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.
I am catching up with posts after being away for a wee while.I find it surprising this same club stuff is still being discussed.Rangers fans are carrying on business as usual.All the legal arguments will make no odds,to them its still Rangers.They are clearly not the same entity,but exist as the footballing outlet for Rangers fans.Stripping of titles etc will confirm a breach of the rules by the oldco,although it will be regarded by gers fans as stripping of titles,full stop.
I don’t see the point in endlessly trying to convince, effectively deaf ears, in relation to whether it is the same club or not.
Mr Traynor;he is all over this site.I dont read his paper,I dont click onto his articles,I dont listen to his programme or any programme he takes part in.I appreciate today maybe a wee bit different,but,honestly this blog ,Ifeel ,needs to move on from its mild obsession with Mr Traynor.He must love his”popularity” on here,can we just leave him alone?
What if the blazers can’t take the chance of shoehorning sevco into the top flight next season in case the Scottish Football Fans are still hell bent on fair play but think they will get away with arranging a way of getting sevco into the spl the following year ,thus still fast tracking them but only by a season .
nevilleprat says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 16:37
=========================================================
Today is the day when the discussion about the Daily Record’s Mr Traynor has been valid – he’s written a column in the newspaper with best claim to be a national sports paper in trenchant terms about the clash between MSM and electronic media (bampots). Some of the posters here have responded in kind, claiming ‘victory’, but there has also been some more reasoned opinion. If, as has been suggested, Mr Traynor’s next job is associated with The Rangers in some way, that would also be worthy of analysis.
easyJambo says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 16:30
0 0 Rate This
My concern is the use of the word “invite”. That suggests to me that the top 24 in the league standings will be “invited” to join the SPL, subject to them meeting certain entry criteria.
There is no way that the likes of Cowdenbeath would be able to raise the money to be able to comply with the current criteria, therefore the net will be opened wider, until you know who will be offered a place.
Even Turnbull Hutton stated as much in his last radio interview.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Does that wider net include an Asbestos free stadium? Or is a human health risk not as important as 6000 seats?
Brenda
Why are you so happy ,anyone would think it’s Christmas or something
this person posted this comment on the bbc website comments section for the dundee utd v sevco game –
5.Terzo333
3 Hours ago
Historic game for both teams. First time Dundee Utd have ever faced them. They have the big bucks, but Utd have the history. Should be an interesting tie
Report this comment (Comment number 5)
Link to this
Re Traynor:
Anyone else thinking it’s only a matter of time before another ‘Downfall’ parody appears on Youtube? That final column looks like the transcript of it!
oh and apparently campbell ogilvie was caught by a bbc reporter today,
[as the golf course was covered in snow.]
campbell having a pop at people who reckoned rangers were guilty in the EBT case, before the fttt reported their findings.
he wants to move forward and put it all behind him !
nevilleprat says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 16:37
‘its mild obsession with Mr Traynor.’
——-
Nobody gives a tuppenny toss about Traynor as Traynor,.
Most of us would rather we had never heard of him.
But we very much care about the baneful influence Traynor exercised as the special pleader on behalf of wrongdoing, and his demands that we all ‘move on’, as a tactic to sweep all kinds of legitimate questions ( questions which he himself ought to have been asking professionally) under the carpet.
The man is a disgrace to his profession,which will be the better without him..
http://twitter.com/bbcsportsound
3rd tweet down – claiming the “tie of the round” is dundee utd-v-the sevco franchise
how can the bbc claim that an spl team v 3rd div team is tie of the round ?
What I took from Traynor’s column today was: it’s all RTC’s / Internet Bampots’ fault !
The guy has 37 years experience of being paid to ‘report’ on sport, and undoubtedly must have acquired a huge list of amazing memories.
Rather than just listing names in the article, if he had actually stuck to sharing some of his experiences in a bit of detail it would/should have made possibly his best column ever ?
I sincerely would have enjoyed reading that column.
Instead he comes across as someone refusing to adapt to the times – like an observer in a previous era who might have said, “Those horseless carriages will never catch on…” !
Another wasted opportunity for Traynor.
jimlarkin says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 17:34
____________________________
As much as I dislike them, it is for sure the tie of the round. Not in respect to prestige or quality but because of the nature of the game and hype surrounding it. How many non Dundee Utd and Rangers supporters will want to watch it?
CO on STV stutters when asked if he intends paying back his EBT, “Thats a private matter between him and the trust”. Clearly he was not expecting that type of question.
More like it please.
Law & Beating Barca @mdkster
Pop Quiz: which current SFA President signed “side letters” of Rangers players which were “actively concealed” from HMRC, the SFA & the SPL?
What will be the other teams fans response if/when sevco are “invited” to leapfrog the rightful owners of top 24 status.
What will CG and the rest of the dog whistlers say if they are left out of the newly reconstructed SPL’s.
How long will union sevcos D UTD boycott last, if it is a permanent thing then why try and promote this malignancy into the league quicker than they should.
How many other clubs are on union berks hit list, lets get them named and see if it makes a difference when SPL party planners are deciding who to send invites to.
Why finish the statement with no surrender, or are they not a part of the mythological silent majority.
Jim Traynor. Don’t let the door hit you on they way oot!
redetin says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 14:43
5 0 Rate This
———–
This is a slightly OT post and deals with the question about allegiance posed by John Clarke earlier. It’s a bit boring so please bypass my musings for more on Ticketus, BDO, et cetera. Feel free to TD 😉
Great post from a true nomad redetin. I’ve come to view football allegiance as being about the local community you live in. These days I live in a town of about 12,000 and the local team isn’t even in the lowest division of Danish football. But it’s my local team, and therefore my team I suppose. Green and white stripes by the way. I’ve played individual sport for the local club too, for umteen years, and I think that adds to the sense of belonging. My son also played in the junior teams and I’ve followed him and the team around as a willing driver to various small towns here in North Sjaelland, all of which seem to have small but thriving football clubs.
To see a bit of better football I could drive 20 minutes and watch FC Nordsjaelland, current Danish champions, but I’ve no real affiliation with that town. So I’m a confirmed uber diddy.
