Journey’s End?

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It has taken a year longer than predicted, but a critical appraisal of  TRFC’s progress through the lower leagues must include recognition of the improvements on the playing field made under the new manager Mark Warburton. SFM usually precludes lengthy discussion on subjective issues like relative abilities of players and managers and referees, but on this subject, and by any objective standard, that is a given.

It is therefore right that he and his players should receive the congratulations of us all at SFM.

It has to be said that, despite the pitfalls, man-traps and honey-pots that remain to be successfully negotiated by the Rangers board, they have implemented their own stark version austerity, contrary to their rhetoric, whilst managing the expectations of their supporters. Perhaps some of what we have come to term “reasonable” Rangers fans would argue that the lack of humility still evident in the demeanour of the TRFC board is an essential part of managing those fans whilst imposing the austerity package on them.

Much like a political party conference, a football board has to play to it’s core support as well as the rest of the country.

How that will pan out is anybody’s guess, just like the random bagatelle that is the “TRFC in Court” saga.

There is also the existential problem to deal with. Many TRFC fans bought into the ‘same club’ myth at the outset, not because they actually believed it, but because it suited them, and because it served as an understandable GIRUY to the rest of us. With the passage of time, the suspension of disbelief, even in that constituency, is now complete and arguably irreversible. The problem for them is that the rest of have not subscribed to that rather bizarre set of contradictions. No other club has to have the “company that operates” prefix. Nor does any other club compel observers to skirt around the facts and search for a form of words acceptable to both sides of a mutually exclusive argument.  In short, and existentially, the new Rangers don’t fit into the same kind of comfortable groove that other clubs do.

All of these problems for the new club, and many more, will exercise our minds to a greater or lesser extent moving forward, depending on how sensitive our outrage thresholds are to the various legal and Jungian issues. However we at SFM need to focus our sights on those whose maladministration of football gave rise to those problems in the first place – the SFA, SPFL, and by extension, the clubs – all of them.

Here are some facts;

  1. The SFA award clubs a licence to participate in UEFA competitions.
  2. The licence is only to be awarded if the applicant club has no unpaid tax debts.
  3. Both the club and the SFA have responsibility to notify UEFA of any debts (belt and braces routine in case the club ‘forgets’ to notify the SFA).
  4. In 2011, one club applied for and was awarded a UEFA licence.
  5. That club had accepted debts to HMRC – which were outstanding and overdue.
  6. These facts have been in the public domain since 2012,and were brought to the attention of ALL clubs in Scotland as well as the SFA.
  7. Nothing has been done by any club, or the SFA, to investigate the claim at #5
  8. SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan, when asked by an SFM member what he would do if these claims could be substantiated, said; “Nothing!”
  9. All clubs will be within a few weeks, issuing season ticket renewal forms.

The story contained in points 6 and 7 above is a lengthy and protracted one.

From sources inside two clubs I have been informed that the problem here is subversive and obsessive fans, who don’t represent the vast body of fans generally. On points 1-5, my sources refused to comment. Conversations with SFA officials and print journalists yield the same reaction, with the addition that it is “just Celtic fans obsessed with Rangers” making the claims.

The lesson, if there is one worthy of the name, is that the bearers of the message need to attacked, and the message itself ignored. We could speculate why that is, but that would be to fall into the trap, taking our eye off the ball.

Perhaps I am being naïve, but my inference is that the SFA and clubs have no intention of doing anything about what was at best incompetence on an unbelievable scale, or at worst corruption. A source at Celtic Park  was complaining in victim-like fashion to SFM that many Celtic fans were threatening to close their season book accounts over this issue, and that Rangers might have 45,000 SBs next season whilst Celtic could be down to as low as 20,000.

It had never occurred to him that actually supporting an investigation into SFA malpractice would add another 10,000 to the SB takeup.

Overall, the clubs and the SFA want us to believe that an investigation into this licensing issue is a Celtic or Rangers thing. It is neither of those.

An investigation, even if finds that corruption or incompetence has taken place cannot harm Rangers – old or new. There are no titles to strip here. The licence has been used and thrown away, so it cannot be “un – awarded”.

The only people who have anything to lose out of this are those individuals who allowed it to happen – those who our clubs seem so keen to protect.

More importantly, an investigation may be the catalyst for changes in procedures at the SFA to ensure that rigorous accountability is enforced -accountability that the clubs are eager to avoid.

Are we wrong? I hope we are not foolish enough to imagine that everything we believe is set in stone. I am confident that we are correct in our assumptions and in our interpretation of the facts, but please, let’s hear the counter-argument. Thus far, not one word of rebuttal save the usual invective reserved for the messenger has been uttered.

So what do we do? For me it is simple. If we really love our sport, and do nothing, the sport is lost to us completely and irrevocably.

If our view that sporting integrity has been killed off by those in charge of the game is correct, we lose nothing by embarking on a season ticket boycott. However by doing so we may awaken those in charge to the realities of our power as fans and prioritise in their minds the need to listen to what we say.

My view? if they ignore us, they can take their industry that they pretend is sport, and put it somewhere away from my reach. I neither want it nor need it.

If enough of us feel the same way, we WILL get a clean game. If we are as few as the MSM claim we are, at least we will have freed ourselves from a bent one.

I won’t be buying any more season books until I see these issues addressed. It certainly is tough love, but it is the only way for me.  And it is driven by love – a love of the game I spent decades supporting, thinking that on the whole it was played on a level playing field. Certainly not driven by a sneering disregard for truth and integrity and a worship of acquisition.

