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.
RE the McGills moving into Malta
The President of Malta is George Abela.
It’s quite a common name on the island.
Funny that, eh?
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:08 am
jean7brodie says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:50 pm
“Anzio and Sangro were just names
We only went tae look for dames
The artful D-Day Dodgers
In sunny Italy”
Hamish Henderson
====================================
I knew Hamish and what a beautiful person he was and oh what a legacy of songs he left us both those he had written and his invaluable collecting of songs from others which often had never previously been written down or recorded.
Give yourself a treat and go to youtube and find his songs many of which are sung by other Scottish ‘folkies’. ‘D-Day Dodgers’ is just so on the button as to what ordinary soldiers actually thought and experienced. My favourite of his is a toss-up between “Freedom come all ye” and ‘The John Maclean March’.
A giant of a man who is still sorely missed by many but who lives on in his songs and poetry and in his political vision and love of humanity and just his boundless emotional warmth to all.
If you want to even begin to understand what Scotland lost in his passing then perhaps this obit will give just a small flavour and it really is worth a read to help remember that the genuinely good people outweigh the Spivs who will never be mourned and remembered when they’ve gone.
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/mar/11/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries
Paulmac2 says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:50 am
5 0 Rate This
……………………………
Talking of Malta…me and the wife went there about 5 years ago for a weeks holiday in Valetta…
lovely place…we took a walk from our hotel…down some side street…suddenly we heard what sounded like a band…so we followed the sound down a very tight side alley…only to find we had walked straight into a WW11 memorial service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was in Hammamet, Tunisia in the late 80’s with the then Lady Wobbly. Went into a hotel for a drink and walked into the middle of an Afrika Korps reunion…
…playing bingo!!!!
I won a bong! 😯 😀
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:42 am
Football is keeping Mr McCoist sane, allegedly
http://twitpic.com/dssfs4
===========================================
If that’s a picture of sanity then I’m heading for the madhouse ❗
Danish Pastry says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:14 am
0 0 Rate This
Puzzled to see Gordon Smith so upbeat and unperturbed by the finances:
http://www.sundaypost.com/sport/columnists/gordon-smith/rangers-wage-bill-is-high-but-not-out-of-hand-1.178608
=====================================================
Dear oh dear – Gordon Smith checking accounts and making pronouncements on financial matters – well who’d ah believed it. His memory seems very short IMO.
Still when you’re reduced to scrabbling for scraps ftom the Sunday Post table that is proof positive you are in the grubber in so many ways. And no matter how you pitch-it Gordon there’s no job at Ibrox for you as they already have more than a full quota of ‘Truth Deniers’.
Finally got round to listening to Sportsound Extra from Saturday last night. I lost count of the number of times Keith Jackson said ‘we introduced non-competitiveness into the top league’ – beggars belief really. What was most noticeable though was how the entire panel got really irked with the Celtic fan who phoned in to point out a few home truths about who is actually responsible for the mess at Ibrox. Most puzzling was the irked response by Graham Spiers that ‘Celtic fans believe the SFA and the SPL tried everything they could to put Rangers into the top league’. Isn’t it a known fact that they did? I’m willing to bet it’s not just Celtic fans who believe it either.
Very far OT I know, but for those interested in construction techniques of high buildings over difficult ground conditions (what a range of topics we do cover!)…might I recommend you have a search for
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-tallest-tower-building-the-shard
It takes a stand-back-in-amazement point of view, but there is much to stand back in amazement about!
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 6:44 am
Aye, Hamish was a remarkable . warm, generous and very complex man, god knows how many times I huckled him up those bloody endless stairs to his flat, after too long in Bells.
Part of the pre-war Jewish underground railroad in Germany, Intelligence officer in WW2, translator of Gramsci, maker, collector, flyter, one of the very few war poets to come out of WW2 (won the Somerset Maugham prize ), teacher
Norman McCaig’s eulogy for Hamish’s great pal MacDiarmid applied equally to Hamish – “…. he wasn’t a man, he was a committee, and a committee that rarely agreed with the chair!!
His greatest legacy was the collection at the school
http://www.pearl.celtscot.ed.ac.uk/
We had the zig of the soft interview with Mr Wallace, now Mr jackson does the zag
“”HERE’S a thing. You know those Rangers players involved in conceptual discussions about theoretical wage cuts last week? And who metaphorically booted the hypothetical idea into touch?
Well, here’s today’s reality.
Did you know they’re all being bussed to the Four-Star Carnoustie Hotel this morning? Where they’ll enjoy some fine dining for lunch, possibly at the hotel’s own AA Rosette-winning restaurant?
Rooms will then be provided in order that they can enjoy an afternoon nap, for those not getting treatments in the spa. All for an away trip to Forfar? To take on Gavin Swankie and Darren Dods?
Is it any wonder these players don’t know if they are coming or going?
Or that, as he unwraps the chocolate on his fluffy cotton pillow this afternoon, manager Ally McCoist might pause to reflect on where it has all gone wrong.
