The recent revelations of a potential winding up order being served on Rangers Newco certainly does have a sense of “deja vu all over again” for the average reader of this blog.
It reminds me of an episode of the excellent Western series Alias Smith & Jones. The episode was called The Posse That Wouldn’t Quit. In the story, the eponymous anti-heroes were being tracked by a particularly dogged group of law-men whom they just couldn’t shake off – and they spent the entire episode trying to do just that. In a famous quote, Thaddeus Jones, worn out from running, says to Joshua Smith, “We’ve got to get out of this business!”
The SFM has been trying since its inception to widen the scope and remit of the discussion and debate on the blog. Unsuccessfully. Like the posse that wouldn’t quit, Rangers are refusing to go away as a story. With the latest revelations, I confided in my fellow mods that perhaps we too should get out of this business. I suspect that, even if we did, this story would doggedly trail our paths until it wears us all down.
The fact that the latest episode of the Rangers saga has sparked off debate on this blog may even confirm the notion subscribed to by Rangers fans that TSFM is obsessed with their club. However even they must agree that the situation with regard to Rangers would be of interest to anyone with a stake in Scottish Football; and that they themselves must be concerned by the pattern of events which started over a decade ago and saw the old club fall into decline on a trajectory which ended in liquidation.
But let me enter into a wee discussion which doesn’t merely trot out the notion of damage done to others or sins against the greater good, but which enters the realm of the damage done to one of the great institutions of world sport, Rangers themselves.
David Murray was regarded by Rangers fans as a hero. His bluster, hubris and (as some see it) arrogant contempt for his competitors afforded him a status as a champion of the cause as long as it was underpinned by on-field success.
The huge pot of goodwill he possessed was filled and topped-up by a dripping tap of GIRUY-ness for many years beyond the loss of total ascendency that his spending (in pursuit of European success) had achieved, and only began to bottom out around the time the club was sold to Craig Whyte. In retrospect, it can be seen that the damage that was done to the club’s reputation by the Murray ethos (not so much a Rangers ethos as a Thatcherite one) and reckless financial practice is now well known.
Notwithstanding the massive blemish on its character due to its employment policies, the (pre-Murray) Rangers ethos portrayed a particularly Scottish, perhaps even Presbyterian stoicism. It was that of a conservative, establishment orientated, God-fearing and law-abiding institution that played by the rules. It was of a club that would pay its dues, applied thrift and honesty in its business dealings, and was first to congratulate rivals on successes (witness the quiet dignity of John Lawrence at the foot of the aircraft steps with an outstretched hand to Bob Kelly when Celtic returned from Lisbon).
If Murray had dug a hole for that Rangers, Craig Whyte set himself up to fill it in. No neo-bourgeois shirking of responsibilities and duty to the public for him; his signature was more pre-war ghetto, hiding behind the couch until the rent man moved along to the next door. Whyte just didn’t pay any bills and with-held money that was due to be passed along to the treasury to fund the ever more diminished public purse. Where Murray’s Rangers had been regarded by the establishment and others as merely distasteful, Whyte’s was now regarded as a circus act, and almost every day of his tenure brought more bizarre and ridiculous news which had Rangers fans cringing, the rest laughing up their sleeve, and Bill Struth birling in his grave.
The pattern was now developing in plain sight. Murray promised Rangers fans he would only sell to someone who could take the club on, but he sold it – for a pound – to a guy whose reputation did not survive the most cursory of inspection. Whyte protested that season tickets had not been sold in advance, that he used his own money to buy the club. Both complete fabrications. Yet until the very end of Whyte’s time with the club, he, like Murray still, was regarded as hero by a fan-base which badly wanted to believe that the approaching car-crash could be avoided.
Enter Charles Green. Having been bitten twice already, the fans’ first instincts were to be suspicious of his motives. Yet in one of history’s greatest ironic turnarounds, he saw off the challenge of real Rangers-minded folk (like John Brown and Paul Murray) and their warnings, and by appealing to what many regard as the baser instincts of the fan-base became the third hero to emerge in the boardroom in as many years. The irony of course is that Green himself shouldn’t really pass any kind of Rangers sniff-test; personal, sporting, business or cultural; and yet there he is the spokesman for 140 years of the aspirations of a quarter of the country’s fans.
To be fair though, what else could Rangers fans do? Green had managed (and shame on the administration process and football authorities for this) to pick up the assets of the club for less (nett) than Craig Whyte and still maintained a presence in the major leagues.
If they hadn’t backed him only the certainty of doom lay before them. It was Green’s way or the highway in other words – and speaking of words, his sounded mighty fine. But do the real Rangers minded people really buy into it all?
First consider McCoist. I do not challenge his credentials as a Rangers minded man, and his compelling need to be an effective if often ineloquent spokesman for the fans. However, according to James Traynor (who was then acting as an unofficial PR advisor to the Rangers manager), McCoist was ready to walk in July (no pun intended) because he did not trust Green. The story was deliberately leaked, to undermine Green, by both Traynor and McCoist. McCoist also refused for a long period of time to endorse the uptake of season books by Rangers fans, even went as far as to say he couldn’t recommend it.
So what changed? Was it a Damascene conversion to the ways of Green, or was it the 250,000 shares in the new venture that he acquired. Nothing improper or unethical – but is it idealism? Is it fighting for the cause?
Now think Traynor. I realise that can be unpleasant, but bear with me.
