Imagine you are one of those people who have a nice big mahogany desk, with a gloss finish set in a big corner suite office which comes complete with a picture window, a break out area, a couch to lie down on in moments of stress, a quietly playing stereo sound system, fridge, plush carpet and loads of wee executive toy like things of your choosing.
Imagine, just for a moment, that outside your office you have the executive German car that is almost compulsory when you work in such an office. Added to that, you also have the benefit of a large six figure salary, a pension scheme, substantial holidays, a bonus scheme which nicely enhances your already excellent salary, fantastic perks and trips abroad as part of your job, and that you fill a position which leads to invitations to the most fantastic events, do’s, and sporting occasions imaginable.
Imagine the respect you must command from your peers, your family and friends.
Imagine the awe that you must be held in at dinner parties and social events when you are introduced to strangers for the first time– strangers who will have heard your name, and know of your position in society.
Imagine the personal and professional respect you must command from others in your field — or any other field for that matter — when you go to conferences and meetings in foreign cities and with foreign counterparts.
Imagine the envy that many others sometimes feel for someone who has succeeded in business and society to this extent.
Then imagine that the big office described above is at Hampden?
What a bummer!!
Now, I mention all of this because if you were one of the big cheeses at at Hampden, I wonder just what you do with yourself when the large rosewood door of your office closes behind you when you get in there each morning?
Maybe you make a coffee? Read the papers? Check the mail? Go to a meeting about the latest in 3G or is it 4G pitches being installed in a ground or two in the Shetlands?
However, no matter what you do and who you speak to THAT file is always there— always at the corner of your desk, neatly up there at the top left hand corner just beyond the desk top golf set and above the Newton’s cradle with the balls that spell your name or whatever.
That file– the one that relates to the finances, compliance, directors details and ownership of Rangers Football Club.
At least that is what the top of the file says. Though to be fair it is a continuation file… continuing from the one that was opened two months ago and is fit to burst already with reports, memo’s and letters- which in turn was a continuation of the one before that and the one before that and the one before that and on and on.
Maybe that is not the correct name for the club?
Maybe that is something that can be clarified at the next meeting with the Directors and CEO of the club— whoever they might be at that time?
No matter where you go in the room, you can see that file from every position. There is just no getting away from it.
Who owns The Rangers?
There are all sorts of reports, share prospectuses, memos, deeds, documents, contracts, letters, e-mails all asking the same thing. And there you are— none the wiser.
Please clarify this, please clarify that, are there any signed but unrecorded documents, or contracts?
Are the Companies House records accurate? is the Land register accurate?
At the end of the day you just lie on the couch, place a cold cloth over your head and hope it will all go away.
Then the accounts come out. Oh the figures are shocking and they confirm that most of the people you negotiated with to get their team playing football somewhere after the collapse and liquidation of RFC PLC have exited stage left with huge severance cheques.
They now live in France, or Singapore or the Cayman Islands and you can bet they will never darken a door in Mount Florida on a wet February morning ever again.
But that is not the worst of it — the bleeding internet is full of leaks— documents, letters, e-mails, contracts, company forms and all sorts.
You wouldn’t mind if the documents leaked were ones that you had seen before, but in the main they are things that you have never seen and never had disclosed.Every day someone calls and asks ” Have you seen the latest?” and of course you haven’t so you stand there feeling like a complete chookie!!!
Every day you call the compliance and monitoring guys:
” Eh have you seen this? Have you been notified that he is a director?”
” No boss – never seen that? Never knew it existed?”
” So who owns the company if that is correct?”
” Eh Dunno boss — not sure of anything over there any more!”
“Ok have you checked the titles with the lawyers?”
” yes but the title as registered looks ok, but there is no guarantee that it hasn’t been sold to someone else and they have not registered their title for the moment!”
” Have you spoken to the lawyers? Have you asked for clarification?”
” yes Boss — the Lawyers don’t really answer our questions– well at least not fully!”
” What about these accounts – there are 57 pages there – what do they tell us?”
” Well they tell us that the figures are not good, boss, but not immediately critical.”
” Are they paying their taxes?”
” Appear to be boss– but we can’t be sure.can we? We were told they were paying their taxes before and … well you know the rest.”
” Ok, but Pinsent masons rule out the Whyte guy being involved?”
” Ah well not really – they don’t go into the company he says he owns – they sort of ignore that part!”
” But they carried out an independent investigation, surely?”
” True boss, but the independent investigation was only into what the non independent guys wanted investigating Boss, and they appear to have finished their report without speaking to all the witnesses.”
” Ok but the accounts – what do the accounts say about Whyte being the real owner — I mean they are from Deloittes for God sake – they must make the position clear?”
” Well we have had a look at them boss and in that regard the accounts are King Kenny!”
” King Kenny?”
” Aye King Kenny Boss – with regard to Whyte’s claim they say ” maybes aye– maybes naw” and they leave it at that”
” Jesus, well have you written to the Directors?”
” Aye – half the letters have come back marked “Gone away”.Boss”
” Do you know who the shareholders are?”
” Naw Boss”
“Do they have a bank account and a bank reference ?”
” Naw Boss”
” Who’s coming to the next meeting from their side?”
” Dunno Boss”
” Is there anything you can tell me that lets me close this file and get it off my desk for good?”
” Naw boss”
” Well who did we grant membership to last year?”
” The first time or the second time Boss?”
” What do you mean – first time or second time?”
” We started out granting membership to one company and then changed it to another”
” Two companies – owned by the same people?”
” Dunno Boss– but they sounded the same.”
” And which one got a licence?”
” Dunno boss”
” What?”
“Was the licence not granted by Mr Longmuir boss? And then ratified by us as a formality?”
” Why are you asking me, you are the compliance guys?”
” Aye but we were told it would all be ok by … well by someone ….. and by Mr Longmuir”
” When did he tell you that?”
” Told us one day at Ibrox Boss – I think it was at half time?”
” Half Time?”
” Aye – though it might have been full time boss ….. free bevvy and sandwiches so can’t quite remember”.
” Well who has the paperwork?”
” Lost boss”
” Lost?”
” Yes Boss – it was meant to come up from the SFL but never appeared. Turns out that the SFL was run as an unincorporated body and none of its records etc, are intact or have ever been audited …… Boss. Mr Ballantyne might have them in his garage Boss! ……… Boss? ….. are you still there? Boss?”
The man in the corner suite leaves the phone dangling, goes to his fridge for a cold drink and switches on the executive plasma hanging on the wall by way of the remote control on his desk.
The screen beams into life and an advert for the brand of soft drink that he is holding fills the wall. The very same brand of soft drink that has just been announced as the official soft drink to partner Scottish Football.
The executive, looks at his drinks can, looks at the file on the corner of the desk, looks at the abandoned phone and finally looks at the screen just as the speakers spell out clearly ………….. the benefits of coming from a long line of Fannies.
This is Scottish Football Administration in the 21st Century.
As everyone is taking a trip down memory lane. My first Hampden experience was Scotland v Brazil in 1987. The Rous cup. Scotland 0 – 2 Brazil
I’m sure my dad thought i’d benefit from watching the mighty Brazil in action but i was only interested in the guys playing in dark blue.
Funny how parents best intentions are wasted on the young.
I remember the noise and the vibration through the old wooden stand as the crowd rose or stamped their feet but not much else. Which end had a roof covering passed me by.
Having a non old firm family, by the time I was old enough to attend a cup final by myself (or that my parents would let me) redevelopment had started.
http://sport.stv.tv/football/242803-dave-kings-rangers-move-could-be-blocked-by-scottish-fa/
Yer no welcome
Aye right
redetin says:
October 10, 2013 at 4:41 pm
Ahhhhh!!! Those were the days, James Breen HT?
redlichtie says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:58 am
91 2 Rate This
‘The Rangers end’…
Before we leave the topic can I just add that you guys have it all wrong.
‘The Rangers end’ came on 14 June 2012 when the CVA was rejected.
At least that was what Charles Green, Jim Traynor and Walter Smith said at the time.
Scottish Football needs a strong ‘Fit and Proper Person’ test.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And the ‘club’ lawyer told lord numpty Smythe – that the date for Rangers* DEATH, was earlier than had been stated ???
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought Thems via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard
David Burnside [Mar 2007] UUP politician on the campaign trail, cynically duping the hunnic hoardes into boosting his Orange vote tally on polling day, by pretending he would be diverting the annual Walk down Edmiston Drive. He walked away.
