The scandal in which Scottish football has become embroiled is neither equivocal nor complicated. It happened. It is easily seen to have happened. It is certainly not a degree course in nuclear physics. Why then, are simple facts ignored day after day, week after week, by not just the so called purveyors of truth in the media, but the body of the SFA itself, the clubs?
Five years or so ago, systematic cheating by a club involved in Scottish football was uncovered as a consequence of the club slipping into liquidation. This is easily established as fact.
It soon became clear that the authorities had been aware of the situation for as long as it had been going on, but instead of applying their own rules, which would have saved that club from it’s ultimate demise, they chose to enable it and cover it up. Also, backed up by documentary evidence.
As a consequence of the slide towards liquidation, the authorities went into cover-up overdrive to protect their own position. Inquiries based on rhetorical “you’ll have had your tea!” questions were set up to arrive at predetermined conclusions. The post-truth era in Scottish football had begun in earnest.
The claims of corruption which subsequently emerged were dismissed out of hand by the authorities and the press; first by accusations that it was only Paranoid Celtic fans looking to put the boot into Rangers who were behind the claims, then, when it became clear that it was not only Celtic fans who were angered by the way the integrity of the sport had been shattered, the “mad Celtic fans” epithet was amended to “mad online conspiracy theorists”.
The tactic was clear. NEVER address the issue. Attack the messengers. Ridicule them, mock them, demonise them. Despite that, the message of SFM and others was gaining traction and dangerously for the authorities, becoming difficult to ignore.
Last Autumn SFM was approached in confidence by senior figures in two print media outlets. The request was for us to provide them with the facts we had in bullet points – to make it easier for them to reach their audience, an audience they claimed was not sophisticated enough to absorb the detail and minutiae of the story.
The role of journalists is to do exactly that of course. They had access to the same documentary evidence we had (we know this because we gave it to them), but they wanted us to do their job for them? Leaving aside the scant regard I have for football journalists in this country, I don’t believe they are incapable of carrying out that simple task – but we humoured them anyway and provided them with the “SFA Corruption for Dummies” guide that they asked for.
But what were they really up to?
Remembering the RTC thread where he pointed out that genuine whistle-blowers in this saga were reluctant to come forward because of trust issues – they feared any contact with the MSM would result in their details being provided to those they were exposing – we proceeded with some caution. Amusingly, the same three questions was asked at each meeting; “You must know who Rangers Tax Case is?”, “any idea who John James is?” and, “what team do you support?”. (FYI, my answers were, “No”, “No”, and “Celtic” respectively).
Interestingly, for people who needed clarification by bullet-point, they were well enough versed in the minutiae to attempt to argue the flat-earth case and try to sell us the “it has been established legally that <insert something that hasn’t been established legally here>”
Our only conjecture was that they were trying to convince us we were wrong, or ascertain how firm a grasp we actually had on the facts to better see who and what they were dealing with, or (most probably) they were reacting aimlessly to online pressure and not really following any plan at all. Perhaps they were seeking to reassure themselves that it was just Celtic fans who were angry – although I fail to see how Celtic or their fans have less credibility when asking legitimate questions about the running of the game just because Rangers were involved.
Subsequently, despite the platitudes of “print and social media should work together” and the like, and despite being furnished with the aforementioned bullet points, no further contact was made with SFM other than a couple of childish comments about SFM on Twitter.
Facts might be facts to us all, but in the case of the print media, they can be ignored on the basis that mad internet bampots are not a credible source, although metaphysical hypotheses are clearly thought to be a far more sensible line of inquiry!
However, facts ARE indeed facts, and in the hands of real journalists like Alec Thomson and those in The Offshore Game (TOG), they are given the credence they merit. Since TOG published the report on the SFA (see below), the facts have emerged from not just the so-called internet bampots. Those facts have survived the scrutiny of several reputable journalists involved in TOG – and their legal advisers.
Accusations more blunt and unequivocal than we have ever made have been published. The genie is most definitely out of the bottle, but the prodigious MSM Twitterati, so meticulous in their investigations into the occupation of Craig Whyte’s female companions, appear to have run out of batteries on their keyboards. “No answer” is the loud reply, since TOG cannot be ridiculed quite so easily without exposing themselves to the same scrutiny they have failed to apply to the SFA.
If I can be as unequivocal about this as possible. Senior journalists in at least two MSM print outlets KNOW there has been a cover up, and that systematic cheating took place. They knew that before the TOG report, long before it, but still they did nothing. Even now they do nothing. They are now playing a reactionary role – as counterpoint to the accessible online truth – involved in actively concealing that truth from the offline public. An Offline Game if you like.
Of course we are not surprised by that, and as the falling-off-a-cliff circulation figures show, fewer and fewer people are playing their game. Even those who still purchase newspapers believe little of what they read.
The clubs are a different matter. Fans of every single club in this country – and that includes TRFC – will benefit from an inquiry into the handling of this matter. In the light of the TOG report, there is no excuse for the clubs to ignore calls for an inquiry to be set up. In fact by doing so, they are actively embracing corruption.
As we have said time and time again, this is no longer about Rangers. It is about institutionalised mal-governance at Hampden. By assisting the cover-up, the clubs are ensuring that the same corrupt practices are in place, ready to go again when necessary. Those practices which saw journalists and SFA officials cede editorial control (both statements backed up by documentary evidence) of their output to one club, and allow damaging conflicts of interest to circumvent rules.
The Offshore Game has thrown a media spotlight onto a cover-up. The MSM have attempted to bury it in the offline domain, but corruption, however well established,is not unbeatable. We can beat it if we work together – and here is how.
Season ticket renewals are dropping through letterboxes as I write this. If we do nothing other than protest, the clubs will do – just like Stewart Regan says he will – NOTHING!
There is only one way to establish the Independent Inquiry that is demanded in the wake of TOG report. Ask your club if they will vote for an Independent Inquiry to be set up.
If they agree, there is no problem. They are doing the right thing and will be deserving of our support.
Otherwise, send their renewal forms back to them unsigned.
It really is that simple.
http://www.theoffshoregame.net/475-2/
Reiver June 3, 2016 at 11:27
Looking at the pictures supplied through James Doleman’s tweets it would appear, by their presence, that the police have learned lessons from the SC final.
=============================
The pics also show how Glasgow centric the SMSM is. There has been no media presence outside Edinburgh High Court for any of the hearings after the opening one. I can see Grant Russell in one of the pics, but to be fair to him, he has attended a few of the hearings.
One more and then I’ll stop. The highlighted part becomes laughable when it relates to the SFA
From the Key Players section-
“LICENSORS UEFA member associations act as licensors* and determine whether or not a licence can be granted to a club. This entails establishing an appropriate licensing administration and at least two decision-making bodies. Each association must integrate the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations into a set of national club licensing regulations as well as drafting procedural rules, setting up a catalogue of sanctions and defining the club licensing core process. In assessing the documentation submitted by the clubs, they must ensure equal treatment of all clubs applying for a licence and guarantee full confidentiality.”
It is however, surely some kind of world record to fail in all six of the individual elements stated!
Corrupt officialJune 3, 2016 at 11:31
Mystery “billionaire” buyer of Carlyle.