Firstly, when he wrote that story on McCoist’s resignation, (and later backed it up on radio claiming he had spoken to Ally before printing the story), he was helping McCoist to twist Green’s arm a little. Now, and I’m guessing that Charles didn’t take this view when he saw the story in question, Green thinks that Traynor is a “media visionary”?
Traynor also very publicly, in a Daily Record leader, took the “New Club line” and was simultaneously contemptuous of Green.
What happened to change both their minds about each other? Could it have been (for Green) the PR success of having JT on board and close enough to control, and (for Traynor) an escape route for a man who had lost the battle with own internal social media demons?
Or, given both McCoist’s and Traynor’s past allegiance to David Murray, is it something else altogether?
Whatever it is, both Traynor and McCoist have started to sing from a totally different hymn sheet to Charles Green since the winding up order story became public. McCoist’s expert étude in equivocation at last Friday’s press conference would have had the Porter in Macbeth slamming down the portcullis (now there’s an irony). He carefully distanced himself from his chairman and ensured that his hands are clean. Traynor has been telling one story, “we have an agreement on the bill”, and Green another, “we are not paying it”.
And what of Walter Smith? At first, very anti-Charles Green, he even talked about Green’s “new club”. Then a period of silence followed by his being co-opted to the board and a “same club” statement. Now in the face of the damaging WUP story, more silence. Hardly a stamp of approval on Green’s credentials is it?
Rangers fans would be right to be suspicious of any non-Rangers people extrapolating from this story to their own version of Armageddon, but shouldn’t they also reserve some of that scepticism for Green and Traynor (neither are Rangers men, and both with only a financial interest in the club) when they say “all is well” whilst the real Rangers man (McCoist) is only willing to say “as far as I have been told everything is well”
As a Celtic fan, it may be a fair charge to say that I don’t have Rangers best interests at heart, but I do not wish for their extinction, nor do I believe that one should ignore a quarter of the potential audience for our national game. Never thought I’d hear myself say this, but apart from one (admittedly mightily significant) character defect, I can look at the Rangers of Struth and Simon, Gillick and Morton, Henderson and Baxter, and Waddell and Lawrence (and God help me even Jock Wallace) with fondness and a degree of nostalgia.
I suspect most Rangers fans are deeply unhappy about how profoundly their club has changed. To be fair, my own club no longer enchants me in the manner of old. As sport has undergone globalisation, everything has changed. Our relationship to our clubs has altered, the business models have shifted, and the aspirations of clubs is different from that of a generation ago. It has turned most football clubs into different propositions from the institutions people of my generation grew up supporting, but Rangers are virtually unrecognisable.
The challenge right now for Rangers fans is this. How much more damage will be done to the club’s legacy before this saga comes to an end?
And by then will it be too late to do anything about it?
Most people on this blog know my views about the name of Green’s club. I really don’t give a damn because for me it is not important. I do know, like Craig Whyte said, that in the fullness of time there will be a team called Rangers, playing football in a blue strip at Ibrox, and in the top division in the country.
I understand that this may be controversial to many of our contributors, but I hope that this incarnation of Rangers is closer to that of Lawrence and Simon than to Murray and Souness.
Robert Coyle says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 16:46
Are we also to believe that he was doing these articles out the goodness of his heart?
What about his company skoosh that was set up at the same time murray set up the EBT scheme,which invoiced others for services rendered,what services?
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An interesting thought. He’s bought and paid for that much is now out in the open.
Leathal Weapon..if your readin this …eh, you might want to think about measuring your gaff for some wooden curtains..& soon !
I’m assuming Cosgrove was brought in to babysit him on Yourcall in his final days at the BBC because his bias was becoming clearer to all.
I suppose Green will either have to back him or sack him.Anyone see a threat to sue C4 on the horizon?.
torrejohnbhoy says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 16:59
Why sack him?JT is clealry the perfect man to push out stories about money that doesn’t exist.
£15m war chest in Craigie Boys day, £10m today (or is that now £9.6m given Cammy Bell, if he signs, is going to be on £8k a week according to the Sun)
This is why every word that comes out of Ibrox should be questioned. The bears should be very wary for their own good. As for Traynor himself, well he is unworthy of further comment.
Who’d have thunk it?
“James Traynor in corrupt pro-Rangers slug shocker”
fro JT I would say ,,,at wat…
The ‘offending article’
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-chief-craig-whyte-insists-1108160
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Did Jim Traynor kiss
Craig Whyte’s arse too?
Alex Thompson blog. Traynor.
Illuminating for many but mere confirmation for more…
We can now trace back every Daily Record article Mr Traynor wrote about Rangers and every BBC Sportsound program he was involved in since January of last year and decide for ourselves if he was merely an honest and balanced journalist, or if he was, as many believe, working to an agenda.
Is it any wonder Celtic fans are “paranoid”?
It now seems clear that Mr Traynor’s desperate attempts to convince people that “Rangers have suffered enough” “Scottish Football is dead unless Rangers are in the SPL” “There is an agenda against Rangers” were merely an attempt to influence opinion and ensure that “Rangers” were fast tracked
up the leagues with as little punishment as possible. A line that was, coincidentally,also peddled by the football authorities. (Perhaps that is a story for another day).
Clearly, he has always been “close” to those in power at Ibrox and many people may now say that the only difference today, is that he’s now “officially” on the payroll!
Finally, if Alex Thompson’s blog is indeed “malicious” then he can expect prompt legal action? No? Didn’t think so!
