Or, a story of how and why Mr Lawwell consigned resolution 12 to the deepest grass;
by Finloch
“It’s about history and being neighbours”, young Elisabeth said to her mum.
And it has to be done for tomorrow, Elisabeth said.
“I’m supposed to ask in an in-person interview about what life was like where an older neighbour grew up and what was life like when the neighbour was my age.
It’s not my fault that we’re new here and haven’t spoken to our old, next door neighbour yet and don’t even know his name.
“I’ve an idea her mother said, why don’t you make it up.
Pretend you’re asking him questions and then write down the answers you think he’d give”.
“It’s supposed to be true”, Elisabeth said. “It’s for News”.
“They’ll never know”, her mother said. “Just make it up.
The real news is always made up anyway”.
I was lucky enough to catch Ali Smith at the Edinburgh Book Festival.
I was part of a very diverse audience and unusually for this kind of event nobody in the sold-out Charlotte Square tent had a Scooby about what she was going to share with us.
Most would have been expecting a reading or two from her recent short story collection, Public Library, about the cynical, thoughtless and almost silent and unpublicised demise of Libraries up and down our land.
Our libraries.
Our land.
Ali is always value for money though and was amazing, reading from her as yet unpublished “Autumn” book, the first she said of a four-book series.
As I listened to her, I was also thinking and juggling around at the back of my mind about what I was going to write for this blog, having been asked for my thoughts, as a non-involved, non-Celtic supporter, on how I see the Resolution 12 situation.
Well Ali’s words stung like a bee and proved quite inspirational. The wisdom and clarity in her new books is highly relevant to all of us who care about Scottish Football and Resolution 12 including Mr Lawwell, Mr Doncaster, Mr Regan, Mr Petrie and us too – the real stakeholders.
Ali also shared with us a Bernard Maclaverty insight from when he once visited a school as part of (I think) a Scottish creative writing initiative and in the course of his talk asked some youngsters,
“What is fiction” ?
Someone put their hand up and said “Please Sir, it’s made up truth”.
Near the end Ali also got to talking about post Brexit Britain and used the chaos to ask the bigger question.
“Why do we never seem to have real debates about anything and why in any “debate” we might see or read that there never seems to be room for to-ing and fro-ing on points because everyone seems to have already made their minds up and just wants to maintain their status quos, achieve their own personal agendas or to steamroller us all to their point of view”.
“People in power seem to be genuinely scared of honest debates”, she said.
She asked how without more real discussions and insightful and open minded debates can any of us (and the debaters themselves too) learn because without that we will just get more of what we’ve had.
And that’s not good enough.
So thanks Ali I’m going to combine these three things from your hour along with two personal career experiences and review Mr Lawwell and his company’s reaction to the bona fide Resolution 12 raised by some of his shareholders a few years ago.
(My career experiences were as the head of a small, and treated as unimportant, company that was part of a worldwide group of companies run (badly) out of the US; and my time as head of a trade association that had two very dominant and troublesome members).
My Five Insights to review Resolution 12 are.
- Some people think “made up news is fine” and feed us all with it all the time.
- Don’t expect real discussions or debates about anything in your club. No two way dialogues, except from those about money once a year.
- “Made up Truths” become gospel not to be challenged.
- The people running the club know they are smarter and more important than any of their minority or remote stakeholders.
- All decisions that really matter in football or indeed in any business are pre-agreed and never discussed in the open.
So now to what I think of Resolution 12.
My starting point is to say this. It is wrong to see or to discuss Mr Lawwell and Resolution 12 as being about the awarding of a license – or the boardroom processes since The Requisitioners first raised it.
Sadly, I’d suggest Requisition 12 was history before it was even raised.
In the late Murray days at Ibrox and in the early Whyte ownership period there had been rumours, and I’m certain deep and meaningful business discussions between the heads of the SFA and SPL and their key committee members.
You can be sure that the SFA, SPL, Celtic and others were all watching the post Murray Rangers situation closely, and the new regime at Ibrox and related financial stuff would have been the talk of the exclusive football steamies.
Despite what some Celtic fans believe, the reality has always been that while Rangers may have dominated (just) all things SFA and SPL, nothing was ever done without the knowledge of and input from the green side of the Old Firm business model.
Sadly, I’d suggest Requisition 12 was history before it was even raised.
Scotland’s unique, idiosyncratic, religio-political old firm business model was not just about driving the individual Glasgow teams to their leviathan duopoly in Scottish football. We all knew (because we were told so) that it was also the commercial bedrock of the business that is Scottish Football.
And yes, for a while David Murray thought his club was bigger than the Old Firm, but he and his ego had moved on when all this stuff happened.
Put simply, Regan who was quite new, was convinced at the time – and still is absolutely certain – that the SFA and Scottish Football needed a dominant Celtic and Rangers, and he also personally needed and needs the support of their CEO’s.
Doncaster too was convinced that the SPL needed Celtic and Rangers arch rivalry with all it entails, delivering TV monies and maximizing his bonuses. He too also personally required and requires the support of the Old Firm CEO’s.
Lawwell the astute numbers man, under a constant watchful eye from Dublin, needed Rangers to ensure his business plan did not develop un-fillable black holes.
And yes, for a while David Murray thought his club was bigger than the Old Firm, but he and his ego had moved on when all this stuff happened.
Importantly, Peter was also one of a small influential football group who effectively controlled the actions of Regan and Doncaster. Nothing strategic would ever have been done by either of them without his involvement and input. That doesn’t mean he necessarily knew all the detail about Craig’s UEFA license shenanigans but he’d have had his suspicions.
And you know something, – at a squeeze I think he and Desmond might have thought keeping a Rangers team alive (for its future dependable revenue streams) was maybe even worth one season’s lost Champions League status.
There is no doubt in my mind that in 2011 Peter and the Celtic Board were worried but supportive of and committed to keeping the Rangers company alive.
Looking back I don’t know when Lawwell and Desmond actually discovered de facto that Rangers should not have been awarded the license.
Was it before it was awarded?
Was it after by which time it was too late anyway?
Those would be two good questions to ask them.
I’d suggest that by the time they knew for sure it was too late, but I could be wrong.
Anyway history shows that pretty quickly after McCoist failed in Europe, Lawwell committed his club to the complex and complicated secret Five-Way Agreement and all it entailed.
