Guest Blog by Auldheid
When helping write up the previous blog on the matter of the (mis) commissioning by Harper Macleod, lawyers to the then SPL and current SPFL, of the Lord Nimmo Smith’s investigation into side letters arising from EBTs issued by Rangers FC from July 1999 (https://sfmarchive.privateland.net/an-honest-game-convince-us/ ) .
I had it in mind that only the SFA had something to hide as a result of their President Campbell Ogilvie being fully aware of the history and distinction between the two illegal Rangers Employee Benefit Trust (REBT ) ebts of wee tax case fame not declared to Harper Macleod and the more widely known Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) Big Tax Case ebts which were declared and on which LNS focussed after (wrongly)treating both types as regular.
The idea that I think most bought into in terms of the registration matters LNS investigated was that no one in football except players with side letters had participated in those schemes and that football authority, both SFA and SPL were unaware of them until their existence became public in Feb 2012. This is when the Sun first published a side letter and the possibility of mis-registration was raised, notably on Celtic Quick News then more widely particularly following an interview between Alex Thomson of Ch4 News and Hugh Adam an ex Rangers Director.
However when you think of the world of Scottish football where players socialise with each other and with journalists, then it does seem stretching it a bit to think that no one in football authority ever heard any gossip or had any enquiry and decided not to investigate the matter before 2012.
Well Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps thought so and their lawyers Biggart Bailie asked Harper Mcleod in March 2012 why the SPL had not investigated a lot earlier on the basis that
- There had been entries every year since 2000 in Rangers Annual Accounts of sums of money being placed in employee benefit trusts
- HMRC had written to the SPL at some unknown point in the past to ask about the existence of side letters in players’ contracts.
The first argument on annual accounts was one made once public awareness of ebts widened but it was dismissed on the grounds that no one knew much about ebts in those early years and in any case properly administered ones, which they would have been presumed to have been, did not have side letters.
However it does seem likely that having written to MIH/Rangers in 2005 to enquire about the existence of side letters to De Boer and Flo (which MIH/Rangers denied holding even though they did) HMRC would have written to the SFA or SPL sometime after 2005 whenever they first became aware of side letters in players contracts with regards to the MGRT ebts of Big Tax Case fame..
That the SPL had been contacted two or three years previous to 2012 by HMRC was confirmed at a SPL Board meeting in March 2012 as a result of a question being asked by Celtic, who were unaware in 2012 that such an HMRC enquiry had been made in 2009 or 2010. It is possible of course that the connection to misregistration was not made then by the SPL executive asked, but had it been history could have been so different.
How that HMRC enquiry and what it contained was handled by the SPL executive perhaps explains not only why the SPL were so keen to take the lead on the investigation but why they were unaware of the different types of ebts at play, the enquiry in 2009/2010 presumably relating only to the MGMRT type.
The motivation of the SPL executive can be read into their advice to the SPL Board on 23rd February 2012 to instruct an immediate inspection and investigation of the financial records of Rangers with respect to the ebt payments under SPL Rule F1 and under Section G of the Rules on the basis that such an inspection and investigation might reveal prima facie evidence of a breach of SPL Rules independently of any Administrator decision or the outcome of the FTT.
The SPL Board were further advised that taking the lead on such grounds would also go some way to forestalling any attempt by the SFA to include any dependency on the outcome of either Rangers Administration (which they entered on 14th February) or the result of the FTT, (which came in November 2012.)
The desire and benefits of delinking what was at heart a registration enquiry from the much more serious use of tax evasion methods to pay players was obviously not lost on those giving the advice.
In fact in directing LNS in the way the SPL did (possibly unaware that tax evasion had already occurred with Flo and De Boer) it avoided focus on the real and still unresolved issue, were players paid by unfair means from 1999 from which sporting advantage would naturally accrue with no need for proof that it had. You cannot say this had not been thought through in the advice given.
It was also the SPL’ stance that matters concerning player payments had traditionally been considered to be for leagues.
The narrative emerging here is one of the two football authorities keeping from public gaze what individuals in both, if not the whole organisations corporately, knew about the history of ebts; the SFA knowing the history of both types from 1999/2000 onwards and the SPL possibly only knowing something of the MGMRT ebts and side letters from 2009/10 as a result of HMRC asking them questions.
Thus it suited the SFA that the SPL take the lead as much as it suited the SPL to do so but for different reasons. The SFA to keep the existence of the wee tax case ebts hidden from public view and LNS scrutiny and the SPL to avoid answering any “when did they know and why did they not act” questions.
Also if the SPL were indeed unaware of the two distinct types of ebts at play (and they may indeed have been), it explains why they never picked up that the earlier illegal ebts were missed/concealed from them by Rangers Administrators.
Perhaps the SPL and SFA were aware of the benefits to them of focusing only on the registration aspect. This could be presented as an administrative error (which LNS basically decided) rather than the possible illegal nature of the big tax case ebts after the FTT (and which might still arise from the UTT) which would present both with much more difficult and unwelcome consequences to manage and certainly would have changed the nature of the investigation from the outset had the full evidence been provided.
