David Low
represents a highly significant component of the history of Celtic FC and consequently a highly significant component of how Scottish Football has panned out in the last 20 years.
As Fergus McCann’s Aide-de-Camp, Low was instrumental in helping him formulate and implement the plans which ultimately allowed control of the club to be wrested from the Kelly and White families. Low also helped McCann to rebuild and regenerate Celtic as a modern football club.
His views are unsurprisingly Celtic-centred, and this interview reveals his ambition for the club to ultimately leave Scottish Football behind. That may or may not be at odds with many of our readers, but the stark analysis of the realities facing football in this country may resonate.
He provides a window on the pragmatism of the likes of McCann, Celtic and many other clubs in respect of the demise of Rangers. He pours scorn on Dave King’s vision of a cash-rich Rangers future, and provides little comfort for those who seek succour for our failing national sport, believing that Scotland will find it impossible to emerge from the football backwater in an increasingly global industry.
Agree or not with Low’s prognosis, it is difficult to deny his compelling analysis of our place in the football world.
Campbellsmoney says:
April 18, 2014 at 9:32 pm
2 0 Rate This
Sorry Smugas re my last post – it wasn’t you – it was Scapaflow. Sun has gone to my head.
Thank god for that. Thought I’d said something stimulating and relevant for a change!
scapaflow says:
April 18, 2014 at 2:51 pm
Alan
Understand your argument, but I suspect ticket prices would increase dramatically for the Euro leagues.
Also, I think the Celtic support is far more divided on this issue than many believe.
______________________________________
Ticket prices may increase, but I don’t see it being dramatically.
The increase in TV money would make that unnecessary.
You may be right about the support being divided on joining a new league, but actions speak louder than words.
What cannot be denied is that regardless of what fans say, every time Celtic play against bigger and better clubs, the stadium sells out.
That what the board will base their decisions on.
What fans do rather than what they say.
Paul Larkin has posted links on Twitter tonight to this letter.
It appears to be a letter from the time of the five-way agreement in which Neil Doncaster promises Sevco will face no disciplinary action over its use of EBTs.
If this is genuine it should mean Doncaster having to resign because he went ahead with Lord Nimmo Smith after this and also came out with his famous comments on a club spending money it couldn’t afford automatically gaining a sporting advantage. Hypocrisy of the lowest order and treating his paying customers as idiots.
This is a world in which nothing can be hidden. The only way to succeed is by having nothing to hide.
http://thefrontofthebus.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/rangers-werent-only-ones-to-issue-side.html
ESTEBAN says: April 18, 2014 at 10:41 pm
Paul Larkin has posted links on Twitter tonight to this letter.
…
http://thefrontofthebus.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/rangers-werent-only-ones-to-issue-side.html
====================================
Interesting – but would be much more interesting if it included signatures.
StevieBC
Presumably the signed copies are in the hands of the signatories. What Mr Doncaster may seek to do first is find out if Sevco was responsible for the leak of an unsigned copy of the letter, because if it was, it is no longer entitled to “the benefit of this letter and the undertaking”. That is, Sevco is het.
I find it hard to empathise with the view diminished attendances at Celtic Park are down to the fact that Celtic win too often domestically – which is the inference from saying there is not enough competition.
It’s an all too easy narrative to buy in to for Celtic fans that the problem essentially lies with rest of Scottish football for not providing enough of a test for the Parkhead faithful to be bothered turning up every week. Interestingly a phenomenon that has only manifested itself with the loss of their city rivals.
It seems self-evident to me the problems with the decreasing Celtic support are far more complex than just a perceived lack of competition, to which I might add, if the competition were that poor Celtic would be looking to win back-to-back trebles this season.
Most honest MSM piece for months. Interesting there is no “by line”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/gers-fans-play-a-dangerous-game-over-ibrox-tickets-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
JAMES DOLEMAN says: April 19, 2014 at 12:59 am
Most honest MSM piece for months. Interesting there is no “by line”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/gers-fans-play-a-dangerous-game-over-ibrox-tickets-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
==========================================
Wow just wow! …was that written by RTC? 😉
A lot of that content could have been lifted from the Bampots here.
The bears won’t be happy though…
Slightly off-topic but far too young. RIP young man.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/22741939/youth-international-dylan-tombides-dies/
James Doleman says:
April 19, 2014 at 12:59 am
2 0 Rate This
Most honest MSM piece for months. Interesting there is no “by line”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/gers-fans-play-a-dangerous-game-over-ibrox-tickets-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
______________________
only Glenn Gibbons would have dared write that
The by-line has now been added:-
“Glenn Gibbons: Rangers fans playing dangerous game”
Esteban says:
April 18, 2014 at 11:02 pm
13
0
Rate This
StevieBC
Presumably the signed copies are in the hands of the signatories. What Mr Doncaster may seek to do first is find out if Sevco was responsible for the leak of an unsigned copy of the letter, because if it was, it is no longer entitled to “the benefit of this letter and the undertaking”. That is, Sevco is het.
=============================
I’m not so sure the SPL could not defend that letter on the basis it was a deal with Sevco not Rangers and was a necessary part of the deal that Sevco would not be punished for the offenses of Rangers.
That was a point of discussion before and as long as Sevco and Rangers are two different clubs then had the punishment been title stripping, which was a concern to Sevco for presentational reasons, it could not have been Sevco to whom that particular punishment applied.
It is as likely to relate to a guarantee on monetary fines and indeed Sevco were excused payment of the fine LNS did impose, as it was Rangers (IL) who were fined not Sevco and even if that SPL letter did not exist I doubt anyone could have argued the fine was a Sevco liability if Sevco were not Rangers (as most see things).
I think it needs explaining, but I do not think it necessarily means the SPL were in any way prejudging or trying to circumvent LNS, but were trying to help keep Rangers alive for commercial reasons. That does not mean they were right to do so but I doubt the SPL knew enough about the differing ebt regimes to engineer the result. The SFA on the other hand had knowledge, motive and opportunity to mislead LNS..
James Doleman says:
April 19, 2014 at 12:59 am
3 0 Rate This
Most honest MSM piece for months. Interesting there is no “by line”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/gers-fans-play-a-dangerous-game-over-ibrox-tickets-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
——–
Straight to the point. And a thoughtful literary reference.
The last paragraph is a sobering one, at least, it should be for fans of the new club. GG suggests the investors could pull the plug and sell off what’s of value. I saw that Phil Mac on twitter earlier felt that they’ll probably stump up to keep the show on the road.
