In the aftermath of the recent election and whilst those of us who voted one way are still hoping that our way continues to count, the horse trading has begun. No matter your politics, the fact that a party wholly representing one part of the United Kingdom is suddenly having such a massive influence, coupled with a lack of detail in the public domain over their negotiations, causes people some nervousness; because of the nature of the DUP, for some they claim it terrifies them.
Can we imagine if football was run that way? Can we imagine if it wasn’t?
Having people who have one focus deliberating and influencing your life has always been an issue at the core of the United Kingdom. Proud Scots do not like the power of the English, some English have begun to resent the growing independence of the Scots, the Welsh have turned out to have their own independence and as for the Irish; the Trouble has always never been far behind.
The recognised method of dealing with these issues has now become to allow, where possible, organisations within the domain of the domicile to grow on their own. For some it sows the seeds of an increasing independence as the locals realise they can do it for themselves. It also does, though ensure the organisation is close to its own people and is truly representative of them.
In Scotland, and throughout the last election, the big two – Conservative and Labour parties – have suffered under the accusations of being a “branch office” of their London centric big sister. It has led to people making choices based on the assumption that, at times, neither of the leaders up here have autonomy. When there are policies that will be unpopular in Scotland, they say, the high heid yins in Edinburgh have no choice but to toe the party line.
We do not like that thought.
Nor should we.
I suggested that football has a similar issue. And so. It does…
The views and opinions of the Scottish fans who last Saturday threw up their hands in joy and held their heads in despair all within 90 seconds or so suffer from that lack of representation. As deals are done in secret and “announcements” made over innovations and changes they are collectively silent through the funded organisation established to represent them; at best that organ is muted.
Never has it been more important for the Scottish football fan to feel the importance of their view being heard. Never has it been more important as Project Brave is being undertaken, chairmen are being fined £3,000 for having a bet, we look as though we are going to miss out on another World Cup, expansion of our cup competitions is growing apace, play offs and promotions have delivered their verdicts and handed their budgets to managers who bemoaned last year it was hard, that one of our two giant clubs seems unable to keep itself out of the court room whilst supplying the accused, the defence lawyer, the pantomime villain and a circus or at least two premiership clubs appear to be on the verge of administration.
Supporters Direct – Undemocratic?
The time has come to ensure that the voice of the footballing nation does not come from around the Isles but around the corner. Whilst the work of Supporters Direct has brought a great deal of support and aid to a number of clubs and supporters groups, the fans need something that is much more than a branch office of a bigger organisation.
In the recent past, SD have seemingly been forced to be more visible but let us not be fooled, if you are an ordinary fan, SD have no place for you. You cannot join, you cannot vote, and you cannot influence; so there is not much point. Building a democratic and fair vocal chord for Scottish football fans needs commitment from the bottom up to engage, enlist and enrich the chorus and chanting of disapproval or support for Scottish football.
That’s why I am in the SFSA – isn’t it time for the Scottish Government to take the bull, grasp the thistle and make the clear choice of removing money going all the way to London and giving it to a fans based organisation that represents them here in Scotland?
We think so… don’t you?
Join the SFSA today! It’s free
P.S. John Clark,
I was going to suggest you clear up your cookies, but had visions of you shaking the crumbs out of the biscuit tin
NORMANBATESMUMFC JULY 11, 2017 at 16:45 oddjobJuly 11, 2017 at 13:28 The headline of this blog is ” time for the Scots government to take the bull by the horns “.That is what I think should happen. The Scottish government should set up an inquiry, headed by a senior High Court judge. ………………………………………………………………………………………………. As has been previously mentioned the Scottish Government will not touch this with a bargepole. Politicians cannot risk the ire of either half of the Blue/Green divide.
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Let’s put this issue in terms the politicians understand
The SNP already enjoy the ire of a majority of TRFC fans and have done so for years. That`s not going to change anytime soon. Their perverse nature is such that they are most unlikely to view the SG sitting on its hands as some sort of encouragement for them to vote SNP next time round. At worse their response to an SG inspired Inquiry would be to challenge the democratic process on the streets This would increase not decrease support for the forces of law and order. If it caused a split in the political parties then the sooner it is out there in the open the better for the long term future of the country.
The SNP lost 500k votes in the recent election. Most of those votes will have come from people who are not Ibrox minded. They could lose another 500k at the next election if they do nothing to resolve the corrupt behaviour of the governing bodies at Hampden.
They should await the outcome of the SPL view and if they opt to do nothing the SG should step in.
EASYJAMBOJULY 11, 2017 at 14:02
Thanks for reply
There has been a few rumours on cyberspace recently that a Referee, or Journalist was an EBT recipient. The Rangers Tax Case Blogger is doing a very good job on Twitter of debunking those rumours, which is good. Better to always deal in known facts.
STEVIEBCJULY 11, 2017 at 15:18
a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly, a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly,
No matter how many times i say it, will the SFA hear me. But they know it,the whole of scottish football and even non supporters of football know it.a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly,
And not one bit of condemnation has come from the SFA and not one statement from the board members of TRIFC (who were on the RFC board) when this dishonest act was taken place to offer an apology to scottish football fans or even an apology to their own fans for the way the club they supported from ibrox is now looked apon
I was watching some youtube concerning chaos theory a few days ago. Not that I understood it fully but the basic concepts were intelligible to me.
Chaotic behavour might be experienced by bridges for instance during high wind events. The predictable environment for which the structure was designed to sustain might be breached and oscillations set up that ultimately shake the thing to bits.
It seems that any system can sustain a certain level of complexity: Parameters that are exceeded without any catastrophic consequences. However if the ‘complexity’ continues to increase then it is likely that at some point the system will fall into chaos.
I think that is where we might be in the timeline of the farrago. Pressure has been ratcheted up over a number of years and now a major event has introduced a whole new level of complexity.
The SFA currently probably have the least control over events than at any time since 2012. Their tactics will be reactive: They will have no coherent forward strategy: They will not be in possession of an ethical framework that might help guide them to safety.
LNS now looks like part of the cover up. However this malfeasance was hidden in plain sight. Rather than being an instrument to mock football fans and supporters it has now turned into a gravestone that seems only to be lacking an inscription and dates. Football supporters weren’t meant to be able to decipher the legal jargon. In reality if you scratch the surface of the rhetoric of bile there is beneath a cohort of supporters who have a firm grip on the facts. Those supporters help inform their associates and thus attempts to create a false narrative have been foiled.
The situation is finely balanced between order and chaos. Who knows what events might sway this balance.
Perhaps a fans group will take some sort of legal action. Perhaps clubs will start to exact influence. Perhaps a wealthy private individual will take it upon themselves to mount some kind of legal challenge to LNS. These option may not all be feasible but there may be many others not yet considered that are.
Either way it looks like the good ship SFA is taking another voyage through the icebergs.
UPTHEHOOPSJULY 11, 2017 at 18:55 There has been a few rumours on cyberspace recently that a Referee, or Journalist was an EBT recipient. The Rangers Tax Case Blogger is doing a very good job on Twitter of debunking those rumours, which is good. Better to always deal in known facts.
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Good
That settles that rumour
So
Can we now assume that everybody who received an ebt had a contract that squared the numbers ?
i.e. They weren`t the paymaster for somebody else?
Or put another way
They weren`t the conduit for money belonging to the BOS?
