Why We Need to Change

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;

  1. ISM will seek to build a community of sports fans whose overarching aim is the integrity of competition in the sport.
  2. 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.
  3. ISM will provide a platform for the views of ALL fans, and guarantee that those views will be heard in a mutually respectful environment.
  4. ISM will also endeavour to inform and entertain members on a wide range of topics related to our shared love of sport.
  5. 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;

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.

 

This entry was posted in General by Trisidium. Bookmark the permalink.
Tom Byrne

About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

3,978 thoughts on “Why We Need to Change


  1. Matty R

    Me too AB would have been great. My bigger worry was King getting a say.


  2. Homunculus says:
    Member: (118 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    The clubs are shareholders, so should be a board decision for each club.


  3. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1299 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 3:05 pm

    Sorry to appear obtuse, but is that a yes, it is the clubs (through their chairman) who vote on who will sit on the panel.


  4. Long time lurker with some internet experience. Feel free to discard, but the return you are getting on your ads is meagre considering your daily traffic (available publicly if you know where to look 🙂 )

    Given that you can earn 20-60p per click from Google, I’d say that either there are lots of automatic page impressions being served, or your users are mostly badly targeted in terms of what Google is serving them, or the majority of your users are using ad blockers.

    There are other strategies you can use, but in the first instance I think you should speak to adsense to investigate

    Apologies if I am being a bit previous. Just keen to assist if I can.


  5. Homunculus says:
    Member: (119 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 3:07 pm

    In practice yes, I would expect


  6. Just out of interest, do people who would have liked Ann Budge on the board have a preference on who she would have replaced.

    Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen), Eric Riley (Celtic) or Stephen Thompson (Dundee Utd).


  7. Personally I think Ms Budge will have a freer remit by *not* being on the SPFL board. Quite possibly she has seen how it currently works and wants to distance herself from it, I know I would and work to reform it from outside rather than being tainted by being part of the inactivity historically associated with being part of it.


  8. Homunculus says:
    Member: (120 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Two of those fine upstanding chaps have been up to their necks in the shenanigans from 2012 and before, so losing either would be a start.

    This is a “no change board”, so folk who welcome it, are really saying they are OK with whatever goes down, when the fertilizer hits the windmill, again.


  9. What a short sighted almost commercially stupid failure of the SPFL Board to change the nature of Scottish football from an almost entirely male preserve to a family one, by failing to elect Ann Budge onto the SPFL Board.

    I say commercially stupid because with the interest in woman’s football on the rise and more women than ever taking part in the game and an almost total dependence on gate money, the male led SPFL take a decision that is more likely to alienate half the population (not to mention the younger family dependents) who might otherwise think football is a game for women to watch just as much as men.

    The man of today is no longer the single bread winner who comes home from a hard days graft to his dinner on the table. He is just as likely to be making it if he finishes work earlier than his wife and I stand in awe at how much time the current generation of young fathers spend with their children. The times have already changed.

    Its not as if Ann Budge would be a token female either, she comes with business experience and acumen and – gasp – a bit of ethics in her attitude.

    If the good lady is really keen to have an influence the opportunity to do so is more than likely to present itself as the current attitude, that saw the dinosaurs wake up extinct, is still at play with almost predictable results in the shape of another cock up or cover up or a mixture of both.

    Ally Jambo/Easy Jambo. Any feed back on her reaction?


  10. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1301 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    Sorry, which 2 have been on the board since 2012, I wouldn’t normally keep up with this sort of thing, it’s just because it came up here that I am even remotely interested.

    I don’t even know what they do if truth be told, or what power they hold.


  11. RyanGosling says:
    Member: (181 comments)
    July 19, 2015 at 8:47 pm
    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 suggested this some time ago, Ryan and even started on on Tiki Toki but there was little interest shown at the time and so I abandoned it as it was quite time consuming trying to link all the documents and events on my own. (It looked great though)


  12. Homunculus says:
    Member: (120 comments)

    July 20, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Just out of interest, do people who would have liked Ann Budge on the board have a preference on who she would have replaced.

    Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen), Eric Riley (Celtic) or Stephen Thompson (Dundee Utd).
    ——————–
    Based solely on their reaction to the LNS decision it would be Steven Thomson who is the only one to have made any statement following it.

    Next Id put Riley who was absent when the first meeting took place and definitely not Fraser who simply could not understand it.

    Go to File 04 at this link that is based on SPL reaction to LNS Decision and click to open it.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9aVdQMDVJdml2dzg/view?usp=sharing


  13. Homunculus says:
    Member: (121 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:51 pm

    Thomson & Riley. However, the basic problem is that if you google the SFA/SPL/SFL boards in 2012, and then compare those names with the SFA/SPFL bords now, its basically the same bums on different seats.

