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.
1 George Square is the address of a well-known and reputable Scottish law firm.
@DANISH PASTRY
I would imagine the “History” will be more expensive with 2 new pieces of silverware since Mr Green last paid for it…
neepheid says:
April 24, 2014 at 9:04 am
Here is the real point, which everyone seems to agree should simply be swept under the carpet.
At the time of the last AGM of the SFA, EVERY club in Scotland was aware that the President of their association had received a loan of £90,000 at the behest of a member club, and, so far as anyone knows, that sum is still outstanding. The CEO of the SFA, Regan, had publicly acknowledged a year before the AGM that Ogilvie was “conflicted”, and would therefore take nothing to do with certain matters relating to the member club in question (and the band played “believe it if you like” as my mother would have said at this point). The response of the clubs to this outrageous situation ? Re-election for two years, unopposed.
==========================================================
Over the last two/three years of following the scandalous omnishambles that is RFC(IL)/TRFC/LNS/FTT, there have been innumerable posts which have immortalized this blog.
However, I am firmly of the belief, that all of those posts notwithstanding, the above comment (edited) by Neepheid sums up the whole rotten and corrupt circus that is the Scottish Football Association.
The paragraph above simply encapsulates the need for “The Scottish Football Monitor”…and that is before a full public enquiry is called for…!…and no laughing at the back!
#Rangers Union of Fans statement in response to comments made by Sandy Easdale today:
“We note Sandy Easdale’s comments to the BBC today and would like to clarify some matters for him. Firstly, his attempt to blackmail the supporters is both transparent and expected. The financial position of the club is not down to lack of support or loyalty from any of our fans, it is down to two years of mismanagement and the squandering of huge sums of money, which Mr Easdale has been a part of for the past 7 months.
Mr Easdale, despite his apparently intimate knowledge of the PLC’s financial position, was unwilling to provide the club with a loan without taking security on it. He now urges fans, who are completely in the dark regarding this board’s ability to take the club forward, to put their money in to sustain the current regime, fronted by him, on behalf of nameless, faceless shareholders of BPH and Margarita.
We would like to know why Mr Easdale is being pushed out to speak on behalf of a PLC board he is not part of. Mr Easdale’s comments about the financial position of the club are share price sensitive, as are his comments about possible administration. These comments directly contradict those of the CEO, Graham Wallace, who is on record as saying that a second administration is not a possibility.
Why is the PLC board allowing Mr Easdale to make these comments on their behalf and why does he have access to such information in any case when he is not a director of the PLC? Once again huge question marks are raised over corporate governance at Rangers by Mr Easdale’s role at the club, which has never been clarified.
We would also like to state that we will not be lectured by a Greenock Morton fan on loyalty to Rangers. We have fans in our ranks who have had season tickets for over 20 years and have contributed more to Rangers over the years than Mr Easdale ever will. It is a measure of the distrust and complete disillusionment with this board that people who have devoted most of their lives to following Rangers have already cancelled their season tickets.
Perhaps, rather than meaningless sound bites, veiled digs at those opposing Mr Easdale’s regime and unfulfilled promises about investment, Mr Easdale would be better clarifying what his position at the club actually entails and why he has access to sensitive PLC information when he has been unable, despite trying, to get himself onto that board. Perhaps he could also tell us what has happened to the investment he said was lined up for the club prior to the AGM in December? Did it ever actually exist?
Maybe he could also clarify why Jack Irvine is still attempting to brief journalists on Rangers’ stories? Is it on Mr Easdale’s behalf? The board have stated that he has been removed and we are not aware of any previous philanthropic work carried out by Mr Irvine on behalf of Rangers.
Finally we would question why Graham Wallace has just recruited another highly paid, PR spin doctor, Paul Tyrell, to replace Jack Irvine when the club does not even have a Chief Scout. We have moved from a PR man who disgracefully denigrated club legend, John Greig, to one who likened his own fans to the Khmer Rouge when at Liverpool.
It is interesting that this new spin doctor arrives a week after Mr Wallace refused to clarify the position with his 100% bonus, and the suspicion is that this is another appointment to help the board rather than the club itself.”
@TORREJOHNBHOY
“We would also like to state that we will not be lectured by a Greenock Morton fan on loyalty to Rangers. ” is a classic..
Still looking for additional investment… In What? What’s the return on that? Who would invest in this omnishambles other than for emotional rangersness reasons..? Why would anyone invest now in this period of instability and uncertainty? Next they will be looking for a charge over the assets owned by those who put their money in… Oh Wait..!! Hard to take the UoF or DK seriously. They want to see £30-£50m invested from somewhere, maybe they could draw upon the half billion loyal..
