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.
Dunfermline- The Height of Hypocrisy
BY STEPHSTAR – POSTED ON DECEMBER 28, 2013
POSTED IN: MEMBER’S ARTICLES
Written by Scots George
For any bear attending this match I hope the words of John Yorkston rings deafening in their ears!
2nd June 2012 – source: Daylate Rhebel.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/dunfermline-chief-john-yorkston-rangers-1128190
DUNFERMLINE chief John Yorkston says the SFA have no choice but to boot Rangers out of the game because a Scottish Cup ban is too soft.
The Pars chairman saw his club kicked out of the cup in 2010 for clerical mistakes that saw them field the suspended Calum Woods as a sub in a 7-1 win over Stenhousemuir.
They are far from the only ones with Spartans, Brechin City and East Stirling all having been expelled from the competition for fielding ineligible players through honest mistakes.
So Yorkston insists it would be ludicrous to deal Rangers the same punishment for dodging taxes and putting the nation’s football future in jeopardy by pursuing the SFA through civil courts.,
So 19 months later…
we have seen Dunfermline enter administration (without punishment) and exit via ZERO pence in the pounds CVA, while openly gloating that each and every Rangers game this season will take them one step closer to profitability.
Of course no one wants to mention the £134K tax bill they walked away from do they!
Never mind the £12 Million in debts to organisations such as the Red Cross/NHS Fife (£2 Million +) or even the £1200+ currently owed to Rangers OldCo’s creditors after all they got their ZERO pence CVA, so that makes it okay doesn’t it!
I’ll bet they throw the red carpet out for the current board, while reducing the attendance by over 7000 just as they did for the last match they played Rangers in the SPhell.
I doubt if hector will worry about the lost revenues after all.
So any rangers fan who does attend Monday’s match can go home happy that no matter what the result at East End Park, they’ve proven that it’s profitable to be lying cheating scum (as long as you are kicking Rangers).
http://www.dothebouncy.com/articles/dunfermline-the-height-of-hypocrisy/
Tif Finn
A quick check of the current shareholders of Murray International Holdings does not make good reading for David Murray.
The largest investor is now Uberior Investments who own 92.65% of the company.
The bold David is listed as owning 0.39%.
And for clarity Lloyd’s Banking Group hold all of the duff investments that it inherited from BoS Corporate in Uberior Investments. As a tax payer I hope they come good but I’m not holding my breath!
Re Turnstilegate©
(Copyright vests in scottc. Undying gratitude dictates that if/when this goes mainstream the right people get due credit.)
Since raising this subject on Boxing Day I have been reading the comments thereon, posting once or twice to confirm my understanding and reading some other pieces relevant thereto. At the moment I am trying to pull the various strands together to see where we were, where we are and where, if anywhere, we go from here.
The basic questions I posed remain at large:-
Why was the Foundation involved?
Was the Foundation’s involvement funded by the Foundation or by The Rangers Etc?
Who gave away these tickets?
Was any payment made or received?
In opening this can of worms I have come across other pieces which cast some light on what has gone before and may help in deciding what can now be done. In particular I have been reading a number posts by Alzipratu and one by the late, great Paul McConville in Random Thoughts Re Scots Law and I have been trying to decide whether or not to try and to marshal the raw material into something more concise. To do so would be time consuming and to be honest, I won’t lie to you (© A.McCoist) I don’t know if it’s worth doing if it’s not going to go anywhere and just clutter and clog up this site.
It would be lengthy but would include matters which will invoke curiosity, disbelief and quite possibly outrage.
For example, in reading Alzipratu I discovered that the question posed by me at the end of my post on 27th December 2013 at 1:30am has been asked before but with more background information than I had. Alzipratu queried this and in particular asked for confirmation that Super Salary’s Idaho Challenge this summer to raise funds for the Foundation raised £15,633. Jolly Good Fellow you might think until you read that confirmation was also sought that the total cost of the adventure was circa £39,000.
The confirmations requested appear not to have been responded to. If these figures are correct about 60% of the funds raised went on overheads (or, as some cynical people might say, A Free Holiday.) It is a sobering thought that charitable causes would be better off if Super Salary and his team, which appears to include at least one of his sons, had raised funds on the basis that the Challenge would not be done. Oh, and no doubt entirely by chance, the timing of the Challenge, and that of previous Challenges, coincided with the North American Rangers Supporters Association Annual Convention.
And in the words of Jimmy Cricket: There’s More. A lot more.
Any thoughts?
Are “Uberior Investments” still basically the investment arm of the bank.
In which case they now own as near as makes no difference all of MIH.
I take it, just guessing, that was more debt for equity swaps.
It’s taken a matter of hours for Anelka to be shamed for his display today, if he had been at a certain Glasgow company and pulled that to get offloaded in January, he’d be onto plums if he thought he’d get the desired attention. What was the outcome from the apology by Ray Stubbs at Berwick. That’s it, I’m going Kosher.
Tif
I may have been underestimating Dave’s holding. 6.95% of the shares are held by IFG Nominees Ltd in a couple of trust accounts which appear to be linked to Murray.
All the bank’s are operating ‘forebarence’ policies as it can be more profitable to support a business during difficult times and reap the reward once the economy improves rather than put it into liquidation. MIH is probably profitable now that RFC PLC is gone and Murray’ ego is no longer in charge. I doubt that BoS will get all our money back but at least Dave will not be getting all the profits.
Given that MIH was heavily into steel and property it may well have been the bank’s decision to support the business until those commodities were more in demand.
I see that Premier Property Group sold a lot of assets (£100m) in November 2013. I take it the it is still part of the Murray Group of companies. Along with Murray Estates they must have substantial holdings in land and properties.
Scots George above may have a point regarding Dunfermline’s Yorkston’s comments on Rangers when his own club was at it too but he seems to have overlooked the 15 point deduction they suffered last season, which ultimately cost them their place in the division. So not “unpunished” at all. Sounds like another deluded fool who thinks Hearts and Dunfermline’s case exactly mirrors that of the dead club. Clue, neither of those two ever died!
Might have been discussed before,but does anyone know what David Murray was worth before he bought [with someone elses money] the cash cow [for him] that was Rangers ,with the friends that attracted it must have been like a wee boy getting locked in the sweety shop for years ,the only down side in both scenarios is someone would eventualy have to pay to restock the place.
