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 says:
“…. but you would be better with your money in Premium bonds….” (my edit)
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Campbellsmoney…I wish I had a pound for every time I felt like saying that to client…!
Please keep up the excellent posting(s)…this blog could really do with some insight as to the hidden machinations of Insolvency Practice in general and the role of BDO in this particular insolvency (I repeat for so called journalists – INSOLVENCY – a process from which you do not “emerge”…!)
Being from the north, I never have to suffer this Radio Clyde stuff that gets mentioned on here quite frequently. However we do still get Radio Scotland and boy it’s getting cringeworthy listening to whoever is on 810MW every night talk about ‘Rangers’ without mentioning the big, bad L word.
Have all the presenters and guests been briefed to not say LIQUIDATION?
All this “slipping into administration again” nonsense is truly embarrassing for a national, publicly funded broadcaster. If old Rangers had a pound for every time that line was trotted out rather than telling it how it is, BDO would have a decent amount of cash to offer up to creditors. Last night was particularly bad – Tom English, Billy Dodds and some old fan of the club now in liquidation. Didn’t hear the big L word once!
Surely the time has come for Beeb to man up and start earning our license fees.
Get some Snickers lads, start saying liquidation. Lovely, lovely liquidation 😆
The next time you see Lee McCulloch elbow an opponent in the face, immediately banish the image from your mind. What you actually saw was him merely contemplating the concept of possibly elbowing him in the face. In the same way, you didn’t see RFC being put into liquidation, nor the Ramsdens Cup becoming an invitation tournament for one year only, nor a new club being rushed into the senior leagues. “These are not the droids you’re looking for”.
Someone’s typo, earlier, suggested the Easdales bought Aviva. That’s probably not the insurance they’re interested in.
First bus spent more than £100M on stock yesterday, can’t see them throwing that figure about twice in one week, go-ahead are the likely linked company, who’s shares happen to be at an all time high, for the moment.
The Easdales “story” in a nutshell
“If they succeed in getting a buyer at that price, the speculation is they will aim to increase their stake at Ibrox by investing about £20m.”
1, If they succeed in getting a buyer
2, The speculation is
3, aim to increase their stake
4, investing about £20m
Best non-story in a long while, sorry not story, propaganda / press release.
It says absolutely nothing about any money actually going to the PLC.
On this mornings headlines and some posts last night.
1/ Re the Easdales investment. I can only assume that this is a call to any would be suitors to get in touch quick re the TRFC shell. After all the coded warning re administration was issued yesterday, categorically no less.
2/ Re the fortunes of said shell. We can’t stop KIng, the Easdales or whoever investing in the new club and buying success* again. We can act to stop downright cheating re invites and restructures, we can express surprise at the ongoing failure of all enquiries to seemingly come to an obvious conclusion and we can warn people, especially peepul, to be clear what it is they are investing in based on what is a fairly impressive research dept that we call TSFM, but anyone who thinks they will be stopped because its not fair or because it doesn’t make sense will be sadly disappointed.
*That is within FFP, with an acceptable financial blueprint as requested of all clubs and with all Director responsibilities met of course.
3/ On the implications of admin and/or insolvency this season or in the close season one would reasonably have expected some coverage of the recent SPFL meeting and the newco proposal that was going to be scheduled to be discussed in the extensive sports coverage today. That’s one for you Mr Cosgrove to at least set the ball rolling 😉
I was thinking about selling my house and would hope to get about £200k. I had mentioned to my neighbour if it went for £2.2 million I’d consider popping the £2m extra to Lenny to get Finnbogasan. I expect to have this story on the cover of the Sunday Mail tomorrow.
McGills Buses is worth about £20m tops. General rule of thumb in the industry is 10 x profit plus any outstanding finance and property values. Their fleet is worth around £10m. They’d be lucky to clear £5m on any deal.
I also hear that their recent fleet purchases were made using the bus industry’s version of Wonga. If the major finance houses won’t touch you then you have a problem.
On a separate note I see that the WATP super bus was replaced by a 6 year old vehicle which strangely enough hasn’t been used for the team transport.
I would love to see the brothers showing up on dragons den and pitching that deal to the dragons .
and for that reason I’M OUT 😆
JimBhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 am
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Jim, much indebted to you for passing on the very good news. So Scottish football may be saved after all indeed.
I am told that that the Easdale cash injection should then free the way for Dave King to back them with circa £20-30M, giving them a great platform to continue the journey back to the Premier League and on into the Champions League, with Ally having say a warchest of £20-25M to play with.
Damille & Laxey are also poised to put in between £5-10M, so that the envisaged refurb and expansion of Ibrox can be undertaken, bringing it up to a capacity of 67,000.
Needless to say the Bears sites today will be empty as they flock joyously off to the pub to celebrate.
So much for fantasy.
Let’s inject some facts.
McGills owns circa 400 buses and has 600 employees, many of them part time.
It operates out of the Greater Greenock area and had a turnover of £27M last year with a profit of £600K.
Six months ago, First Group plc disposed of a tiny part of its business in two tranches:
1) Five depots with 494 vehicles and approximately 1,700 employees in LIttle London which, for the sake of this exercise, let us assume has the same economic dynamic as Greater Greenock
2) Three depots with 400 buses and 1,500 staff, again in Little London. Again let us assume that the economy of Little London is on a par with Greater Greenock.
So that is 900 buses and 3,200 staff in total, i.e. twice the number of vehicles and 5 times the number of staff.
Apart from the obvious question (how many more bus runs can you make with more than twice as many staff per vehicle), the next most obvious question is how much did the struggling First Group make in its more recent period of account?
In the 6 months to September 2013, First Group struggled to break even with just £28.3M of profit on a turnover of £3.3Bn.
The next most obvious question after that is what price did First Group get for those two parts of its business?
According to KPMG who acted for the struggling transport group, the price was £80M.
This proves two – sorry, three things.
1) There is a market for bus groups (at least in Little London) – can’t recall too many sales in this neck of the woods (though certainly a good number of good bus companies have stopped trading for reasons that are not altogether clear)
2) Using the back of an electronic fag packet, I calculate that the sale of McGills could, on a good day, fetch maybe £25M tops
3) Someone is telling porky pies.
When you get a cash crisis at Ibrox, an assurance from those in charge that everything is ok, and blatant lies planted about warchests without so much as one quotable source in the MSM, it means only one thing.