Talk about mixed messages? Talk about champagne lifestyles and Irn-Bru budgets? Talk about hubris, arrogance and over-indulgence? Talk about sledgehammers and walnuts. The constant noise and confusion around Rangers is truly head-melting stuff.
No wonder the club’s new chief executive looked slightly ruffled last week when news emerged from Murray Park of his polite suggestion that the first team might consider 15 per cent pay cuts.
For a man of his experience Graham Wallace, below right, ought to have known such a proposal would be unlikely to remain within the walls of the dressing room for longer than it takes a player to hit the speed dial button to his agent.
It was bound to result in an outbreak of panic among a support that has seen this movie before and which was so badly traumatised by the way it ended.
But Wallace can be excused because, not only is he new here but also there must be a million and one different, more pressing thoughts, pinballing around inside his head as he attempts to tackle this latest financial crisis.
Commendably, he has promised to deliver a business model that will finally allow Rangers to live within its means.
Sustainability, transparency and a bit of common sense would go a long way to sorting out the internal mayhem over which he presides.
Today’s unnecessarily lavish road trip, though, is just more proof that, when he agreed to take on this position at the top of a dysfunctional board, he was in fact stepping into life through the looking glass. Wallace in Wonderland. Or not.
It’s his job now to make some sense of the numbers, to crunch them down and to crush this club’s recent culture of big bonuses and eye-popping extravagance before what little cash is left in the bank has evaporated completely. There is a rich irony about the fact that, in Philip Nash, he has hired yet another big-earning accountant to assist him in this urgent cost-cutting review.
But then this job is so big Wallace might need all the help he can get. And from people in whom he can trust. Wallace’s planning is all that stands now between Rangers and another financial catastrophe. At the present rate of spending, the club’s last reserves will be gone before the end of the campaign.
In fact, the prediction of financial director Brian Stockbridge that Rangers will be down to their last million in April now looks hugely optimistic.
It is quite incredible this man remains in charge of the books given his standing in the eyes of the fans. It was not long ago he was talking confidently of growing turnover to in excess of £100m. Only then to predict a £7m year-end loss. Which, in fact, turned out to be a £14m black hole.
And if, as is being strongly suggested by people on the inside of this basketcase, Stockbridge has got it wrong again then the situation at Ibrox could soon become dire. Perhaps as soon as next month.
At a time when every penny counts, thank goodness then that Stockbridge has handed back that £200k bonus he pocketed for watching Rangers win last season’s Third Division title. Right?
And has the financial director and the rest of the board actually signed off on the halving of McCoist’s eye-watering £825k annual salary? After talking about it for months, why on earth would it not have been rubber-stamped by now?
If all this financial remedial work really has been completed then Wallace should announce it to the Stock Exchange and also reveal the current state of the accounts.
It should be done in the name of sustainability and transparency – and in the hope of forcing common sense to prevail. Wallace must be astonished at some of the numbers that have flown across his desk.
It is not his fault this club has blown its chance to stockpile cash on its journey up the leagues and there is nothing he can do now to address this grotesque overspend. That ship has sailed.
Had Rangers plotted a more sensible course they would be arriving in the top flight in 18 months in a fit and healthy state, with millions squirrelled away.
But, in their vulgar rush to cuddle up to McCoist, former chief execs Charles Green and Craig Mather put their own popularity ahead of proper prudence.
By doing this, they kept the fans onside and the tills ringing.
All Wallace can do now is address the crisis this pair and Stockbridge created.
He’s not helped by the fact that, simply by agreeing to join a broken board and glue it back together, he himself is now viewed with varying degrees of suspicion.
But, unlike Green and Mather, he must not allow his own popularity to get in the way of protecting the club’s interests.
Which is why it was encouraging to see the first steps towards a more austere future being taken last week.
But, crucially, if Wallace is serious about grabbing the bull by the horns then he must do so in the boardroom because this is where the biggest excesses have recently been committed.
It is hard to think of another club that spends millions less on its players than on the rest of its employees but that’s precisely what the accounts showed to be the case at Rangers last year.
No wonder the players refuse to take the first hit when there are other far more bloated and obvious targets at the top of the marble staircase.
These players may well feel treated like disposable window dressing when they are supposed to be the very heart of the club.
And here’s another thing. They were asked to ponder a 15 per cent cut over a period of 18 months, while also being told the club hopes to sign even more players in the summer.
Which means some of them might be volunteering to help finance their own replacements.
And you thought lunch at Carnoustie was mad?”
Lord Wobbly says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:24 am
13 0 Rate This
———–
Was that at the Requisitioners’ Ball? He did something on the first anniversary. I thought (as you imply @echo) that he was perhaps pitching for a blue job, too.
Funny thing about GS was that he pushed for the introduction of video technology to help combat cheating. If I remember correctly, Uefa were having none of it. Noble thought, though.
Maybe he should push to get it installed at Hampden, instead? 😀
Danish Pastry says:
January 20, 2014 at 7:53 am
Oh Danish, you’re a brave man, replace Mr Ogilvie with Smudger? Would that not be a revolving door too far?
