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.
Smugas says:
January 21, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Allyjambo says:
January 21, 2014 at 2:42 pm
scapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 2:31 pm
———————-
The basic problem with the English interview is that English is a sports writer. This is a double handicap because
a) he is not a financial expert ( intelligent and reasonably savvy,like most of us on this blog, but not a specialist in plc finances and the Stock Market etc etc)
b) he has to be less than Paxman-like if he wants to be able to function as a sports writer in the claustrophobic, incestuous bubble that is Scottish Football Journalism.
His interviews with club CEOs and so on have to be less than hard hitting, and what he writes has to be restrained enough not to get him (or his newspaper) blacklisted or otherwise frozen out.
The problem for us is that those who are ( or are meant to be) ‘business’ reporters , even those who are employed by the ‘independent’ BBC, have chosen, or been told, to stay clear of any attempt at rigorous exposition of the financial plight of the new club.
Douglas Fraser, for example, has not been any more thorough, perceptive ,explanatory or incisive in his ‘reporting’ than several of our posters. Yet it is a biggish finance story with all kinds of interesting twists and spin-offs.
Has there been such reticence in relation to other clubs experiencing difficulty?
neepheid says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:25 pm
And it is exactly a rush of creditors all demanding payment NOW or threatening a winding up petition that often precipitates a company filing for administration.
nawlite says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:00 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 2:43 pm
===================================================
If you think my response was harsh then I apologise.
John
Nope, the coverage of Heart’s misfortunes has been different. Having said that, if you look at business reporters interviews with CEOs in general , the questions are usually better, but, the answers aren’t much different.
I see police in London are charging three Spurs fans for using the word ‘yid’. Obviously that is an interesting one given that Spurs fans celebrate their Jewish connection and refer to themselves as the ‘Yid Army’ or at least they used to.
I wonder how that might play-out in Scotland?
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:40 pm
OT That reminds me of the wonderful drama with Warren Mitchell set over the water where he says “It’s the best place in the world to be a Jew, the Gentiles are too busy with each other to bother us”
When is an interview not an interview? Ans: When anyone from SMSM interviews anyone from inside Ibrox.
Bit of a quiet day – so let’s look ahead to Downfall the movie franchise. Phil, I’d like to suggest this for the closing sequence of Downfall III – featuring SDM back-lit speaking the words with the minor players slowly faded-in to join the chorus a la Bohemian Rhapsody. Start at 3:17. I’m not sure you’ll find a better off the shelf ending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ8xuLibo8U
It Aint Easy When You Fall
It Aint Easy When You Fall
Where do you go when you’ve somewhere to run
But the time isn’t right and there’s things to be done
And you’re trapped half-way up, you don’t want to go back
So you keep going on – compromising the lack
And you see the green fields as you travel on by
And you look at the things you’d forgotten to try
And you wish you were young and you wish you were old
For the songs always sung and the stories been told
And you thought you were different but what did it mean
For you tricked yourself trying – life’s still unseen
As it is, as it was, as it always will be
Will you find out at all what it is to be free
See it never was easy to live with a head
So I kept to the back room and I live there instead
What comes from the front-room is only for friends
I have a bay window but that’s where it ends
And it’s here I see pictures and my madness is clear
And there’s no longer logic so therefore no fear
And I’m almost dead with uncontrollable light
Sometimes when I’ve
written a songwrecked an institution – it’s alrightscapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:39 pm
‘…if you look at business reporters interviews with CEOs in general , the questions are usually better, but, the answers aren’t much different.’
———
Very true. And we couldn’t really expect a CEO to commit company suicide, a la Ratner….
But we ought to be able to expect some really persistent follow-up questioning, so that the interview is not turned into a mere puff piece or company statement.
John clarke says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:30 pm
==================================
@ John
The time-honoured newspaper practice is that when Sports journos picks-up a juicy story on a player then it’s passed to the newsdesk and a reporter does the dirty deed to protect their sports colleague so that the club doesn’t bar them.
Same went with a financial story albeit with a slight twist in that a finance/business reporter wouldn’t pursue the story – it would again be done by a news reporter. That’s because finance/business reporters tend to operate in the same cozy relationship with people/companies they write about as do sports journos.
You have to remember that news editors try to ensure that in their team of journos there is a wide range of skills so one or two will have a reasonable financial expertise.
Of course that’s how it used to be and with the cut-backs and redundos there is less and less staff and more and more very raw computer jockeys who do little more than copy and paste junk from the wire services and PR releases.
