Scottish Football Administration in the 21st Century

 

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.

2,130 thoughts on “Scottish Football Administration in the 21st Century


  1. “General Francisco Franco — himself a Galician from Ferrol ”
    I didn’t know that!
    What an education I’ve had on this blog.
    Look up Nacho( no really, but you know what I mean), and you get the Galicia bit. And follow through, and lo and behold, you get the Ferrol bit.(Never even heard of the place) And then you get the Franco bit.
    Explains a lot.
    Stand up the boy who said Bearmacht!
    Got it in one.


  2. john clarke says:
    October 7, 2013 at 11:55 pm
    “General Francisco Franco — himself a Galician from Ferrol ”
    I didn’t know that!
    What an education I’ve had on this blog.
    Look up Nacho( no really, but you know what I mean), and you get the Galicia bit. And follow through, and lo and behold, you get the Ferrol bit.(Never even heard of the place) And then you get the Franco bit.
    Explains a lot.
    Stand up the boy who said Bearmacht!
    Got it in one.

    =============================================

    I know it’s quiet tonight, but are you ok?


  3. eddie rice says:
    October 7, 2013 at 11:49 pm
    ‘….It is not only football clubs who can be stripped of titles and positions..’
    ———-
    What a lovely line!

    Trouble is,unlike the RBS banker, SDM didn’t bring down ‘important’ people when he ran his football club into the ground.

    No. A look at the creditors list shows that it was ‘just’ relatively small beer people , and maybe the likes of the Scottish ambulance service and Glasgow City Council and so on, that were stiffed because of his insane profligacy ( which he probably thinks he has escaped penalty for, having dumped it all on CW).

    His knighthood is safe.

    Credibility utterly blown, though.
    A quiet word here and a quiet word there, and he will not ever again get a garden party invite.Would you invite him?

    Really, we knight these guys, she says, and then find they are nae class barra boys whose services were to nobody but themselves!
    Bastards, she says, under her breath.


  4. another day, another 38,000 pounds frittered away, another day closer to shutting the doors.


  5. Its now gathering pace…

    Radio Clyde News ‏@RadioClydeNews 1h
    Rangers spokesman confirms their Chief Executive and Finance Director have held talks with Dave King in South Africa about club’s future.
    Retweeted by Paulo Notini

    Anyone else thinking Charlotte was working for King as he is the only one that has not been embarrassed by her teasings and is the prime beneficiary of all of the mess………….


  6. john clarke says:
    October 7, 2013 at 11:55 pm

    “General Francisco Franco — himself a Galician from Ferrol ”
    ————————-
    There is a statue of Franco in El Ferrol. It is the only such statue remaining in Spain allegedly.


  7. fergussingstheblues says:
    October 8, 2013 at 12:13 am
    ‘..I know it’s quiet tonight, but are you ok?’
    ——-
    I’m ok, thanks.
    To explain: I looked up Nacho to find out where he came from in Spain. Ferrol, in Galicia.
    That led me on to discover that Generalissimo Franco came from there.
    Which led me to think that maybe the Franco fascist philosophy was sort of shared by Galiceans.
    Which might explain the readiness of Nacho to fit into the ‘we arra peepil’ mentality, loving the ‘ubermenschen’ idea.
    Fanciful, I admit. And probably absolutely meaningless to someone as young as Novo.
    But…


  8. john clarke says:
    October 8, 2013 at 12:17 am

    No. A look at the creditors list shows that it was ‘just’ relatively small beer people , and maybe the likes of the Scottish ambulance service and Glasgow City Council and so on, that were stiffed
    =======================================================================
    One of the things I could never work out was that Glasgow City Council was only stiffed for something like £5k which has always amazed me because that would mean that about the only thing getting paid was the rates and that really really surprises me.

    Same with Murray Park I don’t think any rates was owed on that to is it East Dunbartonshire Council. Again struck me as very strange.

    I wonder if when a valuation is under appeal that payments stop but even if they did surely in an admin/liquidation that the Councils would have given notice of their full debt?

    Maybe Rangers were bang up to date with paying their rates rates but as I say I have often wondered because the rates bill was obviously high.


  9. Folks. The Novo stuff is becoming a bit embarrassing. Fair enough with the daft Tweet, but his politics, character or love-rat status has nothing to do with us.

    Let’s stick to what we do best.


  10. Anyone else remember the story on RTC blog about Dave King and the £15m apparently showing up in his accounts from RFC(IL) ? The thing about this is, if it was true why have we never seen it in any of RFC(IL) accounts. It’s not as if you could hide a payment that large.

    I think the story came about through the SARS investigation into his tax affairs.
    —————————————

    £5m would appear to be the going rate for what the dodgy Dave’s were up to.


  11. TSFM says:
    October 8, 2013 at 12:51 am
    ‘…The Novo stuff is becoming a bit embarrassing.’
    ——
    I agree, at least about the man’s private life.None of our business.

    But , I have to say, me masel personally, I viewed Novo as a scunnersome wee wind-up nyaff working on ‘absolutely’ the same base of principle as the present Ibrox board: that is, none at all, other than personal advantage by conmanship and kissing the badge.

    Who probably doesn’t know how he has been manipulated by real men of no principle.