Back in the ’80s when I lived in central Copenhagen I attended the local matches each Sunday. At one point Boldklubben Frem 1886 was my local team, they’re in Div 1 today. After that, living in another part of the city, I attended the matches of KB who played at the national stadium. They merged with another team and became FC Copenhagen. Fleeting allegiances perhaps.
But my first love was Scottish football and it still is. Living abroad you tend to be more catholic in your appreciation of the game. If I was ever in love with Rangers, sadly, it didn’t last long. But because your earliest memories are usually the most vivid I will always remember going to that big stadium with Baxter, McKinnon, Forrest, Henderson, and others on show. But love now, no. A team has to prove itself worthy of your support. I’ve never been into blind allegiance. That said, I’d support almost any Scottish team in Europe and make an effort to get to the match if it was in the area. It was inspiring to see all the Hoops wandering around Helsingborg a few months ago, and watching it on telly later I felt I was there (turned out tickets were impossible to buy at the stadium on match day).
So for me, specific allegiance can certainly change as you live and work in another community. Of course, there’s never the same depth of engagement as there would be in a team from your childhood streets; one that you were born with, so to speak. But you can stop supporting a team out of princple, if you disagree with what the club and a fair number of its supporters stand for. Allegiance, yes – blind allegiance, no.
I hope this does not force someone in resigning or getting sacked for stating The Rangers.
https://twitter.com/dkirwan68/status/275597696293826560/photo/1
The real significance in todays cup draw is that there will be zero money in Greens pocket from a match played on 13 Dec. At best he will have to wait the maximum time period for the Sevco share of the gate. At worse he wont get paid anything until he has paid the money he agreed to pay DUFC as part of the price of getting Newco in to the 3rd div
goosygoosy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 19:17
—————————————————-
Have the SFA or Dundee Utd stated this for a fact?
Just had a horrible, horrible thought.
Could Traynor be going initially to TRFC, [allegedly], for only a brief period…
…before he takes up his position as SFA Chief Executive ? [And Ogilvie is going nowhere !]
What a ‘Dream Team’ that would be for Scottish Football. 🙄
Yes – just so ridiculous – it could be true ! 😉
===================================
[To be absolutely clear: this is purely based on my own wild imagination and nothing else.]
From: http://www.teamtalk.co.za/scottish-premier/8307167/Ogilvie-I-almost-quit-SFA-role
————-
When asked if he was expecting to have pay back his EBT loan, Ogilvie said: “That’s a matter entirely between myself and the trust. That’s purely a personal matter.
“I was open at the outset. Had it not been for the football background I wouldn’t even have been answering these questions and I wouldn’t expect to ask you a question about your personal financial arrangements.”
Ogilvie stressed he was keen to move on from the topic of Rangers’ financial collapse and focus on talks aimed at league reconstruction.
————–
Fair question to ask about loan repayment, unless the loans from the trust had nothing whatsoever to do with RFC. By the way, isn’t there a technical term for siphoning off huge amounts of cash from an enterprise that then folds leaving a mountain of debt?
http://www.thefootballlife.co.uk/post/37127467503/apertura-y-clausura-de-escocia
In which the SPL’s plan for reconstruction is ignored and instead I try to implement a combination of South American league models onto the SPL.
In pun form, I argue that, this winter, Scotland should be Chile.
Dundee Utd V Rangers
I see that the nobody loves loves us every body hates us and well get you back brigade (and for what?) are talking about boycotting the game. Catch 22 for them really because if they don’t support their team they may be out and if they do they are giving money to United. The annoying thing for Utd is that if they don’t turn up they have to give 50% of the gate to Rangers even if it’s only United supporters who attend. So lets say ole Chuckie asks the fans or the fans decided not to attend, here’s what I would do if it’s feasible. I would charge £25 per ticket however I would make it clear on the ticket that £0.10 is the cost of the ticket and £24.90 is a tax free loan or donation to Utd payable back only on the supporters death bed. So if 15000 go Rangers only get £3750 and Utd get the same + £373,500 in donations or tax free loan. Sounds feasible or do I get my jacket? 🙂
Danish Pastry says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:00
“I was open at the outset. Had it not been for the football background I wouldn’t even have been answering these questions and I wouldn’t expect to ask you a question about your personal financial arrangements.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Doh!!! Football Background
Is that not the feckin point being that SDM has so far been proven correct by the tribunial and he himself said the ‘loans’ were to be paid back. Therefore until he sold the club to Craig Whyte as the then chairman of Rangers and current owner/chairman of MIH the trust he must still control was owed £90k by the President of the SFA. The FTTT seemed to be clear that the trustees were very lax e.g SDM awarded his own bonus and loaned himself and his boys plenty, so who is to say what could have went on if SDM had told them to call in certain loans. They seemed to be a pliable bunch.
I’m guessing that nothing dodgy actually occured in relation to the £90k owed having any ‘influence.
However it is the principle of the thing that stinks in the same way CO couldn’t bear to part with his small holding of Rangers shares (transfered to the wife). You certainly cannot take away the man’s work history from his time at Ibrox but surely the president of the SFA should have no financial ties to any member club or owners/chairmen of member clubs.