For those of you interested in housing developments near Murray Park, there has been progress.
http://www.milngavieherald.co.uk/news/local-headlines/work-to-begin-on-bearsden-housing-development-in-spring-1-3248630
From an original plan of 550 houses, 135 will now be built from early 2014 on site of an old bus garage in front of Allander sports centre whose future remains uncertain.
Whether this makes housing more or less likely as an option for MP I couldn’t say. It might make a property co think about buying MP if it was prepared to wait 5-7 years for some sort of planning permission. That would be reflected in the price they would be willing to pay for the land.
The rugby club sold part of their ground to Waitrose earlier in the year and are not involved in this housing deal so safe to assume they will not be going to MP as a tenant.
A referee at the match does not deal with registration.
Hence why s many ineligible players can be fielded.
Buddy
LUGOSI99 says: (12)
December 28, 2013 at 8:34 pm
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Just one small comment, these numbers and circumstances is not news for this blog, that info has been about for a while now. So if you go to the bother and time of researching this further, you might want to consider it as a seperate thread just in case it it has been shared before.
FIFA says: (461) December 28, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Might have been discussed before,but does anyone know what David Murray was worth before he bought [with someone elses money] the cash cow [for him] that was Rangers ,with the friends that attracted it must have been like a wee boy getting locked in the sweety shop for years ,the only down side in both scenarios is someone would eventualy have to pay to restock the place.
—————————————————————————-
As a measure of SDM’s falling fortunes
From Sunday Times rich lists
2007 £750M
2008 £720M
2009 £500M
2010 £110M
2011 not even listed (Scottish list started at £40M)
He also borrowed the £6M to make his original investment in Rangers. Perhaps the earlier bid to buy Ayr United was more in keeping with his personal wealth at the time.
My understanding of that, at the time was that there was an outlay of around £39k with total income of £15.6k so, if the charity paid for the trip they, in fact, would have LOST about £23k. As I recall though, it was never determined if the RCF paid for the family holiday or whether the McCoist party paid there own way
Any reason why the local council couldn’t take Murray Park, use it to replace the Allander, and sell that land for property development.
It must be worth quite a bit given the location.
Murray Park would make a nice wee sports facility for the local community.
easyJambo says: (619)
December 28, 2013 at 10:26 pm
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FIFA says: (461) December 28, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Might have been discussed before,but does anyone know what David Murray was worth before he bought [with someone elses money] the cash cow [for him] that was Rangers ,with the friends that attracted it must have been like a wee boy getting locked in the sweety shop for years ,the only down side in both scenarios is someone would eventualy have to pay to restock the place.
—————————————————————————-
As a measure of SDM’s falling fortunes
From Sunday Times rich lists
2007 £750M
2008 £720M
2009 £500M
2010 £110M
2011 not even listed (Scottish list started at £40M)
He also borrowed the £6M to make his original investment in Rangers. Perhaps the earlier bid to buy Ayr United was more in keeping with his personal wealth at the time.
=”…=========================================================================
AJ….superb succinct comment…as I have said before on this glorious blog…where were you in my CA classes…?
PS…as always, “follow the money”…or lack of it!
PPS…The “Sunday Times” rich list must be viewed with extreme caution, and an indication of the tendency to overvalue perceived assets, both personal and corporate, but particularly in the context of RFC(IL)…!….and (-S)DM….!
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Tif
No reason why they couldn’t adopt such a plan
Although the plan is to replace the Allander by building a new facility on the current car park funded by contributions from Cala, sports grants and EDC money.
MP is not part of the plans at present. That may change of course. The history of developing the “Kilmardinny Strip” tells us that whatever happens it will happen at a glacial pace which wouldn’t suit a distressed seller such as TRFC.
Thanks for that.
A wee private leisure business then. There must the the proper demographic locally with the disposable income required.
I know there is on a bit further along, Esporta, however there could well be a market. Assuming it is not as run down as some people have suggested.
Interestingly, I searched for Murray Park on google maps and got this
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/preview#!q=murray+park+auchenhowie+milngavie&data=!1m4!1m3!1d18903!2d-4.3077797!3d55.9351497!4m16!1m15!4m8!1m3!1d71661!2d-4.2324587!3d55.8554601!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!10b1!17b1!26m3!1e12!1e13!1e3
Do Sevco, sorry, The Rangers Football Club Ltd, give away free advertising on the hoardings around teh ground?
Just wondering as i see the Rangers Charity Foundation advertised on them.
Now, the cynic might suggest another waste of charity cash, but of course, what would the cynic know?
I guess we could ask and both TRFC and RCF would confirm that the advertising was actually free
wrt The continued questions surrounding charities; was it not mentioned on here a few days back that a charity is obliged to produce accounts when asked? I may have read it wrong & shall attempt to find out …
http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/FAQS/Requests_for_information/ID221.aspx
Most registered charities with an income of over £25,000 must submit their accounts to us within ten months of their financial year end and you can view these on the register of charities.
Find charities
If the accounts aren’t available and you think they should be, contact the charity directly. All charities are legally obliged to provide their accounts to you on request. They are allowed to charge a reasonable photocopying expense for this service.
ID: 221
ecobhoy says: (2111)
December 28, 2013 at 5:29 pm
Could it be that the BBC ban has been lifted by Rangers but quietly so as not to disturb slumbering Bears who are slipping into a somnambulant hibernation and it might be a long time before they fully wake. Tbh I don’t blame them as I don’t think if I supported Rangers I would be too happy about contemplating the wasteland which Ibrox seems to be heading for.
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Indeed!
As an aside, I spoke well of you in the pub tonight, and of others who post on this site. I know I don’t actually know you or the others, but I was trying to encourage people who I think may contribute well to this site.
As another aside I normally drink only on a Friday and Saturday. I am rapidly looking forward to only being able to do that again – as I do every year at the festive period! 😀
Causaludendi says
You’re right, charities will have to give copies of their accounts if requested, and could probably take a while to do so, even more probably after some nudging from OSCR, but it will be the last published accounts, so it will likely be up to a year before we see anything that has been happening re ‘free tickets’ and advertising costs, although the details will also likely be lost in summary accounts. Any bets on whether either RCF or TRFC will still be around then?