If the latter is correct, what’s the motive to keep burning money? Unless, burning money on Seve Cohen’s bonfire serves some other purpose?
Esteban says:
April 18, 2014 at 10:41 pm
Paul Larkin has posted links on Twitter tonight to this letter.
It appears to be a letter from the time of the five-way agreement in which Neil Doncaster promises Sevco will face no disciplinary action over its use of EBTs.
———-
This isn’t new.
It was part of the ‘CharlotteFakes’ material released sometime around September last year.
Morning all.
Seen Phils tweet last night wrt a£600k shortfall and his feeling that the shareholders will stump up again.Fair enough if they do but why?.
We’re almost at the close season.TRFC,as part of their accounts stated that they need to sell more STs and at an increased price,to hopefully balance the books.A plan that looks like it’s been scuppered by King.
Even if they achieved their target the extra income would be just north of £2m,less than one months expenditure.ST income of around £9m would run out around the end of August.
Why the board are bothering to continue this charade baffles me.The only thing I can think of is that they’d like to reach the close season before taking any action.Avoid trouble that way.Problem is,Mays costs have to be met and there’s only 2 home games left.With a monthly burn of around £2.7m then it would seem that as the ST cash comes in,it would be going straight back out again.hard to see TRFC surviving the close season without spending the ST cash.Wages etc still have to be paid even though there’s no income.
There is also Allys Transfer budget to consider!.
A Dundee Utd fans experience at last weeks SC semi final.
The day I fell out of love with Scottish Football.
On Saturday the 12th of April 2014 I went to Ibrox Stadium to support my club Dundee United in their William Hill Scottish Cup Semi-final match vs Rangers. What happened to me after the match was frightening and left me severely shaken.
After the match which Dundee United won I left the stadium along with my father(a 67 year old) who regularly accompanies me to United games despite being a Rangers supporter himself. We vacated the Govan Stand to make our way home together but unfortunately the Police had cordoned off part of Edminston Drive. I asked the Police for alternative directions as our car was parked in St Andrews Drive we were told by an officer that we could walk down Broomloan Road and along Woodville Street and back round that way to Edmiston Drive as it was not cordoned off. This was the worst advice we could have been given.
The walk back started well with lots of Rangers and Dundee United fans making their way home however when we turned onto Copland Road things took a turn for the worse. I was punched full force in the back of the head which led me to stumble and left me very shaken indeed, I didn’t know what had happened until my Father told me I had been hit by a Rangers supporter, there were three of them and each one of them was carrying a glass bottle. I asked one of them why they had done this and his reply was that I deserved it, one of the culprits apologised for his fellow supporters actions before running off. I could so easily have been killed by a punch to the back of the head.
My Father who was not wearing any colours was left absolutely disgusted with what he had just witnessed and was left very shaken and worried about our safety, the attack was unprovoked and of a cowardly and serious nature and I was unable to defend myself.
I tried to locate a Police officer but there were none in attendance at that part of the Stadium which I found extremely odd, however we decided it was best for us to get home as quickly as possible.
That evening I phoned Police Scotland to make them aware of the attack and they visited my home in Glasgow to take a statement. I informed them exactly of what happened and asked them if there was CCTV located in the area where the attack had taken place, their reply to me was even if there was it would be difficult to catch the culprits however they would look into this for me.
The next day I decided to contact my club Dundee United about this and also Rangers FC, Derek Robertson a Director at Dundee United replied to me via email to say how sorry he was to hear about the attack and informed me that he would contact the clubs Head of Security to make him aware of the incident, I had no response from Rangers FC.
On Sunday night I was still in complete shock at what had happened and was still contemplating whether or not to attend football matches again. The following day I contacted Derek Robertson again about the attack but was informed by him that it was now a Police incident and there was nothing he could do, I was left surprised by this as I have been a Dundee United supporter for over 33 years and had hoped they would support me in highlighting the incident. He hoped that I would reconsider my decision about attending games again as “we had a rather important game on the 17th of May”.
Later that day I gave a well known tabloid my story about the incident but was later advised by both family and friends not to go ahead with this due to possible repercussions against myself but more importantly my young family, I also informed Dundee United about this.
On the Tuesday after the match I decided to contact the SFA regarding the incident what a huge mistake that was, I spoke with the new Head of Security Peter McLaughlin who asked me ” What do you want me to do about it ? ” I told him that the Police had given us the wrong advice regarding directions that endangered my life and told him that it was a ludicrous decision to hold the match at Ibrox Stadium, I also informed him that it was only a matter of time before an innocent football supporter was killed due to this kind of violence, his stance was it was a Police matter.
I have informed Dundee United of the SFA’s response but I have not heard back from them regarding this as yet.
I believe that I was attacked because I am a Dundee United supporter(yes I was wearing a scarf) and because of an ongoing dispute between the clubs. The clubs have not had the best of relationships for a good few years now which has been well documented in the Media and I believe I was the innocent party caught in the crossfire, I feel like ” I took one for the Chairman”.
I have to be honest and say that I do agree with most things that Stephen Thompson has said since becoming Chairman of the club but supporters of Rangers FC don’t agree and seem to feel angered by his comments and actions for some reason.
There was also a lot of talk in the media the week prior to the match about the chosen venue for the game and security issues surrounding it.
I have to agree and I think the SFA got it seriously wrong by holding the match a Ibrox for both security reasons ,which affected myself and from a football point of view too.
Today i contacted Dundee United and spoke with Bev Anderson who was quite sympathetic regarding my situation, I was told that somebody would call me back to discuss the incident in more detail, somebody higher up would have to speak to me.
I phoned the club again later on in the afternoon as I hadn’t heard back from anyone and spoke with a gentleman called Spence Anderson (Company Secretary) , I asked him if he was aware of incident and he informed me that he was but it was now a police incident and there was nothing the club could do because of this, I asked him could the club not issue a statement informing people that one of their supporters had been assaulted directly outside Ibrox Stadium ? His response was “it happened on the street it was a police matter” I explained to him that I could have been killed, his reply to this was ” But your weren’t were you” I then informed him that I thought it was only a matter of time before a supporter was badly injured or killed at a match between the two clubs. He didn’t seem interested in my situation at all and I told him “I thought the club would at least support me after the 33 years of my life that I have spent supporting Dundee United Football Club” before I put the phone down in disgust.