However unless the questions put to the SPFL in the previous blog are answered, we will never know who did what and why, but we at least will know that the LNS Investigation and its findings were a sham from the outset and should be set aside.
Perhaps BDO who are investigating the role and behaviour of Duff and Phelps according to the latest report on their work should be asking Duff and Phelps about the circumstances surrounding the concealment of vital evidence from the LNS Commission?
Och why not?
To the BDO partner investigating. Dated 9th June by web site e mail
“ I see that BDO are carrying out a probe into the conduct of administrators Duff & Phelps. Does that cover the failure to supply SPL with full documentation requested to investigate side letters in 2012?
See http://www.tsfm.net/an-honest-game-convince-us/ for background. Missing evidence is available. ”
PS: I did try to ascertain if HMRC did indeed write to the SPL and when, but they were unable to confirm or deny that they had. The enquiry and response follow. The question on who is responsible for HMRC policy in respect of collection of tax from football clubs was not given but probably due more to an oversight than any attempt to stop the question being answered.
gherrybhoy57 says:
July 3, 2014 at 2:30 am
________________________________________________
The level of duplicity employed, the depth of the cover up, the complicity of those in authority not to investigate, the fan disappointment fan, the getting away with it for many many years, and the establishment covering the backs of those it views as its ‘own’ without a thought for the victims.
These are the common elements that make the analogy too apt to ignore I am afraid.
In no way does such a comparison demean or belittle the victims. It was the guilty parties alone that did that.
These elements make the comparison appropriate.
This is what makes the comparison relevent.
Google Vs EU over Right To Be Forgotten (RtF)
The EU clearly view Google’s approach of removing every article requested as unsatisfactory. Maybe the EU also need a right to be remembered (in the public interest).
==========================================================================
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28144406
A link to an article by Robert Peston was taken down under the European court’s “right to be forgotten” ruling.
But Ryan Heath, spokesman for the European Commission’s vice-president, said he could not see a “reasonable public interest” for the action.
He said the ruling should not allow people to “Photoshop their lives”.
””””””””””””””
Ryan Heath is the spokesman for Neelie Kroes, the European Commission’s vice-president. Ms Kroes is leading Europe’s efforts in enforcing new privacy legislation.
Mr Heath argued Google’s decision regarding the BBC article may have been “tactical”.
“Google clearly has a strong interest in making sure that they’re able to work with whatever the legal requirements are, so they position themselves in a particular way over that,” he said.
“It doesn’t come cheap to deal with all of these requests, so they need to find some way to come up with dealing with them.
“It may be that they’ve decided that it’s simply cheaper to just say yes to all of these requests.”
He added: “That’s going to spark its own debate, and rightly so.”
Resin lab dog,
The primary explanation I’d say missed off your list was the abuse of the position of power, which was the first thing I thought of on reading your first post and in that context I thought it was a fair analogy, while recognising the distaste put forth by others.
I forget the full detail of your first post but I still wear the blue jersey and am still a decent person. It is possible to wear the shirt with pride while still being all too aware of the shortcomings associated with it. There has been much less pride in recent years, it goes without saying.
Bailmeanach – pretty much with regards to securitisation. Almost any stream of income can be securitised, depending on investor appetite, including things such as credit card debt, car loans and, almost exclusively with regards to UK financial institutions, residential mortgages.
Ryan, were the notorious Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae (I know) not involved in residential mortgage securitisation in USA? The risk being exposed by dint of them getting involved in the sub-prime end of the industry?
MCFC
Here is the link to the Peston article, retrieved via Bing just now. Other search engines are available. Or go to google.com which respects the First Amendment.
There is no right to be forgotten on the internet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/thereporters/robertpeston/2007/10/merrills_mess.html
RyanGosling says:
July 3, 2014 at 7:08 pm
Bailmeanach – pretty much with regards to securitisation. Almost any stream of income can be securitised, depending on investor appetite, including things such as credit card debt, car loans and, almost exclusively with regards to UK financial institutions, residential mortgages.
================
I agree with all that, but I still don’t see how Letham’s loan could be securitised. It could maybe be sold on to a third party (at a discount), but I get the impression that Letham is a genuine fan, and will just want his money back as agreed.
I’m not overly familiar with Fannie and Freddie beyond knowing that they are involved in the US mortgage market. However I do know that mortgage backed securities (MBS) was and continues to be a very common way of raising funds. Markets were very difficult through the financial crisis due to the exposure to sub prime mortgages in the US in particular and widespread lax mortgage lending criteria in general, although this remains a popular way of raising funds which has been helped by rating agencies (finally) getting to grips with them and rating them appropriate to their risk. The big problem in the financial crisis and a big reason it escalated to the extent it did (in my opinion) was that weak tranches of otherwise perfectly good MBS’s were allowed to be separated and packaged together into collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) which were then highly rated by agencies and therefore trusted by institutions, when in reality all they were were a bunch of turds packaged together and polished to dupe people, with the risk of failure sold off at the same time by those who did the packaging.
I realise we’ve now gone off at quite a tangent, but I’d started typing so I finished, apologies.
