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.
Well, if nobody resigns from the SFA board which made the King decision, then presumably they are all comfortable with the decision.
Except they may find that many of their customers simply don’t agree.
Will the SFA listen to the feedback and explain their decision fully ?
That’s the least they could do…you would think. 😐
Whit happened to wir site then?
andygraham.66 says:
Member: (245 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm
He’s back and he is lying before he gets through to the taxi rank. http://bit.ly/1GnhtZE lol
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How could you tell he was lying ?
Were his lips moving…? 😉
Onwards and downwards for King and the SFA !
And as the SFA has shown yet again that TRFC is most important in Scottish football, then logically the final insult will eventually be if/when the SFA/SPFL justify, [to themselves], that they may need to finance the Ibrox club…for the good of Scottish football.
Dave King says his investment in Rangers would have been in doubt if the Scottish FA had deemed him not to be a fit and proper person.
That stance differs considerably what King said on the day he was voted in as a director at Ibrox in March.
“If I’m not found fit and proper I will not sit on the board,” he said at the time. “I’ll still invest, I’ll still support it.
Anyone got the number of the SA judge? what was it he/she called him.
neepheid says:
Member: (578 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Scottish FA statement / Mr Dave King
Tuesday, 19 May
“In considering the request, the Board of the Scottish FA has sought and received specialist independent legal advice, both in Scotland and South Africa”
==========================================
No surprises regarding the decision and no surprise regarding the absence of any clarity as to why.
I suspect the reasons are hidden in the above, particularly the legal advice in Scotland…I imagine the question asked was “do we actually have any firm grounds for deciding DK is not F&P given that he may challenge this in court”…
TBH it’s not a decision that bothers me much, firstly as I doubt that (given what we know) there were sufficient grounds to bar him without a (probably successful) legal challenge.
Secondly, I’m more concerned with how DK acts now and (potentially) how the governing bodies act wrt Rangers going forward -if DK wants to blow his kids inheritance down the black hole that’s Ibrox that’s his affair….if he wants to blow other people’s money through borrowing that’s another matter.
This won’t be popular, but please bear in mind that the SFA is not a court of morals.
andygraham.66 says:
May 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm
He’s back and he is lying before he gets through to the taxi rank. http://bit.ly/1GnhtZE lol
————————————————————-
Unbelievable! No shame. A habitual liar, but that’s just the type of person we want here, according to the SFA. What gets me, though, is the reporter clearly knows that conflicts with his previous statement, so why not challenge him on it there and then, rather than point it out in the report afterwards? Such scared ‘journalists’ we have.
The decision we all expected has now been announced.
I have two questions regarding this decision, made by the “professional game board” of the SFA. Firstly, did Mr C Ogilvie participate in the proceedings in any way? Since he was declared “conflicted” in relation to all matters “Rangers” by Mr Regan over two years ago, I think we are all entitled to know the answer to that one.
Secondly, did Mr P Lawell participate in the proceedings in any way? And if so, did he support the decision arrived at? I think that the paying customers of his club are entitled to know.
Good Evening!
Well I was completely wrong to be sceptical about the Dave King ‘Fit and Proper’ decision being announced within 48 hours. Henceforth I must remember to accept everything Chris Jack tells me at face value!
I nearly ruptured something when I saw Grant Russell’s story about King changing his tune regarding whether or not his investment was dependent on the SFA approving him. Hilarious stuff!
However, I suspect it will not shake the blind faith of Sevco fans and the cheerleading media one bit!
Anyway, here are some thoughts on the F&P decision. With the understated title of “The End of the World”. Be afraid…
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/the-end-of-the-world/
Enjoy the rest of the evening!
Spiers
The SFA have been fearful of Dave King. Giving him fit and proper status is the easiest way out. It cuts out further months of potential acrimony and legal jousting, by just giving him his seat on the Rangers board.
The SFA will be damaged, and maybe even tarnished, by this King decision. It will seem laughable and deplorable in equal measure to many Scottish football fans up and down the country.
Supporters outwith the Rangers legions will no longer trust the SFA. They will view the organisation, instead, as supine, weak-willed, fearful and capitulating.
This King issue was a test-case for the SFA’s reputation, and I don’t think it has come out of it at all well. The governing body will be disparaged over it.
All of that being said, it really is time to crack on. There can be an unhealthy fascination with things Rangers by supporters of other clubs, and this King case for some has been just such an episode.
Rangers FC – “old” or “new”, whatever your take – has gravely suffered. Never in anyone’s wildest dreams was it imagined that the club would be liquidated. But it was, in 2012.
The pain and anger from that event still linger. The disputes about “Rangers”, the club’s history and all the rest of it, have been poisonous. To be abject about this, those who had always detested Rangers have surely had their fill.
Personally, I am all for Rangers FC moving on, being strengthened, being made healthy, and competing at the highest level in Scottish football. I believe it will enhance the game that we love in this country.
King is the latest to try to make that happen. He is here, at Ibrox, and no SFA fit and proper farce is going to change that.