  12. I don’t quite get the reported Dave King ‘visit’.

    He has just – I believe – had to pay (or agreed to pay) c.£44M to the South African authorities.
    Regardless of his true net worth – that’s going to be a painful hit to his personal liquidity.
    …so why would he be interested in getting involved with TRFC?

    Even if he had the opportunity to buy TRFC for a token £1, the general consensus is that he would then have to pour tens of millions into the Govan club over several years – and that would probably be on top of any further share offerings to the bears – who would expect him to ‘return’ them to titles and Champions League involvement.

    But why would he commit another chunk of his wealth to a business which is hardly likely to give him a future return?

    And he is not going to derive the personal kudos/contacts and Knighthood that (S)DM secured from his association to the Govan club. [Although his ‘K’ was for ‘services to business’ rather than to Scottish football…nevermind !]

    King might genuinely love the Govan club, but IMO I’m sure he is a cold, objective businessman first and foremost when it comes to investing, [notwithstanding his prior ‘investment’ in Rangers of course 🙄 ].

    Is the King ‘visit’ just a distraction ? As in: the Board tried ‘everything’ to attract external funds before the inevitable cash crunch hit ?

    I just don’t buy the idea that King is the monied saviour who is going to sort out TRFC, [or fund any TRFC v0.2 either].
    That would be too simple and straightforward – which doesn’t fit at all with TRFC activities generally to date.


  13. WRT the ‘faked’ twitter pics of The Sun ‘blurb’:-

    I have seen the hard-copy with my own eyes. There was a copy of the rag lying(!) in the smoko, opened up the back page and there it was (page 67). I have only seen one of the ‘twitterati’ pictures (I’m not on Twitter, company computers aren’t always receptive to image shack or the like) and can confirm there has been some photo-shopping going on. However, other than changing the words ‘club’ and ‘company’ the rest of said picture is an accurate reflection of the blurb.

    That’s my ha’penny’s worth, back to reading and private postulation, for as the saying goes “If you’ve nothing good to say…” :slamb:


  14. Good Morning.

    As you can see by the time the insomnia bug has struck and so here I am far too awake for the hour and willing to try any old fairytale to find myself back in the land of Nod.

    Today’s fairytale is worthy of Hans Christian Anderson and I find myself humming a tune inside my head with the voice of Danny Kaye proclaiming…. ” The KING is in the altogether….. the altogether…….. the altogether………… he is as naked as the day that he was born……”

    Of course in Hans’ tale the vein King is sold the magic suit of clothes by some swindlers and ends up being duped and made to look rather foolish………. although not perhaps just as foolish as the incredibly daft loyal subjects who refuse to see the obvious idiocy that lies before them out of their sheer need to uphold their devotion to the rather stupid and vein king.

    Anyway, my thanks to Eddie Rice for reproducing a previous long ( and littered with typos ) historical post from my good self which raised the issue of King’s past declaration of having received some £15M- £25M from Rangers not long after he “invested” in Rangers PLC.

    Now, I have no idea just why the current Directors of any company trading down Ibrox way would want to chat to Mr King ( maybe it is to try and ensure that they remain current Directors ) but his emergence from the shadows is certainly an interesting development not least because it shows and highlights the continued idiocy of the MSM………… who of course somehow got wind of a meeting taking place thousands of miles away…… how curious?

    For example, the BBC article referred to above states quite clearly that King has been a fierce critic of both Charles Green and Craig Whyte.

    Well, that is an interesting take on matters— partly because there is ample evidence to show that while Mr King has certainly disagreed with the tactics of Mr Whyte and disagrees with the business model of Mr Green, he has been a far fiercer critic of David Murray but for some reason the BBC choose not to mention that.

    What is more, King has also made it clear that there needs to be a far greater degree of contrition for sins of the past on the part of Rangers in whatever guise it exists, and that he believes that any Rangers football team cannot be run at a commercial profit for the foreseeable future. In fact, he states plainly that any current owner should be prepared to subsidise the Ibrox outfit to the tune of £30M for the next 2-3 years at least.

    I have no idea whether Dave KIng is prepared to throw £30M at Ibrox just to keep the team going but you can be sure that he is not willing to buy a huge chunk of shares from the current owners of the current company AND then blow £30M or so into the club…… or company………. or non legal entity which may form part of an undertaking by an non incorporated association involving fans of a football team!!

    King’s problems with Sars may or may not be a thing of the past but his status as a fit and proper person in footballing terms remains an issue as he was a non executive director of a failed club ( by the way he says that ) and he remains the subject of allegations of insider trading.

    Of course his tax issues and criminal charges only disappeared after he had settled with the revenue by way of paying very substantial back taxes which he claimed not to be due.

    However, we can only wait and see whether or not the press pick up on his claim that he received substantial payments from Rangers circa 2000/2001 and ask for an explanation as to what this was for and indeed how it was paid to him?

    As mentioned above, it does not appear to have been mentioned in the Rangers PLC accounts but does seem to have shown up somehow in Mr King’s own tax records ( If I recall the story correctly — no doubt others on here can access the detail )

    However, of even greater interest will be whether or not the MSM will pursue King on his statement that Rangers will never make a profit in the short term ( his thoughts on the share prospectus document will be very interesting in that regard as I am sure that is not what the investors were told via Cenkos etc) and his stated intention of suing David Murray— who, he claims, was less than frank and open with his fellow Directors and Shareholders in Rangers PLC.

