The Real Battle Begins?

The increasing attacks on social media by the main stream press, fuelled in some respect by David Murray’s vague threats of litigation against bloggers, has brought into sharp focus the challenges facing the Blogosphere. It also brings into even sharper focus the prescience of Stuart Cosgrove’s assertion that this summer’s ‘epistemological break’  had begun to marginalize the Scottish sporting wing of the MSM.

The reality of that assertion is embedded in the misreporting of the FTT decision as a victory for RFC, falsely alleging that those who operated the EBT scheme had been exonerated, that RFC had ‘done nothing wrong’, and consequently accusing ‘vindictive anti-Rangers bloggers’ of playing a part in the downfall of that once great Scottish institution. It is also evident in Tom English’s rather bitter and one-dimensional anti-RTC polemic today in the Scotland on Sunday. Had it been entitled “Self Preservation”, it may have rung a few more truth bells.

I am not of the belief that the MSM is an instinctively pro-Rangers estate, but I do think that their reportage of the FTT is more geared towards discrediting the newly emergent forces in the social media area than it is towards rehabilitating the public image of RFC or David Murray.

However despite the contempt in which many people here hold the MSM and Murray, English does have a point that we would be foolish to ignore. No-one can deny that we do have a duty to ensure that we are responsible in how we present ourselves to the public. Now that our (and others’) success as a real and creative alternative has spurred the MSM into action, we are subject to greater scrutiny than at any time in the past. Our view is that we have to be pro-actively engaged in setting a standard for ourselves that is above those that the MSM have set for themselves.

We have on TSFM an audience exponentially greater than the number of posts. That presents us with a great opportunity to get our message across, but it also burdens us with an increased responsibility not to fall into the trap which has besought the Succulent Lamb Brigade.

We are a very different animal from RTC. RTC him or herself had information and insight to bring to the table that the administrators of this site do not. The founder and former admin of TSFM had the idea that the talent available from posters on the RTC – not just RTC himself – should continue to have a forum in a post-RTC world, and that those talents could be used to challenge the myths regularly represented as facts by lazy journalists in the MSM.

We have at our disposal on this blog forensic analysis of legal, media and corporate matters. We have an abundance of creative minds, all passionate about the game of football AS WELL AS a partisan love for their chosen club. With all that talent and expertise, we can make an impact on the agenda by challenging the misinformation and substandard journalism of the MSM, and our finest moments are when we do that. We lose authority and influence when the debate is impeded by bald accusation or innuendo backed up with little more than an historical view of our country.

Our biggest impact (and largest audience) is to be found when when our experts have collectively torn apart those myths presented as truths by the MSM, and when we have asked the questions that the MSM either can’t or won’t ask or answer. Those are the things that have driven the traffic to this site, and many of the emails we get congratulate us on that.

Our credibility plummets though when we go down the partisan path. We also get literally hundreds of emails from fans who ask that we cut down on the comments of those who are merely venting outrage at how they see the game being mismanaged (mainly so they can access the important stuff more quickly), and from fans who are just fed up with the constant name-calling – almost exclusively aimed at Ally McCoist and other Rangers figures.

If we claim to be an intellectual and journalistic rung or two above the likes of the Red Tops (not to mention to be decent and respectful of others), we need to refrain from the name calling and accusatory culture. We can ask questions, put items for debate on the public agenda, point out apparent irregularities and anomalies. In rushing to judgement of others from the comfort of the glow of our own laptop screens, we are guilty of the same lazy journalism we see in others. Name calling (all good fun of course on a fan site) is just a lazy thought process and as English says, comes across as “nasty”.

We never saw RTC as a fan-site. The original administrator of this blog never saw TSFM as one either, and nor do we. In order to succeed properly, we need sensible fans of ALL clubs to be comfortable and feel secure in our midst. Of course we are not breaking any laws, but can anyone honestly say that we have evolved into a welcoming place for Rangers fans?

TSFM is not about hounding any one club out of existence or into shame or infamy. In the Rangers saga we have sought to ensure that the football authorities play fair with everyone and stick to their own rules. One well kent RTC contributor, and no friend of Rangers, often said that if the FTT found in favour of Rangers we should move along and accept it. Well they did find in favour of Rangers in the majority of cases. That may not suit many of us, but we are the Scottish Football Monitor, not a Judicial Watchdog. We can say why we disagree with the decision, but criticism of the process through which the decision was arrived at is beyond our purview.

Since the accusation is often made in the MSM, we should state, unequivocally and unreservedly, that we are NOT anti-Rangers. Their fans face the same issues as the rest of us and they are welcome here. We are however, equally unequivocally against the gravy train journalism of the Scottish Football Wing of the MSM (with one or two honourable exceptions).

If the Anti-Blogateers in the press are correct, the popularity of the TSFM will recede as the Rangers Tax case reverts to the back pages before disappearing for good. However I do not believe that they are correct. I don’t believe that Scottish football fans are only motivated by either hatred – or even dislike – of one club. I believe we are more concerned with the game itself than the pot-stirrers in the MSM would have us believe, because we understand the interdependence of football clubs.

But we also understand that the people who run football clubs do not always run their clubs for the benefit of the fans. In the business world, that may not be out of the ordinary, since businesses are run for the benefit of shareholders.
However football reserves for itself a special place in the hearts of people in this country. If the people who run football clubs want to retain that favourable status, they have to be accountable to the fans.

The difficulty in holding them to account though, is that the cosy relationship cultivated between club directors, managers and players and the press renders the access to information a closed shop, and the information itself is heavily filtered and spun.

As long as we keep asking questions in response to the fruit of that cosy relationship, we will be providing people with an alternative angle and viewpoint, allowing them to come to their own conclusions, and not the one the MSM post-presser huddle delivers to us wrapped up in a bow.

For the SFM specifically, we believe that to have any influence, we need to enable the expertise at our disposal to flourish. It is also vital to our project that Rangers fans are included in our dialogue. We just can’t call ourselves the Scottish Football Monitor if they are largely excluded from participation because they feel they are being treated disrespectfully.

We can’t tolerate the accusations and name calling. We need to stick to what we have done best; factual analysis, conjecture based on known facts and on-line discourse leading to searching questions being asked.

One of the things we are looking at for the near future is to set up some kind of formal and transparent channel of communication between the SFM and the football authorities. Being truly representative of fans will make that easier to achieve.