Whatever your view of this King decision – and I find it ridiculous – it is time now to let him get to work, and let him be judged by what he can or cannot do for Rangers.
Our database was attacked today at around 2.30pm. At first it only had the effect of slowing us down a little and I had to seek some technical support to put out the fire. I wish I had been a smart-ass and posted right then that the King announcement would be today 🙂
After the announcement, the attack was stepped up and the database eventually fell over due to the strain. The tech support guys have been brilliant getting us back on course, but we are not out of the woods yet. Updates as and when …
Surely, with the track record of characters the SFA have endorsed at Ibrox (tacitly or otherwise), the Rangers fans must be livid. Haven’t they been punished enough?
Seriously, though, I cannot fathom why the SFA think this is a good idea and would like to believe that, if there are any clubs left that know right from wrong, there will be a reaction to this. Which of them would trust RIFC in any business transaction?
The whole thing should be referred on to a higher authority that commands greater (any?) respect. Like a worm from the pitch at Hampden. (They do help to develop the grass roots).
My information from a fairly well connected source is that the vote was unanimous.
I have also been briefed by a Celtic source that Celtic are privately “appalled”.
I have a feeling though that we will be seeing a rerun of aftermath of the Enclosures Act over the next few days as fan groups are briefed on how their club is “appalled” at the outcome, “it’s those other boys that did it!”
Only conclusion I can come to is that since the decision was made almost ten days ago, there has been plenty of time to plan the spin.
I also conclude that Dave King, for all his obvious failings and defects of character, is NOT to blame for this. Quite simply the board has to take that square on the chin.
The development also underlines the view held by many of us that the clubs simply do not share our concerns over the integrity of the sport. Had they been even partly concerned with that, we would have seen a recognition from them that rules had been broken, and a far more radical approach to that rule-breaking.
In being admitted to the ranks of Scottish Football officialdom, King is merely joining a group of people who have the same laissez faire approach to regulation that he does.
Not nearly as bad a financial doping of course, but a breach of trust of such fundamental depth that we only have ourselves to blame if we continue to prop up this sham of a sport.
For me the nomenclature goes to the nub of the problem. There is nothing wrong with the authorities, the clubs, running their industry as they see fit. Just don’t insult our intelligence and expect us to believe that;
a) this is a sport, and
b) that the market is regulated equitably
Of course now that DK has been led in on his donkey to the strains of the Psalms of Ascents, a new challenge awaits the smoothers of the path. Ashley now has to be either gotten onside or dealt with.
I still maintain my belief that Ashley is still the best hope for TRFC. A battle is still to be fought, and it will be fought in an ethical vacuum. The SFA have picked sides in the MA/DK feud. I think they are weakened by the choice they made, and that might be fatal for many of them.
For King himself, the other major challenge, as it was always likely to be, is managing fan expectation. The bears will not be quite so understanding of King’s deficiencies as the toadies on the SFA Board, and the simple arithmetical commutative law which states that 50,000,000 times 0 is the same as 0 x 50,000,000 will present him with a fair old PR challenge.
If financial doping is to return (and let’s be honest, with King’s approach to tax legislation, it is likely that it will), then I think the clubs who suffer financially and reputationally as a consequence have only themselves to blame. On that basis I find it hard to wish ill on King when the fault lies elsewhere.
Because, written in three feet high letters on the executive washroom wall at Hampden is the legend “whatever it takes”. They are all as bad as each other.
parttimearab says:
Member: (333 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 10:06 pm
neepheid says:
Member: (578 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Scottish FA statement / Mr Dave King
Tuesday, 19 May
“In considering the request, the Board of the Scottish FA has sought and received specialist independent legal advice, both in Scotland and South Africa”
Was it LNS they asked for legal advice?
I have followed this site since it started but never posted before. I wonder if the sfa and the Scottish media genuinely think about how many people have lost interest in the game? I used to be in love with football but now it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. All of my family used to attend regularly. We are part of a hidden army of fans that have quietly left the building and many of us will never return.
Trisidium says:
May 19, 2015 at 10:35 pm
we would have seen a recognition from them that rules had been broken, and a far more radical approach to that rule-breaking.
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Sorry T but I’m unaware of any rules having been broken (in so far as were talking about DK and FPP).
Was referring to historical rule-breaking pta, not the King thing itself. That was just guideline-denial 🙂
In most cases, they have made what they consider to be a reasonable gamble that what they stand to lose from fan discontent and disconnect is less they would lose from the trickle down economics of the Blue pound. Regan actually made that pretty clear in his ‘social unrest’ speech.
All sorts of things wrong with that on many, many levels.
A quick thought.
Tomorrow will be 21 days since Ashley called for an RIFC EGM. It is supposed to be called within 21 days, and then held within 28 days of the Notice of Meeting being issued.
Although I guess if the letter didn’t reach RIFC on 29 April itself, the Board may still have a day or two to respond…
https://t.co/6TKMta33m2
James Forrest says:
Member: (88 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 9:43 pm
Welcome back lads.
