Is Stewart Regan, Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Football Association a DIDDY?
Disingenuous: Incompetent: Dishonest: Duped? You decide.
Ladies and gentlemen of the Scottish Football Monitor sorority/fraternity jury, who want an honest game, honestly governed, are invited to pass judgement on Stewart Regan, the CEO of the SFA.
The main stream media are finally asking questions of Regan’s performance in that role, but based on a rather shallow (by comparison to what he has presided over) single issue of the recruitment of a national team coach, and not his character.
Maybe we can help the three monkeys media men (you know who they are) push for change at the SFA. How? By highlighting for them the appropriate response to Regan’s performance on the basis of what follows if he really is a DIDDY.
Disingenuous is defined as:
not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
Evidence of such can be found in the written exchanges with the SFA that Celtic initiated on 27th July, and continued on 18 August, 21 August, 4th September and 7th September 2017; and published on the Celtic web site with SFA agreement at http://cdn.celticfc.net/assets/downloads/SFA_Correspondence.pdf
This from the SFA letter of 18th August 2017:
Comment: the statements are not alleged, they are a matter of court record and if untrue represent perjury.
…. And then this from subsequent SFA letter of 4th September 2017
Both paras give the impression that the SFA were unaware that Rangers had accepted the liability without question before 31st March 2011. Yet the SFA’s attention was drawn to this fact in July 2015 by lawyers acting on behalf of Celtic shareholders as follows:
- Our information in respect of this £2.8M in unpaid tax is that Rangers PLC had been alerted in November 2010 by HMRC that they would be pursuing payment of this exact sum.
- From that date onwards, the Directors of Rangers PLC should have known there was a potential liability to HMRC for back taxes specifically relating to payments made to Tore Andre Flo and Ronald De Boer. These sums became an accepted liability in March 2011.
- Matters had been brought to a head on 23 February 2011 when HMRC presented Rangers with a written case for payment of back tax owed in respect of Flo and De Boer. As your department may well be aware, that case for payment involved hitherto undisclosed side letters which were found to be an adjunct to their declared and disclosed contracts of employment.
- Those contracts of employment were, of course, disclosed to the Scottish Football authorities (including the SFA) as part of the necessary compliance procedures followed by all clubs and demanded by both the SFA and UEFA.
- Additionally when replying to the initial enquiries by HMRC in 2005 regarding these alleged side letters and ancillary agreements, the then Group Tax Manager of Murray International Holdings (MIH) acting for Rangers PLC on tax matters, apparently advised HMRC that no such agreements or side letters existed.
- It ultimately proved that these representations to HMRC were completely untrue and without foundation. The tax Inspectors concerned in turn saw these false misrepresentations as being an attempt to simply hide the true financial position and an attempt to avoid paying the taxes which were lawfully due on the contracts of the players concerned.
- As mentioned earlier, Rangers PLC accepted liability on 21st March 2011 for unpaid tax having taken legal advice on the matter.
- In turn, HMRC then chose to formally pursue payment of the back taxes and penalties in relation to these two players, all in terms of HMRC’s debt recovery procedures under what is known as regulation 80.
- Prior to 31st March 2011, there was clear knowledge within Rangers Football Club of the liability to make payment for these back taxes and, as can be seen from the attached documentation, by 20th May 2011 HMRC had served formal assessments and demands on Rangers PLC for the sums concerned.
The impression given by Regan’s reply to Celtic is that the first time the SFA were aware there might be an issue on granting was in June 2017 as result of testimony at the Craig Whyte trial. This is clearly not the case and the only explanation that would clear Regan of being disingenuous is a that he was incompetent as in not knowing what the SFA already had in their possession, however a bit more on being disingenuous before looking at incompetency.
The above extract of the exchange of 4th September where Regan mentions Celtic being satisfied on the UEFA Licence 2011 issue was challenged by Celtic on 7th September 2017 as follows:
“on the matter of the Licensing Decision in 2011 it is not accurate to describe Celtic as having been “satisfied” at any stage. Like everyone else we were in a position of responding on the basis of information available to us. In correspondence, Celtic raised continuing concerns as did a number of Celtic shareholders.”
In dealing with the Celtic shareholders the SFA and Regan appeared keen to welcome from the early days of correspondence that only the process after granting i.e. the monitoring phase of June and September was being questioned and not the granting itself. That was the case initially but as new information emerged in respect of what UEFA judged to be an overdue payable, upheld by the Court of Arbitration on Sport in 2013, focus swung back in 2016 to the significance of what the SFA had been told by the Res 12 lawyer in July 2015. However the emphasis the SFA put on shareholders accepting the grant was in order was puzzling at the time. The suspicion since is that the SFA did not want the circumstances around the granting investigated and the SFA and Regan were being disingenuous in their attempts to keep that aspect under wraps. especially when their defence of not acting as required in 2011 was based around when the SFA responsibilities on granting ended and UEFA’s on monitoring began. (for more on that read the Incompetence charge)
In response to a separate point in Regan’s letter of 18th August about the QC advice on there not being a rule in place at the time to use to sanction Rangers or the limited sanctions available to a Judicial Panel, Peter Lawwell responded on 21st August to Regan’s disingenuousness as follows:
” In your letter you refer to advice from Senior Counsel that;
‘there was very little chance of the Scottish FA succeeding in relation to any compliant regarding this matter and that, even if successful, any sanctions available to a Judicial Panel would be very limited in their scope.’
As I said in my last letter Celtic considers that this misses the point. The fact that disciplinary sanctions may not be secured is in our view not a reason for Scottish football to ignore the opportunity to review and possibly learn lessons from the events in question.”
Although they didn’t refer to it in that reply of 21st August, Celtic could have pointed out the following catch all rule in existence in 2011 (and presumably earlier) under Article 5 in SFA handbook.
5. Obligations and duties of Members (where all members shall)
5.1 Observe the principles of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship in accordance with the rules of fair play.
This Article could have been used to demonstrate sporting dishonesty by Rangers FC. However by recognising this Regan would be on a collision course with an issue that he wanted to avoid at all costs;
whom to sanction? Rangers FC? The Rangers FC? Those currently at The Rangers FC who were officials or on the Board of Rangers FC in 2011?
Consequently, the SFA chose to hide behind QC advice – but to protect whom? Not the integrity of the game. Here is a suggestion to restore it:
That the Rangers FC admit that the trophies won in the EBT years were won as a result of clear wrongdoing (the wrongdoing Regan was so desperate to say never occurred – see later), and that The Rangers give them up. Surrendering them is not being defeated, it is simply the right thing to do for the game AND for Rangers to restore some integrity to themselves.
If they want to lay claim to their history, lay claim to all of it, just be honourable and act with dignity and we can all move on.
In summary then, Regan is being disingenuous by pretending to know a lot less than he does – and on that note the case of disingenuousness ends.