(Especially since Smudger has already had the top job)
Get yer tin hat on
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 7:50 am (Edit)
1 0 Rate This
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Apropos Forfar, stunning piece from the local paper:
No mention of how the Forfar team will be spending the afternoon … just squirrels:
http://www.forfardispatch.co.uk/news/local-news/volunteers-sought-for-local-squirrel-survey-1-3267839
Missed this not bad effort from Gordon Waddell yesterday, wonder who ghosted it?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gordon-waddell–selling-lee-3037721
Edit
Herald interesting as well
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/if-rangers-are-not-heading-towards-administration-why-should-players-take-a-cut.23221851
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/mccoist-they-dont-deserve-to-be-going-through-this.23221802
Ok, who replaced the journos with competent dopplegangers?
Good Morning
jean7brodie says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:50 pm
Jean went to Rome in 67 and visited Anzio and the War cemetery-brings home the futility of War.
On topic has Jackson managed to grow a pair overnight or is he trying to appease the more sensible among us.
In my opinion something will cause shares to be suspended by the end of this week.
TRFC cannot continue without cash injection.
Have our dear leaders asked TRFC if they have enough money left to get to the end of the season.
Come on Forfar
Lord Wobbly says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:37 pm
I once saw Pierce Brosnan making an episode of Remington Steele. Does that count?
——
I saw Eddie Murphy filimng the movie “I Spy” in the middle of the night in Budapest once. He was a very grumpy fellow, quite the prima donna.
“Have our dear leaders asked TRFC if they have enough money left to get to the end of the season.”
That would come under, never ask the a question if you already know the answer, but don’t want it confirmed.
The Hampden view will be, the less we know officially, the more shocked, & surprised everyone will be, and, the more sea room we will have for “emergency” manouvers
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 7:50 am
———————————-
WATP obviously stands for “We Are The Pampered”
Don’t forget the 2 night stay at Turnberry pre & post the massive Stranraer game earlier this season
Allied to everything else, expect a big creditor squeeze imminently as those owed money decide it is never too soon to collect it, partcularly when the debtor’s name is Rangers.
£540 (dinner bed & breakfast) to 0 change
slimshady61 says:
January 20, 2014 at 8:58 am
Ah yes confidence, or in this case the lack of it.
Half expected a statement to the market, following Mr Wallace’s interview.
Hi
Bean counters on the site may know but is the 19th not the day when PAYE etc is due to be paid to the revenue. let us hope that TRFC are not a day late or a pound short and that HMRC are on the ball.
Would not like to think that the tax money, ours, is being used to pamper super salary and his stars.
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 7:34 am
re: Hamish Henderson
—————————————————
I had to smile when I saw your use of ‘flyter’ wrt Hamish. I was very much the recipient, as a much younger man, who believed my ideas and beliefs were superior and more PC than anyone else’s. But Hamish ‘flyted’ with a smile – sometimes a grimace and shake of the head – and as time passed I realised his aim wasn’t to hurt or to flaunt his vastly superior knowledge, intellect and wide-ranging personal experiences.
Almost through an osmosis I realised he had subconsciously taught me to listen to what other people were actually saying and to take their opinion into account when arriving at my own position as we were all Bairns o’ Adam after all. I’m sure you know what I’m trying to say and it’s not easy to understand unless you knew him.
Still his teaching has stood me in good stead throughout my life and certainly has stood the test of time as I am even happy to talk to Bears who seek to move forward in a positive way 😆
jean7brodie says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:50 pm
24 1 Rate This
john clarke says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:21 pm
scapaflow says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:08 pm
‘…but one of those strange connections things, ..’
————————————————————————–
And my dad was captured by the Germans at Anzio. He was a dispatch rider. POW camp thereafter.
Said I wouldn’t go OT again but I’m very proud.
He was a very proud Celtic supporter too and, maybe due to his experiences, was very tolerant of all creeds, allegiances and opinions.
============================
Small world. My Dad was also “captured” at Anzio – by the Americans. He was part of a special forces unit that was sent behind enemy lines on intelligence gathering missions (google Ian Flemings Little Red Indians for details). Anyhow he and a colleague were sitting having a picnic with two Italian girls on the cliff tops adjacent to Anzio. They watched the American fleet land unopposed as the Germans had retreated sometime previous. When the American forces made their way towards their position they decided for a laugh to pretend to be Italians (their tans and fluency in Italian helped). Promptly arrested and taken in for questioning they continued the charade for a short time before letting on who they really were.
Sorry for going OT.
Hoopy 7 says:
January 20, 2014 at 8:32 am
Have our dear leaders asked TRFC if they have enough money left to get to the end of the season
—————————————————————————————
‘End of the season ❓ ‘. Have they got enough for the bus diesel back from Forfar. One thing for sure is the players won’t be chipping-in for a whip-round 😉
scapaflow says:
January 20, 2014 at 8:13 am (Edit)
6 0 Rate This
———-
Jings, no. Install the video equipment to play back SFA activity. Funny handshakes in slow-motion?
