UEFA Club Licensing. – To Comply or not to Comply ?
On 16 April 2018 The UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) adjudicatory chamber took decisions in the cases of four clubs that had been referred to it by the CFCB chief investigator, concerning the non-fulfilment of the club licensing criteria defined in the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.
Such criteria must be complied with by the clubs in order to be granted the licence required to enter the UEFA club competitions.
The cases of two clubs::
Olympique des Alpes SA (Sion Switzerland )
and
FC Irtysh (Kazakhstan)
are of particular interest to those following the events under which the SFA awarded a UEFA License to Rangers FC in 2011 currently under investigation by the SFA Compliance Officer because
- The case documentation tell us how UEFA wish national associations to apply UEFA FFP rules
- The cases tell us what might have happened to Rangers FC in 2012 had they not gone into liquidation and as a consequence avoided the same type of sanctions that UEFA applied to Sion and Irtysh.
FC Sion (Olympique des Alpes SA)
Here we are told how the Swiss FL and then the UEFA CFCB acted in respect of FC Sion in 2017 where a misleading statement was made in the Sion UEFA licensing application.
Full details can be read at
but this is a summary.
In April 2017 the Swiss FL (SFL) granted a licence to Sion FC but indicated that a Disciplinary case was pending.
In July 2017 the CFCB, as part of their licence auditing programme, carried out a compliance audit on 3 clubs to determine if licences had been properly awarded. Sion was one of those clubs.
The subsequent audit by Deloitte LLP discovered Sion had an overdue payable on a player, amounting to €950,000, owed to another football club (FC Sochaux ) at 31st March 2017 as a result of a transfer undertaken by Sion before 31st December 2016, although the €950,000 was paid in early June 2017.
Deloitte produced a draft report of their findings that was passed to SFL and Sion for comment on factual accuracy and comment on the findings. Sion responded quickly enabling Deloitte to present a final report to the CFCB Investigation Unit. In response to the Deloitte final report Sion stated:
“il apparaît aujourd’hui qu’il existait bel et bien un engagement impayé découlant d’une activité de transfert. Ce point est admis” translated as
“it now appears that there was indeed an outstanding commitment arising from transfer activity. This is admitted”
What emerged as the investigation proceeded was that the Swiss FL Licensing Committee, after granting the license in April and as a result of a Sochaux complaint of non-payment to FIFA, had reason to refer Sion’s application to their Disciplinary Commission in May 2017 with regard to the submission of potentially misleading information by FC Sion to the SFL on 7th April 2017 as part of its licensing documentation.
Sion had declared
“Written confirmation: no overdue payables arising from transfer activities”, signed by the Club’s president, stating that as at 31 March 2017 there were no overdue payables towards other football clubs. In particular, the Club indicated that the case between FC Sion and FC Sochaux regarding the transfer of the player Ishmael Yartey was still under dispute.
The SFL Disciplinary Commission came to the conclusion that FC Sion had no intention to mislead the SFL, but indeed submitted some incorrect licensing documentation; the SFL Disciplinary Commission further confirmed that the total amount of €950,000 had been paid by the Club to FC Sochaux on 7 June 2017. Because of the inaccurate information submitted, the SFL Disciplinary Commission decided to impose a fine of CHF 8,000 on the Club.
Whilst this satisfied the SFL Disciplinary process the CFCB deemed it not enough to justify the granting of the licence as UEFA intended their FFP rules to be applied.
Sion provided the CFCB with a number of reasons on the basis of which no sanction should be imposed. In particular, the Club admitted that there was an overdue payable as at 31 March 2017, but stated that the mistake in the document dated 7 April 2017 was the result of a misinterpretation by the club’s responsible person for dealing with the licence (the “Club’s licence manager”), who is not a lawyer. The Club affirmed that it never had the intention to conceal the information and had provisioned the amount due for payment and that, in any case, it has already been sanctioned by the SFL for providing the wrong information.
The CFCB Investigation Unit accepted that the Sion application, although inaccurate, was a one off misrepresentation and not a forgery, (as in intended to deceive ) but that nevertheless an overdue payable did exist at 31st March and a licence should not have been granted.
Based on their findings, the CFCB Chief Investigator decided to refer the case to the CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber and suggested a disciplinary measure to be imposed on FC Sion by the CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber, such measure consisting of a fine of €235,000, corresponding to the UEFA Revenues the Club gained by participating in the 2017/2018 UEFA Europa League.
The CFCB Investigatory Chamber submitted that it was appropriate to impose a fine corresponding to all the UEFA revenues the Club gained by participating in the competition considering the fact that FC Sion should not have been admitted to the competition for failing to meet one of its admission criteria.
The Adjudicatory Chambers took all the circumstances (see paras 91 to 120 at http://tiny.cc/i8sxsy ) into consideration and reached the following key decisions.
- FC Sion failed to satisfy the requirements of Article 49(1) of the CL&FFP Regulations and it obtained the licence issued by the SFL not in accordance with the CL&FFP Regulations.
- FC Sion breached Articles 13(1) and 43(1)(i) of the CL&FFP Regulations. (Documents complete and correct)
- To exclude FC Sion from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next two (2) seasons (i.e. the 2018/19 and 2019/20).
- To impose a fine of two hundred and thirty five thousand Euros (€235,000) on FC Sion.
- FC Sion is to pay three thousand Euros (€3,000) towards the costs of these proceedings.
Comment in respect of the award of a UEFA Licence in 2011 to Rangers FC.
It is now public knowledge that an actual liability of tax due before 31stDecember 2010 towards HMRC, was admitted by Rangers FC before 31st March 2011.
This liability was described as “potential” in Rangers Interim accounts audited by Grant Thornton.
“Note 1: The exceptional item reflects a provision for a potential tax liability in relation to a Discounted Option Scheme associated with player contributions between 1999 and 2003. A provision for interest of £0.9m has also been included within the interest charge.”
The English Oxford Dictionary definition of potential is:
Having or showing the capacity to develop into something in the future.
Which was not true as the liability had already been “developed” so could not be potential.
This was repeated by Chairman Alistair Johnson in his covering Interim Accounts statement
“The exceptional item reflects a provision for a potential tax liability in relation to a Discounted Option Scheme associated with player contributions between 1999 and 2003. “ where he also added
“Discussions are continuing with HMRC to establish a resolution to the assessments raised.”
