As we all know, this site emerged from the ashes of RTC. The wish of the original administrator of the site, one which I wholeheartedly share, was to keep together the wonderful community RTC had built, in terms of both personnel and spirit. There are still many individuals around who were also part of RTC, and regrettably many who are no longer with us. The RTC spirit however, that of a cross-party football site where issues can be discussed in a respectful and insightful manner remains. The “wisdom of the crowd” phenomenon is also with us to perhaps an even greater extent than before, and consequently SFM’s credentials as a formidable alternative to the print media have grown.
In recent times, many contributors have expressed frustration that we are pretty much a talking shop and little else; characterised as “a lot of gum bashing and no teeth”. I think that is fair comment up to a point, but then again our aim – up to now – has been to simply present an alternative view – a view that has increasingly become the fan view as opposed to the industry view (the industry being made up of club officials, players, and press).
In fact the way I see it personally, SFM has evolved to a point where it has become the watchdog (monitor if you will) of an industry which is subject to very little oversight. The Rangers situation will eventually be done with (no laughing at the back please), and like everything else will be consigned to history (albeit more than one). The same self-interest and lack of regard for sporting integrity though will still remain, and the need for oversight will remain also.
Having arrived at those conclusions, we have two alternatives; the first is to remain as we are (which is not a bad place to be), and the second is that SFM has to expand its role.
In recent weeks, the mods have met to discuss this, and we think that we ought to give the latter option a try. As to how we want to achieve that, and we have come up with a skeleton plan as follows;
1. We need to move into the area of gathering news content as well as commenting on what appears elsewhere;
2. We should act as a cross-club portal to get good fan site content from all clubs to a wider audience;
3. We need to highlight the positives in the game as well as the negatives;
4. We should become an actively campaigning body, aligning with fan groups to lobby for the changes we think important.
In order to achieve these objectives, more time will need to be spent on communication like podcasts, adding news content, expanding membership and building links with other fan groups. Time will also need to be spent setting up features, attending press conferences etc. Later in the year, one of the mods will have much more time on his hands to help achieve this.
Podcasts, premium content, labour, organisation and all of the above costs money, and ultimately a subscription based model backed by sponsorship seems to be our best way of achieving that. In order to give us a head start, we will in the next few months be putting together a business-plan and a pitch for Crowd Funding investment.
This is not to say that our existing model has been a failure. We have successfully managed to keep ourselves afloat through the ad-hoc generosity of people in our community, although the inability to keep the podcasts going has been a bit frustrating. Finding income streams which are more solid will allow us to respond to events more quickly (for example mounting an ad campaign to respond to some event or other, or buying new equipment), and hopefully achieve all of our objectives – and build a bigger audience base for our message.
Of course a move of this nature will require that, in the interests of transparency, anonymity of SFM will have to be set aside. That will not affect any of our contributors, and our practice of using (sometimes) imaginative names on the blog will remain. However, for crowd funding to be successful, we will require to have a board in place, and there is no hiding place from Companies House. The make up of the board is also crucial, and in addition to consideration of blog members for that role, we will be looking to have respected people from without.
I imagine there may be a consequent subtle effect on moderation policy to take into account.
The reason I have made this post is to keep the community up to speed with events. Although we have decided to move forward to see if we can get support for our business plan, that plan is by no means finished. As I said earlier, the “wisdom of crowds” has made our community unique and given it its credibility. There’s a lot more wisdom out there we hope to tap into before we go ahead with our initiative.
We already had someone in mind for chairman of the new board, but events have conspired tragically to rob us of that – and had the effect of postponing this announcement. However we would like to hear suggestions for suitable outside candidates for board and committee places.
We also want to hear from you if you have a suggestion to be added to our wish list of SFM function above – or even if you think it is a mistake to embark on this course.
This is a very big move for SFM, so we don’t want to rush into anything. We need to listen to what you folks have to say, because if the merging SFM is not considered a better SFM by our community there is very little point in looking to fund it.
I’m drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It’s just too funny.
On a thread discussing whether or not they should go for a “marquee” signing (don’t laugh), I came across this fantastic response.
😯
I can’t begin to imagine just how much mental gymnastics goes on to be at that level on the denial scale.
James Forrest says:
Member: (96 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 4:49 pm
________________________________________
Thanks James, plain words, brilliant explanations.
Well
If DCK has lots of cash and has promised to overinvest in TRFC
How can he refuse to ring fence £5m if asked to do so by a Judge?
I mean
The usual defence against ring fencing is the possibility of being forced into Admin by a cash shortfall
And DCK has promised lots of cash for TRFC
Or has he just promised lots of other people`s cash?
Starting with £5m from Mike Ashley?
bdo report due within 6 weeks of each 6 months of liquidation date 31/10, i make that today
not a peep
bit odd?
James Forrest – your link is not working now. Hope it’s no an attack.
the taxman cometh says: June 10, 2015 at 5:56 pm
bdo report due within 6 weeks of each 6 months of liquidation date 31/10, i make that today
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I make it tomorrow.
