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.
@Campbellsmoney
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying your contribution since you started (restarted?) posting. Thank you.
I especially agree with your view that no club should be rewarded with prize money or promotion at the end of a season during which they had an insolvency event.
I was particularly riled by the assertion that new rangers had their previous years “prize money” withheld by the SPL after Rangers 1873 had finished second in a season where they withheld PAYE from the treasury.
The fact that this view wasn’t ridiculed in the SMSM speaks very loudly to me.
A mere TU simply wasn’t enough SP – Have to say I agree wholeheartedly 100%
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/70620598603/the-rangers-agm
have only just noticed this post which has interesting bits and especially on res 10.
Nope
All the glee about the falling share price is misplaced
Its simply another stage in the scam to get the Spiv ownership above 75% so they can issue freebie shares to their pals and dilute the holding of the remaining 25%
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
This is a company owned by Spivs and run by Spivs
Spivs have as much or perhaps more experience in running down a share price than they do in asset stripping
All we are seeing in the market is an attempt to panic the gullible into selling their tiny individual holdings for fear of losing the lot
And its really simple to do
In a nutshell
Two spivs agree to rotate ownership of similar holdings which they each own
One Spiv sells his holding to another Spiv and around the same time buys the same number of shares at the same price
This “same price” just happens to be lower than the current price on offer in the market
The transactions are dressed up as a series of share trades which just happen to add up to more or less the same total
This shakes the tree and deceives the genuine punter into thinking there must be a good business reason for the sp to fall
,,,,,,,,,,
If enough freebie shares are issued by the Spiv Board(Say10m) the price can plummet to 5p and they are still well in profit
john clarke says:
January 10, 2014 at 5:11 pm
The brazen bigotry for so long embodied by Peter Thomson may have formally disappeared, but it is unquestionably the case that Sportsound failed signally to tell the truth about the RFC(IL) saga, because certain presenters and pundits were eating succulent lamb, and one in particular actually tried to mislead by inaccurate reporting.
================================================================================
JC…I do believe the perception of Para Handy as to any perceived bias within the modern day BBC has to be recognised…but the very mention of that bigoted despot from the BBC “caves” takes me back to an era that I would much rather forget.
I haven’t seen this posted, so apologies if it has been and yes it is off topic, so apologies for that, It is a Celtic site, but, introducing Only Nae Excuse, as it might have been on New Years Eve –
http://etims.net/?p=4402
I’ve just been out in the car and heard a guy named Paulo on SSB saying that Celtic don’t need a strong ‘The Rangers’, all they need is a challenge from any team.
Of course the panel all disagreed with the bold Hugh stating that anyone who said otherwise was in denial or did not like ‘The Rangers’. So in a program that is all about opinions it would seem that there is one opinion that is a cast iron truth according to Hugh. One of the panel went so far as to say that even if ‘The Rangers’ come back and were kack there would still be a clamour for tickets the first time the two meet. To me this sort of defeated his argument as a non-challenging ‘The Rangers’ would offer nothing except a chance for city rivalry to be re-ignited. They cannot grasp that big crowds do not make you competitive. Bigger crowds give you more revenue but if you squander that, and more, by over paying everyone from the coaching staff to average players then you’re heading towards a brick wall.
Paulo made several good points saying that if money was pumped into Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hibernian etc then they could provide a challenge. When the panel stated that these clubs will not get money pumped into them Paulo replied by asking who was going to pump money into ‘The Rangers’ to make them challengers.
Once again these pundits don’t get it. The days of RFC/’The Rangers’ spending other peoples money is gone. Their sole point of reference is the last 25 years where they spent £10M more a season than they brought in.
More importantly they refuse to look back to the first half of the 1980’s when massive crowds attended Celtic Park to watch Aberdeen and Dundee United games. That’s when they were challenging, sorry winning, the league. Tannadice and Pittodrie sold out regularly.
Before Paulo there was a guy on saying that ‘The Rangers’ fans should club together to buy the club. Fifty thousand fans putting in £400 would raise £20M to buy out the current regime. This was sheer gold considering the same fans could only put in £5M to the last share issue which means the fabled fifty thousand averaged £100 that time. This of course was when the panel said ‘its all about opinions’.
Going out in the car at this time of night for petrol should carry a health warning. My eyes and ears were bleeding by the time I got home.!!!!
Me and boys sat down to watch Aberdeen V Hibs here’s hoping for a good game.
GoosyGoosy says:
January 10, 2014 at 7:43 pm
‘…One Spiv sells his holding to another Spiv and around the same time buys the same number of shares at the same price..’
———
I don’t doubt you’re right, GoosyGoosy, but would they not have to sell through a market maker/broker , who then determines what price he’ll offer them at-which might be more than the two parties had agreed on between themselves? And would be on the open market so somebody else could nick in and buy?
And is there no oversight to try to prevent that kind of market manipulation?
I am intrigued.
jake the snake @celticservant 14m
#CelticStateAid Mr Angryman gets a reply. He still wants to see the Home Secretary. http://t.co/W9rDuOvlob
justshatered says:
January 10, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Before Paulo there was a guy on saying that ‘The Rangers’ fans should club together to buy the club. Fifty thousand fans putting in £400 would raise £20M to buy out the current regime. This was sheer gold considering the same fans could only put in £5M to the last share issue which means the fabled fifty thousand averaged £100 that time. This of course was when the panel said ‘its all about opinions’.
