Good Afternoon.
Announcing outstanding financial successes for Rangers PLC the then Chairman of the club opened his Chairman’s report in the annual financial statements with the following words:
“Last summer I explained that the Club, after many years of significant investment in our playing squad
and more recently in our state of the art facility at Murray Park, had embarked on a three year business
plan to stabilise and improve the Club’s finances. The plan also recognised the need to react to the
challenging economic conditions facing football clubs around the world.
Following a trend over a number of years of increasing year on year losses, I am pleased to report that
in the first year of this plan we have made important progress by reversing this trend. Our trading loss
for last year of £11.2m reflects a £7.9m improvement versus the £19.1m loss for the previous year and
although it will take more time to completely reach our goals, this is a key milestone. We also intend to
make significant further progress by the end of the current financial year. This improvement is the
consequence of having a solid strategy and the commitment and energy to implement the changes it requires”
Later on in the same statement the chairman would add:
“Another key part of our plan is associated with the Rangers brand and our Retail Division goes from strength to strength. Our financial results this year have been significantly enhanced by an outstanding performance in merchandising Rangers products, in particular replica kit, which makes our Retail Division one of the most successful in Europe.”
In the same set of financial reports, the CEO would report:
“To further strengthen Rangers hospitality portfolio, a new dedicated sponsor’s lounge was unveiled this season. The Carling Lounge is a first for the Club and was developed in conjunction with our new sponsor, Carling. ”
and
“Our innovative events programme continues to grow and this year saw a record number of official events including the highly successful annual Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony, Player of the Year and 50 Championships Gala Dinner, all of which catered for up to 1000 guests.
At Rangers, we continually develop our portfolio of products and as a key area of income for the Club, we evaluate the market for new revenue opportunities on an ongoing basis in order to exceed our existing and potential customer expectations and needs.
Demand for season tickets reached an all time high last season with a record 42,508 season ticket holders in comparison with the previous season`s figure of 40,320. Over 36,000 of these season ticket holders renewed for this season – a record number.
For the new season, we are delighted to welcome brewing giant, Carling on board as our Official Club sponsor. Carling is one of the UK’s leading consumer brands with a proven track record in football sponsorship.
The Club also continues to work with a number of multinational blue chip brands such as National Car Rental, Sony Playstation 2, Bank of Scotland and Coca-Cola. This year, we will also experience the evolution of the Honda deal via Hyndland Honda and welcome the mobile communications giant T-Mobile to our ranks.”.
The year was 2003 and in the previous 24 months Rangers Football Club, owned and operated as a private fiefdom by Sir David Murray, had made operational losses of some £30 million.
Yes – 30 MILLION POUNDS.
Of course the chairman’s report for 2003 was written by John F Mclelland CBE and the CEO was one Martin Bain Esq.
As Mr Mclelland clearly stated, by 2003 the club already had a trend of increasing year on year losses covering a number of years and was losing annual sums which stretched into millions, if not tens of millions, of pounds.
However, the acquisition of Rangers Football Club was absolutely vital to David Murray’s personal business growth, and his complete control of the club as his own private business key was more important than any other business decision he had made before buying Rangers or since.
When he persuaded Gavin Masterton to finance 100% of the purchase price of the club, Murray had his finest business moment.
By getting control of Rangers, Murray was able to offer entertainment, hospitality, seeming privilege and bestow favour on others in a way that was hitherto undreamed of, and he bestowed that largesse on any number of “existing and potential clients” and contacts – be they the clients and contacts related to Rangers Football Club or the existing and potential clients of David Murray, his businesses, his banks, or anyone in any field that he chose to court for the purposes of potential business.
His business.
It wasn’t only journalists who benefited from the succulent lamb treatment.
Accountants,lawyers, surveyors, broadcasters, football officials, people in industry and construction, utilities, financiers and other areas of business were all invited inside the sacred House of Murray and given access to the great man of business “and owner of Rangers” while attending the “record number of official (hospitality) events”.
Twelve months on from when John McLelland made those statements in the 2003 accounts, David Murray was back in the chair at Ibrox and he presented the 2004 financials.
In the intervening 12 months Rangers had gained an additional £10 million from Champions League income and had received £8.6 million in transfer fees from the sale of Messrs Ferguson, Amoruso and McCann. Not only that, the Rangers board had managed to reduce the club’s wage bill by £5 million. Taking all three figures together comes to some £23.6 million in extra income or savings.
Yet, the accounts for 2004 showed that the club made an operational loss of almost £6 million and overall debt had risen by an additional £7 million to £97.4 million.
However, the 2004 accounts were also interesting for another reason.
Rangers PLC had introduced payments “to employees trusts” into their accounts for the first time in 2001 and in that year they had paid £1million into those trusts. Just three years later, the trust payments recorded in the accounts had risen to £7.3 million per annum — or to put it another way to 25% of the annual wage bill though no one in Scottish Football asked any questions about that!
By the following year, the chairman announced that the 2004 operational loss had in fact been £10.4million but that the good news was that the 2005 operational loss was only £7.8 million. However Rangers were able to post a profit before taxation if they included the money obtained from transfers (£8.4 million) and the inclusion of an extraordinary profit of £14,999,999 made on buying back the shares of a subsidiary company for £1 which they had previously sold for £15 million.
All of which added up to a whopping great profit of ……… £12.4 million!
I will leave you to do the maths on 2005.
Oh and of course these accounts included the detail that 3000 Rangers fans had joined David Murray in participating in the November ’94 share issue where the club managed to raise £51,430,995 in fresh capital most of which was provided by Mr Murray… sorry I mean MIH ….. sorry that should read Bank of Scotland …… or their shareholders……. or should that be the public purse?
