Tell me all your sweet, sweet little lies
All about the dark places you hide
Tell me all your problems, make them mine
Tell me all your sweet, sweet little lies
The stridency of Scottish journalist/pundits, particularly coming from those on the BBC Sportsound platform from where they cry out for an investigation into what took place behind the scenes before and after the SPFL put forward a resolution to SPFL clubs, subsequently accepted by the majority, that allowed SPFL to pay out needed prize money to sides below the Premier level is, to quote an old saying, “the talk of the steamie”.
Whilst those cries are ostensibly in support of a demand led by The Rangers FC for a need to change the governance at the SPFL, it is not clear if they mean the way the SPFL conduct business or the way individuals inside the SPFL go about the conduct of that business.
During on-air interviews, questions are being put to clubs about the degree of confidence they have in individuals rather than the processes, systems and structures. This suggests it is individuals who are being placed under scrutiny, and not the dysfunctional processes and structures themselves. A pity, since there is little doubt the governance is dysfunctional.
SFM has long been asking questions about the system and processes of governance and in fact tried to elicit the help of a number of journalists (in 2014) after information which had not been made available to the then SPFL lawyers Harper MacLeod during or after the LNS inquiry had surfaced.
Information that had it been made available would have changed the charges of Old Rangers’ mis-registration of players contracts, and to the more recent and unresolved matter of their failing to act in good faith to fellow club members (which the SFA Compliance Officer made in June 2018 in respect of non-compliance with UEFA FFP regulations relating to tax overdue in 2011).
Following the last Celtic AGM a detailed independent investigation by an accountant was provided to Celtic who passed it to the SFA where the matter has been overtaken by world events but not forgotten. That report can be read here.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NeNzADsUAXkcFQ6QtehK5QqNsFa6he8V
It only adds to the mountain of evidence on https://www.res12.uk that suggests the need for reform of both governance bodies, their structures, systems and process.
Instead the media have given us a narrow head hunt to remove individuals for reasons that can only be guessed. This from individuals in the media whose motivations are as questionable now as they were in 2014, when they and their organisations ignored stronger evidence of greater wrong doing than has so far been presented by those currently advocating change.
The current media clamour for heads on a plate carries with it more than a whiff of hypocrisy.
During week commencing 22 September 2014, some volunteer SFM readers posted a bundle of documents that had surfaced to a number of journalists. SFM had previously sent these documents to Harper MacLeod, the then SPL lawyers. These were important documents pertinent to Lord Nimmo Smith’s inquiry into Rangers use of EBTs, documents which had not been made available to Harper MacLeod by Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps despite being requested in March 2012 as part of the commissioning of LNS.
Earlier SFM blogs provide the details of communications with Harper MacLeod and can be read from the same link(s) provided to 12 Scottish media journalists in the draft below.
Some of the addresses may have received more than one copy but apart from one for whom only an e mail address was known, they should have received at least one hard copy of what Harper MacLeod/SPFL had been provided with which the latter passed to the SFA Compliance Officer in September 2014 according to their last reply to SFM. It is unlikely none were received by the organisations they were addressed to.
The draft to the journalist which the volunteers were at liberty to amend said:
I am a reader of The Scottish Football Monitor web site and attach for your information a set of documents that Duff and Phelps, acting as Rangers Administrators in April 2012, failed to provide to the then Scottish Premier League solicitors Harper MacLeod, who were charged with gathering evidence to investigate the matter of incorrect player registrations from July 1998 involving concealed side letters and employee benefit trusts by Rangers FC as defined in the eventual Lord Nimmo Smith Commission.
The failure to supply the requested information in the form of the attached documents as clearly instructed resulted in incorrect terms of reference being drawn up by Harper Macleod and a consequent serious error of judgement by Lords Nimmo Smith in his Decision as regards sporting advantage.
The information in the attached was provided to Harper MacLeod and the SPL Board in Feb 2014 and it was pointed out in subsequent correspondence that SFA President Campbell Ogilvie had failed to make a distinction in his testimony to Lord Nimmo Smith between the already confirmed as irregular Discount Option Scheme EBTs paid to Craig Moore, Tor Andre Flo and Ronald De Boer from 1999 to 2002/03 under Rangers Employee Benefit Trust (REBT) and the later loan EBTsfrom 2002/03 onwards under the Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT), having initiated the first DOS EBT to Craig Moore (as shown in the attached) and being a beneficiary of a MGMRT EBT as widely reported in national press in March 2012 at the time investigations commenced.
The complete narrative was set out in a series of blogs on The Scottish Football Monitor Web Site that are accessible from
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9dnVHSl9OU3RoWm8/view?usp=sharing
(Edit: The links to the original SFM blogs were listed but some have been lost but original sources have been uploaded to Google Drive accessible from the above link)
However in spite of the correspondence sent to Harper MacLeod, there has been no response from them or the SPFL, save their answer to the original letter. (Edit: There was subsequent correspondence with Harper Macleod after the package and this letter was sent to the journalists which can be read from the above index to the original blogs.)
These points suggests that the SPFL, Harper MacLeod and Lord Nimmo Smith were misled by Duff and Phelps failure to supply the attached documents as instructed as well as Campbell Ogilvie’s failure to correct Lord Nimmo Smiths decision to treat all EBTs as “regular” when the DOS EBTs are not, as the attached evidence clearly demonstrates.
You are one of a number of journalists to whom this letter and attachments is addressed either electronically or hard copy. We are hoping that some journalists will prove themselves worthy of the challenge and investigate the story, even if only to refute it and stop suspicion of a cover up.