Incompetence: is defined as;
lack of ability to do something successfully or as it should be done:
Whilst a CEO would not be expected to know the minutiae of any process, he would be expected to seek such information before going public to defend the SFA’s position.
On 23 October 2013, Stewart Regan had an interview with Richard Gordon on BBC Sportsound. Excerpts from it can be heard at http://www.bbc.com/sport/scotland/24685973 . Interestingly or strangely, the following excerpt regarding the lines of responsibility between the SFA and UEFA fell on the BBC cutting room floor.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9YktGc0kwWjJCY1E/view?usp=sharing
In it Regan is saying that the 31st March is a key date and AFTER that date, the SFA having granted the licence on evidence provided to the SFA (now under Compliance Officer investigation) have no more responsibility in the matter. Richard Gordon asks Regan to confirm that after 31st March there is no other course of action the SFA could have taken. To which Regan answers “Correct”.
This understanding however does not stand up when compared to the information supplied to the Res 12 Lawyer on 8th June 2016 by Andrea Traverso, Head of UEFA Club Licensing and so ultimate authority on the matter.
That letter (more famous for its new club/company designation of the current incumbents at Ibrox), confirmed that the UEFA Licence was not granted until the 19th April 2011, so Regan was wrong on his dates, but even more significantly UEFA stated that the list of clubs granted a licence was not submitted to them until 26th May 2011.
This raises the obvious question (though not so obviously to Regan);
” how can UEFA start monitoring until they know who to monitor?”
More significantly, and one for the SFA Compliance chap to consider, should the licence have been granted, irrespective of what “evidence” the SFA Licensing Committee acted on in March 2011 , when it was obvious from a HMRC Letter of 20th May 2011 to Rangers, that HMRC were pursuing payment of a tax liability which could no longer by dint of being pursued, be described as “potential” which was the justification for granting at 31st March/19th April?
Here ends the case of incompetence.
Dishonesty;
lack of honesty or integrity: defined as disposition to defraud or deceive.
The line between incompetence and dishonesty is a thin one and so difficult to judge, however some discernment is possible from observation over time.
On 29 March 2012 Stewart Regan was interviewed by Alex Thomson of Channel Four news, a transcript of which with comments can be found on a previous SFM blog of 8th March 2015 at
https://www.sfm.scot/did-stewart-regan-ken-then-wit-we-ken-noo/
It is a long article, but two points emerge from it.
Stewart Regan bases his defence of SFA inaction on the fact that at the time of the interview no wrongdoing had occurred . Regan emphasises this rather a lot. Had he been an honest man, he would have confessed that this defence fell when the Supreme Court ruled that wrong doing in respect of Rangers’ use of EBTs had occurred.
This extract from Regan’s letter of 4th September 2017 beggars belief in light of his position on wrongdoing during interview with Alex Thomson.
” The reality is that the final decision in “The Big Tax Case” signalled closure for many involved in the game. It is hard to believe that a “wide review” no matter how well intentioned and how wide ranging could ever bring closure in the minds of every Scottish football fan and stakeholder.”
How on earth did the Supreme Court decision signal closure to Regan given his emphasis on no wrong doing?
Had Regan (in response to Celtic in August and September 2017) acknowledged that wrongdoing had taken place, then that at least would have been honest, but the defence of not acting was on the grounds that admitting dishonesty would be raking over old coals. An honest man would have accepted that the situation had changed, and some form of enquiry was necessary, but instead Regan fell back on unpublished advice from a QC.
The second point is a new one. Regan was asked by Alex Thomson in March 2012
AT: But did anybody at any stage at the SFA say to you I have a concern that we need an independent body, that the SPL can’t and shouldn’t handle this?
SR: Well under the governance of football the SPL run the competition
AT: I’m not asking, I’m saying did anybody come to you at any stage and say that to you. Anybody?
SR: No they didn’t as far as the SPL’s processes is concerned. The SPL ,
AT: Never?
At time of interview in March 2012 this was true but 2 months later on 25th May 2012 the issue of a Judicial review WAS raised by Celtic
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/celtic-still-pressing-sfa-for-inquiry-8p25q8wbb
for the same reasons that Regan had ignored in 2011 as the LNS Commissioning proceeded apace and Regan continued to ignore in the 2017 correspondence. An honest man would have recognised that his truth to Thomson in March was no longer true in May 2012 and acted. He didn’t.
These do not appear to be acts of an honest man, rather they appear to represent the behaviour of a man who is being dishonest with himself; although perhaps Regan was simply duped?
Duped is defined as;
“ If a person dupes you, they trick you into doing something or into believing something which is not true.”
In his e mail of 7th December to Ali Russell, then Rangers CEO , after a discussion on the 6th December 2011 with Andrew Dickson, Rangers Football Administrator and SFA License Committee member in 2011, Regan set out the basis on which the SFA granted a UEFA License in 2011.
This was a letter from Ranger’s auditors Grant Thornton describing the wee tax liability of £2.8m as a potential one with the implication that it was subject to dispute, an implication carried into the Interim Accounts of 1st April 2011 signed by Rangers FC Chairman Alistair Johnson.
The true status of the liability and the veracity of statements made that justified the UEFA License being granted are under investigation by the SFA Compliance Officer.
However Regan’s belief that the liability was disputed and therefore hadn’t crystalized, is supported more or less by his Tweets at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9NG5CNXcwLW9RZjQ/view?usp=sharing
The case that Regan was duped is a plausible one, at least up to 2015, but I would contend that the SFA responses to Res 12 lawyers after July 2015 suggest that whilst the SFA may have been duped initially, they subsequently appeared more concerned with keeping events beyond public scrutiny (like the effect on the licence issue of HMRC sending in Sheriff’s Officers to collect a £2.8m tax liability in August 2011).
At this point, based on the foregoing –
You the SFM jury are asked to decide: Is Stewart Regan a DIDDY?
Copy paste this link for GUILTY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejizOV-IQEM
And this for NOT GUILTY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwXGdgFZmNk
The Sin of Omission by Margaret Sangster ends:
And it’s not the things you do, dear,
It’s the things you leave undone,
Which gives you a bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
BILLY BOYCEFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 09:26
It looks like the SFA board will be leaving under similar conditions set by the bloo-room musical chairs….. With bulging saddlebags and a sellotaped gub.
The thing is though, who does Regan’s silence protect?
£250k pay-off for 7/8 years work! And made a balls of it.
When I think of the lump sum I got for 15 years work in a very responsible job with a Government Agency it makes me laugh/weep. (And I was very highly thought of).
Re. Wishart, I did like the fact that he came out against the ridiculous jaunts to South America because of the effects on players getting viable rest time in the summer. It’s not rocket science but the more people who call out the SFA, on radio, the better. Just a pity they all choose the easy options and not the real issues that went wrong at Hampden.
John Clark, watch what you call yourself –
In king James version, it is given in. 2Corinthans 11:14 as:-. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”.