The notable items in the 2006 accounts included the announcement of a ten year deal with JJB Sports to take over the merchandising operation of the club and increased revenue from an extended run in the Champion’s League. However, the profit before tax was declared at only£0.1 million in comparison to the £12.4 million of the year before but then again that £12.4 million had included player sales of £8.4 million and the £15 million sweety bonus from the repurchase of ones own former subsidiary shares for £1.
Jumping to 2008 Rangers saw a record year in terms of turnover which had risen to £64.5 million which enabled the company to record a profit on ordinary activities before taxation of £6.57 million although it should be pointed out that wages and bonuses were up at 77% of turnover and that a big factor in the Rangers income stream was corporate hospitality and the top line of income was shown as “gate receipts and hospitality”.
However, 2009 saw a calamitous set of figures. Whilst Alastair Johnston tried to put a brave chairman’s face on it, the year saw an operating loss of £17.325 million which was softened only by player disposals leading to a loss before taxation of a mere £14.085 million.
Fortunately Sir David did not have to report these figures as he chose to stand down as chairman in August and so Johnston stepped in and announced that he was deeply honoured to do so.
In 2010, the income stream jumped from £39.7 million to over £56 million with the result that the club showed a profit before taxation of £4.209 million.
However, by that time the corporate hospitality ticket that was Rangers Football Club was done for as a result of matters that had nothing to do with events on the football field in the main.
First, the emergence of the Fergus McCann run Celtic had brought a real business and sporting challenge. This was something that Murray had not previously faced in the football business.
Second,the Bank of Scotland had gone bust and Lloyds could not and would not allow Murray to continually borrow vast sums of money on the basis of revalued assets and outrageous hospitality.
Third, the UEFA fair play rules came into being and demanded that clubs at least act on a semblance of proper corporate governance and fiscal propriety.
Lastly,Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs tightened up the law on the use of EBT’s which meant that Rangers could no longer afford to buy in the players that brought almost guaranteed success against domestic opposition.
On average, since 2002 Rangers PLC had lost between £7 million – £8 million per year – or roughly £650,000 per month if you like – yet for the better part of a decade David Murray had been able to persuade the Bank of Scotland that this was a business that was worthy of ever greater financial support or that he himself and his MIH business was of such value that the Banks should support him in supporting the Ibrox club whilst operating in this fashion.
Of course, had Murray’s Rangers paid tax on all player remunerations then the losses would have been far larger.
Meanwhile, all the other clubs in Scottish football who banked with the Bank of Scotland faced funding cuts and demands for repayment with the bank publicly proclaiming that it was overexposed to the football market in Scotland.
But no one asked any questions about why the bank should act one way with Murray’s club but another way with all others. No one in football, no one in the media and no one from the world of business.
Looking back,it is hard to imagine a business which has been run on such a consistent loss making basis being allowed to continue by either its owners or by its bankers. However, a successful and funded Rangers was so important to the Murray group that David Murray was clearly willing to lose millions year after year to keep the Gala dinners and corporate hospitality going.
Rangers were Murray’s big PR vehicle and the club was essentially used by him to open the doors which would allow him to make more money elsewhere on a personal basis and if it meant Rangers cutting every corner and accumulating massive losses, unsustainable losses, then so be it.
Today, the new regime at Ibrox run the current business in a way which clocks up the same colossal annual losses whilst the club competes outwith Scotland’s top division. Each day we hear that the wage bill is unsustainable, that the playing staff are overpaid, that the stadium needs massive investment and that the fans are opposed to the stadium itself being mortgaged and the club being in hawk to lenders.
Yet, in the Murray era the Stadium was revalued time and time again and its revaluation was used as the justification for ever greater borrowing on the Rangers accounts. The playing staff were massively overpaid and financially assisted by the EBT’s and most years the Chairman’s annual statement announced huge losses despite regular claims of record season ticket sales, record hospitality income, European income, shirt sponsorship and the outsourcing of all merchandising to JJB sports instead of Sports Direct.
The comparison between the old business and the current one is clear for all to see.
It should be noted, that since the days of Murray, no major banking institution has agreed to provide the Ibrox business with any banking facilities. Not under Whyte, not under Green, not under anyone.
Yet few ask why that should be.
The destruction of the old Rangers business led those in charge of Scottish football to announce that Armageddon was on the horizon if it had not actually arrived, yet today virtually all Scottish clubs are in a better financial and business state than back in the bad old days of the Bank of Scotland financed SPL. Some have succumbed to insolvency, and others have simply cut their cloth, changed their structure, sought, and in some cases attracted, new owners and moved on in terms of business.
In general, Scottish Football has cleaned house at club level.
Now, David Murray has “cleaned house” in that MIH has bitten the dust and walked down insolvency road.
What is interesting is that the Murray brand still has that capacity to get out a good PR message when it needs to. Despite the MIH pension fund being short of money for some inexplicable reason, last week it was announced that the family controlled Murray Estates had approached those in charge of MIH and had agreed to buy some key MIH assets for something in the region of £13.9 million.
The assets concerned are land banks which at some point will be zoned for planning and which will undoubtedly bring the Murray family considerable profit in the future, with some of those assets already looking as if they will produce a return sooner rather than later.
However, what is not commented upon in the mainstream press is the fact that Murray Estates had the ability to pay £13.9 Million for anything at all and that having that amount of money to spend the Murray camp has chosen not to buy any football club down Govan way.
Perhaps, it has been realised that a football club which loses millions of pounds each year is not such a shrewd investment and that the Murray family money would be better spent elsewhere?
Perhaps, it has been realised that the culture of wining, dining, partying and entertaining to the most lavish and extravagant extent will not result in the banks opening their vaults any more?
Perhaps, it has been realised that the Rangers brand has been so badly damaged over the years that it is no longer the key to the golden door in terms of business, finance and banking and that running a football club in 2015 involves a discipline and a set of skills that David Murray and his team do not have experience of?
