The Stella Dallas of Europe

Leaving aside for the moment the Shadenfreude-laden giggling as first Celtic, and then Rangers departed the Champions League this season, it is worthwhile taking time to think on the reality of Scotland’s latter-day bit-part status in the game.

There are Celtic fans who try to rationalise it by pointing out that for them, the Stein years were a wonderful exception and not the norm. That however does not explain the European status of Rangers, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee, Dundee United, Kilmarnock and Dunfermline in a period of roughly a quarter of a century from the beginning of European competition.

From the fifties to the eighties, Scottish clubs were feared and respected in Europe. Since then, only Martin O’Neil’s Celtic and Walter Smith’s Rangers have made an impression on the European scene.

So what has happened? Many blame the distraction of new technology, taking potential Johnstones and Baxters away from pursuing the soccer dream. I’m not convinced of that myself. They have game consoles and PCs in England and Italy and Germany as well. They also have them in Scandinavian countries where daylight hours and suitable weather are in even less abundance than in Scotland – and of course clubs from Scandinavian countries were both responsible for Celtic and Rangers fates this season.

Failure then breeds failure. Losing out one year means more (and earlier) qualifiers down the line. In this regard, you have to wonder at the claims of how “brilliantly” Celtic have been run over the last decade, when the club went into Euro qualifiers again and again unprepared in terms of personnel, even to the extent of using makeshift central defenders in several campaigns. Our clubs know its all coming, but year on year, we get caught on the hop by the timing of those early ties. Planning? Don’t make me laugh.

We are also faced with the reality that fans of clubs who are not in contention for a ECL group place, are usually fervently hoping that the quest ends in failure. Not because there is a deep hatred of either or both Celtic and Rangers, but because a Champions League place for a Scottish team gives the successful side an immeasurable financial advantage over the rest. Of course that attitude is understandable when you look at the reality for our clubs if one of their number makes it to the group stages.

Scottish football clubs rely heavily on gate income for survival because their media deals struck with broadcasters are so much poorer than in countries of similar size. ECL money – even if the successful side fails to score a goal or get a point on the board – is like all your Christmasses have come at once.

It is well known that the income gap between Celtic & Rangers and the rest is huge. The income gap between a Scottish Champions League team and the rest is even more massive. Yet if a Dutch, or Portuguese or Danish or Swedish side get a place in the group stages, the impact is not so great. Why? Because they have football administrators who can sell the game effectively, getting value for their product from the media.

This is the one area where our administrators have failed consistently and miserably.

The current football model where home teams keep their own gate money, and in some cases even have their own media contracts, is designed to (with the notable exception of England) create a few bigger fishes in a number of smaller ponds. It ultimately ends with the pantomime (which has not yet gone away) of the European Super League.

I wish I could say I had a solution to all this, but my instinct is to say that in the absence of a solution we should forget about Europe and its riches. Instead, lets return to a sport driven model of the game where there is a more equitable share of revenues. Forget the tuppence ha’penny TV contracts and give football back to the fans, live on a Saturday (Covid permitting). In time, the level of competition would increase, as would the quality of the product. The talk to the TV folk when they want to pay the going rate.

It might help if there was some kind of levy (listening indy supporters?) imposed on subscription service providers like Sky. £25m versus £1.5 billion is a much smaller fraction than that of Scottish subscribers to the Sky platform for example.

There is little we in Scotland can do to prevent the globalisation and Mafia-isation of the game internationally, but those things we CAN control, like turning inward to improve our game instead of, like Stella Dallas in the eponymous classic movie, standing in the rain looking through the window at the banquet elsewhere.

Of course it won’t happen.

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John Cole

About Big Pink

Big Pink is John Cole; a former schoolteacher based in the West of Scotland, He is also a print and broadcast journalist who is engaged in the running of SFM . Former gigs include Newstalk 106, the Celtic View, and Channel67. A Celtic fan, he is also the voice of our podcast initiative.

527 thoughts on “The Stella Dallas of Europe


  1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-58421171

    I see the wretched BBC Scotland still cant refer to blatant racism issues as racist/racism/racial, continuing to refer to the problem as Sectarian in their title.

    Even though the actual piece itself contains quotes from senior policemen and the actual charges contain the correct language, they still avoid the blindingly obvious. It’s as if they don’t want to offend a certain club/company/engine room subsidiary…..


  2. Westcoaster
    2nd September 2021 At 12:04 Could push him close to the 30 percent margin then an offer would have to be made ( see dave king and the takeover panel) Can’t see him giving king the 25p a share that club 72 are locked in to buy, and why buy kings shares when they still have to pay back kings loan.


  3. normanbatesmumfc @ 13.07

    Too true!

    a) “England players were pelted with cups and subjected to racial abuse” (Sky Sports)

    b) “Celtic players were pelted with cups and subjected to racial abuse” (Me)

    Discussion topic:-

    Compare and contrast coverage by MSM outlets re the above – with particular reference to Scotland. Feel free to utilise prior knowledge of racial and/or religious intolerance.


  4. The ‘Investors’ page of Rangers FC website still shows that RIFC plc’s ordinary shares of 1 pence each are admitted to trading on JP Jenkins’ matched bargain platform’
    I note from the link to the website of that ‘Trading Platform’ at
    https://jpjenkins.com/companies/
    that the ‘indicative’ share price is shown as ’19’
    If they handled the most recent share offer they must know the actual price at which shares sold?
    Did they not handle the offer? If not, who did?