I’ve just finished watching STV news and Sport and I can’t believe they totally ignored the statement by BMA and MASH. Their only Rangers story was that King interviewed McCall for the manager’s post. What happened to the other 4? No mention of them. It seems no matter what happens the SMSM will ignore bad news from Ibrox.
Ballyargus says:
June 10, 2015 at 6:55 pm
If that’s the Level 5 press release for the day then probably a good chance McCall will be the cheap and cheerful option to get the gig.
StevieBC says:
Member: (715 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 5:20 pm
So how long before there are hordes of angry bears outside Ibrox, demanding King to leave their club and/or chanting ‘Sack The Board’ ?
You know it’s coming…it’s just when ? 🙄
=============================================
I think the answer to your question is Friday, after (possibly before, perhaps during) the Extraordinary Gazebo Meeting. (Thanks to whoever came up with that, BTW!)
I think that many of the Ashley observers, here and elsewhere, have perhaps misjudged him a bit. Everyone seems to have assumed that, in business, Ashley only cares about the money, and never lets things get personal. I get the feeling things are getting rather personal for him where Mr King is concerned. Today he made sure that even the comics that pass themselves off as newspapers had to print the truth about King’s criminal past and his convictions, not settlement, in a South African court.
Whether or not Ashley can demand repayment of the loans (as there’s still, maybe, some doubt), he is making things much more unpleasant for King than he would do by merely demanding repayment! Further, if he did demand repayment, and King somehow came up with the money, King would be able to spin it, to the bears at least, whatever way he wanted, even make it look like it was his own decision and money (oh what a REAL Rangers man he’d then be), now that they are no longer a public company.
Staggeringly obtuse and delusional.
Such wrongheadedness might have been understandable in more usual circumstances, but there is no excuse nor hiding place left, now.
Whatever the terms, without that facility, insolvency was inevitable.
Llambias’ cost cutting was the only hope they had of staying in existence.
Mash was doing them a favour because it would be a shame to lose his retail contracts.
There is no hope for these people.
Sadly I must conclude that – by now- they actually deserve the fate to which they are about to be consigned. They seem incapable of learning.
Pass the popcorn.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-supporters-trust-blast-back-5859827?_sm_au_=iVVqLrrlqJNZVrJs
Resin_lab_dog says:
June 10, 2015 at 7:38 pm
After reading the ludicrous & delusional RST statement, the well known phrase “biting that hand that feeds you” is now reverberating round my head. 🙄
Resin_lab_dog says:
Member: (459 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 7:38 pm
If you were Dave King, today, and felt there was a need to hit back at Mike Ashley’s statement, but didn’t want to have to touch on some of the points he made (convictions!) as you might have to do if you made a personal response, it would be quite a good idea to get your PR department to cobble something together and get a friendly entity, like the Rangers Supporters Trust, to put their name to it. Wouldn’t you agree? For that is what that statement disguised as an article in the Level5 Media Outlet reads like to me!
re the loan from SD, although it was termed both a short and long term loan in press releases, it was noted as a credit facility, so is likely to be a revolving line of credit rather than a fixed duration loan. However I would be dumbfounded if under the actual (confidential) contract T&Cs that there were not provisions on payment on demand or a fixed duration of the agreement. Also there will undoubtedly be ‘just cause’ exit conditions, of which I am guessing central to this may be the two directors on the board condition and perhaps more pertinent given the delisting/NOMAD stushy a condition on withholding relevant information.
Friday should be fun. 😈
Bayview Gold says:
Member: (13 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 7:58 pm
Resin_lab_dog says:
June 10, 2015 at 7:38 pm
After reading the ludicrous & delusional RST statement, the well known phrase “biting that hand that feeds you” is now reverberating round my head. 🙄
________________________________
If I was a TRFC supporter of influence, I think I’d be trying to get my fellow bears to lay off with the attacks on MA, for what next if he should win (or rather King lose)? I think we can see that Ashley is taking this as personal between him and King, at least. I certainly wouldn’t want him to let it get personal between him and the club, for what happens should King go, with his tail between his legs, and Mike Ashley decides to exit stage left happy to see the club go under?
wottpi says:
Member: (644 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 4:57 pm
stevo says:
June 10, 2015 at 3:04 pm
Perhaps the question should be how many of the 54 clubs above Celtic in the Uefa club rankings are located above 55 degrees North latitude and play without a major winter break?
Winter weather for football in top ranked Madrid is our summer!!!
========================
On Summer football
Interestingly Russia moved from “summer football” to an August-May calender (in 2012 IIRC) but have a December (bar 1st week) to March shutdown…presumably they can fit the fixtures in as they have a 16 team top tier (memo to ND..amazing how you can overcome obstacles if you try).
In response to Stevo wrt United’s thinking on this the report did mention their view that being “in season” during the early rounds of the Europa league would even things up with teams who played in summer and offer an as advantage against those who don’t.
I’m not sure if there is any firm evidence on this but anecdotally I recall Scottish clubs struggling against Icelandic opposition and League of Ireland clubs have I think performed better since moving to “summer football”.
Perhaps someone can confirm ❓
I also caught the section on this in reporting Scotland and noticed David Southern (of Dundee United) suggesting attractiveness to broadcasters and fans as being potential drivers for a switch.
