Good Evening.
When considering any type of protracted negotiation or discussion that seems to be going on too long, there is a story that is always worth remembering– whether it is actually a true story or not as the case may be.
It is said, that heads of state all met at a congress in what is now modern Germany sometime after the Franco Prussian war of 1870-1871.The entire congress was being run almost singlehandedly by the then Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismark and he was keen to get all the necessary signatures on paper to seal some deal or other.
However, others at the congress were not too keen to sign up to certain elements of the proposed deal and so they hithered and dithered and in the eyes of Bismark they simply waisted time by concentrating on the minutiae- the little matters, with a view to ensuring their own interests were best served in these small areas– and did not focus on the big issue.
Having tried to talk these others round and educate them in his own beliefs and point of view on the bigger picture without any success, Bismark grew weary of the continuing delay and the posturing of his colleagues. All attempts at reason and diplomacy had failed in his eyes and so he decided to take a different tack.
Accordingly, it is said that whilst others were still inside debating endlessly on this matter or that, Bismark left the building and began simply shooting the windows in with the aid of a riffle which he just happened to have handy.
Those inside were naturally alarmed at this turn of events. They soon forgot about the minutiae under debate, they abandoned the previously expressed self interest and simply signed up so that they could get away from the mad chancellor and his house.
Job done so to speak.
Whilst I do not in anyway condone the behaviour of Otto von Bismark in this instance, and have no doubt that he was an autocrat, what I will say is that he believed that there was too much time being spent on the unimportant stuff and not enough time recognising what really needed doing– from his point of view of course.
Today– and it seems every day for months— we have endless debate about the future of Scottish Football. League reconstruction and the redistribution of footballing wealth has become a marathon– even before it has started.
Yet I believe that at the moment all parties concerned are not focusing on the radical reform that is fundamentally needed which is the creation of one, strong, properly structured and constituted body which is capable of the proper and ethical governance of Scottish Football and the business that surrounds football.
No matter what system you try, or distribution you agree, without proper sensible strong governance you are wasting your time.
Further, whatever body is set up, and whoever is chosen to be its CEO (or whatever the head honcho is going to be called), they must tackle the issue of corporate and fiscal compliance and the proper administration of any body corporate which actively takes part in Scottish Football– and that includes any such body or person who is involved in the running of a member club.
In addition, in so dealing with any corporate malfeasance or chicanery or whatever, the rules have to be applied with a rod of iron by an iron body.
As we can now clearly see, Football clubs and football in general is not, and never will be, immune from the effects of bad corporate governance and on occasion downright manipulation of facts, figures and contracts.
Whilst great play has been made of the fact that Gavin Masterton has handed over his shares in Dunfermline FC ( or its holding company ) the fact of the matter is that this in no way solves the problem faced by the football club. Whoever gains control of that club will still have to rent the ground from Mr Masterton’s company– and it is a rent that the club may just not be able to afford.
Ever!
It is only my opinion of course, but I am of the view that Mr Masterton has sealed a loan deal with his bankers which is of a type and duration which could not normally be achieved by other borrowers. The Loan has a lengthy period during which no repayments are necessary and interest can continue to accrue.
All very good you may say, but the level of debt concerned is not one that appears to be sustainable by Dunfermline FC and so whoever buys the club as a going concern ( if anyone buys it at all ) will have to pay an agreed rental to Gavin Masterton– and if the rental is not sufficient to repay Mr Masterton’s lenders, then I suspect that the end game here will be a search to find a buyer for the ground at some point over the next twenty years or so, with the hope that as part of the deal a space will be found somewhere for a new ground like New St Mirren park– the difference being that in that instance St Mirren were in charge of their future whereas Dunfermline are not.
The Governance of that club and the financial arrangements behind the club should have been looked at and examined by the SFA long before now– and the Dunfermline fans warned about the dangers of any such arrangements. Effectively those finance arrangements, should they continue, will probably mean that the club will have no option but to move from its established home!
All to suit one man!
Thankfully Dundee were spared a full takeover by Giovanni Di Stefano, however is it not a bit worrying that this man who has been jailed for over 14 years for various fraudulent acts, was allowed to roam around Scottish Football for a prolonged period?
Not so long ago Di Stefano did play a part at Dens, was in line to buy almost 30% of the shareholding, and was oft quoted in the papers and so on. The thing is that there were those who were prepared to give him a place at the Dundee table and in so doing invited him into Scottish Football.
Surely the SFA, had they been inclined to, could quite easily have pointed out that many of the claims of Mr Di Stefano were at least dubious if not completely incorrect? Yet nothing was being said at the time and silence prevailed.
Whilst not in the same calibre as Di Dtefano, Vladimir Romanov has now been at Hearts for a prolonged period. While I have no quibbles about the legality of Romanov’s takeover of Hearts, any money of a sizeable size which is transferred into Scotland from a foreign country will be subject to scrutiny by the Crown office to ensure that it is clean. Lithuania in particular is said to have a banking system which is governed loosely and sometimes does not meet the compliance standards expected in this country.
With his bank having gone bust, Romanov still retains the majority shareholding at Tynecastle, but there are questions still to be answered about what has happened at Hearts but life will be very different for the Edinburgh club going forward.
Again– could the SFA have done more to monitor the situation and could they have demanded clarity and detail from the Hearts owner as to his business dealings and the detailed arrangements with his bank?
At Ibrox, well things just go from the weird and inexplicable to downright astonishing– and all through a tremendous amount of smoke and mirrors.
It is clear that the SFA have no idea what to believe from Charles Green or for that matter Craig Whyte. On the face of it, there are clear links between Whyte and Green with the former paying over a six figure sum in return for absolutely nothing it would appear– with similar transactions going between Whyte’s colleague, Aiden Early, and Charles Green.
What is clear is that Green gave a clear undertaking to the SFA that he had nothing whatsoever to do with Whyte and would have nothing to do with Whyte going forward. Now, at the very least he is admitting that he met Whyte on several occasions, and whilst he may have made representations to Craig Whyte— these were all lies designed only to get Whyte to where Green wanted him.
This is hardly the act of someone who has been bona fides in his business dealings either with Whyte or with the SFA as the licensing body.
It is against this background that the Scottish Football Agencies need to wake up before they find the fans of the game ( at least those who want to stay interested in the game ) doing a Bismarck and panning in the windows of this whole house of cards.
Football Clubs, football fans, and indeed football itself needs protected from the financial and corporate shenanigans, and the governing body must be much more active and permanently vigilant in watching out for and if necessary anticipating the people and the transactions which have and will jeopardise clubs and the game in general going forward.