I have to admit there is a small part of me (very small) that does feel sorry for the Easdales. You covet something for so long that’s out of your reach, and just when you’ve made yourself worthy and got a tentative grasp on the object of your desire, along comes a powerful villain who’s decided your unworthiness and musters the forces of darkness against you.
The Easdales are much like Gollum in Lord of the Rings, driven by desire for possession of a corrupting precious they could never hope to control for long.
Looks to me like the annual re-appointment of Sir Walter of Cardigan to the Board is overdue! 🙂
JimBhoy says:
April 24, 2014 at 2:48 pm
0
0
Rate This
@TORREJOHNBHOY
“We would also like to state that we will not be lectured by a Greenock Morton fan on loyalty to Rangers. ” is a classic..
Still looking for additional investment… In What? What’s the return on that? Who would invest in this omnishambles other than for emotional rangersness reasons..? Why would anyone invest now in this period of instability and uncertainty? Next they will be looking for a charge over the assets owned by those who put their money in… Oh Wait..!! Hard to take the UoF or DK seriously. They want to see £30-£50m invested from somewhere, maybe they could draw upon the half billion loyal..
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
That’s the bit I don’t get.
Half a billion put in just 10p each and problem solved.No need for Trusts,ST boycotts etc.
Don’t know why they didn’t think of this before.
PW1874 says:
April 24, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Sandy Easdale = Gollum, brilliant!! Haha. The description you’ve used to come up with that is peerless. Superb.
Oh and while I’m OT, Johnny Marr is simply the best guitarist ever. End of.
FWIW I don’t think there’ll be any insolvency announcement until after Saturdays title winning party at Ibrox.The board will want to avoid aggravating an already bad situation.
Fly in the ointment though could be a leak saying wages not paid in full.That would really send a message to the Bears that there is no cash.
I’m sure Ally will still be asking for his Warchest,though.
I wonder if Graham Wallace regrets the 120 day review now? I’m sure at the time it seemed like a great idea. In a saga of short term thinking, kicking any hard decisions at least four months away must have held a lot of attraction. But expectations have built to the point where the outcome will get massive focus. Either tomorrow reveals a detailed cost cutting plan that reflects the scary reality of austerity today, tomorrow and for a long time to come or an attempt to skim over the substance that will only attract derision and destroy further the remaining vestiges of Board credibility. Hope he is being reimbursed at a suitable level for such a thankless task!
I wonder if Mr Letham,the nice guy who took over Laxeys £1m loan,feels after todays revelations.Is he still confident of being repaid on 1st July.
http://wp.me/p93oK-3Jo
Writing in today’s Guardian on the theme of ‘The Third Scotland’,
(the piece is reproduced in Bella Caledonia)
Gerry Hassan, in para 5, says
“Glasgow Rangers FC, Scotland’s dominant and most successful club blew up, faced liquidation and is now working its way up through the lower leagues”
The Lie lives on
@ToreeJohnBhoy
Pretty forthright statement from UoF all the same. About two years too late though, as someone said. Heading for a Bunfight Spivco Coral.
Taysider says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:26 pm
0
0
Rate This
I wonder if Graham Wallace regrets the 120 day review now? I’m sure at the time it seemed like a great idea. In a saga of short term thinking, kicking any hard decisions at least four months away must have held a lot of attraction. But expectations have built to the point where the outcome will get massive focus. Either tomorrow reveals a detailed cost cutting plan that reflects the scary reality of austerity today, tomorrow and for a long time to come or an attempt to skim over the substance that will only attract derision and destroy further the remaining vestiges of Board credibility. Hope he is being reimbursed at a suitable level for such a thankless task!
——————————————
Guys on KDS have been reporting for a few days now that his house is back on the rental market.Maybe he’s just had enough.
chancer67 says:
April 24, 2014 at 1:36 pm
State aiders can any of you make sense of this,the land bears think they have the Council and Celtic bang to rights with this..
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/the-heart-of-the-matter/#comment-63093
===========================================================================
Chancer, I’ll let others respond to that particular query, if they can be bothered. I’d guess that it’s as incisive as another recent blog on the FTH site that makes reference to the Co-operative Bank’s accounts to December 2013 and implies that Celtic is a huge credit risk and will have its loans with Co-op Bank called in forthwith, no doubt with resulting Armageddon. To quote:-
“In other words the Co-operative Bank Risk Management team has woken up and decided that the Celtic plc loans are uneconomic and a financial disaster and have to be unwound asap.