    Indeed given his previous statements, some in the press might also want to ask him for his opinion on the action or inaction of guys like Paul Murray when a director, and explore the entire handling of both the big tax case and the wee tax case at boardroom level? Equally, he has previously stated that Charles Green is the only game in town and stressed the fact that he had at least done the deal to buy what was left of Rangers PLC while other sat on their hands!

    If there is any doubt among you as to his stated attitude on matters then here is a reminder:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_lRD_oSQRA

    However, the question about him receiving that money really will not go away and my thoughts drift to the recent twitter comments by Mr Goldstein about the EBT’s being not all that they perhaps appeared to be at face value?

    Perhaps I am just an old cynic.

    Meanwhile, for those over Hampden way, they can take comfort that Dave King also sought assurances from Charles Green that Craig Whyte was not involved with the club….. and got them. Although the exact choice of words used in the clip above may well disclose a slight of hand…….. a big hand at that.

    Would the people at Hampden consider King to be a breath of fresh air after Green and Whyte?

    Maybe they would as I am told that they are terrified at the thought of the maverick Whyte somehow returning…….. or is it that they are terrified that it somehow comes to light that they have been complicit in a series of moves designed to allow Whyte to return and control events at the club?

    Who knows? After all……… things down Hampden way are best reflected here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8HHk9yxOcA


  15. Credibility.
    =========
    “Credibility comes over a period of time…I think credibility will come back once we start qualifying for major tournaments…”

    http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/strachan-has-scotland-on-right-track-sfa-chief-1-3130724
    ========

    So who is this person imparting their wisdom on how to attain credibility?

    None other than the – still – ‘heavily conflicted’ and unable / unsuitable to do his job, Campbell Ogilvie !!

    His sycophants in the MSM who insist Ogilvie is a lovely, decent guy failed to mention his wicked sense of humour… 🙄


  16. King must be doing his mates a favour. The accounts show the money’s running dry, so they set up a meeting with a possible Sugar-Daddy come squirrel and the fans will stop worrying about the direction of the club’s finances.
    What’s in it for King though. He’s can’t want to buy the club as it is surely. He’s was burned for £20m by the last club.
    Similarly RIFC/TRFC have somehow become, simultaneously the most scrutinised and least scrutinised clubs/companies in football – the finances are under the microscope but the conduct of all connected is evading censure. For King, who will himself be under the watchful eye of every tax authority you can think of, RFC is not really a feasible way to make any filthy lucre whiter than white. Not that I’m accusing him of this. I’m just saying it’s not a realistic option for anyone foolish enough to want to brak the law in this way.
    So the last possibility? King is doing a Blue Knights and positioning himself to step in and snap up the assets in Admin2.


  17. Bawsman says:
    October 7, 2013 at 10:55 pm

    Do you seriously think these two people are worthy representatives and/or portray our Scottish league in a good wholesome positive light?
    ——————————–
    Ogilvie and Novo portray the Scottish game in a harshly accurate light. Take an objective look at them, representing Scottish football to the wider world, and realise that that IS how a huge part of our game sees itself, and is happy, and indeed proud, to present itself. Allow me to backslap the internet bampotterati for providing a different prism through which to see our game, because otherwise few of us would have the tools to see past their stage dressing.


  18. http://www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com/news/member-news/2013/october-2013/rangers-new-business-initiative-proving-a-big-success-….aspx

    Rangers new business initiative proving a big success …

    As part of the Rangers Business Alliance, the Club has introduced the By Official Appointment (BOA) programme and is proving popular with several enquiries each week. The BOA programme has been established to leverage the buying power of the Club’s supporters and businesses, enabling BOA businesses to increase their customer base and net sales.

    With NCS Ltd being the latest company to sign up to the BOA programme, Dil Srivastava, Managing Director of NCS said “We are delighted to join the By Official Appointment programme as the Club’s Official Partner as it provides a great platform for to network with likeminded businesses and strengthen our business in the local area.”

    With a number of levels within the programme, standard benefits range from:

    Access to the fans purchasing power via website/directory
    Invite to attend Rangers Business Alliance Networking Events
    Company listing on the club’s official website
    Matchday programme listing
    Company database acknowledgement to over 738,000

    The BOA programme works with a select group of businesses who will be invited to become the Club’s exclusive BOA partner within specific industry classifications or categories per region with businesses paying a subscription in order to secure the benefits for a season. For further information on how to get your company involved, please contact the Club’s Commercial Department.


  19. john clarke says:
    October 8, 2013 at 12:17 am

    Trouble is,unlike the RBS banker, SDM didn’t bring down ‘important’ people when he ran his football club into the ground.
    ===============================================
    However, his business as a whole ended up owing 1 billion pounds to a state owned bank. This looks even more scandalous when the official line is Murray got his Knighthood for services to business. In my view that is utter nonsense and that he would never have got near that level of honour without being Rangers Chairman. I personally think the honours system is prejudiced in the worst possible way and indeed without honour when you see some of the people who have been awarded. I have always been of the view that Walter Smith too would be a ‘Sir’ this very day had it not been for the fact the far greater and more successful Jock Stein was ignored. Even in this day to award Smith (and there was a huge push for it) would have created a level of debate the authorities would think is best left alone.


