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.
redlichtie says:
January 28, 2014 at 3:53 pm
Caption : “Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath (struck thru) SFM (inserted)”
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Nice one @redlichtie, especially since “Scottish Football has been done up like a kipper”!
john clarke says:
January 28, 2014 at 2:43 pm
A professional, technical report made freely available would make that clear , and remove any doubt that may attach to the veracity and accuracy of an edited or summarised version.
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I have no reason to believe that the geotechnical report is anything other than honest and accurate but it has become a red herring. It is fairly easy to draw a conclusion about the ground conditions at Westthorn by doing the very basic research I have done.
I know what geotechnical reports state for the Parkhead area and I doubt that the one for Westthorn would be much different. But if the Bears really believe something is being hidden why not purchase their own report – especially a mining activity report – or go through the individual results for the couple of hundred bore hole results in the Westthorn and surrounding area which are publicly available and free and I have read – I truly am an anorak 😎
The info is there but the Bears don’t actually want it because it destroys their case. You have to remember that when they kicked-off the Westthorn claims they were using the adjacent Belvidere site as their comparator to prove that Westthorn was undervalued. They’ve realised that one no longer flies so it’s quietly dropped.
The Court of Session ruling on reports is quite clear and that is that the report needn’t be provided under a FoI requesting information but that the ‘information’ contained in the report must be if requested. You have to remember a major reason that Glasgow and Dundee Councils appealed the The Information Commissioner’s ruling was that the reports were sold to landowners and provided an important source of revenue.
The councils argued that to provide the reports under FoI would mean that private companies like the one who had requested the reports would be able to undercut the council price as it would have no expenses in actually preparing the report including the site work. So a private firm walks in and creams-off the public sector and the one left picking up the tab is the ratepayer/taxpayer.
Now I know that Rangers fans, in the main, seem to think it’s the done thing to avoid paying taxes and to hell with the public purse. But Glasgow Council is in the position that they could break the precedent if they actually provide a report and this would cost the City money.
This has nothing to do with Rangers but is all about retaining income in very difficult times for local authorities. If they lose the not inconsiderable income from the sale of PECs then something else will need to be cut.
What price FoI then? Sadly everything comes at a cost. But these are issues that have nothing to do with Celtic and they obviously won’t get involved in them.
But we then end-up back at the fishing-exercise being mounted because the Bear forensic investigators don’t actually seem to have a clue as to what questions they should be asking.
To successfully use FoI you have to have done your research and carefully craft the question but having seen some of what purports to be Bear exchanges with council officials that expertise would seem to be in short supply in the Blue Corner.
slimshady61 says:
January 28, 2014 at 3:53 pm
But really the only sub-terranean movement that interests me is the final twitchings of the cadaver of Rangers Football Club plc (In Liquidation).
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Funnily enough I know a pretty deep mineshaft not far from Parkhead 😆
Only problem is that the capping slab is 2.5 x 2.5 metres square and 700mm thick – still I’m sure we can levitate it.
Off Topic – Flashback
Club websites are always keen to remind us of highly selective good old days with articles like “On this Day in 1815”. Well here’s a random event from the vaults for all you bampots to reminisce about:
Ally McCoist wants Rangers ‘totally cleansed’ after Charles Green exit
He added: “What the club actually needs is to be totally cleansed, to give ourselves an opportunity to move on. Just everything out in the open.
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/222257-ally-mccoist-wants-rangers-to-be-totally-cleansed-after-charles-green-exit/
Wonder how that’s going.
slimshady61 says:
January 28, 2014 at 3:53 pm
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ecobhoy says:
January 28, 2014 at 1:12 pm
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In terms of London Road school, Celtic are paying £300,000 for this building and land when an almost identical former school, also in the north of the city, was sold by GCC in the past 2 years to a developer for half that price.
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this is a good point, are the land bear experts only looking at deals where they think Celtic got a good price – are there other deals and how do they stack up? Sounds like celtic got stuffed by GCC on the school after the council shuffled their feet and let it fall into disrepair.