Presumably the Hedge Funds controlling the bank are of the same mind except they tend to act a bit quicker.”
It is reasonable to assume that the Co-op will want to shed non-core business, and it may manage this down – like Killie and Dundee United’s banks maybe? In terms of risk, Celtic is designated as a ‘strong’ business. These apparently have the following characteristics, “have little competition, high demand, significant governmental support and enforceable collateral;” Make of that what you will, I’m sure Football Tax Havens will.
“These guys have held season tickets for Rangers for over 20 years and have put much more into the stadium that John Brown paid for than Sandy Easdale ever will”
Right get that 20 year ticket holder on the phone and remind him it’s his turn for the leccie!
Title party, or candle-light vigil?
blu says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:38 pm
Damn those hedge funds that act quickly (and I might add without emotion or mercy) 😈
I this a TRFC fan from Germany letting his feelings be known about the club’s manager?
McCoist, nein!!!!! (photo no.4 of 4)
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74414000/jpg/_74414735_rangers_sns.jpg
Campbell’s Money, was hoping you could answer this question please?
In the latest BBC article on Sevco, they talk about ring-fencing the season ticket money,
“If the renewals fall, and there is material doubt about the business’s ability to trade for the next 12 months, any season-ticket income ought to be ring-fenced to protect it.”
Surely if they do this and then head into a CVA, then that money cannot be protected without there being some redress from the creditors?
‘I this a TRFC fan from Germany’ was meant to read ‘Is this a TRFC fan from Germany”. Please don’t think I was meaning that I is a TRFC fan from Germany!!! 🙄
Smugas says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:43 pm
0 1 i
Rate This
“These guys have held season tickets for Rangers for over 20 years and have put much more into the stadium that John Brown paid for than Sandy Easdale ever will”
______________________________
Was it £500K the Easdales coughed up to keep the lights on last month? Your average punter would be unlikely to come close to matching that even over 20 years of buying season tickets.
What the Easdales may have got in return for their “investment” is another matter but the point remains, as with Charles Green, they have coughed up when they had the chance unlike some…
120 day review which is probably gonna be less than positive in the gers fans eyes and party at 12,45 Ibrox park Saturday… That’s gonna be a barrel of laughs.. I wonder if they have a face painter? 😀
Is today providing an indication that PR can only be successful for a limited period? A support that was as gullible to the PR spin emanating from Ibrox as it’s possible to be, for many a long year, is now questioning everything, including the mouthpiece’s credentials to speak for the board. Just like Murray’s imagined millions, once reality hits, the house of cards begins to collapse. They never once questioned Walter Smith’s suitability, or credentials, as Chairman or spokesperson of TRFC despite his complete lack of suitability or credentials for the role. Too late or not, the bears are at last seeing through the PR-speak coming from Ibrox, which is an awful lot more than the so called journalists in the SMSM are managing. If they can just ask King a few pertinent questions, they might just realise it’s time to accept that they have no divine right to a ‘rightful place’, or any other such nonsense, and have to organise, as one body, to re-create a football club they can call their own. In the meantime TRFC is all they have, if they kill it, or even just let it die, they will have nothing. To lose one club…
why does sandy think it can’t survive admin ?
why did bbc no ask “how no? whats the problem?”
pau1mart1n says:
April 24, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Because it’s not the job of a PR outlet to ask questions they haven’t been asked to ask 😕 Questions are the job of a news outlet with proper journalists.
Paul Tyrrell, a man apparently already working for the BBC, is appointed head of PR at Ibrox yesterday, today the BBC are pushing out TRFC PR, despite being barred from Ibrox. Convenient, or what?
Allyjambo says:
April 24, 2014 at 4:43 pm
For my sins I listended into a wee bit of SSB last night.
Certainly a few more bears facing up to the possibility that getting out of the Championship isn’t going to be a breeze.
I agree that either people are beginning to see the light and/or perhaps more of the likes of our friend Ryan Gosling are feeling confident enough to speak out and tell others to wake up and smell the coffee.
chancer67 says:
April 24, 2014 at 1:36 pm
6 0 Rate This
State aiders can any of you make sense of this,the land bears think they have the Council and Celtic bang to rights with this..
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/the-heart-of-the-matter/#comment-63093
____________________
I have loosely been following the state aid saga, mostly on here via the work of ecobhoy. I had a peek at the above link, and just wanted to give a tip of the hat to all who have helped to debunked this nonsense over and over, as I was unaware that pzj’s claims had first to be translated into english before they could be refuted!
