A recent autumn storm caused the destruction of the metal goal fame in our garden. The small goal with the weather-beaten net had fallen into disuse. But I liked it seeing it there on the grass. I suppose I half-expected, half-hoped, it would be used again. Once, it was a father and son thing and had been constructed carefully from a nice set of plans. At the time, it impressed both son and daughter no end. But that was then, this was now.
One of our trees, blown over by the recent high winds, caused the goal frame’s final demise. As I unscrewed the twisted metal I thought of the hours of innocent fun it had given us. It had been the scene of many goals and not a few great saves. My son, who is soon off to uni, smiled thoughtfully as I mentioned that this was the end of the ‘goalposts of childhood’. Perhaps he knew what I meant.
My own childhood goalposts had been ‘doon the back’. Drawn with chalk on the red brick of the ‘sausage wall’ at one end, and on part of the ‘wash hoose’ at the other. Many a league, Cup and international match was played out between those goals on the Dennistoun dirt. We once put on a parallel version of a historic England v Scotland match while the real match was being played at Wembley. Jim Mone sitting on one of the dykes had a transister radio to his ear. As we played our match he chalked up live score updates on the wall — our Twitter and FaceBook anno 1967. What a day.
We did use a pile of jackets up on the old Dennistoun cricket pitch, but only rarely. Mostly, we played on the red gravel surface at the Finlay Drive entrance. That pitch was fitted with real goalposts — like the ones they had at Hampden. Or so we imagined.
These sentimental memories of receding years accompanied my removal of the ruined metal goal frame. But, as you can imagine, it seemed an almost symbolic act. For fans of Scottish football the ‘goalposts’ that once defined the game of our football childhoods — have not only been moved, they’ve been been twisted and mis-shapen out of all recognition.
The past decades have seen a fundamental change in the way our game is run and governed, at home and abroad. Money is now king and sporting consideration is a luxury we sometimes have to put to one side — or at least, so we’re told.
At the risk of stating the obvious, sport, if it is to mean anything at all, has to be based on clearly defined rules and principles. These rules must be applied equally to all the participants, they are certainly not optional extras. However, to misquote and paraphrase George Orwell, ‘all teams are equal, but some teams are more equal than others’ — at least, when it comes to Scottish football.
The efforts by the SFA to re-interpret rules to fit the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the demise of Rangers FC in 2012 have left most of us scratching our heads. Much of the Scottish media has backed up the SFA’s efforts, something which has added to the general confusion and chaos. In fact, it’s become clear that the death of Rangers, as we knew them, has been such a traumatic event that it must be denied. The authorities and media seem to have been so besotted with one club that its loss is out of the question. And so, it’s been gifted a bizarre kind of immunity from liquidation and death that implies its on-going existence, long after it drew it’s final breath.
This situation has opened the door to a legion of businessmen on the make. They have been allowed to perpetuate the myth, with SFA blessing, that they ‘saved’ Rangers. And their unwavering message is, that they can only succeed if fans keep giving them their hard-earned cash. To those outside the blue bubble it looks like a huge con trick. If the only source of real money in football is the fans, then the Ibrox faithful have been royally fleeced.
How different it could have been if the former club had been allowed a dignified end. A year out of the game would probably have allowed fans to restart a newco of their own. They could have applied for entry into the professional leagues along with the other clubs waiting in line. Chances are they would have been given special dispensation, and walked straight into the bottom tier. Of course, they would have claimed to be the continuation of the spirit of the previous entity — but would anyone have argued against that? How different it could have been if the rules governing the game had been respected. The SFA may even have kept their dignity intact and the press not felt obliged to print half-truths, falsehoods and lies.
You’ve got to wonder why Dunfermline and Hearts fought so desperately to avoid liquidation. After all, the Scottish football authorities now seem intent on convincing us that liquidation has little or no effect on a football club. Even past sins, such as wrongly-registered players are as naught — if, at the time, they were thought to have been registered correctly. By this logic, we have to ask: if a ‘company’ running a ‘club’ bribes a referee, will retrospective action will be taken against the ‘club’. The players and the club, after all, will have done nothing wrong. And since the referee was not known to have been bribed, and not struck off, he was qualified to referee the match in question, at the time. Using the SFA thought process, the result would probably be allowed to stand. Personally, I’m not sure I follow SFA logic. They’ve ‘moved the goalposts’, and (you saw it coming) bent them into an unrecognisable shape.
