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.
Nacho Novo has kept David Villa and Cesc Fabregas up to date with developments at Ibrox!
Yeah right.I’m sure Cesc and David are on the edge of their seats anxiously awaiting the next turn of events at The Big Hoose.
How ridiculous are their `voices` – white bricks wailing on about leaks – and then leaks;
`………………..about this totally legal, legitimate and above board payment…..` [300k]
`legitimately legal` – Too much – just is 😉
Sun article: Charles Green votes in favour of Malcolm Murray?
——–
Walter Smith in threat to quit Rangers as new crisis grips boardroom
By ANDY DEVLIN
Published: 7 hrs ago
RANGERS legend Walter Smith threatened to QUIT Ibrox last night as the club lurched into another boardroom crisis.
Smith dropped the bombshell news after fellow Gers directors passed a vote of no confidence in chairman Malcolm Murray.
A source said: “He is unhappy at the state of affairs in the club. This is as close as he’s come to leaving.”
It’s believed fans’ favourite Smith, 65 — who led the Light Blues to 21 trophies over two spells as manager — has grown sick of the problems engulfing the club.
He has told those at the top he is seriously considering walking away.
The latest blow for the Division Three champs came after a board meeting on Monday where members made it clear they wanted Ayrshire-born Murray gone.
It’s thought they object to him because he was appointed by ex-Ibrox chief Charles Green.
And it is believed he won a stay of execution when Green — still the largest single shareholder — voted for him to stay.
The Yorkshireman quit Gers last month after we revealed his links to disgraced former owner Craig Whyte.
It is thought he took part in Monday’s board meeting via conference call — leaving many on the board fuming that he still calls the shots.
As a result, another crisis meeting was held yesterday. And Murray is now on borrowed time.
If he chooses to stay, insiders say the directors will call an EGM and put a resolution to the shareholders in a bid to force him out.
No announcement about the vote has been made to the Stock Exchange. Last night the club refused to comment.
mullach says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 02:14
Mullach – I note that you don’t define “RFC”. Mind you, who could? 🙂
Also, IM(H)O … In my (humble) opinion. And an extension of GIRUY – GIRFUY. 😉
so to update
y4rmy says:
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 21:17
So let me get this straight: Malcolm Murray was (or wasn’t) given a vote of no confidence in a board meeting that took place (or didn’t take place) yesterday for RIFC plc (or TRFC Ltd). Charles Green who is no longer on the board (or who is still on the board) of RIFC (or TRFC Ltd) took part (or didn’t) in the vote
————————————————–
…and voted for (or against) Malcolm Murray in the vote of no confidence.
Thomson hinting at good news for Sevco.
I’m in general agreement with an earlier comment, that the restructure smacks of a new sponsor calling the shots and in a way I’m grateful to them for that for dragging the thing forward. I see comment in the Sun article about SPL indebtedness (as an entity as opposed to the clubs differing debt positions combined) and how this will be ‘redistributed’ also. Anyone care to comment? To me that’s an obvious stumbling block to the formal vote next month and then we’re back to a nasty big man (the sponsor) calling the shots over the nice wee club men, a situation we are trying to avoid.
The rush/haste and total turnaround being driven by the same people who 20 days ago told us it was impossible worries me, and worries me still.
But to be clear I do still see an element of progress in it.
Note to The Rangers PR department – Alex Ferguson resigning = perfect day to bury bad news!!!! Bring out your washing
Tic 6709 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 09:34
Thomson hinting at good news for Sevco.
============================================
5088 or Scotland?.
torrejohnbhoy says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 09:53
Tic 6709 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 09:34
Thomson hinting at good news for Sevco.
============================================
5088 or Scotland?.
==================
Don’t know johnbhoy,just looking at his tweets,to that paragon of virtue Chris Graham.
bah! beat me to it…
which Thomson and which Sevco?
drat and double drat!!!
anyway, how was this hint phrased please?
14h
take time but I hope we can place impotant new informatin in the publici domain late this/early next week
Expand
Chris Graham Chris Graham @ChrisGraham76 14h
@alextomo I suspect you meant important but you were closer with “impotant”.
Expand
alex thomson alex thomson @alextomo 14h
@ChrisGraham76 oops _ I do apologise Chris.But you will want this story told.
Expand
Art Vandelay ★★★★★ Art Vandelay ★★★★★ @art_vandelayRFC 3h
@alextomo @ChrisGraham76 Want a story trying to bring down our club? Why would we want that, imbecile?
