A Blog by James Forrest for TSFM
I am a socialist, and as a socialist I believe in the fundamental goodness of people. Some people find that hard to believe when they read the stuff I write.
I published my first novel recently, on politics and the corrupting nature of it, and it is a deeply cynical book, a book where no-one has clean hands come the end. What has surprised some of those who’ve read it is that I didn’t focus on the lies and smears of the right, but the hypocrisy and deceit of those who claim to be of the left.
Corruption, you see, doesn’t respect political boundaries or points of view. It’s like rainwater. It finds every crack, and gets in there.
My political beliefs revolve around two apparently paradoxical elements; the belief in the inherent decency of people and the need for a strong, and powerful, state. I believe the second underpins the first, and this brings me into conflict with a lot of people, some on the left and some on the right. Too many people see the state as inherently evil, as something that interferes too much in the lives of ordinary people. As something suffocating.
Yet the state exists to protect us. It exists to provide a safety net. It exists to regulate and to oversee. If the state is made up of bad people, if the gears of society are captured by those with malicious or selfish intent, the results are obvious; war, corruption, chaos.
The vast majority of our problems in the modern age can be neatly summed up in two lines from Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming”, which I used to open my novel. “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
We live in a time when those who are protecting their own interests have assumed such power that they’ve cowed the rest of us. They have become a law unto themselves. They have changed the nature of the game, because they have sapped our will to the extent some barely put up a fight anymore. The weak get weaker, and the strong use their strength to crush the rest even more. It is a vicious struggle, a downward spiral.
Society is held together not only by the endeavour and common interests of its citizens but by a collection of laws. We elect the people who make those laws. They do so in our name, and we can remove that right every four years. That is a powerful thing, and we do not appreciate it enough. The present corruption exists because we allow it to exist.
The people around me continue to puzzle over my uncommon interest in the affairs of a football club on the west of Glasgow. My own club plays in the east end. I tell those who ask that my primary interest in the goings-on at the club calling itself Rangers is no longer about football; how could it be, after all? With promotion this year they are still a full two divisions below us, emasculated, skint, weak and unstable. If we were fortunate enough to draw them in cup competition the match would be over, as a tie, by the halfway point … in the first half.
In footballing terms they are an utter irrelevance.
Rangers is more than a football club to me. They are a symbol. Their unfolding calamity is an on-going outrage. What is happening there, what is being allowed to happen, is an offense to decency. It is a stain on the face of our country.
In short, it is a scandal. It is a scandal without parallel in sport.
Yet it’s not just a sports story either. If it was, I might not be so focussed on it. What is happening at Rangers is a colossal failure of governance. It is a damning indictment against the very people who are supposed to oversee our game. It is a disgraceful abrogation of responsibility from those at the top, those who claim to be “running things.”
If this is not a failure of governance it is a result of corruption at the heart of our national sport. It says they are bought and paid for, and I will say no such thing here.
So let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. We’ll say instead that what they are is weak, indecisive, inept and disconnected from reality.
It reminds me of our political class, which has become insular and ignorant about what the public wants, and what it needs. It’s not a wonder parties like UKIP can achieve national vote shares of 25% at local elections. Nigel Farage strikes me as a dog-whistle politician, the kind who knows how to appeal to a select group of voters. He is little different to Charles Green, the man who beguiled Rangers fans into handing over large amounts of money, because he was “standing up for the club.” It is easy to do what he did, easy to do what Farage is doing.
Real leadership requires toughness. Say what you like about the Tories, but they have that in spades. Yeats was right about the worst being full of passionate intensity. Green was. Farage is. Cameron and Osborne personify it in their political outlook.
It is easy to be cowed by blunt force politics, and by “tough talking Yorkshire men” and venomous speeches about “strivers and skivers.” The politics of divide and conquer is the oldest form of politics there is, and it’s no surprise to see it practiced by some of the vested interests in the game here in Scotland. Yet, lest we forget … something significant happened last year. The maligned and the ignored, the weak and the voiceless found something they never realised they had. They discovered that, in a very real sense, the power was in their hands.
Last year, the fans rose up when the governing bodies and the media went all-out to save Rangers from the self-inflicted wounds caused by a decade of cheating, malpractice and ineptitude. I have no problem calling that what it was.
What happened at Rangers seemed incredible, but it was all too predictable, and some of us had been talking about it for years before it hit. The Association seemed caught in the headlights but it would amaze me if they really were as insular and ignorant as they appeared. They must have known how bad the outlook was for Rangers. They just chose to ignore it.
They were aided and abetted by a thoroughly disreputable media, a collection of cowards and compromisers, charlatans and frauds, masquerading as journalists, but who long ago laid aside any claim to be bold investigators and settled for commenting on events as they unfolded. More often than not, with their ill-informed opinions, sometimes due to weaknesses in intellect and others wilfully ignorant, they failed even in that.
Entire newspapers became PR machines for crooks and swindlers. They aided in the scam because they didn’t do their jobs, some because they were lazy, some because they were incompetent and others because they wanted a seat at the table and were willing to sacrifice whatever integrity they once had in exchange for one.
That all of this was embraced by the Rangers fans is amazing to me. They trusted when they should have been asking questions. They closed their eyes, covered their ears and sang their battle tunes at the top of their voices so they wouldn’t have to hear anything they didn’t like. As incredible as I found it then, and still find it now – and now, even more so, when they have already seen the results of it once – I find it pathetic too, and I do feel pity for some of them.
A lot of these people are genuine football fans, and nothing more. They have no interest in the phony narrow nationalism, or the over-blown religion, or the notion of supremacy which manifested itself in a ludicrous statement from McCoist when interviewed recently on Sky.
Some of the Rangers fans look at their team of duds, kids and journeymen, they look at a boardroom of cowards and crooks, they look at a failing manager in his first (and last) job in the game and at a dark future and are not in the least bit impressed by, or interested in, the chest-out arrogance espoused in those ridiculous words “we are the people.” They know full well that their present crisis was made by men like McCoist, and they understand that pretentious posturing is not an act born of strength, but a scrambling around in the gutter, and a symptom of weakness.
They understand their position, and they hate it. And because they care about Rangers, because they value the club, because they cherish those things that made it a great Scottish institution, they want that back. They understand that before the Union Jack waving, Sash singing, poppy wearing, Nazi saluting, Orange element became the public face of their support Rangers meant something else, and that, above all things, is what pains them the most.
People do not hate Rangers. When the country appeared to turn its back last year, they were turning the back on favouritism and the bending of rules. Yet it would be a lie to say that there is not an element of dislike in the gleeful mockery of many rival fans.
But they don’t hate Rangers either. They hate the version of it around which a certain section of the support continues to dance. They hate the version which hates, and so too do many, many, many Rangers supporters, and they definitely deserve better.
David Murray chose not to openly challenge that version. Indeed, he encouraged certain strands of it to flourish and grow, with his “Britishness Days” and his effort to turn the club into the “team that supports the troops.” Other clubs have done as much, if not more, for the British Army than the one that plays out of Ibrox. Other clubs have given more money. Other clubs have lent their support to those on the front lines. They just chose to do it with respect, and with class, and with dignity. They chose to do it in private, understanding that there eventually comes a tipping point between looking after the ends of the soldiers and using them to promote your own.
The army has not battened on to Rangers. Rangers has battened on to them, and although it is unclear when an altruistic motive became darker, what started out as a gesture of solidarity is now used to entrench division and promote a notion of superiority.
Craig Whyte took over from Murray and immediately understood the lure of the “dog whistle.” He knew too that the media would accept whatever he told them, without question, and as he spoke up for “Rangers traditions” he made sure the lunatic fringe was well onside. He met face to face with the hard-core extremists in the support first and made them his praetorian guard. They spoke up for him until the day the club entered administration.
So, whereas Murray pandered to them and Whyte used them to further his own ends, it was only a matter of time before someone suggested to Charles Green that he could use the same tactics to win over the support. He went even further and blatantly promoted and encouraged this mind-set, and stoked the hate and nonsense to frightening new heights. The same people who cheered Whyte to the rafters jumped on board the Big Blue Bus and the results are clear.
Through all of it, the ordinary Rangers fan has seen his club buffered against the rocks, battered, broken, smashed to smithereens and sunk. Now there’s a big hole in the side of the lifeboat, and they are terrified that further tragedies await.
They are right to be concerned. Much of the media is still not telling them what they need to know. The people in charge of their club – the owners who have lied, the former hack who covered up the truth about Whyte and now acts as a mouthpiece for Green, the “club legends” who are content to sup with the devil and take his greasy coin when they should be standing toe-to-toe with the fans – are trying to silence those members of the press who do have facts to present.
How many times now have media outlets been banned from Ibrox for daring to report the truth? The manager who demanded the names of a committee last year defends those inside the walls who are desperate to keep secret the things that are going on. He is either an unprincipled coward, or he is, himself, bought and paid for. The fans suffer for it.
The “inconvenient truth” is still being kept from them, and this denies them any chance to play an active role in their club. Indeed, it is all too possible that they’ve passed a point of no return, and that their club is heading for a new liquidation event and it can no longer be stopped.
In either case, their power has been eroded to the point at which they must feel they have nothing left to do but stand back and watch what happens next.
