The Existence of Laws

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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/

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About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

5,802 thoughts on “The Existence of Laws”


  1. easyJambo says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 18:27

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    TSFM says: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 18:23

    EJ
    Not a bad ploy from CF. Maybe raw disclosure is best. Narrative can be added by others, here and elsewhere
    —————————————————
    I agree, but I suspect that CF might have wanted to join the debate on here rather than on other more blinkered forums.

    ________________________________________________________

    He has now got 2 tweets and 2571 followers. Not a bad strategy by him to build up a large twitter presence fast was it?!… What was it we said about advertising on this site?

    I stress that if his stuff is genuine, I am not complaining. Nice tactics CF!


  2. LBC is excellent. It also explains the oft quoted “please confirm you have sent a copy of this to FFW etc”.


  4. Rangers Tax Case him/herself has recommended CF. Check RTC’s twitter feed. Also endorsed by CQN.

    That’s enough for me.

    TSFM has made a major mistake hounding CF out.


  6. I am assuming that the Club/holding company will now have to make a statement to the AIM.


  8. “We have the SFA correspondence provided to Craig Whyte at a meeting with Imran Ahmed on 27th June 2012, when the Mike Ashley deal was discussed and how Craig Whyte’s involvement would be hidden from the SFA and SPL”.

    Is this saying that the SFA *agreed* that Whyte’s involvement would be hidden from them, or that it genuinely was hidden from them?


  9. easyJambo says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 18:32

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    The Letter before Action – from CF

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/141684147/RFC-Letter-Before-Claim
    ____________________________________

    Section 6.iv mentions ‘industry standard commission on funds raise of between 3 & 5 %.

    Is everyone else thinking… hmmm …. ‘Orlit’ or is it just me?
    (What’s 4% of £10m again?)


  10. Now there are a few things that are mighty odd about this here letter.

    First of all it purports to come from Sevco 5088 Ltd directly and not from any firm of solicitors.

    It is not addressed to The Rangers Football Club Ltd or anyone else with an address— Ahmed, Green and the Company are just stated as recipients with Ahmed and Green designated c/o The Rangers Football Club Ltd with no address.

    The senders address is Skylines Village Limeharbour — the same registered office as Tixway Ltd

    Now why would someone making such a claim not go to a firm of solicitors to do it properly and have it formally served etc?

    The letter looks pretty amateurish– that does not mean that it is genuine but it is real on a shoe string stuff.

    Very Odd.

    The Project Charlotte document that Charlotte fakeover has produced is also very interesting.


  11. resin_lab_dog says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:17

    I think AT is hinting at an injunction:

    alex thomson‏@alextomo12m
    @JJMNJ @RickyBobby1872 well your house is not a major football club – unless I’ve missed something. As a fish is not a bicycle.

    JohnM‏@JJMNJ11m
    @alextomo @RickyBobby1872 All the same. If I don’t want someone in it, I don’t sue them to keep them away.

    alex thomson‏@alextomo10m
    @JJMNJ @RickyBobby1872 no – an injunction’s easier.

    One for the legal eagles – if the injunction was connected to the Charlotte letter in any way and that letter is now in the public domain – can the injunction be lifted?


  12. I would cut TSFM some slack here. He took an initial view, and has since , and prior to publication of the letter, stated he believed its authenticity.

    The information is believed by some of the most credible figures online to be genuine. Sniping about why and when endorsements were given isn’t important and is distracting.

    The information itself is by far the most important thing here


  13. Long term Benefits
    •
    Murray Park is a top-class training facility that was established in 2001.Rangers are now starting to see the benefit of the facility as there are anumber of promising players coming through the ranks. This nurturing of talent is significant benefit long-term.
    •
    Rangers are in a disadvantageous position with regard to their current kitdeal with JJB Sports. The kit deal is set to run to 2016, however RFC havebeen given a strong indication that it may be possible to detach the Clubfrom the deal prior to this.
    •
    Rangers have been commercially naïve in broadcasting terms and RFCwishes to explore the use of streaming home games on the internet togreatly increase revenue. The current broadcasting deal with SKY/ESPNruns to 2011-12, RFC expect the Club to enter new negotiations in a morefavourable economic climate.
    •
    Rangers ticket pricing is very low in comparison to other Clubs of a similarsize. RFC proposes raising ticket prices by 5% for 2011-12 and 2012-13seasons generating an extra £1million in 2011 and £2million in 2012.