Danish Pastry says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 18:58
Oddly enough Boldklubben Frem actually went bust in 2010 whilst in the second tier and had to start way back in their local league (Københavnsserien – 5th tier). Is there something about the clubs you’ve supported, Danish? 🙂
But, unlike Scotland, Danmark actually has pyramid system and the team is making progress winning promotion 2 years in a row. But, they seem to be struggling a bit in the third tier, right enough! So, it doesn’t seem to be all plain sailing, this working your way back up the leagues…
Oh aye…and the club still claims the 6 top tier league titles they won in the 30’s and 40’s!
briggsbhoy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:10
Dundee Utd V Rangers
I see that the nobody loves loves us every body hates us and well get you back brigade (and for what?) are talking about boycotting the game. Catch 22 for them really because if they don’t support their team they may be out and if they do they are giving money to United. The annoying thing for Utd is that if they don’t turn up they have to give 50% of the gate to Rangers even if it’s only United supporters who attend. So lets say ole Chuckie asks the fans or the fans decided not to attend, here’s what I would do if it’s feasible. I would charge £25 per ticket however I would make it clear on the ticket that £0.10 is the cost of the ticket and £24.90 is a tax free loan or donation to Utd payable back only on the supporters death bed. So if 15000 go Rangers only get £3750 and Utd get the same + £373,500 in donations or tax free loan. Sounds feasible or do I get my jacket?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It would be amusing after the threat of £15 programmes but Dundee United should not stoop to such depths. (in my opinion). They should let all the kids in free though
I know he is not everyone’s cup of tea but here is now you sign off with a bit of class.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHkPndMLv0E
briggsbhoy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:10
Too much thought – couldn’t Utd just keep the whole gate and claim that it’s in reparation for the the money owed for the Scottish cup tie? Presumably the only grounds that Charles would have to complain would be that they aren’t the same club?
Just FYI, extract from Scotsman below.
Presumably, Lloyds are just trying to recoup some of their losses – i.e. Minty won’t see a penny ?
===========================================================================
Dunedin backs management buyout of Sir David Murray’s Premier Hytemps By GARETH MACKIE AND PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on Monday 3 December 2012 15:21
Dunedin, the Edinburgh-based private equity firm, has backed the management buy-out of metals business Premier Hytemp from Sir David Murray’s Murray International Holdings in a £34.5 million deal.
Edinburgh-based Premier Hytemp turns over more than £42m a year and employs more than 200 people, with manufacturing sites in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Singapore, where it operates the country’s largest steel heat treatment plant.
The firm also has operations in Canada and is due to open a base in Dubai.
Dunedin managing partner Shaun Middleton said: “Premier Hytemp fits with Dunedin’s strategy of investing in UK-headquartered companies that are market leaders in their niche and which have strong international growth prospects.
“Commercially, Premier Hytemp is one of a few companies within its sector that has the requisite engineering skills, customer approvals, certifications and geographical reach to meet the increasingly demanding needs of this global industry.”
http://www.scotsman.com/business/energy-and-utilities/dunedin-backs-management-buyout-of-sir-david-murray-s-premier-hytemps-1-2672058
garrymc73 says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:41
Have to admit that I was a latecomer to my team. I was a Dundee Utd fan when I was a kid, despite not coming from Dundee! They had a cracking team in the eighties, which was when I became properly aware of football. My favourite player was Stuart Beadie (Can never understand how he never got a game for Scotland). Also managed to attend the odd game – the last one being the Scottish cup tie against Airdrie in early ’94, the season that Ivan Golac managed to do what Jim McLean always failed to do, and win the Scottish cup!
However, when Clyde pitched up in Cumbernauld in ’94, I became a semi-regular at Broadwood. Clyde had a decent side around that time, with Charlie Nicholas starring, and I’ve been a fan of the Bully Wee ever since, although I must admit that my fervour for them has had peaks and troughs over the years! It was reinvigorated by the recent shenanigans, though….
briggsbhoy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:10
Dundee Utd V Rangers
,,,,,,
Nope
The best way to deal with this sort of boycott nonsense is to hump them 5-0
goosygoosy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 22:16
Nope I was hoping they got a pittance and then got humped 5-0. I would have suggested that as nuetrals we take up the seats left by Rangers but that would hav put money in Chuckies coffers
In an ideal world…
So TRFC carry out their ‘threat’, [because they do like to threaten], to boycott the Dundee United game.
And instead, the away section is full of fans from other SPL/SFL clubs wearing their own club colours.
Just Scottish football fans out to enjoy a good cup-tie, and to display their support for the game – in spite of the football administrations.
I think TRFC fans would implode if that happened !
If Carlsberg did boycotts… 😉
That was my first thought but now as you describe it how would that be for a good day out, starting in the Clep Bar:) My problem is I don’t do football scarfs
Any spare cash in that fund Mr Monitor ?
briggsbhoy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 22:46
Any spare cash in that fund Mr Monitor ?
================================
God loves a trier…!
Alternatively, if TRFC fans manage a total boycott, a cheaper option could be to have some neutrals buy a ticket – and then unfurl banners in the away section.
Banners like;
“Ogilvie must go”
“SFA – listen to your customers for a change”
“No parachute for Sevco”
“Davie Dodds the elephant man”
etc…
While deranged fans’ organisations might get away with calling on their ilk to boycott a Cup fixture, surely the club they follow would leave itself open to charges from the football authorities if it, through its CEO, were to openly support such a boycott. Their actions would surely be considered harmful to the game and leave them open to a charge of bringing the game into disrepute, if nothing else.
If any club does not want its supporters to attend any of its matches in a competition, the honourable way to proceed is to withdraw from the competition, surely!
Prohibby, I agree. A fans group referring to other clubs as enemies would see most clubs distance themselves. However, in this case, those representing this particular club have used the same language and tone before now. A sane, responsible, impartial governing body would take action, wouldn’t they? Let’s hear the views of the rational Rangers fans on this. Are you in favour of boycotts and referring to other clubs as enemies?
garrymc73 says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:41
8 0 Rate This
Danish Pastry says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 18:58
Oddly enough Boldklubben Frem actually went bust in 2010 whilst in the second tier and had to start way back in their local league (Københavnsserien – 5th tier). Is there something about the clubs you’ve supported, Danish?
————-
Haha, yes, it must be the curse of the lapsed bluenose 🙂
I know they fell on hard times after I left the area in the late 1980s (nothing to do with me leaving obviously). They’ve had a few bankrupcies I believe as have another team called Frem (Amager)!
Football sometimes seems to attract emotionally committed people with little sense of financial reality but also dodgy people with a very good sense of how to feather their own nest whilst having no emotional commitment to any club. The current champions, FC Nordsjaelland are in quite a spot of bother too, but you’d think the CL matches would help.