They are wrong. I am a socialist. I believe in the inherent good of people. I think the ordinary decent Rangers fans are the only people left who can save their club … and the means by which they will do it is as simple as it could be.
They must stand up for “big government.” They must embrace the need for a “strong state.” They must lobby the SFA, and they must trust the SFA and they must get the SFA to follow its own rules and thereby save them from any further harm.
There is a tendency amongst some Celtic fans to see our governing bodies as pro-Rangers. If it is true then those running our game are ruining Scottish football without benefiting the thing they love more. The incalculable harm that has been done to Rangers in the last 20 some months is a direct result of the subservient media and the willingness of the football authorities to be “deaf, dumb and blind.” Those who believe this has actually helped the Ibrox club have not been paying attention in class. It has irrevocably scarred them, and it may yet have played a hand in destroying them once and for all, as a force if not as a club entirely.
For years, the SFA sat and did nothing as a club in their association operated a sectarian signing policy. They did nothing whilst the fans sang sectarian songs. In their failure to act they strengthened those elements of the Rangers support, instead of isolating, alienating and eventually helping to eliminate those who saw that club as a totem pole of division and hate. Their failure over EBT’s, and their lack of scrutiny, led to one of the greatest scandals in the history of sport, and I say that with no equivocation at all. The testimony of their registrations officer in the Lord Nimmo Smith investigation was a disgrace and in years to come it will rank as one of the most disreputable and damaging moments in the association’s history.
The most egregious failures of all were the failures in the so-called “fit and proper person” tests, which allowed first Whyte and then Charles Green to assume controlling positions at Ibrox. They will pass the buck and say the responsibility lies with the club itself, in much the same way as they are content to let the club investigate itself at the present time, but any neutral who looks at this stance knows it is unprincipled and spineless. It’s like letting the defence set the terms at a trial. It is foxes investigating the chicken coop.
It is a blueprint for corruption, and a recipe for disaster.
It is now too late for the SFA to declare Green “unfit”, as it was too late when they finally slapped that title on Craig Whyte. He and his allies own Rangers, and they control its destiny. They can push the club to the wall if they choose, in the final extremity, if that gets them what they want. The time for changing that is past. The damage has already been done. The barbarians are not at the gates. They are inside the walls, and sacking the city.
The SFA will be forced to punish Rangers for the sins of the owners, for the second time in as many years, and whilst it is right that the club face up to that, all the better to send a message to other clubs and other owners, the SFA cannot be allowed to slither off the hook here as though this was none of their doing. Green will skip off into the sunset. Craig Whyte has yet to pay his fine. These people never cared about Scottish football and they don’t care now.
The SFA are supposed to. Our governing body is supposed to govern, for the good of the whole game, and not as a support system for a single club. What they have allowed to happen on their watch is absolutely shameful and if the people responsible were men at all, with any sense of accountability, they would resign en masse.
They can pretend ignorance, but only the truly ignorant would accept that. Craig Whyte was not inside Ibrox a week before RTC and other sites were dismantling his entire business history, with some of the people here doing the work the SFA would not. Whyte himself claims to have made the governing bodies aware of the scale of what was facing the club, and they did nothing at all. Heads should have rolled a year ago.
In October of last year, on this very site, I posted an article in which I wrote:
“Which isn’t to say the due diligence matter isn’t worrying, because, of course, it is. Again, no-one is going to convince me that the SFA has conducted proper due diligence on Charles Green and his backers. No-one will convince me they are satisfied that this club is in safe hands, and that the game in this country will not be rocked by a further implosion at Ibrox. They failed to properly investigate Craig Whyte, because of lax regulations requiring disclosure from the club itself, regulations which are just a joke, but they can be forgiven for that as the press was talking sheer nonsense about him having billions at his disposal, and a lot of people (but not everyone!) were either convinced or wanted to be convinced by him.
To have witnessed what Whyte did, to have witnessed the Duff & Phelps “process” of finding a buyer, and having Green essentially emerge from nowhere, with a hundred unanswered questions as to his background and financing, for the SFA to have given this guy the go ahead, only for it to blow up in their faces later, would annihilate the credibility of the governing body and necessitate resignations at every level. There would be no hiding place.”
There are times when it is fun to be right, but this is not one of them. It is dispiriting and disquieting to have been so on the nose. It scares the Hell out of me, as someone who loves football in this country, to have seen this matter clearly when the people running our game apparently either did not or chose to ignore very real, very obvious, concerns. The Internet Bampots had no special insight or access to information that was denied those at the SFA. We just weren’t prepared to ignore it and pretend that it wasn’t there. There was too much at stake.
I have become convinced that things will never change until the Rangers supporters join us in demanding the full and unabridged truth here. They need to come out from under the bed, and confront their fears. They need to be willing to take the consequences, so that their club can emerge clean from this, and start again, with all this behind them.
And it can all happen with one simple thing. The application of the rules.
The existence of laws comes down to a simple principle; they protect society from those elements within it who are interested only in their own selfish ends. We may cry out at those rules and regulations we see as “restrictive”, but the law was not made to restrict our freedoms but to protect them. Had the SFA years ago acted against Rangers sectarian signing policy, and the songs from the stands, the club would not have mutated to the point where there was no help on hand when they needed it the most. Let’s not kid ourselves about this; Whyte and Green were only able to grab control because the club itself has a dreadful image which put off respectable and responsible buyers. The SFA could have helped change that perception years ago and did nothing.
The SFA could have conducted its own investigation into who Craig Whyte was. They could have asked David Murray for full disclosure when he was running up £80 million of debt, a sum of money that is beyond belief for a single club in a small provincial backwater league. Had they had the guts to do that the club would never have spent itself into oblivion and forced the hand of Lloyds, which led indirectly to their ignominious end.
The SFA could have fully investigated Charles Green and the means by which he took control, instead of rushing through a license. His emergence at the last minute was transparently suspicious and designed to force them into a quick decision, but they did not have to bow to that pressure by making one, without being in possession of the facts, as it is now 100% clear they were not.
Had they asked for every document, had they insisted on legal affidavits and personal securities from investors (and this would have been perfectly legitimate and is common place in other licensing areas) none of this would have come to pass. After Craig Whyte they had a moral responsibility to the rest of the game to get this one right and their failure is without parallel in the history of Scottish football.
As the club hurtles towards a new abyss, names are cropping up which should send a shudder down the spines of every honest, genuine supporter of not only Rangers but every team in the land. The SFA claims that a strong Rangers is essential for the sake of Scottish football, but they have been extraordinarily lax in protecting that club, and therefore the game, from destructive elements. Craig Whyte and Charles Green had dubious personal histories, and the acquisition of the club itself was mired in controversy and scandal. Yet it was allowed.
Neither Green nor Whyte were known to have operated outside the law, yet neither was worthy of trust or stood up to scrutiny. Neither man should ever have been granted the status as fit and proper persons to assume a role in our national sport, and if it is true of them what can we say about the three men who are, presently, being touted as the Great White Hopes for a bright, new Rangers future; Dave King and the Easdale brothers?
King recently cut a deal with the South African government over an on-going dispute over taxes. In other words, he pled guilty and accepted the central plank of their argument; that for years he was engaged in wilfully with-holding vast revenues from their Treasury. The media does not like to put it like that, and the SFA seems willing to ignore it utterly, and this would be scandalous enough. But it does not stop there. HRMC rules – as well as the SFA’s own governance documents – actually bar him from serving on the board of the new club.
Last but not least, aside from being an admitted tax cheat, King is also awaiting trial in South Africa, having been indicted for corruption, forgery and fraud – 300 charges in total. Yet as recently as last week, we were told that the Association was willing to look at him and consider representations from his lawyers. This is almost beyond belief.
If Dave King’s position is untenable, and he is yet to be convicted of a crime, what can we say about the position of the Easdale’s? One of the two brothers, Sandy, has already served jail time. He is a convicted criminal, a fraudster nonetheless, who’s “victim” was the same Treasury who are appealing one case involving the old club and liquidated it entirely over another. This is precisely the kind of “businessman” the fit and proper person test was supposed to weed out, and if the SFA holds its nose here the reek will stink out the halls at Hampden for decades. If King or the Easdale’s are judged fit and proper, then who exactly is the test for? What exactly do you have to do to fail it? How do we explain the existence of laws, when these are not applied?
Pascal says “Law without force is impotent.” The SFA’s weakness has allowed one version of Rangers to destroy itself, and has allowed an existential risk to another. If the next power at Rangers resides in South Africa or Greenock I can say with some certainty that the Association is engaged in an even more dangerous roll of the dice, because the surfacing of fresh scandal will be an ever present risk, and will be of the sort no-one will survive.
The damage to Scottish football will take years to heal. The Scottish game has been through enough trauma. It does not need more. It barely survived the last calamity to hit Rangers. The rest of us should not be forced to pay the price of the next one.
The greater damage will be done to Rangers itself. If the Green crisis ends in another collapse – as it well might; another administration event is a certainty, and another liquidation is a much more likely prospect than it was before 14 February 2012 – the club will once again have to start from the bottom, and this time the reputational damage will be impossible to repair. The club faces internal strife, sporting sanctions, and criminal investigations. The last takeover might be declared a fraud. the Whyte takeover will almost certainly be. The share issue might be invalid, as well as criminal, and the people involved may well end up in jail. Lawsuits could follow from investors, there could be as yet unknown consequences from the Upper Tier Tax Tribunal (thank you Brogan Rogan for pointing out what those might be) and a host of other issues.