With the SFA and TRIFC the SMSM and an ibrox fan group all taking evasive action.Something from all scottish football fans is needed in every game come this season to highlight and keep in the spotlight the cheating.If no action is taken for the cheating
When the celtic fans light up the sky with their phones on the 67 min every fan in scotland knew what it meant,even TMSM knew what it meant eauropean teams knew what it meant,fans around the world knew what it meant. Something has to be done as ONE, at every game played in scotland so there is No hiding from it,No trying to brush it off.It’s there at every game it’s in the face of the SFA and anyone else who tries to overlook what happened in scottish football
At the moment it looks as if no club is willing to join Celtic in asking for an enquiry into the present scandal. From what Im reading fans of all clubs bar one want this dealt with so that we can genuinely move on and cleanse our game of the cheats ,liars etc that are Regan , Bryson , Doncaster Dickson etc etc. If as its looking it is being left to the fans again I believe this will be a long hard fight. I just read on another site ( and if this is old hat apologies ) but someone suggested a red card display at every game on the 14th minute and a good old one minute of booing !! This could be easily arranged as anyone can get hold of a red card / Red A4 paper so no real expense involved . If this was ongoing all season surely the clubs would get the message. Also I imagine a short message about joining in with this could easily be passed around facebook, twitter etc . Might seem desperate but we have to catch the ordinary scunnered fans imagination . Also Im imagining IF celtic were lucky enough to make the champs league or even Europa Then Celtic park on prime time telly with the whole ground suddenly becoming a sea of red and 60,000 fans booing would certainly be noticed round europe .
Cluster OneJuly 11, 2017 at 18:56
STEVIEBCJULY 11, 2017 at 15:18a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly, a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly, No matter how many times i say it, will the SFA hear me. But they know it,the whole of scottish football and even non supporters of football know it.a member club of the SFA was acting dishonestly, And not one bit of condemnation has come from the SFA and not one statement from the board members of TRIFC (who were on the RFC board) when this dishonest act was taken place to offer an apology to scottish football fans or even an apology to their own fans for the way the club they supported from ibrox is now looked apon
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And that was what struck me most about the SFA’s statement, instantly excusing themselves, or, rather, attempting to excuse themselves, from the action that the content of their statement suggested they were aware they should be taking*, but completely failled to address the fact that one of their members, whether dead or not, have been found, in the highest court in the land, to have cheated the public purse of many millions of pounds.
I reckon that here we see a situation where, on the one hand, TRFC and all associated with them should keep their own counsel, while, on the other, the SFA etc should be addressing what has happened as a matter of urgency. TRFC and their various mouthpieces have, typically, gone on the attack, making themselves look ever more desperate. The SFA’s silence on the actual judgement and what it means for Scottish football, is screaming out the word ‘guilty’, for it is clear they are unable to put together a statement that doesn’t condemn Rangers without making themselves look ever more stupid and complicit! For if they could say anything in Rangers’ defence, they would have, instantly, there can be no doubt about that. And they have had years to prepare for it, but have come up with nothing! Absolutely!
* Think about it, at no time did they say that title stripping would be wrong or unjustified. At no time did they say that an LNS review or fresh investigation would be wrong or unjustified. They just said that they’d been advised to do nothing, and, at no time, did they say that their decision was right nor attempt to justify such inaction!
GOOSYGOOSYJULY 11, 2017 at 19:38
UPTHEHOOPSJULY 11, 2017 at 18:55 There has been a few rumours on cyberspace recently that a Referee, or Journalist was an EBT recipient. The Rangers Tax Case Blogger is doing a very good job on Twitter of debunking those rumours, which is good. Better to always deal in known facts.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Good That settles that rumourSoCan we now assume that everybody who received an ebt had a contract that squared the numbers ?i.e. They weren`t the paymaster for somebody else?Or put another wayThey weren`t the conduit for money belonging to the BOS?
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The answers to that are way above my pay grade!
ALLYJAMBOJULY 11, 2017 at 20:00
They just said that they’d been advised to do nothing,
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And just what did the SFA Scottish football’s governing body NEED ADVICE FOR?
They are the governing body they know the rules they know the law of the game,they should know how to act without seeking advice
On the scottish FA web page it has this to say.
strategic plan Scotland United: A 2020 Vision.
The plan encompasses…..• Respected and Trusted to Lead.
They also have this….Club Licensing, player and coach registrations,Referee Development and Coach Education are also key components of the Scottish FA’s wide commitment to the national sport.
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I don’t see any commitment to see a fair game
There was an important update on Res12 put out to Celtic shareholders on CQN.
Apparently adverts are putting off some readers but Kerrydalestreet posted the version and there is a summary
http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/single/?p=30447425&t=11033511
Supporters of all clubs should read because it shows a trail of dishonesty from 2000 linking Res12 and LNS Commission and implicates both SFA and SPL now SPFL.
If the links on the KDS version don’t take you to supporting documentation the CQN article will.
The semantics and technicalities used to argue the meaning of rules in defense of the accused parties fall on that one word “dishonesty”.
If a club has entered a competition by dishonest means it should be treated as if it never took part.
Keep it simple. The truth usually is.
Link to CQN Magazine.
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/official-update-to-res12-july-2017/
Haven’t posted for a long time but I was interested to read King’s statement regarding the funding of RFC and that the money would have been found from somewhere anyway.
That, in my mind, actually makes matters worse!
So, if you believe his statement, they deliberately choose not to play by the same rules as everyone else. According to King they had the money but decided to go down the route they did.
However, to go down this route they of course had to confirm to the various players in writing that they would definitely receive the money. This is what gave the player the assurance to sign the contract but RFC did not include this letter with the contract to go to the league and the SFA because in doing so would have made it contractual and therefore liable for tax.
That is the crux of the matter. It is the deliberate concealment of these letters which destroys the myth that this was simply an administrative error because if these letters had been included with the contract and other documentation then tax would have been payable.
On to David Murray and his statement. He had legal advice that everything was above board. Well advice is, by the very nature of the word advisory. It is not a guarantee. It is not definitive. It has as much authority as the next guys ‘advice’ which may be the complete opposite.
Then we have dear old Artur Numan. We won on the park fair and square was his cry. Well Artur you employed the agent who got you the deal and a side letter. As far as I know you signed the contract of your own free will. You did not sign it under duress so you, along with all of the other players, have to accept the responsibility for your actions. You were the guy who seemed to come from a footballing culture, at that time, where tax free wages were the norm.
Finally it has been reported recently that when offered a contract extension where Artur would be paid £20K a week paying tax instead of the £40k a week tax free he decided that this was not enough and retired. That won’t earn him a lot of fans anywhere considering most of them won’t earn in a year what he would have earned in a fortnight paying the same tax as everyone else.
Chris McLaughlinVerified account @BBCchrismclaug 2m2 minutes ago New SPFL chairman is media man Murdoch MacLennan. Former head of PA, Telegraph Group, Daily Record/Sunday Mail. Replaces Ralph Topping.
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What will his view be on the implications of the SC decision, LNS et al?
easyJamboJuly 11, 2017 at 22:35
I think we can be sure he was given his opinion during his interview, and had he questioned it’s validity…
He’s a media man, after all, where better to learn all there is to know about Scottish football? He will have formed his opinion from…the media, where else would he go?
Probably celebrating his appointment/having his opinion honed to a fine point in the Louden Tavern as we speak!
This statement from the Affiliation of Celtic Supporters is well balanced.
http://www.affiliationregisteredcelticsupporters.org/articles/2017/07/statement-on-the-supreme-court-ruling/
It is well balanced and the hope is that as other representative groups acquaint themselves with the rampant dishonesty at play designed to deflect them from the truth, their voices will be added to a growing clamour for honesty and justice.
