The Immortality Project – or – Death and Denial – Guest Post by Humble Pie
Death has a tendency to put everything else into perspective.
My family recently suffered a bereavement. It wasn’t a sudden death but it was still far too quick and far too soon for any of us to get our heads around. As our loved one’s illness progressed, each of us, in our own way, began to prepare for the inevitable. In the end, whilst it was not unexpected, it was nevertheless very traumatic, for everyone concerned.
Grief is a strange and often debilitating set of emotions. Even now, a few months on, when the intense sadness and tears have given way (mostly) to disbelief, we still find it hard to fully comprehend what has happened. We might never completely ‘come to terms’ with that fact, however, we do accept that it DID happen, much as we all wish that it hadn’t.
Many of you will be familiar with the Kubler-Ross model of the five stages of grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Well, I am aware of having experienced each of these stages over the last year, as well as a couple of others which I wasn’t prepared for (a lot of personal reflection, a little guilt and a not insignificant amount of pain).
It seems to me that the Rangers supporters have been purposefully ensnared in an interminable cycle of the first two stages of KR; alternating between the denial of the death of Rangers and anger at what they feel has been done to their beloved club then back again to denial. This, as any first year psychology student will tell you, is a very unhealthy state of mind which, if not addressed, can quickly lead to physiological and behavioural problems.
At its lowest level, for example, people throughout the ages have continued to set places at the dinner table for their long-dead loved ones. They know in their hearts that the person has died but are comforted by the familiarity of doing the same things that they have always done. However, in extreme cases people have even kept and maintained the actual cadavers of the deceased, dressed them, talked to them and watched TV with them, in a state of absolute denial.
In archaeology, accepting and recognising the inevitability of death through conducting ceremonial burial services is considered to be one of the very first signs of a civilised people. You see, grief is a uniquely human and cathartic process i.e. it can produce ‘a feeling of being cleansed emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically as a result of an intense emotional experience’.
In short, grief is ultimately a good thing which leads you through a series of natural psychological steps towards acknowledgement of an unalterable situation, allowing you to take stock, re-evaluate and start to move on with your own life in a positive way.
That is what should have happened with the fans of the old Rangers.
Instead, this ‘never-ending cycle of the undead’ was positively encouraged by those many unscrupulous individuals who saw a way of making a fast buck from maintaining the ‘Then, Now and Forever’ illusion. Worse still, this resurrection fantasy is being facilitated by the very people whom we have entrusted to stop this kind of thing from happening in the first place. If only the SFA or the MSM had told them the truth, they might have had a chance to actually face up to the situation.
Unfortunately, these two bodies were so complicit in Rangers demise, so right up to their necks in the brown smelly stuff, that they were too afraid to face the inevitable anger which would have rightly come their way. So, they made up grim fairy tales to feed to the bereaved souls about non-existent ‘holding companies’, the ethereal ‘club’ which transcends death and by suggesting that it is ‘all a matter of opinion’.
Ernest Becker, in his 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning book ‘The Denial of Death’, posits that “human civilization is no more than an elaborate, symbolic defence mechanism against the knowledge of our own mortality”. This fear of death acts as an emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival instincts.
‘By embarking on what Becker refers to as an ‘immortality project’, in which a person creates or becomes part of something which they feel will last forever, the person feels they too have become part of something eternal; something that will never die, compared to their physical body that will die one day’. When this ‘immortality project’ is threatened it leads inevitably to fear, depression, loss of identity and sense of purpose.
In that case, the initial reaction of the fans to the imminent demise of Rangers was entirely predictable and understandable. “No way, this can’t happen to us, we are the people”. However, as soon as the full realisation of their club’s inexorable slide into liquidation began to sink in, came the expected anger. But towards whom should their righteous wrath be directed?
“Who did this to us, who are these people?” they cried. “Not I”, said Sir Murray of the Mint, “for I was duped”, “Nor I”, said President Ogilvie, “for it was never my role”. “Nor I”, said Mr Smith, “for I never knew nothing or nothing”. “Not us”, squealed the media monkeys in unison, “for that’s what we were told”, “Nor us”, said the SPL “it was nothing to do with us”.
“Who then?, we demand to know who these people are”, howled the horrified hordes. “T’was the Whyte knight”, they all concurred, “he alone caused this calamity”. “And the bampots”, sneered the slimy slug. “And the taxman”, puffed the pundits. “And the unseen hand of Mr Lawwell”, whispered the bilious bears from the safety of their den.
There were even those who tried to warn them, not least Hugh Adam, Phil Mac and RTC but they didn’t want to know. Even when their very own Messrs Green and Traynor spelt out, in no uncertain terms, that liquidation meant the death of their club, still they chose wilful ignorance. The MSM, with access to the same information, encouraged them to keep their heads firmly ensconced, ostrich stylee, on the banks of that ironically blue and white river in Egypt. Which just goes to show ‘you can lead a lamb to knowledge but you can’t make it think’
The point though is that the Rangers fans have heard the truth and once you have heard something you cannot unhear it. Even if you reject it, even if you deny it, it gnaws away at the back of your mind, infecting your subconscious.
Almost a year ago, I posted the following on TSFM. http://theinternetbampot.wordpress.com/2012/09/ in which I postulated that the SFA were too frightened to say anything which might imply that The Rangers were a new club.
Looking back at that post, I am amazed at how little the landscape has changed.
A year on and it has become apparent that the corporate cancer that destroyed Rangers has continued to metastasize in its new host. Charlotte’s revelations may have shown us that the rabbit hole goes much deeper than we first suspected. However, in my humble opinion, the information provided has only succeeded in ‘poisoning the well’ and deflecting attention from the main culprits in this disaster. Layer upon layer of complexity has been added to an already opaque story and the majority of her utterances appear designed to engage the more enquiring minds on this forum and consume their excess mental energy.
I know that some people are bored with this ‘debate’ but, to my mind, the single most important step for the redemption of Scottish football is the fan’s acceptance that The Rangers, who currently ply their trade in the SPFL First Division, are a new club. Once they have accepted that then everything else that they perceive has happened to them will begin to make sense. They will see that rather than everyone having a fly kick at them when they were down, most were actually trying to help them. It will also dawn on them that the very people who have been telling them that there is an anti-Rangers conspiracy against them are actually the same ones who are screwing them over.
