Over the past couple of years, we have built a healthy, vibrant and influential community which recognises the need to counter the corporate propaganda spouted by the mainstream media on behalf of the football authorities.
The media have, not entirely but in the main, been hostage to the patronage of those in charge of the club/media links, and to the narrow demographic of their readership. Despite a continuing rejection of the media’s position by that readership (in terms of year on year slump in sales) there is an obstinate refusal to see what is by now inevitable – the death of the print media. The lamb metaphor in fact ironically moving to the slaughter.
The football authorities in Scotland, once the country that gave the world the beautiful game, are rigid with fear that their own world will fall apart – because they are wedded to the idea that only one football match actually matters. To that end they will do whatever it takes to ensure that it continues. They have long since dispensed with the notion that football is an interdependent industry, and incredibly, even those who are not participants in that match follow like sheep towards the abattoir.
The argument is no longer that one club cheated and got away with it. The debate that we need to have is one about what is paramount in the eyes of the clubs and the media . Is it the inegrity of sporting endeavour, or box-office?
For out part, independent sites like this have accelerated the print media’s demise, and there have been temporary successes in persuading the clubs to uphold the spirit of sport. However our role has up to now been to cast a spotlight on the inaccuracies, inconsistencies and downright lies that routinely pass for news. News that is imagined up by PR agencies and dutifully copied by the lazy pretend-journalists who betray no thought whatsoever during the process.
Despite our successes, it really is not enough. We have the means at our disposal to do more, but do more we need to change ourselves, because the authorities sure as hell aren’t gonna.
We need to provide meaningful insight into the game that removes the Old Firm prism from the light path. We need to provide news that has covered all of the angles. We need to entertain, inform and energise fans of sport and all clubs.
We need to do that from a wholly independent perspective. None of this refusing to tell the truth about club allegiances. There is no reason why intelligent men and women can’t be objective in spite of their own allegiances (although the corollary absolutely holds true). Our experience of the MSM in this country is that the lack of arms-length principles in the media has corrupted it to such an extent that they barely recognise truth and objectivity. We need to be firm on those arms-length principles.
In order to do that we have put together a plan (with enough room to manoeuvre if required) as follows;
We will rebrand and re-launch as the Independent Sports Monitor. We have acquired the domains isMonitor.co.uk and IndependentSportsMonitor.co.uk, and those will be the main urls after the re-launch, hopefully later in the summer.
The change in name reflects the reality of our current debate which is not always confined to Scotland or football. It will also give us the option in future of applying the success of our model to other sports and jurisdictions through partner sites and blogs. This should also help in our efforts to raise funds in the future. However any expansion outwith the domain of Scottish football is some time away, and will depend on the success we have with the core model.
Our mission statement will be;
- ISM will seek to build a community of sports fans whose overarching aim is the integrity of competition in the sport.
- ISM will, without favour, seek to find objective truths on the conduct and administration of sport. We will avoid building relationships with individuals or organisations which would bring us into conflict with that.
- ISM will provide a platform for the views of ALL fans, and guarantee that those views will be heard in a mutually respectful environment.
- ISM will also endeavour to inform and entertain members on a wide range of topics related to our shared love of sport.
- ISM will seek to represent the views of sports fans to sporting authorities and hold the authorities to account.
We have estimated our (modest) costs to expand our role as per recent discussions. The expanded role will take the form of a new Internet Radio Channel where we hope to provide 24/7 content by the end of the year. It will also see a greater news role where we will engage directly with clubs and authorities to seek answers to our questions directly. And we will seek to contact the best fan sites across Scotland with a view to showcasing their content.
We have identified individuals who we want to work (initially on a part time basis) towards our objectives, we have identified premises where we want to conduct our business, and we hope to move into those premises during this summer.
To finance these plans there are a couple of stages;
- Initially (as soon as possible) we need to pay accommodation and hosting costs for the first year. To do so, we hope to appeal to the community itself. Our aim is to raise around £5000 by the end of August.
- There are salary costs (around £15,000) attached to our first year plan, but these have been underwritten by Big Pink, and equipment costs (est. £3000). These will be reimbursed if the advertising campaign we recently started bears any fruit (we will not know about that for a few months).
- It will not be too discouraging if we make losses in the first couple of years, so if necessary we will seek crowd-funding to finance our plans if the resources of the community itself prove inadequate to smooth a path to break-even point.
Our first year may be a perilous hand-to-mouth existence, but I am certain the journey will be an exciting and enjoyable one. We will also need to search our community resources for contacts at clubs; players, officials, ex-players, local journalists etc. Please get in touch if you have any in at your club.
We also hope to tap into the expertise of our community for advice, comment and analysis of developments, and we will be looking for any aspiring presenters, journalists, sound and video editors, graphic designers (and lots of others) to help us find our feet. Any offers of assistance would be gratefully accepted.
We mustn’t lose sight of why we are doing this. It is because we love our sport, because we want to be able to continue to call it that, and because the disconnect we find in Scottish football, that of the conflicting interests of the fans and the money men, will never be addressed as long as the fans are hopelessly split.
