Is it time for the Sin Bin?

A guest blog by former Celtic & Scotland defender, Jim Craig

 

What time is this to come back?”

Dolores McCann (her Mother had been a great fan of foreign films) stood in that classic pose of the wounded woman – up to her full height and chin forward – as she glared at her husband who had just come in the front door. Before he could say a word, she gave him another volley;

 “you left the house at half-past-two for a three o’clock kick-off, it only takes you 20 minutes to get to the ground, a match lasts only one-and-a-half hours plus ten minutes for the break and you’ve just walked back in the door at half-past-seven! So where the hell were you?”.

Wayne McCann (his father liked Westerns) tried to calm her down.

“Dolores, you don’t know what it’s like at football matches nowadays ; it has changed out of all recognition; a match goes on for much longer”.

“In what way?” Dolores asked.

“Well, for a start, the players and even the managers can complain about any decision that is given against them. If that happens, the referee then goes and has a word with firstly, the two assistant referees, then the fourth official and gets their comments before he reflects on the situation. If he is still in any doubt that he made the wrong decision then he can ask the guy upstairs sitting in front of a television screen what he thinks. And, of course, all through this, the managers and players of both teams can chip in with their comments. That all adds a fair bit of time to the match”.

“Aye…but turning up at half-past-seven is still a bit over the top…is it no’?”

“Well, no’ really……you see, nowadays you are not allowed to have a drawn game, so if the match is level at the full-time whistle, there is extra time, which takes a minimum of half-an-hour”.

“The time is still no’ matching up!”

“Aye, mibbe so, if that was the end of the match. But if the match is still level at the end of extra-time, then it goes to a penalty shoot-out. I told you…you are not allowed a drawn game”.

“ A penalty shoot-out disnae take long”.

“That might have been the case at one time but because so many keepers were being accused of moving before the ball was kicked, nowadays they are strapped in to a harness which anchors them in the middle of the goal. They can only move when the foot of the guy who is taking the penalty actually touches the ball. So, after each kick, the keeper has to be put back into the harness and it all starts again. And, of course, you get the complaints from the managers and players that the harness wasnae working properly or that the officials who put the harness on didnae put it on right. That all adds up to the time factor”.

“Did you go to the pub?”

“As God is my judge, Dolores, after the match finished, I came straight here”.

“Who won anyway?”

“That’s a difficult question… there was so much noise and kerfuffle both on the pitch and in the stands, nobody was quite sure what the final score was. And the guy who usually does the announcing had gone home. Somebody said that he had a date. Anyway, if you let me turn on the radio, I’ll hear the score there. And Dolores?”

“Yes”

Wayne walked over to the drinks cabinet and took out a couple of glasses. “I don’t suppose you would fancy a wee drink”


We will leave the smooth-talking Wayne to his attempts to mollify Dolores and reflect on the situation. What you have just read is probably the ultimate scenario for those who wish to tamper with the current rules of football. Do I think that the game needs radical changes like that? No but I do think that some change is necessary and in one specific circumstance.

Now, I was a professional footballer for 9 years and in all that time, I can put my hand on my heart and state with complete conviction that I never pulled any other player’s jersey. Did I try to half him in two with a tackle, yes! But no jersey-pulling. And, of course, I was penalised for the challenge.

Today, though, I feel that there is a lot of body-checking and jersey-pulling going on in every match. Very often the referee lets it go and then you get the ridiculous scenario at a corner kick when all those waiting for the ball to come in are pulling and pushing, with the referee watching it and ignoring it. It is a foul, ref!

When the referee decides that an offence has been committed, then the player will be spoken to first. If he does it again, he will be given a yellow-card. The problem is, though, that the offence might possibly have affected the play in the match, whereas the yellow card does not affect the player’s participation.

If the player is daft enough to do it again, then of course he gets another yellow and will be off. Most, however, are sensible and keep the head, so they go unpunished as far as the current match is concerned. What we have to find is a punishment that affects the match in which the transgression occurred. Which means that we have to consider the sin bin.

This works very well in rugby and gives the referee a means to punish an offence a little more harshly – yet more efficiently – than a yellow card but without having to go for the ultimate, drastic – and for many unpalatable  – option of the red card. I hope it comes in soon.

2,363 thoughts on “Is it time for the Sin Bin?


  1. Cluster OneApril 20, 2018 at 07:15 
    Attachment
    Reality of financial constraints.Maybe AJ still does not know what he is doing
    ______________________

    Alastair Johnston will be classed by most observers as a ‘successful businessman’, and he’s certainly made a packet from ‘business’. I’m sure, he too, thinks of himself as a successful businessman, and there he, perhaps, makes a mistake. 

    I think he, and many, many more ‘businessmen’ see that description as being what he does, and that means he will be good at being a ‘businessman’ in whatever sphere of business he indulges himself in.

    In the same way, though, that an ‘artist’ can be a wonderful painter, it doesn’t mean that his talent as an ‘artist’ will lead to success as a sculptor.

    There are a great many businesses, and they are all different and require different skills and knowledge. I’m pretty certain that that is what brought the banking industry to it’s knees a few years ago (but that’s another story).

    There will be skills that crossover well between different businesses, but not all will, and some will require skills, or perhaps insight, that are beyond those practised in something different.

