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.
I know this is the scottish FOOTBALL monitor, but this is maybe relevant to the Diddy Clubs v TRFC press coverage discussions. Has the scottish press made any mention at all that the Braehead Clan have qualified for the (Ice Hockey) Champions League and play their first match 2 weeks tomorrow in Sweden?
From the Gough piece;
“…Someone will come and take him for three or four million. If he keeps playing like that then he’ll not be here in a year. That is the lure for a Tavernier…”
=======================================
Bravo. Nice spin.
– the guy TRFC signs for free [?]
– who until now, has been mainly loaned out to other clubs
– with TRFC being his TENTH club in 7 years…and he’s only 23 !
…will be worth 3 or 4 million in a year, according to Richard Gough ?
You would think that TRFC had made a multi-million pound signing… :slamb:
Re. the the Gough piece;
He could have gave some explination as to why the club from ibrox has not got any of the 3 targets Gough said they should go for.
Gough’s wish list was Nadir Ciftci,Scott Allan and Haris Vuckic.
He did have a full news spread to give the fans the kind of signings they were expecting,with the over investment but so far have not come close to any. now all he is doing is playing to the gallery
tayred says:
Member: (150 comments)
August 5, 2015 at 12:49 pm
“I can only imagine it has been subverted to take on a meaning not initially penned – please let me know if I am mistaken in that.”
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I’m not familiar with that particular ditty either Tayred. However I do suspect that many sectarian songs are not overtly sectarian but might merely be decorated with incidental ad-libs. I was thinking about ‘Its a long way to Tipperary’ and how this was adopted by the British Army during WW2 as a kind of anthem. It has no mention of conflict whatsoever, it was just a moral boosting song the soldiers liked to sing. It is not the song itself that is significant but the context in which it has become associated.
I’d imagine there are a number of sectarian songs that fall into this type of category. Ranger’s fans are fond of ‘Penny Arcade’ which may have some unfortunate allusions to a violent incident but whose words in themselves would carry no offence if stripped of any ad-libs. Similarly, even if the ‘Merry Plough Boy’ was a musical treatise on agriculture it might still occupy a place in the social psyche that went well beyond its simple rendering.
So I think the definition of a sectarian song is quite difficult unless it contains explicit lyrics.
The instance involving the Celtic supporter in Inverness sounds more like foul and abusive language giving rise to a breach in the peace. It could be legitimately argued that it was not sectarian and legally I doubt it could have been dealt with in such a manner. However we all know the intent is to highlight a schism that is manifested along ethnic and religious lines.
It is refreshing though not entirely surprising that you are immune to such controversy. However a squint at European history recently had me wondering whether some of this ‘romantic’ singing might not be a bit more prevalent than we appreciate. Scotland has had stable borders (though occasionally disputed) for two millenia, usefully stabilised by a fairly permanent coastline and a substantial piece of military engineering to the south. However such stability is not typical across the European continent.
Centuries of war in continental Europe have led to a relentless shifting in borders that will have left numerous ethnic groups in a place they might not completely recognise as home. So perhaps this West of Scotland phenomena might have echoes all across the continent that we are not aware of.
If this hypothesis held any water then there might be a whole legion of football supporters who turn up at football grounds and sing songs that stir up similar historic romance and look back nostalgically on conflicts far past. Such songs would certainly be sectarian but might be argued by the choristers as being a justifiable expression of their cultural identity and a rallying point around which the ‘war without bullets’ might be contested.
I’m not arguing for Irish rebel songs per se but expunging the damaging elements from such repertoire may not simply be a case of editing. Tolerance is about understanding and perhaps the championing of cultural identity is in some way a cry for cultural identity to be recognised
In the interests of fairness and the pursuit of truth, I made an enquiry about the ET reporting of the sentencing of the Grassmarket football rioters, which omitted to say which club the convicted were adherents of.
I have it on very good authority that what was reported was what came from the Crown Office, and that that detail had not been included in the Crown Office statement.
That exonerates the journalists and their editors of any charge that they withheld the information.
It raises the obvious question : why weren’t they curious enough even to ask, rather than simply print what they were given?
It raises the further question: why did the Crown Office decide not to include a reference to the club, whereas a Highland local newspaper happily, gleefully, names the club of another convicted supporter, convicted on probably more serious charges, allegedly aggravated by ‘sectarian’ implications?