__________________________________
❓ ❓ ❓ ❓ 👿
And lassies?
One thing is for sure
If TRFC now crash & burn
The SFA have left themselves no alies to duck down and there backs against the wall in a dead end street
No where to run and no where hide
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (202 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Was referring to historical rule-breaking pta, not the King thing itself. That was just guideline-denial 🙂
=======================================================
Apologies T, I picked you up wrong there.
Just to clarify my previous comments, I can’t tell whether the SFA decision is good or bad as the basis of that decision is unknown
That IMO is wrong and fans/paying public deserve an explanation.
I have however become somewhat exasperated at the expectation that the SFA should have ruled DK not to be FPP.
I grant that a case can be made, but even if accepted I’d ask that some thought be given to what the ruling should have been if that were the case?
Since Die ban? Really, would that have been sustainable under challenge in court?
And if not Sine Die then how long? What term should a ban be, on what basis would that term be founded?
FPP for King should be no surprise to anyone on this site.
Now it is “money where your mouth is’ time.
Anything less than paying back Ashley his £5m to release the assets and matching the 3 Bears £1.5m loan until season ticket money rolls in will surely be viewed as a kick in the baws to the fans down Govan way!!??
😉 hello Jean still here 😕 waiting on better days 😉
Brenda says:
Member: (99 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 11:21 pm
___________________________________
Great to hear from you Brenda. Keep up the good fight 😛
Really annoyed with James Forrest for that comment, he owes us an apology, fast!
Bit of advice for the follow followers;
“Be careful what you wish for in this world, for if you wish hard enough you are sure to get it. I once heard a very wise man say this, and the longer I live the more firmly I believe it to be true.”
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (202 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 10:35 pm
My information from a fairly well connected source is that the vote was unanimous.
I have also been briefed by a Celtic source that Celtic are privately “appalled”.
____________________________________________________
I could weep.
Very interesting article
http://mattleslie74.weebly.com/blog/merit-should-always-be-the-sole-criteria
StevieBC says:
Member: (669 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 9:58 pm
andygraham.66 says:
Member: (245 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 9:50 pm
He’s back and he is lying before he gets through to the taxi rank. http://bit.ly/1GnhtZE lol
===================================
How could you tell he was lying ?
Were his lips moving…? ?
Onwards and downwards for King and the SFA !
And as the SFA has shown yet again that TRFC is most important in Scottish football, then logically the final insult will eventually be if/when the SFA/SPFL justify, [to themselves], that they may need to finance the Ibrox club…for the good of Scottish football.
12 1 Rate This
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You mean like pushing Cup Semi Finals in their direction? That sort of thing…
parttimearab says:
Member: (335 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 11:16 pm
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (202 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Was referring to historical rule-breaking pta, not the King thing itself. That was just guideline-denial 🙂
=======================================================
Apologies T, I picked you up wrong there.
Just to clarify my previous comments, I can’t tell whether the SFA decision is good or bad as the basis of that decision is unknown
That IMO is wrong and fans/paying public deserve an explanation.
I have however become somewhat exasperated at the expectation that the SFA should have ruled DK not to be FPP.
I grant that a case can be made, but even if accepted I’d ask that some thought be given to what the ruling should have been if that were the case?
Since Die ban? Really, would that have been sustainable under challenge in court?
And if not Sine Die then how long? What term should a ban be, on what basis would that term be founded?
1 1 Rate This
====================
How about a block based on a rehabilitation of offenders type timescale?
Is the excuse of “it would only be challenged in the courts” really a viable one? I’d have thought that as long as the process and the decision followed the stated rules and procedures of the SFA then the courts would leave them to it.
Surely the courts would only find in Kings favour if the SFA operated outside of their rules.
I’m sure I’m being naive ……
How far can our game sink?Playing a friendly against a despotic regime’s football team and a GASL given legitimacy to take up chairmanship of a shape shifter club/company. Cowardice by our football ‘authorities’ on both counts.
I logged on from New Zealand on a crisp and sunny winter morning to read the news that Dave King , the 41 times convicted tax criminal and ineligible director has been declared a “fit and proper person”. Is anyone surprised? Does anyone still think the SFA works in the interest of Scottish football?
So be it.
The bold Dave still has to pony up with 5,000,000 to repay Mike Ashley and 2,500,000 to the 3 Bears just to repay outstanding loans. The club is still losing 900,000 a month and still paying gardeners 90,000 a month and still paying stadium rental of 278,000 a month and if promoted has to pay bonuses and pay NU 500,000.
Watch for the biggest PR campaign in history coming soon to convince Sevco fans to pay not just for season tickets but also a compulsory $200 Victory levy. It will prove the old adage that you can fool some of the people all of the time.
Apologies to the ladies 🙂
My bad! Didn’t know if my post was even gonna make it. Thought the site might crash again at any minute!
You all well tonight?