.
from CQN Can anyone confirm if this is the 4th official from last night?
looks as if he is delighted that Juventus won
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/604027_10151227482301455_1587026969_n.jpg
Would JT doesn’t produce evidence in any defense to show he did sort of thing will the Chairmen of other clubs. if so it would only show him up as a she-ite journalist. I wonder how many sports hack in the SMSM will admit to this sort of chummy stuff
Many Gers fans that are looking to defend their club, in spite of it being somewhat counter-productive, will see this as confirmation that they now have one of their own in the club PR hotseat. If something nuclear was on its way – this wasn’t it. It will have Traynor squirming like a very squirmy thing, and its a good story, but thats it. on the Nucleometer, I’d peg it at about a four (mine goes all the way to eleven if anyone’s interested).
It would be more of a story (not that it isn’t a decent story – more than cosiness between JT and CW) if Traynor has been asked at some point in the past if such succulent-lambery took place – with a denial in reply. I am not familiar with the works of JT, regarding him as somewhat of a stopped clock journalist – so I can’t say I recall this. I haven’t been up to speed with what he has been questioned on for a good few years now.
What first put me off him was, IMO he was always very fond of unfairly reaching for the ‘cut-off button’ on Radio phone ins when perfectly reasonable points were aired, whilst he was happy to pontificate on numerous ridiculous positions he took. This is regardless of the team that has his allegiance.
What would be more of a story too, would be some form of payment(s) to him from the club, whilst he was with the Daily Ranger, via just such an EBT as was viewed as ‘toxic’ at the time. This would indeed compromise JT in terms of impartiality and integrity.
For clarity, I have no info on such events, and simply speculate on what may have occurred.
Craigie Boy
We know you read this blog
So how about a wee stir of the pot ?
If you left any of your RFCG floating charge debt for BDO to sort out you will also know how much debt Ticketus left in the Creditors List
How about telling Thommo how much debt Ticketus is registered to in the RFC Creditors List?
Its not a big secret.All the Creditors should know by now
Did they leave the whole £27m?
Or did they only leave the ST debt due to be paid in July2013?
And sell the rest of the debt to Green so he could swop it for shares ?
or maybe roll it over as an ongoing ST contract with TRFC?
To be clear on Thompson’s piece:
James Traynor, The Daily Record and the Scottish press in general contributed to the death of Rangers with their sycophancy and obfuscation of the true state of affairs.
Maybe we’ve been spoiled here, and previously over at RTC, but as the e-mail dates point out, this news is a year old.
Although to be fair, where an outsider may find such corruption jaw-dropping, we in Scotland adopt an insular, North Korean attitude of, ” that’s just the way it is and t’was always thus “.
Perhaps this is the angle we should be viewing from.
Craig Whyte admits to using the Succulent Lamb journalism ( which had already been bought and paid for by Murray ), to hoodwink the Rangers fans and the Scottish Football Authorities (already softened up by Murray ), bleed as much money as he can from everyone involved and disappear.
Sounds easy peasy but only possible in this screwed-up environment and with plenty of vaseline previously applied by Murray.
Similar ‘offending articles’ from the DR heading up to the 2012 transfer window closures
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/ally-mccoist-keen-to-partner-rangers-1115110
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-charles-green-insists-1128972
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/pantelis-kafes-waiting-on-rangers-move-1187440
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-set-1167569
In the great scheme of things, Thomson’s latest blog is not all that important in and of it self. It is personally embarassing for Mr Traynor and it is , from Mr Green’s perpective, unhelpful. Alasdair Campbell famously said that when a press officer becomes the story, then its time for the press officer to go. We are not yet at that point with Mr Traynor. However, if more revelations appear that could change, at that point Mr Traynor may regret burining his bridges with the established media in quite such a dramatic fashion.
The most likely source for the story would appear to be Mr Whyte. Mr Whyte it would seem keeps an extensive archive Is it possible that the world’s greatest football admiistrator is wondering tonight, if pursuing Mr Whyte may turn out to be what Sir Humphtey would describe as a “Courageous Decision”?
The real target for this story was not Mr Traynor, (although a wee score appears to have been settled), but those who may feel that some of their previous dealings may have been indiscreet. Whether there is more to come, may well depend on what Mr Whyte is after and whether he gets it.
schottie59 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 17:26
From what I understand it is up to the team to input the details and then hand them to 4th official so I suspect that he is a Juve man. Doubt if there was sculduggery going on it would be that blatant. Can’t see anyone jumping oot of windows in Turin or Spain 🙂
AT’s blog is important.
It suggests that none of the phases we’ve seen in the last year are random acts in a saga.
They are chess moves.
JT is and always was SDM’s man and is there at Ibrox for a bunch of SDM reasons.
CW was never the random shyster with off the radar wealth and a £1 note burning a hole in his pocket – he was brought in to do a job.
Pesky Bloggers, lousy Champions league performances and dogged tax men got in the way – for a while and don’t seem to go away either and keep causing delays and changes to the game plan.
CG was ever the planned final phase either. But he is part of the SDM plan to eventual return in some titular form – and a preservation of his legacy
There may or not be a current falling out over promises but my instincts remain that CW has recordings and emails all safe and sound and will never allow himself to be the fall guy.
Unless it pays well.
briggsbhoy says:
hahaha was a wee joke really ,,lost on some though …its their technical guy that puts there info up …..but we live in wonderful times ,,,,
A shot across the bows. I m sure the Craigy cigarrette case(sorry tape recorder)will bea featurette in tomorrows piece. Id pay now Charles, its all going south (including the share price)
Like others on here I was more than a little disappointed in Alex Thomson’s blog having expected something dirty about Green or another director/leading player. I was thinking that all it’s done is to give Green an excuse to dump someone he must realise by now is more of a liability than the debt he owes to Orlit, but then it dawned on me that Traynor is, no doubt, party to some of Green’s secrets and that might make it difficult for Green to kick him into touch. So Green now has a head of communication and misinformation who’s word is totally compromised, even to those his propoganda and excuses were aimed at, and is now a bigger albatros around his neck than ever. Should he decide he has to let him go, he’ll probably have to give a rather nice sweetener, from the club’s ever diminishing resources, to keep him quiet!