Ryan
Never mind, good summary of what went on re packaging and polishing this eventually cr*p scrap.
Welcome back Scottish ‘fitba. Come on the ‘Dons. Come on Bangor ~( an easy 3 1/2 hrs away 😀 )
NEEPHEID – the Lethem loan is categorically a secured agreement, along with Easedale’s (Edmiston or car park – I can’t recall which was which) and is secured on property. I think it’s maybe a case of semantics re Phil’s piece.
Ryan – agree we’ve strayed OT so let’s drop the subject!
Bailemeanach – agreed on both scores. The loan could have been sold on as is, discounted if need be, and we needn’t have heard about it as once the loan agreement with rangers was concluded it no longer needs to be notified to the market or anything. If Lethem wanted to sell it to someone it could have been done. But this wouldn’t really be a securitisation as it is one asset rather than a pool of assets.
Interesting Re Gauld. I was not aware the Bank were involved in resale of Utd players:
From Pie and Bovril Utd thread:
=================================================
Ando, on 02 Jul 2014 – 16:24, said:
The bank are still entitled to a percentage of all transfer fees to 31st August 2015 and could end up making more money through percentage of transfers than we originally owed them under the initial terms of the loan.
At settlement the loan was £3.605m but with early settlement fees and overdraft the total amount due to them was £4.7m. We paid them £1.45m to settle the debt that day with a contingency agreement that the bank receive a reducing percentage share of all transfer proceeds to August 31st 2015 up to a maximum of £4.1m.
I don’t know if reducing percentage means they get say 40% of first deal, 20% of second, 10% of third for example, or it may mean that they get 40% in this transfer window, 20% in January transfer window, 10% in final transfer window before August 31st.
If we didn’t sell anyone in the three transfer windows we were due a final payment of £250k on August 31st 2015, which means the total repaid was £1.7m to write off £4.7m of debt (although the debt wasn’t really as much as £4.7m as this included fees that wouldn’t have come in to play if we hadn’t settled early.)
However if we sell enough players, and depending on the percentages the bank receives we could end up paying back a total of £4.1m between now and August 31st 2015 to repay what was a £3.605m loan (+ overdraft) when we entered this agreement.
And for the record, I think it’s a great deal that United/Investors/John Bennett struck, it was 100% the right thing to do, I’m just saying that if we start selling Gauld for £3m, Robbo for £2.5m, Armstrong for £1.5m, GMS for £500k etc in the next 14 months then the bank get a hefty wedge too.
Whilst, as you say, this was a good deal from the club’s point of view I’ve never understood the bank’s ‘logic’ in agreeing to this.
I can understand a bank willing to right-off a large chunk of debt if they see it as a (potentially) bad risk but why would United be viewed in this light. We had already substanially reduced the debt through the Goodwillie deal and, I believe, had used some of the money from the Russell sale. We had obviously developed sellable assets (or at least there was a strong percetion we had), even before Robertson and Gauld had come to the fore, so it must have been assumed we were unlikely to default.
As I say, great piece of business on behalf of the club but, potentially, not so great from the bank’s perspective. Though with another couple of large sales over the next 12 months they won’t do too bad.
http://rangers.g3dhosting.com/regulatory_news_article/377
This is extraordinary
What cuts needed to break even over next season?
When income per season maxed @ circa 17m – say 25m [rose specs]
I don`t see how sums of this magnitude can or could be reconciled
There must be some underwriting for what’s going on right now
And where is it coming from? – And why?
Nutshell;
Someone must have deep pockets and an aversion to admin
– For some reason
Don`t expect any MSM `EXCLUSIVE` any time soon – or ever
Or, proper investigations – by people State paid to investigate
Gen Bears being let down v v badly by people who are PAID to protect
Latest from Phil:
Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain 49m
I am hearing that Mr Letham has yet to be paid his money by RIFC/TRFC. The loan is not securitized.
……………
Mmmm…….
I hope Mr Letham is rich enough to eat his £1m
He should have known that when offered money upfront by anybody, Spivs agree to whatever is necessary with no intention of repayment
And as for suing a Spiv,for unpaid debts
Well
Don`t threaten them with telling lies. Anything in writing will have used language with wiggle room
In any event
Reputation counts for nothing…….. all that matters to them is is the money
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Meanwhile
I wouldn`t be a bit surprised if a new Spiv came along prepared to loan cash week to week against income from pay at the gate
A kinda Spiv version of Wonga
TRFC would need some help from the governing bodies in ensuring a run of home games in cup competitions
Probably not a big problem for those in charge.The Bryson defence would get them off if they were ever caught fiddling the draw
Indeed
I wouldn`t be a bit surprised if Celtic have already turned down
an “arranged” cup game at Ibrox
Auldheid says:
July 3, 2014 at 11:18 am
“if the £94,426,217.22 shown against HMRC as an unsecured creditor is accurate does anyone have a breakdown of constituent elements”
——————————————–
I reckon D&P got a tax guy to make a reasonable estimate of the likely liability. I notice EJ has already provided a much more detailed response.
John Clark says:
July 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm
“Is there a porn merchant struck-off lawyer in the house? 500 000 000 million people and a knight of the realm may wish to have words concerning the soundness of his tax advice.”