Don’t worry your no Satan
I’m not really sure what Mr Wishart did in relation to the players when the previous club was placed into liquidation.
The contracts were immediately broken and thee players were free to take up employment elsewhere. As I understand it their registration was held by the national the association until such time as they joined a new club, it then went to that new club.
Other than Charles Green talking some total nonsense re TUPE it really was that simple.
I think he is being given credit for, well nothing really. The player and his agent would have done everything required.
sannoffymesssoitizzFebruary 12, 2018 at 05:10
‘…..https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2018/02/11/new-club-true-blues/.’
__________________
Thanks for posting that link.
A commenter on Phil’s piece ( ‘Reiver’) has a particularly useful reinforcement of the truth of Murty’s remark!
He draws our attention to what the very Articles of Association of Rangers Football Club (on incorporation in 1899) have to say:
“Article 6: In the construction of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, unless the contrary is expressed or is to be inferred, words purporting the singular number only shall include the plural number, and the male shall include the female, and vice-versa. The words “Club” and “Company” and also the words ‘Member’ and ‘Shareholder’ throughout the said Memorandum and Articles of Association shall, where the context admits of it, be of synonymous meaning.”
You’ll find the whole of the Articles on this link
https://www.scribd.com/doc/148828922/Rangers-FC-Memorandum-and-Articles-of-Association
No ‘holding company’ nonsense. The club it was, that died!
And Murty, honest man, knows it.
Another wee money spinner for David Murray. A ‘Garden District’ in Edinburgh. Interestingly his plans have the support of the RBS. New banking friends?
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/d-day-as-msps-decide-on-david-murray-garden-district-plan-1-4687412
Re the Compliance Officer’s late report. I believe everyone on this site should be contacting him to ask why it is taking him so long to complete said report. Perhaps the SFSA should make representation also.
CORRUPT OFFICIALFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 10:21
BILLY BOYCEFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 09:26 It looks like the SFA board will be leaving under similar conditions set by the bloo-room musical chairs….. With bulging saddlebags and a sellotaped gub. The thing is though, who does Regan’s silence protect?
___________________
While I can appreciate the need for confidentiality clauses in many termination agreements (I am obliged by law, myself, in my own employment to honour confidentiality of clients, though also required to ‘whistle blow if the cause arises), I cannot imagine why a body, that has supposedly worked within a framework of transparency, could possibly have such a high need for such an agreement that it needs to spend very large amounts of money on securing it when a high office bearer leaves, unless, of course, he knows things that the company would rather not have in the public domain.
This is the SFA, not a tobacco company or oil firm, it’s a sporting body. What secrets could it possibly have that are worth spending large amounts of money on, to ensure a man it previously trusted, would not spill the beans? It would be interesting to know what parting ‘gifts’ CEOs of sporting bodies generally receive, and are they all required to sign confidentiality agreements, over and above those that are already standard company policy.
jimboFebruary 12, 2018 at 11:24
‘… Interestingly his plans have the support of the RBS. New banking friends?’
_________________________
If only what happened to the former knight of the realm who virtually destroyed RBS would happen to the football club majority shareholder who cheated Scottish football for a decade and made sure his own money was safe when he bailed out of liability for the huge tax debt created by his cheating.
The very antithesis of knightly honour, the pair of them.
May Redheughs Village never become a reality.
To be fair John it was HBOS that SDM mangaged to extract funding. Hell mend RBS if they haven’t been paying attention
That’s another title I would like to see stripped.
In a wider sense I would abolish Knighthoods and all honours which contain the word Empire. It’s a joke. The whole honours system is a joke.
Dom, I think JC was referring to Fred Goodwin who was in charge of RBS and then stripped of his knighthood.
Auldheid’s response to Highlander’s typically robust criticism of Lawwell’s record of little reform during his time on the board as being probably due to a lack of cross club support strikes me as entirely plausible, especially when you consider both Gordon Smith and Stuart Regan complained about how difficult it was to get anything done even as Chief Exec!
I was heartened that in the reports of Regan’s departure, the BBC’s timeline mentioned probably 6 major incidents where Celtic was involved, showing that far from being passive and accepting the status quo, Celtic have been working behind the scenes in order to effect change.
I was less enthused to see the BBC and The Telegraph refer to Hugh Dallas’s offensive and sectarian email sent from an official SFA address being described as “satirical” and “tasteless” respectively. That Dallas thought it was ok speaks volumes about him and the organisation he works for, that Regan/the SFA negotiated his departure from the SFA but dollied him up for a Supranational role in order to grease the wheels evidently does the same…
We need at the SFA is real change not plus ca change!
BBC’s Chris McLaughlin –
“Now, a window of opportunity has opened and change is there if the members really want it. Only they can make sure the embarrassments of the last few months are never repeated.” (my emphasis)
As I said earlier they still can’t see the failings of the SFA in it’s entirety.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43033018
Before I go out and give you peace I’m going to combine two points I have tried to make today.
The Media’s coverage of the Honours system and the Media’s coverage of football governance.
Most honours are dished out for the worst of reasons. Longevity in a post as a senior civil servant, the Armed Forces, for being a successful entertainer, in return for favours and so and so on.
Why should a General have a string of letters after his name for doing his well paid job? Why not Corporal Smith? With the same length of service and dedication. (Bravery awards are entirely different)
But don’t worry the press will always be ready with old Aggie the lollipop lady who got an MBE. So everything is fair and square.
Except it’s not. We are not stupid. We know where the majority and best awards go to. They are kidding no one with their deflection.
By analogy, in Scottish Football, according to the media, the only things wrong at the SFA are Scotland manager recruitment efforts. Jaunts abroad. Hampden’s future use. Sponsorship deals. etc.
Whereas the real juicy stuff is the corruption involved with EBTs, Licensing for Europe, Secret 5 way agreements, same club myths, irregular registrations, title stripping etc. etc.
But the media think we all believe that they are on our case calling out the aforementioned 2nd degree stuff.
Oh for a press that would call it out for what it is. Rank rotten.
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2018/02/12/terms-and-conditions-really-will-apply/
ALLYJAMBOFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 11:41
Looking on Ally, it seems apparent that Regan has taken one for the team, but the grateful team kindly had a whip round, and awarded him a quarter of a million of our pounds plus pension as a wee thank you……
They’re a’ heart.
jimboFebruary 12, 2018 at 14:38
‘…By analogy, in Scottish Football, according to the media, the only things wrong at the SFA are Scotland manager recruitment efforts. Jaunts abroad. Hampden’s future use. Sponsorship deals. etc.’
Whereas the real juicy stuff is the corruption involved with EBTs, Licensing for Europe, Secret 5 way agreements, same club myths, irregular registrations, title stripping etc. etc.”
__________
And I’m just listening to Darryl avoiding any and all of the ‘juicy’ stuff! Rabbiting on about Walter and the national manager job……..