Dave King [Sep 2009] Sequestered, fraudulent, South African tax evader, arrested and charged with 11 counts of corruption, fraud, tax evasion and bribery, as well as an additional 311 counts of racketeering, money-laundering, and exchange control infringements. He walked away.
Graham Duffy [Nov 2009] Sequestered Walter Mitty with a 45,000 x £1000 pie-in-the-sky pipe dream. Step, back, from, the, glue, pot. He walked away.
Andrew Ellis [Mar 2010] Twice failed football executive and carpet-bagging property developer, with a dubious business record, and a consistent record of attempting to asset-strip his acquisitions, who after buying QPR for £9m in 2001, tried to amalgamate them with Fulham, sell both stadiums for property developments, and move the new club 20 miles away, out to Heathrow Airport. After failing with that venture, in 2002, he bought League One club Northampton Town for £500,000, took over as chairman, and attempted to merge them with nearby MK Dons. Quelle surprise – he sought to sell both stadiums for redevelopment as part of his property portfolio. Once again, he failed. Northampton got relegated that season. He walked away.
Jim McColl [Mar 2010] Messianically carried shoulder high to the Cashline outside Weir Pumps, by a deluded rabble of clueless, RST muppets despite his company being fined and subjected to a £13.9m confiscation order after admitting breaking UN sanctions in an Edinburgh High Court case, after filtering £3.1m in illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s regime between 2000 and 2002, on top of the commission it paid to supply pumps and pipelines to the Iraqi oil and gas industry. He walked away.
Dave King (Again !!) [May 2010] This time the sequestered, fraudulent, racketeering, tax evader has teamed up with financial ‘tycoon’ Paul Murray and bus ‘tycoon’ Douglas Park. Amazing the amount of ‘tycoons’ that don’t end up buying the huns. He walked away.
The Arab Consortium [Jun 2010] Some fictitious cabal of Dubai & Qatari mystery men that curiously, no-one’s ever seen or heard of. So invisible in fact, it’s almost as if they were totally made up in the first place. Deffo a few invisible Arab ‘tycoons’ in there. They walked away.
Vladimir Antonov [Aug 2010] The shady Russian underworld mafioso, in a £75m megadeal to launder his fithy ill-gotten gains. It remains as yet unknown whether or not he is a ‘tycoon’. He walked away.
Craig Whyte [Nov 2010] Billionaire who’s got billions and billions and billions, but who can’t afford to give them any kind of transfer kitty if he buys them. Strange that.
Wayhey, at last – a buyer. Even though he’s a fraudulent, banned, thieving, tax-evading, bankrupt sociopath who doesn’t even own the roof on his own house.
Well, that went well. And so it’s back to the drawing board.
Brian Kennedy [Mar 2012] Another one bites the dust. The Hibs fan who didn’t want to buy the club, but would buy it if he really, really had to and there was no other option available from anyone else, anywhere else. Talk about being damned by faint praise ?! Kennedy further boosted his standing by claiming that he would be bringing The Cardigan back with him as Director Of Football and The Beast back in a senior management role. Strangely, none of this ever happened. All the same, Kennedy must have been gutted with the amount of front page publicity that linking himself with the huns brought to his rugby club, his business interests and his personal profile. He walked away. He came back and joined The Blue Knights Consortium. He walked away again.
Ali Rafat Rizvi [Mar 2012] The on-the-run convicted fraudster on Interpol’s ‘Most Wanted’ list currently being hunted for ‘corruption, money laundering and banking crime’ over his role in the collapse of Bank Century in Indonesia, which crashed owing monumental debts. Rizvi was sentenced in absentia, to a 15-year jail term in Indonesia. He is currently believed to be hiding between addresses in London and Singapore, which have no extradition treaties with Indonesia. Interpol’s website carries a Red Notice (International Alert) stating that Rizvi is Wanted, and asks anyone with any information about his whereabouts or activities to contact police immediately. In a three-way conference call with Craig Whyte and Brian Stcockbridge (soon to be Sevco Finance Director), Imran Ahmad (soon to be Sevco Commercial Director) admitted that he had raised a £5.5m investment from Rizvi, but that all questions regarding his involvement had to be met with silence and denial; there must be no paper trails; and that his identity had to be concealed at all costs. Rizvi has previous business links with Ahmad and Stockbridge dating back to when they worked for London finance firm Allenby Capital. He is also a friend and business partner of Charles Green, who took his place on the board of Mongolia-based company Nova Resources. It is not known whether Rivzi walked or ran away, but it’s strongly rumoured that he still has a major share investment in The The Sevco5088 International FC Ltd without the knowledge of the fans, who still don’t know the names and identities of the individuals hiding behind the faceless companies and lawyer fronts, who own around 33% of the new club.
Club 9 Sports [Mar 2012] The shady Chicago-based, carpet-bagging, asset-strippers in it for everything including the kitchen sink, owned by the limited liability company, Prometheus Capital Partners. Through its subsidary Club 9 Sports, PCP has previously attempted to buy stakes in Tranmere Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday that were ultimately fruitless and totally doomed from the outset. Sheffield Wednesday directors turned down an offer, claiming the Chicago firm wanted £420,000 per year in management fees. This stance was backed up by The Co-op, who agreed that the deal was not in the best interests of the club. Strange right enough that things didn’t progress at Ibrox, as Prometheus describes itself on its own website as a company specialising in “distressed situations and turnarounds, restructurings and mergers & acquisitions”. They walked away.
Douglas Park [Mar 2012] In it for the publicity and not much else. He walked away.
Some unheard of, unknown, unidentified Middle East Consortium [Mar 2012] A Duff & Duffer media plant, to keep the pitchfork-wielding knuckldraggers away from 150 Edmiston Drive.
Some unheard of, unknown, unidentified German Consortium [Mar 2012] See Middle East Consortium (above).
The ‘New’ American Consortium [Mar 2012] Headed up by Bill Miller, the shady Chicago-based asset-stripper who broke away from the Club 9 Sports Consortium. Miller’s disastrous move into US motor racing in 2001, withTeam Racing Auto Circuit (TRAC) and billed as a move that would rival NASCAR crashed and burned before its first race. In February 2004, Miller faced a massive legal action by shareholders who claimed to have been duped to the tune of £32m. Named in the suit were Miller, ex-chief executive of Team Sports Entertainment, and Jon Pritchett, ex-president. Pritchett along with John Prutch, runs Prometheus, the parent company of asset-strippers Club 9 Sports. The lawsuit was settled a year later and after a great deal of legal wrangling, out of court for an unknown amount. At the time, shareholder Edward Garland said of Miller: “The company and its directors thought they were getting an experienced CEO. Instead it got a man full of greed who wanted control of the company for himself. Team Sports Entertainment changed names but is now bankrupt”. More recently, Miller agreed to fund another of Pritchett’s schemes, a Club 9 Sports plan to relocate a minor league hockey side. But the plan fell through because they could not strike a deal to set up a local sporting arena that would have required a £700,000 up-front investment. They walked away. Bill Miller came back again. He walked away again.
Paul Murray’s Blue Knights [Apr 2012] They walked away. They came back. They walked away again. They came back again, this time backed by Brian Kennedy, who himself walked away twice. They walked away again.
The Singapore Consortium [Apr 2012] Headed up by a man ominously named as Bill Ng (Bill-ing) who stated his principal aims were to ‘to put Singapore on the world football map’ and to ‘positively impact Singapore football in the long run’. Mr Ng also stated that: “The weakness lies in the people who run the club and I feel that we can do something better. We’ve told the administrators that we’ll set aside £12 million to be split among the creditors. For every dollar of debt the club owes, about 20 cents will be paid back, while the rest will be written off.” Although only a Rankers fan for some 10 minutes, Mr Ng has taken to the huns’ primary virtue of avoiding paying your debts like a duck to water. He walked away.
Donald Trump [May 2012] The man with the Weetabix heid briefly considered buying the Zombie Club after DeadCo 1872 collapsed and died. However, once he got a snifter of the extent of the club’s financial depravity, he put on his Nike trainers and ran for the hills. From their luxury golf course and international spa resort at the Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire, George Sorial, Trump Organisation’s executive vice-president stated, “We looked seriously and walked away. It just did not make sense to us, although they are a great club. We hope someone steps in and builds the team again. We are committed to Scotland and will always be evaluating opportunities to support our business and the interests of Scotland. You know you’re seriously up shit creek when genuine billionaires won’t spend mere small change on you. He walked away.
Bill Miller [May 2012] He came back again. He got preferred bidder status. He got his first proper look at the books. He trucked off.