Expand
alex thomson alex thomson @alextomo 1h
@art_vandelayRFC who said anything about bringing down your club?
Hide conversation Reply
Retweet
Favorite
More
12:17 AM – 8 May 13 · Details
54 and 1/3 54 and 1/3 @lrussell2 1h
@alextomo @art_vandelayrfc what you actually have something positive ? Not holding my breath
Expand
Art Vandelay ★★★★★ Art Vandelay ★★★★★ @art_vandelayRFC 1h
@lrussell2 @alextomo Of course he doesn’t, why else would ill phil be promoting Alex latest “Scoop”?.
Expand Reply
Retweet
Favorite
More
Art Vandelay ★★★★★ Art Vandelay ★★★★★ @art_vandelayRFC 1h
@alextomo Alex, you were DM’n Celtic fans, hinting about jelly n ice cream ffs.
Expand Reply
Retweet
Favorite
More
alex thomson alex thomson @alextomo 1h
@art_vandelayRFC untrue of course Art. You’ve no reason to panic mate.
Expand
Art Vandelay ★★★★★ Art Vandelay ★★★★★ @art_vandelayRFC 1h
@alextomo I’ll wait and see, Alex, I’ll wait and see. Why else would mad Phil etc be getting moist at the thought?
Tic 6709 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 09:34
Thomson hinting at good news for Sevco.
=========================================
Are you referring to a tweet he made to one of their fans saying there is no reason to panic? I don’t necessarily see that as being good news. The SFA have made it clear there will be a Rangers in Scottish football come what may, and they will not object to any re-incarnation claiming to be the same club. So in that sense there is no need to panic.
If not having an endless credit line from a Scottish owned bank, and being unable to use elaborate tax avoidance schemes to pay players is what the guy is worrying about, then maybe there is a need to panic. However, going back to my first point it is clear they can use these facilities if available, liquidate when it all gets too much, then the SFA will just hold out their arms and offer them a big cuddle again.
So my final conclusion is there is no need for any of their fans to panic.
OT:
In many ways, I’d love to see McCoist get the Man Yoo job. A quick and expensive decline would soon follow. There’s no branch of Greggs near Old Trafford, IIRC, but Macari’s chippy is close at hand.
We should fashion a special ‘Order of the Succulent Lamb’ award for the first brown nosing journo from the SMSM to link him to the vacancy, in a non-sarcastic manner.
https://twitter.com/alextomo/status/332039617245237248
Link to Thompsons tweets.
Goodbye Sir Alex, an absolute legend on both sides of the border.
03/05/1980 was a fantastic day for Scottish football. It desperately needs another day like it.
Darryl H @Jemmo1 12m
First Thatcher dies, then Ferguson retires.
Somewhere there is a Scouser with a lamp and one wish left.
Retweeted by Paul McKenna
Murray & Cardigan on the brink? Mmmm…
If they didn’t realise it was about money (cf Scapaflow’s earlier post) they most certainly do now.
Two schools of thought here.
1. Murray must have thought he had the votes to win otherwise why call a NC vote
2. He knew he would lose and will now make life difficult for spivs re ST money by “Gers men” walking away, crying foul.
One big problem for Murray & co…
Spivs roll out somebody – Traynor? Ally? Mather? to talk about nobody bigger than club, they walked away we did not, no alternative if you want a Rangers, building for future, WATP etc so renew now.
Celtic have made it difficult for there to be an increase at TRFC but that can easily be spun as still great value.
What do the bears do? If they want to watch football & I think they’ve proved they will pay to watch some pretty awful stuff I firmly believe they will cough up, again.
Ultimately, I dont think it matters one jot what Whyte threatens – he just just wants paid. So that’s do-able when ST money rolls in.
After ST cash is in, if you want to keep going its time to slash and burn costs. If not then there are 3 options.
1. MVL and a carve up of asset value.
2. Administration & do a runner with ST money in form of salary, bonus, expenses, consultancy payments etc.
3. Sell shares cheaply and walk off with a decent cash pile, handing somebody else the problem.
I dont believe the power of the Cardigan is as great as many believe & that’s why TRFC are in deep doo doo.
+++++++STOP PRESS+++++++
Charles Green releases statement blaming FA’s unwillingness to allow Rangers’ direct entry into Premier League for Sir Alex’ retirement.
