Is Regan a DIDDY?

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.

 

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Auldheid

About Auldheid

Celtic fan from Glasgow living mostly in Spain. A contributor to several websites, discussion groups and blogs, and a member of the Resolution 12 Celtic shareholders' group. Committed to sporting integrity, good governance, and the idea that football is interdependent. We all need each other in the game.

1,595 thoughts on “Is Regan a DIDDY?


  1. I’ve just listened to an interesting conversation on Radio Scotland regarding the resignation of Regan and my goodness what a lot of nonsense Tom English talks.
    “Too much mistrust and self interest in Scottish football”
    Well perhaps Tom, if we had a media that dared to ask the hard questions of the SFA, understood finance law, understood the insolvency laws, and held those in power to account then perhaps the above may change. However, what we the paying public are lumbered with is a useless set of people, barely able to hit the correct keys to construct a sentence, who themselves survive in a swamp of self interest who refuse to report the law of the land and ignore the biggest sporting scandal in British sporting history.
    Another reason there may be so much mistrust and self interest in Scottish football is because the people who are the life blood of the game are treated with complete contempt by the owners/operators of their clubs and the footballing authorities themselves. As soon as the fans started asking detailed questions of Reagan he shut down his twitter account because he couldn’t handle that questioning. That in itself should have been a media story but alas you would need a real journalist to drive that forward.
    “The Chief Executive MUST be hired before the national team manager” because the “Chief Exec stands or falls by the appointment”
    Does he then believe that if the national manager is sacked then it must be the case that the Chief Executive must also follow him out the door because he is the guy that hired him.
    Well if that is the case why didn’t he go along with Craig Levin or if that truly is the case then neither would ever go until the fans are at the doors of Hampden with fiery torches and pitch forks!!
    Just when I thought sanity may break out on comes Henry McLeish who expounds his wisdom;
    “The SFA needs more power. It needs to take it back from the SPFL”
    This is the organisation who refused a request from the SPFL into an investigation of how the SFA operated in 2011/2012?
    The same organisation who, without speaking to any senior clubs, decided to organise a tour of South and Central America THREE weeks before our top four clubs will be participating in Champions League and Europa League qualification ties.
    Henry, the SFA already hold more power than is good enough for them; a more shapeless, shiftless, cunning, blazer wearing, rule bending, will sapping, coma inducing, spineless group of individuals ever encountered by any customers in the history of sport.


  2. HOMUNCULUS   at 17:52

    There’s a World of difference between a 16 year old and a 19/20 year old. Particularly where physical strength, build etc are concerned. Even more particularly when that person is part of a football academy and is being trained / coached on a regular basis.

    An individual 16 yo will be more physically developed, normally, when they reach 19 or 20. But not all 16 yo players are the same height and build, some will be stronger than 19/20 yo players. And are you suggesting Hearts players aren’t trained and coached on a regular basis?

    Chris McCart made the following two comments
    “We really want our 18 and 19-year-olds to be playing men every week.””
    “We’re going to have a Pro Licence coach in the dugout, an A Licence Coach, a fully qualified physio, doc, sports scientist.”

    I’m sure Hearts will carry similar, or better qualified staff, when their first team plays matches.

    The proposals for Colt sides are free to view online. 

    Finally, Celtic used 13 yo Karamoko Dembele in an U20 match, did they not?


  3. JUSTSHATEREDFEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 20:01
    That is it in a nutshell .The SFA already has power ,it is the way it has used it that has brought us to where we are today .

    With a total collapse of faith in the SFA and anyone else involved in the game in Scotland .

    The whole thing could have been avoided had the SFA just followed the rules as they were intended .

    discretion works two ways ,the HONEST way was all they had to take .


  4. I find Mr Levein’s latter comments very strange . This from the Scotsman before HoM beat CFC at Tynie
    “They are playing too early in my opinion because of their physicality,” said Levein. “I would wait another couple of years, but they are so good on the ball and they are fearless. If they are fearless, then I feel it is wrong of me not to be the same and give them an opportunity.
    Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/hearts/craig-levein-i-wince-when-hearts-teens-go-in-for-tackles-1-4640845
    Then to complain when they get beasted ? His bench was full of seasoned pro’s as well -no need to play the boy . I’ve never forgiven him for 6-4-0 !


  5. Jimbo, JC(e) and for anyone else that is interested; if you should google ‘stewart regan lalit modi’ a host of results shall be returned. These may be looked upon as being evidence that it’s always been about the money for Stewart, and to hell with all else.


  6. Regards Aberdeen’s new stadium plan ,I see they have moved a step closer to realising their goal .
    What do the dons supporters think of moving from pittodrie ,is it good or bad in your opinion 


  7. CAUSALUDENDIFEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 22:23
    I think that is evidenced in his stance on the death of ragers 1872 and the non denial of the BIG LIE 


  8. CAUSALUDENDIFEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 22:23
    What is your take on his departure ,do you think he walked or was pushed 


  9. I don’t think we should underestimate the SFA and the reach of the peepil .
    Regan has shot the craw but the whole cabal that are embedded in that organisation is still hanging about Scottish football and stinking the place out .

