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.
this is bold text
Oh, it worked! I could get good at this! 😀
Thanks, but it seems like hard work for the mince I produce mainly. Back to lurkerville for me.
Smugas you have mail.
Edit- jc that may be handy for the UTT reporting, I’m thinking of attending, could do with a bit of entertainment.
Edit edit- I’ll leave the reporting to the pro.
I have always worked on the basis that if they can keep the fans onside through an administration process then it would be the best and cheapest way to actually re-structure the business.
They could terminate a load of contracts, get rid of expensive players, sell of assets which were expensive to run and come back a leaner company which actually had a chance to survive.
There is absolutely no reason why there can’t be A Rangers which is a viable business, they just have to cut their cloth accordingly. The previous club had a chance to do that and not only failed to do it, they didn’t even try. Have the new club learned nothing from that.
JLeeHooker says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:48 pm
0 0 i
Rate This
Awwww, we’re away nooo
Anything John Clarke can do, I can do better, anything Joh…..
GeronimosCadillac says:
January 24, 2014 at 12:12 pm
And before you tell me to stop telling you what to do and that people don’t need to read everything that is posted on here let me just say I like your work but there are bigger fish to fry and your investigative/analytical skills are required there.
—————————————————————–
I have no probs with anyone making suggestions but I happen to believe I have the right either to take those suggestions on board or not.
I have a track record here and on Scotslawthoughts and elsewhere of writing posts which are often long because of the complex nature of the issues I attempt to tackle. In writing any piece here of an investigative/analytical nature my first concern is to ensure that the information and facts I provide are accurate and that any conclusions drawn from them are balanced and objective and not legally actionable.
In other words I try to write them as a good journalist should do. As to length – the type of posts I describe tend to be long but they aren’t written to fit in a newspaper which is a bit of a moveable feast anyway depending on the publication.
They are more written to form part of the Public Record by covering the topic in detail. Should anyone want to create an abstract they can do so to suit their own particular purpose or that of their employer.
For months these ‘dodgy deal’ allegations have continued and grown and I eventually decided to look at them because I had seen no comprehensive rebuttal quite possibly because the subject is complex and needed quite a bit of time and energy to do it justice. To me the widespread response from a number of Celtic sites just to poke fun might have been acceptable to begin with.
But as the barrage continued and escalated into Europe then the poking fun strategy IMO started to look a bit threadbare and I actually wanted to know whether there was any truth contained in the allegations.
Like many other posters on here I tend to concentrate on issues which interest me and in which I have some expertise or knowledge. So there may well be bigger fish to fry but quite selfishly if they don’t interest me then I won’t invest my time and energy in looking at them when I could be doing something else of more interest to me.
And I write for my pleasure and not to talk-up Celtic and do-down Rangers and most certainly not to make life easy for lazy and incompetent journalists. It would appear from a number of contributions made recently that this site is awash with people who would be able to precis my work and ensure it was seized-upon by the SMSM. Ah hae ma doots right enuff 😆
To them I say – Please take anything I have written and do what you want with it in terms of presentation. However I would caution that you should never take anything I say as gospel and should recheck my work to ensure I haven’t got any facts wrong. If you would like me to pass any comments/suggestions on your efforts please PM me and I will attempt to assist.
I would finish by saying that the ‘dodgy deal’ story IMO is actually one of the utmost importance – not as a story per se but as to the uses it is being put and those orchestrating it in the shadows – but that’s only my opinion and I could well be wrong.
Ecobhoy,
Keep contributing on these matters, and others obviously. I have enjoyed your contributions and appreciate the research you have undertsaken.
People are, of course, entitled to skip the posts if they wish.
Tif Finn says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:58 pm
I have always worked on the basis that if they can keep the fans onside through an administration process then it would be the best and cheapest way to actually re-structure the business.
They could terminate a load of contracts, get rid of expensive players, sell of assets which were expensive to run and come back a leaner company which actually had a chance to survive.