Rangers are going bust again.
There are lots of interesting things to discuss about Scottish football this weekend; the Easdales sinking a lot of well-earned cash into Rangers isn’t one of them.
54 (minutes till the next warchest story)
Not posted for some time, but regular lurker. 🙂
I see Richard Atkinson. He of the failed fans takeover at St.Mirren is now schmoozing with the Ibrox faithful.
Heavy twitter dialogue ( @rchrdtknsn ) punting his blog http://thecrossedrubicon.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
Would imagine it would be like herding cats, trying to get the Ibrox faithful to go down this route.
“” Do The Math!!!! The Club could be Fan Controlled in three months
PART 2
So you have set up your CIC so that all your clubs fans can become members of this Holding Company by contributing small amounts on a monthly basis but do the numbers really add up?
There seems to be a view that a Club the size of Rangers could not be Fanowned so lets look at the numbers in order to show how it could be bought and what could then happen.
First some context from other Clubs that either have, have tried or are going through the Fanownership process.
Clyde – 461 members £30 per person per year. The Original CIC Fanowned Club
St Mirren – 1007 pledged members. Average pledge £13.50 per person per month. £1.25m bid from fans was not accepted in the end by current owners
Motherwell – 1200 members, Cash lump sum raised of £400,000
Hearts – 7600 members giving an avg between £15 and £20 per month
So Rangers Fans that is the bench mark for you from Clubs across the divisions.
Let us assume, and i think that it is a reasonable assumption, that it is possible to galvanise Fans of a Club around a new single issue organisation looking to buy the Clubs Shares and that there is a direct link between the Size of the Club and the number of fans that could be engaged as members and contributors to the CIC.
So on the numbers above is it reasonable to expect 40,000 RFC fans to be able to contribute?
X5 the number engaged in the Hearts process, how much bigger is RFC than HMFC?
Let us assume that it is, if this number is high then it will not be that far out, and you can only spend what you have coming in so it is just a case of Pro Rata down the way and it just takes a bit longer to buy the shares, and if the number is low great news the Club will be Fanowned before you know it.
Now not going to get too technical here about the Takeover Code for AIM listed companies, and about how share prices could change (both up and down) as you buy shares but there are some issues that will need dealt with, but lets park these for the moment and focus just on buying the shares.
The current share price can be found at the below link along with a note of all the trades
Follow the Rangers Shares Price
So as it stands today if you were able to buy all the Clubs shares then in theory it would cost £18m.
However as a PLC it is not all about owning all of it.
51% a simple majority would give Fans all the control they would likely ever need ….value £9m
However PLC’s are all about fair representation of Shareholders on the Board of the Company so as a start you just need to get a CIC nominated director on the Board
The below was the case before Mr Hughes sold his shares so we don’t know yet if they have landed with any of the others.it should update at the link below in time.
Where are Rangers Shares?
Shareholder
No of Ordinary Shares held
% of issued share capital
Laxey Partners Ltd
7,578,672
11.64%
Artemis Investment Management LLP
5,479,000
8.42%
Hargreave Hale Limited
4,601,688
7.07%
Blue Pitch Holding*
4,000,000
6.14%
Miton Capital Partners
3,143,857
4.83%
Mike Ashley
3,000,000
4.61%
Alexander Easdale*
2,942,957
4.52%
Margarita Funds Holding Trust*
2,600,000
3.99%
Richard Hughes
2,200,000
3.38%
So as you can see for the Fan Controlled CIC to be the single biggest shareholder would only take a 11.65% (say 12% for ease sake) = £2.16m
£2.16m would make the fans the largest single shareholder and although it is not a guarantee of anything but just because of the way PLC’s work it is very hard for a board to ignore that, when the shares are actually owned by the Fans CIC (this is not the same as a group having a load of proxies for an AGM)
So lets follow this logic through.
Assume 40,000 fans giving on Average £18.72 per month to the CIC and then this money going straight out to buy shares.
£748,800 per month.
So you would have raised in less than 3 months………….3 MONTHS….enough to take control of your club back
Quick question……..what are you waiting for? “
From RM and this is one of the educated/moderators on the site,they don’t stand a chance if they believe this rubbish,it seems as if they are so desperate for any good news that all reasonable thought processes go out the window.
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Bluepeter9
Brian Laudrup
True Blue
16,136 posts
Gender:Male
Location:West Lothian
Posted Today, 07:39 AM
1. When Somers and Wallace joined the board they would have done there homework and know a rough path and strategy forward and it would not surprise me if part of that was assurances from shareholders about new cash – say from the easedales – also explains why king is now in the back ground.
2. If they do invest it will ( most likely) be by means of a new share issue – meaning everyone else will be diluted and they will probably look for control – but the good news about equity coming into the company is that it is not debt and is there for investment
Most of my own immediate thoughts on the Easdale apparent ‘gift’ to TRFC have been covered already, but my thoughts on what the effect might be if they did pump £20m into the club are:
I can’t imagine them, or anyone, putting that sort of money into the club without becoming the ‘owners’, so £20m just might buy them the club and Ibrox, as should the spivs know these true blue Rainjurz men have £20m to spend, they will want it all, or so much of it that there won’t be much left to run the club. MP and the Ibrox car park remaining in RIFC’s hands. At best, for TRFC, the club might have, say, £5m left from the Easdales’ ‘investment’, plus the ST money and merchandising to run on for the next 12 months. Doesn’t come close to plugging that £10m per year hole! All it might achieve is to get rid of the intelligent spivs and leave the brothers with the nightmare scenario of living in Rangersland while being held responsible for the continued demise of their club.
The only way that £20m could make a significant improvement to TRFC’s fortunes would be in the event of a sale and leaseback of Ibrox, clearing TRFC’s debt to RIFC, and leave them with the problem of being seen as the men who sold the Big Hoose! Of course, their significant share in RIFC would then enhance their own property business 😀
For the record, I’m not suggesting that this speculative £20m will ever appear, nor, that if it did, the above scenarios would result, just highlighting that £20m isn’t going to make the club’s troubles go away and, that at best, it would only prolong the club’s travails.
EDIT: The above thoughts assume the speculated investment will be in the club, or given it’s proper name, TRFC Ltd, and not the holding company, RIFC plc, as that would only provide the RIFC with the means to increase the amount they ‘lend’ to their subsidiary.
