We normally don’t talk about on-field stuff on SFM, but given the over-optimistic coverage of the prospects of TRFC (particularly in the ESJ © The Clumpany and DR) it is worth noting that since they beat Celtic on penalties in last year’s Scottish Cup semi final, they have played in four huge games which were real barometers of progress ;
- Hibs in the Scottish Cup Final: 2-3
- Celtic in the Premiership: 1-5
- Aberdeen in the Premiership: 1-2
- Celtic in the League Cup Semi-Final: 0-1
On each occasion, they have failed the test, not only by failing to get a result, but by being second best in most on-field departments.
The point is not one of wider Schadenfreude, or even an in-depth critique of the abilities of the team or manager, but of how the TRFC board and the MSM, in falsely inflating their side’s prospects, do a disservice to TRFC fans. Aided and abetted it seems by the manager who – even allowing for the positive spin managers need to put on things post defeat – is refusing to accept reality.
We often talk about turnover as the yardstick by which performance can be (roughly) measured. If that were the only yardstick, one would expect TRFC to be right up there with Celtic. But it is more complicated than that. For Celtic and TRFC, there are massive overheads (e.g. stadium costs) that have to be dealt with and taken out of the equation before Glasgow apples can be compared with Aberdeen and Edinburgh varieties.
Even allowing for that it seems pretty clear to me that TRFC have more disposable income (for spending on players and contracts) than Hearts or Aberdeen for example, but the gap is now not as great as raw turnover figures would suggest – and the margins are probably slim enough that they can be easily blurred by managers at other clubs who have a good grasp of tactics, an eye for a player, and a proper understanding of football psychology.
To compound the problem for TRFC, there are two rather large eggs in the TRFC transfer basket which are now cracked or broken. A dangerous waste of resources in fact. Whether it was Warburton or King who went to the market for Barton and Kranjčar is irrelevant. More relevant is the reason marquee signings like these were made.
Once a manager is recruited, you stay out of his domain
Yes, Barton’s signature in particular has used a huge chunk of the already scant budget, and that is a real blow to the manager’s planning, but the real problem is that the club has deliberately pushed fan expectations skyward, all of which is counter-intuitive given the rough calculations in the preceding paragraphs. More worryingly for Rangers fans, the board’s own expectations for the playing side are unrealistically high – and given the business expertise contained therein, puzzlingly so.
TRFC is a focal point for tens of thousands of people. The people who run the club are also influential opinion formers and how they set the tone for those thousands is important.
Tub-rattling, dog-whistling, and the WATP mentality have been employed almost exclusively thus far in the ‘journey’. All of which may have rallied the troops and provided a welcome injection of funds, but it also antagonised almost every football fan in the country who wasn’t a Rangers follower. And in view of how those funds (including the £21m IPO) seemingly disappeared into the ether, did it really help the club realise any ambitions going forward?
TRFC are looking up at the north face of a financial Eiger today
I can’t help feeling that had they been replaced with humility, some regret, and gratitude to those who smoothed their path into the leagues, then the view from the club deck would a lot more attractive today than it is.
The journey could have been an expansive one bent on winning friends along the way, clearly differentiating itself from the Murray era, and carrying assurances that the new Rangers would never treat the game in Scotland as shabbily as its predecessor.
Seems intuitively obvious to me that a mission statement like the following would win hearts and minds;
“The latter-day custodians of Rangers have destroyed our club and shamed its traditions of sporting integrity, fair play, and honest endeavour.
“However the ethos and identity of our club will not be allowed to slip into obscurity.
“We will build a club worthy of the traditions of sporting integrity and fair play. It will be open and accessible to people of all colours, creeds and nationalities,
“It will be a long journey, but it is one which we relish, and one which will in time restore Rangers to the upper echelons of the game“
Managing expectations realistically with a ‘we are thankful to keep the Rangers name alive’ would have played better with the bears.
I don’t believe there is a football fan in the world who wouldn’t sign up to that had they found their club in the same circumstances as 2011 Rangers. I don’t believe that Rangers fans are any different either, but the problem is that their moral compass is being calibrated by people whose past records make them least qualified for the task.
Instead of a plan to win Scottish football over, we got boycotts, victim-hood, denial, and that wonderful new oxymoronic idiom, post-liquidation. Really though, it should all have been so different.
Water bills notwithstanding, TRFC are looking up at the north face of a financial Eiger today, but they chose to climb an Eiger instead of a Munro, and they sold false hope and snake oil to the fans on the way.
They have no money with which to recruit players of sufficient quality to challenge at the top. They are facing a massive bill for repairs and maintenance of a stadium that has atrophied under six or seven years of neglect. They have similar infrastructure problems at their training ground. They need to build a scouting infrastructure which currently consists of one man and several local volunteers. Their income from merchandising is non-existent due to a testicles-drawn dispute with Sports Direct. They owe several millions of pounds of soft loans which they cannot convert to equity because of that same dispute, and the people they have gone back to again and again for top-up finance have ever shortening arms and lengthening pockets.
.. we understand the value that Rangers can bring to the to the Scottish game and we want it to be realised.
Miracles of course do happen, perhaps in the shape of a magician manager who can get them access to European cash almost immediately. Unless that comes to pass, there is no way forward for Dave King and his board, other than to make peace immediately with Sports Direct and actually stump up the cash he promised two years ago; cash he promised to bridge the resources gap which is widening by the week.
A widely accepted wisdom in many football boardrooms these days is that the main recruitment priority of any board is an excellent manager. A really good manager can make a team out of ordinary players, but a poor manager will have difficulty sculpting a winning side from even very good players. So in a club with limited resources, it makes sense to spend a major part of your budget on a very good manager.
Another widely accepted wisdom in boardrooms (even if not always followed) is that once a manager is recruited, you stay out of his domain.
The boardroom at Ibrox is not awash with wisdom it seems. First of all they put their faith in a manager with little or no experience in the game. That may well have worked out with a bit of good fortune, but does anyone really believe, after his disappearing act in the wake of the Cup Final defeat and his absence at the Barton signing conference, that Mark Warburton is master of his own domain?
If not, does the ‘come hither’ curled finger of fate attached to Jimmy Traynor’s hand at last week’s press conference convince you?
I would guess that there are at least half a dozen experienced managers with a track record of success who would relish the challenge of putting TRFC on the map at the opportunity cost of a Barton for example. Instead it seems – if the rumours are true – that Warburton’s autonomy was breached so that said Joey could be hired to boost ST sales.
No group of fans is entitled to expect success. Rangers fans, and Celtic fans, have historically come to expect that very thing. It is understandable to some extent, but it should never be confused with an actual entitlement to success – and that is what the board at Ibrox are selling to the fans in return for their cash – which as we have seen is not being converted to the promised on-field successes.
the ‘come hither’ curled finger of fate attached to Jimmy Traynor’s hand should convince us that Warburton is not his own master
To a large extent, I think some of the online comments in fan sites in the wake of the Celtic match have been sensible and mature. Reality amongst Rangers fans is at last beginning to bite, and that can only be a good thing for TRFC. Rangers fans are beginning to understand that too many liberties have been taken with their loyalty to and love of the jersey. The problem for the fans is that whilst they come to terms with what may be a realistic timetable and roadmap towards success and parity with the top clubs, the current board and their chums in the press are invested in having them believe the opposite.