    Fans/customers are desperate for change, and the clubs are desperate to ensure that meaningful change is the last thing that happens.

    Expecting reform from this lot, is pointless, hence my consistent view, that if you were on a board in 2012, you should be banned sine die from any further role in the governance of Scottish Football.

    Scottish Football needs a complete clear out at board level, if any progress is ever to be made.


  14. Stewart Robertson (Rangers) has made a statement about the result of the election.

    ——————————————–

    RANGERS Managing Director Stewart Robertson reacts to SPFL Board elections:

    “Having stood for election the result of the vote is very disappointing. However, I would like to thank those who did vote for me and I hope that by standing for election Rangers’ commitment to engage with the football authorities has been demonstrated.

    “With a new Board in place at Ibrox we have a lot to offer the broader church of Scottish football. It is reasonable that a Club of Rangers size should have a voice and we will try again next year.

    “Right now, though, we are looking forward to the start of the new season.”

    ———————————————-


  15. Auldheid says:
    Blog Writer: (496 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:46 pm

    Nothing official, yet, Auldheid, and just similar comments to here on jamboskickback. I’d reckon it’s likely the lady will respond in a dignified manner and take her time before addressing the press to ensure her words can’t come back to bite her, or Hearts. I’d suggest it’s not unusual for the ‘new kid on the block’ to fail at the first time of asking for election to any business body, and that Scottish football’s loss is Hearts’ gain. Still very short-sighted for all the reasons given by yourself and others on here.

    Remember, dinosaurs don’t vote for Christmas… or something like that!

    One good thing that might come out of it is that she has now been rebuffed by the ‘football establishment’ and may well lose any desire to become a part of it, freeing her to remain a voice for change. Or even more worrying for the blazers, ever more determined to be at the forefront of change!

    …a lady scorned…


  16. So Phil MGB has a couple of new blog posts up.

    If the one about Sevco’s current finances is even close to true (only enough cash to September, December if they sell 40k STs) one would have to question why the SFA and SPFL are even considering allowing them to take part in season 2015/16.

    One is reminded of Livingston having to post a bond for season 2009/10 amid concerns over their solvency.

    Without the promised investment it’s hard to see beyond an insolvency event this side of Christmas.


  17. Homunculus says:
    Member: (122 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm
    ‘..It is reasonable that a Club of Rangers size should have a voice and we will try again next year.’
    ______
    An irritatingly unpleasant sense of entitlement expressed by Mr Robertson.

    Some people simply cannot learn any lessons.


  18. zerotolerance1903 says:
    Member: (42 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    Those wondering about the silence of the King might find some interest in PMGB’s blog on the subject:

    philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-importance-of-communicating-clearly/#more-6620 …


  19. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1302 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    Scottish Football needs a complete clear out at board level, if any progress is ever to be made.

    ——————————————————-

    I’m genuinely interested. If you are removing the representative from Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee Utd and replacing them with one from Hearts who would you go for as the other two.

    Or would you totally re-structure that board, if so in what way.


  20. Homunculus says:
    Member: (124 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 5:53 pm

    Rip it up and start again. A government backed “truth & reconciliation” commission, with all parties signed up to implement the recommendations in full, no cherry picking. Which I would hope would include meaningful fan representation.

    The current setup is failing everyone


  21. Just thought I’d check the status of King, via DueDil.

    King is indeed a listed ‘Director’ of RIFC plc – along with Murray & the 3B’s.

    But King is not listed as a Director of TRFC Ltd. – although Murray & the 3B’s and Robertson [CEO], and Blair [Sec’y] are listed.

    Am I being too cynical, or is King being cute, and keeping some legal distance between himself and the football club – and any potential, future personal liabilities / blame ?


  22. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1303 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:01 pm

    That’s an interesting idea, would such a commission make proposals into how a new structure should work, as well as looking into what had gone wrong in the past.


  23. Homunculus says:
    Member: (125 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:08 pm

    Not much point otherwise :mrgreen:


  24. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1303 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:01 pm
    ‘… A government backed “truth & reconciliation” commission, with all parties signed up to implement the recommendations in full, ‘
    ___________
    Forgive if I appear to be butting in, scapa. I think I would like to see the colour of the ‘government’s’ money first,to be sure that such a Commission was not misled by the withholding of evidence.

    The Scottish Government, you must remember, seems to have sought to stick its nose into the ‘saga’ via the letter from the then First Minister to HMRC re the Tax problems of the now dead RFC.

    I think I would like to know what exactly Salmond said in that letter, before I would expect the current Scottish Government to be clean enough to appoint anything like a truthful, genuine ‘truth and reconciliation’
    commission.