    Also ,you better believe that the more bloody noses they get the worse their spiteful retaliation will be 

    Years ago Fergus  Mc proved that J Farry was a bad apple ,J Farry  was removed but a certain mr Bryson survived and went on to deliver what IMO will go down as the most corrupt interpretation of the rules of football registration this country has ever seen.
    Regan falling means nothing unless others follow follow him 

    Clear the whole thing out and start again  


  10. From the time ,way back when

    The Burness report exposed the extent of Farry’s bungling. At the arbitration hearing he “substantially damaged his credibility and the integrity of the Association’s case” by failing to produce correspondence from FIFA between 1994 and 1996 on the conditionality of ITCs. He “drew a warning” for “consistently” evading questions; was “unable to give a convincing explanation” why conditions in the second application “were unacceptable to him”; “indicated significant aspects…of registration fell to subordinates” “as he had been abroad”; “he gave evidence … not regarded as credible ….”; “he gave contradictory evidence on the powers of the Executive Committee”; “was unable to explain why retrospectivity of the ITC was not applied in this case” and “deflected responsibility to Mr (Sandy] Bryson (head of registrations] …. (on] certain executive decisions”. Moreover, it had emerged that the day before his self-destructive evidence he had to be ordered to appear at the hearing by SFA vice-president John McBeth. Farry had intended to travel to Geneva for a conference.
    Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/farry-s-fall-from-grace-1-1304383


  11. Fan of Football,  I wish there were more people like Wee Fergus and the late Turnbull Hutton to call out the cheats in football.  Sadly they – the blazers – get away with murder.


  12. FAN OF FOOTBALLFEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 22:41
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I had written a lengthy piece there but it has been lost in the ether ??
    the crux of it was this is being stage managed by the Blazers in the belief that if they throw us Regan as a sop just now they can brazen out the crisis coming down the line. The whole truth must come out and the clear out must continue.


  13. Tom English on the BBC website:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42915442
    “In the hours after Regan’s departure there was a thread on a website about who might succeed him. Hibs’ impressive leader, Leeann Dempster, was mooted only to be shot down by some contributors because she, apparently, once held a season ticket at Rangers. That’s an isolated and perhaps extreme example of the bitterness that’s out there, but this is not a poisoned chalice of a job we’re talking about, it’s a poisoned bucket”.
    Mr. English:
    Poisoned bucket possibly, but only because of the previous incumbents from, recently, Farry to Regan via Ogilvie and Smith for example, as you know.
    As one of the posters on here who pursued this topic, may I say that I am not bitter, nor extreme.  My perspective on Leeanne Dempster is clearly not isolated. It is you who are isolated. Isolated within the cabal of failed and cowardly journalists whose existence and what remains of self respect is dependent on maintaining the illusion of a continuation of “Rangers FC” and disparaging those who value sporting integrity in Scottish football. It is you who are bitter, not me. You are bitter about “Internet Bampots” who challenge your perception of your autocratic right to deceive Scottish football supporters with the “move on” agenda. You are extreme in your supplication to an agenda that ignores financial fraud and continuing sectarianism from a demographic that finds increasing voice in a sport that you claim to be knowledgeable about.
    Those who support Scottish football deserve openness, transparency and an independent investigation into the events surrounding the liquidation of Rangers and the SFA and SP(F)L ‘s response to it. You have chosen to belittle this.
    You are, of course, entitled to your point of view and to protect your own interests, but do not pretend to be independent..


  14. Furter to my post at:
    macfurglyFebruary 2, 2018 at 10:20
    add Tom English at the BBC.


  15. macfurglyFebruary 2, 2018 at 23:27
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    I agree completely.

    I note also that Kit Conway on Phils site was quick to challenge the appointment of Leeann which Tom seems to think is a no brainer. For there to be confidence in the SFA to run a fair game it will take more than a shoe in for a die hard Rangers fan to be appointed. Who by the way left my club, Motherwell, right in the shit when she left.

    Tom took the bait and showed himself up as a biased reporter who for the sake of his future prospects has to suck up to the football cabal who are responsible for ruining our game for going on 20 years.

    For too long he has been cut some slack as one of the more sentient reporters because he sees it from the “outside” because he’s not from here. But that is meaningless because he was soon enveloped in “sportspeak” and fully understood he had no future unless he conformed to the cabal view.


  16. Does anyone know the truth?  Some media people are saying words like Ms. Dempster once held a season ticket at Ibrox,  but other folk are saying she was a season ticket holder Twenty years!

    Was it once or twenty?


  17. BORUSSIABEEFBURG
    FEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 20:14
    ==============================

    If you think a 16 year old Hearts player starting against Celtic in an SPFL Premiership game is analogous with 18 or 19 year old Celtic players starting against SPFL league two clubs are analogous, cool.

    I disagree. 

    I think the extra 2 or 3 years of training and coaching makes an enormous difference at that age.

    However that is just an opinion. 


  18. While I’m at it, Mr. English,
    “she, apparently, once held a season ticket at Rangers”
    Either you are wilfully dishonest in minimising the significance of her background and actively pursuing an agreed agenda or Spiers is wrong when he observed that she had been a Rangers season book holder for 20 years. Which is it?


  19. jimboFebruary 2, 2018 at 23:49
    Does anyone know the truth?  Some media people are saying words like Ms. Dempster once held a season ticket at Ibrox,  but other folk are saying she was a season ticket holder Twenty years!
    Was it once or twenty?
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Does it matter? She supports Rangers. Aren’t there enough already at the SFA? Have we had bad experiences with that type in charge before?

    The very fact that English (the one with residual credibility as a reporter) puts it out there tells you all you need to know.