  5. Westcoaster 3rd September 2021 At 13:13
    ‘..The recent RIFC offering was through Tifosy’

    %%%%%%%
    Thanks, Westcoaster.
    I suppose that means that JP Jenkins have been dumped?
    Tifosy Ltd was incorporated as FZ Ventures Ltd in 2013, changed its name to Tifosy in 2016, and has Gianluca Vialli as a director. [ ‘tifosi’ is the Italian word for ‘fans’]
    It made a loss of £1,080,031 for financial year ended March 2020.


  6. paddy malarkey 3rd September 11.34

    Fight has been lost.
    They were KOd.

    From DE AT H&H.

    An open message to Daily Record employees.

    You should have locked your social media accounts.

    Too late now.

    You can all thank Mark McGivern for the next few weeks of your life.


  7. JC 3rd Sept ‘I suppose that means that JP Jenkins have been dumped?’

    I don’t think so JC but I may be entirely wrong!! If I have understood the process after reading the blurb on the Tifosi site then Tifosi is more a vehicle whereby sports clubs can lower the cost of conducting a share offering by effectively passing on the costs of said offering to the purchasers by way of a transactional fee charged by Tifosi. The J.P.Jenkins platform is more of a trading platform for what is generally termed OTC (Over The Counter) share trading for buying and selling existing shares for companies who don’t qualify to be on a larger exchange eg LSE / AIM. Given that J.P.Jenkins still have RIFC up on their website I assume the trading facility is still active.


  8. Albertz11 that’s a shocking comment! Both by H&H and by you for seeming supportive of it. It’s like ‘if you get us, we’ll get you worse’. No contrition, no remorse…just anger and retaliation at being found out for what they are. Typical, though, of most things related to TRFC nowadays – if they can escalate a battle, they will.


  9. Albertz11 3rd September 2021 At 17:10

    It appears some think that finger pointing rather than introspection is the way forward .


  10. @A11 – can you help me out please. Where are you sourcing that message from? Many thanks


  11. Nawlite 3rd September 19.45

    My only comment was in relation to the demise of the written press.

    wokingcelt 3rd September 20.32,

    No problem. It was on a Rangers fans forum.

    I would like to make clear that i am 100% against ALL forms of Racism & Sectarianism. I have made this clear on various online Rangers platforms throughout the years.


  12. Paddy malarkey 3rd September 20.38

    Not sure how accurate but may offer an explanation.
    …………………………………………………………….

    The name given to Germans by Britons from WWI onwards was “H**”. This stemmed from Germany’s brutal actions in the Boxer Rebellion in China prior to the war.

    For British people, “H**” then became a highly derogatory slur because there was so much hatred for Germany.

    I am old enough to remember people being called “h**s” because of the way they behaved. This is why fans of both Rangers and Celtic used it against each other.

    We moved on to other words but they didn’t. Over time, it has been used in an increasingly sectarian sense (h** schools, mini-h**s, etc.).

    It was always meant to be deeply offensive.


  13. Westcoaster 3rd September 2021 At 18:54
    ‘..Given that J.P.Jenkins still have RIFC up on their website I assume the trading facility is still active.’
    %%%%%%%%
    Thanks for your post.
    If JP Jenkins still has RIFC plc as client, they are not as sharp as they ought to be in keeping their website up to the minute!
    Showing 19p as the share price even after a well-publicised share offer at a price of 25p was reasonably successful cannot be of much help either to their client ( in that it undervalues) or to further prospective investors (in that it suggests that shares might be bought at around the 19p price)
    I really don’t know terribly much about the world of shares and finance generally, [and I incidentally don’t mind if RIFC plc are ill-served by any of their agents or by H&H- (geez! surely heads must roll for that PR disaster?) ] but I don’t understand what’s in it for non-’emotionally’ motivated shareholders ( apart from those who are also salaried directors) in any business when no dividends are paid, and insolvency is perhaps being staved off by regular borrowings and more or less urgent share issues?


  14. From https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/rangers-new-media-partner-police-24896939

    “Rangers brought in the Heart and Hand Podcast as “Official Media ­Partners” to replace ­mainstream media outlets this season, meaning press conferences with manager Steven Gerrard are conducted by fans instead of journalists”

    I ask, was it not ever thus?
    Did not the whole of the SMSM [ excepting one or two individual journalists] buy into the Big Lie and help the forsworn, wretched ‘guardians of Scottish Football’ foist it on Scottish Football?

    Were they not all ‘Rangers’-minded in that they were ready to replace the Truth of the death of RFC of 1872 that they themselves, front-page with pictures, reported one day with the Lie the next day that they had got it wrong and that ‘Rangers’ was alive and well?
    Honest to God.

    Such ‘journalists’ and newspapers deserve nothing but contemptuous scepticism.

    And if the mouth of the new club that they tried, deceitfully, to tell us was 140 years old , a lie which they have assiduously propagated and fed for 9 years, now bites their feckin hand?… well, as wullie shakespoke said, ‘Our withers are unwrung’

    Bad cess to them.


  15. JC I believe the JP Jenkins indicative price is actually too high. As you point out buying the shares is an emotional investment and anything but a sound financial one. The recent share issue may have been a success because most of the money was going to the “club” but it further diluted the shares already in issue. I think there is something like 4x the number of shares as when it dropped to 20p. Has the perpetually loss making “Company” almost quadrupled in value? The J P Jenkins price reflects the price someone is willing to pay when the money isn’t going to the “club” and although someone paid that back in April I doubt they would now and it is even less likely when the accounts are published, even as an emotional investment.

    I could be wrong but I think the CEO is the only salaried director and with DCK out of the picture none may be even claiming expenses.


