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.
Here we are ,the last day of 2013 and what a year its been for Scottish football re the Rangers continuing saga ,each month has been like a round of a boxing match ,a fifteen rounder which will run until March,the challenger ,sporting entegrity has had his opponent Sevco on the ropes in every round but due to a poor referee he has failed to stop the mismatch ,he must have a bet on the outcome,unless something strange is added to the Sevco water bottle in the final round the outcome should be a no brainer ,but as has happened in boxing matches that where as one way as this one, we will not be shocked when unless there is a knockout from Entergrity the fight will be awarded to Sevco .
On another note.
As the march of rangers continues and they gain promotion into SPL 2 ,can anyone advise on if there is a criteria to be met to enter the SPL ,IE financial plan etc as it is a different organisation and surely have a duty to cover the existing members that there is no possibilty of a new incommer bringing their league down.
Happy New Year to all.
Some excellent posts over the past couple of days…
@Giovanni great post on Kingsnorth. I have read a fair bit about the guy and what you write seems spot on. I am not an expert in the financial sector or business law but ‘what if’ the clumpany run out of cash and put in for an administration event. Shareholders and those owed get a say in a CVA being agreed (or denied). No one entity owns or is owed enough (presently) to overrule a CVA (like HMRC last time).
A CVA could possibly see McColl, Kingy etc collaborate to get the assets for lets say £6m, deja vu et al…. This probably would not suit the investor sharks.
You are clearly more experienced in these matters than I. My question: Would it be more beneficial for the asset strippers to deny a CVA for sequestration and then selectively pick off individual assets cheaply for resale, rent back? They would obviously have lost their shareholding but what did it cost them in the first place? It could be argued it gives them a collusive control over 2014 events at the rangers.
The rangers men at that point would be putting their cash together to buy history, tug the fans heart strings, spin ala Chico and get a team on a park that they do not own. It would be costly enough to do that, maybe this time they will get it right and make the appropriate choices to get to a financial stability, lessons learned..! Then again maybe deja vu again..
FIFA – the SPL became the SPFL and now runs the four senior divisions, now inexplicably named Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2. As to business plans, if the current position of TRFC is not as presented to the SFA, they would have taken action by now. 🙄
I’ve never seen intentional Admin as a very convincing scenario – there is too much danger of frightening the horses and arousing sleeping bears to inhale the aromas of coffee.
What is needed is a ruse that extracts cash quickly for the Laxey-like investors and at the same time adds to the “journey” fable that the bears have swallowed hook, line, sinker and rod.
The bears are currently being prepped for austerity and the need to do anything and everything necessary to secure the future. I see Admin being avoided by handsomely rewarded loans from the Laxey-like. Then when the Championship is secured and increased ST cash is in – the big idea will be unveiled.
“We need to secure Ibrox forever as a national treasure and who can we trust with its future more than our loyal fans. So we will move Ibrox into a new company separate from the plc and enable the fans to invest in safeguarding it in perpetuity”
“Yes, IPO Ibrox, the Ibrox IPO”
Genius – a buyer that believes in a glorious long term footballing future will pay top dollar for an otherwise dubious asset – and they will happily invest in its repair and upkeep.Some chunky fees for Laxey-like advisers and the spivs skip off into the sunset holding hands with swag bags of IPO dosh over their shoulders.
Or is that too far fetched for you ?
on dean shiels contract….
I find this site the most trustworthy on contract information, though their transfer values can be out of kilter with my own views.
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/rangers-snap-up-shiels/news/anzeigen_97654.html
So, 4 year contract from 1 August 2012, so, runs until 31 July 2016. Hence 2.5 years left on contract.
5 appearances, 158 minutes, out injured fro 2 months.
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/dean-shiels/profil/spieler_21421.html?from=news_text
Note only 3 players out of contract in this summer.
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/rangers-fc/kader-vertragsende/verein_124.html
It is an artifact of being TRFC that the balance of players out of contract at the end of this season is so small.
Now in one way this may seem good, nobody walking away for free. However, also means there is very little scope to allow the squad to thin out through players ending their contracts.
Contrast this to say Falkirk, who have 15 players out of contract, effectively more than half the squad.
Buddy
GoosyGoosy says: (494)
December 31, 2013 at 11:45 am
john clarke says: (1476)
December 31, 2013 at 1:21 am
I DO think that the current board want to keep the show on the road.
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Nope Cant agree John This club is run by Spivs for the benefit of Spivs. Nobody else Cost cutting is only relevant if it helps the Spivs make more money.
Right now the obvious game plan is to put RFC into Administration owng megabucks to the Spivs who then take the assets and offshore them leaving the rest of the shareholders with nothing. So maximising the debt is clearly the current strategy and all the puff is simply window dressing
The very idea that anyone of integrity would work for a bunch of Spivs is simply nonsense
The recent recruits are simply more Spivs jumping aboard to get a piece of the action.
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I’m not convinced the latest additions to the Board are actually Spivs. I believe they have been brought in by the Spivs and possibly conned with the task of ‘saving’ the club financially. But that is merely to provide a fig leaf for AIM and any other authorities against claims of a pre-planned rip-off by the Spivs.