Already the cheerleaders in the red tops are proclaiming their ‘gulf-denial’ credentials in the hope that enough fans will be convinced of it. The problem is that the fans know the gulf exists – and not only that does exist, but it is unrealistic to expect it not to.
The Level5 effect is wearing off. In the past five years, £21m quid in investment, £6m in loans, and five years worth of ST sales have all come and gone. Will Rangers fans really do those sums, observe that in each of the four milestone matches mentioned at the beginning of this article there is nothing to show for it, and agree that there is nothing to concern them?
Rangers fans will no doubt call us obsessed to produce an article like this – about them. But football is uniquely interdependent – we all need each other. It is a game where we benefit from the traditions, the colour and the fanaticism of rivals. The fact is that we understand the value that Rangers can bring to the to the Scottish game and we want it to be realised.
Sadly though, the current people in charge at the club are people who revel in making war on fellow clubs and business partners as well as the national broadcaster and BT Sport. They have also failed to deliver on promises of investment and success to their own fans, and escaped press scrutiny of that failure. Whilst they are there, we see only division in Scottish football with no coming together possible for generations.
I believe that the vast majority of fans who love Rangers, like the rest of us, have had enough of a war on too many fronts to count. It’s time to make peace – with everyone. Football in this country can’t be fixed until that happens.
Are any of the regular court goers heading to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 3rd November to see what this is about?
Young & Partners Bus – v – Rangers First 2014 EDI-SC206-16
BIG PINKOCTOBER 31, 2016 at 12:46 10 Votes
New Podcast with Ally Begg and Ally Jambo:
http://podcast.sfm.scot/e/weekly-monitor-episode-1/
also on iTunes
First of many we hope. Some feedback required if you can be bothered.
Yes i can be bothered and i enjoyed, everyone should have a listen
upthehoopsOctober 31, 2016 at 19:55
‘…Are any of the regular court goers heading to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 3rd November..
_________
I might be in the vicinity !
UPTHEHOOPSOCTOBER 31, 2016 at 19:55
Are any of the regular court goers heading to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 3rd November to see what this is about?
Young & Partners Bus – v – Rangers First 2014 EDI-SC206-16
————————————————————————————————————
UTH….This?
“In addition, there is an outstanding legal matter where a former RF Board member incurred an expense for legal advice without the knowledge or consent of the other RF Board members in the lead up to the RF elections. Funding has been set aside in case this needs to be paid but ideally the matter will be resolved without this.”
http://club1872.co.uk/news/club-1872-handover-meeting-summary/
from club1872 site
Craig Houston will liaise with Lionbrand on their contributions to Club 1872.
I wonder if this may be of interest to M Ashley
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/scotland-forced-wear-pink-kit-9166795
Words fail me. Not least for the chap that decided “oooh, I think white sleeves would go nicely with that.”
One of the minor whatevers of being at home in the mornings is that one sometimes hears ‘Women’s Hour”
This morning, it featured the wife of a guy who was jailed for 9 years for conspiracy to cheat in the matter of a tax scam to do with film making.The wife spoke not a word about the victims of ,or the targets of,the cheating.
Oh no, this was all bleeding hearts sympathy for her poor ‘white collar’ , middle-class husband who tried to cheat folk, and the hard time he was having in an ordinary jail for the likes of ‘drug offenders’ and other ‘low-life” criminals!
Not a word was said about his crime, or whether he apologised for it ( as opposed to be being ‘sorry’ because he was caught!).
No, the impression his wife gave was that well, come on, what’s a bit of conspiracy to cheat in tax matters between guys in the business world?-after all, it’s not like it was bad, or anything, is it? I mean, not like an actual ‘crime‘ that common folk commit.
Quite spoiled my beautifully prepared cappuccino, as I spluttered in rage at that quintessentially and repulsive middle-English, middle-class view of ‘white collar crime’.
Thank goodness we here in Scotland still honour tax cheats and the politicians who support them , and make a complete distinction between them and the guys that steal our cars ,or break into our houses or assault us with a deadly weapon, or such like crimes common among the lower orders!
There is some dignity attaching to finance scams, after all!
“England, Scotland and Wales are in talks with football’s world governing body about the issue of poppies on players’ shirts to mark Armistice Day.
England play Scotland in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley on 11 November, the day when the United Kingdom traditionally remembers its war dead.
Wales face Serbia at the Cardiff City Stadium the following evening.
Fifa bans political, religious or commercial messages on shirts and has the power to deduct points from teams…”
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/37832115
===============================
Crazy.
– any moral authority that FIFA had was very publicly lost / sold many, many years ago.
– for consistency, e.g. all national flags, [like Palestinian flags], must be banned from stadiums…erm, for international games !
]
[Shirley, national anthems will eventually be banned by FIFA as well ?
Hopefully, the new head of FIFA will quietly rein in FIFA’s delusions, and simply focus on the football.
…but then again, it is FIFA…
StevieBCNovember 1, 2016 at 14:37
‘.Hopefully, the new head of FIFA will quietly rein in FIFA’s delusions..’
________
As long as no Basil mentions the War though!
In reply to STEVIEBC :
Why should poppies be allowed to be displayed on an International stage ? I have no axe to grind whatsoever, although the Poppy brigade use this self same argument year on year.
I choose to wear a white poppy at this time of year to indicate peace to all, I do not choose to wear a red one as it, in my opinion commemorates war.
I have no love for FIFA or there corrupt partners at UEFA but they are entirely right to implement this.
If these football shirt had “poppies” on them all year round then I don’t think anyone would have an objection, but to only do this once a year is all about one thing, and we ALL know what this is, if we take our heads out our backsides and admit to the truth.
Roberto @rcynic 15h15 hours ago FIFA have banned poppies on the shirts of Scotland v England W.C. quallifier next week. Cue the sound of exploding #poppyfascist heads 0 replies 8 retweets 18 likes ReplyRetweet8 Retweeted8
ZAM1
NOVEMBER 1, 2016 at 14:52…
In reply to STEVIEBC :
Why should poppies be allowed to be displayed on an International stage ?…
================================
I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but I do have strong opinions about FIFA.
Just trying to highlight how ridiculous it is that such a corrupt organisation as FIFA believes it can dictate anything to anyone – other than strictly football matters.
And FIFA should be trying to avoid any potentially negative media coverage in order to start building trust, IMO.
Wearing of poppies by individuals is of no interest to me. Do it or don’t it’s your own choice. Though I do find it ironic when people tell me I should wear one in remembrance of those who died to protect my freedom. How does that work.
However wearing them on the national football teams strip is another thing. They are representing the entire nation and as such should not be wearing anything which makes any sort of statement, whether it be political or anything else.
Thank goodness national anthems never contains anything political or they would get banned as well.
zam1November 1, 2016 at 14:52
‘…but to only do this once a year is all about one thing, and we ALL know what this is..’
__________
I myself make one very important distinction: between those who fought, died or were wounded in the war against the absolute,blind evil of Nazism , and those who served
I honour my dad ( who was severely wounded at Cassino) and his brothers and cousins who served in the army and the navy for a long stretch of that war, a war that simply had to be fought to the death for the most profound moral reasons.
I do not honour those who chant ‘my country right or wrong’, or those in our community who wish attempt to brandish ‘loyalty’ to the Armed Services and the National flag as intruments and symbols of some kind of sectarian supremacy – in football grounds!
If there was a single better way than that to dishonour the dead of the 2nd World War, it has yet to be found.