The ultimate goal is to allow sport – not our individual clubs – to triumph over the greed and corporate troglodyte-ism of those people who run it. I am confident that we as a community desperately want to be able to make a difference. That is why I am confident we can achieve our aim of becoming a significant player in the game.
andydfc says:
Member: (4 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 10:57 am
I’d suggest that you have a healthy scepticism of the things you read and hear reported by the SMSM, realsing that they are inclind to either miss or to exaggerate key details to suit their personal/publication’s agendas. This is particularly prevalent when dealing with TRFC.
Sometimes this healthy scepticism will lead us all to the wrong conclusions and, perhaps, unfairly read ‘agenda’ into otherwise accurate reports. This is because we know that almost all the ‘journalists’ restrict themselves to publishing PR releases from football clubs, or from one particular PR firm, without question or independent investigation – unless that would suit the agenda.
A good and honest press, however, would certainly be asking questions of any club suddenly signing 3 players from one particular club (I think there’s a recent example of churnalists passing comment on similar, but less sudden, movements), especially where Mike Ashley holds a similar ‘interesting’ relationship with the majority shareholder of one club and the chairman of the other.
Of course the SMSM have previous for not chasing a story that might unearth something awkward (at best) at a club based in Govan.
I may well be way off the mark here in my comments, but I’ll never know – because I can’t rely on the Scottish press to investigate and report, in the way they are duty bound to do, any of the happenings at Ibrox. Even worse, I can’t trust the football governors to take appropriate action should anything come to light in the administration sections at Hampden Park.
As an aside, if there is a mutual ‘get it up you, Mike Ashley’ going on, look out for flying powder puffs, Mike!
As Danish Pastry says part of your issue may be the anonymous nature of the people who are actually running the place. That potentially causes two problems, possibly more but these spring to mind.
1, You are asking people to put money into something when they don’t have any idea at all who they are giving their money to.
2, Whilst the people behind a venture go by names like “Trisidium” or “Big Pink” it still feels like some sort of internet hobby, which when the people doing it get bored will simply stop happening.
The latter may not be true, however what we are talking about here are people’s perceptions. Which may well be influenced by the average age of your readership. Obviously I don’t know what that is, however it looks to me like not everyone is young enough to be entirely comfortable with giving money to anonymous people running an interweb blog.
In things like this perception is probably more important than reality.
Shimizu S-pulse 2-2 Ngoya Grampus Eight. Into time added on. ‘Mon the Gramps 11.
Just checking new avatar.
Ahh, that’s better!
Just hope it’s ‘Blog appropriate?’ TSFM?
Danish Pastry says:
Blog Writer: (1311 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 11:42 am
I doubt that DP. Some of the mods are very precious about anonymity, but BP for example is not. It is no secret at all that he edited a Celtic fanzine and subsequently worked for that club and for Talk 106 radio, as well as working freelance.
Perhaps you are touching on a trust issue here regarding anonymity. I think that issue is one that people understand here, and I would doubt that trust is dependent on full bios being available for everyone connected with the blog.
EDIT: We also made it clear at the outset, that taking this step would require that anonymity would be abandoned – and so it will be.
Ambience is fine, and we will produce programmes like that (as we did with the David Low podcast) but live programmes cannot be produced without access to telecommunications, engineering personnel, and the range of equipment required over and above that of a couple of mics and a recorder. This is all better served by having a permanent base.
There is a credibility issue here as well. Throughout my time here I have always seen that as the main issue confronting us. Going some way towards a more professional presence may appear to be a luxury on the surface, but I see it as essential.
Yes we could use twitter more productively, but time is a finite resource for us, and moderation is a priority. BP’s commitment to underwriting the cost of hired help will hopefully see better and more effective use of other social media platforms. However Twitter is not our main channel of communication. We have a reputation for intelligent discourse at SFM. I have yet to be convinced that Twitter provides anything other than the discourse 🙂
The OP of that comment has since assured BP that the comment was not intended in that way, but that wasn’t how I saw it on first reading.
I don’t think it is easy to argue that comments like that will not be a disincentive for people when it comes to making a choice on whether to contribute to the cause, so it can damage our campaign. Uniquely perhaps, we are providing a platform where dissent is encouraged and people can argue against what our plans are. I would have preferred that those arguments had arisen when we started the consultation process a couple of months ago, and not in the middle of a fund raising exercise.
The arguments appears to be that we could be getting more for less and that we are stepping outside our traditional role.
Forgive the passive-aggressive overtone, but my answer to the former is very simple; perhaps we are an inefficient and talentless bunch, but the current crop of mods and helpers and other volunteers are unable to get more out of the blog that we do now given the time and resources available to us. In order to get the SFM voice heard further afield than it is currently, we need more man-hours applied to the cause.
As far as the latter argument is concerned, I just don’t think that standing still is an option. Since we started this process, out readership has increased. That is an indication that people are motivated in some way by our plans.