The MSM will continue to attack the social media outlets. In one way you can understand it. Their jobs are at stake. The business model of the print media in particular has changed massively over the last five years, manifesting itself mainly in increasingly under-resourced newsrooms. Consequently it is besought by increasingly unreliable and under-researched journalism, even to the point where much of it is no longer journalism at all.

By comparison the Blogosphere has access to greater human and time resources, is able to react to unfolding events in real time, and crucially (because it has been eschewed instead of embraced by print media proprietors) has been occupied by ordinary folk with little or no vested interest.

We are still in position to provide a service in our small niche of the on-line world. We have rights to publish and speak freely about our passion, but we also have to live up to the attendant responsibilities, and thus the appeal for discretion on posting comments.

Where Tom English got it completely wrong (in the uniquely ironic way the MSM have about them), is that his industry has mistaken the rights others have earned for them as entitlement, and ignored almost completely the responsibility they had to act on behalf of those who pay their wages.

This entry was posted in General by Trisidium. Bookmark the permalink.

About Trisidium

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

3,018 thoughts on “The Real Battle Begins?


  1. angus1983 says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 15:16
    Why are they not going to games, i wonder? Serious question.
    —————————————————————————————-

    If you have a couple of days to spare you should read the Green Brigade thread on KDS. I have and am still unclear as to the reason, so go figure.

    I think they may make it back for Spartak 🙂

    However, no section of the fans is more important than the club and the vast majority of Celtic fans are well aware of that fact. Today’s attendance plenty of reasons for that which have nothing to do with GB. I have seen many different groupings over the years overestimate their own importance and they usually suffer for it and often disappear into oblivion.


  2. Ah, thanks for the GB pointers, folks. I think I’ll just leave that subject for now. 🙂

    ——
    vivitron says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 15:45

    I can appreciate that it was great for Inverness fans that they beat Celtic and that it is great for Scottish Football that it is close at the top of the league.

    However, when I am at Celtic Park as a Celtic fan none of these things interest me and that is why I think GS has a point.
    ——

    You’re entirely correct, vivitron.

    In the best possible taste, may I welcome supporters of CFC to the world inhabited by most other teams’ fans – where your side gets beat or draws sometimes. 😉


  3. ‘In both cases the gist of the message was this: “If Neil can’t motivate this team, then we’ll find someone else who can…” ‘

    Graham Spiers overhears two Celtic fans saying the above, and considers it a worthwhile basis for a report! Has the man never overheard football fans talking about their team before? I doubt you’d ever get one of them to admit it, but I’m sure there were Celtic fans who said similar things about Jock Stein even during the hight of his glory. There’s no comparison between Neil Lennon and Stein, but for any so called sports journalist to use such fan talk as the basis for an article is ludicrous, even if he did, in fact, overhear this (interesting that his only quote is completely undeniable). I think in the absence of anything positive to say about ‘The Rangers’, Spiers and others will be writing these pathetically weak stories about Celtic, and other teams, just to fill the pages that used to be filled with McCoist, Sir Walter and numerous other Oldco stallwarts’ quotes and stories by sycophantic hacks.

    And how could it be different for Celtic and Lennon if Rangers were still in the SPL? Apart from the fact they are not exactly setting the heather on fire in SFL3 or the cup competitions, they actually have a stronger team than they would have had had the SPL allowed them to remain, for how could they have possibly been allowed to delay the signing ban in that ludicrous event? And there again, had a Rangers in the SPL been allowed to build a strong team, how would that make the Celtic fans happier, for surely Rangers would be top and Celtic only second, if Celtic are, in fact, so bad? Before the start of the season we were being assured by the experts in the MSM that Celtic would be running away with the SPL and that that would be a bad thing for everyone. Now that it hasn’t, quite, gone that way, their tactic now is to say that it is bad for Celtic!

    If Neil Lennon leaves Celtic for the English Premiership, or Championship, it will have nothing to do with there being no Rangers in the SPL but purely his own ambition, or, perhaps, his own faillings as a manager should that prove to be the case. Or perhaps, of course, he might just want to leave Scotland, and the death threats, behind. Perhaps Mr Spiers should have put that forward as a reason for any sane person to want to get out of Dodge… fast!

    Another quote:
    ” Last week, when I heard the Celtic manager diplomatically pronounce something about Aberdeen being the new Rangers, I knew again there was a void left unfilled.”

    This did have me concerned in Spiers’ report, I wondered if I’d missed something and the Dons were now being accused of improper player registration and cheating 😉

    Oops, somone give me a pill or something, I can’t believe I’m writing this criticising a less than favourable story about Celtic! Has something happened to change the face of Scottish football?


  4. Celtic can beat Barcelona and Arbroath can get a draw at Celtic Park, it’s why football is a great game. Hope the extra money makes a difference to Arbroath, more good news for Scottish football this season.


  5. Spiers maybe doesn’t realise it but his piece on Lennon could be an allegorical appraisal of his own career position; missing Rangers in the SPL and considering working down south where he may be better motivated. We can but hope.


  6. Small World part 1692

    Posted previously on here and elsewhere, but…..

    Is there a connection between football-loving Katrina Tannahill, late of the Trident Trust (see a certain First tier tribunal Judgement) and Cenkos’ point of contact for all enquiries relating to a certain share issue, Robert Tannahill – apart from the fact that they both operate out of the Channel Islands and both are in investment management?

    http://www.cenkos-ci.com/our-people/all-people/robert-tannahill.aspx
    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/katrina-tannahill/26/552/b02

    Earlier this year, almost the entire board of Cenkos ‘retired’, to be replaced with a new group of directors with very little history of stewardship of any previous company.

    There are still many questions to be asked – and answered – about this share issue.


  7. streathambhoy says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 17:40
    14 0 Rate This

    Celtic can beat Barcelona and Arbroath can get a draw at Celtic Park, it’s why football is a great game. Hope the extra money makes a difference to Arbroath, more good news for Scottish football this season.
    ————

    What a result!!

    Safe to say that Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath 🙂


  8. streathambhoy says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 17:40

    A coupon buster eh! Glad to see more cash going into the lower leagues with a replay, hopefully Arbroath can strengthen their team for next season, maybe that was a cunning plan! 🙂


  9. Danish Pastry says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 18:25

    Safe to say that Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath
    ——

    And a strong Turra, as well. 🙂 I’ve still never forgiven Morton for Andy Ritchie, who always seemed to score the winning goal against Aberdeen way back when, so I’ll be raising a glass to Turra tonight.