Rangers were not relegated to div 3, The Rangers applied as a new club and were granted entry into the bottom tier of Scottish football. They are not banned from European competition, merely ineligible as a new club without the requisite financial ‘history’. Any reference to ‘rulings’ from ECA, ASA, the BBC Trust and any internal or so-called ‘independent’ enquiries are completely irrelevant, as none of these bodies are the final arbiter in this case. Scots Law is clear that there is no distinction between club and company after incorporation, when the company dies the club dies with it. That is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact.
Sooner or later The Rangers fans are going to realise this fact and when they do, there will be hell to pay. Until they do, their new club can never become truly cleansed. Only then can they move on and only then can they join together with fans of other clubs to root out the real cancer at the heart of Scottish football. That’s why the MSM and the SFA are still petrified to say anything. In the meantime the real creators of this disaster are sneakily positioning themselves further and further away from the scene of the crime.
I am sure the majority of us would happily accept a new Rangers, cleansed of its financial, emotional and supremacist baggage. A club that all decent Rangers fans could support without feeling any guilt about Rangers downfall or that they were being taken for mugs. The prospect of a new dawn in Scottish football, where sporting integrity took primacy and clubs lived within their means was very real. However, as usual the SFA couldn’t miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
The truth is that Scottish football is in the state it is in, not because Rangers died but because those with the power and mandate to effect the prognosis sat back and did nothing. I am sure that they believe that ‘time heals all wounds’ and that the longer this injustice is allowed to stand the more likely it will be accepted by the man in the street. No doubt the authorities feel it is in the national interest to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’. However I cannot accept this. I believe that it is vital that we are able to face up to reality so we can move on for the benefit of all football supporters.
Scottish football is at a crossroads right now, I think we all feel it. Rampant corruption has become so mainstream that many of our fellow supporters have began to accept this as the norm. However, it just doesn’t sit right with me and I suspect that many regular contributors and readers of this blog feel likewise.
We have quite lost our way and we live in a society which spends vast amounts of money paying people like Jack Irvine to ensure that we stay lost. The mainstream media treat us like little imbeciles and demand that we conform to their assumed ‘professional superiority’. The PR machine plays up to our stereotypes and feeds our fantasies while the poorest people pay to swallow their poisonous propaganda and relentless trivia.
So what can we do ? Clearly, battering out a few blog posts and strongly worded letters to the various authorities involved has been rewarded by the square root of FA.
How can we make this an opportunity for growth rather than contributing to the destruction of Scottish football ? It is not good enough to tear down a system unless we have a better system to replace it. However, I believe that it is not the system itself which is broken. It is that those charged with administering the system are hopelessly corrupted, hugely conflicted and unable to apply their rules without fear or favour.
By their incapacity and inaction (wilful or otherwise) the SFA have facilitated a motley crew of various spivs, chancers and con-artists to glean the last few meagre pickings from the bones of the emaciated loyal supporters of this new club purporting to be the once mighty Rangers. They have permitted these ne’er-do-wells to collectively appropriate many tens of millions of pounds from the Rangers fans, the creditors and the public purse. They have already allowed this corporate malignancy to spread to a new host, ‘The Rangers’, and the absence of ‘moral hazard’ makes it more likely that the disease will continue to spread.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “‘Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Someone else once said, “The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it’s just sort of a tired feeling.”
I sense that we are all beginning to get tired of this. It is time to stand together, all football fans, face the facts and direct our anger against the officers of the SFA who have allowed this sham to develop into a catastrophe.
I have no doubt that my humble opinions expressed here will raise the ire of many deluded souls. However, I am comfortable in the knowledge that the only people who get mad at you for speaking the truth are those that are living a lie.
RIP Big Man.
When/If Rangers return to the top league, I just hope it all goes down with a bit of dignity and respect on all sides. I doubt it will, but I hope it does. Rangers fans, the largely unspoken for silent majority, have done nothing wrong, and deserve the sporting respect of fans of their foes.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:03 am
When/If Rangers return to the top league, I just hope it all goes down with a bit of dignity and respect on all sides. I doubt it will, but I hope it does. Rangers fans, the largely unspoken for silent majority, have done nothing wrong, and deserve the sporting respect of fans of their foes.
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OK, RG guess you’re on the wind up, but I can’t help myself.
“Rangers fans, the largely unspoken for silent majority, have done – and said – nothing…and deserve nothing.”
Fixed that for you. 🙂
Stevie, fair enough, have a laugh – I didn’t do anything to bring this on. David Murray’s spending? Loved it!! Of course I did. For ever fiver Celtic spend I’ll spend a tenner. Why would I doubt he would?! He said he would. Craig Whyte, billionaire. Awesome, glad to have him with us. What? He’s a con artist? What can I do? Nothing. Tried. Told my mates. Nothing doing. So please don’t take pleasure in what is befalling me now.
Oooft – Tom English has been surfing the Internet too much: he seems to be morphing into an Internet Bampot. Good for him!
Today’s article is an unsubtle p*** take of Mather, Irvine and McCoist – and finishes with an accurate summary…and the bears won’t be happy…
“…From a betting scandal and the near blasé handling of it by Ally McCoist to the boorishness of Irvine and the contradictions of the chief executive, life in the Odditorium that is Ibrox remains surreal.”
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/tom-english-craig-mather-u-turn-was-quite-a-feat-1-3100585
enough is enough says:
September 20, 2013 at 12:02 am
This from RM
Just seen the draw and hopefully without any trouble we get through the semis and into the final against that fucking snake bastard turnball hutton team. Never forgot that wanks comments last year and i hope we give them a right hammering. In our case its not an elephant who never forgets it a bear and i hope any fucking tim loving scum reads this post dont you forget it. Rant over. WATP
Scottish Football needs an enema
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They truly are the enema of the rest of the people.