Brogan Hogan always worth a read as he gets to the heart of licensing
http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/migration-is-beneficial-even-in-football/comment-page-7/#comment-3081120
easyJamboJuly 11, 2017 at 22:35
‘……………Murdoch MacLennan. Former head of PA, Telegraph Group, Daily Record/Sunday Mail. Replaces Ralph Topping.’
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Not to prejudge a man, but what an absolutely appalling stable of journals to have come from!
Here’s the ‘Telegraph’ article:
“The deputy chairman of Telegraph Media Group, Murdoch MacLennan, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Scottish Professional Football League.
The 68-year-old, who became TMG’s deputy chairman last month after 13 years as chief executive, will replace Ralph Topping, who is standing down on August 1.
MacLennan was the SPFL board’s unanimous choice to succeed Topping following a recruitment process conducted by worldwide sports executive search agency Nolan Partners.
Hailing from Glasgow, MacLennan is also chairman of the Press Association, an honorary professor at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School and, for the last eight years, has been the Chancellor’s Assessor at the Court of the University of Glasgow.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “Murdoch brings with him a wealth of top-level business and media experience and has been at the cutting edge of the digital revolution as CEO and now deputy chairman of the Telegraph Media Group. SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster with the Scottish League Cup Credit: PA “He demonstrated a real passion for the role and a clear insight into the opportunities and challenges we will face in the years ahead.
“There was very strong interest in the role from a host of highly-qualified candidates, but Murdoch was the board’s unanimous choice and we look forward to working with him as we continue to drive the game to even greater success in Scotland.” MacLennan added: “I am thrilled to have been selected to be the next chairman of the Scottish Professional Football League, and to build on the achievements of Ralph Topping. Murdoch Maclennan with his successor as CEO at TMG, Nick Hugh“I am so proud to be a part of its future. I greatly look forward to working with Neil Doncaster and to the opportunities and challenges that are ahead for the whole of Scottish football.”
Outgoing chairman Topping said: “I’ve greatly enjoyed my time in Scottish football and it was an honour to be chairman of the SPL and SPFL, especially during a period of substantial change and challenge.
“After advising the SPFL board in January that developing business commitments meant that I had decided to leave, I am delighted that my final act as chairman is to have secured the appointment of Murdoch as the new chairman.”
What I’d give to see a transcript of the job interview!
AULDHEIDJULY 11, 2017 at 23:18
This statement from the Affiliation of Celtic Supporters is well balanced.http://www.affiliationregisteredcelticsupporters.org/articles/2017/07/statement-on-the-supreme-court-ruling/ It is well balanced and the hope is that as other representative groups acquaint themselves with the rampant dishonesty at play designed to deflect them from the truth, their voices will be added to a growing clamour for honesty and justice.
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That statement is now the 5th to be made, following statements from Aberdeen and Dundee Utd fans groups, the Celtic Trust, and the rangers fans group Club 1872. So why is the Cub 1872 statement the only one given any prominence by the media, in particular the BBC?
Ralph Topping, who is standing down on August 1.To be replaced by Murdoch MacLennan. Former head of PA, Telegraph Group, Daily Record/Sunday Mail.
Now my first thought was,will Ralph Topping take part in any review to do with the SC verdict?
Or will Murdoch MacLennan.have to step in?
Will the SPFL kick the can down the road of any review and blame board changes as the reason for delay as new member or maybe members not up to speed?
Is Ralph Topping, standing down or getting out of dodge before he is part of any SPFL review?
Ps site looks and feels good today, or is it just my computer getting back to some normality?
Yeah,should have checked CD website first it’s not him.
http://www.campbelldallas.co.uk/about-us/our-people/murdoch-maclennan/
EASYJAMBOJULY 11, 2017 at 22:35 What will his view be on the implications of the SC decision, LNS et al?
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I don’t think there can be any doubt what his view is, whether it actually is or not!
– Rangers are the same club
– There was no sporting advantage as decreed by LNS
– I want to see Scottish football pull together and move on
– We can create a really vibrant brand here
– and of course…we need a really strong Rangers, one which wins the league more often than not, and especially more often than Celtic.
The new chairman of the SPFL was wonderfully named by Private Eye as Shifty McGifty. He’ll fit in perfectly.
EASYJAMBOJULY 11, 2017 at 22:35 Chris McLaughlinVerified account @BBCchrismclaug 2m2 minutes ago New SPFL chairman is media man Murdoch MacLennan. Former head of PA, Telegraph Group, Daily Record/Sunday Mail. Replaces Ralph Topping. —————————- What will his view be on the implications of the SC decision, LNS et al?
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SPFL are a limited company with shareholders. The normal procedure when a Chairman steps down is for advance notice to be given in a press release coupled with a comment that the search is under way for a replacement.
The timing of this announcement stinks. It is sandwiched between the SC decision and SPFL official response
If Topping continues as a Director of the SPFL but without being Chairman he begs the obvious question
What is so onerous about the extra workload of the Chairman of the SPFL compared with a Director of SPFL that makes a meaningful difference to Toppings day job?
Seriously!
Chairing the SPFL is virtually a non job in the first place. That’s why Topping has been able to do it along with his day job for years.
Is Topping getting out of the limelight because a corrupt SC response is in the pipeline?
If so there will be commercial consequences for Ladbrokes if he remains on the SPFL Board after stepping down as Chairman
And
There will be no response from the SPFL to the SC decision until well after Topping steps down as Chairman on 1 August.
All actions must be subservient to the sale of STs
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IMO
We mushrooms have just witnessed Stage 3 of a carefully thought out corrupt PR strategy devised jointly by the SFA and SPFL to prepare Scottish football fans for yet another corrupt event following the SC decision
i.e.
Stage 1 Corrupt SFA Statement on SC decision
Stage 2 Delaying SPFL Statemen on SC decision
Stage 3 New SPFL Chairman Statement
Stage 4 Private Briefing to corrupt SMSM rags
Stage 5 SPFL Corrupt Statement on SC decision
BLU
JULY 12, 2017 at 09:34
Apparently the soubriquet “Shifty McGifty” didn’t originate at Private Eye, but from the staff during his tenure as chief executive at the Daily Telegraph. The additional title of “Lavish McTavish” does apparently originate from Private Eye due the his undoubted abilities using an expense account.
I’m sure meetings at the SPFL will soon ring out with that other Private Eye saying “trebles all round”.
Apologies for using the posh word “soubriquet” rather than the more usual “nickname” but this was the Daily Telegraph.
GoosyGoosy,
If what you say is correct, fans/supporters should look at these people, who are the current directors of the SPFL, as recorded at Companies House.
BLAIR, Iain Joseph BUDGE, Ann Cochrane Cook Wallace DEMPSTER, Leeann DONCASTER, Neil Antony DRYSDALE, Eric Wilson FERGUSON, Kenneth William LAWWELL, Peter Thomas MAXWELL, Ian Gardner MCCLUSKEY, Karyn TOPPING, Ralph Jamieson
I’d reckon that most people would think that there’s some quality in that group, maybe some independent thinkers? However, if they collectively fail to see the need for transparency and evidence of being seen to have applied the League’s rules without fear or favour in respect its dealings with RFC 2012’s improper player registrations, the game’s screwed.
GiovanniJuly 12, 2017 at 09:58,
I’ll take your word for that Giovanni.
AuldheidJuly 12, 2017 at 00:31
Brogan Hogan always worth a read as he gets to the heart of licensing http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/migration-is-beneficial-even-in-football/comment-page-7/#comment-3081120
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There’s a post, a very long post, by BRTH in the replies to that blog that is a very, very worthwhile read. It adds even more meat to the EBT issues that haven’t been explored before, disguised, I think, by the fact we were all caught up in the ‘were the EBT’s legal?’ argument that has been at the forefront of the whole saga since day one.