  20. Does it even matter who comes in for Regan .

    The truth is that whoever comes in will be treated with suspicion because of the deplorable acts of the corrupt cabal still in place .

    When ragers 1872 went into liquidation due to 20 yrs of mismanagement and outright cheating and breaking of the games rule book ,The buffoons in blazers could have did the right thing and told the truth ,stripped the titles won by cheating and admitted sevco 2012 into the third division .pure and simple .

    The fact that they did none of the above has damaged the very reputation and honesty of football in this country .

    How do you even start to get that back .

    What you don.t do is even tout the name of anyone with any association with the old pretend their not dead club ,or celtic for that matter ,because for all us celtic supporters on tsfm ,who think it’s a sevco clique there is a hell of a lot of other scottish FOOTBALL fans who think we have influence too .

    The very fact that the MSM are running with the LAD for the job story tells us ALL that their views should be totally exclude from the process .

    Get someone in who will turn back the clock to 2011 and do what should have been done from the start and then we can ALL move on   


  21. I don’t know Leeann Dempster and she may be a really good person. The mark of a person does not come down solely to their football allegiances. 

    However in an interview in last week’s Times she told Graham Spiers she was a season ticket holder in the Copland Road stand at Ibrox for 20 years.  As part of the Hibs board she chose to go against the wishes of many of their fans and argue against having a review of how the SFA handled Rangers EBT’s. It is almost certain she cheered many EBT inspired victories for Rangers from the Copland Road stand.

    So why do ‘decent’ journalists like Spiers and English think she is ideal for the SFA Chief Executive job? She is surely as unsuitable as they come!


  22. Regarding Tom English’s piece may I suggest that we turn to Indian spirituality after reading such articles. There’s a beautiful Bhuddist mantra for just such occasions which you should say quietly, but with confidence, and repeat x 10:
    I am not the one who is mad here…
    I am not the one who is mad here…


  23. upthehoops February 3, 2018 at 00:47
    ————————————————– 

    I note that Ms Dempster was born in 1973 and if she were a season ticket holder at Rangers then it would have been before she took up her post with Motherwell FC.  That would suggest she was still a teenager when she started going to Ibrox.  As a young woman mixing with her friends on the terraces she would have experienced the full ‘song book’ on a regular basis during those 20 years.  Who knows, she may even have been part of the chorus?
     
    Should Ms Dempster be appointed CE she will have the problem of the ongoing sectarian singing to deal with.  Although Regan refused to address it, it won’t magically disappear anytime soon.  In fact since Sevco gained promotion to the Premier League the situation has only worsened.  I just wonder that if Ms Dempster does attempt to take steps to eradicate the bile a few of her former Ibrox friends and acquaintances might point the finger at her and say, “Eh, just a minute, Hen . . .”


  24. MACFURGLY Feb 2 2018 at 23.27
    Spot on .Excellent post. Tom English bends with the wind on every topic. He reminds me of ‘Indecisive Dave’ from that great comedy series The Fast Show.


  25. Imagine Fergus McCann was 10-15 years younger. A man with a sound business mind, a ruthless streak, and a record of attracting high quality very wealthy people to invest. Also he is a man who was quite willing to take on age old prejudices and challenge the secretive SFA fraternity despite the abuse he received from a media who were angry he was prepared to challenge the status quo.  Now if he WAS 10-15 years younger he would be a perfect fit for SFA Chief Executive. However, I don’t believe one single member of the media would be pushing for him.  


  26. BILLY BOYCEFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 02:01
    As a young woman mixing with her friends on the terraces she would have experienced the full ‘song book’ on a regular basis during those 20 years.  Who knows, she may even have been part of the chorus?
    —————
    Does anyone know if she was a debenture seat holder? (had a seat for life)
    And if so, what are her thoughts on loosing this seat ?


  27. BILLY BOYCE
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 02:01
    ============================

    To be fair it would appear that the SFA, SPFL, SMSM, Police Scotland and pretty much everyone else have decided to do nothing about the sectarian singing.

    When was the last time any of them tried to do anything meaningful to stop it. 

    It’s not because it’s gone away. Quite the reverse, it is now being done with impunity.

    The only people who will now stop it are the fans themselves and they clearly don’t want to. 


  28. In an ideal world a person’s club allegiance, religious persuasion, masonic membership or gender or nationality shouldn’t make any difference to sitting in the Hampden offices.

    I can almost forgive blazers for keeping an eye on their own club’s interests.  But that is not what we have seen in the past.

    The whole EBT thing was public knowledge long before Rangers went into liquidation.  Even if it took years to get to the Supreme Court judgement what was common knowledge around Hampden was the undisclosed side letters.  That could have and should have been dealt with much earlier and within their own rules and disciplinary processes.  Their was no need for LNS to deal with that matter.

    What were all the ‘neutral’ blazers doing during this era?  Why weren’t clubs all over the country up in arms about this?  Why were there no demands for resignations?  At the time, or even after the announcement of LNS?

    I refer you to my first paragraph above.  It’s not an ideal world.  You can take your pick of the reasons for inaction.  But remember there are many Rangers/ TRFC sympathisers in the boards of clubs around Scotland. 

    If Leeann Dempster came out and said publicly that she would set up a full, independent enquiry and implement strict liability then she or just about anyone else like minded, would get my support.


