now, there seems to be a reaction, albeit akin to a rabbit looking into fast approaching headlights.

    Unfortunately, for them and for Scottish Football as a whole, I do not believe for a second that Dave King is the right person to lead the club going forward.


  58. Just my opinion but there is a certain irony in the fans revolt of the current rangers board. The present board have probably done more to shed a realistic light on rangers business and past recent failings of board members all once backed to the hilt by rangers fans, when effectively those earlier spivs were pumping money out of rangers, lining their own pockets and that of their cohorts. The previous heavily backed spivs drained the majority of the £70m, the current board had little less than (£3.5- Dec + £1.5m) to pay the leccie bill.

    — It highlights that the bears do not want the harsh reality. The bears do not do ‘living within their means’ and thoroughly deserve the likes of DK. Short term (supposed) gain trumps long term stability it seems.

    — I read a list a bears fan put up of ex -rangers players out of contract this close season on the bears den… Fans commenting on who they wanted back..Says it all really. Kenny Miller in contract talks today apparently.

    — This site has a lot to offer ALL Scottish football fans but we must realise there is a large rangers faction just not willing or capable of seeing anything other than Ibrox (past) tunnel vision. I just feel with the current optimism in this post that they (Bears) will be left in the dark ages for a long time to come, making friends in their journeys up and down the leagues of course…


  59. andycolo says:
    May 13, 2014 at 6:13 pm
    15 1 Rate This

    Rangers, as was, also enquired about purchasing Glasgow University’s old playing fields at Anniesland Cross. The deal was never concluded and the site is now largely occupied by a Morrisons Supermarket. There was some surprise at the time as the site was very convenient for Ibrox and required less of an outlay than Auchenhowie.
    ==================================
    Morrisons is on the site of the old Barr & Stroud works. This is the other side of the railway line from Westerlands.
    =================================

    Castofthousands says:
    May 13, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    A small part of the site was sold off for housing development some time back and this may have freed up funds for the complex that now exists on the site.
    __________________________________________

    The new development here was as a result of an existing, rather large, bungalow being flattened and flats put in its place. It was nothing to do with Balgray.


  60. I am surprised rangers are reported to be touring North America close season, I would have thought those hundreds of millions of Asian fans should be rewarded for their patience with a tour of their countries so they can see their heroes in the flesh..

    — Then again the NA tour might have been set up to review the rangers academies set up by Bocanegra, reyna et al. With a glamour game set up, I think they may have a good chance versus the Dallas cowboys.. Incidentally the cowboys mascot might describes the rangers fans mood this season..


  61. Tic 6709 says:
    May 14, 2014 at 8:06 am
    torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
    May 14, 2014 at 7:51 am

    This mornings news: Dave king reported to FCA for trying to drive down RIFC share price
    =====================
    Now that’s fit and proper.
    ====================
    I wonder if it was fit and proper then for the judge to be told by the Rangers counsel in the Imran case last week that the share price was bouncing back nicely. Even though as we all know the statement was made before whatever created the bounce-back actually took place.

    Oh what a tangled web 😆


  62. From the Herald:

    Martin Williams
    Senior News Reporter
    Wednesday 14 May 2014
    FORMER Rangers director Dave King faces a possible investigation by the City regulator over a claim he tried to drive down the club’s share price by orchestrating a bid to have fans withhold season-ticket cash.

    A shareholder’s complaint over alleged market abuse by the 58-year-old South Africa-based businessman has led the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to look into the matter.

    The move comes amid growing concerns about the League One champions’ finances and governance.

    Mr King has said he was not interested in buying existing shares in the operating company Rangers International Football Club plc, but was willing to be a “significant investor” and suggested a brand-new rights issue.

    The complaint made to the FCA claimed the board had no intention of dealing with Mr King, who is one of South Africa’s wealthiest tycoons.

    The Glasgow-born entrepreneur, along with legendary former player Richard Gough, set up Ibrox 1972 Ltd as part of a campaign to withhold fans’ season-ticket cash. The campaign launched with the Union of Fans aims to hand over supporters’ season-ticket cash once they are given security over Ibrox Stadium.

    The club has condemned it as a conduit for depriving it of revenue.