Just like “buses”
You wait for investors and two come along at the same time
. . . Is this the latest (future) investor in Rangers International Football Club PLC
owner and operator of The Rangers Football Club LTD (previously known as Sevco Scotland LTD)
http://www.glasgowplaybus.com
Fritz Agrandoldteam says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:04 am
35 0 Rate This
JimBhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 am
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/454576/EXCLUSIVE-Easdale-brothers-to-plough-20m-into-Rangers
Great news for the rangers fans I would say…
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Jack’s getting desperate……………
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ST are due I assume
jimlarkin says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:00 am
0 0 Rate This
Just like “buses”
You wait for investors and two come along at the same time
. . . Is this the latest (future) investor in Rangers International Football Club PLC
owner and operator of The Rangers Football Club LTD (previously known as Sevco Scotland LTD)
http://www.glasgowplaybus.com
This is a wind up by the way.
Apologies to the good people who run the glasgow playbus, for having a “laugh” at their expense.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-insists-3034275
How spineless. Ally wants no part in the difficult parts of management.
With the Express article reporting speculation without a single quote, what were they doing when Charlotte’s audio revelations generated far more than mere speculation? No quotes required there either (though “you are Sevco” would be worth referring to in some form) but a far bigger exclusive ‘rumour’ for them to present to the public who are unaware of what goes on away from the MSM.
Mirrenman.
Would any fan’s purchase not fall foul to the 30% rule?
Joking apart, 20m without the hassle of having to buy those pesky property assets, would just about get them to day one in the SPFL premiership where no doubt the next muppet hungry for publicity would buy them off them. This would not be the worst deal in the world for either the spivs – say 5m purchasing the history, retaining the assets plus say 2.5m rent. Nor is it the worst deal for the Easdales as long as they were confident they would have an end buyer (the fans 51% King 49%?= say 25m) and that they wouldn’t catch Rangersness and think they could actually challenge and be profitable all in the space of 12 months.
The downside (ignoring the point that it is doubtful they have 20m so would need to borrow it (red light, red light, Garroooogah, ding ding ding) would be 6th in Division 1 come next May with fans on their backs demanding more team investment.
” 2. If they do invest it will ( most likely) be by means of a new share issue ”
Simple question, how else can anyone invest in a PLC if not via a share issue (including an IPO).
There are only a limited number of ways anyone can put money into a PLC.
1, Buy goods or services from it.
2, Buy assets from it.
3, Buy shares in it, at an IPO or subsequent share issue
4, Provide it with loans
5, Give it money as a gift.
Only one of the above is investing in the business.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-25769899
First bus to buy new fleet. @ circa £70 million
scottc says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:07 am
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McCoist from what I can see has no managerial or leadership skills at all. The fact he didn’t walk away from his comfy chair and his very comfy salary, as the empire tumbled around him, is somehow seem by a compliant media that he is the type of man you would take to the moon with you. If he had been subjected to proper scrutiny he would have departed the scene long ago IMO.
jimlarkin says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:20 am
Could this be an indicator as to the real reason the Easdales want to sell up?
“Aberdeen-based FirstGroup is under pressure to reduce emissions from its buses as well as improving passenger access.”
If there’s legislation in the offing that might mean the upgrading of their fleet, then it would appear to be a good time to get out of the business, though not a good time to be selling, or buying for that matter, a bus company. A bit like buying a football club, actually; plenty of assets and customers, but a shedload of ever increasing costs.
The article in the Express about the Easdales CONSIDERING “ploughing” 20,000,000 pounds into The Rangers spivs pockets is purely aimed to breathe some hope into the hearts of the fans who are hurting from the inevitability of liquidation II . This is a classical Jack Irvine media release strategy to bring hope when there is none. It is just a made up story to fill column inches and sell some papers. Next week it will be “The Pope will sell Vatican treasures to keep alive his beloved Glasgow Rangers.” The share price is plummeting. The rats are deserting the sinking ship with bulging pockets. 500,000 pounds is not chump change. I give them just three more weeks my pick of the date of the press conference to announce administration – 10th Feb
rougvielovesthejungle says:
January 18, 2014 at 8:40 am
Being from the north, I never have to suffer this Radio Clyde stuff that gets mentioned on here quite frequently. However we do still get Radio Scotland…………..
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It get worse…at one point Tom English states that “Duff & Phelps said that administration would never happen….”
Eh…Tom…We had never heard of Duff & Phelps in this saga until they were appointed as the eh…administrators….?
God help us all……
I believe Richard Hughes made a lot more than £500,000 out of Rangers.
From memory he made roughly that from his sale of shares, however he made another load of money at the outset by providing some of the funds which were used to buy the assets. He got that back, plus a load in fees and interest. If I remember correctly someone estimated his profit at more like £900,000.
Re the Easdales and their kind donation to The club that plays out of ibrox ,I was thinking of how I can help also,I own my house in an estate of approx 440 house of various sizes and shapes ,I have suddenly changed the look of them in my mind to look like various sizes and shapes of buses.not hard to imagine ,anyway,I will now contact Mr Charles Green to help me with my proposal to sell the whole estate ,sorry bus group on to a buyer who Charles will spiv into buying the stock ,there is no point in informing the rest of the owners ,sorry again ,passengers at this stage as I dont want to get their hopes to high of a potential get rich quick plan,I want to firstly get them interested by telling them we will put 20m of the sale into RIFC ,a no brainer ,now where did I put Charles phone number,
I know the above smells like ch#te ,100% quality ch#te but its the full plan ,not like the Easdales,I expect to see this on the front pages on Sunday
WRT BDO
Sometimes posters on here have to take a reality check and also find patience and I include myself in that.
The ones who dig for hard facts are truly working in almost complete darkness trying to assemble a jigsaw without ever having seen the full picture. Some others make pronouncements and predictions which range from being based on nothing more than wishful thinking to having a fairly solid underpinning of known facts.
Our efforts are often assisted because a lot of us have a particular ‘obsession’ but that diversity can be a strength because sometimes we find links through our separate digging which were never previously suspected.
Of course then we have Trolls who can be very interesting in what they bring to the table. I’m not talking about cretins driven by deep prejudices who are an irrelevance to me because they have no interest in football and an inclusive society but more the PR-directed Trolls. There is much to be learnt about their agenda by studying their efforts especially over different sites and over extended time periods.