I think the strength of this country and the other Scandinavian and Nordic countries is their grassroots work. They keep producing some very good players. That’s why they seem to punch above their weight in Europe and on the international scene. So something in the coaching setup is working.
StevieBC says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 22:55
You got tae ask and if you don’t ask you dont get. 🙂 I love the banners idea, your getting me awe exciting thinking about how much fun that could be if they did boycott and all the nuetral piled in wi the banners.
Amamgedon! Repent the SPL is Nigh
Interest free loans fae MIH, nae set up fee
Free Pay day Loans
The Rangers for their First Cup
Now as for poor Davie and John Merrick your being very unkind, truthful but unkind. I do think that there is a young man and multiple father at Hibees, the boy who knows how to score on and off the park who is taking over where Davie left off (in looks, no weans), it’s been a while since any got abuse fir thur looks in the SPL.
prohibby says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 23:11
I gave you a TU even though I think your answer is to sensible. I prefer the line SteveBC and myself are going down or have we gone to far! 🙂
Jim Traynor? ……… Conscience? …….. Ma bahookie!
Rat and sinking ship ….. simples.
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 20:00
From: http://www.teamtalk.co.za/scottish-premier/8307167/Ogilvie-I-almost-quit-SFA-role
————-
When asked if he was expecting to have pay back his EBT loan, Ogilvie said: “That’s a matter entirely between myself and the trust. That’s purely a personal matter.
“I was open at the outset. Had it not been for the football background I wouldn’t even have been answering these questions and I wouldn’t expect to ask you a question about your personal financial arrangements.”
Ogilvie stressed he was keen to move on from the topic of Rangers’ financial collapse and focus on talks aimed at league reconstruction.
————–
Fair question to ask about loan repayment, unless the loans from the trust had nothing whatsoever to do with RFC. By the way, isn’t there a technical term for siphoning off huge amounts of cash from an enterprise that then folds leaving a mountain of debt
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Not forgetting of course that the EBT contributions (using BoS money) increased the tax losses which Rangers surrendered to MIH saving them corporation tax in the days when the group made money.
my post has gone missing – has it been eaten by Jim Traynor ? – surely he’s not inside TSFM eating all our posts?!
Ah well, apologies for whatever caused the removal – just silly speculation with no little measure of glee:)
StevieBC says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 21:13
Just FYI, extract from Scotsman below.
Presumably, Lloyds are just trying to recoup some of their losses – i.e. Minty won’t see a penny ?
===========================================================================
Dunedin backs management buyout of Sir David Murray’s Premier Hytemps By GARETH MACKIE AND PETER RANSCOMBE
Published on Monday 3 December 2012 15:21
Dunedin, the Edinburgh-based private equity firm, has backed the management buy-out of metals business Premier Hytemp from Sir David Murray’s Murray International Holdings in a £34.5 million deal.
Edinburgh-based Premier Hytemp turns over more than £42m a year and employs more than 200 people, with manufacturing sites in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Singapore, where it operates the country’s largest steel heat treatment plant.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
£34.5M for a company with a turnover of £42M ? Great business.
Tommy the Bampot owns Hugh Keevins, then Brian Stockbridge.
http://glasgowradio.blogspot.co.uk/
The best piece of broadcasting I have heard in a long, long time.
Tommy, chapeau!
And Tommy’s interview with David Low is educational too.
It’s hard rain gonna fall (pace Bob Dylan)
“I heard a thousand voices whose tongues were all broken”
RIP Mr Traynor
Rumour going around that Mr Traynor has left ‘journalism’ to take up a more lucrative position as moderator with a popular Scottish football blog. He’s been a busy man…..apparently.
No offence intended.:)
David Low, the gentleman who was in charge of finances at Celtic during the Fergus McCann tenure, courtesy of Tommy the Bampot’s interview:
“Rangers have overspent from 1998 right up to 3 years ago. They were always going to have a bigger squad than we (Celtic) had. Quite frankly it was an achievement to win the league while paying for that stadium….. Fergus McCann never went out of his way to ingratiate himself to the media….
…. The Board across the city has been exposed for what they are. Sir David Murray is an entrepeneur… his record speaks for itself. That’s why they gave him that Knighthood thingie… But if you take Rangers in isolation, they have blown an incredulous amount of money….
…He took control of Rangers in 1988 and the first thing he did was to take 8 million quid off the fans with that club deck, with the debenture. And all the Rangers fans who invested in that have ended up with nada…..
….Then for those of you who might remember, he took 40 million quid for 29.9 % off Joe Louis and Daniel Leavey, the current owners of Tottenham….. and then there was another 20 million from David King and Alistair Johnston….. and another 50 million in that rights issue… add all that up with the 18 million overdraft… that’s an incredulous amount of money that’s been and gone.”
“…… And ended up worth a pound.”
David Low.
“2008 was when the game changed. That’s when the cosy wee relationship Rangers had with the Bank of Scotland ended…. That’s when Lloyds took over the Bank of Scotland…. That’s when Lloyds TSB put two men on the Board…. It wasn’t widely reported in the Press but that’s when Rangers were being investigated by HMRC over these EBTs… That would have put off 99 out of h@ndred prospective buyers… of course, as we all know, there was the one in a h@ndred who wasn’t put off – Mr Whyte.”
David Low
“And Craig Whyte bought the club for a pound. I dont believe for a minute that Murray didn’t know what this guy was about…. It was crystal clear what he was about…. All these committee guys, whether at Rangers or MIH, they all knew what he was about.”
David Low
“I am not convinced it was a conspiracy. The most important thing which has happened in the last five years, a game changing event, was the financial crash…. That was the point I’m sure, that David Murray wanted out of Rangers. It may well be that he wanted a patsy and it may well be that Craig Whyte was that patsy…. But they are all responsible for where they are.”
David Low
David Low then goes on to talk about Jim Farry but I’m too tired to write it all down.
My tuppenceworth.
Is it not of note that the proposals put forward by the SPL leave no room for The Rangers to skip a division or two?