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/-Carlisle-Uniteds-mystery-billionaire-investor-saga-reaches-300th-day–947cbd42-ddda-4307-938e-2b47586a9e82-ds
==================
This caught my eye from the article-
Clearly the Carlisle News and Star employs journalists with functioning radar.
That one sentence highlights the truly shameful performance of the Daily Record, a much bigger newspaper, over Craig Whyte’s ascent of the Ibrox marble staircase. The same clown with the wonky radar is still at it 5 years later, having won Sports Journalist of the Year about 3 times since. His latest “scoop” being his laughable (if it wasn’t so seriously rabble rousing) cup final special- “all 11 Rangers players injured”. He could surely survive as a journalist in one only country in the world- poor wee Scotland.
More from TOG
http://www.theoffshoregame.net/enter-uefa/
NEEPHEIDJUNE 3, 2016 at 12:37
“poor wee Scotland”.
==============================
I am fast running out of love and sympathy for the best wee country in the world.
It’s a country where you can stiff HMRC, of untold millions, rip off the banks for hundreds of millions, Litter the country with contaminated land and abandoned rusting hulks of dereliction, and then get planning permission to build a housing scheme on some nice, new clean arable land. “Just call the 6,000 houses a “garden”, and we will rubber stamp it”…All paid for with Craigy’s pound. That will be some garden with circa 24,000 people tramping over the lawns!
A sensible country would have said, “Clean up your mess and build on that, or beat it!….And don’t come back!!”
STV News @STVNews · 2h2 hours ago
Craig Whyte to face trial alone in Rangers fraud case as four accused have charges dropped http://bit.ly/1TSDt75
The STV article contains a statement on behalf of Whitehouse and Clark.
More fall-out from the Court.
James Doleman @jamesdoleman · 1h1 hour ago
Didn’t think I could mention it but is on the BBC now.
Craig Whyte’s senior counsel told court today he was withdrawing from the case.
No reason was given, junior counsel took over.
Sounds like a real fall-out. I wonder if there is a connection between today’s decision and the CoS proceedings earlier this week.
I think you’ll find that this sensible wee country did say that but for reasons not immediately apparent seem prepared to completely overlook said requirements being carried out by certain individuals – which is particularly shameful when those individuals have been separately involved in land dereliction, debt dumping and tax evasion, to name but three.
A little more info from the Beeb
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36445747#
FIFA lawyers have just revealed a bit more about the enrichment of their executives.
http://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2016/m=6/news=attorneys-for-fifa-provide-update-on-internal-investigation-and-detail-2799851.html?intcmp=fifacom_hp_module_news
Seems a bit like “death by a thousand cuts” in Zurich.
Here’s a breakdown of payments
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkBzUkvWEAAwdKB.jpg
AJ @1328
The letter that TOG received from Holyrood is the exact same form reply that I received after my enquiry two months ago. I followed it up at the beginning of the week by phoning the person whose signature was on the letter and was told that,as far as he knew, there was no change in the government’s position. He had heard of the TOG report but not through official channels and recommended that I contacted my MSP. I have, and John Lamont now has all the information and says he will act upon it.
Hmmm…
Interesting snippet from today’s Evening Shark-Jump, [(c) The Clumpany, 2015]
‘Bomber’ Brown being wheeled out by Level42 to soften up the bears…?
=======================================
“…
Brown said: “I think Warburton’s [sic] come up here and fallen in love with the club.
…
“Rangers will try to keep a hold of him but if he eventually looks to move on, you wouldn’t have any complaints.”
And when Warburton does move on, Brown believes the club would have a perfect replacement in David Weir.
Over 30,000 season tickets have been bought by supporters before today’s deadline and by some distance the former captain and current No2 is the most popular figure at the club among the fan-base.
Brown said: “I think David is a natural successor?”…”
=======================================
You would think that all the talk down Govan way just now would / should be focused on acquiring new players to make a serious challenge for the SPL title next season ?!
…but certainly not about the current, successful manager’s potential replacement…
This was a retweet from John James in September 2015.
If Whyte can implicate SDM, watch how the establishment will quash this investigation to protect a peer of the realm https://t.co/9IL5S8dCVR
Just watched the 81 seconds clip of Regan re: Res.12 advert etc.
I watched it muted, to observe his body language.
Regan looked tense, [IMO], lots of blinking, a bit of shifting about in his seat…but unfortunately the eagerly awaited ‘scratching of the nose’ didn’t happen: must have had his hands clasped together, just in case.
And he seems to have lost a fair bit of hair on his napper since his appointment !
At least the adverts have pushed the SFA to make some sort of public response – even if the Scottish football fans are not at all convinced with the SFA’s version of the ‘truth’.
Well done again to the Requisitioners: they’ve proved to the the SMSM that they’re not just your average Internet Bampots !
StevieBCJune 3, 2016 at 17:30
“Just watched the 81 seconds clip of Regan re: Res.12 advert etc.I watched it muted, to observe his body language.”
———————————
Good tip. I hadn’t seen the footage so I watched it fresh just there with the sound muted as you did. I thought a still photo from his presser betrayed a man under pressure so felt your body language test held potency.
On first viewing I thought I saw a ‘waiver’ in his demeanour at around 35s. Each time I replayed the flicker was less obvious so it must be an instantaneous perception that does not stand up to examination.
Having ruined the experiment I played the audio at between 33 and 40s. He was saying ‘that license’ where he hesitated briefly before immediately restating the same phrase. I think the whole line was something like ‘I don’t see a problem with that license’. Judging by his subtle body language, I think he does see a problem with that license. He also swallowed heavily before beginning his deposition.
I’ve done a wee bit of public speaking and can appreciate that important statements such as this might be practised multiple times, in front of mirrors, taping the audio and recording video, to ensure a good performance. Despite the possible thoroughness of preparation he still may have exhibited a ‘tell’. It may indicate that he has a conscience and may at some point be susceptible to forgiveness.
The last time I saw a man perform like that in front of the cameras, his name was Richard Nixon . Wonder what happened to him .
Interesting blog on the demise of SMSM and its impact
http://sceptical.scot/2016/06/the-decline-of-scottish-media-and-political-scrutiny/
CastofthousandsJune 3, 2016 at 19:59
——————————— Good tip. I hadn’t seen the footage so I watched it fresh just there with the sound muted as you did. I thought a still photo from his presser betrayed a man under pressure so felt your body language test held potency.
On first viewing I thought I saw a ‘waiver’ in his demeanour at around 35s. Each time I replayed the flicker was less obvious so it must be an instantaneous perception that does not stand up to examination.
Having ruined the experiment I played the audio at between 33 and 40s. He was saying ‘that license’ where he hesitated briefly before immediately restating the same phrase. I think the whole line was something like ‘I don’t see a problem with that license’. Judging by his subtle body language, I think he does see a problem with that license. He also swallowed heavily before beginning his deposition.
============================
If he was comforable at all he should have refered to it as “the licence” not “that licence” because by saying that he is trying to distance himself.
Player
I am reduced to this wee tablet because I spiled tea all over my laptop keyboard lazt night.
I was in the High Court Glasgow for 10.00 a.m,my 7.45 bus not getting in until 9.45 because of an overturned lorry at coatbridge.