Seriously, what an illiterate mess. Eco, you must have the patience of a saint!
Another quiet day
SFA showcasing their `credibility` in another 5-way deal – Ibrox appoints PR `guru` `consultant` for `strategic advice` to flog STs to football supporters he likens to Pol Pot`s community . Jack is back in the fold – and whose first task will be said `Guru` acquainted with Cambodian History. Shares selling like hotcakes. Ally not worried about being worried. Loyal Bears in open revolt against nonsense fed to them.
Hopefully tomorrow things will pick up
Para Handy says:
April 24, 2014 at 4:03 pm
4
0
Rate This
Campbell’s Money, was hoping you could answer this question please?
In the latest BBC article on Sevco, they talk about ring-fencing the season ticket money,
“If the renewals fall, and there is material doubt about the business’s ability to trade for the next 12 months, any season-ticket income ought to be ring-fenced to protect it.”
Surely if they do this and then head into a CVA, then that money cannot be protected without there being some redress from the creditors?
—————————————————————-
Parahandy- depends what you mean by “protected”. If the cash is “ring-fenced” (a term that does not have a legal meaning so will mean different things to different people at different times) by placing it in a trust then it would not fall into the assets of the company. That would mean that that cash would not be available to be split among all of the creditors of the company (but would rather be returned to the persons who had paid it into the trust).
Not sure if I have really answered the question. Is that what you meant? I posted about ringfencing about 8pm(ish) last night.
manandboy says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:31 pm
‘..Gerry Hassan, in para 5, says…’
——–
Thank you for that link, manandboy.
(The name Hassan is tugging faintly at the memory strings , suggestive of a song that was being sung with great hilarity many years ago. The only line I remember was about somebody running off with cash belonging to some organisation. I don’t imagine there is any connection.)
I have read an occasional piece by this Hassan.In my view, he has not an original idea in his head, is no thinker, but a parotter of the kind of pretentious politico/economic guff that tries to pass for political savvy.
Martha on Radio 4 would wipe the floor with him!
More pandering to Rangers by the SFA.
The “neutral” venue for the SFA Youth Cup final between Hearts and Rangers has been chosen as St Mirren Park.
Previous finals have been held at Hampden, or at one of the teams home grounds on the toss of a coin.
With both Hampden and Ibrox unavailable due to the Commonwealth Games, you would have thought that Tynecastle would have been the logical option, but no, Rangers objected because it would not be neutral. Funny that Fat Salary didn’t believe that playing the Scottish Cup Semi Final at Ibrox gave the home side an advantage, but playing at Tynecastle might give Hearts an advantage in the Youth Cup.
However with other grounds in the central belt available, e.g. Livingston, a decision was made to play the game in Paisley, with Hearts fans forced to make a 100 mile round trip across Glasgow at a busy time of day for an evening kick off. Easter Road would have been an equivalent alternative but doesn’t seem to have been considered.
Needless to say Hearts aren’t exactly enamoured by the decision and have stated as such on their official site.
http://www.heartsfc.co.uk/articles/20140424/paisley-venue-for-youth-cup-final_2241384_3785287
Gerry Hassan is a fellow Arab.
Despite having broadly similar views as him, that is as far as I will go to defend him, as he writes a load of rubbish, at length, far more often than even I deem acceptable.
pau1mart1n says:
April 24, 2014 at 4:52 pm
6
0
Rate This
why does sandy think it can’t survive admin ?
why did bbc no ask “how no? whats the problem?”
______________________________________
probably tied up with investigating real scandals like why Ally McCoist wasn’t shortlisted for Manager of the year, eh Chic? 🙄
easyJambo says:
April 24, 2014 at 6:14 pm
Maybe not as bad as it seems, EJ, if you think about the chances of the game being played any closer to Edinburgh if Ibrox had been available.
There’s not going to be much, if any, money made from the final, but a saving in Hearts traveling expenses would have been welcome. In fact, St Mirren (no quibble with them over this) could well make more money out of this game than Hearts do.
And with Hearts still living on a shoestring, I seem to remember a certain Mr McCoist bemoaning the fact the Ramsdens Cup Final was to be played at Easter Road and he suggested that, due to Hearts’ financial problems, Tynecastle would be a better choice of venue. There seems to be an ever growing list of contradictions coming from TRFC.
The fan led initiative detailed below deserves support from all fans and hopefully the SFA will act on it.