Celtic were senior signed-up members of the attempt to help protect and leverage the future blue revenue streams into the SPL then the SPL 2 then the bottom level.
It was all about the blue pound.
It was all about the blue pound into the future.
It was all about the blue pound into the future being central in the business model at Celtic that needed (then and now) a blue pound generating Rangers.
We all know now that compromise was somehow reached ahead of the Brechin cup tie in the summer of 2012.
Many – in fact most of – Scottish football fans were glad that football had once again broken out, having become fed up with all the politics, and were glad to return to talking about players and stuff.
Football gossip is after all more comfortable than finding out we’d all been cheated for years.
Not all fans were ready to “Move-on” however.
Some, like many of us on this site and others like it wanted to dig deeper and examine just what happened and who did what.
Some wanted Celtic as the most wronged club to do and say more about Sporting Integrity.
Some wanted to rub their old rivals into the dirt.
Some wanted a full and frank review because they believed that without Sporting Integrity we would make the same mistakes in the future.
I’d be one of these fans.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Celtic shareholders who pieced together the jigsaw that led to Resolution 12, correctly identified that their club were illegally denied a place in the Champions League and denied substantial revenues.
Fair play to them.
If I was a Celtic shareholder I personally would have wanted to know why my board had not pursued these significant revenues that were due to my company.
It was and is a big deal.
No it was and is a huge deal.
It remains an open sore and everyone involved seems to have ducked any blame.
I applaud those Requisitioner Shareholders for how they have gone about the process, and I have a huge respect for everything they have done on behalf of Celtic and fans of all Scottish clubs.
However in my opinion it was always doomed to failure because of the simple fact that their own club, having been an integral part of the whole murky “Armageddon” process, had already moved on into the new world they had helped to forge, and did not and could not look back.
So Resolution 12 was treated politely but cleverly by the club in the finest traditions of Sir Humphrey.
They did not want to fight their shareholders corner then and I’d suggest still don’t – and wont.
So going back to my five points earlier.
- Mr Lawwell et al did not want to establish the real truth, which they already knew. Hey had already signed up to what had been reported, moved the club on and spent his personal bonuses along the way no doubt.
- Mr Lawwell et al did not want a real debate because he and his small team had already done what they believed at the time to be right for the club they were paid to manage.
Nothing more to say.
And yes he could mumble agreement that Sporting Integrity is important when cornered but between us chaps it wouldn’t ever have filled the yawning gaps in the stands at Celtic Park without a Rangers counterbalance. - Rangers are now back and the Old Firm is once again dominating Scottish Football.
The truth at Celtic Park is we need each other and season book sales and TV revenues are up proving my point all along. - We tolerate the intellectual end of our support, just, but they are hard work and you’d think they own the club.
We even quite enjoy some of their stuff sometimes as long as its not too political but we have a business to run and quite frankly sometimes they just don’t get it. They should realise the SFA and the SPFL are there to do a job for us and we keep them on a short enough leash. - We will always be grateful to Fergus for what he did. We benefited at the time from the fan’s money and now run a very successful shareholder liaison programme. Once a year we have an AGM and try to manage the reality of running a business while having to hear from people who would prefer us to regress to what we were in the 1880s. Shareholders are fine but this club is a business and must be run as such.
My Five Insights sum up the position and stance of the Celtic Board.
I don’t know what will happen to Resolution 12.
The club never wanted it because they are a business and see the world differently from the group of fans who see themselves as the Celtic soul.
I applaud these Celtic fans.
Celtic does not deserve you.
RYANGOSLINGSEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 19:58
“No. he will be given the captains armband. They have previous for doing this when a player has been involved in an altercation”
What previous are you referring to? Was it Barry Ferguson? But wasn’t that a different club? You couldn’t possibly be cherry picking the bits of the history you want to keep and discarding the ones you don’t could you?
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sorry RYAN, the altercation i was refering to was Andy Halliday and joey barton as reported by the smsm.
then Andy got the captains arm band
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXO2OjvuMvg Chris Sutton lays it out for the BFDJ. About time someone did, well said.
Cluster One,
You originally suggested that Rangers would give Kenny Miller the captain’s armband for having been arrested, as Rangers had “previous” on this. The “previous” you mention is that an influential player was made captain for a game when the club captain was injured, following an incident he was involved in when the other player involved was suspended. Given that the other player was suspended, it would imply that Halliday was the victim or innocent party in that incident. How that turns into “previous” in your mind with regards to a situation similar to Kenny Miller, a situation about which none of us know more than the most basic facts, is utterly bizarre.
Mainly sounded to me like you were just slinging mud at Rangers. Correct me if I’m wrong and if there was a logical train of thought to your comments.
Chris Sutton, what can you say. A breath of fresh air or wind up merchant? Still, had a wee chortle!
Tonight, Chris Sutton made a buffoon out of a buffoon, nothing more. He did not take the fight for truth and honesty within the media one step further. It was, though, a long overdue bloody nose for a radio phone in bully, and most enjoyable
YellohooseSeptember 23, 2016 at 21:46
‘… Chris Sutton lays it out for the BFDJ…’
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That was an interesting clip, and thanks for posting it, Yellohoose.
It sort of encapsulates the great difficulty that the SMSM have, which is their unwillingness to separate ‘opinion’ from ‘fact’.
There has been some very interesting discussion in recent days of a particular refereeing decision. There is clearly scope for a whole range of different ‘opinions’, all of which can be honestly and rationally held, because even slow-motion replays may not show things absolutely clearly. And in this imperfect world,that kind of scope for difference of opinion just has to be accepted: we can allow the SMSM to reflect the differences.
But when it comes to legal, and commercial, and football ‘legislation’ facts there is no room for ‘opinion’.
There can be no two opinions on the question of whether Rangers Football Club of 18-oatcake died the death.
It is a legal and commercial and sporting fact that it went into Liquidation under the insolvency laws of the land, and that under the Articles of Association of both the then SPL and the SFA, lost its entitlement to belong in or to either of those companies.
The( undoubted) fact that those 500 000 000 RFC(IL) fans world-wide who, according to the man who set up SevcoScotland with the ‘very cheaply-by-quiet-agreement-purchased’ assets of what had been a proud football club(oh, how the Blue Knights must have been stung!),choose to believe that his new club is the very same club that has a Liquidator pursuing a case in the Supreme Court to try to extinguish a debt that the new club claims to have no responsibility for, does not, and simply cannot, make that belief objectively true.
