A Guest Blog by Auldheid for TSFM
Honesty requires both transparency and accountability. In pursuit of honest, transparent and accountable governance of Scottish football, and only that objective, the following letter, with attachments, has been sent to SPFL lawyers, CEO and SPFL Board Members.
An honest game free from deception is what football supporters of all clubs want. It is the action the letter and attachments prompt that will tell us if there is any intention of providing it.
It is a response on behalf of readers here on TSFM, but the sentiment which underpins it is almost universally held amongst fans of all clubs. Importantly it is a response directly to all clubs, especially those with a SPFL Board member, that will make the clubs and the football authorities aware just how seriously supporters take the restoration of trust in an honest game, honestly governed.
The annexes to the letter contain information which may be published at a later date. We thought it appropriate to first await any response from any of the recipients.
Please also draw this to the attention of friends who are not internet using supporters and love their football and their club.
Auldheid
__________________________________________________________________
Harper MacLeod
The Ca’d’oro
45 Gordon Street
Glasgow
G1 3PE
19 Feb 2014
Copy sent to SPFL CEO and Board Members *
Dear Mr McKenzie
We the contributors to The Scottish Football Monitoring web site write to you in your capacity as the legal adviser employed by Harper MacLeod to assist the Scottish Premier League (now the Scottish Professional Football League) to gather evidence and investigate the matter of incorrect player registrations involving concealed side letters and employee benefit trusts as defined in the eventual Lord Nimmo Smith Commission.
We note from the then SPL announcement that set up an enquiry that the initial date range to be covered was from the inception of the SPL in July 1998, but that was changed to 23 November 2000 because, according to our understanding, that is the date of the first side letter supplied by Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps. It is also our understanding that the SPL asked for all documentation relating to side letters as well as the letters themselves.
It is a matter of public record that Rangers Administrators failed to supply the SPL all relevant documentation. Indeed the seriousness of not complying with SPL requests was the subject of an admonition of Rangers/Duff and Phelps from Lord Nimmo Smith under Issue 4 of his Commission.
Quite how serious that failure to comply or concealment was in terms of misleading the Commission and so Lord Nimmo Smith can now be assessed from the information contained at Annexes 1 to 10 attached.
We think that as legal advisers to the SPL (now the SPFL) you have a responsibility to make them aware that their Commission was misled by the concealment of documents starting on 3 September 1999, and signed by current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie, whose silence on the ebt matters referred to in the attached annexes* is questionable at the very least.
This letter but not attachments is being posted on The Scottish Football Monitor web site as this is matter for all of Scottish football and support for the issue being pursued to establish the truth can be gauged by responses from supporters from all Scottish clubs once the letter has been published there.
A copy of this letter with Annexes has also been sent to the SPFL CEO and members of the SPFL Board.
Acknowledgement of receipt and reply can be sent by e mail to:
(Address supplied)
Yours in sport
On behalf of The Scottish Football Monitor contributors and readers. http://www.tsfm.org.uk/
Addressees copied in
Neil Doncaster CEO
The Scottish Professional Football League
Hampden Park
Glasgow G42 9DE
Eric Riley (Celtic),
The Celtic Football Club
Celtic Park
Glasgow G40 3RE
Stephen Thompson (Dundee United),
Tannadice Park,
Tannadice Street,
Dundee, DD3 7JW
Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen);
Aberdeen Football Club plc
Pittodrie Stadium
Pittodrie Street
Aberdeen AB24 5QH
Les Gray (Hamilton),
Hamilton Academical FC
New Douglas Park
Hamilton
ML3 0FT
Mike Mulraney (Alloa)
Alloa Athletic FC
Clackmannan Road
Recreation Park
Alloa FK10 1RY
Bill Darroch (Stenhousemuir).
Stenhousemuir F.C.
Ochilview Park
Gladstone Road
Stenhousemuir
Falkirk
FK5 4QL
ecobhoy says: March 11, 2014 at 8:08 pm
Financially Jack was slightly burnt in the last admin – can’t remember how much off the top of my head – but I doubt if he would be going unless he was fully paid up-to-date.
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Media House was included in the initial list of creditors in May 2012 for £19,200.
I can’t recall seeing an updated full list of creditors, but by the last D&P report, Media House had “earned” £112,500 during the administration period.
ecobhoy says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:08 pm
————————————————–
I’m certain Irvine had previous links with McGills. I remember one of his early tweets congratulating them and his pal Watson from Levy & McCrae. (Irvine and Watson have had a close professional and personal relationship for years. Watson was Trustee for Irvine’s children’s Trust Fund and, of course, both have influential connections with the tax haven of the Cayman Islands They also were partners in a company – Controlled Risks or Control Risks iirc). Watson and L&McC represented the brothers grim during their little difficulties with the Scottish Parliament and on the day they were ‘cleared’ of any dodgyness by the SP, Irvine relayed the good news.
And the Sons of Strewth know all about Mssrs Watson & Irvine. If you are in any doubt about how far Watson’s reach is:
http://web.archive.org/web/20101127171117/http://newsnetscotland.com/speakers-corner/17-purcell-and-the-media-connections
Note that I had to use the wayback machine for that article. Yet another associated with this lot that has been ‘removed’.
It would appear that Glasgow City Council has decided to have a bit of fun with the Bears most prolific Freedom of Information requisitioner.
Big Joe Canoe has been bombarding all and sundry with FoI requests in an attempt to prove that Celtic and various public bodies have been involved in Public Corruption in the purchase of land in Glasgow’s East End and at Lennoxtown.
The ludicrous claims will shortly be dismissed by the European Commission after a sectarian-inspired State Aid complaint to them from Bears intent on damaging Celtic and diverting attention from Rangers’ own internal financial problems.
But in a neat move GCC has used the Bears’ Complaint to the EC to reject their FoI requests and Canoe is paddling furiously to escape from the bureaucratic sinkhole which has opened beneath him like an abandoned Westthorn pit shaft come to claim vengeance for their very existance being denied by the Blue Camp.
Canoe has rejected the GCC Decision and demanded an internal review but bizarrely stated that the person carrying out the review should have:
In other words: No Celtic fan need apply! How little some things have changed in the minds of the neanderthals who are trying to hold back much needed cultural change at Rangers.
I have struggled to get my head round this whole conspiracy/corruption thing which permeates the thinking of those Bears behind the State Aid allegations. I have seen the various lies and twisting of information the so-called Bear Land ‘Experts’ have used in their faltering attempts to convince fellow Bears that Celtic has a case to answer.
I can only conclude these people are well versed and intimate with the ways of corruption and possibly that’s why they see it everywhere even when they have failed to provide a scrap of evidence of any Celtic wrongdoing.
These are the people who are preventing ordinary Bears from learning the truth about what is happening at Ibrox and to their club and I keep wondering WHY? One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with football.
So what was GCC’s GTF to Mr Canoe? It’s quite hilarious and I would expect before Mr Canoe gets an actual response from GCC that we will have received the EC Decision which will make all the FoI requests academic on top of the waste of public money they already are.