Maybe it’s not just the end of Rangers’ journey then. Certainly if it’s not the end of ours, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The fans, the clubs, and Rangers too. The decision we make over the next few months may determine the future of our clubs, our sport, our Saturday afternoons.

I can tell you this though. Even when the dark facts are laid before us starkly as this, and when football is at the mercy of those who really do hate sport for its own sake, it is worth mentioning the common thread of decency and purpose we have all shared here on SFM, the friendships we have forged, and the love of football we have demonstrated.

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About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

1,108 thoughts on “Journey’s End?”


  2. I knew it would be bad, but unfortunately, I haven’t been prepared for the tsunami of bol*ox that has been printed about a certain game on Sunday, all the while, recognising that there’s still 4 more days of it to come.
    Firstly, we had Souness yesterday, spouting absolute utter, arrogant drivel, of a kind, that goes far & above the phrase “insulting one’s intelligence” & then today we have Sir Walter of Myth, the famous PLC Chairman….insulting every other club in country, by the apparent way, Rangers(sic) were treated, in their time of need.
    No acknowledgement of the financial reality, that caused that club to implode, just the same simmering sense of entitlement & superiority, that emanated from the dead entity, combined with the revelation, that Celtic & Scottish football, apparently need them, just to survive & we should all be grateful, that they’ve returned from beyond the crypt?
    Honestly, is it any wonder, that many like me, will now take our hard earned money & spend it elsewhere. Is it truly surprising to the respective boards of Celtic & Aberdeen in particular, that we feel this way & no more season books, merchandise or anything else, will be purchased, while this continuity obscenity, is allowed to be promoted & promulgated?
    One last thought, imagine what’ll happen if TRFC win on Sunday?   

     


  3. On the 8th March BDO were granted leave by the Court of Session to appeal to the Supreme Court. Have they actually made the appeal yet?
    Apologies if this has been asked recently.


  4. GiovanniApril 12, 2016 at 14:01

    I’ve checked out the usual incompetent SMSM reports and none of them even hint at a time limit for an appeal to proceed, but I’ve found the following here:  https://www.supremecourt.uk/procedures/practice-direction-03.html#04

    Filing notice to proceed3.4.1 Where permission to appeal is granted by the Supreme Court, the application for permission to appeal will stand as the notice of appeal and the grounds of appeal are limited to those on which permission has been granted. The appellant must, within 14 days of the grant by the Court of permission to appeal, file notice under rule 18 that he wishes to proceed with his appeal. When the notice is filed, the application for permission to appeal will re-sealed and, in order to comply with rule 18(2), the appellant must then serve a copy on each respondent, on any recognised intervener (that is, an intervener whose submissions have been taken into account under rule 15) and on any person who was an intervener in the court below and file 7 Copies together with a certificate of service. See rule 6(4) and paragraph 2.1.24 of Practice Direction 2.
    3.4.2 Where an appellant is unable to file notice under rule 18 within the time limit of 14 days, a formal application for an extension of time must be made in Form 2: see paragraph 7.1 of Practice Direction 7 for applications. The respondent’s views on the extension of time should be sought and, if possible, those views should be communicated to the Registry. The application will be referred to the Registrar and, if it is granted, the appellant must then comply with rule 18(2) and paragraph 3.4.1.

    It seems to suggest to me that notice of a wish to proceed with the appeal should have been filed by 22nd March. It may well be that it has been filed with no announcement, but that would appear strange to someone like me 20.

    There is every possibility that this doesn’t cover the BTC case situation (due to my thickness in looking in the wrong place) and I’d be grateful if one of our more knowledgeable posters would take a look at the site and let us know what they think. Is there any way to check to see if the appeal has been filed if what I’ve found here does cover the BTC appeal?

    Unless the appeal has been filed and no announcement made, it would suggest to me that it’s been allowed to lapse? Hopefully I’m not misleading the blog in any way.


  5. Well, it was EBT holder Souness yesterday, and another holder, belligerent Sir Walter of Bitterness, today. What’s up, I wonder?

    With the feelgood factor, that always emanates from the winning of lower level titles amongst those that claim world record top league wins, ramped up to Level5, is it just well loved faces being wheeled out to boost ST sales, or is there something else about to happen or be revealed?


  7. Cygnus X-1April 12, 2016 at 13:53
    One last thought, imagine what’ll happen if TRFC win on Sunday?

    Oh me sir, me me…

    I would say based on recent precedent…

    1/  Euro entry guidelines – don’t make me laugh.  Expect a decision before bothering with the obvious formality of a final.  (As a side note, what a bizarre irony if, having rewritten the rulebook to accommodate a non compliant gers win the unfancied Robbie Burns 11 of Hibs were to go on and win it!!)    

    2/  The entire celtic first 11 will win big at the bookies – why not bet against your own team, it’s not like you’ll be punished.

    3/  Scottish football will apparently be saved but no-one will be able to explain why.  See Smith and Souness (obvious link anyone?) for details, if you can be bothered.

    4/  The failure to explain point three will be included in the failure to explain why the tv money to leagues 1,2 and 3 gets dropped next season.

    5/  The Petro what?  a diddy cup played at some diddy ground somewhere…who cares anyway.

    6/  Announcement that the league expansion plans are back on the cards in the event of a footballing hiccup (League winners Leicester coming in for wharbs for their CL campaign or similar) or indeed if one of those pesky inconsequential completely unpredicted (of course) domestic housekeeping insolvency events crops up.  Also a side note to the effect that Sky have complete final say as to whether there’ll be a top six split next year.  A sky spokesman said “it depends” but failed to elaborate.