Just because they think they have 2 deals that look good for Celtic, are there any bad deals?
and on that front, are they even looking into the deal that saw them buying Murray park? How does it stack up against 1. Celtic deals 2. Commercial & domestic property developments in the same area
what i find most amusing is their sectarian rants against GCC and labour over these deals – forgetting that Lennoxtown is not on GCC’s turf. East Dunbartonshire full of Celtic ST holders as well?
or they just doing a half arsed comparison
expatbhoy says:
January 28, 2014 at 2:37 pm
A number of journalists are bandying about the figure of 500k per month trading losses, they seem to think Rangers will lose about 6 million this year. If this is the case then ticket price increases will half this, leaving them with a 3 million shortfall next year, which sounds about right.
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Well if the SMASM have got it right it will be the first time since Murray commanded the ship and sailed it down the pan into the Turdey Ocean 😮
I wonder who’s providing the info to the journeys ❓ Surely not ❗
You would surely. just close the loss-making subsidiary?
ecobhoy says:
January 28, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Well if the SMASM have got it right it will be the first time since Murray commanded the ship and sailed it down the pan into the Turdey Ocean 😮
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Eco – the first time I remember a similar estimate being socialized with the bears was from McMurdo back in July 2013 (300K to 500K pcm) before the accounts revealed a highly dressed up £14.4m loss over 13 months. – and as I remember he kept to his “it’s not as bad as the facts suggest” line long afterwards. Maybe Admin will not be as bad as the facts suggest and liquidation will not be as bad as the facts suggest.
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/bumper-pay-for-new-rangers-chief/
EDIT: Of course reducing the monthly loss to £500K or less pushes out the crunch date until after STs – and reduces the need for immediate cost-cutting action. I always find that a high speed impact hurts less if you close your eye 🙂
Q: Are the goal posts still up at Barrowfield? Just thinking,a wee roof,some benches,a pie stall.An ideal fitb’a park for a team looking for digs soon.Of course surveys would need to be carried out to make sure there was no subsidence,pollution issues etc.
Many posters here are wondering why the Sevconians are concentrating their efforts on a land deal and a bank lending facility of a club not in their division.
Simple answer is – they have all fallen for the great liquidation lie.
This lie depends on many people to spread the message – the SFA, the SPFL, SMSM and their own Supporters organisations………
That no matter what happens, there will be a team in blue from Govan competing in the CL in the near future….
Liquidation is recoverable. Maybe even repeatable. Its merely shedding debt you don’t need or want. Its only fancy accounting language that no once cares about. Financial institutions know what they are doing and are in it for the long haul. These institutions will gift the money in the same fashion they have been doing for last 30 years. They want to invest to have Rangers back in the CL and recoup their money then. There is not a great gulf between where they find themselves and where they deserve to be. And despite the rest of Scottish football, there will always be a Rangers………..
Only its all a lie,
Lies and nonsense have not been swallowed so well since the invention of the Chinese Fortune cookie message,
To have people think that BDO are investigating an unknown holding company that is not Wavetower and is not apparently the same entity whose name is on the gates of Ibrox as – Rangers Football Club Ltd.
Since the Liquidation lie depends of the Then, Now and Forever, why should anyone who is a believer in this be worried about any possible shortfall in their accounts?
What is the worst that can happen? A 15 point or 25 point deduction? So what? A loss of points was the only punishment they got last time……….
However somewhere along the road they got relegated for no reason……………another lie!
The biggest issue facing Scottish Football is the Liquidation Lie.
Until it is stopped, there can be no interest by the TRFC fans in the shenanigans going on…..nor any reconciliation with the rest of the footballing world.
Exiled Celt says:
January 28, 2014 at 5:47 pm
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Excellent post – but the bigger the lie the bigger the consequences when it is found out – and it will be – because it will take £100,000,000 to get them back (sic) to where they think they are going in the time and style they deserve (sic). And some of those millions are needed NOW.
Well here we go ,Steve Simonsen ,who, I hear most of you ask,the keeper warm of the bench while Cammy Bell is fit ,is now stating that he has been bombarded with telephone calls from England with enquiries about Lee Wallace ,must do a wee bit of an agent on the side,he states that “Many,many people in England have asked me about him and I have told them all the same thing ,blah blah blah ,and on top of that he can defend as well [thank god for that],Ally will be well chuffed that some of his older players [Simonsen is 35] are trying to help out with the cash crisis at Ibrox ,he might even find that come midnight on Friday they have all done their bit and sold each other on,cash problem solved overnight .Simples ,cmon guys do your bit for the cause .
TSFM says:
January 29, 2014 at 1:16 am
18 5 Rate This
More input on housekeeping matters needed (for the ongoing funding of the site).