😛
coineanachantaighe says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:01 am
Jock Wallace, a Wallyford lad I believe, and lifetime Gers fan. The following might explain his departure:
I was told a good number of years ago, by his parents’ one-time neighbour (his parents still lived in the house he’d grown up in, next door to the council house my friend’s parents still lived in in Wallyford), that although he’d attended schools of the type that most Rangers fans attended, both his parents had not, but neither had they attended any church throughout their marriage. My informant, who I knew well for many years, had absolutely no interest or knowledge of football and didn’t even have a ‘nominal’ team. He had no reason to make anything of this nature up, but I cannot, myself, confirm his story. Just that I’ve always thought, since hearing this, that someone whispering similar into certain ears might explain his sudden departure from Ibrox!
It was has been noted by commentators that Wallace never revealed his reason for leaving Ibrox, this might explain both why he left (or was eased out) and why his reason was kept secret! This strange idea of dignity held by ‘Rangers Men’.
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 9:08 am
🙂 There was iron there too on occasion, rarely, the gentle flyte as you put it, was much more effective
As for the decent bears, until they stand up to the indecent bears, they aren’t going to get anywhere. However, saying that is one thing, being in the position of having to do it is something else, I keep coming back to it mainly being a cultural problem, but, how they change that culture is a difficult question, to which I have no answer
Serious question. If RIFC were to put TRFC into admin, in order to control the administration as chief creditor, would that be a signal for Mr Cohen at BDO to slap some sort of restraint onto the properties to avoid their being ‘moved on’? (Assuming there is any consideration being given to gratuitous alienation) And if that were to happen, would the padlocks be applied?
Danish Pastry says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:14 am
If that’s the Gordon Smith who’s financial acumen led him to his own personal bankruptcy, then he is exactly the kind of person all TRFC fans should be listening to about their club’s financial health. If it is the same one, he probably said similar when reviewing his own expenditure, compared to income, a year or so ago – “it’s not all that high for an ego like me!”
tilhotdogsbark says:
January 19, 2014 at 12:13 pm
==============================
Good point re manager’s gig. The manager of my diddy club might go to the board to ask for a few more players but he’ll know he can only sign free agents and offer wages at a certain limit. It’s likely he’ll negotiate with the board about maybe signing one less player if he can bring in a player who’s a bit more expensive but although he’ll push he’ll be doing so in a realistic way and maybe be hoping for just a wee bit more than he was told he could spend. Managers are given budgets at the start of season with maybe the option of something for the January window (though that often depends on how well crowds hold up before then) and are expected to keep to these with only a small amount of leeway.
Of course in past years this wasn’t the case for a lot clubs but what that led to has resulted in a much more careful control of budget in most clubs these days.
casper999 says:
January 19, 2014 at 10:53 pm
Our” new kid on the twitter block” has dissapeared.
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Noticed that as well. You think he’s run off with white breeks man who was last heard of on 16th December? 😯 😯
Allyjambo @ 925
Your post about Jock Wallace (of the 2+2=1690 variety) should be removed.
Money was the main issue involved.
Thanks Scapa & John Clark
p.s. He survived !
scottc says:
January 20, 2014 at 9:27 am
4 0 i
Rate This
Serious question. If RIFC were to put TRFC into admin, in order to control the administration as chief creditor, would that be a signal for Mr Cohen at BDO to slap some sort of restraint onto the properties to avoid their being ‘moved on’? (Assuming there is any consideration being given to gratuitous alienation) And if that were to happen, would the padlocks be applied?
———————————————————————————————————————————————-
Before administration occurs would be a better time.
Once a company goes into administration a creditor may not take legal action against a company in administration without the consent of the administrator or the leave of the court.
The “restraint” in question would presumably be an interim interdict preventing a sale (pending the outcome of a gratuitous alienation action). That would need –
1 a gratuitous alienation action to be raised; and
2 evidence before the court that there is a reasonable apprehension that the asset is about to be treansferred.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 10:03 am
Allyjambo @ 925
Your post about Jock Wallace (of the 2+2=1690 variety) should be removed.
Money was the main issue involved.
______________________________
I may be wrong (though I am relating what I was told) and you may be right. But why should my post be removed? And if money was the only reason, why did Wallace take the ‘secret’ to his grave? And as he kept it a secret, how do you know?
Is there a single, notable person involved in the management at Ibrox that Gers fans could have any faith in whatsoever?
Super Ally? Geez a break – clown credentials being advertised daily in the rags now.
The Cardigan? Nowhere to be seen and sold the shirts.
SDM? The root cause of the Downfall.
The Blue Knights? All talk, no cash and heavily compromised by association with SDM.
Dave King? He is not coming over the hill with the cavalry. Would you really put your money / club in the hands of a(nother) convicted tax dodger?
The Gers: Lost and Leaderless.
And their fans are not only standing back and letting it happen, they are oiling the machine with their hard-earned cash.
With the other teams currently going through difficult times, I have nothing but sympathy and hope for better times.
But honestly? With this lot? I have to confess – I am drowning in a sea of schadenfreude.
Mere oblivion in the future is not enough. I want the historical record put straight as well.