There’s a link to the petition in the article and I hope you can take a wee bit time out and add your names.
http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/news/local/football-fans-in-bid-for-scottish-cup-final-tribute-to-ian-redford-1.332600?
Squeaky bum time at the SFA?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/scottish-fa-chief-executive-stewart-3451593?
“However SFA chief executive Stewart Regan admitted “I am not aware of that situation at the moment, so can’t comment on it” when asked if Rangers had submitted the annual accounts needed to secure their licence.”
Had to laugh earlier on Radio Clyde when a Rangers caller who clearly sees himself as part of the intelligent wing of the support was making his case for not buying season tickets. He name dropped regarding having spoken to Dave King recently, then spoke of the phone calls he took from his Chelsea supporting friends today asking who the ‘muppets’ running Rangers are. In fact ‘muppets’ was a word he used several times regarding the current incumbents at Ibrox. What was noticeably lost on him though was the fact all the aces are held by the parent company i.e the ‘muppets’ which Jim Delahunt gently tried to point out to him.
Have they learned nothing? Do they still think there are too many people who won’t let it happen?
parttimearab says:
April 24, 2014 at 7:34 pm
0 0 Rate This
Squeaky bum time at the SFA?
==========================
I doubt it. They would create a 25 way agreement if necessary to keep a Rangers in the league.
Gavin called Clyde tonight and put the fact in that the Rangers are a new club and this is the first administration event (if it occurs). Panel member answer was if new club 15 points reduction if same club 25 points deduction. Really is that the answer. They swiftly went on to talk about Man Utd. Sheer brilliant.
Poster on RR (which probably numbers among one of the more ‘equilibrated’ of the bear caves, generally speaking) reckons 120 day review will announce as follows:
(a) £25m funding gap for the next 2 years
(b) Durrant and 6 senior players will be chopped.
(c) Membership scheme / Lotteries / similar tin rattling activities aimed at addressing (a)
Poster suggested that this info was based on King’s assessment/guestimate of what the board would likely do.
And it has elements of plausibility:
(a) is obvious to all. But saying it out loud means that they have the excuse they need to rattle tins.
(b) is interesting. Couple of possibilities there. Anyone seriously interested in saving the club would chop Ally… including the majority of bears these days. The only reason for keeping him in post now would be to use him as a patsy further down the line. Isolating him now by binning Durrant would help with this. Or it could be that this is a ploy to engineer a cheap face saving exit for him. Durranty is binned, McCoist walks out in solidarity.
Whether Mr McCoist is still wearing his brogues 24hours hence I think will say alot about the boards seriousness w.r.t. turning things round. Unless they come out and say almost overtly that they wanted to sack him but can’t afford to.
(c) is fantasy. Can only be laying the ground work for either salami cuts further down the line, with the fans being blamed for not ponying up then, or to give Wallace time to get out of Dodge before the bullets start flying. Kicking the can further down the road, either way. Using ST income to limp on until they have had a chance to liquefy the assets and use the cash this frees up to reduce the cost base, while maintaining revenue streams, a possibility?
And don’t know if any of this has any substance yet, obv.
how can they get 6 players to go ?
if only one of them had done something quite bad this season………….
Campbellsmoney,
Another angle to the ring fenced ST trust arguement. Even if the funds were protected it would be relatively easy for a creditor close to the board in the event of an admin to challlenge the validity of the trust. Result – the money would be frozen starving the intended Sevco mkii of funds.
pau1mart1n says:
April 24, 2014 at 8:48 pm
1
0
Rate This
how can they get 6 players to go ?
if only one of them had done something quite bad this season………….
____________________________________________________
They can’t and they don’t have to. In reality, they only have to announce that they are going to chop 6 first team players on cost saving grounds. Tell Ally (if he is still in post) to move them on, or else…
If he fails to and the club goes bust as a result… patsy! He hired ’em, didn’t he? He ‘developed’ them. He can sell them on! Its his job, innit!
The more I think about it, the more I think the Durranty sacking would be genius too. Whichever way it plays out, its gonna bounce back badly on McCoist.
They could have come up with an inspired way to get McCoist to walk on the cheap: By actually forcing him to do the job he is handsomely paid to!
😈
Resin_lab_dog says:
April 24, 2014 at 8:43 pm
(a) £25m funding gap for the next 2 years
(b) Durrant and 6 senior players will be chopped.
(c) Membership scheme / Lotteries / similar tin rattling activities aimed at addressing (a)
___________________________________________________
I wonder what the projection would be for the next 2 years at (a).