Fron the SFA annual review 2013
Now it won’t come as any great surprise to learn that this either hasn’t happened at all or if it has the information is not included in subsequent SFA annual reviews and is not available to fans of member clubs . So 3 questions for the SFA
1 Was this scheme implemented as planned at the start of season 2013- 14
2 If it was implemented , where can fans access the data
3 If it wasn’t implemented as planned, what was the reason for this.
The CEO of the SFA was also quoted in the Daily Telegraph in January 2014
That raises further questions for the SFA.
1 Does Scotlnd have a FFP agreement for it’s Professional Leagues
2 If not, why not .
3 Does the SFA have the authority to impose a wage cap on member clubs ?
4 If not, why did the CEO state it was an option .
Given there has been no published information on Club finances from the SFA , I have produced what is available from annual accounts of the SPL clubs and Hibernian. The attached sheet is a summary.
Firstly there is a huge level of discrepancy between member clubs in terms of financial disclosure. The poster boys for detailed reporting are Celtic and Rangers. Not only do they provide a significantly greater level of detail than the other clubs, they also provide information much more promptly than any of the other clubs.
Aberdeen, Hearts , Hibernian , Ross County , Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle all provide reasonable levels of information.
St Johnstone provide very little . Whilst Inverness, Hamilton,Motherwell and Dundee provide no information at all other than a 6 line balance sheet .
The questions for the SFA are therefore
1 Why is it acceptable for member clubs to provide virtually no public financial date.
2 Why is it not a requirement of club licencing that full P & L information is publicly available to all stakeholders in Scottish Football
Sorry: in my immediately preceding post the complete sentence should have read: ” and those who served as tools of greedy grasping governments who pillaged, robbed and looted otherwise innocent countries around the world”.
The magic hat’s replacement ? Some that I know are convinced ,no less
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37830878
When providing Profit and loss data , I have disregarded revaluation of assets and investments, as in my view it’s a misleading factor . Rangers 3 years ago turned an 8 figure loss into a small profit by revaluing goodwill . A nonsense in my view. This year they took a small hit by reducing the value of the inevestment in Rangers retail.
These type of transactions in my view don’t belong in a p & l statement. Although the accounting standards people see it differently
paddy malarkeyNovember 1, 2016 at 16:23
‘…The magic hat’s replacement ? Some that I know are convinced ,no less ‘
_______
Does de Boer know there are no more EBTs?
I walked past about six feet away from Stewart Regan at the Oriam today, where he was watching Scotland U16s play. I thought about stopping and asking him for an update on John Clark’s question, but he seemed deep in conversation with someone from Celtic’s coaching or support staff (initials “MM” going by his kit).
I guess he was probably being asked why Karamoko Dembele hadn’t featured in the starting line-up. Job done, 15 minutes into the second half and on came the wee lad.
JOHN CLARKNOVEMBER 1, 2016 at 17:07
John, John, John ! Don’t you realise that those three letters are like a crucifix to the blood-suckers ? Watch them shy away from its heavy shadow .
PS The BM v CFC match is on BT freeview, channel 59 or 548 on Virgin .
BarcabhoyNovember 1, 2016 at 16:01
“St Johnstone provide very little .”
Saints accounts 2015:
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-prod/docs/pbPS05luohicySQP_VH7HRrKoT3SEr20N7F-8682l68/application-pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIAJ22RVHEJQOGVEUIA&Expires=1478029195&Signature=PKOHc6gcvLA3Dglj%2BraiZxdTzbE%3D&x-amz-security-token=FQoDYXdzEHkaDCJgjcW8UnI5v%2FpQJiKcA5xWEjj4BHvzK6AedF5O4MIS0diYrsQjeI5S2bFgaRmP28K%2FUaC3Y3fQZzAE7Q0c8KWbmPbV5wnjsubkW4edde4%2FLHt%2BGvm%2B8ux5v%2BkxfknO096GzsKlyGltiZoT3GAccaqemzK9BqO1gd%2F2c0SOj7f2%2FaZUiRFEMINaDOqbHNU4crZZAVQjpC54z2dG2GYmcxrXHhkwpY22KFtotvulLF4Pgoe7EQrtpgXDHI2yjzh%2F8TR3UjDbqeHZJhoE3aHBkvzwZ5BkAS%2B0SEvV%2B%2FHMfg75F5WK0cDp7PwHFiV1YnLrnRhPQ2GzxB3w14Kw3TvS3ErDy%2B3NuXXdbcr%2FGxxeibJCdpgZrClQpnvirjl7Yatvfqhe9%2FaLT2l0hh1V1GJ%2BBEHIx9mgrnTp5FrnmjGOUb7c7PsJpsPavdPRFHC0h4pPOzk4vxXPhygseOtXVVDC9sfEbgwk4JHTWEH05BtiVID8aotYZr2fmV%2Bp%2BioUDUZxA57gEvbST32pd65RAZlEGTx6hRNjj8TMJowMpxs9fJ0SjJ4%2B2rZUQccNgxso2%2FziwAU%3D
I know nothing about accountancy – would you consider these are lacking in detail BB?
smallchange November 1, 2016 at 19:49
====================
Your link doesn’t work for me. However I assume that you are looking at the detailed breakdown of of Saints’ Profit & Loss account, where they provide more detail than any other club in Scotland. I’ve attached a copy.
phil’s latest
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/exclusive-journalist-involved-journalism-shock/#more-8230
easyJamboNovember 1, 2016 at 20:40
Thanks EJ. I tried to link the whole 9 page document, unsuccessfully it seems.
As a complete layman I thought it was quite a comprehensive report on the clubs financial position in May 2015.
Brendan Rogers is asked post match by a scottish ‘journo’ what will it take to move forward in the CL. “time” says he. Not investment says she. Oh that they would be brave enough to ask the same of sevco folks.In particular Mr King.
tonyNovember 1, 2016 at 20:41
‘..phil’s latest .’
_______
Given that we(as members of the public) now know that:
-the Regulatory News Service of the Stock Exchange is not at all ‘regulatory’ but simply publishes whatever the board of a company issues as a statement and that
-the Insolvency Service resiles from any kind of investigatory role and that
-the Adverising Standards Agency simply takes the ‘word’ of a ‘Football Authority’ and that
-other companies are too busy with their own market image to worry about others ( even ‘rivals’),
it is a bit naive of beautifully coiffured gentlemen to think that we ourselves alone will not crawl over every word and action of TRFC/RIFC.
And why will we do that?
Well, why else but that we know that there are some in influential positions on those Boards of which the coiffured gentleman sits,who have been known to lie to all sorts of people in the past, including the football authorities?
And that we know from experience that our very Football Authorities have been only too ready to aid and abet in the construct of the monumental untruth on which the beautifully coiffured gentleman’s football club’s very essence depends?
And that we want an honest sport, where there is integrity at every level, and uniformly fair and just application of rules-whether in relation to clubs’ membership, sporting achievements, and financial fair play.
And those who do not want that, I cordially invite to do what those parthenogenetic/hermaphroditic species do.( Aye, ok, I might have got the terms wrong, but you know what I mean!)
paddy malarkeyNovember 1, 2016 at 19:33
‘..those three letters are like a crucifix to the blood-suckers ?.’
_________
Don’t know about that,paddy malarkey, but there is a rumour here in Edinburgh that the majority shareholder of Level5PRLtd ( company number sc 494998- look it up on the Companies house webpage) , one James Sexton Traynor, dislikes garlic!