—————————————
as you could only buy a min of £500 worth, less than 10,000 bears bought shares in the clumpany.
so now, at least 5 times as many are going to buy in, knowing the money is NOT going to the club, but to the SPIVS who currently own it and are lining their pockets.
And even if they did chuck in that money to buy it, whats to say that the SPIVS haven’t already tied up lucrative contracts on things like merchandise, catering, tickets, hospitality, security etc to still make them a nice little earner?
they will do what they always do, wait for someone to lead them…wait for someone to finance them….they haven’t realised it isn’t going to happen
jake the snake @celticservant 24m
#CelticStateAid Mr Carluke Bear again. No fear or favour. Don’t play dumb wi me ya bastard. http://t.co/4UFiBjjAur
13. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:02 pm
I forgot to add that, after the fifty thousand have bought the club/company, they have to actually finance and run the money pit!!!
GoosyGoosy says:
January 10, 2014 at 7:43 pm
Nope
All the glee about the falling share price is misplaced
Its simply another stage in the scam to get the Spiv ownership above 75% so they can issue freebie shares to their pals and dilute the holding of the remaining 25%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
This is a company owned by Spivs and run by Spivs. Spivs have as much or perhaps more experience in running down a share price than they do in asset stripping.
All we are seeing in the market is an attempt to panic the gullible into selling their tiny individual holdings for fear of losing the lot. And its really simple to do
In a nutshell. Two spivs agree to rotate ownership of similar holdings which they each own. One Spiv sells his holding to another Spiv and around the same time buys the same number of shares at the same price. This “same price” just happens to be lower than the current price on offer in the market
The transactions are dressed up as a series of share trades which just happen to add up to more or less the same total. This shakes the tree and deceives the genuine punter into thinking there must be a good business reason for the sp to fall ,,,,,,,,,,
If enough freebie shares are issued by the Spiv Board (Say10m) the price can plummet to 5p and they are still well in profit.
=======================================================
Few things I don’t follow. the very small holdings are held by Bears and they won’t sell no matter how low they share price goes. they didn’t buy shares to make a profit but to save their club.
There aren’t actually that many shareholders in RIFC – if you exclude the fans – I could count them but can’t be annoyed but there’s less than around 60 I reckon and no more than 100. I would say that most of them are AIM savvy and if they ain’t they have easy access to financial advice.
Obviously I can see the reason for Res 10 being passed from a Spiv perspective. But how does it benefit Spivs to give out free shares and dilute their holdings as well. I thought the need to pass Res 10 was to be able to exchange shares for loans to keep the show on the road or to be skimmed and disappear like the IPO money. Not that I suggest any wrongdoing of course but the expenses of raising money can be very high especially when you have to pay double the costs because you are a Scottish Company 😉
Maybe I’m missing something and I’m the first to admit I don’t have a scooby about share dealing other than basic 101 level. I can see your argument if some people are ‘shorting’ which is a good way to make a profit on a falling share.
But I still think the biggest problem is that we don’t know what the Spivs have as their exit strategy and until we know that – and it will be after the event IMO – then we are in the dark and can only guess.
paulsatim says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:03 pm
jake the snake @celticservant 24m
#CelticStateAid Mr Carluke Bear again. No fear or favour. Don’t play dumb wi me ya bastard. http://t.co/4UFiBjjAur
================================================
I truly am beginning to worry about the gene pool in Scotland as there is a distinct lack of flair
On 23 Dec Norman Crighton buys 60,000 Sevco shares. In 18 days he has lost £3,600 of his original £20K
Chair of the Investment Committee.
😀
john clarke says:
January 10, 2014 at 4:15 pm
taxman cometh says: (120)
January 9, 2014 at 11:30 pm
‘..Charlotte back with this
““NewCo” in the Context of an Insolvency Event..’
———-
The paragraph in this (presumably internal Board) paper that caught my eye is
‘..One option would be to take the proposal as a discussion matter to Clubs at an All Club Meeting in order to identify the level of support. If the support was at a sufficient level and was sufficiently broad based to indicate likely adoption by the required majorities, then detailed drafting could be undertaken with a view to bringing proposed amendments to the Articles to the General Meeting proposed for 13 January…’
Do we know whether any ‘all club’ meeting has taken place, and if so, whether the proposal was broadly supported? The author of the paper is clearly wary of putting something on the agenda for a General Meeting unless its proposers are reasonably sure that it would be likely to be accepted.
They have perhaps learned that club owners are not to be too easily bounced into decisions made by a few officers and Board members.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’ve been reading this site too long and have become more cynical than JC because my initial thoughts about an all club get together type chinwag in January was to kill two birds with one stone.
Discuss the mangled logic of the SPFL rules (who writes this rubbish? Is it Harper McLeod?) and deal with or discuss the latest Rangers insolvency event at the same time
I love the quote: ‘The Commission said it had not yet opened a formal investigation and that the information was being analysed’.
I assume the pash is being tested for all sorts of substances from alcohol to mind altering drugs 🙄
Bangordub says:
January 10, 2014 at 4:22 pm
There appears to be a run on – 27p:
Add to portfolioAdd to watchlistSet alertInteractive chartHistorical pricesData definitions
Rangers International Football Club PLCRFC:LSE
27.01
3.99 / 12.87%
174.93k
69.82%
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yet again another company led by Charles Green which raises funds on AIM is heading for the scrapper but we seem reluctant on here to be sympathetic towards Charles for the bad luck that seems to follow him around.