It would be very sneaky if a company intentionally used a related charity to boost the company’s income from the charity’s related activities, and as Paul Mac would possibly have written, I’m quite sure this would never be the case with RCF and TRFC.
Any spivs who have been ‘clever’ enough to arrange such shenanigans are likely to get away with it. Us bampots will lose this battle, although the war is a different story.
bad capt madman says:
IIRC RCF (all these flamin’ abbr.!) have been ‘mentioned in dispatches’ before wrt their accounts / accounting practices. I may be wrong but were they not censured for excessive costs being paid to a company controlled by a certain Mr Murray’s son?
I would like to stress at this point that I make no allegation of wrongdoing by any person or entity.
I might just google it and see if I can find any more details. I’m sure Tommy Burns had something to do with the story…
More talk of liquidation in the MSM, and something of a reality check re finances for the new one.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/numbers-don-t-add-up-for-rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-1-3249510
YOU can’t blame Ally McCoist for not wanting to do the sums. Too many of the numbers might add up to ten if the Rangers manager puts his mind to counting the cost of the position the Ibrox club finds itself in.
Last week, chief executive Graham Wallace admitted that it would be a five-year mission to make the current Rangers competitive in the top flight. Which suggests there is little chance of the club challenging for a Premiership title much before Celtic should surely be homing in on a record ten-in-a-row. Moreover, Wallace stated that Rangers would need to scale the heights by living within their means. McCoist interpreted this as a top-flight Rangers operating with a £3 million playing budget while Celtic worked with ten times this figure.
This illustrates the monumental concern for Rangers supporters and McCoist. If the Ibrox club and Celtic both live within their means, then the near £30m Celtic can generate from the Champions League puts them out of sight of any domestic challengers. It is a vicious circle. Rangers need Champions League money to mount a challenge to Celtic in sustainable fashion. But they can’t obtain that income because this very Champions League money puts Celtic on a different level to them.
“The worry is Celtic are off and running with the Champions League money,” McCoist accepted. “That’s obviously a big concern. It would be wrong for me not to look at Celtic’s finances and not appreciate the gulf between the two, but what we need to do is concentrate on our own club at the minute. Celtic aren’t an issue for us at the moment. They’ve handled things well and fair play to them, but until we’re back competing against them then that’s when we’ll have to assess the situation. At this moment in time we can’t concern ourselves with Celtic. I don’t mean that in a rude way but they’re in a different place from us at the moment.”
How on earth Rangers get to that place before Celtic achieve an unparalleled decade of domination in the top flight is what gives followers of the Ibrox club sleepless nights. “I understand 100 per cent where the fans are coming from,” said McCoist. “We’ve lost £50m-worth of players. We could argue about valuations but that’s what we’ve lost and had to replace them with free transfers. It’s not rocket science. You’ve got no divine right at the best of times to challenge for the top league, so when you look at the facts and figures you shouldn’t be challenging all of a sudden. But that’s not to say we can’t bring in some more youngsters and if that’s what it takes to move forward then that’s what we’ll do.”
To plan to win a Premiership title with a crop of youngsters would be cock-eyed optimism, cautions McCoist. “You’ve got to get a blend. There may be exceptions but other than Manchester United I can’t think of too many teams that have had seven or eight youngsters come through and gone on to be a top-class European team. We’ve never, as long as I can remember, had seven or eight youngsters in the team who have come through Murray Park. You’ve got to get a balance. I think we’ve done fine in recent years when you look at the likes of [Alan] Hutton, [Allan] McGregor and [Charlie] Adam, [Chris] Burke and so on. I don’t think you’ll get too many cases like that Manchester United team. That said, it’s really important we get as many through as we possibly can.”
And hold on to them. When the old Rangers was liquidated, the likes of McGregor declined to have his contract transferred over to the new company then formed. McCoist has had plenty to say about the fact that the keeper and other high-profile players “headed to the hills”, as he put it at the recent agm. But he was more conciliatory when asked what McCoist the player would have done in 1992, had Rangers gone bust. “I don’t know what I would have done,” McCoist said. “It’s the easiest thing for me to say that I’m a Rangers man but I don’t know. I’m not going to look back and start criticising people. I wouldn’t want to move back into hypothetical 1992 situations.”
How McCoist must wish there was a Rangers currently enjoying the situation the Ibrox club did in 1992, though.
==============================================
Is that real, Dougie McDonald, proven cheat and liar is back at the SFA working as an adviser.
I’ve seen it all now.
Paulsatim
Its about time there are some honest men at the SFA,eh hold on a minute.
paulsatim says: (680)
December 29, 2013 at 12:15 am
1 0 Rate This
Sunday Mail back page!!
http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa327/bullster1888/0240c7ece9b0ced7aa94c9d36ad95359.jpg
After Dallas Jnr giving a penalty for nothing, not surprising to see this.
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And Check what McCoist says, utter diabolical. What has Celtic possibly winning 10 in a row got to do with his shiny new club?
Rallying the troops to put pressure on the club to spend money they don’t have?
From The Scotsman.
Poor attendances suggest Celtic need Rangers
Published: 29 December 2013
There were plenty of empty seats inside Celtic Park for their recent match against Hearts. Picture: SNS
12 comments
By ANDREW SMITH
A BUMPER crowd is expected as Celtic bring in the bells at home to Partick Thistle on Wednesday.
With free tickets dished out and buses laid on, who knows, the Parkhead ground may even be at least half full. It hasn’t been that way recently. Indeed, the past two league games are the first back-to-back such encounters to have attracted crowds of less than 30,000 while the championship has been a live issue since the stadium became a 60,000-seater arena in 1998. Then, accurate attendances were given out. Now, these require freedom of information requests, with the club aggregating the number of paid-for-seats, which amounted to 46,000 for each of the victories over Hibernian and Hearts this month.
If that appears undoubtedly healthy then what is not is that around 20,000 season ticket holders – around half the entire figure, in fact – are electing to think better of occupying seats they have already parted with their money for. It will be pointed out that the weather and time of year led to a dip in attendances throughout the country but that doesn’t explain what is driving down Celtic’s capacity to have punters come out to watch them.