GCC response:
Lord Wobbly says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:50 pm
‘….a mountain of SFA regret,..’
———–
My Lord, I suspect the brazen-necked caitiffs know not the meaning of the word ‘regret.’ The knaves, varlets and double-dyed fork-tongued sons of Lucifer who inhabit the sixth floor have not enough sense of honour to feel anything but fear of consequences. They are in a Macbeth position ( sorry, Essexbeancounter) : they have to keep up the pretence of righteousness or fall on their own sword.No use asking them to ‘Go! in the name of God!’ as Chamberlain was asked. They will have to be made to go by our insistent demands as fair-minded sportsmen and women that our game be restored to some semblance of honesty and trust. ( oh,there’s that word again!)
JOHN CLARKE says:
March 11, 2014 at 9:50 pm
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Lord Wobbly says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:50 pm
‘….a mountain of SFA regret,..’
———–
My Lord, I suspect the brazen-necked caitiffs know not
the meaning of the word ‘regret.’ The knaves, varlets and
double-dyed fork-tongued sons of Lucifer who inhabit the
sixth floor have not enough sense of honour to feel
anything but fear of consequences. They are in a
Macbeth position ( sorry, Essexbeancounter) : they have
to keep up the pretence of righteousness or fall on their
own sword.No use asking them to ‘Go! in the name of
God!’ as Chamberlain was asked. They will have to be
made to go by our insistent demands as fair-minded
sportsmen and women that our game be restored to
some semblance of honesty and trust. ( oh,there’s that
word again!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yeah. Like fair-minded has anything to do with it! 🙁 *
No! Actually, you’re right.
Fair-minded is what it is all about!
We must not flinch from our fight against the injustice that currently pervades Scottish football.
* I was with you all along. I simply wanted to emphasise the point.
StevieBC says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:46 pm
ecobhoy says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:08 pm
Re: Jack Irvine
Financially Jack was slightly burnt in the last admin – can’t remember how much off the top of my head – but I doubt if he would be going unless he was fully paid up-to-date…
I really believe this is bad news for the current Board as they need the likes of Irvine…
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eb, I agree that JI leaving TRFC is not a good thing for the Board – or for TRFC. Time will tell. TRFC would need PR support more than ever now, you would think ?
As for financials: I have mentioned previously that Media House International Ltd. has been posting declining financials over the last 5 years plus, IIRC, [public info on Duedil].
On the face of it, the numbers would suggest that Irvine is not really in a position to do ‘walking away’ from any client, [unless he had serious doubts about being paid perhaps ?]
===============================================
I think it should be considered that possibly Mr irvine has – and I have no doubt quite legitimately – offshore interests and that the Media House accounts might not give an full picture of his earnings. However i am sure his professional experience with Rangers will have driven home the need to pay any UK tax payable 🙄
nawlite says:
March 11, 2014 at 1:57 pm
Alan Price says:
March 11, 2014 at 1:17 pm
From Wikipedia…..”A layperson (or layman) generally refers to a non-ordained member of a church. Depending on context, it is often used to mean a person who is not qualified in a given profession or does not have specific knowledge of a subject.[1]”
So in terms of tax, I am a layman. I thought that was quite a well known term?
______________________________
I apologise nawlite.
I thought the term referred to something like a paramedic.
My brain must be in confusion mode today.
I’ll have a caffeine infusion and hope that sorts it out.
smartie1947 says:
March 11, 2014 at 3:29 pm
STV have just reported that The Rangers Football Club and Media House have parted company with effect from today.
________________________________________
Not for the first time.
I wonder if will be the last.
“One of those meetings is scheduled to be with Laxey Partners Ltd, the club’s single-biggest shareholder, which has been at the centre of the most recent controversy at Ibrox. ”
Mr King is coming to town,,,,,,
— I wonder when we will see the Laxey spokesman saying Dave King has made no contact with us….
john clarke says:
March 11, 2014 at 9:23 pm
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easyJambo says:
March 10, 2014 at 10:43 pm
——
Coming late to your post, easyJambo, but I think any fresh hearing would have to be in public (with the ‘court’ cleared when the ‘exceptions’ were giving evidence). Otherwise,Judge Bishopp’s ruling would have to be set aside by a more senior Judge.
But I hope Lord Doherty bites the bullet, seizes the opportunity to make a cracking name for himself by reaching a decision on the paper evidence. That evidence includes the ‘confession’ that the trust mechanism was used so that they could afford players they otherwise would not have been able to afford, and evidence that they guiltily concealed their use of the Trust from the Football Authorities for fear of being rumbled. Judge D [puts me in mind of a great wee book about a Chinese mandarin called Judge Dee!] would not have to read an awful lot of the huge mass of evidence in order to make the necessary findings in fact. In my opinion. ( I incidentally discovered a wee while ago,as a matter of biographical interest to no one but myself and much to my amusement, that my granny’s uncle is said to have become a Commissioner of the Inland Revenue, and was knighted in 1912. There might be something in the genes, then, that makes me side with HMRC!)
=========================================================
JC
I do think the HMRC side upped it in closing arguments. I was and (did the judge) seem bored by the repetitive “fact not law” comments from the MG side?
Wouldn’t mind it going back to a newly constituted FTT.
But as you say as a new kid on the block our Judge may wish to give them some intellectual renewal.
Be v v interesting to read the eventual judgement.
JimBhoy says:
March 11, 2014 at 10:40 pm
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“One of those meetings is scheduled to be with Laxey Partners Ltd, the club’s single-biggest shareholder, which has been at the centre of the most recent controversy at Ibrox. ”
Mr King is coming to town,,,,,,
– I wonder when we will see the Laxey spokesman saying Dave King has made no contact with us….
========================================================
Mr King may meet instead his nemesis as per last time, the bus bros at the the garage, whereupon he decided SA was a sunnier option and promptly disappeared.
Why was that?
TSFM
I note again we are on red.
Is it Craig Whyte red or Chuckles red or were F88d red
Still no on Mr Lethams offer to lend RIFC £1.5m
Since Spivs never turn down other peoples money I bet they have told Mr L they need his money in addition to the wedge from the Sopranos
GoosyGoosy says:
March 11, 2014 at 11:52 pm
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Still no on Mr Lethams offer to lend RIFC £1.5m
Since Spivs never turn down other peoples money I bet they have told Mr L they need his money in addition to the wedge from the Sopranos
======================================
Good call and muchly likely. They do like free stuff don’t they?
In all major company boardrooms, shuffling of chairs is not unexpected. With the new club and a now semi-educated public (thanks to RTC & TSFM) the beady eyes are trained 24/7 which to anybody who is the least bit sneaky (poetic license) must be an absolute nightmare. (Phil, Eco, Paul RIP)
Puff pieces in the dailys don’t cut it anymore. They are taken with a pinch of salt and holding up the bar in ‘Off The Record’ while filling the snouts glass, is not the way of journos to acquire a scoop anymore. Increasingly, we are witnessing the rise of the blogger and the commentators.