That way lies absolute madness, an Alice-in-Wonderland BFDJ world of nonsense, of ‘Opinions’ which are based on fantasy that denies fact, rather than on fact.
The SMSM has demonstrated that it suffers from that madness.
And so has BFDJ.
But he at least has the excuse of being kind of thick- unlike the clever boys on BBC Radio Scotland, whose sin is on that account all the greater.
Bad cess to them-and to their bosses!
YELLOHOOSE
SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 21:46
One of my things is to monitor Clyde not just for bias. But to dig out the Lamb. Hugh is on the bone.
Even after Motherwell PUMPED the Sevco 6-1 . Shug tipped them to overurn the 0-3 SMASHING at Ibrokey.
After a Gulf was opened between Celtic and Sevco he is still tipping Rangers for the Semi Final..
Two gulfs one Lambist.
The other cheerleader for “competition” and fair play in Scottish football as in Derek Johnston was taken apart by Sutton. Mainly for being dishonest.
Bogs DolloxSeptember 23, 2016 at 23:49
‘… Hugh is on the bone..’
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Hugh is innocent at least of taking money from the BBC (that is, us!) in the way that Traynor did while he(Traynor), paid by the BBC, quietly lined himself up with the PR job at a certain new football club,by steadfastly ensuring that no phoner-in got a chance to demolish the ‘same club’ myth.
There are degrees of perfidy. Auld Hugh is roon about the lower end.The Traynor boy must be up there near mastership!
JOHN CLARKSEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 23:44
“But when it comes to legal, and commercial, and football ‘legislation’ facts there is no room for ‘opinion’.”
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Absolutely John.
I am colour blind, (you would probably guess that if you saw my clothes ), but no matter what I see, Green is still green, brown is still brown, and red is still red. There is no changing that.
Rangers(I.L.), as the initials point out, are currently in liquidation.
Rangers (I.L.) fielded improperly registered players for over a decade
The SFA have tried to extricate themselves from any wrong-doing, but they have been caught purple-handed.
And the SMSM is littered with brown-noses……….There is nothing wrong with my sense of smell.
RYANGOSLINGSEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 21:55 35 Votes
Cluster One,
You originally suggested that Rangers would give Kenny Miller the captain’s armband for having been arrested,
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No i suggested the rangers could give kenny Miller the captains armband after he was involved in an altercation as they have previous on this.
Was Halliday given the armband after an altercation? yes he was.There is your previous. Was kenny involved in an altercation? yes he was.Could the rangers give him the captains armband? Maybe,they have previous for giving a captains armband to a player who was involved in an altercation .Do we know Hallidayhe was a victum? It takes two for an altercation,Kenny could also be a victim or innocent party in his incident as you say a situation about which none of us know more than the most basic facts.
Mainly sounded to me like you were just slinging mud.
no mud slinging just a reply to a comment
RYANGOSLINGSEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 21:55
Cluster One,
You originally suggested that Rangers would give Kenny Miller the captain’s armband for having been arrested, as Rangers had “previous” on this. The “previous” you mention is that an influential player was made captain for a game when the club captain was injured, following an incident he was involved in when the other player involved was suspended. Given that the other player was suspended, it would imply that Halliday was the victim or innocent party in that incident. How that turns into “previous” in your mind with regards to a situation similar to Kenny Miller, a situation about which none of us know more than the most basic facts, is utterly bizarre.
Mainly sounded to me like you were just slinging mud at Rangers. Correct me if I’m wrong and if there was a logical train of thought to your comments.
=================================
Perhaps Warburton’s ‘100% backing’ for Kenny Miller is more evidence of the double standards at play. His reason is that Miller is a ‘model professional on and off the park’. When someone is arrested and charged with assault it would be better to hedge your bets until the legal process takes its course. Unless Warburton was witness to the alleged incident (which I don’t believe he was) he knows no more about whether or not Miller is innocent than anyone else who did not witness it. It seems clear to me that some people at Ibrox can do things without criticism that others can’t. I guess it it all depends on the person’s level of staunchness and the size of the Rangers tattoo across their chest.
RYANGOSLINGSEPTEMBER 23, 2016 at 21:55
Ryan, I think I am the source of the confusion. A couple of days ago I posted in praise of Sevco, that they had banned, no questions asked, everyone who was arrested at the cup final.
For the Glasgow Derby, Police Scotland also released a “Taken”, type, statement, along the lines of whether you be at the match, in the pub in the evening, or at home, “They will find you”.
Hence my one-liner about Miller receiving a ban from Crumbledome subsequent to his arrest.
Could we be careful about the Kenny Miller thing on here folks. I am very aware through local knowledge of what is alleged to have happened, and I don’t think it is fair on Kenny Miller for folk to be jumping to conclusions.
As an example, the stories surrounding an incident involving Barry Ferguson in the same affluent village several years ago were complete and utter tosh. The stories already circulating about Kenny Miller are also of that flavour
Neither Ferguson nor Miller are the first footballers to be involved in incidents away from football. The idea that anyone should adhere to partisanship in these circumstances is mind-numbing.
Does bad behaviour by players reflect badly on their club? Of course it does, but is it a reflectiion of the ethos of any club? No it is not.
Is it likely to land us in hot water if we speculate online about a case that has yet to come to trial? Absolutely.
It still seems strange having someone with an NR accent telling it like it is about Scottish football.
Maybe it needed someone from without to finally announce that the emperor has no clothes?
All we need now is someone equally honest to take over on the sixth floor and replace the charlatans Regan and Doncaster.
The edifice is cracking, slowly but surely.
If only the BBC were to start taking Scottish football seriously, we’d be in the home straight, but nonsense like this preview of the Aberdeen match tomorrow completely undermines the truth and gives the impression that either there is preset agenda or wilful ignorance at play. Neither does the national (funded by us of course) broadcaster any favours.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37457352
Why use literary gymnastics to come up with “the Ibrox club’s 2012 financial implosion” to avoid stating the actuality of what happened?
How much else are they not telling us in other areas on which they report, or is it just the one specific area?
The Cat NR1
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YellohooseSeptember 23, 2016 at 21:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXO2OjvuMvg Chris Sutton lays it out for the BFDJ. About time someone did, well said.
I don’t always agree with everything Chris Sutton says and last season he made for uncomfortable reading, but my goodness he didn’t half call out DJ’s sycophancy regarding The Rangers last night.