    Couldn’t believe the game was actually on, though – I live a few miles fae Turra and it was fearsome hail and snow this afternoon. Turra’s ground (clue in the name: The Haughs) is on the Deveron flood plain, too – they regularly play with flippers and snorkels on.

    http://news.stv.tv/north/151206-floods-could-force-football-team-to-move/


  10. Where has this story come from, that institutional investors are going to purchase £20 million worth of shares in Charlie’s grand flotation
    Institutional investors will not touch anything football related at the moment according to an article I read recently, can’t remember where though

    They will have nothing to do with the much vaunted EPL, so why would they be interested in a Scottish 3rd Division side ?
    If any of them were to invest a single penny in Charlie’s scheme, then an institution is where they should be sent

    What Charlie is calling institutional investors, are in all probability some die hard blue noses, who have said that they will invest
    However, £20 million with a further £10 million from Sevcovians, I very much doubt that to be honest


  11. I was at todays game at Celtic Park with my two girls. Firstly, well done Arbroath and i second Martybhoy in hoping Arbroath make decent money from replay (Sky??) Who thinks jabba and co will have a cracked Celtic crest in their papers tomorrow? I also predict MSM will highlight another “world record attendance” for two 3rd division teams tomorrow.
    Our own “big” game is wednesday, let us hope we do Scottish football proud by making last 16 and improving ALL Scottish teams co efficient. I just want to see jabba and chick having to PRAISE Celtic ha ha


  12. allyjambo on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 13:07

    Spiers must be referring to the 2 Celtic fans that the SSB mob are always talking about on air, the Celtic fans that are constantly talking to each and every one of the panelists daily and telling them that they miss Rfc, you know the ones, the ones who are ever so distressed by the lose of Rfc who the panel have ALWAYS “spoken to earlier/yesterday”.


  13. The Spiers article today caused me to think about what goes through his (and others’) minds when he sits down to write a piece? Does he ask himself, “Why am I writing this?”, or does he plan his writing with a purpose in mind?

    I concluded that he really had not done either of those things.

    The purpose of that article is scarcely about informing his reader, for in the archetypal MSM fashion, none of what he wrote had been researched or corroborated. I find it difficult to believe that his intent was to convince people of something (e.g. the SPL needs Rangers), because although we may infer that, the piece is so badly written, so erratically stream-of-unconsciousness, that few will be persuaded.

    Leaves me with two conclusions. It was merely a two minute fill-up-the-back-page job, or it was intended to curry favour with prospective employers in the MSM.

    Either way, for a guy who really does see himself as journalist, it is a career watershed. Kenny Dalglish, that great deliverer of unconscious humour, once said of GS and his D.D. degree. “He’s never done any Divinity in his life”.

    He is certainly not doing a lot of journalism these days either. What he has been engaged in over the last two years would embarrass a be-curlered washer-woman, fag-on-lip, hanging over a back court dyke sharing the word on the street about the people up her close.


  14. angus1983 says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 18:59
    1 0 Rate This
    Danish Pastry says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 18:25

    Safe to say that Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath
    ——

    And a strong Turra, as well. I’ve still never forgiven Morton for Andy Ritchie, who always seemed to score the winning goal against Aberdeen way back when, so I’ll be raising a glass to Turra tonight.

    Couldn’t believe the game was actually on, though – I live a few miles fae Turra and it was fearsome hail and snow this afternoon. Turra’s ground (clue in the name: The Haughs) is on the Deveron flood plain, too – they regularly play with flippers and snorkels on.

    http://news.stv.tv/north/151206-floods-could-force-football-team-to-move/
    ————-

    Had never even heard of them before today Angus. One thing about the past couple of years is that you begin to discover a world football you never knew existed. Turns out these are the teams some pundits would have us axe because ‘there are too many teams in Scotland’. God bless them all, say I. What a great day for that local community. Apparently, if it hadn’t been for Halbeath Juveniles and Crossgates Primrose we might never have seen the late, great Jim Baxter. And how many other greats might never have made it if the small clubs weren’t there to nuture their talent?

    I did notice ‘Turra’ are sponsored by a winching company. Useful if you need rescuing from those flood whaters!


  15. allyjambo says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 13:07
    27 0 Rate This
    I’ve just completed the SFA survey which, in line with all such surveys, I found didn’t give me the opportunity to reply to each question with a response I’d wish. For example, the questions regarding reconstruction presupposes that everyone is in favour of reconstruction, or sees it as necessary, and gives no opportunity to say whether or not they are, in fact, in favour of it. I’m not wanting to open a debate on this particular subject and merely giving it as an example, but that question alone clearly indicates that the survey is weighted in a direction the SFA want to take.

    …….
    Anyone doubting that reconstruction IS being forced through, and the wheels are well in motion need only look as far as this “survey”. Not even an option to state that you believe there shouldn’t be reconstruction.
    I would not even fill that “survey” in personally, because as far as the SPL/SFA/SFL and MSM are concerned, every filled in “survey” WILL BE classed as a YES to reconstruction, and the total figure of filled in “surveys” WILL be used as confirmation of the fans wanting reconstruction no matter what each supporter writes inside, filling in the “survey” is a yes. .


  16. campsiejoe says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 19:00

    Where has this story come from, that institutional investors are going to purchase £20 million worth of shares in Charlie’s grand flotation
    __________________________________________

    The story is here. Who the “well-informed sources” are, one can only guess.

    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/markets/article3617175.ece


  17. Anyone know if this relevant? Just how many RFC’s are there? They are have been multiplying like Gremlins. Chuckles been feeding them after midnight?