Often new posters on any site can be labelled as Trolls and when I first began posting here I was mercilessly attacked because of my views and opinions on certain matters and openly accused of being a Rangers supporter and not actually a Celtic supporter. Sadly the attacks weren’t IMO made to advance our knowledge of the Spivs and their financial dismantling of Rangers with the assistance of the SMSM and the SFA and SPL and our cowardly politicians of all parties. Rather IMO they were made because I made statements regarding some elements of the Celtic support which obviously didn’t suit some people here.
I have no problem with that and everyone is entitled to their views as long as they conduct it within the ethos of the site. A recent poster has been asked to provide details of his employment record and I am disappointed those posts weren’t subject to moderation.
However that takes us back to BDO. And my point is that no one outside a tight group in BDO and HMRC have a clue as to what progress is being made by their investigation. And no one outside will be aware until their investigation is complete. The ability to turn nonsense and hot-air prediction into ‘fact’ at the press of the ‘SEND’ button and make the poster a minor celebrity bampot for a nano second is not what BDO are about.
They have access to information and powers that I drool over but even with all that they might be unable to build a case and if that happens then we will learn very little of their activities and findings. However that doesn’t mean they were corrupt or inept – quite rightly we demand high standards of proof in our legal system and the people they are investigating are extremely skilled at what they do and supported by armies of so-called professionals bought for money who have no conscience regarding the greater public good.
I hope the BDO investigation is successful in that it gets to the truth but the conclusion of their enquiries could be 2/3 years away so we need to be patient and place some confidence in the integrity of those investigating. To declare at this stage that it is all a waste of time is quite staggering to me in its negativity.
BDO isn’t the best hope we have of justice – and I include Rangers fans in that. It is the ONLY hope and has been since the start. Obviously the overturning of the FTTT Majority Decision would be important but I see that process as an adjunct to the BDO Investigation albeit also of importance in its own right for the Exchequer if it rules EBTs as illegal and enables the claw-back of tax from every company who has used them and not just ‘The Rangers’ who became the test case because they thought they were too big to be brought to book.
peterjung says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:39 am
rougvielovesthejungle says:
January 18, 2014 at 8:40 am
Being from the north, I never have to suffer this Radio Clyde stuff that gets mentioned on here quite frequently. However we do still get Radio Scotland…………..
____________________________________________________________________________________
It get worse…at one point Tom English states that “Duff & Phelps said that administration would never happen….”
Eh…Tom…We had never heard of Duff & Phelps in this saga until they were appointed as the eh…administrators….? God help us all……
=====================================================
Perhaps you hadn’t heard of them but they were there for almost a year before admin in the shape of MCR which was bought by D&P. Employees and partners in MCR were paid by Whyte to carry out all sorts of accounting work and if you check the CF documents on this period you will find much discussion of admin 6/7 month before the actual admin date.
So TE appears to be on the ball on this one 😎
Is Mr Alistair Murdoch McCoist MBE related to Miss Victoria Pollard ? There are definite similarities in speech partners and analytical skills. There is also more than a passing physical resemblance.
Asked if he has been told to sell anyone, McCoist said: “Me? No I haven’t. I won’t be selling anybody.
“The club might sell somebody but I won’t be selling anybody.”
He added: “There are a few options and that’s an option but it’s not a road Graham and I want to go down.
“To be fair, Graham hasn’t told me he wants the squad size trimmed but the obvious interpretation of cuts in the player budget would suggest it.
“He hasn’t said as such but maybe reading into what he’s said about a smaller playing budget and cuts, you’d think that’s what he’s meaning.”
There is now a fear clubs could raid Rangers in the next fortnight for players on the cheap as another period of financial upheaval looms.
McCoist said: “We’ll find out soon enough. I hope that’s not the case.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-insists-3034275
fergusslayedtheblues says:
January 17, 2014 at 11:39 pm
==============================================================
I make no comment on the new poster and with every poster am prepared to wait and see what drives them and it usually doesn’t take long to discover that. In the meantime I will read his posts which interest me as I do with every other poster.
However could you please supply me with some details, hopefully fact-based, as to how BDO are mishandling the ‘omnishables’ which I assume to mean their investigation.
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:25 am
Hopefully BDO will shed a spotlight on the activities of MCR/D&P before and during the Admin process. It is one of many areas which give off a bad smell, not least the contradictory statements around who knew Mr Grier, and who knew what Mr Grier was up to.
m.c.f.c. says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:27 am
1 0 Rate This
Is Mr Alistair Murdoch McCoist MBE related to Miss Victoria Pollard ? There are definite similarities in speech partners and analytical skills. There is also more than a passing physical resemblance.
____________________________________________
What has Miss Pollard done to deserve that ? 😉
m.c.f.c. says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:27 am
There is now a fear clubs could raid Rangers in the next fortnight for players on the cheap as another period of financial upheaval looms. McCoist said: “We’ll find out soon enough. I hope that’s not the case.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-insists-3034275
================================================================
Wow the Ibrox Gold Rush is on the way. Just wait till those hungry clubs desperate to buy top-quality players for a pittance find out what wages they’ll need to pay 😆
Eco
I don’t know how long ago it was that I said the main players here would be HMRC and BDO, and that it would be a matter of years rather than weeks or months before the matter was resolved. I even posted Malcolm Cohen’s credentials at the time to illustrate why HMRC had let Rangers pick their own administrators but insisted that they picked the liquidator.
“Malcolm leads the firms’ National Contentious Insolvency Team, this team is dedicated to recovering assets through litigation, cross border investigations and uncovering fraud.”
The administration was doomed from the start anyway as HMRC were going to reject the CVA at which point the club would be placed into liquidation, which they through their liquidators would control.
HMRC are carrying on with the EBT case and will fight it for as long as it takes. They are also dealing with the liquidation through BDO. These matters are far from over.
In sure, and just to surprise you, I agree.
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:36 am
I don’t think there is another fan base in the UK that would fall for the nonsense being passed off as news in the papers today, other than Rangers.
As an old lawyer said to me a long time ago – “No one should be be too poor to deserve the protection of the law, but, we have to accept that some people may be too stupid”
Grier of MCR, then Duff and Phelps after the takeover, long before administration, in fact right at the start of Whyte’s tenure.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/2012/3/16998242.JPG
He’s the one on the left as you look.
Some of the most telling CF tapes involved him in my opinion.