  29. Homunculus wrote
    BORUSSIABEEFBURGFEBRUARY 2, 2018 at 20:14==============================

    If you think a 16 year old Hearts player starting against Celtic in an SPFL Premiership game is analogous with 18 or 19 year old Celtic players starting against SPFL league two clubs are analogous, cool.
    I disagree. 
    I think the extra 2 or 3 years of training and coaching makes an enormous difference at that age.
    However that is just an opinion. 

    Och, we’ll just agree to differ. My opinion is that generally the two or three years training and coaching is one of the major issues, and is why players who initially show promise then flop when they reach the end of their teens. The enormous difference is that the players get worse!

    The argument Chris McCart and Craig Mulholland are taking to the lower league sides underlines that in Scotland performances have got worse as the players get older. Their joint proposal document states:

    2.1 Football Development • Scotland not qualified for a World Cup or European Championship at ‘A’ squad level for over 20 years. U21’s not qualified for European Championships since 1996. We must change and all of the Scottish football family are responsible for playing their part. • Scotland perform exceptionally well at U16, U17 and U19 level.

    This is factually correct. The shared vision from the two clubs also argues:

    Can we maintain the performance of the 16’s, 17’s and 19’s at 21’s by exposing our top potential Scottish talent to 1st team football against men earlier. • ‘B’ teams work, this is not a new concept.

    This section advocates players at as young an age as 16 playing against men. However, although the two Glasgow clubs are trying to gain access for another of their sides, entire youth outfits, to play in the Scottish league system, the manager of one, Brendan Rodgers, has argued that a single 16 year old player shouldn’t be playing against men. 

    But, as I say, we’ll have to let the argument rest, as neither of us seem likely to change our positions.
    In any case, it is highly unlikely the proposal will be accepted.


  30. On Regan’s successor: this is how a professional organisation would go about it.
    Of course not being professional they cannot embark on a process to make them professional.
    Catch 22
    but anyhoo –  from a Tweet to Tom English (I know I know)…
    On the basis that you cannot fix a problem with the same thinking that created it & that SFA needs to be more professional,  why not hire business consultants who can identify structural faults and make recommendations to fix? You then appoint a Project Management Board to oversee a project manager, whose job it is to implement the changes.
    That requires a skill set that Leanne Dempster may or may not have, but it creates a profile of what the job requires and so who should be recruited.
    Gets around the poison too by being open and accountable.
    Catch 22. Wits it like? 🙂

    and Naw I’m no applying.


  31. I think most people would agree that management by committee is hellish.  Businesses shy away from it like the plaque.  Maybe the odd workers rep. but that’s about as far as it goes.  I personally would like to see fan reps on the various boards at Hampden so maybe I’m being a bit hypocritical.

    Hugh Keevins last night was talking about Ernie Walker, who in his opinion was the best administrator the SFA ever had.  He said that at meetings all the blazers would give their point of view, he would nod sagely with a little smile.  And then go ahead and do what he thought was for the best regardless!


  32. justshateredFebruary 2, 2018 at 20:01 (Edit)
    Great post and a reminder of where Henry McLeish got it wrong.
    He was facing the wrong way.
    The SPFL should take on much of the responsibility for running the professional leagues in a professional manner from the SFA.
    The SPFL call the customers tune and the SFA meet the requirements of the SPFL. Its how modern business works. A flavour of it here (I know Ive posted the link before but think it worth airing again). 
    http://celticunderground.net/sfa-reform-one-down-three-to-go/
    The need for a more professional SFA reminds me of a conversation I had with a guy in a position to bring it about the time of the article. We were in total agreement on the need.
    There will never be a better opportunity to make that switch because the evidence of the unsuitability of the SFA and current arrangement is incontrovertible.


  33. BORUSSIABEEFBURG

    But, as I say, we’ll have to let the argument rest, as neither of us seem likely to change our positions.In any case, it is highly unlikely the proposal will be accepted.
    ===================================

    I wasn’t discussing whether “the proposal” would be accepted. 

    I was merely replying to your point, where you suggested that a 16 year old playing in the SPFL Premiership was analogous with 18/19 year olds playing in the SPFL League 2.

    I disagree. I believe that the extra 2 or 3 years coaching and training makes the player stronger, quicker, more skillful, more experienced. No matter which club they are at during that period. They might not be good enough to make it at the top level, but they should be better than they were at 16. There is something seriously wrong with the player’s youth system if that is not the case.


  34. A sound idea from Auldheid, just imagine – Business Consultants – A Project Manager.  I can just see the blazer’s faces, white as a sheet, dropped jaws.  Their puffed up pride and dignity dealt a mortal blow!

    What’s left for us to do?

    Don’t worry folks there’s still the hospitality and jaunts.  (Until the consultants get round to that!)


  35. In the ongoing debate about whether a 16 year-old should be playing football with grown men, can I take the opportunity to remind you that 16 year-old Harry Cochrane scored an absolute howitzer of a goal past Craig Gordon at Tynecastle a few short weeks ago and put in a mature performance in neutralising Scott Brown and co, helping his club to a convincing and record-ending 4-0 win.

    The point being, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, and it would seem to be myopic of Levein not to pick a young player because statistics show that he might deteriorate in quality by his late teens, just because others have.

    ps, no burgers, kebabs or fish suppers were harmed in the making of the following piece of harmless fun (after all this isn’t a predominantly Celtic-facing forum), which was shamelessly stolen from Jambos Kickback:


  36. HIGHLANDER
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 11:11

    The point being, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
    ==================================

    I totally agree, the 16 year old is clearly good enough to be a starter in Hearts first team.