Any news from a source is dissected, and dissected further with every possible outcome arrived at, before the winner is announced. Are we witnessing the death of the sycophantic scribbler (won’t include TRUE journalists) and their obvious bias to brogues and suits in order to secure titbits.
Dare we say, keep your titbits and we ain’t buying anymore. Relentless like the news hounds of old, the digging goes on. Auldheid with CO, Eco with land deals and Phil with his revelations and the rest of the cabal who make up bampots inc.
Gentlemen and ladies, to each and everyone, however minuscule your input was, it has become invaluable in the messy world of Scottish journalism. I refer anybody to Jabbas piece on succulent lamb to highlight what was being offered to the Hoi Polloi. An absolute disgrace to the profession and I must add, continue to be so.
with us….
Avatar of ianagain ianagain says:
March 11, 2014 at 11:26 pm
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How very strangely strange. Never bothered before but?
ianagain
TSFM
I note again we are on red.
Is it Craig Whyte red or Chuckles red or were F88d red
_______________________________________________________________
🙂 Merely nudged into a deep shade of pink following the costly relocation of the blog forced by the DOS attack.
We are still solvent and flush enough to buy several large-ish football clubs 🙂
It has been a hectic ten days or so. The next podcast has been delayed as a consequence, as well as our future financing proposals. We’ll have some proposals (for both) to put to the blog before the weekend.
Interesting article on the back page of today’s Daily Record, how the fans of Rangers kicked out Toxic Jack Irvine.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-fans-claim-been-hit-3232161
The article quotes from representatives of fan groups – messers Dingwall, Graham and Houston from Sons of Struth. The article appears to go with the line that fans have forced out Toxic Jack.
I get the sense that this is more PR spin – fans given the feeling that they have power and they are the center piece of the club.
The Rangers statement makes it clear that Jack no longer represents the Club. Remember that great illusion that was created with the dual entities of club and company? Now the, does Jack still represent the company – the entity who will ask fans to buy tickets to see the club, where the cash then ends up with the company?
Scotland really does need a strong MSM.
TSFM.
Was the DOS attack attributed to anything/anyone in particular?
Just heard on BBC news that Dave King is ‘jetting’ into London today.
I still see references to that Swiss meeting on here from time to time. Now that Whyte and Green have done their bit (were they not reported to have been at the Alpine meet with King?) could this be his ‘decisive’ move?
He’s going to look a bit paper-tigerish, though, if he achieves more nothing this time.
Long time lurker @ 6.07
Fans kick MH out on same day Fans win 55th title on same day Fans man king flies in.
Who’d have thought it!
If only they’d a compliant media to spin it. Hope Willie Vass takes an extra roll of film tonight.
Meant to say was charlotte’s suggestion yesterday inferring King was meeting Green?
I’m very intrigued to find out how Dave King’s season ticket scheme is intended to work. The simple way to achieve the end he purports to be suggesting would surely be just to pay at the gate – you may not get your same seat week on week, but for that sacrifice for one season, all the fans keep their cash in their pockets and have complete flexibility week on week. As we have seen this season with the quarter-season tickets, if things get sorted out and the fans were happy with the way things were going later in the season, the club could put out a deal for a half-season ticket or whatever, and the fans could buy them up. Meantime, they have maximum leverage individually, with no up front outlay of money.
Contrast and compare with what DK is offering…I look forward to finding out how his proposal will empower the Rangers fans more than ‘buy at the gate’, or if it will just empower DK.
Danish Pastry says:
March 12, 2014 at 6:36 am
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Just heard on BBC news that Dave King is ‘jetting’ into London today.
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I am always mystified why Directors and other so called high ranking people associated with Rangers can never simply ‘fly’ into a country, and instead always ‘jet’ in. I guess it’s all to do with the view that Rangers are better and grander than all others. Why else would we constantly hear of ‘Institutional Investors’ instead of ‘Shareholders’ or ‘Requisitioners’ instead of ‘Rebels’.
For all the rest of us, it must be a source of much frustration our clubs are regarded as so ordinary in the eyes of the media.
Auldheid says:
March 11, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Ecobhoy
I have struggled to get my head round this whole conspiracy/corruption thing which permeates the thinking of those Bears behind the State Aid allegations. I have seen the various lies and twisting of information the so-called Bear Land ‘Experts’ have used in their faltering attempts to convince fellow Bears that Celtic has a case to answer.
++++++++++++++++++
Do you struggle to get your head around why a scorpion stings? I suggest not, because you accept it is the nature of the beast.
It is observable though, without trying to drill down into why, that the mind that can see no wrong in itself, sees so much wrong in others.
====================================================
Ah the precious gift of an Auld Heid to dispel confusion and bring clarity 😆
The example of the scorpion is a good one and you are correct that it is in the nature of the beast and pre-programmed into its genes by the dominant and over-riding urge to disable its next meal ticket and thus survive. However, in real life, the scorpion seldom survives an encounter with humans.
Humans usually receive nothing more than a painful bite unless they happen to meet one of the few deadly species of the anthropod and even then antivenoms are available.
So the lesson of Auldheid’s tale for me is that scorpions are a pest but with a little care and effort they can be easily dealt with. The forthcoming failure of the State Aid campaign will be akin to another rock turned-over or dark crevice illuminated and the pests having to scurry for cover 🙄
Limping along from week to week. Losing over a million a month. Energency 30% borrowing for 6weeks.When will they go bust? I hope they reach the end of the season
Tartanwulver says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:16 am
‘.I’m very intrigued to find out how Dave King’s season ticket scheme is intended to work.’
—————
Does he intend to have the season ticket money put in to some kind of ‘Trust fund’ with himself as the main or principal Trustee, with power to negotiate with RIFC on behalf of the fans a deal under which, and only under which, the money would be released to RIFC?
I’ve missed a bit of what was going on, but that kind of arrangement is about the only way I can see King getting any kind of control.
john clarke says:
March 11, 2014 at 9:50 pm
Lord Wobbly says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:50 pm
‘….a mountain of SFA regret,..’
———–
My Lord, I suspect the brazen-necked caitiffs know not the meaning of the word ‘regret.’ The knaves, varlets and double-dyed fork-tongued sons of Lucifer who inhabit the sixth floor have not enough sense of honour to feel anything but fear of consequences. They are in a Macbeth position ( sorry, Essexbeancounter)
===========================================================================
JC…the mere thought of the mention of that Shakingspear, let alone the “Scottish play” made me reach for another glass of vino tinto…but based on your efforts at the UTT, you are as always, forgiven.
However, that is a truly superb piece of prose re the SFA charlatans. That is why even from RTC days, I christened you the “Scribe of the blog”…!
PS how did you find my old mate Andrew Thornhill…200% charming eh…tax evaders bestest friend!
It’s a massive shame that the SFA and the SPFL and it’s predecessors assisted by a compliant MSM have destroyed any trust that the average fan has in Scottish football.
It’s gotten to the stage where they can be brazen cheats and liars and they can help thieves and nobody is surprised.