Rangers fans must be the loudest voices here. How do you want the world to view your club in years to come? Do you want one to be proud of, or one forever associated with the shame and disgrace of these days gone by? The one which bailed out on its tax obligations. The one with supporters who disgrace your very name. The one which allowed Whyte and Green to take you to the cleaners and send you to the wall. The one which handed over control to one convicted criminal and another awaiting trial. Do you want to be reborn clean, or mired in the muck?
David Murray destroyed your financial stability. He made it so no bank would issue you a line of credit and no investor of note wanted to buy. Craig Whyte liquidated you. Charles Green has cast the future of the Newco into doubt and acted in a manner which has annihilated your credibility with the financial markets for decades to come.
Between these three men, they have taken everything from you, and the press and the people who run the game here, as well as some of your own blindly ignorant fans, have allowed them to do all this and more. Now they conspire to hand the keys to Ibrox to other men of questionable character, who will wreck further havoc on the reputation of the club.
The Scottish Football Association has damaged the game it was supposed to protect, but above all else their greatest failure of governance was a failure to protect one of its biggest clubs from its own excesses and those of its owners.
Rangers fans, the SFA have betrayed your trust, more than the trust of any other club. What you must insist on now is full disclosure and transparency from the powers that be in Hampden. The SFA has to end the charade of allowing your club to handle this in-house. They must hand everything over to an outside agency – whether a legal one, or a footballing body like UEFA – and they must demand co-operation and answers, and threaten to withhold the license if they don’t get them.
You must not be afraid of that. You must embrace it. The men with their hands on the gears at Ibrox are motivated by money, and nothing more. If the license is withdrawn their “investments” are worthless. They cannot risk that.
You must demand that the rules on fit and proper persons are applied, and where necessary even made stronger, to prevent your club falling into unclean hands. You must demand that they protect your reputation from further damage, by getting this all out there and acting accordingly, even if that means your club does not play football for at least a year.
You must be willing to suck it all up, knowing that what will emerge is a Rangers which has been cleansed and moves forward with honour, and dignity, led by custodians who treasure it rather than those who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
The Rangers Standard has recently emerged as a genuine voice for those in your support who are sick and tired of what Rangers has become, and want it restored to something that is worthy of the love and respect in which you hold it. On that website, there are discussions about the kind of club you seek to be and about whether the institution of Rangers is about more than just football.
If that’s how you feel about it then you know it is about more than how many titles the club can claim, about more than just results on the park, about more than just the game. Rangers, like Celtic, is an idea. It has to be something you are proud of.
I am a socialist, but one with a fevered imagination and a tendency to write very dark things. This piece won’t have been good reading for some of you (perhaps all of you haha!) but I think there’s more hope in here than in other things I’ve written.
In spite of everything that’s come to pass, I still believe. I believe in Scottish football. I believe in our system of football governance, even if those who are working in it are failing on some level.
In society, as much as we strain against them, laws exist for our protection. To fail to enforce them is to leave us at the mercy of those elements who would do us harm. The rules of football ensure the protection of all clubs, not just a few.
The failure to enforce the rules has never had graver consequences than here in Scotland. The irony is that bending and breaking them has hurt the one club those violations were designed to help. It cannot be allowed to happen again.
The rules must be applied without fear or favour.
The best must find their conviction, and their passionate intensity once more.
James is a co-editor of the On Fields of Green Blog http://www.onfieldsofgreen.com/
ecobhoy says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 20:33
And the 5-Way Agreement is coming – I just hope it isn’t a draft.
————————————————————————————————-
If it does appear, I’d like it to blow a hurricane through the corridors at Hampden to get rid of the snakes that crawl along them
ah’ll get my so’wester
Dear Campbell,
Chairman !! GIRUY!!
Regards, Walter.
3.3k reads in under an hour for the lovely Charlotte’s latest post.
Looks like a helluva lot of people aren’t moving along, and realise that there is something to see here after all.
Auldheid says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 20:29
13 1 Rate This
Smith’s appointment is yet another attempt at maintaining the illusion that nothing has changed.
It is extreme short termism to delay or avoid another insolvency event.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
This move will get the season ticket money in OK, but all that does is milk the bears for just that little bit more. If they manage to get in £10m (unlikely in my opinion), that will see them through to Christmas, maybe. So has Sir Walter seen a business plan that assures him that the fans aren’t being led up the garden path by the company of which he is chairman? I would love to see it, if it exists.
Or does Sir Walter simply not have a clue about such grubby matters? If so, he shouldn’t be chairman. In fact it would be difficult to find a person less qualified to be chairman of a PLC (let’s leave Ally out of this for now). So this is all just PR and getting more money out of the fans- under false pretences, in my opinion.
Just a minor quibble…unless I missed an announcement;
I have noticed that today Craig Mather is commonly quoted in the MSM as being ‘Chief Executive’ of TRFC.
Although the TRFC website has not been updated yet, [still has Green as CEO], as recently as last Friday the site was referring to Mather as the ‘Interim Chief Executive’.
Today, with the announcement of Smith as Chairman, the website now refers to Mather as ‘Chief Executive’. You would also think the website would get internal titles correct.
Is Mather now permanent CEO ?
Is TRFC still searching for a permanent CEO ?
Would any ‘journalist’ care to ask TRFC for clarification? [I know]
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/4021-mather-more-to-come
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/4062-club-statement
ecobhoy. I hope that this is what you wanted. I think that this takes care of the myth that the EBT’s were loans. sorry for the length. The side-letters
[47] At the time when the Notice of Commission was prepared, incomplete information was
available about the identities of all the players employed by Oldco who were in receipt of sideletters.
Those players who were named in the documents then available were included in the A
lists of Specified Players, while those in respect of whom other information was available were
included in the B lists. The B lists were compiled from information broadcast by BBC Scotland
and published on its website, together with inferences drawn from redacted side-letters disclosed
by Biggart Baillie on 31 May 2012 (see below). Given that Oldco was represented at the
hearing, we requested that un-redacted copies be made available in place of redacted copies of
side-letters relating to Specified Players in the B lists, and this has now been done. At the
hearing, Mr McKenzie indicated that, on reconsideration, the name of Tore André Flo should be
16
omitted from list 2A (but not from list 1A) and that of Michael Ball should be omitted from
list 3A (but not from list 1A). Subject to this, we are satisfied that there is sufficient evidence
that all of the Specified Players were in receipt of side-letters. It is not in dispute that none of
these was at any time disclosed to the SPL or SFA.
[48] The style of side-letter used by Oldco varied from time to time. The following examples
appear to us to be sufficiently representative of the range of styles:
(1) By letter dated 27 January 2003 to Jérôme Bonnissel, Martin Bain, Director of
Football Business of Oldco, wrote:
“I confirm that the Board of Rangers Football Club (the Club) will recommend to
the Trustees of the Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) to
include you as the protector of a sub-trust and to fund this sub-trust with a total of
£48,000 net, £24,000 payable in February 2003 and £24,000 payable on 1 June
2003.
The Club undertakes to fund the MGMRT to the extent necessary to permit the
Trustees of the MGMRT to carry out this recommendation.”
(2) By letter dated 1 July 2003 to Nuno Fernando Gonçalves da Rocha (Nuno Gonçalves,
known as Capucho), Martin Bain wrote:
“I confirm that the Board of Rangers Football Club (the Club) will recommend to
the Trustees of the Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) to
include you as the protector of a sub-trust and to fund this sub-trust with net totals
as follows:
1. £600,000 in total, payable £150,000 in October 2003, £150,000 in April
2004, £150,000 in October 2004 and £150,000 in April 2005.
2. Effective from the date of this letter until 31 May 2004, £2,000 for each
competitive First Team match in which you have played for the Club, the
relevant amount being payable in quarterly instalments in arrears on the
last business day in each of October, January, April and June during each
season. In the event that there have been less than 5 matches for which
payment is due in any instalment, payment in respect of the same will be
deferred until the next instalment date.
3. The amount, if any, by which the cumulative amount payable in respect of
bonuses in any one season is less than £100,000 net.
The Club undertakes to fund the MGMRT to the extent necessary to permit the
trustees of the MGMRT to carry out this recommendation. In the event that the
MGMRT ceases to be available, the Club will use its best endeavours to make
equivalent alternative arrangements.”
(3) By letter dated 1 January 2004 to Shota Arveladze, Martin Bain wrote:
17
“I confirm that the Board of Rangers Football Club (the Club) will recommend to
the Trustees of the Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) to
include you as the protector of a sub-trust and to fund this sub-trust with net totals
as follows:
1. £990,000 in total, payable £190,000 in March 2004, £200,000 in October
2004 and 2005, and £200,000 in April 2005 and 2006.
2. Effective from the date of this letter until 31 May 2006, £1,000 for each
competitive First Team match in which you have played for the Club, the
relevant amount being payable at the end of seasons 2003/04, 2004/05 and
2005/06.
The Club undertakes to fund the MGMRT to the extent necessary to permit the
trustees of the MGMRT to carry out this recommendation. In the event that the
MGMRT ceases to be available, the Club will use its best endeavours to make
equivalent alternative arrangements.