Lol there goes the “thumbs down” … post wasn’t up three minutes. Nothing innocuous in it at all … and a thumbs down.
Some people, eah?
(Aye, do it. You know you want to.)
OK some of us may have reacted emotionally to the fully expected SFA decision – myself included.
But with the negativity which will hang around King, and his club…how will this make Scottish football any more attractive to potential sponsors ?
I can be relatively detached from this latest SFA nonsense as I can only attend a few SPL games each year.
But, IMO, the ‘real’ fans are the ST holders of all 42 clubs in the SPFL.
I guess many of them could be infuriated – maybe even some TRFC fans ?. Did the SFA consider the ST holders’ opinions ? Of course not.
Regan & Ogilvie I expect will hunker down in the Hampden bunker for the duration.
But if, in the coming days, not one of the other 41 clubs’ CEO’s or Chairmen speaks out in the SMSM, then we will all know EXACTLY where we stand in the great scheme of things.
And if the 41 clubs are prepared to look the other way re:King, then why should we bother spending our time and cash on such a blatantly corrupt ‘sport’.
Distressing & depressing. 😥
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=3&newsID=14785
“Following the submission of an amendment to its Official Return by Rangers Football Club”
Haw Dave! Tippex that bit out and send it back in again…..Aye, Just leave it blank….Good man.
Haud on folks,
I think we are misunderstanding the situation. What the SFA had ruled is obviously that DK is a fit and proper person FOR TRFC!, – not necessarily for any other club, thereby invoking an appropriate Brysonism, and being consistent in interpreting rules differently for TRFC.
Its so simple once you see it.
Does anyone still think the SFA works in the interest of Scottish football?
Well, how the SFA and the SPFL (the community of all our clubs) works is a mystery. It used to be, and I’m sure it still is, that they all vote in their own self interest, hence the sometimes ludicrous decisions. The worrying thing is though is that the generally held beliefs of the supporters (if this site accurately reflects them) is not those held by our own clubs, hence the strange, to us decisions and voting that takes place. An example of this is that all the clubs, after parachute payments to the relegated teams, voted for a 50% take on the play-offs to be distributed to all the other clubs – now that makes sense as it benefits the majority and everyone would have been hoping to be a beneficiary of this plan. So I can see why they all voted for it, but why on earth did they agree that the pool of money collected would then be distributed unequally, that makes no sense at all, because only the top few teams really benefit and they had no involvement what so ever in the play-offs or the consequences. Surely our clubs would realise that for the benefit of the smaller clubs, those genuinely competing for promotion or in danger of relegation an equal spit of the pool across all the clubs would be far more sensible, perhaps even fair, and might actually assist the smaller clubs in improving their operations.
Yet, our clubs don’t they still keep voting to make the rich clubs richer and that that makes no sense … so we can howl with righteous indignation at the CEOs of the SFA and the SPFL but the real culprits are the clubs so we should be asking our own chairmen, why do they keep doing it?
Stevie BC
I echo those sentiments . I struggled long and hard with others to get SFA to change their criteria in awarding away international game tickets to make the process more inclusive (they introduced a cut-off date for accrued points)to the chagrin of some regular attenders , and was happy to be regularly “randomly selected” to pick them up in situ for my pains . But today’s news is enough for me . Obviously DK is fit and proper to follow in the footsteps of Sir David Murray, Craig Whi(y)te , Charles Green, Campbell Ogilvie ,Martin Bain and maybe even Pol Pot but the game’s a bogey . I have accommodation and transport booked for the ROI game and will attend but am sending the remaining “season tickets” back, asking how they are disposed of and that any monies they raise go to a nominated charity. I will reserve my position on the Jags through the summer but, if they acquiesce with the decision, then Firhill no more . It will not just be my presence I will be removing . TRFC fans will need to have long arms and deep pockets as they now have to finance Scottish football – it’s the only reason I can ascribe to this decision _ and I would imagine that SMSM will let us know that this is the case . I have already been told that I’m a Rangers hater for thinking this way and am jealous of “their” clout , and that was by a daughter. I honestly can’t stomach this, nor can see a means of redress .Back to occasional lurking . Hope Eco puts in an appearance to let folks know he is well . C’est la vie , c’est la guerre . Adios.
My information from a fairly well connected source is that the vote was unanimous.
I have also been briefed by a Celtic source that Celtic are privately “appalled”.
————————————————-
Hi, how can we be privately appalled when the vote was unanimous … who was voting? The SFA professional board? If that is the case that makes no sense.
For those of use who believe the SFA acceptance of King is bad enough, the PR offensive to come will be almost unbearable. There can be nothing better than to have a large group of journalists who are fully prepared at all times to accept what they are told without question. They are not all like that of course but those who speak out are very much the exception. Let’s not forget the compliant majority were more than happy to spread the words of Whyte and Green without challenge. Now they have a man who is truly one of their own in charge, it will be as close to a return of the David Murray era as can be imagined. PR these days seems as much about denigrating the opposition as it is about promoting your own views and I think one club in particular should be wary.