    It is not only Football Authorities that can lie, I fear.


  25. StevieBC says:
    Member: (783 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:05 pm

    Just thought I’d check the status of King, via DueDil.

    King is indeed a listed ‘Director’ of RIFC plc – along with Murray & the 3B’s.

    But King is not listed as a Director of TRFC Ltd. – although Murray & the 3B’s and Robertson [CEO], and Blair [Sec’y] are listed.

    Am I being too cynical, or is King being cute, and keeping some legal distance between himself and the football club – and any potential, future personal liabilities / blame ?
    __________________________-

    I would be very surprised to find that King isn’t cute in every single business deal he gets involved in. I’m sure there will be a very cute backdoor in every business model he builds. A secret backdoor!


  26. scapaflow says:
    Member: (1304 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:10 pm

    Not much point otherwise

    —————————————————————–

    I agree, however not knowing what their remit is I looked it up on the internet. On very little reading it appears to me that their job is to investigate what has happened with regards a specific situation, for example apartheid in South Africa, and to report back on it.

    It doesn’t seem to be within their remit to actually suggest a new structure, hence me asking the question.


  27. John you’re not butting in and it’s a fair enough point. One of reasons for saying that all parties should accept in advance all the recommendations, is that none of the parties have clean hands.

    Trust is a difficult thing to ask just now, but, we have to start somewhere otherwise in ten years time we will still be right here. Of course, we will still be here, if only because the clubs will continue to sabotage any effort towards meaningful change


  28. Homunculus says:
    Member: (126 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:39 pm
    scapaflow says:
    Member: (1304 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 6:10 pm

    Not much point otherwise

    —————————————————————–

    I agree, however not knowing what their remit is I looked it up on the internet. On very little reading it appears to me that their job is to investigate what has happened with regards a specific situation, for example apartheid in South Africa, and to report back on it.

    It doesn’t seem to be within their remit to actually suggest a new structure, hence me asking the question.

    Their remit would surely be whatever it was set up to be? It might be modelled on the SA version but it doesn’t have to be. Also, there would be no need for government to be involved; just a general agreement by those affected that it is the right way forward and to accept its findings and recommendations,if that was how it was created.


  29. scottc says:
    Member: (201 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    I agree with your main point, i.e. that if people agreed to accept it’s findings, and act on them then that would work.

    I was merely saying that I wasn’t sure what a “truth and reconciliation commission” was so I looked it up. It seems to be a specific thing with a specific remit. With regards apartheid, I only used that as an example. Here’s a list of others, in countries all over the World.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_truth_and_reconciliation_commissions

    It has a handy definition – A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. They are, under various names, occasionally set up by states emerging from periods of internal unrest, civil war, or dictatorship.


  30. Allyjambo says:
    Member: (1097 comments)

    July 20, 2015 at 5:38 pm

    zerotolerance1903 says:
    Member: (42 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    Those wondering about the silence of the King might find some interest in PMGB’s blog on the subject:

    philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-importance-of-communicating-clearly/#more-6620 …
    ===========================================

    Silence of the King being the partner tome to Silence of the Lambs I presume.

    I note the Rangers candidate for the SPFL board is now his Glibnesses favourite; nay only conduit to whats oop at Gers. Doubly delighted he was not elected.
    You just know the SMSM drivel would have started to leak into SPFL chambers.


  31. Rangers managers need to concentrate on sorting the omnishambles at home, but, never fear SPFL chambers won’t be short of supplies of drivel, when the fertilizer hits the windmill. Mr Robertson’s absence won’t make the slightest bit of difference, all for the good of Scottish Football, of course.


  32. John Clark says:
    Member: (1010 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 5:36 pm
    Homunculus says:
    Member: (122 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm
    ‘..It is reasonable that a Club of Rangers size should have a voice and we will try again next year.’
    ______
    An irritatingly unpleasant sense of entitlement expressed by Mr Robertson.

    Some people simply cannot learn any lessons.
    ===================================

    When they demonstrate for a few years through fully audited accounts that they are living within their means then they should be considered. Not before then. Only my view of course.


  33. I note a some posts over the last few days re Killie’s relationship with T’Rangers.

    I am sure like, genuine fans of other clubs, the insinuation of somehow being close cousin or otherwise of a bigger Glasgow club is distasteful.

    However on a related manner I am wondering if I am the only one seeing occasional adverts on TSFM as supporting Killie at the expense of other Scottish clubs.

    While the signings of Boyd and McCulloch may result in much discussion down Rugby Park, TSFM running adverts seeking donations for a donkey sanctuary is not really supporting the level playing field that I thought was always a mainstay for the site.