A copy of this letter and responses from addressees (or failures) will be published on The Scottish Football Monitor web site for the Scottish football supporting public to note. The e mail address for your reply is press@sfm.scot and we hope that you will investigate what appears to have been the corruption of the very process set up to establish the truth or you will explain why you cannot.
Yours in Sport
Note: The letter above was drafted and distributed with the documentation before a reply from Harper MacLeod was received, but as the reply did not address the issue of the nature of the irregular DOS EBTs, the request to journalists to investigate was even more valid.
The following were the journalists to whom documentation was posted/delivered.
Mr Richard Gordon
Mr Richard Wilson
Mr Tom English all at the BBC.
Mr Grant Russell
Mr Peter A Smith. At STV
Mr Andrew Rennie Daily Record Sports Editor
Mr Paul Hutcheon
Mr Graham Speirs
Mr Gerry Braiden at The Herald
Mr Mathew Lindsay Evening Times (belatedly)
Mr Gerry McCulloch Radio Clyde
Ms Jane Hamilton Freelance ex-Sun Sunday Mail (by e mail)
Only three individuals showed an interest but it is inconceivable to think that the media outlets they worked for were ignorant of the information provided or that the Scottish media sports departments are unaware of the narrative and its implications which were subsequently picked up by The Offshore Game but drew no refuting comments with the exception of Tom English.
He opined that the TOG report was ‘flawed’ although he did not specify how he came to that conclusion.
Darren Cooney of the Daily Record did take an interest in November 2015 when he met an SFM representative, who explained the case then sent him a summary to give to his editor but The Daily Record did not publish the story nor give any reason why they didn’t.
Grant Russell was with STV at the time and a meeting with him was arranged with a fellow SFM contributor but he failed to show up.
He subsequently did show an interest when The Court of Session ruled the Big Tax Case unlawful in July 2017, when he was provided with the a note of the consequences for the LNS Commission. However Grant moved jobs to join Motherwell in late October 2017.
Why bring all this his up now?
Because currently, the existence of texts and e-mails and unsubstantiated claims of skullduggery appear to have energised a media (and BBC Sports Department in particular) that had ‘no appetite’ to investigate actual evidence presented to them in 2014. There seems to be little doubt that an agenda is being followed, but as the preceeding paragraphs demonstrate, it casts doubt that their motivation is reform of the governance of Scottish football, and raises a suspicion that replacement of individuals (whose steerage of the good ship Scottish Football into the RFC iceberg was deemed adequate a decade ago) is what is important. A meaningless powerplay. No more no less.
One may jump to the conclusion that the foregoing is a defence of the individuals at the centre of this controversy, and that it defends the SPFL position in respect of the requisitioners review of governance. That would be the wrong conclusion. The point is that a wide-ranging review of the SFA/SPFL governance is way overdue.
The time window covered by any review should the very least cover the tenure of those accused of malfeasance and mis-governance. The media, and the requisitioners are cherry-picking their poor governance. That is poor governance in itself.
StevieBC 20th May 2020 at 14:04
Stevie, the club and fanbase may be green & white, but the PLC board is most definitely the colour of money…..No surprises there I'm afraid.
Ian Maxwell is on Scotland Tonight tomorrow (if that makes sense
) at 1930 on STV. He’s speaking on how Covid-19 has affected & will further affect Scottish football.
You can email in questions for him:
scotland.tonight@stv.tv
Also via Facebook & Twitter…
Corrupt Official, I have sent you a DM re your query.
Bogs Dollox 20th May 2020 at 16:33
'…As JC says further up this thread. If there is evidence of a crime having been committed then the Res12 guys should pass it to Police Scotland via their lawyer and ask for it to be investigated.'
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Oh, that the FBI and the United States Attorney General's office had locus in the matter!
The account of how, using United States banking legislation ,they were able to nail the FIFA world cup bribe recipients who weren't even US citizens was a joy to read!
Sadly, it seems to me, alleged jiggery-pokery in the matter of say, a club in Scotland ,or anyone associated with a club in Scotland , profiting from that club allegedly lying in order to get money from UEFA to which it may not be entitled appears not to fall within the purview of the US Attorney General or the FBI.
And, of course, our COPFS and our gendarmes are not in the same league [ no pun intended] as the US Attorney General's office and the FBI when it comes to gathering evidence and prosecuting alleged conspirators.
Pity.
You know, the more I try to educate myself in the ways of the world of companies and shares the more ignorant I find myself to be!
Instead of taking Mrs C to Portobello beach today (as we thought of doing, but decided as good citizens, to 'stay home') I spent some time trying to educate myself in matter of companies, shares, and how all that kind of thing works.
I tried to follow and understand the information provided on the Companies House website, taking as my 'case study' the company that we have speculating about on this SFM blog…. J Carter Sporting Club Ltd.
I spent some considerable time on it.
My findings are:
that the company founded by the two brothers Beahon , incorporated on 6 July 2015 with a share capital of 100 shares of 50p each, the brothers each having 50 shares, subsequently subdivided into 50 000 shares of nominal value £0.001, had on 6 March 2020 a share capital of 103 760, after an allotment of 4223 shares .
The price paid per share at that allotment was ….. £338.67.
One of the early shareholders is Tom Singh . Never heard of him but he's one those guys that own a chain of department stores , and his personal wealth is estimated be in the region of £254 million. He holds only 2731 shares, and is only one of 29 shareholders.
Further, I see that somewhere in the most recent Articles of Association that a company called Redrice Ventures Ltd is mentioned, and the letters IPO are in there somewhere possibly in connection with a flotation on the market.