This could be taken as disputing the liability but In fact the resolution to the assessments raised would have been payment of the actual liability, something that never happened.
In the Sion case it was accepted the misleading statement was a one off misrepresentation, but at the monitoring stages at June 2011 in Ranger’s case the status of the liability continued to be misrepresented and in September the continuing discussions reason was repeated, along with a claim of an instalment paid whose veracity is highly questionable.
The Swiss FL Licensing Committee did at least refer the case to their Disciplinary Committee when they realised a misleading statement might have been made. The SFA however in August 2011, when Sherriff Officers called at Ibrox for payment of the overdue tax , did no such thing and pulled up the drawbridge for six years, one that the Compliance Officer is now finally charged with lowering.
The case of FC Irtysh of Kazakhstan is set out in full at http://tiny.cc/y9sxsy and is a bit more straightforward but is nevertheless useful to compare with events in 2011 in Scotland.
Unlike Rangers FC , FC Irtysh properly disclosed that they had an overdue payable to the Kazakhstan tax authorities at the monitoring point at 30th June 2017. This caused the CFCB Investigatory Unit to seek further information with regard to the position at 31st March
It transpired that Irtysh had declared an overdue payable at 31st March but cited their financial position (awaiting sponsor money) as a reason for non payment to the Kazakhstan FA who accepted it and granted the licence. The outstanding tax was paid in September 2107.
The outcome of the CFCB Investigation was a case put to the CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber who agreed with the CFCB Investigation Unit that a licence should not have been granted and recommended that Irtysh be fined the equivalent of the UEFA prize money, (that had been withheld in any case whilst CFCB investigated.)
The CFCB Adjudicatory Chamber however decided that a fine was not sufficient in sporting deterrent terms and ruled that:
- FC Irtysh failed to satisfy the requirements of Article 50bis(1) of the CL&FFP Regulations and it obtained the licence issued by the FFK not in accordance with the CL&FFP Regulations.
- To withhold four hundred and forty thousand Euros (€440,000) corresponding to the UEFA revenues FC Irtysh gained by participating in the 2017/2018 UEFA Europa League.
- To exclude FC Irtysh from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in the next three (3) seasons (i.e. the 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons). This sanction is deferred for a probationary period of (3) three years. This exclusion must be enforced in case the Club participates again in a UEFA club competition having not fulfilled the licence criteria required to obtain the UEFA licence in accordance with the CL&FFP Regulations.
- FC Irtysh is to pay three thousand Euros (€3,000) towards the costs of these proceedings. “
The deferral was because unlike Rangers FC, FC Irtysh had properly disclosed to the licensor the correct & accurate financial information required, so the exclusion was deferred for a probationary period of (3) years.
Comment in respect of the award of a UEFA Licence in 2011 to Rangers FC.
From the foregoing it could be deduced that had Rangers FC qualified for the Champions League (or European League) and not gone bust as a result and so not entered liquidation BUT it became public knowledge by 2012 that a licence had been wrongly and possibly fraudulently granted then
- Rangers would have been fined the equivalent of their earnings from their participation in the UEFA competitions in 2011
- At least a two year ban from UEFA Competitions would have been imposed, but more likely three in view of repeated incorrect statements.
- The consequences of both would have been as damaging for Rangers survival as the real life consequences of losing to Malmo and Maribor in the qualifying rounds of the Champions and European Leagues.
Karma eh!
Interestingly in the UEFA COMPLIANCE AND INVESTIGATION ACTIVITY REPORT 2015 – 2017 , the CFCB investigatory chamber recommended that both the Kazakhstan FA and Swiss FA as licensors
“pay particular attention to the adequate disclosure of the outstanding amounts payable towards other football clubs, in respect of employees and towards social/tax authorities, which must be disclosed separately;
Would the same recommendation apply to the Scottish FA with regard to their performance in 2011 and will the SFA responses thereafter to shareholders in a member club be examined for compliance with best governance practice by the SFA Compliance Officer investigating the processing of the UEFA Licence in 2011?
This would be a welcome step in fully restoring trust in the SFA.
Hibees v Killie is on BBC Alba – cracking advert for Scottish football .
Re : King
At the TOP Appeal hearing I remember JC reporting that a last minute email/letter was delivered to the court (from DCK?) confirming NOAL would provide the funds for the share offer & also at the same hearing DCK’s Counsel alerting the court to DCK’s impecuniosity – both obvious lies as it turned out .
This is a massive p*sstake from DCK & the sooner the TOP gets a grip the better – when does the SFA get involved now DCK is in contempt ?
NAEGREETIN
APRIL 28, 2018 at 19:02
======================================
Am I not right in saying that on appeal it was agreed that the shares were to be bought by either King personally or NOAL.
Are NOAL based in South Africa, does it hold it’s funds in South Africa.
If not, why would the SA exchange rules make a blind bit of difference. King just suddenly deciding that he would use Laird instead is surely an irrelevance.
JINGSO.JIMSIEAPRIL 28, 2018 at 17:15
Perhaps they should consider Warburtoning him?
———
That quote should go down in Glasgow Folklore history.
You have been warburtoned and you don’t even know it yet.
————-
Registered.
JINGSO.JIMSIEAPRIL 28, 2018 at 17:15. just incase anyone tries to claim it
Homunculus @ 19.02 28 April
NOAL is not domiciled in SA as far as I am aware (think BVI or Caymans) so there would/should have been no SA jurisdiction over those funds which is why (I presume) DCK introduced SA domiciled Laird into the proceedings to give him an out when the SA authorities block the transfer of funds by Laird to fund any share offer to RIFC shareholders – all just a game to DCK .
See this whole thing re TOP, I have lost the place!! Excuse my ignorance. Is it compulsory or voluntary? WTF is going on?
NAEGREETIN
APRIL 28, 2018 at 19:34
================================
It doesn’t really give him an out though does it.
The Court of Session has ordered him personally or NOAL to make the offer. A totally different Trust having problems getting the money out of SA is irrelevant.
If he now says that NOAL has no money to do it the obvious question the Court will surely ask him is “Then why did you ask for them to be added to the Order”. With the subsequent question being “Why have you not mentioned Laird before”.
JEAN7BRODIEAPRIL 28, 2018 at 19:35
See this whole thing re TOP, I have lost the place!! Excuse my ignorance. Is it compulsory or voluntary? WTF is going on?