As BRTH displays in his post, there was more in play than the use of the EBTs and their legality, and as I read it I was thinking back to a post I made the other day, where I suggested that the reality of the EBT use was, at the very least, off-the-books payments to players. I know a figure for EBTs was included in the accounts, but that makes no more difference than if they’d hidden payments within, say, ‘sundries’, as there was no reference to the fact that they were (unrecorded) payments to players, and it’s hardly likely that the truth of what they were would have been forthcoming if they were ever queried by the SFA (not that they would be queried, and, of course, Campbell Ogilvie knew exactly what they were and how they were used).
Anyway, ignore what I’ve said and go over to CQN and read BRTH’s post, but make yourself a cuppa and sandwich for lunch, for as I say, it’s a very long post
bluJuly 12, 2017 at 09:34
The new chairman of the SPFL was wonderfully named by Private Eye as Shifty McGifty. He’ll fit in perfectly.
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Why am I not surprised? Scottish football has been dragged down by people like ‘Sir’ David Murray, and far too many others of a similar ilk, so to redress the situation the SPFL appoint a supporter of the establishment as chairman. A previous executive of a right-wing newspaper hasn’t been brought in to appease the grass roots supporters…of any club other than the ‘establishment’ clubs of Ibrox!
I expect the years of silence at Hampden are about to be broken by a barrage of PR pap! They’ve forgotten, though, that the people whose minds they seek to change are not the kind of people who would believe the words of the Telegraph, or anyone associated with that establishment rag, not to mention Jim Traynor’s old toilet paper!
In one fell swoop, the Hampden beaks have increased the level of mistrust in Scottish football, who would have imagined that could happen?
I see the new Chairman of the SPFL was a character witness for disgraced Andy Coulson.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andy-coulson-telegraph-pr-advisor-murdoch-maclennan-a7655626.html
Speaking of Private Eye I think it may join that exclusive list of persons/organisations referred to as “the haters”. In the “In the City” column of the latest edition, about the prospects of HMRC recovering the tax due, it refers to the current edition of the company/club/ethereal entity as “the successor phoenix club”.
Perhaps someone should warn Lord Gnome, the proprietor of the esteemed organ, about using such language.
BLUJULY 12, 2017 at 10:02 GoosyGoosy,If what you say is correct, fans/supporters should look at these people, who are the current directors of the SPFL, as recorded at Companies House.BLAIR, Iain Joseph BUDGE, Ann Cochrane Cook Wallace DEMPSTER, Leeann DONCASTER, Neil Antony DRYSDALE, Eric Wilson FERGUSON, Kenneth William LAWWELL, Peter Thomas MAXWELL, Ian Gardner MCCLUSKEY, Karyn TOPPING, Ralph JamiesonI’d reckon that most people would think that there’s some quality in that group, maybe some independent thinkers? However, if they collectively fail to see the need for transparency and evidence of being seen to have applied the League’s rules without fear or favour in respect its dealings with RFC 2012’s improper player registrations, the game’s screwed.
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IMO
Unfortunately the game is screwed and has been for decades
How many individuals on the SPFL Board are noted for putting integrity above commercial interest?
Believe Me
If they were people of outstanding integrity it would be well known by now. Their reputation would have gone before them.for a start They would not have joined or remained on a board that employed Neil Doncaster as CEO
Integrity is not a personal trait that sits well with commercialism. Its one of those pesky moral values that keep interfering with making money. It fights its corner in every big decision where the commercial brain is suggesting you act dishonestly and tell lies.
Integrity cannot ever yield to dishonest compromises. If it does the respect it once earned has gone forever. My business experience suggests that integrity at Director level is nowhere near as common as you might expect.Integrity seems to reside mostly in individuals who are considered bolshi for raising moral questions during commercial discussions. Paradoxically, these people also tend to have progressed their careers by earning respect for difficult and often unpopular decisions.
5 years have gone by since we last heard the voice of integrity in Scottish football.
Turnbull Hutton(rip) enjoyed a long and successful business career without compromising his integrity.He was just as outspoken then as he was at Raith Rovers. He made a lot of difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions. But he did it with respect for the people most affected.
When he spoke up against the Armageddon lies and arm twisting by the SFA he knew he would get little public support from other club Chairmen.He was right. I don`t recall any other club Chairman backing him in public.
Football club Directors with genuine integrity live lonely lives.They are avoided by those who can
Just a passing thought, but if Charlie Chuckles was successful with his £8.5m CVA bid, would this humungous tax-bill, now be Sevco’s responsibility, or would a CVA aceptance have expunged it?
(Even though the final position was under contest at the time)
Corrupt officialJuly 12, 2017 at 13:07
Just a passing thought, but if Charlie Chuckles was successful with his £8.5m CVA bid, would this humungous tax-bill, now be Sevco’s responsibility, or would a CVA aceptance have expunged it?(Even though the final position was under contest at the time)
__________________________
I think that’s a bit of a Catch 22 situation, CO. I think if it had been included within what was ultimately a successful CVA, it would have been expunged, while, if not included, it would remain until the conclusion of the appeal process, when a ‘crystalized’ claim could be made. I think it’s safe to say that HMRC would not have voted in favour of a CVA under any circumstances, so, for the CVA to have been successful, there would have had to be no claim for the BTC, and either no claim in resect of the withheld Income Tax and NIC (ie tax had been paid but, as a result, RFC went insolvent earlier), or the list of other creditors would have had to have been much larger and all willing to accept. Then, with the CVA accepted and RFC surviving, the BTC would be concluded and RFC would now be having to pay the bill, or face liquidation.
It may well be, though, that HMRC had to include their claim, even if not fully ‘crystalized’ at the time RFC fell into administration, or face losing their right to claim, so there never was a chance of the CVA being accepted for any business in the situation Rangers found themselves in.
The ball was always in HMRC’s court to do as they thought best for the taxpayer, and if there was a chance that the BTC would remain ‘live’ Charlie was never gong to offer a brass farthing for RFC under any CVA!
I’ve just walked back up th roaad from the post office, where I posted the following. I know the guy doesn’t take up post till next month, but I’m sure the letter will find it’s way to him. My own name nd address were used.
“Mr M MacLellan,
Chairman-Designate,
Scottish professional Football League,
Dear (Mr MacLellan, in manuscript),
Allow me,in the conventional way, to congratulate you on your appointment as Chairman of the Scottish Professional Football League.
I regret that that may sound a little less than an effusive and whole-hearted greeting.
You will, however, have briefed yourself on the state that the SPFL has put itself in, in terms of the huge wall of distrust it has built between itself and many thousands of football fans(“without whom football is nothing”).
The principal building blocks of that wall of distrust are three in number, and you will presumably be aware of them:
1.The support of, and propagation by the SPFL of the intrinsically contradictory view that The Rangers Football Club Ltd is the same identical club as Rangers Football Club ( In Liquidation) in every respect except that of being a club owing millions of pounds in ‘social taxes’ to HMRC, by allowing them to claim honours and titles won by Rangers Football Club (In Liquidation) years before The Rangers Football Club Ltd was granted membership (in 2012, the year it was founded) of the then Scottish Football League.
2.It is established fact that Rangers Football Club (IL), for many years before it went into Administration, fielded ineligible players in virtually every match it played. It made false declarations to both the SPL and the Scottish Football Association(SFA) about the remuneration it was paying to those players.