The new blog on Fans for Change is worth a read just to highlight how bad the decisions they are making actually are, but what was surprising was that the decisions being talked about were just not surprising. We expect the SFA and SPFL to be crooked now. We would be more surprised if they did an honest day’s work and got some decisions right for a change.
– A bad refereeing decision gives Rangers a goal. We can’t decide if it’s a result of the very poor standard of refereeing we have to put up with, or if it’s another example of the big clubs getting the decisions, Rangers more than most.
– The Rovers-Rangers replay is scheduled for 48 hours after a round of league games, where both teams are playing and we don’t know if it’s the only slot available, of if a time was found that looks fair, but clearly benefits the professional team.
– Ibrox and Celtic are chosen as venues for the 4 “neutral venue” matches that have to be organised this year before it can be confirmed that they will be neutral. (And one of them wont be) and before it can become clear that any other venue would be a better idea. Surely Albion Rovers v Dundee Utd could happen at Easter Road? Aberdeen want more tickets for the league cup final. How about hiring Murrayfield? More fans get to see the game, it generates more revenue and it’s a more sensible location for both sets fo fans. That this isn’t being changes suggests that providing extra income streams for the “big two” continues to have priority over the welfare of any other team.
– Aberdeen and St Johnstone have to travel to Glasgow on a Monday night for TV reasons, which will clearly depress the turnout. The other match isn’t even scheduled until they know whether Rangers will be there. If they are, expect a prime TV slot. If not, it’ll be hidden behind the European games with no live coverage. Prime examples of fear and favour and that’s before they make a decision on the number of tickets Dundee Utd will be given for the semi.
All of these are basically opinions based on recent events. It’s just about possible that there are honorable and legitimate explanations for some of these actions, but no reasonable person would think so. Not from authorities who have:
– Spent over 20 years giving financial assistance to Old Firm by manipulating TV fixtures.
– Spent 4 months heralding the lack of quality and demise of their own product in an attempt to justify unacceptable preferential treatment of one club to the detriment of all others.
– Invented rules and reinterpreted existing rules in a manner that would embarrass Kim-Jong-Un in order to pretend they were allowed to shove Sevco straight back in to the league.
– Handed out a license to play in Europe when they knew Rangers didn’t qualify.
– Handed out a provisional membership when they knew Sevco didn’t qualify.
– Neglected their own oversight responsibilites and only retroactively enforced them when it didn’t impact hurt Rangers.
– Kicked clubs out of competitions for completely insignificant mistakes, but allowed 10 years of premeditated, fraudulent, illegal cheating on a massive scale to basically go unpunished, other than by handing out a fine that the club wont have to pay,
– Created a sham of an inquiry where both sides appearing before the judge wanted the same outcome and gave the judge no option but to arrive at that conclusion. In doing so, the SFA broke it’s own pretense on neutrality.
– Allowed themselves to be taken to court despite the strict rule banning this.
– Failed to deal with the obvious conflicts of interests in allowing Campbell Ogilvie to have anything to do with Scottish Football.
It’s is beyond doubt that Scottish Football is run by a shower of chancers and we would probably be better served if it was run by the mob. The SFA are lucky that they don’t answer to higher powers that respond to anything other than brown envelopes when being persuaded to act. If they had genuine judicial or governmental oversight on them they would be disbanded immediately.
It also means change will be a long time coming. The only power the Scottish Football fan has is spending power and that has little impact when the SPL and SFA have spent 20 years non Old Firm driving fans away from the game.
Just out of interest, when Regan said that Ogilvie was obviously heavily conflicted, why was that?
Rangers maintained at the time that they had done nothing wrong. If that had been true, then Ogilvie would not have been conflicted, just potentially.
I know it would be ironic, but is there any way we could complain about Regan presupposing Rangers’ guilt. He was after potentially conflicted himself after this statement. After presupposing guilt, he would have been culpable making that statement.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/give-team-chance-to-develop-pleads-rangers-boss-mccoist-155465n.23673327
“McCoist said: “I feel that some people – not everybody – are failing to distinguish between the club and the team at the moment.”
Most ‘Rangers’ fans are unable to distinguish between Rangers International Football Club plc and The Rangers Football Club Limited so it’s a big ask to expect them to be able to tell the difference between ‘the club’ and ‘the team’.
It has all gone quiet on the financial front, after a lot of speculation a couple of weeks ago. However the fundamentals haven’t changed in a fortnight, and TRFC still needs a couple of million a month to pay all the bills. Very little money is coming in right now. A half share of the Albion Rovers gate money can’t come to more than £200k, and I get the impression that match day income for league games has been slipping, as casual fans are not prepared to pay for the very poor product currently on offer.
There has been no recent word regarding the Laxey’s/Letham million, so far as I’m aware. Has the loan been made yet, and who made it? Is someone else helping out with the bills? Maybe Mike Ashley has authorised a loan or dividend from Rangers Retail? I simply don’t understand how they can stay afloat otherwise.
The interim results of RIFC for the 6 months to 31 December are due this month. The figures will be shocking, no doubt about that. The accounts of TRFC to 30 June still haven’t been filed, although they must have been prepared as part of the group audit last September, and have been sitting in a drawer at Ibrox ever since. What is in those accounts that makes them such a dark secret? A qualified audit report? Shareholder details from the pre-IPO period? Whatever the secret, it will be interesting to find out, that is if the accounts are ever submitted. I’m not convinced they will be.
Maybe Irvine has gone because the end is near, and there is no further use for his services? Or maybe he gets paid up front, and there is no money left to pay him? Or both?
But not to worry, the King from across the water is jetting in as we speak. Is he bringing a big bag of cash with him? That’s what the bears think, but I fear they will be disappointed. I wonder whether the meeting will be in the Blue Room this time, or is it going to be another McGill’s bus ride to the Inchinnan depot for a ten minute head to head with the Easdales? We know that headmaster Wallace is very cross with errant pupil King, who has been telling tales out of school, and has summoned him urgently. For a stern ticking off, or six of the best? We watch and wonder.
And finally, head boy McCoist. What does the immediate future hold for him? Is he about to be hung out to dry? That will depend on whether keeping him sells more season tickets than sacking him and getting an actual manager in. I get the feeling that they will sell more by sacking him. Is that Question of Sport thing still on the telly? Or maybe there is room out there for another ex-Ibrox pundit to enlighten us about all things football? I’m sure that McCoist will be well looked after, so no need for anyone to worry.
There is talk of Rangers winning league 1 in the next game or so.
Well done to them.
Regardless of their spend on players, it remains an achievement.
But has anyone raised this question here or elsewhere:
If Rangers win League 1 because they cannot be mathematically caught/ are too many points in front, but then enter insolvency and are deducted points before the season end, and are subsequently caught and passed, who has rightfully won that league under the rules?
My view is that its the tally at season end that decides, but hypothetically if Rangers have played a team of youngsters for a number of games …
@carl31 Good question and if they go into administration this season showing they lived beyond their means with a squad they could not afford, is that a form of cheating? Deja-vu again..? ❗ Ah wait sporting advantage due to attracting a better class of player by paying them what they could not afford, whilst other teams in the league live within their financial means, is not against the sfa rules, it seems… 😥
ptd1978 says:
March 12, 2014 at 9:34 am
‘.Just out of interest, when Regan said that Ogilvie was obviously heavily conflicted, why was that?’