    Scottish Football needs a strong cookie moderator. 🙂


  34. I see the Bears Den are asking if, given all the Wigan transfers to T’Rangers is Gary Caldwell a secret bear!.

    With the usual lack of irony one poster says:-

    “Nope, perhaps with the crisis at Wigan and the possibility of the players wanting out of a “toxic environment” it was best for all parties to move them on”


  35. wottpi says:
    Member: (670 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    On a night when there is little to smile about, that got me giggling :mrgreen:

    Cheers


  36. yakutsuki says:
    Member: (66 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 7:18 pm
    ‘..Thanks, I must have read that wrong. I was thinking he got off light with the 4 games. At 6 he still can’t complain really – in my opinion like.’
    ______
    Personally,I would never defend a biter: anyone whose response to any ‘assault’ on the football pitch is to BITE (BITE!, for God’s sake!) is way beyond any pale that I would erect.

    Personally, if anyone bit me, I would, frail as I am, instantly try to deck him and knock seven bells out of him.

    Guys like that deserve no sympathy whatsoever. Why didn’t he just square up to his ‘attacker’ , lamp him one fairly and squarely, and take the red card , having ‘honourably’ revenged himself?

    Provocation might explain and in part ‘justify’ that kind of normal, natural response.

    Nothing in the world could justify ‘biting’ on a sports field.It’s not even acceptable in infants and toddlers!
    Ciftci, for all his football talent, is a no-no for me.

    ps. What is the normal tariff for ‘biting’? Are there any precedents? Comparisons to be made? Anywhere?


  37. Apropos Not A Lot I came across this in the 22nd Annual Financial Review of Scottish Premier
    League football season 2009-10

    Rangers
    For the second consecutive season, net
    operating expenditure went down –
    falling £4.4m to £43.9m. This reflected
    the reduced salary levels and other
    efficiencies introduced during the year.
    When considering this in tandem with
    the greater proportionate rise in
    turnover, the resultant ratio of total
    wages-to-turnover fell from 77%
    (2009) to a healthier 50%. These steps
    outline the board’s efforts to stabilise
    running costs so it can operate at a
    more sustainable level, while also
    underpinning the significance of
    Champions League-related income to
    servicing the cost base of the Ibrox club.

    Did no one at the SPL ask the question what happens if RFC do not get access to CL Money or had it become a given that they always would? (no matter what)or does that power not exist at the now SPFL?

    Bringing that issue up to date is there no one at the SPFL making sure such a risky dependence can no longer happen again?

    How about (my hobby horse) creaming off a percentage each year of CL rewards but this time to form an insurance policy fund against clubs meeting hard times not of their choosing or bad decision making?

    In tandem what about removing Club Licensing responsibilities from the SFA to the SPFL, who on receipt of returns signifying a club in trouble, can then award a conditional licence AND some stabilising money from the fund to help the club meet the conditions set by the LC?

    How about somebody, ANYBODY, looking at the last ten years and coming up with proposals to prevent what RFC, did or any other club doing, that nearly sunk the game?

    Its not rocket science.


  38. Personally,I would never defend a biter: anyone whose response to any ‘assault’ on the football pitch is to BITE (BITE!, for God’s sake!) is way beyond any pale that I would erect.

    Personally, if anyone bit me, I would, frail as I am, instantly try to deck him and knock seven bells out of him.

    Guys like that deserve no sympathy whatsoever. Why didn’t he just square up to his ‘attacker’ , lamp him one fairly and squarely, and take the red card , having ‘honourably’ revenged himself?
    ———————————————————-

    A bit difficult when you’re lying on the ground John, no?

    I am not justifying the bite, but I find spitting worse. That’s only my opinion.

    Again, it’s all about opinions here. What I find abhorrent, the next guy
    might feel something else is 10 times more unacceptable. But, hey ho, what should we do? Hang him?

    I have a friend that used to bite in bar room brawls when they eventually went to the floor. He was nicknamed ‘Jaws.’ It’s not something that would ever cross my mind to do, but who’s perfect, eh?


  39. ianagain on July 20, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    Silence of the King being the partner tome to Silence of the Lambs I presume.

    ———–

    And the idea of Jim White having trolled off to SA to speak to the chosen one is kind of amusing. If Jim’s alter ego from Only An Excuse did the actual interview, would anyone notice? The hospital scene with Charles Green was like a lost sketch from one of the shows 🙂


  40. Trisidium says:
    Moderator: (254 comments)
    July 19, 2015 at 1:19 pm
    ——-

    Cheers Tris, thoughtful responses. Nothing passive aggressive to applogise to me about 🙂 All good stuff. Interesting little mini-discussion on the going forward theme with valid points raised. That the discussion came up in the middle of fund-raising is just a quirk of the process. I thought it was because of an observation about the pace of contributions. As you mention, folks have a lot of other priorities and it’s maybe first mid-summer when most of us are moving in a lower gear that there’s time to dwell on things a bit more deeply.