On the latter it would be very interesting to know if this were simply opinion or whether the SPFL had discussed the matter with Sky/BT ❗
On the latter you would hope (I’m an optimistic sort) that the SPFL would already have canvassed fans on the subject and, IMO as importantly, asked the question of people who currently don’t attend or attend infrequently.
completely OT but it looks “Member: (14 comments)” that I seem to have undergone a liquidation event myself and have lost my previous proud history of posts.
Never mind.
BayviewGold Now, Then and Forever
:irony:
Want to sell 45000 tickets ?? Bare knuckle nae shirts Big Mikey v Big Liar under the gazebo.
Everytime I see the acronym ‘DCK’ I automatically read it as DiCK.
Does that make me a bad person ? 🙄
And did anyone have the foresight to splash out 70p/20p/? to buy a share in RIFC – to be able to attend the gazebo event ? I think we should be told.
Allyjambo
I’m no fan of Ashley, but, King has taken every opportunity to have a “fly kick” (Chief Gardner’s copyright acknowledged 😉 ), at Ashley.
In fact so predictable have these gratuitous swipes become, that I wondered if they had crossed paths before. A fairly cursory look turned up no obvious non-Rangers links. I am left wondering if King is deliberately goading Ashley into action, though, the why, particularly now that King is in the big chair, eludes me.
Hiding behind the Trust, will not prevent Ashley from deducing who is pulling the strings. When it comes to the guile, experience and talent required for this type of business environment, bringing an intellect of Mr King’s stature to this particular poker table, is akin to bringing one of those catapults we used to get in Lucky Bags to a fight, when the other guys are toting machine guns.
You can read about the League of Ireland’s recent history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Ireland#The_2000s
Briefly, the move to summer football coincided with some clubs turning full-time professional with corresponding improvements in performance in Europe, but financial problems eventually arose, and since 2010 their coefficient has tanked. Ireland is something of an exception in that football is far from the main spectator sport. Attendances are so low in general that no real conclusion can be drawn.
The rule of thumb across Europe – Ireland excepted – is that nobody plays March to November if they can possibly avoid it. I have no problem with a winter break, and don’t see why we can’t push the end of the season later into June (international tournaments permitting) to accommodate it.
The suggestion that the English will enthusiastically consume Scottish football during the summer smacks of moonbeams. If Sky thought this might be true, they’d be offering big money for us to make the switch, and the SPFL administrators would be sounding a good deal more enthusiastic about it. I fear it would make us look like a diddy league desperately trying to cash in.
StevieBC says:
Member: (716 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 8:36 pm
Everytime I see the acronym ‘DCK’ I automatically read it as DiCK.
Does that make me a bad person ? 🙄
___________________________________________
No you are not a bad person and you are not alone!!!!! 😀
lots if talk on Twitter about a Court case tomorrow in the Chancery Court in London between SD v RIFC anybody on here know what that is all about and why hasnt the SMSM mentioned it.. Very Curious
Anyone in London tomorrow?
HereWeGoFor5InARow @BhoyEddie2 48m48 minutes ago
“@pnot888: Very interesting at Chancery Court,London tomorrow Sports Direct v RIFC
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-chancery-judges
So it Seems that Big Mike might just be asking for his 5m Loan to be ring fenced before the EGM on Friday.. The Gloves are Off.. let the Fun Begin.. Jelly and Ice cream anyone 😀
The chancery case might be the new ‘jarndyce v jarnndyce’ The Bleak House is in place already but I guess there will be someone standing at the end.
With all eyes on Friday’s EGM a more immediate event has, erm, slipped under the radar:
Court 10 tomorrow morning, Chancery, London: Sports Direct International Plc v Rangers International Football Club.
What’s that all about then?
Pure speculation on my part but I wonder if SD know they will lose on Friday and are about to take pre-emptive action by ring-fencing £5m worth of season tickets.
If that’s the plan then they have an easy case to make before Mrs. Justice Aplin. The applicant can attest first-hand to the distress of the debtor and provide ample evidence of an unwillingness to settle.
10.30am tomorrow:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-chancery-judges
Whatever happened to Richard Gough, one of the gang when King was trying to oust all and sundry ?
Good Evening
The breaking news about a ‘big match’ between Sports Direct and RIFC in the High Court tomorrow has probably (rightly) grabbed everyone’s attention.
But I was just about to post something on Mr Regan’s comments about the FAI yesterday – wherein he said some extremely ‘ironic’ things about rules and being positive.
And as I have written it, here it is!
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/reganomics/
It’s something of a companion piece to this morning’s blog on Mr Ogilvie.
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/farewell-captain-conflicted/
Enjoy the rest of the evening!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_of_Chancery
“The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of infants”
At one time it was also “The keeper of the king’s conscience”…..So that’s where it went to. 😀
That RST statement-jings! crivvens! (I was reading the Sunday Post this morning) What are these lunatics trying to achieve? A swift liquidation?
So the RST are going to move their panzer divisions onto Uncle Mike’s lawn? Great idea, chaps, but doesn’t Uncle Mike have a big red button which operates a nuclear device planted in the Blue Room?