And what’s even worse is that the backbone of every paper used to be the subs – these guys/gals were worth their weight in gold and a really different breed of journo who spotted all the grammatical, spelling and factual errors as well as legals in a story and took delight in pointing out the errors to hapless journos and the more senior the better the laugh. But they were an abslute font of knowledge and wisdom. They have gone and all that matters is shovelling the crap as fast as possible and just make it fit with no thought as to anything else.
It will only get worse 🙁
john clarke says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:50 pm
“And we couldn’t really expect a CEO to commit company suicide, a la Ratner….”
Green did on more than one occasion, it is to the journalist’s eternal discredit that they let him away with it.
‘scapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:46 pm
“It’s the best place in the world to be a Jew, the Gentiles are too busy with each other to bother us”
——————
OT, but here’s an interesting ( for anyone who might be interested) link, which perhaps provides some sound basis for the remark:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/irish-jews-face-uncertain-future-as-usual/
Eco
ecobhoy says:
January 20, 2014 at 9:33 pm
I have no problem about anyone questioning anyone else’s input but I do have a problem when a poster is demanded to reveal who he has worked for which, for me, is unacceptable.
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Eco
I am surprised that you state “I demanded to know where the said poster worked ” and if this is indeed the case then you are quite correct to question my actions .
If as you say the offending posts have now been removed then I would be grateful if the mod who deleted them could inform me if this was indeed the case in the context you you have taken my post ,I appreciate that he or she may have more important things to deal with ,so maybe the poster my posts were directed to could affirm your take on my posts , if so I will glad to apologize to them directly .
Now that is sorted on to your other points .
You are correct any misrepresentation of your posts was unintentional
My opinion is just that ,an opinion and should be taken as such ,my opinion is based not on any inside knowledge but on what I have witnessed in this saga so far
You say ,you expressly stated that BDO, for various reasons, might fail in that task no matter how skilled, honest and diligent they are ,so I assume you have doubts about the overall outcome (although for your own reasons ) that have nothing to do with BDO .
I agree that it may not help commenting on this story from a position of not knowing the facts but my guess is that the vast majority of this blog do not know the full facts and as long as the posts are opinions and not stated as facts ,I have do not see it as a problem.
You are willing to wait for the BDO to finish their work to answer on the final outcome ,2/3 years seems a long time off (wheels turning slowly and all that ) but I will be interested in your findings .
I realize that you hope that BDO will deliver the justice we expect ,I think you will be disappointed but I sincerely hope I am wrong and you are right .
As for the FTT ,lets just say that decision alone ended all my hopes and made me the cynic I am today .
I think someone said that the internet blogs were 1% factual and 99% bampots
You keep batting for the 1% and I will keep blowing hot air and indulge in wishful thinking to do my bit for the bampots .
As for the slapping down part ,maybe you should search for a different turn of phrase in case you fall foul of the easily upset .
TSFM as I stated above ,
If the mod who deleted any offensive posts from me on Friday 18th could drop me a wee post or the poster in question, could do likewise ,it would be appreciated .
Apologies if this has been posted before, but I haven’t seen any reference to it today:
http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2014/01/21/4555/
It seems that our match with Queens Park on the 4th of January has aroused some suspicions due to unusual betting patterns.
The odd thing is that it’s been reported in The Record, and yet the club are claiming that this the first they’ve heard of it, and having not been contacted at all by any of the football authorities in question, they’re unable to determine whether there’s anything in it?!?!?
I’m sort of wondering if this is part of the ‘See? They’re all at it!’ campaign that seems to have underpinned the Black justification, or if there’s anything genuine in it. If any of our players have been involved, then I hope they’re drummed out of football for good, but the main concern is that if there is some sort of investigation taking place, why haven’t Clyde been notified in any sort of manner? I mean, I could understand if there was a need for confidentiality for the investigation to proceed, but given the alleged offence has already taken place, and somebody has obviously felt it’s proceeded enough to leak it to the papers……
{Edit – it looks as if it’s more a case of the bookies playing safe, although I’m not happy about Clyde’s name being linked to something like this if the bookies and the football authorities aren’t going to follow it up, as mud sticks…..]
The RIFC CEO Graham Wallace has made it clear at the shareholders meeting and in later press engagements that he is in place to cut costs and make the business “sustainable”.
Following on from the shareholders meeting, the 120 day review and the introduction of Philip Nash in an advisory capacity were put forward as the first steps.
In the Scotsman interview today with Tom English, Mr Wallace makes his need for Philip Nash clear.