According to Mr Green, “Even this ’76 Chateau Rothschild that ah’m suppin’ ‘ere by ma pool in France tastes right bitter at thought of the ‘uge sadness on face of Sir Alex who could not carry on without Rangers – and I am Rangers – in EPL. I have a personal email from the great man begging me to bring Rangers down south; I can show it you, after this interview, and then you’ll all have to apologize.” Mr Green, who is recovering in France from a severe case of Rangersitis, is being treated with hourly bank statements. However, doctors say that his healthy interest alone will aid a full recovery.
🙂
The plot thickens:
” Herald Sport understands Murray also wants to oust Brian Stockbridge, the finance director who joined the club at the same time as Green and Ahmad.”
From Richard Wilson in the Herald, all the versions of events cannot be correct, a faction(s) seem to be putting out a lot of disinformation, pity the poor customers whose heads must be spinning!
“Murray to be shown door as Rangers seek progress
Richard Wilson
Sports writer.
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Rangers remain in a state of flux.
‘The club needs to put an infrastructure in place to give Ally a chance,’ says Alex Rae.
The directors are attempting to move the club forward, which includes a proper evaluation process of candidates for the position of chief executive, but it is an institution that remains between regimes. Charles Green, for instance, is still a director of Rangers International Football Club and is entitled to participate in board meetings, which he has done by conference call, but there is uneasiness among the rest of the directors that he can still exert an influence even though he will leave the club in three weeks.
A board meeting was held yesterday without Green’s involvement and the rest of the directors are all of the same opinion that Malcolm Murray should step aside as chairman to allow the club to try to make progress.
Murray wanted to oust Green and Imran Ahmad, the commercial director, because he felt they were wrong for their positions, and that has now been achieved. He pushed for an independent examination into Craig Whyte’s claims that he was involved with Green and Ahmad’s Sevco 5088 company, which was in line to purchase Rangers Football Club plc in the event of a successful Company Voluntary Arrangement last summer. When RFCplc was liquidated, the business and assets of the club were bought by Sevco Scotland. However, Herald Sport understands Murray also wants to oust Brian Stockbridge, the finance director who joined the club at the same time as Green and Ahmad.
Stockbridge himself has always stressed his independence from Green and Ahmad. The independent examination is expected to end within two weeks, at which point Murray is likely to be formally asked to step down.
There is no longer an entrenched split on the board and Stockbridge has, on occasion, sided with Walter Smith and Ian Hart who, along with Murray, are considered by supporters as Rangers men on the board.
“I said from day one that I wasn’t happy with Charles Green,” said Alex Rae, the former Rangers midfielder. “I thought some of his stuff was unbecoming of someone in that position. Rangers is a club with class, the hierarchy have a responsibility. I don’t think he sold the club properly. He was always looking for little soundbites but nothing was being put in place. Hopefully everything will come out in the wash but now we just need the club to make steps forward. The revelations that have come out lately have been hard to take for the fans.”
Green’s relationship with Ally McCoist was strained, and the former planned to sack McCoist’s two assistants, Kenny McDowall and Ian Durrant. The distrust reached back to the end of the transfer window last summer, when McCoist believed that he would be signing several additional players, only for Green to deliver David Templeton and say that business was done. Since then, Rangers have lost Neil Murray, the chief scout, Pip Yeates, the chief physio, and Tommy Wilson, the reserve team coach.
“Ally put a list of players he wanted in, but what happened was Carlos Bocanegra went and we brought in David Templeton on half the money,” said Rae. “He sold him short. The club needs to put an infrastructure in place to give Ally a chance. Things like a proper scouting network.”
Rangers can still rely upon the commitment of their fans and will need them to buy season tickets in similar numbers to last summer, when 38,000 funded the first stage of Rangers’ rebuilding programme.
“If you don’t run the club properly then you will be in trouble,” said Henning Berg, who worked briefly under difficult owners at Blackburn Rovers. “Rangers is such a big club, with big history and fan base, that they will come back. It’s just a question of time until they’re back in the top league, competing to win it and to get back into Europe again. But you have to make sure that you run the club the right way It’s not easy, it takes a lot of patience.” “
Was having my morning coffee, and though I’d get my fix of pure comedy gold that is the man with the wee white bricks. True to form he does not disappoint, a complete 180 on the situation, without drawing breath or acknowledging that he has reversed his position yet again. Priceless.
A quick peruse of FF, showed that unusually his blog was not featured as a sticky by good ole boy and Nixon aficionado Grand Master Suck, have the weans fallen out again?
Scapaflow14
Where can I see the White bricks piece? Feel like a laugh this morning 🙂
Brenda
Seeing as its you
http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.co.uk/
Gavin Rae speaking to The Herald
” Rangers is a club with class, ”
Too right, Gavin, and their class shines through in their years of theft of tens of millions of pounds of punters money.