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Good piece in the Scotsman by Tom English, taking a couple of the many strands of the ongoing Scottish football disaster and giving them an airing. In light if the attempt by some in our society to put Jim Spence into administration, if not liquidation, any journalist who writes under their own name about the rot deserves support, in my opinion (unless it is something along the lines of a ludicrous puff piece about Campbell Ogilvie, that is).
http://money.uk.msn.com/news/man-wins-bedroom-tax-challenge
Sorry, off topic I know, but if it’s any interest to football fans with families who are effected by the
‘Bedroom Tax’.
TW says:
September 20, 2013 at 6:29 am
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Tom English has been critical a few times, and clearly isn’t tainted by the baggage that Scottish Journalists are. He has also stated he believes them to be the same club, but frequently lampoons the fact that debt has gone unpaid! 😕
Celtic park is a perfect neutral venue. Why does anyone fear extensive damage? The The Rangers fans have absolutely no history of this yet. 😈 Oh! Unless Charlie Green bought that as well?
Whaddayamean he only bought the good bits??
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:27 am
“Stevie, fair enough, have a laugh – I didn’t do anything to bring this on. David Murray’s spending? Loved it!! Of course I did. For ever fiver Celtic spend I’ll spend a tenner. Why would I doubt he would?! He said he would. Craig Whyte, billionaire. Awesome, glad to have him with us. What? He’s a con artist? What can I do? Nothing. Tried. Told my mates. Nothing doing. So please don’t take pleasure in what is befalling me now.”
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Two things Ryan.
First please get it that Craig Whyte was no random con artist who just appeared out of the ether.
He was part of a plan to collapse and phoenix a troubled SDM project that went wrong for unforeseen reasons. (a safe pair of hands and an accomplished patsy)
Someone on here summed it up as “The Murray bones connected to the Whyte bone, the Whyte bones connected to the Green Bone, the Green bones connected to the Mather bone etc and you can throw in Ogilvie and his pals as the connective tissue all along.
Secondly most non celtic supporters on this site and a bunch of the celtic fans too are not laughing at the decent rangers fans.
All of us together remain confused that you remain passive .
We remain confused you think hoping for another shining knight is the answer.
We are disturbed at how your ringleaders and the MSM are trying to rewrite what is a simple history.
And when your mob attacks people like Jim Spence for telling the truth we get disturbed and angry.
Please get it
Rangers are no more.
“The Rangers” , the team which started with a slightly different name last year which you support is a new off the shelf company set up by the spivs called Sevco Scotland or maybe even the other one.
They have merged into Rangers with the support of people who wanted them straight back into the SPL and have taken over the mantle of the old club but they are a new club set up as a replacement.
And sadly the same spivs brought in by SDM have turned rogue and are asset stripping as I write this.
That is sad and will have repercussions.
Huge repercussions and mess.
I don’t see much to laugh about.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:27 am
Craig Whyte, billionaire. Awesome,
That’s the point where we disagree, he was never a billionaire and it wasn’t a secret.
If, like the ‘silent majority’ of Rangers (IL) fans you chose to ignore that fact then I have no sympathy.
Ryan Gosling@ 1:03am
With respect Ryan,talking to your mates ‘ain’t the answer.I talked to some of mine and I’m a Celtic supporter! The ‘silent majority’ you speak of need to be up in arms,bombarding the dodgy Swiss watch sellers who have ensconced themselves down at Edmiston Drive.
Am I the only one who doubts that this legendary “silent majority” of Ibrox fans really exists? Those of a Rangers persuasion that I come into contact with display the same supremacist, WATP mentality as they have always done, but somehow now magnified a hundred times, and seasoned liberally with lashings of grievance,hate and bitterness. When the day dawns that some form of Rangers arrives back in the top flight, I truly fear for the consequences.
From Leggoland
PROCURATOR FISCAL LAUNCHES FRAUD PROBE INTO RANGERS
RANGERS are being investigated by the Procurator Fiscal after allegations of fraud.
The bombshell news follows information and evidence of alleged wrongdoing which I can reveal was handed to the Serious Fraud Office in London this week.
They have no jurisdiction in Scotland, but senior figures in the Serious Fraud Office were sufficiently impressed by the nature of the evidence and details in the complaint that they immediately contacted the Procurator Fiscal’s office in Glasgow.
Now the Fiscal has called for a full police probe into these extremely serious and wide ranging allegations and senior officers will now interview the Rangers executive directors who were responsible for the share issue last December, plus certain transactions which took place earlier this year in the aftermath of the Imran Ahmad, Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge launched IPO which saw Rangers quoted on the Stock Exchange.
The IPO raised £22.5M which financial director Stockbridge, the only one of that trio who is still on the board, has admitted is now all gone.
I understand that the Procurator Fiscal-ordered-investigation will focus on certain transactions which came in the wake of that £22.5M being raised, transactions which helped drain that huge cash injection and reduce it to zero in a matter of months.
The news that the Rangers books could be seized by the police with financial director Stockbridge, former chief executive Charles Green and ex commercial director Imran Ahmad facing a grilling, possibly under caution, will undermine the current board’s bid to stay in place.
For the police probe into these serious allegations will almost certainly still be under way when the current crop of directors, including financial director Stockbridge, are forced to offer themselves to the shareholders for election at the Annual General Meeting which must now take place no later than October 31st.
The silent majority are not even a silent minority imho
[]
‘Rangers’ being investigated for fraud according to leggo’s blog 🙄
neepheid says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:15 am
Am I the only one who doubts that this legendary “silent majority” of Ibrox fans really exists? Those of a Rangers persuasion that I come into contact with display the same supremacist, WATP mentality as they have always done, but somehow now magnified a hundred times, and seasoned liberally with lashings of grievance,hate and bitterness. When the day dawns that some form of Rangers arrives back in the top flight, I truly fear for the consequences.
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The thing is neepheid that the Rangers fans I come into contact with do not display this behaviour. And I don’t live in a bubble. Maybe I just made a good choice in friends.
But I also know that a significant number of fans do display those very attitudes. And I also worry that there will be trouble when/if Rangers are in the top division.
But to tar all the fans with the same brush – I’m not saying you did, but I see many others on here who do – is simply unfair. Some Rangers fans support the football team, none of the historical baggage that goes with it. What %age that is, I don’t claim to know. But I suspect it to be more than my circle of friends.