If we don’t reach our target, I will feel no resentment. I may scold myself for failing to read the wishes of our community a bit better, but I am pretty sure that SFM is pretty low down the list of priorities that people have – after ensuring that bills are paid, their families are safe, and so on.
We are a self-confident bunch at SFM, but not self-entitled. We take what we do seriously, but I hope we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We think the work is important, but we also have perspective to realise that worse things happen in the world.
I am still pretty confident that we will reach our target and that we will increase our audience and reach accordingly. If we don’t, we will have to sit down and work out what is best for us and for the blog, but right now, I don’t have any thoughts about that. Right now I am more concerned with planning the move to our new office, an announcement on which will be made this week.
Madbhoy24941 says:
Member: (85 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 11:35 am
______________________________________________
Re posting latest scores and match results, what you say about context is spot on. The result of friendly matches is not really appropriate to the blog – although maybe a new OT thread for such stuff is possible?
From my own point of view I don’t think it is feasible for TSFM to stand still. As it is we have limited (although crucial) variety of topics. Mainly the football authorities, the media, and the machinations at Ibrox. If that is all we talk about and it is repeated over and over again, I think people might start to drift away. Not to say of course that we do not need reminding of all the corruption and rule bending that has and does go on. It should always be to fore on the main thread. But that’s why I enjoyed the podcasts and radio shows so much, it was good to hear all the stuff about various other clubs outside of the big two in Glasgow. Gave the site more variety. I hope the mods efforts are successful – whilst still urging caution.
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (252 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm
______
I was heartened to read your response to DP’s observations , particularly your reference to the reputation for ‘intelligent discourse.’
I agree, of course, that ‘standing still’ is never a good option for any enterprise- as long as moving forward does not entail abandoning its original purposes!
As I may have remarked on a previous occasion, the really important thing is to get the blog a merited ‘public’ status a representative body which can raise issues as a recognised entity, with some expectation that other bodies will respond.
Some very tiny little organisations and pressure groups are responded to with alacrity by the Press. SFM represents a much more considerable spectrum of opinion.
If a brass plate helps to ensure that what we say can be officially responded to ( as not being merely the mutterings of anonymous internet bampots)I would be very happy.
If it can thereafter expand into other areas of digital communication etc, I would be delighted.
Power to your mccul…. oops,……elbows!
Big Pink says:
Moderator: (315 comments)
A separate area for scores/match reports would be an excellent idea. (maybe our amateur court reporters could be joined by amateur match day reporters?)
If I may be so bold as to suggest, that content delivery is vitally important, and a radical redesign of the layout/navigation of the site would be a good thing? Especially, if you are seeking to broaden the content.
My tuppence worth, for what little that is worth
Edit
Cool
I’m rather busy at the moment, so have not been able to respond as I would wish to the few negative and far more numerous positive comments regarding Kilmarnock Football Club. Thanks in particular to Bill and Tris for their contributions. I feel that my club was neatly summmed up in a sentence from Kenny Shiels in 2012:
“Kilmarnock have a great history that people should be proud of. We are a west of Scotland club with no baggage; this club is free from prejudice, racism and bigotry. It has so much going for it.”
I would settle for that.
By the way, and at the risk of setting off another series of lamb jokes, the shot of the sheep with the Brazilians at Rugby Park was not a piece of very early photo-shopping. It was the club mascot for many years (don’t ask!)
The other thing which Rugby Park is famous for is the ‘Killie Pie’, and rightly so. In the last couple of days, it has been announced that Brownings the Bakers, who make the pies, will donate a baker’s dozen of the pies to whoever buys the 2700/2800/2900/3000th, etc., season ticket for next season. An entirely different sort of lamb munching!
John Clark says:
July 19, 2015 at 1:52 pm
………………..
Power to your mccul…. oops,……elbows!
………………………………………
JC: I saw what you did there!
Congratulations on getting the 1000 comments up.
Do you get a badge or a prize for reaching that number, or just a crack on the ear from Mrs. C?
As it is a bit quiet this afternoon I thought I would post this piece of journalistic excellence from Gary Keown. one of the chief sports scribes from the Evening Times.
Why am I buying this pile of…….
It’s amazing what you might pick up as you stand in Asda waiting for the good lady to finishing her weekly shop.
Back to the nonsense…….
Friday 17 July 2015.
“MARK WARBURTON will blend ruthlessness and obsession with his commitment to passing football and succeed in his hugely ambitious three-year plan to bring Champions League football back to Rangers.
That’s the view of Burnley sporting director Frank McParland, who worked side-by-side with the Light Blues manager and his assistant David Weir at Brentford and will travel north with the Turf Moor club’s delegation for next Tuesday’s much-anticipated friendly at Ibrox.”
Is it any wonder “Newspaper” sales are in decline?
Hopefully an in context mention of a friendly:
The Turnbull Hutton Stand will be formally named at Stark’s Park on Tuesday night when the Rovers play Celtic XI.