  20. I am sure the impartial BBC will do a well balanced piece on the DK story .
    Maybe they might even ask why CM and BS are seeking further investors for Sevco less than 11 months after receiving £22m of investment and what incentive these new investors will get from a business that has just reported a £14m loss already
    😯


  21. Looks like it’s going to be a long international break. In the absence of football at Ibrox the front and back pages of the DR still lead with TRFC stories. After Easdale, the board seeking another man who has had to stand by his convictions, so to speak?

    I notice the BBC also mentioned that Mather was in Dubai, which was an obligatory stop for Charles of Normandy.


  22. upthehoops says:
    October 8, 2013 at 7:12 am
    __________

    There’s something niggling at the back of the grey matter…
    Was it not rumoured that Jock was sounded out about a knighthood but insisted it went to Bob Kelly?

    Completely OT I know…!


  23. After all the rule bending/changing to accomodate the rangers in their various guises, we have NN and Co being championed as ambassadors of the game this week. The fawning of the SMSM over Sevco in general and walter no surname in particular; If Mr King passes the ‘Fit and proper person’ test, then that’s it. I’m out. I mean what’s the point?


  24. Casualudendi

    After the infamous ties with Racing Club in South America it was allegedly decided not grant a Knighthood to Jock Stein and instead the award was granted to the club chairman.

    At least so the story goes…………..


  25. If only there was a Fit and Proper test……none of this mess would have happened to Scottish Football.


  26. Indeed BRTH ,but the Knighthood could have been offered to JS at a later date for services to Scottish football …..it never was.


  27. BRTH

    After posting I went for a quick surf to try and qualify what I’d said and indeed found the tale you mention. I was initially trying to remember Archie MacPherson’s biography (an excellent read!) and, not having it to hand to check, in all likelihood I’ve remembered the passage incorrectly.

    Perhaps with my investigative skills a new career in Scottish journalism awaits… Mibbes even a joab in the SFA compliance department…?!


  28. If there is alleged bias in the SFA at present, then it must also be remembered that many of the Lisbon Lions at the height of their careers ,having reached the summit of excellence in European football,were overlooked with regard to being capped for the national team.Johnstone being the prime example.

    On the subject of bias,the ‘attitude’ of Peter Thomson Head of Sports at the BBC in the 60’s is well documented,and,yes,I remember it well.


  29. The other day I asked what was the difference between the two rival camps fighting over Sevco.

    On the footballing side I said they surely must want the same thing.

    Now it seems that on the business side of things they both acknowlwdge they need the same thing.
    Money and lots of it.

    Mather and Stockbridge off on a jaunt around the planet seeking new investors, while the Blue Knights claim they have some institutional investors onside for more cash but only if the right people are in charge.

    Phil Mac made a comment along the llines that the new club would eat itself. He could be right.

    In an attempt to win favour with the fans and to buy success with other peoples money it seems that both factions are just heading down the route of the oldco and set to burn more and more money.

    The fact remains that with the potential income available to them, a wholesale restructuring of the club, its ethos and development of its own talent could bring exactly the same results (Top two in Premiership, cup wins and reasonable progression in Europe) as throwing buckets of money at the problem. The old model failed so why is everybody so keen to do the exact same thing again?

    It is sheer madness.

    I once again return to the Dragon’s Den and hear Duncan Bannatyne growling
    “So let me get this straight. You come in here offering me a pitful percentage in the company and a tie, blazer and new brouges for my investment and then I find that you have already burned millions of other peoples money and have very little to show for it and no return achieved on their investments. Now you expect me to give you my kid’s inheritance money so you can waste even more money. No – I”m afraid I’m Out ”

    Enter Peter Jones stage right

    ‘Hang on a minute, you said something about the company owning other assets. How can these be brought into the deal to make it worth my while?’


  30. yakutsuki says:
    October 8, 2013 at 8:16 am

    After all the rule bending/changing to accomodate the rangers in their various guises, we have NN and Co being championed as ambassadors of the game this week. The fawning of the SMSM over Sevco in general and walter no surname in particular; If Mr King passes the ‘Fit and proper person’ test, then that’s it. I’m out. I mean what’s the point?
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    If you are kidding yourself that the SFA, under the presidency of King’s old pal Ogilvie, is going to reject Dave King under the “fit and proper” test, then for your own sake get any such ideas out of your head right now- that will save you a lot of disappointment later.

    The SFA will, in fact, pass as “fit and proper” anyone who turns up with a big bag of cash saying that they want to save Ogilvie’s beloved Rangers. They won’t care where the money came from or how it was obtained,or what the business history of the saviour is, they will pass the test if they have the cash. The SFA can see that they got it wrong with Whyte, but not because of his business history. Their only mistake (in their eyes) was not to check that he actually had some cash.

    As always, every rule will be bent or broken that has to be for the good of “Rangers”. That is how Scottish football is run. Dave King will absolutely sail through any “fit and proper” test which Ogilvie has anything to do with- that is about as certain as anything can be.


  31. OT (as usual) but, with mention of the Neo-Knights the other day, I’ve had the Dio-fronted Black Sabbath track of nearly the same name going round my head.