And what a happy dischronicity it is that a man with ‘sexton’ as part of his name should be taking money for acting( atrociously incompetently, by the way)as PR man for the living dead!
(Ah, James, ah, James,thou’ll get thy fairin! Even the bad guys know when they are wasting money on a crap PR consultant!)
In this morning’s ” The Scotsman”, there is a piece about the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act” by one Scott Macnab. (I don’t want to speak about the article as such: I just wanted to let Macnab know of my displeasure at what I think is his offensive behaviour !)
I sent him the following email: scot.macnab@scotsman.com
“Dear Scott Macnab,
You open your piece entitled ” Sectarian laws were doomed to fail” with the following paragraph: “The return of the Old Firm derby this season, with Rangers ending their four-year exile in the lower reaches of Scottish football …’I take offense at that gross misrepresentation.
Rangers Football Club is currently in Liquidation. They were not’exiled to the lower reaches of football’, but lost any entitlement they had to membership of the SPL and of the SFA. They ceased to exist as a football playing entity.”The Rangers Football Club Ltd”.now playing in the SPFL is not and cannot possibly be the same club as the still legally RFC of 1872.
No. It was created in 2012 as a new club , originally named “SevcoScotland.”As a new club it had to apply for membership of a professional football league.It was not admitted to the then SPL, nor to either the First or Second Divisions of the then SFL, but only to the Third Division. Rather than being a club that had been ‘relegated’, it was elevated to the status of ‘professional football club’ for the first time, and rather grudgingly at that.
(The subsequent early name change to “The Rangers Football Club Ltd” was clearly a deceitful device to try to maintain the myth that it was ‘the same club’ and that RFC(IL) had simply changed ownership.)
References to ‘the Old Firm’ and to ‘exile to the lower reaches’ are therefore wholly irrelevant at best, and might signify in those who make them a readiness to support deceitful myth-making and journalistic untruth.And where there is a perception that a journalist is ready to support myth-making and trundle out inaccuracies of fact, then that journalist’s other writings automatically fall to be discounted.
Yours sincerely,
JC
John Clark
November 1, 2016 at 23:17
John Clark
November 2, 2016 at 00:31
John Clark
November 2, 2016 at 10:29
WOW!
I’m interested in the source of the St Johnstone P & L. This wasn’t on the set of accounts i obtained from Equifax. If this was publicly available , then i commend St Johnstone as it undoubtedly is fully detailed. If it’s a shareholders copy , and only available to them , then that’s a different matter
eTims have published the Resolution 12 reply from UEFA in full. Perhaps even more interesting is the subsequent reply sent by the guys to UEFA setting out the events that they feel deserve (in my opinion demand by their very existence) further consideration/investigation. Seeing it all written down in this formalised (by solicitors) way makes one wonder how it can be that people (the SFA) could be allowed to get away with this, and even more bemusing is why the clubs affected by it aren’t up in arms. The game’s governors, who would punish them severely for merely missing dates/signatures, have, quite clearly, deliberately allowed themselves to be ‘duped’ by, at the time, the (viewed as) biggest and most powerful club in the land.
http://etims.net/?p=10253
BarcabhoyNovember 2, 2016 at 11:41
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC007629/filing-history
ALLYJAMBONOVEMBER 2, 2016 at 11:45
eTims have published the Resolution 12 reply from UEFA in full. Perhaps even more interesting is the subsequent reply sent by the guys to UEFA setting out the events that they feel deserve (in my opinion demand by their very existence) further consideration/investigation. Seeing it all written down in this formalised (by solicitors) way makes one wonder how it can be that people (the SFA) could be allowed to get away with this, and even more bemusing is why the clubs affected by it aren’t up in arms. The game’s governors, who would punish them severely for merely missing dates/signatures, have, quite clearly, deliberately allowed themselves to be ‘duped’ by, at the time, the (viewed as) biggest and most powerful club in the land.
http://etims.net/?p=10253
………………………………………………………………..
I don’t know what will happen to Resolution 12.
“The club never wanted it because they are a business and see the world differently from the group of fans who see themselves as the Celtic soul.
I applaud these Celtic fans”.
…………………………………………………………………..
Thanks AJ for the link.
It is an really insightful collection of material/ dynamite.
I sincerely hope my conclusions to “History, Neighbours and Made Up News” was and is wrong and I unreservedly wish The Requisitioners good fortune at the Celtic AGM.
It will be interesting to see how the Celtic Board deal with it all.
Below has been sent to ALL MSPs in central belt, I know it does not show the highlighted bits on here, but it did on the email which was sent. Its about time we all sent similar.
I would be delighted if just one of the MSPs for the Central belt actually read this in its entirety. Special attention must be shown to the attachments in red highlight where UEFA has responded. There should be a FULL PUBLIC enquiry into the SFA and there handling of football in this country dating back 20 years, there corruption knows no limits and for our MSPs to sit idly by and watch this is disgraceful.
I await your response.
Resolution 12: Those UEFA Letters in full, And Why All Scottish Clubs Must Act
The guys behind the issue of holding the SFA to account for their dodgy dealing of 2011-12 have now taken proceedings as far as they can.
They have, despite threats and intimidation carried the torch for those of us who wish to see football ran by competent authorities who act without fear and favour when they have to make important decisions.
They deserve all of our thanks, and all of our appreciation.
They have been ignored by the Scottish press, evidently fearful of carrying out their own duties and investigating these allegations, let alone calling into question why these allegations were made.
The media failed us, and must not be allowed to “move on ” without being constantly reminded of this.
None of them have approached UEFA to determine the issues in question, although one or two claim to have , and indeed may have fired off the odd question, they have certainly not received the reply they claim to have, nor have they dealt with the issue at the level it deserves to be.
Compared with the vigour that any transgression of the rules of the game is pursued with down south, the Scottish mainstream media should hang their heads in shame.
Actually, they should just leave their desks, pick up their jackets and retire to the pub.
They have proved beyond all doubt that they are not fit for purpose, and the editors who control their output, well, they are beneath contempt.
What is the point of a free press if that privilege is ignored ?
They have allowed the SFA to bend the rules to suit their own agenda, and that agenda benefited one club. such was the fear that Rangers ( in liquidation ) would go into liquidation that the SFA ignored the rules and put them forward for a European licence to permit them to play in Europe.
Why is this important now ?
Simply that another Ibrox entity is in dire need of funds, and whats to stop them bending the rules again at the expense of another Scottish club to help them gain entry to European competition, and the riches that lie beyond ?
On the 27 May, 2016, the Resolution 12 guys, as they have become known, sent this letter to UEFA.
Until now, its not been seen in full.
The reason its been held back, quite simply, was that a reply to an enquiry by a journalist turned out to be remarkably similar to the reply given to this letter, and despite frequent questioning, he would not divulge the list of questions he submitted that got him the reply that the resolution 12 guys received.
27may-2016letter-to-uefa
As you can see, the one word difference between the two replies, which not surprisingly was the editing of “new club/company” by removing the word “new ” in order to stop the gullibillies from realising that the money they have poured into Ibrox was not for the benefit of Rangers FC, now in liquidation.
But its their money, and if thats how they want to spend it, then thats up to them.
I couldn;t care less, and neither should you. This isn;t about Rangers, “rangers ” or whatever they want to call themselves.