For Traynor, himself, it could lead to problems with previous employers, who will now be put in a much worse light for allowing him the platform to punt Murray and Whyte’s propoganda, and they may well seek recompense from him as a result. If, as has been suggested, he was financing his skoosh fund for these ‘articles’, he might also find himself in trouble having to face some Levinson style inquiry, for it’s one thing to publish stories related to football with less than an impartail view, but to knowingly, and deliberately, set out to aid someone hoodwink the public in financial matters is another thing entirely.
Not a death blow to Green and Sevco by any means, but a stab at the heart of one of our most despised journos, sorry, the most despised 😉
schottie59 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 17:48
You got me 🙂 I thought you were showing signs of being an obsessed Tic fan 🙂
briggsbhoy says:
I once procured a Patio Coca Cola Umbrella for “The Bear”…Butlins Ayr 78….now there is a story …hahahaha
TRAYNOR – CRUCIAL QUESTION
Was the Record aware at the time that they were effectively an arm of Rangers’ PR machine and did they condone the effective passing of editorial control over content affecting Rangers to Craig Whyte?
Will anyone actually ask that question? Or does the practice spread much further than the Record?
Is this what the immodium remark made by Green in Oz is all about?
Jane Lewis @JaneLewisSport
Cammy Bell’s agent denies his player has had a medical with #Rangers & signed a pre-contract with the Ibrox club.
That must be why the story has disappeared from SSN.
How can a player undergo a medical, eight months before being eligible to join a club.
What grates with me is my BBC license money funding this creature. I know we all “kind of knew” about this “Airdrie devotee’s” real agenda, but to find out that Jim’s “opinions” were being ratified by his regime of choice is an absolute disgrace to journalism (a profession which is at an all time low sadly).
Think back to that deplorable spat with Chick Young re- the nod of the head. It makes you want to be sick.
Apologies for the excessive ” “s
Perhaps it’s Cammy Bell Ogilvie that has signed the pre-contract agreement?
I’m sure the meda guru will clarify
A few of tonight’s posts seem to be running with the theme that AT’s blog a caculated first strike.
I think that JT is now a dead duck but perhaps more significantly if he was encouraged to enter the fold by a third party, then that party have lost an important source of information.
Mr Rattery on CQN posted today about squeaky bum time. I don’t think that squeaky bum time referred to the JT story.
I think there is more to come. It will be interesting to see if there is more internet chatter tonight and hints of things to come.
For the avoidance of doubt, given their various names and with regard to the sensibilities of their support, should we just refer to “rangers” as the club that plays at Ibrox?. Oops, or maybe that should be the club that pays at Ibrox, (if there is any substance to the theory that RIFC now owns the assets and will be charging TRFC for services rendered).
Sun article on Cammy Bell still up
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4792339/Gers-gonna-be-saved-by-the-bell.html
looks like a bit of a rehash from the story earlier in the years where McCoist was wanting Bell in Div 3 so he could loan out his young keeper Scott Gallacher to gain much needed playing experience presumably in a higher league than Bell !!!
Also it would make sense if Alexander was getting dumped off the payroll but the article has Ally reportedly wanting Bell on £8k and to keep Alexander (on £10k?) so that is getting on near £1m a year in salaries for two goalies in Div 2. – Madness if it is anywhere near being true.
thereek says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 16:50
We often talk of transparency on this site. Looks like Gers fans have had some today and it will be interesting to see where this goes.
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From Rangers fans’ point of view? Well, let’s see … but don’t hold your breath waiting for any epiphanies on RM:
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A nothing story used to detract from celtics failings last night and their embarrassing excuses today…ignore everything this man says…his sources are rangers haters who devote their lives to trying to dig up dirt on us! Sad little man…the innuendo in this piece is there for all to see and I hope no one gets their knickers in a twist about another one of his attacks…just like last week! —
It would be unlikely in the extreme for Jim Traynor to use his DR e-mail address therefore the e-mails must have come from Whyte, assuming they are real. I can’t see anything worth bothering about in this. Traynor was in contact with Whyte, big deal. Sports Journalist speaks to football club owner, SHOCK!!!
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A “revelation” about a journalist and a football club’s owners (f*ck Whyte) talking about newspaper articles…….. big deal. Is that it???
Another non story by the discredited bhigot journalist.
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Those text’s from JT make it sound like he was asking whyte for a job how would thomson get hold of text messages.
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Tried attacking Green and failed. Now he tries attacking JT.
I haven’t read it all as I’m simply not interested in his thinly veiled rantings against us. This will go on for a while with them trying to find any issues and create doubt around anyone with a connection to our club.
Like CG said, I’m not angry at them, I feel sorry for them.
Do something with your life Mr Thomson because your obsession with hating Rangers will only turn you into a withered old man arguing out loud with the voices in your head. A dry husk left alone to erode.
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This is the naked truth about Thomson. How long did it take him to find all this articles. Anyway, I have no problem with Traynor, he called as it was, in his own opinions. We know he’s not a bluenose but more importantly that he was and is impartial.