Of course, Hibs still have a chance to put a stick in the spokes. Ibrox will be full to the brim tonight of people who believe the heady days of the Murray era are back. Long overdue vengeance is due to be wreaked on the other clubs who are bizarrely somehow at fault for Rangers failing to pay their bills, and nothing will be allowed to stop that. Hibs will have to be much, much better than Rangers to succeed.
After the first half of ‘Sportsound’, which could have been lifted straight off ‘Rangers Radio’, there was an excellent piece by the Alloa chairman talking about tv deals, etc. spoke with great passion.
Mike Mulraney’s contribution was perhaps lost in the shockwaves from the publically funded apologists (and single thug) who were on the show, but well worth a listen. Anyway, credit again to Tom English and Jim Spence for not being intimidated by the bluenose diehards disguised as impartial pundits and for standing their ground against the character called ‘Bomber’. That director’s box is gathering quite a horde of personalities. Misfit central.
PS No pressure on the ref tonight then, after the media & official references to the need for THEM to be back. No pressure at all 😮
I think it’s more accurate to say they found DK’s MONEY “fit and proper” for TRFC.
The SFA blinked first, as I’m sure we all knew they would.
Adeste FidelesAdeste Fideles says:
Member: (14 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 7:23 am
I think it’s more accurate to say they found DK’s MONEY “fit and proper” for TRFC.
The SFA blinked first, as I’m sure we all knew they would.
——–
D-Day for the King and his wallet, oh, but he needs a few days to find out what’s happened together with the other directors who are still doing a review to find out what’s happened.
STV saved the best for last in that interview after the ‘saviour’ from South Africa ‘jetted’ in ;
Asked to confirm whether Rangers had the funds to pay Ashley back his £5m if shareholders required the club to do so, King replied: “Of course we do. It’s always been part of the plan, but it’s just a question of whether it’s an appropriate thing to do.”
Whether it’s appropriate? Big Mike gives them £5million to keep the lights on and pay the wages and Mr King questions the appropriateness of this?
I’m not wanting to go down the OC/NC route but old habits clearly die hard! Presumably the SFA deem these sort of comments fit and proper!
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/119425811276/unfit-and-improper-dave-king-passed-for-rangers
On the Dave King verdict. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game
Imagine my surprise to find Stuart Bathgate In the back page of today’s Herald Sport. Is it musical chairs in the sports paper world? The herald have got rid of several sports hacks recently so odd that Bathgate should jump ship from the Scotsman.
It would be interesting to note who is now where.
Like all these ‘events’ it’s worth reflecting on what they think are carefully timed & choreographed events / announcements / leaks that the general public will accept as just another astounding twist of fate in this whole cabal.
Sevco in the play-offs, Ladbrokes, League reconstruction again, King Fit & Proper. . . .
Yeah, the establishment are pulling no strings.
Dave King arrived in Glasgow on Tuesday night – just one hour after the Scottish FA rubber-stamped him as fit and proper to take over as Rangers chairman – and promised to make an immediate investment while also insisting the club had the cash to pay back a £5m loan to shareholder Mike Ashley.
As wildwood said
…”Like all these ‘events’ it’s worth reflecting on what they think are carefully timed & choreographed events / announcements / leaks that the general public will accept as just another astounding twist of fate in this whole cabal.
Sevco in the play-offs, Ladbrokes, League reconstruction again, King Fit & Proper. . . .
Yeah, the establishment are pulling no strings.”
…………………..
Seems to me like, there’s more shenanigans up the sleeves of the people who gave us the SECRET 5 way AGREEMENT !
Whether it’s appropriate? Big Mike gives them £5million to keep the lights on and pay the wages and Mr King questions the appropriateness of this?
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The problem is that Big Mike as you call him installed his own people that negotiate the loan. It is yet another dubious deal, and it is questionable. Come on a guy with less than 10% of shares put two guys on the board that subsequently became CEO and CFO then negotiated loans that are not in the clubs interests … it is just another comical factor of rangers (new or old)
Matty Roth says:
Member: (159 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 12:10 am
parttimearab says:
Member: (335 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 11:16 pm
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (202 comments)
May 19, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Just to clarify my previous comments, I can’t tell whether the SFA decision is good or bad as the basis of that decision is unknown
That IMO is wrong and fans/paying public deserve an explanation.
I have however become somewhat exasperated at the expectation that the SFA should have ruled DK not to be FPP.
I grant that a case can be made, but even if accepted I’d ask that some thought be given to what the ruling should have been if that were the case?
Since Die ban? Really, would that have been sustainable under challenge in court?
And if not Sine Die then how long? What term should a ban be, on what basis would that term be founded?
1 1 Rate This
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How about a block based on a rehabilitation of offenders type timescale?
Is the excuse of “it would only be challenged in the courts” really a viable one? I’d have thought that as long as the process and the decision followed the stated rules and procedures of the SFA then the courts would leave them to it.
Surely the courts would only find in Kings favour if the SFA operated outside of their rules.