And at that point I lost the will to live.
No doubt everything is legal , and I'm not for one minute suggesting anything else, and every company in the UK has similar .
But I'm still blowed as to how a company that doesn't itself actually make anything makes money for its shareholders!
ps. My neighbour told me earlier this evening that the polis were hunting people aff Portobello promenade.
Jingso.Jimsie 20th May 2020 at 19:27
‘..You can email in questions for him:’
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
What price a question about the decision not to go to CAS on the Res 12 issue getting an airing?
No fecking chance whatsoever.
That so many, many individuals and organisations are prepared to put up with such a rotten to the core Sports governance body , lying and cheating at every turn is a terrible indictment of Scottish sport.
A plague upon them, as Shakespeare has my Lord Suffolk saying;
[Act III ii 318 Henry VI prt 2]
“A plague upon them! wherefore should I curse them?
Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake’s groan,
I would invent as bitter-searching terms,
As curst, as harsh and horrible to hear,
Deliver’d strongly through my fixed teeth,
With full as many signs of deadly hate,
As lean-faced Envy in her loathsome cave:
My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words;
Mine eyes should sparkle like the beaten flint;
Mine hair be fixed on end, as one distract;
Ay, every joint should seem to curse and ban:
And even now my burthen’d heart would break,
Should I not curse them. Poison be their drink!
Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste!
Their sweetest shade a grove of cypress trees!
Their chiefest prospect murdering basilisks!
Their softest touch as smart as lizards’ sting!
Their music frightful as the serpent’s hiss,
And boding screech-owls make the concert full!
All the foul terrors in dark-seated hell—
On which literary note ( googled, of course!), I bid you goodnight.
LUGOSI 20th May 2020 at 08:23
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Auldheid 19th May 2020 at 22:26
I don't know what "jousting with JasBoyd on Twitter" has occurred but I know I won't be wasting my time finding out.
JasBoyd on Twitter is yet another iteration of Spoutpish; aka Niall Walker, The Lawman, Steerpike, Ernest Becker and others too numerous and tedious to recall but each claiming to be a reasonable chap.
———————–
For the avoidance of doubt someone who likes playing sematic tag with him sent me a copy of recent tweets including the lies I mentioned.
I've better things to do with my time than indulge in his fantasies but when he tells porkies I think it right they are shown up as such.
Auldheid 21st May 2020 at 03:27
For the avoidance of doubt someone who likes playing sematic tag with him sent me a copy of recent tweets including the lies I mentioned.
I’ve better things to do with my time than indulge in his fantasies but when he tells porkies I think it right they are shown up as such.
…………………
I Don’t enjoy playing sematic tag with him, but when he tells porkies and drags his minions into the open.I think it right they are shown up as such.
Insolvency guru Blair Nimmo (Do you have to have Nimmo in your name to speak rubbish?)
Anyway.
Insolvency guru Blair Nimmo. Finance expert Nimmo previously involved in the administration of Airdrie and Hearts amoung a dozen scottish clubs has called for the SPFL to change their own rules so there's no repeat of clubs like rangers being Dumped down the divisions for entering Administration.
………………………
Now a Financial guru involved in the Administration of a Dozen scottish clubs would know for a fact you don't get Dumped down divisions for going into Administration.
…
He goes on.(I know by now you would have thought he would have chucked it.)
If a football club's going to the wall could anything be done to help. If this all ends with club's being insolvent will the SPFL stick to their rules, (yes by this time i was laughing).
Stick to their rules and go through the same progress as in the past?
Unless you're totaly anti-rangers, i don't think many people would say sending them down the divisions when they did was a good thing for scottish football.
Nimmo head of business recovery at accounting giants KPMG the only thing you got right in that article was when you said "I don't think"
Cluster One 21st May 2020 at 12:29
"…Insolvency guru Blair Nimmo…"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
If there are others as crassly and insidiously stupid in KPMG as Nimmo then no wonder we have reports like this
"Reports that accountancy firm KPMG is facing a £250m negligence lawsuit over its role in Carillion’s collapse highlights the need for Government to address the UK’s ‘rotten system of bandit capitalism’, urges Unite
According to reports, the official receiver is preparing a lawsuit against KPMG for declaring Carillion ‘profitable and sustainable’ in 2016."
https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/negligence-lawsuit-kpmg/76262/
We all witnessed the 3 or 4 weeks of incessant SMSM coverage of TRFC’s assault on the SPFL.
TRFC also made personal attacks on 3 SPFL individuals – even dragging up ancient, unsubstantiated allegations from ‘Private Eye’.
But, the SMSM generally provided TRFC full, supporting coverage, and obediently copied/pasted assorted nonsense.
Then, we have just had a monumental decision handed down by the SFA – to not refer the TRFC Euro license complaint to CAS.
A huge story.
That was on Tuesday: today it’s dropped off the radar.
No analysis or follow up questioning. Just dropped.
And shamefully, you will now be hard pressed to even find the reporting of the SFA decision at BBC Scotland online.
Reading that the Albion car park is earmarked for some housing. Now we know the car park is needed for a licence to be granted for the club deck to be open and we know that close brothers held security over the Albion car park, what i and maybe others do not know is has the security been cleared or not? then who has sold the land or part of the land. Not much information in the smsm about this, but all over the Albion car park land when it has been used as security for loans by different ibrox boards.
StevieBC 21st May 2020 at 13:30
……………
Dropped like a hot stone, even the coverage in the smsm was hard to find a small section a few pages in from the back saying the SFA have dropped it. No questions of why, no detail no journalism no Scrutiny and yet only days before call ing for transparency independent investigations and clarity. Maybe they just burnt themselves out asking questions days before.