The decision of the Commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith and set up under the provisions of the Judicial Panel Protocol of the SFA,was that Rangers Football Club (IL) had gained no sporting advantage through playing ineligible players. It is certain now, following the recent judgment by the UK Supreme Court, that that decision has to be set aside as having in fact been based on the wrongful(and rash) presumption that the use of a particular tax avoidance scheme in the way used by Rangers Football Club(IL) was legitimate and as such could have been adopted by other clubs.
Regrettably, however,the SPFL has thus far demonstrated no appetite even for reviewing that unsound decision let alone actually setting it aside.
3.A substantial amount of material has been available in the public domain and to clubs in the SPFL and to the SFA which raises serious questions about the integrity of the SFA in the matter of whether the SFA and/or Rangers Football Club ( as it was then) or both in collusion ,lied to the UEFA club licensing board in order to obtain issuance of a UEFA Competititions Licence to Rangers Football Club, at a time when when as a matter of fact that club was in a state of indebtedness to HMRC in an amount assessed, calculated and demanded by HMRC , after the cut-off dates prescribed in the relevant UEFA club licensing rules.
The SFA has notacted on that material, nor did the (then) SPL , and neither has the SPFL .
It is my view, and that of many others, that dealing with these building blocks ought to be your first priority. The fact that they have not only not been dealt with but dismissed out-of-hand has readied many of us to believe that the mind-set of those in authority is set against establishing truth and putting Sporting Integrity at the heart of the governance of our sport.
If I can do so without being offensive, I have to point out the extraordinary fact that the mainstream media in Scotland has consistently failed to challenge the Football Authorities on any of the three points I make above. Indeed, the contrary is the case: they have almost universally simply acted as conduits for the ‘official’line.
So I , and many others, are already asking whether the SPFL , in appointing you, a media-man, as Chairman, intend to use your services as Chairman more as ‘media-image-improvement’ adviser than as someone prepared to look hard at the three contentious matters I have mentioned , and bend your best efforts as Chairman to putting things right ,and restoring Integrity ( remember the late Turnbull Hutton’s anguished and angered cry on the steps of Hampden – “ Corrupt!”) and restoring honour and decency to our game.
Yours sincerely, “
If I received your letter John, I’d likely just promptly bin it.
It’s kinda personal… I detest people who put LL instead of NN in the middle of my surname.
GOOSYGOOSY
11, 2017 at 22:35
…
IMO We mushrooms have just witnessed Stage 3 of a carefully thought out corrupt PR strategy devised jointly by the SFA and SPFL to prepare Scottish football fans for yet another corrupt event following the SC decision i.e.
Stage 1 Corrupt SFA Statement on SC decision
Stage 2 Delaying SPFL Statemen on SC decision
Stage 3 New SPFL Chairman Statement
Stage 4 Private Briefing to corrupt SMSM rags
Stage 5 SPFL Corrupt Statement on SC decision
===================================
Yes, you would think that during the most serious threat to the SPFL and its reputation [
], Topping would have stayed on as Chairman, if only for a month or two, before handing over ?
Smacks of self-preservation, IMO.
And following Topping’s move, you would think that both Regan and Doncaster would either resign, or “be resigned” – no doubt with generous pay offs and gagging clauses – and the SFA and SPFL can then blame them, and ask fans to give the new guys a chance to sort out Scottish football, i.e. play for time.
However, whatever the SFA and SPFL actually do, I’m quietly confident they will make the wrong decisions.
“I think that’s a bit of a Catch 22 situation, CO.”
———————————————————————————–
That’s along the lines of what I was thinking, but I can’t recall ever seeing a breakdown of HMRC’s claim, whether it was included or not.
Wee Craigy’s debt and the DOS seem to have been included, (or taken for granted it was), but with the BTC not being decided, I was unsure.
As it’s a “passing notion” day for me :-), I had another.
LNS was basically, a non legal courtroom, chaired by an ex-judge doing a homer. What is to stop CFC, any other club, or a collective doing the same in direct competition? This time using ALL of the available evidence. It may be a non-legal action route that satisfy’s UEFA’s criterea.
This is what this is becoming.
The SFA stance and SPFL stance is the equivalent of the Police having all the evidence to convict by law in front of them and waiting for the public to make them enforce the law.
The fans should not be made to enforce the rules of the association rules written up by the association.
GoosyGoosy, I love your ability to come up with apparently off-the-wall scenarios in the dark dealings of the various players in this whole Rangers fiasco, which turn out to be pretty close to the truth. I also share your anger but in this case I hope that you’re just plain wrong.
A few points:
1. It was announced in January that Topping was standing down.
2. There are reps from Celtic, Hibs, Hearts and Partick Thistle currently on the SPFL Board -all currently financially sound and not dependent on any Rangers/OF-driven commercial imperative.
3. The Raith Rovers rep is hardly likely to be beholden to any Rangers’ interest post McCoist’s “Who are these people?” nonsense. He was one of the tribunal members involved.
If MacLennan’s new job is to be somehow better understood, Private Eye has – for some time now – been intimating he has been steadily shifted towards the Torygraph door.
Shoogly peg and all that – and they gave several ‘reasons’ why…
Murdoch probably saw this a Good Move. Saves face, after all…
Not fired – going to a respectable Scottish sinecure…
FISHNISHJULY 12, 2017 at 19:15
############################
Murdoch may well view it as a good move but I doubt the Barclay Bros. gave him a say.
Chris from BBC doing his job.
If all this is allowed to stand might we expect “successor Phoenix club” to become part of the SFA official rule book or is it to be restricted to one dead thing only? I can just see it now Clyde SPC v Third Lanark SPC or The The Rangers SPC.iii I am impressed by the amount of well tempered bampottery om one side and bemused by some of the para TRFC nastiness.
Researching Mr MacLeNNan (and thanks Fishnnish for noting the wrong name in my post: Iwrote his name in manuscript on the letter I sent-I think I got it right in that. I hope so),in the interests of knowing the opposition,
I’ve just been reading an article penned by a former ‘Telegraph@’ journalist (at this link)
https://order-order.com/2015/02/17/breaking-oborne-quits-telegraph/ (scroll down a good bit )
It makes very interesting reading, and I give a few extracts here which give me to think that I might be correct in my (preliminary) feeling that SPFL may have found the ideal Chairman for their purposes.
“HSBC today refused to comment when I asked whether the bank’s decision to stop advertising with the Telegraph was connected in any way with the paper’s investigation into the Jersey accounts.Winning back the HSBC advertising account became an urgent priority. It was eventually restored after approximately 12 months. Executives say that Murdoch MacLennan was determined not to allow any criticism of the international bank. “He would express concern about headlines even on minor stories,” says one former Telegraph journalist. “Anything that mentioned money-laundering was just banned, even though the bank was on a final warning from the US authorities. This interference was happening on an industrial scale.
……
Reporters were ordered to destroy all emails, reports and documents related to the HSBC investigation. I have now learnt, in a remarkable departure from normal practice, that at this stage lawyers for the Barclay brothers became closely involved. When I asked the Telegraph why the Barclay brothers were involved, it declined to comment…..
Would Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs have been much more energetic in its own recent investigations into wide-scale tax avoidance, had the Telegraph continued to hold HSBC to account after its 2012 investigation? There are great issues here. They go to the heart of our democracy, and can no longer be ignored…..”
_________
Protection of one company at the expense of truth……
Looking back over the last 5 years or more I think that I and others started off from the baseline that the prime role of the SFA was to safeguard the integrity of Scottish football.
Time has taught us differently, but where does that leave us as supporters?
What choices do we have?
A) Walk away from the club and game that we love?
B) Blindly accept that things will never change and pay up to watch, but with the knowledge we are being short changed?