Which brings me back to our garden. The old metal goal frame is waiting to be driven down to the local re-cycling centre. The twisted metal and worn-out net are useless. Ruined by forces beyond our control. There is no interest in a replacement at present. Perhaps, if we have grandchildren, they will show an interest in football. If they do, I’ll build a new set of goalposts. They’ll be straight and true, the way the goalposts of childhood should be. The way goalposts should always be.
Surprisingly defensive statement, that.
Surprised they even mentioned the “soft bank loans” rumour.
A bit baffling they are taking that, in particular, seriously…?
Celtic FC have issued a statement denouncing in the strongest terms, the mischief making within the Scottish scene.
I recently read a profile article in the Sunday Times Business Section, on Dermot Desmond.
Amongs the snippets of information,was a story of how someone crossed him in business.
He waited until a suitable opportunity arose to rectify the transgression , but , when he did, he didn’t miss his mark.
The author concluded that he would go to the ends of the Earth to right a wrong against him.
With him as the main shareholder and board member and the litigious Denis O’Brien, a shareholder, it may be a fatal mistake by those who have chosen to attack Celtic FC in such a malicious manner.
Perhaps it is an indication of how nigh the end is.
Re the Celtic land deal .
Sounds to me like the peepil are soon to be told some unwelcome news regarding their assets . 🙄 🙄
The fact that Sevconions seem to have reported Celtic fc FOR RECIEVING state aid has left me astounded of the forehead 😛
re the potential “investigation’ into possible dodgy land deals involving Celtic.
I wonder if Ally McCoist will be the first to demand the names be made public of those who brought this to the attention of the powers that be?
m.c.f.c. says: (118)
January 8, 2014 at 5:37 pm
3 1 Rate This
Ecobhoy’s Lennoxtown post
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks
Since the European Commission complaint is today being reported by the BBC, then Celtic had to issue a rebuttal.
But the internet rumours about the Co-op, if they are “ludicrous” can surely just be ignored?
Or have the BBC or other respected media reported on this also? I haven’t seen anything.
Surely nonsense on the internet, unless it is libellous, is normally ignored with disdain.
Going to a fancy dress at the weekend ,fancied going as a squirrel ,dont realy know why but it came into my head and wont go away ,anyway ,a problem ,all the sqirrel outfits seem to be out on hire or otherwise ,anyone got any idea where I might find someone that will return one before the weekend.
FIFA says: (480)
January 8, 2014 at 6:50 pm
0 0 Rate This
Going to a fancy dress at the weekend, fancied going as a squirrel, dont realy know why but it came into my head and wont go away, anyway, a problem ,all the sqirrel outfits seem to be out on hire or otherwise ,anyone got any idea where I might find someone that will return one before the weekend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If all elsr fails, you could dress up as a school kid from the 1970’s and wear a huge badge bearing the legend “Tufty Club”.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tufty_Fluffytail_badge.png
FIFA says: (480)
January 8, 2014 at 6:50 pm
Sorry FIFA can’t help you with that but it is a good idea to ask for help on this site 😉
There are ways of issuing an Official Statement which sounds all respectful and serious, but is in fact laughing off a load of old cr*p.
That is not what Celtic have done here.
They have taken it seriously.
Why??
Bauhaus says: (11)
January 8, 2014 at 7:03 pm
0 0 Rate This
There are ways of issuing an Official Statement which sounds all respectful and serious, but is in fact laughing off a load of old cr*p.
That is not what Celtic have done here.
They have taken it seriously.
Why??
******
….because the accusations are of such a serious nature that they could, if not immediately repudiated, cause immeasurable damage to Celtic, as a football club and a PLC. Perhaps it would be important with ref to the Stock Market for the PLC to issue a statement.
As seen by the nature of the reporting , I.e., without any background as to how and when the business was conducted, the combined media have left the slur hanging in mid air.
As nature abhors a vacuum, it would be folly to allow such a smear to be ignored, rather than refuted in the strongest terms.
I hope that Celtic give the source of this squirrel cause “tae think again”.
Add in
Hopefully the kid gloves are now off. They have, so far given the impression that they had been biding time, maybe it is the UTTT result, maybe the trigger will be this attempt to damage the club who have, up till now, been accused of doing nothing.
Here’s hoping.
@Bauhaus
“They have taken it seriously.
Why?”
===
Perhaps because they now have both barrels of the squirrel gun loaded!
CFC statement
http://www.celticfc.net/newsstory?item=5212
Sevconions accuse Celtic FC of receiving state aid with land deals and bank loans and ALL SMSM outlets run with it with great gusto .