    7/  Need I go on?  (In good taste I’ve not mentioned Ronnie’s shoogly peg).  Formality I’m afraid.     


  8. AJ,

    Was the cardigan ever confirmed as an EBT holder?  Didn’t think so.


  9. Is Walter Smith suggesting here that, if certain clubs had backed ‘Rangers’ in 2012, then ‘Rangers’ in turn would have ensured they hadn’t been relegated? I’d ask if it means he considered ‘Rangers’ had the power to wield such influence…but wait a minute, maybe they did! Either that or the guy’s a complete screwball!

    ‘…There’s no doubt it was the wrong move in my eyes. Scottish football has been worse off and a lot of the teams who were happy to see Rangers go down have suffered and found themselves relegated or in the process of being relegated.”‘


  10. IANAGAINAPRIL 12, 2016 at 15:56 
    Sorry weeyin
    —————————————
    Imitation is sincerest form of flattery and all that! And its wee_alpha, weeyin is my wee brother (he actually is btw). 🙂


  11. ALLYJAMBOAPRIL 12, 2016 at 16:12
        “There’s no doubt it was the wrong move in my eyes. Scottish football has been worse off and a lot of the teams who were happy to see Rangers go down have suffered and found themselves relegated or in the process of being relegated.”‘
        ——————————————————————————————————————————-
       Funny thing is Ally, they didn’t “go down”……If anything it was Sevco that came up……….From naewhere! 
       He should remember that as he offered to buy Charlies new club. 
       


  12. AllyJambo at 15:20I’m no expert either but I think from James Doleman’s tweets that CoS granting the right of appeal doesn’t mean that the Supreme Court has to hear the appeal. He did Tweet in this case though because of circumstances he had been told they would hear it. There also was the chance of appeal to the Supreme Court if CoS turned down the right to appeal. I therefore don’t think that permission to appeal has yet formally been granted by the Supreme Court and therefore the 14 day count down is still to happen. How long between CoS granting leave to appeal and BDO formally requesting it of the Supreme Court maybe what we should be asking.
    As many noted yesterday though Souness’s revelation appears to have driven a coach and horses through the discretionary payments not disguised renumeration defence. Thinking out loud could Souness have been prompted by vested interests in the tax avoidance industry to blow a hole so big in BDO’s case that they abandon without the Supreme Court decision the Tax Avoidance industry seem to fear so much and Hector seems to want so much. After all HMRC are on the Creditors comittee which agreed BDO should appeal.


  13. SmugasApril 12, 2016 at 16:06 
    AJ,
    Was the cardigan ever confirmed as an EBT holder?  Didn’t think so.
    _____________

    I think you are right20 but he’s still a very bitter man, and the point of the post remains the same.


  14. Allyjambo- from here- https://www.supremecourt.uk/docs/practice-direction-01.pdf. I take this to mean that the permission already granted by the CoS determines the matter. No further permission is necessary, and I assume that the appeals have automatically moved from the CoS to the Supreme Court. In other words, obtaining permission automatically progresses matters to the higher court. I can’t find any mention anywhere of  procedure or time limit for making an appeal after permission has been granted. Warning- I am not a lawyer!

    Civil appeals from Scotland1.2.25 Where judgment is pronounced after 22 September 2015 on a decision of the Inner Houseof the Court of Session which is(a) a decision constituting final judgment in any proceedings,(b) a decision in an exchequer cause,(c) a decision, on an application under s,29 of the Court of Session Act 1988, to grant orrefuse a new trial in any proceedings,(d) any other decision in any proceedings if—(i) there is a difference of opinion among the judges making the decision, or(ii) the decision is one sustaining a preliminary defence and dismissing theproceedings.an appeal may be made to the Supreme Court(a) with the permission of the Inner House, or(b) if the Inner House has refused permission, with the permission of the Supreme Court. “final judgment”, in relation to any proceedings, means a decision which, by itselfor taken along with prior decisions in the proceedings, disposes of the subjectmatter of the proceedings on its merits, even though judgment may not have beenpronounced on every question raised or expenses found due may not have beenmodified, taxed or decerned for, “preliminary defence”, in relation to any proceedings, means a defence that doesnot relate to the merits of the proceedings.In the case of any other decision of the Inner House, an appeal may be made to the SupremeCourt only with the permission of the Inner House.


  15. To add to the above mentions of the latest DR p!sh…

    The ‘Walter’ article starts with this classic opening line [with my bold emphasis] ;

    “The former boss reckons the decision by SPL clubs to vote them out after liquidation was the wrong one…”
    ========================================
    10

    At least the DR had the decency / sense to anonymously attribute the article to “Record Sport Online”.

    191919


  16. One could be forgiven for thinking that poor old Walter Smith has developed a worrying degree of forgetfulness during the past four years. Here’s what he (and the BBC) had to say a few days after the CVA rejection in June 2012.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18503656

    Smith announced a last-minute bid, shortly before Charles Green completed his purchase of the Ibrox club’s assets in a deal worth £5.5m.

    “I would like to clarify the background to the offer of £6m for the assets of the club which I announced on Thursday,” read a statement from Smith.

    “The offer was made to the administrators before the Charles Green consortium had concluded their transaction to acquire the assets.

    “We wish the new Rangers Football Club every good fortune.”

    Smith won 21 trophies over two spells as manager of Rangers but the club, who went into administration in February, are heading for liquidation, prompting Green’s purchase of the assets.


  19. Smith and Souness are not stupid men and I can’t accept they actually believe the nonsense they’ve come out with. They are on the wind up and saying what they think Rangrs fans want to hear. Surely?