Would anyone seriously think (c) could make any sort of appreciable dent in (a)?
(b) Tells us where a huge chunk of the ST money is going then!
As you say, RBD, no known substance to this yet, but if the best they can come up with after 120 days is anything like this…If Carlsberg did jelly and ice cream…
Peter A Smith @PeterAdamSmith ·40 mins
And @tedermeatballs wins Sports News Writer of the Year. Well done, Keith.
:slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb:
StevieBC @ 9:03pm
What a searing indictment of the rest of them.
Thread on Rangers media suggesting that Sandy Jardine has passed away.
http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=268336
A number of individual posters are confirming that it is true.
RIP
Sad news about Jardine if true, a great player for his team and country
blu says:
April 24, 2014 at 3:38 pm
chancer67 says:
April 24, 2014 at 1:36 pm
State aiders can any of you make sense of this,the land bears think they have the Council and Celtic bang to rights with this..
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/the-heart-of-the-matter/#comment-63093
====================================================================
Chancer, I’ll let others respond to that particular query, if they can be bothered. I’d guess that it’s as incisive as another recent blog on the FTH site that makes reference to the Co-operative Bank’s accounts to December 2013 and implies that Celtic is a huge credit risk and will have its loans with Co-op Bank called in forthwith, no doubt with resulting Armageddon.
=============================================
As a State Aid denier I see nothing in this mish-mash of poisonous wishful-thinking that merits a response. Seems to me they must be getting very worried that the EC is shortly going to kick-out their ludicrous State Aid claims against Celtic.
Even the Bears ignore what’s posted on McMurdo’s site 😆
Amazing with everything that’s happening at Ibrox that this little clique – whose interest in Rangers has nothing to do with football IMO – are so obsessed with Celtic as their own club heads down the pan..
I wonder if Jangles will conclude that the lack of competition in Scotland is stifling his growth and demand that he is allowed to head south to cover the EPL.
Ecobhoy, The mentality that seems to exist is one where if I’m going down you must come down with me, the suicide where the assailant has to go out by killing loads of innocent people before ending his own life, sad really.
Jamboskickback reporting Sandy Jardine’s passing too. Seems to be true. Very sad to hear this, he was a great player and servant to both Rangers and Hearts and a particular favourite of mine as he was an ex-player of the same boys club, United Crossroads, that I played for, though he, a few years older, was already a full-time Rangers player. Scottish football is a sadder place for his passing.
RIP Sandy
Very sad news about Sandy Jardine. He was a terrific player and a real legend of the game here. May he rest in peace.
RIP SJ
Hearing a fans march on Ibrox tonight due to imminent administration.. Anyone confirm?
StevieBC @ 9:03pm
‘.Peter A Smith @PeterAdamSmith ·40 mins
And @tedermeatballs wins Sports News Writer of the Year. Well done, Keith.
Kilgore Trout says:
April 24, 2014 at 9:25 pm
‘What a searing indictment of the rest of them.
————
‘The lightest sh.te floats highest in the cess-pit’, as Aristotle may very well have remarked. Or was it Paw Broon?
Hearing a fans march on Ibrox tonight due to imminent administration.. Anyone confirm?
================================================================
Might just be facebook crap…Or torches and pitchforks..
If I was a betting man, I’d say this was about the contingent liability. The King strategy was to make the money run out before it got dropped. The 120 day review means the SB money was already gamed out to get beyond June before it was announced. Not strictly ethical, but in a survival situation, lying to your customers is at least justifiable. If they can survive until June with enough left to fund a share offer, they can leverage the big assets and get the finance to turn it around (or strip it, depending on what you believe). This is dependant on whether King’s appeal to withhold SB money was his whole play, or if he has another ace to play. It also needs Whyte to not challenge the demise of 5088. If he’s not being coerced, he’ll surely realise the value of his cooperation and expect something to give it, but where would the funding for that come from??
Right, on it the report…
120 days for this???
a) could have been bashed out by a primary school student in between sessions of typing out 5318008 into his calculator and turning it upside down.
b) is a finger in the wind. Sacking Durrant might be two fingers up at McCoist. How many players (if any) are out of contract this summer or next? Do they have the cash to chop any high earners or are they cutting the kids because it’s cheap? Again why 120 days? This was probably the first thing mentioned at the first brainstorming meeting and the report will need to be specific and give detailed explanations or it’s going to look like picking low hanging fruit without accomplishing anything.
c) is a joke!! Seriously?? A 25 million shortfall and they’re going to rattle a tin in front of the loyal. Where’s the share issue? Where’s the cash? Where is the action to deal with the going concern qualification? It’s highly improbable that they will be able to fulfil your fixtures. If this was any other club there would be enough info here to require immediate action or the SFA would be compelled to act.