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani [May 2012] Pretend lawyer Giovanni di Stefano, wannabe best friend of Bosnian war criminals Radovan Karadic & Radko Mladic, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Ian Brady, Harold Shipman, Gary Glitter and one of the biggest whackball moon units walking the earth says he’s the man with the plan, and it involves spending The Emir of Qatar’s money for him. Part of Di Stefano’s masterplan is to take the Zombie club into the English Premiership and reunite them with 45-year-old Paul Gascoigne, who’ll be pulling the boots back on, once he’s had his hip replacement op. It is unknown at this stage if a fishing rod, dressing gown and whole roast chicken feature anywhere in the equation ? He walked away. To jail actually, when he was sentenced to 14 years, after being convicted of 25 counts of fraud, money laundering and forgery.
Paul Murray’s Blue Knights (Again !!) [May 2012] They came back again, with the same pathetic worthless offer. They issued a deadline and tried to coerce Duff & Duffer into selling to them. Duff & Duffer told them to sling it. Brian Kennedy whinged a lot in the media, before being slated by Charles Green and Duff & Duffer who called him a fantasist with delusions of grandeur. Kennedy responded by saying he had The Beast and The Cardigan on board (The Beast denied this was true) in the vain hope that he might get the knuckledraggers to intimidate Duff & Duffer. It never worked. They walked away again. They never came back.
Charles Green [May 2012] Finally someone came forward with a workable, or so he thought, plan to buy the impoverished and disgraced club. After a failed CVA proposal, unanimously rejected by angry creditors in a hostile meeting lasting just NINE minutes, the club formerly known as Rangers Football Club plc was liquidated. The remnants of the old club were picked up for £5.5m by Charles Green’s Sevco 5088 Ltd in order that he may create a new football club, although his woes continued when the knuckledraggers refused to offer him any form of support, confidence or financial backing. The zombie club was awarded the transitional title of Club 12 by the SPL and still awaits a number of outcomes and punishments pertaining to a number of previous instances of rule-breaking, tax evasion, improper governance, illicit payments, illegal player registrations and allegations of criminality. As it stands, it’s up for sale to anyone with a masochistic interest in losing a vast amount of money in record time.
Walter Smith [June 2012] Supported by Douglas Park (again !!) and Jim McColl (again !!) he tried to wrest control of the club away from Charles Green with a heavy dose of intimidation, threats from the knuckledraggers that they wouldn’t renew their season tickets, and a planted media scare story that Green was hatching a shady plot to sack SuperSally. None of it worked, and The Cardigan was shown up for the shite-stirring pish-talker that he really is. They walked away.
Allan Stewart and Steve McKenna [June 2012] Shady property-developers whose have the exact skills the zombie club are looking for. Their company (Stewart & McKenna Ltd – set up in Cambuslang in 2005) was liquidated in 2010 by insolvency practitioners Buchanan Roxburgh over non-payment of, yep you’ve guessed it – TAXES !! In 2007, the partners claimed they had made £134million the previous year after selling 14,000 flats worldwide. At this point, it dawned on them that they’d need a £30m life-support machine, just to keep the zombie club’s flimsy pulse alive. They walked away.
John Brown and Donald Findlay [June 2012] He came, he made a red neck of a slurred Braveheart speech oot the side ae his moof, he did not a lot else. He walked away with his tail between his legs.
Craig Mather and Guy Gisbourne [July 2012] Part of the Charles Green magical mystery tour of names and games, places and faces. ‘Emotionally’ invested a colossal £1m between them, with a view to developing The Murray Park Conveyor Belt Of Talent.
Brian Kennedy (Again !!) [July 2012] The quiet, reticent, modest, humble, publicity-shy introvert who ‘thinks he’s Mel Gibson’ (© Charles Green) is back again for the fifth or is it tenth time, with a bid to buy Sevco 5088 Ltd’s controlling interest in the Zombie Huns. As Sevco are totally rooked, can’t sell more than a few thousand cut-price, bargain basement season tickets, and are currently trying to flog shares in the zombie club to the highest bidder, it was thought he may just be in with a shout – until Charles Green publicly rubbished his latest claims. He walked away. Again. Although he’ll probably be back when he needs a tad more publicity.
Charles Green [April 2013] After buying the dead huns for a pittance, Chuckles promised the knuckledraggers the earth. His new zombie club would be the greatest team in Europe and Sevco 5088 International Ltd would sweep through the stock exchange like a red, white & blue tsunami. Turnover would reach half a BILLION pounds in just five years and Chuckles, nursing a terrible case of Rangersitis, caught probably as he toured a number of warm places in February, would bring joy and happiness to the downtrodden zombies, when they raised aloft The Big Cup as the Champions League anthem blared in the background, and boomed out across the Glasgow skyline. Talent academies would be opened across the globe, from America to Australia; and Sevco would form brand partnerships with Adidas, Apple and the Dallas Cowboys. At it’s peak, 7% of the population of the earth would support Sevco and they would raise £100m in digital revenues alone. Well maybe not quite. After being uncovered as Govan’s answer to Arfur Daley and amidst a rather embarrassing racial episode that saw the Sevco share price plummet like the Blackpool Big One ….. he walked away.
Well, that went well. It lasted all of 10 months. And so it’s back to the drawing board.
James & Sandy Easdale [April 2013] Scrap metal dealers from Greenock who moved up the ladder to become taxi operators, before moving up the ladder to become bus operators with McGills Buses. In between their meteoric rise to stratospheric stardom down Inverclyde way, Sandie found time to be convicted of VAT fraud and sentenced to 27 months in jail after he had the audacity to avoid paying duty on various computer parts that were stolen from IBM and David Murray’s Mimtec corporation. It is as yet unknown at this stage whether they will walk away, phone a taxi, or take the bus ?
Colin Kingsnorth [June 2013] Isle Of Man-based millionaire (seems such an inadequate title these days) hedge fund manager, finance shark and activist investor with a background in boardroom wars who heads up Laxey Partners, vies for control of Basket Case FC, by snapping up a whopping ONE PER CENT of the sinking ship for £350,000. Two months later the financial maestro’s shareholding was worth a whopping £285,714. With financial wizards like this, it’s no wonder the economy is fucked up beyond all recognition.
Kieran Prior [June 2013] The financial guru that makes Warren Buffet look like the guy that runs the school tuck shop. The mathematical genius that makes Stephen Hawking look like a desk scribbler in a remedial class. The cyborg android that makes The Six Million Dollar Man look like a wooden stickman. With his trusty sword of truth and his trusty broom of bristley sweepy things, he aims to fight for justice and transparency on behalf of ra bears, and to sweep out the pirates and bandits from The Blue Room. Moaning that Dave King, tax-evader extraordinaire, is daring to try and gazump him for control of The The Sevco Rangers New Club 2012 International Ltd; grumbling that Jim McColl won’t put his money where his mouth is; and whining that trying to buy Green’s 5,000,000 shares on the cheap was ‘like trying to negotiate with a chimpanzee for a banana’, the blue Davros is hoping that winning over ra bears (try some triumphalist sectarian soundbites Kieran) and some false promises of a new dawn will win the day. If he could walk away, he probably would.
Charles Green [August 2013] He came back as a paid ‘consultant’. Casual racism and Hans Christian Andersen-esque tall tales conveniently forgotten, he arrived just in time to count the season ticket cash; at the same time warning Fat Sally that he must do better than picking up a basement-level trophy with an SPFL squad. He saw off The Cardigan, who has never had the stomach for a proper fight, and set about ruffling as many blue feathers as he could. Sadly for Chuckles, ra bearz want him O – O – T ….. OOT ….. and his final task will be to make an absolute killing on the shareholding he got for buttons.
Jim McColl [August 2013] The billionairest billionaire in Scotland, who owns marginally less shares in The The Sevco Rangers New Club 2012 International Ltd than wee Senga fae Brig’ton came back. He made some noises and did nothing. He was challenged to put his money where his mouth is, but he’s really not too keen on doing that, so he made some more noises and kinda shuffled around in the background. Given the state of Basket Case FC, and their ever dwindling finances, it’s hard to disagree.
Frank Blin [August 2013] He never got as far as the front door, before deciding that his future lay very, very, very far away from the looney tunes, shysters and utter fucking morons populating The Death Star boardroom. He walked away, faster than his feet could carry him.
Iain McMillan [September 2013] The Labour councillor from Johnstone who won £2,058,622 on the National Lottery, and claimed the first thing he’d do was ‘Invest some money in Ibrox and get a plaque there, with my name on it”. Someone better inform Mr McMillan that £2m doesn’t go very far at all these days down Edmiston Drive way. The The Sevco Rangers New Club 2012 International Ltd have spunked over £30m in EIGHT MONTHS !! If he’s not careful, he might indeed end up walking away – literally.