Until it is, Scottish football will continue to be haunted by the ghosts of past misdeeds.
And that most emphatically points the finger at the SFA and the various league officials who have collectively mismanaged the game for years, all to the betterment of a single club. Lose sight of that and we lose the war.
Lads
I appreciate both your inputs so I’ll mediate if I can.
AJ, I’d agree your suggestion had a touch of the taxi driver about it so particularly given the subject matter personally I’d kick it into touch, or take it elsewhere.
GJ. You are perfectly entitled to request the post’s deletion given the above. However, you can’t (I would have thought) have it deleted cos it was wrong just cos you said so (“the main issue was the money”).
Trying to help.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 10:43 am
The question was raised by another poster regarding Wallace’s mysterious departure from Rangers. I had information about Wallace that I thought long and hard over whether or not I should share and left out direct references to sectarianism/religion (which you’ve now brought in) leaving it to the reader to fill in the gaps.
REQUEST TO TSFM: Please remove my original post, and all referring to it, because even if there is no other reason to remove it, it is becoming a bit of a squirrel.
AJ
Aye it was my fault. Us Bears get blamed for everything, even posts we don’t make LOL
When in actual fact I’m only trying to hunt down squirrels for the collective benefit.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:00 am
When in actual fact I’m only trying to hunt down squirrels for the collective benefit.
————————————————————————————————————————
GJ, just the job for you, courtesy of DP
http://www.forfardispatch.co.uk/news/local-news/volunteers-sought-for-local-squirrel-survey-1-3267839
😉 😉
Back on Track
How do posters see the last 10 days of the transfer window going at Ibrox?
Wage cuts can be proposed at anytime, does anyone think the timing relevant?
Jack, I’m not really sure but would be interested to hear a Rangers fan’s view – do you think it’s designed to manage expectations of no players in and some players out?
Smugas says:
January 20, 2014 at 10:53 am (Edit)
3 0 Rate This
Lads
I appreciate both your inputs so I’ll mediate if I can.
AJ, I’d agree your suggestion had a touch of the taxi driver about it so particularly given the subject matter personally I’d kick it into touch, or take it elsewhere.
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I agree with Smugas AJ.
@Jack, I think you made a fair point about the subject matter. And Wallace did have two stints at Ibrox, so whatever led to his first departure didn’t hinder a return.
Nice wee bit of trivia about Jock W. on Wiki:
ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 1:26 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 3:34 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 3:57 pm
In the above posts yesterday I comprehensively destroyed the fiction that Celtic got the Westthorn site on the cheap by demonstrating the quite amazing number of abnormal ground conditions present. This information is all contained in public records and I haven’t needed to make a single Freedom of Info request to access it.
All I did was dig away and I kept digging this morning and guess what I found slap-bang in the middle of the Westthorn site? I kid you not – A coal mine! It is shown in the 1816 William Forrest map – people who know about maps will know it well – but as is the normal pattern with mapping back then all trace of the probably shallow mine and its workings disappear in later maps when production ceased and the entrance was closed.
I also dug up an 1892 map which shows the extent of the two giant reservoirs on the Westthorn site each holding 4 million gallons of water which fed East End industries via a 42 inch water main plus associated smaller water mains and pipes running through the site powered by the impressive pumping station on the riverside where the allotments now are. It is highly likely that when the Glasgow Corporation Westthorn waterworks closed that the two reservoirs were used for landfill.
http://maps.nls.uk/view/82891809
There was also a huge claypit on the north end of Westthorn running-up to London Road which provided the raw material for two local brickworks. Anything else – of yea the sewer running through the site from London Road with an outfall into the Clyde.
However the fantasists are still submitting FoI requests to secure the ‘secret’ document which proves that ground conditions at Westthorn are perfect for housebuilding. Sadly the deluded are being led by the nose away from the stink engulfing Ibrox and fed squirrel by the PR Spinners and their willing accomplices.
Celtic have every right IMO to request State Aid from the European Commission to clean-up a shocking industrial legacy so that the Westthorn site can be sold for housing to further regenerate the East End. Kerching 😆
EDIT ADD
I have just noticed on the map mentioned above that there is another coal mine on the Cuningar Loop just across from Westthorn which would seem to point to the area being rich in coal and who knows how many other unmapped mines and their workings exist from even earlier times.
It really is a major problem in the East End even to this day.
iamacant
A general point.
The internet squirrel/troll label can be a valid one but it should be used with due care and not allowed to become a method of unbalanced censorship.
Social media presents opportunities to counter an increasingly centralised mainstream message and that goes way beyond Scottish football. Everyone has a degree of bias and it is a challange to take those opportunities in a constructive, balanced and open manner that adds value instead of fueling or feeding what is already out there.
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:24 am (Edit)
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ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 1:26 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 3:34 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 19, 2014 at 3:57 pm
Celtic have every right IMO to request State Aid from the European Commission to clean-up a shocking industrial legacy so that the Westthorn site can be sold for housing to further regenerate the East End. Kerching.