There is absolutely no reason why there can’t be A Rangers which is a viable business, they just have to cut their cloth accordingly. The previous club had a chance to do that and not only failed to do it, they didn’t even try. Have the new club learned nothing from that.
===========================================================
Going down the survival route of a leaner club living within its means raises the key question for me as to what level would ST sales fall to as this would be critical in determining the extent of cost-cutting required. The problem of course is that it’s a kind of chicken/egg scenario.
Tied-in to that is the financial albatross of Ibrox although because of the emotional attachment I think it would be a very risky proposition to move away to save money. But if they stabilise the club whether by going into admin or not then at some stage I believe Ibrox has to go.
I think the funding of the new stadium to be owned by the fans – as well as the ground it sits on – could well be achieved down the line. But leadership is required which is possible. The more difficult taske is to leave the baggage behind which again would affect ST sales and that could well proive a sticking-point.
But if the choices above are too hard to make for Rangers fans I do believe the club will die many times as it lurches from one financial crisis to another.
If the institutions are taking the loss on shareprice and getting out then Res 10 will be passed and a sale and leaseback I believe is almost inevitable. That will put Rangers in the twilight zone where anything is possible IMO and I find it hard to predict how things will turn out because there are so few hard facts available.
Correct – but this is my point regarding the tightening of the rules around newco-ing – or rather lack of.
What is there not for the fans to stay onside about? Assemble a squad good enough and you earn more points than the admin process deducts. Of course you are going to do it again and again and again if needs be. Must we suffer it until they eventually do get the CL place they so crave or should we do what any five year old could tell you, just after falling down the stairs, that simply telling him not to play on the stair gate isn’t enough!
That’s not a particularly anti RFC sentiment btw – they (TRFC) can still achieve all you say in return for RIFC signing off on the CVA (although Auldheid would need to keep me right on the nuances regarding licences etc), in return for a handsome rental agreement and split of the 2014 ST funds of course.
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
January 24, 2014 at 12:14 pm
20
0
Rate This
If Lee McCulloch genuinely believes that the standard for the SFL1 i not far off the Premiership – then I wonder if all the players will gladly give up their annual pay rises as they move up the leagues for the benefit of the club – after all, its the same level of football they are playing.
===========================================================
Broony puts Lee ‘Elbows’ McCulloch in his place
When asked if there was a difference between the Scottish Premiership and League One..
Broonys reply”I dont know,I havent played in League One”
..Brooooonnnyyy
imo,
if your games about elbowing people in the mouth, does it make any difference in what league you do it
GoosyGoosy says:
January 24, 2014 at 9:44 am
5 0 Rate This
Lord Wobbly says:
January 24, 2014 at 8:04 am
Dave King confirms that the Ibrox clubs raison d’etre is to compete with Celtic and that it is “totally unacceptable” to lose to anyone else.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ‘But, similarly, we cannot risk going to Celtic Park and being battered 6-0.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Watch this space
______________________
It will be many years before they meet Celtic in the Premiership.
To avoid an insolvency event they will have to cut back drastically on the spending which will result in being a lot less competitive; and being a lot less competitive, just how long it would take them to get to the top tier is anybody’s guess.
They could of course be unlucky enough to draw Celtic in a cup competition, but that might be embarrassing for the Ibrox outfit.
Their dreams of meeting Celtic would turn to nightmares.
Yellowood says:
January 24, 2014 at 2:28 pm
===========================================================
I always attempt to respond to someone who addresses me in a post – as you did – as a courtesy to them and that’s what I did.
I appreciate your suggestion that I should write a big long guest post for TSFM but out of consideration for your eyeballs I think I should pass on that. However if you think that is the best way to make a point why don’t you actually act on your own suggestion.
As to ‘bickering’ I think I think the debate has turned to some very interesting points as to whether posters are free to post what they want and in a manner they choose – as long as they remain within the constraints of the blog – or whether their posts should be written to suit the requirements of others.
It certainly is an important debate and way above mere ‘bickering’ IMO and really does go to the heart of the right to express an opinion in the style desired by the poster or at least as constrained by their writing skills. It appears to me that, for some, it might only be a short step from telling a poster to change their writing style to telling another that their writing skill is not of the required quality.