Paul Murray [Oct 2013] Apparently now spearheading Jim McColl’s rebel consortium, this guy deserves a medal – if only for his colossal ability to stand around whilst doing fuck all and talking a good game. The latest lot of bollocks – announced on the day The The Sevco Rangers New Club 2012 International Ltd declared losses of £14.4m in a trading period of just 13 months, includes former Chairman Malcolm Murray, stabbed in the back by Walter Smith and then axed after a bitter and long-running feud with Charles Green; Global property ‘guru’ and former Blue Knight Scott Murdoch (the mastermind behind the sell & leaseback asset-stripping proposal being lauded for Ibrox and Auchenhowie); Ex-Ford, Diageo & BT cost-slasher, Alex Wilson; two unknowns called Ian Cormack & John Graham; and some bean-counter from Liverpool called Christian Purslow who according to Keech Jackshun, ‘has also been lined up for a key position on the board and would be joining in a senior executive role and tasked with leading the new regime’. And let’s face it – Keech’s a man who knows his thousandaires and wealth radar scales better than any of us.
Dave King (Again !!) (Again !!) [Oct 2013]
To be continued ……….. That’s for fucking sure.
http://tl.gd/n_1rpk22p · Reply
From the STV piece above:
“Secondly, King was still on the board of directors at Rangers when the old company which operated the club went into administration in February 2012. The company subsequently entered liquidation and sold its assets to a newco.
The fit and proper guidelines state an office bearer may be blocked from being approved if “he has been a director of a club in membership of any National Association within the five-year period preceding such club having undergone an insolvency event”.”
—
So that’ll be OK on that count. STV helpfully explain in the first para above that the company which operated the club underwent an insolvency event, not the club itself.
In fact, a club doesn’t have any Directors, does it? The SFA need to check the wording of their Rules – how can one be a Director of something that exists only in the hearts and minds of fans etc etc (cont. p.97).
http://0dayhotmusic.com/primediabroadcasting/the-big-issue-dave-king-vs
Dave King on South African radio about his tax affairs.
Worth a listen…
Can I just ask, other than being on the Rangers board during the years when they were spending more money than they were earning and were underpaying tax, then went into administration and liquidation. Allied to the fact that he has admitted to defrauding the South African people out of tens of millions of pounds.
How is Dave King actually qualified to be on the board of Rangers, possibly as Chairman. What makes him qualified for the job, far less fit and proper. He hardly has a fantastic record of being on a football club’s board, either as a football man or a businessman.
v
paulsatim says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:48 pm
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought Thems via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard
==================================
Fantastic,absolutely.
King would potentially fall down on two counts. Firstly, the fit and proper person guidelines state consideration would be given as to whether an office bearer is fit and proper if “he has been convicted within the last 10 years of (i) an offence liable to imprisonment of two years or over, (ii) corruption or (iii) fraud”.
———————————
I don’t see the problem here, personally I thought that the above were pre-requisite before being considered for the post.
Among the information that was broadcast Johnston claimed that Murray was impressed by how Whyte had hired a PR company to delete his google history- despite claiming that he had been duped by the former billionaire from Motherwell.
After the show McIntyre hinted on twitter that further revelations were to follow before pulling the plug on the issue.
McIntyre tweeted: “@ChrisGraham76 Agreed. Very strong words from AJ – but def much more to come from him. Lots recorded that I couldn’t put out tonight.”
Unfortunately that was followed quickly by: “@ChrisGraham76 No. So much has to okd by lawyers in interviews like that. Put out what we could tonight. The rest won’t be aired.”
(The above is from the video celts website)
I wonder what else AJ had to say and about whom !!!??
Maybe charlotte will let us know shortly ?
readcelt says:
October 10, 2013 at 5:19 pm
As everyone is taking a trip down memory lane. My first Hampden experience was Scotland v Brazil in 1987. The Rous cup. Scotland 0 – 2 Brazil
I’m sure my dad thought i’d benefit from watching the mighty Brazil in action but i was only interested in the guys playing in dark blue.
——————————————
Unfortunately, my Dad took me to Hampden some time around 1974 to see Scotland v Brazil. Famously the worst Brazil team ever, the great Rivalino hacking everyone in sight, the others in the team playing as if they were having a good tour in between games. Brazil won 1-0 through a Scotland own goal which was about right. And that weird press box thing up on the roof, looking as if it was going to slide off at any moment! A memorable day in many ways it seems.
Hampden – funny how everyone in England wants to play at Wemberlee at some stage in their career – don’t see many folks get all OTT about playing at Hampden
My memories – first game was a cup final against RFC-NIL in 1977 – Andy Lynch scored from a penalty when everyone even at the back of the Celtic end could see our largesse pal Derek Johnston handle the ball. What was shocking was Valentine gave it.
I went to many Scotland games – folks ask about Celtic and Rangers ends – here is the deal. If you went to a Scotland game in 70’s or 80’s, you would need to cheer for certain players at different places. I made the mistake of cheering Tommy Burns coming on for Jim Bett once in the Rangers end and got growled at. Similar for when Charlie made his debut.
My main thing with Hampden was because one end was enclosed not only could you hear the singing better (for what it was worth) but it also kept you dry. In 1982 League Final, we were Singing in the Rain – and got pneumonia for our efforts! When Rangers scored in those days, the dust cloud would come out of the place – it was a mess of a stadium. A bulldozer and new site should have been the first things to have been planned.
Instead we have a joke of a national stadium.
When anyone asks why I think so little of the SFA (up until the last year) I would point at Hampden and say ‘what can you say….’. Now no one asks me why I think so little of them because the last 18 months have given everyone the answer………….
So the MSM are already discussing DK as future chairman of Sevco 2012 and someone has put out the wee doubt piece about how the SFA may block the move .
Forgive me for PMSL .
I will tell you about a call to SSB tonight from a Sevco 2012 fan .
Caller ……could the SFA not just tell us if they are going to block the move or are they going to dither like they did with CW (I know but stay with me ).
Keevins ……..Do you really think that the SFA would block anything to the detriment of one member club .
Caller ………..Well they did it to Celtic with Jorge Cadete .
That must be the first time when BOTH muppets can be right when being so WRONG .
Good who’s who of the duped and dupers……………
Lord Vegetable @HenrikVegetable 1h
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought The RFC via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard David Burnside [Mar 2007] UUP (cont) http://tl.gd/n_1rpk22p
(edited title to avoid upsetting anyone with H word – as it came from Celtic post, apologies…)
jimlarkin says:
October 10, 2013 at 7:25 pm
1 0 Rate This
————-
From what AJ said it was obvious that he was well acquainted with Miss Fakes, how intimate that knowledge is remains to be seen, nudge, nudge. With the BBC vetting other parts of the interview it does make you wonder why this man has stayed silent for so long, well, apart from the ludicrous ‘Surrender No’ statement.
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:54 pm
‘..Dave King on South African radio about his tax affairs.
Worth a listen…’
——
While listening to it, I was checking out MICROmega, of which a Dave King ( as mentioned on the radio prog) is Executive Chairman. On the company’s ‘people page’ his d.o.b is given as 15.07. 54, and born in East Cape, S.A..
The Dave King born in Castlemilk ( director of Rangers) has a d.o.b. of 1955.
Don’t tell me he lied about his date and place of birth?
Is it the same Dave King??
Chris Graham @ChrisGraham76 1h
The SFA fit and proper story is essentially correct but it’s entirely at SFA discretion. Why would they block a top businessman
Yet the SFA get blamed for not stopping CW getting his foot on the marble staircase……………
PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:54 pm
Listening to that Dave King interview, I now know what a glib and shameless liar sounds like. I particularly liked this bit:
“So my recommendation to other taxpayers in fact would be don’t do what I did, rather try and get to a point of settlement as early as you possibly can,” concluded King.
He’s recommending taxpayers not to do what he did! Well firstly, taxpayers pay taxes, and secondly, far from being contrite, though he’d like to think he sounds like he is, he still seems to think tax evasion is alright, until you get caught, when you should agree a settlement as quickly as possible (which is what he’s recommending ‘taxpayers’ to do, as opposed to actually paying taxes – like the poor folk have to!).
Sadly, in the world of commerce, he seems to have been welcomed back as a lost messiah, with his company shares going up by 50%, apparently on the back of his ‘return’.
jimlarkin says:
October 10, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Among the information that was broadcast Johnston claimed that Murray was impressed by how Whyte had hired a PR company to delete his google history- despite claiming that he had been duped by the former billionaire from Motherwell.