  37. So Kilmarnock have reduced the size of the Rugby Park pitch for todays match against Celtic?  I remember Walter Smith used to get up to these dodges but I didn’t realise it was still legal.  As if that pitch is not bad enough!  How pathetic and desperate.


  38. JIMBO
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 12:06
    ================================

    So long as what they are doing is within the rules they are perfectly entitled to do it Jimbo.

    Why would they not take every advantage they can.

    It would be equally valid to argue that Celtic take an advantage by making the pitch as big as possible because it suits their style of play.


  39. It’s still pathetic.  Win or lose playing football not this type of thing.  Thank goodness the goals can’t be adapted to suit.  No doubt some clubs would indulge in that too.  Pathetic.


  40. This might just be the time for the authorities to come clean and pronounce TRFC as a new club . The fans have a club to support so I don’t see many walking away , hopefully only the odious . Would save the new punter at the SFA having to take a degree-level course in sophistry,revisionism deceit and lies.
    On the Morelos transfer saga, here’s his current profile on Transfer Markt.com
    https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/alfredo-morelos/profil/spieler/338962


  41. Roolz is roolz Jimbo. It should be incumbent upon all managers (Brendan Rogers included) to use all means available to enhance their chances of winning. An example comes to mind of Sir Alex Ferguson ordering the Old Trafford pitch to be soaked in water, almost to the point of being water-logged, to disrupt his opponents style of play in a European fixture.
    Pathetic, I believe, is too strong a word to use. 


  42. Paul Goodwin and Raymond    on Off The Ball discussing 

    Who do you think should be The SFA’s new Chief Exec? ?
    Would Leann Dempster be your choice? ?
    Drop us a Tweet! #OffTheBall

    My response via Twitter 
    Someone who is honest, actively supports sporting integrity and will apply governence rules and regulations without fear or favour.

    AND What baffles you?

    My replies via Twitter 

    What baffles me is how Stewart Regan was allowed to continue as SFA CEO for so long when he was clearly out of his depth from before the day he was appointed.

    What baffles me is how the likes of Rod Petrie, Alan McRae and all of the other members of SFA boards can be trusted to appoint anyone as SFA CEO.


  43. jimboFebruary 3, 2018 at 10:16
    ‘…Hugh Keevins last night was talking about Ernie Walker, who in his opinion was the best administrator the SFA ever had. He said that at meetings all the blazers would give their point of view, he would nod sagely with a little smile. And then go ahead and do what he thought was for the best regardless!
    ______________
    How would that  bletherin’ auld eejit  know? How many SFA board meetings did he attend?13


  44. I know JC, he’s painful to listen to.  I prefer it midweek when big DJ and himself are on ‘rest’ days.  01

    I’m in a bad mood watching the football. Then I’ve got an 18th birthday party tonight, God help me! Only kidding it’s family, will be fun.


  45. macfurgly and othersFebruary 2, 2018 at 23:5
    While I’m at it, Mr. English,“she, apparently, once held a season ticket at Rangers”
    _____________________________________________
    “apparently”?
    Can Mr English not confirm such a simple fact via his own researchers at BBC or with a direct call?
    Frankly, this topic is not the place for sports journalists. But print media and broadcasters preferred to have their scribblers make a back page transition fae the merits of managers, coaches, transfers, strikers and formations into the world of commerce and business ethics.
    The media have run out of time to correct this. They went to deep on protecting the status quo. They hid behind the need for “standing up stories”, but even failed to do this at crucial times. It was and is left to the bloggers and bampots to do the journos jobs, and don’t they know it.


  46. https://scottishfsa.org/press-statement-on-football-governance-reform/

    Date: 2nd February 2018

    SCOTTISH FANS WANT FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE REFORM

    • Regan departure can be a ‘moment of opportunity’
    • Fan representation ‘critical to achieving change’
    • SFSA establishes independent governance working party

    2 February 2018: Simon Barrow, chair of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, which has 71,000 members across all professional clubs in Scotland, said:

    “The departure of Stewart Regan as head of the SFA raises once again the urgent need to address fundamental reform of the governance of Scottish football. It is not about an individual but about a system.

    “The SFSA sees this as a moment of opportunity to promote deep structural and cultural reform, based on a clear vision of the renewal of Scottish football from the grassroots up.

    “We recently conducted the first ever professional benchmarking survey looking at what supporters, players, managers, officials and others thought about the way Scottish football is governed and run. The results showed a huge level of dissatisfaction and a huge appetite for change.

    “SFSA has therefore established an independent working group of people with senior football and management experience committed to producing radical, practical proposals for reform. Its findings will be shared publicly and with the football authorities later in the year.

    “One key issue for consideration is clearly the question of a single governance body, with statutory representation of fans and other stakeholders in the game.

    “When SFSA was launched in 2015 we declared that ‘We Believe in Scottish Football’. That belief is what seems to have been lacking at the highest levels of the game in recent years. It can and should be restored.

    “The confidence and engagement of fans, who love and fund the game, is critical to achieving real change.”

    The SFSA can be found on Twitter @scottishfsa or through #reclaimthegame and on Facebook.