So I missed the first 30 minutes,and only because I spoke to James Doleman did I hear about Whyte’s Senior Counsel withdrawing.
As for the subsequent proceedings, they were mildly entertaining.And aimed at getting folk to the point where a date of trial might be arranged. later in ythe year.
I left the court at about 11.15, and passed through a number of cameras and people before ever CW exited, so I didn’t see or hear the guy who shouted at Whyte.
I’m needing a bit of help here guys.
On page 33 of the UEFA report I mentioned earlier there is a chart showing details on licenses for 2015/16. In that chart the Scotland column shows about 5% have been refused after appeal, I would guess that relates to a single club. Which club was that? My memory fails me when I try to work it out.
Does anybody know?
A couple of things that may be a fall back defence for the SFA on this page from the report.
The licensing period finishes in June but no indication of when in June so perhaps Mr Regan is thinking that it is OK for the SFA to wash its hands of the issue before the UEFA June 30th deadline. Of course that graph indicates that the licensing period finishes when the seasons starts but I cannot recall ANY games being played as early as June.
The other point is in the tiny print at the bottom. The SFA use a calendar year not a seasonal year. Whether that opens up any cop outs I don’t know.
The fact that these points have been printed by UEFA without being picked up on suggests that they do not have a problem with that approach. It kinda stresses what I said earlier that we need to make sure that licensing isn’t seen as the issue and that we emphasise LNS, Fit and Proper, and SFA article 10.2.J as equal concerns to licensing.
Cracking piece this from 2013 posted by Terry O’Neil.
A Story about Craig Whyte, Rangers, Charlotte, and the Last 2 Years – Guest Post by Goldstein
I don’t have any quotes, or smoking guns, or links to official documents, tape recordings, or any credentials whatsoever. All I have is a story, a story that you will hopefully agree has a ring to it. In a way, everything that has happened over the last 24 months is evidence. You are all familiar with the facts, so hopefully my story will help you process them.
Let me start by suggesting this story makes much more sense if you look at it from the perspective of Craig Whyte, before, during, and after RFC went into administration. Very little of that which follows is in the least bit controversial. Most of the key events and facts are already known and in the public domain. How those facts and events are explained here in my story might be a surprise to some but I think deep down inside everyone who reads it will appreciate its simplicity and wonder how they didn’t see through all this before.
1) Craig Whyte took over at Rangers with the intention of doing what he does best; taking the business into administration, keeping the assets under his control, ridding the company of debt and potential liabilities. The BBC documentary exposed Whyte as an expert with a lot of history in doing this; the word switcheroo entered common parlance.
2) As planned, Rangers went into administration in Feb 2012. Craig Whyte got to choose the administrators; D&P were people he had had intimate dealings with in the past, indeed key personnel at D&P had helped him buy RFC in the first place and secure Ticketus loans.
3) The assumption at this stage was that RFC would come out of administration, one way or another, debt free. But there was a problem. Craig Whyte was demonised in the newspapers, it wasn’t going to be easy treating this like any other switcheroo, not with all the attention on this, everyone watching the magician’s hands, he had to deviate from the usual switcheroo blueprint.
4) Charles Green was brought in ostensibly as a leader of a consortium that had no connections with Craig Whyte whatsoever. His real role, however, was to secretly represent Craig Whyte, hide the switcheroo, with Whyte in the background until his reputation was recovered. On paper this was a good plan; the chosen one (Green) would do what needed to be done, D&P knew the script, they’d come out the other side just in time for the new season. But problems appeared again, and time was ticking away. RFC was also perilously close to running out of cash.
5) The big problem with Green was that he was obviously just a front man. Even John brown worked that out. Rangers’ fans generally in the beginning assumed he was representing Whyte – he was. This isn’t even disputed now by Green. So how do we fix that problem, from Whyte’s perspective, with time ticking away and money running out?
6) Easy: put on a Punch and Judy type fight with Green & Whyte. Project the idea that Craig Whyte isn’t happy, he is at war with Charles Green who has popped up from nowhere and stolen the assets. If you believe they are genuinely fighting each other over the ownership of Sevco and the assets, by implication you believe that Whyte has no involvement in the New Co and that they are not in cahoots. That means the fans can trust Green and buy season tickets. They believed it. It worked. They bought season tickets.
7) The plan solved a few other problems. It gave the clear impression that Whyte wasn’t involved and that was important in the eyes of the SFA. There was a general sense that it would be best in a lot of respects if Whyte wasn’t involved (HMRC, the Law, The Media).
8) Charlotte Fakes was invented for the specific purpose of giving people the impression that Green and Whyte were at odds with one another, that Whyte had been robbed and had no role in the new co. It’s pure theatre. Everybody who matters knows this – it’s the big secret at the heart of the debate. That’s why nobody will publish a thing Charlotte comes up with. It’s also why people like Alex Thomson have disappeared.
9) Key to this whole story is the issue of Whyte’s security on Ibrox; it was water-tight, designed and expected to survive any liquidation event. It would have been impossible for Green to do what he appeared to be doing without Whyte’s consent and cooperation whilst that security was in place. He didn’t need to. The real story is that he has been working with and for Whyte all along.
10) The ultimate goal for Whyte was to cleanse the company of debt and float it on the stock-market. That’s what they succeeded in doing. Even if he walked away now he would be walking away several millions pounds better off. He’s there in the background now with a pile of shares – he can’t and won’t lose. The whole Sevco 5088 court case story is a smoke screen and nothing will come of it.
Whyte and his gang basically drove up and took over a company that had around £40 to 50 million of assets for nothing. The problem was the company also had liabilities and debts of up to £150 million. Whyte had done this before, liquidate and come out the other side with the good stuff, leaving the bad stuff behind. In essence this was the simple plan.
With liquidation he had to make sure his front man bought the assets, at a huge discount, it has to be said – that’s where the profit lies, in selling £50 million of assets to yourself for a fraction of their true value. D&P were key, of course. Politics and public or fan opinion got in the way. This wasn’t some unheard of textiles company in Wolverhampton – attention and interest levels were sky high. So he had to add a few illusions to the usual switcheroo formula.
After liquidation the plan would always have been to sell the newly constituted company on the stock market. That process in essence is how you turn the assets into cash. Once they sell the shares they are away with it, and it looks like they probably have sold most of the shares already.
If you process everything through the filter set out above, hopefully things might make more sense. Any time you find it hard to explain any aspect of the process, just come back to this simple story and look at things from the perspective of Craig Whyte. Most people so far have contested the story on the basis of things Charlotte Fakes has released. What they, we, and everybody need to bear in mind is that this was the very purpose of Charlotte Fakes – to hide the true nature of the process and give the impression that Whyte and Green could not possibly be acting together. It has been very effective for them; we all got caught up in the drama of it, gloating over the latest revelations, etc. We all fell for it. It was very clever.
hen1rikJune 4, 2016 at 11:12
“What they, we, and everybody need to bear in mind is that this was the very purpose of Charlotte Fakes – to hide the true nature of the process and give the impression that Whyte and Green could not possibly be acting together”
——————————
The provenance of the CharlotteFakes material has been in dispute from the moment it appeared. I personally was minded to take it at face value but others immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was a Whyte inspired project. To this extent any disinformation plan was not universally successful.