JC/Everybody
You might be interested in the lyrics of this song, written in the aftermath
of the second gulf fiasco and a certain T Blair.
Just as relevant today and not necessarily exclusive to politics
Every Bloody Emperor
By this we are all sustained: a belief in human nature
and in justice and parity…all we have is the faith to carry on.
Imperceptible the change as our votes become mere gestures
and our lords and masters determine to cast us in the roles of serfs and slaves
in the new empire's name.
Yes and every bloody emperor claims that freedom is his cause
as he buffs up on his common touch as a get-out clause.
Unto nations nations speak in the language of the gutter;
trading primetime insults, the imperial impulse extends across the screen.
Truth's been beaten to its knees; the lies embed ad infinitum
till their repetition becomes a dictum we're traitors to disbelieve.
With what impotence we grieve for the democratic process
as our glorious leaders conspire to feed us the last dregs of imperious disdain
in the new empire's name.
Yes and every bloody emperor's got his hand up history's skirt
as he poses for posterity over the fresh-dug dirt.
Yes and every bloody emperor with his sickly rictus grin
talks his way out of nearly anything but the lie within
because every bloody emperor thinks his right to rule divine
so he'll go spinning and spinning and spinning into his own decline.
Imperceptible the change as one by one our voices falter
and the double standards of propaganda still all our righteous rage.
By this we are all sustained: our belief in human nature.
But our faith diminishes – close to the finish, we're only serfs and slaves
as the empire decays.
HS
Mr Nimmo seems to have changed his tune.
"“I wouldn’t pretend to know the ins-and-outs of Rangers’ finances but they’re just like any other business."
This a direct quote from an article regarding the sale of Boydichenko to Birmingham City in 2009. Quite why Mr. Nimmo was the go to guy in those days maybe hints at his recent interest in current Scottish football financial affairs.Oh for the days of Neil Patey, another character from a blue chip accountancy firm who used to give solace to the liquidated club fans.
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/archives/news/18792/blair-murray-is-right-to-sell/
Cluster One 21st May 2020 at 14:12
'..has the security been cleared or not?'
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Still shown as 'outstanding' on the TRFC Companies House website
Created
26 February 2019
Delivered
1 March 2019
Status
Outstanding
Transaction Filed
Registration of a charge (MR01)
Persons entitled
Brief description
(1) all and whole the subjects on the west side of broomloan road, glasgow registered in the land register of scotland under title number GLA68492; and (2) all and whole the subjects known as edmiston house, harrison drive, glasgow, G51 2YX, being the subjects registered in the land register of scotland under title number GLA29534 and GLA62016.
Contains negative pledge.
IF that is where the proposed housing development is to be?
Development footprint here
https://merchanthomes.co.uk/sites/default/files/AHI_Public_Consultation_Information.pdf
Higgy's Shoes 21st May 2020 at 16:24
'…Every Bloody Emperor..'
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Just had a look and listen on youtube. Very interesting, indeed-both lyrics and tune.
'Truth beaten to its knees' is a perfect way to describe the 5-Way Agreement and the recent SFA announcement.
Re the Ibrox planning application:
https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/17401/View-List-of-Planning-Applications
…leads to:
https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=49332&p=0
…and on page 20:
Reference: 20/00870/PAN Community Cnl: Ibrox & Cessnock
Address: Site At Edmiston Drive/Paisley Road West/Skene Road/Hinshelwood Drive/ Broomloan Road Glasgow
Proposal: Erection of residential development (160 units) and associated works
Additional Consultations Required Date Received: 19.03.2020
Earliest Date for Planning Application: 11.06.2020
Prospective Applicant: Merchant Homes Partnerships Limited
Agent Details Contact details for prospective applicant: Merchant Homes Partnerships Limited, Merchant House, 365 Govan Road Glasgow G51 2SE Tel: 0141 420 2026
Ward: Govan
Type: Proposal of Application Notice Case Officer: Alan Graham, 0141 287 6045
Listing: Cons Area: Map Reference: (E) 255314 (N) 664531
Edit: beaten to it by Corrupt Official at 1924! From the Merchant Homes package:
‘The site continued its use a greyhound track until the 1960s
when it was purchased by the football club and redeveloped
as their training ground. It was used for this purpose until Ibrox
Stadium itself was redeveloped in the 1980s and the training
ground changed use to act as the Albion matchday carpark
which it remains as currently.’
Just watched STV's Scotland Tonight programme, about the future of Scottish football, with Maxwell in the studio for the last 10+ minutes.
First time I've watched/seen him on TV, as he tends to assiduously avoid engaging with the SMSM.
First impression: looked like he had strolled in from the street in an open necked shirt. I prefer to only wear a tie at work when I think it's 'necessary'. Maxwell should have worn an SFA tie on a rare TV appearance, IMO.
He was very unimpressive. Not reassuring, not confident and rather vague in his answers generally, IMO.
He received only a few soft ball questions.
And, of course, no mention of the SFA decision issued on Tuesday about dropping the Ibrox Complaint and CAS.
It could be argued that if the SFA had handled that matter better, then the SFA could count on more goodwill amongst supporters – e.g. to potentially attend a 'hub stadium' – which undoubtedly would include the dreadful, unfit for purpose Hampden.
Maxwell should have stayed in the bunker.
Had a look at the plans for Albion Road and the proposal covers half of the site for the new dwellings while retaining the other half for its current use as a car park. It is not clear if this facility will be for the residents or not. It would be a hard sell without including parking and will obviously need to be secured somehow. I wonder if it is to be a joint development involving TRFC and Merchant.