    Since Rangers were ‘relegated’ attendances have not suffered too much in the top flight and the clubs have never been in better shape financially. All the while Rangers have continued to make huge losses and are reliant on loans from wherever they can get them. 

    We’ve had a variety of different cup winners and contrary to popular belief Celtic have not walked way with the title and have been pushed most of the way by a resurgent Aberdeen.  

    That doesn’t sound much like suffering to me. Smith should have picked his words a little better. The papers give him a platform to spout rubbish, adding fuel to the fire, for a fixture that a large number of people are already dreading. Very poor all round. 


  20. Yesterday Graeme “Return to Golden Period” Souness, today Sir Walter “Bitterness” Smith.
    And it’s only Tuesday.
    It’s gonna be a long week.  


  22. Of course there is one situation where this might not be a faux pas by messrs Souness and Smith.

    If these gentlemen had side letters like that of Mr Flo then they have a document that says the club will sort things out if HMRC come calling. Over the last few months we have had TRFC, in and out of court, and the SPFL stating that the club that plays at Ibrox is the same club that handed out the EBTs. Perhaps these two ex-employees, neither of whom could be classed as stupid, have found a lawyer who reckons that they have enough proof to make those who claim ownership of the “old club” live up to the written agreement. They do want to claim all that belonged to the old club afterall.
    Perhaps these two future tax payers were advised to get themselves publicly on the record as to their stance on the OC/NC issue.

    https://www.change.org/p/scottish-football-association-return-integrity-to-football-administration-in-scotland-94421b40-2d6b-4d4b-9cff-912c9849478f


  23. While shooting his mouth off about RFC being treated “unfairly” when they were in financial meltdown Mr Smith should also consider how his beloved leader treated Airdrie when they had a much lower level of difficulty.

    Mr Smith, which would you prefer? The leniency with which your old team was treated or the use of the wooden stake, garlic and silver cross that ensured that Airdrie would never be resurrected.


  24. Tonight I was listening to Radio Scotland at 6PM. In what turned out to be an act of gross stupidity, I decided to switch to Radio Clyde to listen to the opening lines in Superscoreboard.

    Opening tune plays then Gerry McCulloch states “It’s another day in Scottish football…Walter Smith says Rangers fans are right to feel bitter about how their club was treated four years ago, and the team should use it as motivation on Sunday”. He then went on to announce “In the studio we have Gordon Dalziel (Rangers fan and ex Rangers player). Roger Hannah (Rangers fan and journalist) is on holiday so we welcome to the studio St Mirren manager Alex Rae (Rangers fan and ex Rangers player)” – the words in the brackets are mine.

    At 6:03PM I turned to the news on Radio Scotland. What an idiot I was to even give them three minutes of my time.


  25. Souness as arrogant as ever (someone remind me much the ebt was for he stated) Rangers back to Golden Era.
    Smith put down, bitterness, Scottish Football has suffered.
    Really this is why I do not want THE new Rangers playing at my club’s ground (may not see them there myself depending on outcome of Res 12 and my club’s stance)  as the old Rangers cheerleaders still take the p*** by stating such drivel.
    Liquidation took place they knew  it then and even Walter wished the new club all the best.  They know what they are doing and our smsm let them spout this out.
    It is only going to get worse. SFA to blame and to an extent all clubs in Scotland. They should have been told they are a new club, simple as that. We as fans will remind them but this is not good enough as time will go on and they will not give a jot as long as the record books show they are still the same club with new trophies to their name. 
    Scotland’s shame then, Scotland’s shame now and possibly Scotland’s shame forever.
    Our sport at present is in danger of being taken away from us (realistically it was taken back in 2012)


  26. Not posted for a while but can’t let Mr. Smith’s statements go without comment; problem is where to start with his bitter drivel which is guaranteed to increase tension and further promote ‘The Great Lie’.  I have a feeling that even the former be-knighted owner and various major shady(!) figures in this ongoing farce would have had an incredulous smile on their faces as they listened to yer man spout as though continuing from the gardener’s demand to reveal names.  So what, exactly, are this new club and its ‘ranks’  bringing to enhance the SPL – apart from bitterness.
    With any luck, perhaps one or two journalists might even grow a pair and be more challenging.  If they had been more courageous 4 years ago this boil would have been lanced and healed by now.


  27. NEEPHEIDAPRIL 12, 2016 at 16:58 
    http://www.footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/take-ebt-money-and-run.html
    The name of  Saint Walter appears in this article, detailing 2 EBT payments of £53,3333 and £15,733 for tax year 02/03
        ——————————————————————————————————————————-
        FFS Neeps!…Not another scout.
        We need to return the soul to Scottish fitba before it is damned forever.

    .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyIo1M-Sp1g  


  28. OCCAM

    APRIL 12, 2016 at 18:37  
    With any luck, perhaps one or two journalists might even grow a pair and be more challenging.  
    ——————————

    …well, it won’t be Raman.

    Wattie, a man whose best years are behind him, gave his interviewer a number of opportunities to interject & he ignored them completely. Perhaps Chick had reminded him of his tunnel blow-dry?