That invitation as mentioned makes people fear the worst, but it is obvious that the proposed 12-12-the rest structure cannot hurry (or hurrah) The Rangers through the leagues. Well not by merit. Equally though the SFL proposed stucture also leaves The Rangers in the bottom division (if implemented at the start of next season).
I really believe that The Rangers and Green have made it impossible to fast-track them through the league structure, even a reconstructed one.
I fully accept that the same old forces still owe allegiance to old Rangers, and that has transferred to The Rangers, but I feel confident that despite everything Scottish football will have to resist armeggedon without The Rangers being fast-tracked.
And if so, then the bampots will have won.
doontheslope says:
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 00:35
2 1 Rate This
Tommy the Bampot owns Hugh Keevins, then Brian Stockbridge.
http://glasgowradio.blogspot.co.uk/
The best piece of broadcasting I have heard in a long, long time.
———-
This is great listening even for non-Celtic fans Doon. David Low’s insights are a piece of East End history I knew very little about. An inspirational story.
The Glasgowradioblogspot was a very interesting piece of broadcasting. I have listened to site on several occasions and found it to be very informative and interesting, however, the bloke asking the questions just drives me crazy. He is so long winded that he asks the same questions, worded slightly differently each time, over and over again before the interviewee gets the chance to respond, I know that the guy is an amateur and so has a lot to learn about how to conduct an interview, and he does ask some very pertinent questions, but if anyone knows him, please ask him to ask the question directly, once, not to waffle, and then allow the guest to answer. A very good idea though and with a little more practice and polish, could become a great source of information.
Apologies in advance for the length of this but, before moving on from Jim Traynor, I want to underline why his final column epitomises MSM failings which have a high level of culpability for what is currently wrong in our game. A lengthy quote from Traynor’s piece:
“Actually, for the last couple of years some of the most bilious types have been allowed to emerge from the shadows and spew invective that sadly became regarded as fact, even though what they were saying and writing wasn’t even close to being definitive. Or honest. Overnight all sorts of anonymous bloggers became experts. These champions of decency had all the answers. They knew better than anyone else. They said over and over Rangers would be done for cheating the tax man.
They were wrong, the Rangers Tax Case blog in particular. Yet he/her/they stated: “This blog has been accurate on all of the major points of the case except the one that matters most to date – the FTT (First-tier Tax Tribunal) outcome”.
Excuse me? Accurate on all the major points except the bit that matters most. And that’s all right is it?….
….Dolts. The result is everything. If any of the Rangers Tax Case bloggers are trained lawyers, would you want them to defend you in a court of law?
Even now so many – and I include some fellow journalists – still cannot bring themselves to accept Rangers did not cheat the tax man by using EBTs.
Perhaps in time more will be written about this kind of hack and the rabid desire to help bring down Rangers, a fierce desire that, sadly, was widespread. Actually, I’m sure more will be written about them.
Just when did they become consumed by such eye-popping rage? Was it always there, a dormant fury against Rangers and their fans, who deserve enormous credit for having saved their club, just waiting for the catalyst?
Now they can’t help themselves. They can’t stop foaming at the mouth and we can be sure their determination to have titles stripped will go into overdrive.
They need some kind of victory or they might explode and that would be terribly messy. All that bile all over the walls and streets.
Unfortunately reason was never allowed to be a player in this grotesque game, which quickly became dominated mostly by incoherent imbeciles fuelled by all that hatred.”
What facts are present in this quote? Just about all of it is opinion and that opinion is emotion fueled dislike (putting it mildly). There is no analysis. No here are the facts and on the basis of these facts here is my argument. In short Traynor’s article does exactly what he accuses others of in a quite breathtaking way, all based on one fact, the 2-1 verdict at the FTT which of course could yet be appealed. I’d add that as a regular reader of RTC a key theme for many was a desire for the rules to be applied without fear or favour, but I have never heard Traynor recognise this, even though it was a recurring theme in the blog (and I would quote from it to prove it if I could!)
If the end of Traynor’s tenure marked the end of an era of such journalism and the start of a new one where the facts come first, then that would be a huge step forward for Scottish Football. But it doesn’t. Here is more opinion based on the 2-1 FTT verdict, an article on Cambell Ogilvie in the Sun this morning:
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4679576/Gers-issue-has-been-a-cloud-hanging-over-my-headtime-to-move-on.html
“HIS reputation could have passed the Daz Challenge it was so whiter-than-white.
But Campbell Ogilvie got caught under one dark cloud.
And to some suddenly his character was stained.
As Rangers secretary during the investigated EBT years he was tarnished by suspicion.
As president of the SFA he was no longer clean.
For a while it looked like it was only a matter of time before he was hung out to dry.
But now — after the Ibrox club won their Big Tax Case battle with the taxman — highly respected Ogilvie has been able to hold his head high once again.” ……………..
“Ogilvie could be forgiven for deciding to stand down as SFA president when his term ends early next year.
Instead, however, he plans to stand for re-election.
Asked if he had unfinished business as the head of the SFA, he added: “Absolutely. Even when I finish, there will still be unfinished business, that is the nature of the job here.
“I know a lot of people have felt I should have stood down in any case, but I fully intend to stand again at this stage.
“If the clubs do not want me fine, I have no problem about standing aside and someone else can take it on.”
So a man who is conflicted by being a recipient of an EBT can now brazenly look to stand for re-election as if the FTT verdict has completely exonerated his involvement in this saga, ignoring the details of what Rangers did in the case, how tax liability on some “loans” has been admitted and the potential for an appeal by HMRC and before the SPL investigation into player payments is concluded.
If journalists are not going to do their job properly, is it then surprising if comments from Rangers supporters organisations in support of a boycott of Tannadice go unchallenged? Another Sun article this morning:
A spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Assembly hit out at United chairman Stephen Thompson saying: “We urge the loyal Rangers support to participate in a full boycott of the game.
“United were one of the clubs who voted against allowing Rangers SPL entry and their chairman Stephen Thompson has repeatedly, through his actions at high-powered meetings, intimated further punishment to be administered on our club.”