Yep, thieving and cheating – a class act.
Criminal class.
ecobhoy says:
Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at 23:36
Is Green just out to just destroy Rangers because his ego is bruised?
=======================================================
I don’t much care as long as he’s successful
Restructuring etc.
Speaking after yesterdays meeting of the SPL Chairmen,
Neil Doncaster, SPL CEO, said –
” Play-offs certainly give you more to sell –
more broadcast rights
more sponsorship
and of course more people coming through the gates. ”
In this single sentence, ND is defining himself and what his priorities are –
First – TV money
Last – Fans at games, ” of course “.
Still chasing the dream of copying the EPL with it’s Sky billions.
Wake up, Neil, you’ve left England.
Or have you ?
Had a few people suggesting that the new league set up should name its League Cup The Sir Alex Ferguson Cup. Not a bad idea, when you think about it. I will now go and dig out my Kevlar body armour 😉
Brenda,Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 10:54
try this link: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=leggoland
scapaflow14 says:
Had a few people suggesting that the new league set up should name its League Cup The Sir Alex Ferguson Cup. Not a bad idea, when you think about it. I will now go and dig out my Kevlar body armour
__________________________________________________________________
The trophy he seemed to be absolutely jinxed in as manager?
He only won it once, in his last season at Aberdeen.
Is it just me or is that link to Leggo Land not just literally, but physically painful to read.
Jaysus wept!
No wonder the Bears could endure some of the fitba they’ve suffered this season!
We never seemed to get to the final and the one time we did (1980) the ball stuck on the mud on the line against United, in a game we should have won, and then we lost the replay 🙁
Still, if Fergie had dominated this trophy as well Old Rangers would never have won anything in the first half of the 80s
zerotolerance1903 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 11:44
Well at least he’d finally have his name on it……
mrlucapacioli says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 09:01
A very succinct summary my eminent friar and one that I am able to comprehend.
Thank you scapaflow14 and blu 🙂 🙂
What’s the story with “Ticketus” again, and could the delay on sale of ST’s be related?
Gavin Rae speaking to The Herald
” Rangers is a club with class, ”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Says more about Gavin Rae than anything else!
Today’s Metro has a photo of Neil Doncaster and Ralph Topping outside Hampden yesterday after the meeting.
Ralph clearly didn’t take the occasion all that seriously as he looks as if he has dressed himself from a charity shop.
While Neil Doncaster, standing beside him, has both hands behind his back, presumably clasping his hidden agenda and, as usual, is grinning all over his face thinking about it !
http://nfs.stvfiles.com/imagebase/185/410×230/185615-spl-chairman-ralph-topping.jpg
(Can’t trace the original – overtaken perhaps by the SAF story)
scapaflow14 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 10:56
2 0 Rate This
Brenda
Seeing as its you
http://davidleggat-leggoland.blogspot.co.uk/
Planet Football indeed……. and another loon on one of its many moons.
myohmy1 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 06:51
There is one missing from the list
Feckwit: noun – vernacular – Senior Employee or Board Member of The SFA, SPL or SFL
“The baby pooped its nappy.”
Laughed out loud, thanks.
For the glossary….Ally is also sometimes called FPLG (Fat Paul le Guen) i.e. a dietary challenged version of a poor RFC* manager.
Thanks for that one nawlite – coffee just spilled all over the shirt and tie!
Sky News on Davie Moyes: “He has very little experience on the European stage. But then again, neither did Sir Alex”
WTF?
That’ll be apart from the two European trophies he won before joining Man Utd!
Senior says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 12:06
It says more about Alex Rae if you ask me. Or about the woeful content on the blog today.
Spot on Zero tolerance. Every so often the English media is just as blinkered as ours.
AFC were knocked out on away goals in the quarter finals of the European cup in 85 when his team was arguably at its peak too.
Back in era when Scottish fitba was “cleansed”!
zerotolerance1903 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 12:49
Unbelievable ignorance. Maybe they mean English European experience lolz
There are Spivs everywhere
even in the MSM
e.g.
Investors Chronicle 13 Dec 2012
IC VIEW:
There are some reasons to think this football IPO might buck the trend of awful performance by football investments. For one thing, the assets – which include Ibrox (the club’s stadium), the Murray Park training facility, the players and the brand – add up to around £100m. Moreover, by next May – when totting up the money from pre-IPO fundraising, the Aim listing and expected season ticket sales – RIFC could be sitting on a net cash pile of £50m. The IPO, however, gives RIFC a market cap of £50m. One to watch.
rougvielovesthejungle says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 12:54
Spot on Zero tolerance. Every so often the English media is just as blinkered as ours.