____________
Jean, TOP is the Takeover Panel who have ruled that King and co acted in concert, and as they together own over 30%, and King was found to be responsible for going over that limit, he was instructed to offer to buy all of the shares in RIFC not owned by the concert party. He apealled it all the way up to the Court of Sessions, and ultimately lost. He is now legally bound to make the offer but has failed to do so and would appear now to be in contempt of court. Pretty serious situation, but no one is sure just how serious, or how it will impact on RIFC/TRFC.
It is very much compulsory.
Thanks AJ I thought that but it seems quite woolly now?
I think there is a case for a disgruntled shareholder calling a general meeting with a vote of no confidence in the chairman. It might force the Board’s hand in forcing King’s removal if they can avoid the costs of such a meeting.
Who could call such a meeting? Sandy Easdale?
Jean, Hello.
AllyjamboApril 28, 2018 at 18:08
‘….All assuming he returns to this country to answer any summons in the first place…’
________________
I’ve been labouring this last hour or so, Aj, trying to research further ( I posted about this some months ago) the extradition arrangements between the UK and South Africa.
To recap:
There is no Extradition Treaty between the UK and S.A
Requests to the S.A government to send back someone for trial in the UK have to be done by use of the Royal Prerogative, through diplomatic channels.
Under UK law ( the Extradition Act 2003) we can’t even ask for extradition unless the crime is a crime recognised SA, and carries in that country a maximum penalty of greater than 12 months imprisonment
( In the USA, for example, it appears that the crime of contempt of court is attracts a maximum prison sentence of only 6 months)
Now, contempt of court is an offence in SA.
But I have not yet been able to establish what the maximum penalty is for that crime in that country !
And, of course, even signatories to the European Convention on Extradition ( and SA signed up to that in 2003), can refuse to extradite their own citizens.
Does DK have SA citizenship?
Could he bank on that fact if his extradition was sought via ‘diplomatic channels’?
If the maximum penalty in SA for the crime of contempt of court is less than a year in the pokey, would extradition proceedings (via diplomatic channels) even be considered by the Crown Office?
I conclude that DK will brazen it out. All he wants is his £20M back, and sod TRFC Ltd/RIFCplc.
And he will, if need be, sit safe in SA, leaving it to the other Board members to carry the responsibility.
He has shamelessly used and abused his fellow directors ,who must now be rueing their involvement and readiness to put their money at risk, and resentful at the fact that they have been outsmarted by a guy that has not put any money at risk.
Not that I have any sympathy for them!
Did any of you see the lovely big beautiful moon tonight? BP is dead crabbit.
Celtic to win 3-0
Lovely big moonbeams, I think you mean, Jimbo!☺
JC
Contempt of court from civil proceedings in the Inner House carries a maximum three months imprisonment.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/49/section/15
Not football related, but you may also find this interesting.
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/search-judgments/judgment?id=434c27a7-8980-69d2-b500-ff0000d74aa7
‘..HirsutePursuit April 29, 2018 at 00:18
‘..Contempt of court from civil proceedings in the Inner House carries a maximum three months imprisonment.’
____________________
Not sure I am with you on that, HP.
“Penalties for contempt of court in Scottish proceedings.
(1)In Scottish proceedings, when a person is committed to prison for contempt of court the committal shall (without prejudice to the power of the court to order his earlier discharge) be for a fixed term.
(2)The maximum penalty which may be imposed by way of imprisonment or fine for contempt of court in Scottish proceedings shall be two years’ imprisonment or a fine or both, except that—
(a)where the contempt is dealt with by the sheriff in the course of or in connection with proceedings other than criminal proceedings on indictment, such penalty shall not exceed three months’ imprisonment or a fine of [F1level 4 on the standard scale] or both;
and
(b)where the contempt is dealt with by the district court, such penalty shall not exceed sixty days’ imprisonment or a fine of [F1level 4 on the standard scale] or both.”
The lower Courts are limited as to the penalties, certainly, where the individual is not being charged with the crime of contempt!
A sheriff court or a district court dealing with some yob who shouts abuse at the court or causes a disturbance in court or reports on cases when reporting restrictions apply and such like clearly cannot send somebody to jail for up to two years!
But the High Court, and the Outer and Inner Houses of the Court of Session certainly can, where the accused has been found guilty of the crime of contempt.
John Clark April 28, 2018 at 23:14
Now, contempt of court is an offence in SA.
But I have not yet been able to establish what the maximum penalty is for that crime in that country !
==============================
I’d expect that the maximum sentence in SA is at least 6 months.
King was given a three month prison sentence in SA, suspended for three years, for contempt on 22 Feb 2013.
4.3 The respondent is committed to prison for a period of 3 months imprisonment suspended for 3 years on condition that the respondent is not found in contempt of court during the period of suspension.
Screaming headline from The Sun;
“BLUEPRINT Steven Gerrard on brink of accepting Rangers job as Liverpool icon sounds out backroom team and potential summer signings”
& from the DR;
“Steven Gerrard on verge of Rangers deal after ‘very positive’ talks
The Ibrox board are hopeful that they’ll be able to unveil Gerrard within days…”
===================
Of course, neither article includes any quotes from either party.
And the clincher for me, from the DR;
“…Despite a deal being close, it’s understood Gerrard WON’T be at Parkhead for today’s Old Firm clash…”
JOHN CLARKAPRIL 29, 2018 at 00:42
1
0 Rate This
…………………
Doh!
Of course, you are correct.
I have no real defence to say that I think I had had in mind the three month sentence that had been quashed on appeal (in the other link I provided).
I am still amazed at times what goes on in our courts. Particularly when, for the sake of expediency, courts just ignore (or are ignorant of) their own procedures. It rarely serves justice well.
SSB did a marvellous job with the Gerrard saga yesterday evening. You have to applaud the anchorman’s efforts to big up the story whilst not committing himself or Radio Clyde to a definitive view whilst simultaneously encouraging Alex Rae to wax lyrical about SG’s qualities and how much respect he would get from the players upon entering the dressing room.
Re the TOP situation ,I would assume the panel would not really be bothered where King finds the money from to comply just that he finds it .
IMO RIFC in their eyes will be a business with a turnover of £29m ,nothing more .I wouldn’t think they would be seen as some sort of institution or fabric of society and a GASL like King would be just like a long line of GASL they have had to deal with before .