What is their evidence to support this last contention? Where does the Sun ask why Rangers should have been treated more favourably than previous clubs that went into liquidation (even though they eventually were)? In the absence of a willingness to set out the truth and analyse it, myths develop and hatred festers. What does the future hold for the Scottish game if this evolving situation is not addressed?
A truth and reconciliation process is required. All parties should agree the membership of a panel, respected, independent folk (ideally from outwith Scotland, maybe even outwith the UK) who would look at the facts and set out a definitive analysis of what happened, why it happened, what mistakes were made whether by clubs or organisations, the role of the media, not to perpetuate blame but to clearly set out reality and the lessons to learn to build for the future.
I’ve posted on here that we should welcome Rangers supporters prepared to engage as part of a process to take the game forward but I’m starting to wonder is that possible? Without some form of honest reconciliation, where are we heading…. back to a more hate filled version of the past?
Taysider says
“back to a more hate filled version of the past?” – Because that will sell more Old Firm tickets (the new unedited, unhindered by any of this fear and favour rules nonsense), more helicopter sundays that apparently were the highlight of Scottish football, justify the creaming of whatever the SPL is called’s profits into the prize fund for places 1 and 2 or specific places (regardless of division) as prescribed by Sky as appropriate so we can all enjoy the sight of the blue and green tops on our kids toddling about the shopping malls of Brechin on a saturday afternoon.
There finished it for you. Good article none the less.
ps apologies to Celtic fans for the OF inference and the attachment by default but you’ll hopefully see the point I’m making, Mr Doncaster certainly does.
pps apologies to all Brechin inhabitants for starting the unsubstantiated rumour that you now have a mall.
Whilst I’m not suggesting that anyone would want to debase themself by reading mad leggo’s blog, I cannot help but comment how ridiculous his rantings are. This morning he is attempting to suggest that the all powerful P.Lawell is now actually running the DR and that this is the reason JT has left. Over the past few months, according to leggo, PL has been orchestrating everything in Scotland to do with football and finance, now he is controlling a tabloid. I wonder where he finds the time.
The real worry is that there are some amongst the people who think they are, who believe what he writes.
TSFM – were some unflattering posts regarding Mr Traynor deleted?
Tombrann – I have been able to be educated in many ways in the last 12 months – on Peter Lawwell I have also been educated, if I follow Mr Yellow Stains over in Leggoland’s theories….
He is according to Mr Naepals an instigator of all plots to ensure the Mighty TRFC are kept lowly, while secretly pimping them to get himself more cash, while at the same time he is a master mind for world (Scottish) dominance that only a villain in a James Bond film could possibly rival……….
Here was me thinking he was just a dull accountant who is a tight wad who would not spend a few quid in order to buy Stephen Fletcher and ensure we won the league……..
Thanks for the education Leggo!!!
Taysider says:
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 09:14
There are a number of qotes being atributed to Stephen Thomson which are nothing more than fiction, as a reminder of the dilemma the guy faced;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17975013
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Sport/Football/article/23367/dundee-united-chief-warns-against-hasty-decision-on-rangers-newco.html
My advice to Rangers fans, Get a Life and stop blaming everybody outwith your club for what happened at your former club. Why did your former club go into liquidation? because CW failed to pay his bills. Why did he do that ? an act of desperation possibly to keep afloat a club who’s problems were deeper than he realised, they were going down the pan fast and Mr Miller realised that, hence his decision to pull out. FTTT aside this was a club in financial decline, SDM had brought it to its knees, it was on life support and CW’s stewardship brought about assisted suicide without consulation with the family (supporters). Stephen Thomson and Dundee United are not the reason for your downfall, no you need to look closer to home for that. Rules were there to be applied and they were as far as the SPL is concerned, you would have been agreeing with everything I said if this applied to Celtic and rightly so. Your Supporters Associations should have stood up at the time and said that you regret the position that the management and board of Rangers had led this “great club ” to. That you appreciate the damage that the reckless stewardship of the club has done to Scottish Football in general including the use of EBT’s. The latter may have been a legal loophole but in today’s financial climate it was morally wrong. The rules of membership of the SPL which you helped to formulate you obviously thought they applied to everybody else but you. Maybe when your management were involved in making up these rules you could have stuck your hand and said “oh BTW we may have a problem down the line or what if Rangers or Celtic go into Liquidation ?” rightly or wrongly a special case could have been made. It wasn’t and so the rules were there, they were applied, however they were bent to allow you access to league football and for that you should be grateful. The attitude is like an upstanding member of the establishment being found guilty of a major crime by a majority verdict but because he is the establishment and not the common man, expecting to be given community service at worst, when a jail sentence is what is appropriate.
For the sake of Scottish Football I hope the decent supporters amongst you do attend the game and that there is no animosity on the day. I would hope to see the United supporters applaud those who turn up and that there is no sectarian singing and the day passes without incident. For me that would be a step forward.
briggsbhoy says:
Monday, December 3, 2012 at 23:37
I gave you a TU even though I think your answer is to sensible. I prefer the line SteveBC and myself are going down or have we gone to far!
…..
Briggsboy, sorry to take so long responding – it was way past my bedtime!
Honestly, I don’t think that what you and SteveBC suggest goes too far. However, it seems to me that it is important for everyone who has an interest in the game, beyond tribal interests, needs to continue to put pressure on those who govern the game to step up to the mark and meet their responsibilities. The fact that a strong fans pressure group is calling for a boycott of the game without a voice of moderation emanating from the club is sad. So far, the clubs silence on a boycott suggests complicity. Outright support would be crassly irresponsible and surely could not be ignored by those who run the game.
“Buy Stephen Fletcher and ensure we won the league……”
Nice bit of re-writing history there mate!
Partizan says:
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 02:29
Ogilvie feels he can get away with everything! I fear that he is right. At least for now. JT limped on defending Murray to the end.
My question to you all is this: Has JT and Murray won?
=========
In my opinion they have won. Their victory will be complete if the SFL clubs vote for this so-called reconstruction plan.