    ASDFGHJKL LIMITED
    CAPELLA BUILDING (TENTH FLOOR)
    60 YORK STREET
    GLASGOW
    UNITED KINGDOM
    G2 8JX
    Company No. SC426693

    Status: Active – Proposal to Strike off
    Date of Incorporation: 21/06/2012

    Country of Origin: United Kingdom
    Company Type: Private Limited Company
    Nature of Business (SIC):
    None Supplied
    Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
    Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
    Next Accounts Due: 21/03/2014
    Last Return Made Up To:
    Next Return Due: 19/07/2013
    Previous Names:
    Date of change Previous Name
    31/07/2012 RFC 2012 LIMITED
    22/06/2012 RFC 0712 LIMITED


  18. redetin @ 19:41

    So in other words, our old friend Jack


  19. TSFM says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 19:23
    9 0 Rate This

    The Spiers article today caused me to think about what goes through his (and others’) minds when he sits down to write a piece? Does he ask himself, “Why am I writing this?”, or does he plan his writing with a purpose in mind?
    ————

    I’m a bit puzzled why the opinings Graham Spiers Aged 12-and-a-half merit so much air time on this blog. He winds up both sides of the East/West Glasgow divide. I reckon he got some of his ‘inspiration’ for that piece from sitting in on the Clyde1 show. For my sins, I listen to quite a few of the podcasts when I’m driving or walking the pooch and this week there have been a few ‘disgruntled’ fans from the Glasgow team which has been simply outstanding in Europe of late – football fan and fickle go together. But you can sympathise with the season ticketers who’ve witnessed some poor domestic results and who’ve not had the extra cash to splash on Euro nights. The price of beer alone back in Helsingborg could leave you with a second mortgage.

    Mr Spiers is perhaps walking a fine line in the hope that he’ll offend no one too much. I sometimes think the only reason he’s on radio is because he’s been on radio. He’s the antithesis of Tommy in Glasgow. Difference is, Tommy is a respected bampot.


  20. ordinaryfan says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 19:40

    You are most probably right OF, and if I hadn’t had the opportunity to say my bit about the ‘transparency’ claim (which is more like a brick wall) I might well have not submitted it. I was equally disappointed (but not surprised) with the last section covering the teams we each support. Living in England I get very little opportunity to attend matches at Tynecastle and, as it made great play of ‘how many matches do you attend?’, but didn’t give an option to show why I, or anyone else, doesn’t attend more, I am left with the impression they will ignore supporters like myself if that should suit their purposes. We can be sure, of course, that despite their protestations to the contrary, every The Rangers’ fan, with half a brain, will know it’s in their best interest to tick a box with a league set-up that brings their newclub into the top league as quickly as possible, ie one with only 3 divisions. With that in mind, I expect the survey to lead the SFA to announce an overwhelming call, from fans of all clubs, for a 3 tier set-up from next season. With appologies to anyone involved in the survey industry, but any survey I have ever seen, either as a customer, or effected by as an employee, has been weighted to provide the result the entity paying for the survey, wanted. This will be no different. And, of course, no one in the MSM will point this out 🙁


  21. allyjambo: No criticism allyjambo, you had something to say and you rightly said it. The cynic pessimist in me just doesn’t believe those who run our game will do anything but count the number of filled in surveys and class them ALL as “Yes to reconstruction”.
    I did read your entire excellent post, I just don’t have confidence those who receive it at SFA HQ will bother reading anything written within unless they want a few selective quotes, and intelligent, well thought out and constructed opinion such as your own are certainly not going to fit their agenda.


  22. campsiejoe says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 19:00

    Where has this story come from, that institutional investors are going to purchase £20 million worth of shares in Charlie’s grand flotation…
    =====================================
    As mentioned, Institutional Investors keep away from football as their prime objective is to make money – not lose money.

    But when Charlie ‘dreamt’ about these investors wanting – allegedly – £20M of shares, did he conveniently forget about the term ‘ethical investing’? (No don’t laugh…).

    I do believe that certain leading players adhere to some form of ethical investment decision making e.g. they will not invest in military defence, gambling, alcohol…

    So before looking at any numbers, (prospectuses to be dispatched whenever), you have to ask the questions;

    Why would any reputable Institutional Investor even consider the TRFC share issue ?

    Which progressive organisation would want to be associated with the values – and bad publicity – generated down Govan way ?

    We know, and the MSM knows, that Charlie is talking nonsense – as usual.


  23. I suspect that they are playing fast and loose with the phrase “institutional investor” in the same way they do with “holding company”.


  24. Just for fun, I emailed Gary Robinson, the ‘Market reporter ‘ at the ‘Times’ to tell him that MY sources say that the ‘Cenkos/ The Rangers FC’ IPO is dead in the water.

    I have every chance of being right, and every right to air my opinion, and I am far more independent in my views than any newspaper hack who has to avoid biting the hand that may occasionally drop him a crumb.

    The link provided by redetin at 20.22 makes more sense than any PR puff by Mr Robinson.


  25. StevieBC says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:19

    As mentioned, Institutional Investors keep away from football as their prime objective is to make money – not lose money.

    …..

    Why would any reputable Institutional Investor even consider the TRFC share issue ?

    _______________________________________________________________

    Institutional investors will show no emotion. They will short sell this share and like other football shares they will walk it down from £1.00 to 10p to 1p to 0.1p…. There is money to be made by short selling, the punters generally won’t see this happening and will “hope” that the sp will increase, and the brokers and dealers will make their money from every buy or sell deal.


  26. TallBoy Poppy (@TallBoyPoppy) says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 18:01

    Earlier this year, almost the entire board of Cenkos ‘retired’, to be replaced with a new group of directors with very little history of stewardship of any previous company.

    There are still many questions to be asked – and answered – about this share issue.
    ——————————————————————————————————————

    I think the Times Market Report piece on the Flotation is interesting and not least on the fact that Cenkos appears to be the only broker doing any biz according to the article (UNDERNOTED).

    UNDERNOTE:
    ‘At least one broker appears to be busy in these trying times. Not only is Cenkos Securities putting the finishing touches to a multimillion-pound fundraising for Rangers FC, it also has been marshalling support for those pressured British companies prospecting for oil and gas off the Falkland Islands.

    ‘Well-informed sources suggested that institutional investors had agreed to buy nearly £20 million of shares in Rangers at 70p each as part of its AIM flotation’.


  27. john clarke says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:37

    Just for fun, I emailed Gary Robinson, the ‘Market reporter ‘ at the ‘Times’ to tell him that MY sources say that the ‘Cenkos/ The Rangers FC’ IPO is dead in the water.
    ____________________________________________________________

    Nice one, John. I think the story was behind the Times paywall but here is the whole piece on Rangers. (The article was really about Falklands oil shares and Cenkos)

    “Well-informed sources suggested that institutional investors had agreed to buy nearly £20 million of shares in Rangers at 70p each as part of its AIM flotation.