  29. Just read/listened to Walter Smith’s rant,I cannot believe this dude is trying to rewrite history, the SMSM has been printing garbage for the last 3 years(they got it right when the actual liquidation process began in 2012) How anyone can believe in this delusion is beyond me. They were not “put down” but jumped in front of a more deserving club for admittance to the Scottish Football League which meant starting(like any new club)in the bottom tier.They did so without providing 3 years of full and audited accounts, the team passed over ,Spartans,met the criteria and although I cannot prove it I’d bet the house that Spartans were told in no certain terms that if they protested too loudly they would have issues gaining access when the new Pyramid System came to fruition. This clown is trying to stir things up before the Semi Final against Celtic and all this nonsense coming the day after Souness comes partially clean on his bung/EBT/Scouting service payment.I have followed Killie and all of Scottish Football my whole life and used to actually read the Scottish Red Tops even in Exile, thank goodness for JJ,The Clumpany, Phil 3 Names and the Scottish Football Monitor.At least there is some decency left in the reportage of my once loved sport.No wonder the English Ex Pats give me grief, at least they have an honest FA unlike the totally corrupt(except for the wee tea wummin) SFA and SPFL. As Doc Holliday liked to say “It appears their hypocrisy knows no bounds” and “Make no mistake, it’s not revenge we’re after. It’s a reckonin’.” Apologies for changing the word from he to we’re, the parallel I’m drawing is that Scottish Football fans deserve a real day of reckoning with these chancers which gets them cleaned out of office along with the rest of the deluded so called journalists in Scottish soccer who have absolutely no spine. Oh for the spirit of Turnbull Hutton RIP.

    On the fixture list, after the split Ayrshire’s finest certainly got no favors, a 12.30 game on a Sunday against Inverness and a midweek evening haul up to Dens against Dundee. Throw in the away game against Hamilton (we actually play the first two games after the split away from home!!!) and it looks like the Scottish Premier League want rid of us. After Celtic we have  the longest tenure in the Scottish Premier League and in the top tier since 1993/94.Before any of the Dons fans jump on me they were only saved by reconstruction. Motherwell were also saved by the “goalposts being moved” too but the Dons got really lucky!! We have survived without any need for extra rule tweaking or play off games, though this year that may change!!

    Yours in Sport
    Gaun the Killie


  30. Memo to Wattie.
    1 How many Ranger games did you attend on the way to the top flight ?
    2 Have you ever payed for anything at the club your supposed to love –  the fans have ?
    3 Do you ever get embarrassed when you passed the managers job to a complete numpty.
    4 And last if someone is hurt or worse and there is  trouble at the games will you feel guilty for stoking
    up bitterness ?


  31. After the Souness interview that he recieved an EBT payment for doing work for rangers. And the implications if any on the big tax case. Now Mr king and Mr Murray were on the board when this fiscal skulduggery (hat doffed to Phil) was on going.They were either complicit or negligent in their duties. With the Sports Direct judicial review in the court of sessions to be heard soon, will this strengthen Mr Ashleys case.Mr Ashley want’s a court to look into the mechanisms whereby the SFA decided that Mr king was a fit and proper person.
    My question’s are these.
    1.Will this case go to court?
    2. will the SFA before the case happens release a statement on the lines of we have recieved new information and are now looking into the case of Mr king fit and proper result.
    3.The case goes to court, but an SFA lawyer says something along the lines of because of the souness statement and the possibility that statement may have on the big tax case decision, we look for a hault to these procedings.And the sports direct judicial review case into Mr kings fit and proper case is kicked into the long grass.
    hope this post is not to long and you get were i’m coming from


  33. UPTHEHOOPSAPRIL 12, 2016 at 19:31
    My confident forecast- that article will be pulled or amended in jig-time. 


  36. OK, it’s taken from Wiki;

    “Dumbarton Football Club is a Scottish association football part time club based in the town of Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire. Dumbarton is Scotland’s 4th oldest football club,[citation needed] founded in 1872, just after Queen’s Park (1867), Kilmarnock (1869) and Stranraer (1870)…”

    And the original Rangers was formed in March 1872.
    Don’t know which month Dumbarton was founded though.
    …regardless, there will be plenty of bitterness coming The Scotsman’s way, guaranteed !  


  37. Bitter?  I tell you who should be bitter.

    The creditors of the old club who lost out on contracted income from a business that was far too busy paying well over the odds for already wealthy individuals and coming up with all manner of ideas to help everyone avoid paying the same taxes that those local businesses and likes were having to pay through honest sweat and toil.

    The same creditors who sit back now and watch SDM and MIH dump £200m of debt but, before that venture died as well, he takes on some juicy bits of his old empire to keep him and his sons in the manner they have become accustomed to.

    The same creditors who watched Green buy the basket of assets for next to nowt and then wangled a way to help finance his chateau.

    The same creditors whose only apology emanating from anywhere near Ibrox has come from the man from South Africa whose word is worth nothing.

    And all this coming from a turncoat ex Scotland manager who has publicly demonstrated the business and financial acumen of a gnat. His lack of respect for those who were really hard done by is of course to be expected given the type of uncouth bully seen in the famous Chic Young video clip.

    Smith – away and pay your taxes and stick your bitterness up your erky.


  38. Smith achieved what he intended today – wind the fans of the new club up by stoking up the bitter, hard done by knuckle draggers , throwing in the insistence of same club status through a compliant, sycophantic media, while simultaneously exposing the governors of our game and board members of our clubs as weak kneed, yellow bellied lickspittles who are being laughed at by those that raped our game through cheating and lies. Time our clubs showed some backbone.  
    Im still waiting for my reply and still not holding my breath. 