    Long term Benefits (2)
    •
    Ibrox is full to capacity for almost all home games. RFC proposesthat instead of extending the stadium to increase capacity there ispotentially an opportunity to reintroduce terracing. Capacity wouldbe increased to 70,000 therefore increasing ticket and match dayrevenue substantially. This move would also be popular with fans.
    •
    There is at present an existing alcohol ban (1980) at football gamesin Scotland. RFC would propose that the Scottish FootballAssociation and the Government review this ban. The ban isoutdated and if overturned would be a large income generator forthe Club.
    •
    Murray Park is situated in 38 acres of prime real estate land in theNorth of Glasgow. RFC proposes to move the training ground to anarea with less value and developing Murray Park. It would benecessary for the new training ground to be developed prior toMurray Park being developed. RFC expect to make a net gain of £25million from this redevelopment.

    Long term Benefits (3)
    •
    There exists a large area of derelict land and housing in the area surrounding Ibrox.In 2005 the Club was given permission in principal to build a casino, hotel and
    undertake a housing development on this land. Due to Murray’s financial
    constraints the development failed to materialise. With Glasgow given the 2014Commonwealth Games it is an ideal point to rekindle the G51 development plans.RFC proposes entering into discussions with Glasgow City Council and the GlasgowHousing Authority with a view to undertaking development in this area.
    •
    There have been proposals made by CEO’s and Club owners in England thatRangers and Celtic could potentially join the English Premier League. Both ‘OldFirm’ Clubs have the size and the support levels to compete in the EPL. The
    opportunity for Rangers to join of a European or Atlantic League has also been
    raised. If Rangers were to play outside of Scotland the Club’s revenue and
    therefore value would increase significantly.
    •
    There is an option for Rangers to sell the naming rights of Ibrox to a large multi-national. RFC will consider this proposal however this must be looked at delicatelyas a renaming of Ibrox could prove unpopular with fans.

    Project Charlotte Business Report (May 2010)

    —————————————————————————————————————-

    So did this come from the Murray camp given the date or was it drawn up by someone else?


  15. Little bit of light relief big diddy DJ blowing a gasket on SSB 🙂


  16. cor blimey!
    didn’t see that coming…
    if my cynicism proves to have been misplaced i shall be delighted…

    however i, and a number of other posters, did say that if there was something to see it would “come out in the wash” and CF did indicate that it would indeed do so…

    let’s kick back and watch this one develop…

    never mind get over myself…having difficulty getting over this latest information which seems a bit more “nuclear” than the previous stuff…

    and we shouldn’t get all bent out of shape that it is happening on another forum…it is after all being “monitored” by some weel kent posters on here…

    and so back to the football…


  17. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:41

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    Now there are a few things that are mighty odd about this here letter….

    ….looks pretty amateurish– that does not mean that it is genuine but it is real on a shoe string stuff.

    Very Odd.

    __________________________________________________________

    Maybe he used the same people as CG used for his RIFC share prospectus?


  18. I’ve got a coupla days posts to catch up on and it looks like that’ll take a while.
    In the meantime, I’m settling down to watch the Alloa vs Pars game. It’s been delayed 10 mins to allow the crowd in. 🙂
    May the best team win.


  19. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan…

    when you say amateurish do you mean like invoices done by clip art?


  21. Brenda says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:48
    0 1 Rate This
    Little bit of light relief big diddy DJ blowing a gasket on SSB
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Every once in a while, I wonder if I’m missing something with never having heard SSB. Before everyone rushes to help, I cannot access it via my phone. I can’t honestly say that I’m bothered.
    The teams are on the pitch…later


  22. abigboydiditandranaway says:

    Odd in that you have a potential multi-million pound claim prior to a share flotation etc.

    Why not go to a proper firm of solicitors and get them to properly intimate it?

    Why not set out the full address of the recipients?

    Why do nothing when you set a 4 day time limit for acknowledgement?

    It is odd and therefore makes me suspicious.