“Phil can help us get to the nub of some of the issues. He knows football structure. He’s leading the business review project for me so we can get up the hill quickly. It’s about objectivity. I came here with a fresh pair of eyes and I brought Phil in on the short term with a fresh pair of eyes and no baggage and preconceived ideas. It just helps us look at things in a more objective way. “
It says something for the humility of Graham Wallace that he is happy to allow someone else to “lead the business review project” though it does seem to undermine his own qualities.
If Mr Wallace came in with a much needed “fresh pair of eyes”, Mr Nash it seems matched him, and indeed trumped him with the added advantage of being devoid of “baggage and preconceived ideas”. No bad thing in itself though hardly something a new CEO on a mission to achieve stability would admit lightly.
Mr Wallace is no wall flower however and is clearly not prepared to sit back and let others take centre stage, far from it. “You have to be prepared to back your own judgement and back your own ability.”
Confident words I’m sure you will agree, from a man who is “tough when he needs to be tough”, and makes things plain “I know what needs to be done, I know how to do it and I’m focused on getting it done”.
Perhaps Mr Nash is redundant before he gets to lay his unencumbered eyes on the company accounts. Not exactly a saving but at least a cut back on expense.
Mr Graham has it seems his own ideas and he is the man with a plan, or perhaps the man who knows a man with a plan.
Or perhaps the man who hopes he knows a man with a plan
Allyjambo says:
January 21, 2014 at 2:05 pm
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After first reading TE’s interview with GW I thought all the hard questions had been answered in a ‘no doubt’ fashion, but on re-reading I’m now not so sure. As an example I’ve chosen the following two, linked, questions and answers.
TE: Is the club up to date with payments on tax and VAT?
GW: Yeah, completely.
TE: All bills being paid on time?
GW: Yeah. Trading as per normal. There is no issue there.
Re the tax and VAT response; the value of that answer depends on whether the most recent tax and VAT bills, due this month, I believe, were payable on or before the date of the interview. If not, it could be an accurate answer, but…
There’s also the distinct possibility that, in the true ‘Rangers’ way, tax bills that would otherwise be outstanding, are currently under appeal!
Then; ‘Trading as per normal’. Does that mean, ‘as per normal for a Rangers’? Or, ‘trading and paying our bills as they fall due’? Also, he could have said, if true, something along the lines of, ‘there are no outstanding bills, all our bills are paid as they fall due’.
As per usual, answers accepted by the interviewer with no follow up or pressure applied. I suppose it’s a necessary failing, if the interviewer wants access to the CEO in future!
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AJ…please do remember that the current CEO of the Govan club is a CA…and not the sole ICAS or ICAEW member on the board…how could you possibly insinuate that anything was untoward…tut tut…shame on you sir!
essexbeancounter says:
January 21, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Hanging my head in shame, Mr Counter 😳
The latest 4 star extravagance has me more convinced than ever the route Sevco 2012 are taking .
Also GW said that A Mc 50% pay cut in in active yet in his Friday interview A Mc said he would sign it when the contract was put in front of him ,I take it the deal was done over the weekend 🙄
Ally/Essex
If you’re going to cook, get the best cook you can afford
@ ecobhoy The icing on the cake was the discovery of a coal mine slap-bang in the middle of the site in an early 1800s map. Old coal mines are common in the East End of Glasgow
I did mention in an earlier post that houses and schools were demolished round the parkhead area because they were sinking because of the mine shafts, Also if i am correct when celtic park was rebuilt they had to reinforce the ground because of this….ps great post 🙂
From comments below
Share Price Information for Rangers Int (RFC)
I said I’d refrain but it would be rude not to respond to your particular point. You say that staff have been paid as though you’re in the know. Well, I can categorically state that staff have a confidentiality clause forbidding them from speaking about the financial state of the club. I do not want to jeopardise my friend’s job so I can’t go into any further detail except to say, for a fact, that some staff have not been paid for two months.
fergusslayedtheblues says:
January 21, 2014 at 5:29 pm
@fergusslayedtheblues
You have again misrepresented clear statements made by me which doesn’t faze me in the slightest. However, to unpick them would take me time and a post of at least double the length of your latest one and I have no intention of inflicting that on the blog as my personal vanity doesn’t require it.
However a couple of points I would comment on. You state: ‘As for the FTT , lets just say that decision alone ended all my hopes and made me the cynic I am today’. We obviously have very different approaches to life and posting because when I read the FTTT decision many, many times and analysed it I saw the legal flaws in the majority position. I also was convinced that the minority decision was the correct one and believed that when the case was appealed to the UT that it would find in favour of HMRC. Nothing has altered my position and, indeed, it has been reinforced by the latest decision on the AAM case.