Where CharlotteFakes was a winner is that it provided illicit material; stuff we weren’t supposed to see. Of course anything illicit is bound to capture the imagination and it certainly did. Even the sceptics were prepared to some extent to debate the content and I think in the long run this was no bad thing.
Where the Terry O’Neill post possibly becomes threadbare is in its assertion that ChrlotteFakes was intended to portray a genuine rift between Whyte and Green. Whilst this may have been the intention, that’s certainly not where the TSFM debate was minded to flow. My recollection is that the exact opposite occurred. There appeared to be collusion. The audio material in particular was interesting. You could have stage managed the audio, all umpteen hours of it, to a pre-determined script. However this never struck me as being a plausible. Not impossible but highly unlikely in my admittedly at times naive opinion. For me, in retrospect, the audio was all about the one meeting that we didn’t get on tape. That meeting in the Hotel Du Vin (One Devonshire Gardens as was). If CharlotteFakes was a set up then for me the motive was to first capture an audience, then show the wares and subsequently leave certain parties concerned about the wares that were not placed on display.
I’m not sure why everyone in the press ran away from CharlotteFakes. Certainly one poster, attending the Rolls Court in London was given the distinct impression that Whyte was indeed the source of this information. Why Alec Thomson shied away from it would be the answer I’d be most interested to hear as he’s the only member of the press pack (with few exceptions) who actually merits NUJ membership.
Speirs in to-day’s Times – headline “SFA’s response to taxing issue is baffling”
he opens up by admitting he “likes” Stewart Regan & “admires” Darryl Broadfoot but writes “the association looks vulnerable in the face of recent claims made about it by The Tax Justice Network” . He finishes the article with “The problem is , thousands of Scottish football fans have read the TJN report & believe it raises questions that need answered . In terms of the SFA’s “no comment” response , it seems to me that horse has bolted . What is so difficult about a carefully-crafted SFA rebuttal of the TJN’s claims ?”
I think we could all hazard a guess as to why we have not had that rebuttal .
As an aside , I have not seen any quotes from the SFA President , Mr McCrae on the Cup Final stushie or any engagement from him with Holyrood re its stance on the matter . What does he do for his salary ? Did JC ever get a reply from him to his (JC’s) follow-up letter from their meeting – I presume not as I cannot recall mention of it .
Timothy Leary @sharko67 Probably nowt. Why did Sevco 5088 issue £20m worth of loan notes to Law financial on March 29th? Asking for a friend https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08011390/filing-
JEAN7BRODIEJUNE 4, 2016 at 18:54
Timothy Leary @sharko67 Probably nowt. Why did Sevco 5088 issue £20m worth of loan notes to Law financial on March 29th? Asking for a friend https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08011390/filing-
_________
Looks to me like a squirrel, but not one aimed at us bampots, something to cause bums to squeak in the build up to further court hearings, perhaps. Or maybe it is something to do with getting money out of a business that might end up in the hands of, say, Law Financial should a court case go their way and certain Glasgow based assets end up in their rather empty portfolio!
£20m, that’s a figure that seems to crop up sometimes when things RFC and/or Sevco are discussed!
AllyjamboJune 4, 2016 at 19:25
___________________________________
Thanks AJ. I posted it because there were follow up tweets which were interesting. I am lost in all the heavy stuff tbh.
BDO United kingdom
The Joint Liquidators’ statutory reports to all known creditors will be published on this site within six weeks of each six-month anniversary of the date of Liquidation.
Last report was Report to Creditors 2 September 2015
Even allowing for the 6 week allocation the report from BDO to the creditors is overdue.
Is it overdue because of something to do with the BDO And HMRC case?
can’t BDO not send reports to the creditors as they don’t have a date yet for the leave of appeal.What is the time scale on such matters?
CLUSTER ONE
BDO: possibly they’re stuck until the sevco5088 case is resolved? pity we have no one to tell us what happened in the Royal Courts of Justice the other day!
(i hate using this tablet – I feel as though I had been struck dumb and can’t communicate
JOHN CLARKJUNE 4, 2016 at 22:24
thanks for reply
Ali was a legend, now a God, Still the Greatest!
Sorry to interupt the flow here (and also sorry to every Partick Thistle fan). Just got a taxi back home after a night out in Aberdeen. The taxi driver had a west of scotland accent so I ventured Motherwell, but he said no, it was Partick Thistle.
We had a great laugh talking about the famous League Cup win v Celtic and he even remebered many Thistle games v the Dons. So all good so far.
The Scottish Cup final was mentioned, good laugh all round. Then I said are you looking forward to playing new Rangers for the first time.
Wow.
He said not new club, its the same Rangers. I asked why he thought that. The answer was Hearts, Dunfermline, Dundee all did the same thing. I gave him a couple of minutes of the truth, and he listened but never ever thought that old Rangers went bust and never ever considered the new incarnation to be anything but the old one.
He was so aggressively adament that they were the same club that I resorted to the old ‘ what are you scared of’ routine.
This guy claimed to have been in Aberdeen for 40 years (gulp), he claimed to be a Thistle fan of the Dennis McQuade vintage but still would not ever admit to the liquidation of old Rangers.
He was a good guy and a good laugh on the way home but his unwillingness to talk about the last few years and his absolute denial of old Rangers going bust left me thinking that this is a long road we are on.
Partick Thistle fans who read this please tell me you are not all the same as my taxi driver. If you agree with him, then the games a bogey.
NAEGREETINJUNE 4, 2016 at 17:14
Speirs in to-day’s Times – headline “SFA’s response to taxing issue is baffling”
===========================
Spiers has taken his wagon out of the circle surrounding the SFA but his fellow hacks have all simply stretched a little and filled the space he left. If the media were to take a wider stance on this matter they would be publicly asking if the SFA knowingly advantaged Rangers when they shouldn’t have. They simply can’t go there, because it leaves every single aspect of SFA governance towards Rangers open to question. The media portray everything as a Celtic/Rangers matter and they are simply not ever going to entertain any notion the SFA may have favoured Rangers. We know it’s far wider than just Celtic/Rangers and affects all clubs, but it just aint gonna happen! The media don’t sh*t in their own nest.
AOBJUNE 5, 2016 at 02:03
Sorry to interupt the flow here (and also sorry to every Partick Thistle fan). Just got a taxi back home after a night out in Aberdeen. The taxi driver had a west of scotland accent so I ventured Motherwell, but he said no, it was Partick Thistle.We had a great laugh talking about the famous League Cup win v Celtic and he even remebered many Thistle games v the Dons. So all good so far.The Scottish Cup final was mentioned, good laugh all round. Then I said are you looking forward to playing new Rangers for the first time.Wow.He said not new club, its the same Rangers. I asked why he thought that. The answer was Hearts, Dunfermline, Dundee all did the same thing. I gave him a couple of minutes of the truth, and he listened but never ever thought that old Rangers went bust and never ever considered the new incarnation to be anything but the old one.He was so aggressively adament that they were the same club that I resorted to the old ‘ what are you scared of’ routine.This guy claimed to have been in Aberdeen for 40 years (gulp), he claimed to be a Thistle fan of the Dennis McQuade vintage but still would not ever admit to the liquidation of old Rangers.He was a good guy and a good laugh on the way home but his unwillingness to talk about the last few years and his absolute denial of old Rangers going bust left me thinking that this is a long road we are on.Partick Thistle fans who read this please tell me you are not all the same as my taxi driver. If you agree with him, then the games a bogey.