——————————————-
For some time now I have noticed a brass plaque on a basement office just along the road from where the SFA headquarters used to be at Kelvingrove Park (Park Gardens). Baxendale Walker had an office at 9 Claremont Terrace. Someone has recently nicked the brass plaque. Would it be beyond the realms of possibility that novel tax avoidance schemes entered Scottish Football via the governing body? It seems so absurdly obvious that I’ve never wanted to highlight the connection up till now.
http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/maps-full.html
Castofthousands says:
July 3, 2014 at 9:30 pm
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John Clark says:
July 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm
“Is there a porn merchant struck-off lawyer in the house? 500 000 000 million people and a knight of the realm may wish to have words concerning the soundness of his tax advice.”
——————————————-
For some time now I have noticed a brass plaque on a basement office just along the road from where the SFA headquarters used to be at Kelvingrove Park (Park Gardens). Baxendale Walker had an office at 9 Claremont Terrace. Someone has recently nicked the brass plaque. Would it be beyond the realms of possibility that novel tax avoidance schemes entered Scottish Football via the governing body? It seems so absurdly obvious that I’ve never wanted to highlight the connection up till now.
http://www.glasgowguide.co.uk/maps-full.html
======================================================
Seriously?
He had an office he mysteriously “went Missing” from down in Weybridge above an estate agents not far from me.
Yons a stunner I must say.
I see Aberdeen won 5-0 in the Europa League qualifier 1st leg. That is a solid result no matter the opposition, and makes the return a formality.
Scottish football needs strong results in Europe from clubs who play by the rules.
Well done Dons 5-0 7 Yellows 2 reds for the opposition.
Next leg keep the legs tucked in and stay mid park and its over.
Its Iceland for the ‘Well after Fir Park. Pity never been to Wales, however Iceland’s worth a visit I believe from mates who have been with the national team.
The pathetic level of “our” media coverage of Aberdeen’s Europa qualifier tonight is nothing short of disgraceful. Just imagine if it was a similar game at Ibrox? Saturation coverage wouldn’t begin to describe it. I truly despair. 5-0 Aberdeen, by the way. A credit to Scotland.
ianagain says:
July 3, 2014 at 9:56 pm
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Its Iceland for the ‘Well after Fir Park. Pity never been to Wales, however Iceland’s worth a visit I believe from mates who have been with the national team.
————————
Suspect you may end up pining for Wales after you buy your first pint…… 😀
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/28153711
“The UoF also announced the closure of their Ibrox 1972 season ticket fund”
Any monies collected?
iamacant says: July 3, 2014 at 10:20 pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/28153711
—————————————-
There are a few snippets in that article. I think the ST Fund was only taking pledges rather than collecting cash.
I see that the UoF are questioning CG’s share option for more that 1M shares.
I checked back on the RIFC Prospectus and sure enough, CG appears to have an option on similar terms to that held by BS.
2.1.1 Charles Green
Under a Scottish law agreement signed on 17 September 2012 (but effective on 12 June
2012), RFCL employed Charles Green as Chief Executive of RFCL for an annual salary of
£360,000 per annum (plus benefits and expenses including accommodation costs). Mr Green
is also entitled to a non-contractual bonus of 100 per cent. gross salary if the Club wins
promotion from the SFL, an equity stake of 10 per cent. of the enlarged ordinary share capital
of RFCL post-secondary fund raising and or IPO and has a contractual right to receive share
options in the event that the RFCL Group’s shares are listed on any recognised exchange,
with a value equivalent to twice Mr Green’s annual salary.
So it looks as if CG has an option on a number of shares equivalent to £720,000. Using the 70p formula as used by BS, that amounts to 1,028,571 shares. At 30p a share that would value them at £308,571
It sounds from the article as if monies were pledged but never collected, and now the commitment has been abandoned.
Sounds to me like they’re upset about something that was agreed in 2012 and nothing could be done about it by the time Mr Stockbridge left. An onerous contract, if you will.
easyJambo says:
July 3, 2014 at 10:41 pm [EDIT]
…and has a contractual right to receive share options in the event that the RFCL Group’s shares are listed on any recognised exchange, with a value equivalent to twice Mr Green’s annual salary….
mcmurdo – jack – rm – any comment on your past guidance?
Don`t tell me – tell to loyal Bears
parttimearab says:
July 3, 2014 at 10:13 pm
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ianagain says:
July 3, 2014 at 9:56 pm
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Its Iceland for the ‘Well after Fir Park. Pity never been to Wales, however Iceland’s worth a visit I believe from mates who have been with the national team.
————————
Suspect you may end up pining for Wales after you buy your first pint…… 😀
============================================================
I’m hearing the Krona is a busted flush and ex rate is lovely. am I being too optimistic?
easyJambo says:
July 3, 2014 at 10:41 pm
“So it looks as if CG has an option on a number of shares equivalent to £720,000. Using the 70p formula as used by BS, that amounts to 1,028,571 shares. At 30p a share that would value them at £308,571”
——————————————
Surely if Stockbridge tried to offload his shares the price would tank. Even more so if Charlie pulled a similar stunt.
ianagain says:
July 3, 2014 at 11:17 pm
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parttimearab says:
July 3, 2014 at 10:13 pm
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ianagain says:
July 3, 2014 at 9:56 pm
2 0 Rate This
Its Iceland for the ‘Well after Fir Park. Pity never been to Wales, however Iceland’s worth a visit I believe from mates who have been with the national team.