For the Crown Office to attempt to hide from the wider general public that the Grassmarket felons were TRFC supporters is profoundly disturbing.
‘Hey,hey hey it’s magic’ was a great wee song a few years back, and the tune is running through my head as I write. 🙂
Three small bids. Paid in installments.
If Scott Allen has anything about him, he would recognise that this Rangers dont really want him or value him highly. If Alan Stubbs has anything about him he will tell Scott Allen exactly that.
Three small bids. Paid in installments.
Its almost as though they have a good root around the sofa’s, check through some desk drawers and then make another bid with whatever they find.
You cant take that seriously.
Big Pink. You’ve got mail. I was trying to mail the mods but they didn’t have the necessary attachment feature.
SFM
The auto e:mail notification of PM’s doesn’t appear to be operating consistently. I missed a couple of messages a few months ago since I don’t check the PM message box unless I get e:mail notification generally. However a few more recent messages have triggered my e:mail into action. Has some of the knitting come loose?
Castofthousands says:
Member: (279 comments)
August 5, 2015 at 10:53 pm
‘…. However a few more recent messages have triggered my e:mail into action. Has some of the knitting come loose?’
______
Was it triggered a wee while ago? I PMd you at about 10.00 pm or so this evening, with a ps to my earlier PM!
Easy on the trigger guys 🙂
Big Pink says:
Moderator: (335 comments)
August 5, 2015 at 9:15 am
………………….
The first recognised National anthem is the Dutch first performed in 1568…with GSTK/Q first performed in 1745….during these periods they were generally created for military reasons…however over the years they have increasingly crossed over into sporting and social occasions…with National anthems being created for such things as UNICEF…The European Union…to celebrate and give musical recognition to the protection and unity of people….
So I don’t believe we can universally dismiss all anthems…but I certainly agree that a number of National anthems tend to be misused as a weapon in times of high emotion.
I got round to listening to the Graham Spiers interview on Radio 4 last night. There was an opportunity for Spiers to go further but he has a life to live in relative peace so I can understand why he didn’t. Professor Tim Luckhurst made much of football clubs preferring to be able to release gushing PR stories which are simply repeated in the media without question. Spiers could have pointed out that 90% of Scottish journalists do exactly that regarding Rangers.
On a wider note I find it frustrating at what the media DON’T say regarding these issues. Expressing a genuine opinion and stating known facts is one thing, and in the case of Spiers and McLaughlin it appears that’s all they did. However, the media need to acknowledge the other side of the coin where deliberately placed negative stories from dubious sources are placed simply to cause problems for clubs or individuals. Freedom of speech comes with a responsibility as well.
Paulmac2 says:
Member: (171 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 1:57 am
…….So I don’t believe we can universally dismiss all anthems…but I certainly agree that a number of National anthems tend to be misused as a weapon in times of high emotion.
………………
They did have their uses though. GSTQ could empty a cinema faster than a dose of salts!
vansenvansen on August 5, 2015 at 10:11 pm
Three small bids. Paid in installments.
If Scott Allen has anything about him, he would recognise that this Rangers dont really want him or value him highly. If Alan Stubbs has anything about him he will tell Scott Allen exactly that.
Three small bids. Paid in installments.
Its almost as though they have a good root around the sofa’s, check through some desk drawers and then make another bid with whatever they find.
You cant take that seriously.
————
The John James chap (@sitonfence) posted quite an intriguing tweet the other day about the source of funding for the Allan bids. At times there’s a bit of the naughty Charlotte F about Mr James.
Good Morning.
Very pleased to see Celtic get through last night and guarantee a lot more European football this season. Although a Champions League Group Stage campaign would be particularly nice!
It is great to see Ronny’s team make it to the Playoff Round without any of the on-pitch grief and off-pitch administrative craziness that we saw last season.
Meanwhile, I see the papers are continuing the epic Warburton/King regime love-in (which I continue to write about ‘elsewhere’). The Evening Times is by far the worst offender. Their approach seems to be to
* identify 5 random things about Sevco.
* get the manager, player or ex-player to say they are “going really well”; and
* Bang! There are 5 guff-laden articles ready to print.