The only reason that button wasn’t pushed months ago was because Uncle Mike was still on an earner from shifting all that branded tat. So what’s he going to do if his Rangers stuff is boycotted? He might as well push the button, that must be a better option than be seen to be blackmailed by the likes of the RST. You give in to that sort once, and there’s no end to it.
This is where it gets to for anyone getting involved with the Ibrox omnishambles. Your cash is welcome, but we’ll spend it as we choose, then come back demanding more- or else. Oh, and you’re never getting it back- that’s how it works round here, didn’t you know?
I think back to that Bill Miller guy, and how he’s sat in his US towtruck HQ, checking the latest from Ibrox (just for old times sake) and thanking his lucky stars that he got out of Dodge before the shooting started. I hope he gave his finance guy who “looked under the bonnet” for him, a big bonus, because he saved him a fortune. Plus a load of the aggro that’s now heading Ashley’s way.
Much of what’s left of the Ibrox support seem to have degenerated into something like a bunch of spoilt three year olds who didn’t get exactly what they wanted from Santa. They’ll be holding their breaths next -let’s see if Mike cares.
stevo says:
Member: (13 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 8:46 pm
The suggestion that the English will enthusiastically consume Scottish football during the summer smacks of moonbeams.
==========
Not sure I can agree with you there Stevo.
Granted we’d not be talking billions but given the essential crappiness of the existing deal the suspicion would be it’d be no worse.
I guess you’d need to compare with whatever Sky/BT currently fill their long hot summer schedules with and I suspect there’s a whopping midweek gap..or two..or three…
As I said it’d be interesting to know if it had ever come up in “discussions”…indeed probably weird if it hadn’t.
Which is not to say there aren’t issues wrt summer football and although it’s something I’d like to see I appreciate that many others don’t.
What bothers me is that, as usual, existing fans and potential match goers will be the last to be consulted…if at all.
Hope their playing some mood music in the intro to the EGazeboM.
Twist and shout by the bois ought to go down a bomb.
nowoldandgrumpy says:
Member: (19 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 8:51 pm
Anyone in London tomorrow?
HereWeGoFor5InARow @BhoyEddie2 48m48 minutes ago
“@pnot888: Very interesting at Chancery Court,London tomorrow Sports Direct v RIFC
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/court-lists/list-chancery-judges
———–
Looks like @jamesdoleman is tweeting that he might be giving updates (when he’s not covering the endless phone hacking trial!)
Any relevance? http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-announce-boardroom-reshuffle-9429928
James your man. Rolls court just up the hill round the corner.
James still got access to the Fleet St office?
If I can dodge a meeting may make it. Otherwise AW the best.
I am opposed to the idea of summer football. Any extra money from the TV channels, if any at all, would in my view be more than offset by supporters going on their holidays and affecting attendances. If anything I would be more attracted to the idea of walking away from TV deals and having games at times which suit the fans. I am even attracted to the notion of using terrestrial TV to give us exposure at times to suit us rather than the tail continuing to wag the dog.
There is a lot to be said for a lengthy mid winter break but I accept some clubs would argue this results in additional costs.
Yellohoose says:
Member: (2 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Any relevance? http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-announce-boardroom-reshuffle-9429928
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Don’t know – but it is an interesting development that Steve McClaren has also joined the Board at NUFC.
Has a newly appointed manager ever been added to a club’s Board before ?
In the case of NUFC he will have to justify the probable, continued ‘under-investment’ in the team, [from the fans’ perspective anyway], as well as trying to deliver ‘trophies’.
Don’t think that arrangement will work out for McClaren: he will become a useful buffer between the other Board members and the fans.
Mr Ashley steps down from NUFC board.
SD v RIFC in court tomorrow.
EGM Friday.
There may be trouble ahead, but when you have moonbeams and smsm on your side. Everything is going to be alright.
Notwithstanding PMGB’s latest comments on the court action
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/see-you-in-court/#more-6434
If I was to guess at the subject (and it is a complete guess), then I think it is most likely to enforce a condition of the £5M loan.
Why? …………. It’s all in the timing. The loan agreement was entered into after the previous EGM request by King that led to the wholesale change of the Board. Ashley’s people must have been aware of the possible outcome of the EGM when arranging the loan and are likely to have put something into the agreement that repayment could be requested if there was a major change in the composition of the Board.
That being the case, SD may already have asked for repayment, without success. The current EGM motion was the next step in the repayment process. Since the EGM request was made, King has already publicly stated that the Board wouldn’t be bound by the result of the EGM vote, so SD have taken it to the next stage of seeking a court order to seek any of: 1) confirmation of the loan conditions that it is repayable on demand now, 2) to ring fence the £5M from the club’s coffers, or 3) to seek immediate repayment.
ianagain says:
Member: (552 comments)
June 9, 2015 at 11:07 pm
‘This is hilarious but French’
_________________
Ianagain, my reading French is not perfect, but I think
” Sevco » (ndlr, le nom de la compagnie qui avait racheté le club suite à la faillite)” suggests that the writer falls into the trap of thinking that a football club can be bought out of liquidation.