This is about those who turned a blind eye to those who ran that club into the ground, and attempted to whitewash the mistakes by allowing them access to Champions League money, when at the very least, as you have seen in the letter, there were questions surrounding their eligibility.
The reply, in full, again which has not been seen before, although I have a sneaky suspicion, as it was forwarded to the SFA as well, that they have their full copy, just with a bit of tippex over the word “new ”
8-june-reply-from-uefa
The new club bit was just a bonus, enabling us all to see exactly how they are seen by the authorities outwith Scotland, which of course points to a wee bit of skullduggery as those within Scotland, radio, television and the print media, all follow the party line that it is the same club.
That letter to UEFA, and the reply received, should finally put all that to rest.
The real issue, of course, isn’t about the “new club /same club/ it was the company that did it and ran away “argument.
It’s far more important than that.
As I stated above if the fans at Ibrox want to believe its the same club, thats up to them.
what is important here is the realisation that the SFA went above and beyond the call of duty the last time they were in trouble to try to bail them out.
Can we really have any confidence that the same backs won’t be scratched or the same knobs fiddled with this time around ?
We’ve already seen the SFA bend over to admit the convicted tax crook Dave king to Scottish football.
We’ve already seen the press ignore this matter, hoping that it will all go away.
What is to stop it happening again ?
The five year nominal exclusion of directors-not that that mattered at Ibrox, as we have seen with Paul Murray and King -involved in an insolvency event is nearly up.
Whats to stop the SFA from allowing the old Rangers board from investing in new Ibrox club ? They’d be a sort of ” real real Rainjurrs men”
After so many bills went unpaid, and a tax scheme that is at best questionable introduced, unless action is taken now, there is a real possibility that those who sent the ibrox club to the grave, and placed a large black mark against the game in Scotland, will be allowed to pick up where they left off.
The SFA are too weak and too complain to stop them.
In fact, a subtle rule change after the old club went down means that if this club goes the same way, a third entity won’t even have to start at the bottom. They can merely pick up where the last lot left off.
Thats why every supporter of every club, including the Ibrox entity, should be emailing their club demanding support for a public enquiry at government level.
Thats why every supporter of every club should be writing to their MP demanding a public enquiry at government level.
The Celtic AGM takes place this week.
The support must demand an answer to this question.
Why did you do nothing then, and why do you continue to do nothing now ?
Because we need to be reassured that the same thing cannot be allowed to happen again, and we need to know that action will be taken over thise dark deeds perpetrated back in the days that led to the liquidation of one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Contact your club, contact your MP.
for reference, you can use the questions and points raised in this letter, sent by the Resolution 12 guys on the 29 September this year, in response to the 8 June reply.
29-september-2016-letter-to-uefa
The battle is only just beginning.
A battle that can only be won if the whole of the support of all the clubs in Scotland gets behind this.
So tell your friends, and tell them to tell their friends.
don’t let them get away with it, and don’t let them do it again.
We want our ball back, and we want it back now
Zam1
The letters can be viewed from the links in the E Tims article at http://etims.net/?p=10253
John ClarkNovember 1, 2016 at 23:17 And those who do not want that, I cordially invite to do what those parthenogenetic/hermaphroditic species do.( Aye, ok, I might have got the terms wrong, but you know what I mean!)
I kent what ye meant even if the words were wrong
)and I’ve no idea if they were.
Auldheid
Thanks, that’s where I took it from, everyone should be forwarding to there MSPs, I do not think an MP would take much notice as its a Scottish problem.
It spells out in fine detail and easy reading exactly what you guys are up against, and to an extent, the complete club football supporting public.
smallchange November 2, 2016 at 12:36
BarcabhoyNovember 2, 2016 at 11:41
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/SC007629/filing-history
============================
Guys – The Companies House version does not contain the breakdown of the P&L Account, or at least it doesn’t now. I think St Johnstone initially submitted a copy of the accounts with the extra pages to Companies House, which is where I obtained my copy. I think that the current version replaced the one I downloaded, as there is a disclaimer in my version that the extra pages were not subjected to the auditors’ scrutiny.
I’ve attached a full copy of the version I downloaded on 15/10/2015.
Looks like the SMSM could be relieved about the timing of the announcement of the Scotland squad, and the controversy about wearing the poppy…you could almost have missed the fact that a Scottish team got a very respectable result last night in the Champions’ League – and away from home. Doesn’t happen very often.
But this is just another example, IMO, of how the SMSM is failing ALL Scottish senior football teams and their supporters, [& potential SMSM customers].
Rather than take the opportunity to cover over teams in recent years, and be positive about the game where possible – they have been mainly focused on one basket case of a club and its dodgy goings on.
]
And then, rather than report the truth, the SMSM happily copies/pastes the spin from Level42, in deference to the club.
[…but then this also forces the Bampots to focus on the dodgy club, to counter the stream of misinformation / lies.
As long as there is an Ibrox club, there will be a need for Bampots ‘asking the questions’ that the churnalists don’t want to ask.
Copy of email sent to my MP in England.
I attach an article published here – http://etims.net/?p=10253
It refers to a potential scandal in the governance of Association Football in Scotland which neither the footballing authorities in Scotland, nor the clubs themselves, far less the media in Scotland, both print and vision, appear not to want to address publicly. And it would seem that none of the politicians appear to want to get involved in it either.
Aside from the sporting governance issues, it also potentially concerns the deliberate withholding of information from HMRC (and Inland Revenue, as was, during some of the periods in question), resulting in millions of pounds of undeclared and unpaid taxation.
I appreciate that this is a matter you may wish to take no interest in, since it is largely, but not entirely, a Scottish matter.
However, you may feel intrigued enough to carry out some research to decide whether or not some kind of official enquiry should be carried out.
If no-one in authority or in the media or in the political arena in Scotland is prepared to face up to this (with the notable exception of the BBC’s Mark Daly – see here ) how do these people get their allegations into the public domain for open and honest debate?
Yours etc.
A little light reading about Scottish football, blagged from The Knowledge in the Guardian .
Is it true that Falkirk (or another Scottish side) were once shipwrecked on the way to a game?” wondered Dan Palmer in 2012.
It is indeed, but the side who took a dip in the briny deep came from further down the Firth of Forth. Kirkcaldy’s Raith Rovers can justifiably claim to be pioneers of the Scottish game – they had enjoyed a successful trip to Copenhagen in the summer of 1922 and fancied repeating the trick at the end of the following season, but this time taking in the sunnier climbs of the Canary Islands. So in the summer of 1923 they boarded the Highland Loch, which was calling in at the Canaries en route to Buenos Aires with its cargo of passengers and, apparently, chilled meat.
The Stark’s Park party had reached northern Spain and were off the coast of Galicia, negotiating Cape Finisterre, in violent weather when the ship ran aground. The players and other passengers were roused from their beds, lifeboats were manned and the group was towed to the village of Villagarcía by local fishermen.
The following day a passing liner bound for the Canaries picked up the 20-strong Rovers squad and were, according to Rovers player Tom Jennings, invited to eat at the captain’s table because of their chivalrous behaviour during the rain-swept abandoning of the Highland Loch. A few days later they were safely deposited at their destination – and the traumatic journey did not seem to adversely effect the players. They won all four games on the tour, although history does not report another European adventure in 1924 …
Statement o’clock.
“JOEY BARTON has been told he will return to full-time training following the conclusion of a disciplinary procedure.