I think we are wondering why isn’t he being brought to book ,as we know how this guy operates and is seen as a chancer who the peepil running our game seem unwilling to confront .but to TOP he will be just another spiv who thinks rules don’t apply to him .
Things will be happening and things will be getting done to bring King to book (and he will be) but it will be done by TOPs timetable .
Myself ,I think King actually couldn’t give a chit but I will be surprised if the rest of his directors in RIFC continue being associated with him .
STEVIEBC APRIL29 01.58
There are ways for clubs and individuals to make sure their voices are heard without being directly quoted as i’m sure you’re aware.
Steven Gerrard, Tom Culshaw and fitness coach Jordan Milsom were all in the Rangers directors box for the old firm game at Ibrox recently.
Ladbrokes @Ladbrokes11h
BREAKING: The Mirror are reporting that Steven Gerrard has accepted the Rangers Manager job!
Tony, I’ve just posted the following on the Mirror’s website under the breaking Gerrard story.
The problems Gerrard will face are twofold. Firstly, he’d be joining a penniless club, a loss-making business in every one of the six years of the club’s entire existence and which does not have a credit line to a bank, forcing it to operate recently on Wonga-style loans because the Chairman of RIFC, a convicted criminal and serial liar has failed to inject the millions of pounds he promised to ‘overinvest’. Secondly, and more importantly, the football club currently playing out of Ibrox is not legally the same club as the one formed in 1872 and which died an ignominious and self-inflicted death through liquidation in 2012. Although the Scottish football authorities have concocted and maintained a survival myth less plausible than the tooth fairy, Rangers Football Club died precisely the same death as others such as Gretna FC, Airdrieonians and Third Lanark before it. These clubs were also companies, just like Rangers, and just like all modern professional football clubs, which are businesses. Gerrard’s appointment might at least make the people of Englandshire aware of the outrageous swindle performed by our corrupt footballing authorities and mute, impotent and complicit media.
I would have thought that the potential arrival of a hungry, passionate, high profile figure to Scottish football would have been greeted with positivity among fans and journalists alike.
The English based journalists on the Sunday Supplement programme this morning were all very excited at the thought of Steven Gerrard taking up the reigns at Rangers. Would raise the profile of the Scottish game not just in the UK but around the world was the general opinion.
What are the negatives?
SLIMJIM
APRIL 29, 2018 at 09:47
======================================
The good people on follow follow believe that if Steve Gerrard accepts the appointment (for many it is a done deal) then he will be given substantial funds to spend on the first team squad. Some are quoting figures of £20m.
Do you as a Rangers supporter have any thoughts on this. Two things really, do you think it will happen and if so is it wise to put the club something like £45m in debt (assuming there are people willing to provide the loans).
HOMUNCULUS APRIL 29 09.47
I do believe he will become our new manager.
He will have been given a budget for transfers and wages. I have no idea what this will amount to and lets be honest Rangers would be ill advised if they gave a figure.
Your figure of £25 million is a bit like AJ or EJ claiming that a bid of £14 million was rejected for Morelos when no such figure was mentioned as far as i’m aware. Fans are often unrealistic when it comes to transfer targets with the Rangers support being no different.
Pedro spent over £10 million during his spell in charge when many on here would have questioned the clubs ability to do so.
Off out to watch the game.
Negatives SJ? What about an unproven coach taking on the most difficult job in Scottish football?
And not only the most difficult job one where the demand is for (to quote DCK)”immediate success” with an attitude not only that such success is deserved by right as part of the natural order.
Ps I believe mr Gerrard has a daughter called Lourdes – admittedly TRFC would be unlikely to go to Lourdes for a miracle perhaps they are relying on bringing Lourdes to them.
if anyone is interested in Church Architecture have a Google for the underground cathedral there, it is one of my favourite such buildings.
EX LUDO APRIL 29 14.44
No guarantee that any coach appointed irrespective of experience would be successful. Every manager has been unproven at one point but i’d rather concentrate on the positive impact Steven Gerrard may have, both on Rangers and Scottish football in general should he be appointed.
Whilst I don’t think Gerrard will sign for TRFC, the very fact that the Ibrox club is interested in a ‘big name’ manager, with accompanying big salary, relatively big budget (promised at least), and subsequent big expectations…
confirms that those in charge at RIFC/TRFC are stoopid, IMO.
They can’t afford Gerrard.
They can’t afford a new backroom team.
They can’t actually afford to buy – you know, with real money – any decent players. (Expensive foreign flops notwithstanding.)
You would think TRFC would have learned by now?
Live within your means, like all sensible Scottish senior clubs.
Appointing someone like Gerrard will just continue the negative impact of this toxic club on the Scottish game – due to the unfathomable sense of entitlement.
Perhaps if they can get Gerrard it will simply accelerate the poor club’s demise?
Go for it King! 🙂
According to the DR,
“Rangers have refused to allow manager Graeme Murty to address the media after Sunday’s thumping against Celtic.”
League rules state that a representative from a club must speak to the press after Premiership matches but the Ibrox side announced that there would be no correspondence after the match.
If this is true then another league rule has been broken. I wonder what is the penalty for non-compliance? I’m sure they have done this before as recall watching Sportscene when both managers were interviewed after every game except one involving them.There seem little point in having a rule if there is no penalty for breaking it. Just another rule for them to ignore!
I suppose it’s like the law that guarantees waiting times for treatment within the NHS but again there is no penalty for leaving patients waiting beyond the guaranteed time.A rule or a law without punishment as a deterrent is absolutely useless.
Someone of the stature of Steven Gerrard coming to Scottish Football is indeed exciting.
However we all know the track record of great players becoming great managers isn’t great. Even more so English ones.
SG, if he takes up the challenge, will be a brave man given what we all know regarding the poor financial state T’Rangers are in and the obvious gap as seen today.
Even if “investment’ is found, should he fail (despite not having a clear definition of what success is going to be) then it will not be pleasant.
Just look at what Murty is now having to put up having merely stepped up when asked by his employers, let alone being hailed as the Messiah.
SLIMJIM
APRIL 29, 2018 at 11:38
Your figure of £25 million …
=================================
I didn’t actually post £25m, I posted £20m, and specifically said that figure was quoted from the good people at follow follow. It’s not my figure, I think it’s nonsense.