Is your French good enough to explain to him, nicely, that only “l’ actif” of what had been Rangers FC were purchased ( in an allegedly dodgy bit of Administrator chicanery), and were purchased by the owners of a brand new club that is no more Rangers than he is Jeanne d’Arc?
Apart from that little point, the piece shows his heart to be in the right place. 🙂
easyJambo says:
Member: (648 comments)
June 10, 2015 at 11:17 pm
________________________________________________________
Despite all the bruhaha surrounding this breaking story on his favourite club, I see that Scotland’s 3 times award winning journalist hasn’t tweeted for 9 hours!
Too busy?
All his ‘Source’ is stuck in a Level 5 crisis meeting?
Are they not picking up his phone right nbow?
or have Jim Traynor’s fat fingers sinply become jammed in Keith’s typewriter?
Can’t wait to see what obfuscating gem tomorrow’s Railly Discord will actually bring to proceedings!
But it looks like Mash has the far better PR people though. (Not least from the fact that we don’t know who they are!)
And here it is.
Oh dear.
3 lines of fact followed by 3 pages of a Traynor tirade mouthed by RST.
Predictable but disappointing KJ.
“But Rangers fans are incensed by the recent actions of the Sports Direct kingpin and have now called for a full boycott of Ashley’s business interest” … That’s where Keef has been all night. Phoning those fans up. All 45000. Individually. And canvassing their level of incensedness.
An onerous and thankless task, some might say, but one that is as naught to a tireless and committed investigative journalist like Keef when in pursuit of the Troof – however awful!
Incensed they are. Not bewildered. Fed up. cynical. war weary. Sick of being lied to. Past caring. Hurting. Let down by those who ran their club. Let down by those who run the club. Let down by those who report on events at their club.
Incensed. At a (not very nice) man who has been endlessly vilified by representatives of their clubs board and support daring to ask for the money he gave them to ensure their continued survival back from them as agreed?
OK. We’ll run with that for now shall we.
Good news on the boycotting front though : erm… Mash owns 13% of RIFC?
Why not start your boycott their Bears?
Because – honestly – it’s the only way you’ll ever stop him getting his £5M back I reckon.
See… from the outside: He lent you the money. And you damn well needed it.
The man has asked you for it back, nicely.
So Pay him what you owe him.
Then mouth off about him if you must.
But – for the sake of dignity, credibility and dare I say it – sanity?- it is important to do these 2 things the right way round.
(Doh!)
This is all getting a bit “Merchant of Venice” isn’t it?
Except Mike isn’t demanding a pound of flesh.
Just saying to TRFC “Pay your bills!”
Its a basic life skill. (If you need help with this concept, ask any grown up or hearts fan to explain the process to you!) but one that this dynasty seems to be somewhat deficient in. That’s heredity for you. Bit of a bugger.
I hear death runs in families.
____________________________________________
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-sports-direct-head-court-5859827
Excuse my ignorance, and by all means tell me to butt out but… Shirley it would be the Court of Session that MASH / SD would apply to in order to ring fence the ST money. The Scottish legal system and the English legal system – ask ticketus how that went…
:irony:
I’m becoming a fan of the poster john james over at https://rangerssupportersloyal.wordpress.com
Here is another of his recent thoughts on the outlook for Rangers finances, manager, squad and King.
john james (@sitonfence) says:
June 10, 2015 at 10:48 am
Gordo
It’s important to note that as King launched his Generations pitch, Paul Murray chose to attend the annual convention at NARSA despite not being an invited speaker. His prediction that the new board expect to sell out Ibrox next season, to raise £12/13M in ST sales, is so improbable that it is almost certainly a sales pitch for more co-investors. King also made reference to other investors.
It’s obvious to anyone who cares to look past the Level 5 PR spin that King and his concert party do not have the money to fund their revolution at Ibrox. Barry Leach made a reference to this in an off the record comment during his short time tenure as FD. When Ashley put £10M on the table, they could only raise £6.5M. This quantum will soon run out. They have only £2M more that they can draw down.
King states that they have a short list of 5 candidates for the position of manager. This is yet another lie. Warburton & Weir are the only coaching team that they hope to attract. They cannot afford to pay Aberdeen compensation for their excellent manager. Only unemployed coaches are being considered. Stuart McCall is their default option. If Fulham decide to engage Warburton, then its McCall next season.
King’s statement that we now have a squad of 24 players gives rise to considerable concern. On the assumption that everyone is fit, we have only one keeper, two full backs, one centre half, three midfield players, two strikers and two 20 year old players who both play on the right wing.
I understood that many of the reserve players were out of contract. I could well be mistaken but I’m sure I read a report that 9 of them will be out of contract in July. If this is the case, our squad will consist of only 15 players.
King expects 45,000 of us to buy tickets out of our respect and admiration for him. The fact that we don’t have a manager and not enough players to put a team on the park next season is clearly not relevant.
King is unable to pay his debts. Most of us know how his refusal to pay taxes ended up for him in South Africa. He lost everything, except a house in his wife’s name. Every co-investor in any King company lost his shirt, so why should any one of us chose to co-invest with him.