    For further information on the SFSA, please contact Simon Barrow on 07850 120413


  47. I can’t believe no one has mentioned Ann Budge as a candidate for CEO? I feel she is the best breath of fresh air in the Scottish football set up in the last decade. 


  48. DARKBEFOREDAWN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 15:20
    I can’t believe no one has mentioned Ann Budge as a candidate for CEO? I feel she is the best breath of fresh air in the Scottish football set up in the last decade.

    She has to be applauded for the job she’s done at Hearts, but unfortunately she hasn’t made a jot of difference as a board member of the SPFL, who failed miserably to deal with Rangers following the  Supreme Court EBT decision. It appears financial expediency is more important than sporting integrity, even to the otherwise impressive Budge, who is evidently as complicit as the rest of the suits in thinking we should all just move on.


  49. The last thing the SFA needs is another stuffed shirt – Leeann Dempster would be an inspiring appointment

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/15917597.Matthew_Lindsay__The_last_thing_the_SFA_needs_is_another_stuffed_shirt___Leeann_Dempster_would_be_an_inspiring_appointment/?ref=ebls

    FOR an organisation which has, even by their own standards, been subjected to unprecedented levels of criticism and ridicule in the past few weeks, the temptation to bring in Leeann Dempster as the new Scottish Football Association chief executive will no doubt be great in the coming weeks.

    Think about it. The bumbling blazers of the SFA could be transformed into trailblazing pioneers in an instant if they were to become the first national football association to appoint a female as their most high-ranking official. It makes sense on many fronts.

    The positive publicity it would generate at a time when the treatment of women in the workplace is, with good reason, a burning issue in the media would be considerable. The goodwill towards the new incumbent as she set about the unenviable task of restoring the fortunes of the game in this country would also be great.

    There are, though, more reasons for choosing Dempster as Stewart Regan’s successor than simply because it will give the beleaguered governing body some welcome respite from the flak which has been aimed in its direction for some time now.

    Bringing in the current Hibernian chief executive, who has helped to transform the fortunes of the Easter Road club both on and off the park during the past three and a half years, would give Scottish football a genuine chance of enjoying a more successful future, both on and off the park.

    Firstly, and perhaps most importantly during an economic downturn, she would be adept at bringing sponsors and much-needed money into the game. Her background is advertising, sales and marketing. She has improved the financial performance and bank balances of both Hibs and Motherwell before that due to her knowledge and practical experience of business.

    The SFA is currently without a main sponsor – the agreement with Vauxhall runs out in the summer and no replacement has been found – while the William Hill Scottish Cup – currently shown on television by Sky Sports – has no broadcaster lined up for next season.

    It is imperative for the good of the game here, from the grassroots level up, that fresh investment is found and new revenue streams are explored in order for it to prosper and Dempster would be well placed to both identify and grasp opportunities which may be available.

    On the subject of youth football, she could also help to implement much-needed changes to the performance strategy. The clubs grew increasingly resentful with how the SFA in general and Regan in particular went about pushing through the recommendations contained in Project Brave. The resentment which exists in boardrooms is threatening to jeopardise the entire initiative.

    Yet, Dempster comes from a club background, is well liked and respected by her counterparts and would perhaps have a greater understanding of their concerns and wishes than her predecessor.

    There may, alas, be many involved in the running of football in this country who would be far from enthusiastic about Dempster being promoted. As always in these instances, there are political considerations. Self-interest rather than the overall good of the game is sadly what drives many.

    Would her close ties with Rod Petrie, the Hibs chairman who is set to succeed Alan McRae as the SFA president imminently, make many uneasy about her taking over from Regan? It is entirely possible.

    Petrie is, rightly or wrongly, a divisive figure. Many have still not forgiven him for his ill-advised comments in the aftermath of the 2016 Scottish Cup final riots, even though he subsequently apologised, when he described the pitch invasion and assault of Rangers players as “114 years of exuberance”.

    Fans of the Ibrox club, and a few officials to boot, would doubtless have something to say about an ally of his working in tandem with him when he takes office.

    Dempster, of course, may opt to remain where she is. She could look at the treatment of Regan and decide she is better off where she is. Hibs continue to go from strength to strenth. But it will be a shame if she was not at least considered for the high-profile position.

    The last thing that Scottish football needs just now is for another stuffed shirt, a grey man in a suit who spouts meaningless soundbites, to be appointed. Thinking outside the box and going for a bold and ambitious option would be a huge step in the right direction for a game which is going backwards.


  50. Highlander, it comes back to the point I made yesterday that the majority in Scottish football (some fans excluded) don’t want to rake over old ground and genuinely do want to move on. And that is the problem, is even if someone with no allegiance to Rangers such as Budge wouldn’t be welcome because she won’t reopen the EBT cases then it’s going to be very very difficult for any new CEO to be welcome. Even Aberdeen’s Stuart Milne, who has a real dislike for Rangers wouldn’t be welcome because he wouldn’t be reopening the investigation and applying sanctions. So basically the majority on here would only accept a new leader who strips titles and declares Rangers a new club, which is going to be hard to come by.

    After learning Dempsey was a season ticket holder at Ibrox I agree she shouldn’t be given the job. I want a neutral to the Old Firm given the job, which is why I think Budge is a great choice. The SFA should be looking to the future, not the past, and ensuring that the issues of the last decade are never allowed to happen again. We need someone who comes in, realises mistakes have been made in the past and makes sure they never occur in the future. When you look at the candidates; Dempsey, Petrie, Smith etc I can’t believe folk would discoult Budge just because she won’t strip titles. 