———-
ptd1978, I’ve been looking for my reference to what Regan said then. Have you got it handy, at all? I remember thinking at the time that it was an odd way to express what (I suppose) he was trying to say.
Mr McCoist: “But you could look at Sunday’s result another way – that we got a draw at home against a team who were a league above us last season. I’m not saying for a minute that is the way we should look at it but if you really want to be half full rather than half empty then you could.”
Sounds like McCoist is losing the plot… Last week his team had scored the most goals in the UK. This week NOT embarrassed with the ref helping them to a draw (at home) against a team 4 off the bottom in the lowest league, with the second costliest squad in Scottish football. NOW he makes a ludicrous defence of his latter comment.
Maybe he could have said, Rangers have scored the most goals in British football but you could look at that another way, what we pay for our squad, could pay the salaries of all other players, coaching staff and transfer budgets of all teams outwith the SPFL and have enough for a good fry up, I am not saying you should look at it that way yadda yadda….
upthehoops says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:20 am
I am always mystified why Directors and other so called high ranking people associated with Rangers can never simply ‘fly’ into a country, and instead always ‘jet’ in. I guess it’s all to do with the view that Rangers are better and grander than all others.
——
To be fair:
“Events will be held at the champions’ Premiership clash with Inverness Caley Thistle on March 1 to pay tribute to McCann and he will jet into Glasgow for the first home league fixture of the new season in August.” (Evening Times & Glasgow Herald)
JimBhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 11:24 am
Mr McCoist: “But you could look at Sunday’s result another way – that we got a draw at home against a team who were a league above us last season. I’m not saying for a minute that is the way we should look at it but if you really want to be half full rather than half empty then you could.”
————————————————————————————————————————-
I’ve now realised that I could never be a member of the MSM. How could anyone keep a straight face when confronted with such nonsense?
The sports MSM should probably be commended for not rolling about laughing at these press conferences.
One day the Emperor will find he has no clothes….
Scottish Football needs a strong sense of humour.
PS Loved the fan song piece on R4 this morning – to the tune of ‘Amore’ the Fulham fans sang “When you’re sat in Row Z and the ball hits your head, that Zamora….”.
john clarke says:
March 12, 2014 at 11:20 am
3 0 Rate This
That comment was in the Scotsman among others
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-administration-ogilvie-out-of-ibrox-probe-1-2152924
STEWART Regan, chief executive of the SFA, has confirmed that Campbell Ogilvie, the president of the association, will play no active part in their investigation into alleged secret, untaxed payments by way of reputed hidden contracts at Rangers going back a decade and more.
Ogilvie was the Ibrox secretary throughout the period in question and though he sits on the board at Hampden and would normally be involved in all such business, he will be excluded when the SFA begins their examination.
“Campbell won’t play any part in any meeting, discussion or conclusion on any activities surrounding Rangers,” said Regan on Friday. “I think it’s pretty obvious that he’s heavily conflicted. We’ve been aware of the issue for a while. We’ve been aware that people have views and believe that pieces of evidence exist. What we’re trying to do at the moment is get hold of as much information as we can.
Perhaps I’m being a little unfair on Tom English here, but is it co-incidence that Media House’s contract with TRFC is terminated, and the very next day an article appears on the BBC website that would have been simply unthinkable previously?
For those that haven’t seen it, Tom goes to town on Ian Black (via a sideswipe at McCoist), and his leadership role at Ibrox, or rather, his lack of leadership.
wottpi says:
March 11, 2014 at 5:59 pm
nowoldandgrumpy says:
March 11, 2014 at 8:26 pm
I think the simple answer is that King’s ‘plans’ are no more than headline grabbing PR mince. He’s not thought it out because he has no intention of carrying it out. To me he appears to be no more than a less honourable Jim McColl. McColl, though, wasn’t trying to grab headlines, he merely put himself forward as a figurehead, allowing others to push the agenda. McColl doesn’t have his finesse but is still looking to create something I don’t think he is quite sure of himself. Just bang the drum and somebody will come along to put the money in, and look like a hero to the masses at the same time. I still await someone in the media to ask him how he proposes to see his plans to fruition.
Auldheid says:
March 11, 2014 at 7:24 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Your point about SFA collusion in signing off the Rangers UEFA paperwork despite there being an outstanding tax bill is important and well made but it falls a long way short of colluding in tax evasion – Rangers did that bit without SFA assistance. I think you overstated the point.
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/is-mccann-really-the-man/
An alternative view?
It is nearly 3 weeks since the SPFL and all involved in the commissioning of Lord Nimmo Smith received information that those commissioning the LNS independent enquiry did not receive, whether by accident or design, all the information they required to properly and accurately draw up the terms of the LNS Commission.
It seems that football authority residing at Hampden has a black hole policy on the one hand and a mushroom communication one on the other. They suck everything in but keep supporters in the dark and feed us manure (you know what I mean).
I was wondering though, is the silence causing more damage than Hampden realises? Have the SPFL yet got a sponsor for the SPFL league or any division in that league?
Is it all possible that apart from the hard economic times Scottish football is having difficulty selling to sponsors what many supporters (and so potential sponsor customers) see as a toxic product?.
For example should William Hill a bookmakers who depend on the belief that a game on which bets are being placed will be decided on nothing more than the sporting element, be happy at taking bets on a Scottish football match when business issues and avoidance of uncomfortable truths seem more important than the sport?
Should Mr Topping, ex SPL Chairman and current but soon to retire CEO of Wiliam Hill the Scottish Cup sponsors, who expressed concerns at the LNS judgement in the short time frame the SPL had to decide with the legal advice given, on whether to appeal or not, be asked what he would do had he still been SPFL Chairman and been told their independent enquiry into player registration had been misled?
Surely it cannot be a co incidence that Scottish Football is having difficulty attracting sponsorship when those running the game allow its value as a clean product that sponsors would wish to be associated with, to deteriorate behind a wall of silence.
‘soup 1.49 pm
No, not too off topic – how you come to support the team that you support tends to be due to indoctrination as well. In fact, very much, ‘on topic’! Perhaps one go go further – how you tend to respond to postings on this site … and others – indoctrination rules (though not absolutely … I hope)! I think that it was Sigmund who said words to the effect that our instinctive reactions are channelled by values introjected by our social environment (in the widest sense of the word).
On the JI departure, the view of Chris Graham is that in his words “This is good news as he had become toxic to the club’s support” (I am unsure if club is singular or plural).
If he is under the impression that the club let him go as fans thought he was toxic and the board listens to the fans, well I will wait and so should the fans to see how this pans out.
That Gavin McCann piece is outrageous. There are ways to make a name for yourself and ways to make an idiot of yourself. He has just demonstrated the latter.