    The FCA told the complainant: “We will review the information you have provided very carefully with a view to determining whether it is appropriate to exercise any of our statutory powers in respect to market abuse.”

    The conduct team can impose unlimited fines and in extreme cases of market abuse can carry out a criminal investigation or hand the case to the Serious Fraud Office.

    Any investigation would take into account whether it believes actions were deliberate, whether confidence in the markets was damaged or put at risk and whether there was financial gain.

    It would also look at the conduct of the accused person before and after the alleged breach including previous disciplinary action and compliance.

    Mr King was unavailable for comment.


  63. upthehoops says:
    May 14, 2014 at 7:22 am
    13 0 Rate This

    Looks like the cup final crowd on Saturday is likely to be over 50,000. Dundee Utd close to 30,000, St Johnstone 15,000. Neutrals + SFA and Sponsor freebies will make up the rest.

    This neutral will be watching on telly, but I’m looking forward to it.

    ===============================================

    Should be a cracking game.


  64. I wonder what the FCA could do to King anyway, even if they found him ‘guilty’ of something? It’s not like they have jurisdiction in SA


  65. ecobhoy says:
    May 14, 2014 at 9:16 am

    I wonder if it was fit and proper then for the judge to be told by the Rangers counsel in the Imran case last week that the share price was bouncing back nicely. Even though as we all know the statement was made before whatever created the bounce-back actually took place.
    ===========
    Surely a deliberate campaign to drive the share price up is just as much market manipulation as trying to drive the share price down? And, of course, a much more serious matter if those involved are currently directors of the company with access to inside information. I can feel a strongly worded letter to the FCA coming on 😆 😆 😆


  66. Rangers and land dealings in Glasgow’s west end

    Thanks to all the posters who have helped fill in the gaps in my knowledge and understanding of the various moves.

    One thing that has clearly emerged is that the SMSM was as clearly useless then as it is now when reporting anything to do with Rangers.

    I would hate to be one of the current crop of journos in years to come when their kids ask what part they played in a major Scottish business, legal and governance scandal from start to finish and one that reaches deep into the fissure of hateful sectarianism and bigotry which is so damaging to Scottish society.

    I have no doubt most of these journos will lie but children grow-up and mature and often discover the skeletons in the family closet. I know when that day comes and the cowardice of their parent is full laid bare they will feel cheated and deceived.

    Sadly it’s too late for the journos involved: They have supped the succulent lamb; led the easy life through PR hand-outs; and have no option but to defend and keep spouting their lies which a large majority have convinced themself is the ‘truth’ or was the best solution for Scotland.

    Meanwhile, all over the world and sometimes very close to Scotland, brave men and women are tortured and killed for daring to unearth unpleasant truths. If our discredited Scottish hacks find it difficult to look at themselves in the mirror then go and look at the photos of the dead, tortured and missing whose only crime was to seek the truth and make it public. Those pics show what real journos look like ❗


  67. torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
    May 14, 2014 at 9:18 am

    From the Herald:
    Martin Williams
    Senior News Reporter
    Wednesday 14 May 2014

    FORMER Rangers director Dave King faces a possible investigation by the City regulator over a claim he tried to drive down the club’s share price by orchestrating a bid to have fans withhold season-ticket cash.

    A shareholder’s complaint over alleged market abuse by the 58-year-old South Africa-based businessman has led the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to look into the matter.

    The complaint made to the FCA claimed the board had no intention of dealing with Mr King, who is one of South Africa’s wealthiest tycoons.

    The Glasgow-born entrepreneur, along with legendary former player Richard Gough, set up Ibrox 1972 Ltd as part of a campaign to withhold fans’ season-ticket cash. The campaign launched with the Union of Fans aims to hand over supporters’ season-ticket cash once they are given security over Ibrox Stadium. The club has condemned it as a conduit for depriving it of revenue.

    It’s clear from the article that the anonymous shareholder has communicated the FCA response to the Herald. Of course if the paper had any guts they would identify the shareholder in the public interest. He/she isn’t a ‘source’ IMO but probably part of a misguided PR campaign.

    I wonder if the recent purchase of shares by the chairman has anything to do with this as it seems to me it would make some kind of sense if the complaint to the FCA about an attack on share price came from the chairman of the company allegedly affected.