    Alastair Johnston was a director of Rangers when they were extremely successful, and he probably thinks he brought something to the table that helped create that success (we know what created that success, and it had nothing to do with what he brought to the table, apart from complacency), he will also have convinced himself that the downfall of the club was all down to others, David Murray in particular, and so, at the same time, he was both responsible and not responsible for what was happening at Rangers.

    Maybe he was on a fast curve, that was gradual, and when he looked back, he was going forward, and…when he was only halfway up, he was neither up nor down…

    Alastair Johnston, the Grand Old Duke of Govan06


  2. The Rangers upside is that they are in it for the long term. Economists will know what Keynes said about that as paraphrased by that well known philosopher Leigh Griffiths ‘In the long term we’re all dead” Unfortunately some long terms are shorter than others


  3. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/alastair-johnston-reveals-thinks-rangers-12395022

    Jings crivens, in what looks like an attempt to rectify what Johnston said earlier, this latest piece in the Record gets no better:

    “Johnston insists the decision on Murty’s future will be made free from emotion and not influenced by any one game.He said: “The board is engaging on a regular basis. I am not going to be specific with respect to when a decision is going to be made but obviously given the fact that the end of the season is looming, that was the target date.”

    I’m not going to be specific but it is happening and it will be the end of the season!

    The lead point of the article is that Johnston says Celtic’s 10 in a row is not inevitable. Well I certainly would like to think a realistic challenge would come from somewhere, possibly even some Celtic supporters would like to think so, too, but is this all Johnston, and TRFC, have to say at this time? Is this as good as it gets for them? Is this (part of) their ST sales pitch?

    We know that the season is full of feelgood puff pieces from Ibrox, but this is season ticket sales time, this is when the over the top ‘world’s most successful team’ guff usually piles out, ‘going for 55’, even ‘world class breakfast’ stories would be better than this one. But all they can come up with to set the bears hearts beating is, ‘Rangers’ CAN stop Celtic winning 10in a row.

    Of course, TRFC has a plan to stop Celtic.

    Is it spend millions to sign the cream of European football? No.

    Is it that they have half a dozen of the best 19-21 year olds in Scotland just about to break through into the first team? No.

    Alastair Johnston sets it out, so very succinctly with these sage words:

    “I don’t think anything is inevitable in football. I don’t think that is inevitable at all.”If you look at football, it has its ups and downs. How do you think Manchester United fans feel now being 13 points or whatever, behind their city rivals?

    Be scared Celtic. Be very, very scared!


  4. ALLYJAMBO

    APRIL 20, 2018 at 10:50

    Alastair Johnston will be classed by most observers as a ‘successful businessman’, and he’s certainly made a packet from ‘business’. I’m sure, he too, thinks of himself as a successful businessman, and there he, perhaps, makes a mistake. 
    —————————————

    I think it’s worth pointing out that Johnston has spent most of his working life an as employee (a very successful one, to be fair!), within a large, profitable organisation & subject to the checks & balances that such a business provides.

    There is a huge difference between his business role at (for example) IMG & RIFC.


  5. It’s ridiculous for Alistair J. or anyone else to think that The Rangers or any other single team can stop Celtic winning 10 in a row.  It wont work that way. 

    If Celtic are to be stopped (and I hope they aren’t) it will take several teams to strengthen and start beating them.  To cut back on points leads over a season.

    Hibs are strong just now and providing they don’t suffer from 2nd season syndrome should give Celtic some problems.

    Kilmarnock is the dark horse.  SC has been there since 14 Oct. with a win rate of 57%.  Imagine if he had been there since August.

    Hearts are already dipping into the transfer market.  I don’t know how much the disruption of playing home games away from Tynecastle caused.  But at least they are more settled now.  I would expect a better season there.

    Aberdeen is a difficult one.  They should be better.  Must get rid of this big game poor mind set.

    The Rangers.  Who knows.  As it is, I would fear any of the above more than them.  I rank them with Motherwell.

    Of course Celtic come into this as well.  If they continue to strengthen and can avoid an injury plagued season like this one, they will be hard to beat.

    But you can forget all this ‘The rangers to stop Celtic 10 in a row’


  6. Think I’ll give News Now a miss for the rest of the day.  32 articles in the past few hours about Brendan Rodgers & Arsenal.


  7. Re Alistair Johnston’s success as a business person
    there is a well known phenomenon is psychology. Successful people attribute their success to their personal efforts and capability. Their failures are typically due to external factors or other people. What they don’t factor in is luck and right time/right place. They also obscure the organisational context  they can be super successful in company A but crash spectacularly in Company B  
    I think a similar principle occurs for football directors. 
    Yes he has made lots of money but it’s down to more than what AJ did!


  8. ingso.JimsieApril 20, 2018 at 11:24 
    ALLYJAMBOAPRIL 20, 2018 at 10:50Alastair Johnston will be classed by most observers as a ‘successful businessman’, and he’s certainly made a packet from ‘business’. I’m sure, he too, thinks of himself as a successful businessman, and there he, perhaps, makes a mistake. —————————————I think it’s worth pointing out that Johnston has spent most of his working life an as employee (a very successful one, to be fair!), within a large, profitable organisation & subject to the checks & balances that such a business provides.There is a huge difference between his business role at (for example) IMG & RIFC.
    _______________________

    Thanks for correcting my misconception of Alastair Johnston, though my point still stands, but in his case it increases as he doesn’t even have board room experience outwith his stints at Ibrox.