    I’m fully supportive of the moving forward plans. Just throwing in a few random thoughts from time to time. I feel much more well informed now as to the shape of things to come than at the initial announcement thanks to various questions/observations/responses.

    Btw, I’m not sure I sense any ‘distrust’ of the mods or any anonymous folks behind the scenes from the majority here. Most if us are still here because we like the way the blog is moderated. Those who strongly disagreed probably left some time ago, some slamming the door behind them louder than others.


  41. wottpi says:
    July 20, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    I note a some posts over the last few days re Killie’s relationship with T’Rangers.

    I am sure like, genuine fans of other clubs, the insinuation of somehow being close cousin or otherwise of a bigger Glasgow club is distasteful.

    However on a related manner I am wondering if I am the only one seeing occasional adverts on TSFM as supporting Killie at the expense of other Scottish clubs.

    While the signings of Boyd and McCulloch may result in much discussion down Rugby Park, TSFM running adverts seeking donations for a donkey sanctuary is not really supporting the level playing field that I thought was always a mainstay for the site.

    Scottish Football needs a strong cookie moderator. 🙂

    ………………………………………………..

    Wottpi,
    For a good long minute, you had me worried there!
    I was searching through the start pages, and wondering how I was going to defend Killie over donkey droppings, etc. Then the half crown dropped and I managed to successfully stick the tail on donkeygate!

    I’m still chuckling over my morning cup of tea.

    Having said that, do donkeys have elbows?


  42. Jim White visiting South Africa to interview (we assume) Dave King is an interesting development.
    Get ahead of a breaking story perhaps??

    Can the season book sales not be where they want them to be – circa 23K
    Mike Ashley taking step 2 of 3 intimated by Phil Mac perhaps??

    He has to give eassurances that all is well down Govan Way and the warchest “over investment” is well on its way, BUT it takes time etc etc.

    There has of course been stuff on the old interweb that Dave King is not speaking to the rest of the board, so this is a PR piece to quell rumours no doubt.

    Mrs Steph1895 said on seeing Dave King; that he is too shifty (perception eh!!) and looks like he has one eye on his chips and gravy, the other on his change!!

    I couldn’t put it better myself


  43. My understanding is that Season Book sales at Rangers are going better now than was the case initially. 35,000 is likely to be the number , but concession pricing has meant that revenues from Season Books will be well below the hoped for amount.

    The old Blue Knights consortium are being lined up to invest. Some are incredibly not questioning anything to do with King. They are putting issues with Nomads, listings and whether King has the means to invest down to rabble rousing. Some of these guys though are not financial heavy hitters and are unlikely to be able invest more than a few £Hundred ,000 .

    Letham and Taylor are being leaned on to deliver significant amounts. No idea whether they have the wherewithall to do so, but Taylor in particular is said to be wary of King.

    I was told the guys who bought in at around 20p are feeling quite pleased with themselves . They believe they could cash out at twice that .

    All of the above provided by someone inside the tent. Decent guy , but it seems to me that he and his colleagues are on a wing and a prayer regarding many of the key issues, and in total denial about others

    I guess we’ll find out soon enough


  44. Jim White jetting out to interview Dave King, some close season entertainment at least.

    Points for spotting
    ‘You’ve already invested well over £20 million in Rangers and lost it, tell me why you’re still keen to invest much more…’
    ‘You grew up in Rangers supporting household, encouraged by your father…’
    ‘It’s well known that you had some difficulties in the past here in South Africa, but now that that’s all been sorted out…’
    ‘You’ve been outspoken in the past about the way some of the previous Rangers boards have mistreated the club…’
    ‘Can you tell me just how excited you are at the prospect of the Warburton youth revolution taking the new season by storm…’
    ‘The new manager has a plan to get Rangers back into the champions league within three seasons…do you think there’s any chance of doing it in less than that?
    ‘You’re obviously a very wealthy man…’


  45. Regarding the live tv streaming of SPFL matches in China it appears that the company involved LeTV has an app for Kodi (the free IPTV streaming software). Be interesting to see if it includes the live fitba channels. Chinese commentary (commentally?) would also make a change from the Gaelic 🙂

    Calling Tcup — you tried the LeTV app?


  46. Not a lot going on in the pre-season calm, so I thought some OT stuff might be a refreshing break.
    This will also gauge how narrow our demographic is 🙂

    Who’s the best (you decide what ‘best’ means) player you have seen play in YOUR team?