This only confirms the agenda from the hacks that live hundreds of miles away and stir the pot.
My message to Thomson and Gobblegiver is simple. Come out of your London and Donegal bunkers and come up here with your ‘Mhedia campaign’! Then you might have some credibility! If not your health of course!
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What an absolute joke of a blog looks like something copied off kerryfail street.
It’s 2013 and this fud is going on about something written in 1998 ffs….. it’s absolutely scraping around for any old pile of guff to attack Rangers with now.
I’m now convinced the spl witch hunt has not gone liewell/Thomsons way and Rangers will be cleared, if that’s the best that timmy can come up with you know things have not gone to plan for herr liewell and his lapdog.
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Haven’t read the entire piece. No need to. Two simple facts. First Pope in 600 years resigns and North Korea are a baw hair away from full Nuclear capability and these c*nts are talking about an article about Rangers. Not about Rangers, but an article about Rangers.
—
Paul McConville on Sportsound tomorrow night
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/guess-whos-scheduled-to-be-on-bbc-sportsound-tomorrow/
Any chance that the Daily Record will publish a full apology to its readers? If not, how about someone who paid good money to read any of JT’s rantings contacting the Press Complaints Commission?
For the first time ever I now believe Traynor [Edit] when he says he is not a fan of TRFC. Why would a supporter of a football club mislead his fellow fans. If I were a fan of TRFC I would be asking for him to be removed from his position. Though we know that wont happen because Green [Edit] hired him for what he is and that must suit him.
Personally I feel that JTs position is compromised.
Craigy boy spending 15 million. You couldn’t make it up. But apparently JT did just that. 🙂
Well played Thomo, another serious blow to JT’s already fragile credibility,
bogsdollox says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 16:59
I’m assuming Cosgrove was brought in to babysit him on Yourcall in his final days at the BBC because his bias was becoming clearer to all.
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I have a couple of e-mails from the BBC vigorously defending Traynor’s use of their show to promote the views of the Daily Record. Of course, the stories he was promoting were anti-Celtic, and on both occasions he used the BBC to issue veiled threats to Celtic to be quiet or the Record would print more damaging information they had. We will never know the full extent our licence fee was effectively abused in giving him the platform he had. I really hope the BBC are upping their game in terms of ensuring pundits and commentators do not abuse their position at the licence fee payers expense.
Delbhoy says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 17:30
==============================
I think you make a good point about outsiders. This is a Channel 4 blog and will surely have a fair number of non-Scottish viewers. To many of us up here, well the paper JT worked for was known as (is still?) the “Daily Rangers” for ages.
Interesting to us but maybe far more shocking to a wider readership?
monsieurbunny says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 19:14
Delbhoy says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 17:30
I think you make a good point about outsiders. This is a Channel 4 blog and will surely have a fair number of non-Scottish viewers. To many of us up here, well the paper JT worked for was known as (is still?) the “Daily Rangers” for ages.
Interesting to us but maybe far more shocking to a wider readership?
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The MSM in Scotland really need to give it major coverage though. Will they?
Re Traynor’s article
And it is because >>> the next title holders will qualify automatically for the lucrative Champions League group stages in season 2012-13 <<< ??? that he is willing to hand over much more than the £5m transfer budget originally set when he took over ownership from David Murray.
Did the guy do his homework ?
If I'm not mistaken CFC played TWO qualifiers ?
upthehoops says:
———-
Fair point
If easily offended, please turn away now…
Jim Traynor @JimTranor
Charlie’s baws are the MOST succulent #rangers #rfc #sevco
If you must the bomber apears as i on cue with a tale of Craigies non transfer budget.
http://www.dothebouncy.com/home/showthread.php?52979-John-brown-statement&p=590270#post590270
arabest1 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 18:54
4 0 Rate This
Well played Thomo, another serious blow to JT’s already fragile
credibility,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What credibility is that? Fragile or otherwise?
upthehoops says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 19:19
5 0 Rate This
The MSM in Scotland really need to give it major coverage though. Will they?
————
Alex Thomson tweeting he’ll be on the Scottish wireless tomorrow morning at 8.30 …
Re Traynor’s piece in the record ….17th July 2011 ….
And it is because ,,,,,,,,,
the next title holders will qualify automatically for the lucrative Champions League group stages in season 2012-13 ………
that he is willing to hand over much more than the £5m transfer budget originally set when he took over ownership from David Murray.
Unless I’m mistaken CFC placed TWO qualifiers
Did this guy never do his homework ?research ??
RM unwittingly provides an interesting slant by stating that a Record podcast by Jackson and Traynor on 26/6/2012 stated they had told the SFA 10 months earlier (approx August 2011- a month after the article that Traynor appears to have collaborated with Whyte on) that Whyte wasn’t paying tax. If true why was Traynor allegedly looking for Whyte to employ him in January 2012 knowing what he knew back in August 2011?
The link is: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/videos-pics/2012/06/26/podcast-rangers-newco-face-spl-wilderness-86908-23901091/
That doesn’t load and I get: ‘The file could not be found for a number of reasons such as the file being moved or deleted’.
Anyone possibly with a copy of the podcast or ideas how to find it?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/scots-billionaire-craig-whyte-set-1076102
Another Mr Traynor exclusive “aye right”.
JT “Through channels at Ibrox commented”. Channels = PR companies. Have they taken his laptop away? Is Jack back? Jack where are you?
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/43018781677/the-clash-of-civilisations
On what we call purity, what some would call naivety but what defines and regionalises footballing culture. Why would UEFA understand succulent lamb when its representative don’t understand Scotland?