    Circles and rings, dragons and Kings, weaving a charm and a spell
    Blessed by the night, holy and bright, called by the toll of the bell
    Bloodied angels fast descending, moving on a never-bending light
    Phantom figures free forever, out of shadows, shining ever-bright

    Neon Knights

    🙂


  32. Darth Vader would be welcomed with open arms and a trumpet of triumph by the SMSM if he had the cash to invest the decaying corps over govan way 👿 fit and proper test are you joking 👿


  33. This may be of limited interest to most, but I promised Ecobhoy I would loook at the basis of consolidation of Rangers Retail within the accounts of RIFC. Helpfully, the relevant rules are published by Deloittes here:

    http://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/ifrs/ifrs10

    Basically an entity should be consolidated in the accounts of the company it is controlled by. I found the definition of control interesting-

    “An investor controls an investee if and only if the investor has all of the following elements: [IFRS 10:7]
    power over the investee, i.e. the investor has existing rights that give it the ability to direct the relevant activities (the activities that significantly affect the investee’s returns)
    exposure, or rights, to variable returns from its involvement with the investee
    the ability to use its power over the investee to affect the amount of the investor’s returns.”

    Now given what Ecobhoy has told us regarding the voting structure of Rangers Retail, I simply cannot see how it is controlled by RIFC, since Sports Direct have a majority vote on any financial matters. I will wait for any comments first (maybe I’ve got this totally wrong) but my intention is to write to Deloittes querying the basis on which RR has been consolidated with RIFC. I will copy anything I send to the AIM regulation people.

    This may seem academic to some, but I think it is important that people buying shares on a stock market have full and correct information available to inform their decisions. The annual accounts of a public company are an essential part of that. As things stand, people buying shares in RIFC are entitled to think that they are acquiring a much bigger stake in Rangers Retail than appears to be the case.


  34. Angus 1983..

    Indeed and watch out for..
    (Dave) Kings (and Queens) who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.

    It is a bit like listening to the spivs.

    “they’ll tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night” etc.


  35. The SFA have a South African / English – English / South African dictionary.
    I understand it contains the following definitions:
    Glib: adj. Fit
    Shameless: adj. Proper
    Liar: adj. Person

    Therefore I’m sure they will have no problem translating the description used by the RSA judiciary…….


  36. neepheid – re IFRS10, from the IAS website –

    “IAS 27 was reissued in January 2008 and applies to annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009, and is superseded by IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements and IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements with effect from annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013.”

    So are they still using the old IAS 27 standard?

    http://www.iasplus.com/en/standards/ias/ias27

    I don’t have the analytical skills to see if the definition of control is significantly different but may be something to check.


  37. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24436213

    Looks like the Italian authorities have no fear of social unrest or reprisals when it comes down to upholding decency.
    When Regan said recently that other countries were envious of the approach in Scotland (regarding the betting practise), I wonder if what he meant was that they wanted to learn from us as to how to sweep this stuff under carpets, rather than have to deal with it head-on as the Italians have done above?


  38. @wottpi
    The fall in revenues and costs seem to be in lockstep.
    The high earning players did walking away cutting the wage bill, but the SPL and European cheques have also exited.
    The annual black hole of £10 Million that Craig Whyte reported was also spotted by Bill Ng and Bill Miller remains extant.
    Subsequently Sevco have the same yearly shortfall as Rangers.
    My CA guy is a bit puzzled by their accounts and is in tunnelling mode at present.
    I am a mere onlooker to his number crunching-I’ll report back if he digs something up.


  39. I didn’t realise DK had been cleared of all charges by the SA tax authorities??


  40. rantinrobin says:
    October 8, 2013 at 9:17 am

    If there is alleged bias in the SFA at present, then it must also be remembered that many of the Lisbon Lions at the height of their careers ,having reached the summit of excellence in European football,were overlooked with regard to being capped for the national team.Johnstone being the prime example

    ———————————–

    I'm sorry, I can't let that one go. A few months back, somebody on Phil's site came up with a similiar, nonsense accusation (to justify, amongst other things, why McGeady would have turned his back on Scotland and how Ronnie Simpson only picked up a tiny number of caps, if I remember right).

    The relatively low cap count of the Lisbon Lions wasn't indicative of some anti-Celtic conspiracy, it was indicative of how few international games were played at that time. If you compare the average cap counts of Rangers '72 cup winners cup side against the Lisbon Lions, there's a miniscule difference, and a huge chunk of the Rangers caps were made up by John Greig, a guy who played for Scotland for 10 years, and had 44 caps. These days, a 10 year stint would have probably have resulted in 100+ caps.

    I know this will probably be heresy for a lot of people on here, but might I suggest that Johnstone may have picked up more caps if he hadn't been so prone to the bevvy?


  41. Gee69 says:
    October 8, 2013 at 10:31 am

    “they’ll tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night” etc.
    ——
    It appears that the Heaven & Hell album was probably a “T.iommi” conspiracy.

    (Sorry, bad pun day. 🙄 )


  42. @Shooperb
    This may be difficult for you but McGeady didn’t “turn his back on Scotland”-he chose Ireland-the land of his heritage.
    The McGeady clan are very aware of their nationality and ethnicity.
    Madjid Bougherra did exactly the same-utilising the same legal route (Grandparent qualification).
    The French-being a civilized people-had no problem with that.