This letter supercedes [sic] the letter dated 1st September 2001 from Douglas
Odam.”
(4) By letter dated 21 August 2008 to Steven Davis, Martin Bain wrote:
“I confirm that the Board of Rangers Football Club (the Club) will recommend to
the Trustees of the Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) to
include you as the protector of a sub-trust and to fund this sub-trust with a total of
up to £1,200,000 net.
This amount will be payable in insatallments [sic] of £160,000 in August 2008
and £140,000 in February 2009, £150,000 in August 2009, 2010 and 2011 and
February 2010, 2011 and 2012 or earlier at the Club’s sole discretion, subject to
you being a registered player with the Club on each due date.
The Club undertakes to fund the MGMRT to the extent necessary to permit the
trustees of the MGMRT to carry out these recommendations.”
It can be seen that each of these side-letters contains an undertaking by Oldco to the Specified
Player “to fund the MGMRT”. A similar undertaking is found in every other side-letter before
us and it is clear to us (as we believe it must have been to anyone at Oldco with even a basic
grasp of legal matters) that the undertaking was contractually binding as between Oldco and the
player.
[49] On any view, the total annual amount contributed by Oldco to the MGMRT was
substantial. In the statutory accounts of Oldco, they were included under the heading of “Staff
Costs”, along with wages and salaries and certain other costs. The relationship between the cost
of such contributions and that of wages and salaries appears from the following table:
18
The notes to each of the statutory accounts stated that the MGMRT “was established to provide
incentives to certain employees”. It is apparent from the whole evidence available to us that the
great majority of these contributions were made for players.
[50] It is clear to us that the reason why side-letters were issued to players, in addition to their
contracts of employment, was that they were employed by Oldco to play football. Many sideletters
contained a provision that Oldco would recommend to the trustees of the MGMRT to fund
a sub-trust “subject to you being a registered Rangers player on the due date” and a provision for
payment of specified amounts “for each competitive First Team Match in which the player starts
or…for each competitive First Team Match in which the player enters the field of play as a
substitute”: we refer, for example, to the side-letter to Gregory Vignal dated 4 August 2004.
[51] It is also clear to us that the undertaking contained in a side-letter was regarded as a very
significant part of the player’s total remuneration package. For example, following the
enactment of section 26 of and Schedule 2 to the Finance Act 2011, by letter dated 3 May 2011
to Steven Davis, Martin Bain wrote:
“On 21 August 2008 you were given a letter of undertaking that certain recommendations
would be made to the Trustees of the [MGMRT] by the Board of Rangers Football Club.
Such recommendations would have resulted in further contributions to the sub-trust of
which you are protector of £450,000 over and above those already made.
Unfortunately, the law has changed and the older arrangement now carries no benefits at
all. Instead, therefore the Board propose to make additional payments of £312,000 in
May 2011 and £312,000 on 31 August 2011 and 28 February 2012 directly to you,
Year to
30 June
Wages and
salaries £’000
Contributions
to EBT £’000
2000 30,160 Nil
2001 29,595 1,010
2002 28,541 5,176
2003 25,040 6,791
2004 20,587 7,252
2005 17,764 7,241
2006 16,704 9,192
2007 17,064 4,988
2008 28,207 2,291
2009 24,908 2,360
2010 23,667 1,358
19
subject to you being a registered Rangers player on these dates. It’s the Board’s
understanding that such payments will be subject to deductions for Income Tax and
National Insurance contributions, with the net result being that you will receive payment
of the amount which would have gone into the Trust. I trust you will find this
acceptable.”
A similar letter was written on the same date to Saša Papac.
The decision of the Tax Tribunal
[52] A dispute arose between HMRC and five companies in the Murray Group, including
Oldco. The issue between them was “whether the payments into trust or the benefits taken by
the employee fall to be taxed as emoluments of their employment, with PAYE and NIC liabilities
arising for the employer” (emphasis added): Tax Tribunal majority decision, paragraph 3. The
five companies appealed to the Tax Tribunal against assessments to tax by HMRC. In due
course, by decision released to the parties on 29 October 2012 and published on 20 November
2012, the Tax Tribunal, by a majority, substantially allowed the appeals.
Gregory Ioannidis @LawTop20 10h
Won’t be long before a Scottish grievance reaches UEFA. I am told there are powerful words to be used such as ‘transparency’ and ‘justice’.
I see he is CEO on both AIM Notices today.
On 24/4/2013 the AIM Notice stated:
‘Rangers announces that the Board has appointed Craig Mather, aged 42, to the role of Chief Operating Officer for the Group. In addition, Craig will act as interim Chief Executive Officer and will be a member of the Board as the interim Chief Executive Officer. In the meanwhile the search for a permanent replacement for Charles Green will continue and a further announcement will be made as appropriate.’
Obviously have either got it wrong or not bothered to update AIM with a Notice – perhaps they think that shareholders might be getting worried about all the changes.
Tic 6709 says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 21:36
ecobhoy. I hope that this is what you wanted.
———————————————————————————-
Thanks for that but I’ve actually got a copy of the Decision. Just for the record I have never believed that the EBTs were loans. But what what I was asking was where in the decision it states: ‘Nimmo Smith however declined to consider the 5 cases where the scheme was ruled to have been applied unlawfully. Neither did he consider the Discount Options Scheme that paid Flo and de Boer millions each via a wholly unlawful scam’.
It’s just I have no memory of that and was interested in reading what reasoning LNS had applied.
ecobhoy, you could also look here.
STV 28 February 2013 12:15 GMT Key points from Lord Nimmo Smith’s ruling on Rangers
ecobhoy says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 21:45
Obviously have either got it wrong or not bothered to update AIM with a Notice – perhaps they think that shareholders might be getting worried about all the changes.
=======================================================================
Surely AIM should be too!
I’m just thinking about Charlotte – aren’t we all 🙂
But it’s interesting how she has shifted target onto the SFA and apparently provided what looks like cast-iron evidence that the SFA were aware of the two Sevco companies on June 25 last year by producing a memo between lawyers BiggartBaillie and Brian Stockbridge.
The SFA apparently believed that CW was a hidden investor in the purchase of Rangers and wanted the relationship between Sevco 5088 and Sevco Scotland spelt out. I wonder what made the SFA think that there might be a problem there and why did they think Whyte’s finger was in the pie?
And then the real cruncher from CF that’s she’s going to release the 5-Way Agreement. All looks like pressure being applied to the SFA that if they just roll-over to the P&M non-disclosure non-event then a barrowload of the brown stuff is coming their way.
Can we anticipate the SFA publicly asking awkward questions re the P&M Report or will they don the tin hats. But it would be lovely to know what answers the SFA were given last year re the two Sevcos. I wonder if CF has that memo waiting in the wings?
In just 2 hours since Charlotte posted her latest documents it has been read 6,600 times.
And it won’t see the light of day tomorrow in MSM 🙂
resin_lab_dog says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 18:31
79 3 Rate This
Closing scenes approaching. Prediction of next moves:
CW files suit. RIFC settles out of court for undisclosed amount with gagging clause ‘
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don’t forget that…
http://m.local.stv.tv/glasgow/news/221738-craig-whyte-agrees-to-sell-film-rights-to-story-of-rangers-collapse/
As a Rangers supporting friend of mine pointed out, Craig needs a climax (stop sniggering at the back) to the book and film. He’s going to take this as far as he can.
This is an unholy mess Cardigan or not. Many among the Pretndys support groups see it the same way.
I really believe they have found this one shuffle too many. And none too convincing. I return to the lawyers plea to the judge that effectively RFC need the 25 mil and pronto. That wasn’t said just for sympathy.
Lord Wobbly says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:20
Bluebird Films involved?
EcoB
6600 less readers methinks for the rags
Update 7.5K
ecobhoy says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:19
Quantcast
In just 2 hours since Charlotte posted her latest documents it has been read 6,600 times.
And it won’t see the light of day tomorrow in MSM 🙂
ianagain says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:29
0 0 Rate This
Update 7.5K
ecobhoy says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:19
Quantcast
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
stolen for twitter!!
Graham Spiers @GrahamSpiers 6h
Blimey, I’ve known a day when Rangers fans have been utterly savaging Walter Smith. What a love-in it is now. He’s a messiah. #chairman
Mr T. Wood @Thiepvalwood 6h
@GrahamSpiers If he invites you back up that marble staircase for tea and scones then he will savaged once again. #knowthyenemy
Graham Spiers @GrahamSpiers 6h
@Thiepvalwood He’s a smashing fellow. And you’ve just reminded me – he owes me far more than just tea and scones. Noted.
……………………………………
FFS Graham take your tongue out of Watties ar*e…he was supporting Malcolm Murray a few weeks ago…now he is doing what the spivs tell him?
paulsatim says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:23
2 0 Rate This
Lord Wobbly says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:20
Bluebird Films involved?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Joker sold his stake in that last year. Now he’s Loaded. 😀
Interesting article on the benefits of having a non exec chairman. I find page 6 of particular interest, I wonder who decided Walter had this particular set of skills.
http://cullencoates.com/images/The_Non-Executive_Chairman.pdf
I know this sounds silly
But for the life of me i can`t figure it out
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
What is it ?
What is it about decent normal people
Friends, Relations,Good guys you meet in the pub
People who happen to support TRFC
What is it ?