I have updated the Funding page and would urge all of you to get involved in the discussion there.
We need your input so we can get a system that doesn’t involve us coming to you a couple of times a year cap in hand.
Does this mean that TSFM is in danger of administration or indeed liquidation?
My take on the land deals and soft loans squirrel is ..
They are softening the hordes up for the bad news of sale and leaseback .
We would have been able to hang onto Ibrokes and murky park if we had access to soft loans and land deals but we had to pay top dollar .
Would not be surprised if they ramped it up when the STs are due as a defiant rallying call .
Slightly off topic ,but hey its quite ,re-laughing out when your on your tod ,couldnt help when listening to the radio earlier and the voice in the speaker rolls out an old joke .
A guy wakes up in a daze after being in an accident and looks to the left of him and sees John Wayne he then looks to his right and there is Clint Eastwood at that a wee porter walks by and the guys asks .where am I to which he replies ,The Western.
I’LL get my saddlebags
http://www.scotsman.com/news/rangers-get-go-ahead-for-govan-project-1-1136607
“RANGERS Football Club was yesterday given the go-ahead for a multi-million pound development to include a hotel and shops near its Ibrox stadium.
It is hoped the development, reportedly costing 350 million, will breath new life into the run-down Govan area of Glasgow.
Glasgow City Council yesterday agreed to transfer the land to Rangers. The club chairman, Sir David Murray, will now look for partners for the development.”
“agreed to transfer the land to Rangers” I don’t know about others but this reads to me like a gift. Perhaps even a state aid gift!
fergusslayedtheblues says:
January 28, 2014 at 6:09 pm
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My take on the land deals and soft loans squirrel is ..
They are softening the hordes up for the bad news of sale and leaseback .
We would have been able to hang onto Ibrokes and murky park if we had access to soft loans and land deals but we had to pay top dollar .
Would not be surprised if they ramped it up when the STs are due as a defiant rallying call .
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Good point, well made.
I do suspect that the timings of all these random events are usually just that random, but Rangers will take every opportunity to crank up the heat. They may however need to make do without the full backing of the SMSM , as the Celtic lawyers will be involved if the media stray too far down the dis-honesty route.
On the contention of Rangers losses, the current incumbents have inherited their predecessors mindset , so why would anyone with a brain believe a favourable ( or strictly speaking less horrendous) story emanating from Ibrox.
A new organisation will be formed , called something like The Royal Ibrox Stadia Group, where the Rangers fans can be guaranteed in perpetuity that their ground will always be at Ibrox with a football team, the only team in the country who have such a guarantee. A percentage of the profits will go to the Armed Forces ( a very small %) ….. Based on past performance , a puerile statement like the above is all that it will take to get the fans on board , and the SMSM crowing in approval ……..
This is the best Rangers can hope for …..
Another company for the FF hate list!!
Bartin @IBartin 23m
Glasgow Rangers whisky decanter. 1873- 2012. LOL ,
http://t.co/pVNcTWRgK1
Wonder if they’ll do a Peter Grant one?
Is there any site maintenance going on ?It’s extremely slow to access and even slower to refresh.
Evening all,
With all of the land deal discussions going on I followed the link to McMurdo’s blog and now feel like I fell down the rabbit hole. I find the polarized view of reality these people have to be quite disturbing.
In the “One Rangers, Not Two” blog, I came across this absurd paragraph-
Now it looks like we could have the nightmare scenario of two Rangers – the SDM Lite version favoured by rebels and with a mandatory seat in the comfy section for Paul Murray – and the club we actually have now, with proper business people in place, wealthy backers and a long-term vision of greatness on a sensible budget.
Have I read this wrong or does the poor deluded chap actually believe the above statement?
Proper business people – No
Wealthy backers – No
Long-term vision of greatness – No (perhaps the personal greatness of having filled ones own pockets)
Sensible budget – LOL
I try to be as objective as possible when it comes to my own team and very recently have begun feeling sympathetic towards the Rangers fans as they are being misled by a new moonbeam almost every day.
However, the phrase fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me comes to mind.
I also tried to read more of McMurdo’s blog but I can’t abide such poorly written fiction. 😀
“A number of journalists are bandying about the figure of 500k per month trading losses”
I haven’t seen or heard anyone bandy such a figure about and would question what they based it on.