“The news that the Rangers books could be seized by the police ”
Good luck with that one then!
“which I can reveal was handed to the Serious Fraud Office in London this week.”
Describe the person handing in the documents without using the words brogues, cardigan or blazer.
The Glen says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:58 am
But to tar all the fans with the same brush – I’m not saying you did, but I see many others on here who do – is simply unfair. Some Rangers fans support the football team, none of the historical baggage that goes with it. What %age that is, I don’t claim to know. But I suspect it to be more than my circle of friends.
+++++++++++++
Wise words, Glen, but I do fear that the reasonable Rangers fans are a rapidly shrinking minority, rather than the “silent majority” that we’re always being told about. And yes, I should keep better company!
Smugas says:
September 20, 2013 at 10:01 am
2 0 Rate This
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agree they have to exist first before they can be seized.
Bill1903 says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:55 am
3 0 Rate This
‘Rangers’ being investigated for fraud according to leggo’s blog 🙄
++++++++
If this was true, surely the police would raid Ibrox, seize the books, and question a few prime suspects BEFORE Leggo sounds the alarm, and the Ibrox industrial grade shredder starts on overtime- again?
The Glen says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:58 am
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Fair enough and reasonably put The Glen. This reductive nonsense that comes from some who post on this blog that all Rangers fans are bigots doesn’t help. I too know Rangers fans who are honest, upstanding members of society. They’re the kind of people who’d rail at Vodafone and know who Dave Hartnett was. Somehow though, they do manage to avoid dealing with the reality of the business and social culture that’s been associated with Rangers for many years now. This selective blindness when it comes to football isn’t peculiar to Rangers supporters of course – Hearts fans and Dundee fans ‘knew’ that their clubs were living a fiscal lie for years before their respective implosions. They also had to pick up a rather expensive tab to keep the clubs in business.
if what leggo claims is true. . .how will the AIM react to that. . .not to mention a statement from
the SFA [and not the SFO]
I have friends who supported Rangers for whom I do feel sorry. The ones who checked out RTC and didn’t jump into the ‘Craig Whyte billionaire’ nonsense.
I also have friends who supported Rangers who deserve all they get, the ones who still think they’ve been relegated, denied prize money and kicked when they’re down.
It’s hard to feel sorry for someone who thinks it’s all “Timmy bullshit”
Genuine question Blu.
These ‘blinkered’ fans (of RFC, but I take your point on Dundee and Hearts and I would add Gretna to the list as well) of good standing who choose to ignore everything from financial suicide to dodgy songs. To what extent is that maintained by a teams success? Would it not decrease (but not die, jeez no) were the team to slip into mid table obscurity for a while? By obscure really what I mean is a sort of cleansing period. Obviously it would (well I think its obvious*), and yet our authorities appear determined to not put the theory to the test, at least in the case of one of the four clubs named above.
Fundamentally, what is driving that policy. A need to replace the Old firm (the good bits, to provide competition)? A desire by all clubs especially the senior ones to replace the old order for them to go back into their comfort zones in behind? Genuinely, what’s the motive?
* I accept its not as simple as that of course because particularly in the case of RFC the dog whistlers appear to have managed to replace the uncomfortable-with-what-they-see element with the, well basically the WATP brigade, presumably with a view to swapping them back once the ship is righted.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:27 am
Stevie, fair enough, have a laugh – I didn’t do anything to bring this on. David Murray’s spending? Loved it!! Of course I did. For ever fiver Celtic spend I’ll spend a tenner. Why would I doubt he would?! He said he would. Craig Whyte, billionaire. Awesome, glad to have him with us. What? He’s a con artist? What can I do? Nothing. Tried. Told my mates. Nothing doing. So please don’t take pleasure in what is befalling me now.
[TSFM]
Carntyne, you’ve made your point to the point of being rude and totally off topic.
nowoldandgrumpy says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:48 am
Leggo: “For the police probe into these serious allegations will almost certainly still be under way when the current crop of directors…are forced to offer themselves to the shareholders for election at the Annual General Meeting which must now take place no later than October 31st.”
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Presumably this is the reason for something being set up, and if so, presumably just enough information has been tipped to try to poison the current directors’ well, but no further.
And if the UK-wide authorities won’t look into it but have passed it to the Scottish police to deal with – wasn’t there recent discussion about them mishandling info to do with the HMRC investigation? Or if they investigate and something eventually comes up before a judge? Lords Hodge and Nimmo Smith, the legal eagles on the FTT panel…I’m not holding my breath
RyanGosling says:
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You clearly didn’t go to or watch the last CIS cup final Rangers were involved in against Celtic.
The “silent majority” who do nothing wrong clearly couldn’t get tickets that day. Either that or they bussed in a load of fans from the 70’s. It was a disgrace.
Remarkable analysis of Wednesday’s game in Milan on the Football is Fixed website.
http://footballisfixed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/one-love-art-of-war.html?m=1
“Peter Lawwell and Neil Lennon via their sabermetric strategies in the transfer market, match performance strategies on the pitch and, particularly, the creative destruction of the criminalised entity formerly known as Rangers…”
I think the word has finally percolated beyond Scotland’s shores. lol!
The ‘silent majority’ discourse is clearly backed up by the facts. With a 500 million world wide fanbase, the 40K who frequent Ibrox ‘up to their knees’ represent only a fraction of the Rangers family. It is those pesky Ibrox attendees who give a wholly inaccurate impression, the rest are sporting sack cloth and ashes, seeking forgiveness for past crimes and seeking to use this whole debacle to off load the supremacist sectarian past and move into a new paradigm of harmony with the rest of the football community. (that they cheated.)
All kidding aside, of course there are thousands of Bears who want nothing to do with WATP bigots, but they lack voice. If the Klan (copyright PMB) can silence the newspapers, and the BBC from even discussing the copper bottomed facts of Rangers’ demise, what realistic chance do they have on the inside? It is interesting to look at the demographic of the followers of Sevco. Based purely on my own observations they appear to be young, angry and male. I understand CG courted certain elements and proliferated free tickets to those who, lets say………… may not have been seen on the club deck in previous seasons. Like others have noted, Sevco’s possible return to the top flight is a ticking bomb, coupled with the continued and deepening ineptitude of the authorities it may prove fatal to the game in Scotland even in the medium term.