    Putting together a good and effective board at a football club must be an art in itself. Not many clubs appear to have ever been successful at it, and TRFC are a classic example, over and over, though Ashley’s board might have proved to be an exception. Certainly I doubt they would have issued statements/interviews like those two from Johnston, and putting out statements or being interviewed are all part and parcel of running a football club, and a good board would ensure the correct people are chosen to do both.

    The other day, PMGB said that there were going to be three payment demands, accompanied with the threat of legal action, arriving at Ibrox today – judging by these Johnston statements, I’d suggest that a demand from Level5 might very well be one of them! We’ve never been impressed by level5’s efforts, but they have never been that bad, or as lacking in substance and presentation, as what has just been produced.


  9. JIMBO
    APRIL 20, 2018 at 11:58

    The Rangers.  Who knows.  As it is, I would fear any of the above more than them.  I rank them with Motherwell.

    I don’t know, Jimbo. Motherwell made it to the final


  10.                        scottcApril 20, 2018 at 13:17
    JIMBO APRIL 20, 2018 at 11:58
    The Rangers.  Who knows.  As it is, I would fear any of the above more than them.  I rank them with Motherwell.I don’t know, Jimbo. Motherwell made it to the final
    —————————————————————-
    Aye but Jimbo has that covered that one. They were playing:
    Aberdeen is a difficult one.  They should be better.  Must get rid of this big game poor mind set.222222


  11. I’m afraid that chap Kipre has affected my opinion of Motherwell just now.  After his attack on wee Moussa Dembele a few months ago I’ve never forgiven them.  Bully.


  12. scottcApril 20, 2018 at 13:17
    I don’t know, Jimbo. Motherwell made it to the final.

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

    Both finals this season. Pretty good going I would have said.

    Who is to say they won’t pick the big one up. Given the breaks they are perfectly capable of winning it. Particularly with a striker who seems full of confidence, certainly on the rare occassion I have seen him recently.


  13. Leverage 
    Counts for a lot in negotiations . Brendan had a ton of leverage when he met with Celtic to discuss taking over from Ronny. Celtic also had leverage , mostly around opportunity, ability to win  and emotional pull. Both sides got what they wanted and so far it’s been a very happy arrangement all round .

    Fast forward 
    Rangers haven’t got the leverage to attract a manager of similar standing. They don’t have the resources that a top manager would demand . They don’t provide an opportunity to win.
    A “ Brendan “ quality manager would hold all the aces in a conversation with Rangers . However leverage isn’t much good if it can’t deliver the tools required to do the job properly . A top manager would see no attraction in being the next name on a list that runs from McCoist to Murty , with stops at  The Magic Hat , Mcdowall, and Pedro.
    Suggestions of Gio Van Bronkhurst seem bizarre and unlikely in the extreme. Look at the facts. 
    Feyenoord have revenue twice that of Rangers.
    They have a squad valued at 5 times that of Rangers.
    They make €6M a year profit , Rangers lose £6M a year .
    Dutch clubs have direct access to UEFA group stages. Rangers , start in June at the earliest qualifying round.
    Gio is paid €1.4M a year at Feyenoord, has done well and doesn’t need the “exposure” Rangers can provide.

    Bad management has consequences in the current cycle, however disastrous management has long term consequences . King , Paul Murray , and Alistair Johnston are responsible for disastrous management. They have failed . They have wasted resources , they have run up debt ( most of which will NOT be converted to equity in the short to medium term ) and they operate at losses only exceeded in Scottish football history by David Murray 
    In short , they are a shambles . Yet the ego and arrogance that delivered Kings AGM speech and Johnstons “ahead of the curve” hasn’t been curtailed. No other club is so delusional about it’s status and prospects . They don’t even understand how damaging their hubris and delusion is to their business.
    Good management would employ a Jack Ross and invest in youth and scouting  whilst being honest about prospects . I doubt King and Johnston even know who Jack Ross is though 


  14. ALLYJAMBO

    APRIL 20, 2018 at 13:04

    Thanks for correcting my misconception of Alastair Johnston, though my point still stands, but in his case it increases as he doesn’t even have board room experience outwith his stints at Ibrox.
    ————————————-

    My apologies: I didn’t intend to imply that you were, in any way, in the wrong about Johnston & his achievements. 

    He’s worked for IMG for 37 years, apparently. He remains on the board of IMG Worldwide Inc., where he had been co-Chief Executive Officer & is now Vice -Chairman.

    My poorly expressed point was that his boardroom experience is, in the main, in a strictly managed & regulated environment (and yes, I’m aware of his previous directorship at Ibrox, where SDM was the strict regulator); quite unlike the currently unlisted RIFC. 

    I think that hubris takes over when he’s in the presence of the fawning SMSM. Perhaps he needs those big business checks & balances?


  15. JINGSO.JIMSIE
    APRIL 20, 2018 at 11:24

    I think it’s worth pointing out that Johnston has spent most of his working life an as employee…
    There is a huge difference between his business role at (for example) IMG & RIFC.
    ===========================

    Fair point JJ.