—————
Chic Young played down this revelation, claiming that he (Chick) knew all about Whyte’s background from the start (maybe he read RTC :)). Why didn’t he say so at the time then?
Allyjambo says:
October 10, 2013 at 8:01 pm
”’..Sadly, in the world of commerce, he seems to have been welcomed back as a lost messiah, with his company shares going up by 50%, apparently on the back of his ‘return’.”
———-
The Boers have a lot in common with the Bears.
Self-acknowledged criminal and tax dodger King, in reference to his early reaction to SARS pursuit of him, “Everyone is doing this, so why me?” Ian Black will love this guy.
On the prospect of Dave King coming to Ibrox, there are two distinct schools of thought, neither of which believe he would be unsuitable.
Firstly, the most gullible of the gullible, the Rangers support, see him riding in on a white charger to put Timmy firmly in his place. Total domination is now only two years away.
Secondly, the media, although seemingly desperate for him to arrive, are countering the wild views of the gullible by stating he will only come if it is a ‘clean’ business model.
Whatever it is, we Celtic fans are just going to have to settle for the boring old existence we have at present.
– Top quality directors, including a real live billionaire
– A club that is run in a self sustainable manner
Why does such a successful approach attract so little media praise, while someone who has admitted shafting the South African tax system for tens of millions is treated like a returning hero?
Edit: Also very disappointing to hear Stephen McGowan say tonight Dave King can be Rangers Fergus McCann. I really do think it is time Fergus stopped having his name tarnished by comparing him to the assorted spivs and tax evaders that Ibrox seems to attract like flies roon a sh*te!
paulsatim says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:48 pm
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought Thems via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard
________________________________________________________________________________________
Nobel Prize.
Do these rules on fitness an properness of office bearers of the club apply to directorships of the holding company, RIFC?
1. upthehoops says:
October 10, 2013 at 8:33 pm
Whatever it is, we Celtic fans are just going to have to settle for the boring old existence we have at present.
– Top quality directors, including a real live billionaire
– A club that is run in a self sustainable manner
Why does such a successful approach attract so little media praise, while someone who has admitted shafting the South African tax system for tens of millions is treated like a returning hero?
———————————————-
Just a little note UTH, DK’s return (if it actually occurs) is not just good/bad for Celtic fans. We need to look at the bigger picture and the governance of our whole game. There are also some other clubs that are very well run that put Rangers past and present to complete shame, most of which have a budget that is only a small fraction of both Celtic and Rangers.
So as a Celtic fan, I am happy with the way the club is going but not happy about the overall game.
Although I am still completely flummoxed about the supposed motivations of King’s expected involvement with the new Govan club…
Would a highly paid PR person not suggest that King makes it known that he will not be a Director – but that he will nominate his own man – a ‘Frank Blin’ type character with a sound, business pedigree ?
That would keep the SFA happy – and it would go some way to addressing the negative comments swirling around t’internet, [but not yet in the MSM of course].
It seems that King wasn’t that involved in the previous Govan club as a director anyway.
[And I am assuming that the SFA wouldn’t be fussed about any ‘shadow director’ arrangement, although Auldheid might correct me here ? ]
John Clarke
John is it not a pre requisite to have 2 D.O.B to be the daddy bear ,we know CW qualified for this ,I dont think Chuckles was checked for this but I am sure he would have had at least 2 D.O.B.
paulsatim says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:48 pm
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought Thems via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard
________________________________________________________________________________________
Absolute Quality.
Exiled Celt says:
October 10, 2013 at 7:53 pm
20 0 Rate This
Chris Graham @ChrisGraham76 1h
The SFA fit and proper story is essentially correct but it’s entirely at SFA discretion. Why would they block a top businessman?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who does Chris mean? Is this some hitherto unknown entity? Another club perhaps?
It’s certainly nothing to do with either of the clubs that he has “supported”.
I have always been of the opinion that this whole saga has been nothing but a sham played out to dispose of Hector (the other 275 creditors was just a wee bonus on top)
DM took to the dance floor to hawk his wares to any prospective suitor but when the last dance had taken place the suitor was scared off when he went to get his partners coat from Hector in the cloakroom .
I have always thought that whoever ended up going home with the coats when the dancing finally stopped would have been DM first true love and it looks like the music is about to stop and Hector has called in sick .
I heard CY say on Sportsound that he had been told a long ,long time ago from a major player that DK was a big player in Sevco’s future and that everything would quieten down and DK would emerge .
I also heard some prat on Sportsound tonight state that Sally was impressed with DKs ability to forsee the future regards Ragers/Sevco .
All starting to make sense now .
BDO I hope you are watching all that has gone on in this debacle and are just waiting on the last few peepil to step right in to the end game before you start knocking on a few doors in the early hours
Just a thought.
The late Corsica informed us of a meeting in Zurich attended by Green,Whyte,Ellis and King.
Now we know Mather is in the Green Camp.
Is it possible that Mather was in South Africa to brief King,not to beg for money.
upthehoops says:
October 10, 2013 at 8:33 pm
24 0 Rate This
On the prospect of Dave King coming to Ibrox, there are two distinct schools of thought, neither of which believe he would be unsuitable.
Firstly, the most gullible of the gullible, the Rangers support, see him riding in on a white charger to put Timmy firmly in his place. Total domination is now only two years away.
Secondly, the media, although seemingly desperate for him to arrive, are countering the wild views of the gullible by stating he will only come if it is a ‘clean’ business model.
Whatever it is, we Celtic fans are just going to have to settle for the boring old existence we have at present.
– Top quality directors, including a real live billionaire
– A club that is run in a self sustainable manner
Why does such a successful approach attract so little media praise, while someone who has admitted shafting the South African tax system for tens of millions is treated like a returning hero?
Edit: Also very disappointing to hear Stephen McGowan say tonight Dave King can be Rangers Fergus McCann. I really do think it is time Fergus stopped having his name tarnished by comparing him to the assorted spivs and tax evaders that Ibrox seems to attract like flies roon a sh*te!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wee Fergus had the nuts to challenge the SFA in court
. . .the present Celtic ‘board’ will not challenge the SFA in court.
Why.
A – Because the Celtic board are complicit in all of this shambles.
(trying to allow Sevco to Start life in the SPL, the SFL1, until the fans put their money where their mouths are)
Looking back on the comments about Hampden, I genuinely think that the idea that a cover was put on the Rangers end first , was because of some hidden bias, is pure paranoia. – and that comes from somebody who’s normally paranoid & proud of it (doctor). – I don’t know if the suspicion that the Celtic end was actually bigger is really a historical fact, but, if that was the case, then it could well be no more than a technical issue which influenced the decision.
Also, as one of 136,505* at Hampden in 1970 for the Leeds semi-final, the fact the Celtic end was still uncovered then is a factor in that being THE record Euro Cup attendance ever – and for all time – , so it has a good side to it. BTW. Anybody in the Celtic end that night, will remember it was so full you couldnt see the stairs/passageways – I also remember a gate being broken open. 136,505 was the official attendance, but I reckon there was another 5k unofficial in the massive Celtic end. BTW2 I was at the The Rangers end for the 1965 Scottish Final v Dunfermline, when Big Billy headed the late winner (1st trophy in the Stein era) so I can also confirm that there was no cover at the Rangers end then- that didnt come until >1967.
To be perfectly honest, it all reeks of a huge Irvine-directed sideshow to sway those who would otherwise overthrow the sitting regime at the AGM. ‘A South African Blue, beautiful plumage,’ says Jack, the pet shop owner,
The Ibrox faithful are revolting and the board know it, they’ve met them and seen them close up. This is all too contrived. Mather, and whoever else is running this stained and faded bit of the fabric of Scottish society, is surely now throwing the kitchen sink to remain in power.
Someone mentioned Chico’s Freudian ‘Sir Walter’ slip yesterday. Personally, I put it down to his usual incoherence due to his mouth being out of sync with his brain cells. However, if I were sitting in London advising the Regent on matters ‘United Kingdom’ I might just suggest dropping a timely symbol of quintessential Britishness on a Scottish ‘Wally’. The flag waving would be widespread, there might even be protests demanding the (otherwise magnificent) Saltire removed in favour of that other flag. I wouldn’t put it past the intellectual dwarfs and moral vacuums, who masquerade as politicians, to stoop to such a thing.
http://sport.stv.tv/football/242664-sandy-jardine-rangers-need-investment-to-prepare-to-compete-with-celtic/?