The audited account show the trading loss to be double that figure, and I have seen nothing to suggest that either income has increased or spending has significantly decreased.
The interim accounts, which one assumes will come out fairly soon should clarify the matter. Though they are always a bit misleading as football is a very front loaded business.
A thought, will they try to use those interims to make it look as if things have improved since the audited accounts were released. That could well make it look like trading losses are likely to be substantially lower this year, as they will include the bulk of the income but only a fraction of the costs.
@Tic 6709
Having the same problem here. Probably explains the lack of posts tonight with most folk giving up after the long wait.
Another of the whisky decanters, http://twitpic.com/dtor1p
Bangordub @ 6:03 pm
Does this mean that TSFM is in danger of administration or indeed liquidation?
SFM Then. TSFM Now. TTSFM Forever.
Yes but did TSFM buy the history of RTC.
We have mainly focused on the financial aspects of TRFC – and the possible / expected outcomes. The general consensus seems to be that the Govan club is knackered for the long-term – especially in the absence of a Sugar Daddy.
Whilst we can perhaps ‘reasonably’ predict the financial challenges ahead for TRFC – or any successor club(s) – nobody can accurately predict the football outcomes for TRFC. [dodgy penalties and opposition sendings-off aside 😉 ].
If we assumed that by some miracle, TRFC suddenly became financially stable with e.g. a long-term ‘free loan’ from a rich fan, [I know…], then how would that affect the football ?
Even if McCoist was able to keep his current squad, I don’t think anyone would be overly confident that he would deliver the Championship title at his first attempt. It sounds like a number of TRFC fans themselves would not be confident either.
But, just say TRFC gain promotion to the SPL at the first attempt. IMO, their first season would be financially strong, as the club and its fans settled imaginary scores ‘back’ in the top flight.
But, just say they didn’t win the league in their first season, [I know], and in fact found themselves as bottom-half of the table also-rans ?
Would they sell as many ST’s the following season ?
Just say, in the second season in the SPL, TRFC languished in the bottom half again.
Would TRFC fans eventually drift away – as per John Greig days – and only buy tickets for selected games ?
Assuming TRFC gets to the SPL, there is going to be a huge expectation from their fans to show everybody – immediately – ‘what they have been missing’ wrt ‘competitive football’, [I know].
If TRFC are just crap, then the journey might come to an abrupt halt for many of their disillusioned fans.
So another dilemma is that apart from surviving, then gaining promotion to the SPL, the Govan club has to be competing at the top of the league – which is going to cost a lot more money.
And the other possible dilemma for the dodgy administrators: what would happen if TRFC found itself in a relegation spot in the SPL…?
the phrase fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me comes to mind
The actual full 12 inch version of that statement is
” fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times, WATP”
Tif Finn on January 28, 2014 at 8:37 pm
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Yes but did TSFM buy the history of RTC.
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I TUPED over.
I don’t do walking away
Allyjambo says:
January 28, 2014 at 8:24 pm
@Tic 6709
Having the same problem here. Probably explains the lack of posts tonight with most folk giving up after the long wait.
=====================
AJ, maybe the NSA have only one man on duty tonight.
And the other possible dilemma for the dodgy administrators: what would happen if TRFC found itself in a relegation spot in the SPL…?
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of all things relegation will not be permitted, Regan said they will “get all the help they need”.
This belief that TRFC in replacing RFC must be as successful as its dead cousin, raises my hackles, disgraceful how regan, Doncaster and Ogilvie are still in position, just disgraceful
Teams like Hearts and maybe Partick Thistle, Falkirk etc depending who is in the championship may have something to say about whether Rangers go straight into the SPFL Premiership. However the new rules conveniently have a play off slot, so if they cannot win the Championship there is always another chance.
With regard the squad I would make a few points.
1, Just because a team decides to pay a group of players £7m a year does not automatically mean they are worth that money. Higher wages does not automatically mean better players.
2, Just because you have a group of highly paid players does not necessarily mean you have a better team than one with a lower budget. Football is a team game.
3, In my opinion McCoist is a dreadful manager. He can take a group of highly paid individuals and make them substantially less than the sum of their parts. Is there a concept of negative synergy.
4, Some of the Rangers squad are getting on a bit. McCulloch and Daly can maybe bluff it in the lower divisions but their lack of pace and mobility will be found out at some point.
I expect Rangers to make it to the Premiership at the first try, but I don’t think it is a foregone conclusion.