————————
Suspect you may end up pining for Wales after you buy your first pint……
============================================================
I’m hearing the Krona is a busted flush and ex rate is lovely. am I being too optimistic?
————
Probably better (and less expensive) to give the liver a rest and visit the blue lagoon instead 🙂
Regarding Green’s shares, I thought he had agreed to off-load them at a very early stage? Wasn’t it the Easdales or Laxey who were in the picture to receive part of his slice of the share pie? Seems out of character for Green and Stockbridge to wait so long before cashing in. Even Ally’s 1m shares will soon be difficult to off-load for anything like what they were once worth, you’d think.
Sadly I see in today’s Scotsman that Rangers seem to have been the main focus for the media when discussing Craig Gordon signing for Celtic. Why don’t Celtic and the rest of the clubs get together and issue a statement saying ‘We would like to admit none of us would exist were it not for the mighty Rangers. We should feel privileged to even play in the same country as them’.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/celtic-craig-gordon-never-close-to-rangers-move-1-3465627
Letham has spoken to The Record, according to KJ:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-fan-who-loaned-club-3806719
And in the rational universe, Leeann Dempster talks common sense:
If Red Lichtie was here he’s probably add something along the lines of: ‘Scottish football needs strong women.’ 🙂
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/hibs-chief-leeann-dempster-warns-3802628
Castofthousands says:
July 4, 2014 at 12:49 am
easyJambo says:
July 3, 2014 at 10:41 pm
“So it looks as if CG has an option on a number of shares equivalent to £720,000. Using the 70p formula as used by BS, that amounts to 1,028,571 shares. At 30p a share that would value them at £308,571″
——————————————
Surely, if Stockbridge tried to offload his shares the price would tank. Even more so if Charlie pulled a similar stunt.
_
There`s 6.6m of these `discretionary` shares available to `Directors and ex-employees`
That`s about 10%
Could that affect control voting – balance of power?
There was a planted story on a CG comeback
Danish Pastry says:
July 4, 2014 at 8:16 am
And in the rational universe, Leeann Dempster talks common sense:
…..If Red Lichtie was here he’s probably add something along the lines of: ‘Scottish football needs strong women.’
————————————————————————————————–
I’m with you on that one DP. Looking forward to Ann Budge also having an impact on the blazers.
Scottish Football needs a rip-roaring new season that potential sponsors and the media just can’t ignore.
RyanGosling says:
July 3, 2014 at 7:08 pm
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Resin lab dog,
The primary explanation I’d say missed off your list was the abuse of the position of power, which was the first thing I thought of on reading your first post and in that context I thought it was a fair analogy, while recognising the distaste put forth by others.
I forget the full detail of your first post but I still wear the blue jersey and am still a decent person. It is possible to wear the shirt with pride while still being all too aware of the shortcomings associated with it. There has been much less pride in recent years, it goes without saying.
Bailmeanach – pretty much with regards to securitisation. Almost any stream of income can be securitised, depending on investor appetite, including things such as credit card debt, car loans and, almost exclusively with regards to UK financial institutions, residential mortgages.
_______________________________________________
No question that there are a great many decent fans like you out there like you Ryan, and I wish you luck.
But it must be utterly galling the way every time your club seems to start to make progress toward a rehabilitation and decent behavior, that elements of the old ‘Rangersness’ pop up out of the woodwork and throw sand into the gear box of progress.
It is those elements to whom my comment is directed. STILL they persist.
I think frustration is the appropriate response towards them.
I think it is telling that Hearts weren’t subject to such machinations during their troubled times, and I believe this fact was no small factor in the outcome they secured.
@Redlichtie
Finding sponsors isn’t easy for any sport. And since many sponsors do not not ‘invest’ but actually donate to the running of a sport they must turn up with certain expectations to fair play and decency. I’ve been following the build-up to the Tour and a few weeks ago the Belkin team lost its major sponsor. Serious stuff. I get the impression that cycling, too, has mostly backers with deep pockets who love the sport. It’s survived the doping scandal by cleaning up the sport — not re-defining the rules about doping, or have someone come along and say, “We didn’t know they were doped at the time therefore we can’t strip them of their yellow jersey.”
Cycling does seem to be in a state of flux, since the sport is becoming more popular, with more TV coverage, which means other kinds of backers are attracted, people who see it as a cold investment rather than a labour of love.
One thing is sure though, it’s going to be more and more difficult to attract sponsors to Scottish football when the sport appears to lack the ability to govern itself, and where every rule can be trumped by ‘discretion’ — or a judge.
So Dave King’s crackpot scheme for the collection of Season Ticket money has collapsed, which was predictable since the scheme never made any sense in the first place. Which raises an interesting question- where is King (and Gough for that matter)? He has marched the Sons of Struth up to the top of the hill, and now they have to find their own way back down.