Merchant Homes have confirmed: "A Proposal of Application Notice was submitted Glasgow City Council on 17th March 2020 outlining the intentions of Merchant Homes Partnerships Limited to develop the site."
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/rangers-ibrox-flats-albion-car-18285635
gunnerb 21st May 2020 at 20:58
gunner, I think a joint venture of Sevco and just about anybody, can be ruled out.. They can't even afford their own fan-zone.
They can't really sell it, as its the muster-point for the club deck, and a safety cert requirement.
I think its more likely Sevco are just seeking planning consents trying to increase its paper land value, to use as loan security. Considering the assets Close Finance required to secure a pittance, it obviously doesn't have high value as is.
gunnerb 21st May 2020 at 16:32
Why was Nimmo able to comment on Rangers finances back then?
Err – because he one of the leading Insolvency Practioners at the time and had access to financial information/intelligence and gossip and knew what the state of Rangers finanicial issues were.
It was apparent even to Hugh Keevins back then the Old Rangers share issue failed in 2006(?) when the effect was to shift the debt (£52m) into the Murray group. He even said so on Radio Clyde.
Nimmo supports Falkirk btw and given the state of their finances maybe that's where he is coming from. But heyho. There's only two teams.
Given that the 'charge' over the car park is still outstanding one concludes that TRFC still own the property, and (presumably) have decided to build houses on it.
Under Paras 6.3 and 6.4 of the 'charge', they absolutely need the consent of Close Bros before they change the use of the property or arrange for a planning application or convey or transfer the property.
In so far as Merchant Homes Partnership has submitted a planning application permission Close Bros must have given consent.
Merchant Homes Partnership is a 2-Director house-building outfit, with ( last accounts 2018) about 26 employees , and a turnover of £13 million and profit of £276K.There is a third shareholder.
The two directors are Alan Brander and Ms Linda McCluskie each a Person with Significant Control ( the share Capital is 100)
Bogs Dollox 21st May 2020 at 22:26
Nimmo supports Falkirk btw and given the state of their finances maybe that's where he is coming from. But heyho. There's only two teams.
————————————————
Suitably admonished BD, I was unaware of Blair Nimmo's Falkirk connection but the point I was trying to make was to contrast his recent comments re special cases to be made for insolvent football clubs with his just like any business approach of yesteyear.
Neil Patey
Use to be the go to guy back in the day. Wonder why they brought out the Nimmo guy at this time ?
Read somewhere that the close brothers loan was due no later than June 30, 2020, Almost time to pay back that loan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAajf_jxw14
Is there a more scenic football "stadium" in the world?
HS
John Clark 21st May 2020 at 22:31
Given that the 'charge' over the car park is still outstanding one concludes that TRFC still own the property, and (presumably) have decided to build houses on it.
Under Paras 6.3 and 6.4 of the 'charge', they absolutely need the consent of Close Bros before they change the use of the property or arrange for a planning application or convey or transfer the property.
===============
They absolutely needed to offer Mike Ashley the right to match their Hummel / Elite kit deal, but didn't. The cost to them of not doing so is potentially very damaging. Perhaps they think Planning Law is covered under the Five Way Agreement.
This might be of interest .
https://rangerstaxcase.wordpress.com/2020/05/21/the-contracts-that-sold-rangers-to-craig-whyte/
In the neverending refusal by some to accept the conclusion and outcome of the 2019/2020 SPFL season some words get bandied about in, presumably, a hope to diminish or negate the value or worth of being Champions.
Words such as "tainted", "undeserved", "given" and "unsporting" often appear and the favourite seems to be the oft suggested obligatory inclusion in the records of an "asterisk".
I note that SuperSalary McCoist is on record as being an "asterisk" man and his voice must carry some weight. You cannot ignore the views of someone who while managing a brand new football club in the lowest Division possible in a small country in the north of Europe was worth paying an annual stipend greater than David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. Accordingly, this guy has to be good. Combined. Did I mention combined? Cameron, Merkel and Obama's salaries when added together were less than Mr McCoist's paypoke. One wonders how much more he could have earned if he actually read his contract before he signed it.
I'm with Mr McCoist on the asterisk point but I think his view is simply to append an asterisk beside this year's outcome which would be meaningless. The whole point of such an asterisk would be to draw attention to an explanatory footnote or annotation. I have no difficulty in such an asterisk and explanation being used. My suggestion would be that the 2019/2020 Champions be named, followed by an asterisk and an explanatory footnote: "Epidemic Beset Title".
The same principle should apply to every Title or Trophy when an explanatory footnote is required. By my reckoning since 2000 about seventeen asterisks will precede the one this year.
If it saves time the abbreviation of this year's explanatory footnote could be used for all asterisks.
Higgy's Shoes.
If you have an idle moment do a Google earth flyover of the Faroe Isles (where I think that's taken) focussing in on almost all of the major towns and you'll immediately see, easily, 5 or 6 such constructions.
There is a point to be made on the politics, republicanism (of Europe) and financing of such investment.
But Im not making it!
theredpill 22nd May 2020 at 08:51
'.This might be of interest .
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
And so it is, trp. Great to see RTC the person back again. Thanks for posting that link-I might otherwise have missed it.
upthehoops 22nd May 2020 at 06:50
Under Paras 6.3 and 6.4 of the ‘charge’, they absolutely need the consent of Close Bros before they change the use of the property or arrange for a planning application or convey or transfer the property.