Of course there is every prospect they won’t even exist but that’s an entirely different argument.
I am the first to support the notion that the legal entity died. I am the first to accept that the brand didn ‘t .
Those two points aside. Exiled Celt @ 5.47
Thon’s a stoater
EKBhoy says:
January 28, 2014 at 6:34 pm
I do suspect that the timings of all these random events are usually just that random, but Rangers will take every opportunity to crank up the heat. They may however need to make do without the full backing of the SMSM , as the Celtic lawyers will be involved if the media stray too far down the dis-honesty route.
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I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume Celtic lawyers have given the SMSM a friendly reminder to stick only to hard facts on this so called state aid. The BBC piled straight in as soon as the Rangers Standard released the EC story, STV quickly followed, then the papers all carried it the next day. Since then though, nothing, despite the frenzied attempts by the newly qualified land valuation experts to crank up the heat. No-one will convince me the Scottish media would not be delighted to sling mud if they thought they could get away with it.
Like others have posted
it has taken me an eternity to log in tonight. Is there a problem? We need to know, we should be told (Copyright A McCoist)
paulsatim says:
January 28, 2014 at 7:09 pm
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Another company for the FF hate list!!
Bartin @IBartin 23m
Glasgow Rangers whisky decanter. 1873- 2012. LOL ,
http://t.co/pVNcTWRgK1
Wonder if they’ll do a Peter Grant one?
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Whisky decanter?
An urn – (ashes, for the storage of) – shurely?
Problems ?….Squirrel in the machine 😉
Brenda says:
January 27, 2014 at 10:31 pm
… is this the lull before the storm?
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It must be our female intuition Brenda, but I have a feeling in my bones that you are correct and, no, it’s not arthritis 😉
Some as yet undiagnosed problems with the server. It has been a frustrating few hours, but I hope to get to the bottom of it asap.
Matchsticks on eyelids time 🙁
Just watched the Liverpool/Everton derby,a one horse derby,but still good stuff,thought Everton could have done with a Lee Wallace tonight and would urge Martinez to get the phone number of the Rangers #2 keeper and enquire about him ,which leads me on to values ,if The Rangers have been touting the young Templeton for 150k ,a young man that should have been plying his trade in the south by now ,then what value will they get for Wallace,any club interested from the south will wait until the last ,and I mean the very last minute and table an offer that our press protectors of sevco will not print as it will be so derisory it will shock the Rangers fans that their beloved club is so short of cash that they will sell at any price,so lets be ready for a squirrel infested weekend to deflect from any transfer monies that come into sevco as it sure wont be anywhere near what the lap dogs will put to print
Resin_lab_dog says:
January 28, 2014 at 9:51 pm
paulsatim says:
January 28, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Another company for the FF hate list!!
Bartin @IBartin 23m
Glasgow Rangers whisky decanter. 1873- 2012. LOL ,
http://t.co/pVNcTWRgK1
Wonder if they’ll do a Peter Grant one?
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http://www.robbieswhiskymerchants.com/item/727/Pointers/Pointers-Tommy-Burns-Decanter-.html
Resin_lab_dog says:
January 28, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Belter!!!
The Rangers will accept players leaving for free. every wage released is a gasp of oxygen.
I think any prospective purchaser will know this, if not, A’ve jist telt ye’s 😉
paulsatim says:
January 28, 2014 at 11:06 pm
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Resin_lab_dog says:
January 28, 2014 at 9:51 pm
Belter!!!
__________________________________-
http://t.co/pVNcTWRgK1
… seriously, if only there was some sporting precedent of ‘ashes’ being awarded as a sporting trophy? Nothing springs to mind! 😕
💡 We could perhaps buy one of these, get the bears 😥 to fill it with burnt share certificates and season books, and award 😈 it annually to whichever non league club wins elevation to the SPFL on the basis of sporting merit 😎 , rather than as a result of some shamefully stitched together corrupt and secret agreement 😡 .
TSFM
You floated the possibility to one poster that he might get Stuart Bathgate to do a question and answer for the podcast. A few musings if I might permit myself such license.
For some time it has been apparent to me that TSFM is setting the agenda in football reporting to a not inconsiderable extent. There are numerous instances when the MSM have co-opted our ideas and phraseology and made it part of a wider rhetoric. Phil Mac’s recent suggestion that he might assist TSFM in getting a press pass was likely made in the light of this emerging reality.