Or
C) battle to see that integrity is paramount and if the SFA, who by their latest statement are relying that enough will choose B) , either do their job properly,openly and transparently and accountably or move over and are replaced with a governing body with the professional expertise and capacity to do what is required?
Self cerification the basis on which regulations depend, no longer works, Rangers FC drove that ship on to the rocks under the same captains that now command the current ship.
Move on? Aye right.
ICEBERG ahead Captains.
Well it will have to be via a crowd funded judicial review. The SFA will do nothing as we already know. I fully expect the SPFL to release a very wordy statement saying they will do nothing either. The only way Regan and Doncaster will stop giving two fingers to us all is under oath in a court.
AULDHEID
JULY 13, 2017 at 13:35
Looking back over the last 5 years or more I think that I and others started off from the baseline that the prime role of the SFA was to safeguard the integrity of Scottish football.Time has taught us differently, but where does that leave us as supporters?…
======================================================
It seems that nobody, [including the bears], ‘trusts or respects’ the SFA.
And does anyone think that the SFA itself has improved Scottish football in the last 20, 30+ years ?
So, what value does the SFA actually add to Scottish football ?
I used to believe that the SFA was – at the very least – a check on the commercial focus of the SPFL.
But it seems that is not the case.
Apart from hefty overhead costs, what does the SFA really contribute to improve the game.
[…and don’t say coaching courses at Largs!]
Another option.
Disband the SFA.
Rebrand the SPFL as the SFA, and they can be honest about their intentions – for once.
Then, the fans will know exactly what sort of game they can choose to finance, or not.
AuldheidJuly 13, 2017 at 13:35
‘.Looking back over the last 5 years or more .. I and others started off from the baseline that the prime role of the SFA was to safeguard the integrity of Scottish football.
_________
To be perfectly honest, Auldheid,it never entered my head that the kind of toleration by the Football Authorities of incidental ‘sporting cheating’ ( in the way of ‘dodgy’ refereeing decisions and ‘ suspicious’ cup draws and the like that I suppose every supporter may believe they have had experience of) would progress to deliberate condonation by those Authorities of one club’s decade-long sports cheating and the acceptance and propagation of a fundamental sporting, legal and commercial untruth.
Or that instead of rooting out and exposing that untruth the Authorities should enter secret, unworthy agreements to ensure that the lie is protected, and the full truth kept quiet.
And,although expecting a Woodward or Bernstein to emerge from the ranks of the SMSM would have been going a bit too far, it never really occurred to me that our media people would be so obediently ready to lie down docilely and quietly chew their
.
Move on? The only appropriate answer to that question, Auldheid, is your ‘Aye, right!!’ in spades!
AULDHEIDJULY 13, 2017 at 13:35
……
There is another alternative Auldheid.
Every club can sign the best players they can attract. Screw the creditors, sponsors, and taxman, go bust, and do it all again in perpetuity.
Scottish fitba could be like its own wee off-shore tax free world.
What a league it will be, attracting the cream of the crop…….. Whit? ………..
Actually if Rangers(I.L.) were so convinced of the legality of EBT’s, why did they not pay the players with “loans” for 100% of their errrrr “trust”…Why not register them as playing for free?.
Would that have raised a few eyebrows?
If I get my 16 yr old a hauf fare on the bus, I have a better chance of getting away with it, than hiding her under my jaiket…….
I should add I can’t remember the last time I was on a bus. I doubt she was born
John Clark July 11, 2017 at 10:53
Well, that was a bit of a wasted trip into Parliament House! No time had been specified in the entry on the Court Rolls.So, knowing that they sometimes sit at 9.30, or other earlier times when it suits, I went away in , in the rain, to be there for 9.00 a.m. No mention of Lord Tyre on the notice board listing the various judges and court rooms and the cases scheduled to be held today.
Back at the desk, the guy looked it up by its petition number. He had no idea why it had apparently been scrubbed.He said that it would now probably be scheduled for 20th July. I’ve just checked the Rolls,( 10.49 a.m) and the entry for today is still there! See these Civil Servants!
=======================
Confirmed for Thursday 20th in today’s rolls.
LORD TYRE – N Marchant, Clerk
Thursday 20th July Starred Motion
at 10.00am
P115/17 Note: RFC 2012 Plc for orders Shepherd & WedderburnWright Johnston & Mackenzie LLP
…… if it’s off again and you don’t mind a bit of prying, there’s a hearing on David Goodwillie’s civil rape case scheduled at the same time.
UPTHEHOOPSJULY 13, 2017 at 13:40
Well it will have to be via a crowd funded judicial review. The SFA will do nothing as we already know. I fully expect the SPFL to release a very wordy statement saying they will do nothing either. The only way Regan and Doncaster will stop giving two fingers to us all is under oath in a court.
——————
If the SFA and the SPFL do nothing, There is nothing left but a crowd funded judicial review.Maybe even a letter from a crowd funded body to Regan and Doncaster that funding for a judicial review is in place and we will see you in court to answer questions under oath.will be enough to set alarm bells ringing. How would it be reported in English newspapers and media that fans have set in motion a crowd funded Initiative for a judicial review into how the game in scotland was run and how it is continually being run.
Scottish football fans take scottish footballs governing body to court
Could be a headline that there is no hiding from. Sports media all over europe would be all over it.Questions would be getting asked from all over.Could be what is needed to shine a light, there would be no hiding place for the SFA and the SPFL.
And a reminder to any future governing body don’t f**k with scottish football fans they will be watching
Is it just me or since the events down ibrox way last week. There is very little smsm coverage of anything going on at ibrox. You just can’t find the usual puff piece or anything of note. Not like the smsm they print anything just to keep the ibrox club relevant
Interesting quote below from today’s London Times. Given the performances of the prosecution witnesses at the Whyte trial, and the Supreme Court ruling, it seems pretty clear just who is to blame for the demise of Rangers. Yet still the media fall over themselves to call him ‘Sir’ David.
Never tiring of reading this as it means what it says on the tin.
Rule 4.5 of the SFA’s Registration Procedure Rules provides
inter alia
“All payments to be made to a player relating to his playing activities must be clearly
recorded upon the relevant contract and/or agreement. No payments for his playing
activities may be made to a player via a third party”.
https://www.pumptax.com/wp-content/uploads/old/documents/murray291012.pdf
easyJamboJuly 13, 2017 at 18:57
‘…..Confirmed for Thursday 20th in today’s rolls.LORD TYRE – N Marchant, Clerk
Thursday 20th July Starred Motion’
_______
Thank you, eJ.
I’ll take my notebook along in the belief that there could be no possible justification for reporting restrictions.
(Last week’s intimation mentioned ‘for order under Para 75’. Do you happen to know what that aParagraph of: Rulas, schedule, or a section paragraph in an Act? I don’t find it in the Companies Act or the Insolvency Act or in the Rules of Court.)
John Clark July 13, 2017 at 20:23
====================
You’ll find it here:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gfJ-DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=orders+under+para+75&source=bl&ots=CKW1yKdv3S&sig=QRpm9fqOapjVQba3fn8Hsdv3f8I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0pOHp_4bVAhWIUlAKHXfXCMIQ6AEILTAA#v=onepage&q=orders%20under%20para%2075&f=false
Aberdeen 1-0 HT. Go on Aberdeen!!!
GMS was close to a second for Aberdeen. I hope so much for that player.
I’ve had a terrible couple of days. Was hoping for an Aberdeen win tonight, a peaceful win for Celtic tomorrow to cheer me up.
The Sheep need to cheer their team on!!! Silence is not golden!