Presumably the first 10 Celtics are too scared to take us on. 🙂
BorrowaTenner says:
Member: (62 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 2:48 pm
——————
Tuesday’s much-anticipated friendly at Ibrox.”………. 😯
Kicker Conspiracy says:
Member: (45 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 3:17 pm
Hopefully an in context mention of a friendly:
The Turnbull Hutton Stand will be formally named at Stark’s Park on Tuesday night when the Rovers play Celtic XI.
Presumably the first 10 Celtics are too scared to take us on.
=============================================================
I thought the “first 10 Celtics” would be in Iceland playing a friendly
match, unfortunately
Cluster One says:
Member: (236 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 3:33 pm
BorrowaTenner says:
Member: (62 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 2:48 pm
——————
Tuesday’s much-anticipated friendly at Ibrox.”………. ?
______________
Now that I know the match is on, is it compulsory for me to anticipate it, muchly? Or should I be asking, ‘who, or what, is Much?’ 😕
BorrowaTenner says:
Member: (63 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 3:43 pm
I thought the “first 10 Celtics” would be in Iceland playing a friendly
match, unfortunately
————————————————————————–
The match was brought forward by a day because of some other game on the Wednesday.
Means I can’t go now as I’ll be jetting in on Tuesday evening.
Pesky Champions League.
Serious question.
Where is the King?
There must be plenty of Rangers supporters resident in SA, who have seen him.
yakutsuki says:
Member: (63 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 12:59 pm
Just hope it’s ‘Blog appropriate?’ TSFM?
In that context, why not? 🙂
Tris
——————————————————-
The man fae Del Monte, he say yes!!! 🙂 🙂
News? papers ❗
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/national-newspaper-abcs-june-2015-most-tabloids-suffer-double-digit-declines-sun-reclaims-Sunday-top 😯
Something for John Clark ?
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/bbc-green-paper-published-royal-charter-review-will-examine-whether-bbc-should-be-all-things-all
Trust chairman Rona Fairhead said: “Of course there are also big questions to ask about the future of the BBC, but the debate must not be a narrow one and the clearest voice in it must that of the public. We will carry out our own research and consultation to make sure of that, and we welcome the Government’s statement that they will work with us and will take full account of our findings.”
BBC Charter Review
Public >>consultation<< !!
16 July – 8 October 2015
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445704/BBC_Charter_Review_Consultation_WEB.pdf 💡
Cluster One says:
July 19, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Tuesday’s much-anticipated friendly at Ibrox.……….
———————————-
A couple of weeks ago one of the rags described this friendly as a “mouth watering tie”. In previous pre-season fixtures I can well imagine that term being appropriate when, for example, Celtic faced Manyoo or Barca in the States – but a Burnley XI coming to Ibrox? C’mon now and get real!
Fairhead was head of the risk committee at HSBC, when they were busy money laundering for Mexican Drug Cartels. Puts Dave King’s fit and proper issues into a bit of perspective. UK PLC is broken
Billy Boyce says:
Member: (69 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Cluster One says:
July 19, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Tuesday’s much-anticipated friendly at Ibrox.……….
a “mouth watering tie”.
By Tuesday the SMSM will have it down as a comparison 😯 with a champions league game,without the music
It doesn’t appear to be that “much-anticipated”.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13463756.Rangers_toiling_to_sell_tickets_for_Mark_Warburton_s_bow_against_Burnley/
One prominent member of the staff at Ibrox stated on social media that the tickets sold for Tuesday’s game by close of business on Friday “wouldn’t fill The Sandy Jardine Stand”.
The stadium plan on the ticket section of Rangers’ website shows widespread availability in the areas of the ground that will be open.
Should have mentioned earlier, the ads got a wee bump this week – averaging £6 per day!
Obviously the targeting is getting better, which means more people investigating with clicks-through and – ker-ching!.
They still appear to think that I am in the market for a Tractor though, so perhaps there is a career change on the way 🙂
Tris, I listen to about a half dozen weekly technology podcasts (mostly Apple-related). Very few are live – the majority are recorded and then released. All are, as far as I can determine, recorded using Skype, with headset mikes or more professional USB mikes used for the recordings.
I wonder therefore at the need/desire for the podcasts to be live – as the influence of the site grows, there will be more people not in the UK timezone who listen and get involved, so being live is less of an issue for listeners 5 or 8 hours away.
Some of those podcasts that are on a regular schedule do have audience interaction via a chat room, where comments and questions can be monitored and referenced where appropriate. In many, though, it’s a conversation between the host(s) and guest(s).
It may be an option for you to ship out a reasonably good quality headset to a guest who doesn’t have the technology in advance of a podcast recording (as long, of course, as they ship it back!). Certainly, the quality of Skype calls is much better than recording a phone call.
I’ve enjoyed the podcasts so far, especially the last couple, so good luck with moving it forward.
BC Celt.
I am aware of the tech you speak of, and indeed the logistics you laid out – and more – have been explored. We are not convinced about the Skype option (acting as software support for footballers or journalists fills me with dread), but in any case we are looking to make a phone-in programme our flagship production.
Thanks, Tris – it’s good to know you’re aware of the various alternatives.