It is to be noted that internet crowd sourcing of information (witness Wikipedia) is part of a new information rich future that will only continue to grow. You can ignore this and get washed away in the tsunami or get on your surf board and ride the wave. So I think TSFM may have some leverage, if only it can be exercised effectively.
There are a number of issues with media personalities engaging directly with TSFM. Apart from the green tinge to the agenda, the discussions on here can verge on the disrespectful since we are bounded only by good taste in the scope of our discussions. So personalities may feel a bit vulnerable in swimming in such shark infested waters since we are beholden to no-one. The flip side is that anyone choosing to take the plunge could enhance their credibility (Graham Spiers, Tom English, are you watching) by braving the chilly waters.
However before this is likely to happen I think the ice needs to be broken by engaging with personalities that would not necessary feel compromised by whatever agenda we happen to be following that month.
Ian Fraser comes to mind. We have long bemoaned the lack of financial insight into recent events and perhaps an open honest exchange with someone with some real expertise might enlighten us and keep us from the more extreme speculation that I myself am prone to partake in.
If we can find some angles that do not immediately aim to breach the dam (Campbell Ogilvie for instance would never put his neck on the block), we might get some good content and even more credibility.
TSFM says:
January 28, 2014 at 10:34 pm
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1
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Some as yet undiagnosed problems with the server. It has been a frustrating few hours, but I hope to get to the bottom of it asap.
Matchsticks on eyelids time 🙁
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Have you tried turning it off and on again? 😈
(…sorry… couldn’t resist!)
O. M. G.
http://t.co/AX5BxV5Fyl
DR back page, £14 million?? ROFPML!!!!
Been told its £1.4 million, my eyes are not as good as they used to be. So still to be confirmed.
BBC;s Jane Lewis’ response to Sevconians asking about why no further talk about Celtic “state aid land deals”
Jane Lewis @BBCJaneLewis 1h
What?! All ok at your club is it – all happening elsewhere! #sweepsweep
No1 Bob says:
January 28, 2014 at 6:32 pm
Bob that is a cracker. If this did in fact happen do Sevco still own the land and having done nowt with it, why? all could be very interesting and Mr McM and his merry mob may have opened a hornets nest. I hope it is true and there is more to this story how funny would that be:)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/f/falkirk/4387279.stm
Falkirk stadium gets green light
Falkirk have received a safety certificate for their new North Stand, which means they now have a stadium that will allow promotion this season……
………He hoped that the local authority would also be able to overcome the problem of receiving permission to build on the side of the ground that comes within the BP oil refinery blast zone.
Knew I had read about “Blast Zones” somewhere.
This FANtastic site ‘must stay open! That’s the bottom line!’ 😛
I paid a tenner tonight to TSFM and feel embarrassed, I read comments on the site all day every day, for free!
T.
Resin_lab_dog says:
(…sorry… couldn’t resist!)
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Note to self, “create ‘ignoring you’ smiley. 👿
andygraham.66 at 8:44 pm says:
The actual full 12 inch version of that statement is
” fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times, WATP”
The actual digitally-enhanced, unplugged version of this statement is:
” fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me three times, WATP, fool me again, World Record.”
RayCharlez says: January 29, 2014 at 12:55 am
andygraham.66 at 8:44 pm says:
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Correct me if I am wrong – but are you ‘Ray Charles’ – one of the very first posters on RTC?
If so…where the hell have you been?! 😉
TSFM says:
January 29, 2014 at 12:46 am
Resin_lab_dog says:
January 29, 2014 at 12:07 am
Have you tried turning it off and on again? 😈
(…sorry… couldn’t resist!)
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Note to self, “create ‘ignoring you’ smiley. 👿
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Has he actually plugged it in?
Scottish Football (Monitor) may need tae pit a shillin’ in the meter….
Rumours circulating on Twitter that Mr Whyte’s comeback is scheduled for around 07 Feb 2014. suggestions that he is making a move to secure the assets that he believes are owned by Sevco 5088 – indeed he could move to start a seperate version of the club.
Is anyone else hearing anything – has anything appeared on the Court rolls yet that may suggest such a return?
According to the Daily Record back page (I know!) a bid of £900K has been knocked back for Lee Wallace. They must be taking financial advice from Duff & Phelps.