Two articles in the DR today have Mr Traynors paws all over them. Could it possibly be he was striking first prior to AT releasing these E-mails? Does he still have influence at that newspaper? If he was acting as Propaganda master for CW, was he being paid? Did he pay tax and NI on these payments? Or was it an EBT?
As for Traynor being the Clever, street wise Journalist, he is never in CWs league. In laymans terms James , you are strictly Div 4………
In an opinion piece Record Sports Editor James Traynor explains that ‘Whyte has a strange style of business,’ which is particularly damning since the same author has regularly provided Whyte with a platform to tell supporters about his grand plans for the club.
As recently as on January 10 Traynor claimed that Ally McCoist was ready to splash the cash on Real Valladolid’s £2million-rated Javi Guerra.
———————-
This was after he didnae get the gig.
ianagain says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 19:44
If you must the bomber appears as if on cue, with a tale of Craigies non transfer budget.
http://www.dothebouncy.com/home/showthread.php?52979-John-brown-statement&p=590270#post590270
======================================================================
as usal, all these people who are happy to mention the “administration” word, since it is 1 year since, but tey all seem to not mention what actually happened AFTER “going into” administration, or what exactly going into administration means.
they dn’t want to mention what happened next.
LIQUIDATION and what that actually meant/means.
Lord Wobbly says:
Fair point Wobbly. 🙂
I was really meaning among his peers, his slash and burn outbursts last week would suggest he is losing it, this will be an utter humiliation among his former contemporaries imagine the laugh they are having about this going public. Then there are the fans of tRFC fans and fans of the old RFC. He was minister of propaganda for Murray as he planted the sees of disaster, then whored himself out to Googlie as he drove them into the ditch, and now as Green’s plans appear to hit some turbulence, Traynor must try to keep the demanding bears on side. Even they must see JT is not fit for purpose, he already has a shameful role events so far, even they will see it eventually. Won’t they???????????????????? 🙂
Watching the Real. v Man.Utd. first half, it is obvious that both sides have taken on board the lesson’s from last night’s deplorable penalty box shenanigans and kept it as clean as possible as the Champions League should be.
arabest1 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 20:28
Sadly, I think a number of them have already decided that it’s a plhot (see what I did there?).
You’d think the very fact that he was complicit in peddling Craigie’s propaganda (or will he claim he was duped?) would at least make them wary, but apparently not. There’s no helping some people.
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 20:44
You may well be correct, but, without opening up the decent bears discussion again, they shurely cannot all be as paranoid, deluded and monumentally thick as the posters on RM? Can they?
Some on here are playing down the Alex Thomson story but it is highly significant for these reasons.
First of all Traynor [Edit] was at pains from February 2012 to January 2013 re-writing history and proclaiming to all who had ears that he had always opposed Craig Whyte’s takeover of RFC(IL) and been the first to uncover him as a fraud.
That canard is laid bare by this revelation and the likelihood is that CW will make more of such information available as and when required. Many other journos will be shifting in their seats.
Secondly it calls into question once again the impartiality that we are entitled to expect from BBC Scotland. It has had a preponderance of RFC supporting individuals offering opinion on its sports shows over the past few years, including but not exclusively Traynor, Young, Smith, Hately, Begg, Dodds, Broadfoot, McPherson, et al. In contrast, we have just the two former Celtic players who are occasionally brought in, McLeod and Walker, both notorious for their eagerness to do down Celtic.
Some impartiality – and beyond that Traynor was allowed to host his own show as a neutral observer for the past few years.
Finally, Traynor [Edit] has described Thomson’s allegations as malicious and misleading so now we know that the truth, in the eyes of Sevco’s self-important, puffed-up PR man, is never anything other than malicious and misleading.
The truth hurts, oh how it hurts “J.T.”, eh?
My spies tell me the Orlit case is only just beginning and there is more, much more to come out in the next few weeks.
Alex Thomson needs to re-check his source. Are we seriously expected to believe that Jim Traynor – THE Jim Traynor – can text and e-mail? I’m not having it.
neepheid says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 16:44
Thompson’s piece just proves what everyone here has long suspected. What is interesting is that Whyte is clearly leaking stuff to Thompson. Whyte has a lot more tales to tell, I’m sure of that, let’s hope the canary keeps singing. Does this indicate a major fall-out between Green and Whyte? Maybe Green should have paid the million and let Whyte have his 6 seats!
——————————————————————————————————–
Agreed.
Is this wee Craigs version of leaving the severed horse head in Charles Greens bed?
Suggests that maybe CW has info that is damaging to CG and/or TRFC and is prepared to use it should he find it necessary.
Just a wee “warmer into the bank” for the moment.
I am beginning to warm to the wee guy. 🙂
Just a couple of things.
The revelations with regard Mr Traynor make his treatment of Chick Young on live radio even more ironic. Giving him pelters for not questioning Alistair Johnston (then Rangers Chairman) properly, saying that he had mis-read a nod from Mr Johnston, implying that he was no longer a proper journalist, and that he would not have been kept on at the Record by Mr Traynor because of his incompetence. He pushed Mr Young into a corner saying that either Young or Johnston had to be a liar, which one was it. Turns out he was willing to get the Rangers Chairman/ owner to ok “articles”, and make amendments before they were published.
If Craig Whyte, new kid on the block, had that level of control over Mr Traynor, and the paper he worked for what level did Sir David Murray have. Mr Traynor was in his pocket for years, and it was he who published the cringe worthy “succulent lamb” obsequiousness. Did Sir David actually control the press to the point of actually having editorial control over parts of it. That seemed likely at the time, it seems even more likely this evening.