Fascinating statement on the football is fixed website…
“It is our assessment that [Celtic] should establish a cutting edge analytics section to enable this self-harming to cease. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to offer this service as our lawyers will not allow us to work with the club due to both the proximity to the club of inappropriate individuals who do not have the best interests of Celtic at heart and the club’s inability to plan strategically AND radically.”
In fact, as I’ve read that blog it’s clear that ‘sabremetrics’ (Moneyball type analyses) is a real modern development, but also that football is probably fixed, certainly to a large degree. The enormous sums of money, the influence of agents and the global appetite for gambling (and for profit) would make it unlikely that the whole thing wasn’t left to chance.
Co-incidentally my interest in the beautiful game, from UCL, SPFL and EPL stand-point has waned considerably, in part due to the scandal that has been the collapse and subsequent re-emergence of a team playing at Ibrox. Football will eat itself.
StevieBC says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:55 am
Oooft – Tom English has been surfing the Internet too much: he seems to be morphing into an Internet Bampot. Good for him!
Today’s article is an unsubtle p*** take of Mather, Irvine and McCoist – and finishes with an accurate summary…and the bears won’t be happy…
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/tom-english-craig-mather-u-turn-was-quite-a-feat-1-3100585
_________________________________________________________________________________
English is much more than a day late and a dollar short.
Like many of his contemporaries, he was initially scathing in his disregard of the revelations of the Rangers scandal as revealed by the RTC blog, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, Paul McConville and many others.
He took the Keevins’ line that it was all made up, and that the media had to be wary of lawsuits, and the bampots weren’t ‘proper’ journalists and did not know what they were talking about.
Thank goodness they weren’t what Keevins regarded as proper journalists!
It took a long time for English’s road to Damascus moment.
Leggo talks of fraud McMurdo says its all okay and money on tap if required.
Battle between the spivs and brouges and all inbetween is well underway.
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/blog/
September 20, 2013
Behold, I Show You A Mystery
I note that there has been a bit of speculation over the breakdown of the Easdales’ shareholding in Rangers. – so much that one writer has even called it a mystery.
Having myself seen the breakdown I can tell my readers that the Easdales have direct control over 14% of shares with Sandy Easdale himself having 4.37%. On top of this he has voting rights over a further 10% approximately. These shares belong to Blue Pitch and Margarita. This means that Sandy Easdale speaks for roughly 24% of shares.
In addition, the board has the backing of other investors. As has already been seen, Minico and the requisitioners have exaggerated their own backing.
As I have said previously, Sandy Easdale is continuing to impress investors with his acumen and no-frills approach. The general consensus of investors backing the board is that a wholesale removal of directors – as proposed by Minico – would be too disruptive for the business at this time.
I can also reveal to my readers that there is serious wealth behind the Easdales in terms of backing, in particular from Blue Pitch. Not only that but it is from the most impeccable of sources in terms of fiscal propriety and corporate governance.
In fact what I have been told is this; “Blue Pitch can write a cheque out for £50 milion at the drop of a hat to support the Easdales and Rangers when the club needs to buy a squad to challenge and win in Europe.”
Having discovered the strength of Blue Pitch I have no doubt about this statement.
What’s more, for Sandy Easdale to impress them speaks volumes about his own credentials.
There is no mystery to the Easdales shareholdings.
Unless, of course, you don’t have the information.
Or making things look mysterious helps your agenda.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:27 am
Ryan, from earlier posts I know that you are a sensible RFC* fan who, in hindsight, realises the bad in some of RFC*s actions. I’m still not sure though that even fans like you really understand what continues to niggle other fans. You then – perhaps understandably – complain about being lumped in with the RFC* fans who have a superiority complex and WATP mentality. IMO, this comes out in comments like “David Murray’s spending. Loved it.” and “CW, billionaire. Awesome.” You then ask people not to “take pleasure in what is befalling me now.”
Even with hindsight, it doesn’t seem to me that you’re sorry about how you’re club acted. I’m not looking for you to be donning sackcloth and ashes, but IMO that lack of remorse from even the decent fans is what continues to niggle.
My personal, non-football example is the downfall of RBS. You may have seen me ‘come out’ yesterday as an ex-RBS staff member. For the first 20 years of my career, the bank was a good, wee Scottish bank, so during the good years, I have to confess I took real pleasure in the way RBS grew in size and profits. I was delighted with the performance bonuses I earned (not Fred Goodwin-type benefits, but hey), was glad of the opportunity each year to purchase discounted shares whose price then grew well; was delighted to attend the extravagant ‘Achiever’ conferences abroad and was proud to tell friends and family (especially if they worked in other banks) that RBS was now the 5th biggest bank in the world.
When the fall came, like you there was nothing I could do about it. With hindsight, I don’t even think I was senior enough to be able to recognise the wrong path they were taking, so don’t feel I failed to challenge the decisions. I can understand why RFC* fans say “Don’t take it out on us”.
While, therefore, I don’t feel guilty or responsible, what I DO feel in retrospect is awkward about it, embarrassed about it, a bit ashamed about it, that I had been happy and proud to have benefitted from being part of a ‘bad bank’.
As a result of that introspection, I accept that people (especially mates) will wind me up about it and remind me of it. My reaction isn’t like RFC* fans I know – I acknowledge how wrong the bank was and how wrong I was to be happy/proud about it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m a bad guy or anything and I don’t go around apologising for RBS.
As I said I don’t expect sackcloth and ashes, but as far as I can see, even sensible fans like you don’t have that sort of accepting attitude about the faults of RFC*. All only my opinion, of course.
It’s an interesting subject, although this ‘scientific’ approach to player performance can only ever be an aid rather than the key driver as implied by the blog author. I don’t think that Johann Mjallby needed their help to tell the Celtic defence to be careful defending at the edge of the box, because, you know, these guys fall over at the slightest puff of wind. Celtic players are properly coached, know the game and all about maximising opportunities at the edge of the box – not for nothing did Anthony Stokes move the ball back that vital 1/2 feet before that magnificent free kick against Dundee United the other week.