According to the Daily Record back page (I know!) a bid of £900K has been knocked back for Lee Wallace.
Who said that Gordon smith?….remember jelavic
Long Time Lurker says:
January 29, 2014 at 7:08 am
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Twitter never the best source, but I’ll let my wind wander and dream of investing some of my hard earned on stocking up the popcorn supplies for such an event!
Just heard about the gesture by Morton FC for tonight’s re-arranged match. Free admission and a collection for St Andrew’s First Aid:
Re: Record story on Wallace. Clearly a placed come and get him story with price tag attached. So by my reading they need 1.4 million to survive until ST time. Desperate stuff.
ianjs says:
January 29, 2014 at 12:31 am
Falkirk have received a safety certificate for their new North Stand, which means they now have a stadium that will allow promotion this season……
………He hoped that the local authority would also be able to overcome the problem of receiving permission to build on the side of the ground that comes within the BP oil refinery blast zone. Knew I had read about “Blast Zones” somewhere.
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Jayzus you find one Blast Zone and suddenly when they all start popping-up connected with football it’s enough for a conspiracy theory 😆
iceman63 says:
January 29, 2014 at 7:56 am
2 0 Rate This
Re: Record story on Wallace. Clearly a placed come and get him story with price tag attached. So by my reading they need 1.4 million to survive until ST time. Desperate stuff.
Indeed it is, I was always under the impression that when you have a fire sale, you can’t be too choosy about how much you get for your unwanted stock……
Testing..tchoo !! Tchoo.!! Wun..choo !!
We haven’t seen any World records for a while … I’d have thought 900K for a Scottish third division player would have been lapped up. Quite apart from being about twice what the guy is now worth. Forest seem to have anticipated a game of “hardball” and given TRFC short shrift, which is very disrespectful of them when dealing with such a globally important Scottish 3rd Division club.
My opinion is that this story is designed to broadcast a signal that they don’t need the money. A dangerous bluff to play at this stage, you’d think.
The Ibrox management must be walking a very thin line, along which various things have to go their way in order for them not to fall off.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/rangers-boot-out-900k-nottingham-3087772
Re: Wallace bid rejected by Rangers
The interesting thing for me in this story is that the SMSM knife is starting to be slipped into Graham Wallace over his rejection of a bid for his namesake.
Just look at the way it’s presented:
Wallace is being backed into a corner and his judgement is being chipped away at. There is obviously still a lot going on behind the scenes at Ibrox and it would appear that Wallace must believe Ally still has too much support to bag him.
It’s almost impossible trying to figure out if there is a difference in opinion over McCoist between the ‘keyboard warriors’ and the ordinary fans who go to matches and don’t express their views online but to their mates over a pint.
The Darkside reactions are also very difficult to judge because of the deep factionalism of the support and the widespread infestation of obvious PR trollers talking-up the current Board. Of course I have to admit that there are a lot of mischievous Celtic supporters who muddy the waters no end in their Bear persona 😆
bladesman on January 29, 2014 at 8:30 am
0 0 Rate This
iceman63 says:
January 29, 2014 at 7:56 am
2 0 Rate This
Re: Record story on Wallace. Clearly a placed come and get him story with price tag attached. So by my reading they need 1.4 million to survive until ST time. Desperate stuff.
Indeed it is, I was always under the impression that when you have a fire sale, you can’t be too choosy about how much you get for your unwanted stock……
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I would guess that Wallace is stock they would like to hold onto but it’s the unwanted stock on the daft wages they will find very hard to shift. Thus Wallace being one of the few sellable assets.
Not heard anything about the return of Whyte but nothing would surprise me any more. I think we are becoming numb as to how ridiculous things have become. The General Clutchers desperate last stand in the battle over little Westhorn is just amazing. If you take a minute out and ponder over what this omnishambles has evolved into.
Still no further forward on the slow loading issue I’m afraid. The hosting company technical support (to whom we pay a fair amount of cash in order to maximise the uptime of the site) has been unable to pin it down (as I had hoped) to a hosting issue.
The problem it appears is an old chestnut and is experienced by WordPress users after an update of the program. The same thing happened here when WP 3.8 was installed, but it cleared itself after a few hours.
The hosting company tell us that it is most definitely a WordPress issue and they are still investigating on our behalf. WordPress have been unable to suggest a fix that works. The plan will be to wait for a few more hours in the hope that it clears. If not, then I will take the site off line for a few hours and rebuild it from scratch.