AFC were knocked out on away goals in the quarter finals of the European cup in 85 when his team was arguably at its peak too.
Back in era when Scottish fitba was “cleansed”!
__________________________________________________________
I remember all too well sitting in the Paddock as Johnny Ekstrom’s last minute 25-yarder sneaked in off Bryan Gunn’s left hand post 🙁
I honestly think we would have taken Barca in the semis given their porr record against Scottish teams 😉
rougvielovesthejungle says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 12:54
What you’ve got to remember is that if it didn’t happen in England, then it didn’t happen.
I live down south, and remember Paul Sturrock being sacked as Southampton manager. The press was full of stories about how it was because the players didn’t respect him, because he wasn’t a big name and had done nothing in the game.
Really? A guy with a UEFA cup runners up medal, and who had played in a European cup semi-final (and was cheated out of an appearance in the final), not to mention a league winners medal had done nothing in the game? I make it that he had done more than the entire Southampton squad put together, but since all of that took place outside of England, how were the press expected to know about it, eh? That would have involved some of yer actual research (or at least, a look on wikipedia)….
Should perhaps point out that I’m a little biased. I was a childhood Dundee United fan – Cumbernauld had no team at that point – and Paul Sturrock was a hero of mine (alongside David Narey). I think it was the fact that he always looked as if he’d just fallen out of bed onto the football pitch that endeared him to me – his socks were all over the place, his shirt always looked about 2 sizes too big for him, and his haircut was the absolute worst attempt at a mod haircut in existence. Of such things are cult figures made!
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity
I’m no fan of United but my old man got us tickets for the shed for the Roma match in1984.
United were outstanding that night, and it was sickening to find out they were cheated out of a place in the final by a bribed referee (just as Aberdeen were that same season by Porto in the ECWC).
They truly were great years for Scottish football.
(Sir) David Murray has a lot to answer for!
Scots managers have done fine in europe.
Nationality EC-CL ECWC UEFA-EL Total
Italy 9 5 9 23
Spain 9 3 6 18
England 7 6 4 17
Germany/ 6 4 5 15
Netherlands 5 4 6 15
Scotland 4 4 1 9
(Super cups etc not included)
Even taking out Sir Alex’s 4 trophies we still only drop to eight with Argentinian and Portugeuse managers winning 6 trophies each.
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity
My favourite story of an arrogant “English” mentality actually occurred in Australia.
A coaching school was taking place with a number of celebrity retired coaches including George Best, Denis Law, Stanley Matthews, Rodney Marsh etc.
A lot of the teenagers there were from British stock, and as the sessions went on in the morning, it became clear that one group were becoming unruly and were simply causing their coach hassle.
The coach was a portly foreign gentleman whose command of English was not the best and so he had difficulty controlling the class. Things were getting out of hand to the extent that George Best broke away from his class and came over to this group and interrupted the coaching session.He gathered the boys concerned and asked what their problem was and pointed out that they were being disrespectful to their coach.
One lad piped up playing to the gallery saying ” It is ok for the others, they get coaches like you, Rodney Marsh, Stanley Matthews etc– all we get is some fat foreign guy!”.
Best, recognising the boys accent as English asked him where he came from. The boy gave him an answer like Brighton or somewhere and George extracted from him that the boy’s father was a great football fan and was a big fan of Stanley Matthews etc.
“Well” said George ” how often do you think your coach here can hit the ball off the bar from the 20 yard line?”
” He can hardly see the ball for his belly!” the boy replied bringing more laughter from the group.
Best then apparently lined up ten footballs on the 20 yard line and invited the rotund coach to strike them. One after the other the balls hit the crossbar– with the tenth one being flicked up, and volleyed on to the cross bar.
The Group were suitably impressed including the lippy boy.
Alas for him, the last words he heard George Best saying to him was:
“Right son– when you go home to Your Dad, tell him the reason you are home early is because you were kicked out of Mr Puskas’ class!”
Had a quick shoofty of the papyrus’ this morning and seen a heading of “Walter on the verge”, you can imagine my deflation when I realised this was nothing to do with GSR on an old cardigan recovered in the Dallas area some years ago, but more to do with the character assassination of some bickering brogue wearers. I am now proud of my ” Terry tassel ” preference back in the day, segs and all.