Thanks for the reply but you haven’t actually answered the question, totally up to you of course. You no more need to answer my questions than anyone else needs to answer yours.
I will ask again though, just in case I was being ambiguous.
Assuming Steven Gerrard accepts the Rangers job, will he be given c£20m to spend on the first team squad and if so do you think it would be wise to put the club something like £45m in debt.
I think it’s beginning to seep into the psyche of TRFC fans just exactly where they stand , and that will lead to a lot of walking .
…waking up, having a wake, then walking?
And apparently it’s the TRFC POTY Awards in a Glasgow hotel tonight – with paying / baying bears in attendance.
Could get messy…
I remain unconvinced that this variant of Rangers will actually survive the next month.
The DK scandal and the need to remove him from Ibrox is absolutely urgent. His Stephen Gerrard squirrel will result in further pointless accumulation of debt which he has no intention of financing. The 3 bears will need to find an immediate 7 million to take on his debt, and a further 7- 8 million to cover the Close Brother’s loan and next season’s shortfall in very quick order. They may also find themselves liable for the share issue in which they acted in concert, creating the need to find another 11 million and then have to fund Gerrard and his management team, several more millions, plus some kind if transfer kitty, say 10-12 million, and probably an additional 5-6 million on the playing budget, so in for potentially another 40 million to fund a club which by then will be running on a deficit of about ten million P.a. This to be a never ending, never diminishing, commitment of cash.
I expect the plug to be pulled before the end of the month of May,frankly.
I would be surprised if Stevie G isn’t looking at Sunderland now – more his level and a lot less hassle than more RC connections at Ibrox.
HOMUNCULUS APRIL 29 16.43
I realized my mistake when i returned home. I was rushing out the door when i replied and didn’t pay enough attention to your post.
No i don’t think he’ll be given £20 million
No i don’t think it would be prudent to be indebted to this level.
Hibernian have competed with Celtic in the 5 games played this season on a fraction of the transfer fees and wages. No need to spend a fortune despite what many may believe.
Ive just posted George Ezra on my forum. PARADISE !!!!!!
ICEMAN63APRIL 29, 2018 at 17:52
so in for potentially another 40 million to fund a club which by then will be running on a deficit of about ten million P.a. This to be a never ending, never diminishing, commitment of cash.
—————
I’m sure DK will make good on his promises.
im watching the snooker now
StevieBC
April 29, 2018 at 17:16
Could get messy…
————————————-
Like this above?
Of course Gerrard could be playing his own game?
Play along with King and get a heck of a lot of media coverage both in Scotland and England.
String TRFC along…
whilst simultaneously advertising his availability to any Championship or League 1 club, where he will be able to develop as a football manager…rather than a frustrated firefighter at Ibrox.
Mibbees he will receive an offer he can’t refuse from Sunderland at the last moment…? 😉
I note that an English MSM source is reporting that Gerrard will come to TRFC ‘on loan’ as on-the-job training for taking over from Klopp at Liverpool in the future.
How does the journalist in question know that LFC is going to suffer an ‘annus horribilis’ or two & become a basket-case like TRFC, requiring a manager trained in such matters?
::
::
There’s an interesting article hidden away in today’s Sunday Herald, under Andrew Whitaker’s byline:
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16191826.Exclusive__Call_for_ban_on_taxpayer_funding_in_Scottish_football_in_bid_to_end__quot_culture_of_cowardice_quot__on_sectarianism/
‘Call for ban on taxpayer funding for Scottish football to end “culture of cowardice” on sectarianism
MINISTERS are facing calls to ban taxpayer funding for Scottish football unless the sport’s big powers declare war on sectarianism.
The demand came as it was revealed that the game’s governing bodies and top flight clubs benefit from millions of pounds of taxpayers’ cash.
Ministers should “seriously consider withholding public money” from the clubs and governing bodies, the head of anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth, Dave Scott, said.
“Scottish football has an utterly dismal record on sectarianism,” he said.
“There is a real opportunity here to use the massive public investment in the game as leverage to force governing bodies and clubs to get their house in order and there is a growing case for a moratorium on public funding into football until this happens.”
The demand came as Celtic face Rangers in a home clash today that could see the Hoops clinch the Scottish Premiership title.
Both Old Firm clubs, as well as Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian, failed to respond to Sunday Herald requests for comment about Nil By Mouth’s demand.
Any ban would be targeted at the professional game, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
Figures obtained by Nil By Mouth show that the SFA and SPFL received over £14 million of public funding between 2011 and 2017.
Nearly £6.7m from Scottish Government coffers went to the SFA between March 2011 and June 2017, and the SFA also received almost £5.2m from Sportscotland –the national agency for sport – between April 2013 and March 2017. The SFA said the cash was used to help promote the game.
The SPFL received £2.7m in Scottish Government funding between April 2011 and March 2013, including Scottish Government sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup between 2011 and 2013.
The Scottish Government also paid £25m to fund the Oriam national sports performance centre in Edinburgh, which is described as “the performance home for the SFA, with all national teams, coach education, referee development and the regional office being based here”.
Scottish Premiership giants Hearts and Hibs also regularly train at the site.
However, Nil By Mouth said Scottish football should be “held to the same level of standards, accountability and transparency as other publicly funded bodies”.
Scott said: “In football money talks, that’s why Scottish clubs will comply with ‘strict liability’ [which places more focus on punishing clubs for bad behaviour rather than fans] for lucrative European ties, yet do nothing domestically as they know they won’t be deducted a point or a pound for sectarianism within their grounds by the SPFL or SFA.”
Nil By Mouth says a pre-condition for state funding should be the adoption of recommendations made by an anti-sectarian advisory group in 2015, led by Professor Duncan Morrow, which backed a series of measures including strict liability.
Scott said: “This culture of cowardice and cover up has been allowed to fester too long in the corridors of Hampden.
“That’s why it’s time for politicians of all parties to hold the SFA and SPFL’s feet to the fire and seriously consider withholding public money from them until they put the recommendations made by Prof Morrow into place.”
The intervention by Nil By Mouth came after SNP MSP James Dornan earlier this month called for government funding to be cut for organisations failing to adequately tackle sectarianism in Scottish society.
Dornan said he supported Nil By Mouth’s demands “generally”. However, he said he wanted to see the full details of its proposal before committing to backing a moratorium on public funding for football clubs.