Tif Finn says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:51 am
Grier of MCR, then Duff and Phelps after the takeover, long before administration, in fact right at the start of Whyte’s tenure.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/400xY/2012/3/16998242.JPG
He’s the one on the left as you look. Some of the most telling CF tapes involved him in my opinion.
========================================================
And I agree with you too on that one 😆
Oh to be a fly on the wall when BDO play him the tapes and ask the questions that the SMSM and the SFA/SPL were too frightened to.
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:06 pm
Fly on the wall be dammed, you could recoup a significant sum by selling tickets!
Joking aside, rightly or wrongly, MCR/D&P have caused a huge amount of reputational damage to the Insolvency profession, (bearing in mind nothing as been proved yet), it is unfortunate, that the profession has been so reluctant to clear the air.
Asking someone if they have behaved badly, does not an investigation make.
For anyone interested in a look at the financials of McGills Bus Services Ltd, there are figures here:
https://www.duedil.com/company/SC027238/mcgill-s-bus-service-limited/financials
It’ll ask you to log in. Click on the “Sign In” bit, then just close the pop up that appears. That way, you can peruse the info. i find this quite a handy website for getting an idea of how a given company is doing.
Having had to make people redundant in the past I don’t think my line of defence to my manager would have been ‘I am taking no part in it’… It is McCoist’s job to make these hard calls for the financial reasons presented and the longer the money drain remains the more he is complicit in a more serious course of action.
As a manager it is his responsibility to hire and fire. He may suggest he was not involved in contract talks which frankly I find preposterous as he should have a budget to work within as most department heads have. For McCoist not to see this coming from September (first talk of his ongoing pay cut) last year is astounding. Albeit no mention in the papers of the fact he is still waiting to be presented with his cut down contract, even though he suggests the board should take similar cuts to his (and that put forward to the non compliant playing squad).. What happens if they all refuse a pay cut???
McCoist is in total denial or playing a very fly game, you choose..If he thinks there will be no playing staff cuts he is also delusional. He brought in a new team in September on top of the old team he had, losing some deadwood on the way, not many managers in any league could do that.. The fact that he wants to show that cuts to his staff is nothing to do with him is probably as much a breach of contract to get him his jotters..
Head in the sand tactics are wearing thin..
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/insmanual/ins44505.htm
INS44505 – What to investigate and how:
Liquidator’s powers to enforce co-operation: Can the directors be made to answer the liquidator’s questions?
Yes. Section 235 IA 1986 provides that a limited class of persons are required to give the liquidator such information as he reasonably requires, upon request, concerning the company and its promotion, formation, business, dealings, affairs and property. These persons are also required to attend on the liquidator whenever he reasonably requires. The class of persons which this section applies to are
a person who has been an officer of the company at any time (usually directors or secretaries)
(if the company is in compulsory liquidation only) a person who has been an administrator, administrative receiver or liquidator at any time
those persons who during the year preceding the liquidation only:
have taken part in the formation of the company
have been employees of the company, or have been engaged by it (e.g. solicitors, accountants)
have been employees of a company which is itself an officer of the liquidated company
Note, no application to court is necessary under 235, this is a continuing duty on the limited class of persons. The sanction for non-compliance is a fine.
This can be useful at the first creditors’ meeting. The liquidator at such meetings is usually in office as he has been appointed at the shareholders’ meeting which took place earlier in the day. Therefore, even though a director of the company will be the chairman of the meeting, the liquidator has the powers in Section 235 to force the director (whether or not that director is the chairman of the meeting) to answer any questions creditors might ask which the liquidator considers reasonable and relevant to the conduct of the liquidation.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/insmanual/ins44510.htm
INS44510 – What to investigate and how:
Liquidator’s powers to enforce co-operation: Can directors and other persons be forced to answer questions in court?
Yes. Section 236 IA 1986 allows the liquidator to apply to court for the private examination in court of
a person who has been an officer of the company at any time
any person known or suspected to have in his possession any property of the company, or supposed to be indebted to the company
any person whom the court thinks capable of giving information concerning the promotion, formation, business, dealings, affairs or property of the company (e.g. banks, professional advisers).
Non-compliance with an order would be contempt of court. The section specifically provides that the court can issue an arrest or seizure warrant if a person fails to attend the private examination.
This is a much litigated section of the Insolvency Act and the cases have set down guidelines on when it is appropriate for the liquidator to apply, and the matters the court takes into account.
Although Sections 234 and 236 require an application to court, usually the threat of an application ensures the co-operation of those holding information.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/insmanual/ins44501.htm
INS44501 – What to investigate and how:
Liquidator’s powers to enforce co-operation: Can the liquidator compel directors to deliver the company’s property and records?
Yes. Section 234 IA 1986 allows the liquidator to apply to court for an order that any person in possession of the company’s property, including books, papers or records, deliver up those records to the liquidator. Non-compliance with an order would be contempt of court.
Furthermore, S208(1)(c) of the Act provides that failure by the director to deliver to the liquidator all books and papers is a criminal offence. However for a prosecution to succeed, intent to defraud must be proven.
JimBhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 pm
Jim accepting the consequences for your actions is simply not the Rangers way, at least not since SDM anyway.
He is simply following in the footsteps of nearly all the recent directors of oldco, and all the directors of newco.
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:25 am
peterjung says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:39 am
rougvielovesthejungle says:
January 18, 2014 at 8:40 am
Being from the north, I never have to suffer this Radio Clyde stuff that gets mentioned on here quite frequently. However we do still get Radio Scotland…………..
____________________________________________________________________________________
It get worse…at one point Tom English states that “Duff & Phelps said that administration would never happen….”
Eh…Tom…We had never heard of Duff & Phelps in this saga until they were appointed as the eh…administrators….? God help us all……
=====================================================
Perhaps you hadn’t heard of them but they were there for almost a year before admin in the shape of MCR which was bought by D&P. Employees and partners in MCR were paid by Whyte to carry out all sorts of accounting work and if you check the CF documents on this period you will find much discussion of admin 6/7 month before the actual admin date.
So TE appears to be on the ball on this one
____________________________________________________
I see what you did there!! Yes…of course …very good sir!
Echoboy
The ad hominem questions regarding Campbellsmoney’s employment were removed (hopefully completely) – and anything that is tantamount to questioning posters provenance will be dealt with in a similar fashion.