What is clear, is that the Murray years at Ibrox were not good for the average Rangers fan in the long term and that when you have a football club – any football club – being run for the private benefit of one rich individual, or group of individuals, then the feelings and passions of the ordinary fan will as often as not be forgotten when that individual or his group choose to move on once they have decided that they no longer wish to play with their toy football club.
David Murray did not make money directly out of Rangers Football Club. He used it as a key to open other doors for him and to get him a seat at other tables and into a different type of “club” altogether. He did not run the club in a day to day fashion that was designed to bring stability and prolonged financial, or playing, success to the club. its investors and its fans. He did not preside over Ibrox during a period of sustained financial gain.
Mike Ashley will not subsidise 2015 version of Rangers to anything like the same extent that the Bank of Scotland did in the 90’s and naughties.
However, Ashley, like Murray, will use his control of the Rangers brand to open doors for him elsewhere in the sports retail market, and he will use the Rangers contract with Sports Direct to make a handsome profit. He will also control all the advertising revenue just as he does at Newcastle. In short, Mr Ashley is only interested in The Rangers with a view to using it as a stepping stone to achieve other things elsewhere.
However, don’t take my word for any of this, take the opinion of someone who knows.
Mr Dave King is quoted today as saying the following about the current board of Directors who are in charge of the current Ibrox holding company.
“History will judge this board as one of the worst the club has ever had. There is not one individual who puts the club above personal interest.”
That is an interesting observation from a man who became a non executive director of the old Rangers holding company in 2000 and who had a front row pew for every set of accounts and all the financial statements referred to above.
Whether or not Mr King is a glib and shameless liar is a matter of South African judicial opinion. Whether or not he can spot someone who puts their own self interest ahead of the interests of Rangers Football Club and the supporters of the club is a matter that should be discussed over some fine wine, some succulent lamb and whatever postprandial entertainment you care to imagine.
I wonder if he has ever read the accounts of Rangers PLC and compared them to the corresponding accounts of MIH for the same period?
ecobhoy says:
January 22, 2015 at 10:33 am
I totally agree with you that everything Charles Green says should be taken with a pinch of salt, and if he does state the truth, at any time, it will be by mistake (and worth looking out for).
My response to your post, though, wasn’t about taking Green’s claims about McCoist’s salary at face value, but about your assertion that we should avoid judging McCoist himself. In my opinion, anyone who puts himself in the public gaze is there to be judged, and it’s fair to judge them on their public actions and utterances. Whether or not McCoist should be judged on his salary situation depends on whether or not his public actions and utterances involved his salary. I think he used a voluntary paycut as part of his personal PR, did he not? That, to me, makes his salary, and all that surrounds it, open to public judgement. That doesn’t change regardless of what Charles Green says, even in some low quality hospital drama
.
Here’s the thing. You are assuming that the creditor (he who is owed the 6.5m (Phil said 8.5m, VAT?)) has no knowledge of the current situation at TRFC. Lets just say the creditor was very very confident 😉 😉 😉 that the 10m will be loaned either securely by MA through whichever derivative he chooses, or is shoehorned in unsecured as the RRM win the day 😆 😆 😆 that the funds will be there and available for whomsoever to be immediately repaid.
In fact the word contra springs surprisingly to hand!
Jungle Jim says:
January 22, 2015 at 8:46 am
Is it safe to assume that the huge unexpected bill that was causing so much panic does not exist after all? Phil’s latest piece discusses how Ashley’s men might ensure the £10m loan is spent as quickly as possible. If there truly was an unpaid bill somewhere in the region of £6.5m that would pretty much take care of it, particularly with wages due to be paid soon and no money in the kitty.
_________
I’d think that, for the £10m to run out before any EGM, that some substantial onerous bill, like the much vaunted £6.5m, would have to exist. The £2m that Phil mentions as needing paid now plus this month’s salaries would probably just about do it.
I wouldn’t be surprised, though, especially if Ashley is as ruthless as we suspect, if he then lends more, unsecured, money to ensure he becomes the major, controlling, creditor in any CVA proposal, giving him a huge gun to hold to the heads of the RRMs to ensure his onerous contracts are secured, and maybe even enhanced.
WH Ireland seeking advice from AIM on DNA Testing
All existing and potential Rangers Directors will require to provide blood samples to determine their fitness for office.
The amazing move is revealed in a petition handed-in to the London Office of the latest Rangers NOMAD by ‘we the people’ who claim it’sa ‘nomad’ plan.
The petition demands the removal of: ‘The current directors & replace them with those of both sound business acumen & Rangers blood’.
The current Board are believed to be questioning whether the ‘purity’ issues raised by blood testing contravenes UK anti-discrimination legislation and European Commission anti-competition regulations.
However firstly it will need to be established by DNA testing whether a sub-group of the population actually has Rangers blood or not.
This could be of prime importance for the ailing club as the transfusion of cash so desperately needed to keep the patient alive would need to be provided by a suitable donor or terminal damage could be inflicted.
It also raises the thorny issue as to whether Season Ticket holders and shareholders need to meet the ‘Rangers Blood’ criteria.
Mike Ashley in his first ever personal statement to the media declared: ‘We can extract blood from a stone and we don’t care whether it’s a Rangers stone or not’.
UNDERNOTE
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The UNDERNOTE appears on Rangers Media and if my instinct is wrong that a Timposter wrote it then I think we might see the latest Nomad take to the hills or at least the Southern Uplands asap.
I wrote the bit above the UNDERNOTE as a spoof btw.
If true – Scary stuff with disturbing echoes of Blut und Ehre.
I think I’m way behind on this, but can’t resist pointing out these gems (as Sarver would say) from the ‘mendacious witness’:
“If SARS obtained information unlawfully then I could apply to have my settlement set aside. According to my advice that is the correct legal position.