    As a Celtic fan, my hero was Willie Wallace, but the most complete footballer I ever saw play for Celtic was Bobby Murdoch – “Chopper” to his team mates. Only guy I ever saw who could trap the ball with his head. Great football brain, he could see and execute a short pass or a long pass, had quick feet (despite having no pace to speak of), a terrifying shot, and was expert enforcer.

    And to my delight when I got to know him around thirty years ago, he turned out NOT to have feet of clay. Lovely gregarious guy. A proper footballer and a proper gentleman too.

    Over to you guys?


  47. DP,
    Is this the place for mocking linguistic skills when English is their Secord ( or third or fourth) language. Before we know it, we will be up to our knees in rubbery chickens. 😆


  48. The first time I saw Clyde the took an almighty battering from Celtic might have been 9-0. The first goal was a lob over the keeper from the centre circle from Bobby Murdoch exquisite stuff albeit in the wrong direction- my father said he was the best he had ever seen bar none.


  49. Homunculus says:
    Member: (127 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm
    Stewart Robertson (Rangers) has made a statement about the result of the election.

    ——————————————–

    RANGERS Managing Director Stewart Robertson reacts to SPFL Board elections:

    “With a new Board in place at Ibrox we have a lot to offer the broader church of Scottish football.
    ——————————————————-
    Broader church ?? Not a term I am familiar with concerning our sport. What does that sentence actually mean exactly?


  50. @valentinesclown he’s probably making the distinction between teams run on a sound financial footing and the one that’s permanently loss making. An illjudged choice of words though given the histories of Ibrox clubs


  51. Just a wee thought, has Jimbo interviewed anybody else apart from those involved in the Ibrox saga? Oh please, please,please, please,please have Davie boy on a white charger surveying all before him…….


  52. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (316 comments)

    July 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Not a lot going on in the pre-season calm, so I thought some OT stuff might be a refreshing break.
    This will also gauge how narrow our demographic is 🙂

    Who’s the best (you decide what ‘best’ means) player you have seen play in YOUR team?

    I was a little bit late to Clyde, mainly because they didn’t pitch up in Cumbernauld till ’94, so the Tommy Ring years (heck, even the Pat Nevin years!) are a bit of mythology to me. However, the best player that I ever saw in the flesh for Clyde was Charlie Nicholas. He was clearly past his best, but still at least a notch above anyone else on the park, when he could be bothered.

    I’ll also claim another team, as I was a childhood Dundee United fan – and that player would have to be Stuart Beedie. He didn’t score many, probably because he didn’t do unspectacular goals. His goal against Aberdeen in the 1985 Scottish Cup Semi Final replay is probably still the greatest goal I’ve ever seen. From memory, Ralph Milne crossed it from the right wing to a point just outside the D, and Beedie arrived like a train and met it first time on the volley. Nostalgia says that Leighton didn’t even get a chance to move as the ball crashed past him into the top corner, but I’m sure Leighton would have given it a go, as he was probably still at the height of his powers then.

    *edit* Needless to say I spent at least the next six months trying to recreate the goal with my pals, normally involving me taking a swipe, and spooning the ball miles over the bar with my shin, if I even managed to connect with it in the first place……


  53. That’s the one! And yes by outside the D, I mean inside the penalty box – give me a break, I hadn’t seen it in 30 years! I thought I did well to remember it was Ralph Milne that crossed it!

    Still, give it another 10 years, and I’ll be claiming that it was from the half way line…..

    (Actually, seeing it again has broken the spell somewhat – it’s far scrappier than I remember. In my mind, it was like watching Sensible Soccer at its finest!)


  54. wottpi says:
    Member: (670 comments)

    July 20, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    I see the Bears Den are asking if, given all the Wigan transfers to T’Rangers is Gary Caldwell a secret bear!.
    __________________________________________

    Are they really so blinkered and parochial that they think such a thing would play any part?

    Mr Souness was involved in many transfers after he left the club but we know there is another explanation for that…


  55. valentinesclown says:
    Member: (182 comments)

    July 21, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    Homunculus says:
    Member: (127 comments)
    July 20, 2015 at 4:59 pm
    Stewart Robertson (Rangers) has made a statement about the result of the election.

    ——————————————–

    RANGERS Managing Director Stewart Robertson reacts to SPFL Board elections:

    “With a new Board in place at Ibrox we have a lot to offer the broader church of Scottish football.
    ——————————————————-
    Broader church ?? Not a term I am familiar with concerning our sport. What does that sentence actually mean exactly?
    ________________________________________________

    My interpretation = Although by far the biggest and most important, we recognise that other clubs do exist in Scotland


  56. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (316 comments)
    July 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Who’s the best (you decide what ‘best’ means) player you have seen play in YOUR team?