It is clearly no longer acceptable to rely on self regulation or mere declarations and undertakings from the clubs themselves. The Administrators must be much more active and employ far greater professional expertise in carrying out an almost constant analytical and reporting function in relation to club finance and corporate regulation.
All and any changes in funding, boardroom changes, investor changes and anything else major should be the subject of immediate and proper scrutiny by the SFA and there should be fair, immediate and stiff sanctions for non compliance, and any type of dilatory behaviour on the part of club officials who would seek to conceal the truth or who fail to properly disclose vital matters which should be out in the open.
Further, the funding detail– such as the never ending loan re Dunfermline should be a matter of public record in all its detail so that fans and investors can make information based value judgements when dealing with any club.
Such stiffer regulation should not develop into anything like a corporate witch hunt or any kind of draconian big brother syndrome, however the need for change given all of the current troubles is obvious to one and all.
Further, the attempted fudge surrounding Rangers league status last summer and the ongoing disquiet surrounding the position of Campbell Ogilvie does nothing to boost faith in and the reputation of Football Administration in Scotland.
Things are far from clear and there appears to be continual dithering and fudging. No one has any idea where the Nimmo Smith Report has gone nor what import it is to have— if any. Why is that?
Dithering and bumbling over detail is no longer an option. Strong clear governance is required to protect the game from being hijacked by those who have their own corporate and financial agendas.
Such people cannot be allowed to determine the way Scottish Football runs or to conduct themselves in a fashion that leaves football and everyone involved in limbo.
It is time for Scottish Football to find its own Iron Chancellor! There is a need for someone who will, if necessary, come along and shoot the lights out of any club or Company Director who wishes to play fast and loose with the game of football.
ecobhoy says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 21:07
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borussiabeefburg says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 20:43
For what it’s worth, it’s refreshing, to my mind, that a diddy club player will gain the award.
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Possibly – but if it was tactical voting as you speculate – rather than performance on the playing field – would that not ‘taint’ the award?
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Higdon broke a 30 year record held by Willie Pettigrew a record that Tommy Coyne in his pomp could not break, think about that for a moment……….. think of the genuine legendary status of WP……… and now tell me that if Higdon was given the award by his peers it would be ‘tainted’? Can we not accept that the short list is pretty much on the money, must we throw the toys out the pram and assume ‘its cos they all hate us’ an they’re all pyssed off cos Rangers are gone? Wha! Wha! Wha!
Had Hooper hit 25-30 goals he would have been up there, he did not. Commons may well have been in with a shout, but failed to make the short list, but worry not the media pack will ensure they have little or no distance to travel for an interview with their player of the year, and of course it will be the sponsors choice.
I don’t think that Neil Lennon disrespected anyone by his remarks today – even although I think it is fair enough that the players couldn’t see an outstanding Celtic player this year. I certainly don’t see Flute bands beneath the beds of the majority of Scottish footballers, but Lennon does evoke such strange and over-commensurate reactions – as has been seen and heard today. His remarks may have been curmudgeonly and lacked a bit of grace, but a DISgrace? That’s just silly.
Apologies to TSFM as I know you have declared this OT, but Greenockjack’s language in response to the NL quote is what gives rise to the feeling that reaction to NL does not always come from the light in people’s minds.
Arabest
[] Hooper has scored 27 goals this season – see http://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=41819
And with 5 matches to play, it’s fairly likely he will hit the 30 mark before the season’s end and probably finish as the top scorer in Scotland.
Admittedly some of these goals were only in the Champions League which as we all know isn’t the Scottish Communities League Cup.
People down south and elsewhere on Planet Football are rightly asking “who?” and then “why?” when they see the shortlist and if we are trying to give the game a boost up here, we should be recognising the best players.
It says it all when professional footballers are unable to, or choose not to, recognise talent in their own sport.
“One POTY, many nonentities”
Carfins Finest. (@edunne58) says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 19:52
For the avoidance of doubt: Whilst we tent to point and laugh at TRFC we should not lose sight of the fact that what’s unfolding at Ibrox may be the biggest scandal to hit Brittish Sport ever.
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I thought it already was. What has been a real shock to me (since I never thought much of the Scottish MSM) is how unwilling anyone from down south – apart from AT – has been to talk about it much. This is not just a sports scandal, it involves dodgy banking practices and tax dodging and possibly criminal activity. It really does seem that what goes on up here doesn’t matter.
I think the motivation for Neil Lennon’s comments on the POTY awards have been misunderstood.
NL may indeed be a somewhat miffed by the omission of any of his players but it is of little consequence, however, he has one target left this season and one perceived problem….respectively The Scottish Cup and the so-called “Hampden hoodoo”.
Celtic are perceived to have under performed in big games at the National stadium in NL’s time as manager. What better way to concentrate the players minds when facing a squad of fellow professionals in Hibs is by their manager telling them that Scotrtsh professional footballers don’t rate them and have dismissed their achievements this year. NL intensifies this by going public and telling the press that the players are seething they have been snubbed.
In my view, NL thinks he may have a problem ensuring that Celtic are not complacement in big domestic games (there is reasonable evidence of this) and has seized upon this POTY news as a slight on the players and the club. Fairly standard behaviour among successful managers.
The actual truth of whether his players have been snubbed need not concern him, the big silver cup and the double is what he wants
Couple of things. Firstly, there’s no problem with people having a discussion about the rights and wrongs of the POY list. As long as it is respectful and transient. You all know that we avoid arguments on here by not discussing (at unnecessary length) on-field matters which are necessarily subjective and usually bollocks unless you agree with me 🙂
However, the Neil Lennon stuff makes me uneasy and nervous. Some people may well have pure intentions when NL is discussed, but historically it is a wound all to easily opened. We don’t want to be a catalyst for the resurfacing of the sort of nasty remarks about NL I have had to remove tonight.
Secondly, on the debate surrounding Rangers officials contributing to forums and blogs. Unlawful practices aside, I don’t think there is a great deal to be worried about. Rangers aren’t the only club to do such a thing, and the Gimourgate events of last week provided the most recent such incursions here with spin provided by “new” and “absent” posters.
As far as I can reverse-engineer, contributions to this blog are made from at least three SPL clubs (before you ask, IP addresses and hostnames do not lie), and I wasn’t playing detective when these discoveries were made. I have to say that with a couple of exceptions, their contributions are not universally successful in getting their point across.
Social media and the anonymity that they offer give us a voice we would otherwise not have, but we would be naïve in the extreme if we were to expect the clubs not to try to use blogs like this to shape opinion. They are just not very good at it.