Well I’m going to just say a few wee words of comfort to the unluckiest man ever to infest the business world – keep at it Charlie it’s sure to come good one day and consider staying on longer at your next venture. One day you will find success.
That’s the stupid thing, too. They could have bought the shares (money into club) then immediately sold them (maybe even at a profit) to other investors and thereby done their bit to save the club without actually risking too much of their own cash.
The ‘undecided’ aren’t half painting themselves into a corner here. In the ‘No’ corner they have the Labour party who they are attacking as being involved in obtaining ‘favourable’ loans for Celtic and in the ‘Yes’ corner they have the SNP whom they hate as being anti-British. Maybe they will have to abstain.
Well according to SSB, Rangers have “emerged from liquidation”.
As a non UK Taxpayer, I demand to know why BDO are wasting tax payers money by looking into something that is now back in business…………..
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/72902521139/up
On what happens if Rangers enter administration but still get promoted and how the SPFL Rulebook may mean that promotion could be denied
GeronimosCadillac says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:26 pm
Yet again another company led by Charles Green which raises funds on AIM is heading for the scrapper but we seem reluctant on here to be sympathetic towards Charles for the bad luck that seems to follow him around.
Well I’m going to just say a few wee words of comfort to the unluckiest man ever to infest the business world – keep at it Charlie it’s sure to come good one day and consider staying on longer at your next venture. One day you will find success.
===============
How much could I have made over the last 20 years or so, just by shorting the shares of every single newly listed company that Charles Green has been involved in? Lots, I think.
Now is there a clue there as to what the real game is? I have been puzzled as to why the owners have continued to throw so much IPO money at a basket case football team. I know that a lot of that money ends up in their own pockets anyway, But maybe the inevitable effect on the share price offers opportunities for yet more profits to be made? Or maybe I’m just being far too cynical.
If I am being too cynical, I would just love to know what there is on Green’s CV that ensures he gets gig after gig on the AIM market.
justshatered says:
January 10, 2014 at 7:51 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My BIG mate listened in too and here’s what he found:
Hugh Keevins says Rangers fans HAVE TO accept that the current Board are in charge as they were DEMOCRATICALLY elected – Err no they don’t – they could try thinking for themselves.
One of the callers, a Celtic Fan, called into to refute the: “Celtic fans are awe gantin’ fir the Rangers to get back” argument promoted by Keevins. He was slapped down with this incredulous statement from Keevins: “I could phone every one of the Lisbon Lions right now and they would all say they want Rangers back”.
The caller responded by saying: “naw ye couldnae cause some of them are died”. He was then castigated by the oily one who MC’s the farce(my mate can’t remember his name but thinks it is the one whose name rhymes with an obscene word) and Keevins for showing a lack of respect to the deceased. My mate thinks Keevins is skating on thin ice with this one.
It only usually gets as absurd as this when BFDJ is on.
briggsbhoy says:
January 10, 2014 at 7:58 pm
Me and boys sat down to watch Aberdeen V Hibs here’s hoping for a good game.
——
Kind of a scrappy game, particularly with Hayes so glaringly out of his depth in that position – but what a screamer of a goal! 🙂
As for Rangers having “emerged from liquidation” … what exactly do these people think “liquidation” means? I count myself fortunate never to have laid ears on the SSB ignorance-fest.
On a different tack, whatever happened to the 67 players who were taking legal action against Rangers via PFA Scotland, with regard to the TUPE farce? Lumpy carpet?
Paulmac2 says:
January 10, 2014 at 4:26 pm
My gut feeling….the shear volume of movement in a matter of hours would suggest somebody has an inside track of what is coming and has decided to get out….
The expected cost cutting can have a positive effect on the markets…so it is puzzling to think if major haircuts are coming to structure the business into a more profitable one…why dump large volumes of shares?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Three reasons –
you only paid a penny piece for a large volume of them so even at 28p there is an upside or you realise what you can when the shares are still tradeable or you are a former Rangers shareholder/debenture holder at the end of their loyalty/
Angus1983 says:
January 10, 2014 at 10:01 pm.
On a different tack, whatever happened to the 67 players who were taking legal action against Rangers via PFA Scotland, with regard to the TUPE farce? Lumpy carpet?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mate – Fraser has all of that under control. Besides football players are all mercanaryies these days so why should we bother about them?
Can us court attending chaps firm up our diaries please:
London.
BDO Collyers Wavetower HMRC missing pension moneys- any ideas?
Craigie 3rd attempt at appeal – anyone?
Scotland UTT Feb?
Dean Shiels ? TBA
The rest of the unwanted TBA
I’m trying to book holidays here.
All help appreciated.
Tic
I fully expect this shambles to get embroiled in many more sticky court cases yet.
Its the way with these guys.
Its how they spend the Pretendygers dough (and syphon off a bit to their pals). Allegedly. Without prejudice.
See what I did there all legal.
TSFM
I’m also impressed that Pretendygers is now on spell check. a million thanks.
Go on try and mishttp://www.tsfm.org.uk/wp-includes//images/smilies/icon_smile.gif spell it.
Oh I cant do these on edit 😥 Downer
ianagain says:
January 10, 2014 at 10:59 pm
‘.Can us court attending chaps firm up our diaries please:’
———
As it happens, cheapskate that I am, I bought my 2014 diary today, in one o they ‘nothing more than a pound’ shops.( I was actually looking for a football club, but there was none in stock The diary was the next best thing, and it came with pen attached!).