In the year-and-a-half the top flight has been devoid of the Rangers brand, Celtic have made great play of the fact that they have a standalone strategy not dependent on rivalry with a club playing out of Ibrox.
And, having turned a debt into cash in the bank and posted a near-£10 million profit last year, they are making good on their assertion.
Yet the declining interest from Celtic fans in watching a procession to their third championship demonstrates that they would struggle to operate at their current level if there was never again a team called Rangers in the top flight. The last two home games offered a glimpse of what would be the norm if the club operated in an environment in which they had no major – even from a numerical and cultural sense – rival.
The 20,000 no-showers among Celtic’s season ticket holder base probably retain their tickets currently for two reasons: they received a £100 reduction on them last summer and it will probably be only 18 months before there is a Rangers to ridicule and lord it over in the Premiership. Without that promise of ding-dong derby days, most of these fans would probably chuck their tickets.
In a non-Rangers world, then, Celtic would have a rain-or-shine hardcore of around 25,000. When they won the last of their nine-in-a-row run of titles in 1974, that was roughly their home average, as it was when they hit rock bottom in 1994.
To live within the means that a 25,000 season-ticket-holder base generated, there is no way Celtic would operate with the £30m playing budget they have at present, or spend even sums of £2m on a couple of players every summer. Such a reduced season-ticket-holder figure – with child and younger person reductions taken into account – would bring in around £8m. Celtic’s ticket sales for the Champions League last year alone were £10m. In the Martin O’Neill era, season tickets sales coined in £23m.
Celtic are too cautious to rely on Champions League income every year to prevent major losses.
However much their club’s supporters may want to be in denial about it, then, with no Rangers permanently in their domain, Celtic would undergo serious downsizing and most home games the club’s stadium would be morgue-like. In turn, a lower spend on player wages would inhibit the calibre of individual that could be recruited, which would result in the team being weaker and potentially more vulnerable across the three rounds of Champions League qualifiers they require to negotiate to reach the group stages.
It is perhaps surprising just how quickly almost half Celtic’s season ticket holders have canned watching domestic games.
Two years ago, their team wasn’t even champions. The apologists would claim that the club’s treatment of the now dispersed Green Brigade and its perceived attempts to “sanitise” the support has helped turn off sections of the support, but few are buying that. In the Glasgow domain, for a great many it is quite clear that hatred of the other side fuels interest more than love of their own club. And without this adversarial outlet, it is noticeable how the stuggles of both Celtic and Rangers have become internalised. When it was put to Celtic manager Neil Lennon that some of his supporters appear to have short memories, he said: “And a self-destrcut button. And it’s not helpful.”
The Irishman said he “can’t look at” the possibility that some Celtic fans have turned to navel gazing about their club as a more satisfying pastime than actually attending games.
“My objective is to take the team forward,” Lennon said. “I am aware of the point being made because it is almost as if they need something to fight or argue about. But I can’t do anything about that.”
In terms of the lowly 25,000 crowd estimated to have turned up for the 12.15 visit of Hearts last Saturday, Lennon pointed to mitigating circumstances beyond climate. “It’s the first time we’ve had a home game televised for a while and it’s Christmas as well which might have had a big effect on the crowd. We are always looking to give fans value for money and we’re always looking to bring a player in who might capture the imagination as well. But we’re 16 games unbeaten and we can’t do much more than that. Our away form has been very good but it’s a little bit different at home where teams camp in for long periods of the game. I know it’s up to us to try and break them down but we try to give the fans value for money at home as well.
“I don’t think [what has happened with the Green Brigade] has had any effect. There might have been a Champions League hangover as well. We’re out of that competition now. I would expect over the festive period the crowds will pick up again and we have Partick Thistle on New Year’s Day and I would imagine there will be a decent crowd for that one.”
A “decent crowd” these days, is very different from what it was five years ago.
Hmmm, seems to be a concerted effort to tub-thump 👿 👿
League reconstruction anyone…?
Not in my frickin’ name.
‘Advisor’ ❓ surely not on how to get their stories straight 😕 epic fail there! This is more proof (as if we needed it) that the sfa is rotten to the core 😥
How much is ally’s warchest this time 😀
Brenda says: (728)
December 29, 2013 at 3:16 am
______________________________
Jobs for the boys 😡
Twa thrup’ny bits ‘n’ a half chaw’d stick o liquorice
wildwood on December 29, 2013 at 1:09 am
2 1 Rate This
From The Scotsman.
Poor attendances suggest Celtic need Rangers
Published: 29 December 2013
There were plenty of empty seats inside Celtic Park for their recent match against Hearts. Picture: SNS
12 comments
By ANDREW SMITH
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Someone has to tell Andrew Smith that Armageddon never happened. In spite of all the scare mongering Celtic have posted record profits. Doomcasters are so last year, and we are so close to the end of this year too 😉
I’m sure if regular attenders of parkhead who never turned up for the Hearts game were polled why they stayed away then the rangers slant would be a non issue.
Andrew can’t you write a more realistic article, why not one about Ally’s war chest for the January transfer window. Come on, you know you want to.
Tif Finn says: (1119)
December 29, 2013 at 12:34 am
Is that real, Dougie McDonald, proven cheat and liar is back at the SFA working as an adviser.
I’ve seen it all now.
====================================================
The SFA, or at least the Referees association never wanted rid of McDonald in the first place. Where do you start if this guy is allowed to come back in an official capacity? Whether people like it or not, he has serious baggage regarding Celtic and everyone at the club and the supporters should have reason to worry if this is how the SFA are going to behave. For me it tells us little, if anything, has changed in that organisation. The SFA and their attitude truly belong to a Scotland of decades ago. Listening to the debate on radio yesterday over trial by TV the recurring theme was who reports incidents, and why are only certain incidents followed up on. In any other walk of life such an unjust, arbitrary system would be scrapped via a legal challenge, but again it just sums the SFA up as a farcical, unfit for purpose organisation. Going back to Dougie McDonald, I hope Celtic very publicly condemn his appointment in a forceful manner. They will be slaughtered by the media if they do of course, but that should be the least of their worries.