I have to this day still had no response from Rangers FC about this incident despite contacting them about this, I firmly believe that most decent Rangers fans would not condone what happened to me and would sympathise with my situation.
I should be looking forward to watching my club play in the Scottish Cup Final in May but now i am left feeling isolated by my Club and the SFA and completely shaken by the whole incident which had taken place at Ibrox Stadium.
I am a victim of football violence which has in the meantime driven me away from supporting Scottish Football.
I must also ask the SFA a very simple question, Why were one group of supporters not kept behind in the stadium to avoid potential trouble ?
I would like to remind the Police, the SFA and both clubs that behind every supporter’s scarf there is a Person, a life and a Family, I myself have 20 month old twins who I may not have seen again because of this incident.
Will I hear back from the police.I doubt it is my answer to that.But there is always hope.
James Doleman says:
April 19, 2014 at 12:59 am
Most honest MSM piece for months. Interesting there is no “by line”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/gers-fans-play-a-dangerous-game-over-ibrox-tickets-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
=======================================
@James – I see a byline has now been added and even without it the piece had all the sterling hallmarks of Glen Gibbons.
Only in the last para am I a bit puzzled by the reasoning employed when he states:
Surely that must be the DK aim because at that stage he gets to buy the shares on the cheap ❓ Unless, of course, all he wants is to strike a rental deal which then IMO takes his interest into a vanity project rather than returning the backward-looking Rangers to its rightful place – wherever that might be 😉
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
April 19, 2014 at 8:44 am
A Dundee Utd fans experience at last weeks SC semi final.
The day I fell out of love with Scottish Football.
————————————————————————–
Thanks for your sobering story. It shows the dangers of pushing beyond rivalry and into stoking hatred between fans, and any argument that the incident is a societal, rather thank footballing, problem would seem naive given the circumstances of the last couple of years. No doubt your anger has been heightened by the seeming lack of interest by those in authority, and it will be Scottish football’s loss if through such neglect they lose the support of people like yourself who have followed their team and the game for a long time. Then again, there is more to life than football, and we all have the option of walking away, a fact many of the game administrators sadly seem unable to countenance.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/glenn-gibbons-rangers-fans-playing-dangerous-game-1-3381635?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed
It’s both sad and remarkable that an article that simply states the current state of play with hard irrefutable facts has to be described as “brave”.
Meanwhile, I noticed yesterday that Sky Sports News had no fewer than 3 “stories” relating to TRFC on the ticker that goes along the bottom of the screen. One about Nicky Law being in line for SFPL League 1 player of the year, another about someone called Peralta (spelling?), and last but not least the news we’ve all been waiting for: Cammy Bell might be fit to face Stenhousemuir.
Now as an Englishman with an interest in football matters North of the border I am vaguely aware of who these people are although I wouldn’t recognise them if I met them, but what the rest of the nation makes of it, I don’t know.
A Dundee Utd fans experience at last weeks SC semi final….
“The day I fell out of love with Scottish Football.”
……………….
This is a really depressing but not surprising tale.
I would wager there were several parallel incidents both at the match – and some domestic violence at some homes later on.
Every time this happens to innocent lives we should ask the questions he is asking and someone should do something about it.
Nobody is because they pass the blame to someone else and it is too convenient to hide behind the polis who live with stuff like this every day and become cynical.
So in Scotland 2014 – are the Police, The Rangers The SFA, DUFC the MSM the fans and most of all our Politicians so battle weary and cynical or just teflon oriented they just accept this kind of “collateral damage” as normal?
Their collective silence is deafening.
Absolutely bloody deafening!
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
April 19, 2014 at 8:44 am
A Dundee Utd fans experience at last weeks SC semi final.
=======================================================
A sobering and dreadful tale which could have ended a helluva lot worse. Tbh it could have been any fan in any colours if their team had had the temerity to inflict a defeat on Ra people whether ‘crushing’ or not.
The reactions of the various parties who were contacted are interesting but predictable and in the old days this tale would never have received anything but limited word-to-mouth exposure which usually dissolved into ‘urban myth’ material.
The internet gives the tale much wider reach and clarity because it’s coming from the horse’s mouth so to speak.
And the message that is being driven home loud and clear is that none of those informed have the slightest interest in the fans who keep the game alive – a curious state of affairs. As to the Police – it won’t be the first time they have sent fans into danger – some may think an honest mistake and others might be more in tune with my opinion based on experience at Ibrox.
However for Dundee to hide behind the fiction of the matter ‘being dealt with by the police’ considering one of their life-long fans was attacked is pathetic. I don’t believe for one second there is an active police investigation into this matter. All that has happened is a complaint has been made and a crime number issued and the report filed probably not even under a football-related offence.
As to Rangers silence – their PR line is just keep the head down and it will blow over.
And the police – well if the Dundee supporter had died then I have no doubt that the culprit would have been traced and charged. However a cowardly, unprovoked blow from behind is of no interest to them despite being a blot on their policing of the game. But then if they take the view that there is no direct link with football then they will be spared that pesky statistic.
Other than that what can I say other than to reflect that unless there is a change of heart to place supporters at the heart of football then the structural decline in the game will continue and the only solace in that is the fat cats in suits will end-up on their erses probably wondering how it all happened.
I hope the fan makes a full recovery and it will take a while because there is possibly few things more frightening than knowing you were felled without warning, for no good reason and that you could have died or been permanently crippled or damaged as a result.
It takes a lot of effort to get over that just to have the confidence to walk the streets without constant fear of a repeat tearing at you and it certainly doesn’t help to know that those in authority and power who should be doing something about apparently just don’t care in any meaningful way. Good luck mate and I hope you can get over the experience.
Good Morning,
This is not in any way football related but is a pleasant enough yarn of Glasgow in the ’80’s and involves someone who had a run in with the tax authorities.
Just a tale to brighten an already sunny weekend.
http://wp.me/p1G95H-1g6
The last paragraph in a very good Scotsman piece is the nub of the matter for me. If the mysterious shareholders who make up the majority of the shareholding in Rangers International Football Club PLC get sick to death of the actions of the customers of their loss-making, debt-laden employee-heavy and dysfunctional subsidiary, The Rangers Football Club Ltd, they may well choose to liquidate that subsidiary.
There would be a small impact on shareholders, but even after the costs of funding the liquidation of their subsidiary, their shareholdings would still be handsomely recompensed by the selling of the debt free assets they would still hold.