  43. Phil,

    It’s not difficult for me. He had his reasons for choosing Ireland. I can’t say I agree with them, but he’s perfectly entitled to represent whoever he wishes. What I found preposterous was the idea that he sat down and thought ‘The Lisbon Lions didn’t get that many caps, therefore I’m going to play for Ireland’.

    As for Madjid Bougherra, I’m guessing no-one in France really gave one. The same thing seems to be trotted out for Brian McLean, and again, the answer is no one really cared because he was never going to get a game for Scotland in a million years. The reason why McGeady caused such a stir was because he was a very good player.

    Anyway, I’ll leave it at that before the discussion is removed for being OT.


  44. PhilMacGiollaBhain says:

    October 8, 2013 at 12:44 pm
    @Shooperb
    This may be difficult for you but McGeady didn’t “turn his back on Scotland”-he chose Ireland-the land of his heritage.
    The McGeady clan are very aware of their nationality and ethnicity.

    Madjid Bougherra did exactly the same-utilising the same legal route (Grandparent qualification). The French-being a civilized people-had no problem with that.

    It’s not quite as simple as that for footballers in France of North African ethicity, but I fear we’re heading up a blind alley with the discussion anyway. Someone will shortly name a Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen player that didn’t get the number of caps they should have.


  45. Shooperb..

    On your Jimmy Johnstone comments. I don’t know whether you ever actually saw Jinky play, but I can assure you that a Steamin’ drunk JJ was a better player than some of the ones chosen around that time.
    I recall him being called up for a Scotland squad but not being in the chosen eleven for the game. Walter McRae of Kilmarnock was one of the Scotland Trainers and asked the wee man to run the line in a practice match. The following week Celtic played Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and Jinky ran Amok. Scoring and setting up goals in what if I can recall correctly was a 5-1 thrashing. On the way off the park at Full-time he walked past the hopefully embarrassed McRae and said…..”No bad furra linesman eh Walter”?……..


  46. PhilMc:
    “Someone will shortly name a Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen player that didn’t get the number of caps they should have.”
    Exactly. It’s part of the problem that a huge chunk of Scottish fitba thinks that everything and everyone is either Celtic or Rangers/Sevco. TSFM is generally better than that myopic view and it would be good if that was maintained. I still read Scots Law articles, for instance, but have stopped cruising the comments. Too much boring, irrelevant whataboutery.


  47. wottpi says:
    October 8, 2013 at 11:56 am

    =====

    Was it a Freudian slip when he said cause problems with the SFO rather than the SFA? 🙄

    He also mentions old club and new club, is he also on the boycott list?


  48. Shooperb,your statistics are an irrelevance.If you speak to footballers of that generation ,and I have, you will find regardless of team that there was a strong feeling that Celtic players of that vintage were overlooked for Scotland selection.

    As to your remarks about JJ ‘on the bevvy’ as you put it, I think that has been adequately covered by other posters.

    In addition should there be any suggestion that this is ‘off topic’,let me add that in order to understand the decision making ,as it stands,in Scottish football you have to be aware of the influences of the past and how they mould current thinking.


  49. ernie says:
    October 8, 2013 at 1:05 pm

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    PhilMc:
    “Someone will shortly name a Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen player that didn’t get the number of caps they should have.”
    Exactly. It’s part of the problem that a huge chunk of Scottish fitba thinks that everything and everyone is either Celtic or Rangers/Sevco. TSFM is generally better than that myopic view and it would be good if that was maintained. I still read Scots Law articles, for instance, but have stopped cruising the comments. Too much boring, irrelevant whataboutery.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    And what about Joe Wark of Motherwell – scandalously overlooked for selection. 10 times the player Thicky Grieg ever was.


  50. Shooperb – the Rangers 72 CWC winning team was inferior to the Celtic team of that time which was busy winning 9 in a row so it’s a flawed comparison.

    “Someone will shortly name a Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen player that didn’t get the number of caps they should have.”

    All very well, but there isn’t an unshakeable myth in Scottish football that Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen were the beneficiaries of bias from the media and football authorities on account of being a part of an “Old Firm” cartel when i reality there is evidence to suggest the opposite is the case.

    Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen didn’t have teams that won the European Cup either. Aberdeen’s CWC team of 83 were well represented in the Scottish national team and rightly so. Just ask Alan Hansen.


  51. I’ve just been down to the supermarket and had a swatch at the back pages of today’s rags. The big splash in all of them is the Dave King story. The Scottish Sun is even claiming an exclusive on it, but the others are nevertheless printing the same guff.

    You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to sniff that a PR guru has been hard at work here. The co-ordinated release of last night’s news to BBC Scotland and the press is too much of a coincidence for it to be the work of intrepid hacks foraging about and checking their facts.

    Don’t forget, Mather & Co re-engaged Jack Irvine to beef up the feel good factor at Ibrox and I think this famous meeting has his fingerprints all over it. Judging by the early reaction of the Sevco fans on their messageboards, it looks like the airfares to South Africa have been money well spent. Attention has suddenly switched from that nasty Green cabal to the expected arrival of this New Messiah from the Dark Continent.