The new Board, even with good intent, will fail in its task for a variety of reasons and most likely because it doesn’t suit the actual Spiv objective which IMO is to separate the property assets from TRFCL. They could do it at any time in any case, even without the debt factor, but it looks better if RIFC appears to have no alternative but to takes the assets to protect its shareholders which its Board has a legal obliugation to observe.
Whether the Spivs feel confident enough to offshore them and leave RIFC shareholders in the lurch is another issue and I have serious reservations about that actually happening because there is the threat of the ticking time-bomb of the BDO investigation. It might come to nothing but the Spivs don’t know what BDO have uncovered so far and where their probe will end-up.
At some stage the new RIFC Board members will either realise they are being used as patsies or conclude they can’t save the ship as the financial holes are to big to be plugged. So they are the ones who will have to euthanise the current Rangers (TRFCL) and they will be the ones left to carry the can as far as the fans are concerned.
What then becomes interesting is where does that leave the Easdales? I think they have outlived their usefulness and will find they lose the ‘proxy’ power which temporarily provided them with a status of a sort and a cameo part in the Ibrox soap opera. They were useful as a bulwark against the angry fans at the agm but most Bears aren’t really convinced they have Real Rangers credentials and neither do I.
@MCFC howdy mate.. I think there will be a few twists and turns yet but I suspect there may be a lot less bodies willing to invest in the next rangers vision, inc investors and fans. Those who currently have the shareholder grip will not want to see their holding diluted.
I think Phil’s comments on the much more costly SB will happen and I really think that will drop attendances by around 10k but that and maybe some private investment is the only real option to keep the tribute act alive for some part of season 2014.
There has to be cuts to the playing staff, some paid off, maybe one or two sold in January. This will cause a major strain on the inept Super SALary..
My thoughts on downfall 2 has always been the loss of the support and probably due to footballing matters. If they get to next season in a far better league and get a run of bad results the bears will be in an apoplectic fit where no amount of WATP, No Surrender, Orange Tap selling, sword rattling will save the club. For now the bears seem happy(ish) with the illusion.
100BJD says: (116)
December 31, 2013 at 12:18 pm
I am convinced also that Colin Kingsnorth is in here for a property deal.
===============================================================
Hard to see what else could possibly interest him especially as he missed-out on the 1p share bonanza.
But the only real value in Ibrox in property terms comes from it being the spiritual home of Rangers. Take that away and its value plummets. That’s the bit I don’t get – why is he interested or is just as simple as Laxeys was conned originally by CG when he sold them the original tranche of shares at £1 a time which to me seems very poor judgement by Kingsnorth.
But always worth remembering he was possibly the first to extract a refund by a share issue to make-up the difference betrween the £1 a share Laxeys paid and the 70p flotation price. And the curious fact that the shares weren’t provided from RIFC but out of Green’s personal shareholding. Why was that? And is it part of whatever ties Kingsnorth into this murky mess?
McCoist – “I know not to believe everything I read and hear”
So your contract that you signed without reading showing £800k+ per annum is a fairytale in Govan then, eh Ally?
The revised one showing 50%reduction in wages that you so desperately crave to please the bears is more bunkum, is it Ally?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-budget-crunch-looms-ally-2974422
Echo
I’m not convinced the latest additions to the Board are actually Spivs. I believe they have been brought in by the Spivs and possibly conned with the task of ‘saving’ the club financially. But that is merely to provide a fig leaf for AIM and any other authorities against claims of a pre-planned rip-off by the Spivs.
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I would suggest the term ‘wilfully conned’ because everything points towards experienced corporate gents either knowing exactly where this is planned to go or getting on with their remit, saying/doing more or less what they are told to and not wanting to know much more.
Crighton certainly knows what is going-on.
Somers is a chairman delivered by Danial Stewart who will say what Irvine wants when prodded.
Wallace.G is a little more difficult to read but hasn’t showed any signs of being off-message to date.
Easdales are a heavy spiv front.
I don’t buy the short-term plan that would see admin2 and ensuing fall-out.
It will be getting costs down and some investment in, followed by a pitch to ST holders.
Will the share price rebound on that to give Laxey a ROI or will assets be transferred between RIFC and TRFC ?
After a huge spiv effort to maintain control and Laxey having invested further, I’d have thought that they will have something in mind other than hoping the SP rebounds in such a precarious industry.
m.c.f.c. says: (83)
December 31, 2013 at 12:51 pm
I’ve never seen intentional Admin as a very convincing scenario – there is too much danger of frightening the horses and arousing sleeping bears to inhale the aromas of coffee.
What is needed is a ruse that extracts cash quickly for the Laxey-like investors and at the same time adds to the “journey” fable that the bears have swallowed hook, line, sinker and rod.
The bears are currently being prepped for austerity and the need to do anything and everything necessary to secure the future. I see Admin being avoided by handsomely rewarded loans from the Laxey-like. Then when the Championship is secured and increased ST cash is in – the big idea will be unveiled.
“We need to secure Ibrox forever as a national treasure and who can we trust with its future more than our loyal fans. So we will move Ibrox into a new company separate from the plc and enable the fans to invest in safeguarding it in perpetuity”. “Yes, IPO Ibrox, the Ibrox IPO”
=================================================
A point worth remembering is that this would allow The Requisitioners – who first mooted the ring-fencing the stadium – to ride back into Ibrox with heads held high and go straight onto the Board as the ‘specialities’ provided by Stockbridge would no longer be required by the Spivs.