FFS
. . .sandy jardine ”interview’
Jardine spouting – Rangers(sic) have their own stadium, great training facilities and money in the bank
. . .now that the Tax dispute is ‘sorted out’.
On Dave king – jardine says, he has knowledge of Dave, who was on the board ‘here’ previously, then he had a Tax dispute in South Africa, but now his Tax dispute is ‘sorted out’.
Why are these clowns given so much air time?
@JimLarkin. Well said M8!.
The Bunnet was no angel, but compared to that long line of spivs he’d have a good shot at canonisation. DK is not much better than the predecessors. – Whats that saying agin?
All Hail The New (dave) King. Same as The Old King!
fergusslayedtheblues says:
October 10, 2013 at 9:15 pm
You do know that Rangers are currently in liquidation because HMRC rejected a CVA, right.
And that HMRC put BDO in to carry out the liquidation on their behalf. To both bring in assets and to investigate any potentially criminal activity.
The notion that “Rangers” have managed to do anything post liquidation is a non sequitur. There is no post liquidation.
Have a look at the old photos of Hampden here;
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hampden+park+aerial+photographs&rlz=1C1RNPN_enGB396GB397&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=4NFVUtyOD4af0QWKhIHACg&ved=0CC0QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=677&dpr=1
and tell me how you could be 400yds away from the goal at the west terracing when you are at the back of the east terracing?
—————————————————————-
The talk of the behemoth that was old Hampden has been a refreshing change and a pleasant trip down memory lane.
Maybe the fact we are aware of the true significance of Hampden Park in European/world football history makes the stench currently eminating from its bowels all the more repugnant
@TheLunaticFringe
‘…I don’t know if the suspicion that the Celtic end was actually bigger is really a historical fact…’
It definitely was. There was a first tier at least as big as the other end, then it went up again. Tier is misleading to modern readers…it was more like a shale bing (I think it was actually shale from the bings) held in place here and there with a few old railway sleepers.
Marching on Hampden for what Sandy Jardine believed was a dereliction of duty by the SFA.
Ra peeps blamed them for the failure of the FPP test which ignored the MBB’s MO.
But now they need more funding for the challenge of the lower leagues, they want their money guy no matter what, they see no other way.
Farting in a lift is wrong on many levels, but this mob are rid rotten from basement to penthouse, pressing all the wrong buttons subjecting us all to the stench. Shut the door, take deep breathes and do us all a favour.
SouthernExile on October 10, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Chromium, not shale. Its one reason the bowl shape wasn’t changed. Too costly to disturb and dispose of. Which is why the stadium is what it is today. True.
Somebody needs to take Chic directly to task on this debt coming down, the bank were running Rangers nonsense. This is one of these perpetual falsehoods that’s repeated continually to support the notion that (S)DM and Walter were doing a good job before that nasty Mr Whyte got involved.
But, SURELY he understands the difference between spending more than you earn and paying off debt. I mean if he owed £10k on his credit card, and reduced this to £5k, but was simultaneously spending £1,000 per month more than he earned net he’d still be in trouble. In fact, in time he’d be bankrupt if he didn’t fix the latter.
Rangers were sold for £1 for a very good reason. They had large debts, crystallised and contingent, AND they had spending commitments that were FAR MORE than their income.
How hard can this be to understand Chic?
@Squiggle
That’s why it wasn’t red! Where did it come from?
My last word on the Hampden debate and the covered end. The only group of fans always guaranteed to be exposed to the elements were Celtic fans, no matter what team they were playing. I find it laughable that some fans find ridicule in the fact they were sometimes in one end, sometimes in the other – at least they were dry sometimes.
Mcmurdo blog:
Right Of Reply
As regular readers will know, I strongly oppose the “Requisition Party” in their attempts to bring boardroom change at Ibrox. Although I have been critical of Paul Murray and others, I would never knowingly or intentionally say something I knew to be untrue about them in order to make a point or make them look bad.
Recently I blogged that Scott Murdoch was being proposed by the Requisitioners to be appointed to the board with the purpose of implementing a sale and lease back of Ibrox Stadium and Auchenhowie. I also stated another proposed new board member – Alex Wilson – was being brought in to effect a staff cull at Ibrox.
I have received a legal letter informing me these statements are false. As a result I offered these gentlemen a right to reply on this blog and I am delighted to say this was accepted. This right of reply now follows:-
FROM PAUL MURRAY, MALCOLM MURRAY, SCOTT MURDOCH AND ALEX WILSON
“The suggestion that Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson were being proposed to the Rangers Board in order that they would implement a sale and leaseback and a staff cull was entirely false and we welcome the opportunity of setting the record straight.
For the avoidance of doubt we have no intentions of selling Ibrox or Auchenhowie. Indeed we would be proposing that Ibrox is “ring-fenced” so that it is legally protected for future generations of fans.”
ENDS
SouthernExile on October 10, 2013 at 10:34 pm
The old industries were hungry for refined alloys, Chromium (and other heavy metals) were by-products. Glasgow was a big producer, and that waste went into lots of places. Walk the M74 route and you will be looking at where most was deposited, you might even spot a real life Chromium lake! Its there. Its highly toxic in contact. But it was well known that working class Celtic supporters were immune.
Last week it was Mr Goldstein and his protestations about Charlotte.
This week Jack has been busy diverting attention away from the AGM, the accounts and the omnishambles at Ibrox with the wonderful news that Charles of Normandy’s proxy Craig Mather has been to visit (the) King.
Sooner or later Sevco will either go bust, or they will have to do SOMETHING about the over-spending, as no amount of ‘investment’ is going to fix the current burn rate. King isn’t daft he’s not going to set fire to his children’s inheritance by giving it to the Spivs, so that Ally can invest in yet more players to win the Championship.
Why is this so hard for Sevconians to understand?
upthehoops on October 10, 2013 at 10:37 pm
Lots of great stuff on this. Did we clear up that Celtic didn’t pay for the roof over the west terracing?
Double post sorry.
SouthernExile says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:12 pm
@TheLunaticFringe
‘…I don’t know if the suspicion that the Celtic end was actually bigger is really a historical fact…’
It definitely was. There was a first tier at least as big as the other end, then it went up again. Tier is misleading to modern readers…it was more like a shale bing (I think it was actually shale from the bings) held in place here and there with a few old railway sleepers.
———————-
You can see the extra tier on the right of this photo:
http://www.regista-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/old-hampen-5.jpg
From the look of the cars, and lack of ‘Rangers end’ roof, I’d say it was taken around 1965.
In the background you can also see what I think is Cathkin Park, home of the previous Glasgow club to go under (in 1967).
paulsatim says:
October 10, 2013 at 6:48 pm
List Of Tycoons That Never Bought Thems via Bobbymurdoch of @huddleboard
Kieran Prior [June 2013] The financial guru that makes Warren Buffet look like the guy that runs the school tuck shop. The mathematical genius that makes Stephen Hawking look like a desk scribbler in a remedial class. The cyborg android that makes The Six Million Dollar Man look like a wooden stickman.
The above lines alone warrant 100 TU’s, I was pissing myself, brilliant 😆
I’ve found all the discussion and detail concerning Hampden very interesting, and would suggest David Ross, author of ‘The Roar of the Crowd’ and ‘The First 100 Years of Hampden’ might provide definitive answers.
From memory, these texts suggest that from the top steps of the west to the top steps of the east, it was just under 400 metres in distance. I think the suggestion was that it was roughly 140 metres from the top of the east terrace to the goals at that end (remembering the east terrace was higher up).
The first main stand (south) was actually 2 stands with a changing box/pavilion between them.
It think the books also maintain the ground at either end was banked with solid earth, which may have been chromium based, but can’t recall that detail.
No mention is made of Celtic paying for the west terrace roof.
Finally, and as an extra apropos of nothing in the previous discussion, Albion Rovers averaged 6-7000 a season in the early 1920’s. This season, so far, it’s 402.
Can we just sort out a couple of things in relation to the attempted “feel good factor” concerning Dave King and the previous Rangers’ board.
1. Dave King did not lose £20m from his “investment” in Rangers. That is a myth, he got most of that money back, “under the radar”. His dealing with the South African Tax Authorities prove that.
2. Rangers had not “reduced the debt” to £18m under the regime that Dave King was part of. That was accountancy smoke and mirrors.
The idea that Dave King is some sort of returning hero (if anyone makes Tolkein inspired reference here shame on you) is simply nonsense. He did not lose £20m previously. He was not part of a board which was reducing debt to a manageable level. The board he sat on was not sorting Rangers’ financial problems out.
That is all propaganda, and no matter how often people repeat it, it is not true.