  52. MoreCelticParanoia says:
    October 8, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    “Someone will shortly name a Hearts, Hibs or Aberdeen player that didn’t get the number of caps they should have.”

    Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen didn’t have teams that won the European Cup either. Aberdeen’s CWC team of 83 were well represented in the Scottish national team and rightly so. Just ask Alan Hansen.

    That would maybe be my point.


  53. The Dave King story is, I think, overdue. NewGers are strapped for cash, there’s no-one with the wealth on or off the radar required to bolster the finances, er, on or off the radar… and now he has the court cases no longer hanging over him? Well it’s a no-brainer…

    As usual rehabilitiation of the Rangers-minded comes early. STV’s websh!te – quite how “A Sars committee decided King’s submissions met the requirements of the tax laws and charges he faced” square with the accepted liability in respect of 41 lesser counts of breaching Section the South African Income Tax Act confuses me rather. This admission of liability includes “the failure to disclose information and the failure to provide correct information about incomes earned over a number of years”, which, coupled with his agreement to pay £44m personal & business back taxes, seems to me to be an admission of guilt of lesser charges in exchange for the dropping of criminal charges. The fact that “He also has to pay a fine totalling R3.208 or 24 months imprisonment. In addition, he was ordered to pay an amount of R8.75m towards the Criminal Asset Recovery Fund further seems to underscore his “guilt” – why would you be ordered to pay £700k plus in fines and towards the CRIMINAL asset recovery fund if criminal acts weren’t involved?

    http://news.stv.tv/scotland/237753-dave-king-settles-on-44m-bill-with-south-african-authorities/


  54. If Mather and Stockbridge have flown all the way to South Africa just to talk to Dave King then the financial situation must be perilous. Anything other than a personal plea for money could have been done by phone or skype.


  55. jockybhoy @ 2.32pm

    In other words he’ll sail through the fit & proper test 😉

    Is he not just a wee bit skint now though 🙂


  56. peterjung says:

    October 8, 2013 at 10:59 am

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    …oh my aching sides…..what a hoot listening to Keevins and Smith contort themselves on the club/company fallacy….
    ___________________________________________________________

    Sorry I do not find it funny whatsoever. Those spivs i.e. Keevins and Co are trying to take the p out of us all.


  57. point 1 – RFC* need cash in the fairly short term

    point 2 – Dave King most certainly is not skint. Paying phone numbers in fines is always an agreeable alternative to keeping larger phone numbers of cash ‘tucked away.’ Remember a large part of his misdemeanors was what we would call failure to disclose.

    point 3 – SFA and MSM will fall over themselves to award this guy FAP status – anything to stop this damaging, and potentially revealing bear on bear spat developing further.

    Dave King has the resources to ‘put everyone in their rightful place’ to borrow a phrase – blazers in the boardroom, spivs off to their Desert Isles. What he doesn’t yet appear to have is the answer to the question how do you make the beast profitable. He will either proceed on the basis any businessman would, with a strategic recovery plan (I’ll assume the reason he didn’t 2 years ago was due to SARs interest but I suspect that is a generous abbreviation of the truth), or he will take a one-off flier that 2nd, at best, in the SPL and European involvement will make it all come good. I don’t believe a recovery plan is now tenable but it depends how the key holders of Ibrox choose to play it. I’ve said on here before that if it was me I would take the cash and run (and by run I mean retire in luxury tbc). I’m still not convinced that the suck it and see approach will work either. One would hope Mr King would be of a similar mind set and not simply be railroaded into it. It could be the worst case opf rangersitis yet.

    Key to it right at the start is an explanation for the £15m repayment in 2001. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt till then.


  58. Brenda – he was estimated to have a wealth of £200m – £300m previously – this is a hit, but not a major one (especially if part of it is our of his business). He’s no dum-dum however any bears of a prfligate persuasion may be disappointed, after all he was quoted in The Herald re. Tore Andre Flo “It’s an example of what not to do again. Even at the time he was purchased, I had some concerns about spending £12m. 
I felt that was really the culmination of the absurdity of the situation that Rangers got into as a club in trying to compete on a European stage…. Yes, I think there was a level of absurdity which I think has been recognised within the club. I think Flo really was the pinnacle of the point where people thought: ‘This is daft. It’s got to stop’.”

    Maybe he IS the guy to save the club in the end, though there maybe anohter administration in the meantime. Either way however, I do believe he will run it in a sustainable manner.


  59. MoreCelticParanoia says:
    October 8, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen didn’t have teams that won the European Cup either.
    ——
    Nah, we skipped the diddy trophy and went one better with the Super Cup.


  60. … and anyway, didn’t the SFA already say, in the midst of the court case, that they would decide on a case by case basis who was fit and proper?

    I think we all know the answer to that one hey?


  61. BBC – You are Failing the Fans and the Clubs

    I can understand the red tops and The Herald printing all the PR generated guff because they have so much space to fill every day, so few real journalists left, and news about Rangers sells their papers to the biggest socio economic grouping in Scotland’s densest area of population.
    And good news about rangers historically sells even more papers.
    They will never change – but some of them will die in time and maybe soon.
    What I am constantly dismayed at is the stuff BBC Scotland recycles from the Mafia House press releases.
    They don’t have to fill pages or sell tawdry tabloids.
    They have enough people to get it right.
    To report honestly and without trying to appeal to factions.