As we near the end of the year it is always a time for reflection. However Andrew Smiths ditty is really taking the biscuit. He has got me harking back to the first few days of Rangers death. I remember Keevins, (the original doom caster) blowing his trumpet about Celtic needing rangers to survive. At the time I thought it was a very stupid and dangerous thing to publicly state that a plc in rude health has financial collapse in the offing. However after a few days of spouting this guff, callers to the show were advised that Peter Lawell would tell you that Celtic have a stand alone financial structure. To me this meant that there was a good chance that Mr Lawell had a quiet word in someone’s ear about the ramifications of making ill founded claims about a plc.
But alas here we are almost two years on and we are still being fed a wishy washy version of the forecasted demise of Scottish football without the mighty gers at the front.
Sorry for posting twice on the one subject but it really is annoying.
For the love of god when are these guys gonna give a positive slant on our game.
Re The Andrew Smith fairytale
Lets not be too hasty with the guy as I imagine he will follow up next week in who is responsible for the demise that Celtic fans and the rest of Scottish Football fans have had to endure,he has had to lead with this story to be able to come back with the 10 page free pull out next week chronicling from David Murrays tenure through to the new dawn that is on the horizon to save Scottish Football ,I better nip down to the shop to pre order next weeks paper.
By the way ,can anyone tell what year it is next year in the Chinese Calendar.Just in case someone is taking us for a ride
FIFA on December 29, 2013 at 8:56 am
1 0 Rate
///////////////////……
It is of course the year of the horse. I’m guessing by the “ride” bit in your post that you are well aware though 🙂
Funnily enough the element of the year is wood. They really must think we are as thick as two short planks of the stuff.
🙂
Tif Finn on December 29, 2013 at 12:34 am
26 0 Rate This
Is that real, Dougie McDonald, proven cheat and liar is back at the SFA working as an adviser.
—————————————————————–
No doubt the appointment is coincidental (just like all the other strange goings-on chronicled on this blog..) but perhaps Dunfermline supporters should watch out for an increase in “honest mistakes” being made against them should they be anywhere near 15 points behind Sevco when the next insolvency event is approaching. SFA won’t want to have to make a tricky decision on the appropriate points deduction.
but perhaps Dunfermline supporters should watch out for an increase in “honest mistakes” being made against them should they be anywhere near 15 points behind Sevco
——————————
Sorry, I meant 25 points
When Mr Mcoist says that ‘We must stop Celtic from achieving 10 in a row’ just who is the ‘We’ to whom he refers? Does he refer to his own little team or is this a plea to the wider establishment? Does the welcome mat being rolled out to oor Dougie go hand in hand with Mr Mcoists cries?
Edit to add: How cynical have we become over the last 2 years.
bobferris says: (160)
December 28, 2013 at 10:00 pm
Scots George above may have a point regarding Dunfermline’s Yorkston’s comments on Rangers when his own club was at it too but he seems to have overlooked the 15 point deduction they suffered last season, which ultimately cost them their place in the division. So not “unpunished” at all. Sounds like another deluded fool who thinks Hearts and Dunfermline’s case exactly mirrors that of the dead club. Clue, neither of those two ever died!————–
====================================
Not to mention their having to offload most of their best players when they went into admin – some going to rivals for the league. I don’t seem to remember that happening in another team’s admin.
What Andrew Smith’s article fails to mention is that if Peter Lawwell came out and said that they needed the numbers up to avoid turning into a financial basket case like those down Govan way the Celtic fans would respond.
The bigger question is how long will the bunker mentality will last at Ibrokes if T’Rangers do get to the premiership but are just one of the also rans.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/dougie-mcdonald-told-me-to-lie-to-neil-1074220
Lest we forget.
“The 48-year-old is highly rated and referee chiefs feel his input and advice to young officials will be invaluable.”
I look forward to seeing the quality and number of honest mistakes increase over the coming seasons.
Hacks who don’t have to pay to attend football and who live comfortably off ‘free entertainment’ , expenses and are protected from austerity, unlike the majority of football fans who have been on the receiving end of negative pay increases for the past 11 years.
It’s time the hacks had a reality check. Many working people on benefits have to access food banks these days whilst Scotland’s scribblers scoff succulent lamb and fine reds.
Was the post that Dougie McDonald got advertised anywhere?
Transparency, We need to know, etc etc
No1 Bob @ 10.14 am
And who got the lifetime ban from refereeing 😉 yep the one who told the truth and blew the lying refs story (Steven Craven) 😥 that’s the sfa for you ……rid the place of the honest guys and keep it well dodgy!!!!!! 😕
Tif
I admire your tenacity at looking for alternate uses for MP. G61 & G62 are well served already by Virgin Active who bought Esporta who went bust waiting for housing planning permission, LA Fitness and David Lloyd at Temple.
There is strong opposition to large housing projects in the area usually on infrastructure grounds as anyone who travels south on the Switchback or Balmore Road from 7.30 am will testify. The fact that it could reduce house prices in the area by increasing supply is more likely the real reason.
Vocal protestor groups and a supportive Westminster MP, a Lib Dem, who needs possible Tory voters to keep Labour from taking her seat, means developers get a hard time, from the local Lib Dem council planning department.
If TRFC were to sell, it would be most likely a sale and leaseback to allow a developer years to get planning permission. TRFC could simply take a secured loan on the land if they could find a bank daft enough to lend them money. MP will either be a football club’s training ground or lie empty for a long time.
MP is not a get rich quick asset for the spivs or anyone who wishes to buy it.
Unfortunately.
As I have said elsewhere, in my predictions for the year, I see the distinct possibility that Rangers (the football club) will not own either Ibrox Stadium or Murrray Park by this time next year. That they will still be using them, but they will not be an asset of the Ltd Co which operates the club.
Dougie McDonald was a poor referee, in my view, but many of them are. What some are losing sight of, and TD away if you wish, is that McDonald did not make a biased decision against Celtic.
What he did was lie, when questioned by the Celtic manager, and I’d imagine that his actions after that particular match are not too dissimilar to many officials when approached by club managers in the heat of the moment following a game. However, since that match, the incident which led to the furore has been skewed by many, including the media. McDonald actually got the decision right in the end regarding the penalty, where he went wrong during the game was being too quick to award it.