  23. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:45

    So did this come from the Murray camp given the date or was it drawn up by someone else?
    ———————————————————–
    CF posted a link to the Project Charlotte update a day or two back.

    Project Charlotte was Chris Ackers / Andrew Ellis takeover proposal.


  25. bartinmain says:

    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:37

    They were hardly ‘hounded off the forum’. They were treated with understandable caution, and were never less than politely dealt with. Is that really what constitutes a hounding? Compared to what some on here have experienced when they’ve attempted any sort of defence of anything Rangers, it was very small beer.


  26. While I couldn’t understand what harm CF’s ‘revelations’ could do to this blog, unless we did more than debate them, TSFM felt he had to make a decision and made it in the best interests of the blog. A bit like we’ve been wanting the SFA etc to do in the best interests of football 😉 Now that CF has gone elsewhere, and isn’t it nice he’s brought RTC back into things, TSFM is getting criticism for ‘losing’ this golden source from our blog. But wait a minute, I’ve just used a link, from here, to CF’s gold, so he hasn’t actually been lost at all… And in truth, unless his information was pure mince and so he stopped posting anywhere, his information was always going to be available to us.


  27. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:56
    1 0 Rate This
    abigboydiditandranaway says:

    Odd in that you have a potential multi-million pound claim prior to a share flotation etc.

    Why not go to a proper firm of solicitors and get them to properly intimate it?

    Why not set out the full address of the recipients?

    Why do nothing when you set a 4 day time limit for acknowledgement?

    It is odd and therefore makes me suspicious.

    =========

    Because everything is going to plan with your mates and you need some smoke and mirrors

    but to what end?


  28. To Brogan.

    Letter Before Claim does not have to come from lawyers. A Letter OF Claim does. Whyte hasn’t initiated a claim- yet.

    This letter signifies intent to claim only; as far as I’m aware he has not instructed lawyers to initiate a claim, so far.


  29. barcabhoy says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:45

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    I would cut TSFM some slack….

    ___________________________________

    More importantly, he took the right approach.
    The irony is that if CF actually were an imposter trying to subvert the blog with misinformation, and TSFM had fallen prey to the same churnalism as the MSM spout day in and day out, its the credibility of the new media that would have taken a hit.

    Do you really want to give the hack pack that want to dismiss fora like this out of hand evidence based amunition with which to do that? You can be sure thats the one and only time they’d resort to backing up their claims with evidence! You would never ever hear the back of it on SSB and shortbread… how new media is only good for passing on gossip uncritically, and the MSM is where you need to go for real critical analysis. (Stop guffawing at the back there!)

    Instead, a sort of peer review process was gone through. Questions were asked. Hurdles were set. The more serious the information, the higher the evidential bar needs to be set.

    The information is now out there. Its provenance is increasing. Its making it onto this blogg. CF is welcome in this forum. So no harm whatsoever has resulted imo.


  31. Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:51

    In the meantime, I’m settling down to watch the Alloa vs Pars game. It’s been delayed 10 mins to allow the crowd in.

    May the best team win.
    ——————————————————————————————————–

    Your lordship, is it armageddon again?


  32. just scanning through the “Charlotte fakeover” letter……..

    this is my thoughts…..it looks like someone has picked up a few of the “facts” that have appeared here and pieced them all together to make a “claim”

    the letter doesn’t appear to be from a solicitor and is addressed rather vaguely to CG and IA c/o Rangers – with 24 hours to reply – which is a nonsense as there is no guarantee that they’d have been at Ibrox the day it arrived or that the internal mail would have got it to them right away (ok, i know they aren’t a huge office, but if the postie turns up late in the afternoon, the secretary might not have opened the mail by the end of the day!)

    I doubt this was written on the date stated and instead has been cobbled together with the sole intention of leaking it now….though not sure why!

    there are some nice coincidences though – didn’t RFC PLC (before IA and IL) pay £250k to Banstead (Aiden Earleys team?)

    and the £25k for legal fees that CG admits – then claims the cheque bounced – but STV revealed he then received the 25k

    Sorry, but i’m just too cynical and too tired of the goings on.

    Spivs having a bun fight and trying to create more smoke than the fire would produce.