Also posted this on CQN
Can anyone name me the PR firm of any other football team? Any team at all? When the messenger becomes bigger than the message then it is time to change tack. When RIFC/TRFC/WTF? re-appointed a guy they had (very) publicly parted company with previously, you know there were massive problems internally.
That this is being “spun” (sorry Jack) as a “Rangers fan power” thing (like Spice Girls’ girl power but with bigger mood swings) is a p1ss-poor attempt to placate the fans. Will be interesting to see the cost of PR in the next/first public, audited accounts… What’s that you say? Satan’s got frostbite?
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:13 pm
That Gavin McCann piece is outrageous. There are ways to make a name for yourself and ways to make an idiot of yourself. He has just demonstrated the latter.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
neepheid says:
March 12, 2014 at 1:48 pm
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/is-mccann-really-the-man/
An alternative view?
=================================
It certainly is. Of course if there had been no McCann then who knows if there would still be any Celtic fans left to give an alternative ❓
Certainly DD is worthy of praise for his belief and investment in the club but would he have been interested if there had been no McCann – I very much doubt it.
I am well aware that some Celtic supporters will never forgive McCann and that’s up to them – I am not in their camp and am just grateful that we got a wee guy who could not only put a financial package together to rescue the club but sold his Celtic Vision to others to ensure the financial foundations were rock-solid.
quite so, Exfallhoose, which is why it’s vital to respond to the content of a post in a reasoned manner – after counting to ten if necessary – rather than letting off-the-cuff emotion do the talking … i aspire to that even if i don’t always manage
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:13 pm
That Gavin McCann piece is outrageous. There are ways to make a name for yourself and ways to make an idiot of yourself. He has just demonstrated the latter.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
===============================================
I wonder if there is still a Rangers in 20 years or even if there isn’t how the Laxeys and Easdales will be ‘judged’ and indeed some other Rangers Men?
The contribution made by Fergus has stood the test of time – I actually have serious doubts whether that will be the case with the revolving door of Rangers Saviours 🙄
David Low describes Gavin McCann’s piece as: “A lot of tosh from a very ignorant man who doesn’t get it!” I could not have put it better myself.
First refereeing decisions and now religion.
🙁
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
__________________________________________________________________
As David also says. If only you knew what Fergus does with that money. He isn’t a hedge fund.
ecobhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:45 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you are deflecting from the point I made. I don’t care too much whether there is any old firm left in 20 years. My question was : Is it acceptable for already rich men to make enormous profits from football fans and in doing so deny football use of those funds?
The profit Fergus made when he left was not taken from the club – he sold his shares on the open market at the then market price and no one was under any obligation to buy them. He took over a shell of a club and turned it into the profitable business it is today. I certainly dont begrudge him the profit from the sale of his shares. Oh; and he did it with transparency. He laid his plan out on day one and made it clear he would sell up after five years once everything was in place. He did exactly what he said he would do.
Hindsight is wonderful; people seem to be under the impression that Celtic were a sure thing in 1994 and that Fergus could not fail to make money. It was only throough his determination, his talent and his eye for business that he (along with other talented people) turned the club around. To compare Fergus (who re-built the club) to Laxeys (a firm of asset strippers with a history of breaking up businesses) is simply absurd.
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:54 pm
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ecobhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:45 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you are deflecting from the point I made. I don’t care too much whether there is any old firm left in 20 years. My question was : Is it acceptable for already rich men to make enormous profits from football fans and in doing so deny football use of those funds?
————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Are you talking about EPL players?
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:54 pm
ecobhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:45 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you are deflecting from the point I made. I don’t care too much whether there is any old firm left in 20 years. My question was : Is it acceptable for already rich men to make enormous profits from football fans and in doing so deny football use of those funds?
========================================
I’m not deflecting in the slightest – my point is fair in that no one knows what Laxeys or the Easdales will do or what the Easdales will be told to do by the mystery owners of the shares whose proxies the Easdales wield.
But how did McCann make any money off the back of Celtic supporters? I think you are a bit confused on that one. I see plenty of evidence that in just over a year from the IPO that Bears have been ripped-off and I think most unbiased observers believe there is a strong possibility that the property assets could be separated and sold.
Laxeys and Easdales ain’t in the same class as McCann and it won’t take 20 years for even the most driven Bear to have to admit that IMO.
Your question viz: ‘Is it acceptable for already rich men to make enormous profits from football fans and in doing so deny football use of those funds?’ might apply to Laxeys or the Easdales but is doesn’t and didn’t apply to McCann.
john clarke says
March 12, 2014 at 9:06 am
Tartanwulver says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:16 am
‘.I’m very intrigued to find out how Dave King’s season ticket scheme is intended to work.’
—————
Does he intend to have the season ticket money put in to some kind of ‘Trust fund’ with himself as the main or principal Trustee, with power to negotiate with RIFC on behalf of the fans a deal under which, and only under which, the money would be released to RIFC?
I’ve missed a bit of what was going on, but that kind of arrangement is about the only way I can see King getting any kind of control.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
John
Here’s a bad dream that fits the bill
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Once upon a time there were two Big Spivs in the import- export business
They made lots of money exporting goods and invoices (particularly invoices)
One £20m deal involved importing cash and exporting shares in a football club
Then along came big bad Hector with a massive tax liability
It was very worrying. It could lead to a major HMRC investigation into accounts going back years and years. This could reveal lots of discrepancies in the import export business.
The least bad option was to stop publishing accounts from June 2010 onwards. This might be possible if the co could be liquidated in 2012 without publishing accounts for 2010 2011
The HMRC liability was the subject of frequent conversations between the two Big Spivs. They concluded a front man was needed to front the operation.
“I know the very man” said one Big Spiv.” If he won`t do it he`ll find me someone who will”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Later the two big Spivs meet again
“I couldn’t get my man to do the job”
However
He recommends we use his boy”.”
Let’s call him Pat”…. short for Patsy”
“Pat has a great record in Spivvery. He only got a 7 yr. ban for a really great scam a few years “
But
“If he really is a top notch Spiv I need somebody to keep an eye on him and the hard cash. His old man says he`s partial to VAT money.
“I know lots about scamming the tax man“said the other Spiv
And
I have a friend in the ranch
“Between us …………We`ll keep an eye on Pat”
“I might even buy the assets myself”
“If I could lead a fund rising from the Gullible”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Events move on.
Pat the Spiv turns out to be a lot smarter than the two Big Spivs thought.
He only made two mistakes
He trusted the Football Manager to bring in £Ms from Europe.
The guy was a dumpling.
The team got humped by two foreign minnows and lost a 15pt lead in the league
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Administration arrives.
Right away the Loonies put the frighteners on Pat
He decides to exit Dodge while he can still see straight
…… ..Well nearly straight
Pat meets one of the two big Spivs. He needs somebody pronto to front the asset purchase when the Administrators have filled their pockets.
One Spiv promises to find a suitable guy. He know lots of steal men in Sheffield
Quite soon afterwards
Pat goes to a meeting with a Big Spiv. He is introduced to his successor. Let’s call him Mick
Then Pat makes his next big mistake.