I have entered the dates of the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal hearings.
Sad to hear of Ian Redford s death. Too young,too soon
john clarke says:
January 10, 2014 at 11:50 pm
ianagain says:
January 10, 2014 at 10:59 pm
‘.Can us court attending chaps firm up our diaries please:’
———
As it happens, cheapskate that I am, I bought my 2014 diary today, in one o they ‘nothing more than a pound’ shops.( I was actually looking for a football club, but there was none in stock The diary was the next best thing, and it came with pen attached!).
I have entered the dates of the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal hearings.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
See ya there – I shall be incognito and dress all in Black with a mask. I don’t want Alistair asking who I is?
I will make the assumption that who ever gave a thumbs down to my post re Ian Redford made a mistake.
helpmaboab says:
January 11, 2014 at 12:16 am
I hope so too, disgusting.
neepheid says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:53 pm
GeronimosCadillac says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:26 pm
Yet again another company led by Charles Green which raises funds on AIM is heading for the scrapper but we seem reluctant on here to be sympathetic towards Charles for the bad luck that seems to follow him around.
Well I’m going to just say a few wee words of comfort to the unluckiest man ever to infest the business world – keep at it Charlie it’s sure to come good one day and consider staying on longer at your next venture. One day you will find success.
===============
How much could I have made over the last 20 years or so, just by shorting the shares of every single newly listed company that Charles Green has been involved in? Lots, I think.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Unlike Charlie Nibbles I am unable to comment on the future success of your investment as for whatever reason I am not morally allowed to suck out profit from such an unregulated market at the expense of the unwary looking for a fast buck.
If there was proper financial investigation into AIM it would be shut down tomorrow. There is little if any regulation. Roll on the end of capitalism
Surely if someone gave me penny shares I would have done the following at the first reasonable opportuity. (what follows assumes you get p shares and can sell at 28p todays price!)
Sold off a small percentage to cover my initial investment, to cover my investment.
Hyothetical example…
I get the “once in a lifetime” to buy into TRFC/RIFC at 1p and buy 1 million shares, costing me £10,000 GBP.
I later sell 35715 shares at 28p getting me £10,000 GBP .
now i still have 964285 shares, approximetaly 1 million shares, but have no loss.
Penny shares in TRFC/RIFC, how long to we get to TRFC/RIFC being a penny share.
Incidetallly, the theory is you can make far more money shorting shares than investing in rises, especially if you control the fall of the share price.
Of course deliberately sabotaging your own company to the detriment of the share price while making money on the way down is i think strictly illegal, but it seems one of the few logical ways to make money out of TRFC/RIFC other than inflated salaries/bonuses and property!
Buddy
On the subject of shorting shares, and what follows is in no way professinal advice, don’t call in its just for fun.
I speculated for over a year that the best gauranteed moeny maker was shorting TRFC/RIFC shares.
So today is 11/01/2014, taking a short position over the next month, I wonder what the market would allow me to take….?
I will pick 18 pence on 11/02/2014.
Buddy
buddy_holly says:
January 11, 2014 at 12:55 am
On the subject of shorting shares, and what follows is in no way professinal advice, don’t call in its just for fun.
I speculated for over a year that the best gauranteed moeny maker was shorting TRFC/RIFC shares.
So today is 11/01/2014, taking a short position over the next month, I wonder what the market would allow me to take….?
I will pick 18 pence on 11/02/2014.
Buddy
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’m not sure what your point is Buddy. Can you explain it the same way that Campbellsmoney does. His posts are really clear for a complicated subject
john clarke says: ecobhoy says
I don’t doubt you’re right, GoosyGoosy, but would they not have to sell through a market maker/broker , who then determines what price he’ll offer them at-which might be more than the two parties had agreed on between themselves? And would be on the open market so somebody else could nick in and buy?
And is there no oversight to try to prevent that kind of market manipulation?
I am intrigued.
……………..
John / ecobhoy
Sadly it is that easy when the company involved like RIFC has an illiquid market ie most shares are not for sale
i.e.
Despite having Ms of shares the actual no of RIFC shares available to buy on the market is relatively small perhaps under 500k on any given day. So any deals between Spivs of 200k in small parcels can seriously influence the SP.If liquidity happens to be high the Spivs hold back their deal until it is low
As far as Brokers are concerned the phrase “Honest Broker” wasn’t coined for fun
Spiv Brokers are as numerous as Spiv shareowners
Control of the AIM market is a joke otherwise RIFC would have been kicked out for the “errors” in their IPO Prospectus
All these guys in the City care about is making money for themselves and their firm in that order of priority
The main lesson to learn from the stock market it is to keep out of it
ecobhoy
The spivs exit strategy is almost certainly to maximise their % ownership of shares(via dilution) and thus maximise their cash return from selling the assets to a property co and the Brand (ie TTRFC) to some gullible fans group
GoosyGoosy says:
January 11, 2014 at 1:05 am
john clarke says: ecobhoy says
The main lesson to learn from the stock market it is to keep out of it
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree with what Goosy says re market manipulation etc but the lesson to be drawn for it is not to stay out of it.