    However it now seems that once you sign-up to a Rangers ST it really is a case of RTID – no matter what the club/company gets up to it seems – according to Rangers – disenchanted fans have no right to organise to use their financial muscle to change things. Is this really what the rangers Board has arrived at – it smacks to me of Bully possibly ‘Billy’ Boy tactics.

    And how can the complainant say that the Board will have nothing further to do with King unless the Board presumably in the shape of the chair or a Board member has made the complaint. And if the Board made the complaint was it discussed and agreed at a Board Meeting.

    These are all obvious questions a reasonably competent journo should be asking and therefore I can only reach the conclusion that the reporter involved isn’t reasonably competent or has a reason for not asking the questions or possibly not publishing the answers. Either way the plummeting reading public who still buy the discredited rag which used to be a paper of ‘record’ are being cheated IMO.

    Just another PR hand-out with no journalism involved. The ludicrous aspect of the charade is that there will be plenty of Bear shareholders who aren’t buying STs and who are supporting King – I wonder if the PR Maestro has thought about that aspect?

    Oh and when did the Board decide it was having nothing further to do with King?


  68. neepheid says:
    May 14, 2014 at 9:38 am
    ecobhoy says:
    May 14, 2014 at 9:16 am

    I wonder if it was fit and proper then for the judge to be told by the Rangers counsel in the Imran case last week that the share price was bouncing back nicely. Even though as we all know the statement was made before whatever created the bounce-back actually took place.
    ===========
    Surely a deliberate campaign to drive the share price up is just as much market manipulation as trying to drive the share price down? And, of course, a much more serious matter if those involved are currently directors of the company with access to inside information. I can feel a strongly worded letter to the FCA coming on 😆 😆 😆
    ============================
    Will you rerlease their response anonymously 😆

    I just can’t over the fact – whether Bears are right or wrong in whether they buy STs or not – that they have no rights to combine to create the kind of club they believe in.

    Obviously there is a move to set-up a club-based fan membership group and it would be hard not to see that as a way to break the voice and limited power of existing Bear fan groups. So what is going to happen to the Bears or Bear Fan Groups that don’t join the new authorised club-controlled version? Will they have legal action taken to disband them or will they be split-up and dispersed over the stadium to reduce their power and effectiveness?

    Strange and disturbing signals coming out of Ibrox management IMO.


  69. Arabest2
    I’m not sure Strachan is exempt from the kind of treatment doled out to Levein and Burley when they were in the Scotland job.
    Strachan is currently more successful than we could realistically expect him to be and that’s why he’s bullet proof until he loses qualifiers. It remains to be seen how he’s treated then.
    Levein got harsh treatment in the job, but I think Burley really got the brown and smelly end of the stick. The negative treatment of him really kicked off when he kicked out Ferguson and McGregor. To me at least, this coincided with a marked improvement in the way the team played. They looked like a team without those disruptive influences. I can’t remember, or look it up right now, but I think his last game was against Holland away, which we lost 1-0 but actually played pretty well – as we had done for the last couple if games. The next qualifiers could have been pretty hopeful, but he got booted for “not qualifying” and Levein tried to rebuild the way the team played, resulting in disaster.
    One major criticism of Levein. I reckon the only interview question he will have answered that really mattered was “Will you select Ferguson and McGregor?”
    That might have got him the job, but it disrupted the team. Especially when Ferguson got himself selected then stuck another two fingers up at Scotland by retiring. It also totally undermined Levein’s position on Fletcher.
    Strachan started with a clean slate. As long as he wastes one position in the squad on a Sevco player, the press and his bosses at Sevco Financial Assistance are happy. If Sevco make the top flight next year, there will more pressure on him to pick players from Ibrox, in place of more deserving players. That’s when it will get difficult.


  70. Don’t be surprised if the pre-season glamour friendlies/charity games at Ibrox start within the next 7-10 days.


  71. ratethisthenyabampots says:
    May 13, 2014 at 10:40 pm
    .>>>
    New Douglas Park is the place to be on Sunday. I know where I’ll be.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    You’d almost think Doncaster and co were deliberately not trying very hard to improve the mess they’d made on TV deals as if they got a much better deal it might it show up how poor their previous efforts had been (and what load of cr@p they’d been talking about Scottish Football).

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