The only problem I see with your suggestion however is even if the fans went for a stadium purchase IPO I think the absolute maximum they could raise would be circa £10 million and that’s me being optimistic.
I don’t think that’s enough for the Spivs although it might guarantee their personal safety. And there is the other problem of the expenses involved in operating Rangers. Somehow I don’t see this as the Spiv Masterplan but anything is possible although not necessarily sensible.
New Poster, long term Lurker and admirer of the excellent well informed posters on here.
I am posting because I think with my surveying background I can shed some consideration on the Murray Park issue.
An earlier poster, had a well informed post about the past record of the planning history involving the area around Murray Park and the long battle Cala homes had fought to get partial planning consent. This highlights how difficult a change of use for Murray Park will be to achieve.
Giovannis post above on Colin Kingsnorth of Laxey Partners was most informative. Taking this line that Colin Kingsnorth is not interested in football and only is involved to see increase in asset Valuation and shareholder value then consider what the prime asset is of RIFC. It’s not Ibrox or the Albion surrounded by long term gap sites and low cost Brown field potential developments, but, the Murray Park complex in the leafy suburbs is the plum.
Consider this, if Rangers of whatever hue, have been able to influence LNS into a baffling judgement, then have SFA/SPFL rollover and perhaps influence other major stakeholders in the saga maybe even the First Tier Tribunal, then, how difficult will be the fix of the LPA. I know the green belt is an issue for the Lib Dems in the area but as the First Minister stated that this is a “Scottish Institution”.
I believe that with the right case made out than a change of use application could be supported for the “good of Scottish Football” involving at least a part change of use of the site for high end executive housing. Behind the scene deals involving establishment figures and their brethren will be all called into play to get the required result.
My case is, there is amble precedent for this type of change of use deal, UK and Scottish governments are pressurising Councils to release more land for housing and insisting on Housing growth being included in Local Plans. Rangers can get favours massaged behind the scenes.
It is therefore with some hope, that Giovanni’s post suggests any increase in asset valuation will be kept for the shareholders and not passed to the football side to waste.
With a proper businessman in the chair then it looks like austerity will be required to survive.
Greenock Jack says: (253)
December 31, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Echo
I’m not convinced the latest additions to the Board are actually Spivs. I believe they have been brought in by the Spivs and possibly conned with the task of ‘saving’ the club financially. But that is merely to provide a fig leaf for AIM and any other authorities against claims of a pre-planned rip-off by the Spivs.
=================================================================
I won’t presume to answer your post in case ‘Echo’ has something to add 😆
In the interests of non-echo, what are the full range of possibilities ?
You could list them under General Direction, eg. S&LB., admin2, other.
Then sub-list Variations or forks in the road on those particular directions, eg. (S&LB): simple asset transfer or via CVA or something else.
@JimBhoy
howdy mate. Whatever happens we can be sure that panto season will be extended this year.
To my mind the football team needs to be kept alive for a while yet – if only on life support – to facilitate a property deal so the Laxey-like can extract their return asap. The problem is finding people gullible enough and wealthy enough to buy the property assets on the basis of secure long term income from a global football franchise. Now, who’s daft enough to fall for that one.
Like Ecobhoy – I wonder if Laxey have been duped by Green just as Ticketus and Murray were diuped by Whyte. Laxey may be happy to leave the game quietly thankful that their underwear is intact – which may influence the end-game.
Whichever scenario unfolds, I think we can all agree it will not involve the TheRangers entering the Champions League in fine form in 30 months time. So bear will have sore heads for sometime to come.
Over the holiday had a chance to chat with a few friends and acquaintances with an interest of the saga – from both sides. Raising the topic with a non-leading questions such as “what’s going on with Rangers these days” revealed what Stephen Fry would refer to as a high degree of General Ignorance along expected partisan lines.
I’ve concluded that rather like national politics most people have a rather entrenched if nebulous set of opinions – based largely on their own selection box of facts. I now picture bears as simple souls who want to let off steam for 90 minutes every fortnight and brag about their world famous team/club but really don’t engage more deeply. Therefore the “journey fable” meets their needs and they still remain indifferent to the dirty deeds done in their name.
ecobhoy says: (2130)
December 31, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Somehow I don’t see this as the Spiv Masterplan but anything is possible although not necessarily sensible.
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@eco – it does tick quite a few boxes – especially in terms of continuity, a graceful spiv-exit and a new role for billionaire saviours. I agree £10mil is not enough for the spivs – maybe the Government could invest to maintain the fabric of society and the SFA could invest to avoid another (sic) Armageddon.
Although I wasn’t being entirely serious it is interesting to speculate how the spivs will maximise their profit from this and how the “credible” new board look when they are left holding the very angry baby.
The Rangers Etc. proudly announce next year’s blockbuster coming to a cinema near you soon.
A remake of the classic On The Waterfront:- On The The Waterfront.
Reprising the parts played by Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger: A. McCoist and C. Green.
Trailer Scene 1: Location: A taxi.
Terry Malloy (A. McCoist, for it is he):-
“I coulda had class.
I coulda been a contender.
I coulda been somebody.
Instead of a bum, which is what I am.
Let’s face it, it was you Charlie.”