I would categorise the whole episode as utterly despicable, and in any normal, rational situation, King would be finished for good. However since it’s “Rangers”, I eagerly await King’s reappearance, accompanied by fawning press adulation, promises from King of spend, spend, spend (other people’s money, of course) and all things past just forgotten and swept under the carpet, with Ogilvie rolled out to give the SFA’s benediction.
By the way, just how many acts does this pantomime run to? I seem to have been watching it for a long time now, and the action is getting slow. We need Whyte and Green (the Chuckle Brothers?) to enter, stage left, to bring back the laughs.
Neepheid…
I’m looking forward to this season if for no other reason than TRFC may well come seriously unstuck in the Championship.
A few weeks in and mixed results may well lead to lower than expected attendances and a call for McCoist’s head. Allied to further off field financial pressures and there may well be fireworks ahead.
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
I was a wee bit curious when I saw that the SPFL had a new sponsor for the old Ramsdens cup tournament. So I googled Petrofac and what I saw made me wonder if a few wires had been crossed when Mr Doncaster made his initial approach.
One of the services on offer by Petrofac is——-
Offshore Survival Training !!
Maybe I’m just being cynical?
Redlichtie
It appears Mr McCoist has started preparing his disguise after his recent appearance,his picture in last nights Glasgow Evening Times was an absolute shocker,I imagine he has fallen out with someone at that paper,as for the rest ,I would imagine they will be auditioning for the part of the Invisible Man or its new title the Invisible Men ,the Panto is in keeping with the old one liners ,He’s Behind You,unfortunately you realy dont want any of this crowd saying I’m behind you unless your standing with your back to the edge of a cliff,you now get the feeling that the spivs have won the next installment of the treasure hunt and will be making large withdrawls shortly before planning the final payday after the share issue,this is a Panto that will raise the curtain in the second act as a Who Done It.
Redlichtie,
That has always been an intriguing known unknown for me. How will the Ibrox crowd react in a fair fight? If austerity really kicks in and what will still be an impressive line up of Zaliukas, Boyd, Miller et al start to struggle for reasons of injury or whatever (whatever being Raith Rovers tap them up 😆 ) what will result. First up I think almost certainly you would see an uplift in interest and hence crowds, merchandising etc, but could it be sustained? Ryan? Especially if what was considered too big to fail actually started to do so?
To put it another way, what is the intended end result of the money men? I still can’t see the merits of staggering into the top division on their knees with everything, finances, infrastructure, generous shareholders stretched to the absolute limit. Is that genuinely a saleable entity? Or are the true rangers men still hoping for a financial car crash in which they pick up the pieces for cheap, or even free?
Note to all – spare us the 12th man, flag waving, penalty deciding stuff. We all have our own thoughts on that 😉
yourhavingalaugh says:
July 4, 2014 at 12:06 pm
4 9 Rate This
Redlichtie
It appears Mr McCoist has started preparing his disguise after his recent appearance,his picture in last nights Glasgow Evening Times was an absolute shocker,I imagine he has fallen out with someone at that paper
====================
I saw that photo on Twitter and KDS, but naturally assumed that some clever person had photoshopped something from a Rab C Nesbitt archive. So it’s real? As my 12YO granddaughter would say, OMG!
Re : Rangers in the Championship.
Last year Rangers went undefeated through the league campaign, albeit not playing silky soccer. Their imperative is still to win at all costs and with a core of big strapping lads in the team they will bulldoze their way through the Championship with relative ease, any other expectation is putting too much emphasise on a couple of cup ties from last season …..
I would expect Rangers to sign 2 centre halves shortly , as thus is their potential Achilles heel …….
You need to remember that their DNA of winning at all costs has not changed and they will be too strong for the young lads in the rest of the Championship
EasyJambo
Thanks for response on the total tax RFC might have evaded should the UTT find for HMRC.
From the FTT Decision I picked out that MGMRT ebts amounted to a core amount of £36M and the DOS ebts came to £2.8m so £39M before penalties. The unpaid VAT and PAYE/NI would take the core amount north of £50M if HMRC get the nod from the UTT.
Auldheid says: July 4, 2014 at 1:23 pm
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There was also some discussion at the UTTT as to whether or not the amounts paid into the trust should be grossed up for calculation of tax, and the bizarre argument put forward by Andrew Thornhill that players understanding of “net” was “free of tax” rather than net of tax already paid.
Smugas says:
July 4, 2014 at 1:05 pm
To put it another way, what is the intended end result of the money men? I still can’t see the merits of staggering into the top division on their knees with everything, finances, infrastructure, generous shareholders stretched to the absolute limit. Is that genuinely a saleable entity? Or are the true rangers men still hoping for a financial car crash in which they pick up the pieces for cheap, or even free?