……….. that makes them blind to reason?
I mean
These are decent normal people
Whats gone wrong ?
I can`t believe they`ve lost their common sense
Buts that`s how they`re behaving
Not one or two in a straw poll
But thousands and thousands ….everywhere !
It `s baffling
I’m discombobulated by all this and am retreating to listen again to my collection of Charles Jolly / Penrose tracks in order to prepare for the new season. Which starts 1st Aug with hopefully a less than brand new Well team.
Scotland does indeed need a strong Arbroath, New SFA and SFL (Personnel)
Pretendygers just signed a very long goodbye note.
All the dough to the lawyers.
Interesting so many posts about the LNS judgment recently as I myself randomly woke up earlier this week feeling v angry that he took football fans for such fools re no sporting advantage, trying to tell us that black is white against all intelligence, experience and common sense. Contemptible judgment.
ianagain says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:26
4 0 Rate This
EcoB
6600 less readers methinks for the rags
If I am not mistaken one of the founding reasons behind this blog, and before it RTC, is to keep the MSM eh, honest.
Do they not realise that by their toeing of the media house line they are actually damaging their product further? Also where has JT gone to? Is he still abroad? I miss him
pilgrim1888 says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:41
2 0 Rate This
Interesting article on the benefits of having a non exec chairman. I find page 6 of particular interest, I wonder who decided Walter had this particular set of skills.
http://cullencoates.com/images/The_Non-Executive_Chairman.pdf
——————————————————————————————————
What you mean these skills? Shurely shome mishtake?
The Non-Executive Chairman for today’s private company has a set of
skills significantly different from the past – generally with the following
profile:
Broad operating experience across many industries.
Deep management experience –both high and low level.
Operating experience across business – sales, finance, operations.
Entrepreneurial experience – preferably starting several companies.
A strong understanding of legal, accounting and financial issues.
Specific industry experience only where the industry requires
detailed regulatory, finance or other management expertise.
Demonstrated high integrity.
Experience coaching or advising CEO’s and senior management.
😆
I give him 2 out of 9 at a push.
I am curious as to why Walter would take on the role of Chairman at the Club.
In terms of motivation does he believe that:
(a) He can steady the ship and rescue the Club? and/or;
(b) The Club is invincible and will escape the tsunami(s) of trouble that is predicted to strike?
I cannot see Walter standing up to the plate simply to do the bidding of the spivs – which leads me to believe that he may think that all is well and that the bullets that many internetbampots believe are likely to be fired soon, will miss their target.
It makes no sense. Why would he risk becomming involved in a basket case – potentially years of legal turmoil?
Does he own somone a favour and the favour has been called in?
Or if/when the sh!t hits the fan – will he simply walk away?
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/walter-smith-hands-on-role-as-rangers-chairman-1-2949706
The CE says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 23:06
1 0 Rate This
I give him 2 out of 9 at a push.
2 out of 9. I think your being overly generous.
This is the man after all who produced this beauty of a quote when interviewed regarding league reconstruction
“I’m not bright enough to come up with an answer but we’ve put all this concentration on shuffling teams about and they’re still the same teams.”
Apologies if that Scotsman “Walter hands on” link has been posted before. It says it was published 20 mins ago, but has comments that started at about 16:30 this afternoon.
talking of quotes I found a couple of goodies
“I’ll play for Rangers as long as I can, then spend the rest of my life being depressed.” – Ally McCoist
“It doesn’t take away from the fact that we have a problem, I think you need to be blind to think we don’t have a problem that for a team of our standing we should not have, and my concern is that that will continue. But everything will not be all right at the end of the season. It will only get worse. We are delighted to be in the final, but anybody who thinks it is going to get better in the summer is deluding themselves. My concerns for Rangers for the long term – not even in the long term, for the end of the season – are genuine concerns as being a supporter as much as being a manager”. – Walter Smith
Mystic Meg meets Nostradamus
who would have thought Ally and Walter had such visionary acumen
While debate rages over on FF land as to who is to blame for the demise of Rfc*
Peter Lawell, Opus Dei ,Craig Whyte, or David Murray (in that order)
The 2 Brahan Seers of Govan are/were lauded as the men to save the club*
A quick reminder of their financial acumen
Smith spent over £50m on transfer fees in his (1st) six years in charge – more than any other club in Scotland or England over the same period yet still failed to qualify for the CL
being knocked out by Gothenburg (4-1)
On his return to cheque book management who could forget his failure to overcome
the mighty FBK Kaunus and another failure to deliver the CL honeypot so desperately needed
for the hovering casino
Super Ally having studied under his mentor for many years didnt fail to follow in his broguesteps
As Rfc* desperate for a cash bounty to help stave off administration Ally guided his team
out of Europe with successive defeats against Malmo and Maribor .
Leaving Craig Whyte to pilfer the tax returns in order to finish the season .
A £7m player budget was splashed out on securing the Div 3 title
more than any other 4th tier club in Scotland England or the known Solar System
World records being ten a penny ,McCoist secured Rfc* their first Interstellar Galactic record
If these 2 stalwarts are the future then the future will be very short lived
Houston we have a problem
Yup -you sure do
Charlotte Fakeovers (@CharlotteFakes) says:
Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 03:07
——————————————
Forres Dee (@ForresDee) says:
Interesting, but is it of any real value?
Now, the Legendary Five Way Agreement, that would be a scoop!
_____________________________________________________
It’s of value in the sense that it was the beginning of the current mess – and of course a warning shot to Pinsent Masons / Deloittes not to fudge around with a not proven verdict. Even then, the teams will have to be satisfied that they don’t have a conflict of interest during their investigations.
———————————————————————————————————————————
hmmm ………….
CtH on 16th May ….
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119345/
anyone remember this statement made on 5th April 2013 …..
“What I did last summer was because of what I knew and that will now all unfold.”
coincidence ….. ?
probably ………. !
The existence of the LBC was first mentioned at this time …….. it resulted in the CG ‘meltdown’ on Sky News …………
Suddenly the leaks at the time dried up …… STV ….. Scottish Sun ….
CtH turns up with same info just over a month later ……
coincidence ……. ?
newtz
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-warns-1816410
And Dundee boss John Brown, who made two unsuccessful bids to buy the club from Green last summer and staged a protest rally outside Ibrox, last night claimed there will be further revelations.
Brown said: “What I did last summer was because of what I knew and that will now all unfold.”
But just hours later Green released a new statement on the Rangers website insisting Whyte’s claims were pure fantasy.
He said: “I spoke with Ally today and we are agreed that despite the wild and outlandish allegations tossed around by Craig Whyte, the one thing that matters most is the rebuilding of this club.
“Rangers FC, no part of it and none of the assets, will ever fall into Whyte’s hands. If I have to I will stand at the front door and deny him entry. I can guarantee every fan I will not let them down and that Whyte has no claim on any part of this great club.”
****
CG calling CW Google eyes occurred April 5th
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/rumour-mill-charles-green-craig-whyte-1-2880879
*****
Don’t get the connection you are making with Charlotte and the Sun leaks tho….
Only one analogy I can think of given the latest in the chain of events surrounding Sevconia. Lemmings – every last one of them, hurtling towards the cliff face without thought or hesitation.
All because the Cardigan has returned and all is well with the world again.
And just like lemmings, there will be no miraculous comeback from this dive. Once they’re gone, they’re gone – as it should be with TributeAct FC.
Sorry, I have been busy promoting the Autobio/Biography of Willie Wallace over the last few days ( the man has some interesting tales to tell about the Scotland set up in the ’60’s/’70’s ) so have not had time to read the Pinsent Mason report nor the comments surrounding it.
However, from a quick glance through the twittersphere am I right in presuming that Pinsents answered a wholly irrelevant question namely whether there was links between Craig Whyte and Rangers International Football club PLC — anddid this without speaking to Whyte, his representatives and others?
If so— then we really have entered the world of corporate pantomime as last time I looked Pinsents were not that stupid.
Mind you– how can you seriously have an INDEPENDENT investigation when they say at the start of each letter ” We act on behalf of Rangers International Football Club PLC”
Oh no you don’t—- Oh yes we do!
Was there a connection between Craig and Charlie?
Oh no there wasn’t— oh yes there is!
@CharlotteFakes
Were the SFA in on the old Sevco Switheroo? Craig might want to issue another LBA. scribd.com/doc/144718597/… #5WayAgreementComingSoon #WhoElse
Morning all, from a sunny Scandinavia with the prospect of 25C.
With so much speculation about the 5-Way, I’m wondering if it might not end up being a bit of a damp squib? One previous draft appears to have been around for quite some time. Is there anything else that can shock or surprise at this point? Of course, maybe the final 5-Way is with Sevco 5088, not Sevco Scotland. Is that is what Charlotte is suggesting? That would make it interesting. Otherwise baffling.
New post from Paul McConville up regarding the TRFC statement to LSE
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/is-walter-smith-widely-acknowledged-as-rangers-most-successful-manager/
The MSM move into overdrive this morning, heralding the second coming of WS. All in the world of the people who think they are, is once more at peace and they can queue up to buy their ST’s safe in knowledge that Walter and Ally are reunited at the top table.
Someone a little earlier on here, likened them to lemmings, a pretty good analogy, just watch them follow blindly, as hand in hand they walk towards the precipice, led by the trusted two.