I’m sure I’m being naive ……
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Matty, the Rehabilitation Of Offenders Act bases the expiry of an offence on the disposal not the crime and for a fine that’s one year from the sentence being passed.
In DK’S case his expiry date is long gone.
Wrt a court challenge that’s always a tricky one.
If a ban interfered with his (legitimate) ability to run a company it would, I think, be open to challenge.
If any ban did not take the Rehabilitation Of Offenders Act into account, more so.
And, as you see above, any ban now would be contrary to the Act.
I wouldn’t claim that a ban would fall, or indeed that DK would have challenged it, but you’d think (and this must have crossed the minds of the SFA) that he would and could well have been successful.
Like most others on this site I am absolutely appalled at the decision regarding Mr King.
Now that he has been approved as being Fit and Proper I bet he woke up this morning wondering just what he has let himself in for. He is now in control of an entity completely debt ridden, with onerous contracts, a former management team on gardening leave, monthly payments of almost £300k to God knows who, a stadium requiring millions spent on it, a squad of players most of whom are shortly out of contract and the rest worth just north of tuppence. To cap it all he has two games against Hibs to try to overcome to reach the promised land. Wonder what his kids are thinking about the use being put to their inheritance?
I see there are lots of comments on the contributions made on last night’s Sportsound so thought I’d have a listen.
Normally the podcast is up within an hour of the show finishing.
Imagine my surprise then to find no podcast has yet been posted. Are the editors hard at work or is this just another honest mistake?
Given the FPP announcement I have ever wanted a team to win so much in all my puff. (Well since Sunday!!)
GGTTH
Je suis un Hibby 🙂
Highland_Bhoy says:
Member: (5 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 9:23 am
Whether it’s appropriate? Big Mike gives them £5million to keep the lights on and pay the wages and Mr King questions the appropriateness of this?
————————————————
The problem is that Big Mike as you call him installed his own people that negotiate the loan. It is yet another dubious deal, and it is questionable. Come on a guy with less than 10% of shares put two guys on the board that subsequently became CEO and CFO then negotiated loans that are not in the clubs interests … it is just another comical factor of rangers (new or old)
/////////////////////
What % of shares does P Murry own?
How much have DK/P Murry invested or loaned TRFC to date?
Noticed that myself Jimmci was looking forward to listening too 😕
So the SFA have undertaken their due processes and declared Mr King as “fit and proper”, or whatever.
These self same people at the top of the SFA are the same decision makers who (secretly from most clubs and all fans) collaborated and created the not very secret (any more) 5 Way Agreement.
They are still in post and the not very shocking news is The SFA hasn’t changed.
The real perpetrators remain up to their necks in being complicit to an initial post-dinner deal which was favourable to one club at the expense of other members and by doing so opening up a veritable pandoras box of ongoing consequences and incompetences in this sorry saga.
We’ve witnessed cover up after cover up by them in the naive hope it will all be forgotten one day.
It won’t.
So we should ask ourselves “Why would we expect these same executives to start acting honourably or genuinely in the interest of all members equally”?
I’m therefore not at all surprised by yesterday’s SFA decision.
I am more disturbed by the silence of our clubs who now all know about the 5 Way Agreement and a whole lot more.
I also don’t think everything the SFA does is bad.
There are foot-soldiers at the SFA who are doing a good job so fair play but the constant need to cover up and re cover up the crucial SFA directorial role in creating and incompetently fanning the Rangers saga as we know it is embarrassing.
And it has sucked in our msm almost to a man in a very unholy and unwritten version of what is and isn’t acceptable to report or discuss.
And it is all happening in the full view of our clubs whose chairmen are meant to represent us – their stakeholders.
Highland_Bhoy says:
Member: (5 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 2:38 am
My information from a fairly well connected source is that the vote was unanimous.
I have also been briefed by a Celtic source that Celtic are privately “appalled”.
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Hi, how can we be privately appalled when the vote was unanimous … who was voting? The SFA professional board? If that is the case that makes no sense.
===========================
That puzzled me too. The only way it would make sense is if Lawell has declared a conflict of interest and took no part in the matter. But then that would raise interesting questions regarding Ogilvie’s involvement. Mind you, the questions can be interesting, but there will doubtless be no answers forthcoming. That’s how Scottish football operates, sadly.
What % of shares does P Murry own?
How much have DK/P Murry invested or loaned TRFC to date?
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Hi I am not sure what you are meaning but DK and his cabal only became directors after securing the vote in the EGM. So the answer is the majority of shares.
But like again I am not sure what you are asking.
Mr King. Fit and Proper Person? As judged by the SFA?
I know that I ought to be outraged.
I ought to be appalled by this decision.
I ought to be banging the desk, howling at the computer about the damage that this does to the credibility of the game.
It appears that I’m not.
It is as if the grief and anger has passed in some way. It has been such a foregone conclusion for so long that this would happen, there is no surprise, nothing to be shocked by anymore.