More as we get it.
Angus1983 says:
January 29, 2014 at 8:43 am
My opinion is that this story is designed to broadcast a signal that they don’t need the money. A dangerous bluff to play at this stage, you’d think.
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I hadn’t read your story when I posted mine and it could be that the story was fed to the SMSM just for the purpose you mention. If Forrest don’t come back and Lee Wallace isn’t sold then the other Wallace will come under pressure and not just from Bears but from the shareholders who control the club asking what the F***! are you playing at ❓
It’s not unusual for a manager to take flak over what they did or didn’t do in a transfer window but not as often do we see a CEO suspended between fire and frying pan although I do remember a Charles Green – formerly of this parish – who ended-up in a similar predicament and had to exit Sheffield United rather swiftly.
Amazing how history often repeats itself 🙄
But you’re right about it being dangerous because the SMSM will always back the Old Blue Guard when push comes to shove IMO. So the PR-fed line gives them an opportunity to put some pressure on the incumbent Board,
The figure of £900,000 for Wallace may or may not be accurate, but we can take it that this is the top bid, possibly the only bid, they have had, though Forrest probably came in with a lower bid and have reached their maximum. I don’t suppose the fact that their manager, Billy Davies, is tinged (tainted?) with Rangersness influenced him in any way in his decision to bid (or allow him to be touted as a bidder) in this latest TRFC ‘hour of need’ 🙄
Dear Mr Irvine,
So are we running this “Gers in £899k swoop for Jambo Stevenson” on Thursday or not?
Yours etc
D Record.
Edit: My mistake, they’ll probably bid 950!
upthehoops says:
January 29, 2014 at 7:21 am
Twitter never the best source, but I’ll let my WIND wander and dream of investing some of my hard earned on stocking up the popcorn supplies for such an event!
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Where ere ye be, let yer wind wander free!
Thought 2
You don’t really need a left back, especially one who does’t want to come anyway. Sellers are widely touted as, whats the term?…knackered. They knock back your bid which is strangely made public. On the last day do you a/ go in higher and risk the wrath of your support if he’s a dud? b/ Go in same again with your poker face on – possibly, again question why or c/ stick in 500k take it or leave it.
The bears won’t be happy if there’s a cash shocker round a corner. Dangerous, dangerous game of bluff this one.
Thought 3
Craig Whyte, assets and new club. The former – 2 pages max in eco FACT stylee – does he have a claim or not, black and white, yes or no.
New Club. Its the server captain, she’s gonna blow…
My previous re the DR piece on Lee Wallace was tongue in cheek, however my view is the T’Rangers are clearly playing to the masses here. They don’t want to be seen to selling their main playing asset for less than a million, even though the reality is that he’s languishing in the 3rd tier of Scottish football with an international career that has stalled because he chose to ply his trade playing against part timers…
If this was a game of poker, every smart player has chucked their bidding hand in with only Forest and TRFC sitting staring each other out. I would imagine Billy having a cheeky pair of aces and Sally hoping for the best on a single jack….(Poker players please excuse the distinct lack of proper terminology)
From what I can see Forest don’t need another fullback, but TRFC do need funds.
If Graham Wallace is half the man he professes to be, he should be bold enough to signal to all and sundry that the cost cutting begins with selling a player in order to bring funds in and more importantly show Sally who is running the show. Time to throw in the hand and cut your losses. 🙂
In trying to find if River&Mercantile were one of the institutional shareholders that committed to 3%+ of the IPO I came across an Evening Times interview (19/12/12) with then Chief Exec Charles Green on the successful flotation of RIFC: In it he said :
Wow. Just wow. Wrong on almost EVERY level. Is there ANY recourse to investors for such a, let’s be charitable, misreading of the financial prospects of the new company over only 12months? Or is it the old “caveat emptor”? I loved that prospectus – it is actually on my “favourites” I goback to it so often – I couldn’t see how it could possibly happen the way it was laid out…
Rather than having an increased cash position, as Green stated, RIFC’s recently departed finance director said they would be down to £1m in cash by April. Rather than Ally “Alistair” McCoist having a £10m warchest to spend on players in January 2014, with the transfer window shutting if anything it seems more likely a player or two may be sold to reduce the wage bill and improve cash somewhat, the IPO money having been frittered away over only 12 months.
Incredible really…