Trailer Scene 2: Location: The docks. After being badly beaten up by a group of thugs,
Terry Malloy (A. McCoist, for it is he again):-
“Who are these people?
I want to know who these people are.”
Fade to the Theme from The Dambusters.
(Definitely not Waterfront by Simple Minds; have you seen what’s on their drummer’s bass drum? The logo from…them.)
Greenock Jack says: (254)
December 31, 2013 at 1:44 pm
In the interests of non-echo, what are the full range of possibilities ?
You could list them under General Direction, eg. S&LB., admin2, other.
Then sub-list Variations or forks in the road on those particular directions, eg. (S&LB): simple asset transfer or via CVA or something else.
===========================================
I am sure you are quite capable of managing that relatively simple task by yourself and in the absence of any echo 😈
If Mr Wallace is not a spiv, or someone playing the support along, then he is a poor CA given that he needs 5 months to understand the basics of a set of audited accounts.
m.c.f.c. says: (85)
December 31, 2013 at 1:59 pm
ecobhoy says: (2130)
December 31, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Somehow I don’t see this as the Spiv Masterplan but anything is possible although not necessarily sensible.
=================================================================================
@eco – it does tick quite a few boxes – especially in terms of continuity, a graceful spiv-exit and a new role for billionaire saviours. I agree £10mil is not enough for the spivs – maybe the Government could invest to maintain the fabric of society and the SFA could invest to avoid another (sic) Armageddon.
Although I wasn’t being entirely serious it is interesting to speculate how the spivs will maximise their profit from this and how the “credible” new board look when they are left holding the very angry baby.
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The initial flensing of the beached blue whale has been carried out but even the blubber has to be rendered as not a penny in value will be left behind.
But this mob ain’t daft and they will do everything by the book without criminality. Oh they won’t be able to show their face in Ibrox or Glasgow again but they have no intention of so doing in any case. So it’s key to the exit strategy that they aren’t left holding the ‘angry baby’ and that they have succesfully passed that awkward parccel and who better but to ‘gift’ it to Ra Bears for a ‘small’ contribution 💡
Not sure about fairy ‘billionaires’ and it’s more likely to be a clutch of paper millionaires after Rangers withdraw from AIM as it never ever made any sense to have joined it IMO.
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/has-green-got-the-right-aim-for-rangers-footballing-share-issues-guest-post-by-ecojon/
Echo
I am sure you are quite capable of managing that relatively simple task by yourself and in the absence of any echo.
——————————
I was looking towards the forum as a whole.
I am a layman and whilst I can contribute in someways there are other posters who have more knowledge of the business side and options that might be out there other than the S&LB and admin2.
When and how DK could get involved ?
Timescales regarding theories already named.
Can a transfer of assets within present structure be termed S&LB or when this term is denied could it be simply because it is to be a transfer ?
I vaguely remember Barcabhoy laying out a scenario that involved spivs investing a relatively small amout and things being dragged out further.
I’ve already stated the general direction I think it is headed but haven’t the business/spiv brain to see all the options.
I think it has been a great year on here-some stunning posts and excellent analysis.
I hope all of ye-whatever your club affiliations-have a great 2014.
Blian úr faoi mhaise daoibh!
m.c.f.c. says: (85)
December 31, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Over the holiday had a chance to chat with a few friends and acquaintances with an interest of the saga – from both sides. Raising the topic with a non-leading questions such as “what’s going on with Rangers these days” revealed what Stephen Fry would refer to as a high degree of General Ignorance along expected partisan lines.
I’ve concluded that rather like national politics most people have a rather entrenched if nebulous set of opinions – based largely on their own selection box of facts. I now picture bears as simple souls who want to let off steam for 90 minutes every fortnight and brag about their world famous team/club but really don’t engage more deeply. Therefore the “journey fable” meets their needs and they still remain indifferent to the dirty deeds done in their name.
=================================================================
I too have taken the festive season to conduct some vox pop down the booza. Last of an evening I spoke to some Rangers fans who had come back from East End Park. These were their thoughts:
– 7,000 Rangers fans at Dunfermline shows how loyal they are and how rubbishly supported DAFC are!
– They agree their club is run by Spivs for their own benefit
– Ally McCoist is a two faced rubbish manager
– They insist everyone kicked them when they were down.
– They want it all to change and get the club “back to where it belongs” but don’t understand what their role could be in achieving this.
– They hope beyond hope that the Man Who Would be Dave will buy the Spivs off for £20M but at the same time understand and accept he won’t do that because it amounts to paying a ransom/being blackmailed.
I suggested they starve the Spivs out but they were reluctant to do so.
There are also a good number of Rangers “fans” who have distanced themselves from the whole Circus and go out of their way to avoid receiving information on the fiasco and won’t talk about it.
ecobhoy says: (2132)
December 31, 2013 at 2:46 pm
flensing
==================================================================================
@eco – what a fantastically apt word – and new to me. No doubt in time its meaning will mutate in the TheRangers context to conflate cleansing and fleecing 🙂
flense
flɛns/
verb
gerund or present participle: flensing
1.
slice the skin or fat from (a carcass, especially that of a whale).
“I flensed and butchered the whale”
Tif Finn says: (1136)
December 31, 2013 at 2:37 pm
If Mr Wallace is not a spiv, or someone playing the support along, then he is a poor CA given that he needs 5 months to understand the basics of a set of audited accounts.