SHUG
FEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 17:09
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2018/02/12/terms-and-conditions-really-will-apply/
===========================
Phil’s piece is suggesting that although the terms are onerous, RIFC/TRFC can kick the can down the road as repayment in full is due by next February.
If ST revenue is not used to repay the Close Bros. loan ASAP – and separate to any further working capital loans required before then – then Jan/Feb is also not the best time of year to repay a loan plus interest in full.
And I do wonder what Campbell Dallas think about this RIFC decision:
to forego access to King’s ‘audit-assured’, cheap, soft loans for a punitively expensive – and risky – commercial loan ?
dom16February 12, 2018 at 12:18
‘….To be fair John it was HBOS that SDM ‘
jimboFebruary 12, 2018 at 12:42
‘…Dom, I think JC was referring to Fred Goodwin…’
______________
Yes, jimbo I was. Thank you.
Allyjambo February 12, 2018 at 11:41 CORRUPT OFFICIALFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 10:21 BILLY BOYCEFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 09:26 It looks like the SFA board will be leaving under similar conditions set by the bloo-room musical chairs….. With bulging saddlebags and a sellotaped gub. The thing is though, who does Regan’s silence protect? ___________________ While I can appreciate the need for confidentiality clauses in many termination agreements (I am obliged by law, myself, in my own employment to honour confidentiality of clients, though also required to ‘whistle blow if the cause arises), I cannot imagine why a body, that has supposedly worked within a framework of transparency, could possibly have such a high need for such an agreement that it needs to spend very large amounts of money on securing it when a high office bearer leaves, unless, of course, he knows things that the company would rather not have in the public domain. This is the SFA, not a tobacco company or oil firm, it’s a sporting body. What secrets could it possibly have that are worth spending large amounts of money on, to ensure a man it previously trusted, would not spill the beans? It would be interesting to know what parting ‘gifts’ CEOs of sporting bodies generally receive, and are they all required to sign confidentiality agreements, over and above those that are already standard company policy. —————————
I would like to think that somewhere, someone is working methodically on the book which must surely appear at some point in the future, we may be long gone.
Any such a person wouldn’t need me to suggest an eye catching title, but I will anyway.
The ‘Secret Football Association’ (SFA) would cover it nicely.
STEVIEBC
FEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 18:58
============================
That’s assuming it’s instead of Kings promised loan, as opposed to in addition to it.
Did King base the predictions on bringing a few players in, increasing the wage bill, without selling anyone and both raising capital and reducing the monthly wage bill.
That seems unlikely to me. He would have thought they were raising money and cutting costs in my opinion.
This is where my non photographic memory comes into play. But I can’t get it out my head, in a broad sense, that May – Aug. is very important to the Ibrox club financially.
I think I remember loads of tittle tattle surrounding the transfers and loan arrangements of players signed in the past couple of years. Staggered payments become due. Loan fees become due. Just as well Wonga Bros. arrangements allow them to stagger on to Feb. 2019.
One thing ‘seems’ sure. No player is signed and paid for upfront. A lot happens around May – Aug. Season ticket revenue – yes. The thruppence from Uefa, SFA, SPFL. – yes, that too.
But what is going out? May – Aug.?
smallchangeFebruary 12, 2018 at 22:17
‘…I would like to think that somewhere, someone is working methodically on the book which must surely appear at some point in the future, we may be long gone.’
_________________
Let me say ” Sat sri akaal”.
That Sikh greeting is of universal application.
Truth is eternal, absolute, unalterable.
If the SFA deliberately lied to UEFA about the tax debt of RFC(IL);
if Campbell Ogilvie as SFA president was indeed guilty of collusion in the deception by RFC regarding the payments made by EBTs;
if the 5-way agreement was the outcome of a lying conspiracy entered into those responsible for the Governance of Scottish Football
if the CEO of the SFA has been sacked, and made to swear under a sword-at-the-naked-breast oath that he will keep his mouth shut….
then, sooner or later, the Truth will out. And a book will appear.
In the case of many criminals, that process has taken 70 years.
70 years when the b..tards lived in fear!
If there do be Scottish football governance criminals…….. let them sweat.
And let them make sure they have good lawyers on hand, this year, next year, or in twenty years time.
Truth will out. And if they are on the wrong side of it, they will go down to their graves, unlamented, unpitied, dishonoured.
[ or is that a bit over the top?]
smallchangeFebruary 12, 2018 at 22:17‘…I would like to think that somewhere, someone is working methodically on the book which must surely appear at some point in the future, we may be long gone.’_________________
Let me say ” Sat sri akaal”.
That Sikh greeting is of universal application.Truth is eternal, absolute, unalterable.
If the SFA deliberately lied to UEFA about the tax debt of RFC(IL);
if Campbell Ogilvie as SFA president was indeed guilty of collusion in the deception by RFC regarding the payments made by EBTs;
if the 5-way agreement was the outcome of a lying conspiracy entered into by those responsible for the Governance of Scottish Football
if the CEO of the SFA has been sacked, and made to swear under a sword-at-the-naked-breast oath that he will keep his mouth shut…
then, sooner or later, the Truth will out.
And a book will appear.
In the case of many N..i criminals, that process has taken 70 years.
70 years when the b..tards lived in fear!
If there do be Scottish football governance criminals…….. let them sweat.
And let them make sure they have good lawyers on hand, this year, next year, or in twenty years time.
Truth will out.
And if they are on the wrong side of it, they will go down to their graves, unlamented, unpitied, dishonoured.
[ or is that a bit over the top?]
Naw!
jimbo
February 12, 2018 at 10:21
Re. Wishart, I did like the fact that he came out against the ridiculous jaunts to South America because of the effects on players getting viable rest time in the summer. It’s not rocket science but the more people who call out the SFA, on radio, the better. Just a pity they all choose the easy options and not the real issues that went wrong at Hampden.
The SPFL have hammered two clubs for fielding ineligible players in the Development League East and West matches.
Even though the fines were suspended where was Fraser Wishart to inform the SFA these wee clubs have people whose whole life dependency can be swept aside through this type of mistake, they also may be short in admin levels, but, why was he not on this case and remind them the SFA of a team who took it to a level that was designed to cheat registration so that money laundering of tax money could be conducted away from prying eyes.
BigBoab1916, I’m not a champion of Wishart. Not even sure what his job is nowadays (if any). But as a ‘Players Union’ type man, he had that hat on a few weeks ago when he was talking about players rest needs in the summer. As I said but probably didn’t make clear enough that it is not rocket science, You or I could have said that.
As for irregular registrations due to form filling mistakes, what can I say? I remember Livingston getting hammered for that. Compared to what Rangers did and the ‘punishment’ meted out to them, its disgusting. It shouldn’t have needed a Union man to draw that to their attention (the blazers). A half baked media should have sufficed. Unfortunately we don’t have one.