For me it is to stop markets making ordinary peoples lives a misery ( through fleecing Rangers investors their emotional investment) and workers of their livilhoods because that is what will happen at Rangers – employees will lose their jobs and from that crushing financial blow other bad news follows, poverty, life on the dole, family breakdown ? Is that what we want from a market free for all?
helpmaboab says:
January 10, 2014 at 11:58 pm
‘..Sad to hear of Ian Redford s death. Too young,too soon.’
———–
There is , I suggest, not one of us regulars on this blog who has not known grief.
In that knowledge, we feel the pain and suffering of the grief of other folk, even if we do not know them personally.
Different strokes for different folks, but I’ll say a prayer for the repose of the soul of a much younger and more talented man than I, and for the ones who loved him.
GeronimosCadillac says:
January 10, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Hugh Keevins says Rangers fans HAVE TO accept that the current Board are in charge as they were DEMOCRATICALLY elected – Err no they don’t – they could try thinking for themselves.
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I heard a part of that show last night including the above statement from Keevins. The older sounding Rangers caller John rightly pointed out how the Celtic fans in 1994 had stood against their board, but Keevins was effectively having none of it. It’s a pity John was not more up to speed as he could have reminded Keevins that he addressed some of the Celts for Change meetings at the time. Perhaps Keevins memory wont stretch that far back.
As far as everyone should be wanting Rangers ‘back’ I really don’t know where to start with this. I really want to know what their definition of Rangers being ‘back’ is. Is it a new streamlined club living within their means which may struggle in the top league, or is it a club that has access to public funds either through excessive lending from a state run bank, or dodgy tax avoidance schemes, meaning it can generally be more successful than others. What is it that Keevins and others from the media actually want? As for his claim re-the Lisbon Lions, if it is true then they too should be asked the same question, because I don’t believe for a minute they would have been happy at the unfair financial advantage Rangers had for decades. As a Celtic fan I feel my club and others have been cheated since 1986, and I have no desire to see those days return. When Rangers do get to the top league, what will the media then want put in place if they are struggling? I honestly thought even the media in this country would never have stooped to the nonsense we regularly hear. Just what WOULD the club from Ibrox have to do for them to actually say there is no place in the league for clubs who cheat, whether they have a large fan base or not.
The The Rangers way…?!
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Is this further evidence that the Ibrox club does indeed operate in a parallel universe – where normal rules don’t apply?
When you need to make drastic cost cutting ASAP what do you do…you recruit an expensive consultant to advise the expensively assembled senior management team on how to make cuts… 🙄
(Taking this DR story at face value, which could be boll*x, admittedly.)
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-bring-new-financial-guru-3009812
As Keith Jackson rightly points out the squad of highly paid Chartered Accountants at Ibrox may soon outnumber the players.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-bring-new-financial-guru-3009812
Ally also puts the decision for cuts into CEO Wallace’s court.
“It would make sense to Graham that just cutting and selling is not the right way to go about it in terms of the progression of the club, the team and the squad.
“If you need to take one step back to take two or three forward again, that will be Graham’s decision.”
wottpi 8.57am.
“It would make sense to Graham that just cutting and selling is not the right way to go about it in terms of the progression of the club, the team and the squad.
“If you need to take one step back to take two or three forward again, that will be Graham’s decision.”
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McCoist easing himself a little further away from any responsibility,first he gives his share voting rights away then he publicly disagrees with the Wallace statement at the AGM, now this .
What a man. trying to undermine the man who is trying to save the club .
He is angling for his ticket out,he does not want to be remembered as the only man in Scottish football who overseen the deaths of 2 clumpanies.
Whatever happened to the city whiz kid Kieran was it Dyer and his investment in prentendygers ? He came in at the time in blaze of publicity and seems to have slipped off, did I miss the announcement of his departure
GeronimosCadillac says:
January 11, 2014 at 12:36 am
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Tic 6709 says:
January 10, 2014 at 10:40 pm
By the way what ever happened to the investigation into Longmuir’s pay-off,and the alleged backhander to Ballantyne..
That SFA carpet must look like a herd of Camels drinking at an oasis.
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Never mind the carpet. Can anyone estimate how many Chartered Accountants are caught up in all this.
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GC…my exact thoughts for some time.
By my bestest estimate, and using my “beancounter’s frame”, I reckon at least 20, and that is only those taking a lead role over the last decade or so…there have been many more involved in supporting/backroom roles in this and other organisations!
Oops, here comes my letter from the Institute….!
Hi all,just like to say some great input from the people on this site,much appreciated.have followed every day way back to rtc days.wonder if anyone’s else feels it’s quite addictive following this mess.would just like to ask how all these shysters involved with Sevco knew they would be able to get away with this level of corruption.there must have been meetings with all involved at the very start to arrange what was to take place.
Looks to me as if Mr Wallace is following an all too common practice these days. Hire a consultant to tell him what he already knows, thereby insulating himself from the blame associated with the required cuts, he knows very well he is going to have to implement.
“The cuts aren’t my fault, Mr McCoist, they are the result of the recommendations of a highly experienced industry expert.”
Its really cowardice, pure and simple, and it is appalling how many organisations engage in it.
Briggsbhoy: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-investor-kieran-prior-reveals-2921604
Maybe kieran’s the guy buying all the shares being dumped at the moment…
Neepheid
Re Garrion security.
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You’re absolutely right. I’m getting confused between accounts and returns and other accounting stuff. I have nothing new about Garrion accounts, which punches a pretty large hole in my theory about it.
Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow. I’ll just go and sit at the back of the class for a while.
justshatered on January 10, 2014 at 7:51 pm
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I’ve just been out in the car and heard a guy named Paulo on SSB saying that …
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I listened to the podcast of last night’s call in. Paulo, and another caller who put across the same benign point, were attacked by Keevins and accused of being motivated by a “detestation of Rangers”.
Both callers were actually well-spoken and made valid points.
Keevins is fast becoming the Basil Fawlty of phone-in pundits. Last night he once again came across as rude and insulting. He gets away with openly expressing contempt for callers. Mark Guidi was in a similar mode the other night.
I’m surprised the producer of the broadcast allows this type of unprofessional behaviour. It really is embarrassing.
Mind you, some of the callers are excellent. One of the first on the podcast, a disillusioned and thoughtful fan who had bought into the IPO out of loyalty and who seemed to have had it with McCoist and the board, is worth a listen.
@JockBhoy
Maybe kieran’s the guy buying all the shares being dumped at the moment…
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Howdy mate… I think there have been a lot of people in this ranger’s saga just wanting to get their name/face in the paper, Kingy, the Murrays, McColl, Kieran and many more. It’s akin to the Z-list celebs you get on various jungle, big brother, skating, dancing, reality shows these days.. Crap telly and crap reading/watching when the pseudo blazer men feel compelled to spout any level of their nonsense just for their 30 secs TV cameo or a their mugshot in the papers…
Too many want to be shown as the ringleaders in this (Bliiy ‘no so’ Smart’s) circus but most are actually clowns in oversized brogues…
@Scapaflow Howdy fella..
“The cuts aren’t my fault, Mr McCoist, they are the result of the recommendations of a highly experienced industry expert.”
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I had exactly the same thoughts when I read the new consultancy angle earlier, just some short term unknown to do the boards bidding and take the heat, slinking into the background with probably more money made than is saved in cost cuttings… 😥
The whole rangers saga stinks of this, the majority of the wedge they have spend in 18 months have been on legal entities and pay offs. Lots of people have done well off rangers (without speculating on various potential other drains) to the detriment of the health of the club and the raging bears. :slamb:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-bring-new-financial-guru-3009812
The announcement of the latest financial guru – no doubt being paid top dollar for his services – could mean a few things. He could be a short-term sop to AIM to spread the message that spending will be brought under control and try and stop a continuing slump in share price which could eventually lead to trading in Rangers shares being suspended.
But why bother employing a big company expert – Rangers is a very small company and the problem it faces is quite simple: ‘It’s spending more than it earns’. Are the supposed City whizz kids in the shape of the new CEO and Chairman incapable of seeing that and swiftly taking the appropriate action. And what about Stockbridge the man overseeing all the figures from Day 1 – no one will convince me that he doesn’t know exactly what’s going on.
Of course this could all be linked with Resolution 10 in a way in that perhaps the mystery owners had someone lined-up to inject cash into the club – I know I know but there’s one born every minute. The failure to pass Res 10 at the agm may well have delayed that cash injection and the way the share price is heading south should worry anyone intending to make a major investment in the club.
It’s all very well projecting cash flows and profits for a few years down the line when Rangers are in their ‘Rightful Place’ on top of the midden that Scottish Football has become and storming Fortress Europe by laying waste to all and sundry in the CL while Celtic is demoted to the junior division in Europe.
But Rangers have got to survive financially to actually get there and the Bears might swallow the Ibrox nonsense but a hard-nosed investor won’t and won’t part with their cash unless they are going to make money from the investment. I am ruling out the emergence of a Real Rangers Man because there isn’t one with enough money to flush down the Blue Pan.
So the financial guru in reassuring AIM will also be reassuring the uknown and possibly non-existant investor/s.
But if the guru is actually going to produce a plan for savage cuts then it makes me think that Stockbridge isn’t going anywhere soon. Because if I was the chairman or on the RIFC Board and actually intended to make deep-cuts in spending and try and save the club then who better to be the sacrificial lamb to announce those cuts as his plan.
Obviously Stockbridge, who is hated by the fans anyway, goes after his plan is put into place – with the usual huge pay-off – and the exercise can be spun to deflect the angry Bears from having a go at the rest of the Board. It could even be painted as the dawn of another new era as long as the fans buy STs and keep the club on track for Galactic Domination. Simples.
Of course by employing an outside consultant he has got to get up to speed and this buys time and increases the delay before any meaningful action need be taken or, indeed, the Spivs depart for postures new.
And Ally – to be fair I don’t see his latest guff as part of his usual sleekit-type of positioning with his bosses. He really is beginning to sound and look like someone who is in shell-shock and not really in touch with the reality of what Rangers is turning into. OK I know the money is very important to him but I also believe he is in thrall to the worse case of Rangeritis I have ever seen. He doesn’t just spout it but IMO actually believes it unlike most of the other so-called Rangers Men who are just in it for the money and power. Well that’s what it used to be about 🙂
At least the Spivs are quite clear in what they are about – yip the money – and the only person who actually believed Green had caught Rangeritis were deluded Bears who had never ever looked at his previous AIM history or understood what a brilliant Barra Boy he is. Five for a pound anyone ❓
JimBhoy, I know what you mean, but in fairness if you read what kieran prior says in that article it is pretty much the distillation if a lot of comments on here. Has he really put a cool mill of “skin into the game”? It seems too round of a tabloid number but I do think he might be positioning himself to be an activist investor, and if he is happy to share his thoughts through the media, so much the better, given the shenanigans going on behind closed doors previously.