The only casualties are journalism and the insulted intelligence of readers!
Best of luck to Aberdeen tonight!
Have a good day!
TheClumpany says:
Member: (127 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 9:19 am
….. The Evening Times is by far the worst offender.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Is that rag still getting printed?
It hasn`t produced a decent unbiased football journalist in 50 yrs
I was going to post a cynical thought I had last week when we were discussing the Scott Allan debacle, however, regrettably I refrained.
My gob was well and truly smacked earlier however when on the BBC Scottish Gossip I read that Rotherham were considering a bid for Allan and ‘Wigan’ were monitoring the situation.
My cynical thought. Allan would be sold for a reasonable fee (or Hibs let go figure) to a club down south with known ‘connections’ – Wigan / Brentford – someone like that and then mysteriously make his way back north via a loan move in 6 months time.
I reckon Hibs will be swayed with a ‘low to reasonable’ offer from down south in an effort to prevent a pre contract move being signed in Jan.
Allan, however might sit tight.
@Wildwood maybe Scott Allan will be the first player to be transferred where a further payment is due if he doesn’t make x appearances for his new club as opposed to a trigger when he has made x appearances. Hibs certainly will include a sell on clause should he head down south again.
I see the Record has decided that the fact that the TRFC’s new manager knows little about forthcoming opposition is bigger news than Aberdeen’s crucial qualifying tie tonight. As regards Mr Warburton, this lack of study is, of course, portrayed in a good light with the subtext that he is being rightfully dismissive – surely the league is won already without a ball being kicked? The two Dubyas would have been equally lauded for their painstaking and meticulous approach should they have mentioned that they, heaven forbid, have had a look at the opposition.
Good luck to Aberdeen tonight, it is vital that Scotland’s two remaining representatives do their bit to keep the co-efficient up before the ‘return’ of TRFC to their rightful place amongst Europe’s elite.
“Scottish football finances in order
All of Scotland’s top flight teams have their finances in order, according to the latest football survey by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP.
The firm’s annual survey of football finance directors found that all of the Scottish Premiership teams involved were not raising money by selling off future earnings such as advances on season tickets, media income or player transfer receivables.
However BDO says profitability is still “difficult to attain” in Scotland, with only one club stating they would have made a profit after player trading and depreciation.
Overall the report found a mixed picture across the sport, with clubs reasonably evenly divided between those who have seen reduced takings from match tickets, catering, season tickets and sponsorship, and those who have seen all of their income streams improving.
Generally, the firm reports that clubs are optimistic about the forthcoming season, with the majority believing revenue will increase over 2015/16
Charles Barnett, professional sports group partner at BDO, said: “It is clear that the financial lessons of the last decade which saw several Scottish football clubs go into administration have been learnt. There is a much greater understanding and will to ensure financially security in the years to come. Clubs know they cannot borrow now to fund future success and have responded accordingly. They are also much more aware of the need to develop new sources of income where possible.
“We can see that clubs now fully understand the need to be financially responsible and have responded to the current economic climate by spending more prudently and ensuring they are not accumulating large debts off the pitch for the sake of short term success on the pitch. Whilst many fans may be annoyed or upset to find clubs limiting their spending on players and reducing their transfer budgets it is a harsh reality that clubs have had to learn the hard way. Cash can’t be spent on Scottish football that Scottish football doesn’t have. There is little point in looking south of the Border at the media riches being dispensed.
“However, it is worth revisiting the issue of the disproportionately low fee that Scottish football gets for its TV rights. Simple arithmetic indicates that if Sky and BT are happy to pay £1.712billion a year for English football the comparable figure for Scotland should be £142million – Scotland has 8.3% of the population of the UK.
“To be getting just over one tenth of that at £15million a year needs to be reviewed. Equally the BBC gives just £1million a year to Scotland’s football clubs against £66million for its Match of the Day highlights. These figures are only exacerbating the gap between English and Scottish football and should be examined in more detail by the appropriate authorities.