===============
They absolutely needed to offer Mike Ashley the right to match their Hummel / Elite kit deal, but didn’t. The cost to them of not doing so is potentially very damaging. Perhaps they think Planning Law is covered under the Five Way Agreement.
…………………..
Loan to be repaid soon, so let us feck up the terms of the loan, kick the repayment plan down the road. That is the kind of thing we have come to expect from down ibrox way.
BP or Tris, there was a long post by BRTH on CQN yesterday
BROGAN ROGAN TREVINO AND HOGANon 21ST MAY 2020 12:59 PM
I didn’t want to presume by copying and pasting it on here but I feel that it gets to the heart of the Res 12 issue by someone who has been closely involved in it from the beginning.
Might be worth putting it up as a new blog post with BRTH’s permission?
As a Thistle fan , I'm intrigued by the support and urging from TRFC fans to take legal action against SPFL over our being placed in a lower division , much as they believe happened to them eight years ago . Hopefully somebody can direct me to the legal action they took when they were similarly dispossessed by SPL (in their eyes – I know they died ).
Now that much of rancour and recriminations related to ending the season have subsided (for now), I can probably resume posting without fear of venting my frustration or anger through my posts (again for now).
We are just a few days from UEFA’s self imposed deadline (25 May) for countries to advise how/when their respective leagues will be completed. Following on from that, I expect that UEFA will be in a position to outline both when and how the CL and EL for season 2019/20 will be completed, together with any considerations for clubs who remain unable to play due to their governments’ restrictions.
With that in mind, the CL and EL entry list for season 2020/21 should be closer to being finalised. However, we have had no indication, as yet, about when the qualifying rounds will played, if at all. The first CL preliminary qualifying round was originally scheduled to start on 23 June, with Celtic scheduled to play their first qualifying round tie on 7/8 July.
Maintaining that schedule seems to be impossible, so what will UEFA do? Can games be scheduled in August or early September, or will UEFA make a unilateral decision to dispense with qualifying for the CL and just go straight to the group stage.
Any change to the qualifying format could affect Celtic depending on the entry criteria applied. It could either see Celtic granted direct entry to the group stages, or equally so excluded from the tournament, given their normal QR1 starting point.
Celtic’s UEFA coefficient is probably just high enough to see them seeded to progress to the group stages through the “Champions qualifying route”, but isn’t high enough to see them ranked among the top 32 clubs from the full CL entry list. It may depend on which method UEFA uses and how much scope there is for scheduling qualifying rounds during July and August.
It may be that the fear of exclusion is driving the SPFL’s desire to restart football in July and for then to exert pressure on the the Scottish Government to treat football as a special case.
How would Celtic fans feel if UEFA chose to dispense with CL qualifying and saw the club consigned to the EL group stages?
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2020/05/22/did-the-scottish-football-association-and-sevco-do-a-deal-in-2018-to-bury-resolution-12/
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Phil’s latest questions to the SFA.
Aurellio Zen 22nd May 2020 at 14:16
BP or Tris, there was a long post by BRTH on CQN yesterday
I didn’t want to presume by copying and pasting it on here but I feel that it gets to the heart of the Res 12 issue by someone who has been closely involved in it from the beginning.
===================================
I read that post yesterday. It's a good summary of how Res 12 got to where it is and the issues encountered along the way.
Re Brogan, Rogan, Trevino and Hogan, I know who the last 2 are but I'm not familiar with the other 2 names. Is there a joke in there I'm missing?
I'm sure a knowledeable member on here will be able to enlighten me.
After the SFA decision on Tuesday to drop the CAS referral, I thought it might be worthwhile to check the SFA website to see if its own goals and objectives had been changed/updated since the arrival of the new CEO and (Executive) President.
Nope, looks the same.
And this latest decision probably tops off ‘Vision 2020’ quite nicely… in the eyes of the blazers anyway!
For your amusement / annoyance, below has been copied from the SFA website, just in case anyone had forgotten what they are supposed to be doing on the 6th floor at Hampden.
===================
“Our Strategy & Values
In 2011, the Scottish FA underwent the most radical changes in its history, enabling us to lead the game into a new era. Fundamental changes were implemented in governance, branding and operational structures, and the launch of our strategic plan,
Scotland United: A 2020 Vision
outlined the ambition, values and goals that underpin the organisation and its many facets. The plan encompasses four strategic pillars:
• Perform and Win
• Strong Quality Growth
• Better financial returns
• Respected and Trusted to Lead
The strategic plan is the basis of everything we do, and includes our mission, our values, and our objectives to 2015.
Our Values
We are committed to the principles of development and fair play and expect everyone in the Game to do the same
We are ambitious and we do all that we can to fulfil ours and the game’s potential.
We respect each other and the football family overall. Diversity brings success.
We promote and cultivate a positive and inclusive team ethic both internally and externally. Togetherness is our strength.
The Scottish FA takes its values seriously.
They are more than a set of words: they represent the organisation as a whole, to ensure the highest standards of professionalism are achieved and maintained.
The Scottish FA’s values are reflected in all that we do, both internally and externally. ”
========================
Ballyargus 22nd May 2020 at 17:44
I'm not familiar with the other 2 names.
I'm sure a knowledeable member on here will be able to enlighten me.
==============================
A couple of Celtic full backs from yesteryear.
Ballyargus:
I see ej has replied but I thought trevino and hogan referred to golfing greats. Mibbees I'm wrong.
Doh.. Just realised EJ has me hook line etc LoL
I'm just delighted to see you back EJ. I've missed you. AJ and Wottpi, where are you guys? I for one have missed your insightful contributions.