However I truly am sorry to hear of your medical condition and might I suggest blinkers or tinted glasses might provide a respite for your eyeballs.
Interesting positioning here from Andrew Dickson (director of football administration 🙂 )
We Are Progressing Well Rangers FC – Official Site 14:33
So Ally and Graham are bestest mates and Graham is going to “take Rangers forward”.
Call me cynical, but is this prep for Wallace and Somers (remember him) to join Easdale [] as they move over to the RFCL board when it is hived off – this semblance of “no change” may serve to reassure the less inquisitive bears that it is RIFC that has been hived off for some complex technical reasons to ensure the future of Rangers – and the journey continues.
So the Titanic becomes the lifeboat and everyone steps off onto the new, albeit smaller, Titanic – which has all the oars it needs to evade future icebergs.
In today’s Evening Times Dave King seems big on what Rangers should be doing, but less so on how.
He suggests yet another share issue, but given what happened to the money collected from the last share issue, just who would be silly enough to throw good money after bad?
Certainly not institutional investors.
Once bitten.
King’s remarks about the wage bill/revenue comparison is flawed and unimportant.
What is important is the £1.2 mill overspend per month at the stricken Ibrox club, and severe cuts will need to be made in ALL departments to keep their heads above water.
In spite of all the newspaper talk about King being Rangers next ‘saviour’, he again today makes absolutely no comment whatsoever on investing any of his own supposed millions.
So…no relief there…
Eco – keep up the forensic research and detailed posts
Yellowood – when you feel your eyes bleeding just scroll to the next post
simples – fixed
Can anyone answer why a convicted tax dodger and someone branded a ‘glib and shameless liar’ should be given so much attention and space within our printed press?
Meanwhile Phil Mac has his book serialisation withdrawn and tarred with the old ‘sectarian’ brush and yet people like Graham are allowed on TV to spout all sorts nonsense.
What a strange world we live in when a writer of the truth is denied access to the media yet a fantasist and convicted criminal are given free reign.
You would think they had something to hide or are worried about a club/company slipping into obscurity and being forgotten about while the rest of the country simply gets on with playing football.
They are like a spoiled child screaming ‘Notice Me! Notice Me!’ while the adults attempt to have a grown up conversation.
Eco’s forensic obsessing is entirely within the spirit, ethos and history of the blog. It’s why we come here!
Keep it up , I say!
Never allow a lie to go unchallenged and batter it into submission!
Forensically battering it into submission a la Eco is a rare and precious skill!!
As a long tme lurker and havng read Eco on Random Thoughts and on here keep going Eco dig away!
ecobhoy says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:06 pm
============================
ecobhoy, probably at cross purposes here but I was pointing to the EDC Planning Board report as independent evidence that confirmed what you were saying re. the parcel of land at Lennoxtown that is now CFC training complex being designated as green belt compatible leisure development. I haven’t seen that in the various links that you’ve provided.
iceman63 says:
January 24, 2014 at 3:48 pm
1 0 Rate This
Eco’s forensic obsessing is entirely within the spirit, ethos and history of the blog. It’s why we come here!
—————————————-
I’ll second that . Eco’ s posts on the ”land deals” have been gripping . You’ve got to admire the forensic ability on show .
Mind the Gap
Quite a smart response by Neil Lennon to McCulloch’s nonsense statement and McCoist’s incoherent support of him.
I think it’s only fair to conclude that there is a considerable quality gap between Div1 and Premiership managers.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/lee-mcculloch-premiership-gap-comments-criticised-1-3281252
I remember thinking at the time Phil had overstepped the mark with his ” Incubator ” piece, obviously sectarian in nature, obviously in breach of Journalism’s code of conduct and obviously hypocritical, you cannot do a satire against sectarianism if you are indulging in the very same practice you are ridiculing.
Scottish football should be about football rivalry, not ethno-religious differences.
Dave King is a convicted tax cheat, if he is allowed to govern Rangers then throw away the concept of a fit and proper person test, it is meaningless.