Everybody gets the benefit of the doubt, and indeed it is healthy when our preconceptions are questioned in the way they were wrt BDO. Campbellsmoney has put forward a compelling argument for dispelling notions of conspiracy in how the liquidation (oops! I said the ‘L’ word) process has been carried out. If others disagree, they are free to engage in the debate, but shouldn’t immediately question the bona fides of the messenger.
I am aware that we can often be suspicious of new posters bearing off-message news and info but historically we have been welcoming and encouraging to new posters – particularly when the bring some obvious expertise to the table.
Below is a link to a press report saying “no interest in McGill’s” posted on twitter by @pmcn888
https://twitter.com/pmcn888/status/424499153516118016
Those holed up in the Bear’s den seem to have seen through Mr McCoist’s latest ramblings… Maybe stark realisation of the club’s predicament is showing versus one man’s continued deflective, sycophantic tactics and procrastinations.. I think some are realising the manager may be more of a hinderance than a help to get to some level of financial stability..
Presently with rangers it is catch 22 all over the place, all of their own doing. Can’t let players go without the possibility of some severance (they can barely afford), same for directors and coaching staff. Big clubs could pick up the 2 or 3 playing assets they have for much deflated costs, such is the desperation at rangers to get some fiscal improvement. The latter hampers their medium term outlook if/when they get to the top league. SB money without further substantial financial backing will only elongate the agony for the rangers fans.
Those owning and running the club seem to have an MO of a slow lingering torture of the fans ’til one day the prospect of playing at Ibrox with no training ground and paying rent will actually seem like a good thing to the bears. Spintastic.!
@TSFM ‘Campbellsmony’ I actually enjoyed his/her comments… I of course am heavily in disguise and looking for a buyer for my Scottish castle whilst lapping up the winter sun on the piste… Or maybe I am just taking the piste..
slimshady61 says:
January 18, 2014 at 9:51 am
46 0 Rate This
JimBhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 am
——————————————
It operates out of the Greater Greenock area and had a turnover of £27M last year with a profit of £600K.
………………………………………………….
There is a formula for Companies when purchasing another business in terms of its assets, recurring revenue, debts owed in and out, fixed and variable costs. profit returns and unknowns etc.
A Business that costs 26.4 million to run to achieve a 27 million turnover is best avoided unless you can buy it for buttons and asset strip it. A 97.8% operating cost base is nuts.
It means either they are in an incredibly aggressive and competative industry or they are poorly managed or there is more behind the numbers than meets the eye. As I say best avoided unless you can buy rock bottom cheap.
The figure of 80 million is just utter nonsense, the fact it is given some sort of credibility by a SMSM paper is beyond description
@Scapaflow Yeah I know mate, have posted similar before, but AMcC is no CG when it comes to expanding the truth to suit an agenda..
Two player on the same wage.One has to go as part of the cost cutting exercise,who decides ??
Manager says “nout to do with me” I back the players I do.
You can fool some of the people,some of the time blah blah blah.
I know AJ covered the BDO Jelavic sell on topic, but since CG managed to convince Rapid Vienna to take a bath on the instalment he had to pay under the football creditors thingy. I find it rich that TRFC manage to still get the 50% in the agreement. I know the two issues are unrelated in that aspect, but it’s yet another benefit of not playing to the rules everyone else adheres to, which scunners me no end and does leave you wondering if BDO are as interested in raising money for creditors as you would like them to be, although if legal fees involved are higher than the gains of say £200k, that scenario is just as rotten.
It seems the good people at follow follow really are revolting
http://s29.postimg.org/6kuj395rb/FF_Season_Ticket_Poll.jpg
Definitely a case of “I Wish I’d Said That”
This from a Scotsman comment on the McCoist/Ralston Q&A – full version here http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/qa-rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-3034605
TommyBurns
12:09 PM on 18/01/2014
Gary Ralston-D.R. does Q & A session with Mr McCoist. Ignore the questions, here are Mr McCoist’s answers.
1. reaction to wage cuts “disappointment.” 2. ” it’s different, not nice.” 3. ” I feel sadness but the CEO tells everyone the Truth.” 4. “unable to answer, I don’t know.” 5. “only CEO knows complexities, I don’t know.” 6. ” he hasn’t given me any indication but I’m confident.” 7.”we have accepted that.” 8. meeting with CEO and McCulloch. “I wasn’t at the meeting.”
9. “Nothing specific.” 10. ” I don’t know full economics of situation.” 11. ” I stand by players decision.” 12.” CEO said he would be looking at it.” 13.”I’ve no idea. Ask the players.” 14.” I’ve confidence in CEO. Let him get on with it.” 15. “Morale is brilliant.”
16. “My sympathies with players and fans.” 17.” I’d be surprised.”
18. “I’d be hopeful.” 19. ” It depends, I don’t know.”
Well Mr. McCoist in the interests of clarity and transparency thank you for telling it how it is. Straight talking, shoot from the lip, no nonsense interview. Well done too, Gary Ralston for not allowing any of these difficult questions to be deflected or side-stepped. I’m sure all Bears will now feel a lot more confident.
scapaflow says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:47 am
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:36 am
I don’t think there is another fan base in the UK that would fall for the nonsense being passed off as news in the papers today, other than Rangers.
As an old lawyer said to me a long time ago – “No one should be be too poor to deserve the protection of the law, but, we have to accept that some people may be too stupid”.
===================================================================
I had a drink and a long chat last night with an old Rangers mate who has long and close legit dealings with Rangers. He holds a ST, is a professional and married to a Catholic and his take for the best outcome on the current situation is a breakaway support forming a new Rangers not playing at Ibrox and who are motivated by football and not the baggage.
He believes certain things are coming together that could bring it about and the major ones are that there will be a financial collapse. He doesn’t know whether that will lead to an admin event in the short term but is certain that the stadium will ultimately be sold and rented to ‘the club’. He views that as important to his preferred option as the disposal of Ibrox will help break the psychological tie that Bears have to the place and the blame would clearly lie elsewhere than with a breakaway Rangers.
He also sees the bitter factionalisation of the Ibrox support as a huge plus because supporters like him regard themselves as different from most of the groupings involved and their non-football agenda. He reckons at the moment the support broadly breaks down 50/50 into two camps. He says in his ‘camp’ there are obviously differences of opinion but they centre more round football than the other one which is mainly driven and riven by ideological differences with little, if anything, to do with football.