Why did yesterday’s BBC Sportsound presenter Kenny MacIntyre not remind listeners that Darryl Broadfoot is the sole PR for the SFA and allow him to pretend that he used to work for them!?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05xykhw#play
If only I was up to writing a letter of complaint to the BBC
As we approach the Anniversary of an ibrox club going into Administration.
A look back at our old friend,(who the smsm no longer go to as the go to guy) Neil Patey, spoke of how the SPL could bend the rules.
JOCKYBHOYFEBRUARY 12, 2018 at 13:17
I was less enthused to see the BBC and The Telegraph refer to Hugh Dallas’s offensive and sectarian email sent from an official SFA address being described as “satirical” and “tasteless” respectively. That Dallas thought it was ok speaks volumes about him and the organisation he works for, that Regan/the SFA negotiated his departure from the SFA but dollied him up for a Supranational role in order to grease the wheels evidently does the same…
==============================
Only Hugh Dallas knows his innermost thoughts and why he sent the e-mail. More disturbing for me was the rush by the media to rule out any notion of sectarianism being the motive. It was the usual circling of the wagons to avoid any digging into several other notable incidents in his career.
The media love in with Dallas began on that infamous night he was struck by a coin at Celtic Park. Firstly, being at the game I was appalled at what happened to Dallas that night, as well as the other clown who attempted to invade the field, presumably to try and get at Dallas. We all have cause to be incensed at Referees, but to attack them is just plain wrong. However no matter how his actual Refereeing performance is dressed up it was utterly shocking that night, and for whatever reason everything was to the benefit of Rangers. The most shocking incident was the award of a penalty to Rangers just after he was hit by a coin. Retribution? Only he knows, but it was never a penalty. His media love-in was well and truly cemented that night, which led to them overlooking his dishonesty in the Dougie McDonald affair. He clearly still holds influence at the SFA though, as his not very good Referee son is evidence of, and in my view is yet another reason why this secretive organisation should be demolished to its foundations and rebuilt. There are influences in there which go way beyond football in my view. This is 2018, not 1958.
Aw cmon UTH. It’s not hard to fathom Dallas’ innermost thoughts: that email was the very definition of offensively sectarian: offensive to a specific sect.
re that game you mention from 19 years : didn’t Celtic hire a psychologist to review Dallas’ decision-making after the game you mention, it was so bizarre? You have to think it wasn’t incompetence, he was our “best” ref, so motivated by sectarianism or something else? THAT is the innermost thoughts we don’t know.
And yet the end result of the email investigation was 3 of the other 4 peepel suspended returned to their jobs with apparently no other action taken, the other person presumably jumped ship or had some other issue that had to be dealt with, and of Dallas got recommended for higher station.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the whole thing got blown out of proportion, but given the whole sectarianism/football issue is Scotland, the situation needed decisive initial action: written warning, diversity training (no laughing at the back) and a written apology.
That would have been within any company’s disciplinary protocols, would’ve nipped it in the bud and we “could have all moved on” so to speak.
Instead we had a month of furore followed by sweeping under the carpet. Standard operational procedure of course, and apprent “proof”, as if it were needed, to Celtic fans that the SFA look after their own… If you did a management 101 course you couldn’t get worse answers than what the SFA did.
Still, Regan’s gone do it’s all fixed right ?
I see that the details of the charges against The Rangers Football Club Limited (Company No SC425159) have been listed on the Companies House website. Some people said that the securities given for the Close Brothers loan were the Albion Car Park, Edmiston House and “other assets”.
I was curious to know what the other assets were but as far as I can see the only assets listed are the Albion Car Park and Edmiston House.
As you’d expect the conditions are onerous and bomb-proof.
GIOVANNI
i’ll stick this to help out https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC425159/charges/DG_R_g9h3RsHIxPAx2s7b9xUiVk
The security looks to be all fairly standard stuff.
Well, something has ended, and something else has taken its place, with this latest round of working capital borrowing! The interest free, unsecured loans are no longer available, but the club still needs to borrow to survive, and their potential lenders appear now to require both interest and security. Even the proposed share issue isn’t going to change that.
Regardless of the TOP outcome, a share issue prospectus is going to look even less attractive now that heritable assets have been granted as security, for it effectively reduces the assets of the company at the date of the prospectus. This might not put off whatever bears intend to buy shares, but it will give pause for thought to any non-bears the directors were hoping might invest, and even some of the more affluent supporters might think twice before committing much of their loose change.
As EJ says, here’s nothing too non-standard within the standard security, itself, but anything onerous will be contained within the lending agreement, and we aint gonna see that!
Allyjambo
February 13, 2018 at 16:06
Well, something has ended, and something else has taken its place, with this latest round of working capital borrowing! The interest free, unsecured loans are no longer available, but the club still needs to borrow to survive, and their potential lenders appear now to require both interest and security.
==================================
Precisely, no more claims of “no external debt” and “quasi equity”. If there were unsecured interest free loans, to be repayed as equity, then that is exactly what would be happening. They would not be doing this deal
That these secured loans, with interst are having to be taken, pretty much demonstrates that no one is willing to make any further donations.
There is very little difference between this and Ticketus, using next years income to pay this years bills. For a club which has run at a loss every year, and is now looking at substantial losses this year again, can they really afford to be taking money out of next year’s budgets.
And we are to believe they rejected an £8m bid for a player they got for £1m. Money which would have probably covered those losses without the need for loans to be repaid from next season’s income.
Only someone really desperate to believe something would go for this stuff.
Allyjambo February 13, 2018 at 16:06
======================
There will be no Nomad or Prospectus required for a share issue if they only invite specific parties to participate.
You don’t need a Nomad if you are not listed on an exchange.
The FCA handbook lists a number of exceptions to the requirement for a prospectus.
* If the issue is made to specific investors only;
* Involves fewer than 150 investors;
* The minimum investment is €100,000 per party
Homunculus February 13, 2018 at 17:34
==========================
For interested bystanders like ourselves we are in a period where there will be little or no information to be had about the loan, its terms, or repayment schedule, unless there is an insolvency event, which seems highly unlikely in the short term.
The first information may not come out until the next full year accounts are published around October. (I think we can ignore any interim statements as meaningless).
Even then, if the “loan” is repaid from ST money, there would be a zero balance on the loan at the financial year end, thus no need to disclose it. You might be able to discern a lower than expected figure for their cash balance or deferred income (ST money), but there could be various reasons for such a scenario.
It’s more likely that we have to rely on their annual “losses”, cash flows, any future funding requirements and the auditors’ report to build a picture of their financial status. Again that won’t be available before October.