So “settlement” is now RRM for “41 tax evasion convictions”. It reminds me of the Not The Nine O’Clock News sketch with Lenny Henry as news reader: “The Sellafield nuclear plant has been renamed Windscale, and radiation has been renamed fairy moonbeams”
And in other news the ‘glib and shameless liar’ said:
“I also now have sufficient time and resources to invest in getting Rangers back on track.”
So buy them Dave, just fecking buy them and spend all the tenners it takes to get them back to where they belong.
I used to like Ally McCoist, as did many of my Celtic supporting friends. He seemed like a guy you could enjoy a pint with, charming, fairly witty and generally just a decent bloke.
The last few years have seen a different side of Mr McCoist in public. The ‘Shame game’ was a shock to a lot of people. Not only did we see an angry Ally whom many of us had never witnessed before. We also saw the way in which his media friends would make excuses or blame other people for his actions. Or simply not mention them.
The coverage of the aftermath of that match opened a lot of people’s eyes to how the media operate.
I believe it also convinced Ally McCoist that he (like his mentor) was untouchable.
Cuddly Ally was gone and in his place was a snarling, sarcastic, aggressive replacement.
The Bears lapped it up but in my opinion the rest of Scottish football saw something they will struggle to forget.
Which McCoist is the real one?
I don’t know but there’s not a chance I’d go for a pint with him now. Just in case.
Allyjambo says:
January 22, 2015 at 11:23 am
I wouldn’t be surprised, though, especially if Ashley is as ruthless as we suspect, if he then lends more, unsecured, money to ensure he becomes the major, controlling, creditor in any CVA proposal, giving him a huge gun to hold to the heads of the RRMs to ensure his onerous contracts are secured, and maybe even enhanced.
==========================================
I mentioned the other day that I was surprised that Murray Park wasn’t included on the Regulatory Aim Norice along with Ibrox as both had been on the earlier advance notices to the Land Registry.
I have since been doing a bit of digging about and there are rumblings that a deal is nearing conclusion over a Murray Park sale. But there isn’t a shred of evidence to back it up although the source is usually reliable.
Again it’s something that will emerge sooner rather than later IMO.
ecobhoy says:
January 22, 2015 at 11:47 am
……………
Might explain why Mike is so keen to provide a £10m loan! with the proceeds paying a significant portion of that back. and with the removal of running costs the balance sheet moves closer into that unchartered territory for them…living within yer means.
Looks like RNS paperwork announcing Dave Kings’s share purchase had the wrong company name – corrected RNS just filed.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12223247.html
ecobhoy says:
January 22, 2015 at 11:47
Selling MP would certainly be in the interest of austerity, but would surely be a backward step when it comes to sustainability through nurturing young talent in the future. If these rumours have foundation, I wonder if any ‘sale’ will be as a result of Ashley’s plans for austerity, or as a result of recent moves forcing ‘stealth’ contracts to surface. Is it possible for an onerous contract to kick in after a length of time or event transpiring? We seem to be on a never ending learning curve of just how ‘stealthy’ top drawer spivs can be. And Charles Green has re-entered the story, from his sick-bed, no less.
What’s wrong with the Dave King story? He’s very rich, the club he loves is infested by infidels and yet he won’t spend his spare change to help them. It may be because he doesn’t pay ransoms to terrorists – a fine sentiment – but you can end up with some dead loved ones.
Also the purchase price is only the start – compared to the cost of getting them back to where …..
He also talks about one owner being bad for the club so wants some convoluted finance package of OMP. So buy them, put the worese thing right and and IPO them back to the fans adn RRM.
There are just too many contradictions and excuses. Either he doesn’t have the money or he doesn’t have the love.
Seems to me, Dave needs some counselling on the dissonance between wanting to be the Big.I .Am at Ibrox and spending the cash to achieve that.
Allyjambo says:
January 22, 2015 at 12:25 pm
I wonder if any ‘sale’ will be as a result of Ashley’s plans for austerity, or as a result of recent moves forcing ‘stealth’ contracts to surface.
==================================================================
Could be, Can’t Pay, We’ll Take Tt Away.
It’s there in balack and white – £6.5mil cash payment or handover the deeds to MP.
£6.5mil demand gone – but so is MP.
btw MP is not a pre-requisite for a vibrant youth programme – never has been, never will be, it’s “we’ll spend a tenner” in bricks, mortar and turf.
ecobhoy says:
January 21, 2015 at 4:00 pm
While looking for the ruling on how free entry/compensation works for games postponed before half time, the Web just helped put a smile on my face by reading some of the comments of Bears boards with regard to the late postponement of the St Johnstone v Rangers game on 20 Feb 2010 due to a small section of the pitch not thawing out due to faulty under soil heating at McDairmid.
————————————————————–
Ah but you’ve missed the point Wottpi. The 2010 game was an Act of God due to a combination of weather and equipment malfunction.
Friday night’s call-off was something else entirely. It was a dastardly PL plot. In fact I’m sure RD had a remote for switching-off the undersoil heating
_______________________________________________________
Going by precedent they should be more than happy to let fans in for free. Oh no wait…. that was a different club…
Still, this only registered a ‘fume’ on the Rangers Rage-o-meter which is about a 4/10 with 10 being a ‘Manchester’
RANGERS FUME AS DUNDEE UTD CHARGE FANS FOR POSTPONED GAME
http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/rangers-fume-dundee-utd-charge-fans-postponed-game-449411
MoreCelticParanoia says:
January 22, 2015 at 12:39 pm
More Jambo paranoia (see what I did there? 😉 )
Football match on TV – home club gets TV fee, but crowd reduced.
Football match gets abandoned – home club keeps gate money and TV fee.
Match replayed, but no TV coverage – supporters with tickets get in for free, those who didn’t attend because match was on TV, have to pay to get in.
Match replayed, with TV coverage – another TV fee.
What’s not to like? Especially when you’ve saved on nearly 24 hours of undersoil heating costs!