  16. Albertz11, RC (or whoever)

    When the then Rangers visited Wolverhampton in 1961, the behaviour of their follow followers was likened to ‘maurading huns’ by the ENGLISH media no less (well the SMSM would never have written that, eh?).

    So, its aw their fault!


  17. Albertz11 3rd September 2021 At 22:04
    So the word “Hun” was accepted by Rangers fans to be a derogatory term to be used against Celtic and Hibs supporters as it was believed they helped the enemy in WW2 ? They’ve stopped using it now so past indiscretions don’t count ? The fact that there are pages on many social media sites supporting the view that TRFC fans should reclaim the chant is an aberration and should be discounted ?The people claiming to have chanted it on Rangers supporters buses when passing certain schools and churches are lying ? And I haven’t a clue what you mean about Germany’s brutal actions in the Boxer Rebellion – I would be obliged if you could post a link – this is what Wiki says –
    From contemporary Western observers, German, Russian, and Japanese troops received the greatest criticism for their ruthlessness and willingness to wantonly execute Chinese of all ages and backgrounds, sometimes burning and killing entire village populations.[120] The German force arrived too late to take part in the fighting, but undertook punitive expeditions to villages in the countryside. Kaiser Wilhelm II on 27 July during departure ceremonies for the German relief force included an impromptu, but intemperate reference to the Hun invaders of continental Europe which would later be resurrected by British propaganda to mock Germany during the First World War and Second World War.
    And lastly , do you honestly think the words you replaced the term with , eg tarrier , taig paedo , are an improvement ?


  18. Paddy malarkey 4thSeptember 17.35

    Not my words hence my questioning the accuracy, but taken from a post on a Rangers fans forum from last week.

    No mention of WW2 or Hibs in there so not sure where you’re seeing that?

    Don’t use and never have done ANY of the words you mention.

    ALL Racist/Sectarian comments be they Anti- Irish, Anti-English, Anti Protestant or Anti- Catholic should be Condemned, don’t you agree?


  19. Albertz, posting what you did at 17.10 without any comment suggested to me you were supportive of H&H’s bellicose response to being caught out. If you were anti- that approach why not say so at the time…or are you only saying it now that you, yourself, have been ‘caught out’? Your past posture on here of defending/arguing against ANY criticism of TRFC* suggests to me you were happy with H&H’s response.


  20. JC, regarding your comment that “…..the death of RFC of 1872 that they themselves, front-page with pictures, reported one day with the Lie the next day that they had got it wrong and that ‘Rangers’ was alive and well?”, I honestly don’t actually recall any of the journalists/newspapers admitting they got it wrong (with the possible exception of James Traynor, who was pretty much forced to on taking up his role with the new club!!). As far as I remember, they all told the truth on Liquidation Day, then a few days/weeks later reported quite matter of factly when doing their regular reports on Rangers* that it was in fact the old club…..with no correction, apology or anything. They simply ignored the truth they had previously written!


  21. Nawlite 4th September 18.38

    Rather than rush to judgement i instead prefer to wait and see what, if any evidence is produced that the newspaper concerned have themselves employed people whose own social media history contains either racist or sectarian comments.
    If they have should they not also be held responsible and suffer the consequences?


  22. nawlite 4th September 2021 At 18:477
    ‘….I honestly don’t actually recall any of the journalists/newspapers admitting they got it wrong.’

    %%%%%%%%%%
    You’re absolutely right, of course!
    It was very careless of me to use words that suggested that any of them ever admitted that, as deniers of the fact of and the consequences of Liquidation, they are speaking as propagandist liars and enemies of Truth.


  23. Albertz @20.25. You’re avoiding my point, deliberately or not I can’t say. Your refusal to judge the H&H guys for their already proven racist comments is what I’m using to tar you as a supporter of their racism.

    I certainly hope that if Record employees have written things like the H&H guys have, then I hope they are dealt with appropriately. You haven’t yet said the same about the H&H guys despite being called out on it. You are shameless.


  24. Nawlite @ 22.02

    When cornered, like his alter ego RC, he always avoids the point – arguing (?) in ever decreasing circles.

    It’s his MO.


  25. If a company such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Tesco, Morrisons, Sky or Man Utd had been presented with the evidence (directly or through social media) that their PR/Communications agency had spouted this stuff they would be very publicly fired with immediate effect, no question. The lack of action from TFRC is frankly worrying for the message it sends to the fan base.


  26. nawlite 4th September 22.02.

    You have obviously not read my recent posts on the subject matter.

    03/09 21.24
    I would like to make clear that i am 100% against ALL forms of Racism & Sectarianism.
    04/09 18.34
    ALL Racist/Sectarian comments be they Anti- Irish, Anti-English, Anti Protestant or Anti- Catholic should be Condemned.

    Just to make this clear for you. ALL Racist & Sectarian comments includes the H&H contributors.

    Having seen some of the tweets/posts that have been shown online today then quite a few Record employees will be having a sleepless night. Desperately deleting many of their posts or in a couple of cases their complete SM history is too little, too late i’m afraid.

    If this is an example of what is being said on a public platform, available for anyone to see, can you imagine what is being said in private WhatsApp group chats for instance.

    Betc67. 4th September 22.12.

    Hope the above post is perfectly clear with regard to my views on Racism/Sectarianism. I would be interested to see if you agree?
    I am not RC? nor would i know him if he sat down beside me at Ibrox.