AT has given me a notion for jelly, now that he say’s I can’t have any. Hope his Sevco good news is about orange strips, Ally getting a rolling 10 yearer or of the application acceptance from the crossborder Beldian ladies league. I’m content with the mess they are in, and due to the unrelenting thrust of WRTPness I don’t think they are due much in the way of good news yet.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 13:56
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity
My favourite story of an arrogant “English” mentality actually occurred in Australia.
A coaching school was taking place with a number of celebrity retired coaches including George Best, Denis Law, Stanley Matthews, Rodney Marsh etc.
A lot of the teenagers there were from British stock, and as the sessions went on in the morning, it became clear that one group were becoming unruly and were simply causing their coach hassle.
The coach was a portly foreign gentleman whose command of English was not the best and so he had difficulty controlling the class. Things were getting out of hand to the extent that George Best broke away from his class and came over to this group and interrupted the coaching session.He gathered the boys concerned and asked what their problem was and pointed out that they were being disrespectful to their coach.
One lad piped up playing to the gallery saying ” It is ok for the others, they get coaches like you, Rodney Marsh, Stanley Matthews etc– all we get is some fat foreign guy!”.
Best, recognising the boys accent as English asked him where he came from. The boy gave him an answer like Brighton or somewhere and George extracted from him that the boy’s father was a great football fan and was a big fan of Stanley Matthews etc.
“Well” said George ” how often do you think your coach here can hit the ball off the bar from the 20 yard line?”
” He can hardly see the ball for his belly!” the boy replied bringing more laughter from the group.
Best then apparently lined up ten footballs on the 20 yard line and invited the rotund coach to strike them. One after the other the balls hit the crossbar– with the tenth one being flicked up, and volleyed on to the cross bar.
The Group were suitably impressed including the lippy boy.
Alas for him, the last words he heard George Best saying to him was:
“Right son– when you go home to Your Dad, tell him the reason you are home early is because you were kicked out of Mr Puskas’ class!”
=========================================
Is there still time to enter the “Crossbar Challenge”?.
The ignorance of the English sports media washes over me now. (they are almost as ignorant as our lot) Just last week I heard 3 worthies from 5 live discussing Jose’s possible return to the ELP, and they concluded that having tried Italy and Spain, Germany would hold no attraction as the special one wanted to pit himself against the ‘best’…the Chelsea’s, Man U’s and Man City’s of this world…..not 48 hours after the CL semis…….staggering delusional ignorance!
Interesting slant from P McC:
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/rangers-declare-on-official-website-that-the-company-the-club/
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 13:34
… Paul Sturrock was a hero of mine (alongside David Narey).
——
Your description of Sturrock was spot on! He always looked a right wee tink. However, I’m not sure why you didn’t mention Hamish. It’s been discussed at length here (or RTC?) before, when Hamish had that health scare – but he was a favourite of the Beach End every time United played up here.
Aside from the entertainment value of Aberdeen – United games in those days, you’d spend half the time laughing at whatever clownery Hamish was getting up to. I remember him scampering up to the halfway line, dribbling past players (sometimes even his own) leaving his goal completely unprotected, and theatrically flicking the Vs behind his back to the Beach End whilst dancing along the goal-line.
Good to hear that he’s well again now.
Re Sir Alex;lunchtime programmes all waxing lyrical on the man u trophy hall.Now I’m no Aberdeen fan,but I would honestly say SAF’s achievements in his 8 or 9 years at the Dons to be more impressive.
He left at the end of a halcyon period for scottish football.Souness arrived….well you know the rest
Irresistible
From PMcC’s site
Monti
May 8, 2013 at 1:07 pm
W.A.T.P. We avoid tax payments.
To be added to recent list, shurely.
rougvielovesthejungle says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 13:46
29 0 Rate This
areyouaccusingmeofmendacity
I’m no fan of United but my old man got us tickets for the shed for the Roma match in1984.
United were outstanding that night, and it was sickening to find out they were cheated out of a place in the final by a bribed referee (just as Aberdeen were that same season by Porto in the ECWC).
They truly were great years for Scottish football.
(Sir) David Murray has a lot to answer for!
=======================================
I recall getting out of bed off a nightshift to watch the Roma v Dundee Utd return leg. Both my father and I said at the time something just wasn’t right and so it proved to be. I don’t know if Utd would have beaten the great Liverpool team of that era in the final, but what an achievement it would have been to get there.
I also remember going in to start a nightshift the night Aberdeen had won the ECWC. I remarked to a Rangers fan how well I thought Aberdeen had played. His reply was ‘the Spaniards were f*ckin shite’.