I’m reminded of the old expression, “A fool and their money are easily parted”.
So the sfa may be complicit in major fraudulent activity, stiffing the taxpayers of uk to the tune of tens of millions? The hack pack are already queuing up to rim Lord Dignity of Cardigan(even though his practices as a manager were at the heart of this debacle on a number of levels) instead of exposing what should be the biggest story of their careers. So what, who do we have left? The clubs have shown no appetite to confront the angry recaltricant Bear……uefa have shown little or no interest…..Fifa?….utter disinterest!
I have a hope, however forlorn, that messers Daly and Thompson have been carefully crafting an exposé that will alert the tax authorities, the public and elements of the press who historically have remained a healthy barge pole away from the grubby machinations planet fitba (little wonder) to call these weasels on their outrageous complicity in robbing the public purse during the deepest recession for decades………are there any real journalists left?
Thumbs down? You are up early Keith. 😉
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 07:39
Not really. Nobody knows what PM said, Just that the board were happy that there was no links between the current set up and CW.
They seem to have inadvertently acknowledged that the business and assets passed via another vehicle en route to sevco scotland, and made no statement on who that third party was.
Then said, It’s oor pie and wur not sharin’.
Jesus, the media love in has started big time….
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-chairman-walter-smith-never-1923433?
Meanwhile the panto villans EX-WIFE???? gets a mention. Same paper, Same day, Same bat channel….
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/craig-whytes-estranged-wife-quit-1922985
…and of course, there wont be many many dissenting voices regarding the cardigans switcheroo trick with Malcolm Murray.
In fairness there will be a few mindful bears who will note that to operate in high levels of business you have to be well versed in things like corporate governance and many different aspects in running a multi million pounds business. Does Walter have this? Absoulutely not. But this isn’t the point, he’s not being chosen to do any of this, he is there to be a figurehead and no more. To be the public face for Spivco.
I would imagine that this will be the jackpot for the spivs, the season books will be bought and paid for, the battle cries will go up and with that 2 fingered salutes all round from the bears to everyone else.
But ultimately who is being fooled here? and who is allowing themselves to be fooled…..
I think Walters made a collosal rod for his own back on this one.
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:14
Rate This
Quantcast
@CharlotteFakes
Were the SFA in on the old Sevco Switheroo? Craig might want to issue another LBA. scribd.com/doc/144718597/… #5WayAgreementComingSoon #WhoElse
Morning all, from a sunny Scandinavia with the prospect of 25C.
With so much speculation about the 5-Way, I’m wondering if it might not end up being a bit of a damp squib? One previous draft appears to have been around for quite some time. Is there anything else that can shock or surprise at this point? Of course, maybe the final 5-Way is with Sevco 5088, not Sevco Scotland. Is that is what Charlotte is suggesting? That would make it interesting. Otherwise baffling.
*********
The 5 way agreement that CF gave us on page 2
(1) SFA
(2) SPL
(3) SFL
(4) RFC-NIL
(5) Sevco Scotland
I would not think they would change it to Sevco 5088 in final draft – so am not sure what is being usggested
arabest1 says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:30
1 1 Rate This
Thumbs down? You are up early Keith.
———-
I reckon the habits of a lifetime are hard to break for some of the established sports journos arabest. A benign photo of Walter with the promise of greener pastures … erm … blue skies, will sell barrowloads of papers. You have to hope that the younger generation of editors and journos will chart a different course.
MSM propaganda wars….
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/craig-whytes-estranged-wife-quit-1922985
Craig Whyte’s estranged wife to quit Scotland to get away from the disgraced businessman
I am not surprised anymore that whenever you see CW’s name now, it is followed by disgraced, proven liar etc – whereas CG – who has told and been caught on many more lies – is never addressed as such. Funny that
Sir Walter Cardigan of that ilk has indeed taken a colossal risk and has accepted a post for which he has none of the required esperience or qualifications.
Whatever his experience however he is possessed of enough inteliigence to know that this is a risk and that if the whole devious and crooked undertaking flies apart then he and his reputation are trashed with it.
So given he knows the risk I’m driven to wonder what his motives are? It seems to me there’s only two possibilities. Either he passionately believes his assuming this role is necessary to save the club/institution/toxic brand/newco (take your pick) or, if it does founder, his dirty washing is hung out with the rest.
Come the autumn, will it be Chic, Richard Wilson, Jacko who begins the campaign?
Walter Smith: Business Man of the Year 2013.
Or some caller arguing that the Nobel Prize for Economics is the least he deserves.
Exiled Celt (@The_Exiled_Celt) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:42
1 0 Rate This
The 5 way agreement that CF gave us on page 2
(1) SFA
(2) SPL
(3) SFL
(4) RFC-NIL
(5) Sevco Scotland
I would not think they would change it to Sevco 5088 in final draft – so am not sure what is being usggested
———-
Yes, puzzling. She is asking if they were ‘in on’ the switcheroo. That would require that they had knowledge of the switch. I thought the rather benign reason presented at the time was that it had to be a Scottish company, though I may have imagined that. Perhaps the whole business of the secret 5-Way is to hide the fact that the conditions have not been met?
justpedylan says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:48
So given he knows the risk I’m driven to wonder what his motives are?
——
1. Perhaps some murky chap in the background is turning the thumbscrews? Not, of course, that there are any murky chaps involved with TRFC anywhere cough splutter.
2. Walter must know that he and Mr McCoist are the joint peg upon which the entire chances of TRFC avoiding implosion are hung. He may be many things, but I’m sure he has the best interests of the Establishment and its Club at heart.
3. He can always retire to Venezuela.
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:14
With so much speculation about the 5-Way, I’m wondering if it might not end up being a bit of a damp squib?
———————————————-
Everything that comes to light, even the most damning things (FTT, EBTs, Lord Nimmo Smith and his amazing acrobatic logic, Sevco switcheroo, etc) are in any case argued to be damp squibs, by those with things to lose anyway.
But even if the 5-way agreement is the dampest of squibs, completely kosher and unremarkable in every way to reasonable thinking folks, then what a colossal error of judgement by the parties involved not to be transparent and let its contents be known. If they have nothing to hide, they have at the very least made themselves look sneaky, underhand, and untrustworthy, to put it mildly.
TW (@tartanwulver) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:15
2 0 Rate This
… But even if the 5-way agreement is the dampest of squibs, completely kosher and unremarkable in every way to reasonable thinking folks, then what a colossal error of judgement by the parties involved not to be transparent and let its contents be known. If they have nothing to hide, they have at the very least made themselves look sneaky, underhand, and untrustworthy, to put it mildly.
——–
Absolutely. People with nothing to hide don’t resort to super secrecy, and in a sports organisation it reeks of everything other than fair play. You’d think it was the CIA files on the Kennedy assassination they were guarding!
As to the secrecy issue, I’ve been starting to think that this is all been a big game.
Nuclear news, new iceberg spotted, bad news for sevco soon, secret agreements, someone else’s story to tell. All from the same little cabal of sources.
It’s all delay and bluster, now things aren’t going to plan down ibrox way, that is for sure.
But, is all this other stuff simply a ploy to keep folk interested in rfc* and keeping them relevant, otherwise they would just be a well supported lower division team.
The SFA are corrupt, that’s a given, but are we being fed enough to keep us interested without actually EVER getting a result that would seem fair.
Just a thought.
forgot to add:
Timbeams rather than moonbeams.
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:34
Absolutely. People with nothing to hide don’t resort to super secrecy, and in a sports organisation it reeks of everything other than fair play. You’d think it was the CIA files on the Kennedy assassination they were guarding!
——————————————
I think you’ll find that Pinsent Masons have at least cleared Craig Whyte of any involvement in the JFK assassination. Where were the SFA that day though? I think we should be told.
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:05
Perhaps the whole business of the secret 5-Way is to hide the fact that the conditions have not been met?
—————————————————————————————————–
For some time I have thought that the SFA’s problem is that legally there is no 5-Way Agreement because it was never signed by all five parties.
But having given it some more thought I also now wonder whether the problem in disclosing it would show the absence or weakness of the actual conditions and therefore reveal implied or actual bias exercised towards Rangers.
But no matter whether there is any reason for not disclosing the agreement it now hangs like a stinking fish around the SFA’s collective neck. Even if they disclose it now the smell will remain because everyone will know they have been forced into it.
Perhaps the SFA blundered into this minefield because they just wanted to display a bit of toughness and prove they couldn’t be pushed about by what the fans wanted and demanded. If they walked into that minefield they have provided the proof of their virtual total isolation from what ordinary fans want and shown themselves to be unfit for purpose.
Remember – the plans are all to shaft the creditors (including Hector) and start anew in the SPL with the same club/players/fans and zero debt – and they were to go into admin last summer.
SFA/SPL were all in on this deal – no question.
Everything was planned in advance – the SPL share change rules were changed a few years in advance, Craig told ND/SR last Oct the news that due to Ally being unable to stay in any cup for more than a round or two, they had no CL income to keep them going – so admin was coming sooner.
It was then a mad dash to get things ready for SPL clubs to sort it out themselves. ND was doing his best to state it was normal to shed debt in this way.