It’s funny how ex Ibrox players are very reluctant to criticise the club or team no matter what. Celtic ex players on the other hand, well you could make a list as long as my arm. Trying too hard to be neutral I often think.
Think I’ve killed the blog!
Deffo looks like you have bad jimbo bad.
Sorry.
On a brighter note, thoroughly enjoyed Celtic’s game today.
Looking forward to tomorrows game at Pittodrie, should be a tight game. Haven’t a clue how it will pan out.
I’m defo. talking to myself on here today (apart from you Shug ) Oh well at least there has been no disagreements.
I was supposed to be away listening to BP’s band tonight but I’ve not been feeling well all day. I’m going to Spain on Tuesday so I thought stay in and rest, get yourself better.
jimboSeptember 24, 2016 at 21:18
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Hahaha We’re back!!!!
Too busy reading great comments on Twitter, sorry about that
Hi Jimbo
Must say old friend that I have had my head held well down since that 6-1 drubbing but you have to admit our goal was different class, don’t think any keeper could have stopped it and he has a habit of scoring cracking goals. We are still growing under “General Lee” and we won’t meet top class opposition every week like we did today, our fights are more with the other clubs in the bottom 6(that includes TRFC) the game reminds me of a previous lesson handed out when I was at Parkhead watching Killie on the opening day of a season in the 70’s, I think it was the 74/75 and was proudly cheering and shouting as we were only 1 goal down with 10 minutes to go, pressing hard for the equalizer, missed a golden opportunity and low and behold Celtic scored 4 more before the final whistle!! I cried that day but all was well the next week when we gubbed Ayr United(Ally loudmouth and all)3-0 to make our goal difference a wee bit healthier. Hope you are well and good luck on Wednesday
yours in sport
Gaun the Killie
Disgraceful build-up presentation on BBC Radio Scotland for tomorrow’s game between Aberdeen and Sevco. Total focus on the Durrant-Simpson incident to ‘build excitement’ – aye right. Justly called out by Willie Miller and criticised later by Cosgrove but just one more example of BBC ‘plumbing the depths’ at our expense.
Killie1962,
I think you post on jj’s site, if you do, you might have saw my post from earlier on. I thought Celtic were at the top of their game today, not so much about a weak Kilmarnock. You defended well esp. first half. The Kilmarnock goal was a peach, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t blame our goalie, it was just a great strike.
Good luck this season.
OCCAMSEPTEMBER 24, 2016 at 22:39
‘…. Justly called out by Willie Miller and criticised later by Cosgrove but just one more example of BBC ‘plumbing the depths’ at our expense. ‘
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I was so, so pleased to hear Willie Miller speak out against BBC Radio Scotland’s whipping-up of ‘hatred’ and ‘bitterness’ in support ( it seemed to me) of Warburton’s inflammatory ‘ I keep hearing about the hatred, the pure hatred, the pure bitterness..’.
I think PoliceScotland and certainly the BBC Trust should take a wee interest in this kind of irresponsible , almost McCoist-like in its sneakiness,dog-whistling encouragement to express hatred , to those programmed to respond to it.
Such has BBC Scotland become under the reign of McQuarrie: nothing but a fosterer and encourager of notions of ‘victimhood’ and an implicit supporter of those who might resort to violence in their supposed ‘victimhood’, in the same way as they foster the Big Lie.
God Almighty! That it should have come to this, that the BBC should dig up a long-past football incident, wheel in people like McLeish, and try to rile people on the eve of a football match.
Morally reprehensible ( a straight ‘red’) , in breach possibly of the BBC charter, and verging on the criminal.
In that piece of drivel posted on BBC website about an eagerly awaited return of this clash ya da ya da ya da, it’s been five years coming, etc, etc, etc, an incident between Durrant and Simpson. Please God, no more. This shoddy reporting makes my blood boil. I yearn for somebody, anybody, to say it like it is. It isn’t a return. It’s a first encounter by a new team playing against Aberdeen. They may resemble the old team of Rangers FC but that is all. I call on Chris Sutton to call out what we all know but in this parallel universe of Scotish commentators/sports writers, I won’t hold my breath.
if Sutton wants controversy, then it’s easy. Tell the waiting world that Rangers were liquidated, therefore dead and stand back and receive all the controversy he wants. The media will be banging on his door, throwing money at him to come on every show available to man. The ratings will go through the roof and the cat will be out the bag.
i pray for an Aberdeen win today and the new teams tumble down the table. I am pig sick of the Scottish media kow towing to a defunct entity. Visiting a dead relatives grave and chatting as if they can hear you, is a comforting encounter for many but that relative is dead and nobody would dare to suggest they will be coming back any time soon. The impression I get from Sutton, is that he’s a miserable moaning sod and always has been but I may be wrong and he can whinge till the cows come home, if he could just state the obvious. Come on Chris (or anybody else) we are waiting. You’ve cast the first stone, so follow it through.
Donegaltim
September 25, 2016 at 03:52
I hope I am wrong, completely wrong, but I doubt Chris Sutton is going to ‘call out what we know’, certainly not about the death of Rangers and the continuation lie. It is one thing calling out a buffoon for being a buffoon, it is something else entirely to call out the institutionalised lying that has been going on over the death of Rangers!
Like every other commentator, some very experienced and established, he knows his lucrative earner, easy and covering something he loves, will be gone as quickly as he can say ‘Jim Spence’ should he ever dare to broach that taboo subject.
Commentators and pundits are not there to inform the public, nor to provide us with truth, they are there to entertain in the fashion laid down by the program producers, who, in turn, have a specific agenda/limitations over controversial matters handed down to them!
Money, particularly easy money, talks, and it ensures silence, too.
Of course, should some event occur in the future that lifts the lid in such a way that no one, not even the most rabid bear, can deny that liquidation meant the death of RFC (let’s say, some quite specific legal ruling involving the club), then watch out for the rush by every media lickspittle to cover their ar*e and try to make it look like they were always there with the truth and not fooled for a moment! The likes of Speirs and English will be at the head of that pile, with Chris Sutton and other media cubs, lost in the rush!
Thinking about the Lescott and Barton fiascos. Players and agents inevitably talk to each other. Most English players will have grown up oblivious to the “atmosphere” around Ibrox and how those that fall foul of the Blue Room can be treated.