The Auchenhowie management team will inform the player of appropriate training arrangements to which he must adhere for as long as he remains a Rangers player. Neither the Club nor the player will comment further.”
http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/club-statement-71/
STEVIEBCNOVEMBER 2, 2016 at 16:16
“The Auchenhowie management team will inform the player of appropriate training arrangements to which he must adhere”
—————————————————————————————————————————————-
That sounds like they have something nasty planned to sicken him into quitting. ,……Dignity indeed.
STEVIEBCNOVEMBER 2, 2016 at 16:16
=============================
So what happened to the (in some cases arrogant) assertion by all those Journalists and pundits that Rangers were simply getting all the legal stuff sorted before sacking Barton? I think we are entitled to ask if a few legal rights have been pointed out to Rangers themselves otherwise yet another court visit would be on the cards.
https://twitter.com/STVSport/status/793830142221115392
Tap money in October and March. Tap players in January……..I know the very man who has oodles of both….And then some
Oooops! They chased him.
Here is a wee reminder for MW, that DCK has funds in reserve, so no need to panic
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11788/10526627/dave-king-claims-rangers-will-hold-money-in-reserve-until-january
So according to the breathless Wilson Rangers will tell Barton what he can and can’t do and he will just have to sit it out for the next 6 weeks before pleading to be released whilst another correspondent suggested habitually provoking him just to see if he’ll blow, and therefore go.
Alternatively Joey has possibly told them what he will do and he will gladly sit out the next 8 weeks and cream off 6% of their recent emergency funding for doing so. But then that’s just my interpretation.
Firstly my gratitude goes to the Res 12 guys, for keeping this issue alive. Whilst reading the etims article i noticed one of the posters suggested a demonstration of sorts at the Betfred final . As Dons fans have already got media coverage for their banner displays on the Hampden steps, a united front of sorts, club rivalries temporarily put aside to put across a message to our clubs agreed from all fans, if possible, could be a strong statement to all fans, that the SFA, SPFL, SMSM and British/ European media, couldn’t ignore.
An empty stadium would make the biggest splash, but a bit unfair on the players & fans involved.
I want to suggest that fans of Rangers* could be involved but maybe not such a good idea.
I note a few outlets assuming Joey will be training with the U20s.
Given his track record I wouldn’t have a disgruntled Joey within 30 kicking yards of any young talent at the facility formerly known as Murray Park. Which BTW is another one the less than inquisitive SMSM have let slip into their reports of late.
If the ethereal entity itself cannot now stomach being associated with the Knight of the realm why has there been no major review of his tenure at Ibrox.
SMUGASNOVEMBER 2, 2016 at 19:46
Alternatively Joey has possibly told them what he will do and he will gladly sit out the next 8 weeks and cream off 6% of their recent emergency funding for doing so. But then that’s just my interpretation.
—————————————–
My interpretation is either the club’s, or Barton’s lawyer has pointed out there are no grounds to sack him, or even to keep him suspended. Therefore they have to offer him training facilities and to continue to pay him in full. The ball appears to be in his court. I hope he quietly sits tight for his entire contract. In fact, I hope he refuses several moves to England in January.
Couldn’t quite believe my ears last night on Radio Scotland. The consensus from the panel was that RFC are trying to “sicken” Joey Barton in the hope he will snap and breach his contract.
Now I’ve no idea if that is true or not but the panel seemed to think this is the case. My issue isn’t with RFC’s behaviour here (like I say I only have the panel’s say so that this is what RFC are doing) no my issue is with the panel itself for condoning such behaviour.
How on earth can they sit there and discuss this without even mentioning the fact that this is a very unprofessional way to treat someone? None of them have actually told us what Joey Barton said or done in the first place. Again it’s just taken as read that Barton is in the wrong and RFC are in the right. But how do they know that? No-one has said what actually took place. So for all they know Barton is an innocent victim of austerity measures at ibrox.
But again there is not even a slight attempt by the MSM to play ‘devils advocate’ and discuss alternative theories. They have all been handed their level 5 scripts and must not deviate from that.
They also found time at the end to read out tweets from listeners questioning Darren O’Dea’s tax arrangements. They’ve never asked Alex Rae, Barry Ferguson, and all the other ex-gers players they’ve had on the show, any such questions. I wonder why?
Hi Folks,
All a bit blurry in terms of what has happened to the site, but it appears that we suffered a script injection attack AND a DoS attack. This is the eleventh time we have been subject to this kind of attack in the last four and a half years. Won’t make us go away, but it is very costly in terms of time and technical support. As a consequence of this attack we now have had to have our own dedicated firewall too.
No way of knowing from where right now, or who is behind it. The hosting company took us off the shared firewall last night, concerned that the attention we attract is dragging other customers sites down.
We couldn’t take a chance of operating without a robust firewall (for security) so we had to agree to upgrade to a firewall upgrade. That is twice in the past month – which has cost us in total around £600. We have no way of knowing right now whether these are just random attacks on sites which have a lot of traffic, or malicious attempts to shut us down.
Whatever the source, it won’t see us off. We think that everything has now been sorted. The site has been relocated to another box with a different IP address. There may be some cache issues for folks, but aside from that I hope we will see an improvement in the speed of the site when it all settles down.
Anyone with any issues, please don’t contact Tris 🙂
Send me a mail at bp@sfm.scot if you are having problems.
CHARLIE_KELLY
NOVEMBER 3, 2016 at 10:23
——————————–
The simple fact is that the SMSM still believe that football doesn’t (or perhaps, doesn’t have to) operate in the way that other businesses do.
They should have woken up to that in 2012 (or perhaps even as far back as 1994?).
I’ve always thought that the RFC implosion was a business story first & a football story second.
The decision-makers in the SMSM thought (or were persuaded to think) otherwise & that’s partly where we are today with all the ‘continuity myth’, ‘Going for 55’ & numerous other strands of guff we get offered on a daily basis. The spineless SFA & SPL/SFL/SPFL didn’t/don’t help either.
Charlie_Kelly
Yes I too thought Radio Scotland were just starting to breech what might be considered ‘acceptable’ last night.
I didn’t catch who the contributor was, presumably an ex team mate. With a repeated viewpoint that Joey clearly wasn’t, and never had been, half the player he thought he was I couldn’t help but wonder why said individual wasn’t invited on to give such a damning indictment in May when he first signed. It was also he who suggested that repeated ‘prodding/provoking “might just do the trick.” I do hope Joey’s Lawyers were listening.
Mike Ashley and retail.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14839435.Mike_Ashley_tries_to_regain_Rangers_trademarks_in_new_legal_battle/?ref=twtrec
SmugasNovember 3, 2016 at 11:43
‘… I do hope Joey’s Lawyers were listening. ‘
________
As do I.
I could not believe my ears at the stuff that was allowed to be said on Sportsound by the editor/producer!
There was such an element of malicious wishful almost urging of the Auchenhowie folk to ensure that efforts are made to provoke Barton into a ‘sackable’ indiscretion.
And as for TRFC’s statement, how utterly inept of Level5PR!
Have they not even the faintest understanding that a PR company is meant to show their client in a positive light, as a reasonable employer, able to acknowledge even its most crass business mistakes with a good grace, and able to demonstrate the utmost goodwill in any dispute?
There won’t be a PR training officer who will not cite Level5 as a prime practitioner of the worst possible approach to PR! And any sensible company thinking of employing a PR Consultancy will, I think, be very wise if they give Level5 a bodyswerve.