Got me thinking ,land valuations and bank lending could there be a sting in the tail soon for some wee bees
operation hornet CSC
The truth is out there, but jim delahunt doesn’t want to know 😆 SSB in denial tonight 😀 now there’s a surprise 😆
Wonder if these journalists who claimed they could not discuss RFC-NIL financial matters due to them being simply sports reporters with no financial knowledge will now all of a sudden be able to discuss property values and provide expert opinion on how council procedures work………..
Just saying…………. 😯
ThomTheThim says: (13)
January 8, 2014 at 7:14 pm
….because the accusations are of such a serious nature that they could, if not immediately repudiated, cause immeasurable damage to Celtic, as a football club and a PLC. Perhaps it would be important with ref to the Stock Market for the PLC to issue a statement.
********************************
Sorry, I may not have made my concern clear: I was referring specifically to the club’s rebuttal of the ‘soft Co-op loans’ matter.
As far as I am aware this remains a lunatic internet rumour not taken seriously by any body or media outlet.
As things stand how could that do immeasurable damage to Celtic as a club or as a PLC.
No-one is taking it seriously
Maybe the State Aid accusations from an ill informed limelight seeker should leave Celtic FC in no duobt that silence as far as Sevco goes is not an option any longer. Celtic are now the No1 Enemy for these people and the demise of their New Club is seemingly no longer a consequence worth bothering about. Bringing Celtic FC down is now the prime objective for some whos numbers will grow when the new club dies and dissapears. This will be the shape of the new horizon for Scottish football as the demise of the game as a whole will be the desired outcome for the hordes who could not be bothered to save their own club. []
And surprisingly, the Rangers Standard investigators have stated to EC that its Celtic Football Club that own the land – so what happened to the Pacific Shelf nonsense? If CFC own the land – then it must be the club that is the company……………so should we agree to now dispense with the parent company nonsense here then?
I am thinking somewhere tonight Chris Graham is wishing he had paid more attention to his brogues than trying to stir things up elsewhere……….
Galling fiver says: (90)
January 8, 2014 at 7:26 pm
8 0 Rate This
Hopefully the kid gloves are now off. They have, so far given the impression that they had been biding time, maybe it is the UTTT result, maybe the trigger will be this attempt to damage the club who have, up till now, been accused of
************************
The Euro Commission complaint has, I believe, been orchestrated by the Rangers Standard guys – Chris Graham etc – who thoroughly hate the current Rangers board & especially Media House.
So this cannot be an official attack on CFC by the men in charge in Govan, surely?
Galling Fiver
They most definitely have not been doing nothing. Sometimes you catch squirrels by leaving a trail of nuts into the squirrel trap – known in some parts as a Topic on account of there being a hazelnut in every bite. 🙂
Brenda says: (737)
January 8, 2014 at 7:51 pm
The truth is out there, but jim delahunt doesn’t want to know SSB in denial tonight now there’s a surprise
================================================
Brenda
Can you expand on what it is you were getting at in this post?
john clarke says: (1506)
January 8, 2014 at 7:48 am
ianagain says: (75)
January 7, 2014 at 11:22 pm
‘….Yes it was a long time ago. I don’t forget or forgive…’
———
Do you have access to what the editorial comment was on the issue?
I heard Speirs last night observing that journalists were always in thrall to the big clubs, and were no more critical than today’s MSM , for fear of being denied titbits of info.
It would be interesting to see what that particular newspaper in your first link had to say at the time.
———————————————————————————————
John
Checked the archives for the following Monday(No Sunday Herald then I think). Nothing other than a piece of grovel from “gasp” ‘Well manager Roger “rangerz” Hynd. Amazingly blaming Vic Davidson for causing it all by – well – scoring and celebrating.
The fud ruined a great team containing Davidson in his prime, Marinello, Watson,Wark,Pettigrew etc.
Maybe another undercover appointment by the boys in brogues?
Bauhaus
Amongst the Celtic support is the accusation Celtic have been inactive and said nothing.
Speaking up on the land deal nonsense was necessary for reasons given by TTT so might as well throw in the other unfounded accusation to win brownie points with the Celtic support.
Since neither accusation has substance nothing to fear long term. However saying nothing short term allows the nonsense time to grow arms and legs.
You had an example on Clyde tonight when a caller saying he was a Celtic supporter brought in a sporting advantage angle IF the accusations turned out to be true.
Delahunt just read out the statement to stop an arm or leg growing that later would have nothing to attach itself to.