Sorry to bring it up again but can’t believe some of the thumbs down for those having a go at NL.
The news that many a players of other clubs voted for seven of his team and therefore split the vote so that they couldn’t identify a Celtic stand out is surely a huge compliment to NL’s coaching and managerial ability to pull together a well balanced and talented team.
However as I said earlier, the automatic knee jerk reaction to turn any ‘petty’ slight against the club into a major insult has ended up making NL looking rather foolish in the eyes of the public and perhaps more important in the eyes of colleagues within the game who were actually praising him.
Perhaps NL doesn’t need to issue an apology as some suggest, however what would appear to be in order is to say a huge public thank you to all those professional footballers who recognised that he has put together a good team this year.
Don’t you think there are a few posters on here today using NL comments to divert the focus from the implosion?
I’m a jambo. I don’t get a vote. I don’t really care. You don’t get points for winning it.
arabest1 says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 21:34
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Hooper did score 30 goals if you include all competitions, this is the problem. Are we voting for the best player of the last year or are we voting for the player of the year who scored more goals only in the SPL or the player of the year who plays for a smaller club where it is more difficult to score (debatable of course) or the player of the year at a specific playing level or… or… or….
The bottom line is this, is does not matter why someone votes, if they believe a specific player was the POTY then to that person, that is who they feel should win that prize.
NL in my opinion was wrong to complain in the manner he did but equally wrong is the way some people use every action or word he speaks as a tool to beat him. That is why some on here get defensive, it’s not an agenda, it’s simply a natural mechanism of human behaviour.
therampantbaron says:
Ok I stand corrected, but Higdon is well worth this award, being the first Well player to match WP. The rest of your post is interesting. The Talk Sport analysis, if it ain’t Celtic or Rangers its a ‘nonentity’. I would have thought it better to talk up the game and talk up the standard. I watched Well the other night at Tannadice and saw an exceptional side boss the game from start to finish and teach our young lads a thing or two about football at the top level in this country, indeed they were the best side I have seen at Tannadice this season – bar none! Strong, skillful and streetwise, why anyone would want to pyss on MH (or any of the others) parade is petty, sad, unnecessary and unhelpful. Worth noting Well may lose several of these players in the summer, great pity. Is a peer voted award really to be reduced to the usual binary nonsense that afflicts so much of our game? How about congratulating those who make up the first list not containing players form the big two for decades?
If sevco 5088 bought rangers. Then they transferred it to sevco Scotland. Would the players and employees not have to TUPE twice??
TUPE OR NOT TUPE. THAT IS THE QUESTION….
I would like to think I have made my feelings about NL clear on here, many times. I happen to think he is a deep thinker and very talented young manager, but that does not mean he is above criticism in every instance.
At what point do the SFA and everyone else realise Rangers are a dead pigeon and far from the golden egg machine they and those in Mount Doom would have you believe. It is now getting to the point that even the most diehard Gers fan is seriously questioning the point of throwing any more money into a hole that is being emptied by the money men who couldn’t give a turkey pluck what happened to their club, whether new or old.
The implications for Scottish football as the SFA continue to sit on their hands and inevitably for Rangers posthumously attempt any twist,turn and every machination possible -too little, too late – as the full realisation hits home they have f#ckd up once more so catastrophically when they needed to act judiciously rather than have Rangers in any guise into Scottish football at any cost. It does make me smile when they serve anyone out with their corridors with bringing the game into disrepute. They should truly hang their heads in shame at what they ave wrought on the game.
With a new slate in the 3rd division, this has allowed a combination of Green and Whyte to perform what needed to be done to carve up the spoils as the unquestioning Rangers support sleepwalk into another financial nightmare. Unfortunately for them this may be one their club may never wake up from. I actually do feel sorry for the genuine rangers fans – RTC and this blog have laid it bare for those with genuine interest to look further, past the malaise of the farcical Scottish media. I will forever ask why the Rangers fans couldn’t see past the bluster of Green selling his Yorkshire ‘I say what I like and I like what I say schtick’. He is laughing all the way to the banque francaise or an SFO investigation. Both probably.
I do have a little picture in my head of Messieurs Blanc et Vert rendezvousing somewhere in France over a glass of champagne, comparing notes on the worst Rangers teams they witnessed from the Ibrox Directors box – Ally’s imploding team in his first year in charge or his 3rd division mercenaries shoddily making their way to their first title. Or maybe not..maybe they are just counting their respective piles of euros.
therampantbaron says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:06
People down south and elsewhere on Planet Football are rightly asking “who?” and then “why?” when they see the shortlist and if we are trying to give the game a boost up here, we should be recognising the best players.
It says it all when professional footballers are unable to, or choose not to, recognise talent in their own sport.
“One POTY, many nonentities”
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Where’s your evidence for all this southern angst? As if they care. Get a grip – the vote was split amongst seven nominees from Celtic, tough luck this time round. Celtic or Rangers players have won the last 23 so why is this one so important to you? All this griping and whining is pathetic and, more importantly, will change nothing.
neepheid says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 20:52
Thanks for the explanation.
I think the word “crisis” would not be over-stating the case in the scenario you describe.
therampantbaron says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:06
… if we are trying to give the game a boost up here, we should be recognising the best players.
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Indeed. That is what the POTY award is about. That is what we/they are doing. Personally, I think the boy McGinn should be in with a shout for managing to bag a few goals whilst playing in a pish Aberdeen team. 🙂 Arabest makes a good case for Higdon.
Celtic are undoubtedly a country mile ahead as a team (give or take the odd duff/lazy performance), but it is because they are such a decent team that individuals don’t stand out so much, and don’t need to. I think it’s more than a bit petulant to suggest that the best players are not being recognised simply because those that are don’t play for Celtic.
Interesting that TSFM notes contributions apparently directly from clubs. I haven’t particularly noticed anything with the sort of insights you might expect from such quarters. Whoever “IAmRangers” was, he certainly seemed to be on the inside track.
TSFM – I appreciate you have a fine line to walk when scrutinising comments about NL. I hope you deploy the same considerations when persons associated with Ibrox – or e.g. St Mirren – are being discussed. Without fear or favour, and all that. It must be quite tricky being a supporter and trying to maintain a blog like this.
“Ally might not be good enough, but he had a 10 point lead over Lennon before his players started thinking more about being fired than playing football. The jury’s still out on how good Lennon is. Ally might not be good enough, but he had a 10 point lead over Lennon before his players started thinking more about being fired than playing football. The jury’s still out on how good Lennon is.”