  27. On the Close loan repayment Phil is saying that Close were the ones demanding repayment , I was initially of the opinion that it made sense to clear any debt with a high rate of interest and didn’t understand why it hadn’t been done sooner . It does seem however that bills and debt are only ever paid at Ibrox as a last resort so he may have got this one correct. If so then it could be situation critical once more with the transfer window closed any hopes of raising cash are becoming limited. Any money raised by the share issue has now gone to Close and fees for Tifosi and if those were initially intended as running costs then a shortfall will be evident shortly. The share issue was announced long before Malmo deprived them of any CL riches so a double whammy with that one. I note that Global financial situation is getting worse and inflation is taking off due to rising prices, increased wage demands and shortages as the effects of Brexit and Covid impact on our economy (another double whammy) The last situation you want to be in when this occurs is heavily in debt.
    With Podcastgate the latest in self inflicted wounds and the Daily Record now effectively banned (along with the BBC) succulent lamb has turned to unpalatable spam. I think the phrase “don’t bite the hand that feeds you” may come home to roost especially when those hands were feeding you for free.
    I’m afraid that Rangers* have chosen to go back to the dark days of Struth but the world has moved on and as Ian Archer once commented “Scotland would be a better place if Rangers* didn’t exist” .
    It was Park and Co who employed a DUP councillor as their PR , It was they who aligned themselves with David Edgar and his chums and it was they who pandered to the bigot element in their support by introducing an orange top . I hope we are witnessing the start of liquidation#2 , we deserve better, fingers crossed we can finally rid ourselves of this poison.


  28. Albertz11 4th September 2021 At 20:05
    ‘..if any evidence is produced that the newspaper concerned have themselves employed people whose own social media history contains either racist or sectarian comments.’
    %%%%%%
    I don’t know about that, Albertz11, but the newspaper concerned certainly supported and supports and propagates the untruth that ‘Rangers of 1872’ survived ‘Liquidation’.

    That by itself leaves it exposed to the accusation that it employs people who are prepared to lie and support a lie.

    And if those whose lie it supported now want to tear it apart, then hell mend it!
    It deserves to die, tawdry, dirty wee local newspaper that it is.
    In my opinion.


  29. I appreciate that RIFC & TRFC operate on blurred lines of management & because of that there will be errors made.

    Did no-one within the corporate hierarchy notice that the people they selected as their ‘Official Media Partners’ were named from a line in the song “Derry’s Walls”? (Perhaps better known within Ibrox as ‘The Cry Was No Surrender’?) The song celebrates the actions of the (Protestant) Apprentice Boys during (the Catholic) King James II’s siege of Derry in 1689.

    ‘Everyone Anyone’? Aye right!


  30. Albertz11, thanks for your clarification that you think the comments from the H&H guys are racist and that your club should respond appropriately. Does this mean you believe TRFC should sever all ties with them as you suggest should happen with any DR employees who have used racist phrases in the past? If that’s the case, may I ask your view on why TRFC doesn’t come out strongly against the huge crowd who sing such things when attending games at Ibrox? It’s interesting that you can say “If this is an example of what is being said on a public platform, available for anyone to see, can you imagine what is being said in private WhatsApp group chats for instance.” about the DR employees, but failed to say similar about the H&H guys.

    On another of your comments, you seem to be all over the place regarding the use of the word ‘hun’. In your earliest post on the matter, you are keen to explain to us how it came into use as a general “deeply offensive” term used by lots of individuals/(fan)groups to describe their rivals. Hours later, you hint that ‘hun’ is a racist term for TRFC fans by asking PM “ALL Racist/Sectarian comments be they Anti- Irish, Anti-English, Anti Protestant or Anti- Catholic should be Condemned, don’t you agree?”. I don’t understand how a word that you agree is used by everyone to describe a ‘bad person’ has become racist just because it is now mainly used by CFC fans to describe TRFC fans. Is ‘bstrd still okay because everyone uses it to describe the other?


  31. Not wanting to get too deep into a mire here, but on the face of it (to me at any rate), songs like Derry’s Walls and the Sash are merely celebrations of something. Of course it will be contentious given the political controversies attached to them, but I don’t think there’s anything offensive or anti catholic or racist about them.
    I don’t think it’s difficult to see or hear where racist sentiments are being expressed. The famine song is certainly horrible, as is the Billy Boys, but it’s not fair to attribute a sectarian or racist aspect to something which celebrates one’s own culture and history – and has no hatred attached.


  32. The problem with bullies,liars and the corrupt is if you don’t stand up to them and allow them to get away with unacceptable behaviour then the problems escalate when they realise they can act with impunity. It is evident today in the corridors of power at Westminster where serial liars like the PM , serial bullies like the Home Secretary and the corruption on a scale that I have never witnessed before has become the norm.
    The default position at Ibrox is one of bullying in order to get their own way . The media cannot be relied upon to hold them to account , what we see today is an internal squabble in the hope of extorting funds for a seat at their table . In the closed shop lodges people like David Edgar , Mark Dingwall and DUP man may impress the clientele with their tough talk of never surrendering but in the real world those successful in the land of diplomacy never act in this way. Once again they are seen as a permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace by the rest of society .
    Those at the SFA have been so invisible I would have to google their names to even know who they are , I do know what they are , they are cowards , cowards collecting a very large salary while hiding in the bushes.
    What we need is for them to step up and deal with this rabble , and bigger naughty step.


  33. TimTim
    Sadly much of what is being played out here is the result of reducing everything to a binary state.
    The ‘No surrender’ mentality is the essence of it. The deliberate use of the language of war to describe the process of multiculturalism makes it easier for those who can’t be bothered to think things thru for themselves to take a position.
    The danger, as in NI is that it can quickly become a war. I fear that the Tories in particular have engaged with the ‘Ulsterisation’ of Scotland and consequently encourage hatred in the hope of dividing ordinary folk. Whether it’s a response to independence or merely a routine I don’t know, but it is deeply concerning for me.