He agrees to help Mick front the asset purchase. This will be quickly followed by a fund raising lead by the Big Spiv. The plan is that all 3 will get squillions of freebie shares from the fund raising. However
Pat is tape recording everything
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Events move on .
Pat hides in the squalor of Monte Carlo
Mick fronts the asset purchase with loans from London and overseas Spivs
Pat and Mick and the Big Spiv meet in Zurich .Pat brings his tape recorder. They discuss the fund raising. Pat falls out with Mick. The Big Spiv smells trouble. With his tax problems coming to the boil he needs bad PR like a hole in the head. He refuses to lead the fund raising and exits stage left
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Events move on
Mick is left to lead the fundraising. He decided to search for honest Brokers in the City. After 5 mins he gives up. He gets the Ticketbus to Spivland.
He is inundated with Wonga loan offers including one from Pat. Mick takes as many loans as he can get using ST money and assets as collateral.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Meanwhile
The two Big Spivs discuss the situation
The main worries are:
“If you get the jail you mustn’t talk about the export business”
“If you don`t get the jail the problem is only money”
“Pat might have recorded every meeting he had with us”
“We need to meet Pat and buy him off”
But
“We can`t pay him right away”
“There’s too many London Spivs in the queue”
So
“We need to pay him out of a brand new fund raising”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The Plan
Force Administration
Refuse to buy or rent the assets until true ownership is resolved
Let Pat negotiate as much as he can for dropping his claim to the assets
Mean while
Rent another stadium
Fund raise from the Gullible with freebie shares for the Big Spiv
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:45 pm
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
=======================================================================
I have some sympathy with Gavin’s sentiments but the reality is that he hadn’t won the lottery and couldn’t buy Celtic, it’s wistful and wishful.There was quite a short queue to buy the club. Similarly with Dundee, Hearts and Rangers over recent years. If it was my club, I think I’d prefer the Celtic outcome over any of those three, and least want the Rangers outcome – purgatory for some considerable time to come.
Apologies if posted already, but well worth a read-
http://against–the–grain.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/reflections-on-scottish-cup-quarter.html?spref=tw
Carl31 says:
March 12, 2014 at 10:51 am
There is talk of Rangers winning league 1 in the next game or so.
Well done to them.
Regardless of their spend on players, it remains an achievement.
But has anyone raised this question here or elsewhere:
If Rangers win League 1 because they cannot be mathematically caught/ are too many points in front, but then enter insolvency and are deducted points before the season end, and are subsequently caught and passed, who has rightfully won that league under the rules?
My view is that its the tally at season end that decides, but hypothetically if Rangers have played a team of youngsters for a number of games …
=================================
Good point.
In ‘normal’ circumstances – I believe – TRFC would be awarded the trophy tonight at Ibrox if they win…or possibly at their next home game ?
Would/should the SPFL hold onto the trophy until the end of the season – just in case ?
You would think that if TRFC received the trophy tonight, the SPFL administrators would then have to cross their fingers & toes that TRFC see out the season and/or Dunfermline drop points.
Does anyone know for sure whether the trophy will be at Ibrox tonight ?
StevieBC says…
I would imagine that if it were to be the case that the beaks at Hampden (just love that old phrase for its implied insult) really want TRFC to be strong for the sake of Scottish football they will award the trophy asap. There is after all the Brysonian Defence already in place in case too many lost points might cause a problem at the end of season, i.e. that since the award was already presented it can’t be taken back regardless of how many rules might have been broken before they knew about it.
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:13 pm
That Gavin McCann piece is outrageous. There are ways to make a name for yourself and ways to make an idiot of yourself. He has just demonstrated the latter.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
……………………
Correction Fergus you will find took the money from Dermot Demond in the form of shares….not the club or the fans…2 totally different scenarios….
So no he did not take £40 million in profit in return for his money etc etc…he sold his shares to DD and DD paid the going rate…thus the Bunnett collected £40m….
It sounds as though someone has decided to try and Tarnish the Bunnett….as there is no Govan equivalent…the next obvious step is to target the Bunnett?
Now remind us again how exactly Laxey’s compare?
We have talked a lot on here regarding the financial imbalance between Scotland and the self declared best league in the world and asked where it would end.
How about this for a scenario; due to the on going political crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s refusal to enter into meaningful dialogue the west freeze all assets of Russian Nationals over £20M. This happens simultaneously over Europe and America.
The results for Chelsea are as crippling as they are immediate. Abramovich, down to his last few million, can put no more in and the expensive players are demanding paid.
There will be no ‘love of the jersey’ from this bunch of mercenaries!
Within weeks Chelsea enter administration with the appropriate points deduction. Players who are on loan, like Lukaku, are sold on the cheap to the loan clubs to keep the show on the road.
This allows the club, sorry company, to continue for three months. If the situation in Ukraine is not resolved, and the bank account unfrozen, Chelsea simply implode even with the TV revenue.
UEFA become involved as a team in the last eight, four, finalists of this continents premier trophy are slipping towards the abyss.
Sure this may be nonsense however it demonstrates what the abrupt turning off of the money tap would do. Abramovich would have to prioritise his business interests and I think a toy football club would be pretty far down the list.
As a complete aside I’ve just watched the video of the Werder Bremen player, expecting a challenge that never came and going over. The referee awards a penalty and the player then admits to him that there was no contact. Sensibly the referee changes his mind, gives a free kick to the defending team with no booking, and the defending players congratulate the player.
Now what would a Scottish referee do?
Hmmmmmmmmm.
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:54 pm
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ecobhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Manolito says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:45 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you are deflecting from the point I made. I don’t care too much whether there is any old firm left in 20 years. My question was : Is it acceptable for already rich men to make enormous profits from football fans and in doing so deny football use of those funds?
__________________________________________________
The McCann situation can be thought of as like that of a landlord with a social tenant.
At the starting point, the tenant occupies an old run down cottage which is owned by a slum landlord who is charging extortionate rent for a house which is rapidly becoming uninhabitable. This causes the tenant to become sick and unable to work. The tenant starts to accumulate rent arrears.
The new landlord buys the damp hovel from the slum landlord. He thinks that the property is in an up and coming area and there may be money to be made. He thinks the tenant is an honest hard working sort who is likely to be able to hold down a steady job and be able to better himself with the right opportunity.
He fixes the property up and writes off the rent arrears, paying the slum landlord the ‘going rate’ to ‘get out of town’.
He fixes the roof, decorates inside , installs heating, an indoor privvy, nice kitchen, and generally makes the place a really desirable place to live in which the tenant takes pride and is happy to live.
The happy tenant regains his health and the security of a stable pleasant place to live allows him to work hard at a job he enjoys and get well paid for it. This work enables him to pay a higher rent to the landlord. But he doesn’t complain about the higher rent, because his landlord has built him a nice new garage ,,conservatory and extension for him to enjoy, fitted all mod cons, and the tenant can afford these things and wants to enjoy them.