I am disappointed but not surprised at all at today’s events. Firstly we are told the European Commission are investigating land deals involving Celtic which appear to be based on complaints derived from a poorly researched article, which also has a whiff of sectarianism around it. I can fully understand the European Commission having to investigate complaints in the same way the Police will look at any accusation, false or otherwise, but for the mainstream media, especially the BBC, to jump in so quickly is completely irresponsible and the motive behind it should be questioned. We also have a supposedly decent journalist in Graham Spiers happy to talk of this being a potential ‘equaliser’. Apparently the main Rangers fans websites are mentioning tonight the main aim is simply to damage the Celtic brand, and I suspect they already know they are on a loser in terms of their crass complaints to the E.C. What though is the aim of the BBC and Graham Spiers, who would have been far better taking a step back from this and let events unfold before commenting?
My views that the Scottish media retain an inherent bias against Celtic grow stronger by the day.
Up The Hoops
Aye. Anyone any idea who at the BBC makes the editorial decisions?
Somebody who you could drop a big story with but then tell the world that in spite of it being in public interests they never used it.
ThomTheThim says: (13)
January 8, 2014 at 7:14 pm
I agree. Celtic had to respond to this accusation and could not allow a information vacuum to build.
This was one of many failings that Jim Traynor made on one or two occasions during his tenure in Govan.
If there is no information people will chuck on for combustible material until your faced with a firestorm.
Hopefully this will have given the board the message that the supporters of ‘The Rangers’ are determined to drag them into the abyss with them. It may be time for Celtic to go on the offensive regarding these allegations or, if they are eventually cleared, hire full page advertisements in papers stating they have been cleared. Perhaps when Neil Lennon is interviewed the can have placards behind him saying ‘Celtic cleared over State aid accusations’.
I agree that this has all the hallmarks of a concerted effort to throw mud at another Scottish club. Some people are so desperate to be on the inside that they will do anything to promote themselves. Exactly why anyone would want to be on the inside of the Ibrox shambles is anyone’s guess.
Perhaps if Celtic are found guilty they should claim that it was their holding company that conducted the deal and not the club because as we all know the club has no corporate substance.
Auldheid says: (1138)
January 8, 2014 at 8:20 pm
1 0 Rate This
Bauhaus
Amongst the Celtic support is the accusation Celtic have been inactive and said nothing.
*********************
I do understand that, Auldheid.
However, we all know how much credibility The Rangers official site has lost over the last eighteen months by hair-trigger responses to things that were of zero significance. Over and over, in fact…
There should be no engagement with utter nonsense on the internet unless it is criminal in which case you get the lawyers in.
Otherwise you are giving credence to people who are howling at the moon: this gives them encouragement, it lends a ‘no smoke without’ angle to the whole thing and it makes Celtic’s PR department look as if they are not entirely ahead of the game.
IMO the “soft loans” reference did not need to be in there. Not until & unless the MSM raised it
. . .” The Commission said it had not yet opened a formal investigation.”
So, why are journalists printing “claims”
Was that not what CtH was doing…making “claims”, yet the SMSM totally ignored those “claims”.
Is there any response from Real Madrid and Barcelona on their websites?
Bauhaus,
Sorry, I may not have made my concern clear: I was referring specifically to the club’s rebuttal of the ‘soft Co-op loans’ matter.
As far as I am aware this remains a lunatic internet rumour not taken seriously by any body or media outlet.
As things stand how could that do immeasurable damage to Celtic as a club or as a PLC.
No-one is taking it seriously
***
A few months ago, the National Press had run with stories about the Coop Bank’s generous interest rates.
That was enough for the SMSM to join the dots, with a blunt pencil ; ie., Coop Good Rates,. Celtic bank with the Coop, therefore Celtic getting preferential rates from a Labour controlled bank.
As it was already in the public domain, I believe that it was correct for Celtic to nail this, together with the alleged land grab.
It all makes great sense to Master Graham!!!
from Spiers on twitter
@DavidWhyte1872 I can see why Gers fans are gagging over this. They’ve had it to here being trashed/shamed. This could even it all up.
upthehoops says: (783)
January 8, 2014 at 8:22 pm
———————–
UTH – the European Commission is a pretty serious body and they have said they are launching a probe (albeit only preliminary) into this issue.
Are you seriously saying that the BBC should blank this entirely??
At the moment this is mentioned on Teletext only by BBC Scotland, it is entirely invisible down here in England & I would be astonished if the BBC at any point talk it up into a big story (even if, down the line, the EU find against Celtic)
This is a very small story which, nonetheless, BBC Scotland have a duty to report.