  34. @BP
    Is singing “Here I am a loyal Klansman” and the “hood my father wore” acceptable ?
    are they merely celebrations of a kulture ?
    Of course if that kkkulture is one of hatred and the songs one sings promotes that kkkulture without actually saying offensive racial terms is it ok?
    Better if they just stuck to singing about their club* , either of them.


  35. TimTim
    I agree with the last sentence, but I don’t think you need to hold with the tenets of the Orange Order to celebrate the Siege of Derry for example.


  36. BP @ 13’52
    agree completely and I think you have hit the nail on the head with the Tories and their scorched earth policy .


  37. nawlite 5th September 13.30.

    The two people concerned have resigned for Racist/Sectarian comments and will no longer contribute to H&H. If DE has made remarks of a similar nature then the club would have no option but to sever ties.

    Rangers have continually made their opinion known on the singing of Racist/Sectarian songs and as you are no doubt aware have banned both individuals & supporters clubs in recent weeks. For me it will take the closure of stands or perhaps playing behind closed doors for the message to resonate.

    It is not me who “is all over the place” as i have previously pointed out the comment you attributed to me was in fact taken from a post on a fans forum.


  38. Big Pink 5th September 2021 @ 1341hrs:

    I’m not clear if your post was a direct reply to mine of 1114hrs.

    My post wasn’t about the song, although I supplied some background referencing it.

    It was about RIFC/TRFC thinking that appointing a media partner whose name is derived from said song & is nothing but a ‘dog-whistle’ to certain groups was a good idea; up there with ‘orange taps’ etc..


  39. JJ
    Yes I understand what you mean. My point however was not a direct reply to yours. It was a broader one assuming the message in the song to have been delivered honestly.


  40. The Daily Record
    @Daily_Record
    A number of historical tweets from some of our writers have come to our attention. The Daily Record takes any claims of discrimination or hate speech very seriously and we have launched a full investigation into the matter.
    6:56 PM · Sep 5, 2021


  41. It’s a real shame Easyjambo and Allyjambo no longer post. I’d be really interested to hear their views on how matters might progress following the recent fan ‘takeover’. I seem to recall either or both of them were active participants, in the funding at least. Despite living in Dunfermline, I’m not close enough to understand how DAFC operates as a fan-owned club (albeit Peter Grant’s appointment and resulting performances don’t look great!). I’d love to understand how such clubs go about making sure that sound decisions are made rather than fan-based ones e.g. as fans, we’d probably always want to buy that player to make the team stronger, but is it the right decision for the good of the club. What structure is put in place to stop the sort of ‘stupid’ decisions that the ordinary fan might make, while still allowing good fan-led decisions about stategy etc be made?


  42. nawlite 6th September 2021 At 14:48

    I’ve never been an advocate of fan ownership. it might work for some clubs but definitely wouldn’t for all in my view. In Hearts case it has been the aim since they came out of Administration, and their fans backed them to the hilt through the bad times. It will be interesting to see how it works out at the biggest Scottish club so far to put it in place.

    In terms of demands made by fans social media is a guide to how unreasonable and completely unrealistic some fans can be in those demands. I doubt that will be the type to land in the boardroom though. In terms of my own club I have become increasingly concerned at the amount of people who now wish to try and define what you need to be and believe in to be a ‘real fan’. If some people had their way, only the following people would be allowed into Celtic Park.

    Supporters of Scottish Independence
    In terms of the point above, you MUST vote SNP in order to achieve this, even if you disagree on how they are running the country
    You must HATE anyone who is a Conservative MP, or who votes for them. You can’t simply disagree with their policies, you must hate them.
    You must demand that Celtic are publicly supportive of the Palestinian people.
    I even read last week you should never go to a Weatherspoons Pub.

    As someone who has attended Celtic games since the 1970’s I have never really cared about the political views of those around me. I like to think the club is open to all. This current push to demand conformity to the views of a very vocal group on social media really dismays me to say the least. Imagine them in a boardroom.


  43. upthehoops 6th September 2021 At 17:50
    ‘..This current push to demand conformity to the views of a very vocal group on social media really dismays me to say the least.’
    %%%%%%%%%%%%%%
    I agree; but I would add that for 9 years now the (still relatively influential )SMSM has been pushing NOT just an ‘opinion’ with which others may disagree without rancour or bitterness, but an actual UNTRUTH that no sensible, thinking person can honestly accept; an untruth cobbled up by men who are a disgrace to themselves and their ‘office’ as supposed guardians of Sporting Integrity and Truth.
    They are far more damaging than hate-filled ,nut-case social media types!


  44. I note that a further share issue has occurred. A mere 80,000 penny shares but at the 20 pence price rather that the 25 pence price the “new” shareholders had to pay in the recent share issue. I assume therefore that this is from one of the “boys” although just a measly £16,000 “donation”. Still every little helps I assume.


  45. I find it amusing the DR is gushing over the performances of two Rangers players and one with an affiliation with the club in the past. The WC qualifiers the performances were based on came against well known football powers Liechtenstein and Moldova. It is further interesting to note that none of this trio feature in starting roles ( maybe on a rare occasion) for their current employer, and, one of them has apparently gone out on loan.
    David Edgard had a recent post on the uptick for H&H following the report in the DR. 60% increase in one area and 40% on other. Sounds like the PR department at Rangers has gone into overdrive.


  46. Albertz on 5th Sept@15.26 (and other dates)

    If you acknowledge that these anti Catholic racist and sectarian issues predominate (indeed are endemic and systemic in a largely Protestant society), then we have some agreement.