Lots of teasing in there about corruption but they’ll never sell the product unless they market it and that means publicising what they know, if they do indeed know anything. Also, you’d have to wonder why they might be analysing a Celtic game. They couldn’t be fans, could they?
As an aside re. the Stokes goal – he wouldn’t have been allowed to move the ball in the MLS where the refs use vanishing spray to mark the spot where the kick should be taken from and a line and that players in the defensive wall shouldn’t step beyond before the ball’s kicked. The refs may get this wrong from time to time but it is better than what we have at the moment and would be a good addition – cheaper and needed more often than goal line technology.
nawlite says: September 20, 2013 at 11:56 am
==========
An eloquently expressed response, nawlite.
nawlite says:
September 20, 2013 at 11:56 am
=========================
nawlite, thanks for sharing your personal experience – were you not raging at what the spivs and wide boys did to your company and, to a large degree, got away with? Other than heckling fall boy Whyte I’ve not seen too much rage directed by Rangers fans at the perpetrators – maybe the years of enjoying the benefits has sated them, like a lot of bank staff who benefitted from the various companies share schemes. Unfortunately, like Rangers fans, some continued to swallow the mythology of invicibility too long and lost lots of money when the shares value plummeted.
McMurdo
If you look up “trying too hard” in the dictionary is that what you find?
So if I’m reading his piece right they could write a cheque now to win in europe, its just they’re choosing not to?
Does anyone also want to tell him that a cheque for £50m would fund the club at present losses for, 4-5 years max?
Oh and finally, here’s hoping Bill wasn’t asked – and who should I make the cheque out to?
Oh, and finally finally..I take it as read that Campbell & Co could name right now who Blue Pitch holdings actually are? Aye right.
Smugas says:
September 20, 2013 at 10:01 am
“The news that the Rangers books could be seized by the police ”
___________________________________________________
What books?
Posted just this minute on Twitter
Joethebookie – it’ll probably come back to the whole MSM thing talked about here extensively, but I read in the paper that a local billionaire, a lifelong fan, was buying the club. I believed it, didn’t see any reason to doubt it. I of course now know that that was very foolish but at the time I didn’t see anything wrong.
Helpmaboab – I did try other things. I was banned from a Rangers forum – “banned for being a taig” was the actual message I received – for broaching the oldco / newco subject.
Finally Finloch – please don’t keep saying “please get it”, I don’t actually agree with some of the points you made and the repeating of “please get it” is rather patronising.
wottpi says:
September 20, 2013 at 11:56 am
Leggo talks of fraud McMurdo says its all okay and money on tap if required.
Battle between the spivs and brouges and all inbetween is well underway.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I love the way McMurdo has a go at “one writer” describing the Easdales shareholding as being a mystery but when in a position to reveal the mystery of who owns Blue Pitch Holdings he chooses not to. There’s nothing like keeping the fans informed Bill!
wottpi says:
September 20, 2013 at 11:56 am
http://billmcmurdo.wordpress.com/blog/
I can also reveal to my readers that there is serious wealth behind the Easdales in terms of backing, in particular from Blue Pitch. Not only that but it is from the most impeccable of sources in terms of fiscal propriety and corporate governance.
——
Aye, serious, impeccable, propriety, governance. Very good.
But I demand to know whether this wealth been subjected to the radar test.
Charlotte Fakeovers @CharlotteFakes 44s
Unauthorised return of share capital and other shenanigans inside RIFC. The cover up has gone on long enough. The Murrays are fully aware.
Given the above coupled with Leggo’s Blog today then it looks as thougn the brown brogues might be about to hit the fan and the ones most deserving of being splattered rte the SMSM who almost to a man and woman have done their best to look the other way but they can’t escape the stench which will be hung around their neck for ever to mark their cowardice and partiality.
No wonder there has been such a problem providing Annual Reports if there is any truth in what CF and Leggo are claiming.
Blu says:
As an aside re. the Stokes goal – he wouldn’t have been allowed to move the ball in the MLS where the refs use vanishing spray to mark the spot where the kick should be taken from and a line and that players in the defensive wall shouldn’t step beyond before the ball’s kicked. The refs may get this wrong from time to time but it is better than what we have at the moment and would be a good addition – cheaper and needed more often than goal line technology.
————————————————————————————————————————-
As another aside RE the Stokes goal, not unrelated to the 2nd goal in Milan (which the footballisfixed blog clearly underlines was a very important strike).
When Maradona infamously hit the net with the assistance of the ‘hand of god’ the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the English press was deafening, and contributed to a debate concerning the nature of sport and its Corinthian spirit, or lack of. (A debate which Andy Walker and Gordon Smith continued this week). Jimmy Burns wrote in his critical biography of Diego Maradona that such antics were endemic in Argentina and Uruguay, and are valued and as ‘viveza criolla’ or ‘native cunning’. The term was originally pejorative and applied to the street children who inhabit the shanty towns of major South American cities, in that they were not to be trusted. In modern football parlance the term has been elevated to something of a cultural attribute, and such skills of deception are revered. IMO Balotelli displayed ‘viveza criolla’ at a critical point in the game, running down the clock denying Celtic any opportunity to gain momentum for one of their trademark last minute goals…… and he had the class to maximise the return from theatrically hitting the turf and securing a result his team barely deserved, a result Celtic certainly did not deserve……..but before we veer into casual xenophobia, Stokes did exactly the same at Tannadice last week. 😉
That Football is Fixed blog – isn’t it a little unhinged?
nawlite, I’m making my way through responses to my post last night and have just read yours. A very reasonable and poignant post I thought. I appreciate you recognising me for what I am, and will try to respond in kind.
Firstly lets deal with the RBS thing – unless you were at a certain level you couldn’t really have known the “bad” things that were going on, and I can understand the pride you felt at the bank being decent and then the upset you felt when it all unravelled.