    Supporters of the Glasgow football club, relegated from the Scottish Premier League to the country’s fourth tier after being bought out of administration in June, will be able to buy another £10 million of shares at the same price for the next month or so, with a minimum investment of £500.”


  28. Re: OF & AJ chat on SFA survey.
    ==========================

    I wouldn’t complete an SFA survey for the simple reason that I don’t trust the SFA.

    As long as they can attract a ‘significant’ sample size, they can then freely skewer / misinterpret results to support their ‘view’ that the fans do indeed want reconstruction.
    Wouldn’t buy a used car off Regan either!

    But, shirley now could be an opportune time for another ‘Scottish Fans Survey’ ?

    IMO, the guys running the survey in May (?) messed up when allowing Doncaster to brush off the results – and keeping their discussion ‘confidential’!

    Maybe they have learned from that experience?
    But they where very successful in organising the website and then attracting a decent number of registered responses – 9K IIRC ?
    And folks did have trust in the survey questions and results, IMO.

    Rather than wait for the SFA to present their own, predetermined survey results why can’t we be proactive and repeat an independent survey ?

    Q1. In your opinion, is the SFA doing a good job?…

    It would be difficult to ignore if the SFA survey had fewer respondents than a ‘Scottish Fans Survey’.


  29. TallBoy Poppy (@TallBoyPoppy) says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 17:39
    10 0 Rate This
    Small World part 1691

    In February 2009 Octopus (Second AIM VCT) plc -remember them? – invested £828,000 in a company called Managed Support Services and sold their stake in 2011.
    In 2012 Managed Support Services changed their name to………….Kennedy Ventures PLC.

    https://www.octopusinvestments.com/!documents/pdfs/618.pdf (page 11)
    http://www.kvplc.com/file_download/177/20611+Change+of+name.pdf
    ==================================
    Name & Registered Office:
    KENNEDY VENTURES PLC
    c/o C/O MORRISON & FOERSTER
    CITYPOINT
    1 ROPEMAKER STREET
    LONDON
    ENGLAND
    EC2Y 9AW
    Company No. 05697574

    Status: Voluntary Arrangement
    Date of Incorporation: 03/02/2006

    Country of Origin: United Kingdom
    Company Type: Public Limited Company
    Nature of Business (SIC):
    70100 – Activities of head offices
    Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
    Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/03/2011 (GROUP)
    Next Accounts Due: 31/12/2012
    Last Return Made Up To: 03/02/2012
    Next Return Due: 03/03/2013
    Last Members List: 03/02/2011
    Last Bulk Shareholders List: 03/02/2011
    Insolvency History
    Previous Names:
    Date of change Previous Name
    08/06/2012 MANAGED SUPPORT SERVICES PLC
    14/04/2008 WORTHINGTON NICHOLLS GROUP PLC

    http://www.hvnplus.co.uk/worthington-nicholls-under-investigation/3100594.article

    http://www.frc.org.uk/News-and-Events/FRC-Press/Press/2012/November/Worthington-Nicholls-Group-PLC-Outcome-of-Discipli.aspx

    Interesting!


  30. I can’t help thinking that many of the doomsayers (with respect to the Rangers IPO) are indulging in as much wishful thinking as those who talk it up.

    My own sources, who I believe are utterly reliable and have no axe to grind, have been telling me for weeks that Rangers do not have cash-flow problems, and that CG still has around £7m in the bank.

    As far as I can extrapolate from the sound reasoning of those on TSFM who have estimated Rangers’ cost base, that would get them to the end of the season without any difficulty.

    I am very much of the opinion that Green’s organisation is in absolutely no danger of collapse any time soon. Despite Armageddon’s failure to turn up to the funeral, Rangers are still seen as a cash cow and the football clubs will make their return to the top as swift as fan pressure will allow.

    Ironically, it may be that those other clubs are in greater danger than Rangers due to the possible backlash of their own incredulous fanbases.


  31. Saw this daft joke apologies in advance….

    How many TRFC fans does it take to change a lightbulb?
    50,000! one to change it and 49,999 to insist it is still the same bulb…..


  32. ecobhoy says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:45
    ______________________________
    ecobhoy, Cenkos ran this reported event to try to ramp the shares in these small oil and gas companies. As you can see, some of them have had poor performing share prices.

    “Meanwhile, Cenkos did its bit to try to repair the perception among the investment community that the Falklands explorers were just another risky punt ….

    Yesterday Cenkos organised an event at the Armourers Hall in the City for about 100 fund managers and analysts….

    Their share prices could certainly do with a little support. Take Desire Petroleum, 180p barely two years ago and unchanged at 22p yesterday. Or Rockhopper Exploration, nearly 550p in September 2010 at the height of private investors’ exuberance about the Falklands and ¼p lower at 147¼p yesterday. Or Borders & Southern Petroleum, 139p in April, 16¾p now.

    Argos Resources, whose broker is Cenkos, was 65½p in 2010 and 27¼p yesterday after edging 1¼p better. Its shares have recovered steadily from their 11p nadir in January.”


  33. TSFM says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:55

    Rate This

    I can’t help thinking that many of the doomsayers (with respect to the Rangers IPO) are indulging in as much wishful thinking as those who talk it up.

    My own sources, who I believe are utterly reliable and have no axe to grind, have been telling me for weeks that Rangers do not have cash-flow problems, and that CG still has around £7m in the bank

    Im not doomsaying Im being rational. The historic Aim market appetite for this type of offering is around the zero percent mark.

    Plus the guy has not even followed the recommended path to offer.

    Hes got money but no bank. its in cash. Good but not good.

    The IPO will be funded by the fans to about 12mil I guess, enough to get to April 2013


  34. TSFM says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:55

    I can’t help thinking that many of the doomsayers (with respect to the Rangers IPO) are indulging in as much wishful thinking as those who talk it up.
    _________________________________________

    TSFM, the AIM is not a place for “wishful thinking”. Like the main market, it is a place to make money out of a rising share price (take a long position) or a falling share price (short it). Ignore the rampers and derampers and do your own research (DYOR). It is a place to lose money by buying long or selling short the wrong shares.

    (Share chat on MHG …how it can end in tears…
    http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChat.asp?ShareTicker=MHG&share=merchant_hse)


  35. redetin says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:47

    I’m confused – if, as the Times are saying, Rangers were bought out of Administration in June, who is it that’s being liquidated at the moment?