    I guess this is all to get CW a pay off – he knows that his involvement would put TRFC Ltd’s SFA membership at risk and it would be near impossible to prove there was no link if all links were to be hidden.

    CW’s mistake is he expects the SFA to act at some point – but they never will.


  33. easyJambo says: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:58

    CF posted a link to the Project Charlotte update a day or two back.

    Project Charlotte was Chris Ackers / Andrew Ellis takeover proposal.
    ===============================
    Remember that Andrew Ellis was the original director/owner of Wavetower, that became CW’s vehicle to purchase RFC from MIH.

    Is it possible that CW involved as early as 2010 in Project Charlotte?


  34. Instead of Rangers standard his week our friends at Pretendygers should invest in 50000 copies of Private Eye and turn to The where theirs muck section and get an education on spiv world. It would do them good to have an inkling of how very very easy it would be to lose it all.


  36. Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:51
    4 0 Rate This

    … In the meantime, I’m settling down to watch the Alloa vs Pars game. It’s been delayed 10 mins to allow the crowd in.
    May the best team win.
    ———–

    Indeed, and so be it Wobbly. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I can, in one day, still hear my auld maw laughing at The Vital Spark; and now, via my satellite dish, watch Alloa v Pars to a totally unintelligible commentary (not unlike Icelandic played backwards). Ye cannae beat it. Who needs the Europa Cup when ye can go teuchter 😀


  37. the the comment in section 7 (b) regarding a taped conversation where Grier of D&P confirms he knows of CW’s involvement is interesting – has that tape been released yet?


  38. By the way the letter from Sevco which bears the Skyline Village at the top appears to have solicitors address at the bottom.

    It looks as if it has been written on solicitors continuation paper.

    Very VERY odd indeed.


  39. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:05
    0 1 Rate This
    Here is the whole project Charlotte report– maybe someone else can load it up

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/140717722/Project-Charlotte-Business-Report-May-2010

    —————————————————————————————– ——————–
    I find it impossible to read the ‘Opportunity’ section without hearing the Stepbrothers, Dale and Brennan. shouting about Prestige Worldwide and boats & hoes.


  41. Hartley’s* team are off like the proverbial hare*! Alloa 1 Pars 0

    * that’s one for older (but not necessarily the oldest) readers.


  42. First time I’ve watched Alloa this season – they aren’t a bad side at all. They knock the ball about well. It’s just a shame that we see so little of the lower divisions on TV (TRFC excepted) as there does appear to be some talent there.


  43. Alastair Henderson (@allyjh72) says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:37

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    “We have the SFA correspondence provided to Craig Whyte at a meeting with Imran Ahmed on 27th June 2012, when the Mike Ashley deal was discussed and how Craig Whyte’s involvement would be hidden from the SFA and SPL”.

    Is this saying that the SFA *agreed* that Whyte’s involvement would be hidden from them, or that it genuinely was hidden from them?

    —————————————————————————————-

    It really is amazing how much this story could be changed by punctuation. Deliberate?


  44. Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:23
    0 0 Rate This
    By the way the letter from Sevco which bears the Skyline Village at the top appears to have solicitors address at the bottom.

    It looks as if it has been written on solicitors continuation paper.

    Very VERY odd indeed.

    =-==================================

    the company number and the foot of each page is Sevco 5088’s

    weren’t they registered at Vine St at some point in the past? (maybe they haven’t ordered stationary with their new address yet)

    also, when was the change of address to Skyline village for 5088 recorded – wasn’t it just a few weeks ago – certianly not in december.

    i still think this is someone working backwards from recent revelations/snippets/soundbites to create a credible looking letter and simply putting an earlier date on it.


  45. bartinmain says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:04

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    To Brogan.