_____________
Did you ask him what newspaper he reads every day, and does he have access to the internet?
Clearly, though, his mind is made up on the subject and is closed to any sort of fresh analysis of what happened. A Partick Thistle supporter, maybe, but I’d venture one with an extended family, back home in Glasgow, made up of mainly bears. He’s probably argued his ‘case’ many a time in his taxi and discovered that dumb acceptance of the SMSM narative is the best defence against reasoned argument.
Proof of his ‘dumb acceptance’ is that he sees the RFC demise as exactly the same as the Hearts, Dunfermline etc. administrations. Even for someone who can ‘believe’ that Rangers ‘exited administration’ it is ridiculous to see it in the same light as clubs that actually achieved a CVA.
Last night you encountered proof that propoganda works, all it requires is unquestioning minds!
Was there any indication that he viewed it solely as a ‘Rangers/Celtic thing’? By creating that deflection tool, the SMSM have effectively shut off the minds of many supporters of the non-OF clubs, sickened by a life-time of everything that brand stood for.
I have had a couple of posters on John James site asking for the email address of UEFA’s Integrity department so thought it might be worth posting it here as well.
Integrity@uefa.ch and mark it for the attention of Graham Peaker. I can’t guarantee the spelling of that and have a history of getting names wrong but when I email using that name I know it reaches him.
It may be that there are few out there who are reluctant to telephone UEFA in case they get through to someone that doesn’t speak english. Don’t worry, when you dial the number +41 (0) 848 00 2727(0041 848 00 2727 from UK landline) you are requested to choose the language you wish to use. Press 2 on your keypad for english and you will be put through to an operator who speaks your language. If you want to complain about the 2011 licensing ask for Giancarlo Dapoto in the licensing department or, for the more general issues like LNS and SFA’s handling of the affair, ask for Graham Peaker in the Integrity department. Both speak english so don’t worry.
O/T In to-day’s Sunday Times (Business Section)
On the demise of BHS – “Chappell (MD of BHS) has also claimed that Green drafted in Duff & Phelps against the wishes of Retail Acquisitions’ directors (owners of BHS) . They’re his pet bloody administrators said Chappell . He’s (Green) controlling the whole thing” . “He told us (RA) to appoint them ”
Remember Sir Craigy wetting his pants (the only time he was spotted ruffled) when HMRC threatened to appoint their chosen administrator of RFC – he won the day & D&P were duly appointed . Seems D&P are the administrators of choice for those who play fast & loose in the business world .
A recent suggestion in a comment on JJ’S site was that the aim of Res12 was to challenge/end the same club narrative. As ever, context gets lost in time so a repeat of that context will help ensure that the aim of Res12 does not get buried by media attempts to portray it as something different from what it was.
” Nope. The same club narrative was never the issue it has become when the Resolution was being drafted.
The aim was to let the SFA who were perceived as the governors of Scottish Football know that they could not take questionable decisions and be unaccountable to answer them to the everyday supporter who had a legitimate right (via shareholding) to seek answers.
Also at the time much of the material that has enlightened the public since simply was not available in any meaningful form. So the idea that Res12 had any other objective than SFA accountability during its genesis is false.
All that was clear during that genesis was that tax collection via a means only used when tax was overdue took place between a CL qualifying round and an EL qualifying round.
Had the SFA been a bit more expansive in responses to CFC late in 2011 and addressed that issue there would have been no need to pursue the matter any further.
They have prevaricated since and created consequences unforeseeable in mid 2013.”
.
A full investigation from granting to retaining the UEFA licence might reveal that whilst the technical breach on which Res12 is based has legs, that the SFA were less than diligent in pursuit of the principles that UEFA FFP is based on during the time Feb to September 2011.
That might explain the resistance since 2013 by football and media.
REPLY
Auldheid
Res12 has allowed the discussion that the SFA and MSM have gingerly engaged in to be about the 2011 Licensing issue. It leaves the March 31 deadline information as open to question but is clear in that it believes the June 30th and September 30th info as being false. UEFA have implied to me that they won’t act as the March 30th date is past the statute of limitations. We now have just over three weeks until the June statute of limitations slips past also. Are there any plans to move the focus away from the licensing issues and on to the LNS questions and the SFA’s approval for King and Murray to be on the Ibrox board so that we have a continuity of argument if we get no action before September?
I just feel that, having allowed the media and SFA to pick up only on the licensing, we risk being filibustered through the summer and the September date will also be time belled. If we then pick up on the other issues we risk being accused of serially prolonging a grudge.
The issue afterall isn’t about how the SFA handled the UEFA licenses but how they have not been even handed on a number of issues and would even appear to have warped their own Articles of Association to achieve outcome that favours one club over all the rest.
Also, to state that Res 12 is not about the OC/NC debate is only true if you mean that it does not insist on taking sides on this debate. It does though rely on consistency of the rules with regard to the club and the SFA picking and choosing which form the club takes depending on which issues need to be overcome.
I really think that, with the amount of time that this has being going, it is important that all parties on our side of the action need to be singing from the same hymn sheet if we have any chance of being successful.
Reiver
Res12 is only about the Licence issue and had some locus because it affected Celtic shareholders with an AGM process on which to carry a campaign.
As regards breaking the rules on licensing in terms of granting the date to question is not 31st March but 6th May when CW took over. What due diligence did the SFA take at that point when even the RFC diligence panel were skeptical? What value RFC accounts once their credit line had gone?
I wouldn’t worry about deadlines if fraudulent statements were made or it can be clearly demonstrated that SFA prevaricated from August 2014 to delay an investigation – and it can.
LNS is a Scottish football issue affecting all clubs and you know from your own experience how hard it is to get movement across the board.
What the TOG report has done is to show up LNS as the sham that it was and the purpose in highlighting on SFM from 2014 that it was a sham was to undermine that Commission as justification for not revisiting the issue if the ebts in the big tax case are finally deemed illegal.
If the final decision goes against HMRC then we have to accept SDM found a clever way eventually to pay players legally that other clubs were not smart enough to cotton on to.
That still leaves the issue of the irregular ebts and the non disclosure of documents to the SPL lawyers describing the true nature of the DOS ebts by Duff and Phelps. It is a question of the appetite for action in those circumstances of btc ebts being legal.
However should HMRC prevail it’s a whole new ball game iro LNS and when the full scenario emerges of SFA involvement and then both their and the SPFLs unwillingness to act on information provided in 2014 by SFM. Both organisations will find their position on LNS untenable if btc ebts finally deemed illegal.
Celtic have always been surprised at the LNS Decision and are waiting for a final decision on the btc ebts. They and all the club’s represented on the SPFL Board are well acquainted with the flaws in the LNS Commissioning and how they skewed the legal advice SPL Board members were bound to accept when the Decision was made.