“However, as long as Scottish football doesn’t have that media funded financial safety net it must be creative in maximising existing income whilst generating new income streams. I think it may be frustrating in the short term for fans but in the long term Scottish football will be creating a viable and vital game which will be sustainable in the long term.””
http://www.aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=6995:scottish-football-finances-in-order
BDO Annual Survey of Football Finance Directors 2015 :
http://www.bdo.co.uk/news/the-annual-survey-of-football-finance-directors
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Prohibby says:
August 6, 2015 at 7:05 am
=============================
Perhaps we could use “A man’s a man for a’ that” – or a Scots version of Ode to Joy?
Better than just pure jingoism which a lot of anthems are.
redlichtie says:
Member: (274 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 12:02 pm
‘“Scottish football finances in order
………Charles Barnett, professional sports group partner at BDO, said: “It is clear that the financial lessons of the last decade which saw several Scottish football clubs go into administration have been learnt..”‘
__________________
I wonder why Mr Barnett did not mention that one big club not only went into Administration but failed to come out of it and died the ignominious death of Liquidation?
Isn’t it BDO who are the Liquidators of the overspending and cheating club which died?
coineanachantaighe on August 6, 2015 at 12:28 pm
Prohibby says:
August 6, 2015 at 7:05 am
=============================
Perhaps we could use “A man’s a man for a’ that” – or a Scots version of Ode to Joy?
Better than just pure jingoism which a lot of anthems are.
————
Yes! “A man’s a man for a’ that” is my favourite for any anthem thingy. Even opposing fans could join in. You could also imagine the verses sung by a soloist and the crowd joining in on the refrain.
jw hardin says:
Member: (20 comments)
August 5, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Radio Show worth a listen. Of course Speirs had to skew one fact:
“If it wasn’t for MSM Craig White would never’ve been rumbled”…struth!
______________________________________________________
Craig Whyte was never rumbled. He withheld payment of VAT and NI – with the MSM saying nothing other than the usual fawning crap afforded the man with keys to the Big Hoose whoever that happens to be at any given time – taking the club into administration and then liquidation and death. The MSM only piped up when the writing was already on the wall and any truthful comment could no longer upset the Bears. In contrast, if the MSM had even hinted or alluded to any of the information that was freely available to internet bampots within 48 hours of Keith’s Off the Radar piece, perhaps he would never have been in the position to do the club any further harm (although it would seem he was merely the undertaker with David Murray the executioner).
Every now and again Spiers will throw out a relatively lamb free article – usually with some sop to the Bears in a feeble attempt to keep onside – and someone will “say he’s one of the better journos” (damned by faint praise doesn’t do it justice), “is this him breaking free of the lamb diet?” – no he is emphatically not breaking free of the lamb diet, this has been his MO for the past 15 years as long as I can remember. He is akin (hypothetically of course) to an abusive husband who brings his wife flowers and all sorts of heartfelt promises to change his behaviour but we all know it will not be long until he reverts to type.
I see the revenge is coming for daring to celebrate winning the playoffs. ‘ Well charged by SPL. Pathetic.
I’ll gladly chip in to pay that fine.
A bunch of young guys who followed their team positively through a terrible season. Had heard nothing in the media other than their opponents would win. Their opponents were heading back to the top flight. Expressing huge relief and a wee bit GIRUY?
I can live with that. Hardly Manchester 2008 was it?
My memory may not be what it used to be, but I am sure I recall the then chairman of Rangers, Mr Alistair Johnston submitting a fairly robust dossier opposing the acceptance of Craig Whyte, as the new owner. I am sure he instructed due diligence to be carried out, and presented the findings to Mr Murray.
Needless to say, the contents of his dossier were at odds with what the MSM wanted to hear.
There were reports released today stating that Scottish football has never been in ruder health, financially, for a long time.
Last night, we saw Celtic edge closer towards Champions League qualification and if Aberdeen can replicate that tonight and reach the last qualifying round of the Europa League, there will be much to feel happy about.
wildwood says:
Member: (61 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 2:57 pm
A bunch of young guys who followed their team positively through a terrible season. Had heard nothing in the media other than their opponents would win. Their opponents were heading back to the top flight. Expressing huge relief and a wee bit GIRUY?
I can live with that. Hardly Manchester 2008 was it?
==================
Can someone please remind me what the SFA’s response was to the truly shameful events in Manchester? (Which I was unfortunate enough to witness, at least in part, since I was working in central Manchester that day) None of our business, by any chance?