In response, a Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government provides funding via Sportscotland to the Scottish FA for participation, diversity and women and girls’ football and to the SPFL Trust to deliver the Football Fans In Training programme.”
An SFA spokesman said: “The investment is used to grow community engagement, support young people, increase levels of physical activity and broaden participation.”
An SPFL spokesman added: “The SPFL is fully committed to working towards preventing and, where present, eliminating incidents of unacceptable conduct within our stadia, and has already taken significant steps to address the issue.”
That’s the first time I’ve actually seen figures given for Scottish government funding.
SLIMJIMAPRIL 29, 2018 at 11:00
I would have thought that the potential arrival of a hungry, passionate, high profile figure to Scottish football would have been greeted with positivity among fans and journalists alike.
“Errrrrr It has been”
The English based journalists on the Sunday Supplement programme this morning were all very excited at the thought of Steven Gerrard taking up the reigns at Rangers. Would raise the profile of the Scottish game not just in the UK but around the world was the general opinion.What are the negatives?
“On the park, and in the boardroom?”
Traynor spitting the dummy again, no-one to analyse the performance for the media, so who is writing the sports sections tomorrow?
BIGBOAB1916APRIL 29, 2018 at 20:36
Traynor spitting the dummy again, no-one to analyse the performance for the media, so who is writing the sports sections tomorrow?
———————————————————————————-
At a time when the league and association are desperately trying to raise the profile of the Scottish game and attract additional sponsorship and revenue?
I expect they will take action !……..I fear they won’t. !!
CORRUPT OFFICIAL APRIL 29 20.19
Errrrr no they haven’t. Tom English, Graham Spiers, Davie Provan have all been rather negative in their columns re – the potential appointment.
In what way would the arrival of Steven Gerrard be a negative either “on the park” or “in the boardroom”?.
Corrupt officialApril 29, 2018 at 20:52At a time when the league and association are desperately trying to raise the profile of the Scottish game and attract additional sponsorship and revenue? I expect they will take action !……..I fear they won’t. !!
BR is going round all the TheRangers party as players and officials to and thro the dressing room and in the background traymor is out telling sky no interviews, Sky had this game they paid TheRangers money, for this. You see traynor in press corner in photo the guy is bad for our game too much power for a nob jockey. Click on photo to extend all present in the background.
This £40 million
ingso.JimsieApril 29, 2018 at 19:39
‘..That’s the first time I’ve actually seen figures given for Scottish government funding.’
_____________
You mean you missed my post of some time ago in which I reported that I had copied that information to the Minister for Public health and Sport, urging that since the SFA got such funding, the taxpayer could legitimately demand that government had some rights to push the SFA to get on with its UEFA licence investigation?
How very, very disappointing! Go to the back of the class!
(Her response was that the Scottish Government supported Glasgow Rangers, so feck off!…. No, it wasn’t!
The response was that these were matters for the Football Authorities, with an implied ‘So feck off’.
.
Just wondering why folks are getting excited about Steven Gerrard’s possible appointment given his current lack of coaching credentials.
His playing record is impressive.
Gerrard has
538 Senior games under his belt with 125 goals.
114 England Caps including a stint as Captain and 21 goals
Honours
1 Champions Leauge
1 Uefa Cup
1 Super Cup
2 FA Cups
3 League Cups.
However, what about this player as an alternative
484 Senior Games – 48 Goals
45 International Caps including a stint as Captain and 3 Goals
Honours
5 National League Titles
5 National Cups
5 League Cups in one country
1 League Cup in another country
Runner up in Uefa Cup Final.
Ladies and gentlemen I give you a true RRM Barry Ferguson with the following managerial record
Caretaker Manager of Blackpool with a 15% win record
Resigned Manager of Clyde with a 39% win record.
SLIMJIMAPRIL 29, 2018 at 20:59
CORRUPT OFFICIAL APRIL 29 20.19Errrrr no they haven’t. Tom English, Graham Spiers, Davie Provan have all been rather negative in their columns re – the potential appointment.In what way would the arrival of Steven Gerrard be a negative either “on the park” or “in the boardroom”?.
—————————————————————————————————
Slim, that is three reporters and very much a minority of the reporters in Scotland. In the main it has been largely positive. A positivity I agree with if it raises the profile of Scottish fitba in a positive way. I do understand where they are coming from though.
I happen to agree, Gerrard would attract much needed publicity, but if it is in a negative way, then that is not so good, and would damage an already fragile reputation.
I don’t mean to be rude, but to hold up those (most of them)players, and that board to scrutiny would merely expose Scottish fitba’ to ridicule.. Not because the players are truly awful, but because they are being billed as something they are clearly not.
I don’t see the problem with the board simply stating they had to start from scratch 6 years ago, (nothing to do with OC/NC), and are actually doing not too bad considering.
To pretend otherwise is just kidding on, and quite laughable. A charade.
I think you, as a fan (along with many others) can understand that, and are as fed up with the ridiculous hype as we all are. A wee bit of honesty from the PR department would go a long way, but for some reason, they fear that.
Neither do I get this fear of 10 in a row, and the mad dash to beat Celtic…..If Celtic do it, (and it will be no mean feat if they do) but all they will be doing is breaking a record they already hold. It has never been bettered, and it is their record, and theirs alone…..To suggest anything else, again, is just overblown hype.
Slow down, spend a quid less than earned, and build gradually is my advice. Getting into an arms race is precarious at best.
I hope that better explains my “On the park” and “In the boardroom” comments.
CORRUPT OFFICIAL APRIL 29 22.28.
I happen to agree with the majority of your post.
I only went and met ‘Laurie from Dennistoun’ at the match today. Life’s fulfilled.
An enigma.
The Kaiser Souzie (to me) of Glasgow
iceman63April 29, 2018 at 17:52
‘…..They may also find themselves liable for the share issue in which they acted in concert, creating the need to find another 11 million ..’
__________________________
That’s a good point, iceman63, and one that the members of the ‘concert party’ will be acutely aware of.
The TOP simply cannot afford to lose in the matter of getting that offer made.
If, by quirk of extradition rules and/or South Africa Exchange Control legislation, King cannot get the money for the share purchase offer into the UK, and is able to sit in SA giving the finger to TOP, his co-directors will have to be made to pony up.
The TOP’s statement was that they will do all that they have to do to see that the offer is made. If they can’t get King to make that offer, they simply have to get the others to do so.