————
And why not? And what better place to have a museum of local history than the old primary school? (Ok, I’ll get off my hobbyhorse).
OT
Thanks for the link @echo. I love these old maps, nice to add them to the family history research. Some of the East End streets I find in birth records are not on the modern maps.
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:24 am
You had just had to find the coal mine, we’ll now get “Secret land deal will make Celtic millions from fracking” 😀
Blu
I think the timing of the wage cut proposal shows all the hallmarks of a stage-managed process.
For those that pay attention , too many messages and numbers are contradictory and conflicting.
This widely reported wage-cut proposal and the predictable subsequent speculation is directed towards supporters, players and any clubs that haven’t somehow been informed of the January sales.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:38 am (Edit)
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Blu
I think the timing of the wage cut proposal shows all the hallmarks of a stage-managed process.
For those that pay attention , too many messages and numbers are contradictory and conflicting.
This widely reported wage-cut proposal and the predictable subsequent speculation is directed towards supporters, players and any clubs that haven’t somehow been informed of the January sales.
————
And if no one takes the bait, what will February bring?
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:24 am
All I did was dig away and I kept digging this morning and guess what I found slap-bang in the middle of the Westthorn site? I kid you not – A coal mine! It is shown in the 1816 William Forrest map – people who know about maps will know it well – but as is the normal pattern with mapping back then all trace of the probably shallow mine and its workings disappear in later maps when production ceased and the entrance was closed.
==========================================================================
And now the Lawwell plot becomes clearer – the authorities have gifted Celtic valuable land which most likely holds shale gas in connection with the previous coal mine!
Oh the lengths these people will go to… 🙄
We can now look forward to Celtic Oil & Gas making gazillions whilst polluting the water table as their fracking operations begin.
Of course TRFC are fracked already! 😈
Scottish Football needs a strong Forfar.
EDIT : Sorry Scapa, our postings crossed. Great minds, eh? 🙂
DP
And if no one takes the bait, what will February bring?
——————————————————————————
Without knowledge of the numbers it’s difficult to say.
My hunch is that there will not be another insolvency event as is widely being speculated upon. Later, this will be hailed as a ‘told you so line’ by various outlets of MH spin.
The people who are in charge of strategy proposals are very bright although it’s them and their allies who’ll be beneficiaries rather than the club. It’ll only go into administration if they think it prudent to their interests and if it isn’t they will find a way to navigate stormy waters until ST sales.
I kind of agree Jack. I think they should have done it earlier in the month though. They may have left it a bit late to offload anyone though. Not much time left for any price negotiation that may happen and if they really need the money, they may have to take whatever offers they get as mentioned by Billy Dodds in his column yesterday
Danish Pastry says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:23 am
My last word on the subject, just to clear up the ‘taxi driver’ view. If a discussion of childhood memories with a neighbour and friend of some 15 years can be considered the same as talking to a stranger in a taxi, well maybe his recollections carry no merit. I believed what he told me, the possible connection to his departure from Ibrox, is, of course, pure speculation on my part.
Apologies to all for introducing this contentious topic.
Danish Pastry says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:14 am
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Puzzled to see Gordon Smith so upbeat and unperturbed by the finances:
http://www.sundaypost.com/sport/columnists/gordon-smith/rangers-wage-bill-is-high-but-not-out-of-hand-1.178608
___________________________________________________________________________________
The wage bill not being ‘out of hand’ is not the point.
It’s the £1.2mill overspend per month by the Ibrox club that’s the problem.
Cuts will have to be made in all departments of the club if they want to survive.
It’s a question of ‘austerity or insolvency’ to quote Phil Mac Giolla Bhain.
Everyone over Govan way will just have to get used to it.
I understand Rangers want to offload players to cut costs, but that’s easier said than done.
There isn’t one club in Scotland which wouldn’t sell any of their players to ease the financial burden of running their club, but there is just over a week of the January transfer window left and there is no sign of any substantial bids for ANY player in the SPFL.
In fact I’m not aware of any LESS than substantial bid for any SPFL player.
I’m afraid the idea of ‘The Rangers’ offloading players will just need to be added to their wish list.
Scott
It’s a buyers market and was always going to be.
I wouldn’t expect much overt activity (opposed to press speculation) until the last few days of the month for obvious reasons.
http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2014/01/graham-spierss-lovely-fake-ladies.html?m=1
Spiers reaction
I’m still flabbergasted by this. @ChrisGraham76 on how I’ve apparently been ‘buying’ 1000s of Russians for Twitter… http://t.co/H3NfJe4Xb4
Lol – surely chris (no relation) has more to worry about
andygraham.66 says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:10 pm
It’s the on line equivalent of sticking your fingers in ears and going lalalala
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/wallace-to-hold-rangers-fans-summit-148888n.23215059
Wallace to meet the Bears – I wonder if he might ask them to consider a hypothetical ST price increase ❓
andygraham.66 says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:10 pm
http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2014/01/graham-spierss-lovely-fake-ladies.html?m=1
Spiers reaction
I’m still flabbergasted by this. @ChrisGraham76 on how I’ve apparently been ‘buying’ 1000s of Russians for Twitter… http://t.co/H3NfJe4Xb4
Lol – surely chris (no relation) has more to worry about
======================================================
Sounds like just the type of sting that could easily be set-up by someone intent on discrediting Spiers. Perhaps some of the fake Bears who have been posting on Bear sites to ‘shape’ opinion have been diverted to start picking-off those perceived to be Rangers-Haters with a media presence that could cause damage to the Spivs and their plans.