Carntyne says: January 24, 2014 at 3:16 pm
Huh, I read those articles very differently. I thought King predicted there’d be no interest from institutional investors (pre-burned) but he would pile in on the rights issue, so his money would go directly into the coffers of the clumpany and help push the mighty Gers on to the very summit of Scottish football (where apparently the football is the same as that played in the third tier – which begs the question – why bother then?). The side effect of this is that he would be picking up a substantial stake in Rangers for a relativley low price as all the other shareholders have their holdings diluted.
Or a meringue?
I think that the most pressing concern just now must be cashflow.
An administrator can terminate commercial contracts and employment contracts. However that will give rise to claims for breach of contract and unfair dismissal (and other) claims. While the company remains in administration, those creditors cannot enforce those claims. When the company comes out of administration, those creditors will be able to enforce their claims. Accordingly, for the company to get any benefit out of the termination of the contracts, it will be necessary to get a CVA approved during the administration. To get a CVA approved remember you need 75% in value of all creditors who vote and also 50% by value of the “unconnected” creditors who vote.
Given that (because of footballing rules) any sums due to players will have to be paid in full, HMRC will undoubtedly vote against any CVA. I have no idea how much HMRC might be owed but at any given point in time, there will be some HMRC debt. Remember also that any CVA proposal is going to have to compromise the parent company debt as well.
I would suggest that there is no guarantee that a CVA would be approved (having regard to the need to have a majority of “unconnected” creditors (including HMRC) voting in favour).
Administration without a CVA would be virtually pointless (well, 15 points) as it would only temporarily ease cashflow – unless its main purpose was to buy time to get new money in from some source. There is no guarantee a CVA would be approved and you would still have to pick up the “football debt” anyway and the parent company debt would have had to be compromised as well. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that a “conventional” administration/CVA exit does not look like much of a runner here.
If there is to be an insolvency event, it may well be a liquidation (to avoid TUPE) pre-pack deal done before the end of the season.
ecobhoy says:
January 24, 2014 at 2:17 pm
…the ‘dodgy deal’ story IMO is actually one of the utmost importance – not as a story per se but as to the uses it is being put and those orchestrating it in the shadows…
Tif Finn says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:58 pm
I have always worked on the basis that if they can keep the fans onside through an administration process….
—————————————————–
Is the land deal squirrel being fattened up with nuts to allow the board to subtly claim via their unofficial mouthpieces that admin is inevitable because unlike Celtic we don’t get no favours from the man.
We all know how playing the victim card can rally the grizzlies.
Lets see if the SMSM will print the truth about the land deals (hahahahahahahaha).
Scottish Journalism needs an ecobhoy
jockybhoy says:
January 24, 2014 at 4:46 pm
======================
My reading of it too. Maybe we’re both doughnuts.
” I think that the most pressing concern just now must be cashflow.”
I don’t believe there are any signs of an immediate cash flow problem, to my mind the most pressing problem will be season ticket sales, apart from fan unrest there is a rather large price increase to factor in.
I have added a toolbar to the comments box so that Galling Fiver and others can add some spice to their input 😆
From left to right, the comments box will do the following to selected text
bold; italic; insert a link;
strikethrough; underline; insert image; unordered list; ordered list; list item;Precisely the thing that, admittedly only according to Charlotte of course, that Doncaster and team saw fit to brief against in August, and then came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t worth discussing, certainly not voting on, after all.
Why not? Who does the pre-pack benefit? TRFC – obviously with the mere trifling ingrained philosophy of grandiose entitlement and frankly ludicrous corporate history. The Championship? Why, the good ship Sevco will dock at some point one would have thought. SPL as was? What, disappointed to have missed armageddon first time around they thought they’d give it another shot?
Yellowwood (and others) if you don’t like ecobhoy’s posts,don’t read ’em.
More power to your elbow echobhoy.
Yellowood says:
January 24, 2014 at 3:18 pm
‘….the fact my last post got loads of TD’s suggests this view isn’t popular, so I’ll can it!..’