The one group of people who don’t actually need a football team, are the shareholders. There’s nothing the mighty Dave can do about this, unless of course he buys the shares. Something Phil has consistently flagged in his blogs.
A Dundee Utd fans experience at last weeks SC semi final….
“The day I fell out of love with Scottish Football.”
(Jul 27, 2012 )…My day 😕
I Hope you go to the final, and put that sorry episode to the back of your mind.
I posted the Dundee Utd fans story as I was appalled at the apathetic response shown to this man by every one in a position of authority.It’s a sad indictment of the powers that be that they seem to condone this behaviour.
Maybe when every fan has been chased away they’ll realise the part they’re playing in the destruction of Scottish football.
Then again,maybe they won’t.
Here’s the original for anyone interested:
http://simonsaysfootball.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/the-day-i-fell-out-of-love-with-scottish-football-2/
Darryl Broadfoot of SFA fame taking pelters on twitter right now.
So went to the counting house yesterday had a couple of guest ales and still could not work out Regan’s words…
I did have a blonde moment where a young lass around the same age as my eldest said “Jim”, handed me a leaflet, i am hopeless with names and said ‘ oh Hi Honey, how you doing?’ to which the smile went to a frown and she said “fine thanks”. I read the leaflet she handed me for a GYM in Glasgow…
Wee shout out to all the MSM, love your work it’s what inspires the keyboard clatterers, keep it up..!!!
@Cluster one
Here here…!!!!
Off topic
The Dons got a 0-0 draw up in Inverness last night which leaves them, this Saturday morning, four points clear of Motherwell with four games left. Motherwell themselves kick off at 12.45pm at home to Celtic today and the result may well have a lot to do with the extent to which the Celtic players are already “on the beach” as the current cliché goes.
By the time that game ends, Dundee United will have a clearer idea of the importance of their cup final preview game against St Johnstone in Perth at 3pm. As it stands, Dundee United are six points behind Motherwell.
From a Pittodrie point of view, Aberdeen may well limp over the line into runners-up spot. Weeks ago manager Derek McInnes was saying they looked “tired” but they have the points on the board, they have the best defence in the league, Celtic excepted, and they have just four games to focus on, including Dundee United at Tannadice on 6 May then Motherwell at Pittodrie in the last game of the season on 11 May. Decent results in those two fixtures would surely do the job.
It could be really tight however as St Johnstone and Dundee United have both taken 16 points from their last eight games, Aberdeen 15 points and Motherwell 13 points. The form table suggests Hibs are plummeting towards a playoff spot. The Dons can’t take anything for granted and they could be caught by Motherwell – especially if Motherwell get something against Celtic this afternoon. The challenge from Dundee United is more of an outside bet.
If Aberdeen finish second, it will be a remarkable achievement. They’ve had four consecutive seasons in the bottom six, the failure of Mark McGhee’s managership and professional if unspectacular consolidation under the unheralded Craig Brown. McInnes has only been in post for 13 months and has already won a trophy, got the Dons up the league and to the Scottish Cup semi. Making a serious dent in three competitions right through until March and April is not something the squad has managed for a long time – there are some tired legs out there. Important players like Russell Anderson and Barry Robson for example are both now 35 – although that’s balanced by the likes of Jack, Pawlett and Shaughnessy, all under 25. Coincidentally, with Flood, Hayes, Magennis (on loan to St Mirren), McGinn, reserve goalkeeper Rogers, Rooney and Shaughnessy on the books, Pittodrie has quite an Irish contingent these days.
If McInnes is thinking ahead, and you guess he might be, then he’s surely considering how much he’s going to get out of Anderson and Robson next season which could be even more challenging than this one if European football becomes a reality. (I’m not even going to tempt fate by looking up exactly how tough it is for the Scottish league runners-up to make the group stage of the Europa League.) Even if Europe doesn’t pan out then three domestic competitions will be hard for two players who turn 36 before the end of this year.
Prediction? Aberdeen, Motherwell, Dundee United and St Johnstone will all drop points to each other in the next few weeks. Aberdeen will go into their last two games against their closest rivals knowing exactly what they need to do and should just manage second place. In the summer, McInnes will be talking to Stewart Milne about additions to the squad with a medium term objective of covering the none too distant retirements of Anderson and Robson.
Being wholly biased, today I’m hoping for wins for Celtic and St Johnstone – apologies to Motherwell and Dundee United fans – but whatever happens between now and 11 May it’s going to be interesting.
Sorry to hear the Utd man’s story but sadly this is very common, not new and not restricted to any particular team. I mean the incident and the follow up or non-follow up rather.
More than 50 years ago, in the days when it was ok for a 12 year old to take a bus across town on his own, I got off at my stop on Union St to head home down the Hardgate. I’d been at the fitba that day so no surprise when a couple of older (much) guys stepped out of a supporters’ bus parked outside Bell’s bar. “Are you frae Aiberdeen?” says one. On the affirmative he nutted me full on the nose. Doesn’t matter who the team was but I can advise that it was not a Glasgow kiss. Anyway, I got up, nose bleeding and a wee bit unsteady on my feet and walked on. I saw two policemen in a shop doorway at the corner of Bon Accord (Boots the chemist IIRC) and went toward them to ask for help. Then I realised, as they averted their eyes and shuffled their feet, that they’d seen it all but… well, nae worth the bother. I went home and snuck in before my Ma saw me.
I know I sound like a someone in counselling here but the fact is that my view on the police and authorities in general is based on that experience. I am appreciative of the fact that we live in a civilised country and that the police do their bit to make that possible in regard to serious crime but when the push comes to the shove they generally just want to avert their eyes and hope the problem doesn’t escalate into a news story, that’s the only threat they ever understand. Add to that the exceptions that the authorities make for what goes on around fitba whereas in real life it would be unacceptable.
Rant (counselling session) over!
rabtdog says:
April 19, 2014 at 11:29 am
2 0 Rate This
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Loving armageddon!!
My sympathies to the Dundee United supporter attacked last Saturday, and to his father who must have been stunned and sickened by the incident too. Scottish football, and in particular those running it and the clubs, just gets worse. They still haven’t caught up with the new media, thinking that they just have to keep stories out of the press and they will not be heard by a wider audience. Clearly, the low life who assaulted this United fan is not the only one complicit in this sad story. I hope the knowledge that those of us who truly care about our sport are on his side will go some way to alleviating the pain, and lead him to a seat in the stand at Hampden on May 17th.
He deserves to be there.