So he believes his ‘camp’ could have 15-25,000 potential supporters although believes that the bedrock at start-up could be as low as 5-10,000 which he thinks is way more than enough to be able to develop young players and slowly earn promotion. He clearly believes the other camp would have at least one team to begin with but thinks because of their deep divisions could end-up with two or three and ultimately they would all crash and burn.
He thinks that scenario actually provides more danger to his vision because the homeless and teamless might then decide to attach themselves and take-over.
The other major problem is in not knowing whether the Spivs have any intention of keeping football going at Ibrox just to ensure they make money out of leasing Ibrox. That he feels might stymie his vision but he doesn’t know enough of their plans to think it through much further than he has got to.
It’s funny listening to an intelligent and articulate Bear laying out the problems and future possibilities but realise just how tightly their hands are tied. He is adamant that financing a lower level start wouldn’t be a problem and I tend to agree with that. The people I talk about don’t have wealth off the radar but have good jobs and many run reasonable businesses. They couldn’t put in millions but individually they could put in thousands or provide guarantees.
But so much actually hangs on what the Spivs do and I think I better understand just why the Bears seem transfixed by the headlights – they have absolutely no control over their own destiny or the timescale and are bobbing like a cork on an angry sea unsure where they are going to end-up.
And for the avoidance of doubt there is no plan that my mate is aware of, along the lines of his musings, being currently pursued although he says that among supporters like himself there is a lot of discussion. Interestingly he doesn’t post on any football forums and neither do many of his friends although he laughs when he says I am the obvious exception.
So perhaps a timely reminder that what is posted on Bear sites doesn’t always reflect the views of the whole support and increasingly on a number of sites represents a very narrow viewpoint and that’s without even considering the numerous Troll Trojan Horses punting whatever happens to be the current Board ‘line’.
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Eco, I wish your chum every success. There is much that is good in the protestant tradition, something that is often forgotten.
However, there is no denying the cultural imperative to follow a leader, and to constantly seek the enemies within and without that are “doing the club down” that seems to drive the majority of Rangers types.
Compare and contrast with events at Celtic when the old regime nearly destroyed the club. Not holding Celtic fans ups as paragons, the treatment of Fergus by many was a disgrace. Compare also with the behaviour of the Hearts fans in their current struggle.
I’m afraid your chum may be whistling in the wind.
Edit
I started from the viewpoint of Eco’s chum, however, events not least that march and the “who are these people”have moved them into the beyond redemption category,
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm
================================================================================
Eco – very interesting insight. Ultimately as football fans we are all just customers of whoever owns our clubs / stadiums / traditions at any given time. The only real power we have is where we spend our money and which seat we warm on a Saturday aftenoon. The spivs will only be ousted when the bulk of fans realise this and swap STs for pay-as-you-go and stay away if they are unhappy with the owners. Starting a new club is definitely a long and arduous route eg MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon, FC United of Manchester. But Glasgow may soon have 50,000 looking for a team to follow, so there may be room for several startups initially. Business realism / acumen and social values will probably thin them out pretty quickly as you say – just like the 1800s really.
Paulmac2 says:
January 18, 2014 at 10:02 am
Fritz Agrandoldteam says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:04 am
JimBhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:15 am
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/454576/EXCLUSIVE-Easdale-brothers-to-plough-20m-into-Rangers
Great news for the rangers fans I would say…
—————————————————-
Jack’s getting desperate……………
———————————————————–
ST are due I assume
===================================
I read it a bit differently that the Easdales are being prepared for the long drop when they fail to cough-up £20 million. Space will need to be created for the new Board members from Damille as well 😆
ecobhoy on January 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm
12 0 Rate This
——–
Fascinating. I always thought we would end up with two ‘Blue ‘ teams. I am honestly surprised it’s not been talked about via any media outlet.
It might just be pie in the sky, or wishful thinking, but I did honestly believe there was a large enough percentage of ‘normal’ supporters to make this possible. Those types would probably enjoy the whole project. There’s no such thing as a diddy club [Edit: any new, alternative might attract the ‘diddy’ epithet], only small clubs and bigger clubs.
TSFM says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:26 pm
… anything that is tantamount to questioning posters provenance will be dealt with in a similar fashion.
——
Will this include deployment of the particularly (North-east?) Scottish enquiry, “Fa knitted you?”
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 11:18 am
—————————————
EB, I agree that not much is known about what BDO’s work is uncovering. That is for the best and it will take some time, but from what I know and am led to understand, I do not think people with an interest in a fair outcome to this process will be disappointed.
It will take several years however – typically from the point of a liquidator being appointed to the end of the process in a case of this complexity can take between 6-9 years. We could be on Rangers Mark V by then.
In terms of your Rangers friend, he has seen the light. I think I said at an early stage on RTC – summer of 2012, that the only way Rangers fans could ensure a successfuly reincarnation was to move away from Ibrox in the short to medium term.
Ibrox is a totem, the spivs know that and play on it. Take Rangers away from Ibrox, however unpalatable that may be in the short term, and you will get rid of the spivs. An empty stadium makes no noise and costs money just to upkeep.
I think 12-18 months at most would see them off the premises. But of course, just as the bears will roll up to buy STs at the bidding of a familiar face, so the spivs know the fans see Ibrox as sacrosanct.
Therein lies the problem.
ecobhoy,
Once again you bring your common sense to the blog along with your knowledge and ability to dig out documented evidence, and to suggest we all desist from claims about people and agencies for which conjecture is our only basis. It is quite heart warming to read of your Rangers supporting friend who genuinely seems to be deserving of our best wishes, and an example of the kind of Rangers supporter we would have liked to have seen leading a recovery of the club that plays out of Ibrox. One thing I found quite interesting was that, whereas the majority of posters on here of a Celtic hue guessed at figures of around 10% or less of the fan base to be ‘bogits’, your friend places that figure at 50%. It does show a welcome willingness by our posters to give their rival fans the benefit of the doubt, not something that I expect would be reciprocated by many. A club headed by men of your friend’s ilk would have been much better received by everyone in Scottish football, I am sure, even if they didn’t manage to get rid of all the morons, but at least tried, and have found it easier to persuade us all, because we’d have had respect for them, to accept them as ‘the same club’, only better.