Will the budget signing policy of free agents from the lower leagues be as successful once word gets around?
TINCKSSEPTEMBER 25, 2016 at 11:14 Rate This
Will the budget signing policy of free agents from the lower leagues be as successful once word gets around?
They will have to wait to see that success, before word gets around first
In the event that TRFC are heading to an insolvency event, how, if no saviour turns up, can they deal with it. Should they lose today, and continue to slide, it’s reasonable to think that the match day income will slide, too, so, in their traditional hubristic mind-set (both of the board and support), will they be able to appeal to the supporters to rally round? Can they, the board, admit to making a bigger mess than MA ever would have? Would the fans continue to turn up if they know, not only are they not as good as they thought; not only is there no money available to make them better in January, with the sale of their favourites more likely; not only are Celtic running away to 6 in a row; but even if they do follow, follow, even if they do dig deep, there is every possibility that they will face another extremely embarrassing, and undignified, insolvency event, along with any fallout that might transpire from all the ongoing court cases and appeals, before the season ends?
What a dilemma the board would face.
This is the problem that faces any business built on lies and untruths, once the lying has to stop, it may be terminal!
I don’t know the true state of affairs at Ibrox and whether or not they really are on the cusp of an insolvency event, but I think, on all known knowns, it is not unreasonable to suggest they are; with further loans (directors or otherwise) the only possible salvation, all be it a temporary salvation!
ALLYJAMBOSEPTEMBER 25, 2016 at 10:00
Of course, should some event occur in the future that lifts the lid in such a way that no one, not even the most rabid bear, can deny that liquidation meant the death of RFC (let’s say, some quite specific legal ruling involving the club)
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I doubt that would make much difference to be honest. The position of the media and the authorities is that ‘Rangers’ is simply a brand that can’t die, and they will always refer to them as being the same club. What sickens me more is the contempt the media and the authorities have for the taxpayers of this country. It’s as if we should be honoured to have Rangers illegally withholding money from us.
Neil Lennon gets immediate three-match ban for confronting Scottish Cup referee Euan Norris
CELTIC manager Neil Lennon has been handed an immediate three-match touchline ban for confronting referee Euan Norris after his club’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Hearts.
Are there similarities to MW running on to the pitch to confront todays referee?
ALLYJAMBOSEPTEMBER 25, 2016 at 12:11
In the event that TRFC are heading to an insolvency event, how, if no saviour turns up, can they deal with it. Should they lose today, and continue to slide, it’s reasonable to think that the match day income will slide, too, so, in their traditional hubristic mind-set (both of the board and support), will they be able to appeal to the supporters to rally round? Can they, the board, admit to making a bigger mess than MA ever would have? Would the fans continue to turn up if they know, not only are they not as good as they thought; not only is there no money available to make them better in January, with the sale of their favourites more likely; not only are Celtic running away to 6 in a row; but even if they do follow, follow, even if they do dig deep, there is every possibility that they will face another extremely embarrassing, and undignified, insolvency event, along with any fallout that might transpire from all the ongoing court cases and appeals, before the season ends?
What a dilemma the board would face.
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Well, they did lose AJ, and although it’s early days I think right now the league title required to get a go at the CL qualifiers and the riches qualification would bring seems a long shot. I can see nothing else other than CL qualification to arrest the losses they make year upon year. Even the Europa League groups and the £6M they bring would appear to be out of reach with that group of players. They are almost certainly going to need money from somewhere before the season is out. Should there be an insolvency event mid season I expect the authorities to do somersaults again. They simply wont tolerate no Rangers in the top league again. It’s all hypothetical of course but short of a billionaire who simply doesn’t care about losing millions of pounds a year, how are they ever going to get to the position of actually earning the money they need to break even?
Just checked the league table. At the moment Rangers appear to be coming 7th in something the Daily Record assured me was a two horse race
Well that was a shocking amount of disrespect shown towards the referee by Warburton at the end of today’s match.
ANY other manager would be punished but does anyone really expect anything to be done to last years manager of the year(?)?!
Rougvie,
ANY other manager would be punished but does anyone really expect anything to be done to last years manager of the year()?!
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Depends if they want shot of him or not I suspect.
When they finally decide he has to go the monstering that will be carried out in the MSM will be something to behold.
Hi guys I make no secret of the fact that i’m a hibby however my wife is not. I make no secret of it and can take anything that is dished out but i’m sitting here in an absolute rage at the graffiti referencing the 1971 Ibrox disaster that appears to have been scrawled on t’rangers bus.My poor wife has just had a call from the sun asking for a comment about it what a way to find out that some sick sputum of humanity thinks that this sort of thing is something to joke about. I heard some reference about the bus being damaged but not what was written she didn’t know any of this as she was on her way back from Aberdeen with one of our granddaughters after a dance competition.So guys tell me how do I explain to her that this is the work of a few sick individuals who have no shame or conscience if there are some who think that it is funny to make these kind of sick jokes about the death of someone who went to watch their team play and never came home then maybe it is time to put these people down for good.
Mods i’m sure this will be removed but what the hell I just wanted to say my wee peice.
Shug,
No reason why that comment should be removed at all. If the story about references to the Ibrox Disaster being scrawled on the bus are true, then I don’t know of anyone here who would disagree with your sentiments.
Aside from the moral bankruptcy from where thoughts like that emanate, it is also a spectacular own goal on the part of those who harbour them.
Deliberately damaging the bus is moronic enough, but mocking the tragic death of over 60 people is as subhuman as it gets.
Question: Why did your wife get a call from the Sun about it? Just curious – feel free not to answer.
BP she got that call as her aunt Margaret Ferguson was the only female to die she was only 18 years of age.
On a lighter note there will be half a hundred African children jumping about in t’rangers strips next year when she visits mombasa she was introduced to a group of children called the singing children of Africa a few weeks ago and was soon on the phone to some folks connected with the t’rangers support who have donated strips and boots as well as trainers every little helps. Not all are new and did i get a shock last week when i went out into the back garden and there were all these newly washed blue tops on the washing line.
The vandalism to the team bus will be seized upon by the SMSM, especially if it was of the nature discussed.
Anything to deflect from yet another defeat for the Magic One in a game that really matters.
If true, I’d obviously be ashamed of the mindless vandalism but in the here and now, have the same SMSM made any enquiries as to the current safety of Ibrox? Surely this is infinitely more pertinent than a few mindless vandals in the north east?