  51. DARKBEFOREDAWN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 15:58
    The SFA should be looking to the future, not the past, and ensuring that the issues of the last decade are never allowed to happen again. We need someone who comes in, realises mistakes have been made in the past and makes sure they never occur in the future.

    ————————————————–

    I’m sorry but I beg to differ. They should only look to the future once they’ve dealt with the past, something they’re going to great pains to avoid.

    A cheating club should have titles and trophies removed, as would undoubtedly happen to any other club in the country. The lie that has allowed to become myth and legend that an incorporated club survived liquidation has to be announced loudly and clearly as the falsehood it really is by the football authorities who concocted the lie in the first place. Without both these things, there can be no closure and ‘moving on’.

    Apart from that, I agree with you. 22


  52. I have no idea whether Killie brought the lines in a bit, but the SPFL have rules about it.

    Teams must register their pitch dimensions with the SPFL one month before the start of the season. There are laid-down maximum & minimum dimensions. Clubs are not allowed to alter the dimensions without written permission.

    Rules of the SPFL H19 & H20.


  53. DARKBEFOREDAWN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 15:58
     Rate This
    Highlander, it comes back to the point I made yesterday that the majority in Scottish football (some fans excluded) don’t want to rake over old ground and genuinely do want to move on. 
    ===================================

    What makes you say that.

    Newspapers, radio and tv constantly saying it does not make it true.

    Indeed if it was true the level of propaganda being employed simply wouldn’t be needed. 


  54. So Highlander, effectively what you are saying is you would not accept any candidate, no matter their background or how good/progressive they would be and how they may transform Scottish football, if they didn’t back a strip the titles and proclaim Rangers a new club? Even if we managed to get the best in the business, to rip up the current regime and put us on the right path?


  55. What price transparency.
    Auldheid has in the past tried to promote/advocate a truth and reconciliation type approach to the log-jam of fan frustration and disingenuous governance of the last six years.A sensible and pragmatic position to take. Unfortunately entrenched and emotional views seem to make this a non starter. What would you as a football fan be willing to sacrifice for the good of the game? I know this may sound like a ‘moving on’ missive but it it isn’t meant to be.The ruling bodies of Scottish football seem unwilling to accept anything other than a Rangers football club with all its history intact. Are we willing to accept this (steady JC) if we can negotiate a complete and satisfactory reform of the SFA? I realise the last sentence is very subjective but in principle ….?


  56. REDETIN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 14:32

    macfurgly and othersFebruary 2, 2018 at 23:5While I’m at it, Mr. English,“she, apparently, once held a season ticket at Rangers”_____________________________________________“apparently”?Can Mr English not confirm such a simple fact via his own researchers at BBC or with a direct call?

    —————————————————————

    Clearly he doesn’t consider Mr Spiers, who recently interviewed her, a reliable source. 


  57. GUNNERB
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:40
    =====================================

    I only require two things, they relate to two different clubs.

    1, In games where Rangers used players who were improperly registered the result be changed to a 3-0 defeat, and the record books corrected to reflect that.

    2, A recognition that the new club which entered the SFL is just that, a new club entering a league for the first time.

    These things are neither complex nor difficult to achieve. 


  58. DARKBEFOREDAWN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:39
    ===========================

    Man – Would you have sex with me for £10m pounds

    Woman – Yes

    Man – OK would you have sex with me for £10

    Woman – Certainly not, what do you think I am.

    Man – We have already established what you are. We’re just haggling over the price now. 

    Do you really think people should turn their back on this, on doing the right thing, provided the new head of the SFA is good enough. 


  59. Playing devils advocate here. If the SFA find a leader who will prove to be completely transparent, who admits there have been a number of wrongs accepted by the previous regime, and who changes the rules to ensure that never happens again. Someone who is completely non biased and is not influenced by any single team, who offers a positive future for Scotland but sees Rangers as the same club of old and who doesn’t retrospectively enforce punishment for wrongs in the past. If this was a complete neutral who would completely reform Scottish football for the better in the future Would that be accepted? Or are we at a point where the only accepted leader would be one who punished Rangers?


  60. Re  Ann Budge
    Not seen or heard anything from her in a while. When she first hit the scene, yes it was like a breath of fresh air. I have to agree with  HIGHLANDERFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 15:33 here.
    She has to be applauded for the job she’s done at Hearts, but unfortunately she hasn’t made a jot of difference as a board member of the SPFL, who failed miserably to deal with Rangers following the  Supreme Court EBT decision. It appears financial expediency is more important than sporting integrity, even to the otherwise impressive Budge, who is evidently as complicit as the rest of the suits in thinking we should all just move on.

    Everyone thought she was going to be a breath of fresh air as a board member of the SPFL. But we have Not seen or heard anything from her in a while.Would the same happen with  Leeann Dempster at the SFA? Everyone would expect a breath of fresh air, but in the end be as low key as Ann Budge is at the SPFL.


  61. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:49

     Or are we at a point where the only accepted leader would be one who punished Rangers?
    ———————————————————————————————-
    Its why I asked in an earlier post DBD. Your view is punishment ..other views are justice..see Homunculus reply.