    And apparently, Johnston used his own money recently to keep the lights on at Ibrox…so mibbees he’s not as bright as he thinks he is ? [Pun intended.]

    09 


  16. JINGSO.JIMSIEAPRIL 20, 2018 at 15:55

    Apologies were certainly not necessary, Jingso, you were perfectly correct to update me. I think it’s important to the blog that we do correct these type of errors, it’s been a long haul and much has happened that makes it difficult to get everything right and we often experience visiting bloggers who jump on any small error to take up a full day’s posting.

    My own post was perhaps a little clumsy as I was trying to get across that those extremely smart, and often aloof and smarmy, just like Alastair Johnston, types are usually not as smart as they think they are, and I think DOM16, today at 12:29, summed it up very well.

    I’d even say, though I know little of his history, that extremely successful Mike Ashley made his packet, not because he is a business genius, but because he was as lucky as he was ruthless and not held back by an ounce of integrity or consideration for the welfare of his fellow man.

    Alistair Johnston, and the rest of the RIFC/TRFC board, might well be a similar character to Ashley, but he, and they, are held back by their need to show consideration for the demands (but not welfare) of their fellow bears.


  17. EASYJAMBOAPRIL 20, 2018 at 17:01

    Excellent deal. I’m sure the supporters will be delighted to know they’ve at least got strips to buy next season, though they’ll maybe have to wait until next year’s accounts are published to learn how much of their hard earned makes it’s way to the warchest. Well, at least they know it’s a three year deal.


  18. CLUSTER ONEAPRIL 19, 2018 at 20:00
    10
    0 Rate This
    ALLYJAMBOAPRIL 19, 2018 at 19:37From memory,———From memory, Offer document no later than 26th April 2018
    ————————
    King now has until next Thursday to contact shareholders with an offer to buy up the rest of the remaining two-thirds of the club’s equity at 20 pence per share and Press Association Sport understands plans to distribute the offer document are now in place.
    ———
    The old memory is still active03
    an offer to buy up the rest of the remaining two-thirds of the club’s equity.
    The club’s equity?


  19. From charles promising a deal with ADIDAS to a deal with puma to a Deal with Hummel 
    Now if this was reversed ie … a Deal with Hummel. then a deal with puma then to advance to a deal with Adidas.
    This would look at a club growing.But they way it looks now is a club happy to get a shirt deal.It is not one of the bigger companies,but then again neither is the ibrox club 


  20. I had to smile at this :
    “Allan Vad Nielsen, CEO of Hummel International said, “We are extremely proud to have been chosen as the new Technical Partner to one of the world’s oldest and most famous football clubs. Words can barely describe the level of excitement at our Head Office this morning when we announced this fantastic new partnership to our International staff.” (my italics)
    I’m pretty sure the words that would have been used are the Danish equivalent of  big wowees’!19


  21. Hugh Keevins in my honest opinion is an idiot.  God Bless him.

    He poo poo’ed a caller there who pointed out that Brendan Rodgers is a very wealthy man outside football. 

    Brendan Rodgers is a multi millionaire.

    If Arsenal came in and offered to double his salary does anyone think it would be a determining factor?

    Keevins mocked the idea of Romanticism in Celtic.  Where on earth has this guy been hiding all his life?

    There is no, not one more romantic club in world football than Celtic.

     If Rodgers says he is happy, then so be it.

    Keevins on the other hand will have to swallow his words in the future like so often in the past.  He should just shut up.  Derek J. actually spoke more sense tonight.


  22. Waiting on the Millwall v Fulham game coming on, football must be pretty tough at the top i had to sit through an advert and amazinly alll the top footballers, all multimillionaires btw, just cannot get rid of dandruff, head and shoulders who would have thought all that money and they have to use a commercial product you can get for a pound because they have problems with dandruff.


  23. jimboApril 20, 2018 at 19:03
    —————
    Hugh also said,wrt the £11m Morelos Transfer,that,in the absence of proof,we have to accept what we’re told!.

    I told Hugh that I exonerated him because a real journalist would just not have accepted what he was told but would have checked,maybe with the 3! chinese clubs mentioned.
    As Hugh is not a real journalist,then his reaction was understandable.For some reason,he never replied.I can only assume that rather than check with me for proof of my statement,as he’s not a journalist,he just accepted my statement.


  24. I notice there is no mention of how much the club will get for the 3 yr deal ,then again ,no need for the club to sully themselves with the mention of cash ,when some chinese whispers on social media will do 

    No official  mention from the club themselves but it is now widely believed that it’s a 3yr deal worth £3m per year and if you are totally gullible  £15m up front .

    At least the club are making good on the transparency promise ,because I can see right through them on this  


  25. fan of footballApril 20, 2018 at 20:42
    ———————————
    Company with turnover of around £65m & profits of around £5.5m give skint business £15m up front!.


  26. TORREJOHNBHOY
    APRIL 20, 2018 at 20:57
    fan of footballApril 20, 2018 at 20:42———————————Company with turnover of around £65m & profits of around £5.5m give skint business £15m up front!.
    ========================

    That’s ’cause Hummel must be run by RRM!