————–
I think, Yellowwood, that you crossed the line between expressing a view and being gratuitously offensive.
It is not the function of any one of us to express views on the drafting style, grammar, syntax, or punctuation of any poster on this blog.
Tackle the meat of what a poster writes, not his/her style of writing.
Magic 😆
The previous apparent obstacles to a newco route appear to have been removed.
History – well that seems to be easily transferable.
Membership – likewise.
Newco could be free of bothersome loss-making contracts (including employment contracts). Now if only the SPFL could be persuaded to admit Newco’s Club into the same division as that in which TRFC currently play.
But Smugas you are right to ask the question – who would benefit? Well the Club (by which I mean the purely footballing bit) would be in a healthier financial state. But it is not easy to see how such a deal would benefit RIFC and its shareholders as an insolvency such as this would mean all loss of shareholder value.
I am however of the view that they are running out of options quickly. Without cash going in somehow, something has to give soon.
They could of course be unlucky enough to draw Celtic in a cup competition, but that might be embarrassing for the Ibrox outfit.
==================================
Morton knocked Celtic out of a cup this year.
Galling fiver says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:55 pm
8 0 Rate This
jc that may be handy for the UTT reporting, I’m thinking of attending, could do with a bit of entertainment.
Edit edit- I’ll leave the reporting to the pro.
I’d love to report that case but think I’ll still be down here covering Brooks and Coulson (http://goo.gl/qKoSYI I started of as an amateur four years ago, I just went to the Tommy Sheridan Trial and wrote down what happened as objectively as I could, out of that I got my press credentials and current job (I’m almost part of the MSM now) I’d suggest it’s not that hard to do good reports on a case, I manage it, and, the only way learn at it at it by doing it and developing a style. I’d suggest to anyone here who has the time to go along to the UTT do so, and write it up. Would be great to read as many reports as as possible from people on here. If anyone wants a guide on how to report and the do’s and dont’s drop me a line on twitter and I’ll send you a link.
Stockbridge Walks. Game on?
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=11845103
According to Alasdair Lamont, Brian Stockbridge has resigned.
Right, bampots – what does the Stockbridge resignation mean? I assume it was him dumping shares earlier…
The functions I described earlier were with respect to the “text” tab on the comments box.
The “Visual” tab is more intuitive – although it does not contain the blockquote functionality.
I wonder if Nash was brought in as a ready made replacement or is he too high powered and expensive?
If this was good news for Sevco, why would it be being released at this time on a Friday?
If this was good news for Sevco, why would it be being released at this time on a Friday?
——
Absolutely. Some chat on Twitter that this is the harbinger of the Sale and Leaseback. Which would be interesting.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25888690
Rangers have parted company with finance director Brian Stockbridge, the Ibrox club have announced.
Stockbridge had come under heavy criticism from shareholders at the club’s AGM in December.
“Rangers said “no ex gratia benefit or bonus” had been paid to Stockbridge over his departure.
I would guess that means that he will get whatever he was due for early termination of his contract (6 months wages)
From the RIFC IPO prospectus
2.1.2 Brian Stockbridge
Under a Scottish law agreement signed on 17 September 2012 (but effective from 1 September 2012), RFCL employed Brian Stockbridge as Finance Director of RFCL for a salary of £200,000 per annum (plus benefits and expenses). Mr Stockbridge is also entitled to a non-contractual bonus of 100 per cent. gross salary if the Club wins promotion from the SFL, share options, in the event that the Group’s shares are listed on any recognised exchange, with a value equivalent to two and a half times Mr Stockbridge’s annual salary. The agreement is terminable by RFCL either for causes or on 6 month’s notice and by Mr Stockbridge on 3 month’s notice. Following termination, Mr Stockbridge is restricted for 9 months from, without consent, directly or indirectly being employed by any football club in the top division in Scotland as a chief executive or similar role, soliciting any director/senior employee/player/youth player to leave RFCL or employing a director/senior employee/player/youth player who was employed within the 12 months preceding the date of termination.