Ballyargus22nd May 2020 at 17:44
Trevino and Hogan- (very) famous golfers.
He writes very well on a variety of sports and is worth looking up.
easyJambo 22nd May 2020 at 17:01
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I would not be in favour of anyone returning to their place of work while there is a risk of them catching COVID-19, and since there is some evidence that the virus leaves an effect on the lungs, heart and kidneys in the short to medium term at least, professional footballers would be particularly well advised not to. I would rather CFC players therefore did not play any matches until that risk has been removed or demonstrated to be negligible. Should this result in being "relegated" to the Europa League under UEFA proposals, then so be it and suffer it. It's only for one season, we'll be back next year.
macfurgly
ive not stopped working in construction this year as government deemed my site of national interest,so no furlough,i just come home every 3 weeks for a couple of days,a few of my mates are wanting to get in the same place as they are now skint,the traffic on motorway in england was back to being busy whilst scotland was empty,weird feeling with england nearly back to normal and scotland still quiet,sorry wee off the fitbaw comment
Your welcome JC
easyJambo 22nd May 2020 at 17:01
How would Celtic fans feel if UEFA chose to dispense with CL qualifying and saw the club consigned to the EL group stages?
=========
There wouldn't be much we could do about it I'm afraid. There are so many unknowns right now.
tony 22nd May 2020 at 20:02
——–
Good luck to you and your mates, I hope you stay healthy, but I'm sticking with H+S.
I see professional sport is in Phase 2 of the unlockdown, which would seem to be from the last week in June if all goes well.
I have a nightmare vision of French Eddy contracting the virus. Fans of other clubs will have similar I'm sure.
Cluster One 21st May 2020 at 23:14
'…..Read somewhere that the close brothers loan was due no later than June 30, 2020, Almost time to pay back that loan'
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Release from the Standard Security SC425159 0015 over the Albion Car park is obtained 'upon the expiry of the 'Security Period', and 'Security period' is defined 'the period beginning on the date o this standard security and ending on the date [ edit: I'll reduce the verbiage, and use ].. 'when all the secured liabilities have been discharged"
That is, it's not a loan with a fixed date of repayment. However long TRFC owe monies to their lender, their lender is making money through any repayments + interest until the whole borrowed sum has been repaid, secure in the knowledge that if a default event occurs, they can grab the properties itemised in the standard security.
The loan you remember seeing which had a repayment date of next month may be another , perhaps a smaller loan of a more ordinary type?
I don't know, of course, but I'm enjoying myself reading about that kind of stuff, and trying to make sense of it.
But it's galling to think that tykes like CW and the members of the Ibrox board know their way about in that world, a world in which I would be as a babe in arms!
easyJambo 22nd May 2020 at 18:35
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Welcome back, eJ!
I always thought it was a line from “Delaney’s Donkey” ?
Maybe it’s his take on “Hogan, Logan and Mary Ann Macgraw”.
Most people don’t know that Val Doonican was a grumpy old B and picked on and gave out constantly to one and all especially a pal of mine who was a student at the time working at a theatre one summer in the early 80s where the Val Doonican Show was playing.
Having had weeks of abuse and living in fear of his next bollocking he got his own back.
When Val sat on his rocking chair at the end of a show to sing the last song and smile sweetly at his aged female fans he got a surprise
He quickly realised that his beloved chair had just been varnished and he was sticking to it.
So while he was singing and in character trying to look like everyones favourite whatever the audience were unaware he was varnished to his seat and all the long abused crew were pissing themselves.
Uncle Val, pro that he is finished the song then went ballistic throwing a hissy fit after his smiling curtain call.
And this is a football story as the varnishing student went on to be one of our top football refs!
John Clark 22nd May 2020 at 22:03
Thanks JC.
The Chairman of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, (SFSA), has penned a few blogs recently and I referred to their site today to read the coverage of the SFA’s decision on Tuesday.
There was a mention, including;
“…I’m no expert but have been told the decision raises more questions than it resolves and none of the decision makers come out of it with any credit.
My sources said too much is in the public domain for this one to slip into the oblivion the authorities would like.”
========
Would anyone know if the SFSA has any plans to publicly convey the level of disappointment / concern / anger of football supporters about this decision – and/or to the SFA directly?
StevieBC 23rd May 2020 at 13:45
—–
Their last newsletter, dated May 16th., would have been distributed before that announcement was made. Watch the space, but I doubt it would be paid much attention if they did.
easyJambo 22nd May 2020 at 17:01
How would Celtic fans feel if UEFA chose to dispense with CL qualifying and saw the club consigned to the EL group stages?
……………
For me it is what it is in these times, i suppose things are not perfect (as if they evere were)IF Sacrifices have to be made they have to be made, just my opinion.
StevieBC 22nd May 2020 at 18:01
• Perform and Win
• Strong Quality Growth
• Better financial returns
• Respected and Trusted to Lead
……………..
I don’t have my Glasses on but is that an Asterisk in front of the 4 values ?
Not going down well .
Finloch 23rd May 2020 at 07:24
Finloch has a thumbs down. Could reasonablechap be Val Doonican's mum? I think we should be told.
I don’t know the veracity of information I received today, but it was suggested that the collapse of “Specialist Leisure” (Shearings, Wallace Arnold etc.) will have a direct impact on the Parks of Hamilton group, as the travel companies used Parks coaches with their own liveries. Most business failures tend to have a knock on impact on the supply chains, so this one could be little different.