Talking about Charlie and his business success reminded me of a couple of pieces I did on his business background back in 2012. Why change a winning formula?
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/could-charlie-greens-rangers-float-turn-into-a-lead-lifebelt-by-ecojon/
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/the-spl-sfa-sfl-woody-allen-spice-girls-plus-rangers-charlie-green-by-ecojon/
@JockyBhoy Oops mate think I got your nickname wrong last time mate, apologies…
Think about Kieran we all know he is a plant put out there by Ped Lawell. 😛 Ok playing to the stereotypes there..
You may be right mate, anything could happen in this clusterf*… I do not think we will have long to wait to find out the true end game. The only certainties IMO are that the spivs will make money, the fans will get a size 12 brogue up their @sses.
the wee tee says:
January 11, 2014 at 9:30 am
…wonder if anyone else feels it’s quite addictive following this mess…
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Oh aye.
It’s like the whole calamity is being played out on a big roundabout and I’ve been constantly driving round it for a couple of years, sneaking a look from a different angle every few seconds and wondering if the mess will ever be cleaned up.
Time to hit F5 again…
Just thought I’d mention ‘ the Liquidator’ is running at the 3.35 at Kempton today. If I was a betting man…! 😉
jockybhoy says:
January 11, 2014 at 10:08 am
I do think he (Prior) might be positioning himself to be an activist investor.
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He may be but if he is just a ‘front’ then whose money is he using and for what end? When he arrived on the scene I did a couple of posts on here and have undernoted one. It interested me watching how a charity which was apparently close to his heart apparently just slipped down the pan in terms of his priorities especially with the dosh that he reportedly has. Perhaps it is off the radar of course 🙄
There may be good reasons for the charity going into a type of ‘cold storage’ and I don’t think the websitre had had any news or blogs added since February 2011. there is also precious little out there – last time I looked – for me to be able to form any opinion on Mr prior’s business abilities. So, to me, another bit of an enigma in the Rangers Journey.
UNDERNOTE
Kieran Prior the surprise Rangers investor who seems intent on shaking the Ibrox club up and returning it to a profitable business has run into difficulties with a charity he has chaired since it was launched.
It appears ‘Priority Trust’ first ran into difficulties in its 2nd year of operation and the charity went into a non-trading state in its 3rd year of operation and the last financial year which figures are available for revealed an income of just £66.
The Charity Commission website shows the charity’s first financial period ran until 31/03/2009 with £289,589 income and £229,901 expenditure. The charity provided 27 disabled children and young people with mobility equipment to improve their independence and the main focus for the following year was to raise further funds to buy mobility equipment.
In the next financial year to 31/03/10 charity income was £30,458 and expenditure £70,156. Another five children were supplied with mobility equipment. But as major donor income fell to zero the biggest challenge was seen as re-establishing donations from wealthy individuals.
The financial year to 31/03/11 saw £43,693 income and £42,892 expenditure and it was announced the charity wouldn’t be making further grants to fund mobility equipment for disabled children. Financial pressure saw the resignation of charity CEO Mark Boland on 31 March 2011 and it was decided Priority Trust would continue on a non-trading basis.
As the charity income dropped there was a bigger emphasis being placed on developing the website and blog as not just a disability resource but to give young disabled people a voice. However the blog and website news hasn’t been updated since February 2011.
The last financial year’s figures up until 31/03/12 revealed by the Charity Commission shown an income of £66 and expenditure of £1,847.
It remains to be seen whether Rangers fans who have been embroiled in financial turmoil in recent years will be impressed by their new investor’s track record in running a charity which he has professed as being close to his heart.
JimBhoy says:
January 11, 2014 at 10:31 am
Just thought I’d mention ‘ the Liquidator’ is running at the 3.35 at Kempton today. If I was a betting man…! 😉
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Wonder if Mather or Green is the owner 😆
ecobhoy says:
January 11, 2014 at 10:06 am
Not sure about that. The people who make a living in the AIM market are pretty savvy, far from calming them down, this appointment could well have the opposite effect. What Mr Wallace needs to do falls into the category of the blindingly bloody obvious!
He shouldn’t need a consultant to tell him, and if he really does, then its another stellar appointment by Rangers!
GoosyGoosy says:
January 11, 2014 at 1:05 am
The spivs exit strategy is almost certainly to maximise their % ownership of shares(via dilution) and thus maximise their cash return from selling the assets to a property co and the Brand (ie TTRFC) to some gullible fans group.
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I wouldn’t argue with that possibility and it’s a pity that we can’t actually work-out what percentage the real owners of RIFC – the mystery overseas-based ones – actually have as it might help establish a rough timescale for their departure.
One fairly big block of shares is the £17 million or so held by the institutional investors and I wonder when they will call it a day although we can’t be sure of the identity.affiliation of their clients either although that might be indicated by who becomes the recipient of any Section 10 shares if they are issued.
I did a post on football shares at: http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/has-green-got-the-right-aim-for-rangers-footballing-share-issues-guest-post-by-ecojon/
One of the things I pointed out was that Millwall before delisting from AIM had an astonishing 37 billion shares in issue – more than the worldwide multi-billion BP conglomerate – and Millwall had to consolidate the position by a 100,000 shares to 1 issue. Defo enough to completely paper Ibrox.