    Absolutely.  15


  27. Just a wee thought.I wonder what the small shareholders(if any) of Mr Kings Megamicro think of the “special dividend” which if I read correctly,is 6 or 7 times the normal dividend.A dividend only paid so that Mr King can buy up worthless shares in a basketcase business in the UK.Supposedly Kings share is almost £14m but he’ll need to pay SA tax of over £2m on this windfall.
    The small shareholders have seen their company raped so King can use their money elsewhere.Surely some SA authority,like the UKs FCA should be looking at this.


  28. TORREJOHNBHOYAPRIL 20, 2018 at 20:57
    ———————————————————————————–
    Exactly 
    Remind me of what happened to the last company to give a club out of Ibrokes money up front were strips were concerned 
    £18M IIRC and there was nowhere near as much information in the public domain on the clubs financial position as there there is now .

     


  29. There was an article on Eurosport today, where an Ibrox source indicated that the Hummel deal would be worth two to three times as much as the Puma deal.
    https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/dave-king-ready-to-make-Rangers-share-offer_sto6720133/story.shtml

    The Puma deal started five years ago, so I’d suspect that the amount involved wasn’t particularly high at that time given them being in the lower reaches of the SFL.

    I’ve also seen it reported elsewhere that the Puma deal was on a royalties only basis, i.e. £x per shirt sold.

    I can’t see the new deal being worth any more that £1m a year, unless they can reach out to their their half a billion fans worldwide.


  30. TORREJOHNBHOYAPRIL 20, 2018 at 20:57
    fan of footballApril 20, 2018 at 20:42———————————Company with turnover of around £65m & profits of around £5.5m give skint business £15m up front!.
    ___________
    The old back of fat packet thing again, but by my reckoning, using the net profit to turnover ratio from those figures, Hummel would have to turn over an additional £35m just to wipe their face for the TRFC deal.

    I know that there will be much more to be taken into account, one way or the other, but it does seem to stretch credulity to suggest this company could afford to pay TRFC that much up front and not go the way of RFC within the next 3 years.

    I am, of course, taking as correct FoF’s figures from the balance sheet, and am absolutely no expert, or even student, on understanding the retail business and analising accounts, but I reckon the rumoured figures have just been put out there to create a belief that there’s more money coming in than the reality to encourage the additional belief that ST money will go towards new players, while the truth is more likely to be that TRFC will receive so much for each unit sale, plus a bonus when sales pass certain figures, which could amount to £3m per year.


  31. Re the Hummel deal and how much it is worth.With no transarency how about.
    1. who else has a shirt deal with Hummel.
    2. who else has a shirt deal with Hummel.And a stadium that holds over 40 to 50 thousand.
    3.What does this club’s accounts show as a deal with Hummel.
    4. Is this club in a league that has better TV income than the club in scotland.
    5.You could then have a rough estimate of what the ibrox deal is worth


  32. …Unless, of course, TRFC, desperate for cash up front, have accepted a deal similar to the one they had with SD, whereby they guarantee a number of unit sales, say one million (I don’t know if that’s an achieveable target, or not) and they have to buy back any shortfall. 

    Let’s assume it’s a risky or unreachable target, it would just be like another Close Brothers loan, but without the heritable security factor, and paid, not from next season’s income, but from the next again season’s ST sales. Kicking another can while waiting for that sugar daddy.


  33. A tweet from Keith Jackson

    keith jackson‏ @tedermeatballs 4m4 minutes ago
    Computers and phone seized in house raid related to Craig Whyte’s Rangers takeover. Full story in tomorrow’s Daily Record.

    I can’t think why such a raid would take place now.


  34. APRIL 20, 2018 at 23:01
    A tweet from Keith Jackson
    keith jackson‏ @tedermeatballs 4m4 minutes agoComputers and phone seized in house raid related to Craig Whyte’s Rangers takeover. Full story in tomorrow’s Daily Record.
    I can’t think why such a raid would take place now.
    _________

    Perhaps something has turned up in BDO’s investigations into Rangers’ insolvency/administration and it’s believed someone still has a phone from six years ago with relevant data on it. Or it could be CW’s phone again, the one they couldn’t get past his security on.


  35. Hugh Keevins at the mix again without evidence and rumour mogering whilst protecting his Radio Snyde pension top up.
    So in reply to his shit if he, BR, was offered the job hypothetically, what can the Arsenal job offer at this stage, more money, and unlimited transfer fees to build a team to compete with the rest of the EPL robotic shite? Winning the EPL is not seen as a major achievement anymore as all the teams you went head to head with will go head to head with you in CL its bullshit TV funded nonsense. The CL will be soon shown up for what it is, a hyped up tournament for elite nonsense, not football for the purists.
      Man City to win a league had to compete with Liverpool twice and then after been top of the tree Liverpool who have not won an EPL in years pump you out of the CL and it could happen yearly whats the point?
    Up here with Celtic you go into Europe and every team you play you have not met them in the season, you establish a report with fans who are keen to see you exceed and will back you in every decision you make, you get to make history with a team not built on sand and with a bigger fan base and a history that cannot be matched.
    If you want money fine, if you want to be immortalised and create records and establish a feat that will put you into the folklore of this club forever then there can be no comparison club to achieve this to be found anywhere.