    Not from my team but I recall being at a game at a game CP when Moravcik put on one of the most skillful performances I’ve ever seen. If I remember correctly, Murdoch, Johnstone and Lennox were on meeting and greeting duty and all raved about Moravcik.


  57. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (316 comments)

    July 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Not a lot going on in the pre-season calm, so I thought some OT stuff might be a refreshing break.
    This will also gauge how narrow our demographic is 🙂

    Who’s the best (you decide what ‘best’ means) player you have seen play in YOUR team?
    ========================

    For me the best I’ve seen was Kenny Dalglish. My reason is not only what he did for Celtic, but also what he went on to achieve. Let’s not forget the then European Champions broke the British record transfer fee for a player who had only ever played in Scotland. I think that’s a measure of how good he was.

    Second best is Henrik Larsson. He probably only loses out to Dalglish because Kenny was my boyhood hero. Larsson scored at the highest possible level in Europe and won the golden boot despite the handicap of having to score 1.5 goals to every 1 goal some other players scored from ‘bigger’ leagues. Barcelona signed him when he left Celtic then Man Utd later took him on loan from Swedish football. He scored goals in the Champions league for both clubs.


  58. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (316 comments)
    July 21, 2015 at 11:46 am

    Not a lot going on in the pre-season calm, so I thought some OT stuff might be a refreshing break.
    This will also gauge how narrow our demographic is 🙂

    Who’s the best (you decide what ‘best’ means) player you have seen play in YOUR team?

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    I think it would be more interesting to ask “who’s the best player you have seen playing for ANOTHER Scottish team?”


  59. grecian urn on July 21, 2015 at 11:56 am

    DP,
    Is this the place for mocking linguistic skills when English is their Secord ( or third or fourth) language. Before we know it, we will be up to our knees in rubbery chickens. ?
    ———-

    I did not actually consider that mocking. But no doubt it’s much worse — I had an inappropriately amusing thought, and not only that, an inaccurate titter! I believe it’s the Japanese, not the Chinese, who charmingly switch ‘r’ and ‘l’ in their pronunciation.

    I stand suitably reprimanded by the TD inappropriate humour police. It’s a fair cop.

    Anyway, I am led to believe there will be no English, it will be in Chinese, or a form of Chinese. I shall investigate LeTV further when I’m back on my perch in Pastryland (oh dear, I’ve done it again…)


  60. Any legal types out there who could advise on the extent of our liability with respect to libel – and how it might effect our choice of legal structure (limited liability, partnership whatever) – your input is gratefully welcomed.

    My instinct, in the absence of paid for legal guidance, is to buy an off the shelf limited liability company to safeguard the house 🙂


  61. I’m 60, so towards the lower end of the TSFM demographic 😀

    The best Celtic player that I saw play has to be, for me, Jimmy Johnstone, so no surprise there. I was always a big fan too of the Buzzbomb, Bobby Lennox, one of the hardest working footballers I’ve ever seen.

    For players I didn’t see in the flesh since I left Scotland in the 80s, then Henrik Larsson is close to the greatest ever Celtic player in my estimation. Absolutely peerless in his era.

    The best non-Celtic player of the 70s and 80s? Perhaps Martin Buchan – he went from captaining Aberdeen to Manchester United (not such a big leap in those days) and had such class and style on the ball.


  62. Best player I saw at Ayr United?

    Cutty Young, Johnny Doyle, Gerry Christie, Alex “Dixie” Ingram, Rikki Fleming, Eric Morris, Jim Fleeting, Stevie Nicol, George “Dandy” McLean.

    Alex Ingram.


  63. The best player I have seen has to be Jinky.
    Maybe I’m biased.
    However, a close second has to be the day I went to see how good this Larsson guy was. Never noticed because I spent the game smiling at how this guy Moravcik played the game.
    I love the fact that Henrik played beside Lubo and still doesn’t know if he’s right or left footed.


  64. Ten years later than the last “darkie” as the Killie call us….

    John Sludden, who could have been anything had he any speed

    And

    Henry Templeton (father of current player, David) who was unbelievably talented on the ball

    Appreciating though that Nicol wasn’t our biggest sale by mistake


  65. Bobby Murdoch is my all time favourite.

    However, there have been many before and since who deserve mention.
    Already we have had Johnstone, Lennox, Larsson and Lubo. All exceptional.

    Pre Lions, we had Evans, Collins, Fernie, Tully, John Higgins.

    “Best” is best confined to eras.

    One of the Blessings of being in the veteran bracket is the vast number of great players we have seen, from many teams.