For anyone who remembers that sort of stuff, their road to victory began that day in June when Lord Hodge inexplicably delayed the liquidation of RFC. That was the difficult part- keeping the RFC membership of the SFA in existence long enough to allow its transfer to Sevco. Green already knew that the “authorities” (what a misuse of language that is) were absolutely desperate to keep a Rangers in the senior game. At any price. Think of the 5-way agreement. Green should have been there as a supplicant, humbly accepting any terms the authorities wished to impose. The reality? Green played hardball, refused to commit to accept any sanctions which LNS might impose, and got the membership transfer anyway.
The murky business of the SFL vote on whether to admit Sevco direct to SFL1, a result that seems to have been promised to Green in advance, has all been forgotten now, the bribes and the threats from the SPL, and in the end the courage of the wee teams in refusing to be bullied. That showed me where the SPL clubs stood. They couldn’t let Sevco straight in to the SPL, or they would never have sold a season ticket. But they dearly wanted them out for the absolute minimum period possible, and were prepared to use any means to coerce the wee clubs into agreeing.
Now the SPL clubs are at it again. Anyone who thinks this reconstruction is anything but a scam needs to wake up and smell the coffee. It will work like this. Doncaster has promised that the top 24 ranking clubs will be invited to join the SPL. And so they will. The scam is that Doncaster and the SPL clubs know very well that a good number of that 24 will have to turn down the invitation, because they cannot provide a 6000 all seater stadium with a grass pitch and undersoil heating by the start of next season. When Doncaster receives the refusals, he will then work his way down the ranking list, issuing invitations in ranking order until he gets 24 acceptances. I can guarantee that TRFC will be in the 24 by the time that process is finished.
I think that is why Green is holding back on his share offer. He sees that his chances of raising cash are vastly improved by SPL membership. And SPL membership is what he will get, if the SPL clubs, Doncaster, Regan, Longmuir and Ogilvie can possibly engineer it.
To me the FTTT result was always a sideshow. RFC were bust anyway, so the result was only going to impact on individuals in tax terms. HMRC may or may not appeal, but if they do, by the time the case is concluded in a couple of years time, TRFC will be in SPL1 essentially debt free, and everybody will have forgotten about EBT’s etc. Especially if SDM can have every blog that ever mentioned the topic excised from history, which he has succeeded in doing with RTC. I didn’t think that was possible in a democratic country, but as you get older, you live and learn. That is free speech in bonnie Scotland, right?
If this reconstruction goes ahead on the basis I have outlined above, then I am finished, finally and absolutely, with every aspect of Scottish football, because it will have been shown to be utterly, irredeemably corrupt, the clubs, the ruling bodies, the whole shooting match. And at that point I will really, really not be interested.
prohibby says:
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 10:48
Your posting obviously had an effect due to my latest rant 🙂
Finding this Tannadice boycott rather amusing.
What exactly is ST being accused, nay, found guilty of? Representing the best long term interests of his club and the fans? If this conflicts with the desperate short term wishes of some Rangers fans and Charles Green, so what?
Anyway, if Stevie T was able to play a pivotal role in bringing Rangers to their current lowly position (which is where they wanted to be anyway, wasn’t it?), that reflects how weak they had become.
But I don’t know why I’m bothering to interpret any logic in the outbursts of a group of particularly psychotic toddlers. Drumming your heels on the floor wailing “It’s Not FAAAIIIRRR! I HATE you!” is never a great negotiating position to put yourself in.
On the basis of the good sense spoken by …
neepheid: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 10:51
… I feel a quick poll coming on.
“Should league reconstruction, by requiring conditions to be met by invitees, provide an avenue for TRFC to progress up the League structure quicker than would otherwise have been possible, I will be finished with Scottish football.”
Agree = TU
Disagree = TD
neepheid says:
Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at 10:51
I fear you may be right with regard to the rush for reconstruction being a sham to shoehorn the new Rangers back into the top flight. Everything else the Scottish footballing ‘authorities’ has done so far has had that specific purpose in mind. The only part of your post where I differ from you is that, although they may appear to be winning the war at this point, they have won yet.
Ultimate responsibility for the current debacle lies with the SFA and, in particular, one Mr RC Ogilvie.
Who had the power to ignore Rangers’ illegitimate implementation of EBTs (as per their SFA submitted documents) knowing this was contrary to the SFA rules regarding players registrations?
Who was responsible for rubber stamping Rangers UEFA licenses for a number of years despite patently failing to meet the necessary criteria due to ongoing disputes with the tax authorities?
Who turned a blind eye to Rangers continuing to spend beyond their means (ignoring the contingent liabilities placed on them by their disputed tax bills) thus ensuring that they were able to fulfil their SPL fixtures in 2011/12 season?
Who was responsible for the shambolic implementation of the ‘fit and proper person’ test which allowed Craig Whyte to buy the club from David Murray, despite his well documented history of shady business dealings?
Who was then suddenly able to successfully implement this same test once the dirty deed had been done and consequently declare Mr Whyte neither fit nor proper, after the fact?
Who had the power to apply significant financial sanctions for ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ to an individual who they knew would not be compelled to pay the fine, while, simultaneously, minimising sanctions applied to the ‘club’ itself?
Who delegated their powers to another autonomous body and private company (SPL) to take control of the duel contract enquiry, gaining Sevco the time required to engineer the transfer of Rangers SFA membership?
Who proposed the ‘transfer of membership’ between an old company (Rangers FC)and a new company (Sevco Scotland Ltd) instead of a new membership being granted, allowing Sevco to claim that they are in fact a continuation of the old Rangers?
Who was in a position to orchestrate the new fangled ‘conditional membership’ which allowed Sevco to play their first game in SFL3 despite not having full membership of the SFA?
Who had the power to delay the commencement of a player registration embargo until after the transfer window closed allowing Sevco to sign a number of new players despite not having paid all their football debts?
Who has the power to suppress the notorious five-way agreement detailing the obligations of the various parties?
Who allowed a subordinate to perpetuate the Armageddon scenario in the hope of scaring SFA member clubs into allowing Sevco/Rangers into the top tier of the SFL?