  36. Jings crivens, is this saga just gonna keep on giving? Just when you thought all the cop raids and court cases were coming to an end…


  37. I was just about to post the email below when I saw the post “easyJamboApril 20, 2018 at 23:01”    about the raid. I am agog ( I hope it’s not just about CW’s inability to remember his passwords).
    Anyway, while the mood is on me, here is what I sent to Mr Van Nielsen, or at least to the email address that his company page gives as a contact email address for the company.
    “To:info@hummel.dk
    20‎ ‎Apr at ‎23‎:‎46
    For the particular attention of Mr Allan Van Nielsen, please.
    “Dear Mr Van Nielsen,I note from your statement today that you appear to be under the misapprehension that hummel has signed a shirt-sponsorship deal with a ‘legendary’ Scottish football club, Rangers Football club that was founded in 1872.
    Well, of course, as I think you must know, or at least, ought to know, that ‘legendary’ club passed into history when it was Liquidated, and consequently lost its membership of a Scottish professional football league, and its membership of the Scottish Football Association.
    This catastrophic insolvency event occurred in 2012.
    A new club , called SevcoScotland, was set up in 2012.
    It changed its name to ‘The Rangers Football Club Ltd’.
    As a new football club it was obliged to apply for membership of a League. It was, reluctantly and eventually, granted membership of the lowest division in Scottish Football.
    It is now 6 years old.It is not, and cannot possibly be, the same football club as the club that is in Liquidation, that is, the ‘legendary’ Rangers FC of 1872 vintage ( which was craftily and, I believe, with dishonest intent, re-named ‘Rangers 2012’ just before it was consigned, to what every business man knows, is the commercial death of Liquidation, and to dishonour.
    In my opinion, it is quite wrong of a 6-year-old football club to try to claim for marketing purposes to be another quite separate football club that is now dead, and to try to cash in on the historic name of that dead club..
    There is , I believe, something inherently ‘unsporting’ in claiming title to sporting honours that one has not won!
    But, of course, if you choose to do business with a club that is unsporting enough to try to do so, that’s your business; a business which clearly , in my opinion, has no regard for notions of Sporting Integrity!
    And a business which I for one would have absolutely no truck with.
    Yours sincerelyJohn Clarke


  38. Bugger, I took too long to complete my paragraphing editing! Apologies for a clump of text. [5 minutes isn’t long enough, when all that editing stuff makes it hard to see your text!]


  39. With regard to shirt sales If we assume 120k shirt sales (based on inter Milan selling 200k units)
    120,000 shirt sales @ £55 = £6.6 million @ 12% NPM = £792k. I don’t know what the spit would be re Hummel/sevco, but sponsorship would probably not be part of the deal.
    Hummel’s NPM on sales of $87m and net income of $7.7m is a margin of 9.2%.
    Sevco does not have much of a market for shirt sales outside of Scotland.
    I don’t know what other merchandise Hummel can do (Towels, cups etc etc) but it could be an attractive deal for Hummel overall.
    Merchandising and retailing will be the biggest unknowns but not an insurmountable problem. I’m sure some retailers could be found in Glasgow assuming that SD wasn’t used.
    Sevco may have a problem with unsold stock from the SD deal. 
    It’s probably about the best deal sevco could get given that King managed to piss off every other shirt manufacturer of note.


  40. Phil mac latest is prob closer to the truth than anything that will be in the papers money based on what they sell worth about 50% of Puma deal but if B.M.A does as has been intimated by phil where will they sell the shirts.Have a read it would be really funny if he pulled the plug on the superstores lmfao.


  41. AllyjamboApril 20, 2018 at 23:38
    ‘….Just when you thought all the cop raids and court cases were coming to an end…’
    _____________________
    Indeed.
    Charges dropped right left and centre,  let’s all move on, guys, plug the ‘old firm’ mantra , kick any investigation into UEFA licensing into the long grass…..
    And suddenly a bit of action of some sort!
    So cynical have I become that I’m half ready to believe that this ‘raid’ might be just another diversionary ploy!
    If, oh and how I wish, it might show nightly involvement in a scam of scams!


  42. JOHN CLARKAPRIL 21, 2018 at 00:33
         So cynical have I become that I’m half ready to believe that this ‘raid’ might be just another diversionary ploy!If, oh and how I wish, it might show nightly involvement in a scam of scams!
        ———————————————————————————
       On a positive note John, it was Engerlundshire plod that has made the seizures.. 
    They appear to be slightly more proficient than their Scottish counterparts when it comes to drafting charges, and evidence gathering…(Then again, it was the UK government that took the hit).   It may be a worrying time for Minty if they can crack the code….Where is the fingers crossed emoji? 


  43. I was sent a link to a newspaper article this morning, so here’s a contest:

    Which newspaper (and journalist) came up with this line?

    However, authorities down south could yet drag the Rangers fiasco back into the courts……………”

    Poor readers might be excused for confusion generated by such text.


  44. JJ has blogged that the police raid was on Craig Whyte’s home and is linked to his legal aid claim. This would make quite a lot of sense, so may not involve Rangers, or it’s insolvency, to any great extent, perhaps nothing more than as the event that led to Whyte’s legal aid claim. On the other hand, he might seek to cut a deal if he has any more evidence than we have already heard in court, of crimes worse than his own alleged fraudulent claim.

    We can but hope that it turns out to be a little more than just another case to add to the long list of those linked to Rangers and/or TRFC.


  45. EASYJAMBO
    APRIL 20, 2018 at 21:30
    ==================================

    That makes absolute sense.