  66. I’ve just read / realised that Warburton only has 18 months of management experience;
    all at the same club in League One & Championship level, ;

    Brentford manager from December 2013 to May 2015.

    And the fact that he is not a ‘Rangers man’, nor a well known ex-player makes his appointment even more of a surprise. [Davie Weir aside.]

    If we consider the ex-Cheeky Chappie, he absolutely had the best pedigree – as an ex-Rangers playing legned, and as assistant to ‘Walter’- to do well at Ibrox, yet he still struggled.

    Warburton’s distinct lack of playing and management experience is going to catch up with him as the season progresses, IMO.


  67. Apropos the TV rights to China thingy. Looks like the initial 10-year deal from Doncaster & Co was just poor. But the international exposure might give something.

    Financially secure TV deals don’t always give the desired outcome. Been reading about the recent restructure of the Danish Superliga. If you believe the tabloid sports journos at Ekstra Bladet (and they are good at what they do) Danish fitba is in danger of becoming the ‘flat beer of European football’. Balkan and Eastern European countries seen as having better youth development and posing a threat to continued Danish Euro success, well, participation, which is the new success.

    So in spite of a £26m/year TV deal until 2022 the top 24 Danish clubs have just voted for change. Seems hugely complicated but in essence top 12 become 14 from 2016; play H/A then break into top 6 and bottom 8, quite familiar. But then it gets very complicated with 2 x pools of 4 in the bottom 8 that include semis and a final for the right to meet the lowest of the top 6 (who have their own mini competition) for the final Euro place. Also play-offs for bottom 2 teams for direct relegation or an extra chance against nr 2 from Div below. Still looks like too many repetitive matches but the idea was to make every match meaningful.

    They used a Dutch company (Hypercube) to provide 20 potential new league setup scenarios! Twenty. The main worry is that the domestic game has become too complacent, due to … ample finance!

    So, perhaps not being relevant in a European or even global setting is worse than a good TV deal?

    Can’t see the new setup lasting. Reading comments from fans, many want 16-team top league with simple H/A and the league cup played initially in pools to create more fun games. Not unlike what you hear from Scots fans. Aside from the issue of giving the current Ibrox team a lift over the top tier turnstile, 16-team top with less repetition would be nice.

    So perhaps the Chinese exposure will lift the profile of Scottish football? Hopefully, some nice pre-match build-up about the clubs, their location and Scotland will achieve something?


  68. Best players I saw in the flesh would have to be between Gascogine and Laudrup in terms of ability. Laudrup was astonishing over a period of three years, while Gascoigne hardly had his troubles to seek while at Rangers (or now, sadly) but when he was on his game the amount of talent he had was ridiculous. I was at several games where he won them virtually single handedly, albeit both players under performed at the very highest levels for some reason

    However, for overall “best” player I saw I still give the award to Mr McCoist. He had an unrivalled knack for popping up in the right place at the right time, could score all manner of goals from flakey deflections to 30 yard screamers to diving headers to overhead kicks, and I never saw before or since any player who was able to conjure five yards of space in a crowded penalty area. Even after retiring when popping up in legends friendly games, when he was clearly not in the shape of a professional athlete any more, when he appeared he scored.


  69. Trisidium says:
    Moderator: (256 comments)
    July 21, 2015 at 3:20 pm
    Any legal types out there who could advise on the extent of our liability with respect to libel – and how it might effect our choice of legal structure (limited liability, partnership whatever),would be gratefully welcomed.

    My instinct, in the absence of paid for legal stuff, is to buy an off the shelf limited liability company to safeguard the house 🙂

    *****
    Tris

    Legal structure will not protect you from libel action. If you commit libel, you commit libel and will be personally liable for any bill arising. In other words you cannot hide behind a company structure.

    What you can do is take out insurance that will pay any such bills, however this is likely to be so astronomically high for a media such as TSFM that it will be cost-prohibitive (in any case, in my experience, insurance companies will somehow wriggle out of paying).

    In terms of legal structure you need to ask yourself if you want to be profit-making or non-profit-making in the sense that are profits going to be redistributed to shareholders or reinvested into the cause. If it’s the former, then you need a company limited by shares structure. If it’s the latter, you need a company limited by guarantee structure (ie no shareholders, only members who elect the board annually). If limited by guarantee, you may also be able to register as a charity (which would have added benefit that donations could be gift-aided generating an additional 28p in the £).

    I would avoid a partnership because then you really would have very little personal protection without paying ridiculous amounts in professional indemnity premiums.

    Happy to take convo off blog. PM me if need be.


  70. Why has Ryan Gosling received 12 thumbs down (so far) for merely reminiscing about his past Ibrox heroes? Surely we are all entitled to our memories?

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