    As for the ‘reported’ full investigation’ by the Daily going-down-the-circulation-tubes Record, nothing of note will happen. Also, recent ‘actions’ emanating from Ibrox are mere rhetoric and tokenism I’m afraid. From my perspective, nothing meaningful will occur in terms of humility and responsibility from within the WATP culture (that simply cannot be allowed to happen – David Murray will attest to that).

    I take your point about severe action being taken against recaltritants, bu maybe, in the short term, you could suggest to the ‘masters’ at Ibrox that they might re-introduce your favourite little ditty from the 70’s which began:-

    “A goal, a goal, we are ready to acclaim etc”

    That might reduce hatred a tad!

    Finally, on a lighter note, I found your explanation about RC’s blog identity comical – there was me thinking he sat IN your seat!


  47. Giovanni 6th September 2021 At 20:35
    ‘..I note that a further share issue has occurred.’
    %%%%%%%%%%%%%%
    Who would have been afforded the opportunity to buy shares at 20p rather than at the 25p that 5000 people in 44 different countries had to pay?
    I think I would be bit miffed if I bought shares at one price and a few weeks later some director or large shareholder was able to buy them from the company ( as opposed to a private deal with another shareholder) at 5p less per share than I had paid.

    Smells like a wee panicky sale to raise some readies that the ‘Share Offer’ failed to raise, or a wee favour to one of the in-crowd.
    One never knows with RIFC plc, with its very limited borrowing powers and its need for cash here and now.
    I find it curious that otherwise successful businessmen like the Parks and Gibson and whatshisname-King?- should be investing in and running a limp-along, hand-to-mouth enterprise, claiming that it is a 150 years old.


  48. And one wonders whether our football governance bodies are questioning the possibility that TRFC might last the season?

    No harm in a financially sound and thoroughly credit-worthy football club borrowing finance from banks or such like for major works such as ground improvement, ‘venues’ or museum purposes or such like.

    But to be making regular share issues in order to meet basic day to day expenses is surely indicative of some financial stress?
    Really, who would invest in a football club so living from hand to mouth?
    Will there be another ‘insolvency event’ this season?
    Will there be another ‘Duff and Phelps’-like ‘Administration’?
    Will there be ( could there ever be?) another Charles Green?
    Oh, be still my beating heart!
    The thought of it all is too, too much!


  49. John Clark 7th sept 2021 1:10
    It would a leap of faith to believe that the football powers in Scotland could even consider such a scenario. Aren’t we constantly advised by Ranger fans that they are financially stable and all is well. It’ll be interesting when the next set of figures come out with the potential of the losses over the last few years topping $100 million. Sounds like there is nothing to worry about, another share issue to the world wide fan base will take care of that, barring a repeat of the last world wide share issue.


  50. The Times (London) report on the Daily Record hate tweets.
    …………………………………………………………………………………..

    The Daily Record has confirmed that it is looking into claims that journalists used offensive and discriminatory language on Twitter.

    The newspaper ran a front-page story last week disclosing that members of the Heart and Hand football podcast, an official media partner of Rangers FC, had used anti-Catholic and sectarian language in the past.

    In response Rangers supporters compiled a dossier containing distasteful comments allegedly made by Daily Record staff members. In one tweet it is claimed that one journalist made an obscene comment about the Prophet Muhammad and also tweeted: “Where are the IRA when you need them?” alongside an image of the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow.

    Others are accused of homophobic comments, with one writer allegedly stating that he had wanted to “stab” a “really, really feminine gay guy”.

    It is alleged that writers referred to members of the travelling community as “gypos” and “pikeys” and used slurs against disabled people, Rangers supporters and the Queen.

    David Edgar, the founder of Heart and Hand, said in a video posted online that he wanted to “ask the Daily Record if they will abide by the same conditions which they asked us to abide by. Will they apologise for this? Will the members of staff be disciplined?

    “And given that the Daily Record said that any organisation who are facing an investigation for this should have their press privileges revoked, can I take it that the Daily Record will be voluntarily agreeing not to cover any Scottish football matches whilst any of their staff who are under investigation for hate tweets are investigated?”

    In a statement, the Daily Record said: “A number of historical tweets from some of our writers have come to our attention. The Daily Record takes any claims of discrimination or hate speech very seriously and we have launched a full investigation into the matter.”

    The Glasgow-based newspaper had reported that Ian Hogg and Cammy Bell, management team members of the podcast, had used offensive language. Both men resigned and issued public apologies after a police investigation was started.

    A number of Rangers supporters claimed they had reported comments allegedly made by Daily Record journalists to the police. Police Scotland said it was unable to confirm whether it had received any formal complaints.


  51. nawlite 6th September 21.52

    If you will concede that the Racist/Sectarian issues that have blighted Scotland in the past, and still do to this day, are NOT the preserve of one demographic & one set of supporters then and only then will we have some agreement.


  52. My comment of 07.38 should have been directed to betc67 and not nawlite so apologies for the error.


  53. RC @7.38

    I think you are blinded by the o***** light !

    When RC comes on here and posts, then maybe you’re no’ him/her

    That’s me done!


  54. Bolton sign off CVA

    From CQN

    “it is remarkable how few clubs go to the wall. Most find a way to pay creditors and keep their lineage intact”.

    So …how did the second most important institution in Scotland (according to David Murray – have I got that right?)- notwithstanding the fact that they (illegally) shafted their creditors – manage to retain theirs?

    Oh, wait a meenit, ah get it noo! Via the ludge, judiciary, SMSM and the entitled WATP Brigade (!). Or so they think. Keep pluggin away JC.