Those were damned good days for our game and I say that as a Celtic fan. David Murray does indeed have much to answer for, as does Graham Souness.
You will be biting your knuckles at some of this: but a least someones thinking some modicum of sense.
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/255-core-values-are-long-overdue
torrejohnbhoy says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 14:55
Interesting slant from P McC:
——
A mischievous effort by Mr McC, I think. As has been pointed out on many occasions, that only means that when “the Club” is used in the current document, you should read it as if it means “TRFC Ltd”.
PMcC is right enough, though, that it simply adds to the confusion – you’d think anyone drafting documents for Rangers would be advised at length about keeping Club and Company separate. After all, everyone else knows that the club and company are the same thing … you’d think they’d try to avoid giving the “haters” any more ammunition.
ianagain says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 15:28
You will be biting your knuckles at some of this: but a least someones thinking some modicum of sense.
——
Truly there are so many easy targets in that piece that it’s really not fair to point them out. ** 🙂
The “renewed” constitution that the chap outlines is self-evidently a good one.
However, it will never work until Rangers are finally allowed to die. Only by starting from scratch and leaving ALL the baggage – including those gentlemen currently steeped in “the Rangers Way” – behind will they be able to implement such a thing.
** Och, canna resist …
—
“For instance, most of us accept that, ‘the Rangers Way’ means that the behaviour of a Rangers fan should always be exemplary; that we should not stoop to the underhand tactics of our detractors; that we should always act with respect, dignity and pride; that we should uphold the rich history and traditions of our club and, above all, that we should never act in any way likely to bring the club into disrepute. I believe they are the core values that most Rangers fans would identify with; although I suspect that every official and every fan would have their own interpretation of ‘the Rangers Way’, and could make many additions to the short list above.”
—
Can any fans think of any alternative definitions of “the Rangers Way”, or possible additions or alterations to the short list above?
ianagain says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 15:28
0 0 Rate This
You will be biting your knuckles at some of this: but a least someones thinking some modicum of sense.
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/255-core-values-are-long-overdue
“For instance, most of us accept that, ‘the Rangers Way’ means that the behaviour of a Rangers fan should always be exemplary; that we should not stoop to the underhand tactics of our detractors; that we should always act with respect, dignity and pride; that we should uphold the rich history and traditions of our club and, above all, that we should never act in any way likely to bring the club into disrepute.”
I wonder if this Calvin guy was in Manchester a few years back, to see the “Rangers Way” in practical application. I was working in central Manchester that day, and saw some of it, just enough to make me feel ashamed of my nationality for the first time in my life. Dignity and pride? I’ve seen more dignity and pride in the monkey house at the zoo. These “peepil” are just a bunch of rank hypocrites. That’s the start and finish of it.
I think this, from the Rangers Standard “Core Values Are Long Overdue” piece is what’s known as an oxymoron:
“……….the Club has been guided by these unwritten principles SINCE ITS BIRTH IN 1872…….”
“…..We must start with the basics and demand that our Board and senior management team BE HONEST, TRUSTWORTHY AND OPEN”
ianagain says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 15:28
You will be biting your knuckles at some of this: but a least someones thinking some modicum of sense.
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/255-core-values-are-long-overdue
==============
Could only bring myself to quickly scan the screen, but this entry intrigues me;
“- Respect confidential information of clients, former clients and potential clients”
Could this mean;
– don’t talk about the EBT’s
– don’t ask for inquiry names, [when we already know them]
– don’t investigate any prospective billionaires who may want to buy TRFC
– don’t investigate any dealings of previous Ibrox regimes, [unless you are a billionaire from
Motherwell of course ]
– etc…
angus1983 says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 15:52
0 0 Rate This
ianagain says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 15:28
You will be biting your knuckles at some of this: but a least someones thinking some modicum of sense.
——
Truly there are so many easy targets in that piece that it’s really not fair to point them out. **
The “renewed” constitution that the chap outlines is self-evidently a good one.
However, it will never work until Rangers are finally allowed to die. Only by starting from scratch and leaving ALL the baggage – including those gentlemen currently steeped in “the Rangers Way” – behind will they be able to implement such a thing.
** Och, canna resist …
—
“For instance, most of us accept that, ‘the Rangers Way’ means that the behaviour of a Rangers fan should always be exemplary; that we should not stoop to the underhand tactics of our detractors; that we should always act with respect, dignity and pride; that we should uphold the rich history and traditions of our club and, above all, that we should never act in any way likely to bring the club into disrepute. I believe they are the core values that most Rangers fans would identify with; although I suspect that every official and every fan would have their own interpretation of ‘the Rangers Way’, and could make many additions to the short list above.”