When it went breests up (SPL said no due to fan pressure) – and then another sucker punch when SFL said no too due to their fan pressure and the SFL chairmen (who were not in on the deal to that date) suddenly finding themselves being bullied – as our hero from Raith said so honestly.
During the summer, there was frantic shenanigans to get them going.
SFL changed the rules in July for Ramsdens Cup we have now found out to allow Black and Little to play – otherwise Ally and McDowell might have played in front of the hedges at Brechin.
Referees were suddenly no good in SLF3 and needed SPL ones to referee 2 SFL3 teams when one of those SFL3 team was from Govan.
The 5 way agreement draft – was a draft. There were frantic meetings to get TRFC into SFL3 and CG was no doubt ticked off that SPL reneged on its deal and wanted some help for this shortfall.
The 5 way will show how desperate SFA and SFL/SPL organisations were to help CG keep his club open – and the final copy will be different from the draft for sure in some ways.
We should compare the 2 when or if we see the final one.
The red faces will not be down Govan way – CG already has prior history on threatening to publish this remember!
Exiled Celt (@The_Exiled_Celt) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 05:31
—————————————-
Just noting the timeline of events ….
Curious that it appears that STV had clear sight of the LBC around beginning of April as well as some of the supporting evidence ….
Also they were cosied up to CW at the time with interviews ….. then at the end they suddenly stated …. CW was not available for comment …. actually that’s plausible …
Suddenly the stories stop …… Injunction … ?
Then a month later CtH turns the tap back on ……
Then reading CtH Twitter ….. legals had tried and failed to stop her …..
Now if they were that close …. but not close enough ….. then she could be referring to her source … STV leak … ?
My immediate thought was …. ahhaaa … info has leaked from this source ….
But what knocks that on the head is that CtH released very up to-date material …. PM stuff etc ..!
So just thought I would dump thoughts …. !
Thought I would also mention the Brown quote …. in hindsight it is interesting ….. and maybe coincidence ….. !
pilgrim1888 says:
Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 22:41
Interesting article on the benefits of having a non exec chairman. I find page 6 of particular interest, I wonder who decided Walter had this particular set of skills.
http://cullencoates.com/images/The_Non-Executive_Chairman.pdf
__________________________________________
I cannot imagine Walter Smith has any of the qualities of a Non-Executive Chairman set out in that document, which clearly suggests an NEC should have a whole range of skills that someone, whose whole life has been spent kicking a ball about or telling others how to do the same, couldn’t possibly have. Unless he’s secretly been working as an executive for the past 10 years in some high powered City based company, he will be there to do nothing more than sign some cheques (and don’t the bears think they’ll all be for transfer fees) and look dignified in front of the sychophantic media. Him and Ally in matching suits and cardigans on the front cover of next years TRFC callendar, with father figure Walter’s arm around little boy Ally’s shoulders, will be an example of what Walter’s really there for. Some people are wondering why he accepted the role but the answers quite simple, the man has a giant ego and trully believes the hype surrounding him. It’s almost certain he’s done less research than pilgrim 1888 has done into the actual role of a NEC, so sure is he of his own infaliblity. Malcolm Murray will be there to guide him through the job as much as possible, but he will not always be around, but there will be plenty of spivs around to take advantage. Can you imagine him in a board meeting discussing Ally’s ‘war chest’ and his inability to understand that they can’t give him any money, coz there just ain’t any. I can just see him in a strop like the one he had with Thick Young, storming out of the boardroom and yelling, “You’re all f…ing useless, why can’t you just do that clever EBT trick Sir David done? Haven’t you ever watched the ‘Nine in a Row’ video?”
Something that should be remembered; in his role as a football manager, the only thing he was trained to do, he was only ever successfull when he had limitless funds at his disposal (at least in terms of Scottish football); what could possibly make him successfull in a role he has absolutely no experience in, when the funds, at best, are limited? Whatsmore, in the unlikely event that he is able to carry out his duties properly, he will be doing it with the purse strings pulled tightly shut, so his mesiah-like status with the supporters will soon disappear.
jerfeelgood says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:33
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 07:39
Not really. Nobody knows what PM said, Just that the board were happy that there was no links between the current set up and CW.
They seem to have inadvertently acknowledged that the business and assets passed via another vehicle en route to sevco scotland, and made no statement on who that third party was.
—————————————————————————————————–
I think the words were very carefully chosen.
“Based on the assessment of the available evidence, the Company considers that the Investigation found no evidence that Craig Whyte had any involvement with Sevco Scotland Limited (now called The Rangers Football Club Limited), the company which ultimately acquired the business and assets of The Rangers Football Club P.L.C. from its administrators; nor which would suggest that Craig Whyte invested in The Rangers Football Club Limited or Rangers International Football Club plc, either directly or indirectly through any third party companies or vehicles. ”
By using this phraseology they have noted that there was some kind of change to the agreed sale route but at the same time are not providing any further information – effectively glossing over something that was surely investigated by PM and contained in their report.
From information freely circulating in the media it appears clear that CW was involved in Sevco 5088, the party under contract to purchase “the business and assets of The Rangers Football Club P.L.C. from its administrators “. Their previous Chief Executive Charles Green was recorded saying just such a thing.
This may come back to haunt them as the statement sets out that PM are :
“….to investigate the connections between Craig Whyte and former and current personnel of the Company and its subsidiaries (the “Investigation”).”
I recall a previous statement from Ibrox that Sevco 5088 was a dormant subsidiary. From this I take that they would thus form part of the investigation.
In fact the new AIM statement avoids denying any links between CW and Sevco 5088, restricting such denials to Sevco Scotland Limited (now called The Rangers Football Club Limited) or Rangers International Football Club plc. In the absence of such a categorical denial speculation can only increase and/or assumptions be made as to the reasons for this.
This is a very serious matter especially as the company is a member of AIM and the issue potentially places into question the legality of the asset sale process.
The new Chairman has a legal duty to ensure that this matter is dealt with properly. Is it not imperative, if not mandatory, that a formal clarification is issued by him to confirm that PM found no link(s) between CW and claimed subsidiary Sevco 5088?
It is time that some serious business journalists started taking a proper interest in something that is clearly well outwith the expertise of their sports colleagues.
Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath.
Here is a question sequence for someone in the MSM to ask the new Rangers Chairman.
I don’t even need a fee for the suggestion but I’d like to hear his answers.
Mr Smith,
Were you paid by Rangers FC in the form of an EBT when you were employed by another football club?
If you were paid was it anything to do with signing Rangers players for your team at the time?
If not what would Rangers have been paying you for?
And again if you were indeed paid by Rangers did you tell your employers at the time that you were being remunerated by your former club for services unspecified?
No point being too hard on P&M. They could have found something and had their findings “reinterpreted” by Sevco, or they could only have been given a remit to look at an empty box of evidence.and come up with an opinion on that.
One thing they almost certainly were not asked to do is analyse all available evidence for a link between CW and CG. If they had done that and found nothing. Sevco would have shouted it from the rooftops.
Seems to me that even within the limited remit P&M did have, they probably still found something. Look at the language:
“Based on the assessment of the available evidence, the Company considers that the Investigation found no evidence that Craig Whyte had any involvement with Sevco Scotland Limited.”
“Based on the assessment…”: Not just the assessment itself then.
…”the company considers…”: What do P&M think and why are Sevco interpreting it? Did they form their response as a riddle?
…”found no evidence…” If there is no evidence, there is no evidence. It doesn’t need assessing and reconsideration by an interested party.
…”Sevco Scotland Limited.” This has been covered. CW is alleging links with CG and not Sevco Scotland etc. What is also funny is the choice of the name. Why not TRFC Limited?
What it amounts to is a mess of a statement that contributes nothing. It is possible that P&M have irrefutable evidence linking CW and CG. It may even have flimsy circumstantial evidence linking CW and Sevco Scotland. Finally it could have very strong evidence linking CW and TRFC Ltd. The last two are unlikely, but the statement doesn’t preclude them.
The danger for football is that the SFA will use this statement to avoid looking at the allegations.
A journalist (I know I know) needs to make sure the authorities state that they know exactly what the remit of the investigation was, they have read the P&M findings without their being edited, reconsidered, reinterpreted, abridged or changed in any other way by an interested party. Also, that they are happy the all relevant evidence was made available to P&M and that it wasn’t filtered through an interested party.
If he is then happy to state the investigation found no evidence linking CW and CG (and that he’ll agree to be fired if he’s lying – unlikely, but that’s the level of trust the SFA is operating under right now), then I think it’s fair to consider that the SFA will have done it’s job here.
It’s not likely a figure like Regan would do that, but if he can’t, he needs to explain why he isn’t satisfied that an impartial investigation has been carried out, but why he’s either pretending one has, or is sitting on his behind doing nothing about it.
Sorry, haven’t caught up yet.
Someone asked yesterday what Co. WS was Chairman of. Do we know?
And, is he the Chaimen or is it a non exec. role?
Thanks.
finloch says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 10:22
Here is a question sequence for someone in the MSM to ask the new Rangers Chairman.
I don’t even need a fee for the suggestion but I’d like to hear his answers.
Mr Smith,
Were you paid by Rangers FC in the form of an EBT when you were employed by another football club?
If you were paid was it anything to do with signing Rangers players for your team at the time?
If not what would Rangers have been paying you for?