    Lest we forget. Thanks for the reminder Paul67


  55. bect67 7th September 2021 At 16:26
    ‘how did the second most important institution in Scotland (according to David Murray – have I got that right?)- notwithstanding the fact that they (illegally) shafted their creditors – manage to retain theirs?’
    %%%%%%%
    RFC of 1872 did not of course, could not, ‘retain ‘ their lineage. They were liquidated ,and as a matter of fact and Law, ceased to exist as a football club. Their sports history ended in 2012.

    It was then that, in spite of having initially followed the Rules the venal, frightened, disgracefully dishonest men were persuaded, or morally coerced to sell their very souls. They wickedly created the lie (the ABSURD lie) that a club they they themselves had newly admitted into Scottish Football in 2012 was the same club as the club whose life they had quite properly ended when its demonstrably incompetent Administrators failed to bring it out of Administration and let it slide into Liquidation.
    That lie simply has to be faced up to, and the lie must be rescinded. And disgraceful liars in football governance have to be sacked.
    Otherwise, Sport and Sporting achievements lose any meaning, when new clubs are allowed to market themselves as …… (you know the rest)


  56. £16k that’s what the latest issue raised. We could speculate all day what it’s for but it points to being a cash flow issue if you need to shake the collecting tin in the board room just weeks after raising 4m . The latest NI rise will affect most of us but I wonder how much that will add to the monthly wage bill at all clubs who are still struggling due to the last 18 months.


  57. “Rangers’ Commercial and Marketing Director James Bisgrove commented: “We are delighted to announce this agreement with City Talking Studios for the Rangers72 movie.
    It is fitting that in the club’s 150th anniversary year we will be able to produce a film which will tell the story of one of the most remarkable moments in Rangers’ history.” [ statement from Ibrox]

    I’ve been trying to find ‘City Talking Studios’ on the Companies House pages.

    I have found only ‘The City Talking Limited’ (number 10516776) “01 Sep 2021: Return of final meeting in a creditors’ voluntary winding up ”

    And ‘The City Talking Inc Limited” (company no. 11641524)

    A Mr Hicken was a shareholder in the first named, and is a person with significant control in the second named.

    How delicious, that a club pretending to be 150 years old are having a film made about a liquidated club, by a film-maker who has first-hand knowledge of being a director with ‘liquidation’ experience, and, perhaps, a wish to try to make his new company’s name as similar as possible to his old company’s name, to suggest , perhaps, continuity?

    I wonder if Mr Hicken knows anyone called Charles Green?


  58. With the Covid bug circulating around Ibrox recently what will happen to Mr. Hagi upon his return. Will the medical authorities accept the apparent agreement between the Romanian football authorities and the last place they played, will Rangers conduct further tests, what will his teammates think of his potential inclusion in any squad. Should be interesting as they were quite vocal last year when a Celtic player arrived home under similar circumstances.


  59. John Clark @ 2212hrs:

    The other director of The City Talking Inc., Steven Andrew Auckland (born March 1955), seems to have held no other directorships.

    https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11641524/officers

    Strangely, when you dig a little, there’s a chap called Stephen (note spelling!) Andrew Auckland (also born March 1955!) who has held a string of directorships in mostly-dissolved companies. His last listed appointment terminated in December 2012.

    https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/PwDQnlruMLcfHpr46T5LB2dwDtU/appointments

    Is this the same person?


  60. I don’t know anything about Mr Auckland but the other guy is Lee Hicken who will be the creative person. He’s the real article, an award winning documentary maker. He’s made films for Leeds United and the Super League (Rugby League). He’s the CEO of The City Talking Inc. He’s good!


  61. Giovanni 9th September 2021 At 12:51
    ‘..He’s made films for Leeds United and the Super League (Rugby League). He’s the CEO of The City Talking Inc. ‘
    %%%%%%%%
    He might very well be a superb film-maker but not a competent CEO when it comes to marketing his award-winning documentaries, if his company has to go into voluntary liquidation!
    And naming the new company “The City Talking Inc” Limited looks to me like an attempt to hide the fact that it is not ‘The City Talking Limited’! but a quite different entity.
    Kind of Charles Green-like!


  62. Jingso.Jimsie 9th September 2021 At 11:30
    ‘..Is this the same person?’
    %%%%%%%%%%%%%%
    it may be, it may not be!
    Without in any way referencing Mr Auckland, we have to remember that
    “Companies House does not verify the accuracy of the information filed”.

    The business world is a world of gentlemanly honour and public schoolboy trust, is it not’? The idea that company directors might tell an untruth is unthinkable, I’m sure you will agree?


  63. An edit to my post of 1130hrs:

    Stephen (better known as Steve) Auckland is, as PMacG would have it, a ‘serious media professional’. He holds several active directorships under his full name.

    I assume that the ‘Steven’ version associated with ‘The City Talking Inc.’ is simply due to a typo & is, in fact, Stephen Andrew Auckland.


  64. @ John Clark
    “Rangers’ Commercial and Marketing Director James Bisgrove commented: “We are delighted to announce this agreement with City Talking Studios for the Rangers72 movie.
    It is fitting that in the club’s 150th anniversary year we will be able to produce a film which will tell the story of one of the most remarkable moments in Rangers’ history.” [ statement from Ibrox]

    I wonder which moment they are talking about?
    Is it the miracle of surviving liquidation and resurrecting from the dead?
    Should be coming out at Easter then, I take it? ?


  65. Does anyone have any idea what this, from the BBC Gossip page, means?
    “Rangers forward Ianis Hagi could return from isolation in time to face Lyon in the Europa League next week, after the Romanian FA agreed a deal with their North Macedonian counterparts following Hagi’s positive Covid-19 test (Scottish Sun).”