    I haven’t read very much about the Hummel deal but I suspect there will be a lot of “Worth up to ..” quotes.

    That means that it will never happen, but Hummel have put a cap on the payments just in case. 


  46. easyJamboApril 21, 2018 at 09:13 
    It seems that it was Aidan Earley who was raided, not Craig Whyte.http://www.aidanearley.org/news/
    _______

    Oops, Aidan Earley you say, not Craig Whyte? Hmm…maybe CW was raided too…


  47. Henderson and Jones, anybody?

    Aidan Earley was banned from being a director ( for conduct in relation to three different companies) until 22/07/18, but there is this on the Companies House website:

    “Exemptions :Permission has been granted by the court to act for the following company(s)SEVCO 5088 LIMITED
    Start Date5 November 2015 End Date22 July 2018
    CourtBankruptcy & Companies Court ”

    So Earley is still in there as a fellow-director of Sevco 5088 with Henderson& Jones.

    Have H&J unearthed something interesting in pursuit of their claim v the Liquidators?

    Is that too fanciful, even for this saga?19
     


  48. EASYJAMBOAPRIL 21, 2018 at 09:13
    ——-
    From 13 MARCH 2012


  49. With all the recent talk of Alastair Johnston I am struggling as to how he gets such an easy ride.  He was on the board when Rangers were cheating HMRC with an unlawful tax avoidance scheme. He was on the board when Rangers accepted they had a liability to HMRC but then told the SFA something to the contrary when applying for a European licence. Never at any time has Johnston shown the slightest hint of remorse at what Rangers did, never mind apologise. Now he is back on the board at Ibrox showing the same arrogant contempt as he always did. 

    If the SFA and the media really want a clean game then people like Alastair Johnston, Dave King, David Murray and Paul Murray should be told they will never be welcome again. 


  50. UPTHEHOOPS
    APRIL 21, 2018 at 11:04
    ==================================

    Mr “Surrender No”, with pseudo masonic references during a TV interview.

    It staggers me him getting the easy ride of which you speak. 


  51. HomunculusApril 21, 2018 at 12:44 
    UPTHEHOOPSAPRIL 21, 2018 at 11:04==================================Mr “Surrender No”, with pseudo masonic references during a TV interview.It staggers me him getting the easy ride of which you speak.
    _____________________

    Hardly surprising that the man who could come out with that hardly disguised piece of bigotry, and think it was a clever quip, is also the man who came out with that drivel the other day.

    Strangely enough, while the first had the bears in ecstasy, the second had them apoplectic.


  52. Celtic riddled with Hibs fifth columnists.
    Brendan Rogers offered the Hibs job when Lennon goes to Arsenal.
    Both teams allowed to wear green boots and play on green grass.


  53. HOMUNCULUSAPRIL 21, 2018 at 12:44

    Mr “Surrender No”, with pseudo masonic references during a TV interview.
    It staggers me him getting the easy ride of which you speak. 

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

    A former colleague I was friendly with was a senior Freemason. He assured me they were a very law abiding, charitable fraternity who knew right from wrong, and helped many in the community, both inside and outside the craft.  Can’t see too many of them approving of tax evasion then! 


  54. UPTHEHOOPS Rate This
    HOMUNCULUSAPRIL 21, 2018 at 12:44
    Mr “Surrender No”, with pseudo masonic references during a TV interview.It staggers me him getting the easy ride of which you speak. 
    =======================
    A former colleague I was friendly with was a senior Freemason. He assured me they were a very law abiding, charitable fraternity who knew right from wrong, and helped many in the community, both inside and outside the craft.  Can’t see too many of them approving of tax evasion then! 

    There is, though, a difference between The Orange Order and the Freemasons. One is not t’other, although they are often regarded as interchangeable, particularly in the West of Scotland and NI


  55. WOTTPI
    APRIL 21, 2018 at 14:27
    =============================

    The better team on the day, with the players that fought for every ball won.

    That is all. 


  56. “My target is to make the players as rich as possible within the financial constraints of the club. My target is not to give them less money. I’m happy to make them rich.” Arsene Wenger, 2010.


  57. “For every 5 pounds Celtic spend, we’ll spend ten“. David Murray 2010.
    they never did call Murray ‘the professor’.


  58. Obviously it wasn’t 2010 for Murray, slip of the keyboard…..


  59. Chic Young trying his hardest to sound excited about St Mirren accepting the championship title, its obvious when its only your journalism pretence team that the excitment in the voice gives it away. Just like Jabba never did step up to the plate when his beloved Airdrie were liquidated by his present employers.


  60. It just makes you wonder if it’s worth all the bother they go to, to avoid a title clincher involving a Glasgow Derby game.  It looks like it could well happen anyway.

    A cup semi final like last Sunday had as much potential  trouble around it but it was OK as far as I know.

    Maybe they should just decide the fixtures and let them land as they will.


  61. jimboApril 21, 2018
    It just makes you wonder if it’s worth all the bother they go to, to avoid a title clincher involving a Glasgow Derby game. It looks like it could well happen anyway.

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

    Jimbo. It was never about avoiding a Celtic v TRFC game where the title could be won. That would have been technically impossible. It was all about which 2 teams were wakest and willing to travel to Ibrox to play a 3rd game there in 1 season. I wonder what bribe/sweetener was used to smooth over the decision of Hearts and Killie to give up their home games against TRFC.