His club don’t deserve his support.
Scottish football doesn’t deserve his patronage.
Scottish society has let him down.
We are all this Dundee United supporter.
PW1874 says:
April 19, 2014 at 10:30 am
DK has two routes to be the main man at the top of the Marble Staircase:
He buys shares in RIFC-lots of them.
He buys Ibrox stadium in a liquidation sale.
His Season Ticket “strike” could engineer the latter.
Without wishing to appear too cynical on a bright Easter week-end, it appears to me that our society is steadily reverting to the days when there was not even the notion of a ‘police force’ expressly to protect the individual citizen. If you got assaulted, burgled, mugged, robbed as you went about your business, that was just your bad luck.
But if, IF, you were a political protester of any sort, or, in more recent times, maybe a Chartist or miner, or , more recently still, a demonstrator against a stupid piece of unjust legislation, the forces of law and order would kettle you, cut you down with their sabres, or baton charge you at the wink of a crooked politician’s eye!
The Police response to our Dundee United friend is just about par for the course- virtually complete uselessness and lack of interest.
What should shock us is Dundee United’s lack of any real concern for a member of the public,one of their own supporters. I feel quite embarrassed for them.
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
April 19, 2014 at 8:21 am
Why stump up?
Several possible reasons:
(1) Lend more so that you “own” the debt and control any future pre-pack.
(2) Not wanting to face up to the fact that investing in RIFC was a bad call in the first place…
ernie says:
April 19, 2014 at 11:39 am
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I have an opposite story where I can thank the Grampian Police for saving me from an almost certain severe kicking. Myself and two friends had attended the game at Pittodrie. Aberdeen had horsed us 4-1, and as we were staying overnight we walked back to the City Centre with our scarves rolled up under our arms. It was the time the ‘Casual’ movement was taking off and Aberdeen had quite a prominent bunch of them. To cut to the chase we ended up surrounded by them and they were just starting to set about us when I heard one of them shout ‘run, it’s the Police’. A load of officers chased after them but they disappeared into the busy city centre crowds. The Sergeant asked if we were okay and advised we should hide our scarves if possible. I know some people do have bad experiences but I thought this story was worth relating.
broganrogantrevinoandhogan says:
April 19, 2014 at 10:29 am
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Good Morning,
This is not in any way football related but is a pleasant enough yarn of Glasgow in the ’80′s and involves someone who had a run in with the tax authorities.
Just a tale to brighten an already sunny weekend.
http://wp.me/p1G95H-1g6
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Enjoyed that. it reminded of the Lennox books about a private detective operating in Glasgow in the fifties. I can see where some of Harry rubbed off btw :).
I’m reading
Football will be protected by a new law aimed at preventing dodgy overseas tycoons buying CLUBS.
The blitz will be unveiled in the queens speech in june.
Out will go leagues “fit and proper” tests.
There will be a ban on any Director with convictions.
Allyjambo says:
April 19, 2014 at 12:10 pm
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Excellent AJ. Could we all email or write to the Manager and Chairman of DU and suggest this fan and his dad be given seats in the Stand?
Sorry, totally off topic (this is becoming a bad habit for me, please have patience!) but I feel I must share this story. I generally don’t like Neil Lennon very much, nothing to do with his background but he’s just one of these guys who has a tendency to irritate me, however he is one of the few people involved in football who has ever spoken of his troubles with his mental health and when he speaks on that subject I find him to be articulate, thoughtful, intelligent and above all brave to share such a personal struggle publicly, while knowing that most peoples response will be “you’re a rich famous footballer / manager, what have you got to be depressed about?” Link to the BBC story on it below if anyone cares to read it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16086433
jean7brodie says:
April 19, 2014 at 12:52 pm
“… Could we all email or write to the Manager and Chairman of DU …”
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I don’t know about all of us, but I am sufficiently annoyed to have fired off this email to Dundee United’s official site web address:
“This is addressed to your Director of Communications, Derek Robertson:
Dear Mr Robertson,
I am writing to express my dismay at the apparently very off-hand attitude exhibited by Dundee United FC to the report made by a fan that he had been assaulted by a ‘The Rangers FC’- thuggish supporter after the semi-final game last week. His account was copied on to The Scottish Football Monitor blog today, which is where I came across it.
I think it is simply not good enough for the club-any club- to dismiss such an assault as being merely a matter for the police, and fail to show any sense of genuine, human sympathy for the victim.
It certainly is not very supporter-friendly to promise a visit to the victim and not follow-through.
Criminal assault can have a long-lasting, indeed, life-long affect on a person. This can be compounded when it appears that no one really cares, when a complaint is made. A genuinely sympathetic ear can be of great help in minimising the damage.
Given that such reported assaults are, mercifully, relatively few, it is not too much to expect that, when they are reported, they should be taken very seriously on the ordinary, personal- touch, human level, whatever else might be done more formally in terms of liaising with the Police and Security staff at Ibrox to identify the perpetrator.
Yours disappointedly,
John Clark
It’s perhaps never crossed the mind of DK that if the RIFC PLC shareholders placed The Rangers Football Club Limited into administration and the inevitable liquidation that would follow, there would be no immediate hurry or even compulsion to sell the property assets, would there?
As the largest single creditor of TRFC Ltd, RIFC PLC shareholders would hold all the cards or deeds. They wouldn’t have to sell anything and Dave would still be left having to make a “fair value” offer for the property or the old chestnut of buying shares. The PLC could just decide to land bank the property assets for a few years until land prices moved favourably.
They might even decided to sit on the properties and hold out for a share purchase by Dave.
The urgency of having to reform a team very quickly to maintain the sham continuity of Rangers would add quite a nice premium to the value of the important things. The important things all being in the gift, or not, of the PLC.
As I say, the shareholders don’t actually need a team on the park to make money.
John Clark says:
April 19, 2014 at 4:22 pm
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Well done JC. I did the same just before I posted my comment. Hope we get a reply.
On the subject of the dundee united fan being attacked, he has my deepest sympathies and I apologise on behalf o the support of my club that it was perpetrated by one of us and that it happened at our ground.
To defend Rangers fans I must add that the behaviour of football fans is generally poor and occasionally atrocious. I live in very close proximity to Celtic park, and my wife is now terrified to drive anywhere around the time of a match because we have been threatened and had obscenities screamed at us on several occasions for having had the temerity to toot the horn at fans walking out in front of the car. Does this mean that I think Celtic fans are violent thugs? No. It means that I know that a crowd mentality takes over what are probably otherwise reasonable people and they act in an unreasonable manner. Unfortunately, this knowledge does not change the fact that match days at Celtic park scare my wife and have led directly to us seeking to leave the area.