So perhaps the share issue stage of the journey still has some way to travel or unravel 🙄
“I think a transfer embargo hurts more than a points deduction. We are in a different situation from Hearts and Gary might see it differently. But we could have got away with a 15-point deduction last year, because we won our division by 24 points.”
I’ve suggested previously that McCoist’s value to TRFC is not as a Football Manager but as a malleable conduit to the fan base and the media. He seldom drifts from the “we’ve been punished enough” mantra. I take his latest contribution as an important message to the football authorities. His thinly veiled warning not to relax the current embargo on Hearts’ transfer activity is in keeping with his underhand approach, but his (in my opinion calculated) reference to a 15 point penalty last season would not have impacted on his teams promotion is laying down clearly what his club/company consider the current rules to be. I’m not sure if he realises the significance of the magnitude of the penalty he cited.
JimBhoy says:
January 11, 2014 at 9:44 am
Anyone out there doing the dryathlon like I am (for Cancer research) I hope you all all bearing up well, only 2 more weekends stick with it.
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Best of luck to you, Jimbhoy – though I could never quite understand how anyone thinks it’s remarkable to go without alcohol for a period. Perhaps this stems from my days in a band, when free drink before, during and after a gig was the norm. Once I returned to civvy street I was that shocked at the price of beer that I pretty much stopped drinking! 🙂
Another “charity” thing that always gets me is climbing Kilimanjaro. There must be queueing hordes of sponsored folk without an original thought in their body trudging up and down there. To say nothing of the cost of actually getting there – money which would’ve been (marginally) better put straight into some shop door Sooty, you’d think.
Just heard it announced on the news there that media darling Ally’s long battle to get his wages halved has finally ended in triumph for the great man. Is there anything this man wouldn’t do that is just and right in the world? We should all look at him and feel thoroughly ashamed we do not share his charitable sense of generosity.
Why in the name of goodness would a PLC which has a chartered accountant for a Chairman and a chartered accountant for a CEO and a chartered accountant for an FD and presumably employs accountants need to bring in someone to look at the business.
Are they like shopaholics who just need to keep spending money until there is none left, then keep on spending on credit that they can’t afford.
When talking about the investors in Rangers and their motivation it is always worth bearing in mind what other incentives they may have. For example if I remember correctly the PLC qualified as an Enterprise Investment Scheme (possibly a VCT but the memory is getting worse) and as such offered tax incentives to investors.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/eis/
Kicker Conspiracy says:
January 11, 2014 at 10:30 am
‘..…wonder if anyone else feels it’s quite addictive following this mess…’
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The ancient Greek dramatists really understood that knowing how a play ends actually heightens the drama of watching the characters play it out, each part contributing to the final, inevitable and wholly expected and fore-known disaster.
The worry is that some ‘deus ex machina’ ( say, the SFA) might pull another stunt when the curtain comes down and try a re-write with a different ending.
John
We are living in a World where people openly discuss a company “coming out of liquidation”.
If they can re-write an ending like ceasing to exist then they can pretty much re-write anything.
Tell me, what do a club on the brink of financial disaster need ? Yep, you got it – another handsomely paid chartered accountant. The Rangers employ another financial wizard to tell them something they already know – they are burning through cash at a scary rate of millions while adding fuel to the fire with yet another suit, spiv or otherwise. One could argue that with Brian Stockbridge, another CA at the club already – and ahem, doing such a fine job – Nash has been brought in to possibly replace him in the longer term. The fact there probably wont be a longer term it seems is neither here nor there. Danish was probably right in that Nash provides Wallace with a semblance of protection from the inevitable onslaught from the supporters who can’t see their club’s going down the pan without immediate and drastic surgery. It’s a message none of them want to hear, but it is one that if they were to have any chance of survival would need to be acted upon, ooh, let’s say a year ago ! Too little too late, methinks. If Stockbridge is honest enough to say there’ll be nothing in the kitty by April you can bet your bottom dollar that the picture’s a lot worse than that. I would truly love to be a fly on the wall in the meetings with Super Salary and Wallace just to see, either how much the issues are talked around or to see Sal’s blood pressure rocket as the simple stark facts and figures are laid bare to him.
‘Alastair, it’s like this this…imagine yourself as a manager in the top league in Scottish football going toe to toe with that lot from the East End – do you really want to get there? This what we have to do…’
‘Look, Mr Wallace, Graham..this is the great Glasgow Rangers we’re talking about here, we’re not gonnae cut our cloth to suit, no chance. We’ve got a proud 2 year, eh, a hunner’n’ forty wan year history behind us here. We’re no dain nuhin’ that makes us look second best, nae chance. That mob’ll take the right pish oot us, is that what you want? Is it? Cos if it is, you won’t like it when I get angry, I go green, naw – no green, crimson, burst oot ma tracky, an I’ll go pure’n’ utter mental, believe you, me. I’ve seen aff better than you in ma time! N’you thought I was just a cheeky chappy ? Ha! There’ll be bricks lobbed thro yer windeez quicker than you can say ‘You’re not signing Kenny Miller’.
‘Ok, Alastair, I get your point, and well made, thank you. That’s all really..just wanted to catch up, you know. Same time again next month. Can I rely on you for some positive soundbites for those awful PR folk? Great, thanks, again Alastair’
‘Right, chief !’
The good ship Dignitas sails on…