I await Ashley’s statement with interest. It’s time he sent this penniless spiv back to South Africa. Back to fleecing pensioners with his fellow con man Gregory Morris.
They both should be behind bars. The fact that they are not tells you everything you need to know about South Africa.
I particularly liked this line from the DR article relating to the RST statement;
“Rangers Football Club has suffered as much as any company at the hands of Mr Ashley….”
causaludendi says:
June 11, 2015 at 1:34 am
Excuse my ignorance, and by all means tell me to butt out but… Shirley it would be the Court of Session that MASH / SD would apply to in order to ring fence the ST money. The Scottish legal system and the English legal system – ask ticketus how that went…
—————————————————
I’m no lawyer, but is it possible that the loan agreement would include a phrase along the lines of ‘English law shall apply’, to avoid having to go to a Scottish court where the legal opinions and reasoning might be a bit….along the lines advocated by the philosopher Bryson and adopted by LNS?
Tartanwulver says:
Member: (199 comments)
June 11, 2015 at 6:19 am
—————————————————
I’m no lawyer, but is it possible that the loan agreement would include a phrase along the lines of ‘English law shall apply’, to avoid having to go to a Scottish court where the legal opinions and reasoning might be a bit….along the lines advocated by the philosopher Bryson and adopted by LNS?
________________________________________________________________
Yes – every commercial contract of any type should have a clause that stipulates which jurisdiction applies to the contract. This can be anywhere that the two parties agree to – there is no requirement for a Scottish company to have the Governing Law as the laws of Scotland
causaludendi says:
June 11, 2015 at 1:34 am
Excuse my ignorance, and by all means tell me to butt out but… Shirley it would be the Court of Session that MASH / SD would apply to in order to ring fence the ST money. The Scottish legal system and the English legal system – ask ticketus how that went
==================================
Maybe the canny lad Ashley lured the unsuspecting to his office to sign the papers?
So English Law it is.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Conflicted One step forward for a place on the very weak board – his neck is torchproof.
I have looked on with slack-jawed amazement over the last few years at the Ibrxian saga, and wondered why the Rangers fans were seemingly allowing themselves to be led by the nose by a series of charlatans and not bringing anything like enough critical thought to what was happening to them. But the Bill McMurdo blog stuff has been pretty much on the nose for a while now. I understand that he gets accused by many of being a PR mouthpiece, but at least he’s taking a position contrary to moonbeamism, is pushing a credible line of argument, and is proving himself capable of articulating an alternative and realistic position to the King / press froth and nonsense. It’s a great shame from the Rangers point of view that they allowed themselves to be swept away by the tidal wave of hubris at the start of their journey to hell, and weren’t exposed at that time to some clearly expressed alternative viewpoints from within their ranks. At least many of them are starting to see through King and challenge his rhetoric, even if years too late.
andycolo on June 10, 2015 at 10:33 pm
I am opposed to the idea of summer football. Any extra money from the TV channels, if any at all, would in my view be more than offset by supporters going on their holidays and affecting attendances. If anything I would be more attracted to the idea of walking away from TV deals and having games at times which suit the fans. I am even attracted to the notion of using terrestrial TV to give us exposure at times to suit us rather than the tail continuing to wag the dog.
There is a lot to be said for a lengthy mid winter break but I accept some clubs would argue this results in additional costs.
———-
@andy, before it all breaks loose on the SD v RIFC front (jings) I’m wondering if the holiday season factor is still as important an issue as it was some years ago.
Those with school age children are obviously bound to certain weeks, but many people do stagger their holidays or take breaks at other times of the year. Who’s to say that a family with sports daft kids might not take a partial staycation and base a bit of summer around a home or away tie?
There’s also full-on summer football and the kind that includes a short break at peak holiday season. Countries that play right through are often forced to out if necessity because winters are just too harsh for football.
Certainly an earlier season start would help Scottish football on the Euro front as has been mentioned. And from what I’ve seen of Scottish fans in recent years, those involved in Euro matches travel in fairly large numbers and enjoy a fitba-mini break combo in the fairer weather.
A form of summer football is worth looking into especially if it occupies a place in the calendar that isn’t going up against EPL matches. A 3-4 week break in January (after the Nerdy (Ne’erday?) fuxtures) would also give the players a boost. A few weeks off in the bleak midwinter and/or joining a few of the low-key training tournaments in the winter sun ain’t a bad idea.
Same paper Same story
2 different headlines ?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-sports-direct-head-court-5859827
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mike-ashley-set-drag-rangers-5861487
Strange that I wonder if Mr Ashley’s lawyers had a wee word
Good Morning!
A potentially fascinating day ahead. Whatever the reason for it, being dragged to the High Court is rarely ‘good news’.
I find it interesting that (as of last night at least) the Record doesn’t seem to have a clue what the case is about. Maybe their many Sevco sources have suddenly gone quiet…?
If anyone is interested, here are a few additional thoughts!
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/06/10/the-fun-fight-at-the-wont-pay-corral/
Have a good day!
tcup 2012tcup 2012 says:
Member: (231 comments)
June 11, 2015 at 7:22 am
———–
Ha, the headline writer let his inner bluenose dictate the earlier header by the look if it 😀
Two questions –
Why is DCK still not a board member of RIFC nor TRFC?