Who allowed a subordinate to publically and consistently undervalue the Scottish game in the midst of negotiating a major media rights contract to the severe detriment of the finances of the game in Scotland?
Who had the power to procrastinate, obfuscate and ignore any questioning of the activities of Rangers, The Rangers and the governing bodies by the general public?
Who had the power to call a halt to all these shenanigans at any point during the saga by simply applying the agreed rules without fear or favour, yet chose not to do so?
Who still refuses to publically declare that The Rangers is a new club, potentially to the financial detriment of supporters of the old Rangers?
In my humble opinion, it’s past time to cut the head off that particular snake. The fact that this man still occupies the highest position in the Scottish game despite being ‘heavily conflicted’ and being ‘unable to do his job properly’ over the last year is absolutely astonishing. That our mainstream media fail to see the significance of his role in the Rangers shambles and never question him stinks of complicity and corruption.
‘haven’t’….apologies.
Good news and bad news this morning.
Hearts have reached an agreement with HMRC to pay £1.2M + £300K interest in settlement of the offshore payments to loanee players. It will be paid up over three years in monthly installments from May 2013. It’s good news for Hearts fans, but still leaves a lot of uncertainty re the financing of the club going forward. The tax bill adds £10k a week to exenses over three years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20592369
The bad news is that Dunfermline are only able to pay a quarter of their wages this month.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20589792
Dispatches from RM, regarding “The Boycott” …
—–
I’m all for the boycott but where does it all end and what exactly are we boycotting for? If it’s to keep money away from teams like Utd then does this mean we’ll boycott Ibrox if we get them there in a replay? What if we get cetlic in the next round do we boycott that? Or an SPL team in the final, boycott that?
And what happens in the future, do we keep boycotting until we get tot the SPL or do we continue when we get there? Which would leave Rangers with the smallest away support in the land.
Like I said i’m all for the boycott but where are we going with it?
—–
We are going nowhere with it, that’s the general idea lol
—–
There won’t be a boycott so no need to think about when it ends
—–
My boycott lasts as long as I’ve a hole in my arse
—–
Mines started in Feb and will end on the day I die but my family will keep it going I’m sure. SPL grounds will never see another £ from me.
—–
Are you referring to the 11 clubs who were in the SPL at the time of the vote? or the 11 clubs plus Dundee? The clubs which get promoted to it for as long as it survives? What about an SPL club that finds itself relegated?
The till I die bit is pretty clear, Im just curious as to how you’re defining SPL.
—–
when we get an unreserved apology from the SPL teams and fan representitives. in said apology i would like to see wording along the lines of “we now understand that our motivation was purely driven by hate, and we have come out of this period now. we have grown up and will start to appreciate what you give us. our heartfelt thanks to the great Glasgow Rangers’ etc etc
—–
It doesn’t have to go on long at all if we don’t go to any this season (and there will only be a few) then the rest of the spl will start to feel the branch begin to crack beneath them. If we all go back at the first time of asking it just makes us look incredibly weak
—–
I stopped attending away games in Feb…it was made very clear at the time on here….
—–
All away games? you’re not pals with our fellow SFL3 clubs either then?
—–
I’m done giving money to other clubs just to see them stab u’s in the back despite everything we have done for football in Scotland.
—–
Would those clubs do the same if they were inthe SPL at the time? Who knows but I won’t be taking the chance again.
—–
“I’m all for the boycott but where does it all end and what exactly are we boycotting for?…Like I said i’m all for the boycott but where are we going with it?”
You’re all for boycotting but you don’t know what, or why you’d be boycotting, or where you’d be going with it?
You lot can do what you want but I’m going to Tannadice. However, I won’t be stepping foot inside the ground. I will sing for 90mins from outside the ground.
I also won’t be buying anything to eat or drink locally. I will be taking a packed lunch that includes monster munch and a capri sun.
——
etc etc
As always, the WATP show that their prime sustenance is hatred.
Could someone kindly supply the link to the forum that houses the majority of Trfc fans that openly discuss the problems ( past and present ) that face their club and scottish football in general. The one that doesn’t contain sectarian comments or threats and doesn’t make wild assumptions or accusations based on religion or politics.
I mean there must be one.
At least one.
Surely?
One where the vast majority can talk about how disgusted they are with the custodians ( past and present ) of their old and new club.
One that condemns tax avoidance, ambulance service avoidance, face painter avoidance or football debt avoidance ( D UTD scottish cup money anyone? ).
One that condemns intimidation andthreats to individuals, organisations and football clubs, ( DUTD boycott anyone? )
One that distances itself from the statements put out in Trfc fans names by parties such as the RST, RSA, union bears, sandy jardine, ally mccoist, charles green, leggo, dingbat, and graham.
One thats actively campaigning to oust the rabble and clean up the club and reclaim it for themselves.
There isnt one, is there.
Are we to believe that only the dark element can be bothered to speak their views.
RTC and TSFM have proven that many individuals from a huge range of backgrounds and beliefs can gather together and discuss contentious issues without bile and aggression, so why no rangers contingent involved or a forum of their own that can be moderated to preclude anyone who wants to use certain words.
I know many ex rangers fans and most of them are stand up guys, hard workng, family types. Funny, intelligent and honest, yet most are entrenched with this watp mentality. They control the game and the media yet all we hear is how everyone is out to get them, this leads to the desire to destroy the other clubs, not compete with, but dominate and destroy.
A large majority of Trfc fans is a large number of people, easily large enough to be able to carry weight and significance on a blog like this. This is the vehicle that they could have used to finally have their opinions voiced.
It hasnt happened.
Im afraid the quest to find more like glen and yojimbo and the few other decent rangers fans on here is a forlong hope. They seem quite happy to allow their voice aired by groups who end statements with no surrender, or chairmen who end with surrender no and uses masonic language, or owners in orange tops and the linfield link.
The majority at Trfc are the vocal ones, not the silent minority who have been further disenfranchised in the wake of the collusion of the hidden ranks and the dog whistlers calls to arms. They have lost their club twice over, and the message from ibrox is no surrender.