If Craig Whyte managed it so quickly it’s hard to imagine Sir David didn’t have even more control.
The RTC blog was fundamentally about the failure of the press to report all things Rangers properly. Effectively they were a propaganda machine. Alex Thompson has been saying the same thing for quite some time. That the Scottish media seemed unable to properly report on Rangers stories. This latest revelation goes a long way to substantiating that. Rangers directly controlled elements of the press. They helped hide bad news and mislead the support with what were effectively press releases and ridiculous “good news” stories.
From casinos and floating pitches to off the radar billionaires and war chests. We have heard some crackers.
Now we have Charles Green, the gruff, man of the people, left school at 15, self made Yorkshireman who frequently refers to himself in the third person. He seems unable to say anything without spouting nonsense and making ridiculous promises which rarely if ever materialise.
How much control does he have in place already, or will some of them actually start telling it like it is.
arabest1 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 20:28
————————-
arabest – the worrying thing is that [Edit] Traynor may be only the tip of the iceberg (“that’s one hell of an iceberg” I hear you say)… It would not be surprising if the majority of our finest churnalists passed their copy to Murray/Whyte/Green/Ogilvie for approval prior to publication and still do in some cases. Messrs Guidi & Jackson, anything you want to say in your defence?
Scotland, one country, many sub-editors
And its still a disgrace of mis quotes non stories and regurgitated guff.
McDowell cautious on returnees Football 365 18:12
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Fans Gave Us Strength Glasgow Rangers – Official Site 16:56
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Rangers assistant believes Ally McCoist has done an ‘incredible job’ STV 15:16
I Kenny Wait For Kane Glasgow Rangers – Official Site 15:14
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Former Leeds and Rangers striker Healy appears in court on assault charge Daily Mail 13:07
Ally Deserves More Credit Glasgow Rangers – Official Site 13:06
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EXCLUSIVE: The blue shoots of recovery Glasgow Evening Times 08:14
The ones who walked away: Where are they now? Glasgow Evening Times 08:14
The key players: revisiting the main protagonists in a year of unprecedented drama… The Scottish Herald 03:10
TOXIC’s rather dodgy sources! DoTheBouncy.com 00:31
One year on: Timeline of the week Rangers fell into administration STV 00:12
Cammy Bell denies switch to Rangers The Scotsman 00:04
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Here’s Mr Traynor’s take after Mr Whyte had crashed and burned. Changing horses mid-stream jumps to mind. As indeed does leopards and spots. It’s not as long as it looks, being written in sentences rather than paragraphs.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/craig-whyte-has-delusions-of-a-good-few-1391896
Craig Whyte has delusions of a good few grandeur
WHYTE’S bid for Rangers cash proves he’s totally out of touch and doesn’t understand how fans feel about him.
SAY what you like about Craig Whyte.
You can call him all the names under the sun but the one thing he isn’t is shy.
Well, not when it suits him. And not when £1million is at stake.
Despite being as elusive as a Rangers away win he felt compelled to set the record straight about his brief but destructive time as owner of Rangers.
BBC Scotland were granted an interview. It was car crash TV.
Here was a man, his credibility and character shredded, appealing for sympathy and understanding. It was a bit ambitious.
A bit like Andrew Mitchell, who was forced to stand down as Tory chief whip last week, trying to gather support and friends in the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Even so, I must admit there were moments in that interview when it was impossible not to feel sorry for Whyte.
When he squirmed, or seemed to be searching the corners of his mind for answers to some difficult questions, he looked as though he might break down and start weeping.
Only a person of the most callous nature could have watched it and not felt something for Whyte, whose wide-eyed stare suggested terrible internal turmoil.
But then you discover how much he is still trying to squeeze out of Rangers and reality comes crashing back into view.
According to Ibrox sources Whyte, who bought the club for £1 and who borrowed just more than £20m against future season-ticket sales, expects Charles Green’s consortium to pay him £1m.
Whyte must have forgotten about that, and the request for six seats in the directors’ box plus four members’ tickets for life.
The demand was kicked out by Green and other directors.
It is believed the request was made to one of the main figures involved in the buy-out and there was outrage when it was put to Green and other directors.
They were astounded by the former owner’s audacity, although one suggested it might have been interesting to see if Whyte would have had the gall to have turned up in the directors’ box.
Rangers fans don’t want him anywhere near Ibrox and will be outraged that he thinks he’s due a penny never mind a million quid.
Of course Whyte might have been encouraged to seek payment because he was promised large sums by some of the other groups who tried to buy the club.
The Blue Knights, for instance, were prepared to pay him £500,000 but Green has no intention of giving him anything more than the £1, actually £2, he has already handed over.
Even Green’s group may have been forced to pay up at a point in the takeover process when Whyte’s share holding was required.
However, administration and then liquidation changed everything and Whyte became irrelevant, although by going to the Beeb he might have thought that somehow he could sway public opinion.
He really is out of touch. Some might say delusional.
But there he was, this baffling, complex but ultimately unreliable little man still trying to convince the world he didn’t do much wrong.
It wasn’t his fault, he seemed to be saying. He was doomed to failure with Rangers because of the deeds of others before him.
Yet, by the time he was ready to hand over his £1 to David Murray he would have known everything about the club and, by his own admission, he was aware Rangers were likely to suffer some kind of insolvency trauma.
So why enter into that ridiculous deal with Ticketus, which he denied until RecordSport uncovered the documentary evidence, just to captain a sinking ship?