    I am old enough and sad enough to have always believed that The BBC has been and is a power for good in the world but its Scottish Football coverage is quite shocking.
    It has singularly avoided the real story preferring to stay in the Gossip trenches and in its Glasgow Framed Policy on Football Coverage.
    (They think the way to keep the population happy is to try to balance Rangers News with Celtic News with a wee bit of Diddy Club stuff too).
    And for all the insight we have had from Mr Cosgrove and Jim Spence we get the predictable unadulterated rubbish from the likes of Jackson and his kind. And the old retainers like Spiers who could have been good once upon a time.
    And before that we had Traynor and his biased spoutings – every week on Radio and TV.
    Someone at the BBC countenanced his employment and someone there today is approving Jackson and their kind and avoiding asking the big questions that 10 minutes on this site and others like it would hand them on a plate.

    And finally when Chic Young is continually allowed to brief on air against the manager of his other team who won a trophy for what is a marginal club then I turn off. I understand that Chic was just the mouthpiece for someone at St Mirren but why do The BBC pay him for this type of manipulation?

    Scottish Football needs an honest BBC.


  62. jockybhoy says:
    October 8, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    Maybe King [sic] IS the guy to save the club in the end, though there maybe another administration in the meantime. Either way however, I do believe he will run it in a sustainable manner.
    ==========================
    My interpretation of ‘sustainable’ is slow, steady progress based on a disciplined, prudent / tight financial strategy.

    But King knows – probably more than most – about the pressures exerted from the TRFC fans to deliver now. They don’t want to wait. IMO, King would appreciate the challenge he would face when attempting to ‘manage expectations’ of the bears.

    The good example mentioned about Flo indicates that King is probably less likely to fling war chests full of money at the Govan club.

    So again, I can’t quite understand the story of King biding his time to ‘invest’ in TRFC, [or another version].

    Or has King assembled another group of investors / Govan club supporters to spread the risk ?

    Just don’t get it : or am I missing something wrt King and TRFC ?


  63. StevieBC says:
    October 8, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    jockybhoy says:
    October 8, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    Maybe King [sic] IS the guy to save the club in the end, though there maybe another administration in the meantime. Either way however, I do believe he will run it in a sustainable manner.
    ==========================
    My interpretation of ‘sustainable’ is slow, steady progress based on a disciplined, prudent / tight financial strategy.

    But King knows – probably more than most – about the pressures exerted from the TRFC fans to deliver now. They don’t want to wait. IMO, King would appreciate the challenge he would face when attempting to ‘manage expectations’ of the bears.

    The good example mentioned about Flo indicates that King is probably less likely to fling war chests full of money at the Govan club.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    In the interview from 2012,posted above, King notes that over the next few years Rangers will need someone to subsidise the club to the tune of over £20m. One year or so later RIFC has swallowed up in excess of £22M of shareholders money. Therefore, just to keep the same playing squad it has now which generates a £10m annual deficit they will need a minimum of £30m to get them to the Premier League and consolidate for a year.

    They would then have to win the league to access the European trough of cash to begin to address the deficit but that will take more money for better players. To match Celtic they will need approx £50M. And all of that arithmetic doesn’t even figure in an administration but them mibees a proper admin would allow costs to be cut – but how much can be cut from an institution of their stature?


  64. Two from his cardigan-ness on BBC

    “It used to be that the wages of the footballing side was the major problem in clubs’ finances, but that’s been cut down fairly dramatically from when I was there.”

    Now I know I’m being facetious here and surely there’s a “the” missing here. Paying players over the odds, not to mention players that shouldn’t have been there in the first place after all did not affect the results of the games that WS’s teams played in. Just ask Sandy Bryson.

    On that subject, it seemed to take a matter of minutes to break nationally the Mather and King story. How many days is it since the side agreements to the 5WA were revealed? Still waiting for the question to be asked.

    Anyway, back to Smithy,

    “After the AGM, if we get back to the fact that Rangers are a football club and it should be run for the football club and for the football team, I think that that would be a massive step.”

    Oh god. So now there’s a company, a club and a team, all mutually exclusive!


  65. It really is a measure of the corruption that is Scottish society that this man King would ever be considered anywhere near a Fit and Proper Person to be at the helm of anything which involved integrity.

    Yet, we ALL know full well that he will be in place at Ibrox whenever the notion takes him.

    According to one SA judge King is a proven liar, a thieving, unrepentant tax dodging fraudster.

    Campbell Ogilvie is akin to his seperated at birth twin, they will do well for their club.


  66. Fit and proper test.
    If a Barlinnie 11 offered to play a fund raiser against the loan sharks from Govan the SFA would see no problem with this.


  67. Well I never !
    A decent, reasonable article penned on Vanguard Bears, [won’t post link].
    Opening sentences;
    =================
    “Another week passes without any signs that the turmoil surrounding our club is abating.

    Even the publishing of the clubs accounts has done nothing to appease the lynch mob controlled by the group of minority shareholders intent on overthrowing the current board. I have watched and listened as those who are demanding that the present board are ousted have been highlighting the vast amounts of money paid to Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge, while at the same time conveniently omitting to mention the unsustainable salaries paid to the manager and his assistants…”

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