By the way, I’m not suggesting any football club would create this scenario, it’s just for a wee laugh – only spivs would get involved in that kind of scam
I see a reference above to the Daily Record’s ‘light blue legions’ I know it is a throw away line but think on as to who the original legions were in these parts- no less than the military wing of a great empire who were there to Lord it over the people and to impose their law on them. On reflection the Record might be telling the truth…..
Raith Rovers – a wee oasis of common sense in Scottiish football.
Long live Turnbull Hutton and his men.
mcfc says:
January 22, 2015 at 1:20 pm
I bet Eric Drysdale is not a popular chappie with his fellow SPFL board members today.
It does beg a couple of question though, what does Eric know, and why is his the only club protecting themselves in this way?
If I were at any of the of the Championship Clubs, you can bet your ass, I’d be on Drysdale’s call sheet this morning.
Edit
Blue Legions? Lost Legions more like, history repeating itself? (Yes, I know, the IX were probably lost in Central Europe, 🙂 )
neepheid says:
January 22, 2015 at 10:36 am
From today’s Record. Boycott time?
——————————————–
Pretty sure we were never top of the list of friends they’re making on the journey anyway.
scapaflow says:
January 22, 2015 at 1:32 pm
If I were at any of the of the Championship Clubs, you can bet your ass, I’d be on Drysdale’s call sheet this morning.
=============================================================
Fiduciary Duty and balls. I’d expect more to follow suit – unless the sixth floor RRM come down on RR.
It’s also a red flag for commercial creditors without blue blood who have been asleep at the wheel. If Mike’s £10mil doesn’t materialise PDQ, they’ll all be seizing goods, making write-offs or sending winding up orders.
mcfc says:
January 22, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Yes confidence, as in how will this affect Ranger’s business partners, of all shapes and sizes, confidence in Rangers ability to pay their bills?
Psychology plays a bigger role in business, than we ever care to admit
scapaflow says:
January 22, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Psychology plays a bigger role in business, than we ever care to admit
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HMRC will be pleased too – more chance of them getting the VAT on time
That’s nothing MCP. There was once a club that it turned out I was actually financially supporting their fans, in a roundabout way, to turn up and support it. Blumin’ good job they never came wailing to me for sympathy, I’ll tell you!
Looks like there will be more to come on the events at Ibrox on Friday
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/dangerous-myths/#more-5760
No conspiracy here, more like the inevitable consequences of not having the funds to pay for the basics
Will be interesting to see what Hearts/Ms Budge make of the match delegates report
PMcGs latest is correct I am appalled by the resurrection of the razor gang anti catholic anti Irish immigrant ethnic minority song book. At the same time I am deeply saddened that there is a large cohort of mainly young men an indeed women whose lives are so bereft of education opportunity and real hope that all they have to adhere to is their destructive myth. We are the people is a siren call from those so dispossessed and cut off from mainstream civic society as to be as much of hollowed out husks as their football club. I cease to be angry about their behaviour as it targets its bile towards me and my ancestors but move instead to profound pity. ‘ Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do’.
the media war continues
The RSL is asking Kingco, if David murray is involved, with either King, or Park et al, or both
and
if they intend to involve Murray in the future
More potential headaches heading the SFA/SPFL’s way?
bards, echobhoy, neepheid.
======================
We can’t criticise one of Sevco’s fellow smaller clubs for their decision here. Remember as Sevco have no credit card facilities, Raith have saved Sevco the hassle of finding a bank to cash any cheques, and also the expense of hiring a Security company to deliver any cash taken.
In these uncertain trading times, where rogue companies don’t always pay there bills within agreed periods, an impatient creditor could instigate an Liquidation event.
No reasonable football club would want their name tarnished (again), and would be grateful for the home teams willingness to deal with the chore of ticketing.
But then again, how would you define a reasonable football club?
Interesting that PMG ends his latest with this: “I will, of course, support Celtic in this encounter. However, if truth be told I’m really supporting the police”
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/dangerous-myths/#more-5760
That’s exactly how I felt after watching Channel 4’s “Angry, White and Proud”
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/angry-white-and-proud-tv-review-an-assured-expos-of-hooliganism-masquerading-as-an-ideological-battle-9978712.html
Although that’s far from my default position, you can’t help feeling for the poor bloody infantry stuck between the worst factions of both sides – many of whom will have to be drafted in from outside Glasgow.
David Low rules out new offer for hibs
https://heavidor.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/hibernian-fc-statement-by-david-low/
An interesting article yesterday, which claimed that Man Utd sold only 10% of their total replica shirt sales within the boundaries of Manchester, with Man City notching up only 5%.
Now despite their reported 500 million fan-base, if a similar pattern was applied to Rangers shirts sold in Glasgow, then it begs the question, where are the rest of the replica tops being sold to make it worth Mike Ashley’s time.
SFA: #Rangers goalkeeper Steve Simonsen issued with notice of complaint for alleged gambling rule breaches
Hasn’t Sevco been punished enough @andyg.66?
New betting scandal at Rangers?
Grant Russell @STVGrant · 2m 2 minutes ago
None of the 55 games Steve Simonsen is accused of betting on were Rangers matches.
Might have been Sevco though.
(couldnt resist)
joking aside, what is their back up like, if he goes down for a stretch.
andygraham.66 says:
January 22, 2015 at 4:48 pm
joking aside, what is their back up like, if he goes down for a stretch.
=========
Didn’t Black get a 3-match suspension? Can’t imagine the punishment’ll be any higher in this case.
Genuinely, are footballers really thick or do they just act like they are?
SFA tariff for being held to have gambled on football. Ian Black
Ian Black’s outcome:
Evening all (a la Dixon of Dock Green). I can’t think of any organisation nowadays which does not have to maintain a Risk Assessment (RA) folder which must be up to date and take into account such changing circumstances as may be relevant. Inspectorate / insurance companies have no mercy where things go wrong and RA is not current.