A few years go by, and the landlord sells the shiny and desirable property on to a new landlord, complete with the sitting tenant. The property is now in a desirable area, and the tenant a well to do individual. The next landlord is delighted to have a high quality sitting tenant that will provide him an easy return on his investment,.and is happy to pay the good landlord a high price for the property. The good landlord sees a good return on his investment, and leaves as very good friends with the tenant, who thanks him profusely for the opportunity.
At no point has the good landlord taken money unfairly at the expense of the tenant. Quite the opposite. He has made money for himself from creating new wealth and providing opportunity that would not have existed.
Religion is OT folks. In an ideal world it shouldn’t be I suppose, but the reaction to what was an off the cuff remark seeking to offend no-one had people rushing to take offence – and emphasises the point.
Quite ironic though that certain posters (who in the past have made it clear they care not a jot for moderation) were opining how the OP had no place on the blog. Quite.
We have removed all posts concerned.
Paulmac2 says:
March 12, 2014 at 5:25 pm
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 2:22 pm
I’m not sure what bits you disagree with. I think he has a point when he says that Fergus took a £40M profit out of the club/off the fans in return for the use of his money/banks money over time. The interest rate must have been pretty high.
It’s similar to what Laxey and the Easdales are doing with their loans to RIFC. Do you agree what they are doing is acceptable?
……………………
Correction Fergus you will find took the money from Dermot Demond in the form of shares….not the club or the fans…2 totally different scenarios….
So no he did not take £40 million in profit in return for his money etc etc…he sold his shares to DD and DD paid the going rate…thus the Bunnett collected £40m….
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Either way £40M is a substantial return and it disappeared from the Scottish game never to be seen again. The difference between that and Laxeys is only one of scale.
From the SPFL website : looks like TRFC could be awarded the trophy tonight ?
===========================================================
“Rangers will be crowned champions of Scottish League 1 if they beat Airdrieonians at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Ally McCoist’s men have won 25 and drawn two of their 27 games to date and victory over Gary Bollan’s men would give them an unassailable lead over second-placed Dunfermline Athletic…”
http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/rangers-on-verge-of-title/
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:39 pm
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Either way £40M is a substantial return and it disappeared from the Scottish game never to be seen again. The difference between that and Laxeys is only one of scale.
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£40m is a substantial return.
But It didn’t disappear from the scottish game.
To understand this, you need to understand the concept of ‘added value’!
Fergus bought a wreck. It was not worth anything.
He fixed it up. He spent money on it. And he added value to it – in much the same way that Picasso took some canvas and oil he’d bought, put them together in a certain way and added value thereby.
He then sold it to someone else – just as Picasso did with his paintings.
And the value that Fergus McCann added is still there – a thing of value – value which did not exist when he acquired the club, in the same way that I can go into a gallery and look at one of Pablo picasso’s paintings even after it has changed hands many times for large sums.
What McCann did was extract some of that value for himself, for sure, just like Picasso did when he sold his paintings. But first, he had to create the value. And he didn’t take all of that value for himself.
When McCann acquired Celtic it was bust – valueless.
Had he done nothing, that would still be the case.
Today it has a market Capitalisation of £68m. Shareholder value. Its still all there,and has grown.
In the intervening years it has traded as a going concern providing employment, opportunity and enjoyment for players and fans. Last year it turned over £75m. Money spent on suppliers, wages, taxation, with a positive effect on the economy. Economic value.
Then there is all the cultural, social and historical value that would have been lost in a liquidation event, which exists in tact.
Now contrast that ‘value creation’ by Fergus McCann with what is happening at the other end of the city where – last I looked – £22m, of cold hard ready cash has been turned into… well …. what exactly?
I can see a difference!
… looks alot more like setting fire to old masters than painting picasso’s to me.
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Auldheid says:
March 11, 2014 at 7:24 pm
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Your point about SFA collusion in signing off the Rangers UEFA paperwork despite there being an outstanding tax bill is important and well made but it falls a long way short of colluding in tax evasion – Rangers did that bit without SFA assistance. I think you overstated the point.
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Not as a tax payer I didn’t!
I think the SFA colluded with Rangers to stop questions being asked about the UEFA 2011 licence, not to avoid paying the tax. But my point, which I think I made in the post was that the impact was that the tax payer would not have lost £2.8M had the SFA been more intent on enforcing the intent of Article 66 rather than adopting a “Bryson like” approach to circumvent it.
Why have Articles 50 and 66 if their purpose is not to make sure the tax authorities are not owed tax?
Article 66 was only introduced in 2011 to add an extra layer to ensure compliance with Article 50 and perhaps the significance of the reason for its arrival was lost on the SFA, but did they check with HMRC, as they were empowered to do, if HMRC were OK with taxpayers money being spent on players rather than settling what was owed the tax payer? Did that occur to them?
The SFA had two options, to question what they were told, check if it met the rules and if not, tell Rangers what was required to meet the rules. Rangers then had two choices: Pay the bill in full or reach a written agreement with HMRC to defer or agree a pay by instalment plan.
Since no payment was ever made towards the £2.8 the SFA clearly did neither and in not doing enabled Rangers to avoid meeting a liability to taxpayers they had agreed in March 2011.
I used the term “aided and abetted” not “collusion” because I think the SFA were aiding and abetting Rangers to get around Article 66 and stop UEFA having a closer look at their finances, which may have led to sanctions, not to avoid paying the taxpayer.
However the point I am making is that whether tax evasion was the intent or not, a failure to apply the rules properly produced that result.
I think that is a point well worth making to make football authority realise that somebody is picking up the tab for non payment of tax and alerting tax payers that one of the rules designed to protect them from being diddled, was circumvented by the very folk who were supposed to enforce it.
bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:39 pm
Either way £40M is a substantial return and it disappeared from the Scottish game never to be seen again. The difference between that and Laxeys is only one of scale.
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No the difference between Fergus and the Laxeys & Easdales is that we know what Fergus did and how much he made from saving Celtic and setting it on a secure foundation which has stood the test of time over 20 years.
We haven’t a clue what the Laxeys intend to do at Ibrox and the same goes for the Easdales and how much money or assets they will remove from Ibrox. Worries over these matters seem to be affecting a helluva lot of Bears and quite rightly IMO. If Fergus hadn’t saved Celtic then the chances are that a helluva lot more than £40 million would have been lost to the Scottish game.
However are you really arguing that major foreign or overseas investors shouldn’t be allowed to buy shares in Scottish clubs or to sell those shares and reinvest the money abroad or under their mattress in Monaco or the south of France if that’s what they decide to do.
At the end of the day the amount in cash and assets that Laxeys and Easdales remove from Ibrox will come out in the wash and we will see how their record stacks up with the Bunnet’s. It will also be interesting to see in 20 years where Rangers have ended-up.
1 hattrick, 2 elbows, 2 penalties, 3 goals, I’m losing track of records, let alone friends being made on the journey
ecobhoy says:
March 12, 2014 at 8:34 pm
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bogsdollox says:
March 12, 2014 at 7:39 pm
It will also be interesting to see in 20 years where TRFC have ended-up.
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Fixed that for you.
How ‘Rangers’ have ‘ended up’ is already a matter of record. (Nipples skyward.)