At the time of the FTTT Decision I posted dozens of detailed arguments setting-out why Poon the accountant had got it right and where the two legal members had got it wrong.
Giving up at the first hurdle or challenge is an anathema to me and if I had become a cynic over a perverse legal decision, especially one that could be appealed, then I would have collapsed under the weight of cynicism at least 40 years ago and retreated to a cave somewhere.
You state: ‘I think someone said that the internet blogs were 1% factual and 99% bampots’. That might be the case on some blogs but I can assure you I wouldn’t be seen for dust on such a site and I hope you aren’t suggesting that’s the case here on TSFM because that really would be a slur on the many fine minds and enquiring posters who spend time and energy here.
And to finish on your piece of unwanted advice: The day that I worry about falling foul of the ‘easily upset’ and am unable to slap them down either physically or in debating terms, depending on which is required, is the day I’ll chuck it. But I think that will be a long time in coming 👿
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:22 pm
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Sorry guys, i’m still not seeing how a club out of Ibrox is a sustainable business….
Of course, mothball/close MP, that might save another £3M a year, of course, sell it and you could even get some cash in as well as shave costs. The bears might even buy that as a prudent measure. But, lets wait until it’s sold – until it is, A Rangers playing out of Ibrox/MP will be a championship/Premiership bottom feeder club at best.
_______________________________________
What do you reckon the chances of the SFA buying it at an inflated price ‘for the national team’ to use, thereby propping up the finances of the Ibrox shambles?
Yogi says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:11 pm
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From comments below
Share Price Information for Rangers Int (RFC)
I said I’d refrain but it would be rude not to respond to your particular point. You say that staff have been paid as though you’re in the know. Well, I can categorically state that staff have a confidentiality clause forbidding them from speaking about the financial state of the club. I do not want to jeopardise my friend’s job so I can’t go into any further detail except to say, for a fact, that some staff have not been paid for two months.
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Anyone who hasn’t been paid for 2 months without prior agreement should be taking legal advice, via the CAB for instance, or their Trade Union if they have one. That is absolutely unacceptable behaviour from any employer.
Martin says:
January 21, 2014 at 5:45 pm
On your Wallace piece and especially the need to bring in Nash re the ‘football structures’ aspect it made me think that they have an RIFC Board that is clearly unfir for purpose as at least one NED should have that expertise and it’s a real indictment of the club that this appears not to be so.
I have to admit that my brain boggled when I saw Nash was experienced in ‘football structures’ and I wondered whether his professional expertise lay in structural engineering – obviously not although that’s another expert consultant perhaps they should be thinking about 😆
Since joining the bampot ranks some time ago, I am responsible for relaying updates to those around me that are not fellow i-bams.
After explaining the likelihood/possibility of a planned admin, player dump and debt bump manoeuvre, whilst still being allowed promotion. The look on my mates face will stay with me for some time, I cant repeat what came out his mouth but the words, durty and sneaky were in there, but he also finished off his rant by adding ” that’s f- ing brilliant mind you “. 😆
Ye canny be up tae them right enough. The return to their rightful place took less time than expected. Old dog new tricks n all that.
Hearing that AMcC is down at Blackpool tomorrow morning… Word is he is on the 8-12 shift on the beach… Hee-Hawwwww!!!!
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:22 pm
Do you see a sustainable business if MP was closed and the team trained locally to the stadium?
Resin_lab_dog says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:28 pm
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Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:22 pm
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Sorry guys, i’m still not seeing how a club out of Ibrox is a sustainable business….
Of course, mothball/close MP, that might save another £3M a year, of course, sell it and you could even get some cash in as well as shave costs. The bears might even buy that as a prudent measure. But, lets wait until it’s sold – until it is, A Rangers playing out of Ibrox/MP will be a championship/Premiership bottom feeder club at best.
_______________________________________
What do you reckon the chances of the SFA buying it at an inflated price ‘for the national team’ to use, thereby propping up the finances of the Ibrox shambles?
========================
maybe not buying it, but may agree to a long term lease – effectively sharing the facility and picking up a share of the costs.
would ease the burden somewhat
the outside options are a deal with the council – allowing them to knock down the nearby sports centre and develop it for houses – they could buy part or all of MP for this purpose. reducing running costs and a capital injection.
they missed the boats on a similar deal with glasgow rugby – they sold part of their ground for development to pay bills, they could have easily shared the facility (or sold a part of it to them) and allowed them to offload the rest of their ground
i’m sure something will come along!