I don’t know who posted the tripe above, but it’s unfactual and utter rubbish
Rangers had a 15 point lead on November 5th 2011 which had been over turned and into a 2 point lead when Celtic beat Rangers a Celtic Park on December 27th 2011.
A 17 point turn around due to 9 consecutive wins by Celtic.
Take into account also that Celtic were also playing Midweek European football in the Europa League.
Even accounting for the 27th of December, it was nearly 2 months before Rangers entered Administration on 14th of February 2012.
Neil Lennon also took Celtic out of the group stages of the Champions league in his first attempt and only into his third full year as a Professional football manager, while having less money to spend than any of his predecessors and with a constantly reducing wage bill.
A greater achievement than Gordon Strachan, who had more money to spend and vast experience of football management before coming to Celtic.
Also surpassing Martin O’Neill who never achieved that in his time and who had more money to spend than any other Celtic manager in history.
Members of the mythical Jury I rest my case.
arabest1 says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:27
I would like to think I have made my feelings about NL clear on here, many times. I happen to think he is a deep thinker and very talented young manager, but that does not mean he is above criticism in every instance.
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Of course he’s not above criticism.
I have spoken to a number of my fellow Celtic fans who really couldn’t care a toss whether any of our players win POTY or not.
What DOES worry us though is that Neil Lennon clearly believes a senior figure in the SFA is responsible for his absurd three match ban for swearing, rather than the two ‘complainers’ who are probably best ignored by any sane person.
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/48871875115/highway-to-hell
On Abyssal Acceleration
Tommy In Glasgow revealed tonight that he has a text conversation with Rangers directors thanking him for getting Sandaza fired. That just made his success in a tribunal much easier if true!
Richard Wilson (@timomouse) says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:35
Tommy In Glasgow revealed tonight that he has a text conversation with Rangers directors thanking him for getting Sandaza fired. That just made his success in a tribunal much easier if true!
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If true, then the aforesaid Rangers directors are even stupider than we may have thought!
On the POTY debate, as a Hearts fan I wasn’t in the least surpised to see that none of our lot made the list. I was surprised that not one player from the league champions made the cut.
I can accept the view that maybe there wasn’t one single outstanding candidate from CFC, but instead several players who were very worthy so that votes may have been spread across a number of players.
It would be interesting to see a list of players and votes received – maybe if that showed that Celtic as a club had received the majority of votes, then NL wouldn’t have gone so far with his comments. If it showed otherwise, then maybe it would question the motives of some of the voters.
My own view is that at least some of the voting has been influenced by the fact that the league was seen in many quarters as a one horse race this year and voters have looked beyond Celtic to some of the better players at other clubs. I don’t think this should have been a factor – the best players are the best players, without making allowances for whether they are doing it at a big or small club.
I think recognition of a smaller club’s achievements should come through the manager of the year award. If you want to acknowledge Motherwell’s achievements in finishing a not too distant second to Celtic (compared to recent gaps between the OF and other clubs) then you can make a case for McCall being manager of the year. But when it comes to players, as good as Higdon has been, he’s no way a better striker than Hooper.
TSFM
Entirely with you 100%
TSFM says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:11
“As far as I can reverse-engineer, contributions to this blog are made from at least three SPL clubs (before you ask, IP addresses and hostnames do not lie), and I wasn’t playing detective when these discoveries were made. I have to say that with a couple of exceptions, their contributions are not universally successful in getting their point across”
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So there are no contributions from a certain 4th tier club? In the interests of transparency, we need to know 😉
Have posted before on T.U.P.E regs,not claiming i’m 100% right,but unless you believe that sevco 5088/scotland purchased Rangers Football Club in it’s entirety (they did not) then
T.U.P.E regs do not apply in this instance.
Which transfers are not covered?
TUPE does not apply to:
transfers by share take-over because, when a company’s shares are sold to new shareholders, there is no transfer of the business: the same company continues to be the employer
transfer of assets only (eg the sale of equipment alone wouldn’t be covered but the sale of a going concern including equipment would be covered)
transfer of a contract to provide goods or services where this doesn’t involve the transfer of a business or part of a business
transfers of undertakings situated outside the UK.
upthehoops says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:3
I agree totally with you here! NL handled a ridiculous call, with dignity and humour, that’s why I like him. I cannot think of a manager who has endured a fraction of the sticky stuff that lands on him, yet he still, in the main talks in very measured and rational terms. I just thought today he was plain wrong, then again, no doubt he is using this as a motivational device…….Alex Ferguson wrote the book on this type of thing, he would do exactly the same!
Robert Coyle
Good point. Been TUPE’d 4 times and never came across this scenario always been takeover of enterprise and pretty straight forward. Old co New co. Really just another legal minefield. Lawyers ahoy I think.
smartbhoy says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:33
Can I also add that Rangers’ loss of players because of the administration was bizarrely minimal.
I actually spoke to an insolvency practitioner at the time, and one who had dealt with a football administration, and he simply could not understand how / why things were being done the way they were.
Rangers were burning cash in wages which should rightly have gone to funding a CVA. The majority of highly paid players should have been sacked, cutting costs in the only way really possible. It simply didn’t happen.
If I remember correctly Greig Wylde and possibly one other player left. The rest stayed to complete the season. It was a full strength team (as near as makes no difference) which Mr McCoist had to play out the remaining games.
So any story that “Ally lost his squad” and that Celtic benefited from that is simply not true. Neil Lennon’s team turned round a 15 point deficit to win the SPL, that is all.
TSFM says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:11
That’s interesting that at least three SPL are using the blog. Is the same name used each time or is their various names from the same IP ?
Has Orlit Enterprises been paid. Or is this just another woe that everyone has forgotten about?
therampantbaron says
quick question m8. How did you manage to edit that last post?
arabest1 says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:54
Aye great motivational stuff for encouraging certain players to stay in Scotland.
Your manager says nobody likes you, why the hell would you want to stay here and put up with that crap when you could get more cash playing in the EPL or elsewhere?. 🙂
Naw, end of story is that he just got it wrong today and went off on one, which is his often his achilies heel. I doubt he will ever manage to get that side of his personality fully under contol, so he and Celtic fans should just grow thicker skins because this kind of nonesense will come up every now and then.
TSFM says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 22:11
25 1 Rate This
Secondly, on the debate surrounding Rangers officials contributing to forums and blogs. Unlawful practices aside, I don’t think there is a great deal to be worried about. Rangers aren’t the only club to do such a thing, and the Gimourgate events of last week provided the most recent such incursions with spin provided by “new” and “absent” posters.