    ______________________________________

    And the revelations coming out now harm Whtye just as much as Green & Ahmad.
    I would speculate the reason why this is ‘a letter before claim’ rather than a legal letter, is because Whyte wanted it all sorted out without public revelations that were as damaging to him as they are to Green. In this letter, Whyte basically lays out his strategy unabiguously for all to see – milk the club into insolvency, crash it, and pick up the assets for a song on the fly stiffing the creditors in the process. I would imagine that CW would have been quiet happy to get his pound of flesh with none of this seeing the light of day/

    CW was playing the MAD game (mutually assured destruction) game with CG, but neither of them knows how to back down. If CG et al had come to heel and unconned Whyte, I guess nothing more would have been heard of any of this. But my guess is that by then CG had persuaded Malcolm Murray on board, and he knew he would not have been able to get a Whyte payoff past Murray, so he had no choice but to try and play hardball with Whyte, banking on the fact that CW would slope off and not dare to raise his head above the parapet. He misjudged.
    Presumably it is around this time that CG started to see Murray as an encumbrance, and so tried to heave him over the side so that he could get back to his normal standard of corporate governancem, possibly fully intending to pay Whyte off once he got Murray over the side if things didn’t quieten down.

    But that isn’t how it happened, is it Charles, eh?


  46. * (@enmac75) says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:25 (Edit)
    0 0 Rate This
    Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:23

    ————

    a very crude 1st draft ?

    ——————————————————————————————————————

    No I don’t think so– it is much odder than that.

    If it is a draft why would it appear to be signed and on continuation paper throughout?

    Also, any such letter should be served by Sheriff’s Officer or sent recorded delivery.

    And it should be designated as such.

    Where does it say it is sent RD or hand served? Can whoever signed it prove that they sent it and that it was received?

    Mental


  47. Danish Pastry says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:12
    1 0 Rate This
    Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:51
    4 0 Rate This
    … In the meantime, I’m settling down to watch the Alloa vs Pars game. It’s been delayed 10 mins to allow the crowd in.
    May the best team win.
    ———–
    Indeed, and so be it Wobbly. Thanks to the wonders of modern
    technology I can, in one day, still hear my auld maw laughing at The Vital Spark; and now, via my satellite dish, watch Alloa v Pars to a totally unintelligible commentary (not unlike Icelandic played backwards). Ye cannae beat it. Who needs the Europa Cup when ye can go teuchter
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Vital Spark? Crikey, I have got some catching up to do, haven’t I…?


  48. Look very closely to the signature on the Letter Before Claim..

    On behalf of Sevco 5088 Ltd

    Lionel Hutz


  49. If we put the quality of the document aside, what are the ramifications if this WAS received by Sevco before the IPO went live, does it make a difference if it was sent by Bob (age 10), or his dad the QC?


  51. Danish Pastry says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013:

    Thanks to the wonders of modern technology I can, in one day, still hear my auld maw laughing at The Vital Spark; and now, via my satellite dish, watch Alloa v Pars to a totally unintelligible commentary (not unlike Icelandic played backwards). Ye cannae beat it. Who needs the Europa Cup when ye can go teuchter
    ——-

    Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 19:24

    Evening All

    As George Dixon used to say.

    Well Well Well– what’s going on here then?

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/141684147/RFC-Letter-Before-Claim

    Furtive…….. truly Furtive.
    ———-

    More steam,BRTH!


  53. fwiw

    Charlotte Fakeovers ‏@CharlotteFakes 59s

    “Now obviously that’s not for public consumption”, “Deloittes”, “not happy”, “he’s got a dodgy”, “dodgy offshore”. – New audio later.


  54. Here is an idea for Pretendygers. Instead of purchasing the rags this week for perusal. Distribute 50k copies of Private Eyes article ” Where theirs Muck”at their next home game. Maybe they will observe that t’game. is up. They are encircled by a network of faceless individuals that one way or another will have their money.

    Charlotte fake or not its how it works.

    Yes yes DOH! Its still true.

    The fiction will become fact.

    Someone had his interests Novated and He is not happy.


  55. HT. Alloa 2 Pars 0

    areyouaccusingmeofmendacity says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:28
    0 0 Rate This
    First time I’ve watched Alloa this season – they aren’t a bad side at all. They knock the ball about well. It’s just a shame that we see so little of the lower divisions on TV (TRFC excepted) as there does appear to be some talent there.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Alba has been really good this season.

    I’d also recommend the Welsh football on s4C “Sgorio”.

    I’m a huge (* pun intended) fan of the Prestatyn keeper, Jon Hill-Dunt. He looks a bit like Goram as Goram is now, but plays like Goram did then!