Do RIFC/TRFC have the resources to fight sd at the High Court?
Resin_lab_dog says:
Member: (461 comments)
June 11, 2015 at 1:21 am
That’s a great piece of journalism, particularly the following snipets:
‘News of the case before Mrs Justice Asplin only came to light due to the fact the hearing details were on the court rolls which are publicly accessible.’
It only came to light, Keith, when you read it on Twitter, posted by the people you constantly disparage, the Internet Bampots.
‘Ashley’s recent demand for the immediate repayment of the £5m he loaned the club earlier this year has been met with anger by the Rangers Supporters Trust.’
Pay attention Keith, Ashley hasn’t demanded any such thing – yet!
‘Fellow fan group, Rangers First, say many of their members are now refusing to wear the replica shirt because they believe it has come to symbolise Ashley’s greed.’
The rest are refusing to wear it because they find it embarrassing! If they’d won promotion they’d all be wearing the shirts, but blaming Ashley for their ills, or anyone but Real Rangers Men, is par for the course.
No wonder Keith disappeared from Twitter last night, he had to work out how to cut and paste the RST statement that had already been published earlier, filled out the piece nicely. Well, made up 75% of it, actually.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-sports-direct-head-court-5859827
An hour to go then its
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62SIFyA7LV8
for those discussing the jurisdiction of the Courts….
It is interesting to note that each particular MR01 has a slight variation. As follows:
The MR01 for the Trade Marks: SC42 5159 0010
The MR01 for the Bond & Floating Charge: SC42 5159 0005
“19. Governing Law & Jurisdiction
This shall be governed and construed in all respects in accordance with the law of Scotland and for the benefit of the Lender, the Assignor irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish Courts, but without prejudice to the ability of the Lender to proceed against the Assignor in any other appropriate jurisdiction.”
The MR01 for the Auchenknowie/ Murray Park: SC42 5159 0006
The MR01 for Edmiston House Albion Car Park: SC42 5159 0007
12. Governing Law
This Standard Security and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with it are governed by the Law of Scotland any dispute, difference or question of any kind which may arise between the parties or out of the terms hereof shall (unless otherwise provided within) be determined in accordance with the Law of Scotland and the parties prorogate themselves to the jurisdiction of the Scottish Courts.
MR01 for the FIXED CHARGE over the IP Rights: SC42 5159 0008
23. Governing Law
This Deed and any non-contractual obligations arising out of or in connection with this Deed shall be governed by English Law
24. Jurisdiction
The Courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Deed…..
MR01 for the Mortgage Of Shares : SC42 5159 0009
27 Governing Law and Jurisdiction
This Deed and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the Law of England & Wales
Being more serious, today’s court action may yet be another damp squib in the long line of legal and official hearings that have failed to deal with the goings on down Govan way.
Our friend Ryan will no doubt be rolling his eyes at our expectant glee of what may befall his club.
However lets get this straight.
Personally I have no time for Ashley. Nothing wrong with being an aggressive business man but all the zero hour contracts, the dodgy pricing tactics, the USC deal etc leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Above board and legal it may be but it is all sailing close to the wind. That being said he deals with goods and as such many people gain employment from manufacturing, marketing, storage & distribution and sales etc.
King on the other hand is just a high end barrow boy, a manipulator and a convicted tax dodger. These guys very rarely do any good for the wider populous IMHO. Frankly he should be nowhere near Scottish Football.
The best option for T’Rangers?
King to be humiliated by Ashley and sent packing.
Despite their earlier alignments the 3 bears see the light and get to work with Ashley to get the best deal they can for the club given the current circumstances.
If I was a bear I would far rather see someone like Douglas Park driving the bus for a slow and steady rebuild than the car crash being proposed by King.
I wouldn’t be surprised if today’s proceedings are that proverbial damp squib, but it is yet another court case for RIFC, and for King, that can’t look good for a company looking to be listed on a Stock Exchange and to have yet another share issue. I can only imagine Green was so successful with his IPO because there were people out there, with money, whose only knowledge of RFC/TRFC was what they read in the media, and we all know how acurate that is! There can be very few people of means who will miss this spat between Ashley and King, and all these no longer masked references to King’s convictions and continued misunderstanding of the words honesty and transparency will be hard to miss. In short, King is being backed into a corner and will probably have no choice other than to return to SA never to visit Ibrox again.
As wottpi says above, I reckon the best the bears can hope for is an alliance between the 3bears and Ashley, with a steady, but unspectacular, recovery over the next few years. The worst thing will be if King manages to hold onto power, but with TRFC weakened by loss of assets and IP, just limping from one crisis to the next.
There is a common denominator in the Ibrox Saga, from the days of Murray through to the present day. Either failing in his duties within, or sabotaging from without, Dave King is that denominator. The sooner he is gone, the sooner stability has a chance to enter Ibrox.
Let no one under estimate the severe consequences of this RST threat.
“We would also suggest that they should boycott all brands and companies that Mr Ashley is involved with. Mr Ashley’s business practices have been the source of much public debate recently and we fully expect that to continue.”