  40. So Mr Smith believes Rangers should never have been forced to apply for admission to the lower leagues and that there are teams regretting their decision because they themselves dropped down a league and other are just about to. What would you prefer Mr Smith a league system where any team masquerading as Rangers are never relegated for the good of the game !  As for SSB tonight I heard one Sevco fan saying that Celtic need Sevco more than Sevco need Celtic because of the drop in attendance figures at Parkhead. What they all fail to recognize is the malaise that now exist amongst the Celtic support because of the inaction of the Celtic board to stand up for what’s right and call out the charlatans at Hampden for the wrongs that were done to Scottish football by the Old Rangers. Supporters of Celtic and other clubs have walked away because of the way the SFA have shown only one team matters in Scotland. 


  41. Walter Smith’s lack of football business awareness and his role in the part of the demise of his club, that he says will be a cause of bitterness, is astonishing in awareness terms  in view of his part in the cause  of that demise.
    The transfer dealings at
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wNz75jyefbTF-Li-xUIOZNiumw5nKLee9dYVueXBrYs/edit?usp=sharing
    show that Walter brought in £19.5 M in August 2008 but at same time spent £17.4M on buying players, leaving a £2.1m surplus. Bloody good dealing on the surface.
    However when you see from this list that a) he was a recipient of an ebt and HMRC had served a determination in Feb 2008 against it and that there were a host of other determinations arriving at Ibrox between Feb 2008 and March 31st  2008
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9YXRXSWtIUV9YWUU/view?usp=sharing
    then the wiser course would have been to save that £19.5M to cover the cost of the determinations served on RFC by HMRC.
    The advice of SDM no doubt was that these bills would never be paid (and he was right in that RFC would never pay them)because legal advice was that an appeal would be won, but there in 2008 when Walter Smith and Sir David Murray took the decision to spend on the team that won three titles from 2009, they made RFC’s future survival totally dependent on winning the Scottish title to gain access to the CL rewards. To be fair the credit crash of later that year they could not have foreseen.
    When a club’s survival becomes that dependent on CL money then anything can happen within the Scottish game to ensure nothing, including unpaid tax, prevents that club winning the title and getting a UEFA licence.  If only Malmo (or the match referee) were Scottish.
    Again to be fair to Walter Smith has anyone pointed out to him his part in RFC’s demise or even asked him what the ebt he received was paid in respect of? 
    I saw Tom English criticise Walter Smith on Twitter for fronting Charles Green, which is a start of enlightening, but until our media do anything to expose the full consequences on our game of the decisions  taken by a number of folk at Ibrox from 2000 to 2012 and the SFA’s failure to properly question or address those responsible over that period, then that same media will have contributed to any sense of grievance that fuels the bitterness.
    Then again perhaps that is perhaps more than their job’s worth, eh BBC/Clyde SSB?


  42. neepheidApril 12, 2016 at 16:58 19 0 i Rate This 
    http://www.footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/take-ebt-money-and-run.html
    The name of  Saint Walter appears in this article, detailing 2 EBT payments of £53,3333 and £15,733 for tax year 02/03. 
    ==============================
    I think the ebt payment is £53k and the £15k is the tax due on it. All figures on RHS under Decision are 3.6 of the sum on the LHS under Determination.


  43. NEEPHEIDAPRIL 12, 2016 at 19:38 17 1  Rate This 
    UPTHEHOOPSAPRIL 12, 2016 at 19:31My confident forecast- that article will be pulled or amended in jig-time. 

    Already amended


  44. Whatever happened to the time newspapers would run with controversial comments from public figures with an editorial comment section alongside to counter what was being said? The incredible rubbish we have been fed by Graham Souness and Walter Smith this week could have been shot down in flames at so many levels. Instead the media are happy to fan the flames by obediently repeating what they are told with no push-back whatsoever. Silence is consent in these cases.
    No wonder newspaper sales are declining, and I for one have no sympathy. If they can’t bring themselves to even offer an alternative view, then they deserve everything they get.


  45. Following Walters unchallenged rant yesterday you would like to think that our clubs and / or the authorities would issue some sort of statement pointing out the truth.  Smith has given them a huge open goal to aim at yet not one of them has the balls to stand up for themselves to go for it. 
    The clubs that played by the rules are being portrayed as the ones in the wrong yet there is not one dissenting voice from the chairmen, the authorities or the SMSM.
    The more they stay silent it will be seen as an admission of guilt by the likes of Smith and as  a fan of one of the so called diddy teams it seems as though my chairman would rather upset his own teams fans rather than those from ibrox.
    Pandering to the bully will never end well


  46. Judging by Walter’s comments, which effectively point the finger at every other club in Scotland, next season will see carnage and mayhem in Scottish football, rather than armageddon. All we need now is for McCoist to pop up with his usual drivel about “fly kicks”, and off we go.
    The rational response would be a total boycott of “The Rangers” games by the supporters of every other club in Scotland. That won’t stop the town centres getting trashed, mind, but at least it might reduce the casualty count, as well as sending a clear message to the clubs, the media and the authorities about their equivocation and abject cowardice when faced with anything to do with Ibrox.
    However the rational response won’t happen. Unfortunately, an element of the Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen supports will be “up for it”. Next season will, in my opinion, be an absolute low water mark for Scottish football. 
    If only Spartans had been invited to fill the vacancy in the league for 2012/13, as they clearly should have been, then Scottish football would now be in a much better place.


  47. Auldheid @ 4.22

    Mr English may have shown some enlightenment on twitter but he made up for on Sportsound last night when he praised the work being done by Dave King and the board. He seemed to think that the low level of spending was a sign of a prudent regime.