  62. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:49
    0
    0 Rate This
    Playing devils advocate here. If the SFA find a leader who will prove to be completely transparent, who admits there have been a number of wrongs accepted by the previous regime, and who changes the rules to ensure that never happens again. Someone who is completely non biased and is not influenced by any single team, who offers a positive future for Scotland but sees Rangers as the same club of old and who doesn’t retrospectively enforce punishment for wrongs in the past. If this was a complete neutral who would completely reform Scottish football for the better in the future Would that be accepted? Or are we at a point where the only accepted leader would be one who punished Rangers?

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

    What punishment are you talking about.

    Recognizing that they are a new club is not punishment it is accepting reality.


  63. Sorry for posting so many in such a short time. I’ll stop now. 

    I just wanted to say … what a great day for Aberdeen. 

    Moved clear into second and three points closer the top.


  64. GunnerB, my point still stands. Change punishment to justice and would everyone be willing to lose the chance of a very good leader if they were not going to go for “justice”? The end goal is the same – strip Rangers of titles and declare a new club. However it is dressed up, it seems that is the only single prerequisite on here to being a CEO of the SFA. People on here seem to be happy to have a completely inept leader who may be a shambles but would deliver “justice”. I think that’s a very dangerous mindset. 


  65. DARKBEFOREDAWN
    FEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:39
    So Highlander, effectively what you are saying is you would not accept any candidate, no matter their background or how good/progressive they would be and how they may transform Scottish football, if they didn’t back a strip the titles and proclaim Rangers a new club? Even if we managed to get the best in the business, to rip up the current regime and put us on the right path?

    Correct, although in the unlikely event that a candidate with the attributes you described was to take up the post, he or she would feel morally obliged to do the right thing anyway.

    Perhaps it might be easier for you to understand if you were to imagine that all that has happened to Rangers (both clubs) in the past decade or so, including the cheating EBT years followed by liquidation, had instead happened to Celtic.

    Humour me for a moment and try to imagine Celtic having cheated every single one of its competitors on an industrial scale for more than ten years, then entering liquidation following years of overspending mostly other people’s money.

    Now show me just one Rangers fan who would truthfully say, “Titles? Let them keep themtime to move on, nothing to see here, haven’t they suffered enough?” 

    You show me that Rangers fan and I’ll show you a liar.


  66. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16:49
    Playing devils advocate here. If the SFA find a leader who will prove to be completely transparent, who admits there have been a number of wrongs accepted by the previous regime,
    ————
    After the compliance report comes out any new leader at the SFA may have to not admit anything, it may all be laid bear at their feet.
    ——————-
    and who changes the rules to ensure that never happens again.
    ———-
     I don’t believe rules have to be changed, just implemented it was not the rules that were wrong, it was the rules being bent to suit one club.
    —————–
    or Scotland but sees Rangers as the same club of old and who doesn’t retrospectively enforce punishment for wrongs in the past.
    ———-
    Punishment would be the wrong word to use i believe, After the compliance officer report there may be a domino effect who know’s what will happen.


  67. That’s why I said it is an impossible job. And why I think no-one will be fully accepted. There are so many debates over “sporting advantage” (whether it be tax avoidance or state run clubs like Real Madrid) that it is impossible for someone to come into football and keep everyone happy. The counter argument is “apply the rules” but rules are open to interpretation and if they don’t meet a particular objective then they are discounted. I don’t envy whoever gets the job


  68. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 17:01

    —————————————–

    You illustrate the very point I am trying to make with your post DBD. What is the line in the sand? For you it seems to be continuity and for others a recognition of …well the truth. Sorry DBD I betray my neutrality. The original post was to try and garner a sense of what would be acceptable , or even if there was a negotiable position.I have my own thoughts, as have others.


  69. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 17:01
    People on here seem to be happy to have a completely inept leader who may be a shambles but would deliver “justice”. I think that’s a very dangerous mindset. 
    ————–
    How inept would a leader be if the did the right thing and by the rules?


  70. GUNNERBFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 16.45

    “see Homunculus reply.”

    Apologies to Homunculus and the blog as this should have read see Homunculus’s reply. Referring to an earlier post and not anticipation. Boring yes , but necessary.


  71. There’s no chance that Ann Budge would be interested in the SFA gig.  She will be 70 later this month, and has indicated that she will be at Hearts long enough to oversee the transition to FOH ownership which should happen around Feb 2020 once Ann’s loan has been repaid.  Thereafter, I would expect her to retire to her yacht in the Med.


  72. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 17:10
    The counter argument is “apply the rules” but rules are open to interpretation and if they don’t meet a particular objective then they are discounted. I don’t envy whoever gets the job
    —————–
    Transparency of why a rule has been issued and has then been open to interpretation,and why that rule has been met to reach a particular objective would be a start.
    Transparency is branded about like a badge of honour and yet it is never seen


  73. DARKBEFOREDAWNFEBRUARY 3, 2018 at 17:01

    GunnerB, my point still stands. Change punishment to justice and would everyone be willing to lose the chance of a very good leader if they were not going to go for “justice”? The end goal is the same – strip Rangers of titles and declare a new club. However it is dressed up, it seems that is the only single prerequisite on here to being a CEO of the SFA. People on here seem to be happy to have a completely inept leader who may be a shambles but would deliver “justice”. I think that’s a very dangerous mindset. 

    ——————————————————

    Has anyone actually said that.

    Though it would certainly be a change from a completely inept leader who lied and cheated on behalf of one member. 

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