Och 1-1 draw! The Aberdeen players should be forced to go to the sun tan parlours 3 times a day for the next week to get used to the weather in Bosnia.
easyJambo July 13, 2017 at 20:33
‘…You’ll find it here:..’
__________
Ah, yes, Para 75(3) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986.
Thank you. (I think you may have told me that on some previous occasion and I had forgotten? If so, my apologies)
I listened to the Aberdeen game ( and I will say again that it is a joy to listen to Liam McLeod as commentator. Richard Gordon is beyond reproach. And I love Wullie Miller’s brilliant blend of sharing of anxiety and fan pessimism with professional assessment of a football match as a sporting competition)
As I listened , I was,of course, fiddling about on the blog, catching up and so forth.
I was tickled pink when , re-reading the Companies House info on “RFC 2012 plc “( previously known as Rangers Football Club , founded in 1872 and incorporated in 1899), I noticed that within a very few days of the ‘winding up notice ‘ issued by our own Lord Hodge, the 1872 -founded club no longer could call Ibrox Stadium ‘home’!
It seems,would you believe! that when they went bust, they lost their very name and identity as a Scottish Football club, and with that, their ancestral home!
A new creation called ‘ Rangers International Football Club’ became the ‘owner'[ subject to challenge , I understand] of that home in dear old Edmiston Drive.
The ‘real Rangers’ are now, still legally alive, but living in a Liquidator’s box lever arch file at Atlantic Quay,York St Glasgow.
And are most assuredly not in any way shape or form ither entitled to participate or are actually participating , in professional football in Scotland; but are consigned to history, and their famous Ibrox Stadium has been handed over to .. [ what?me spit?]
Of course, the studios of the BBC propagandists across the river on Pacific Quay have windows at the back, with no river view! They would not wish to acknowledge reality and truth.*
* I have no idea, of course,of which rooms/studios are used by which programmes!
Below is an interesting article by the Guardian’s Mike Small, from back in the days when a few journalists spoke the truth.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/16/rangers-lowest-league-victory-fans?CMP=share_btn_tw
It’s worth getting a few things straight before kick-off. This isn’t about “relegating” Rangers. Rangers don’t exist any more. This isn’t about Craig Whyte. Craig Whyte’s not around any more. It’s about a culture of failure, a total lack of transparency and connivance from the very top of the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association in a rigged cartel that has brought Scottish football to total crisis. The good news is that the inept coterie at the top of the game has been bypassed by ordinary fans and smaller clubs. This is what democracy looks like.
Just when you thought the corporate takeover of society was just about complete, an event takes place or a movement pops up to renew your faith and make you realise that big change is not just possible, it’s inevitable, because right across society the elite that runs our world is being exposed daily as a corrupt and incompetent failure.
Sevco 5088 Ltd being forced to start their existence in Scotland’s lowest league is one of these events, and the sweeping grassroots network that made this happen is one of these movements. Only a few months ago this was completely unthinkable, and only a few days ago it seemed like efforts to parachute this new entity into the First Division – the next tier down from the Scottish Premier League – by Neil Doncaster, the now utterly discredited SPL chief executive, would succeed. Sporting integrity, or integrity of any kind, would, it seemed, be crushed under the weight of corporate expectation, a conflation of embedded sports and business journalists and the staggering sense of entitlement of Rangers and their allies in the governing bodies.
Instead, incredibly, we’ve just seen the transformation of Scottish football, realised almost entirely through Twitter and key websites that have proliferated as the story has dominated every media outlet for over a year: the award-winning Rangers Tax Case, fans site Pie and Bovril, rebel journalist Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, Wings Over Scotland, Scotzine and Paul McConville to name a few. These sites give us hope that what may follow is not just a renaissance in Scottish football but in Scottish media. A core part of this saga has been the failure of the sports and business media with allegations of laziness, partiality and just a complete lack of any critical faculties.
Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of Rangers, the fact is that the SPL chairmen would have quite happily connived to drop the newco into the top flight. Without the resistance of a network of ordinary fans unconvinced by the governing bodies’ (or the mainstream media’s) account of things, the money men’s perpetual short-termism would have prevailed. Faced with (unsubstantiated) apocalyptic scenarios, ordinary fans put huge pressure on their own clubs in advance of the vote at Hampden this week, withholding their season tickets.
The collapse of Rangers and the shock it’s put through the entire Scottish game has wider consequences. The allegations of widespread tax evasion and the brutal gangster behaviour of football executives has exposed an entire class of feral businessmen.
But this is about more than exposing bad business. The model of endless growth has been challenged. The consequences of consigning Sevco Scotland to start where any new club would start may well mean drastic cuts in Scottish football. Some clubs may have to close or downsize. This is no bad thing. We know we have too many clubs in this country. Endlessly chasing an utterly unsustainable model is failed economics.
This has been a profound failure of governance, not just among the series of dodgy geezers who lined up to fleece Rangers fans for decades, but the entire edifice of Scottish football, especially the leadership of Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster. The reality is that the SPL, founded in 1998, has failed by any metric you can choose: attendances, club success in Europe, entertainment value, national team success. Incredibly, since the SPL began, five of its member clubs have entered administration. The newly leaked email from the SFA’s Stewart Regan marks him out as a clueless fixer, who’s failed at every effort to collude with Rangers. BBC Scotland reported yesterday that a vote of no confidence in Regan was proposed and seconded at last Friday’s Scottish Football League meeting.
By having the courage to break from the old failed model, the SFL clubs have done the whole of Scottish football a huge favour. There won’t be any “social unrest”, there will be renewed enthusiasm. More people in Scotland per head of population watch their domestic top-level league than any other European nation. Let’s rebuild, let’s transform Scottish football. Let’s learn the wider lessons not just about the failed corporate economies but the lively powerful networks that can offer an alternative.
CLUSTER ONEJULY 13, 2017 at 19:17 Is it just me or since the events down ibrox way last week. There is very little smsm coverage of anything going on at ibrox. You just can’t find the usual puff piece or anything of note. Not like the smsm they print anything just to keep the ibrox club relevant.
————————————————————————————————-
Indeed, we could be in for a quiet month or one where all kinds of irrelevant nonsense (ex Rangers players’ ex fiancee breaks toe nail in bathroom horror incident!!!!) comes to the fore.
Being dumped out of Europe and being given a bye in the Betfred cup means that there is currently no home game at Ibrox until Hibs visit on 12 August.
Last years Betfred games brought in home crowds of 29.k & 31.6k. The Europa cup tie income from a full stadium probably came close to matching or topping that but unless a ‘glamour’ friendly can be arranged quickly it looks like a month of no income generated through the turnstiles.
Anyone got any idea if the shelves at the megastore have been re-stocked 🙂
Wottpi, we did have the barber story yesterday to fill some column inches. ?
John C, great pickup with the Oborne article. Mr Maclennan looks to be EXACTLY what the SPFL need!
Wottpi, I hear lots of grumbles that the expected lead time is 6-8 wks for the shelves being stocked. Don’t know what truth is in that.
HIGHLANDERJULY 14, 2017 at 08:06
Below is an interesting article by the Guardian’s Mike Small, from back in the days when a few journalists spoke the truth.
———–Does he still speak the truth,or is the coin in his pocket worth more?
——
It’s about a culture of failure, a total lack of transparency and connivance from the very top of the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football Association in a rigged cartel that has brought Scottish football to total crisis. The good news is that the inept coterie at the top of the game has been bypassed by ordinary fans and smaller clubs. This is what democracy looks like.
————
And yrt they are still there Regan and Doncaster still at the top.