My own view is that he thought a ruling on the Big Tax would be made within weeks of his takeover and he would be able to put Rangers into administration blaming David Murray’s use of EBT to help pay players. But Whyte didn’t reckon on the verdict being delayed, which meant he quickly ran out of money.
He stopped paying bills, especially PAYE and National Insurance and, of course, HMRC allowed that situation to worsen when they should have taken swift action.
Had they done so they’d have saved all those small companies, who continued to trade with Rangers, money.
Hector might argue that his lot agreed to repayment plans, which would have seen Whyte pay lump sums of £300,000 to £500,000, but they must have known he wouldn’t pay up.
In fact, one of Duff and Phelps’ senior men, David Grier, was liaising with them and keeping them up to speed about what was going on within Ibrox.
They knew but they allowed this farce to continue.
He said that around August last year it was clear the money was all but gone – he’d made the mistake of relying on European income – and that it was impossible to secure further funding because of the tax liability.
It seems to me Rangers must have been trading while insolvent and isn’t that a crime of some sort in the financial world?
Of course Whyte should never have been given the club by Murray but he was and it was his chaotic reign that put them down.
Without the huge cloud cast by the EBT case, for which Murray must accept full responsibility, the Ibrox club might have been a more attractive proposition.
But Whyte believed he could profit from the purchase and it remains to be seen how much he made.
Hopefully that will be revealed when the legal investigations have been concluded.
It is believed the ruling on the tax case will be delivered within days but even if it favours HMRC they won’t get any money.
The football company associated with EBT no longer exists and you have to wonder why the tax authorities didn’t take the £11m settlement fee offered to them a few years ago.
The amount of tax owed was just under £30m but with penalties having been added the amount may be running 65 per cent higher.
There will also be a National Insurance bill which could take the total to near £70m but all they’ll be left with is a precedent.
Just had a wee look back at Green’s q & a, cannot believe the first question……what school did you go to? i suppose the old adage remain true, you can take the boy out of Glasgow etc…..
Apart from ONE story
Mr Traynor has responded with an “opinion piece” on the Rangers website.
In the spirit of right to reply I think it’s appropriate to copy that here, with apologies if anyone has already done so.
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/opinion/item/3359-thomson-should-blog-off#.URwGQs_7CWo.facebook
ONCE again Rangers are the subject of an article by Alex Thomson, who appears obsessed by this club’s business.
This time, however, he turns his attention on me in a most callous and disgusting manner.
Fortunately I’ve been the target of many bloggers many times because of the well, let’s just say strident way I’ve gone about my work. So, if you give it out you have to take it back.
This is one of the unwritten laws of journalism but this person’s blog cannot pass without comment. Incredibly, it’s allowed to sit under Channel 4’s name.
This man has set himself up as a paragon of integrity yet he relies on Craig Whyte as a credible source.
Does he not know the former Rangers owner is under Crown Office investigation?
Thomson publishes the content of emails in which I make it clear to Whyte that a story about his spending plans will start with the figure of £15m for new players. It was necessary to let Whyte view the piece so that it would be difficult for him to try to deny it later.
Of course he did try just the same but he knows he said it. I know he said it and so, too, should Thomson. If he’s spoken to Whyte he’ll also know what this man is like.
The email was sent not because Whyte was being given editorial approval, as Thomson appears to be making out, but because I wanted Whyte to see the figure.
Also, show me a journalist who hasn’t used these methods to extract further information and I’ll show a hack who wasn’t doing his job.
It is necessary to get close to people in football if you are to gain possession of the intelligence required to do the job properly. And that brings me on to Thomson’s other point.
He claimed I asked Whyte for a job. How utterly absurd.
This blogger conveniently forgets to mention it was my work, along with that of the Daily Record’s Keith Jackson, which finally exposed Whyte and brought him down.
We had been gathering information about the Ticketus deal and also Whyte’s failure to hand over PAYE and NI. It was a long process and vital that the line of communication with Whyte remained open.
The fact is he asked me to come and work with him on more than one occasion. He also asked if I would advise him privately.
A game was being played out and working for Rangers at that time wasn’t the goal. In fact, I kept my newspaper informed of the offers through a senior editorial executive because it was important they were on side with the operation.
I also made sure a senior person at the BBC, with whom I had a contract, also knew.
One or two trustworthy colleagues also were made aware of what was going on and we actually laughed at the very thought of me working with someone we were determined to expose.
On any other day I’d have dismissed this latest blog without comment but this is a special time for Rangers. We are a year on from administration and are putting in place a solid structure under the new regime.
Rangers have released a documentary on that crucial year on this very site and that’s what we should all be concentrating on. Enjoy, and stop worrying about bloggers.
JT replies to Thommo (she doth protest too much i think)
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/opinion/item/3359-thomson-should-blog-off
Just had a look at a Rangers forum to see what the reaction has been. The fact that Traynor conspired to feed them lies is lost on them. What took me 10secs and one reading … it makes you wonder. There are even posts defending him. At best, he was CW’s poodle – at worst, complicit in keeping them ignorant and sedated by “good news” stories.
Are there any sensible Rangers forums? Serious question.
Jim You should worry. your blatently a liar.
dentarthurdent42 says:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 21:44
You can’t help but admire his brass neck.
J Traynor: ‘We had been gathering information about the Ticketus deal and also Whyte’s failure to hand over PAYE and NI. It was a long process and vital that the line of communication with Whyte remained open.’
It is amazing it took them so long gathering the information that was on the RTC website months before.