You say it doesn’t seem like I’m sorry about the way my club acted. I’m really not being cheeky here, but what do you want me to do? I wish I could go back in time and stop the EBTs ever being implemented. I wish I could go back to 2000, take over Rangers and run them sensibly. I wish I could kick out every single person who sings and shouts abuse. I wish there had never been a sectarian signing policy. But I can’t do a single thing about any of the above.
With regard to Rangers as they currently are, again, there is little I can do. Like McColl on a smaller scale, I won’t buy shares because I don’t want to line Charles Green’s pockets. I didn’t buy a season ticket for the same reason, although I do attend occasionally as I like to see my team. And as stated previously I’ve been banned from Rangers websites for “speaking out” as its termed here.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Finally Finloch – please don’t keep saying “please get it”, I don’t actually agree with some of the points you made and the repeating of “please get it” is rather patronising.
…………………………………….
Ryan I have only ever said it once.
It obviously rankled you but I don’t have any plans to say it again.
I wasn’t intending to patronise anyone and moving forward please feel free to tell me or others what you don’t agree with and we can discuss stuff as a diverse group.
That is a strength of this site.
And agreeing to disagree is fine too.
Nobody here knows all the facts or has a monopoly on wisdom and the twists and turns keep us all on our toes.
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:00 pm
——
Ryan has a fair point. Had Aberdeen revealed a new backer 20 years ago and started buying top European talent I think I’d have been rather pleased, myself.
I probably wouldn’t have said “Hang on, this boy must be chancer.”
36. Angus1983 says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:21 pm
The point is, when he was found out to be a chancer would your response have been we are the people, giruy, we will be back stronger than before and crush everyone else, there is no Scottish football without Aberdeen, if we die you die, you need us more than we need you.
Would you have expected the SFA, SPL and the MSM to have joined in with that.
Bill1903 says:
September 20, 2013 at 9:49 am
As a Celtic fan, who loathes the IRA baggage, i find that statement more than a little bonkers
I’m presuming all the Leggo rumours are nonesense due to the fact there is still share trading taking place. I hasten to add that I have nor read his blog (or McMurdo’s), I’ll wait on someone pasting it here or elsewhere.
If the SFO have been triggered into action trading would have been suspended?? That’s more of a question than a statement BTW.
The USA get a lot of stick for ‘messing’ with sports / games / tv programmes etc but some things they get right. I think the idea of marking the pitch for place kicks (and throws in) is a tremendous one. It should be adopted immediately.
Ryan,
Nobody is taking anything out on you. Unless you feel you represent the entire RFC (deceased) support.
As to what you can do, you can acknowledge that your club self destructed. Express some humility as per nawlites post. It is not unreasonable for supporters of other clubs, or indeed non football fans who support the principle of fair play, to expect RFC (deceased) fans to acknowledge that they were the architects of their own distress given their liquidation has had, indeed still has, serious repercussion for Scottish football as a whole.
Most folk are totally disgusted that as a support you entirely fail to exhibit one iota of responsibility for the dubious dealings down Govan way. Instead – incredibly – the support blame others in a most threatening and aggressive manner for the death of RFC (a death as a support you are in total denial of). RFC fan sites are not the only mode of communication open to you, you know. Elton John was right. Sorry seems to be the hardest word.
Angus1983 @ 1:21pm
One difference is that had Aberdeen been taken over by a chancer 20 years ago the Scottish Press would sure as hell have told the world about it and the Scottish Football Authorities wouldn’t have aided and abetted him in every way they could.
[Edit for typos and to acknowledge Tif Finn making this point first]
Correct Angus. But to continue the RBS analogy which I fully agree with. I remember standing in the financial district in London circa 1997 (after the Natwest takeover whenever that was) and looking up at the RBS building and the Natwest Tower and saying to myself “remind me who took over who” (which I gather was also a common Email thread throughout the expanded RBS network for a while).
For the non Londonytes it was like looking at Pat Nevin next to Gordon McQueen!
Also, I’m not being antagonistic here (particularly to you nawlite in the circumstances) but I had several friends who did the bog standard bank teller job or similar 2000-2008 mainly with non RBS banks who to a man and woman took a verbal kicking virtually every day regarding sales targets, to compete with those banks like RBS who were clearly getting ahead. Ask them (some of whom had to find other professions through stress incidentally) if they feel any sympathy for RBS at present.
Again Nawlite not a dig, I just feel its relevant for the present debate.
Now then, Charlotte…….
Bawsman says:
As I understand it the story is that information was passed to the SFO which because of jurisdictional issues they are not acting on (law and order is devolved) as such they have passed the information to either The Police Service of Scotland, or possible COPFS, one of whom is investigating matters.
It is unlikely at that stage there would be wider rammifications, until at least some corroboration of the allegations had been obtained.
I don’t think lack of activity on AIM at this stage means much either way.
Pulling the strings of threads together today I would expect the SFO investigation to be looking partly at the Blue Pitch Holding. After all bearz McMurdo told you they were sugar daddies in waiting with a cheque for youze all to buy europe and now surprise surprise here’s a timmie plot to take your new saviours out…
Smugas says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Trust me, I know. It happened big time in RBS too and I know what it cost people.
Away from the RBS topic, isn’t it funny to see the RFC* bloggers/PR guys picking sides?
Tif Finn says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:46 pm
——————————————–
Many thanks, not unfounded then these rumours? Every time you think things can’t get worse, they do…………..I have to plead guilty to not being upset, I’d MUCH rather the SFA were routed than anything though.
We’ll Ignore Mind Games
Friday, 20 September 2013 12:49
When I saw the above heading posted up on the official rangers site I thought here comes the slap-down on Leggo and McMurdo.
No it wasn’t that but: something of prime importance nevertheless: ‘ALLY MCCOIST believes Forfar boss Dick Campbell is playing pre-match mind games by suggesting Rangers will have the League One title sewn up by Christmas.
‘Campbell has been hugely impressed by the Light Blues’ campaign so far and believes they can have an unassailable lead at the top of the table before the turn of the year.
‘McCoist is aware that his side are overwhelming favourites to be crowned champions this season but, as expected, he is taking nothing for granted.’