This might well be a false flag to make whatever anaemic plan they have look better than nothing. It’s also going to do nothing to win back punters from King. In fact if they don’t have a well planned vision to sell tomorrow coupled with a good few institutional investors willing to say they’ll be putting money in, then they’ll lose even more punters and lots of them.
R.I P. Sandy Jardine.
A great player for his club during my formative years watching Scottish Football.
My condolences to his family at this sad time.
Rest in peace Sandy Jardine, only 65, a wee prayer for his and all families that lose family members too soon, pick any higher power you like.
I never met him, but we corresponded a couple of times, and he nailed me!
A very good friend of mine helped me accomplish building a family home, it was hard on us, and he, a big ‘currant bun’ stepped in and would not hear of any cost to him and kept me on course, how do I repay a man like that I thought.
So I sent off a letter to Rangers,
‘To Whom It May Concern:
‘My good buddy is getting married and I would like a signed photo for a part of a wedding present, I enclose £x for a charity of your choice’ (you may gave guessed I wasn’t a Rangers man).
A few weeks later a letter pops in the door, govan stamp, I’m waving it at my Wife, who was a Rangers ‘supporter’, look at this! Bloody letter! Rubbish, etc.
It was a letter from Sandy Jardine, thanking me for £x, but more! He wanted more details, Who was getting married, what were all the names, ages and when was the big day, please inform me ASAP.
I duly provided all Sandy asked, bingo-bongo, 4 days later a massive parcel arrives from Sandy, full team proper photograph of the team hand signed by everyone in the photo, lady’s head scarf, ties and a hand written letter from Mr Sandy Jardine wishing all the party by name all the best, addressed to the Best Man to be read on the mans wedding day, his attention to detail, and common touch with the working class shone through, thank you Sandy.
Well, BBC radio Scotland has just confirmed Sandy Jardine’s death earlier this evening.
The Liberton Inn in the early 1980s was the nearest watering hole to me within comfortable walking distance.
Sandy Jardine lived even nearer to it.
My fellow-Glaswegian friend and I regularly , on Thursday nights, drank a pint or two there, football sooner or later becoming part of the conversation. Near us, at an adjacent table in the not very big lounge, Sandy and his friends would likewise be in conversation.
As happens when you become a regular, people ( yes, even in Edinburgh!) begin to return your nod, exchange a friendly word, without becoming a drinking companion or bosom buddy.
I am happy to report that that slight social contact ( fan of one club with a famous player for another club in the good old day) was enough, is enough, to make me very sad at his passing. There are good guys, and there are bad pillocks.
Sandy Jardine was a good guy. Modest, principled, straightforward. And he was younger than me by a few years.
May he rest in peace, and be rewarded for the pleasure ( and, perhaps, as some players might think who crunched against him, the pain!) he afforded to the general football supporting people of Scotland and beyond.
I raise my little Glenfiddich this Thursday evening to him, remembering the games I saw, and mentally apologising for the occasional swear word hurled in his direction as he thwarted a promising move. As a genuine and honest fan of his own club, I am sure he will understand.
My condolences to his family.
John Clark, very well said, about the man, the crunchin an the swearing, I see your Glenfiddich and raise an Aberlour same!
First time I was aware of Sandy Jardine was about ten days before the EC Final in Lisbon, when Celtic and Rangers played out a 2-2 draw at Ibrox. Sandy opened the scoring with a 25-yard screamer.
One of the most touching moments at the time of Jimmy Johnstone’s passing was when I witnessed Sandy, discreetly alighting a taxi and avoiding the notice of the assembled snappers, laying a wreath of condolence at the foot of Brother Walfrid’s statue, quickly and without fuss, before getting back into the cab.
He came to pay his respects and not to create a photo-opportunity. Like that goal he scored in 1967 against Celtic, I thought that was class.
RIP Sandy Jardine
Whomever is hitting TD to genuine Jardine tributes needs to take a good look at themselves
Campbellsmoney says:
April 23, 2014 at 9:03 pm
“…there is a risk two things might be getting confused here…”
————————————–
Message understood. You were referring to the possible ring fencing of season ticket money paid to TRFCL by ST renewers and not the Dave King trust fund. Some subsequent posters have sought to conflate these two circumstances though I notice. The twitter info had caused my confusion.