Simply because it is, for a day, a Story
Bauhaus says: (15)
January 8, 2014 at 8:46 pm
……BBC Scotland have a duty to report.
——————————————————–
You havin a laugh 🙄
ianagain says: (77)
January 8, 2014 at 8:38 pm
Its A JACK ATACK pre bad news.
*****************
That would mean that Chris Graham and the Rangers Standard work on behalf of Jack Irvine and Media House.
Do you actually believe that, Ian?
I myself find that incredible
Bauhaus says: (15)
January 8, 2014 at 8:46 pm
=======================
If the BBC must report the story, then they can’t ignore the article which lead to the complaints, and the substance behind the article. After all, for months they point blank refused to acknowledge there was a tax case against Rangers, even though the world and its granny knew there was.
Upthehoops:
On reading the BBC piece on the land deal …and having previously read Ecobhoy’s fine analysis on said subject …the first thing that came into my head was the famous quote by Jim Callaghan in parliament in 1976
” A LIE CAN BE HALF WAY ROUND THE WORLD BEFORE THE TRUTH HAS GOT IT’S BOOTS ON ”
If this was the other way round RFC fans would want the complainants’ heads on spikes with Ally leading the charge….CFC fans really should just laugh their heads off at them on this ……They are staring into the abyss having been well and truly taken to the cleaners and this is the best they can do ?
Btw Jack should be renamed Jack Nicholson as judging by the behaviour set and reading on here recently an extracted post from some poor deluded soul over there on one of their forums it really is ‘one flew over the Cuckoo’s nest ‘ stuff Re the level of delusion
Re Spiers …distressing! ..he used to be half decent..those days long gone!
Overall This subject is a minor distraction / squirrel ..as is the Rangers potential admin stuff…getting Ogilvie and his cadre out should be the priority for this blog
jean7brodie says: (415)
January 8, 2014 at 8:51 pm
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Bauhaus says: (15)
January 8, 2014 at 8:46 pm
……BBC Scotland have a duty to report.
——————————————————–
You havin a laugh
***********************
No. It is their duty. The European Commission say they are starting an informal, preliminary investigation into the largest football club in Scotland and BBC Scotland have an absolute duty to report that as a small story, which is all they have done.
If Mark Daley wheeled out an unforeseen ‘The Men Who Sold The Land Deals’ hour-long docu tonight then you might have a point.
To us English Celts this anti-Celtic BBC agenda idea is a real head scratcher…
Might I suggest that if you have any worries about the purchase of the land at Lennoxtown by Celtic that you read my recent post on the subject:
ecobhoy says: (2192)
January 2, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Ecobhoy wish i had read on, Then i could have found this post. Looked all the way back 😯
But worth the look, thanks
Tailothebank says: (57)
January 8, 2014 at 8:54 pm
=========================
Celtic’s ‘guilt’ has already been established, no matter what happens now. In my view the Scottish media who claim they are only reporting a story, are making damned sure that it is the case. When people are found not guilty in court, there are always whisperers and gossip mongers who will claim it was all down to the lawyers and they simply ‘got away with it’.
On another note, Gary O’Conner for the Morton! Who’d ever have thought eh?
Bauhaus says: (17)
January 8, 2014 at 8:58 pm
——————————————————–
upthehoops on January 8, 2014 at 8:51 pm says it all.
Bauhaus says: (17)
January 8, 2014 at 8:51 pm
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ianagain says: (77)
January 8, 2014 at 8:38 pm
Its A JACK ATACK pre bad news.
*****************
That would mean that Chris Graham and the Rangers Standard work on behalf of Jack Irvine and Media House.
Do you actually believe that, Ian?
I myself find that incredible
========================================
Incredibly Ironic. Right?
I’m biting my hand here trying not to laugh.
Bauhaus says: (17)
January 8, 2014 at 8:58 pm
No. It is their duty. The European Commission say they are starting an informal, preliminary investigation into the largest football club in Scotland and BBC Scotland have an absolute duty to report that as a small story, which is all they have done.
===================================
They are running it as the 2nd lead story in every bulletin. Nothing ‘small’ about it. They are getting steamed into Celtic once again. PS if you think the idea of the BBC being anti-Celtic is absurd I suggest you read the memoirs of Archie McPherson.
New poster, same story!
For someone who is very keen for Celtic not to respond to rumours and an apparent non-story, they are really pushing for debate on the subject…… Strange that eh?
What else is happening out there that we are missing I wonder….
Well played – that’s a helluva squirrel that someone has gone to some effort to produce.