Shug,
Fine words from you and fine deeds from your good lady.
As for the low life graffiti artist(s). Words fail me. Why does football have to be despoiled by such tedious morons?
Tincks
Walked down Pittodrie street today as the Rangers bus arrived.
A couple of photographers getting the players as they came out and an absolute scrum of them taking pictures of the graffiti which had been taped over by that time.
No excuse for the graffiti really. Just mindless idiots.
As for the game well The Dons were hopeless. Struggled to string two passes together but I’ll take the three points
Oliver Burke scores on debut…but rival fans are protesting against the way the club (or is it a company)
are ‘funded’…financial doping !?!?M
whoever scrawled about the ibrox disaster is an ar***ole but the hypocrisy from fans who like to wade in fenian blood and mock the famine in ireland need to have a wee look in the mirror..
Hi Jimbo,
I did notice your comment on JJ’s site about the fact we played well. I don’t think many teams could compete with Celtic when they are in the mood. We got a hiding but I (and my Killie brothers)take it on the chin, there is always another day. On a personnel note I thought the graffiti on the bus in Aberdeen was way out of order and the Daily Record should be hanging their heads in shame as all they have done is whip up anger and provocation to both teams all week long, that is not making excuses, I am still Stateside but when I saw some of the articles leading up to the match I knew something would go down, I was not expecting that to happen but I have never forgotten my Scottish roots and know how quick good sense can go out the window.
Again good luck against the Mancs on Wednesday
Gaun the Killie
Poor game yesterday, we set out to allow TRFC have the ball and hit with speed on attack – it didn’t really work as our passing game was awful. We just haven’t come close to firing on all cylinders yet this season, we miss Jack and have too many players out of form and playing out of position. But we won, largely cos TRFC could have played all day without scoring.
The free kick – still think it was a free kick. Yes the ball changes direction cos Tavernier catches Hayes foot which then goes to move the ball. Difficult to see, but I’d suggest that 4th official should be in hot water – I’d imagine Beaton might score him off his Christmas card list – assuming he did indeed say what it was claimed he said! I didn’t see the penalty claim we had when Burns was brought down – strangely the BBC didn’t cover that, nor was the fact that Wallace shouldn’t really have been on the pitch when he ran through to win the penalty ever mentioned – his blatant trip on Logan as he sprinted towards the TRFC box should have earned him a second yellow. But we won’t hear about that either. Just the whinging of the magic hat (for which I would expect to see him summoned to the SFA offices – yeah I know), and the bus incident.
I hope whoever did that to the bus is found and dealt with. Absolutely no excuse. The hysteria from the press is more than just a little hypocritical though. Seems Fenian blood (right up to your knees by the way) isn’t as valuable to the Scottish press as good old proddie blood. Just writing that line makes me feel sick – but what other conclusion can you draw given that song was aired more than once yesterday, yet to see any criticism of that in the press.
Not a cheep in the MSM about the implications of the Aberdeen result on the chances of TRFC finishing second
Is 9 pts out of 21 too embarrassing to mention ?
Re all the talk about the Aberdeen v Rangers game yesterday. I am sure all decent fans of all clubs find the type of graffiti on the Rangers bus a sick act. It should be kept in the context of one vile idiot though, or a small few at most.
As for the football itself I think it is clear by now that the confidence many people had that Rangers procession to the top of Scottish football would be automatic was seriously misplaced. They can bleat all they like about the free kick and possession stats yesterday, but they have struggled in the league all season. Seven games played and only nine points on the board does not breed confidence, especially when the option to solve it in January by spending millions does not exist. It makes the over the top media lauding of Warburton for winning the Championship last year look as ridiculous as many of us said at the time. Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut describes it well. They are with the big boys now though, and we can see why the players who shone in the lower league last year were all free transfers or very cheap fees from their previous clubs. Just imagine what it would be like if the media applied the same rules to their analysis of Rangers as they do with all other clubs. I can’t deny that as a Celtic fan I’m biased, but the Scottish media coverage of Rangers would try the patience of anyone.
Shug
Sorry to hear of your wife’s aunt, on what was without doubt, the darkest day in Scottish fitba.
However there is another aspect of the disaster, which is seldom mentioned. That being the culpability of the old club in it’s happening.
When coupled with the “security” over Alex Salmond’s involvement over the HMRC debt, it does pose deeper questions of the old establishment club.
Such as, “Is there any other club in the world, whose criminal activities are masked under lock and key in government vaults.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/ibrox-families-demand-fresh-inquiry-1-591773
They shouldn’t get too hung up on the points tbh (but of course I can hear BFDJ already scoffing in the background at such a notion). Based entirely on yesterday if they add a decent target man, one that understands that the Centre Half is entitled, in fact is positively encouraged to challenge for the ball and get their full backs to decide if they want to be wingers or full backs particularly when you have explosive players of Hayes ability up against you then they’ll be top 4 or 5 I would guess. (small matter of being funded to the end of the season notwithstanding). But don’t tell them that obviously. Let them stew in the juices of the ever juicy Mr Jackson who reports that they continually had Lewis under pressure
You can see what Wharburton is trying to do. Very nice, impressive in fact, sideways movement across the halfway line and back again. Kind of what I imagine England Div2 to be in fact. Where the defence sit off and admire the build up until the striker gets fed up and comes deep looking for the ball. If the defence let you do that which in Scotland they simply don’t and if you are one dimensional (which without a target man they are) and of course your own side haven’t played a difficult draining cup tie 48 hours earlier then that is not impossible to stop.
And you have to applaud that free kick. Come on!
I am sure that irrespective of being the establishment club, had the sad events of 1971 ocurred in this decade there would have been a demand from all sides for blame to apportioned and prosecutions to be instigated if appropriate. We do live in a very much more open environment than 45 years ago.
I hope that the Ibrox infrastructure is now sufficiently sound and those who chose to attend that ground do so safely.
I have to say that I have not attended that stadium since the late 1960s.
VASCODAPARS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 10:31
Blame was apportioned and laid firmly at the door of RFC, by Irvine Smith. Not only because of the disaster itself, but for the catalogue of accidents and fatalities that preceded it. However I don’t believe corporate manslaughter was an available option then, though I could be wrong.
It was a full seven years later before any work commenced to rectify the stadium faults. Faults I may add that were present in varying degrees in almost every stadium.