[ As a matter of interest for those who might be interested, and following up Ej’s post earlier about King having been sentenced in SA for contempt, here is the link to that case
http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2013/68.pdf
It makes entertaining reading. Well, at least I enjoyed it. The wee bad angel on my shoulder kept saying ” Aye, John, got the bast.rd, eh?” ( good old Sunday Post and Dudley D Watkins)
The wee good angel on the other shoulder kept saying piously “Now, John, one must not wish evil to befall one’s neighbour”
And of course, not many of us really wish that people should be jailed. We just wish that they wouldn’t do bad things!
And that they shared the same sense of common decency as the rest of us, and feckin well stop lying! ]
Corrupt officialApril 29, 2018 at 22:28
‘…..Not because the players are truly awful, but because they are being billed as something they are clearly not.’
________________
In just the same way as TRFC Ltd are marketed as being something they clearly are not!
For Gerrard to ( apparently) buy into the Big Lie shows on his part
a want of basic savvy,
a readiness to disregard the sporting ethic ,
a readiness to endorse Administrative abuse of office by a Governance body
a mind set that sees Scottish Football as nothing more than a some kind of inferior sporting set-up in which one might get some limited hands on experience of ‘management’ of a fair sized club at a fairly basic level
and a pig-shit ignorance!
Or, a clever self-marketing exercise, as Paddy Malarkey and StevieBC suggested earlier.
I live overseas. This morning I tuned into the international edition of CNN. In sports news they talked about Barcelona wrapping up the league in Spain. They talked about Arsene Wenger picking up a wee present from Fergie before the Man Utd game yesterday. They talked about F1. They talked about Rafa Nadal. They talked about the NBA playoffs.
Not one single word about the Premier League in Scotland, despite Celtic winning by a record margin against their new rivals.
The game in Scotland is not a major story and that does not matter to me at all until football administration in Scotland gets its house in order and I can have a degree of pride in our national game once again.
Cygnus…
I live in London….
replace Celtic with St Mirren and I felt the same way as yourself just over a week ago…
It’s a Canadian chocolate state of affairs.
https://shytechocolate.com
A wee thought on the idea that Steven Gerrard will raise the profile of Scottish football.
If he becomes TRFC’s manager we will regularly hear, on UK television* and read in UK MSM newspapers* that, ‘Steven Gerrard’s ‘Rangers’ have won…’, ‘Steven Gerrard’s ‘Rangers’ were defeated…’, ‘Steven Gerrard, who is learning his new trade…’, Steven Gerrard versus his old Liverpool manager…’ and so on, what we won’t hear is anything about Scottish football, it will just be about ‘the Englishman’. Once he leaves our game, be he successful, or a failure, he will be gone, and so will the interest.
Steven Gerrard will raise the English interest in TRFC, particularly in Liverpool, and make them appear more relevant, but his presence will do nothing for Scottish football, other than to give the impression that TRFC mean business. Unless, of course, there’s some substance to this tweet – in which case, might the new investment, hinted at in the following tweet, be coming from none other than Steven Gerrard?**
woodsteinApril 29, 2018 at 19:17
Attachment
StevieBCApril 29, 2018 at 17:16 Could get messy… ————————————- Like this above?
________
Of course, there may be something of the Caixinha appointment in the Gerrard move, in that King might see him as a lure for that elusive fresh investment.
*PR outlets
**Only kidding
Oops, the attachment on Woodstein’s post didn’t copy over. Sorry about that, please see the link in his post referred to, if interested.
Well, it appears that there was a rammy at the TRFC POTY awards last night. At least, as the report is in the Sun, Gerard won’t read about it in Liverpool
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/2573267/glasgow-double-tree-hilton-player-of-the-year-rangers/
ALLYJAMBO
‘Footie yobs why can’t they just rangers fans
Watched a bit of BBC’s MotD with Ian “Wrighty” Wright and Alan “Kick Lennie in the head” Shearer. Got to say the idea of Gerrard coming up to Scotland seemed a bit far fetched but their expert analysis put my mind at rest:
“if the money is there it’s a no brainer”: ‘if’ the biggest word in the English language
after all there’s less pressure up in Scotland as “Only have to beat one team – Celtic” whereas in the Championship there’s a dozen teams vying for promotion Lennon’s Hibs have won twice at Ibrox this season) oh and “less pressure”? Managing NewGers? Stopping 10IAR? I’d also point out that English and Scottish football are very different beasts. Watched the Celtic win and then West Ham v Man City with an unhappy Hammer and he was pointing out all the challenges that would have been whistled or yellow cards in England but which Scottish refs don’t blow for much less book players for.
“Gerrard will attract better players” he’s a big name for sure but he has no track record in managing teams nor nurturing young players; these players will still want paid and will expect to win trophies – that’s what they’re being sold on.
“they can only improve” um, no.
There will be increased interest in Steven Gerrard’s career but will that be to the benefit of Scottish fitbaw? I have my doubts. As a reminder Barnes lost the Celtic dressing room within 7 months and arguably Celtic were stronger then than Rangers are now…
OK that’s the neutral part over: as I said previously, as a Celtic fan, bring it on Stevie G – a novice in management, untested in the cauldron of Glasgow football, joining a financial basketcase? I’ll take that, every day.
tonyApril 30, 2018 at 08:29
ALLYJAMBO‘Footie yobs why can’t they just rangers fans
____________
Aren’t they usually classed as ‘West of Scotland football fans’? Or is that only when they cause trouble outside of Glasgow?
ALLYJAMBO
i recall a rugby club not being to happy about that headline
While I agree with most of the comments from other posters I do think we have to take of the blinkers here.
If Gerrard was being talked about being the manager of a SPFL team other than T’Rangers folks would be intrigued, interested and generally looking at it positively albeit a bit of a gamble but maybe one worth taking. (Having suffered the Cathro experiment Hearts fans may be the only ones who would be wary of what may be down the line for others).
It is up to Gerrard to do his due diligence but to quote Jimmy Greaves ‘football is a funny old game’ and the draw of T’Rangers and playing at a full Ibrox is hard for some folk to dismiss.
Its not Gerrard’s fault but the problems down Ibrox way in relation to securing a decent manager are simply related to a lack of money to meet their current ambitions.
As we have seen with some recent managerial activity some guys, like McInnes and a few others down south, are now getting wise to not taking jobs just for the sake of it but looking for the whole package and conditions within a club to be right.