The SPFL and SFA know a win for HMRC means trouble ahead.
Finally in getting the concerns of the Celtic signatories to UEFA Res12 has run its course.
How those concerns are treated puts football governance from club to national association to European association in the court of public opinion.
They could all do with demonstrating they actually value the fair governance that their rules are supposed to provide, but the more aware folk are aware the better and it has to become an issue for all clubs associations and trusts to pick up the baton.
So work to be done by all clubs supporters including those who support The Rangers with the same integrity values of many of us to influence their own associations and trusts.
Without supporters the game might be nothing, but without integrity it’s not even a game.
How difficult is that to understand?
Auldheid,
I wish I lived in your world, in fact I wish we all did. Once the Res 12 arguments are time barred then no one on the “wrong” side will do anything. They are not going to be forced by “bampots”. Only people/bodies with clout or very large numbers of fans will effect change. The latter has always been the outcome that I thought. But now they have had their weapons removed for at least a year, the STs are bought. Even if LNS is shown to be a sham the SFA will just say “It was valid at the time.”. Short of civil unrest they will ride it out. The rumours that Ogilvie is looking to get a post in UEFA is even more of a concern.
I disagree that UEFA is only concerned with the licensing, that is why they have a Integrity department. Anything to do with Res12 will have been forwarded to the Licensing dept as it was with me and nobody there is going to think to send it back for action. We need to have a reason to insist that it is Integrity that deals with it and that is why we need LNS, director approval and inequal punishments included. If you haven’t already read it then look at the Ten Years of Licensing that I gave a link to yesterday. Count how many times the word integrity is used, that tells us where our case lies.
I would respectfully suggest that you stop looking for your club to rush to our assistance even if LNS is turned on its head. They have very effectively delayed you until the S of L is upon us. We are left only being able to use licensing as a link in a chain made up of a raft(excuse me mixing metaphors) of issues.
As I said in the first line, I wish it were different and all we to do is say “Please sir that is not fair) and it would all be sorted but life is not like that. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we are to get anywhere, does Res12 limit you guys to only licensing? If it does then your fight is done and you need to re-form as a different group to continue taking action. Either that or you put forward a new resolution.
Reiver
Good luck.
Reiver
Meant to add. Let’s see what UEFA have to say before deciding if future action is necessary, but if there is then it has to come from a much broader representative base than the meagre resources pushing it so far.
AH
You seem to believe that UEFA intend to say something and I wonder why you think that. Have you been told that they intend to respond? I hope so but I only know what I heard from the horses mouth, and a pretty senior horse at that, and that was “It is too long ago.”. UEFA is bureaucracy and like all bureaucracies employees will not act on anything that is outwith their remit. Res12 will have been sent to the Licensing dept no matter where it was addressed and time barring is the perfect, legitimate excuse for a bureaucrat to sit on his hands especially if acting has a risk of turning the spotlight back on them.
I really do hope that I am wrong and we can come to a proper conclusion on this.
I agree that we need a wider base for fighting this and I have in the past suggested that we may be better joining forces. Perhaps in doing that we can give the impetus for others to step forward. It would, as I have always tried to ensure, have to be club independent.
I’ll play the broken record again, first we must let the majority of fans know that there is a problem. It is not just AOB’s taxi driver that lacks the whole info, the majority of Scottish punters know nothing about the issues. The TOG report has got some coverage in the MSM and I think that may be self preservation kicking in but should TJN move on to other things then our hacks will slip back into their old ways. Hopefully the Sports Integrity Initiative report will clear the lawyers in the next couple of days and be put up online. That will give some reinforcement to the publicity and widen the subject matter but we can’t rest there we need to make sure others become interested and give us more coverage.
The luck that you wished us will not be enough, we need a lot of hard work along with it.
I caught the last five minutes or so of the repeat of Tuesday’s BBC Radio 4’s “File on Four” earlier today.
It was about football sponsorship and the FA’s lack of control over what clubs do by way of due diligence on sponsorship deals, and absence of any check on the fitness and propriety of club directors.
The podcast is still available.
A wee Monday morning thought.
As it looks like everyone in their uncle is not needing to turn up to court I would guess there is a good chance that Whyte will most likely walk as well. He might get a wee slap on the wrist for one of the minor charges but he will be able to handle that.
He will still have his beef with Ticketus but what has that got to do with anything football related. Its just a business transaction/gamble that went wrong.
The Sevco 5088 issues will most likely drift away to nothing.
Therefore while everything stinks to high heaven, what we may end up having, in pure legal terms, is a picture of a famous football club where all transactions were legitimate but were based on a failing business that ended up being worth no more than £1, which was then punted around in a last gasp deal such as many other businesses that have been asset stripped or allowed to get out of control by their owners.
When that same failing business got into deeper Doo-do, the basket of assets of that once famous football club were worth no more than £6.5m, if it is agreed ‘legally’ that the Green deal was above board.
If Duff & Duffer are shown to be in the clear on that one too, then we can safely assume that, in legal terms, everything was above board and no-one was barred from making a offer for the club from Govan.
The fact is we know some people did have a look at the books and they ran a mile. Not even RRM were seriously interested at that time.
So without any influence from internet bampottery, Rangers-Haters, the SMSM, Santa and the Tooth Fairly we now have a football club basking in the historical glories of the old one trying to sign free agent 30 year old injury prone EPL defenders with an average of 13 outings over the last seven seasons, while their manager is telling everyone they are all about developing talent and ‘adding value’ to the club.
Take the fans of all other Scottish clubs out of it. Even assuming T’Rangers had been allowed access to the SPL or Div One, I for one don’t think they would have been in a much better position than they find themselves in today. They still would have lost players on the basis they could not have afforded the wages, the players they would have been left with or asked to bring in would have had to match their budget. McCoist would have still been a disaster as a manager. Domestic and Euro glory would not have been achieved. Financially they would have been existing hand to mouth as they are today.
If the legal issues all go down the plug hole then we will have further proof that it is nobody’d fault other than those who have walked up the Marble Staircase over the years.
SDM failed to lay down solid foundations when he started his revolution. The club that plays out of Govan, despite the footballing authorities and fellow clubs all apparently trying to lend a hand, is now paying the price for that. Pure and simple.
The latest name to enter the TRFC transfer bingo card is Steven Taylor, an injury prone centre half freed by Newcastle. Whether they sign him or not, there seems a fair bit of ‘transfer’ news/rumour for Mr Warburton to catch up on once he returns from holiday! I wonder if he’s been following it all via the DR and the Sun online, just to keep up to speed
I expect, though, that he’s been too busy in front of the mirror practicing his delivery of his delayed congratulations to Hibs on their historic cup win, to worry about what players he’ll have at his disposal next season.
Res12 in spite of SFA wriggling always was about accountability.
It has been a long and costly struggle to get UEFA involved in what under any other national association would have been a slam dunk.
UEFA now have a letter from a very reputable law firm which tells them Celtic will write under separate cover. That lawyers letter asks questions the SFA have said they are happy to deal with through UEFA.
A good bit of time to get it right and legal was spent and that comes at a cost. Whilst bills to date have been met and some pledges can still be drawn on added funding will be required.