As far as I can reverse-engineer, contributions to this blog are made from at least three SPL clubs (before you ask, IP addresses and hostnames do not lie),
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Re the ranger’s (or any other clubs) officials posting on forums – I agree that in general this is not something to worry about, the concern is that RFC are a public listed company and any info that may be material to share dealings must not be disclosed selectively. to re-use an already over used phrase – for the avoidance of doubt : if this is the case then it is criminal.
But no less than numerous other things that have happened over the last few years, I fully expect a “swift response” from the authorities.
I’m surprised the MSM have not suggested that the POTY short list is another example of why Scottish football needs SEVCO in the SPL….
More fro Rangers rumours definitely getting the picture:
25 Apr 2013 18:20:47
LSE comments after todays business;
Rangers International Football Club Plc in disarray as it suffers losses of -2. 52%. The stock opened stable against the previous close, but then gradually declined in the course of the session, closing downbeat near the day’s lowest level. The technical scenario for Rangers International Football Club Plc in the last week shows the security lagging behind the UK FTSE All Share. As compared to the related index, the security has shown a lower performance.
Only a matter of time before shares are suspended company has lost over 1/3 of its value since Jan. If any bears out there are’t concerned about the short term future never mind medium/long term then its time to sit up and take notice!
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1.) Trading volume was only 24 thousand shares which works out around 14000 pounds – not a lot going on there really.
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2.) Keep reading all the posts and its like a broken record,. we need to take notice. we demand answers. we must stand up and be counted. we must march to ibrox. we must demand answers. we must demand the truth. demand to see the deeds. blah blah blah. BUT GUESS WHAT. your all sittin on here doing fk all. talk talk talk. no action no marches to ibrox. NOTHING. now you have another english sheister in sayin he always loved rangers. jist the same sh**te that came oot greens mooth. get a fkn grip you gullible persons. gary
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25 Apr 2013 15:15:58
whyte – Tax evasion
Green – Fraud?
Dave King – Fraud? Tax evasion?
Murray – EBT?
Easdale family – one jailed for tax evasion
How about we get investors/owners that haven’t been accused of Tax evasion/Fraud?
Matt
——————————————————————————–
25 Apr 2013 18:22:31
Malcolm Murray saying he’s behind Mathers unanimous board vote and both saying finances are great.
Shower of disingenuous scheming bar stewards. Mathers is Greens protege.
£1m a month every month, lost. And that’s great is it? Various businessmen, bill miller, Forbes Business Magazine, Ng,. there’s a £20-£30m black hole and zero cost restructuring done.
The £22m share money is for Capital investment strategies such as stadium improvement and team strengthening. Not paying directors bonuses, expenses and legal costs. Evidence of the £22m is needed.
Whyte and his people clearly were involved in buying the club. Don’t lie to us. And what nonsense has McCoist and smith been up to?
——————————————————————————–
1.) It is a disgrace. Why did Murray not tell how much is actually left of the IPO cash? Soft soap press calls will not cut any more. The whole place needs gutted, from Murray to McCoist and every one in between.
spanishcelt says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 19:19
I’m off to Malaga tomorrow Spanish, me and mate hoping to take in the Malaga v Getafe game on Sunday
Not so daft after all
The POTY shortlist is a great reason for NOT having Sevco back in the SPL
If Celtic can’t get a player on the list it must mean that the other teams are taking up the challenge. The cry was that Celtic would sweep the board of all trophies and awards without
the challenge of Rfc* and it would be a borefest resulting in Armageddon .
In my opinion it was the Celtic/ Rfc* domination that was making it a borefest for everyone else .
We should be delighted that the trophies and awards are being spread amongst other clubs.
Armageddon? I’m loving it
Hibernian winning the Scottish cup would be the icing on the cake for Scottish football
Robert Coyle.
Thanks for the info. Tupe isToo confusing for a man of my brainpower.
Sorry to ask but has anyone documented the promises upon which the flotation was sold?
paulmac2 says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:18
Quantcast
I’m surprised the MSM have not suggested that the POTY short list is another example of why Scottish football needs SEVCO in the SPL….
Oh but I think they have http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/222900-lee-wallace-rangers-absence-may-have-contributed-to-celtic-award-snub/
HP
Just saw the name Lee Wallace and decided I definitely don’t need to read this.
Michael Higdon for president of SFA (He cant keep this pace up and deserves a good and well paid desk job). And im a ‘well fan.
It seems to me that there is a massive amount of tittle tattle doing the rounds at the moment , bordering on fevour pitch concerning Rangers and their future (or lack of one).
Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of Sevco(88), SFO, Independent Commissions, Directors Texting, cash is king and it is the depletion of this important commodity that will dictate events.
Ibrox is a closed shop, so they will assume that all of the above damage can be managed through the legal system (last year’s events give them hope in this regard), with the SFA assisting them through the process.
So ,whilst all of this legal stuff is on the one hand depressing (if you are a Rangers fan) or depressing / comical for non-Rangers fans , it will be resolved in Rangers favour; no-one got killed , move on strategy will be adopted.
On the cash front , rough numbers £4M on hand before the IPO , + £22M raised – £10M burned on running costs over 4 months , leaves £16M cash on hand now absolute tops.
IPO number feels a bit dodgy , so if you randomnly factor that down to say £15M then, add in the season books another £7M and a few bits and pieces , so if the season books sell then cash will run out in 8 months around Dec 2013.
All rough and ready stuff.
So unless , there has been bare face robbery and criminal like behaviour Rangers will have enough cash to see them through the year, if there has been any funny business with the holding company transacting cash out of the premises then who knows.
So legally they will play the long game, use the SFA , say ooops and just carry on.
The real problem for Rangers is to employ a serious heavy CEO and Board who can re-structure the business and reduce costs. I would start with the enormous wages of Mr McCoist ….and then work down through the structure …..
Looking forward to the games this weekend, better pitches now for the next month.
Talking of end of season awards…
Is that not-so-cheeky chappy in the running for SFL3 Manager of the year?
(I am assuming that there is such an award.)
Full-time players against part-timers?
He has ‘dignity’ does he not? He would Shirley graciously decline to be considered…wouldn’t he?
Sorry Stunney but I had to link this. DR Front page today:
. pic.twitter.com/A3vZDIEjb5
bangordub says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:40
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Sorry to ask but has anyone documented the promises upon which the flotation was sold?
_______________________________________-
Oh indeedy yessiree.