  36. areyouaccusingmeofmendacity says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 21:23

    I’m confused
    ____________________________

    The article is designed to confuse starting with the word “relegated”. Were you expecting clarity and accuracy from the MSM?


  37. re the institutional investors in the sevco share issue ,if we are a really a Scottish football monitor then surely we would be hoping that a new club with a possible 50,000 fan base would have a succesful share issue and look forward to them making their way up through the leagues but I think that is not the case .

    If sevco would have taken a different course then maybe we would feel different ,I know any club emerging from the void that ragers left would have to instill the seige mentality but the way it has manifested itself in this club now has I think, caused a lot of Scottish football fans to feel aggrieved about the nonsense that has been spouted from sevco .There is absolutely no contrition from them in any form what so ever ,in fact it’s been the exact opposite and the majority of their fans are openly expressing their anger at what they see as an injustice and I must say that really is scary ,scary in respect that they seem unable to make a sensible judgement of the facts that are there to be found ,they seem to be happy to listen to the MSM and the club propaganda ,I can understand that 5yrs ago but not so much now .
    In saying that what choice do they have CG is the only show in town and they need to back him as there seems to be no other ex ragers men giving them an alternative and why is that .

    Is it because there are no ex ragers men out there with money , highly unlikely with a fan base of 500m ,so why are they not stepping forward with an alternative solution for the fans to invest in .

    1. they don’t want to throw their money in as they want a return (think Bill Miller and his statement that it would take £30m just to stabilise the club ).
    2.there is an outstanding debt to be repaid before the club can even start to look to the future
    3.someone has to be paid off and the money fans are not willing to foot the bill ,in fact they are more than happy for the gullible to pick up the tab .
    I am a Celtic supporter so it make no odds to me what happens at Ibrox ,but IMO there are a few wealthy peepil walking away from their situation believing the fans that attend the games are going to be paying for their folly .

    IMO when CGgets his cash the next ones in the door will be the ones that were the chosen ones all the rest were a means to an end ,pity they could not be up front with the fans as I believe they would still have dug deep for their club but maybe in a different way


  38. Rangers Share Flotation

    The 70p share price from the anonymous ‘well-informed source’ is interesting. Imran Ahmad said that 22+ million of shares had been paid for at prices ranging from 50p to £1 and issued to members of the original consortiu. I think, from memory, he mentioned a flotation price possibly reaching £1.50. Chico said that the original investors had doubled their money.

    If the 70p is correct then some of the original investors are taking a 30p a hit on each share and at best making 20p on 50p purchase price which isn’t doubling your money.

    The other thing is apparently the full article says there will be £10 million worth of shares for fans. So, and this is in my head, £30 million of shares at 70p = 43 million shares. But then there is the original 22+ million which at 70p a time = £15.5m. So total capitalisation would be approx £45.5m if none of the original investors sold and all of the newly issued shares were sold.

    But surely the original investors who bought at 50p would want out if there was any fear of the shares being shorted. I know that during that process there can be be rallies to draw others in but the shorting continues because as redtin I think said the brokers make their commission no matter how much the shareholder loses in the process.

    But I don’t fully understand the figures and wonder if anyone can throw more light on this area of things?


  39. TSFM says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:55

    ==================

    Can you explain to me why Rangers shares will sell on AIM at 70p, whilst Celtic shares currently trade at about 38p.

    The only possible reason I can see is nothing to do with playing football and receiving an income from that. It would be to get a return from something else. For example selling of the £80m worth of assets it would appear the company currently has.

    If Rangers shares sell at a decent price and in reasonable quantities it will not be a footballing related purchase and much more likely to be some type of asset stripping I would have thought. Football clubs, and especially Scottish ones are not cash generating.


  40. ordinaryfan says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:19

    Totally agree, OF, they weren’t interested in the survey carried out by real fans, because it didn’t fit with the agenda of the SFA and SPL board, but now that it’s a survey they have control over…

    Another thought on The Rangers’ fans response; there is no requirement to supply your personal details (only required if you want to enter their prize draw) so there’s nothing to prevent the bears entering the survey and to make out they are supporters of other teams, even as Celtic fans, to make it less obvious that it was for their newclub’s benefit, so, even if there was a genuinely independent scrutiny (I suppose it’s possible 😉 ), it wouldn’t be too obvious that it was mainly in the interest of one team. There are also still many non-Rangers fans who still trust the media and will accept the survey as a genuine effort to gauge the wishes of all fans, and many, probably most, will be keen for reconstruction and tick the appropriate boxes – despite the fact that they don’t want any assistance given to newco.

    We may both be completely wrong, OF, and overly cynical, but that is surely caused by the lack of ‘transparency’ of both theSFA and SPL, particularly over things like the 5 way agreement, and the way reconstruction was pushed to the top of the agenda as soon as The Rangers were refused entry into the SPL.

    If the SFA are so keen on transparency, here are a few things they can be transparent about:

    1. The 5 way agreement.
    2. Why were a new club, with no accounts, allowed into the SFL ahead of other completely legitimate clubs?
    3. Why were The Rangers allowed to postpone their signing embargo?
    4. On what grounds did you find Ally McCoist’s ‘we demand to know their names’ rant to merit such a negligible penalty?
    5. On what grounds did you find Charles Green’s ‘bogitry’ rant to merit such a negligible penalty?

    I’m sure there are many more examples of decisions made, in favour of one, or is it two, football clubs, that demand transparency, but these will do for a start.
    For clarity, or even transparency, I’m not opening up old topics to bash The Rangers with, just giving examples of how the SFA and SPL could convince us of their genuine desire to be more transparent 🙂 I’m sure, with regard to the 5 way agreement, even most The Rangers fans would like to know the whole truth about that.


  41. allyjambo says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 22:14

    We may both be completely wrong, OF, and overly cynical, but that is surely caused by the lack of ‘transparency’ of both theSFA and SPL, particularly over things like the 5 way agreement, and the way reconstruction was pushed to the top of the agenda as soon as The Rangers were refused entry into the SPL.
    __________________________________

    In one of the few questions where you were allowed to comment, I suggested that the minutes of Board and other meeting should be made public,


  42. The issue isn’t so much the share price as such but the actual percentage of the firm that is floated in the IPO as new shares. If they raise £20m by selling 50% of the company then this would value the company at £40m – more than Celtic. Madness!