And again if you were indeed paid by Rangers did you tell your employers at the time that you were being remunerated by your former club for services unspecified?
***************
While you were Scotland manager employed by the SFA, were you paid any monies by RFC-NIL or MIM or EBT Trust fund?
Remember an international manager has many powers to influence things positively – pick a player to boost his confidence and increase his value, give players a rest if they have up coming club games – and also not to do those things will create negative values, injured players and unsettle.
If someone is being paid by another club that is in this position – why?
Forres Dee (@ForresDee) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:42
6 1 Rate This
As to the secrecy issue, I’ve been starting to think that this is all been a big game.
Nuclear news, new iceberg spotted, bad news for sevco soon, secret agreements, someone else’s story to tell. All from the same little cabal of sources.
_________________________________________________
Agree to a point Forres, but, the bottom line is that the current business model is unsustainable and they are showing no inclination to remedy this.
SFA, MSM, who is going to raise this issue? Simple question to The Dignified One : Based on your own financial statements and projections, how long can you continue without either changing the business model or the infusion of additional finance?
Forget 5 way agreements, what is the 5 year business plan!! When the readies run out, they will fold like a cheap suit.
Obfuscation, delay, fudging, rule bending. All have been deployed to date to ensure that there is a team in Govan. When the money runs out, it will not be a pretty sight and sadly, Armageddon will appear on the horizon.
Complicit in all this are not only the spivs and the MSM but the whole Scottish Football establishment, aided and abetted by various ‘establishment’ figures.
Which begs the question, which I still can’t get my head around – WHY?
Morning all.
I’m just wondering if there’s any connection to all the events due around the second and third weeks in June.
STs need to be renewed by the second week.CW has given RIFC until the 19th to reply to his LBC.
What date does the 6 month lock-in for shareholders expire?.
Is it possible that:
A.the spivs get their hands on the ST cash then;
B.Sell their shares(CG will have found a way around this) then:
C.Either sell or dump the cash burning TRFC and go for an MVL of RIFC and split the cash raised either by selling the lot as a going concern(don’t laugh) or just selling Ibrox,Murray Park etc.
Anything else happening during June that would fit this timeline?.
Surely before Walter took on the NEC role he should have taken 2 seconds and wondered what difference he can make to a company that’s almost certainly lost circa £12-15m last season(is today not the end of the financial year?),has no visible signs of increasing revenue or cutting costs,and is facing a potential law suit that could wipe the company out.
In my opinion and that’s not worth a lot,TRFC have no future,certainly not in the short to medium term.Their predecessor,now in liquidation only made a profit once I think in 10 years or more and that was with CL cash.
What’s changed to make me think that if TRFC makes it back to whatever top Division we have,can now suddenly generate the necessary funds to challenge CFC(or whoever) for the one CL place available?.
Nothing.
I’d bet that a top notch chairman or CEO would be advising their board that the best way to protect their shareholders would be to dump TRFC.
Funnily enough,the spivs might just do that!.
Exiled Celt (@The_Exiled_Celt) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 08:46
MSM propaganda wars….
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/craig-whytes-estranged-wife-quit-1922985
Craig Whyte’s estranged wife to quit Scotland to get away from the disgraced businessman
I am not surprised anymore that whenever you see CW’s name now, it is followed by disgraced, proven liar etc – whereas CG – who has told and been caught on many more lies – is never addressed as such. Funny that
—————————————————————————————————————
Just the usual tabloid trash which used to be the preserve of the SUN, then engulfed the Record and now infects the Herald and actually has more to do with desperation from falling circulations than newspapers mounting a propaganda campaign. However skilled PR will no doubt be suggesting ‘story ideas’ to selected journalists to suit the agenda of their paying clients and that most certainly is a brutal campaign to attack CW on every front to serve the wish of the Establishment.
Unsurprisingly the whole personalisation of CW as the monster his ex is trying to escape from rests on: ‘Our source said: “Kim’s obviously moving to get away from Craig.’
This un-named source goes on to claim: “She has no contact with Craig other than when he picks up the children. Kim wants to leave Scotland. She doesn’t want the children growing up here with their father’s reputation as it is.”
I totally sympathise with Craig’s ex wanting to escape the Scottish football goldfish bowl for her own sanity and the sake of her children and to protect them from Whyte’s reputation. But I see absolutely no indication in the story that she wants to escape from any violence or threats coming from CW. Indeed they seem to be able to handle access to the children at a personal level face-to-face.
I’m sure that many posters will know only too well that in any marital or relationship breakdown that one of the first things that happens is severe difficulty over access arrangements and often a complete breakdown in them with police and social work involvement often following not far behind.
I think perhaps the Record’s nose is out of joint since the conduit of CW material now appears to be linked to Charlotte Fakes – so perhaps this is a wee warning shot across CW’s bows to remind him it’s time to come across with some more exclusives – preferably complete with tapes.
CW certainly has a lot coming down the track at him but so far I’m unclear as to what he has allegedly ‘stolen’ from Rangers. But one thing I know for sure is that he wasn’t acting alone and so does MSM but there is a hush that has settled across Scotland as to who the other ‘guilty’ men and possibly women are. If only Craig were also to leave Scotland then everything would be fine and everyone could get back to business as usual.
Well I personally think there is more chance of Rangers getting back to its old ways and ‘Dignity’ than the MSM surviving in any form let alone a financially viable one. I haven’t mentioned anything about informed, objective, balanced reporting done without fear or favour because it has become a rare thing to spot in the arid landscape of Scottish journalism and this tawdry Record article is another nail in its coffin.
Perhaps a major reason CW’s ex is fleeing Scotland is to escape, with her children, from the type of people who are capable of attacking her home and which provided the flimsiest possible excuse for an article that switches her genuine terror away from the man arrested for the offence to CW.
As to CG not being mentioned in an unflattering light well that’s easily explained – he might be coming back and therefore able to lock-out any unfriendly journo 🙂
What to make of Roddy in todays Telegraph? Revelations, revisionism, or misrepresentation?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/celtic/10090059/Celtic-hit-the-heights-in-Europe-as-confusion-reigns-in-Scotland.html
Propaganda about to be broadcast by Keys and Gray on Talksport.
Sir Walter new chairman,no case to answer,everything is fine blah blah blah etc
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 10:39
Morning all.
I’m just wondering if there’s any connection to all the events due around the second and third weeks in June. STs need to be renewed by the second week.CW has given RIFC until the 19th to reply to his LBC. What date does the 6 month lock-in for shareholders expire?
—————————————————————————————————————-
Rangers International was floated on AIM on 19 December 2012 so 6 months on would take us to 19 June 2013. Surely there couldn’t be any connection with that and CW giving RIFC until 19 June 2013 to reply to his letter before claim. It must be a coincidence, surely 🙂
Caveat Emptor says:
Which begs the question, which I still can’t get my head around – WHY?
————————————————————————————————-
Simple.
“THEY ARE THE PEOPLE”
They’ve been brought up to believe it,they live believing it,they’ll die believing it.
It’s why they don’t in general speak out.They don’t think they have to.Anyone who dares to challenge their views is met with disdain at best and threats at worse.
They genuinely think(with some exceptions,I know),that they’re better than your average guy/girl in the street and nothing will change their mind.
Try a wee experiment in your local tonight.Talk away with 4/5 TRFC mates about anything.holidays,family etc.anything at all.Everyone will join in equally and the talk will flow.Turn the conversation to the goings on at TRFC and see what happens.I bet you can’t get 2 of the five to listen to the facts and figures you put in front of them.It’s all a conspiracy you see but it doesn’t matter.they’ll come out on top because of who they are.conversation over.
Try it.
torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 10:53
0 0 Rate This
Caveat Emptor says:
Which begs the question, which I still can’t get my head around – WHY?
————————————————————————————————-
Try a wee experiment in your local tonight.Talk away with 4/5 TRFC mates about anything.holidays,family etc.anything at all.Everyone will join in equally and the talk will flow.Turn the conversation to the goings on at TRFC and see what happens.I bet you can’t get 2 of the five to listen to the facts and figures you put in front of them.It’s all a conspiracy you see but it doesn’t matter.they’ll come out on top because of who they are.conversation over.
Try it.
_____________________________________
Johnbhoy. Gave up on that wee gambit months ago.
An acquaintance (drinking buddy) of mine remarked recently that several of our RFC inclined drinking fraternity are perfectly reasonable, balanced individuals. But, if you get them all together and discuss football, they turn into H**s.
Sad but true.
TW (@tartanwulver) says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:51
4 0 Rate This
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 09:34
Absolutely. People with nothing to hide don’t resort to super secrecy, and in a sports organisation it reeks of everything other than fair play. You’d think it was the CIA files on the Kennedy assassination they were guarding!
——————————————
I think you’ll find that Pinsent Masons have at least cleared Craig Whyte of any involvement in the JFK assassination. Where were the SFA that day though? I think we should be told.
———-
I’ve often wondered how Craig Whyte could be shooting the breeze in Monaco and the BVI at the same time. Double Whytes? By a strange coincidence, there was (an actual) Dallas policeman by the name of Roscoe Whyte who is alleged to have been on the Grassy Knoll. They could be related, but probably aren’t. So the SFA it is then. After all, they reside on the upper floor of a tall building. What more evidence do we need? 😀