Trisidium,
If the flagship production is to be a phone in programme I will personally volunteer to launch a fundraising campaign to get Hugh Keevins on as the first guest. It would be of groundbreaking entertainment value!
Tris- don’t you mean you doubt he’d have a ladder tall enough to climb up to our level?
Recalling the recent loan of 5 players from Newcastle to Rangers (all provided free of charge since payment was only due on promotion if i recall correctly) it seems astonishing to me that still not one club has suggested this particular loophole should be closed before it is even more cynically manipulated.
I wonder if the 5 loan players had been made to QOTS or Hibs would so little have been said?
Accepting that this is somehow ok, whats to stop a premiership team from loaning 5 players to a Championship rival of TRFC in the hope they can keep them out of the Premiership for another season? There are after all some clubs very much enjoying the opportunities to qualify for europe and the increased attendances created by the liquidation of Rangers.
So say for example Dundee Utd or Aberdeen loan Falkirk, Hibs or St MIrren half a dozen players in January, at no cost. Will this be acceptable to our governance and media groups?
The rules stop that happening Matty. There are limits on how many loan players a club can have from another Scottish club, but no limit if the players are loaned from ‘abroad’
scottc says:
Member: (199 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 7:15 pm
The rules stop that happening Matty. There are limits on how many loan players a club can have from another Scottish club, but no limit if the players are loaned from ‘abroad’
===============
ScottC
Thanks, I remember that now and just checked to verify the limit. Only 2 players can be loaned between SPFL clubs as long as they are in diff divisions.
So what if Afc and DUfc both loan 2 players each to say Falkirk? And another 2 players each to St Mirren or whichever team is in the running for promotion?
I feel that TRFC would be very unhappy about that if Falkirk were in the running with them for promotion and these loans were made in January.
However if the principle by which Scottish clubs are now expected to behave is only within the most pedantic interpretation of the laws and cynical manipulation of every loophole is the norm, why shouldn’t other clubs also do this to their advantage?
From Jan 2014
http://sport.stv.tv/football/260311-spfl-adjust-loan-rules-after-motherwell-boss-queries-previous-limit/
Clubs will now be allowed to lend a maximum of two players, up from the previous one, to another SPFL side as long as the receiving team play in a different division.
Loans between sides in the same league continue to be limited to one player from any one team.
Trisidium – Re your tractor advert.
It’ll be the recent Kilmarnock mentions that have triggered this.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting this sort of thing should happen.
But we can see and surely the clubs can see when gaps in the rules are being exploited.
Fair enough clever people will always find ways to bend rules a little without breaking them but the question is when this happens why does not 1 single club propose the loop hole is closed?
To my mind it is against the spirit of the rules entirely for one club to loan as many as 5 players from a club, particularly where there is a strong element of shared ownership.
Hearts did something similar with the lithuanian club I believe. Again why did no one object?
I think the rule could be amended so that NO players can be loaned to an SPFL club from another where there is joint or common ownership.
And so that a maximum of 2 can be loaned from any club outside of the SPFL (in line with the internal SPFL loan regulation).
And perhaps for good measure a cap on the number of players loaned by any club altogether.
I understand there is an attempt within the rules not to restrict too heavily clubs with modest means as they may well need to loan a number of players in some cases but I feel sure a little imagination can come up with a rule structure to meet most needs or failing that a sensible compromise limit. Perhaps a system where clubs which are not challenging for promotion in a particular season or which have very heavy injury lists can apply for a discretionary increase in the loan allowance?
BorrowaTenner on July 19, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Serious question.
Where is the King?
There must be plenty of Rangers supporters resident in SA, who have seen him.
_________
I keep hoping one of our intrepid journalists will ask Mr Warburton if he has yet spoken to, or met, his Chairman…
I have had this notion for some time and I think it just about relevant tonight given the ‘way forward’ comments. I sense that quite a few us are fired up by ongoing injustice and want to draw others into the discussion to ventilate the issues. I suspect as time passes the site does a less good job of that.
If foreign journalists, investigative journalists dipped into this sequence of comments would they be able to work out the glue that binds the contributors together? I think if we want to broaden the pool of interest there should be some sort of history that highlights concerns, explains the in-references and terminology and generally gives the interested outsider a fair chance to get up to speed.
Of course this could end up too complex but if we say it is that intimidating then pity the journeyman journalist wanting to pitch it for the punters. It would not need to be generated ‘in a oner’ but something incremental might keep the big themes alive.
Could a brand new reader work out the big picture just by the exchanges?
alexander276 says:
Member: (21 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 8:32 pm
I have had this notion for some time and I think it just about relevant tonight given the ‘way forward’ comments. I sense that quite a few us are fired up by ongoing injustice and want to draw others into the discussion to ventilate the issues. I suspect as time passes the site does a less good job of that.
If foreign journalists, investigative journalists dipped into this sequence of comments would they be able to work out the glue that binds the contributors together? I think if we want to broaden the pool of interest there should be some sort of history that highlights concerns, explains the in-references and terminology and generally gives the interested outsider a fair chance to get up to speed.