But it doesn’t change anything: TRFC is still going down the toilet.
…and looks like Irvine is paying overtime…must be really bad news imminent…
Just because the story was ‘broken’ by CG on RM, doesn’t mean JI wasn’t behind it. He is much more clever at what he does than the Chris Grahams of this world, who are only too ready to jump whenever they are given dirt on Celtic, no matter where it comes from. Besides, does anyone think, for one moment, that Irvine doesn’t have his own people within every corner of every supporters’ organisation of TRFC, ready to put any story he wants into the likes of Chris Graham’s ear – in a way he thinks it’s his own genius that’s uncovered it?
Nice try Jack.
This is definitely a squirrel. Investigation initiated March LAST YEAR.
europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-192_en.htm
6 Mar 2013 – The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to … of local professional football clubs comply with EU State aid rules. … New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are …
This is very very funny, I believe the song referenced is called wrecking ball
Scott Gallagher @scottg1975 1m
@TheAt0micpe @ourbrian @EdgarBlamm @THE_TBK @ChrisGraham76 https://twitter.com/scottg1975/status/421027695448051712/photo/1/large
Bauhaus says: (17)
January 8, 2014 at 8:33 pm
The response was to the BBC making it News not to back room bampot babblings.
It is a matter of judgement and on the basis that Celtic will know stuff we do not, and are sure of their ground on both matters, then I’ll not judge against them.
More to gain than lose imo but it all about opinions when we don’t really know.
Auldheid, I do not think for a second that Celtic have done nothing. I’m rather hoping they are a few steps ahead of even the more informed, as I regard you to be. Softly, softly will do for me, but now and again you like to feel your not fighting a loosing battle.
ianagain says: (79)
January 8, 2014 at 9:19 pm
2 0 Rate This
Nice try Jack.
This is definitely a squirrel. Investigation initiated March LAST YEAR.
europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-192_en.htm
6 Mar 2013 – The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to … of local professional football clubs comply with EU State aid rules. … New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are …
———-
Can’t get that link to work @ianagain. Tried cutting & pasting but no joy.
Jimi,
I don’t think that is a reasonable comparison; Charlotte and The European Commission?
Ecobhoy has given chapter and verse on this story and I really don’t think Celtic have anything to worry about but when a European government body opens an investigation of this sort, the BBC can’t really ignore it. They can’t afford to get too one-dided on it though or they will have egg on their faces.
Equally, I think Celtic have absolutely done the right thing as regards a statement. From a Plc point of view they probably had to
According to the complainant(s), Celtic F.C. would appear to be the beneficiary of a land deal. To achieve this there had to be corruption and criminality on behalf of Glasgow City Council. That is a very serious allegation against certain councillors and local government officials. I wonder if G.C.C. will issue a similar (or even stronger) statement to the one Celtic has made? The leader of G.C.C. should immediately make it public that any false attack on the honesty and integrity of his fellow councillors or staff will be met with the full vigour of legal action.
Similarly, the Holyrood Health Minister and the chairman of the Greater Glasgow Health Board should come out in support of the chappie with the Timmy sounding name. After all, he as an individual has been singled out for despicable treatment on the part of the complainant(s).
Good post Scott,you are probably correct,all things considered.
I still think the ‘dirty tricks’ campaign will gather speed over the next few weeks and months,RFC are on the brink of their 1st ever admin,their cronies need to deflect criticism away from their club.
Danish Pastry says: (1876)
January 8, 2014 at 9:45 pm
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ianagain says: (79)
January 8, 2014 at 9:19 pm
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Nice try Jack.
This is definitely a squirrel. Investigation initiated March LAST YEAR.
europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-192_en.htm
6 Mar 2013 – The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to … of local professional football clubs comply with EU State aid rules. … New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are …
———-
Can’t get that link to work @ianagain. Tried cutting & pasting but no joy.
========================================================
Danish
Tried my account also “press server down”.
EUORPA will be bemused at so many Pretendygers and Jackolites seemingly having a sudden interest in EU goings on
You know it’s been a bit like The Gathering in here since the end of December with what appear to me like Trolls slithering into position and then the ludicrous attacks on Celtic over land purchases which I think I first noticed on 2 January.
It took me I think just over an hour from that first to totally debunk the ludicrous Lennoxtown State Aid story. Of course a good PR spinner is always clever enough to mix in a bit of fact with the myth. There was State Aid for Lennoxtown and the plans started in the 1990s when the closure of Lennox Castle Hospital was being planned.