To anyone who disagrees, please let Dave King become the controlling hand and mind at the new club. You will get no complaint from me. However don’t complain later that no-one pointed this out to you. The man is a liar and a fraudster.
If you can’t recognise them by now then it’s probably too late for you anyway.
thirdmanrunning says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:55 pm
Whilst Jack is likely causing a diversion in UK will his influence with political contact/s in SA who will happily take a bung be helping to smooth the way for the Royal gent to move some of his cash out the country should he decide to do so. I recall the days when you couldn’t get a bean out of SA unless you were creative.
Danish Pastry says:
October 10, 2013 at 9:43 pm
‘…I put it down to his usual incoherence due to his mouth being out of sync with his brain cells. ..’
—–
Brain cells ,plural?! You flatter the man. 🙂
A couple of interesting claims the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have previously adjudicated on with regards to liquidation.
One company claims a 40 year existence & the other claims it’s been in existence since 1946.
In both cases they could not confirm they had taken on all debts/liabilities/guarantees of previous company’s &/or prove continuous trading so were told not to make these claims in future advertising.
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/7/Sivast-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_194306.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2009/5/Harris-Brothers-(Contracts)-Ltd/TF_ADJ_46273.aspx
andygraham.66 says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:48 pm
from the requisitioners ‘right of reply’ .[…..For the avoidance of doubt we have no intentions of selling Ibrox or Auchenhowie. Indeed we would be proposing that Ibrox is “ring-fenced” so that it is legally protected for future generations of fans.]
——-
Are they feart that the present board are thinking of selling ?
thirdmanrunning says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:31 pm
Somebody needs to take Chic directly to task on this debt coming down, the bank were running Rangers nonsense. This is one of these perpetual falsehoods that’s repeated continually to support the notion that (S)DM and Walter were doing a good job before that nasty Mr Whyte got involved.
But, SURELY he understands the difference between spending more than you earn and paying off debt. I mean if he owed £10k on his credit card, and reduced this to £5k, but was simultaneously spending £1,000 per month more than he earned net he’d still be in trouble. In fact, in time he’d be bankrupt if he didn’t fix the latter.
Rangers were sold for £1 for a very good reason. They had large debts, crystallised and contingent, AND they had spending commitments that were FAR MORE than their income.
How hard can this be to understand Chic?
===============================================================
“How hard can this be to understand Chic?”
In Youngs case, very hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :slamb:
The man is like one of those old fashioned Wild West Snake Oil Salesmen who has managed to make a good living over the years sucking up to Sir Minty, “Sir” Walter, etc. He’s been priveleged in the past to meet Pele, all expenses paid by the BBC Taxpayer of course! Even got a shirt signed by him. That’s his biggest claim to fame, that and purporting to support St Mirren.
If you take a step back and look at his contributions over the last 2 years, he ticks all the boxes of the “Snake Oil Salesman”, and should be treated with the contempt he deserves. He also makes a good living in the after dinner circuit, travelling all around the country filling his pockets in far flung places we’ve never heard of that are willing to pay his fee and listen to his P$%h, again all based on his “BBC Prominence”. He should actually be nicknamed “What’s my Fee?”
How many Sports Clubs in Scotland have been regaled with his heroic tales of interviewing Pele, mixed with many funny religious anecdotes regarding Scottish Football, not to mention playing football with Rod Stewart!
I’ve heard the man is not that well liked within football circles, but still seems to have the old “Snake Oil Salesman” ability to survive, thanks to The BBC who are still giving him access to the “Inner Doors”.
So, finally to answer your question thirdmanrunning, the “Chycophant” is one of those great survivors from the olden days, not long now near retirement, but is now brave enough to show his true colours. That’s because he makes enough outside from After Dinner’s to prop up his already substantial BBC Wonga.
It’s commonly called “Brass Necking It!”
I personally find it all distasteful!
paulonotini says:
October 10, 2013 at 11:49 pm
—
good spot, P.
I hope they hold that line about ‘taking on the debts’ .
John Clarke at 11.53.
You would hope so,but I’m sure they’ll be trying to come up with some excuse so as not to upset the angry Bears & cause “social unrest”
paulonotini says:
October 10, 2013 at 11:49 pm
2 0 Rate This
A couple of interesting claims the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have previously adjudicated on with regards to liquidation.
One company claims a 40 year existence & the other claims it’s been in existence since 1946.
In both cases they could not confirm they had taken on all debts/liabilities/guarantees of previous company’s &/or prove continuous trading so were told not to make these claims in future advertising.
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/7/Sivast-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_194306.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2009/5/Harris-Brothers-(Contracts)-Ltd/TF_ADJ_46273.aspx
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Hopefully it should not be too long before they come to their decision, it did not take them long initially, what was it a 3 minute phone call to gym trainer……
paulonotini says:
October 10, 2013 at 11:49 pm
2 0 Rate This
A couple of interesting claims the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have previously adjudicated on with regards to liquidation.
One company claims a 40 year existence & the other claims it’s been in existence since 1946.
In both cases they could not confirm they had taken on all debts/liabilities/guarantees of previous company’s &/or prove continuous trading so were told not to make these claims in future advertising.
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2012/7/Sivast-Ltd/SHP_ADJ_194306.aspx
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications/2009/5/Harris-Brothers-(Contracts)-Ltd/TF_ADJ_46273.aspx
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Which is why Sevco’s Rangers decided to withdraw their false claims.
http://www.asa.org.uk/Rulings/Adjudications.aspx?SearchTerms=Rangers#2
HirsutePursuit at 12.09
I think that fm June 2013 relates to a separate RFC advertising case.
As you can see below the “most successful club” claim was reopened as reported in The Drum on 6 August 2013.
http://m.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/06/independent-reviewer-reopening-case-against-rangers-fc-most-successful-football-club
briggsbhoy says:
October 10, 2013 at 11:23 pm
thirdmanrunning says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:55 pm
Whilst Jack is likely causing a diversion in UK will his influence with political contact/s in SA who will happily take a bung be helping to smooth the way for the Royal gent to move some of his cash out the country should he decide to do so. I recall the days when you couldn’t get a bean out of SA unless you were creative.
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What if these beans were never in South Africa in the first place? Don’t forget that for guys like King it was touch and go in SA how the political situation would pan out. There is only one way to preserve ones wealth and that is to do what almost all HINWI’s do and squirrel it away offshore.
paulonotini says:
October 11, 2013 at 12:22 am
0 0 Rate This
HirsutePursuit at 12.09
I think that fm June 2013 relates to a separate RFC advertising case.
As you can see below the “most successful club” claim was reopened as reported in The Drum on 6 August 2013.
http://m.thedrum.com/news/2013/08/06/independent-reviewer-reopening-case-against-rangers-fc-most-successful-football-club
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Hmmm. Perhaps.
I note that the only date mentioned in the Drum article is 13th June – when we know Sir Hayden Phillips wrote to the complainant to explain how the appeal process would operate. There is no date given for the second letter.
Although the Drum article wasn’t published until 8th August, it does not say when the ASA’s original decision to reject the complaint was withdrawn. And since no other news agency has (to my knowledge) reported the withdrawal of the ASA decision, it is difficult to verify the timing of events by the Drum report alone.
The 26th June would probably have been around the date the complaint went back into the ASA system as “live”. If so, it would appear that once the investigation was re-opened, Sevco agreed to amend their advertising rather than face an adverse “club” ruling in the middle of their season ticket sales drive.
Sir Hayden operates independently of the ASA adjudication panel and wouldn’t necessarily know that Sevco had withdrawn their false claims by the time he got round to writing to the complainant.
Then again, perhaps there are separate cases and I am just adding 2 + 2 to get 5.
Trying to see if we can help Graham be the good journalist we all hope he can be…….
TK @Tomdoggy 8h
@GrahamSpiers Is their proof he ever pumped £20M in to Rangers, Graham? It’s now being used frequently by media outlets…
Graham Spiers @GrahamSpiers 8h
@Tomdoggy Well, he claimed he did. So did the business writers both here and in SA. So you saying he didn’t?
Exiled Celt @The_Exiled_Celt 18m
@GrahamSpiers @Tomdoggy he received 18.5 back from RFC according to SA judgement
Exiled Celt @The_Exiled_Celt 4m
@GrahamSpiers @Tomdoggy @ @TheSFMonitor. Graham – the SA ruling reg 18.5 payment from RFC to DK is on TSFM blog 8 Oct 8:53pm and 10.02pm
Let’s see if Graham continues to repeat the same nonsense that The Lying King lost 20m investmenr in RFC-NIL, or will now report that the Glib Liar told untruths outside of SA …….