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To me a Spiv is one of those who has drawn-up the plans, set the tiometable and has full knowledge of the end game. They also attempt to have some degree of separation from hands-on accountability by the use of people like Green, Malcolm Murray, McCoist, Walter Smith and some of the present Board.
Wallace has been told to implement the 120 day hiatus and may well have been given a plausible sounding reason but I doubt it will be the real reason. There are huge numbers of people like Wallace around the edges of the financial world as guns for hire.
As I say I don’t believe he is a Spiv per se but most certainly a creature of the Spivs and only he and the Spivs will know whether that is unwitting or not.
The more important issue is why they need a 120 day period to finalise the plan – tends to make you think a helluva lot more must be planned than just January Window business.
@m.c.f.c.
We need to secure Ibrox forever as a national treasure and who can we trust with its future more than our loyal fans. So we will move Ibrox into a new company separate from the plc and enable the fans to invest in safeguarding it in perpetuity”. “Yes, IPO Ibrox, the Ibrox IPO”
_________________________________________________
This affair has generated a list of contradictions and conundriums as long as your arm. For those wishing to cash in the assets (and that has to be reason spivs are hanging off the carcase like passengers on an Indian sub continent train) there can’t be any possibility that a blue knight/s will pony up the cash. where were they when the whole business was theirs for 5.5 mill? Missing until the door was closing then Lord cardigan appears just as it slams. So no sale there.
What about to the fans. Surely they can’t be willing to donate more money to French Chateaux funds? They have been soundly fleeced once (despite warnings) and their IPO contribution has gone excactly where it was said it would. They can’t be milked again.
So who is going to buy the assets stripped by the spivs? I definitely see MP being concreted over so result for spivfund but as for Ibrox? A paltry few mill from the faithful and a lot of foot shuffling from the brogues. OK guys if that’s all you’ve got its open to tender or we close the doors and you can rent Hampden.
How to realise the assets – a conundrum indeed.
GeronimosCadillac says: (160)
December 31, 2013 at 2:55 pm
– They want it all to change and get the club “back to where it belongs” but don’t understand what their role could be in achieving this.
I suggested they starve the Spivs out but they were reluctant to do so.
There are also a good number of Rangers “fans” who have distanced themselves from the whole Circus and don’t go out of their way to avoid receiving information on the fiasco and won’t talk about it.
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@GC – good work – you could be an investigative journalist 🙂
Radio 4’s book of the week is a brilliant reminder of how myths and legends evolve to meet the needs of leaders and their willing people in less sophisticated societies. Any similarities between this factual account and the fictional events at Ibrox are entirely unintentionally hilarious.
Man Belong Mrs Queen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mcmwz
Happy New Year to one and all and all the best for 2014 😀
Wallace was there for a month when he announced that he would be carrying out a “business review” which would take a further four months.
If that is not a stalling tactic I don’t know what is.
He is a chartered account and CEO of the business. He has access to the audited accounts, all of the business records used in preparing them and all of the records of trading subsequent to the period end.
What was he doing in his first month exactly if it wasn’t a “business review”.
Greenock Jack says: (255)
December 31, 2013 at 2:48 pm
I’ve already stated the general direction I think it is headed but haven’t the business/spiv brain to see all the options.
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Unless you’re a Spin then it’s impossible to know all the options because the Masterplan has been and will continue to be varied to meet changing circumstances.
I personally happen to believe that without knowing who the owners of Rangers actually are then it’s nigh on impossible to work-out what they are up to other than assume it’s to amass as much dosh as possible and not necessarily for the benefit of Rangers.
In many ways we are a bit like Rangers supporters in that it’s a waiting and watchin game although everyone – other than seemingly the vast bulk of Bears – is furiously reading tea cups and examining chicken entrails trying to figure out the blueprint.
Tif Finn says: (1137)
December 31, 2013 at 3:25 pm
What was he doing in his first month exactly if it wasn’t a “business review”.
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Maybe he was reading archives of TSFM, RandomThoughts and RFC – they give a much better account of likely events than any unshredded documents at Ibrox.
m.c.f.c. says: (87)
December 31, 2013 at 3:22 pm
GeronimosCadillac says: (160)
December 31, 2013 at 2:55 pm
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@GC – good work – you could be an investigative journalist 🙂 How do you know I’m not?
ecobhoy says: (2134)
December 31, 2013 at 3:30 pm
‘In many ways we are a bit like Rangers supporters in that it’s a waiting and watchin game…’
—————————————————————————-
And that is what frustrates me the most.
Maybe we should all take our lead from the great man Paulo Freire:
“It is necessary that the weakness of the powerless is transformed into a force capable of announcing justice. For this to happen, a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for accommodation.”
― Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed
It seems that Andrew Dallas forgot to inform SFA that Ian Black was booked v Stranraer- no ban- #youbet http://t.co/hFF0vYQLw7?
IAN BLACK will serve a suspension next month after he collected his sixth League One booking of the season in this afternoon’s 1-1 draw with Stranraer.
The midfielder was cautioned in the second half by referee Andrew Dallas and automatically incurs a ban which begins 14 days from now.
That means he will definitely miss the meeting with Gary Naysmith’s East Fife side at Ibrox on January 11.