However, given his proven actions afterwards, in trying to get his fellow official to change the story (and for the life of me I can’t understand why he did this, given that as a refereeing team they actually came to the correct decision) then he should have no place back working at the SFA where he will be paid using our money.
borussiabeefburg says: (205)
December 29, 2013 at 11:59 am
Indeed. The decision to employ him again is almost as hard to fathom as what he was thinking after the Tannadice game. I’m all for forgiveness, but this sends out the wrong message in a game badly needing the restoration of trust.
A wee reminder of events in the period after Tannadice.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lKMrNvUm4BjTX1TN_xPxTrKnWxGXGNcbANjxL1VjBvw/edit
Graham Spiers singing a hymn on Off the Ball that includes the words ‘tender lamb’ 😀
Sorry to interject that frivolous observation on a serious Sunday on the blog, but I had to share a bit of humour. If we lose our ability to (also) laugh at some of this then the bad guys really will have won.
Good OtB today.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/hugh-keevins-knives-out-ally-2969652?
…”And while dealing with a board who have their private thoughts on the manager’s decision to transfer his proxy to members of a Rangers supporters club before the shareholders’ vote at the club’s recent AGM.”
Was it the club’s AGM hugh ?! (I thought you had to be truthful when discussing the company or club)
From – the express
. . . Man stabbed with squirrel after returning home without beer on Christmas Eve
Man stabbed with squirrel after returning home without beer on Christmas Eve
A WOMAN allegedly stabbed her partner with a ceramic squirrel after he returned home without beer on Christmas Eve.
No, it’s not on the back page !
I think they need to treat the PLC and Club as one entity because if you do otherwise and actually look at it the current position is no different from the previous one with Wavetower / Rangers.
The club owes a shed load of money to it’s owner. The PLC is responsible for the best interests of it’s shareholders, not it’s loss making subsidiary.
If the best interests of the shareholders do not coincide with the best interests of the football team then no luck football team.
Re Dougie McD , my recollection of his general performances is that he very often lost control of games when they opened up half through the second half and he would back himself into a corner with inexplicable early bookings. He had no real feel for the game and he was one of those refs at Parkhead who would wag his fingers at various opposition cloggers and then inevitably the yellow would get produced for the first errant tackle by a Hoop clad player.
The Aiden dismissal at Easter Road only a few days after the Eduardo diving rumpus summed up Dougie and the wider Scottish ref culture.
Still, good to see Ally sending out the bat signal to the Scottish investment bankers, they must be at defcon 2 or whatever goes for ‘blind panic’, there is little hope of Rangers progressing at actually playing football with the mindset of the current management team , and their worry is that the pot chasing mentality of the support will kick-in and numbers will start to dwindle.
Vital 6 months for Rangers , everything points to continued decline in both football terms and also to the their narrow outlook on life generally. They will be desperate to avoid Celtic in any cup competition which will further sicken the pot chasers.
I have been dismayed albeit not surprised at the general tone of the media today in reporting recent comments by McCoist about Rangers struggling to match Celtic financially once they reach the premiership. Firstly I would love to see a breakdown of the transfer fees which make up this fabled £50M worth of players McCoist keeps saying he lost – why is that simply printed as an accepted fact, when it is complete and utter nonsense and they know it? Going back to the general point though who exactly is McCoist reaching out to with his plea? Is it the banks, is it the SFA, is it the Rangers supporting sugar daddy even he must now realise simply doesn’t exist, or is it perhaps the Scottish Government? Would it really be beyond someone like Tom English or Graham Spiers to courteously point out to McCoist that a club living within its means comes at a cost. To be fair to both of them, they may yet do so, we’ll see.
All in all though it appears clear McCoist is still of the view Rangers are entitled to sizeable funding from external sources. Why else doesn’t he just accept there is no alternative to the club being self sufficient?
Do you think he knows that if they are financed by a sugar daddy, rather than the club’s own income they would almost certainly be ineligible for European competition under the financial fair play rules. Or are they exempt from those as well.
With regard the £50m squad, has he forgotten that in return for taking the heroic wage cuts to keep the club afloat the players also had their contracts changed, to include a get out clause. So that if any club came in with that amount the club had to accept it.
I’ve been thinking over the interpretation of player registrations and impact on eligibility following LNS ‘s decision..
If it is the SFA position that a player once registered by means that fail their registration rules is nevertheless eligible until the failure to follow the rules is discovered, then what steps are the SFA taking to strengthen their registration procedures to stop clubs at source paying players over and above what they tell the SFA and so avoiding the intent of the registration rules?
In effect what is the point of player registration rules if there is no sporting sanction as a consequence of avoiding them? That LNS Commission has a lot to answer for
Either Bryson/LNS is wrong or the SFA have to put additional processes in place that either require clubs to PROVE to the SFA that all payments have been disclosed or give the SFA powers to do spot checks on accounts payable at clubs and question any payments to players.
I appreciate this would be an extra layer of policing and not easy to implement, but having undermined the intent of the existing set of registration rules, it surely behoves the SFA to introduce additional checks since it has now been proved that in Scotland clubs (well a major one) are prepared to act dishonestly?
It is bad enough that the SFA twist rules to suit circumstances, but when they then fail to act on the consequences of their twisting, they prove themselves incompetent beyond belief and not fit to govern.
fara1968 says: (148)
December 29, 2013 at 7:11 am
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If and when the SPL again contains a team called Rangers, the chances of them competing fairly with Celtic are very slim. The dead Rangers had to go to unbelievable lengths to keep up, Without periodic liquidations, teams called Rangers cannot compete with Celtic.
That’s the blunt truth.
If a journalist distorts history or fails to print the truth, can he be called a disgrace to his profession? A disgrace to society?
What is it that would motivate a journalist to risk disgrace?
Is it the same urge that motivates world class football administrators to cheat for the benefit of a company now in liquidation and its contemptible tribute act?
If a lying press and a cheating administration are motivated by the same poison what chance does truth have?
In 90 or so days, most of us will have been following this mess for three years.
Three years.
RTC took a huge personal gamble in getting the truth out. In my opinion the result of the tax tribunal contained an element of slapdown to the mystery whistle-blower.