Cenkos. It was their job to document just that, and the floatation could not have proceeded without it.
They did this based on information supplied by CG and the board of RIFC, of course (information for which the board members bear personal responsibility…)
Its in the prospectus (that was ripped to bits on this and other forums a few months back.)
Tasty!
Anyhow, If you are a disgruntled shareholder you may sue:
Cenkos if they misrepresented the information supplied to them.
Or the Directors, collectively (or as individuals) if they supplied dodgy information or witheld pertinent facts.
Almost wish I had thrown them a couple of farthings myself!
Whilst the RIFC prospectus (like most) was so full of caveats it was like nailing jelly to the wall, nevertheless, if CWs claims to the assets have merit, predate the publication of the prospectus, were known to the Board, and weren’t disclosed to Cenkos and included in the prospectus, … weel…. that’s probably fraud I reckon. Plain and simple. Serious, one might even say. If only there was an office of some kind that could investigate such transactions, eh?
The idea of a floatation is to raise money to invest in the business, for the ultimate enrichment of shareholders who invest – quid pro quo. If it is well intentioned and goes wrong, that’s risk/reward upside/downside – these things happen.
But if there is intentional misrepresentation when it comes to encouraging people to invest… that’s fleecing. It is theft. And It is illegal.
Rangers are the establishment club. They openly espouse their allegaince to Britain above that to Scotland I perceive.
140 years ago the British establishment likely felt a little less secure than it does now. Evidence the plethora of Monarch’s names used to adorn the corner of our streets; George Square, Hanover Street, Frederick Street, Charlotte Square. Even cakes; Victoria sponge, Battenburg cake, Empire (German) biscuits. Its a branding thing. Like TV commercials; get your name out there so you are a recognisable entity. It made sense to have a strong British identity in the north since historically this region had only relatively recently (in historic terms) become loyal to the British establishment.
It would make perfect political sense to reward that loyalty in some way. There are many ways this could have been achieved but it would simply be a case of favouring establishment adherents to the disbenefit of those that did not show such ardent zeal.
140 years later and in a relatively stable political climate it is more difficult to justify support of this tactic. However the expectation was long ago created that the establishment club in what through time has become the establishment game would likely find that over any reasonable period, ‘luck’ would favour them, ever so slightly.
I think perhaps the Rangers psyche is not programmed to cope with the adversity that is currently being experienced. Even those deeply ingrained establishment networks are creaking under the strain of holding any semblence of propriety together. There is no page in the Rangers manual to cover ‘ditching at sea’. Why would you ever rehearse an unthinkable scenario.
Of course this analysis is a sweeping generalisation of a whole swathe of Scottish society and as such is fundamentally flawed. However my observations are that the Gers who would rightfully escape this labelling feel they have to pander to those that are afflicted by it. Witness the ‘Green out’ banner that was summarily removed by an Anglified Rangers fan whose opinion seemed to outweigh (in forcefulness) that of the protestors.
We are all inherently big*tted but must quell our basic instinct with a bit of common sense. However if you’ve grown up in an atmosphere where you might have some expectation of enjoying favouritism for espousing the establishment attitude then any of us would become pliable
ekbhoy says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:54
Here is more complicated business case that arrives at similar conclusions. Only the share income keeps thing afloat.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B62m3ggkEX2RUWZ5THpycmFpTms/edit?usp=drive_web
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ekbhoy says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:54
A lot of truth in what you say, much that is being reported in any other context would be unbelievable, but, in this context, it becomes all too believable.
The cash flow situation is crucial, and with a fair wind they may stumble on to the end of the year. But, fundamentally, it’s about confidence. The confidence of the board to keep fire fighting, the confidence of the investors to stick with it, and most importantly at the moment, the confidence of the paying customers to buy season tickets at much higher prices than last year, in the same numbers that bought them last year.
To everything there is a season, and if the “weather” over at Ibrox doesn’t start looking like Spring, pretty damn soon, then as our American cousins put it, people may well start dialling 1-800-RUN, at which point the whole house of cards will disappear in an instant.
On comes Andy Goram, the civil war continues
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4903567/Im-glad-Greens-left-club.html
https://twitter.com/Daily_Record/status/327558272154472448/photo/1
So according to the DR ,Imrahn has been forced out by Ally and Walter for posting on a forum
username Iamrangers and backstabbing the 2 legends !
Now -Iamrangers registered with that forum in October 2011.
Who has stabbed who in the back here ?
who really is Iamrangers ?
Has Imrahn deliberately set himself up for his get out or has he been set up to get him out?
October 2011 seems a long time before he appeared on the scene (officially)
Another twist ,another day and all done in the most dignified way
timtim says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 01:10
I refer the right honourable gentleman to the reply I gave some moments ago:
http://scottishfootballmonitor.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/scottish-football-and-the-case-for-a-bismarck/comment-page-35/#comment-46526
scapaflow14 says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 00:58
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On comes Andy Goram, the civil war continues
___________________________________________________
To summarise, James Traynor.. I mean Andy Goram says, ‘its OK, we gave some of those nasty spivs some of your money and now they have gone away pockets jangling. But the good guys won and what we really need now is the Rangers fans to pony up… because they are the best fans in the world… and there’s no way we can win SFL2 with erm… the second highest paid squad is scotish football…
More money = less spiv, and all will be dandy, comprendez?
Pathetic does not do it justice!
The daily record is trying to help Walter and Ally get rid of Ahmad. More smoke than fire though.
No way they can substantiate these allegations of InternetBampottery unless this is HIS exit strategy.
We are almost certainly moving into the end phase of this pantomime.
Does anyone have any info on how things are for general staff within TRFC?
I’m guessing they must be rather perplexed / worried / disgusted / etc about recent goings on? Must be a terrible working atmosphere?
This whole shebang is nearly as weird as the Incredible String Band.
Not nearly as groovy, though.
Late night … But I’m Chicago so,,, commendation to the forensic work undertaken on this site … TSFM rocks
http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs
Barcabhoy says: Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 20:23
http://scottishfootballmonitor.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/scottish-football-and-the-case-for-a-bismarck/comment-page-38/#comment-46739
I believe I have spotted a fundamental flaw in your reasoning.
However there are lots of intelligent, erudite,capable Rangers fans with the experience to make a valuable contribution. Given the Scottish demographic , there may even be more of them than for any other club.
Au contraire. There are probably far, far fewer of them than would be expected from simply assuming that intelligent, erudite, capable fans will make up the same percentage of each club’s support. Most intelligent, decent human beings will have the discernment to support any one of 41 other clubs rather than the Ibrox operation. Or none at all.