  56. Brogan Rogan Trevino ‏@BroganRoganTrev 11m
    @Tricollar5088 @rangerstaxcase @CharlotteFakes Of course it is interesting– but what is it? Should it be taken seriously?

    Tricollar MBE ‏@Tricollar5088 10m
    @BroganRoganTrev @rangerstaxcase @CharlotteFakes I doubt RTC would tweet, if we weren’t to take it seriously. CQN state “scoop of year”.

    Brogan Rogan Trevino ‏@BroganRoganTrev 7m
    @Tricollar5088 @rangerstaxcase @CharlotteFakes Whether it is a scoop or otherwise — why is it so amateurish? Why did no one act on it?

    Tricollar MBE ‏@Tricollar5088 7m
    @BroganRoganTrev @rangerstaxcase @CharlotteFakes Aren’t they acting on it now, in a fashion?

    Brogan Rogan Trevino ‏@BroganRoganTrev 5m
    @Tricollar5088 @rangerstaxcase @CharlotteFakes Aye but if you are given 48 hours to act — why not do it? Not prepared? Scared? Skint?

    Rangers Tax-Case ‏@rangerstaxcase 1m
    @BroganRoganTrev @Tricollar5088 @CharlotteFakes Whether Whyte has will or means to go forward is unknown. Doubtless he prefers a payoff.


  57. Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:59

    Love watching football on Alba, no high blood pressure listening to commentators. Quite relaxing, in fact


  58. Calum Elliot’s goal was a stormer. Not unlike Caldwell’s at the weekend, although from the opposite side. What is it with young Scottish players pinging in shots in the top corner like Ronaldinho is his prime?!?


  59. paulsatim says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 21:02
    6 0 Rate This

    Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 20:59

    Love watching football on Alba, no high blood pressure listening to commentators. Quite relaxing, in fact …
    ——

    Very good game too, which has now been slightly spoiled by very distracting RTC & CF tweets and links. These bampots could improve their timing 😀 Wobbly, you better brew some strong espresso to get through this lot …


  60. Danish Pastry says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 21:27
    0 0 Rate This
    ——
    Wobbly, you better brew some strong espresso to get through this lot …
    ~~~~~~~~~~~
    Have a heart DP. I’m having enough trouble get through all this as it is, without trying to do it while I’m sober!


  62. Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 21:36
    0 0 Rate This
    Danish Pastry says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 21:27
    0 0 Rate This
    ——
    Wobbly, you better brew some strong espresso to get through
    this lot …
    ~~~~~~~~~~~
    Have a heart DP. I’m having enough trouble get through all this as it is, without trying to do it while I’m sober!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~
    For clarity, I’m not talking about the Alloa v Pars game. I’m talking about the myriad quality posts that I’ve skimmed over but yet to digest.


  63. It is a remarkable letter – almost too good to be true and seems to reference so much of the subsequently leaked out info that I can well understand caution as to both its provenance and authenticity.
    However RTC TSFM and CQN all appear convinced so just an astonishing letter. Blows the entire IPO out of the water and if the
    Rangers’ own investigation clears Green then a
    true battle royal emerges.

    Whyte has to bring down the entire


  66. Some nice shots of the Ochils in the background. They should use footage of this game in the ‘visit Scotland’ campaign!


  70. The latest audio confirms the involvement of Rafat Rivzi.


  71. Evening, not able to play the audio – can anyone post a quick summary of the content?

    thanks in advance


  72. Rangers Tax-Case ‏@rangerstaxcase now

    @CharlotteFakes Deloitte to be next to claim they were ‘duped’? How can TRFCLtd (Sevco FC) claim that Whyte is/was not ‘connected’?


  74. Lord Wobbly says:
    Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 21:46
    1 0 Rate This

    Alloa (having just had a penalty saved) 3 v Pars 0
    ———-

    Did you hear the quote from the half-time interview with the Alloa man? It was, to paraphrase, ‘It’s not just about building gates, but building a club, and building a club means embracing your community.’ There you have it. Well done Alloa Athletic, on all levels.

    Oops, CF2 audio online …


  75. Re CF latest audio

    Who exactly would Deloittes not go near, Rafat or Whyte, assuming of course we are listening to CG & CW. It could be either of them going by the audio.

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