Mark Daly told us who sold the jerseys, but since then this story has grown legs and horns – where is he now?
Steven Craven told the truth (thanks Brenda – I’d forgotten his name).
Alex Thomson rode in on his white charger determined to expose the shameful lack of corporate governance to a wider audience then trotted off.
Celtic shareholders raised the issue of the Euro License at the AGM, the Celtic board managed to shut them up.
Corsica’s valiant efforts in exposing the charity ‘story’ have failed to produce a fair result.
In those three years the press, pundits and football administrators haven’t changed their style of play.
Neither have the posters on this site.
We’ve hit the bar a few times but the establishments goalposts are still standing.
Who will hit the last minute winner?
Colin Bishopp?
I doubt it.
Rangers were liquidated.
Lord Nimmo Smith found them guilty of cheating
The tribunal found them guilty of stealing tax
The new club had an IPO which failed
That business ran at a £14m trading loss in a 13 month period.
That’s just off the top of my head, what else is it people want. The old club died, having been found guilty of stealing tax and cheating the football authorities. The new club is dying and I can’t see a way out for them.
AS I get older I simply do not fancy sitting in the freezing cold to watch a game.
So summer football, what are the pluses and minuses?
Pluses.
Better playing conditions,
Better spectating and travelling conditions.
Light nights to spread midweek games over prior to WC or ENC break.
TV Football to offer when other leagues closed.
Title winners have three to four months to take a settled and fit team into CL qualifying.
Family night out – tickets for light nights.
?????
Minuses
????
Broadswordcallingdannybhoy says: (125)
December 29, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Celtic shareholders raised the issue of the Euro License at the AGM, the Celtic board managed to shut them up.
————————————–
Oh no they haven’t. The Resolution is still open and being pursued to resolution.
Broadswordcallingdannybhoy says: (125)
December 29, 2013 at 4:44 pm
‘…….In those three years the press, pundits and football administrators haven’t changed their style of play…’
——–
Let’s not be too pessimistic.
It took 6 years to defeat the Big Corruption of Nazi Germany.
Smaller manifestations of corruption won’t take as long.
The bad guys will lose overall, having already lost any shred of self-respect.
Auldheid says: (1111)
December 29, 2013 at 5:01 pm
—————————————————————————-
I hope that’s true Auldheid, Celtic fans/shareholders can’t do much about honest mistakes, but dishonest mistakes are a different matter.
I was dismayed when nothing concrete happened after the agm and pictured the SFA mandarins doing the Dougie Dougie Boogie with huge cheesy grins. 😉
Auldheid says: (1111)
December 29, 2013 at 4:57 pm (Edit)
4 0 Rate This
AS I get older I simply do not fancy sitting in the freezing cold to watch a game.
So summer football, what are the pluses and minuses?
Pluses.
Better playing conditions,
Better spectating and travelling conditions.
Light nights to spread midweek games over prior to WC or ENC break.
TV Football to offer when other leagues closed.
Title winners have three to four months to take a settled and fit team into CL qualifying.
Family night out – tickets for light nights.
?????
Minuses
????
———–
As far as minuses go, I suppose it would be a dreary December without football. Although with televised matches from hither and yon, does that matter anymore?
In this part of the world there is summer football. I took in a few Euro qualifiers, also one quite nearby between FC Nordsjaelland and Zenith St Petersburg. On the football front, the Danes did very well, considering the mis-match in financial clout they were up against. They were match ready, in mid-season.
I also saw Hibs perform miserably in Malmö and Celtic somewhat disappointingly in Sweden. Yes, I’m sure a summer switch would aid the European challenge.
Something that also occurred to me at all of the matches was the relaxed summer atmosphere. And also the fact that the family sections I was in with the wife and waines were also designated ‘neutral’ sections. Is there actually a possibility for clubs to tap into the tourist market during the summer? Promoting summer football to visiting foreign guests might not be a bad idea. I got a hugely-discounted family ticket in Malmö — booked online very easily. It was so reasonable that we thought, well, why not turn up early and eat at the club restaurant and soak in a bit of atmosphere? We did that and chatted to the (pessimistic) Hibs fans. My daughter, who is NOT football interested said it had been a great day. And Malmö got quite a few bob out of us 🙂
In Scotland, we have a lot to offer that tourists want to see. Promote through hotels, B&Bs and tourist centres. A piper, a wee dram, a local snack and some honest to goodness fitba on a family ticket could bring in a bit of revenue, and a lot of goodwill.
Broadswordcallingdannybhoy says: (126)
December 29, 2013 at 5:13 pm
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Auldheid says: (1111)
December 29, 2013 at 5:01 pm
—————————————————————————-
I hope that’s true Auldheid, Celtic fans/shareholders can’t do much about honest mistakes, but dishonest mistakes are a different matter.
I was dismayed when nothing concrete happened after the agm and pictured the SFA mandarins doing the Dougie Dougie Boogie with huge cheesy grins. 😉
============================
There were good reasons for the outcome at the AGM ,but the process is definitely still on the go and I hope there will be an update by end of next week..
Broadswordcallingdannybhoy says: (125)
December 29, 2013 at 4:44 pm
fara1968 says: (148)
December 29, 2013 at 7:11 am
——————————————————————————
If and when the SPL again contains a team called Rangers, the chances of them competing fairly with Celtic are very slim. The dead Rangers had to go to unbelievable lengths to keep up, Without periodic liquidations, teams called Rangers cannot compete with Celtic. That’s the blunt truth.
————————————————————————————
I’m afraid that I could only agree with that statement as a ‘Ceteris paribus assumption’ (all other things being equal).
This would require Celtic to sustain and continue its successful business model which to a large extent is underpinned by retaining excellent Board members and executives and a support which has patience and understanding of the club’s direction and generally backs the Board.
It also requires a continuing appetite for fans to watch Scottish Football – not just Celtic supporters – as this has a direct impact on match day revenue as well as indirectly through advertising, sponsorship, TV income, and sale of club products.
And as European money is important to the Celtic economics then it requires that no other team supplants the Celtic supremacy in that area and I am not even considering any version of Rangers as a short-term contender in that area.