A few may have a superficial, emotional attachment to the club but it is not such a big part of their lives that they feel any obligation to defend it from the consequences of its own folly. Nor
do they have much difficulty in abandoning it altogether it when a previously unnoticed unwholesomeness becomes its defining characteristic. They have much better things to do.
Other, not so decent, intelligent people recognise an opportunity for self-aggrandisement by manipulating less intelligent supporters. There can be no argument that Rangers attract more of this latter group than any other club in Scotland.
There has been an almost total dearth of upright, capable people willing to ride to its rescue throughout the mortal crisis which has always been its inevitable ultimate destiny. This is simply because such people, if they have any interest in football, have invariably been attracted to any club other than the nasty club.
briggsbhoy says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:20
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spanishcelt says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 19:19
I’m off to Malaga tomorrow Spanish, me and mate hoping to take in the Malaga v Getafe game on Sunday
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Im a bit further north than that and the last few we have had heavy thunderstorms (bit like Rangers) but even more sever storms predicted over next few days (again a bit like Rangers)
best through a waterproof jacket in your case!
Looks as if the horses have bolted the field – or the rats have deserted the sinking ship (take your pick).
If all I have read is true then it looks odds on for an Ahmad exit strategy via his semi-public web forum postings.
Now, If I was in charge of Ibrox, I am not sure that I would have moved to dismiss.
If the brown stuff is about to hit the fan – would you not want to hang onto those who may be responsible?
It does not sound if there is clear thinking going on behind the scenes – are things in panic/crisis mode? Too much plates to keep spinning – rushed and poor decisions…
Looking at the front page of the DR posted on Twitter, I note one of the smaller stories is that Lawwell is keen to allow clubs to sell alcohol at games. Providing it’s not a return to the mental 70s when a fair few supporters at games were absolutely steaming, on account of bring in party sized carry outs to the game, then I think this could be a good income stream for clubs.
However, the practicalities could be diffcult. I am not sure how many clubs have concourses to allow for the sale, as having folk actually sitting in their seats with beer for me is a non starter, due having experienced beer drookins in Germany and England when goals have been scored,
Thoughts?
I’m absolutely sick to the back teeth of my team’s achievements being undermined and devalued by the notion that it wouldn’t have happened if Rangers had been around.They weren’t,so get over it.I’m also fed up being tagged as part of the ‘Old Firm’. To be part of the Old Firm you need two teams,Celtic and Rangers. One of those two does not exist. I still go to the East end of Glasgow every other Saturday to watch football. Go figure.
What’s the DR story about PL wanting to bring back booze? Is this a genuine idea to make more money or is the DR setting him up for criticism. Not sure there are many top flight clubs who wouldn’t have at least a wee bit more trouble with their fans if booze was freely sold. At Ibrox it really could be armageddon.
On the other story, how long until Ahmid can sell up and does he still have to wait if he’s fired?
Henry Clarson says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:55
Au contraire. There are probably far, far fewer of them than would be expected from simply assuming that intelligent, erudite, capable fans will make up the same percentage of each club’s support. Most intelligent, decent human beings will have the discernment to support any one of 41 other clubs rather than the Ibrox operation. Or none at all.
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Henry, I’m not that bright, so just to check, you claim is that anyone with half a brain will NOT support Rangers? That’s what you’re saying here?
I mean, you may be right. But it’s a rather shocking generalisation, if you don’t mind me saying – I presume that you’ll be backing this up with facts and figures?
“Facts and figures” does not mean some random, daft post from a Rangers fan site, btw.
Humble Pie says:
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 23:40
……………………………………….
Astonishing!
Celtic Underground @celticrumours 21m
Long firm – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_firm remember the phrase.
Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More
Roddy Forsyth on the ball
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/10018357/Rangers-step-closer-to-the-abyss-with-each-controversy.html
timtim says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 01:10
——————-
Yep, I am not buying it. My initial thought was “ah, the next exit strategy implemented”.
Pretty soon we will be looking at only Rangers men at the helm, back to the “good” old days, and that cannot be good for anyone.
Henry Clarson says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:55
Barcabhoy says: Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 20:23
http://scottishfootballmonitor.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/scottish-football-and-the-case-for-a-bismarck/comment-page-38/#comment-46739
I believe I have spotted a fundamental flaw in your reasoning.
______________________________________________________________________
Henry, it has been a while since we heard from you, and I was happy to see your name back amongst the posters. However I have to distance the blog from this kind of thinking.
That kind of mass generalisation is a little worrying, not worthy of you, and not acceptable to readers of this blog.
I think Barcabhoy’s reasoning was pretty sound in the area you speak of.
Journalists, eh? Historically, other countries have produced great newspapers, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, La Monde, the Times / Telegraph / Guardian, etc etc. There is a reason why our most famous output has been the Dandy and the Beano.
But the only thing I’d question in Roddy Forsyth’s Telegraph piece is where he says “The fear is that Rangers could become a basket case a la Portsmouth to the extent that they might never regain their former strength.” Roddy they are there now. The question is, can they first find a route back to sanity. Then stability. Then build their strength if they can. It’s a heck of a task.
Henry Clarson says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:55
Barcabhoy says: Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 20:23
http://scottishfootballmonitor.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/scottish-football-and-the-case-for-a-bismarck/comment-page-38/#comment-46739
Other, not so decent, intelligent people recognise an opportunity for self-aggrandisement by manipulating less intelligent supporters. There can be no argument that Rangers attract more of this latter group than any other club in Scotland.
There has been an almost total dearth of upright, capable people willing to ride to its rescue throughout the mortal crisis which has always been its inevitable ultimate destiny. This is simply because such people, if they have any interest in football, have invariably been attracted to any club other than the nasty club.
——————————————————————————————————————–
I think the whole issue of WHO and WHAT Rangers supporters are is a very complex one and I certainly don’t have a complete answer to that or anywhere near one. But some of the above language truly disturbs me with the historical chords that they strike.
Most football clubs have a fairly identifiable geographically-based support. Actual numbers range from the hard-core support to one that increases if the team is doing well. Rangers obviously has a support that goes way beyond a Glasgow geographic base to other parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland. We all know the historical and religious underpinnings that affect significant numbers of that support.
But, to an extent, these factors also play a not insignificant part in the make-up of the Celtic support. A major historical part of the jigsaw that is possibly different is that ‘Hibernian’ teams were established elsewhere in the early days such as Dundee and Edinburgh. Without a detailed survey I think it’s difficult to work-out how that early ‘Hibernian’ influence has affected today’s Celtic support composition vis a vis that of Rangers.