  48. The Other Journey
    For the last four years we have traveled with hope that justice would win through and that each event would open the window on the truth. Invariably we relied on other people’s actions to do the job for us. Mike Ashley’s courtroom attack on Dave King was going to show him up for what he was. It didn’t. The prosecutor’s list of charges against numerous suspected felons would expose underhand dealings and complicity within Scottish football. Mostly abandoned and now a mere shadow of the original. Ashley’s request for a judicial review of the SFA’s “fit and proper” status for King now has a feeling of being less than useful due to, what would appear to be, Mike’s vanishing enthusiasm in it all. Ah, but we still have one or to heroes in the national media who will step up to the plate once the final decision is made over the EBT appeals! Or do we? One of the heroes waiting in the wings to pounce is Alex Thomson of Channel 4. We heard much from him in the early days, with honest reports that ignored the potential for reprisals. Could it be though that last week we were given insight into a change of stance from Alex. This tweet makes me think we did –
    “A football club is clearly more than a limited company and anyone denying that is a fool.”
    Not a damning retraction I admit but it does read with a different timbre to his earlier stance. What is more revealing is that this was the first comment on the subject in months. A brief point that was made and not followed up despite others asking for him to expand on it in the thread. Almost as if it was something that slipped out on a subject that he no longer considers to be worth the hassle.So who is left that we can place our hopes upon?
    OURSELVES ALONE!
    It was always the case had we been honest with ourselves.
    https://www.change.org/p/scottish-football-association-return-integrity-to-football-administration-in-scotland-94421b40-2d6b-4d4b-9cff-912c9849478f


  49. Well lots of noise and accusations over the last few days as expected before the 2 Scottish Cup Semi Finals. Only, out of the 4 teams left in the tournament we never hear about half of them. In fact it IS all about the R*****s as far as the press and the SFA are concerned. Shameful.
    Worth remembering that the old Ibrox Club died when the bank was no longer willing to bankroll their existence. The same will happen to the new Club when the soft loan providers can no longer throw cash at the monster.
    The re-writing of history can only cover up so much.


  50. ” The Scotman’s”  ‘justification’ for amending their ‘oldest clubs’ list is clearly based on a standard of investigative journalism clearly superior to that demonstrated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. In-depth research, hard questioning, dispassionate analysis, it’s all there .
    Read it………….and weep!    ( And shed no tears when the “The Scotsman”  dies, and this daily insult to our intelligence is removed)
    ” ……  Whether or not the club has an “unbroken” history has been a source of much contention, with many claiming the Govan giants are a “new club”. However, the SPFL, including chief executive Neil Doncaster, has stated categorically that they remain the same club.”


  51. http://twohundredpercent.net/corruption-resolution-12/
    An interesting article on Resolution 12. I’ll just post the last paragraph, which might resonate with many-

    Elsewhere in Britain, the football press would have pursued this story vigorously, with its strong, occasionally irrefutable, evidence of football authorities’ dishonesty in their dealings. Scotland’s football press seem to care more for covering it up. After all, they have only to pursue two questions. When did the £2.8m tax bill crystallise? And what proof, as required by Uefa regulations, did Rangers supply that they had “no overdue payables” on 30th June 2011? Yet they show no willingness to do so. Jackson, “all over the Rangers story from day one,” hasn’t been “anywhere near” this aspect of it, even when it was obvious background material to his story about Rangers’ problems meeting licensing criteria for the very next season. And the BBC’s Tom English was properly ridiculed for accusing football of “burying its head in the sand” over the recent Sunday Times doping story, while he dives into the beach when Resolution 12 looms. They are but two examples of Scottish football journalism’s shameful attitude to this story. The corruption Resolution 12 addresses is blatant. The research is done. Yet their silence remains deafening. Again, you have to wonder why.


  52. hello there, can anyone inform me and no doubt many other onlookers the date of the next court case and is it just another preliminary?. thank you. excuse me if this has already been posted.standfree from cheats.


  53. JOHN CLARKAPRIL 13, 2016 at 11:32

    Given the spirit, team colours and badge of the club live on with a football team playing out of the same stadium will the Scotsman be adding Airdrieonians (formed 1878) to the list?


  54. Red
    28th April His Mikeness v SFA (DCK fit and proper ha ha ha ha)
    COS JR 2 days scheduled.


  55. ianagainApril 13, 2016 at 13:28Red 28th April His Mikeness v SFA (DCK fit and proper ha ha ha ha) COS JR 2 days scheduled.
    ——————————————————————–
    As somebody mentioned earlier Ashley’s appetite for getting involved in matters Sevco seems to have abated recently! I just wonder if this will be quietly dropped?


  57. ianagainApril 13, 2016 at 14:15
    According to Phil’s latest apparently not
    ————————————————————————————
    Phil’s bulletins have not filled me with great hope recently (well for a long while actually).
    Resolution 12 and the developing story about DD getting tore in to PL anyone?


  59. Anyone read John James latest?

    He claims to have access to a list of benefactors of the EBT trough which includes Sir Walter of Cardigan to the tune of circa 55k whilst he was manager of Everton!!

    I always suspected Walter would have had his nose in that particular trough. Nobody quite does dignity like ex managers of the old Rangers!

    JJ also suggests Chick Young benefitted too. Is the dam beginning to burst …..?


  60. SCOTTCAPRIL 13, 2016 at 06:17NEEPHEID
    APRIL 12, 2016 at 19:38 UPTHEHOOPSAPRIL 12, 2016 at 19:31
    My confident forecast- that article will be pulled or amended in jig-time. 
    ==============
    Already amended.
    ==============
    Entirely predictable – and entirely pathetic from the SMSM.  But why should we be surprised anymore ?