Has Stockbridge resigned from the club or the company?
I wonder if the “Share Option” that Brian Stockbridge had was the purchase/sale of 1M+ shares that we saw this morning.
Did today’s resignation of the FD trigger the sale of the 2.5 m shares?
A very clever poster predicted a wee while ago that when Stockbridge went…. and I can’t remember the rest 😳
Could someone remind me?
blu on January 24, 2014 at 3:58 pm
ecobhoy says:
January 24, 2014 at 1:06 pm
============================
ecobhoy, probably at cross purposes here but I was pointing to the EDC Planning Board report as independent evidence that confirmed what you were saying re. the parcel of land at Lennoxtown that is now CFC training complex being designated as green belt compatible leisure development. I haven’t seen that in the various links that you’ve provided.
=================================
I think we are at cross purposes a bit because I thought you were talking about the second planning application for the extended facilities at the training centre and not the first one which gave outline planning permission in December 2005 for its actual establishment. There is obviously no credible argument against the fact that the site, where the centre is now located, has been regarded as Greenbelt since 2002 by the landowner and the local council.
Campbellsmoney says:
January 24, 2014 at 5:30 pm
2 0 Rate This
The previous apparent obstacles to a newco route appear to have been removed.
History – well that seems to be easily transferable.
Membership – likewise.
———-
Perhaps Charles Green could sell the history of RFC to Blackpool FC. “Rangers B.C.” has a certain ring to it — or, even better, “Blackpool R.C”.
According to (the former) Duff & Phelps, RFC history comes cheap — in fact, part of a job lot. Charles of Normandy will no doubt confirm this. A transfer of history to Blackpool would solve the move south of the border. What with “Bazza” in situ, the stage is surely set …
Edit: 😀
From the announcement to AIM, he departed by “Mutual Consent” and that the resignation only related to his directorship of the company and its subsidiaries.
jean7brodie says:
January 24, 2014 at 6:34 pm
1 0 Rate This
A very clever poster predicted a wee while ago that when Stockbridge went…. and I can’t remember the rest
Could someone remind me?
——-
I think someone mentioned ravens and the Tower of London, but I may be wrong about that.
Should Stockbridge exercising his share option not have been notified to AIM as a Director Shareholding?
Or did he just buy them on his way out at the top of the marble staircase and sell them to a spiv hanging about at the bottom.
And what price did he pay for them? 1p perhaps?
I take it Stockbridge has completed his part of the job and it is now time for the next phase, whatever that may be.
It really is the thing most likely to get the fans back onside and more ready to accept the current board.
ecobhoy says:
January 24, 2014 at 6:42 pm
1 0 Rate This
Should Stockbridge exercising his share option not have been notified to AIM as a Director Shareholding?
Or did he just buy them on his way out at the top of the marble staircase and sell them to a spiv hanging about at the bottom.
And what price did he pay for them? 1p perhaps?
———
Some whopping great sales today on the share front indeed.
Mr Stockbridge cashing in? (he who laughs last, and all that …)
Danish Pastry says:
January 24, 2014 at 6:38 pm
————————————–
Thanks DP 😉
Stockbridge going will be spun as good news for the Bears who will be delighted.
If I was an institutional shareholder looking at all the Board Members and executives that have departed in 14 months I think I would be taking the hit and selling-outbefore the dilution arrives.
Stockbridge
Empties
Vault,
Cash
Only
Sorry, couldn’t resist 😀
Another deal today saw Seneca Partners takeover Miton Capital Partners (who happened to own over 4% or 2.66M shares in RIFC)
http://senecapartners.co.uk/2014/01/seneca-investment-managers-builds-for-the-future-with-acquisition-of-miton-capital-partners/
Presumably why the announcement came after the end of training on a Friday Eco.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_gratia
A company conducting layoffs may make an ex gratia payment to the affected employees that is greater than the statutory payment required by the law, perhaps if those employees had a long and well-performing service with the company.
=====================================
Ex-Gratia payments are basically a nice thing to do, a gift, a wee bit extra for a decent spud when they leave.