  62. Hello  is there anybody there?

    If you don’t come on and talk about football I’ll start on about music again!


  63. CARFINS FINEST.
    Probably the same bribe/sweeetner that was used when Rangers played the same team away from home on eight separate occasions whilst only playing the same team at home once (Hearts 2008/09)
    For the record the eight times we had to play away for a third time were –
    Dundee (2000/01), Dunfermline (2001/02), Dundee United (2003/04), Aberdeen (2004/05),Hibernian (2006/07), Hibernian (2008/09), Dundee United (2009/10) & St Johnstone (2011/12)
    Don’t remember much fuss made at the time apart from Walter mentioning it once.
    During the same period Celtic played three home games versus the same team on six occasions and played the same team away from home just the once.  


  64. Jimbo
    What pisses me off is Brendan Rodgers saying it will take something “extraordinary” to lure him away from Celtic.
    Me?
    I would just say, “No”. It’s an easy word to say.
    I’m a black or white guy. Say “no”, without any equivocation, mental reservation, or secret evasion of mind whatever, or feck off. (And yes, I have said those words before).
    It reminds me of McInnes when sevco were after him and he would not commit to Aberdeen.


  65. FINNMCCOOLAPRIL 22, 2018 at 01:34

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

    I think you are being unfair to Brendan Rodgers. He has repeatedly dealt with speculation linking him with a move away from Celtic by stating how happy he is at the club, and that it is his dream job. In my view Rodgers is here to try and get 10 in a row and then he will think about moving on. He has said more than once he will not be at Celtic forever.  However, it would be naive in the extreme to think there are not job offers which would tempt him away now.  Personally i don’t think Arsenal would be one of them.  I think the riches on offer at Man City or Chelsea would, who are both clubs who can enter the bidding for any player in the world, but I doubt Rodgers would be on their radar as first choice. It is also worth remembering Rodgers is a very wealthy man outside of football due to the London property portfolio business he runs with his ex-wife.  Sometimes a Manager and a club are a perfect marriage. Right now I think Rodgers and Celtic are exactly that, but he is a relatively young man and I’m sure he thinks he has unfinished business down south after coming closer to winning the league with Liverpool than any Manager since Kenny Dalglish did it in 1990. Talk of him leaving Celtic now is in my view desperation from a media who are sick at the thought of ten in a row.  Dermot Desmond dangled the carrot the other day and they went for it big style.  However, Desmond didn’t get where he is in life by being an idiot. He played them like a fiddle in my view. 


  66. AJ – and the poll question was “Should Rangers fans try to buy out Dave King?”

    They are being lined up to bail out King once he is forced to buy a pile of sh….ares.

    That money doesn’t go into the clumpany. Just into King’s pocket.

    Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.


  67. Despite Gordon Waddell’s best efforts at spelling out some home truths for the bears, on a desk not far from him Scott McDermott was typing this sort of nonsense –
    “But where does Allen and the board turn next as they look to compete with a Brendan Rodgers-inspired Celtic and stop 10 in a row?”

    Will he ever learn?

    Forget trying to be the equal of Celtic. You have to walk before you can run.  Forget trying to be the singular club who will stop Celtic’s 10 in a row.

    Read your colleague’s article.


  68. AllyjamboApril 22, 2018 at 09:07
    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dave-king-not-answer-rangers-12402442
    Looks like Gordon Waddell at the DR is on the same curve as Alistair Johnston, the one six years behind the rest of us, or, at least, all us non bears. Still, I am sure his late arrival to reality will have all those bears raging.
    =======================
    An interesting article from Waddell.

    Ten years ago, yes TEN I wrote to Graham Speirs C/O BBC (so he may not received it as I got no answer) this letter.
    As I recall I never pursued the issue as I realised that the timing in 2008 just wasn’t right. Perhaps it is now.

    Date:  17 Oct 2008
     
    Dear Mr Spiers
     
    In reading what Celtic Chairman John Reid said in his statement to the Celtic AGM on the singing of The Famine Song, where he defined who Celtic are and what they stand for (see in bold below), I thought his statement begged the question of Rangers:
     
    Just exactly who are Rangers and what do they stand for? As a Celtic supporter I have my own often biased and cynical views but I was seriously wondering could Rangers come up with a statement about themselves about who they are and what they stand for that would not suffer greatly when compared to Celtic’s?
     
    I ask because whilst I agree with Dr Reid that we are NOT the same at this point in time, I see that not as something to crow over but as a matter of regret. Perhaps if Rangers could define themselves in the same positive terms, which might mean accepting and stating that past attitudes were mistaken, they might create a more solid foundation to move onwards and upwards from.
     
    I have taken the time to write to you because I admire the courage and clarity with which you have dealt with the behavioural issue of the worst element in the Ranger’s support and hope that in asking the question you might be prompted to
     
    a)   Make an attempt at defining the ideal answer
    b)   Assess just how far short of that ideal Rangers are falling so that the gap can be positively closed.
    c)    Publish your views.
     
    Yours faithfully
     
    Auldheid (real name used)
    The Statement by John Reid follows and should be read in the context of that time although the values expressed still apply.

Comments are closed.