Hmm………
Ally offerred to take a 50% pay cut in Sept
It still hasnt happened
So thats 5 /12 of £400k or approx £171k he owes TRFC
And
£171k is a fair chunk of money certainly as much as TRFC would get selling a few players
One wonders if the pay cut will be backdated
If it ever happens
Angus1983 says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:42 pm
TSFM says:
January 18, 2014 at 12:26 pm
… anything that is tantamount to questioning posters provenance will be dealt with in a similar fashion.
——
Will this include deployment of the particularly (North-east?) Scottish enquiry, “Fa knitted you?”
________________________________________________________________________
I thought that was a term of endearment ❓ 😛
It’s the honest nine teams in SPFL 1 the media should be sounding out. Week by week they’ve been trotted out as sacrificial (succulent) lambs for slaughter by what amounts to the Sevco fantasy football team: players they can’t afford. My team are in the Championship, and likely to stay there, so are you asking me to believe that, when we play next season’s promoted club, we’ll be facing a team that owes its status to racking up points with expensive ringers, followed by a clear out and a leniently treated insolvency? And would they be free to pull the same stunt again? The parallel universe where that could be regarded as remotely fair may contain the press, the authorities, and an increasingly deranged Sevco support, but it doesn’t house many of us football fans.
Does Keith (cough!) ‘Sports Journalist of the Year’ (splutter!) Jackson write under a pseudonym?
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/361052/Norwich-set-to-replace-Chris-Hughton-with-Celtic-manager-Neil-Lennon
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm
…But so much actually hangs on what the Spivs do and I think I better understand just why the Bears seem transfixed by the headlights – they have absolutely no control over their own destiny or the timescale and are bobbing like a cork on an angry sea unsure where they are going to end-up.
==========================================================================
Reminded me of some wonderful music that lyrically seems to fit well with the current scenario….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46IQu0yuJzU
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath (and wind on Monday night).
Dear all at TSFM,
Lond time lurker from RTC days. Have just re-registered to make my 2nd ever post.
Echobohy, yours at 11.18am is, imho an outstanding summary of the BDO position. They are the only real hope of proper justice iro Oldco.
My recollection of their latest update is that they are running up a very big bill. I believe they would only be doing this if they actually are onto something. My hope is that they are forensically going over the SDM, MIH axis with the bank that propped them up – (i’m having a senior moment here, was it BoS or RBS?)
If this is what they are looking at, along with the tax avoidance scams, they are pursuing organisations and persons very well imbeded in the establisment. Maybe nothing will come it all, but if they ever do get the right indviduals in the dock it will be an outstanding achievment on their part.
As for Newco – well it seems that the Panto season is belatedly getting started down Govan way.
We can speculate endlessly as to the endgame, but i’m not a spiv so struggle to comprehend their mindset. For now i’m just going to kick back, pour a glass or two two of my favourite brew and enjoy the show.
Allyjambo says:
January 18, 2014 at 1:50 pm
@aj
I was quite surprised at the split myself and when I queried it he had seen a significant change in the last couple of years. What further interested me is he said that all the noise, singing and colour came from the other camp and said without them most of any match would be conducted in silence.
He also believed that a noticeable age gap was opening between both ‘camps’ and it made me wonder whether we are seeing a generational thing underway and, indeed, the analogy might well be applied to the GB at Parkhead.
I don’t think it’s a simple age division thing but that there are lots of other things in the mix particularly at Parkhead and Ibrox.
Be worth hearing from supporters of other teams to see whether there is any noticeable change in the composition of the support. There might even be some populations stats that could underpin or indeed negate a general population shift as being the reason but as I say I’m convinced there are also other factors at work. I feel the dynamics of the Rangers fan base are almost bound to be affected by the pressure on it through uncertainty from being under the financial cosh for a prolonged period and with no definite end in sight.
Edit – Add
Should have said that in both camps he pointed to quite wide and disparate points of view. I didn’t ask him to drill down to establish the ‘bogit’ percentage which I think would be beyond him.
But really his impression from going to virtually every home game at Ibrox in arriving at the 50/50 split is more on a who is there for the football and who is there for other motives.
Of course even some of those who have other motives may have some interest in the football and just because some Bears have views I find ludicrous and unacceptable in a modern society doesn’t necessarily place them in the ‘Boggit’ category.
Footbal crowds are difficult to pigeonhole because of the huge peaks and troughs of emotion and despondency involved in following a team. And that’s even without taking in the non-footballing side of the equation.
Still would make great material for a PhD!
ecobhoy says:
January 18, 2014 at 2:39 pm
Anyone looking to do a doctoral thesis? Eco has an idea for you
“Tribalism Resurgent: Political, Socio-economic and Generational Change,in Glasgow and its Manifestation in Football Fans”
🙂
Chrisgraham76 on twitter continues to defend McCoist, despite Ally’s über milking of the club:
@TomEnglishSport @dcgriff2000 @GarryCarmody Indeed. He’s brought in players we probably didn’t need but well within budget he was set
So Chris. You agree that the club didn’t need these players (although presumably McCoist did?) but that it’s not McCoist’s fault because he was told that the budget was there.
Is that it?
Is that really the kind of manager you want? (serious question).
Lord Wobbly says:
January 18, 2014 at 2:51 pm
So that’s it Mr McCoist is officially doomed.
redlichtie says:
January 18, 2014 at 2:26 pm
1 0 Rate This
Reminded me of some wonderful music that lyrically seems to fit well with the current scenario….
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I like this one, from an Ibrox fans viewpoint (sorry, not sure how to embed a link):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7mlgadB-Ec&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Lyrics below if you can’t access the link:
Look deep in my eyes, can you sense it
Fear I hold inside, for tomorrow
Days go by so fast, can not stop it
Hands of time has got a grip around me
I just can’t escape, from this bad dream
Need to pull the break, or so it would seem
Try to fight this stress, put upon me
Every day there are more, things to be done
Running back and forth, no direction
Now the limit is pushed, even further
This fight I will lose, and I know it
Hold my head up high, I won’t show it
scapaflow says:
January 18, 2014 at 2:59 pm
0 0 Rate This
Lord Wobbly says:
January 18, 2014 at 2:51 pm
So that’s it Mr McCoist is officially doomed.
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I haven’t checked lately but, if the Vanguard Bears are also still backing Super, then it’s only a matter of time. Both Chris and the VBs have an incredibly consistent record of backing wrong ‘uns. It makes you wonder why people still take them seriously.