That is not the same as people getting their contractually agreed payment as and when they leave.
Surely the people on SSB (Johnston and Keevins) know that.
If I was involved in a company where the CEO had asked key employees to take a 15 per cent wages cut, then he admitted the firm faced a short-term funding problem – and then the Financial Director was kicked out by mutual consent . . .
Boy, would I be worried.
PS: If Stockbridge has been sacked due to Wallace and Nash uncovering something nasty in the financials then it means one of two things:
1. The spivs will force through the appointment of another director (probably Chris Morgan) to mind the shop for them, or
2. The spivs have finished their work, their cash is safely parked offshore and it’s time to get the Hell out of Dodge before the Sheriff arrives.
It seems pretty clear Stockbridge has been made to go.
Under the terms of his contract, in those circumstances the company has to give him 12 months’ pay, i.e £180,000 (or more if he got a pay rise this year)
The kitty is emptying quicker than they thought…..
How does this make any sense as far as cutting costs go?
Stockbridge likely have the remainder of his contract paid up, a new FD needed to come in, there are no savings there. Perhaps this is just a fan pleaser so that any further cut could be made to look more acceptable.
Fan pleaser in my view.
Or, it was his time to leave as his part had been played.
In reality, probably both.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25888690
Stockbridge’s contract to be paid up in full.
Missed out the tweet
Jonathan Sutherland @BBCjsutherland 4m
Brian Stockbridge will leave Rangers with his contract paid up in full. Equates to £200,000.
One of my mates just text me to point out that I look like Mr Stockbridge 🙄 and that if in fact I was him, he congratulated me for all my stellar efforts with Sevco.
I pointed out that had I in fact been Mr Stockbridge, I’d have instructed the esteemed manager to invest the entire £20 million of IPO money in securing the services of Darren Mackie!
A first mention for Darren Mackie on The Scottish Football Monitor?
Surely next week will see another week of monumental squirming for all our outstanding administrators on the 6th floor 😆
“How does this make any sense as far as cutting costs go?”
as with all things in the wacky world of sevconomics – makes perfect sense
hopefully Ally will be along to explain it tomorrow.
I know we don’t talk about football as a rule of thumb, but good luck to Pressley’s Coventry tonight.
I think the chap speaks well and has a good attitude towards the game, a young Scottish manager doing a decent job and learning the game. I watched him on a TV debate talking about the game and I was very impressed with his attitude.
I know they are probably looking at a right hammering tonight but best of luck to him and his team.
Carry on.
slimshady61 says:
January 24, 2014 at 7:32 pm
It seems pretty clear Stockbridge has been made to go. Under the terms of his contract, in those circumstances the company has to give him 12 months’ pay, i.e £180,000 (or more if he got a pay rise this year).
========================================================
According to the Rangers AIM Prospectus Stockbridge’s contract states: ‘ . . . The agreement is terminable by RFCL either for causes or on 6 month’s notice and by Mr Stockbridge on 3 month’s notice.’
So if there is no non-contractual or ex gratia payments as stated on AIM then he either got zilch; 6 months money; or 3 months money I would reckon. I would think he probably got 6 months unless something serious surfaced.
EDIT – ADD
Of course perhaps he hasn’t actually paid back his 200k bonus yet. After all has Ally’s wages even been cut yet?
On Stockbridge
It should be remembered that he is the last one who dates back to the time of Sevco 5088. He was there at the beginning – now there is complete deniability at RIFC and TRFCL on what took place in those days.
I wonder if someone is coming to knock on the Ibrox door shortly? Or perhaps CW is actually coming to town 😆
Ally will want to know if the new FD takes sugar and milk in his tea.
Keevins is am imbecile.
“The club has been in liquidation and is moving back up.”
Not even the company, the club. He has accepted that they are both the same thing and that it went into liquidation.
IT IS TILL IN LIQUIDATION.
If the club went into liquidation then it still is in liquidation. Nothing has come out, it is probably going to be years before it comes out, and that is when it is wound up.
andygraham.66 says:
Silent “u” in that?