Our sport continues to dig deeper into the sewer. Donkeys led by Doncaster, rogues led by Regan.
Sevco are welcome to Mr King, Mr Ashley and all the assorted leeches and vampires that continue to bleed them dry. Let this be a measure of their dignity, of what it means to be a real Rangers man.
In this context, it is worth realising that it could have been even worse.
If DK can be passed as a FPP – you have to ask – who would fail?
What level of criminality would they regard as beyond the pale when it comes to running Rangers?
How many sins does being a Real Rangers Man absolve? Are there any that are excluded?
Sevco are welcome to Mr King. I don’t care if he is successful or not. They could go on to be world champions and I wouldn’t care. Really.
I know what they are. I know the world knows what they are. And I know, deep down, they know what they are.
Any victory you gain over cheats is all the sweeter for knowing that you just beat a cheat.
Any loss you sustain to a cheat you can more easily justify as you know they are cheats.
What we have to ask our clubs though, is this. Why do you want to play against cheats?
And why do you think we should continue to pay for it?
It was inevitable, Dave King has ‘passed’ the turkey that is a ‘fit and proper’ test. To most observers it seems incredible that a man with his record should pass, though it might be considerd even more incredible that anyone with his criminal record would put himself forward for such public scrutiny in the first place, but so often men of such low morals remain blissfully unaware of how they look to those of us to whom making an honest living comes as first, not even second, nature!
Dave King is a convicted criminal, a proven liar, and a user of unsavoury business practices. His continued public lies, his most recent merely an hour after the announcement, show he is not a reformed man. He is not fit and proper to hold a place, anywhere, in an honest society – but he will, like so many others of his ilk, be allowed, indeed encouraged, to milk the unwary. There is no need to contact judicial authorities to decide with so much evidence in the publice domain.
Parttimearab made the valid point that the FPP regulations are merely guidelines and would undoubtedly collapse in a court of law. There is still, however, no need to, nor excuse for, the SFA passing him as fit and proper. They could, if they were viewing the matter as moral members of society, have announced that they find him not fit and proper to hold a position on the board of a Scottish football club, but, having taken appropriate legal advice, are not in a position to prevent him taken a position on The Rangers’ board, though recommend that the club, themselves, reject him. They could also say that, should the club accept him onto the board, that neither he, nor any member of the current board, would ever be considered for a position at the SFA, and that the SPFL have confirmed the same position.
Doesn’t prevent TRFC continuing in their undignified manner, but makes a necessary point, while leaving that club, and it’s supporters, with no doubt who is to blame if/when things go pear-shaped at Ibrox again.
Might have been a good way to prevent the next ‘threat of civil unrest’!
OT.
IVUE/STALKER back up and working 🙂
For all who have already installed
1 Highlight (do not open app) IVUE
2 press C on your keyboard (menu on remote)
3 Goto settings
4 Check on first options page that it is set to Stalker Tv
5 Move to last options screen (all the way to the right)
6 Move to delete database
7 Click delete database and all 3 options below it
8 Click ok on all safety pop ups
9 Move down to ok And click ok
Now you can open IVUE and a new database should load (may take a few minutes)
If all is ok you should have a complete EPG and working links for all the best UK and USA TV 🙂
From today’s Herald (Chris Jack):
“Mr King, who agreed a £43.7m settlement with the South African tax authorities after criminal charges against him were dropped in 2013”!!!!!!!!
Oh deary me, what is this paper coming to? One of the most blatant piece of misinformation in this whole saga. I really don’t care too much about the FPP decision as it was inevitable in my view and not giving it would, as said here, have been at least challengeable.
· He has been convicted within the last 10 years of (i) an offence liable to imprisonment of two years or over, (ii) corruption or (iii) fraud and;
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· He has been convicted within the last 10 years of (i) an offence liable to imprisonment of 83 years or over, (ii) corruption or (iii) fraud and;
there you go campbell couldve saved you a whole lot of bother there…
Highland_Bhoy says:
Member: (6 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 9:23 am
The appropriateness of the loan was that it was necessary to keep the club/company alive; but regardless, the loan was made, the money spent, and it has to be repaid. All the bluster in the world from King, won’t change that!
Highland_Bhoy says:
Member: (6 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 10:18 am
/////////////////
Let me put it this way
How many shares does P Murry own to justify a place on the board or all the shouting he has done over the last few years
Also how much has DK so called invested or loaned to TRFC over the last few years?
All while others were keeping the lights on
Both have done nothing but shout and DK only bought shares when he knew he would assend the marble staircase
So why decry Mike Ashley for putting men on the board to protect his investment?
It was stated time and again the door was open for Mr King to invest (buy shares) or even loan money
Mr King even changed his tune last night
From I will invest no matter what
Whether found FPP or not on the podium at the EGM
To (paraphraseing ) now I can invest
Now that I have be found FPP
As I wouldn’t have invested if u hadn’t been found FPP
Also Ashley had 2 place men
Mr King has P Murry
Does King’s cunning plan include provision for two more years in the Championship?