Off topic – update
Saturday late afternoon and today’s results were a rollercoaster for fans in both the top and bottom six.
Earlier, I posted something saying that the outcome of the Motherwell versus Celtic game might just depend on the attitude of the Celtic players and when I checked the live text commentary on the BBC Sport app just before half time, around 1.30pm, it looked like they were indeed “on the beach”. Motherwell 2-0 up, Celtic surely with the Speedos on, iPods buzzing and getting a foot massage from the nice Thai girl in the pha nung. But then Celtic scored and, reading back, it sounded like the game wasn’t a disaster for Celtic at all. In fact it sounded like a corker. Celtic must have thought they had it won when the score went 2-3 with four minutes left but credit to Motherwell for grabbing a point in injury time.
Three years ago, when Celtic played Motherwell in the Scottish Cup final, I remember rooting around online for annual reports and finding that for every £1 Motherwell spent on players’ wages, Celtic spent roughly £10. In fact it would be interesting to know how much of the Motherwell squad’s wages would be covered by the salaries of just the three Celtic goalscorers today: Stokes, Samaras and Griffiths.
In any case, Motherwell’s effort is worth applauding, especially since it leaves them only 3 points behind Aberdeen in the race for second, with four games to go.
Meanwhile, Dundee United went into their 3pm kick off away at St Johnstone knowing they were now 7 points behind Motherwell, 10 behind Aberdeen, but could cut that gap with a decent result. They didn’t get one. St Johnstone are one of the Premier’s form teams and their 2-0 win surely denies Dundee United any chance of finishing second – 10 points adrift with only 12 points to play for. Runners-up spot is now a straight contest between Aberdeen and Motherwell.
In the bottom six, Hibs continued their stagger towards the playoffs. They were 2-0 down in Paisley after 15 minutes and even the dismissal of Jim Goodwin on the half hour didn’t help them. After an hour of playing against 10 men, it was still 2-0 St Mirren. With Partick winning 1-2 at Kilmarnock and Hearts beating Ross County 2-0 in Edinburgh, there are now only 3 points separating Hibs, St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Partick and Ross County. Time to roll out that old cliché: it’s going to go right down to the wire.
Hibs face Hearts at Easter Road next Sunday, follow that up with another home game against Partick, travel away to Ross County then have Kilmarnock at Easter Road on the last day. In their current form, that’s a demanding programme against one local rival and three teams fighting for their lives. All these sides will take points off each other between now and 10 May of course but if I was a Hibbie I’d be worried.
Next week in the fight for the runners-up spot: Aberdeen at home to St Johnstone, Motherwell away at Dundee United, both Saturday games, both 3pm kicks-offs.
Credit to Hearts for winning with ten men in the end when there was nothing but pride to play for. Anyone else in the bottom six could find themselves in a play-off against second, third or fourth in the Championship. Lots of people talking down Hibs’ chances of avoiding this. Hibs haven’t won a game for two months.
From the BBC match report of Hearts v Ross County: “Hamill had hammered the home side ahead from the penalty spot after 65 minutes when Kevin McHattie dripped Rocco Quinn.”
I’m not sure what dripping is but I don’t welcome it.
rabtdog says:
April 19, 2014 at 5:49 pm
1 1 Rate This
From the BBC match report of Hearts v Ross County: “Hamill had hammered the home side ahead from the penalty spot after 65 minutes when Kevin McHattie dripped Rocco Quinn.”
I’m not sure what dripping is but I don’t welcome it.
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You’ve never lived if you haven’t had a piece”n” dripping 😉
to the Phantom Thumbsdowner of Old TSFMtown – keep it up sweetie, you’re providing lols on a sunny day 🙂
Glenn Gibbons’ article contains an emphatically chastising “it’s not complicated”, in my view directed at a large number of Rangers supporters living in a bubble which has no foundation in reality. I think it is a good article and wouldn’t argue with anything said in it. He discusses whether Rangers are or were a great club. A great club would deal with its challenges head on, and emerge victorious. By this measure at present we are not a great club. But we could be. It just depends on whether we are run by great men or spivs.
Light relief. If you think our SMSM can churn out toe curling stuff here is the New York Times with a taste of how mega euro franchise football might sound. I can hardly wait.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/fashion/soccer-particularly-englands-premier-league-growing-in-popularity-in-new-york-creative-circles.html?_r=0
ernie says:
April 19, 2014 at 7:11 pm
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That was an interesting link,ernie.
God forbid that the Americanisation of our game should ever happen!
And, do Chelsea supporters drink Guinness? 🙂
John Clark says:
God forbid that the Americanisation of our game should ever happen!
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Hi John
I’m afraid I am going to have to take issue with your casual anti-Americanism.
In my opinion, our national sport could learn a lot from North American sports organizations and in many ways they are vastly better run than Scottish Football.
Since moving to Southern Ontario 9 years ago I have fallen under the spell of ice hockey and have become a big fan of the Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL).
On the whole the NHL is fairly and evenly run “without fear or favour”. It is open and transparent and has excellent communications with fans. The media are probing and questioning and not supine like the Scottish lamb munchers.
All clubs (occasional grumbles aside) see themselves (and indeed are) equal partners in the enterprise. if the League prospers, they all prosper. The NHL does not pander to one Team (i.e. Sevco and the SFA). The cap system and draft system means that even poor teams can bounce back and win again in future. As a result the competition is fierce. No one Team ever dominates for long, although some Teams persist in success due to better organization and coaching.
Officiating and punishments for player and Team transgressions are much more open and even, unlike the SAF. Video evidence is used for critical decisions during the game and explanations are given.
No dog whistling ala McCoist would ever be tolerated and the media would never let it rest!
And, critically, as a fan I can walk down the street of any city in North America, wearing my very fetching Red Wings top, and no one will clatter me on the back of the head. I can mix and mingle with other Team’s fans both home and away, go to their Sports bars, and they to mine (the very wonderful Hockeytown in Detroit) with no fear whatsoever. Yeah people are human and get drunk and trash talk can happen, but NO ONE WILL ATTACK ME BECAUSE I SUPPORT ANOTHER TEAM!
So, if a cleaner, safer fairer and more competitive game is the result of being Americanised, then I say BRING IT ON.