Cluster One says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:07 pm
@ ecobhoy The icing on the cake was the discovery of a coal mine slap-bang in the middle of the site in an early 1800s map. Old coal mines are common in the East End of Glasgow
I did mention in an earlier post that houses and schools were demolished round the parkhead area because they were sinking because of the mine shafts, Also if i am correct when celtic park was rebuilt they had to reinforce the ground because of this….ps great post 🙂
==========================================================
I was born in the Gorbals and brought-up in the East End so know the area well. My best mate lived on the top floor of the red sandstone tenement right on Parkhead X and we used to climb out on the roof on a good day and sunbathe.
Yea there’s huge subsidence probs all over the East End and I’m certain you’re right about Celtic Park and the school that you talk of was that not Riverside Secondary. That’s where my mate went to before transferring to my school as Riverside didn’t have a fourth year.
My pal joined the airforce after leaving school and died at a very young age and I always think of him when I pass his parent’s old tenement and especially sometimes at Celtic Park on a special day because when we were young every game was special and the highlight of our week.
He was going to go to uni with me but changed his mind at the last minute because he didn’t want to put a burden on his parents. Poverty really is a curse and the East End has more than its fair share and I really am pleased that the place is getting a bit of glitter spread about and I just hope that jobs will also be created.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:45 pm
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Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:22 pm
Do you see a sustainable business if MP was closed and the team trained locally to the stadium?
———————–
it would certainly help but i still reckon you’d be looking at a 1st team wage bill under £5M
of course, if income rises, 1st team wage bill could rise with it.
still requires a lot of cuts in the background – hotel expenses being only 1 small part of that – staff cuts, squad cuts, director salaries/bonus’s, managers wages, youth set up cut back – MP mothballed.
scapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:02 pm
If you’re going to cook, get the best cook you can afford
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© Walter White 🙂
Come to think of it, that is a strange conflation of names!
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:53 pm
In terms of a Pareto analysis MP should be near to the top of the list.
It is a huge drain on RIFC/TRFC’s resources…
Phil
Apart from a sale and lease back option who else could use it ? If they were looking to sell it out right to generate cash?
scapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Ally/Essex
If you’re going to cook, get the best cook you can afford
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Scapa…agreed entirely…however, sky high charge out rates/retainers do not necessarily imply sky high quality…be it cooks or beancounters!
Anyone who hasn’t been paid for 2 months without prior agreement should be taking legal advice, via the CAB for instance, or their Trade Union if they have one. That is absolutely unacceptable behaviour from any employer.
______________________________________________________________
.. and I think would be a breach of contract – rendering any confidentiality clause moot (in the US sense).
Non-payment of salary is something that would be almost impossible to keep a lid on – and to what effect if it is not the salary of the top (playing) earners?
Just doesn’t scan I’m afraid.
neepheid says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:28 pm
Yogi says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:11 pm
I said I’d refrain but it would be rude not to respond to your particular point. You say that staff have been paid as though you’re in the know. Well, I can categorically state that staff have a confidentiality clause forbidding them from speaking about the financial state of the club. I do not want to jeopardise my friend’s job so I can’t go into any further detail except to say, for a fact, that some staff have not been paid for two months.
============================
Anyone who hasn’t been paid for 2 months without prior agreement should be taking legal advice, via the CAB for instance, or their Trade Union if they have one. That is absolutely unacceptable behaviour from any employer.
===================================================
If I had to take a flyer on this I would be thinking either the Garrion Security or Rangers Retail operations mainly because they are new set-ups and probably have a very high number of casual staff. I also think I saw something recently about SportsDirect having an unbelieveable percentage of employees on Zero Hours contracts.
I am amazed that anyone in what will be a very lowly paid job can survive for 2 months without a wage unless they have another job. The advice given to go to the CAB or a workers rights organisation should be followed and I very much doubt if the info is correct that anyone will have the protection of a trade union.
pepperami says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm
I don’t think MP is the real estate goldmine that others have suggested it to be.
However mothballing the operation would save money fairly quickly.
The thing that GW doesn’t have is time.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 4:22 pm
Do you see a sustainable business if MP was closed and the team trained locally to the stadium?
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I’m quite sure that Celtic should operate a Good Neighbour policy in an hour of need. Why don’t we rent the Westthorn site to them for training and they can sell MP. Oh I forgot – we can’t because the Bears want the European Cmmission to take Westthorn off us. That’s a real pity 🙁
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:00 pm
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:53 pm
In terms of a Pareto analysis MP should be near to the top of the list.