Of course this could end up too complex but if we say it is that intimidating then pity the journeyman journalist wanting to pitch it for the punters. It would not need to be generated ‘in a oner’ but something incremental might keep the big themes alive.
Could a brand new reader work out the big picture just by the exchanges?
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I think Tris has mentioned a wiki in future and this would resolve that issue I think as well as providing a more searchable reference.
The good thing with a wiki is numerous contributors can be granted permissions so content could be captured, recorded relatively quickly (assuming thats the plan). Although final approval would I guess need to remain in the hands of the core SFM team I suspect.
I’m delighted that Celtic are sending a team to Starks Park for the dedication of the Turnbull Hutton Stand.
For me, it shows respect for the late Raith Rovers’ chairman’s stance against SFA/ SPFL attempts to corrupt the Rules of the game.
Further to the wiki ideas / big picture comments, perhaps a timeline of events charting the beginning of RTC through to where we are now showing both RTC / TSFM landmarks as well as external events which have informed the viewpoint of the blog as a whole would be useful.
I wonder what sort of side Burnley will put out in Scotland. Apparently a ‘very strong’ Burnley side suffered a 4-2 defeat at Accrington Stanley at the weekend.
ThomTheThim says:
Member: (83 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 8:40 pm
‘.For me, it shows respect for the late Raith Rovers’ chairman’s stance against SFA/ SPFL attempts to corrupt the Rules of the game.’
_________
It’s about the most public indication that there has been that Celtic believe that Turnbull was right, and is a not too subtle slap in the face for the ‘5-way agreement’ signatories.
Delighted that Raith Rovers are honouring Turnbull Hutton, and equally delighted that Celtic are part of the festivities.
Drawing wider conclusions, feels like wishful thinking. I’m waiting to see what those in power actually do, when the chickens start coming home to roost
scapaflow says:
Member: (1295 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 10:00 pm
If you are saying what I think you are saying then I am with you.
The fans are honouring someone who has been great for the club and Scottish football, who had the courage to stand up and tell it like it is when other were peddling a lie, and Celtic are taking part in that.
I see no reason for taking it as anything other than that.
From the Herald
http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13209029.Turnbull_Hutton/
Wednesday 8 April 2015
Turnbull Hutton
Football chairman and whisky executive
born 19th June 1946
died 5th April 2015
TURNBULL Hutton, who has died aged 68, in Edinburgh’s Western Infirmary, after a short illness, is best known to the public as the conscience of Scottish football.
The big, bluff Fifer, earned that status with his legendary rant on the top step at Hampden Park, as he voiced the disgust of the body of Scottish fitba’s “kirk” at the efforts of the Hampden “blazers” to ignore their own rules to keep the ghost of the liquidated Rangers as high up the football food chain as possible.
The six foot plus, well-built Raith Rovers chairman, as he then was, didn’t miss the officials and hit the post as he blasted the moves to soften the effects of the Ibrox club’s demise, with the result, the so-called “diddy” clubs won the day and the new Rangers had to start from the lowest tier in the professional game. His stance on behalf of the lesser lights also, in a way, led to the re-organisation of the governing body.
He had also gone on the attack in support of his old friend Eric Drysdale, after then Rangers’ manager Ally McCoist had demanded to know the identity of the members – including Drysdale – of the supposed confidential SFA committee which had voted against Rangers in another issue at that time.
Hutton was a man who called a spade a spade: the plans to ease Rangers into the upper reaches of the game were “a dead parrot” and some of the football writers from the mythical “Lap Top Loyal” dismisssed as “a bunch of Fuds”.
continues …
RyanGosling says:
Member: (181 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 8:47 pm
“Further to the wiki ideas….”
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I’m thinking there could be a lot of trawling through the blog archive to pull together material from conversations already had. If there was some search functionality introduced then it might be possible to spear all contributions on a particular topic and thus make the sifting a bit less laborious.
You could certainly have a timeline article. I built a wee timeline from Charlottefakeovers initial posts so I could see how stuff fitted together. Contributors could soon build and amend such timelines and articles where their interest is motivated.
Wikipedia has citations that link to articles that are used to corroborate entry content. Similarly, citations linking to comments would provide provenance for entries and also allow the opportunity to drop into a historic blog exchange to see how conclusions were arrived at.
bfbpuzzled says:
Member: (230 comments)
July 17, 2015 at 6:07 pm
Fergus McCann said what he was going to do from the outset including the walking away with a bucket of money after five years part.
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Bfb,
That’s nearly correct. The bunnet said he was leaving after five years. Nothing was said about a bucket of bucks.
He was taking a huge risk. I think he was worth about nine million at the time. That was wealth well below the radar of the savvy self-styled journalists.
He could have lost most of what he had. If anybody applies that to his/her own situation, he/she gets a fair idea of the
risk he took.
I think he went away with about £50m, a nice return for a huge gamble taken, and a job well done, and in an honest and honourable way. Of course he couldn’t have done it without the supporters who buckled down, accepted good advice in all humility, and did what was needed. That’s what keeps the spivs out.