But, to move on, I cannot accept an argument that states: ‘There has been an almost total dearth of upright, capable people willing to ride to its rescue throughout the mortal crisis which has always been its inevitable ultimate destiny’.
I will ignore the ‘inevitable ultimate destiny’ line as the only thing I know that fits that bill is DEATH and it comes to us all in different ways and time scales and was nearly the destiny of Celtic not that long ago. That’s why we always have to strive to learn the lessons of history.
The statement: ‘There has been an almost total dearth of upright, capable people willing to ride to its rescue’ also begs examination. Rangers fans have invested heavily in buying Rangers shares on several occasions and also in the debenture scheme. Many Rangers businessmen have also invested millions in the club over the years. And I would think that even the most cynical of Rangers observers can only be impressed at the support the Bears have given their team in SFL3.
The statement: ‘Other, not so decent, intelligent people recognise an opportunity for self-aggrandisement by manipulating less intelligent supporters. There can be no argument that Rangers attract more of this latter group than any other club in Scotland’.
I am not completely clear whether the statement refers to their being more ‘manipulated’ or ‘manipulators’ at Rangers. In a sense it is immaterial because I think it misses the whole point. In my experience of Rangers over the years it has a support riven by factionalism along myriad lines with varying degrees of culture, history, politics and religion all bubbling in the melting pot.
The same is true at Celtic to a much lesser degree and I would say from the time of McCann it has significantly lessened. But anyone who doesn’t recognise the similarities between some Celtic supporters and their Rangers counterparts runs the risk of falling into the same warped melting pot.
I had hoped that Rangers going down to SFL3 might have given the decent Bears the chance to build a new Rangers based more on football and with less baggage. Sadly that didn’t work and I point a major finger of blame at the SFA on this one as well as the hand of the Establishment which still believes apparently that Scotland must be artificially ‘balanced’ in football terms or the country will implode in an orgy of social upheaval and violence.
Personally I think this is a ‘bogeyman-fear’ carefully contrived and fed by the media to control the masses in general and football supporters in particular. There is nothing to stop decent football supporters from any team working in whatever way they can to ‘cleanse’ the game.
It’s too easy to take the demented outpourings of crazy keyboard warriors probably aged 15 and who might never have been to a football game or ever left their bedroom and hold them up as a typical example of the Rangers support.
I have spent a lot of time in the last few years speaking to my Rangers supporting relatives and friends – mainly professionals and business people – and they are sickened and stunned by what is happening. I have also seen encouraging signs on Rangers fan sites with Bears arguing to concentrate on football. OK they usually get shouted-down but there are more of them and their arguments are getting better. There are also significant counter-arguments against NI historical factors having anything to do with Rangers and its history and especially its future.
This post is already too long – but I think we will all lose if all we do is see this time as an opportunity to put the boot into Rangers and totally destroy it. At some stage a hand should be extended to the decent support – I haven’t a clue when that time will come btw and it may take the actual financial collapse of the club first.
In the meantime we have to try and show that there is some way forward for decent supporters but that would probably entail Rangers losing some supporters with a consequent increase in cost-cutting to ensure commercial survival. Perhaps it isn’t achievable and maybe even unacceptable to the majority of Rangers fans but, as a Celtic supporter, I think it’s worth the attempt and effort.
Meanwhile, back to these awards. Not the PFA verson, but the 34th Scottish Press Awards.
http://www.scottishpressawards.co.uk/assets/WINNERS_RUNNERS-UP_2013.pdf
In the ‘SCOOP OF THE YEAR’ category, Keith Jackson gained a runner-up slot for his article in the Daily Record “WHYTE, THE FANS & THE CASH FOR GERS”. The headline was capitalised in this manner, as printed in his fine organ.
Yet…………………. the actual article, with that headline “WHYTE, THE FANS & THE CASH FOR GERS” is credited to none other than present Rangers employee James Traynor.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/whyte-the-fans–the-cash-for-gers-1115402
Is there something about the machinations of our press I don’t understand or are Jackson and Traynor related in some way? 🙂
The answer to both of these is probably ‘yes’.
TSFM says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 01:34
The daily record is trying to help Walter and Ally get rid of Ahmad. More smoke than fire though.
No way they can substantiate these allegations of InternetBampottery unless this is HIS exit strategy. We are almost certainly moving into the end phase of this pantomime.
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I agree with what you say except timing.
I am not so sure that we are moving into the end-phase of the pantomine but more like the end of Act 1.
In fact I suspect we might have a couple of panto seasons still to come where the sequels might have new characters emerge from the wings but there will be no need to repaint or change the scenery until the final last act and at the moment the backdrop most likely could be Tesco or a bus garage.
And only when the final curtain falls and the finals calls are taken will we see the full list of characters named with the role they played but it’s highly unlikely that we will ever learn their actual identity or how much they were paid for their performances.
And CW in case you’re reading this I bags the copyright for all Panto productions.
myohmy1 says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 08:11
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MOM, I agree entirely.
The press might as well ask Lennon if he feels the title is demeaned without the traditional strong challenge from Queens Park or St Bernards say.
They will get over it…………..in time…………………maybe
Meanwhile I am shocked to see that Kris Commons’ artistry has not seen him shortlisted for the Turner Prize – how abysmal.
ecobhoy says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 09:31
I am not so sure that we are moving into the end-phase of the pantomine but more like the end of Act 1.
In fact I suspect we might have a couple of panto seasons still to come where the sequels might have new characters emerge from the wings but there will be no need to repaint or change the scenery until the final last act and at the moment the backdrop most likely could be Tesco or a bus garage.
_____________________________________________________________________
Running with your analogy. Admin and liquidation of Oldco/creation of Sevco(s) was the end of Act 1 and we are now approaching the end of Act 2.
At this stage it is not clear whether there will be a third Act, there may just be a brief curtain call.
StevieBC says:
Friday, April 26, 2013 at 01:50
Does anyone have any info on how things are for general staff within TRFC?
I’m guessing they must be rather perplexed / worried / disgusted / etc about recent goings on? Must be a terrible working atmosphere?
================================================================
Interesting you should ask that as I’ve been chatting to a mate in G4S who are being replaced by the in-house Rangers company.
He was saying that before the fans are allowed in they run adverts for the new in-house security company and the only people there to see them are the G4S security people. The ads are switched off before the public enter.
Looks like psychological warfare taking place – perhaps Green learnt a lot from his previous Tupe experience which burnt his financial fingers very badly.