It is a huge drain on RIFC/TRFC’s resources
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MP I kind of thought might make a Parklands country club. Mark 2 for the West end.
However I believe the owners may not currently have the dosh. Currently fronted by Annbridge Ltd and run by Michael Modine as was the case when all the Old firm players mgrs. Frank Blin . etc. were members.
So another no go I fear.
Training could always of course take place on the concrete floors of the Albion. Great for fast reaction and Danish apropos the title of his post could ship his mangled posts out to Pretendygers as a goodwill gesture.
There.
Sorted.
Oh its not is it.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:19 pm
1 0 Rate This
pepperami says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm
I don’t think MP is the real estate goldmine that others have suggested it to be.
However mothballing the operation would save money fairly quickly.
The thing that GW doesn’t have is time.
===============
Wallace may not have much time, but he’s certainly not acting like a man in a hurry. 120 day business review? Smacks of just kicking the can down the road to me. This is not a serious cost-cutting exercise, in my book.
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:19 pm
I can assure you that my comment regards the 99% was in no way a slur on this excellent blog but I suspect you already knew that .
You took exception to something I posted to another poster on here and I have invited the poster involved and TSFM mod to inform me if I have any redress to make ,if they do I will have no hesitation in doing so as It was never my intention to offend him or her .
You have made your view clear as have I .
I look forward to the said poster or TSFM reply now
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:19 pm
Time is of the essence true indeed do you know roughly how much it costs to run mp?
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:19 pm
pepperami says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:05 pm
I don’t think MP is the real estate goldmine that others have suggested it to be. However mothballing the operation would save money fairly quickly. The thing that GW doesn’t have is time.
=============================================================
I’m not sure that mothballing MP would save that much although I am unclear what the rates position would be if the premises were mothballed. I think the problem is that most of the staff wages would remain as the people there are required to keep the team playing. And they still need the equipment – can that be accommodated at Ibrox.
It boils down to whether the loss of face can be handled by the Bears and Ally. I can just see them training in Bellahouston Park 😳
And then how will they be able to form all these partnerships that they do by providing training facilities for all of Celtic’s CL opponents. I mean how many Barcelona and Milan youngsters are due to arrive this season or was it next? How time flies and quiet flows the Clyde (with apologies to Mikhail Sholokhov).
I agree regards the 120 day review ,I would have thought in dealing with cost cutting measures ,time would be of the essence.
Re A Mc his latest comments when asked about the 4* expectations of The Ragers ,it looks to me like he’s working his ticket 😯
fergusslayedtheblues says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:27 pm
You took exception to something I posted to another poster on here and I have invited the poster involved and TSFM mod to inform me if I have any redress to make ,if they do I will have no hesitation in doing so as It was never my intention to offend him or her .
You have made your view clear as have I . I look forward to the said poster or TSFM reply now.
=======================================================================
What TSFM or the mod involved or the other poster do is not my concern and definitely not for me to pass judgement or comment upon.
We all make mistakes and it is the mark of the man or woman as to how THEY redress that and as far as I am concerned this matter is closed. The rest is up to you.
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 7:53 pm
He was going to go to uni with me but changed his mind at the last minute because he didn’t want to put a burden on his parents. Poverty really is a curse and the East End has more than its fair share and I really am pleased that the place is getting a bit of glitter spread about and I just hope that jobs will also be created..(my edit)
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Eco…you have PM
questions, if they do fall into Administration for the first time, that means all current directors on TRFC cannot be directors again with the new club right…is that a revenue law or SFA law? would it also apply to those in charge RIFC also? so who could come in and prop up the club…sorry company if so? oh wait there’s a guy called Green who is available….
ianagain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:27 pm
2 0 Rate This
Training could always of course take place on the concrete floors of the Albion. Great for fast reaction and Danish apropos the title of his post could ship his mangled posts out to Pretendygers as a goodwill gesture.
There.
Sorted.
———–
It would be more symbolism than goodwill, and I’m not at all sure that would be well-received. Funnily enough, Mrs Pastry and I will transport them to the recycling centre tomorrow along with deid tellys, and the like 🙂
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:00 am
……………………………………
HMRC do not allow for it in the PD11 (I think thats the form) they demand the original on the road value from new.
HMRC the legalised version of the mafia
@Danish Pastry says:
And what better place to have a museum of local history than the old primary school? (Ok, I’ll get off my hobbyhorse).