However it is a tad naive to suggest such follow-up clouding of what actually occurred could not happen in this day, and you need look to further than Hillsborough for an example.
My point remains, that government secrecy has come into play with matters Rangers(I.L.) and I provided two examples. One fairly recently.
There could be more, but “state secrets” are not an easy dam to breech. They may even involve Sevco.
You are welcome to try by asking Alex Salmond what his involvement was, when as a government minister his duty is to ensure that funds due to the public purse, go to the public purse.
It may well be that he acted in condemnation of Rangers(I.L.), but that would not be in keeping with the snippets already in the public domain.
Today’s Herald Sport. Graeme Souness (and EBT beneficiary) has appealed to chairman Dave King to spend spend spend. “I am a supporter and like every supporter I am not interested in the bottom line as long as we stay solvent. Find the money from somewhere and give the manager a chance”.God save us! This delusional attitude is exactly what got them into trouble in the first place. Spend money you don’t have and to hell with the consequences This guy is so out of touch it’s unreal. Just like King’s war chest.
HELPMABOABSEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 11:47
Today’s Herald Sport. Graeme Souness (and EBT beneficiary) has appealed to chairman Dave King to spend spend spend. “I am a supporter and like every supporter I am not interested in the bottom line as long as we stay solvent. Find the money from somewhere and give the manager a chance”.God save us! This delusional attitude is exactly what got them into trouble in the first place. Spend money you don’t have and to hell with the consequences This guy is so out of touch it’s unreal. Just like King’s war chest.
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It would be better if the media didn’t print such trash. It appears Souness lives in the ‘this is Glasgow Rangers we are talking about’ bubble. As far as those who live in that bubble are concerned someone will always pony up with cash because of who it is. Where were all these people in 2012?
Find the money from somewhere and give the manager a chance says the former hammer thrower.
I think I have the solution.
How about keeping all the cash you have, not paying your suppliers and don’t pay government taxes, PAYE and VAT etc and buy players with that money.
Genius!
That would work.
Wouldn’t it?
Being an expert lip reader, I am able to bring you what the match referee said to Mr Nice Guy Warburton at the end of his angry rant:
“Thank you for your comments, Mr Warburton, but, with the utmost respect, I think it would be more appropriate for you to take up your complaint with the management of your team’s hotel if you are not satisfied with the quality of your breakfast!”
In all seriousness, Warburton is so full of sh*t, and always has been, that he truly fits in at Ibrox. Regardless of whether or not he is under the kind of pressure no manager experiences anywhere other than Ibrox, his smug outpourings, most notably his overuse of the words respect, respectful and respectfully, while walking the Championship, have come home to roost from the first moment his managerial qualities have been put to the test. Since the final whistle of the cup final the man has shown absolutely no respect, at all, for anyone else, and for anyone who proclaims his own high level of ‘respect’, while demanding it of others, to publicly harangue match officials like that, is beyond mere contempt.
He will get away with it, the disrespect, that is. He might not get away with his managerial failings, though, depending on just how much the board want him to stay, or go! He probably doesn’t realise it yet, but the oh so over the top sychophantic press he had during the winning times had nothing to do with his abilities as a football manager, or coach, it was just part of the standard SMSM PR for a club from Govan.
If he thinks the press have been giving him a hard time, so far…
PS For those who think Warburton’s behaviour, and subsequent consequences, should be comparable with those of Neil Lennon, think again. The SFA will look to another manager for a more suitable Rangersy precedent; Ally McCoist! We know how harshly they dealt with him!
Alternatively, have a successful IPO raising 15m net, spend half that sum getting through three divisions of part time teams without completely distorting those divisions competitive structure and still have £7m left for now.
And that would work!
Smugas – I’m sure they could have spent a good amount on maintaining that big stadium of theirs too and still have 7 million to spare on their victorious sprint to the SPFL title and Champions League qualification.
helpmaboabSeptember 26, 2016 at 11:47
‘……I am not interested in the bottom line…”
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Sourness, of course, was interested enough in his own bottom line to accept a nice wee EBT payment which, I believe, was made to him quite some considerable time after he ceased to be an employee. (Was he ever asked seriously about that? No. He was allowed to dismiss it jestingly as an irrelevant, triflling payment, that he could hardly remember)
Perhaps he should put his own money where his own oversize gob is, when thousands of real supporters with only a fraction of his income had honesty and courage enough in their convictions to do so. ( Their convictions of course are not of the same kind as DK’s )
HELPMABOABSEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 11:47 27 Votes
Today’s Herald Sport. Graeme Souness (and EBT beneficiary) has appealed to chairman Dave King to spend spend spend. “I am a supporter and like every supporter I am not interested in the bottom line as long as we stay solvent. Find the money from somewhere and give the manager a chance”.God save us! This delusional attitude is exactly what got them into trouble in the first place. Spend money you don’t have and to hell with the consequences This guy is so out of touch it’s unreal. Just like King’s war chest.
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I give you the frank and fearless Davie provan.
Rangers dithering suspention of joey Barton suggests they can’t do the midfielder for breach of contract. But a three week suspention makes no sense. The player loses fitness while Mark Warburton loses authority if he takes him back.DAVE KING SHOULD SETTLE UP AND GET RID….Sep 25th 2016.
This guy is so out of touch it’s unreal. Just like King’s war chest.
Maybe Graeme Souness and David Provan still believe there is a warchest somewhere and king just takes loans from Hong Kong for the fun of it
ALLYJAMBOSEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 13:51
PS For those who think Warburton’s behaviour, and subsequent consequences, should be comparable with those of Neil Lennon, think again. The SFA will look to another manager for a more suitable Rangersy precedent; Ally McCoist! We know how harshly they dealt with him!
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The Ref could always say he never felt threatened 
;
Wonder if anyone has asked Hugh Dallas on his thoughts about MW running on to the pitch,as they had a full story on his take of Neil Lennon running on to the pitch?
IMO, from what I saw of the game, I also thought TRFC played the best football I have seen from them this season.
1) And so to the DR: like an oil tanker doing an emergency stop, the DR sports ‘experts’ are actually changing their minds, [or having their copy/paste articles changed for them], to now querying whether TRFC are title contenders;
“…But is it unfair to suggest Warburton’s time at Ibrox is coming to an end? Should they really be expected to challenge Celtic for the title at this stage? Or are they nowhere near that level?…”
Looks like Warbs is now the target: even comparing his team with ‘McCoist’s lot’ ! [A low blow. ]
Takes the heat off the Board I suppose ?