So on the basis that accountable governance is something supporters of all clubs desire the following appears on CQN and I hope it will get a favourable reaction.
The Resolution 12 t-shirt links are now available, here is the link:
http://cqnbookstore.co.uk/shop.php?filter=Books
Three sizes, L. XL and XXL.
£20.12 each and selling fast.
Profits to the Res 12 legal fund, which Auldheid has asked CQN to assist with, thus the t-shirts promo.
WOTTPI,
Lest we forget, there was enough ‘noise’ around RFC* in 2013 to raise £20m in a flotation. Had they been gifted the lifeblood of publicity in either Div 1 or premiership I agree the money would have been blown just as quickly, but relatively speaking it would have been put to better effect, not least avoiding getting beaten every weekend. To blow a sum of that magnitude on three divisions which if you read their blurb of the past few days they seem to believe don’t even count anyway is really quite an achievement, absoutely!
Thank God for that AJ, I was beginning to think you all had disappeared !!! One post in twelve hours……Is everyone out queuing for season books ?????? Typical, now you are like buses !!!!!!!!
WOTTPI
Your last point fails to take into account that, had they been in the top two divisions, the income would have been higher by the time the finalised the IPO.That leaves the question, whether those who lined their own nests would have plundered the kitty to such a great extent or would they have seen the opportunity to make more from funding a top team?. As it was, the prospect of facing at least four years in the lower division, where the income matches the status, may well have contributed to a quick exit leaving a rather impoverished club.
Truth be told, I don’t think we can estimate what would have happened had the original five way agreement been implemented.
Thanks for the update Auldheid.
Since we’re paying for it – Euro match schedules and tables .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/european-championship/euro-2016/schedule/group-stage
So, With all the court cases seemingly about to fizzle out, where does that leave the whole debacle at Ibrox? Does anyone remember back around 2012 the idea being mooted was to ensure that the Club was somehow freed from its debt and then returned to the Knight of The Realm. Are we not just an indirect free kick away from this scenario? Too far fetched? mmmmmmmmmmmmm
REIVER
JUNE 6, 2016 at 12:37
I think we can. Bill Millers man Jon Prichett laid it out simply.
Regardless of what happened and how much money was raised there had to be major austerity, a major rethinking of how the club was run and a focus on developing homegrown talent and playing money ball. i.e No more Billy Big Baws.
Additional IPO cash and the meager funds available from playing in the SPL would not have made up for the annual shortfall in the Ibrox accounts
Follow that and my guess is that the club would have still be struggling to compete at home and in Europe against seasoned teams playing at that level.
The only alternative was to carry on regardless and have admin/liquidation 2 in a short period of time.
Exactly, and yet they went for and seem to be continuing headlong towards “the alternative.” By anyone’s level that lies somewhere between high risk (albeit with an SFA safety blanket) and emotional blackmail, predominantly towards their own fans. That’ll work well (up to a certain point as previous share offers have proven) just as long as they keep winning…..
and qualifying for Europe….
and succeeding at qualifier level in Europe……
and have talent to sell to balance the books…..
EDIT* “the alternative” is not to suggest an admin event by the way, just the seemingly in built desire to develop and nurture the circumstances that would normally pre-empt one.
Resi12ance t-shirt in the bag .
I read about the lines for buying ST’s at Parkhead.
Don’t know how reliable this Twitter account is, but it’s quoting 50K+ ST’s expected to be sold.
https://twitter.com/OptaCeltic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
If that is correct, then the gamble to push the boat out for a decent manager has already paid off for CFC ?
But will PL interpret this increased interest as validation that the game is ‘moving on’ – and further rocking of the boat in Scottish football is not necessary – well, from his perspective anyway ?
And PL’s financial/management reporting should keep Desmond satisfied / detached ?
StevieBC
June 6, 2016 at 20:24
I read about the lines for buying ST’s at Parkhead. Don’t know how reliable this Twitter account is, but it’s quoting 50K+ ST’s expected to be sold.https://twitter.com/OptaCeltic?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
If that is correct, then the gamble to push the boat out for a decent manager has already paid off for CFC ?
But will PL interpret this increased interest as validation that the game is ‘moving on’ – and further rocking of the boat in Scottish football is not necessary – well, from his perspective anyway ?
And PL’s financial/management reporting should keep Desmond satisfied / detached ?
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If that is correct then, taken with the numbers being quoted regarding the new team in the SPFL, then we are firmly back to where we came from. same old, same old. DD will be delighted and I’m not sure if I rate him any higher than SDM!!! Panama Papers an a that? PL will get a performance bonus I reckon. I’m oot! They are taking the p88s.
BORDERSDONJUNE 6, 2016 at 20:58
“If that is correct then, taken with the numbers being quoted regarding the new team in the SPFL, then we are firmly back to where we came from. same old, same old. DD will be delighted and I’m not sure if I rate him any higher than SDM!!! Panama Papers an a that? PL will get a performance bonus I reckon. I’m oot! They are taking the p88s”
===========================================================
BORDERSDON, I think Celtic supporters are genuinely enthused by the new manager , and refreshed Eoropean ambition. Admittedly, a poor ST uptake may have forced a rushed statement from CFC re Res 12, but equally, from a marketing point of view, a late statement may encourage conscientious objectors into a purchase, as sales begin to tail off.
The Res 12 Bhoys are pretty adamant that CFC are with them, and again admittedly, I would rather they were leading from the front, but I have not read anything that suggests the Res 12 Bhoys feel they are being mis-led. In fact I have read plenty to the contrary.
It may be a bit hasty to correlate the ST figures with any public facing inaction. Keep pressing your club mate. I am, and have not purchased …..Yet.
I see that Ashley and Forsey are no longer directors of Rangers Retail Ltd., with Justin Barnes appointed in their place. I can’t see what the purpose of such a move is, particularly when King is apparently intent in undoing the Retail deal through the courts.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08142409/filing-history
easyJamboJune 7, 2016 at 01:13
I see that Ashley and Forsey are no longer directors of Rangers Retail Ltd., with Justin Barnes appointed in their place. I can’t see what the purpose of such a move is, particularly when King is apparently intent in undoing the Retail deal through the courts.https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08142409/filing-history
_______________________________
Could Ashley be distancing himself from ‘appearing’ to hold an influence on a club other than Newcastle United? I know RR is not TRFC and he could probably successfully argue that his position on the board doesn’t give him influence over the club, but he may just feel that it would strengthen his position at Newcastle, with the FA, now they are in the Championship.
There is also the possibility that there is nothing that would interest us (or TRFC) in this latest boardroom shuffle; or it could be that Ashley is getting someone into position he considers to be the ideal man for what might lie ahead.
Or, it could be that he sees his deal with TRFC falling apart, and doesn’t want to have anything to do with the winding up of RR!
Can anyone explain the recent reports in the media that Rangers had withdraw IP rights from Rangers Retail?
Would prevent Rangers Retail / Sports Direct from selling Rangers branded merchandise? (as the reports seemed to me to suggest)
Or was that misleading and in fact it will only prevent them from manufacturing new products that use the IP?
Its just that I happened to be in a Sports Direct store this week and it was rammed with Rangers merchandise of all kinds, all very much bearing the old and new logos..