    The funds will go to repaying the “external debt” that is the £8m to £10m loans that the Green consortium and others used to finance the purchase. The consortium would also hold the remaining 50% of shares, worth £20m, and there will be AIM constraints on them selling them. One year I believe. This is their profit if they can pull it off.

    As for “shorting”, this is difficult if not impossible on the AIM because the shares need to be borrowed first before being sold into the market. In the absence of the large scale broker dealers and fund managers on the AIM that you find in the larger markets, there will be no one to organise the borrow and lending of what is in reality a small number of retail shares. Who will lend them out? The bears or these phantom institutions?

    £20m for 50% for TRFC is bonkers. Maybe Green will offer 70% instead. Think Dragon’s Den. This gives a more realistic valuation of £28.5M for the whole firm. However the Green Consortium’s shareholding will be diluted to 30% giving them a notional “paper” profit £8.5m. Still 100%. This would be a more prudent approach, but I suspect that they will be too greedy and go for 50%.

    Nonetheless, they still need to keep the value high during the one year “vesting” process so they can start realising their profit by selling. In the absence of institutional short selling and in addition to on field promotion, “league reorganisation”, and feel-good playing to the gallery, this is achievable.

    Rangers is a dream come true to these boiler scheme issuers because there is a plethora of buyers (in theory at least). From a professional point of view I am looking forward to seeing how this IPO goes. The first indication of the level of rectitude or otherwise in this offering is what % Green wants for his £20m.


  43. Agrajag says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 21:52

    Can you explain to me why Rangers shares will sell on AIM at 70p, whilst Celtic shares currently trade at about 38p.
    ________________________________________

    http://www.lse.co.uk/share-fundamentals.asp?shareprice=CCP&share=celtic

    Celtic is a known share, look at the fundamentals, 90 million shares, and they are trading at 38p. Not traded in big volumes though. If shareholders (supporters?) thought there was more value (vouchers, dividends, or pure desirability to be a shareholder), they would achieve a higher price.

    The “sevco rangers” are a complete unknown in stock terms. No one knows what price they will be, but because of set up costs they will be initially traded at less than the initial price (companies often issue free warrants to purchasers during an initial offering, these are options to buy at a later date to compensate for the initial loss).

    If sevco continue to issue shares in the future (in the manner of MHG) eg against loans, they will dilute the price. At this point, the management strategy and policy are a complete unknown and the sp cannot be guessed with any degree of confidence.


  44. Johnbhoy75 (@Johnbhoy75) says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 22:28

    “As for “shorting”, this is difficult if not impossible on the AIM…”

    ___________________________________________________

    As I said earlier, do your own research.


  45. Not entirely OT? David Cameron ignoring Leverson’s recommendation for an Independent Watchdog for the Print Media, probably because they are doing such a super job regulating themselves.


  46. ordinaryfan says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 22:57

    Not entirely OT? David Cameron ignoring Leverson’s recommendation for an Independent Watchdog for the Print Media, probably because they are doing such a super job regulating themselves.
    ===========================================================

    Do we really need more regulators?
    Are there any regulatory bodies that actually provide the service that they are supposed to?

    The FSA?
    The Charity Commission?
    The list can be found here http://regulatorylaw.co.uk/List_of_regulatory_bodies.html
    Do any of them actually do what it says on their tins?

    And who ‘regulates’ Scottish football?
    If this summer proved anything it’s not Campbell O and his blazered/blinkered brothers it’s an educated public that ultimately ensures that the right thing is (almost) done.

    That’s why RTC was so important and I think so dangerous.
    That’s also why we see comments no longer allowed on certain red top web sites.

    We the fans of Scottish Football in order to form a more perfect sport……… (if only eh?).


  47. Agrajag says:

    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 21:52(Edit)

    TSFM says:
    Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 20:55

    ==================

    Can you explain to me why Rangers shares will sell on AIM at 70p, whilst Celtic shares currently trade at about 38p.

    The only possible reason I can see is nothing to do with playing football and receiving an income from that. It would be to get a return from something else. For example selling of the £80m worth of assets it would appear the company currently has.

    If Rangers shares sell at a decent price and in reasonable quantities it will not be a footballing related purchase and much more likely to be some type of asset stripping I would have thought. Football clubs, and especially Scottish ones are not cash generating.
    ____________________________________________________________________

    No, I can’t explain that Agrajag. I am merely passing on information from a trusted source who told me unequivocally that Green had £7m in the bank.

    Not being a share-owning type (in fact eschewing such capitalist bounty for all of my life) perhaps my inference that the share price is not so much a measure of a company as it’s total share capital is wrong.

    In the event I am correct then surely price comparisons of single shares are not meaningful?

    That wasn’t my point though. My point is that perhaps the general group-think on this board is sometimes so strong that we veer across lanes and into oncoming traffic due to our refusal to see anything other than bad news for Green. Personally I don’t think that is realistic, but I put that info out there along with my impressions to try to get us to enter into a discourse about it.

    To use a football idiom, at the end of the day, we are all guessing over the fate of Rangers. Where Green’s money is, whether it’s in cash, credit or Green Shield stamps, the fact is that if he has funds to keep the club running until the end of the season, he will have a better chance of making a success out of his wee scheme. The argument about whether Green’s success or failure is tied in with Rangers long term future is also one worth having, but there is another, more stark point to make here. Why are we obsessing about it?

    If Rangers are a different club, are we really so keen to see them fail? And if so why?

    I would prefer if we were less concerned with that and more concerned with cleaning out the cesspit that is organised football in Scotland. Green is both a symptom and a sideshow in terms of the sickness that has befallen our national sport, propagated by vested interests and the press. Dwelling on Green and his travails is not the cure.


  48. TSFM says:
    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 00:18

    Thanks for being so condescending, however I base my posts on my own opinion, not on “group-think” as you describe it.

    In other considerations.

    “If Rangers are a different club…”

    There’s no “if” about it, they are. Rangers died and are being liquidated.


  49. As an aside Live at the Apollo was quite good tonight.


  50. Lord Wobbly says:
    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 00:46

    Why would there be a “place for Ranger”

    If there are two leagues of 12 then that should be made up of the top 24 teams in the country. At best rangers will be 33rd, they won’t even be close to the top 24.


  51. Agrajag says:

    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 00:26(Edit)

    Thanks for being so condescending, however I base my posts on my own opinion, not on “group-think” as you describe it.