Now in my experience, two essential elements in creating and maintaining such a document effectively are:
– the honesty to identify and accept deficiencies and take responsibility for rectifying/dealing with them and
– an understanding that it is everyone’s job to make sure that potential issues continue to be identified and addressed.
That being the case, I would hope the Glasgow City Council in conjunction with police will be making appropriate plans to ensure that, under ‘duty of care’, the general public and property are protected on Feb 1. I wonder what the Sevco RA document looks like??
andygraham.66 says:
January 22, 2015 at 4:48 pm
joking aside, what is their back up like, if he goes down for a stretch.
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Not to worry Bell will be due back from injury at some point and further fairly solid back up is in the form of Lee Robinson, who was signed when Bell got injured, along with two others, presumably youngster listed as Keepers ( Liam Kelly and Robbie McCrorie)
Off topic but of interest in a general sense, and to one of our posters.
Man City (full available squad) are in the Middle East at the mo, nothing wrong with that, they can afford it and they are bankrolled from the area so they probably have to show face occasionally
however
They play Middlesborough at 3pm on sat in the FA Cup.
The plane arrives back in Manchester airport at 7am the same day
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/tom-english-ian-black-betting-punishment-mystery-1-3094252
Jet to Abu Dhabi for a kick about with Hanmburg to escape the Manchester winter and it rains 🙂
“Wednesday cover: Manchester City train in the Abu Dhabi rain ahead of Hamburg friendly”
http://www.thenational.ae/blogs/kit-bag/wednesday-cover-manchester-city-train-in-the-abu-dhabi-rain-ahead-of-hamburg-friendly
8 hr flight, 2 hr time differnence, but a couple of days R&R after Hamburg game, plus a nice snooze in Etihad first class – probably better than getting a bus from Middleborough to Manchester on the day.
btw Come on Cambridge
andygraham.66 says:
January 22, 2015 at 4:48 pm
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Might have been Sevco though.
(couldnt resist)
joking aside, what is their back up like, if he goes down for a stretch.
————
And Sevco’s Head Gardener has a mysyerious list! Add to that secret list a 5WA riddle, enigmatic investors, non-legal entity status, iffy club identity, previous club’s history of hidden contracts, and general uncertainty, you’d almost be forgiven for thinking that Ibrox was the lair of a secret society.
Rickson bash on Sunday
Mike’s “influence” hearing on Tuesday
Mike withdraws loan by Wednesday
Wages not paid on Thursday
Receivers in on Friday and Saturday
We chilled on Sunday
apologies to Craig David (7 Days)
mcfc @ 6.38pm
I really wish this was true 🙁 some relatives have tickets and I can’t convince them just how dangerous it’s going to be 😥
scapaflow says:
January 22, 2015 at 4:45 pm
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New betting scandal at Rangers?
Grant Russell @STVGrant · 2m 2 minutes ago
None of the 55 games Steve Simonsen is accused of betting on were Rangers matches
Did he bet with 32RED ?
Ok i will get my coat 😥
andygraham.66 says:
January 22, 2015 at 5:34 pm
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Off topic but of interest in a general sense, and to one of our posters.
Man City (full available squad) are in the Middle East at the mo, nothing wrong with that, they can afford it and they are bankrolled from the area so they probably have to show face occasionally
however
They play Middlesborough at 3pm on sat in the FA Cup.
The plane arrives back in Manchester airport at 7am the same day
______________________________________________________
I am inferring from your puzzlement that you, Sir, are unaccustomed to the delights offered by ‘Business Class’ travel. Not to mention, that the M62 is a fine road.
My post was more re the lack of respect given to the tournament and their opponents.
I do not doubt that this isn’t the equivalent of Coco Banjo going to Magaluf and coming back on Easy jet at 12 and having 5 a side at Powerleague at 8pm
McMurdo’s latest raises an interesting question-
https://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/author/billmcmurdo/
http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/a-danger-to-themselves/
neepheid says:
January 22, 2015 at 7:55 pm
McMurdo’s latest raises an interesting question-
————————————————
Just how desperate has Jack become ❓ 😈 😆
andygraham.66 says:
January 22, 2015 at 7:17 pm
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My post was more re the lack of respect given to the tournament and their opponents.
I do not doubt that this isn’t the equivalent of Coco Banjo going to Magaluf and coming back on Easy jet at 12 and having 5 a side at Powerleague at 8pm
________________________________________________
If they win the match at a canter, then this will speak volumes.
If their opponents roll them over on the back of these exploits, then deserved hubris is their lot.
Either way suits me.
Genuflection before the trophy is not required in order to win or lose it.
andygraham.66
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Andy, I fully expect Middlesbrough to give Manchester City all the respect they deserve being champions, as you might expect.
However, what’s to stop Boro rattling 2.or 3 past them (as a sign of that respect) without reply.
Interesting look at NUFC
http://thepremierleagueowl.com/newcastle-united-say-nothing-admit-nothing-be-nothing/
mcfc says:
January 22, 2015 at 12:32 pm
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What’s wrong with the Dave King story? He’s very rich, the club he loves is infested by infidels and yet he won’t spend his spare change to help them. It may be because he doesn’t pay ransoms to terrorists – a fine sentiment – but you can end up with some dead loved ones.
Also the purchase price is only the start – compared to the cost of getting them back to where …..
He also talks about one owner being bad for the club so wants some convoluted finance package of OMP. So buy them, put the worese thing right and and IPO them back to the fans adn RRM.
There are just too many contradictions and excuses. Either he doesn’t have the money or he doesn’t have the love.
Seems to me, Dave needs some counselling on the dissonance between wanting to be the Big.I .Am at Ibrox and spending the cash to achieve that.