And that programme last night confirmed me in my belief that powerful people in BBC radio Scotland are deliberately supporting the TRFC board no matter what,just as they have deliberately progandised on the part of the Big Lie.
Charlie Kelly
That’s an excellent point you make, it seems quite incredible just how partisan the SMSM, and in particular, the BBC, can be when it comes to an Ibrox club. It’s also quite amazing how they can pose the awkward questions to/about anyone not related to ‘Rangers’, as though they, the ‘journalists’ are completely unaware that they have, for some five years, avoided posing similar questions to anyone involved in the biggest scandal ever to hit Scottish sport.
It’s as though they, in the instance you give, are trying to redress the imbalance by coming down hard over tax dodges on someone not involved with their pet club, while giving out the aura of ‘intrepid’ journalists who only want to dig out the truth! The thing is, I can imagine that they are laughing up their sleeves thinking how they are carrying out this spiffing wheeze, and that we are all too dumb to realise it.
And, for such interest as it may have, I can say that I was in Court 13 in Edinburgh Sheriff court at 9.45 this morning. By 10.16 , the there were about 26 people (mostly legal types, informal, only some wearing the type of gown that orinary lawyers are entitled to wear) but with about 6 or 7 ‘civilians’ who appeared to be parties to various actions ( almost conveyor belt style, with each ‘action’ taking only a few minutes.
Happily, case number SC206-16 called third, so I didn’t have too long to wait. As far as I could make out, a date for ‘proof’ had already been fixed (before today’s hearing) : Young and Partners are looking for a sum greater than £3000 but less than £5 000 from Rangers First 2014.
The business this morning was simply to have it recorded that there is now a third party , an individual whose first name is, I think,Richard, in respect of whose claim ‘answers’ had been lodged, but not yet seen by his solicitor.
So, in less time than it has taken me to type these few sentences, the date already fixed for ‘proof’ ( 11th January 2017) was confirmed.
And that was that.
Res 12 is like peeling an onion in that it does bring tears to the eyes but it also exposes the layers.
This insight from TBB on CQN shows not only the fallacy of the continuity of SFA membership myth UEFA do not recognise but also the sand of the 5 Way that required it.
” Thanks to the quite remarkable efforts of Canamalar, Auldheid, Morrissey and BRTH on pulling Resolution 12 through a muddy field of obfuscation, much light has been shed on the accomodations that were made for Rangers FC during the period from 2011 to Liquidation.
While the focus of the Resolution was to address suspected shortcomings at the SFA as regards the application of UEFA’s Club Licensing rules, one outcome from the process has slipped somewhat beneath the radar.
In the letter from UEFA dated 8th June, Andrea Traverso – UEFA’s Head of Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play – states that:
“…the new club/company being ineligible to apply for a licence to participate in UEFA competitions from 3 seasons..”
and
“…the new club/company… was not able to play in UEFA competitions for three years in any event.”
The talk in cyberspace (note: There has been radio silence on this matter from mainstream media outlets) has focussed on the “new club/company” aspect of these statements, and with good reason: Here, after all, is one of UEFA’s top executives quite clearly debunking the “continuity myth” so painstakingly fabricated by the SFA & SPL in the 5-way Agreement. That’s a story right there.
There is though something of an oversight, and that oversight speaks to the legitimacy of the 5-way Agreement in the first place:
It is Article 12 to which Traverso is referring when he states that the new club/company was ineligible to apply for a licence to participate in UEFA competitions from 3 seasons.
According to Article 12 of UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, the very Regulations that Traverso is responsible for implementing:
1 A licence applicant may only be a football club, i.e. a legal entity fully responsible for a football team participating in national and international competitions which either:
a) is a registered member of a UEFA member association and/or its affiliated league (here inafter: registered member); or
b) has a contractual relationship with a registered member (here inafter: football company).
2 The membership… must have lasted – at the start of the licence season – for at least three consecutive years.
Central to the 5-way Agreement was the “transfer of the Scottish FA membership between Rangers FC (In Administration), and Sevco Scotland Ltd”, without which, Sevco would have been unable to field a team in regulated matches. No membership: No particiaption.
It is quite clear from the foregoing that, whatever the SFA did with Rangers’ membership in 2012, UEFA simply don’t accept that it was ‘transferred’ to Sevco Scotland, otherwise the “membership” would have lasted considerably longer than the minimum 3 consecutive seasons.
And if there was no legitimate “transfer of membership”, well, right there, the 5-way Agreement is fatally flawed.
Good Afternoon.
Pleased to see the phrase ‘Evening Shark-Jump’ gaining wider use! In my blog yesterday I wrote about what an absolute disgrace it will be if the Celtic board choose not to pick up the Resolution 12 baton, concluding with the words “This is looking like a potential ‘line in the sand’ moment. The Celtic board can either say ‘never again’ and try to stand up for everything they purport to represent as the guardians of a great football club which has notions of fairness embedded in its DNA. Or they can shrug their shoulders and wallow in being just another set of football ‘suits’.”
But the thing I wanted to draw attention to was my piece on the SFA’s decision on the wearing of poppies at the upcoming England v Scotland fixture. As a regulatory body responsible for the enforcement of rules in domestic football, and as one of the four permanent members of the International Football Association Board they are bringing themselves into disrepute. I’ll have zero sympathy for them if they are hit with sanctions.
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/poppycock-from-the-sfa/
Keep up the good work!
John Clark November 3, 2016 at 13:04
=====================
Your dedication to pursuing justice in action is unsurpassed.
At that level of claim it’s not likely to break the bank at Rangers First / Club 1872, but the case may well expose splits or differing view within the supporters organisations.
I watched the Spurs CL match last night and was shocked by the state of the playing surface . More of a pitch for grafters than artistes,imo, so we might have a chance next week after all .
Anyhoo,might be worth a listen –
Martin Dowden ✔@BBCMartinDowdenDon’t miss Partick Thistle feature with Lambie & Charnley from 6,30 tonight on @bbcsportsound @ThistleTweet@BBCSportScot 810 MW Very funny
UPTHEHOOP
SNOVEMBER 2, 2016 at 20:23
…
My interpretation is either the club’s, or Barton’s lawyer has pointed out there are no grounds to sack him, or even to keep him suspended. Therefore they have to offer him training facilities and to continue to pay him in full. The ball appears to be in his court. I hope he quietly sits tight for his entire contract. In fact, I hope he refuses several moves to England in January…
==========================
Absolutely !
IMO, the last resort TRFC might take is to incite their SMSM followers – and even the bears – to make life for Barton as uncomfortable as possible and to ensure that he does in fact leave Ibrox during January.
Barton could be in for a rough ride in the media.
But TRFC’s worst nightmare will be if Barton puts on his tin hat, just sucks it up – and keeps counting his cash !
He should keep his own counsel until the last day of the transfer window, and then demand to be paid up in full.
Maybe he will be happy with say 50% – 75% of his contract remaining paid in a lump sum ? [If TRFC can access the cash?]
Or he can just continue to honour his extremely generous contract in a dignified manner ? [Which might be more probable?]
Either way, yes Barton is very much in the driving seat.
And King & co. have shown – again – that they are pretty clueless.
easyJamboNovember 3, 2016 at 14:21
John Clark November 3, 2016 at 13:04 ===================== Your dedication to pursuing justice in action is unsurpassed.
At that level of claim it’s not likely to break the bank at Rangers First / Club 1872, but the case may well expose splits or differing view within the supporters organisations.