    ______________________________________________________________

    congratulations on being uber-quick to take offence when none was intended. Not for the first time either.


  52. hmmm – been away a bit (that other stuff like work, family – kept me away from the real internet world stuff 🙂 ) looks like a lot has happened in the last few weeks, some shocks (FTT anyone?) but some great posts and I’m really heartened to see ‘acceptance’ of the blog in the form of participation from stuart cosgrove. However, reading the last couple of days posts I have to agree that (TDs coming) there is a definite anti-rangers bias creeping in. Admittedly I haven’t kept up, but last i looked the blog name is still the Scottish football monitor NOT the SEVCO Rangers monitor, amongst the weak leadership and reconstruction talks from the SFA/SPL/SFL why are we all still fixated on CG and his band of “merry” men. From TSFM’s post above, i see nothing to dispute that the information on the 7M in the bank is probably realistic and they probably won’t go under any time soon, this does not mean I condone their methods but they probably will see out the season. sorry for being ‘off message’ 🙂


  53. Good to see a Scottish football club being held to account by the MSM for the behaviour of its staff – for once!


  54. Just thinking aloud. 20m institutional investors. Could the 20m be forward paid, lets just say in the form of a previous Season ticket deal? As long as that ‘sale’ was enough to drag in the further £10m from the family then job done. Just a thought.

    Failing which Murray/King every day of the week.


  55. What if the deal with Ticketus is that they use a nominee Co to “buy” £20m of shares but pay nothing for them because they are owed £27m?
    Green keeps this quiet to encourage gullible Bears to cough up £10m thinking Sevco now have £20m for players?
    Two things for sure
    No institutional investor will buy into a football club in order to make money from dividends This leaves share appreciation as the sole rationale.
    The average Bear will need to put up all the money


  56. Lord Wobbly 01.01,

    Never knew Colin Nish was worth £1m… 😉 ?

    Davie Robb lumping down the left wing. Now there’s a memory. I’m off for a bit of a wallow…!


  57. Lord Wobbly says:
    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 09:12

    (English) football’s tax shame. Strangely, no references to any clubs from other countries that died as a result of tax issues.
    —————————————————————————————————————-

    I think the real issue is less about the quality of England’s MSM and much much more about how rank useless the Scottish MSM is. Why aren’t Scottish papers looking at the top 6 Scottish clubs and how they handle tax – it isn’t just a Rangers issue as we are in the main talking about Corporation Tax and the mechanisms used to ensure payments under it are kept to a minimum and it would appear that football clubs have more room to manoeuvre than most other companies. The FTT, from memory, stated that Rangers hadn’t paid any Corporation Tax for the period under investigation but tbh I haven’t a clue about other Scottish football clubs, including Celtic.

    On a separate Rangers tax issue I have always wondered whether the – was it £40m – tax loss mentioned in chico’s first share marketing presentation in May has ever managed to find its way to newco or whether it actually died with oldco when the CVA failed. Being able to write-off £40m against profits is a nice little earner so was it another asset sold to sevco by D&P?


  58. As a football fan, I don’t believe Charles Green’s incarnation of Rangers has a legitimate place in the senior game. As such, I confess I’d like to see them fail – in the same way that, if a player dives to win a penalty, I’d like to see him sky said penalty over the bar to the sound of sarcastic cheers. Am I bad?
    Another club could have been “making friends” in the third division. With friends like Charles Green, who needs Piers Morgan?


  59. ecobhoy says: Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 09:47

    I’m guessing that most Spl clubs won’t be liable for corporation tax as none of them make a profit.


  60. Lord Wobbly says:

    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 01:01

    Puts a different meaning to the statement, ‘I’m away for a Colin Nish!’

    OK, I’ll get ma hat…


  61. Lord Wobbly on Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 09:21
    1 0 Rate This
    Which led me to this. Don’t recall seeing this before. We must be slipping fellow bampots (or is it just me?)

    Anyway, the genius idea to tax five-a-side teams whilst allowing the big boys to get away with it just beggars belief.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/plans-to-tax-fiveaside-teams-cause-outrage-7932627.html
    ——————————————–
    The crux of why tax avoidance benefits the few and damages the many. With ever dwindling tax receipts the burden falls more and more on the average, law abiding, non fiddling Joe.
    Mind you, I’m sure my company gym membership is tax deductible. For now.


  62. ecobhoy says: Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 09:47

    The FTT, from memory, stated that Rangers hadn’t paid any Corporation Tax for the period under investigation but tbh I haven’t a clue about other Scottish football clubs, including Celtic.
    =======================================
    In their recent accounts Celtic reported as follows:

    TAXATION PROVISION
    No provision for corporation tax is required in respect of the year ended 30 June 2012. The provisional tax computation for accounts purposes provides tax losses carried forward of approximately £33m (2011: £27m) and an available capital allowance pool of approximately
    £13.99m (2011: £14.55m).

    The value of the deferred taxation not reflected in the financial statements of the Group was £8.42m (2011: £6.90m) which will be recovered to the extent of future taxable profits of the Group.

    —————————————————-
    That is the same process adopted by other clubs, e.g Hearts have accumulated £16.2M of losses that they can set against future corporation tax (in the unlikely event that they will ever be profitable). I think you can use something like the previous 5 years losses to set against tax.


  63. Lord Wobbly says:

    Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 00:46

    Much as I am not a fan of reconstruction as being some kind of saviour of Scottish football, I kind of like the idea of that plan. I doubt it will go through, though, as it’s probably too radical for most clubs, and, in my scepticism, suspect it’s just the SFA/SPL’s way of appearing to be less than 100% behind fast-tracking TRFC up the divisions.


  64. easyJambo says: Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 10:56

    ecobhoy says: Sunday, December 2, 2012 at 09:47

    ____________________________________________
    PWC has reported on the accounts of the SPL Clubs, the following link being to the 2009/10 position. I can’t find a later one.

    http://pwc.blogs.com/files/22nd-afr-spr11.pdf


  65. Re the article on the SPL statement regarding reconstruction;

    The SPL could have cleared this up sometime back, by stating the rules they would propose to apply for invitation to the new SPL structure. When trying to implement this in such a short space of time, the only way to do it is by league position. Even at this stage, this is not fair on certain clubs, given that we are nearly halfway through the season.

    Haste, lack of clarity, lack of clear direction….. its no wonder most people think these guys are up to something.

Leave a Reply