The job losses involved in the closure were major and this was followed by more job losses at the local nail works and I think it was a furniture factory from memory. A task Force was set-up involving the NHS, Scorttish Enterprise and East Dunbartonshire Council and the locally based Lennoxtown Initiative was formed to be funded from the receipts of the land sales which were also to be used to regenerate the area. The housing on the larger lower portion of the hospital was built by McTaggart & Mickel.
When all this started Celtic afaik was years away from first becoming involved in exploring Lennoxtown as a possible base for its football academy and Barrowfield was thought to be the preferred location.
However – 15/20 minutes work by a journo would have shown the Lennoxtown story to be garbage and five minutesd would have clealy exposed the sectarian nature of it. So what do the journos do – they run the garbage.
Celtic was perfectly correct to issue the press release that it did and at the end of the day there will be a clean bill of health for Celtic because the accusations don’t hold water – so they will have the last laugh and we will actually expose the sectarian bias which still exists in the SMSM. A trainee reporter or journalism student would have been able to see through the nonsense but the pride of Scottish journalism decided not to.
There must be soemthing helluva big about to happen at Ibrox if this is the lengths they are prepared to sink to. Let’s hope teh Commonwealth games and Glasgow isn’t damaged by this nonsense.
Danish Pastry says: (1876)
January 8, 2014 at 9:45 pm
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ianagain says: (79)
January 8, 2014 at 9:19 pm
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Nice try Jack.
This is definitely a squirrel. Investigation initiated March LAST YEAR.
europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-192_en.htm
6 Mar 2013 – The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to … of local professional football clubs comply with EU State aid rules. … New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are …
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Can’t get that link to work @ianagain. Tried cutting & pasting but no joy.
========================================================
EUROPA press server down Danish.
Swamped by EU fanatical Pretendygers and Jackolites eager to contribute to the Commissions year old preliminary investigation. How many will be interested when it concludes in 4 years time I do wonder?
Euro Football State Aid Press releases
Try the following link:
http://europa.eu/geninfo/query/resultaction.jsp?SMODE=2&ResultCount=10&Collection=EuropaFull&Collection=EuropaSL&Collection=EuropaPR&ResultMaxDocs=200&qtype=simple&DefaultLG=en&ResultTemplate=%2Fresult_en.jsp&page=1&QueryText=football+state+aid&y=0&x=0
ianagain says: (81)
January 8, 2014 at 10:11 pm
1 0 Rate This
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Ironic indeed if a bogus property story is suddenly overshadowed by another property story, not so bogus.
andygraham.66 says: (95)
January 8, 2014 at 8:40 pm
from Spiers on twitter
@DavidWhyte1872 I can see why Gers fans are gagging over this. They’ve had it to here being trashed/shamed. This could even it all up.
=======================================
Oh Graham its near a year old you fool.
Reporter
Definitions
noun
1.a person who reports, esp one employed to gather news for a newspaper, news agency, or broadcasting organization
Effective word. News.
Please I know this one will become an all consuming tit for tat once Jack gets the trolls going.
Don’t bite ladies and gents. Its a non non story.
This is not a Chris (Fury) Graham / The Rangers Standard “story”
It is more like a publicity campaign for this drivel which Eco debunked quite some time ago, in a comprehensive manner.
http://footballtaxhavens.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/state-aid-assembling-the-case-for-the-eu/
As stated previously you only have to look in the archive of that blog to see the agenda of the person writing it. You also only have to look at the amount of bold text to see that he is a bit of a mental.
In other considerations, if this is a distraction it has been spectacularly successful on follow follow. There are threads running to many pages, including the pleas to write to MPs etc to highlight this matter.
Can I just congratulate Chris once more, on his extremely successful campaign to assist the current owners of Rangers, by providing them with a well needed smokescreen and period of respite. You have done the Easdales, Stockbridge et al a tremendous favour in publicising this, and taking the fans attention away from their own very real issues.
I am sure you will be well rewarded. You really have played your part in helping them destroy this new version of the club you claim to support.
I think that the accusations of impropriety – given the two separate situations – have the look and feel of someone desperately throwing as much mud at a wall as possible in the hope that some of it will stick.
I can even understand some Rangers-minded people and their motives in trying to get some respite from watching their sick relative diminish by the day. However I think there is a win-win situation attached.
If there are any grounds to the allegations then it is a good thing that they are out there, although I am sure the Celtic board will not share that view for obvious reasons. On the other hand, if as I suspect there is no case to answer for Celtic, then the spurious nature of the allegations will if nothing else bolster the determination of fans of all clubs that justice needs to be done, and be seen to be done in the more substantive matter of years of systematic abuse of Scottish Football by RFC.