    As for the TRFC media coverage now: what the heck is it going to be like next season then ?
    And as mentioned above, the SMSM is focused on 1 club – to the detriment of the other 41 senior clubs.
    Rather than showing some contrition and humility, the TRFC rent-a-gobs are already snarling, threatening and dismissive of the rest of Scottish football.

    What happens if there is widespread trouble before/during/after this weekend’s game ?
    Will the SMSM reluctantly admit that mibbees having ‘Rangers back’ in the top league might not be a wholly positive experience for Scottish football?
    …or will there be a media blackout of negative stories surrounding this game ?  191919

    I – and many more I am sure – would not go anywhere near Glasgow city centre this Sunday with my family.
    IMO, any drop in business for e.g. shops and restaurants is an economic cost which everybody ultimately shares.
    And all because of 1 club. 11 


  61. STEVIEBCAPRIL 13, 2016 at 16:20 
    What happens if there is widespread trouble before/during/after this weekend’s game ?

    ———————————————

    Same as always, try to ignore, if can’t ignore blame Celtic (can’t realistically blame Aberdeen casuals for it this time), if can’t blame Celtic blame random yobbery, if can’t blame yobbery blame Chelsea casuals, if not that then it will be Police brutality or police mistakes.

    Or if all else fails, blame Neil Lennon! 


  62. Re JJ’s most recent post, it reads like it’s Chick Young who has an EBT, he actually was talking about CO, the great administrator……………….a pity, because it would’ve been worth actually listening to Radio Scotland for a change


  63. motor redApril 13, 2016 at 12:18
    ‘… date of the next court case and is it just another preliminary?. ‘
    _______
    19th April, High Court Edinburgh, preliminary hearings in the Fraudco case recommence.
    It would something of a surprise to me if this hearing lasts into the next day, and I think they might well be able to fix a date for the actual Trial, if there is to be a trial.


  64. I didn’t count but there could well have been 111 entries on the link neepheid posted about 24 hours ago.  Some names appearing more than once.  The wb page is no missing (broken link) but if you do a Google search there is a cached version..  can’t post a link as currently on phone


  65. Walter Smith’s £53,333 EBT figure quoted by JJ is the tax that was assessed as being due (@ 40%).  The amount Smith actually received would have been deemed to be 60% of the grossed up number which works out at the nice round figure of £80,000.

    The other £15,733 figure is the NIC assessment.


  66. CYGNUS X-1APRIL 13, 2016 at 16:42 
    Re JJ’s most recent post, it reads like it’s Chick Young who has an EBT, he actually was talking about CO, the great administrator……………….a pity, because it would’ve been worth actually listening to Radio Scotland for a change
    ====================
    Correction: yes, I think you are probably right Cygnus X-1.
    The JJ article is written a bit ambiguously re: the Chico / Ogilvie paragraph.
    I think my normal caution was overridden by my enthusiasm to believe a ‘journalist’ got EBT cash. 20
    [Unless JJ can confirm / clarify otherwise ?]


  67. The media who have deliberately fanned the flames of conflict will as usual,throw up their hands in faux horror if trouble erupts between Celtic and Sevco.They are contemptuous hypocrites. Let’s hope this game passes without incident.


  68. tykebhoy April 13, 2016 at 17:20
    =============================
    There were only 73 unique names listed on the earlier web link.  There are no other Murray Group employees listed as their assessments would have gone to their respective employers, rather than RFC plc.  


  69. Re the JJ Blog I read it differently.
    it would of course be highly significant if the man masquerading as a journalist was on the payroll but I think the references to payments of around £3000 were payments to the worlds greatest administrator when he was on the payroll in the early years. The man himself went on the record to say thay his EBT payments were “mainly” to do with his leaving the former holding company – rather like Mr Dodds?
    After all why pay money to someone who was only too willing to spout the company line free of charge (ignoring the odd lamb shank of course)


  72. I see a few posters are highlighting the possibility of trouble on Sunday. Depressingly there probably will be incidents but let’s not kid ourselves that it will only be Rangers fans to blame. It’s not because of just one club.

    This fixture has a history of violence from both sets of supporters and no doubt some will embarrass themselves on Sunday. Let’s hope it passes relatively incident free. 


  73. Jingso.JimsieApril 13, 2016 at 15:43
    __________
    Jingso, it looks good and at 5.1% probably does you good. Wrong continent for me though, unless the same wee place that does Fat Yak in Edinburgh also imports it!


  74. INCREDIBLEADAMSPARKAPRIL 13, 2016 at 17:38 …
    It’s not because of just one club.
    …
    =====================
    I hear what you are saying IAS, but IMO if the authorities had applied their rules fairly and consistently then there would not be any Govan club. Period.

    The fact that there is a club pretending to be the same club – and promoted as such by the club, the SMSM and the authorities – then any negative consequences involving TRFC should not have happened in the first instance.

    …because the club should not be in any senior Scottish League – at all.

    The vast majority of the last 4 years of nonsense surrounding Scottish football is undeniably down to 1 particular club.


  75. JJ has misinterpreted the data he has acquired (from Auldheied’s link?).

    What he claims to be the EBT amounts paid is actually the PAYE assessment (@ 40%) of a grossed up figure determined from the actual amounts received by the recipients being deemed net of tax (60% of the gross figure).

    To work out the EBT amounts received in any one year, simply multiply the Regulation 80 Determinations by 1.5 (60% is 1.5 times the 40% figure) e.g.  Campbell Ogilvie’s assessments were £3,333, £3,333, £3,333 and £53,333.  Multiply those figures by 1.5 and you get £5,000, £5,000, £5,000 and £80,000.  That’s makes a total equal to the oft reported £95,000.

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