_____________________________________________________________
I suspect DK is highly ambivalent about the whole TRFC thing. Mentally he’s probably in the same place as Mr. McCoist.
His ego harks back to the glory days, and this is where his ‘undying’ and quintessential rangersness comes in.
He wants the credit for saving TRFC and the adoration of the blue nosed hordes.
But – like Mr McCoist – he simply can’t help acting in his own best interests first and foremost.
(an accusation that King -without irony- levelled against the current board, the first board to be comprised of individuals at least some of whom – as far as we can see = are actually using their own money (rather than OPM) for quite some time)
King knows what happens if he takes over at TRFC: Either financial ruination at matching the bears expectations of entitlement, or villification for not doing so. Neither appeals.
So he does what a long line of spivs have done at Ibrox.
Try and do it all with OPM!
Someone in the SoS really should point out to Dave that while he could be disbarred from ascending the marble staircase by dint of ‘past errors of judgement’ (by which I mean rampant fraud), no one but himself can prevent him from throwing as much money at the club he professes to love as he feels able to.
Clearly, this is not in his own self interests.
King 1 TRFC 0. (dodgy penalty)
The truth is out now though, DP.
That bit of paper Ally was waving about was just his team sheet
@scottic, just as well I can’t spell missteeriys, then 😆
Actually, the old quote was funny for another reason — ‘naming names’ would be ridiculous. Talk about irony overload from the chap who gave us, ‘Who are these people?’
mcfc says:
January 22, 2015 at 3:32 pm
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========================================
Quite so.
I’m with the PBI on this one.
Allyjambo – Rangers don’t get anything for the Hearts match being live on TV, either first attempt or second. That only applies to cup matches. All the money is distributed equally among the member clubs.
so if its cancelled the rest still give you your share in full?
seems somewhat generous.
do your pitchside advertisers still pay you as if it was on the telly too?
BRTH
Excellent summary . Murray was Armageddon for Rangers. Only paid for PR and spineless and compromised media comment have mitigated this as the default view amongst ALL football fans. History though will change this. As you state , when Murray is no longer here , others won’t be constrained. His legacy will make embarrassing reading for his descendants
Ecoboy,
re your post at 10.33
“In any case where would the money have gone – I doubt much would have found its way to paying the leccy bill as you don’t need a lot of heating on a sun-drenched tax haven.”
Have you ever paid a leccy bill for air conditioning !
More seriously on the Orange strips. I only remember one being produced. When Murray was Owner. It seems to have been a step too far for everyone else
Blu
Ref your post at 5.13 pm
Given Ian Black bet on his team to lose and received less than 1% of the financial sanction available to the SFA judicial panel and a 3 match ban compared to a potential life ban , you really have to ask , what would trigger maximum sanction.
I mean what is 100 times worse than attempting to gain financially from losing a match in which you are playing ?
What is Mike Ashley up to with Sports Direct? He has transferred just over 50% of Sports Direct from Mash holdings to a new company called Mash Beta.
Announcement to the Stock Exchange yesterday evening
http://www.lse.co.uk/share-regulatory-news.asp?shareprice=SPD&ArticleCode=hgitzhyy&ArticleHeadline=Holdings_in_Company
Also a report from the Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11361531/Shock-as-Mike-Ashley-offloads-controlling-stake-in-Sports-Direct-as-gift.html
Easy Jambo
Gifts don’t attract stamp duty.
Barcabhoy says: January 22, 2015 at 10:39 pm
Easy Jambo
Gifts don’t attract stamp duty.
========================
Nor I assume would the status quo of leaving the Mash Holdings stake in SDI intact.
Or am I wrong in that assumption?
easyJambo says:
January 22, 2015 at 10:55 pm
You could buy the entire spfl for what those shares are worth, and it’d get lost in the roundings
Earlier I watched the totally incredulous press conferences given by the Patriots’ coach, followed later by the QB, Tom Brady about ‘Deflategate’.
I think they both could have been prepared by our very own Gordon Smith…
“I know nothing about anything…” 😉
I made the mistake of listening to tonight’s SSB Rewind……is there a more banal phone in programme anywhere in the UK? It makes Adrian Durham sound like An Audience with Jeremy Paxman! Delahunt is in my opinion a disgrace. Why cut callers off who want to discuss last Friday’s events at Ibrox, after all they are genuine topics for discussion? Ok one or two of the callers may have had a few sherbets but none used bad or inappropriate language. And as for Mr Hugh (im only offering my opinion) Keevins, well Mr Keevins we could train a monkey to give us it’s opinion, but you sir are supposed to be an expert!! Ok rant over.
EBTs
I heard something today that genuinely shocked me. I thought I had had all the shocks I could regarding the use of EBTs, and the subsequent legal tussles and questionable judgements. I heard something new today, or at least new to me.
EBTs were first used in 1998, right? Didn’t have an impact on the 9-in-a-row, right? Well, according to what I heard … wrong.
The first EBT recipient was none other than our chicken eating, beer swilling fisherman – Paul Gascoigne. The year? 1995.
I don’t have any documentary evidence to back this up, other than I have heard the documentation does exist and Craig Whyte has it.
Discuss ….
Not the SFA Disciplinary News:
beatipacificiscotia says:
January 23, 2015 at 8:32 am
The first EBT recipient was none other than our chicken eating, beer swilling fisherman – Paul Gascoigne. The year? 1995.
I don’t have any documentary evidence to back this up, other than I have heard the documentation does exist and Craig Whyte has it.
==================================================================
Ever since taxation began there have been schemes devised to reduce the amount of taxation payable. Some have been legal and others illegal and often even legal schemes become illegal as legislation is tightened to close legal loopholes which have been exploited.
There has never been a shred of evidence that Rangers operated EBTs in 1995 and afaik they simply didn’t exist in the form that Rangers later adopted.