Possibly the Forfar Boss has a link to the SFO and is just letting Ally know on the fly that he better sew-up the title asap before the SFO & PF – according to Leggo – stitch-up the Club.
Still no doubt Black will be running the Ibrox Book, not on Bill Struth of course, but on the date the SFO arrive and as part of an accumulator when AIM will take action.
ecobhoy says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:06 pm
7 0 Rate This
Charlotte Fakeovers @CharlotteFakes 44s
Unauthorised return of share capital and other shenanigans inside RIFC. The cover up has gone on long enough. The Murrays are fully aware.
Given the above coupled with Leggo’s Blog today then it looks as thougn the brown brogues might be about to hit the fan and the ones most deserving of being splattered rte the SMSM who almost to a man and woman have done their best to look the other way but they can’t escape the stench which will be hung around their neck for ever to mark their cowardice and partiality.
No wonder there has been such a problem providing Annual Reports if there is any truth in what CF and Leggo are claiming.
======================================
In one of the board minutes there was a statement that the original Sevco5088 investors had given a verbal agreement that their investment could be transferred to Sevco Scotland.
Since the RIFC share value has dropped significantly, I wonder if some of those Sevco5088 investors have used the lack of paperwork as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card and have demanded their cash back.
I wonder if one of those original Sevco5088 investors was Craig Whyte . 🙂
On the issue of Leggo’s claims of SFO and PF involvement I wonder if the McColl camp walking away from joining the Rangers Board pre-agm was because they had sniffed the way the wind was blowing ❓
Smugas says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:40 pm
I made the mistake, at a Change meeting in Goodsman Fields of saying we were doing something the RBS way, because we were going with RBS systems and processes, since we took over you, and, if you had been any bloody good, a bank one seventh the size would not have been able to do that.
The silence that followed was of the distinctly frosty sort.
Given the mess that NatWest was in prior to the takeover, I quite understood the permies outrage to see nearly all the senior roles going to the same folk that had, as one permie put it, F–ked NatWest
nawlite says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:54 pm
Away from the RBS topic, isn’t it funny to see the RFC* bloggers/PR guys picking sides?
____________________________________________________
They’re being played like an old violin and no doubt being assured what they are doing is in the “best interests of the club”.
I’m left wondering why the “whistleblower” handed in the dossier to the SFO in London – presumably because AIM is based there but they must have known they had no jurisdiction as the alleged “crime” was committed in Scotland – perhaps they wanted to ensure it was looked at properly.
Drew Peacock says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Both sides are playing PR games, the main effect of which seems to be to confuse and divide the supporters, which may well be the intention.
scapaflow says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Drew Peacock says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Both sides are playing PR games, the main effect of which seems to be to confuse and divide the supporters, which may well be the intention.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Agreed – it is one of the few areas in which they have achieved true world record status!
Joe I recall that on the RTC blog (which I came to much later in the story, already in admin by that point but I read all the old posts), he was mystified at first why anyone would buy Rangers at that point, it was after much digging and investigation that the truth about Craig Whyte came out. I didn’t have any reason to doubt what I was told in the papers. I wouldn’t be so quick to believe them in future, but at the time it seemed reasonable. And probably that was bolstered by a strong feeling of wanting to believe it was true.
So TRFC now has a £50M warchest…? 😯
(Can’t find a ‘tongue in cheek’ emoticon).
Looking at the comments there are 1 or 2 that wouldn’t be out of place on RM. Really sad – are the mods so slow or are they deliberately leaving it to create controversy, i.e. more posts, so more hits for the web site.
I wonder if there could be any connection between unauthorised return of capital and the failure to submit a completed Annual Return specifically wrt to the shareholding of TRFCL always given the 1-for-1 share swap which was supposed to take place between the holdings of TRFCL shareholders being converted into a RIFC Plc shareholding.
Just for the sake of explanation say that all of the TRFCL shares weren’t swapped into RIFC Plc shares could that be termed unauthorised return of capital? And what would happen to the TRFCL shares that weren’t swapped?
RyanGosling says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:11 pm
I can understand wanting it to be true but I think I’d still have been cynical.
Maybe that says more about me than anything else though 😀
Spivco says:
September 20, 2013 at 1:35 pm
———————————————–
Spivco, for me it’s not even as difficult or formal as wanting RFC* fans to “acknowledge that they were the architects of their own distress” or for them to “take responsibility for the dubious dealings down Govan way”
As I said in my response to Ryan, I absolutely agree that they are not guilty or responsible. I’m not trying to hold myself up as some sort of touchstone for moral principles or anything (I was a banker, ffs!) and I know that sometimes saying sorry IS actually the hardest thing to say.
If RFC* fans just felt a bit awkward/embarrassed and said “I know, we were so busy being happy about having all this money and success that we never thought about how the hell we were managing it. Now that we know it wasn’t kosher and got us into a bad place, it’s embarrassing to look back and think why did we believe all that and act so above everyone else?” then I think some people would cut them a bit more slack. (Not about the new club thing, though, cos that’s a legal fact!).
Ryan, you asked what I wanted you to do – that’s sort of it, but that’s only my take on it (and I have no right to ask you to do anything!).
Drew Peacock says:
September 20, 2013 at 2:05 pm
I’m left wondering why the “whistleblower” handed in the dossier to the SFO in London – presumably because AIM is based there but they must have known they had no jurisdiction as the alleged “crime” was committed in Scotland – perhaps they wanted to ensure it was looked at properly.
========================================================================
I wouldn’t be too quick to assume that the alleged crime happened in Scotland. In what I understand to be unauthorised retun of capital in general terms then it is much more likely – speaking hypothetically – that this took place in London.
That would seem to me to the place where the evidence, if any, would exist. There has also been rumbling for a little while that the SFO were involved and the finger was pointed at the flotation. I personally didn’t have a scrap of evidence to substantiate the rumbling but the person alluding this IMO was a poster to listen to. And so it has come to pass although none of us know, as yet, the truth of the matter.
That reads like a (rather pseudo-intellectual) Celtic Fan’s blog site, just based abroad – nothing wrong with that but it hardly counts for either a neutral or ‘wider world’ opinion.
Let the TDs rain down I’m well down the burrow.