In view of all the other journos who have followed Spiers in findings some baws recently then the spinners will need to create a helluva lot more ‘Russian’ squirrels 😯
john clarke says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:21 pm
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scapaflow says:
January 19, 2014 at 11:08 pm
‘…but one of those strange connections things, ..’
——-
Lovely, this association of ideas.
The MV Boissvaine (converted cruise ship) left the Tail o’the Bank in February 1944 taking ‘S’ Company Scots Guards ,and my dad, to Naples. From where, ‘S’ company presently made its way to the town of Cassino
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John,
Off topic…but my Dad too. Apparently Cassino was a very difficult and demanding battle. Dad, now 93 is still going thankfully.
Eco
In recent times Spiers hasn’t even attempted to do any ‘damage’ to the insitu-spiv element at Ibrox. His output has if anything worked in their general favour.
You have to appreciate the spiv element as seperate because their motives and MO will have a cost and that will be borne by the club.
Just a wee reminder from the 2010 Accounts
http://www.isdx.com/infostore/Company-Accounts/RangersFootball/rangers2010.pdf
Net operating expenses circa £44m
Of that ‘Staff costs’ were circa £28m (for 2013 accounts circa £18m)
Other all ‘other operating expenses’ circa £16m. (for the 2013 accounts circa £16m)
Therefore even if they get the ‘all wages’ total down to say £10m and reduce the ‘other operating expenses’ to £10m they will still need 35k season books at around £570.00 to cover the £20million.
Still find it hard to believe Wallace can cut the ‘other operating expenses’ by £6m being the figures pops up in the region of £14m in 2009, £20m in 2008, £16m in 2007,£15m in 2006, £26m in 2005 etc etc
EDIT
Of course to make such massive savings he could dump Murray Park as Phil Mac and others have suggested. 🙂
Eco & Jack
The dispute with Spiers seems to be a very personal vendetta, which pre-dates the current stramash, possibly due to the song book, but not really sure.
Carntyne: I agree. Cautionary tale:
Celtic with WGS in charge agreed offers with a couple of clubs (notably Sunderland; Birmingham) to sell Bobo and get his wage off the books, but as he had a contract signed under O’Neill for buckets of cash, Bobo decided he didn’t want to move. The blood got so bad between Balde & Celtic it was rumoured he’d only move if Celtic bought out his contract AND he’d pick up another salary with the new club. When there wasM an offer matching his salary, Celtic apparently wanted to put in a gagging clause and Bobo baulked. That deal fell through and ultimately ended up having to train with the juniors until his contract ran out. Millions of pounds later.
Just because someone wants to buy one of these players, and Rangers want to sell, doesn’t mean the guys will autiomatically move. They need to agree to. And, after all, if there’s no danger of administration2 (c. Wallace), there’s no reason why Rangers shouldn’t pay the full terms of the contracts agreed with their players … 😈
Quick poll
Post 2011, the Rangers saga, events at Hearts, Dunfermline, League reconstruction etc.
Dedicated blogs such as RTC and TSFM have sprung up along with the attention given to such subject matter elsewhere in the media.
To what do you dedicate most of your time reserved for Scottish football.
Honest answers appreciated.
TU: Football
TD: Politics/Finance (football related)
As regards timimg of 15% cut statement – squirrel I reckon!
What we now have are similar press releases and other unco-ordinated nonsenses to those that predated Feb 2012. Only this time I genuinely think there are no plans that can come to any fruition at Ibrox. The money has run out and we are on to the draw down facility by all accounts. Admin seems pointless as most TRFC debt is owed to the parent company.
I reckon a quick asset shift from TRFC to RIFC will be the final act, if it has not been enacted already, collect VAT and PAYE that you have no intention of paying until say mid feb and just liquidate.
My gut feeling is a locked gates scenario one morning!
No-one home!
I think it will be sudden, and shocking and final.
RIFC will dissolve the football club and get what they can for the heritable assets.
I see no evidence of austerity – I actually see no means of imposing sufficient austerity. There is no money to keep going until ST time I reckon.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 11:10 am
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Back on Track
How do posters see the last 10 days of the transfer window going at Ibrox?
Wage cuts can be proposed at anytime, does anyone think the timing relevant?
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I personally think that the financial situation is desperate, which is why the request for wage cuts now. But please don’t ask me to explain the luxury overnighter at Carnoustie a few days later, that is far beyond my powers of reasoning.
I am sure they would love to offload players in the next 10 days, but apart from fringe players on realistic wages (are any of them on realistic wage deals?) I just don’t see how it can be done. Most of them just go. I certainly can’t see the next 10 days of transfer activity solving the financial problems at Ibrox.