I think it’s too late for the new club.
Just discovered about the Turnbull Hutton thing. I’m absolutely delighted that Celtic has been asked to take part in honouring a great servant of football in this country.
A bit off topic as is normal with myself…over in a Turkish resort right now and have been made aware by a 12 year old that there are no The Rangers tops on show beside the illustrious barca, juventus, man utd, celtic tops….big clubs with a worldwide reach….I then decided to check this out for myself in passing the hundreds of fake outlets…I did happen to see a couple ..possibly last year’s kit……so either big Mike has a grip of fear over the Turkish vendors and they won’t be allowed to produce this year’s kit or maybe that global appeal just isn’t there and the fakers aren’t even aware of a new kit of a team who are champions league certs in 3 years time…..Turkey fakes need a strong Rangers.
Trisidium says:
Moderator: (254 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm
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Trisidium. I note that you started posting under that particular name a few weeks back. Big Pink has always posted under that particular name. Was it you who used to post under the name ‘TSFM’? I know it’s not important but I’m just a curious type
Over on the Herald website I note Matt Lyndsay cheerleading for the Ibrox club yet again. He is pushing for Stuart Robertson of Rangers to be voted onto the SPFL board. Rangers remain a financial car crash, with so many unanswered questions and so much now hidden from public view since delisting. What does anyone from that club have to offer right now in driving forward the Scottish game?
Allyjambo; sorry to rain on your parade, but “King of Wishful Thinking” was by that great scouse band China Crisis.
Being a pedant since a boy, I will stand against the wall with a school book balanced on my head with my nose on the wall.
I’ll get my coat…………. 😳
part time pete says:
Member: (7 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 8:56 pm
I wonder what sort of side Burnley will put out in Scotland. Apparently a ‘very strong’ Burnley side suffered a 4-2 defeat at Accrington Stanley at the weekend.
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Much anticipation it is then 😀
The China Crisis song is just called ‘Wishful Thinking’. ‘King of Wishful Thinking’ by Go West is a different (and inferior) song.
Homunculus says:
Member: (116 comments)
July 19, 2015 at 10:13 pm
Thanks for posting that, it’s the first time I’ve seen it.
It must be very close to being the most honest summation of what happened, and how TH stood up to the bears in blazers, that has ever been written by a mainstream journalist in Scotland.
It, perhaps, deserves a prominent place on SFM as a quick reference/starting point for any first time visitor wondering what we are all about, and why TH has such a lasting place in all our hearts.
Castaway
I do not doubt the huge risk that Mr McCann was taking nor did I intend to suggest that he was solely interested in making a profit. The key thing was that he set out a clear plan from the very beginning including the time limited commitment. The return he made compared to the magnitude of his achievements was not out of order. His agendas were not obscured by any glibness or shamelessness or indeed mendacity.
Although he was from Kilsyth he had connections with the Croy Celtic Supporters Club and that background would demand the kind of behaviours he exhibited.
steph1895 says:
Member: (9 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 9:07 am
Steph, thanks for not raining on my parade 😉 but:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zEqfle758M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldQpRMegYc0
I think the Go West song is more appropriate for Mr King but they are both good songs and well worth a listen 🙂
castaway says:
Member: (82 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 12:42 am
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That’s nearly correct. The bunnet said he was leaving after five years. Nothing was said about a bucket of bucks.
He was taking a huge risk. I think he was worth about nine million at the time. That was wealth well below the radar of the savvy self-styled journalists.
He could have lost most of what he had. If anybody applies that to his/her own situation, he/she gets a fair idea of the
risk he took.
I think he went away with about £50m, a nice return for a huge gamble taken, and a job well done,
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If my memory is correct he made most of the £50 by selling his shares back to the fans.(and just as i am typing this,Did not charles Green say at one point he would sell his shares back to the fans)
If my memory is correct that is
Allyjambo-Although you correctly pointed out Steph1895’s error it should be noted that “The King Of Wishful Thinking” was from 1990 not 1992.It was used in the film “Pretty Woman”if my memory serves me though I may be wrong!
manchesterbhoy says:
Member: (2 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 10:18 am
Allyjambo-Although you correctly pointed out Steph1895’s error it should be noted that “The King Of Wishful Thinking” was from 1990 not 1992.It was used in the film “Pretty Woman”if my memory serves me though I may be wrong!
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Correct, but you see, I was using the ‘remix’ version of 1992, much more appropriate for the King of TRFC, I think 😉
Allyjambo:
You are correct and I was thinking of China Crisis instead of checking my own collection and finding Go West’s “King of wishful thinking” as well.
Liked both bands to be honest, but I draw the line at superior song, but music is a personal thing……….
Steph1895 is now back on the naughty chair, but fortunately has the Savlon on the skelp marks from the slipper and ruler!!