“* The minimum investment is €100,000 per party” sounds Elton John wrote that one…
easyJamboFebruary 13, 2018 at 17:37
Allyjambo February 13, 2018 at 16:06======================There will be no Nomad or Prospectus required for a share issue if they only invite specific parties to participate.You don’t need a Nomad if you are not listed on an exchange.The FCA handbook lists a number of exceptions to the requirement for a prospectus.* If the issue is made to specific investors only;* Involves fewer than 150 investors;* The minimum investment is €100,000 per party
_____________________
I was thinking more in terms of an issue aimed at raising serious money, not just the debt for equity swop and a million from Club 1874. If it is limited to that aim, then they have little, or no hope of progressing financially, and they really do need to progress financially or face administration, and this latest facility takes them closer to that point.
The minimal progress that a debt for equity swop might bring was first mooted when their debts were much less than, say, the start of this season. As things stand, though, a sane 3bear might question if there is any value in saying goodbye to all his money if next season only sees further secured borrowing to meet working capital.
How the other half live .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43002985
HOMUNCULUSFEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 17:34
Precisely, no more claims of “no external debt” and “quasi equity”. If there were unsecured interest free loans, to be repayed as equity, then that is exactly what would be happening. They would not be doing this deal
=========================
IIRC “quasi equity” is their justification in the accounts for meeting UEFA FFP. Not that the SFA would bother anyway.
EASYJAMBO
FEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 17:55
=============================
Given what I take your profession to be, or a variation of it, I can absolutely accept what you are saying.
I however think I am working on reasonable inference based on known facts.
Dave King said that through NOAL he would cover costs of £4m this year, as there would not be enough money coming in to pay the bills.
They have now taken secured loans from a third party.
It is reasonable to infer that either King did not come up with the money, or this is in addition to that money. That they needed even more, possibly because of increased costs due to the January transfer window.
In the past shortage of cash to meet the bills has been funded by interest free loans, to be repaid by debt for equity swaps.
Given the secured loans, which can reasonably be assumed to have costs, it is reasonable to infer that those interest free loans were not available to the business. From there it is reasonable to infer that the lender are no longer willing to supply the “quasi equity”.
It is wild speculation to suggest that because King failed to come across with the money he promised (for whatever reason) the others decided that they were not putting any more in either. Or that they have decided he actually doesn’t have all of the aces, they have the same power.
As an aside I think a Nomad is only required if you want to trade on AIM. I very much doubt the PLC will be trying to get listed there again. In fact I suspect they don’t want the transparency of being listed anywhere just now.
PADDY MALARKEYFEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 18:47
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How the other half live .http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43002985
————-
But are they happy?
GIOVANNIFEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 14:06
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I see that the details of the charges against The Rangers Football Club Limited (Company No SC425159) have been listed on the Companies House website. Some people said that the securities given for the Close Brothers loan were the Albion Car Park, Edmiston House and “other assets”.
I was curious to know what the other assets were but as far as I can see the only assets listed are the Albion Car Park and Edmiston House.As you’d expect the conditions are onerous and bomb-proof.
CLUSTER ONEFEBRUARY 8, 2018 at 21:10
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Loan Facility We are pleased to advise that Rangers has taken another significant step in restoring its business to normal operating parameters. It will shortly complete a working capital facility with Close Brothers. The facility will be secured by fixed security over Edmiston House and the Albion Car Park, amongst other assets. Ibrox Stadium and Auchenhowie will not be part of the security package. The loan will assist with general working capital requirements and upgrading works being carried out at Ibrox and in other areas where there is a desire to enhance facilities for staff and supporters.—————— The facility will be secured by fixed security over Edmiston House and the Albion Car Park, amongst other assets.It is not only secured against Edmiston House and the Albion Car Park.But other assets also.is that what they are saying?
————
I got that from the RIFC web page…. I think
The facility will be secured by fixed security over Edmiston House and the Albion Car Park, amongst other assets.
sorry now that i never posted a link. i will have a look again
Homunculus February 13, 2018 at 20:57
EASYJAMBO FEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 17:55
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Given what I take your profession to be, or a variation of it, I can absolutely accept what you are saying.
============================
You’ve got me intrigued to know what you think is my profession.
Anyway, I think that it is fair to make informed inferences based what what we do know. That’s exactly the way I approach things, with a high reliance on factual statements, statutory documents, court records etc.
Like Occam’s razor the more assumptions you make the less accurate your hypothesis is likely to be.
I think we can agree that TRFC’s finances are currently in a bad way, although we may disagree to how perilous their position has become. I tend to steer away from outcomes that I would like to see rather than those that I can see.
Document lodged at companies house:
https://t.co/1VPV0NyNTV
EASYJAMBO
FEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 21:57
=====================================
Please don’t take this as derogatory, but I work on the basis that you are trained to count beans. It may not be exactly what you do now but it would appear to be your background. No idea if it would be financial or management, or both however that is the impression I get.
Like you I like to think that I try to see things the way they are, based on the available evidence. Rather than how I would like them to be. I certainly try to do that.
I can make my position entirely clear on where I think Rangers’ financial position is. So long as there are people willing to fund losses then they can continue trading, and as the SFA will totally ignore FFP rules and going concern warnings they have no issues with regards European licences and the like.
Having to get the secured loan (and in my opinion they only got it because they had to) is an indicator that people are becoming less likely to just keep putting their money in with a promise of pretty much worthless shares at a future date. Some may even have decided that they no longer even want those shares. This is a really negative turn of events for the club and I find the SMSM painting it as a positive, and the support believing that to be quite extraordinary.
It may be that people on the board and their associates are calling Dave King to account re promised loans and this is a way to force his hand but that would be total speculation. I do not believe he has as strong a position that others here think. The board may see him as now being so toxic that they need rid of him, and that if he goes they will start loaning money again. Again total speculation, there is not enough evidence to support such a contention.
I think the business is perilously close to not being able to pay it bills as they fall due, that they are in every meaningful sense trading insolvent and that if certain people walk away then it’s all over.
I don’t think I can be more unequivocal than that.
‘Other Assets’ I notice that TRFC are advertising for a full raft of catering staff vacancies. Could Close Brothers have their grubby fingers stuck in the Ibrox catering pie again. Could this be the Other Assets mentioned. Just a thought.
EASYJAMBO FEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 21:57
=====================================
Please don’t take this as derogatory, but I work on the basis that you are trained to count beans. It may not be exactly what you do now but it would appear to be your background. No idea if it would be financial or management, or both however that is the impression I get.
=====================================
Not derogatory in the slightest and I’m happy to share my background. I am a retired IT Operations Manager who worked for high street banks and a major IT firm, with roles of running shifts of Computer Operators, to Change Management, Problem Management and Crisis Management.
I first got interested in football finances around the time that Chris Robinson was looking to take Hearts to Murrayfield in 2004. Then Vlad came on the scenes. I broadened my interest beyond Hearts when the RTC blog kicked off and my ability to understand accounts, financial regulation, insolvency and legal processes all grew exponentially with the shared knowledge of the professionally qualified “experts” who contributed to the blog in those early days. Beyond that I am self taught. The fact that I had “retired” around the time of the financial crash gave me a fair amount of time to dig a bit deeper. I now keep track of the finances of the top 15 or so Scottish clubs, not just Hearts and TRFC.