The trouble with making spurious and unfounded allegations is that the capacity of others to empathise with your plight is seriously diminished, in a directly proportional relationship to your credibility.
If this guy Graham is correct then we all owe him a huge apology. If he is incorrect, he will have shown himself to be just another wannabe blazer gazing longingly, Stella Dallas-like (no relation) into the party from a rainy position through an outside window.
We await the outcome, but In the meantime, the story is merely a squirrel and for us, a diversion from the real news which is just around the corner.
Diversionary tactics aplenty today! A plethora of squirrels running up trees. The sceptical amongst us are intrigued……….or are we?
Not in the slightest Batman!! Things are obviously getting really tight down Govan way, so lets put together something for berrs to hold onto and savour. A tasty wee morsel, a crumb of comfort in their fast approaching dark days.
This tactic tells me all I need to know. The ball is fast approaching Bust.
Like others on here I have heard reports from various sources of belt tightening and unpaid invoices. Small businesses will not be caught out again by an institution which does not have banking facilities in place. They won’t get fooled again..!!
I would suggest that any further muppettry from the MSM re land deals will result in the generation of legal correspondence.
I would expect radio stations to now starve this story of oxygen and a certain newspaper of being very careful of losing another £500k legal case was it.
I also expect shouting behind closed doors at the tossers running this trash.
Any news on Ally’s meeting?
For the avoidance of doubt, if Celtic are accused of any wrongdoing then I welcome it being investigated fully and honestly.
If the club are found guilty of that wrongdoing then I would expect it to be punished in a fair manner, in the same way as I would expect any other club to be punished.
All I want, or have ever wanted is a level playing field. No special treatment for any club, including my own.
Scurrying around looking for conspiracies, placemen, dodgy deals and corruption?
Anyone would think the supporters of the new club were OBSESSED about the club from the East End.
Ecobhoys piece even mentions a tripartite agreement on Lennoxtown and of course the Govan mob had to go not one but two times better to have their won five way fiasco!
Another world record broken for the shortest time of pretending they weren’t bothered or jealous and trying and drag Celtic into the myre with them.
Next they will be saying Stuart Cosgrove went round with the boys to put the thumb screws on Old Farmer McDairmid to force him to hand over the land for St Johnstone’s new ground. 🙂
Tripartite … sound a bit like tricolour.
hmmm…….
The ‘well did ask once about moving to Strathclyde park from Fir Park so we didn’t have to spend 1 million every 2 years to relay the ground instead of on the players.
We must be right in the commissions sights then.
Guilty send us down me lud.
Can’t help but smirk at some of the responses to the potential investigation in to whether Celtic broke EU rules. I mean, it’s not as if some on here indulge in posting Rangers rumours heard down the pub or what if hypothetical situations fueled by nothing more than wishful thinking that result in a plethora of thumbs up. Like, ever.
It’s been picked up by the BBC. So what? The EC is looking at the information and will reach a conclusion. Could be something or it could be nothing. Lets wait and see.
Off to bed and fully expect to hear the real story this week of the cuts to come.
Sorry Jack couldn’t buy it.
Could anyone tell me how long this will take to investigate by the relevant authorities .or when it will be put to bed as the absolute garbage it is thanks
incredibleadamspark says: (61)
January 8, 2014 at 11:09 pm
As said earlier if Celtic have a case to answer then so be it as long as it is all fair and square.
Most of the taxi and pub talk is quickly ignored.
The question is why this story and why now?
Lord Wobbly says: (998)
January 8, 2014 at 6:56 pm
If all elsr fails, you could dress up as a school kid from the 1970′s and wear a huge badge bearing the legend “Tufty Club”.
————————–
The first rule of Tufty Club is: “tell all your chums about Tufty Club!!
The second rule of Tufty Club is: “really, children: you must tell all your friends about Tufty Club”
On the lennoxtown squirrel.
Is that the scottish sports media becoming financially aware?
I look forward to the same scottish sports media using their newly found finacial awareness on properties and the value of assets in consideration of the RFC(NIL) sale of assets.
They may well consider other issues about who owns the training grounds of other scottish football clubs.
New day new squirrel….
Buddy
Surely Sevco are the only club in Scotland to receive State aid, They had Salmond and the Government backing them, HMRC being surprisingly lenient, The Police turning their back on various issues, and help from all corners of the Judiciary. Don’t even mention the SFA and the 5 way agreement.
Now there’s a real story.