=============================================
Smugas – I think the money men no longer have a common purpose, which is why things seem to be drifting. Asset strippers would prefer to cash-out with controlled admin but founder spivs would prefer to cash out via a sale of TRFC. Both options now seem unlikely – even asset strippers and spivs can get it wrong. It would seem that the founder spivs must now settle for their onerous contract income whilst talking-up austerity and Euro glory moonbeams via GW. They are probably the ones keeping the lights on in the hope of Championship success giving a better ST harvest next year – speculate to accumulate. Remember that the founder spivs have been repaid in full – and more – so they literally have nothing to lose here. So when the well runs dry, they can walk away from a nice little earner with a smile – job done. Meanwhile the asset strippers must be licking their wounds. Remember the asset strippers are essentially ruthless predators who operate squarely within the law – whereas the founder spivs could be accused on sailing exceptionally close to the wind in that regard.
I think it was Mark Twain who said something to the effect of; “When a man with money but no experience does business with a man with experience but no money, there is a plentiful exchange of both..”
Conclusion – there is no happy ending here for the Bears
Congrats to Aberdeen on a superb result last night.
If this had been the ‘Golden Age’ of Scottish football from around 20 or so years ago, Aberdeen would have lost that, as they did to Skonto Riga. I presume we won’t hear mention of that in MSM today…..
Skinto Riga – is that a feeder club to The Rangers ?
mcfc says:
July 4, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Skinto Riga – is that a feeder club to The Rangers ?
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It wouldn’t be Skinto Rigged you’re thinking of would it? 😈
Scottish Football needs a strong Championship.
According to “The Scotsman”, Don Cowie has turned down the offer of a new contract by Cardiff City, and McCoist is very keen to sign him. He (McCoist) is quoted as saying there is still a bit in the budget.
Last season Cowie was on EPL wages, and although relegated to the English championship, I cannot believe Cardiff would have offered a contract akin to those accepted by Messrs Miller and Boyd. Is it the case then, Cowie will also be playing ” for the Jersey” if he joins TRFC, or will there be some other rewards on offer?
What is going on at Ibrox?
We can all theorize , guess and predict or whatever, but the lack of clarity, in fact, total silence from the TRFC Boardroom is beyond belief.
Even the most fervent of TRFC supporters must be saying to themselves, what the he’ll is going on here? Ticket sales are down, we borrowed money, we haven’t paid back, we still have a surfeit of players, tours etc etc etc.
It is surely time the Board made an unequivocal statement of play. Neutral football fans can hold their breath, but the long suffering RFC fan deserves better.
So come on, Mr Wallace. Get it out into the open
Is that not the nom de plume of the controlling mind behind the conspiracy that is keeping the mighty-morphing power rangers from “their rightful place”?
Some interesting tweets:
@mikefstv: An interesting development this afternoon in Craig Whyte’s legal claim against Rangers over alleged dealings with Charles Green et al>
@mikefstv: Four companies set up as litigation vehicles in case – Media Litigation Ltd, Law Financial Ltd, Law Capital Ltd and Litigation Capital Ltd
@mikefstv: Have all had striking off orders lodged against them by Companies House today – so is the case dead already without even reaching court?
I think I know where the money is coming from to keep TRFC afloat and allow them to offer contracts to new all these new players. They have won the Euro Millions in the last big draw. This can be the only plausible explaination.
oddjob says:
July 4, 2014 at 3:06 pm
According to “The Scotsman”, Don Cowie has turned down the offer of a new contract by Cardiff City, and McCoist is very keen to sign him. He (McCoist) is quoted as saying there is still a bit in the budget.
_
Agree with sentiment oj. Not sure I`d pay any attention to this sort of stuff. It sort of suggests McCoist is the master of his own universe when it comes to picking any players. I frankly doubt if he is trusted to do this in reality all by himself – and would explore the possibility it’s out of his hand in practicalities – but been used for MSM fodder.
Not sure they`ve thought this through.
If any of these signings turn out not up to scratch the wrong people could be blamed
– and then yet more division.
On that subject – it must have stuck in the craw – when their two recent signings `playing` for the jersey` – have just got their foot in the door only to realise their financial sacrifice was gazumped by shares given to BS that on paper is worth more than both their [hearsay] combined salaries.
The Casino That Murray Built
If The Rangers do OK in the Championship there could be £6mil – £10mil cash floating around Govan next season. (20,000 bears x £20 x 20 games = £8mil). No credit cards remember – just cash.
Now that opens up some potentially dodgy scenarios because every crook loves a cash business.
Has anyone seen Casino where the mob gave up counting the cash and just weighed it, before filling attaché cases that were courier to the Chicago boss as “points”.
Nicky Santoro: And we know what you do, don’t we Charlie? You fuck people out of money and get away with it.
Hope hector is paying attention!
bit.ly/1s8P3c6 Wall to wall TV coverage for TRFC this season then.
Casino – I may be onto something here.
Is Casino the spiv template ?
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they lose, and in the end, we get it all.
I need to watch this again tonight between the matches.
Carfins Finest says:
July 4, 2014 at 3:49 pm
bit.ly/1s8P3c6 Wall to wall TV coverage for TRFC this season then.
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I wonder how much the SPFL paying them for that kind of coverage? I mean … how much they are paying the SPFL … forgot how it worked for a moment there.