Your hypothesis on the current status or TRFC’s finances is a perfectly reasonable position to take, but there are quite a few ifs buts and maybes in there. You may be proved, over time, to be 100% correct, but, personally, I wouldn’t take it quite so far ……. yet! I’ll wait until I can tick off a few of the ifs and buts first.
Every football club in Scotland needs money.
However there are only two clubs who have an eye on world domination.
The likes of Budge, Milne and Farmer are involved mainly from the community aspect and know that a cup run and Euro competitipn now and again in a sustainable fashion will keep folks happy.
Celtic understand their predicament of being a big fish in a small pond.
Folks from Ibrox seem to live in a parallel universe .
This very day I have been trying to find out what the UEFA response to the Bosman ruling was, in terms of how and when they were going to implement the 1995 judgment.
The ruling was delivered by the European Court of Justice on 15th December 1995-bang in the middle of most of the countries’ seasons!
I had heard from a ‘source’ in Europe that UEFA had, with the agreement of its constituent national associations, decided that the ruling would be implemented at the end of that season,to avoid chaos.
But one particular club, in one of the smaller national associations, insisted that it be free to act on the judgment immediately.
And, it is said, their bloody-minded , self-interested, attitude caused severe problems for UEFA in trying to avoid chaos in the European transfer market.
That club was not liked, but it did not care.
If my source (in Switzerland) is to be believed ( and I believe him) it is possible to infer that the push for immediate implementation of a rule that allowed clubs to bring in quality European players who were out of contract, free to move without transfer fee, came from a club which was able to offer really attractive personal terms, perhaps via some tax-free arrangement?
I do not assert that as a fact .
But, from memory, a certain Glasgow club was in the market for European out-of-contract quality players very early doors.
And was able to attract players.
That club is already suspect.
This additional food for speculation might prompt further research to establish whether we know the half of it, when it comes to SDM’s cheating and the SFA’s non-resistance to that cheating.
Not so much ‘give a dog a bad name and hang him’ but ‘the dog has a bad name- is it a worse name than we thought?’
Was it all just a con job?
Here is article
HOMUNCULUSFEBRUARY 13, 2018 at 22:57
I find the SMSM painting it as a positive, and the support believing that to be quite extraordinary.
======================================
The SMSM have made it clear from what they say and write that the sooner ‘Rangers’ are on top of the pile more often than Celtic that the world will be at one for them again. If they were to write and speak negatively about ‘Rangers’ that could spread to their fans, and the players, and subsequently halt the ascent they so desire. Let’s consider the SMSM current position.
– ‘Rangers’ are in a healthy financial position, with wealthy backers and a credit line from a major financial institution.
– ‘Rangers’ have gone out and signed a raft of really top quality signings during the January transfer window, who joined them despite interest from several big clubs.
– ‘Rangers’ were able to reject an £8M bid for Morelos and will get far more in the summer.
Anyone paying attention knows all of the above is crap, but it’s what they present as facts on a daily basis.
Love this programme cover especially the Glasgow landmark statue with the traffic cone.
Something spooky happened to me today. I read earlier on a blog that the SFA are now toying with the idea of offering the Scotland manager’s job to McLeish. Prompted especially by Rod Petrie. No doubt backed by McRae.
I thought to myself heaven help us. So it seems that the candidate qualifications are a/ Be an ex Rangers Manager b/ Be a recipient if an EBT c/ Have previously walked out on the Scotland Manager’s job.
I sat thinking about it and what the blogger said. Imagine HMRC come calling within the next couple of years and McLeish is made bankrupt! Imagine the scandal! Scotland manager declared bankrupt because of a tax scam.
So I thought some decent person on the SFA should say enough is enough. Engineer the immediate resignations of Petrie and McRae before they can do any more damage.
Lo and behold Joe O’Rourke of the Celtic Supporters Assc. has came and out and demanded exactly that! Either he can read my mind or – more likely – its so patently obvious to everyone that these two chancers have to go. Now.
Joe O’Rourke:
“Petrie has colluded and lied for his whole tenure as SFA Vice President. He was up to his neck in the Blatant Fraud to allocate a UEFA licence in season 2011/12 to Oldco Rangers. He knows all the information regarding the use of DOS/EBT as a method of avoiding paying tax and national insurance by Oldco.
He is desperate to get himself surrounded by “Real Rangers Men” because if he is exposed as a liar and cheat he is finished in Scottish Football, and in business in general. He was desperate for Walter Smith to be installed as the new Scottish Football Manager, but when Watty knocked him back he has went for the next best choice Alex McLeish.”
If I remember correctly he was also up to his neck with the discredited ‘secret 5 way agreement’.
A wee message to the SFA.
You have to break eggshells to make an omelette guys.
The best possible Scottish Manager is almost certainly happily employed right and whoever is leading (our) SFA should just bite the bullet.
All the talk of waiting till a new CEO comes in is balderdash. The two jobs are not interdependent and never have been.
Pick up the phone and call Steve Clarke.
Pay the compensation to Killie.
And hire a guy who can do the job.
Then send Finloch’s introduction fee to schools football.
Stevie’s in Wikipeida and has a good cv
Stephen Clarke (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish former football player, who is the current manager of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock.
Clarke played for St Mirren, Chelsea and the Scotland national team, winning three major trophies with Chelsea towards the end of his career. After retiring as a player, he moved into coaching and worked at Newcastle United, Chelsea, West Ham United and Liverpool. Clarke has since managed West Bromwich Albion and Reading. After a spell coaching at Aston Villa, Clarke was appointed Kilmarnock manager in October 2017, the team he supported whilst growing up.
jimboFebruary 14, 2018 at 14:17
‘…Love this programme cover…’
_______________________
It’s a brilliantly subtle take-off of a Soviet cold-war propaganda poster,jimbo.
The muscularity of the Celtic figure relative to the Zenit player, who is a step or two behind, and the fact that the trophy is placed nearer to Brown………. And, of course, the size of the lettering of the teams’ names!
Additionally, victory for Celtic is as it were promised by ‘Brown’ being backed up by Dublin-born Chooky Wellington , while the Zenit-lad has had to travel over a snowbound bridge with no back-up( unless the onion domes of the Russian Orthodox church are meant to symbolise Zenit’s spiritual strength!)
Is the artist credited?
The general consensus amongst the Bampots seems to be that the “Close Leasing Ltd.” loan is NOT a good thing, despite what the SMSM churnalists copy/paste.
Paying off this new, commercial debt ASAP SHOULD be a top priority for RIFC/TRFC – you would think?
There are hugely increased risks associated with this new debt… i.e. for RIFC/TRFC.
The proverbial can is kicked along the road – yet again – down Govan way, but in the continued absence of a stoopid, sentimental, RRM Sugar Daddy, this crisis loan could have a disproportionate impact on the dodgy club/company.