In the late 1990s the vehicle that Rangers operated to reduce tax payable by players was DOS and we only have evidence that three players were recipients of these schemes IIRC from 1998 onwards – none of whom was Gazza.
The expert on all this is Auldheid and I’m sure he will post on the suggestion and I am happy to defer to him on the subject.
It must always be borne in mind that not all tax reduction schemes are illegal and often when they become so it’s because the operator of them changes the very complex structure painstakingly created by the originator to ensure that no laws are broken.
So I’m afraid without a single fact a rumour remains simply a rumour although many turn into squirrels which inadvertantly perhaps divert attention from trying to understand what is currently happening 20 years after Gazza’s alleged EBT.
ecobhoy says:
January 23, 2015 at 9:02 am
++++++++++++++++++++
Agreed, not all tax avoidance schemes are illegal. In fact, I believe we have a duty to minimise our tax liability in any way we can, as long as it done within the law.
I have nothing to back the Gazza EBT story up, other than the quality of the source. I wasn’t sure if anyone had heard or seen something similar. The implications though are massive.
The Baxendale-Walker EBTs were born in 1998 so I’m not suggesting anything that relates to this. I’m not suggesting illegality. I’m simply posing a question.
Don’t forget, folks, Rangers employed the PR Black Arts for many years and many “facts” have been carefully and deliberately placed into the public consciousness. The word “Newco” instead of “New Club” is a perfect example. The year 1998 was too, for obvious reasons.
What if the year was 1995?
I’d guess organised match-fixing in tow with gangsters.I think that the SFA rules are just about right on this issue.
Re-reading the Tom English article on Black simply re-inforces the known fact that the boy is stupid. McCoist was almost certainly right when he said that lots of people involved in football bet on football, presumably because they think they know more about that than other mug punters. I wouldn’t want anyone at my club who bet against the team though and I’ve never understood why so many Rangers fans were so forgiving of Black when they hammered Sandanza for being duped. Neither did anything of worth on the pitch.
scapaflow says:
January 22, 2015 at 8:22 pm
Interesting look at NUFC
http://thepremierleagueowl.com/newcastle-united-say-nothing-admit-nothing-be-nothing/
——————————————————–
It’s an interesting read but has a significant flaw. Ashley appears to have little interest in football for itself and afaik had absolutely none in NUFC.
When looking at Ashley’s involvement with Newcastle the starting point is of prime importance. He bought it to flip-it quickly and make a nice profit but the sell-on deal fell through.
So he’s hung on a bit longer to get the price he wants and appears to still be intent on selling the club although in the interim he is squeezing it like a lemon to extract all the juice and I’m sure the pith and seeds will be liquidised as well 😎
His involvement with Rangers appears to predate his investment with Green and it’s hardly surprising given the JJB connections both to Ibrox and Ashley. Once at Ibrox I’m sure his killer business instinct kicked-in when he saw that he could run rings round the spivs.
Should Ashley win the Ibrox Battle – and I expect him to – I genuinely believe the bulk of Rangers fans won’t put-up with the Newcastle model. And why should they?
We need look no further than Parkhead to see the deep dissatisfaction at Celtic cutting its financial cloth as evidenced by the empty seats. That despite a genuine tussle at the top of the Premiership and the club still in all domestic competitions and in Europe after Xmas. There is also some spells of really good football being played.
But it’s not enough because there’s a demand for money to be spent on BIG signings. That Rangers fans should want the same things hardly seems surprising.
That some of my fellow Celtic fans should want their club to spend beyond their means leaves me exasperated when they only need to look across the City and see where that leads. The older ones have scarier memories of course from the shambles of The Families.
I said in a casual comment in hearing of a RRM brogue wisher that Mr Gascoigne was stupid -this in about 1996- he become most animated ‘ He cannot be he makes thousands of pounds a week and plays for The Ranjurs’ . Said RRM failed in a set of complex spiv manoeuvres by making the mistake that he was cleverer than the clever folk around him.
beatipacificiscotia says:
January 23, 2015 at 9:25 am
“Agreed, not all tax avoidance schemes are illegal. In fact, I believe we have a duty to minimise our tax liability in any way we can, as long as it done within the law.”
Really? Disappointing. I always thought we should all have the duty simply to pay the tax as it set out by the law, and all tax avoidance (for it frankly it is the same as tax evasion) should be stopped. Only then will it be fair on all tax-payers, not a system that the rich with their fancy over-paid accountants can abuse.
Probably be derided as overly simplistic, but to me it is the only way the tax burden can be fairly shared by society. Apologies if that in any way upsets all the splendid financial types here who have played a major part in this site becoming the the joy that it is 🙂
tayred says:
January 23, 2015 at 9:57am
I’ve never been able to understand why they don’t just make all tax avoidance schemes illegal until proven otherwise. If a smart ass CA comes up with a scheme he could, at his own expense, attempt to prove it’s legality before implementing it. Otherwise, if anyone uses it, they get done and no questions asked. I can see no moral argument for the existence of any tax avoidance scheme and the only argument for not paying tax would be if it was unfair, in which case none of us would pay any.
Allyjambo says:
January 23, 2015 at 10:25 am
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tayred says:
January 23, 2015 at 9:57am
I’ve never been able to understand why they don’t just make all tax avoidance schemes illegal until proven otherwise. If a smart ass CA comes up with a scheme he could, at his own expense, attempt to prove it’s legality before implementing it. Otherwise, if anyone uses it, they get done and no questions asked. I can see no moral argument for the existence of any tax avoidance scheme and the only argument for not paying tax would be if it was unfair, in which case none of us would pay any.
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EVERYONE above the living wage threshold should all pay tax at EXACTLY the same percentage, so long as it does not drop you below the living wage threshold.
No discounts, no schemes to avoid paying/reducing your percentage, we ALL pay the same percentage.
Have a Roll of Honour for those paying the most tax, now I WOULD like that kind of Honour system.