_________________________
I wonder if it might expose something of the shenanigans that the blog, Davie’s Left Peg, often talks about? I expect he, the blogger, is taking a keen interest in what comes out in this case.
Sorry, I can’t provide a link, but Davie’s Left Peg had an interesting blog up the other day discussing the fact that the RIFC accounts made no reference to donations from the ‘Lion Brand’. He also shows a reply from Stuart Robertson to his enquiry on the matter that basically says (or rather they can’t comment because they have nothing to comment on) that the club have received nothing from Lion Brand. Worth a read if you can find it
I believe, though, that Lion Brand have previously intimated that a donation(s) has(have) been made to the club!
StevieBC,
That was precisely my issue with BBC last night.
Joey Barton in May sounds like the proverbial impact signing therefore we can expect no analysis on his history whatsoever, just predictable baloney about 55 blah blah.
Joey Barton in October is clearly sh**e therefore lets use the national broadcaster to rouse the pitchfork mob and get rid.
That troubles me.
Allyjambo November 3, 2016 at 15:06
Sorry, I can’t provide a link, but Davie’s Left Peg had an interesting blog up the other day discussing the fact that the RIFC accounts made no reference to donations from the ‘Lion Brand’. He also shows a reply from Stuart Robertson to his enquiry on the matter that basically says (or rather they can’t comment because they have nothing to comment on) that the club have received nothing from Lion Brand. Worth a read if you can find it
I believe, though, that Lion Brand have previously intimated that a donation(s) has(have) been made to the club!
======================
I wouldn’t expect such “donations” to be classified under any specific heading in the accounts
The blogger reportedly has some form for being a bit of a loose cannon when it comes to accurate reporting.
https://daviesleftpeg.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/lionbrand-did-ye-aye/
The point the blog was trying to make was that Stewart Robertson had stated that there was no connection between LionBrand and the club, therefore there was some question over what happened to the funds raised, e.g. did the organiser retain or use funds for their own use.
If I understand it correctly, the LionBrand folks are claiming that the funds go directly to the club in STs and match tickets. Again there would have to be some questions about who receives the benefit of the tickets.
As an outsider, I would question whether this was an efficient use of such funds raised, as VAT would be payable on STs and match tickets, but none would be payable on direct donations. Another question would be the trading status of those selling the LionBrand goods. Are they registered for VAT or is their income (profit) taxed in some other way.
AllyjamboNovember 3, 2016 at 15:01
‘..I wonder if it might expose something of the shenanigans that the blog, Davie’s Left Peg, often talks about? .’
_______
I don’t think so, Aj. The case today seems just to be about the firm of lawyers suing for unpaid fees, for services provided to RF 2014, which, some members of RF 2014 say were incurred by an individual acting without the organisation’s clear authorisation.
Sounds just the typical kind of mess that can happen when meetings are not properly chaired and run and minuted properly! That’s when what some thought was a ‘decision’ others thought was just the consideration of options and possible ways and means. End result- expense incurred, with arguments about whether anyone had the authority to incur it and a refusal to accept liability for it.
I was quite ready to find this morning that the matter had been resolved from within RF2014, and the case had been dropped.I actually asked at the desk whether the case was still rostered for hearing, and was a bit surprised to learn that it was.
But only the officers and members of RF 2014 will know for sure whether there is more to it dissension-wise than mere inept committee-work.
Re the “Poppy debate”
This now seems to be an annual debate and it quite frankly bores me to tears. Wear one if you want and don’t wear one if you don’t want. That’s my take on it. I mean the men (and women!) who died didn’t do so for us to become a nation where we are all forced to think and act the same and to have the same political views etc… For a good few years now I’ve been really uncomfortable with a minority in society who seem to spend the last two weeks in October & first two weeks in November, avidly watching all TV stations to make sure everyone on every show is wearing a poppy and woe betide anyone who does not comply.
I am not comfortable with that but likewise I am not comfortable with people being told they cannot wear one. The Scottish FA & English FA want to wear one and none of the players or coaches have a problem with it. So what exactly is the problem?
Well the problem is that some bureaucrat in a foreign country has a list of rules that we’re all supposed to follow apparently? Nah f**k that! I hope Scotland & England proudly wear their poppies and point blank refuse to pay any fine that may come from it.
On the poppy thing, I don’t have strong views one way or the other – my dad was conscripted but only after WW2 and I have no idea if either of my grandparents served in WW1. Certainly neither of them died there. As a result, I’m happy for people to wear them as I tend to view it purely as a symbol of remembrance, but it has to be recognised that some people – and, indeed, some football players – view the wearing of the poppy as a sign of support for the British forces which they see as an oppressive/suppressive political force – James McLean springs to mind.
Because of that, I can see why FIFA are taking the view that it IS a political statement because some people choose to see it as a political/religious statement. I think those people are entitled to that view and, therefore, to FIFA’s support.
I still think the teams should be allowed to wear it, but the SFA stance concerns me and I have mailed them today. It has been reported that if a suitable agreement cannot be reached and FIFA’s stance remains, then the SFA will ignore FIFA and wear the poppy anyway. How can a governing body responsible for laying down rules with which their members must conform, itself choose to ignore a ruling by its own governing body? If they do that, they are effectively saying its okay to ignore the rules of a governing body – do they expect their member clubs NOT to take advantage of that stance?
Why are they doing this?
The SFA and FA signed up to be members of an overseeing organisation – FIFA.
That organisation has rules re such things and they have viewed the Poppy wearing as being political.
The rules appear to being applied without fear or favour regardless of the parochial nature of the issue and the views of the Scots and English camps.
For this site that should be the end of it.
Extracted from DR article, quoting Rangers legned, goalie Peter McCloy, [with my highlighting] ;
“Celtic haven’t had to work for their last few titles and we need to push them more. I still believe Rangers will finish second. Hearts and Aberdeen are mouthing off but I don’t see them being a threat.
“Winning the League Cup would have been a big thing and you’d have taken a fluke result against Celtic in the semi-final just to get through.
“That makes the Scottish Cup the big one this season, most definitely.
“Apart from anything else, if Rangers can win it this season it will mean Celtic won’t have done the Treble.”
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Another reason why I won’t shed a tear if TRFC becomes extinct.
Slag off another club’s achievements.
Look down your nose at the rest of the opposition.
Assume that the club from Ibrox will always be favourite to come at least second for everything.
And as a last resort: if TRFC can’t raise their game, then just focus on trying to block other clubs’ ambitions.
Ibrox seems to have been devoid of sportsmanship for much longer than I thought.
nawliteNovember 3, 2016 at 17:08
‘..If they do that, they are effectively saying its okay to ignore the rules of a governing body – do they expect their member clubs NOT to take advantage of that stance.’
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Well, having already actually ignored the FIFA rules on club European licensing and lied about it, and having failed to’notice’ the blatant cheating of SDM, and having ensured by chicanery that the just penalty of expulsion for that cheating was not imposed, and having created and sustained the myth of two-clubs-in-one ( except when it comes to paying debts), and having thus flouted every principle of sporting integrity, what else can they say?
Admit that they are themselves cheats, and pray in aid the complicit silence of the lamb-eaters?
The Ferguson boy on Sportsound ‘not happy’ that Barton is training with the youth. Ferguson wants ‘good influences’ on the young players.
Maybe he should ask Mr King to lead from the top, and demit office?