This is a very simplified explanation but we shoudl never underestimate the speed with which tastes and fashions can change and I doubt if football in its relatively short lifespan has ever been under as much pressure as it is now from competing sports and other interests.
We must never ever forget how close Celtic came to the financial abyss and the fact that we had to look beyond Scotland to find a financial saviour in the form of a wee exiled Crojan who was a man of his word. Without Fergus we too could have ended-up being taken down the dead-end dirt track that the Bears are now on. Indeed there are political elements within the Celtic support whose wish to return to some vanished ‘purity’ could also pose serious dangers to Celtic if it weren’t for the common-sense of the vast majority of Celtic supporters.
So I suppose what I’m trying to say is it’s always dangerous to count chickens and make the assumption that the hens will continue to lay, never mind produce, golden eggs 🙄
I have never ever wanted to see the total destruction of Rangers as a footballing force and valued the economic value they could bring to Scottish Football. However, for the moment, I’m enjoying Celtic’s position and what I view as a more interesting league. Also, perhaps strangely, I no longer even care whether Rangers (in whatever form) ever makes it back to the top flight.
To me they aren’t even an irrelevance – they are becoming part of that section of history which is passing and contains all the symbolism and much of the hatred that stands in the way of an open and inclusive Scotland whether we are Independent or remain as part of the UK.
I have had this conversation with a number of Celtic supporters in the pub recently and there are more than I expected who want a return to the Old Firm where decisively slaughtering Rangers is their Holy Grail. Sadly we too have our dinosaurs and I know the people I talk of well on a personal level and understand where they’re coming from and IMO a deep hatred drives their motivation which has little to do with football.
However that is veering OT. So let’s enjoy our football and support our individual clubs and yes exert pressure on our various Boards when necessary and, in particular, keep the SFA under the microscope and continue to hold the SMSM to account for their spineless journalism as their once-proud profession sinks without trace in a mire of their own making.
Danish Pastry says: (1851)
December 29, 2013 at 5:56 pm
I was wondering what the situation was in Scandinavia. How does the season pan out? When does it begin and end and any breaks.
I think the light nights which bring a change of mood with them., is natural factor that could be used to create a family environment rather than the return to the poisonous football that killed itself.
When I fill out a form and come to the section labelled ‘interests’, as well as putting ‘Rangers Hater’ (obviously – I post on here, so how could it be any other way? 😉 ), I also put ‘Hillwalking’, and as such, I tend to read ‘The Great Outdoors’ magazine. Was reading this month’s copy, and came across an article by Cameron McNeish, TGO’s ‘editor at large’, the theme of which sounded all too familiar. You may have heard about the subject of the article – he’s the guy who wants to re-introduce wolves to Scotland, and is portrayed in the media as some sort of eccentric, David Bellamy type. I think, on here, we tend to view only the SMSM sports hacks as being corrupt and blinded by lamb, and the rest of our media as somehow being different, almost above all of that. However, whilst not condoning the succulent ones, are they just symptomatic of all modern journalism?
Note: For those not aware, access rights in Scotland are a very hot topic, and the right of people to roam in this country, enshrined in the civil law, is constantly coming under attack from large landowners.
===============================================================================
THE WOLFMAN RETURNS, AGAIN
Many readers will be aware of multi-millionaire Paul Lister’s plans to re-introduce wolves and bears to his 23,000 acre Allandale Estate in the Scottish Highlands. It all sounds quite altruistic until you learn that he plans to enclose the estate with a 50-mile-long, three-metre-tall electric fence. And that’s not only to keep the wild animals in, but also to keep hillwalkers out.
You can of course pay a high entrance fee to be guided inside the massive zoo but Lister feels ordinary walkers should be willing to “sacrifice” their access rights so he can fulfil his dream, and make a few bob into the bargain.
This is not a new story – actually, it’s 10 years old – but Lister keeps popping up in the media, like a bad penny, over and over again.
So how does he get all this publicity, including a six-part BBC television series in which he was described as the “Monarch of the Glen”?
It’s simple really: he invites journalists and broadcasters to his very expensive shooting lodge, wines and dines them and they, in return, write nice things. Simple, isn’t it, if you’re a multi-millionaire with an obsession? It doesn’t say a lot for some of our media people either.
Tif Finn
My fear is that in the clamour to “move on” everything you itemise is simply forgotten in the haste to get a new Rangers to pole position to appease a group of people who believe they are entitled. No punishment, remorse, nothing !
Already, we can see what’s coming in the form of Dallas, the return – co-incidentally, I watched him yesterday and was genuinely appalled at his ineptitude. It’s mapped out and on its way, make no mistake.
What we have witnessed over the while, as things have unfolded is immoral, illegal and as bent as a bent thing yet no-one has been held to account, anywhere !
The plan is coming to fruition and soon the spivs will be replaced by “Rangers men” who will never be held responsible for the wrongdoing and my grandchildren will never know just how wrong and crooked,these events actually were.
Meanwhile, my Rangers supporting friends will embolden theirs to believe they can do no wrong – how can I preach fairness?
ecobhoy says: (2112)
December 29, 2013 at 6:06 pm
—
Personally, I don’t miss the old days at all, but I think a scenario in which Celtic could gain the financial boost of bigger crowds and bigger TV payments for games against Sevco, while simultaneously cementing the big European bonus by giving the Revivalists a doing on the field would be the Holy Grail for some on the Celtic board too.
But no amount of cash, no amount of excitement, no bragging rights, no level of Sky sycophancy would be worth compromising sporting integrity still further by easing Sevco’s path ‘back’ to the top level.
Plus, it’s not worth the risk. Scottish football would do what Scottish football does: stop at nothing to help its favourite child. Cheats cheat, hence the name. And it wouldn’t just be in derby games. It never was. Do people forget Andy Davis telling Hugh Dallas to award Rangers a penalty at Tynecastle in 2005? Yes, Davis got a swan-song at that year’s cup final, but he was never heard of again. Do people forget Mike McCurry’s performance at Ibrox in a decisive game involving Dundee United in 2008?
I don’t want a return of those days. I want the game I love back.
Edit: Sorry. The reference to Davis’s swan-song at the cup final is because the guy fell on his sword to help Rangers. Some peepil really will stop at nothing.