Oh well, never mind.
FINLOCH
FEBRUARY 14, 2018 at 14:58
A wee message to the SFA.
…
Pick up the phone and call Steve Clarke.
Pay the compensation to Killie…
=================================
I’ve always rated Clarke, ever since his St. Mirren days.
He is certainly one for the future as national team manager.
But, IMHO, the stakes are becoming progressively higher for the SFA and continual qualification failure.
Personally, I would like to see an experienced international manager take over, and one who has Finals tournament experience.
Clarke as his assistant could be a sensible move as well.
Which means the blazers will probably creep out of the Hampden bunker to announce McLeish, [or some other underwhelming / cheap option], as the next Scotland manager…
JC, When I was in the Open University part of the foundation course was Art History. It showed you how to interpret a huge amount of detail in a painting and it’s significance. You have a good eye for detail. I on the other hand have dumbed down all I saw was the traffic cone!
“The stunning cover was designed by Glasgow-based artist, Chris Connelly, who told the official Celtic website: “I absolutely loved doing it. The brief was quite unrestricted and I’m not overly familiar with the traditional approach used in match programmes so it took me a few days to come up with an idea I liked. I think the brief both helped me and challenged me at the same time.”
In a decade of tax cheating scandals, registration scandals, Euro licence scandals, national team failures…you would think the very last people the SFA would consider as suitable candidates for the Scotland manager job would be people who, themselves, are mired in two of those scandals and have previously deserted Scotland as soon as a ‘better’ job came along!
‘Moving on’ only seems to apply to Scottish football governance when it would be helpful to one particular club, but ‘let’s go back in time’ seems appropriate when we’d be going back to stalwarts of that one particular club.
The only thing I don’t agree with Joe on is his assertion that if Petrie was exposed as a cheat and a liar it would impact on his business career. Look at David Murray, he is thriving.
And still got his title. Except from me at least.
Murray Park is no longer referred to as Murray Park anymore by the media or even in Ibrox!! Why is that I wonder.
jimbo February 14, 2018 at 15:35
Murray Park is no longer referred to as Murray Park anymore by the media or even in Ibrox!! Why is that I wonder.
=========================
I was speaking to a Rangers youth scout at the weekend while watching an academy game between Hearts and Rangers. When another person in our company mentioned “Murray Park, the Rangers Scout said that they have been told to refer to it as “Rangers Training Centre”.
It’s funny but the more I think of it David Murray is seldom spoken about in the hundreds of hours I spend listening to Scottish football programmes. It reminds me of Harry Potter when they refer to the one who’s name should not be spoken aloud.
“Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal.”
It’s David Murray to a T.
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2018/02/14/a-day-for-appreciating-the-benefits-of-being-close-to-your-signficant-lender/
easyJamboFebruary 14, 2018 at 16:07
jimbo February 14, 2018 at 15:35Murray Park is no longer referred to as Murray Park anymore by the media or even in Ibrox!! Why is that I wonder.=========================I was speaking to a Rangers youth scout at the weekend while watching an academy game between Hearts and Rangers. When another person in our company mentioned “Murray Park, the Rangers Scout said that they have been told to refer to it as “Rangers Training Centre”.
__________________
I take it’s as a memorial to Rangers! I wonder, though, if they call it RTC for short
I’m no expert but a couple of things looked to me to be of interest (or smile-inducing) in what seems to be a relatively standard Close document…
Amongst the obligations accepted by TRFC are :
6.1 Keeping the properties in “good and sufficient repair” (They have of course extensive experience of maintenance obligations in other areas….)
6.2 Insurance – cover to be effected as follow :
(a) “All and the whole the subjects on the west side of Broomloan Road” (Albion car park?) – full reinstatement value rather than market value
(b) Edmiston House – £800K + 10% rather than market value
(Now why would folks be wary of TRFC/RIFC and their estimates of ‘market value’?)
And in the event that things go horribly wrong….
6.9 Summary Ejection “The Lender may, at any time after it has become entitled to enter into possession of the Property, serve notice upon the Borrower requiring it to vacate the Property within a period of seven days….”
With Close perhaps looking to a future beyond the grave….
8.2 Waiver of Rights “The obligations of the Borrower under this Standard Security and the rights, powers and discretions of the Lender under this Standard Security will not be reduced, discharged or otherwise affected by :
…..(i) any insolvency, bankruptcy, liquidation, administration, winding-up, incapacity, dissolution, limitation, disability, the discharge by operation of law or any similar proceedings in respect of the Borrower or any other person.”
And picking up the tab for all of this documentation, fees, etc is, of course, TRFC (10.7 Costs & Fees). I had a wee further smile to myself when I saw that this included taxes!
The document was signed by Andrew Dickson. It is interesting that he obviously had a problem with the ‘Date of Delivery’ and over-wrote the original date without then initialing the change.
I guess you could describe this as being ‘imperfectly registered’.
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Just supposing their was an administration event at Ibrox and Close Bros. called in their securities. Lets also further assume that the administrators allowed the club to continue trading albeit in a slimmed down manner (like Duff and Duffer didn’t do!).
As far as I’m aware the Club Deck safety certificate is dependant on the Albion Car Park as a Fire Assembly Point. Things could get messy!
Of course the real meat will be in the commercial agreement that has not been lodged at Companies House. What are the charges/interest rate? Is the Default Rate hugely penal? I think we should be told….
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Thursday 15th February
LORD DOHERTY
PETITION DEPARTMENT
UNSTARRED MOTIONS
P997/17 Note: RFC 2012 Plc for orders under 4.16 – Brodies LLP
Another Unstarred Motion (counsel not required) in the BDO v TRFCG/Wavetower/Henderson & Jones case.
redlichtie February 14, 2018 at 16:51
The document was signed by Andrew Dickson. It is interesting that he obviously had a problem with the ‘Date of Delivery’ and over-wrote the original date without then initialing the change.
============================
I’d missed that earlier. It looks as if the “date of delivery” was originally intended to be 11th (?) February (a Sunday?). The handwriting of that date is different from that of Dickson above.
jimboFebruary 14, 2018 at 17:16
Just supposing their was an administration event at Ibrox and Close Bros. called in their securities. Lets also further assume that the administrators allowed the club to continue trading albeit in a slimmed down manner (like Duff and Duffer didn’t do!).As far as I’m aware the Club Deck safety certificate is dependant on the Albion Car Park as a Fire Assembly Point. Things could get messy!
__________________
I’d be very surprised if Close Brothers refused permission for them to use it in the unlikely event of a fire at Ibrox, and, indeed, would have to build a fence around it to stop anyone entering it in the first place.
The problem would arise, though, if it was sold to a developer who wanted to build on it. I suspect the biggest loss to TRFC as a result of losing the area to Close Brothers would be loss of revenue from the carpark!