I KNOW THE OLD PRIMARY SCHOOL JANITOR
Fergusslayedtheblues,
I think the “who do you work for?” issue relates to me. I was asked if I was an employee of or partner in BDO. I was not asked who I worked for.
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:32 pm
How time flies and quiet flows the Clyde (with apologies to Mikhail Sholokhov).
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Eco….Mikhail Sholokhov….?
This is silly season for us beancounters with 31 Jan deadline approaching …and I know that everyday is school day on here…but…gonnae geez a break man?…LOL all the way to Google!
PS at least it was not that Will Shakespeare chappie, as favoured by John Clark(e)…!
Paulmac2 says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:54 pm
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ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:00 am
……………………………………
HMRC do not allow for it in the PD11 (I think thats the form) they demand the original on the road value from new.
HMRC the legalised version of the mafia
============================================================================
Paul…The form is the P11d which is submitted to HMRC each year by employers.
OT… but cutting to the basics, some 25 years ago HMRC reviewed the whole scheme of “Car Benefits” and introduced a version using certain pre-determined scale values (rightly or wrongly!). This was in response to the widespread and blatant abuse of the reporting basis. Unfortunately, you, and many other honest taxpayers are picking up the tab for those who choose to be dishonest…now how that that fit in with the RFC(IL) scenario?
@ecobhoy says:
Riverside Secondary was the first to get pulled down as it was said to be sinking about a bricks depth every year. the adjacent housing scheme was also pulled down, as this was also sinking. Nothing was done to this land until the new commonwealth buildings were built. Still a common joke with some old friends who lived in the area is how long do you think it will last before they have to pull it down before it sinks 😕
Indy14,
I did a post back in week commencing Jan 6 about prohibited names (s216 Insolvency Act) and how they impact on directors reusing company names after insolvency. I am not aware of any relevant “Revenue Law” and I don’t know what the SPFL or SFA rules might say.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:19 pm
Business Transformation Programmes are expensive beasts to run. All the mood music coming from Ibrox suggests they need some quick wins to create the BTP budget. I would expect to see a number of projects of different sizes running right across the business, each with their own Benefits Realisation budgets, to be fair, this does take time to scope and set up, also, I would expect some gap analysis to be done to see if there are things there not doing, but should be, in order to be more efficient.
It would be interesting to know if the staff genuinely “tuped across”, or were simply employed on the same T&C by the new company, was their a break?
One of the things that caught my eye was Mr Wallace’s mention of the lack of a scouting network, so it would appear that as well as reducing headcount, he is not averse to increasing it to fill a key gap. Though one has to question whether in Mr McCoist they have a manager able to deliver under the constraints they will be facing, they might be better with a manager experienced in doing more with a hell of a lot less.
All projects essentially come down to time & money, Mr Wallace doesn’t appear to have much of either. I would really love to see Mt Nash’s Risk & Issues log, I would imagine the list of items marked for escalation will be both long and complex.
Paulmac2 says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:54 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:00 am
……………………………………
HMRC do not allow for it in the PD11 (I think thats the form) they demand the original on the road value from new. HMRC the legalised version of the mafia
————————————————————————————
That’s why I hand over the Tesco bag to my accountant. But seriously it seemed a good idea to tie the BIK figure into the actual depreciation figure but I suppose that would be an admin nightmare and even with a good computer system probably not workable.
Just as well I never became an accountant 😆
Edit – wouldn’t you know, found the answer to my question about 5 seconds after asking it – please ignore this message!
scapaflow says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:13 pm
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
January 21, 2014 at 8:19 pm
================================================
@scapaflow – So am I right in thinking that you reckon the 120 days will be needed to actually amass the info and work out the plan. It seems to me if that was truly the intention at Ibrox it points to a desire to have a continuing presence although obviously that might still entail an admin event.
If they are going to cut and run it seems a bit of an elaborate charade to go through all the steps you have outlined I reckon. Of course they might not be doing what you have outlined. We won’t know until it happens I guess.
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:26 pm
The 120 days seems a bit much given the size of the company, even then its a rolling process, you don’t need to dot every i and cross every t before getting started on the work. There should be obvious things you can do fairly quickly, though there will almost certainly be costs associated with them. If cash is tight, throwing bodies at it, to reduce time scales, may not be much of an option, when your contractors will be billing weekly or possibly even daily, and expecting to get paid just as quickly.
Campbellsmoney
Thanks for the reply and apologies for not remembering your moniker ,I hope you were not offended by any posts I made as no offence was intended .
========================================
I was asked if I was an employee of or partner in BDO. I was not asked who I worked for.