But don’t worry, Motherwell will be wrung out, then hung out to dry.
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/livingston/1326071-gordon-mcdougall-wins-court-order-to-arrest-13000-from-livingston-fc/
Has Ashley’s £5,000,000 Loan been paid back?
Has the £250,000 fine from the SFA, been paid yet?
(If not, why not)
Re the BDO report there are some interesting findings but the caveat to be borne in mind when reading it is that only four Scottish PL clubs responded.
Haven’t got to the ‘And how wonderful would things be if TRFC were to join the top league?” question yet.
Scottish Football needs the Dons to do the business tonight.
Just watched Jim White fawning over Graeme Souness & asking how important it is for Rangers to get ” back ” to the Premiership. When the only question we want someone to ask him is why did you get an EBT more than 10 years after you left Ibrox. Give you the boak !!
Great to read that Aberdeen apparently has a 20K sell-out for tonight.
And it would be great to see them in the Europa League proper !
…for the good of Scottish football… 🙄
dannyfergus says:
Member: (5 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 4:59 pm
————————————————
Could not agree more. Have any of our ‘brave’ journalists ever asked him? They’re not shy in getting stuck into a player who shirks a tackle, but to a man they shirk the biggest stories ever to hit sport in our country.
There are so many levels to the cheating it boggles the mind.
With Daily Record & Sunday Mail circulation running at a quarter of where it was in the 90’s I don’t think we’ll be reading their nonsense for too much longer. I’ll give it 5 years tops. The Scotsman and Herald even less.
Kid Gloves says:
Member: (5 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 5:27 pm
dannyfergus says:
Member: (5 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 4:59 pm
————————————————
Could not agree more. Have any of our ‘brave’ journalists ever asked him? They’re not shy in getting stuck into a player who shirks a tackle, but to a man they shirk the biggest stories ever to hit sport in our country.
There are so many levels to the cheating it boggles the mind.
With Daily Record & Sunday Mail circulation running at a quarter of where it was in the 90’s I don’t think we’ll be reading their nonsense for too much longer. I’ll give it 5 years tops. The Scotsman and Herald even less.
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Absolutely, Kid. And that great investigative journal The Sunday Times now has Souness as one of their main football writers!
As circulation declines and the plug is eventually pulled on the printed media they will fall back on just being online newspapers.
I don’t see that being a recipe for anything else but further lamb and mince of the highest order. The opportunity is there for new media to replace this discredited bunch of churnalists.
I await the launch of The Internet Bampot Post with much anticipation! Or maybe it’s to be called The Scottish Monitor…..
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
All this jingostic National Anthem stuff sent me off to listen to the alternative Scottish National Anthem, ‘Hermless’….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F44WfZoIN4
And here’s Loudon Wainwright III doing a great version…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPnG6LxLQRQ
Scotland needs more folk like Michael Marra. Sadly missed.
The RSL has some interesting comments today; some misguided, some plain wrong & some where the penny is definitely starting to drop.
redlichtie says:
Member: (277 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 5:58 pm
All this jingostic National Anthem stuff sent me off to listen to the alternative Scottish National Anthem, ‘Hermless’….
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Thanks for that Redlichtie, fair made my night. Great tribute from LW
but still prefer MM using the dialect though- brilliant!
Does anyone know if the Aberdeen game is being screened at all? Cheers.
Does anyone know if the Aberdeen game is being screened at all? Cheers.
yes its on the usual streams
redlichtie on August 6, 2015 at 5:58 pm
All this jingostic National Anthem stuff sent me off to listen to the alternative Scottish National Anthem, ‘Hermless’….
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Bravo Red. Don’t think the discussion has been very jingo-ballistic, though, even some anthems are 😉
Our response to the SPL charge:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/605762643174006784/EHJLobTd_400x400.jpg
Didn’t want too just frustrated.
Keyes Ryan.
Aberdeen game is on RedTV again (same as last one) so I’d guess there will be the usual hooky streams if anyone wants them.
So far, Dons have lots of possession and territory but no goals and although Karirat are not playing great we know they have 2 or 3 very dangerous players.
Here’s a story for the state aid brigade to get stuck into, albeit from south of the border.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33780720
1-1
Thats it all over for Aberdeen. Kairat are a decent team with a huge budget compared to the Reds but we really should have knocked them out on the possession and territory just didn’t do enough with it.