And yet I Martin Williams in the Herald reporting another victory on top of this previous victory over Mike Ashley. The way the reporting in the Herald has it I’m surprised Dave king hasn’t crushed Ashley out of all existence by now.
Matty RothJune 7, 2016 at 08:31
Can anyone explain the recent reports in the media that Rangers had withdraw IP rights from Rangers Retail? Would prevent Rangers Retail / Sports Direct from selling Rangers branded merchandise? (as the reports seemed to me to suggest) Or was that misleading and in fact it will only prevent them from manufacturing new products that use the IP? Its just that I happened to be in a Sports Direct store this week and it was rammed with Rangers merchandise of all kinds, all very much bearing the old and new logos.. And yet I Martin Williams in the Herald reporting another victory on top of this previous victory over Mike Ashley. The way the reporting in the Herald has it I’m surprised Dave king hasn’t crushed Ashley out of all existence by now.
________________________
What I’m wondering is, who told Martin Williams that Mike Ashley has been, or is feeling, ‘humiliated’?
Has MA, himself, or anyone ‘close to him’ told this intrepid reporter (well known for going right to the heart of the matter) that he is in a state of humiliation, or is it more likely that a certain PR mogul has handed him a sheet of paper (or emailed him) with a story already written?
However Ashley feels about all this, and however the retail deal pans out, I doubt it’s all that good an idea to bandy about that you have ‘humiliated’ a billionaire; unless, of course, you are squeaky clean yourself, and know there is no dirt in your past (or even present) that such a rich man might seek out and, erm, use to humiliate you back!
Second attempt to post
Sent this morning to Integrity department at UEFA
FAO Graham Peaker
Hi Graham, I was disappointed to find that my recent concerns were passed to the Licensing department to deal with. While the 2011 licensing issue of the Scottish Football Association was part of my report it was not the complaint per se but more a single item within a number of anomalies that could be interpreted as signs of corruption within the game here.The transfer of my complaint to the Licensing department makes me wonder whether there is hope within UEFA that this will all go away if they can discard it as being outwith the Statute of Limitations. It is the impression that I got when I spoke to Giancarlo Dapoto last week.I have attached my report again here and request that it is dealt with by the Integrity department. Should you feel that there is nothing to investigate I can ask that you inform me of the reason. I am in communication with the press and a number of interested web sites and would like to keep them informed of the progress of our actions. The report on the offshoregame site has been expanded over the last week or two and, if you have not already done so, I would suggest that you familiarise yourself with the points they make. I said before that the Tax Justice Network who operate this site are a well respected, international organisation. They do not just publish gossip or rumour and their involvement has now encouraged the main stream media to take an interest. Their report is about to be followed up and expanded by the Sports Integrity Initiative site and there will be others too reporting down the line. Rather than this going away because of time barring we are actually seeing coverage starting to take off. I am sure that within UEFA, whose various publications are peppered with references to integrity, there must be a desire to reassure the paying public in Scotland that there is nothing untoward happening in our sport. This would not take a detailed investigation but only to have the questions that are being asked given a satisfactory answer. Of course if the answers are not satisfactory then that is a different matter and we will raise our actions to have them investigated.
O/T Ashley in the Commons to-day
Just watched an hour or so of Ashley’s appearance before the Commons Business Committee – came across as sharp(as you wld expect),engaging,charming,willing to listen to complaints/observations about working practices with promises to action any of the MP’s complaints (if they were found to be true) – all in all a pretty sure-footed performance as opposed to the Employment Agency used by Sports Direct to run Shirebrook who were up before him – p*ss poor , hesitant , poorly informed & given their performance big Mike might want to consider a change of Agency .
Matty RothJune 7, 2016 at 08:31
Matty, For the past week or so, I’ve been keeping an eye on a thread over on the Bears Den about the launch of a new strip for season 2016-17. It seems it was due to be out last Thursday, but some days before that there were rumours that it was being pulled. Lots of debate on whether this was good (Rangers refusing Ashley permission to use the IP on strips he wanted to sell) or bad (Ashley refusing to allow Rangers to sell strips because he has a 7-year contract). Bottom line is that the strip wasn’t launched and hasn’t been yet with no confirmation from the clumpany as to why this happened.
Lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth that they can’t buy all 3 strips to wear on their summer holidays, then you get the others telling them they shouldn’t be buying kit anyway as the money doesn’t go to TRFC*. Some sensible ones commenting that it may threaten the deals with Puma and 32Red if their brand isn’t seen on new kit like they would with a normal clumpany.
It looks like the populist move of ‘humiliating’ Ashley by pulling out of the contract (as spun) is causing some ructions.
Has Phil’s site been attacked???
Just noticed all the articles in the papers recently do not have the contact details of the cfc ticket office . Funny how last season every article in the same papers carried rifc details strange that
SICKOFITALLJUNE 7, 2016 at 18:13 34 3 Rate This
Just noticed all the articles in the papers recently do not have the contact details of the cfc ticket office . Funny how last season every article in the same papers carried rifc details strange that
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Looks like they never had to advertise the contact details.You just follow a line of people that in the end you reach cfc ticket office
Philmac latest http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-admirable-warburton-takes-a-well-earned-rest/
Glad to see some new posts I was starting to wonder if everyone was on holiday.
shugJune 7, 2016 at 20:35
Philmac latest http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-admirable-warburton-takes-a-well-earned-rest/
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Still no sign of Warburton, though everyone deserves a holiday, and there’s no doubt he’s worked hard for his. Still, he is a football club manager, a great job but one that leaves a small window for the luxury of a holiday, especially if you anticipate entry into European competition from a country with Scotland’s co-efficient! Now, while it’s quite possible he had his holidays booked for some time, he surely factored in that he’d be lucky to have a fortnight free from managerial duties and booked accordingly, for the preparation for next season was bound to be hectic and such a dedicated man would want to be at his desk in good time to arrange new signings and prepare for pre-season training. He left for the USA, apparently, on the Wednesday after the cup final, having taken Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off as well, so it wouldn’t be too much to expect him back at Murray park by, let’s say, next Monday. A nice three week plus break with the family, but maybe not the kind of dedication to ‘Rangers’ that is normally expected where ‘loyalty’ is a watchword, though generally misused!
I’m sure the bears are somewhat disappointed, perplexed even, that he hasn’t shown the dedication that his good friend and colleague, David Weir, has shown! I wonder when Davie’s holidays begin!
I have a feeling, though, that if he finds his stock is not as high down south as the media, local to Glasgow, would have us all believe, then he may well return to his desk by Monday, though a little later than he’d originally put down on the club’s holiday schedule
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A no show on Monday, though, and even Chris Jack might find it difficult to put a positive spin on it!
However!
It would appear that the latest spin to hit the Glasgow streets is that he was so scunnered by the ‘hatred’ shown to his club and players that he has decided to leave. So, just for a change, it’s everyone else’s fault, and who could blame the bears if there’s a natural (to thugs) reaction against all those ‘Rangers’ haters!
The thing is about MW’s disgust is, that if you see his after match reaction at the final, you will see that when he shakes his head and frowns he as actually looking at where the TRFC fans are.
So maybe he was disgusted with the hatred.