The SFA have not impressed Jim Jeffries on the subject of DAFC’s youth academy. Seems to think they are working contrary to the good of Scottish football on this issue. It’s not the first time! Bravo JJ.
http://www.dafc.co.uk/articles/20131229/youth-set-up-set-back_2207955_3594601
PS Wishing you all a safe passage into the new year this hogmanay!
And also, it is important to remember that taking care of the loss making football club is only important insofar as that assists the best interests of the shareholders of the PLC which that board actually represent.
I know that is obvious, however a lot of effort has going into blurring the fact that the football club is a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLC, but other than that they are entirely separate entities. They have their own boards and shareholders (albeit the PLC is the only shareholder in the club).
m.c.f.c. says: (87)
December 31, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Radio 4′s book of the week is a brilliant reminder of how myths and legends evolve to meet the needs of leaders and their willing people in less sophisticated societies. Any similarities between this factual account and the fictional events at Ibrox are entirely unintentionally hilarious.
Man Belong Mrs Queen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mcmwz
==================================================
Well spotted. I remember a god few years ago a TV programme I’m sure which included the Prince story as part of the more general ‘Cargo Cult’ phenomenon.
Don’t know why it never clicked before but ‘Cargo Cult’ exactly explains the apparent quasi-religious belief mechanism of a lot of Bears who are patiently waiting for the arrival of their ‘Cargo’ in the form of a Billionaire with off the radar wealth 🙄
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult
‘Cargo cults often develop during a combination of crises. Under conditions of social stress, such a movement may form under the leadership of a charismatic figure. This leader may have a “vision” (or “myth-dream”) of the future, often linked to an ancestral efficacy thought to be recoverable by a return to traditional morality.’
Happy New Year and good luck and peace to all for the coming year…
…already gone 2014 here so best wishes from the future……
ecobhoy says: (2134)
December 31, 2013 at 3:30 pm
I personally happen to believe that without knowing who the owners of Rangers actually are then it’s nigh on impossible to work-out what they are up to other than assume it’s to amass as much dosh as possible and not necessarily for the benefit of Rangers.
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@eco – if I was a bear I’d be working through the worst possible scenarios – and those don’t include Craig Whyte. I’d be thinking of Dermot Desmond, George Galloway and Kevin Bridges having a right good laugh at their “unknown owners” status and the fun their £1m investment has caused down Govan way. But the bears seem happy not to know who the real investors are – such cultural tolerance.
GeronimosCadillac says: (160)
December 31, 2013 at 2:55 pm
“There are also a good number of Rangers “fans” who have distanced themselves from the whole Circus and go out of their way to avoid receiving information on the fiasco and won’t talk about it.”
XXXXXXXXXX
Very true, I was out with friends for our annual Christmas dinner and I can tell you that when I asked what was happening at her club, she didn’t want to discuss it. She only wanted to support her team and what could she do about was as much as she gave me.
If the referee,Dallas did simply forget to include Blacks booking in his report how unfit for purpose does that make him?
GeronimosCadillac says: (161)
December 31, 2013 at 3:41 pm
@GC – good work – you could be an investigative journalist 🙂 How do you know I’m not?
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Touché! mon vieux
I notice Bolton Wanderers are now £167 million in debt after posting losses of £50 million this year 😯
When the English financial dam finally bursts they will make our problems tiny in comparison
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25559504
Carfins Finest says: (53)
December 31, 2013 at 4:11 pm
If the referee,Dallas did simply forget to include Blacks booking in his report how unfit for purpose does that make him?
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Depends on his purpose 😉
Oh Dear,Daddy Dallas will not be a happy bunny with his protege.
Carfins Finest @ 4:11pm
If the referee,Dallas did simply forget to include Blacks booking in his report how unfit for purpose does that make him?
That depends on what those employ him see as his purpose.
EDIT: beaten to it!
I heard a rumour today that, as things stand, come the end of January ‘The Rangers’ will have less money in their account than when RFC entered administration.
If true, even if they do not have many external creditors, that can’t be good.
Rating the options
1 Administration followed by prepack.
The only benefit that I can see is the ability to break expensive contracts. The Sandaza tapes and CF leaks indicate progressive salary increases based on promotion. An £8 million wage bill for SFL 3 could well be £9 million for the current league, £11 million for the championship and £13 million for the first season in the top tier.
I am speculating a bit on this, however with the news Shiels got a 4 year contract, and Sandaza got compounded increases, the savings with an Administration might be significant enough to make this an option. Assuming a £2 million payroll for next season and £5million for the first back in the SPL , then this would potentially save £17 million
The risks are that the SFA impose a significant penalty for bringing the game into disrepute …again(unlikely but possible) . The greater risk is that the fan base see this as one piece of spivery too far and switch off.
Overall i would rate this option as a 30% possibility
2 A rights issue, which was approved under resolution 9.
I know respected posters on here have ruled out a rights issue, but I wouldnt at this stage. The resolution was proposed by the board, it is clearly an option they want and a strategy they are considering. The victorious side at the AGM will have the funds to take up their rights. The question is whether the requisitioners supporters are prepared to be diluted, or will invest further without any boardroom influence .
I suspect this was the major concern of the institutions all along. They are faced with hobsons choice. Invest and risk the board spending the way they did previously or don’t invest and be diluted to irrelevance.