2) And another missed opportunity from the DR / SMSM;
“…[Souness] said: “…“Scottish football is now a long way off being able to do well or go far in these competitions. I’d say as far off as we have ever been.”…”
Any journalist with integrity/half a brain would surely have felt entitled to challenge that assertion with;
“Do you feel any responsibility Graeme, for the state of Scottish football today as being a consequence of your free spending at Rangers ?”
I know…
The SMSM continuing to underwhelm.
JOHN CLARK
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 14:28______ Sourness, of course, was interested enough in his own bottom line to accept a nice wee EBT payment which, I believe, was made to him quite some considerable time after he ceased to be an employee. (Was he ever asked seriously about that? No.
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Souness admitted that it was a payment he received for work he had done for Rangers. As such it was not a discretionary payment into his sub trust, and it was not a loan made to him at the discretion of the trustees. It was a contractual payment for work done.
Souness’ statement give lie to the whole EBT sham.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/rangers/graeme-souness-my-rangers-ebt-was-for-scouting-players-1-4096795
“Former Rangers boss Graeme Souness claims the tax-free payment he received from the Ibrox club 10 years after leaving the club was for scouting work.”
He said: “I was doing work for Rangers. “I’m not being blase but how much was it? And what was the largest one that someone received? That’s a lot of money isn’t it? “Well I was in between jobs and I was going to scout players for Glasgow Rangers at that time, on the continent. Does that answer it?”
Could it be that Souness is devising a cunning plan? was he instrumental in the signing of the Geriatricos and why stop there? a follow up move for Ronaldo a sprightly 40 year old, they could really push the boat out and go for Pele, imagine the Celtic defenders trying to get the ball off of him after popping a wee blue pill., big Jack Charlton is still in fine fettle but might be a bit to much for the true blues to handle. Think of the income Souness could bring in weekly in his old folks homes, I’m pretty sure there is legal tax loopholes to be exploited there as well, a truly win win scenario
ALLYJAMBO
SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 13:51
In all seriousness, Warburton is so full of sh*t, and always has been, that he truly fits in at Ibrox.
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Govan’s very own Otis Blue (R.E.S.P.E.C.T.) is more Mr. Pitiful than Hard To Handle these days.
“Police taskforce for Aberdeen v Rangers trouble”
Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/police-taskforce-for-aberdeen-v-rangers-trouble-1-4240805
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For the last 4 years Scottish football has been relatively trouble free, [IIRC.]
Then, there was trouble at the Scottish Cup Final in May.
There has now been trouble at 2 recent SPL games.
I wonder if Scottish Police – and the SFA – have identified a common theme with these disturbances ?
Scottish football was relatively safe and enjoyable for all until recently: now the media is filled with negative coverage about crowd trouble, police investigations, arrests, etc.
A trend that should cause concern at Hampden…you would think ?
@StevieBC:
You’ve forgotten the abandoned game at Ibrox against Hearts in January 2015.
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11790/9648158/scottish-championship-rangers-v-hearts-abandoned-due-to-unplayable-pitch
HomunculusSeptember 26, 2016 at 16:23
‘… It was a contractual payment for work done.’
________
Yes, of course, Homunculus. And not one hack followed up with a journalistic killer question, if I remember that TV interview correctly!
Anyone looking for an insightful, cutting, no-holds-barred radio show into the vagaries of modern Scottish football should consider tonight’s cast list of Richard never a foul Wilson, Keith you-know-I’m-beginning-to-wonder-if-he-is-rich Jackson and Derek -(pause-for-thought) – Ferguson and, well, keep looking.
The solution is to spend money or else it all goes to ratsh!t* is what they were desperately trying to say.
ratsh!t (noun) – def: when Celtic win stuff unchallenged, reasons unspecified, but it’s bad, very bad!
HOMUNCULUSSEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 16:23
Former Rangers boss Graeme Souness claims the tax-free payment he received from the Ibrox club 10 years after leaving the club was for scouting work.” Alex McLeish
JOHN CLARKSEPTEMBER 26, 2016 at 19:25
Yes, of course, Homunculus. And not one hack followed up with a journalistic killer question, if I remember that TV interview correctly!
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The Alex McLeish interview on scotlands game…we had to use EBT’S to keep up with celtic(or words to that effect)
Again not one hack followed up.
And Alex McLeish is now all over the TV and newspapers these day’s so it is not as if they can’t reach him.In fact a lot of EBT benefactors have been interviewed for stories in the papers and some have even been studio guest’s.
have they no shame these people?
According to the Telegraph it seems that Sam Allardyce has been claiming that it is easy to get round the FA’s transfer regulations re third party ownership, amongst other things. He was investigated about “bungs” in 2006 but nothing was ever proved. IIRC his son Craig was also investigated.
They say leopards don’t change their spots. I think you can also say that abou football managers
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/exclusive-investigation-england-manager-sam-allardyce-for-sale/
easyJamboSeptember 26, 2016 at 22:24
‘..According to the Telegraph…’
_______
Oh, for some ‘Telegraph’ reporters to get a job on a Scottish paper to have a wee look not just at a manager but a Football Association!
John Clark September 26, 2016 at 22:56 Oh, for some ‘Telegraph’ reporters to get a job on a Scottish paper to have a wee look not just at a manager but a Football Association!
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Irony of irony from KJ. Perhaps he should do something to expose the incompetence of the Scottish FA
keith jackson @tedermeatballs
Incredible appointment in the first place. But, for Scotland’s sake, i hope he survives. The English FA almost make our lot look competent.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/26/exclusive-how-sam-allardyce-tried-to-make-as-much-money-as-possi/
What gets me is this clown was allegedly so greedy for what is basically pocket money he failed to consider the implications, was he going to go on these trips at 100k a pop and claim FA expenses?The beeb already are justifying it by highlighting the fact that he said he would need to ok it with his employers! He should be sacked on the spot for moonlighting but I am a bit conflicted on this issue as I am utterly convinced that with him in charge it gives Scotland it’s best chance of qualification for a major tournament in years.
As previously stated one could only dream of this standard of investigation taking part in the game up here, lets face it how can you compare illegal payments through EBT’s totalling well over £100m in a backwater like Scotland with a few millions being tossed about the richest league in the world?