While they most probably require a manager with some kind of record for steadying a ship, those with a half decent track record at lower EPL and upper English Championship level are used to working with huge sums of money. They have long forgotten how to develop a low-cost squad to build up a head of steam and make a challenge. In addition to that they will not work for buttons.
Outwith that in England you are down in the Magic Hat territory of trying to bag an upcoming lower division manager. They will probably fancy having a crack but are they really of the standard required.
No-one in Scotland fancies the gig and the unemployed in the forms of Billy Davies and others have already been ruled out.
They have tried the foreign coach and that failed miserably.
They have tried to go with the promotion of the youth coach and that is failed.
Someone down Govan way would have to get up fairly early in the morning to unmask a Steve Clarke type figure.
The Ibrox board is running out of options (and credibility).
Gerrard is just the current end of the kite flying string.
Whether he comes or not any challenge to Celtic (or even securing second spot and decent cup runs consistently) is going to be mostly related to the cash made available.
Unless there is a remarkable change in circumstance, the required millions are just not going to materialise.
I think Gerrard maybe in for a shock if he is to take the job but it will be interesting and entertaining, either way, if he does.
JOHN CLARK
APRIL 29, 2018 at 21:40
Jingso.Jimsie
April 29, 2018 at 19:39
‘..That’s the first time I’ve actually seen figures given for Scottish government funding.’_____________
You mean you missed my post of some time ago in which I reported that I had copied that information to the Minister for Public health and Sport, urging that since the SFA got such funding, the taxpayer could legitimately demand that government had some rights to push the SFA to get on with its UEFA licence investigation?How very, very disappointing! Go to the back of the class!
——————————————
Please sir, I think I was on holiday when that was discussed!
This is image I now have of Mr. Clark:
Jingso.JimsieApril 30, 2018 at 10:58
‘..Please sir, I think I was on holiday when that was discussed!’
________________________
Ah, Jingso.Jimsie, if only I had had the commanding presence of old JimmyEdwards who knows what I might have turned out to be?
Sadly, I’m more like my wee avatar!
I’ll be honest, I was stunned that we even had a 39% win rate under Bazza, given that almost every game I was in attendance at, we lost. Of course, maybe it was just that I’m a bit of a Jonah!
However, on taking a closer look at the stats, I can only assume that the majority of those wins were the season that we made the play-offs, and it made a bit more sense – he actually had a loss rate of 42%, so I had a broad sweep of games that I could have attended and still watched us lose!
Also, that stat doesn’t mention the number of players that Clyde went through during his tenure. We used 100+ players in 118 games! Effectively, he’d ruin a set of players, jettison them, bring in a new set. Once they failed to perform for him (which usually didn’t take *that* long), they’d get jettisoned, and the next lot would come in.
We stuck with him for almost 3 seasons. He had his chance to ‘learn his craft’ (as professional motormouth, Ian Wright would have it), and he despite that, he was still an abject manager. Initially, I would have said that it maybe didn’t work out because at our level, it’s basically brute strength in players that matters, rather skill or managerial nous, but having watched us under Danny Lennon, it’s obvious the difference it makes having a competent coach in charge. (BTW watch out for us next season – If Lennon stays, then I can’t see past us for at least the play-offs!)
If Gerrard does come, he will NOT get that amount of time. He won’t get his chance to make mistakes and learn from them. 3 defeats in a row, and it’ll be pitchfork-and-torch-time.
WOTTPI “They have tried the foreign coach and that failed miserably.
They have tried to go with the promotion of the youth coach and that is failed.”
As I understood it, the managers since McCoist have been:
Warburton – manager with only a few years lower league experience. Available on the cheap with a moneyball mentality that was hoped would unearth undervalued lower league English players. Temperament was always questionable given his falling out with bosses at Brentford.
Caixhinha – a career that starts off managing 4 teams in seven years should surely have set alarm bells ringing but apparently heads were turned by the prospect of Pedro opening up Qatar’s wealthy to the joys of Scottish football – again filthy lucre seems to have paid a part in his appointment.
I rather think your stating that the youth development route was tried flies in the face of the facts – Murty was put in (again) to plug a gap after the previous 2 managers departed. The public courtship and subsequent spurning of McInnes should make it obvious Murty was never a serious long term consideration, rather a cheap stop-gap.
The only thing on Gerrard’s managerial cv attracting interest is his name. Again the financial benefit of a banner name on the marquee will shift season books but will it deliver? One of the difficulties for great players who switch to managing is to realise that their new charges might not be as good as they were – “i’m not you gaffer, I can’t do that” was the honest assessment from a Tottenham player when Hoddle was asking him to do a pin point crossfield pass. Good players don’t always make good managers.
So in summary, I think potential upside for finances has weighed heavily in the favour of the previous two full time managers at Ibrox and I think the same can be said of Gerrard.
Imho results have proven this has not been effective – either on the park or in the accounts.
Anyone else hear that the stevie g to sevco is a loan deal I’m not sure loaning a manager should be allowed but I suppose when you have no dosh. The footy yobs thing as if any sane minded football fan would want contaminated by that lot of really poor losers.Will sky want their money back from sevco seeing as they wouldn’t allow anyone to answer questions.
Saw this interesting piece about Lyngby today. Interesting, too, that Rangers* get a small but truthful mention.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/news/a-week-inside-a-soccer-club-when-the-money-runs-out/ar-AAwwJfI?ocid=spartanntp
JOCKYBHOYAPRIL 30, 2018 at 13:31
Get where you are coming from re Murty being a stop gap but you forget Warburton was just one step up from a glorified youth team coach. Even then his experience in that field (at Watford) seems somewhat sketchy.
He had no skin as an experienced battle hardened manager in the English lower leagues.
He failed to get the Brentford Job at first time of asking and then spent time as the Sporting Director. When finally in the Brentford big seat (assisted by an experienced pro – David Weir – 606 senior games, 3 League titles 2 Scottish Cups 3 League cups, 69 Scotland Caps).
So youth coach or upcoming 1st team manger/coach assisted by experienced pro either way it still didn’t work out, the management team wee on their way out after a season and a half.
As you correctly say the decision making process from the current Ibrox board is somewhat mystifying but as I implied, the job is becoming such a poisoned chalice that anyone with any real credibility is steering well clear.