Don Cowie to snub EPL and championship teams eager to pay him at least £20k a week to sign a one year contract with the rangers on £150k a year…. If AMcC pulls that off he has certainly learned loads from CG… I think not though, usual paper garbage eager to throw AMcC a question to get his obvious reply… Does anybody buy papers these days!!!
Great to see big Gordon at Celtic, always liked the big guy hopefully he can get back on track and compete to be Scotland’s number 1.
Well done to the Dons last night, great to see any Scottish victory in Europe.
Well done to jackie and Utd for spotting some talent and making a great deal for the club and the boy. I hope Wee Gauldy gets a chance to develop…. Scottish football needs to give youth a chance from 17 on.
I see in an infamous Rangers fan forum that there is great delight in the rumour that HMRC have lost the UTTT decision.
if a decision has been made, do the parties get sight of this before publication? I remember that the Tribunals process (FTTT) does allow for the parties to have the result 7 days before public publication.
Given that the UTTT is a Court do the same rules apply?
I am not worried about the rumour – as it was rumoured that HMRC would win the FTTT and look how that turned out 🙂
The Bears 1972 a missed oppo. If they stuck to guns they could have built a reserve to TO or at least majorly influence the direction if/ when there is an `event`. After seeing the spivs use Bear cash to make their cash – and seeing Bears cash used to finance rotten spivs ownership – the potential not exploited IMO.
No plan B
Given what spivs have done and doing
I`d use a quote from the Dad`s Army Sergeant – `Is that wise?`
oddjob says:
July 4, 2014 at 3:06 pm
It is surely time the Board made an unequivocal statement of play. Neutral football fans can hold their breath, but the long suffering RFC fan deserves better.
Is it not time they dug out the” We Deserve Better Banners again” 💡
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
July 4, 2014 at 3:27 pm
“@mikefstv: Have all had striking off orders lodged against them by Companies House today – so is the case dead already without even reaching court?”
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Someone posted up a change of address by Sevco 5088 a few weeks ago. The new address was that of Field Fisher Waterhouse.
Was the 5088 claim ever for real or was the whole Charlotte revelation manufactured for effect?
Not sure Bears `Leadership` have openly / really understood the gravity of the real game on.
– or want to
Be aware
Misplaced confidence has led to oblivion on more than a few occasions
tomtom says:
July 4, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Naw, definitely Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice types
Interestingly poss? – norm solid record stv – gone `tabloid` today
Something up?
I see that trading in Nova Resources has been restored after their accounts were published today
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=12006844
http://www.novaresourceslimited.com/news/Nova_2013_Annual_Report_FINAL_ARchanges_CLEAN.pdf
They only lost £1.2M last year compared to £3.2M the year before, so things are still getting worse although slower. (a bit like RIFC). Seems like they are doing a lot of wheeling and dealing in shares and other tradable securities with Tricor, a company that has periodically cropped up here and on RTC.
“Support the team – not the regime”
Ok – team gets support – regime gets the loadsa cash
Cash goes to non-team stuff
Must be missing something obvious
Help me out here Guys
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/486874/Rangers-boss-desperate-for-back-up?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-express-sport-news+%28Daily+Express+%3A%3A+Sport+Feed%29
`And he insists he knows nothing about reports that chief executive Graham Wallace has targeted former Ibrox star Christian Nerlinger for the role of chief football operations officer.`
There you go – knew nowt about `reports` – `nothing` at all – even `insists`!
Fabulous news – Honesty, Integrity, Trust – you name it
PR Brill 😉
Blimey
twopanda says:
July 4, 2014 at 10:54 pm
Looks like Ally doesn’t read the newspapers as well as his contracts. Why is there always something unbelievable, or is it unbelievably stupid, in all his interviews? Still he knows a lot about football, like, if you don’t have a scouting system, you need to get one. Though his arithmetic is still proving to be a weak point. I doubt TRFC have lost 20 players in their whole history, let alone twenty that equate to £20m.
I heard a radio report yesterday that at the same time as proposing 15-20 redundancies following relegation, Fulham are making a 10m bid for a player.
See A McCoist is still banging the drum about losing £40 million worth of players. Firstly the players who walked away from the Old Rangers to achieve their earning potential and secure a future for their respective young families were never in your wildest dreams worth anywhere near that figure. Secondly, you cannot lose what you never had and these players never ever belonged to the team that he now manages.Sometimes the truth and Mr McCoist are real strangers and I believe that he has now spouted this guff enough times now that he really believes it regardless of the facts.
Keith Jackson getting in the neck on twitter last night from the State Aid crowd. Some meaty exchanges, but mostly bonkers.
I thought the cycling commentators were meant to be the bees knees. I just heard the ones on ITV a moment ago refer to someone having “dropped out” = banned for obtaining “a biologically adverse passport” = caught doping. And that’s the second one mentioned for failing controls so far.
Is it really worth watching?
There is a spoof account on twitter that is doing everything possible to spread rumours that the decision has been made already.
I seriously doubt that.
The account is @taxcaseresult but previously was Charles Green and then Brian Stockbridge. Keeps appearing on my timeline with no previous history