In that case Ecobhoy was quite correct as that question is very specific and not called for and (as I am not familiar with your moniker I assume you are a new poster ) even more so .
I apologize for my crass comment and I hope it does not give you the wrong impression of this blog which welcomes all opinions and viewpoints as I am sure you will find out in due course ,that’s one of reasons I read it regularly.
I believe self policing works best regards fans stepping out of line at games and I think this backs that belief .
😳
Something just struck me rereading Wallace interview with Jack Irvine/Tom English…..
Mr Wallace explains the need for Philip Nash…………
“Phil can help us get to the nub of some of the issues. He knows football structure. He’s leading the business review project for me so we can get up the hill quickly. It’s about objectivity. I came here with a fresh pair of eyes and I brought Phil in on the short term with a fresh pair of eyes and no baggage and preconceived ideas. It just helps us look at things in a more objective way. “
Now given that Wallace began his remit on Nov 20th 2013 – why does he need a fresh pair of eyes?
Does this mean he has been immersed in the financials beforehand? Or is he saying so much has happened since Dec, he needs help?
Or is he really saying he cannot believe his eyes and needs someone to verify the unpalatable truth?
Shame Tom was not allowed to ask him……………..
fergusslayedtheblues says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:37 pm
===================================
Well said ❗
Exiled Celt says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:54 pm
Exiled, while we’re treating this exercise seriously, i do wonder about Mr Nash, experience of football structures not withstanding.
There are lots of people out there with with the right skill set, and lots of experience of running this sort of programme in a company of this size, some of them are even Chartered Accountants!
From what I’ve seen of Mr Nash’s pedigree, good chap though he no doubt is, I do wonder if the square peg is actually in the square hole?
What has the biggest impact on the losses at Ibrox ?
Buying 20 portions of Bridie and Chips and paying in cash
Or
Staying overnight in a 4 Star hotel and not paying the bill
The Answer ?
Ask a Spiv
Like
Graham Wallace
Slightly off topic, but The World Tonight on BBC Radio 4 is about to examine the question of keeping politics out of the football stadium, I assume following the Nicolas Anelka development today. The introductory clip played unknown supporters of an unknown club singing something about a famine being over, which seemed to be linked to an invitation to some other people to “go home”.
I wonder if Jack Irvine listens to Radio 4.
More news as we get it.
This is quite interesting viz a viz outlandish squads. Also check the stats on homegrown re Celtic. Near the top of 3rd level.
a good read (free) on agents and how all these Brazilians suddenly turn up.
http://www.football-observatory.com/Demographic-Study-2014-now
Fergusslayedtheblues,
Cheers – all good here
😀
Exiled Celt says:
January 21, 2014 at 9:54 pm
Something just struck me rereading Wallace interview with Jack Irvine/Tom English…..
Mr Wallace explains the need for Philip Nash…………
===========================================
Something struck me also.
It was a large paragraph full of management speak bollocks stripped down below.
================================================
help us get to the nub of some of the issues
knows football (could read /oil/semiconductor/pie making/tree planting) structure
He’s leading (thank god)
get up the hill quickly.
It’s about objectivity.
a fresh pair of eyes
short term with a fresh pair of eyes (Oh twice)
no baggage and preconceived ideas
in a more objective way. “ (Well that’s better then)
==========================================
These chancers have made me sick my whole life. If the bears swallow this latest pap hell mend em.
Campbellsmoney / Fergusslayedtheblues
Get a room 🙂
Seriously though, well sorted guys!
Eco
There is one union which has been very successful in looking after its members at Rangers – the Gruesome Twosome of ICAS & ICAEW!
So many people devoted to the cost cutting, at no doubt further fees typical of the many before them who have skipped away. Who in turn have waited till the till is empty before nipping this problem in the 25yr old bud (spanning two histories, 3 if you count the sevco switch). Then requiring a further 120 days to review the finance problem, that has eluded everyone 🙄 bar the alleged villain and man who caused it all CW. 😆
It’s either administration, or another helping hand. After the meetings at HQ Hampden last week, I’m not 100% convinced the lack of urgency in filling the void left by the removal of tax money, is not down to being in the know that something else is in the pipeline. Especially after the posts on the use of MP by Scotland, which could be seen as vote swinging.
If a Scotland team sets foot on MP I and about 70% of the TA will never go home or away again. Suicide move.
Read TA forum.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/no-administration-fears-debt-free-rangers-3042865
Where is Neil Patey?
Another financial expert says no Administration for the debt free Tgers.
Nothing to worry about, aw well.. 😯