At which non-Ashley emporium can one acquire an entire summer wardrobe for under fifty quid? We are facing the threat of the RST fashionistas sporting their winter attire throughout the summer season and beyond – the streets of Govan will be a complete fashion disaaaarster zone daaaarling!
In other news, a good QC earns more than a mediocre Championship striker – and Ashley has a full squad on the books. Over to you Mr King – what’s the legal equivalent of lump it and hope?
You cab give the F5 key a rest, SD motion won’t be heard until 11:30 according to James D who is covering the case
Edit
Record now reporting that SD is also taking Rangers to the Court of Session this morning?
mcfc June 11, 2015 at 10:27 am
“APPLICATIONS
Sports Direct International Plc v Rangers International Football Club
Lewis v The Right Hon. Rhodri Viscount St Davids”
AKA – Baron Strange…….
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodri_Philipps,_4th_Viscount_St_Davids
At which non-Ashley emporium can one acquire an entire summer wardrobe for under fifty quid?
——————————————————————
That is a truly appalling image to force upon people so early in the day!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1581780/Rhodri-Colwyn-Philipps-squanders-firms-cash.html
By Bojan Pancevski in Vienna
“A flamboyant aristocrat has been given a two-year suspended sentence in Germany after an epic spending spree that led to the ruin of a company.
Rhodri Colwyn Philipps, 41, the heir to the Viscount St Davids and Baron Strange de Knokyn titles, was nicknamed the “Job Killer” after he squandered the funds of Hans Brochier, a construction company in Nuremberg, on playing polo and buying luxury goods.
Philipps, who is the son of Colwyn Jestyn John Philipps, the former Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords, had spent the past year in a German prison after he was arrested at Frankfurt airport and denied bail in case he fled the country.
In 2005, Philipps bought Hans Brochier, which was founded in 1873 and employed more than 700 people, for a single euro. The court heard how, because of his aristocratic air, no one had noticed that he was made bankrupt in 2001 after a previous company he owned went bust with debts of £5 million.
The previous owner of Hans Brochier gave him an £8.5 million loan to revitalise the company in 2005, but the court heard that three weeks later, the money was transferred to a newly registered company in London.
Hans Brochier was declared insolvent a year later and Philipps had a narrow escape when angry workers stormed his office.
“He drained the company financially and brought it to ruin. This was the work of a shark,” said Hans Beer, the head of the local construction workers’ union.
Philipps had spent more than £350,000 on promoting an opera singer, £12,000 on renting a private jet and £5,000 on a shotgun from James Purdey and Sons of Mayfair.
He also spent large sums on eating in London’s finest restaurants and playing polo, as well as buying a Frankfurt-based chemicals company called LII Europe.
Yesterday’s ruling provoked outrage in the courtroom, but Judge Bernhard Germaschewski said there was “no legal basis” for a harsher sentence.
Philipps, who was dressed in tweed and appeared relaxed and cheerful in court, had pleaded guilty to fradulent breach of trust and embezzlement and was ordered to pay £14,000 costs.
His lawyer, Sven Oberhof, maintained that his client’s conduct had been “entrepreneurial”.”
keith jackson @tedermeatballs · 36s36 seconds ago
I understand Ashley is also taking Rangers to the court of session in Edinburgh this morning.
scapaflow says:
Member: (1216 comments)
June 11, 2015 at 10:40 am
The next couple of days definitely have a F5 feel about them!
2nd motion being heard in Edinburgh today ! 😯
Is it fair to say that T’Rangers currently have more Lawyers on their books than players?
It could be quite telling when, simultaneously, the English Judge dons his black cap and passes grave misgivings about the alchemy of a proven glib etc etc.
Meanwhile the Court of Session Sherriff steps out to announce Nope, nothing to see here, nothing at all, move along now I have a lo…erm a pressing lunch engagement to attend!
No fool is Mike.
easyJambo at 10:54 am
“keith jackson @tedermeatballs · 36s36 seconds ago
I understand Ashley is also taking Rangers to the court of session in Edinburgh this morning.”
That must be a first! A genuine exclusive! (shakes helmet)
Has King made the classic bluffer’s mistake of assuming that his opponent is a bluffer too? Remember King threatening to sue David Murray for his lost millions? Or Whyte threatening legal action to get Rangers back? Just a load of hot air. In stark contrast, Ashley doesn’t threaten legal action, he gets you into court with minimum notice.
Ashley can use his legal team to bankrupt Kingco just via legal costs. Getting top legal teams into court in two juridictions simultaneously at short notice must be eyewateringly expensive.
King is going to wish he’d buttoned his lip, instead of constantly trying the blame game on Ashley. This can only end in tears, and I’m pretty sure Ashley won’t be the one needing the tissues.
neepheid says:
Member: (612 comments)
One could be forgiven for thinking a good night out with Chico & Campbell would bankrupt Kingco.
Given how long how long and how hard Kingco plotted and schemed to get their bums on the Blue Room seats, the complete absence of any sort of strategy now that they are in there, is really quite extraordinary.
Talk about a fakeover?