Apologies for being wrong but old and stupid enough to admit it!!
steph1895 says:
Member: (10 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 10:46 am
Don’t feel bad about not checking, if I got anything right it was by pure chance – and the search function 🙄
Thanks for mentioning the China Crisis song, I can’t say I remember it, but I enjoyed listening to it (on utube) and I agree it has better music feel, probably caused by the use of musical instruments rather than a liberal use of synthesisers. But, as you say, it’s all a matter of taste.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33594354
upthehoops says: July 20, 2015 at 9:00 am
Over on the Herald website I note Matt Lyndsay cheerleading for the Ibrox club yet again. He is pushing for Stuart Robertson of Rangers to be voted onto the SPFL board. Rangers remain a financial car crash, with so many unanswered questions and so much now hidden from public view since delisting. What does anyone from that club have to offer right now in driving forward the Scottish game?
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Will the SPFL Board vote for the “establishment” option of Stuart Robertson at today’s AGM, or will they show some innovative thinking and appoint Ann Budge instead?
easyJambo says:
Member: (706 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 1:04 pm
They are from teams in different divisions so I don’t think they will be competing for a seat. In fact I think both could be elected.
Barry Anderson @BarryAnderson_ · 6m6 minutes ago
Three Premiership reps elected to SPFL board: Duncan Fraser (A’deen), Eric Riley (Celtic), Stephen Thompson (D Utd). No spot for Ann Budge.
Barry Anderson @BarryAnderson_ · 6m6 minutes ago
Eric Drysdale (Raith Rovers), Mike Mulraney (Alloa Athletic) and Ken Ferguson (Brechin City) also elected to the #SPFL board today.
So neither Roberson nor Budge were elected.
Ewan Murray @mrewanmurray · 1m1 minute ago
Chance missed by SPFL clubs. Even if you don’t accept all the “new” options, take a couple of them on ffs. Looks very poor.
EJ
The SPFL board appointments are depressingly predictable, and signal very clearly, that there will be no change in either attitudes or policy.
Still Ewan Murray made me smile
“Ewan Murray @mrewanmurray 18s18 seconds ago
I see the SPFL has done a deal to broadcast games in China. Prepare for 5am kick-offs.”
The SPFL value their games’ Chinese TV rights at less than 10k per game.
Jings,crivens,help ma’ boab. Just dont mention KING in a catholic style………now that would cause a rammy !!!!!!
@Scapa – This may be of interest on how the information was presented by the SPFL and the BBC.
Allan Price @AllanGPrice Wonderful bit of spin again by the SPFL. They haven’t “agreed a deal” to show games in China. MP & Silva have
http://variety.com/2015/biz/asia/chinas-letv-sports-signs-rights-pact-1201543860/
China’s LeTv Sports is to acquire a large package of soccer and other rights in a deal with MP & Silva, a Singapore-based sports marketing firm.
The deal is styled as a strategic alliance between the two companies and gives them room to develop joint projects in the future.
LeTv Sports plans to broadcast some 1,800 hours of live soccer per season on its digital platform. Rights covered by the deal include Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, England’s FA Cup, Sky Bet Football League Championship, Capital One Cup, Scottish Professional Football League, Belgian Jupiler Pro League, the Brazil National Team Global Tour matches, the England national team and under-23 home friendly matches, and the (recently completed) Copa America 2015.
Edit
Annie McGuire @Annie__McGuire · 3m3 minutes ago
@BBCchrismclaug dearheart- is this an extra 500k a year, separate from the 2013 deal? Thaaaaaanks
Chris McLaughlin @BBCchrismclaug · 2m2 minutes ago
@Annie__McGuire it’s all part of the £20m 10 year deal.
Annie McGuire @Annie__McGuire · 27s27 seconds ago
There appears to be no ‘new’ money in this Chinese TV deal. All part of 2013 £20m contract. So there ye go #JustAnotherDayInScottishFootball
Didn’t Doncaster state, as a reason for having no League sponsor, that the sums on offer would devalue the product?
It seems that China have a Buy One, Get 50 Free, deal.
easyJambo says:
Member: (708 comments)
Yeah saw that, maybe Ewan should be warning us about 3am kick offs.
I have not the non-sweary words to express my contempt for the “gentlemen” elected to the SPFL board to day. Though its is matched by my contempt for those who voted for them.
Scottish Football’s worst enemy, are the bar stewards who run it.
Quite content with the SPL appointee’s, avoided a criminals place man being installed.
As for the non TV deal. That’s what happens when you parlaiz away the IP to a 3rd party instead of doing the job your overpaid to do.
ianagain says:
Member: (615 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Quite content with the SPL appointee’s, avoided a criminals place man being installed.
As for the non TV deal. That’s what happens when you parlaiz away the IP to a 3rd party instead of doing the job your overpaid to do.
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There is perhaps a “devil you know” feeling about these appointments however I would greatly have liked to see Anne Budge win a position there.
Matty Roth says:
Member: (208 comments)
July 20, 2015 at 2:44 pm
Really, its just another triumph for mediocrity, incompetence and cronyism.
S2D2 as we say, Same Shit Different Day
How are the members of the SPFL panel selected, is it on a vote by the club chairmen.