    How does any agreement between 2 foreign FAs affect how a player is treated in Scotland?


  66. Looked at the Scottish Sun website and found this. “In North Macedonia, those who test positive for the virus must isolate for a minimum of ten days after the result if they are asymptomatic.

    But if the person who tests positive is actively experiencing symptoms of Covid, they have to isolate for 20 days.

    But it’s understood the Romanian FA have agreed a compromise to stop that, and could have freed up Hagi in time for next Thursday’s crunch tie.

    The Romanian FA’s initial statement on the matter read: “Ianis Hagi complained of slight headaches in the national team’s camp in Skopje.

    “He performed a quick test under the coordination of the medical staff of the national team and the result is positive.”

    That reads to me like he should be isolating for 20 days and there is nothing in the article that explains why he isn’t. As ever with our SMSM, I am left more confused by their reporting than I was before!!


  67. John Clark 7th September 20.18.

    As the blog is going through a quiet day may i ask you a question?

    Would you include Lord Hodge among those ” venal, frightened, disgracefully dishonest men were persuaded, or morally coerced to sell their very souls.”

    This is how you described him nearly a decade ago-

    “I suspect that Lord Hodge is going to make a huge name for himself as an absoluteley outstanding legal mind if he arrives at the decision that the D&P Administration has to be declared nulll and void, and that consequently Sevco/ The RangersFC has no legal identity!”

    This was him in the Supreme Court in 2017.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrDlC8HyoCM

    5.00 minutes in.
    ” The FORMER owners of The Rangers Football Club”.

    This is a legal judgement in the highest court in the land with 5 Law Lords sitting.

    Just to be clear i have NO interest in reopening the OC/NC topic for discussion on here but i would be interested in your views given previous comments.

    Thanks in advance.


  68. JC – 9th Sept – “And naming the new company “The City Talking Inc” Limited looks to me like an attempt to hide the fact that it is not ‘The City Talking Limited’! but a quite different entity.”

    https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3376052/

    Moratoria, Prohibited Names and Other: Re-use of a Prohibited Name
    THE CITY TALKING LIMITED
    10516776
    Registered office: Suites D & E, 3rd Floor Platform, New Station Street, Leeds, LS1 4JB

    Principal trading address: Suites D & E, 3rd Floor Platform, New Station Street, Leeds, LS1 4JB

    Notice to creditors of an insolvent company of the re-use of a prohibited name

    Rule 22.4(2) of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016

    On 22 July 2019 the above Company was placed into liquidation.

    I, Lee Jonathan Hicken of 7 Syke Green, Leeds, LS14 3BS hereby give notice to the creditors of the Company that it is my intention to act in all or any of the ways specified in section 216(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended), in connection with, or for the purposes of, carrying on the whole or substantially the whole of the business of the insolvent company, under the following name: The City Talking Inc Limited (CRN: 11641524)

    It should be noted that I/we would not otherwise be permitted to undertake those activities without the leave of the court or the application of an exception by the Rules made under the Insolvency Act 1986. Breach of the prohibition created by section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a criminal offence.

    Section 216(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 lists the activities that a director of a company that has gone into insolvent liquidation may not undertake unless the court gives permission or there is an exception in the Insolvency Rules made under the Insolvency Act 1986. (This includes the exceptions in Part 22 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016). These activities are – a) acting as a director of another company that is known by a name which is either the same as a name used by the company in insolvent liquidation in the 12 months before it entered liquidation or is so similar as to suggest an association with that company; (b) directly or indirectly being concerned or taking part in the promotion, formation or management of any such company; or (c) directly or indirectly being concerned in the carrying on of a business otherwise than through a company under a name of the kind mentioned in (a) above.

    This notice is given in pursuance of Rule 22.4 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 where the business of a company which is in, or may go into, insolvent liquidation is, or is to be, carried on otherwise than by the company in liquidation with the involvement of a director of that company and under the same or a similar name to that of that company.

    The purpose of the giving of this notice is to permit the director to act in these circumstances where the company enters (or has entered) insolvent liquidation without the director committing a criminal offence and in the case of the carrying on of the business through another company, being personally liable for that company’s debts.

    Notice may be given where the person giving the notice is already the director of a company which proposes to adopt a prohibited name.

    Ag JG51777


  69. Albertz11
    9th September 2021 At 16:14
    0 3 Rate This
    ,…………….
    JC can, and I have no doubt will, answer for himself; but, I think that is pretty desperate.

    After spending the previous 5 minutes referring to “The Rangers Football Club plc” or “RFC”, he came to an event by which time the company was no longer operating as a football club and had changed its name to “RFC2012 plc”.

    He, to clarify it was the same company, stated that RFC2012 was the former owner of Rangers Football Club.

    As the former club no longer owns the IP (including, of course, the Rangers Football Club name) he was technically correct. RFC2012 plc was the former owner of that name – the name by which Lord Hodge had been referring to the company previously.

    Of course, that’s been the issue all along. What is Rangers Football Club?
    Is it a brand?
    Is it an association football club?
    Is it a Club?

    Brand loyalty can be a wonderful thing.


  70. @ Nawlite – it’s certainly a curious one. If he’s positive and flies back on a public flight I have no idea what that means for those on the flight (close contact for 2-3 hours on a plane?) or those back at TRFC (presume Nicola S rules has him in isolation?)
    To a point raised by A11 a couple of weeks back it does raise the question of the football authorities rules going forward and aligning these with governments (especially those across UEFA, but also FIFA in World Cup qualifying).

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