—
Can any fans think of any alternative definitions of “the Rangers Way”, or possible additions or alterations to the short list above?
================================================
we {the peepil] ignore the truth, even though the club/company lawyers say rangers died in august 2012, but lord nimmo smith said rangers died in july 2012, and mr gym trainer, richard gough et al, all say that rangers are dead.
we shall also ignore any “guilty” verdicts and portray the guilty verdicts as not guilty.
[for example paying 5 players through unlawful EBT payments, and the guilty verdict of using ‘dual contracts’ to pay playing staff, which breaks the rules of the game]
we shall view any consequence of our own actions, as a “punishment”.
[for example having to transfer the spl share and give up the sfa membership, but ignore the fact that the sfl/spl/sfa were very generous to allow sevco to change their name to The rangers fc and also allow sevco/trfc to statrt again in sfl-division3, but we will claim that this is a “demotion”]
[we will ‘respectfully’ claim, that the players whose contracts were annulled due to liquidation, and had to find a new employer they could trust to pay their wages in full…walked away from rangers, when in fact, they walked away from sevco]
we shall claim that it is the innocent fans who are being punished as a result of our own actions or inactions [e.g, ignoring warnings about spivs]
we will not ask any awkward questions about, rangers’ history being bought and sold on a whim.
charles green bought rangers history for £1 – what will happen to the history charles owns, when charles sells his shares. does the history remain in charles possession?
Club = Company? Course it does!! It did last time until the company died too.
Classic bit of spivery and one we should have expected.
“Gies yer money or yer CLUB will die!!!”
StevieBC says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 16:24
“- Respect confidential information of clients, former clients and potential clients”
If you want to put money into the “club”, we wont ask where it came from.
Extracted from latest Vanguard Bears article, [won’t post link].
================================================
To balance the previous RS article.
“…Our enemies believe they are at war and to them, we TRFC [sic] are an enemy who must be destroyed. The break up of the United Kingdom could hinge on our survival as an institution within this country. The stakes have never been higher.
It’s high time some of our supporters realised that!”
==========================================
So, TRFC is not only needed to save Scottish football, but the club is also required to save the UK generally !
…and I just thought they played crap football in SFL3 ? 🙄
StevieBC says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 17:23
“…Our enemies believe they are at war and to them, we TRFC [sic] are an enemy who must be destroyed. The break up of the United Kingdom could hinge on our survival as an institution within this country. The stakes have never been higher.
It’s high time some of our supporters realised that!”
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
TRFC = The Rangers Football Cult !!
Interesting that anything emanating from the Sevco PR people will almost always refer to their club as the “Club” – the capitalisation making the word a proper noun.
By using it as a proper noun, the “Club” can legitimately mean whatever they describes it to be.
The SPL’s LNS commission used exactly the same trick to create the sacred Rangers Oldco, Newco and “Club” trinity.
Oldco Newco
Oldco the “Club”
Newco the “Club”
Oldco = Rangers FC
Newco = Rangers FC
Rangers FC = the “Club”
To the believers, there can be many clubs; but, there can only be one Club. It is simply a matter of faith.
HirsutePursuit says:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 17:45
0 0 Rate This
reposting due to certain characters being removed.
Interesting that anything emanating from the Sevco PR people will almost always refer to their club as the “Club” – the capitalisation making the word a proper noun.
By using it as a proper noun, the “Club” can legitimately mean whatever they describes it to be.
The SPL’s LNS commission used exactly the same trick to create the sacred Rangers Oldco, Newco and “Club” trinity.
Oldco does not equal Newco
Oldco does not equal the “Club”
Newco does not equal the “Club”
Oldco = Rangers FC
Newco = Rangers FC
Rangers FC = the “Club”
To the believers, there can be many clubs; but, there can only be one Club. It is simply a matter of faith.
Reports from Lithuania that Vlad has had a stroke. Seems to have already been released from Hospital, so clearly not serious (perhaps a TIA).
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/hearts/224557-hearts-vladimir-romanov-stroke-reports-in-lithuania-say/
However, I would expect that Vlad’s health may be used as a delaying tactic in any progress towards the liquidation of Ukio Bankas. I’m not sure that a delay in in Hearts best interests though, as I’d expect that they will have to start servicing the major part of the debt debt rather than just accumulating interest.