It’s worth noting that the Parks have taken more than £20m out the business in dividends in the last couple of years. (some of that will have found its way into the Ibrox coffers)
We could mibbes take a leaf out of Turkish football's book by having life-sized cardboard cutouts of ST holders placed on seating for behind-closed-doors matches . Give the occasion a more normal look (it would still look too frenetic for Firhill , though !).
easyJambo 23rd May 2020 at 18:25
============
I imagine all coach companies must be feeling the pinch. Parks is also a car dealer so there will be an impact there too. I wonder if Mr Park will no longer be able to fund his £50,000 a season Executive Box at Celtic Park!
Paddy malarkey, LOL
jimbo 23rd May 2020 at 22:16
Hadn't seen this at the time – moneyspinner !!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52771326
Paddy, that and some sound effects might just be the answer! I'd hold back on fireworks though!
paddy malarkey 23rd May 2020 at 22:24
‘..Hadn’t seen this at the time – moneyspinner !!’
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Geez! There’s the answer to the ‘behind closed doors’ problem;
A real fan sitting at home watching a match through the eyes of a dummy of himself which he remotely controls and a speaker in that dummy that he also controls and which will shout out his comments as he shouts at the TV!
Dyson, if you pick up this idea-I’ll only take 10% of the millions you might make.
And several thousand SFM readers are my witnesses!
Quick, where’s the address of the patent office, afore some dirty tyke gets in there afore me!
JC, you could be onto something there!
Virtual Reality is improving all the time.
You could be sitting at home wearing your headset, experiencing the 360' immersion in the stand.
And better still: no need for a real stadium to host the game.
That reduction in overheads must just appeal to certain clubs…
easyJambo 23rd May 2020 at 18:25
'.It’s worth noting that the Parks have taken more than £20m out the business in dividends in the last couple of years.'
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That sent me straight to the Companies House entry relating to Parks of Hamilton (Holdings) Ltd.
I note that there are 19 'charges' on properties owned by Park's ,created since 4th March 2020, 17 of which were created on 13th March.
Although I'm not at all very knowledgeable about these things and am always open to correction, I understand 'charges' to be the rough equivalent of my old man's demob suit : something put in hawk for a loan.
Not, however, being an absolute ingenu I know that very respectable and sound businesses and corporations borrow money as a matter of course, even when they pay substantial dividends to their owners and shareholders.
I've no real problem with that : they are in business to to make personal gain! And borrowing in order to expand business and make even more profit is fair enough.
A sudden rush to borrow in times of trouble is a horse of a different colour.
It betokens a difficulty, or anticipated difficulty in cash-flow – a huge gap between expenditure and income.
It might conceivably be that a too-readiness to take dividends could result in defaulting on the obligations incurred under the standard securities 'charges'.
Might. But what do I know?
While catching up on the latest on the Dominic Cummings alleged playing fast and loose with Lockdown rules/advice/guidance/legislation affair there seems to be a familiar pattern. We have a seemingly clear transgression which is at first ignored, then airily dismissed, then denied, then justified, then held up as evidence of higher moral and ethical standards and to deflect we have Statements, sorry, Tweets from most of the Cabinet (Regan, Doncaster, McCoist, Rage, McCann, Young, Jackson, English…) defending their man. While the public are making their minds up it transpires Defence Version 1 (OK, he drove +250 miles but once there he "stayed put") might not be true (OK, once there he went on a 30 mile jaunt for a day out) and it further transpires that after the first trip he went back to London (where he lives) and then made a second 250+ miles journey at a time when the Stay Home message was being insisted upon on a daily basis by every one of the Cabinet/Tweeters.
I await today's developments but will not be surprised if whoever draws the Coronavirus Daily Press Briefing short straw (and we know it won't be The Boris a) because he doesn't do weekends and b) he doesn't do much on any day:- last week the score for Daily Press Briefings was Nicola Sturgeon 59, The Boris 4 ) settles matters. It will be declared that there is indeed a case to answer but due to a Five Way Agreement nobody who could actually do anything about it has jurisdiction and the matter will have to be further considered. Then, in about eighteen months time, there will be a one-line press release saying that due to implications (unspecified) the whole affair is being binned. Oh, and before anyone starts to get cute, there is no way this is getting referred to Johnny Foreigner, European Court Of Anything…Brexit Meant…Borders? No, that doesn't sound right…
Might be simpler to just fill in a few forms and come back as T'Dominic.
Ian Maxwell was on BBC yesterday talking about a wide range of stuff.
He wasn't asked about the decision earlier in the week that I read about on Phil's blog and here to drop the much talked about and delayed CAS progression of the Resolution 12 case.
I haven't read or seen anything about it anywhere in the press or heard it mentioned anywhere on the radio or tv and can't find it as a press release on the SFA site.
What was the Celtic reaction?
Finloch 24th May 2020 at 07:43
………..
What was the Celtic reaction?
…………..
As i said the other day. Can’t see any reaction until the next AGM. Silence is Golden, someone once sang.
paddy malarkey 23rd May 2020 at 22:24
‘..Hadn’t seen this at the time – moneyspinner !!’
“””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Geez! There’s the answer to the ‘behind closed doors’ problem;
A real fan sitting at home watching a match through the eyes of a dummy of himself which he remotely controls and a speaker in that dummy that he also controls and which will shout out his comments as he shouts at the TV!
Dyson, if you pick up this idea-I’ll only take 10% of the millions you might make.
And several thousand SFM readers are my witnesses!
Quick, where’s the address of the patent office, afore some dirty tyke gets in there afore me!
……..
Is it Hold my Beer they say ?
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/football-club-forced-apologise-using-22044226
“We wanted to bring some fun elements to the no-fans game