I think this option is a 90% possibility. It is win win for the board, with no obvious downside
3 The property play.
As others have outlined , lead by Laxey , the plc becomes a landlord with a yield that would make Rachmann envious. Tne risk on this strategy is that the “real rangers men” are all mouth and no trousers, as they have been all the way through this saga. The other downside is that Asset Strippers do not generally participate in win win scenarios. They are culturally disinclined to leave anything on the table for the other guys. They will be weighing what could be lost further down the line should a decent manager make Rangers competitive, should a competent scouting system discover a Wanyama or a Ki, and should an efficient youth programme develop a Gauld or a Forrest .
I think the property play is no better than 40% taking everything into consideration.
One thing is certain though, whichever option they choose, and i wouldn’t rule out a combination of 1 & 2 , Media House will be extremely busy sparkling this up.
2014 will be interesting. I wish you all good health in seeing it through
Can I just confirm, if there is a share issue then existing shareholders have first call. It would really be a rights issue followed by a share issue.
Is that what the other special resolution (resolution 10 if I remember correctly) would have removed. The obligation to offer to existing shareholders first.
justshatered @ 4:39pm
I’m sure that when they explain to the Financial Authorities that their CEO is planning to spend the next 4 months or so having a right good think about things then everything will be ok.
Barcabhoy says: (316)
December 31, 2013 at 4:40 pm
all mouth and no trousers
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Barca – I always enjoy your posts – but I must jump to the defence of a great and oft misunderstood English (northern) saying – “all mouth and
notrousers”.Often said by older women about an upstart, inexperienced man – as in – he talks a good game, but he always keeps his trousers on, we’ll see what kind of man he is if the trousers ever come off.
Barcabhoy says: (316)
December 31, 2013 at 4:40 pm
“Assuming a £2 million payroll for next season and £5million for the first back in the SPL , then this would potentially save £17 million”
……………………………….
First back in the SPL? back?
Otherwise I would tend to agree with option 2…although nothing can be certain in this South Side farce!
Dallas booking a player and not reporting it to the SFA is akin to booking a player 2 times in the same game..and not sending him off.
It can only be 1 of 2 reasons…incompetence or deliberate misadministration…either way he is not fit for purpose.
Just been reading the new years honours list in full and was puzzled as to why none of the SFA hierarchy received a MBE – (Member of the Bears-den Empire) – Shirley an omission or breakdown in communication.
None of the RFC(IL) boards received a CBE (Cheats of the Bears-den Empire) either.
Barcabhoy says: (316)
December 31, 2013 at 4:40 pm
@Barca
The thing about a Rights Issue or increase in shareholding that I can’t get my head round is why would those in control do it?
They have absolute control and many have 1p shares so what do they gain through creating and buying more shares which also actually dilutes their shareholding as well as everyone else. Surely their aim is to take as much money as possible out of Rangers and not put any more in other than what was originally required to purchase the assets.
I can understand it if someone is attempting to put together a controlling position but that doesn’t seem to be the case here and the Coterie of Spivs appear to be working well together and, indeed, might not even be a coterie but a series of anonymous overseas companies possibly controlled by one person or company or even a handful of such entities which may also interlink.
I can obviously understand the attraction of selling shares to mugs but other than supporters is that a realistic possibility given the dire financial performance of RIFC – even the Bears might turn their noses up.
I’m probably missing something very simple but then I have much better and more pleasurable ways to spend my dosh than gambling in the AIM Casino 😆
Happy New Year when it comes along Bampots,
The only question that remains for 2013 is will only an excuse raise any laughs this year?
Long Time Lurker says: (676)
December 31, 2013 at 5:45 pm
Happy New Year when it comes along Bampots,
The only question that remains for 2013 is will only an excuse raise any laughs this year?
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Are you having a laugh LTL ? 🙂
That programme must be at least 10 years past its sell by date.
For me it had simply become almost a ‘duty’ to watch it on Hogmanay, and in the hope that it couldn’t be worse than the previous year’s effort !
I think I last laughed at it in 2003 ? Mibbees… 😉
It really should have been discontinued before now – just like a certain football club we know.
And on a positive note: all the best in 2014 to all, and thanks again TSFM for successfully managing this site to maintain its addictiveness…
StevieBC says: (961)
December 31, 2013 at 5:59 pm
I agree with all you say – sadly I am not expecting only an excuse to raise a smile.
All the best one and all.
GoosyGoosy says: (494)
December 31, 2013 at 11:45 am
A wee correction, GG: I think you have attributed to me what PhilMac said in reply to my earlier query to him! No harm done, except that you might not get a response from him to your differing view. 😐
slimshady61 says: (310)
December 31, 2013 at 5:19 pm
And to those who have lost faith in the game, I say give it another chance. The directors of your club may not always make what seem to you the right decisions but remember, the vast majority of them are doing it for the greater good of the club and football. And doing so within the laws and spirit of the game and the country
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I have totally lost faith in all the people who run the game. I simply cannot reconcile the coronation of Ogilvie in June by every one of “our” senior clubs with the idea that those involved did so for “the greater good” of anything or anyone other than Ogilvie and the dark forces I firmly believe he represents. The fact that it was all done within the laws of the game, and done freely by all those involved, is perhaps the most worrying aspect of all.