JimBhoy says:
April 24, 2014 at 10:26 pm
“Hearing a fans march on Ibrox tonight due to imminent administration.. Anyone confirm?”
——————————————
I happened to be ambling past the Ibrox frontage at 9.00 pm and all was quiet apart from the sound of well shod brogues on a boardroom floor.
With Keef winning his 3 IAR bestest sports writer award…a thought occurred to me.
Do the 42 club chairmen also decide the winner of this award?!
Ogilvie & Jackson : they must be doing a great job…in a parallel universe. Mibbees.
StevieBC says:
April 25, 2014 at 12:53 am
‘.With Keef winning his 3 IAR bestest sports writer award..’
—————-
He can ‘win’ all the cruddy wee awards from people as cruddy as himself.
But he will never be anywhere equal to his half-sister, who has real talent and integrity.
Perhaps he knows this and, God help him, finds it difficult to cope with.
Perhaps rather than censuring the man, we should counsel him.
And I make no apology to any journalist who I think is devious and untrustworthy as a journalist.
If he uses his privileged position to mess with us in his partisan reportage, a journalist cannot be entitled to expect other than that his motivation should be questioned.
Whether that motivation is from some kind of Freudian sibling rivalry or expectation of reward is neither here nor there.
It is simply inexcusable and unforgivable, whatever little ‘awards’ may be made.
In my plain man’s opinion.
Just read that Sandy Jardine has passed away, condolences to all family and friends.
Don’t take this wrong way (TD expected) but I hated when we (Aberdeen) played Rangers and he was in their team. He always seemed to have the upper hand when playing against us. Not a lot got past him as he was a better player than most folks gave him credit for. It was same when we played Hearts. He had far more good games than howlers.
I just wondered how the “legend” status is bestowed on players. In my book, Sandy deserved it for his service to Rangers, Hearts and Scotland but we seem to use the “legend” card on any player that plays for any club when it suits.
I don’t seem to recall the legend status being attributed to Jamie Skinner ex Hearts youth player and also David Paul of Hibs. As far as I can recall neither of these players played for the first team.
We had Hicham Zerouali Aberdeen and he played around 40 games for us in a 3 year period before he was killed in a car crash at the young age of 27, yet he is afforded “legendary” status by some supporters due to his style of play. Is this correct way to bestow “legend?”
Using my own team as examples, I would say our “legends” are Miller, McLeish, King Joey (for goals against games played) and Leighton. We had plenty other players who were loyal to us but never played as many games as those mentioned.
So, how do you define a club legend?
Good morning all, just woke up to the sad news Sandy Jardine has lost his battle with cancer. I always thought when he played at the back with Danny McGrain, Scotland had the best full back combo in the world.
He was a great player for both Rangers and Hearts, RIP Sandy
TSFM says:
April 24, 2014 at 11:29 pm
=============================
Fitting words for Sandy Jardine TSFM. I know of the goal he scored you refer to in 1967, as it is featured in the film ‘The Celtic Story’.
Sandy Jardine was a magnficent player, twice Scotland’s player of the year, and he always seemed like a nice guy. I used to be amazed at how young he always looked. In football the famous quote from Bill Shankly is often trotted out, but the game is not more important than life or death.
I can’t believe you got some thumbs down to your post.
Aquinas says:
April 24, 2014 at 11:05 pm
86 2 Rate This
Rest in peace Sandy Jardine, only 65, a wee prayer for his and all families that lose family members too soon …
————
Lovely story Aquinas, and a fine tribute. Internationals were the only football matches I really followed in the ’70s. My lasting image of Sandy Jardine is as a player in the dark blue of Scotland, part of a golden generation.
John Clark says:
April 25, 2014 at 1:38 am
=============================
Totally agree re Keith Jackson. A completely hollow award is the nicest thing I can think of. From his newspaper writings and his utterings on radio he appears to be nothing other than a Rangers fan with a laptop and a microphone who has been given a platform. Nothing wrong with someone being a Rangers fan of course, but there is something clearly wrong when the BBC see fit to facilitate his propaganda. The Daily Record can do what they like and will have a target audience, but we can choose whether or not to buy it. We have no choice but to pay our TV licence fee though, and fans of all other clubs deserve better than Jackson.
Journalist of the year? Is the qualifying criteria somewhere along the lines of that preventing. anyone standing against Campbell Ogilvie?
Rest in peace Sandy Jardine. Thoughts are with his family at this time. What a young age to go.