On a lighter note, equally good for me is the contrast between my first love , the abject and dismal Hibs and the skill, effort and grit of my new love the Detroit Red Wings. Last night in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Wings pulled off an upset win against vast favourites Boston, in Boston. Contrast that to Hibs meekly surrendering to 10 men against St. Mirren today. Go Wings!
Apologies for the caps. Didn’t know how else to do emphasis.
I’ve just read Glenn Gibbons article in The Scotsman and while there is absolutely no dubiety factually in anything written to me it is clear that it was the first “leak” from the 120 day review.
The fact the author was able to bring himself to mention the ‘L’ word, in conjunction with the club, but then immediately mention 140 years of club history is just bizarre. While Glenn seemed able to grasp the basics of economics he was still unable to explain what happens afterwards.
His final paragraph about the institutional investors simply pulling the plug and closing the business, to me, is clearly a threat direct from the Ibrox boardroom. This line, I expect, to be hammered home in the coming days by most papers in an attempt to blackmail the fans into buying season tickets.
Of course after the tickets have been purchased there is absolutely nothing to stop the institutional investors from doing this anyway. ‘The Rangers’ fans cling to the fact that Ibrox stadium has a listed frontage and that the ground only has value as a football stadium. Lets be clear about this, the people now in charge would demolish Ibrox and sell all steel for scrap then sell off the vacant lot if it made them any profit on their original investment. They don’t want the hassle, lets be honest, but they do want, and more importantly WILL GET, a return for their investment. They do not care about a football club, that even if everything in the garden was rosy, could not be sold for any more than £8M or £9M. I base this valuation on the fact that revenues against cost are always historically negative. Scottish football clubs CANNOT make a profit when the fans constantly demand every penny, and more, is spent on new players and wages. Meanwhile the stadium and training facilities do not fix themselves for free or run for free. This is the only part of the history that is intact; a demand from the fans to spend, spend and spend again as long as they only need to pony up £350 to £400 a year.
I’ve said before that an area of land, situated where Ibrox is, close to the M8, the M77, the M74, and close to Glasgow airport has tremendous links all over Scotland would be snapped up if vacant. Obviously no new company wants the hassle so they will let someone else clear the site for them.
So, although the article was factually correct, it was the first shot in what could be quite a long summer for ‘The Rangers’ fans. I don’t know where this will end but RFC didn’t do austerity and it is clear that ‘The Rangers’ don’t either. The fans no longer have control of where this run away train is heading. They lost that option a long time ago.
Guys, after being asked to take a look at your evidence on the LNS inquiry, I’ve penned an article summarising it all and paying you your due credit. The work being done over here is the most important stuff going on in the game right now. The people who’ve brought us to the point we’re at are, largely, still untouched by it. That’s not good enough by a long shot.
Websites like this are keeping the issues alive. I can only thank you for that.
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/justice-undone/
RyanGosling says:
April 19, 2014 at 4:01 pm
I generally don’t like Neil Lennon very much, nothing to do with his background but he’s just one of these guys who has a tendency to irritate me…
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Why does he irritate you?
rabtdog says:
April 19, 2014 at 11:29 am
“(I’m not even going to tempt fate by looking up exactly how tough it is for the Scottish league runners-up to make the group stage of the Europa League.)”
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If not a tempt its certainly a tease. Eyes front or I fear the Steelmen may scupper your grand ambitions.
OT
Thanks Blindsummit63 – I’ve been trying to avoid the hockey scores until I catch up on my recorded games 🙄
Anyway – c’mon the Sharks 😛
Alan Price – a lot of wee things really, he puts on a very snarling face at times that makes me think he’s getting too worked up, and he went through a phase (which to be fair he has tempered recently) of never accepting that Celtic lost through their own shortcomings, only bad refereeing. They’re probably not good enough reasons to claim that I dislike someone, and if I ever met him face to face I’m sure we’d get on fine and I’d probably have to apologise to him for ever having said I didn’t like him. To be fair to Mr Lennon, I have a habit of being irritated by just about everyone (Mrs Gosling chews too loud and I can’t eat dinner with her!) so it’s probably much more a reflection on me than Mr Lennon.
jean7brodie says:
April 17, 2014 at 11:13 pm
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RyanGosling says:
April 19, 2014 at 10:03 pm
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Sounds like me in Confession this morning Ryan.
RyanGosling says:
April 19, 2014 at 5:00 pm
“It means that I know that a crowd mentality takes over what are probably otherwise reasonable people and they act in an unreasonable manner.”
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Add a bit of alcohol and an undercurrent of disenfranchisement and you have the perfect cocktail for an incendiary situation.
Football has historically drawn its support from the working class; a strata of society that can with some merit feel undervalued. These footballing rivalries are often played upon by those with ulterior motives and thus engender frustrations that are apt to emerge in apparently unprovoked episodes. If you stoke the boiler long enough eventually it will let off steam.
At the recent Partick Thistle vs Celtic title winning game I was witness to some uncouth behaviour just outside the ground that did not make me feel proud to be a Celtic fan. I wanted to say something but the guys involved were too drunk to be reasoned with and would happily have picked a fight with the Pope himself in these same circumstances. Perhaps Rangers supporters are a bit more ebullient than those of other teams but I am not in a position to make such a judgement. The problem is not just about football, it is about people needing to let off steam and why they should feel so frustrated in the first place.
Castofthousands I think you make fair points. I just don’t think it’s fair to say that any particular team is worse than another, and I don’t think it’s fair to say that all football fans are badly behaved. I made a generalisation earlier on based on a majority of what I’ve seen, but there are of course many who know how to behave. I spoke to a Forfar fan on the underground one day on the way to a game at Ibrox, he was worried his team would get gubbed and I was worried my team would be crap, we had a cracking chat all the way on the train and ultimately we were both right in our predictions. I kind of hoped this was how all fans interacted outside of the hooligan gangs, but sadly I know this is not the case.
Cracking piece of writing by James Forrest. He puts Ogilvie right in the spotlight. Just where he deserves to be.
James Forrest says: April 19, 2014 at 9:01 pm
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I’m not sure that I agree with your interpretation of the SPL’s guarantee to Sevco being an assurance that titles would not be stripped.
LNS used the SPL’s contradictory rulebook definitions of a “club” to justify separation of Company and Club. As a result he was able to find Rangers (the football club) guilty (although without sporting advantage), whilst acknowledging that Sevco (as a newco) could not have been held responsible for events prior to the company having been formed.