Scapa
The dispute with Spiers seems to be a very personal vendetta, which pre-dates the current stramash, possibly due to the song book, but not really sure.
—————————————
My point was to do with the present.
For most Rangers supporters it’s pointless discrediting a man with no credit but it may have comedy value.
For the general audience, Spiers is an empty vessel who is more interested and comfortable in broadcasting confrontational and plagerised soundbites than doing any real journalism.
State Aid – everyone is at it! A note from the Scottish Executive on 2 February 2012.
“Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Scottish Labour): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to promote jobs in Greenock and Inverclyde. (S4O-00658)
John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting sustainable economic growth and promoting job creation throughout Scotland, including in Greenock and Inverclyde, and our Economic Strategy provides us with the overarching economic framework to do that.
We work closely with a wide range of organisations including: Scottish Enterprise; Scottish Development International; Skills Development Scotland; VisitScotland; local authorities; the third sector; financial institutions, and other specialist sectoral advisory bodies to promote job creation.
This support includes the recent Regional Selective Assistance grant of £200,000 awarded by Scottish Enterprise to Blairs Windows Limited in Greenock, expected to create 70 new jobs in the town.”
Blairs Windows Limited was created on 22/02/2011 following the demise of Blairs Limited which was in liquidation. The assets were purchased by Arranglen Limited.
http://www.bwf.org.uk/news/industry-update/window-production-resumes-at-blairs-site.
Arranglen Limited owns a number of companies including 100% of McGills Bus Services Limited. James Easdale owns 99.98% of Arranglen. The remaining 0.02% is split between Gail Easdale and Christina Easdale. No mention of Alexander Easdale but perhaps he and James have a side letter.
EDIT: Just noticed the dates! So the Scottish Government agreed to pay-out a Regional Assistance Grant to a company before it was in existence. Now that is interesting!
neepheid says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:46 pm
I personally think that the financial situation is desperate, which is why the request for wage cuts now. But please don’t ask me to explain the luxury overnighter at Carnoustie a few days later, that is far beyond my powers of reasoning.
================================
I realise you are probably being deliberately obtuse but there are two direct correlations between the luxury stay at Carnoustie and their financial situation. Their employees and followers are incapable of even considering operating at a level that reflects their funds. Their owners don’t care.
Greenock Jack says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:52 pm
“My point was to do with the present” Fair enough GJ, I’m simply pointing out that Spiers has been “getting it tight” from rangers fans for a few years now, often by making very similar points to your last post.
Allyjambo says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Apologies to all for introducing this contentious topic.
====================
No need to apologise, to me, anyway. The sad thing is that we (those of us in the West of Scotland, anyway) live in one of the few places in Western Europe where such a topic would be contentious. I left Glasgow 40 years ago, and returned 5 years ago, imagining in my extreme naivety that the whole sectarian landscape would have changed, and that I would just be seen as an old dinosaur carting around my baggage from a long forgotten age. But I have to report that I seem to have returned to a situation which is worse, in some respects, than it was in the 60’s, I just don’t understand it, so I can’t explain it. But I find it heartbreaking that in 40 years, my country has not moved on.
No1 Bob says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Given the length of time these things take, i would imagine there was much form filling and negotiating, involving the SG, the Administrtor/liquidator of Blairs Ltd and the prospective purchaser.
Could be something in it, not sure Duncan McNeil will thank you if there is
Edit
meant to add, I have been involved in projects which were contingent on public funding, with the vehicle formally set up once funding had been secured.
From Gordon Smith
“Wage cut bid at Ibrox doesn’t mean a Second Coming of administration is on the way.
Take Rangers Chief Executive Graham Wallace at his word. There will be no second administration for the club. The Light Blues top man was categorical in his assertion.”
===========================================
I took it that the CEO of the PLC was discussing the situation with that PLC and not it’s loss making subsidiary which operates as a football club in Scotland.
Am I the only one starting to feel the same combination of nausea, disgust and fury at the prospect of a club which has deliberately engineered an insolvency event (knowing they can take the points hit) being promoted as I was at the prospect of the same new club being granted immediate admission to the SPL or SFL1? In fact my skin might somehow be crawling even more.
Is there any precedent in world football for this eventuality? In their discussion the MSM have not had so much as a sniff of anything even slightly untoward, although I suppose I should not be surprised.
iceman63 says:
January 20, 2014 at 12:44 pm
I see no evidence of austerity – I actually see no means of imposing sufficient austerity. There is no money to keep going until ST time I reckon.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Indeed, even the dumping Murray Park solution isn’t without cost or timescales. (Unless they have the deal already to go).
You can make staff redundant but that costs money.
You can mothball it but the facility will still need to be maintained and made secure to a certain degree.
Who will come in an part with cash in a matter of months?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Scottish Government or Sports Scotland could step in at short notice and take over the facility. However (and oh the irony) surely given their distaste for clubs receiving advantage through ‘State Aid’ the Bears would refuse such an offer and insist on a sale to the private sector.