What if they lose to Hibs then Hibs lose to Motherwell.
Next season would see a Championship with a stable, sustainable, well sorted Hibs against a new squad at Ibrox. Not to mention QoS. That could easily lead to another round of play-offs for The Rangers. League reconstruction demanded to get a BBC deal looks more and more likely by the day.
I would personally like Celtic or/and other clubs to publicly state their opposition to the appointment of Dave King as ‘fit & proper.’ This whole charade not only stinks to high heaven but until several clubs put their head above the parapet (Turnbull Hutton RIP), then this downward spiral will continue until the fans have had enough and can take no more, removing themselves and their wallets rom the game.
Each team sevco play at Ibrox, should instruct their fans to stay away until the authorities get it through their thick skulls, that Scottish fans will treat the spfa like the voters treated Labour. With absolute disdain and the only way to hurt the spfa is through the pocket.
Zilch,
There is certainly an element of Pantomime villain for sure. The big bad institutional club that everyone loves to hate and beat so turn out in big numbers to watch their club oppose them. Basically WWF on grass. Or to give it its other title, Real Madrid!
That is a very dangerous game to play.
Just regarding King’s latest comments btw you have to watch and not make assumption on what the man is saying. I don’t think he’s questioning if repayment, at all, to Ashley is appropriate, only the timing of it. If he had answered (or god forbid was questioned fully) his answer might have been – “well Ive scraped up £5,000,050 so I would have to question if writing a cheque now for £99.9% of it is appropriate.”
The SFA’s role in this now is surely to oversee his investment and the way that that is levered to initiate more, presumably as season ticket revenues and possibly in a small share offer also. Now as long as that money is put to good use to right the ship, then there isn’t much more they can do, since I’m sure King’s FPP request was founded on the basis of “The only acceptable show in town.” Question is will King and his hubris driven fan base accept a sea worthy tug boat, or will they insist on a luxury yaught on expensive and unaffordable finance. I suspect the answer to that weighs heavily in the results tonight and on Saturday.
here is a link to last night’s BBC Sportsound podcast. Give it a minute to load:
http://ic.51834e38.1163ef.aod-pod-uk-live.bbcfmt.vo.llnwi.net/mpg_mp3_med/2c97c5944cfb7a51014d6d7d16e0247e–audio–sportsound-podcast-19-may-2015_mpg_mp3_med.mp3?s=1432088397&e=1432131597&h=fb8136d3a9c0622ec1c0215c64dfba1a
mcfc,
I would expect, in the absence of a 5WA style stitch up for next season, that reconstruction for 16/17 would be voted through tout suite to provide a safety net for precisely that ‘problem.’
Btw there’s a few buddies would like a quick word with you!
Parttimearab made the valid point that the FPP regulations are merely guidelines and would undoubtedly collapse in a court of law.
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The problem is that it isn’t really in a court of law, I mean do supporters really care who buys and owns them, so long as they are successful. I mean do Chelsea fans wring there mitts worrying were Abramovich’s money game from, similarly an outspoken poster on here seems fit to slag the scottish regime yet conveniently ignores the pedigree of his own middle eastern slave trader owners. if they are successful? Yes we would all like to be like Barcelona, “more than a Club” with no shirt sponsorship … eh that was until before the vote for the world cup, and what do you know Spain voted for Qatar, and low and behold we have Qatar Foundation embazoned across their shirts. Easily explained just swapping one charity for another … so where did Qatar Airways come in to it then.
Corruption is all through our game and no one gives a monkey, until the other side gets an advantage.
Bordersdon,
It was the statement by RTC that “you will notice a lot of inaccurate reporting about this story but strangely it all seems to lean in the same direction” that first drew me to the saga.
bordersdon says:
Member: (2 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 10:43 am
Saw that too. Unusually for me, I have made a complaint to the Editor. If we cannot trust newspapers to tell the truth, about something as trivial as football, how can we trust them to tell the truth on the big issues?
Smugas says:
Member: (786 comments)
May 20, 2015 at 10:53 am
Just regarding King’s latest comments btw you have to watch and not make assumption on what the man is saying. I don’t think he’s questioning if repayment, at all, to Ashley is appropriate, only the timing of it. If he had answered (or god forbid was questioned fully) his answer might have been – “well Ive scraped up £5,000,050 so I would have to question if writing a cheque now for £99.9% of it is appropriate.”
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I am certain that most of us took King’s literal meaning to be what you suggest, but I have absolutely no doubt that the words were deliberately chosen to imply, for the benefit of those desperate for it to be the case, that King was questioning the NEED to repay! He was also buying time, from his loving fans, to make the payment that they would love to see him make today.
All very similar to his response to questions about his NOMAD immediately after his EGM victory! ‘I have one; we are in negotiations with…; we don’t need one…’
‘I have the money; I am checking to see if it is appropriate to repay…; we don’t…’
Be good to hear if you get a reply from the Herald editor Scapaflow. That was not just biased reporting. It was lies!