There will be no second chances from me.
bigbhoy says: (1)
December 31, 2013 at 1:35 pm
‘…..
bigbhoy says: (1)
December 31, 2013 at 1:35 pm
” …. how difficult a change of use for Murray Park will be to achieve…’
————-
What I can’t remember seeing is a reasoned estimate of the value of the site, assuming full planning permission for residential development were to be granted.
I’ve never actually been there, I have to say, nor have I explored the upper end of the current housing market in that part of the world.
Would we be talking really significant sums for the seller AND really good returns for any developer?
[apologies for that unfinished earlier post]
Like Slimshady61 @ 5.19pm, I too am looking forward to the UTT in Feb/March 2014. It is to be hoped that HMRC will succeed in their appeal and with the case being held in public, greater detail will emerge on how RFC/MIH engineered the fraud and the lengths to which they went, to ensure that HMRC were “put off the scent” by fair means and foul. That those who were directly responsible at all levels are named and shamed and those recipients of EBTs, who have so far escaped publicity, be they officials, directors, players, coaches and managers, past and PRESENT, suffer the opprobrium they so richly deserve. Furthermore, as I believe HMRC want to use this case as a deterrent against similar malpractices, I hope they make it clear in a public statement, that with no monies available in the liquidated club, they will seek restitution of the tax lost, plus penalties, from the said recipients.
smartie1947 says: (169)
December 31, 2013 at 7:48 pm
‘……Like Slimshady61 @ 5.19pm, I too am looking forward to the UTT in Feb/March 2014…’
———–
And I am tingling with excitement at the prospect of being in ‘court’ , if the good Lord doesn’t hook me before then!
We may well be disappointed if , indeed, Judge Bishopp finds that the law as it then stood was allows
the EBTs as legal.
But we all know that the baddies believed them not to be, and their rottenness lies in their intent and the efforts made to conceal the facts.
They were not and are not now honourable, decent business men and never can be. The law of the land may not convict them, but the laws of truth and morality have them well and truly marked as villains.
And remember that for us as football fans, their bigger crime was the football cheatery of non-disclosure of all payments made to their players. They are assuredly Guilty of that charge, and justice in footballing terms will not be done until the dead club is stripped of any and all titles and honours ‘won’ by cheating.
On which happy statement of fact, let me wish TSFM-the-person (and his helpers) and all the wonderful contributors on the blog, a very happy and prosperous New Year.
John Clarke
Murray Park is 38 acres. Green and friends bought all the assets for £5.5m. Average House prices in Milngavie are £300k. Executive detached could be double that.
Dependent on how much could be developed for Executive Housing, it is not inconceivable that £1m per acre could be achieved for each developable acre.
if half can be developed then all things considered then around £20m could be achieved with a compliant Planning Authority.
Rangers could always do a deal with the universities sports clubs or even get a new complex in greenbelt!
If, as suggested, Laxey is not interested in football then what else interests them. A sale and lease back of the stadium is the only other earner.
Does anyone know when the next payment of VAT and NI is due at Ibrox. ?
HMRC may be sorely tempted to apply for a winding up order if it is not paid on the due date
EBTs were legal, what Rangers did was abuse the system and pay players contractual amounts which precluded the use of the EBTs.
Dr Poon the tax expert saw this and ruled that way. The two lawyers who were into legal pedantry ruled the other way. It is very telling how the types of training saw things differently
The big difference between the opinions is that the lawyers looked at the evidence as presented to them, including obfuscation by witnesses with an agenda. Dr Poon saw beyond that to what actually happened and what it meant.
It is really worth considering the arena in which the different people are used to working and what they would find persuasive.
bigbhoy,
How much would it cost per acre to sort out the major drainage problems on that land? I read in the local newspaper a good while back that house insurance companies would not touch the houses with a barge pole until such problems were resolved. I don’t mean a couple of million, that can be multiplied many times.
I read a lot on here about who owns Murray Park. Who owns the land that it sits on?
I meant to add that when it rains it is more suited to Tom Daley than John Daly for training purposes.
Well happy hogmany folks, been lurkin since my password was knackered after RTC, glad to see all the Poirots, Marples and Father Browns still beavering away!
I look forward to 2014 and the UTT result and hopefully a resounding kick in the baws for the new club, yes I said it that’s right!
love and respect to all right minded souls just looking for justice and trying hard to protect the game we all love.
regards
(former username – awolz1)
I would like to wish everyone on TSFM a Happy New Year when it comes especially the admin who keep the site rolling. Looking forward I only wish that truth and integrity prevails and that would mean a total overhaul of the SFA for starters and a correct decision in the UTT.
Keep up the good work everyone.
Watched the QPR documentary, ‘The Four Year Plan’. Basically, four billionaires (real ones) take over QPR with a view to taking QPR to the next level, they succeed, QPR are now in the Championship. Managed by ‘Arry, with Joey Barton (70k per week) and Sean Wright Philips (60k per week) in the squad.
If I were a sevcovian, I would be very afraid…
Not been very successful has Murray park, if it’s to be turned into fancy gaffs, how ironic would that be? They developed so little talent there, they had to cheat to maintain the overspending that killed the club. And now it may be developed for the equivalent profit from half a dozen starlets.
Awe the best folks.
isnt murray park a flood plain?
Indy 14,
Yes, and rising year on year.