Anyone else wondering why DK would lose 20 million anyway? He never invested in Wavetower, so how come when RFC-NIL went belly up, he lost his money? Was it not the holding company that went bust? 🙂
Hello. First time poster, long time lurker.
I have been drawn out of my comfortable ‘armchair’ existence following a post from a few days ago. In particular the link accompanying the post caught my eye. I have provided the link below for ease of use.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/sfa-chief-responsibility-for-owner-test-lay-with-rangers-1-2165105
Before I break out the ‘soap-box’ let me clear a few things up in recognition of the fact that I am a first-timer. I have been a reader of this site since its inception following on from the outstanding work carried out by RTC. Although I came to RTC relatively late in its lifespan (the George Orwell prize sparked my interest) I was quickly swept up by the frankly disturbing information I was exposed to. I have noticed since this site began that there are more than a few valuable contributors who do fantastic work analysing the information available in the public domain. I have also noticed attempts by “trolls” or hired hands to send people down blind alleys and/or stir up pointless debates. Let me state clearly that I am neither a “troll” or a hired-hand but at the same time I understand new members may be viewed with some degree of suspicion until they have earned the trust of others.
Right! Soapbox time!
Since the link above was first posted on 9th October (I think!) it has attracted only a few comments and frankly I think it is this aspect more than any other which prompted me to sign-up and get typing. Not to say that the content of the article itself didn’t wind me up massively, but more on that in a minute. The focus of the blog over the last few days has been squarely on the circus that is “Rangers” or to be more precise who controls them, who will control them, who is shafting who, etc. Although there have been good contributions on this subject, as well as good humour, this to me seems to be the biggest red herring of them all. Now I don’t believe for one second that I can get away with making a statement like that on this website without backing it up. So…enough of the procrastination – on to the Scotsman article itself.
Firstly a quote from the article to get started – “We need to understand this idea of a ‘fit and proper person test’,” said Regan. “It’s a myth. There is no test.” WHAT!!!! You mean all this time that I have been hearing talk of ‘fit and proper person’, not just here north of the border but down in England as well, it has all been complete nonsense! If this is true then why is anyone bothering to try and introduce financial fair play if any dodgy character can take up a position within a football club and nobody can do anything about it? If this is true then what have all these people been talking about when they mention ‘fit and proper person’? Are they lying to us? Are they themselves deluded by the notion?
Mr Regan then goes on to state that as the rules stand it is reliant on the club themselves to ensure that any individual appointed to the club is ‘fit and proper’ and that the SFA are merely kept informed of developments. So in other words the way the rules are at present means the SFA have no real power in these circumstances until after the fact. That is unfortunate. These pesky rules really do seem to get in the way of the SFA carrying out good governance and oversight. Any idea who might have the power to change the rules to ensure good governance and oversight? Anyone? 😯
Now to the part of the article where I can bring some personal insight. Mr Regan continues on in this interview with a long rambling discourse about the nature of background checks and how difficult this can be, blah, blah, blah. What utter nonsense! Not only nonsense but perhaps even a straight-up, cold-blooded, brass necked lie. I say perhaps just to make sure we don’t give anyone an excuse to bring on the threat of legal action. The bottom line here is that there are companies out in the big bad world who provide exactly that kind of service and it doesn’t cost the Earth. The reason I am aware of this is that I am from a Banking background where these kind of service providers are employed to ensure that nasty individuals can’t get legitimate accounts. Now the question for any sharp reader should be “fine, but what kind of information do these services provide?” The answer – everything from criminal convictions to press clippings with negative implications.
Now Mr Regan may be the focus of my ire on this occasion but followers of this blog are only too familiar with the other characters currently occupying prominent positions on our governing bodies. They appear to be the biggest stumbling block in bringing fairness and sporting integrity back to our game. So to my point. This is the Scottish Football Monitor. Yes “Rangers” is a massive story that will probably keep on giving but there is almost nothing we can do about them. The main thrust of our anger and frustration should be the governing bodies or to be more precise the individuals who sit at the top table of these organisations. Can you imagine if we had a governing body that was accountable, fair and employed a set of rules that everyone could understand. A set of rules that would guarantee a fair playing field for all. A set of rules that would be applied to all at all times without exception. In this fairy-tale land the situation currently playing out at Ibrox just would not be able to exist. And there is the point; this needs to get fixed from the top. Do this and everything below would fall into place. How we do this is of course another matter but at least lets start focusing our attention on those people at the ‘big’ table. The charlatans, crooks and ‘legends’ currently starring in a show down Edmiston Drive are a sideshow.
The resources that we have at our disposal here are pretty formidable (and by that I am talking about the sharp minds on this blog). However continuing to examine every word, every detail of everything that goes on down at Ibrox appears to me to be distracting this website from it’s true purpose – the reclaiming of Scottish Football by football fans who have had enough of the mismanagement, stupidity, laziness and downright corruption at the heart of our governing bodies. I welcome further investigative insight into the events at “Rangers” and I know I will continue to come back to this site for that information but let us not lose sight of how this poisonous mess was able to happen in the first place.
And that’s me. I’m done. Apologies for the length of this comment/novel but once you get started on this mess you could go on all day. I welcome comments from all and hope this is the start of a discussion that leads us in, what I consider, the right direction.
Thank you.
Have sent the original message from Paulo Notino (thanks Paulo) to the following folks:
Tom English
Graham Spiers
Jim Spence
Kenny McIntyre
Jim Delahunt
Phil Mac
Paul McConville
Peter Martin
Ask King how he earned £18.75m(R200m) from RFC-NIL a year after investing £20m in RFC thanks http://www.bdlive.co.za/articles/2008/11/11/king-s-tax-assessment-valid—sars …
Let’s get the truth out there and not accept the Jack Irvine PR offerings to be regurgitated without any recourse….
Exiled Celt says:
October 11, 2013 at 5:32 am
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http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/single/?p=12525362&t=8837773
I’m just offering this as a plausible reason why SARS thought his shares in Rangers were taxable. I’m no expert but I’m sure there will be one along in a minute to cast his/her eye over it and come up with the odds of this being the case.
King shipped most of his money in £20million tranches to offshore trust structures involving companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and Guernsey. If irc his investment in Rangers was through Murray Sports via Metlika Trading. (It might have been through Ben Nevis before that.) He also, like the bold Imran, involved his dear old mum by sticking it in her name. (Gawd bless ‘im)
Thanks TallBoy Poppy – could well be the case but they can still ask anyway 🙂
Now why would DK stand on the steps of Ibrokes after the CVA rejection claiming that he had lost £20m and he intended suing DM ,when it looks like his SA tax returns info clearly show he DID NOT .
With CJ saying he was told by a top Ibrokes source long ,long ago that DK was a serious player in the future of Ragers /Sevco and all would quieten down and DK would then emerge .
BDO ,get off your erses and do your job .
Hector ,you make me pay my taxes make them PAY theirs .
tif finn 9:51
I do indeed know that ragers 1872 are no more and is in the process of being liquidated .
My beef is with the peepil who IMO put the plan in place to ditch their dues and expect/demand every right thinking Scottish football fan accepts the Sevco 2012 tribute act as the old club and the list of these peepil is extensive .
Remember without the intervention of the right minded Scottish football supporters Sevco 2012 would have been the 1st NEW CLUB to begin life 31 places higher than clubs with a milk in their fridge with a longer history than Sevco .
Liquidation IMO was not an option to old Ragers it was inevitable only the football supporters got in the way of the grand plan .
Squiggle says:
October 10, 2013 at 10:59 pm
upthehoops on October 10, 2013 at 10:37 pm
Lots of great stuff on this. Did we clear up that Celtic didn’t pay for the roof over the west terracing?
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I have never claimed Celtic payed for it. However, it was well documented in the late 60’s and early 70’s that when Queens Park were in financial distress Celtic donated £10K to them. Many older Sportswriters in the 70’s used to mention it and it has also been stated in books. I doubt £10k even then would have been enough to pay for a roof, but let’s try and see the wood from the trees.
Exiled Celt says:
October 11, 2013 at 6:21 am
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Absolutely – I agree. The List Of Tycoons That Never Bought The RFC via Bobbymurdoch on the previous page is a superb example of just how the fourth estate have been complicit in this whole charade. A list of kiddy-on suitors splashed week after week in the papers, no doubt all jockeyed by Jack. For journos to sit on their hands and re-hash a MH press release with gusto, when they all know the real story, has proved that they’re not fit for purpose and need to have their work done for them. For shame on them all.