My reading of the decision was that if “sporting advantage” been established, then he was free to strip titles from the football club, while Sevco would not have been sanctioned, in line with the SPL’s undertaking to Sevco.
Alan Price/RyanGosling
Nah. Certain players in Scottish football are/were simply more irritating than others. Lennon, Barry Ferguson, Paul Hartley, that big lump who played centre half for Inverness (Tokeley, pardon any misspelling), the other big lump from eastern Europe who played centre half for Hearts and got send off regularly…
As RG says, meet them in the pub and they’d probably be sweeties
Blindsummit63 says:
April 19, 2014 at 8:04 pm
‘.Hi John
I’m afraid I am going to have to take issue with your casual anti-Americanism..’
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And you’re right to do so, in light of your description of your experiences.
I should have added to my post that what I fear is what( I seem to remember) was the suggestion that a ‘game of two halves’ would be turned into a game of maybe 10 minutes of play,advertising break,ten minutes of play,advertising break, and so on. Like watching Superbowl on TV, would be the effect: an 80 minute game turned into a 4 hour marathon. ( If that is the way American football works?)
I’ve already, back in RTC days I think, commended the way that clubs in the AFL and NFL are conscious of the mutual need to keep some kind of a talent- recruitment and financial-share- out level playing field. ( I have no idea how the ‘soccer’ league(s) organise themselves).
Give my regards to Sarnia, by the way, if you happen to find yourself passing through: I have a tiny flake of kettle stone from a visit to those parts ten years ago.
easyJambo says:
April 19, 2014 at 11:20 pm
Why would you give such an undertaking?
You couldn’t strip titles from Sevco simply because they were not theirs to loose however Sevco, to gain a membership, had to agree to pay ALL outstanding football debts.
I seem to remember that RFC were fined. Did Sevco pay this fine as they were bound to do as it was a footballing debt.?
Did they pay the costs of the tribunal that, I seemed to remember, they were told to do?
If you write a letter like this it seems clear that there is some difference of opinion as to what the SPL and SFA believe them to be, a continuation or a new club.
If you consider them a new club there is no need to write the letter in the first place.
If you consider them to be the same club them there is a need to write the letter laying out what the limitations of LNS enquiry will be.
The article does however really place the spotlight on Ogilvie.
The man knew about the DOS scheme. He cannot deny that.
He knew that the bill raised by HMRC was unpaid when he allow RFC a European License.
He also knew that the terms to move the dates of the enquiry allowed him an ‘easy out’.
Unfortunately he will be allowed to remain in office until he can be moved on to the UEFA gravy train.
He should be shown the door and possibly investigated for corporate malpractice as a director of both RFC and Hearts instead of being lauded as “the great administrator”.
Just got round to reading the Glenn Gibbons article in yesterday’s Scotsman.
I hope he is making a donation to TSFM being he seems to have cobbled together various posts from the last few weeks.
James Forrest says:
April 19, 2014 at 9:01 pm
‘…The people who’ve brought us to the point we’re at are, largely, still untouched by it. ..’
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I am struck by the fact that some members of the Scottish CBI ( which is a kind of SFA of the Scottish business world ) have announced that they are leaving that association because they disagree with the particular political stance adopted by the Scottish CBI.
In the business world of football, we know that the SPL clubs listened enough to their fan bases to refuse to accept the new ‘The Rangers FC’ into their league, and that even the SFL had some difficulty in accepting them into anything other than the bottom tier.
But what alchemy was at work to persuade them that they had to accept them at all?
And what incredible , superhuman, administrative talent must an SFA president possess,who ex officio ( that is, it happened on his watch) not only oversaw the biggest cheating in (possibly) Scotttish sports history but appears to have personally benefited from it, to be re-elected?
The question arises: How supine are our club owners/ directors? If guys at the really, really sharp end of industry are prepared to leave their ‘business association’ merely on account of arguable, debatable political uncertainties, what in hell is holding our clubs back from tackling the problem, the certain, undeniable problem, that is festering in and eating away at the very heart of our game?
There are huge questions to be asked. We have every right to ask them. And to demand answers.
(And we must not let ourselves be distracted by the broadly shared view that Scottish Football is doing not so badly, as long as we recognise that that is IN SPITE of the chicanery.)
The questions really have to be asked by our clubs, because it is in their own interests not to be associated with a Lance Armstrong situation, that is, of turning any kind of blind eye to attempts to pervert the sporting ideal, or to leave those attempts effectively unpunished by a rigged court..
as essexbeancounter would( probably) not , and Danish Pastry certainly would not, say, ” there is something rotten in the state of Denmark”. 😀
And it is really ( in the absence of a decent press pack) only our clubs, our members of the SPFL/SFA that can howk out the rotten herring from the barrel.
Sunday Mail back page, says SPFL planning coup against SFA, http://tinyurl.com/ngjbjvb
jean7brodie says:
April 19, 2014 at 10:14 pm
‘..Sounds like me in Confession this morning Ryan.’
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Whit?? When did chewing too loud become a confessional matter, Jean? Gie’s a break! I bloody canny afford dental imbloodyplants! 😀
Paulsatim, could this be the start of what we’ve been screaming for. The tainted SFA may be on their way out and not before time.
Premier runners-up: Europa League qualifying round 2 (17 & 24 July) – Aberdeen or Motherwell
Scottish Cup winners: Europa League qualifying round 2 (17 & 24 July) – Dundee Utd or St Johnstone
Premier third place: Europa League qualifying round 1 (3 & 10 July) – Aberdeen or Motherwell
There are three qualifying rounds and one playoff round before the group stage, all played July-Aug. The Scottish third placed side face eight games inside two months to make the group stage, the league runners-up and cup winners face six games…
paulsatim says:
April 20, 2014 at 1:19 am
Sunday Mail back page, says SPFL planning coup against SFA.
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My first thought was, “fantastic!” My second was, “I wonder if we could arrange for a few knuckle dusters and shivs to be scattered around the conference room before the meeting.”
But here is the thing: what does the SPFL actually want? Are they interested in the juniors? School participation? Running the national team? Or do they just want control of and the revenue from the Scottish Cup and a few other choice cuts?
FIFA/UEFA insist that we have a national association that acts as a clearing house for clubs to participate in European competition so the SFA is not going away. As much as I want to see a big rammy, we could easily end up with a sidelined, emasculated SFA that is even less engaged and transparent.