—————–
utterly discredited SPL chief executive, would succeed. Sporting integrity, or integrity of any kind, would, it seemed, be crushed under the weight of corporate expectation, a conflation of embedded sports and business journalists and the staggering sense of entitlement of Rangers and their allies in the governing bodies.
And yet they are still there.
——————
A core part of this saga has been the failure of the sports and business media with allegations of laziness, partiality and just a complete lack of any critical faculties.
And yet they are still there.
——————–
Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of Rangers, the fact is that the SPL chairmen would have quite happily connived to drop the newco into the top flight. Without the resistance of a network of ordinary fans unconvinced by the governing bodies’ (or the mainstream media’s) account of things, the money men’s perpetual short-termism would have prevailed.
And yet they are still there.
—————-
This has been a profound failure of governance, not just among the series of dodgy geezers who lined up to fleece Rangers fans for decades, but the entire edifice of Scottish football, especially the leadership of Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster. The reality is that the SPL, founded in 1998, has failed by any metric you can choose: attendances, club success in Europe, entertainment value, national team success.
And yet they are still there.
—————
The newly leaked email from the SFA’s Stewart Regan marks him out as a clueless fixer, who’s failed at every effort to collude with Rangers. BBC Scotland reported yesterday that a vote of no confidence in Regan was proposed and seconded at last Friday’s Scottish Football League meeting.
And yet they are still there.
On why the concept of an Establishment club is an offence to civilised society.
There are times when I ask myself why I am one of the “obsessed”. There, I have admitted it. I AM obsessed with the misgovernment of football.
Mrs Zilch sometimes says ‘Surely it is just a game and even if they cheated, haven’t they been liquidated etc etc. Why do you care so much, even after all this time?’
It’s a reasonable question from someone whose opinion means more to me than anyone else in the world. So I ask myself the same question.
And it always comes back to the same ould story. For me, at least, this is about so much more than just football. This is about the kind of society we want to live in. This is about our collective future, the future we bequeath to our kids and grandkids.
The answer is about eliminating bigotry and prejudice from the fundamental structures of society. The idea that we could have an Establishment Club whose interests and success have been supported to the detirment of ALL other clubs in the nation is anathema.
It tells us that the country is corrupt and if they are prepared to cheat at something as superficial as football – well what else would they do to protect the Establishment? You do not have to look to far into recent political and social history to see the evidence: Hillsborough and Bloody Sunday are two obvious examples, but there are so many more.
Rangers FC were the flagship symbol of Protestant Ascendancy in not just the West of Scotland, but across the whole of Scotland – winning league titles by cheating did not confine itself to the West for impact.
They represented the peak of a culture of subservience to the Crown and elitism that continues to see thousands of fans looking for a sugar daddy of the RRM to elevate them to ascendancy once more. A culture of subservience that was built in the shipyards where being protestant meant getting a job ahead of your immigrant, often catholic rival. You might be dirt poor, but you were better off than them and they could never aspire to reach your status by dint of birthright.
This is what many of us experienced directly here in the West of Scotland. By many accounts it was less aggressive elsewhere, but then the numbers were less significant too.
I did not experience the truly hard end of this. It has been some time since the Catholics Need Not Apply signs were common. Yet the underlying culture of Protestant Ascendancy has remained a feature of life here in the West.
I will give you a short personal example.
It goes back about twenty years ago, to when I had just recently graduated with a PhD and was off on a scientific expedition with a mixture of UK and foreign colleagues. The expedition was led by a very senior chap, originally from Scotland but based down south for maybe 35 years. He was a very nice old fella, we got on great, the science went well and we shared the general bonhomie of fellow countrymen working abroad.
At the end of the trip the old chap was full of the joys and singing praises about what a wonderful job I had done and what a fine example I was of a good traditional Scottish Protestant education.
I was slightly taken aback, both by the praise but also from the implication of his assertion. I liked the guy and did not want to cause offence but had to say, as gently as possible, thanks for the kind words but you have my background all wrong.
The poor guy was mortified and apologised profusely, but was genuinely taken aback that someone from my background, my community, could have possibly reached the levels of professionalism that he had spoken about so warmly just minutes previously. Surely it was well known that such a thing was not possible?
We parted on good terms and I don’t hold any grudge at all. He was a product of his time and had the good grace to realise that he had made a horrible mistake. Moreeover, I believe that it probably changed his world view considerably, and for the better.
So why mention it?
Well there was a time, not that very long ago when the world view that he professed was commonly held and my community was expected to know its place.
Those days are past and will not be returning.
These days we fill positions across the range of society and have achieved parity in virtually all spheres of public life. We are still an immigrant community, partly as a result of the conspicuous identity that was forged in the crucible of the Old Firm.
What I aspire to is a society where our contributions are valued as highly as those from any other part of it. I look to the doctors and nurses, the lawyers and business people, the teachers and shopkeepers from all of the communities that have chosen to come to Scotland and call it home and think we are a far better place for it.
Rangers, as the Establishment Club, have been a symbol of a backwards-looking attempt to stop progress towards equality and to maintain a cultural elite at the expense of everyone else.
To be clear, this is not catholic vs protestant. That is what you are meant to believe and to subconsciously align youself accordingly.
This is about maintenance of an elitist societal structure that is built on a foundation of acceptance and subservience that should have no place in a progressive, forwards-looking country.
The idea that Scottish Football needs a strong Rangers is a propaganda claim for those who would maintain the Protestant Ascendancy that is built on crushing the dreams and aspirations of all sections of society, including the vast majority of the Protestant population. We see this in the mulifarious machinations to extract every last penny of the famous Blue Pound.
So there it is. Football in this country is not simply a sport: through the systemic corruption in support of a single, Establishment Club, it has been hijacked to be a symbol of social dominance of an elite whose power is otherwise being eroded year on year by the rise of a proper meritocracy.
Anyone that thinks we will simply back away from this fight has no comprehension whatsoever of what it really means.
Ending the corruption of our sport and installing sporting integrity as the fundamental standard would be a powerful message that the old social status quo is over.
Sam Cooke said it well:
It’s been a long, a long time comingBut I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
@Cluster OneJuly 14, 2017 at 14:44
It’s disregard of rules and who the SFA approve to guide the ships that is the problem.
http://www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk/the-panel-on-takeovers-and-mergers/search-results?cx=001597710849989586000%3A8xxhraa938g&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=dave+king&sa=Go&siteurl=www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk%2F&ref=www.google.co.uk%2F&ss=3058j1826338j9
extract from the take over panel have said this surely this has to be challegned.
an email from King below has the following comment from the board.
“I note from emails that were forwarded to me that you have purchased Laxey’s shares. I remain surprised that Laxey wouldn’t sell the shares to me or anyone involved with me – even at the higher price I offered. It seems that their fiduciary responsibility should be directed towards getting the best deal irrespective of who they are selling to. In any event I am delighted that you managed to get this deal done.
I am continuing to pursue my own options and have put a proposal to the trustees of my family trust as they ultimately have to make the final decision. The holidays have delayed things a bit but I hope to get final approval today. I may want to approach co-investors from time to time and it will help me to know who is involved in your “consortium” so that I avoid duplication”.
The Committee is in no doubt that this was a self-serving email designed by Mr King to cover his tracks and to give the false impression that his own acquisitions and those of the Letham “consortium” had not been co-ordinated.
the fact that he had been convicted in South Africa of offences under the South African Income Tax Act along with his service on the Board of Old Rangers at the time of its insolvency meant that his appointment required the approval of the Scottish Football Association. On 19 May 2015 the Scottish FA passed Mr King as fit and proper, whereupon he became a director and Chairman of Rangers.
How much evidence needs be provided that cheating and lying was still happening