Coupled with the worst time wasting i have ever seen from Kairat – a very frustrating night.
Not the result they will have hoped for but I think a very good account by the Dons over the course of the 6 matches in europe this season.
was charles young at pittodrie tonight to advise all that warburton would have got the dons through……. going to be hilarious tomorrow night as ‘ the charles’literally doesnt know whether to go for a number 2 top or bottom…. was he a st mirren nut before a rangers and the rangers one or is it the other way round ?…….
Very long time lurker ,,,RTC days,,, first time poster ,,, may I just say it’s a joy to see Mic Marra on this most esteemed blog, (again) ,,, sorry the Dons are oot,, if I big up I’ll post again about,,,,,, well you know A thing,,,,
Matty Roth says:
Member: (225 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 9:49 pm
1-1
Thats it all over for Aberdeen. Kairat are a decent team with a huge budget compared to the Reds but we really should have knocked them out on the possession and territory just didn’t do enough with it.
Coupled with the worst time wasting i have ever seen from Kairat – a very frustrating night.
Not the result they will have hoped for but I think a very good account by the Dons over the course of the 6 matches in europe this season.
==========================================================
A lot of possession but not a lot of end product. Kairat Almaty managed to get more shots on target with nearly 50% less possession.
It does show, as did last night’s Celtic match, that it very difficult to break down a side determined to defend a slender advantage in European competition.
Hopefully, Aberdeen’s players will get over the disappointment quickly as they still have that domestic treble to compete for.
I see that Inverness’s conquerors Astra Giurgiu managed to put out West Ham tonight, although to be fair the Hammers treated the tie as more Petrofac Training Cup than European Cup and that was reflected in their team selection.
More on Rangers putting pressure on the BBC and SFA:
http://goo.gl/ch730u
I lived ,and was part-schooled, in Aberdeen as a youngster. I am fond of the city, and have many good memories of my time there in the middle 1950s.So, while not being a card-carrying Aberdeen FC fan, I have rather more than a wee affection for them.
I am so, so disappointed at tonight’s result.
Of course, not having understood a word of the recent discussion of legal/illegal ‘streaming’, ‘boxes’, KODI,etc etc, I didn’t see the game but was wholly dependent on BBC Radio Scotland.
And, do you know, on the basis of what I heard, I think I can agree with Derek McInnes that there was no shame in being beaten by a very good side.
And his comment set me reflecting on the way many of us fans, myself included, sort of automatically dismiss teams of which we know next to nothing.
Several humblings have made us a little more wary about what we say out loud, but inwardly we’re still, as it were, saying ‘ Azerbaijan LokoMotiv? Kazakhstan Steel Factory No.1? Dinamo Pumpherston? Who they?’, in pretty much the same way as we speak, in international terms, of Gibraltar, or the Faroes,and so on.
To use a word frequently used on this blog, I think a lot of us have a hubristic level of expectation about just where our football standards lie relative to a whole lot of European/Asian club teams.
Our club managers, including McInnes, Wright, Deila, know better, of course, and do their homework as best they can, (Mr Warburton seems to be an exception, unique even, in his lack of interest in the teams his team have to play: almost as if he knew the championship was his as a matter of course, win, lose, or draw!)
And by all accounts, according to the radio commentary of the matches, McInnes got his strategy and tactics right in both games.They were both evenly balanced games, tightly fought, the marginally better team just managing to win.
What I await is some analysis of just in what particular way they were marginally better.
Those who saw the game might have a completely different perspective and understanding, of course. ❓
coineanachantaighe says:
August 6, 2015 at 10:58 pm
More on Rangers putting pressure on the BBC and SFA:
http://goo.gl/ch730u
================
What a sad state of affairs.
The knots that these people must tie themselves in in order to obtain that mindset would be too much even for Harry Houdini to escape from. 🙄
coineanachantaighe
August 6, 2015 at 10:58 pm
Posts link to Herald article which includes:
“RST is expected to meet with Scottish football officials to discuss how to ‘ensure that Rangers fans are treated in the same manner as other supporters in future games.'”
They obviously feel left out. It’s very fair that they want the OBFTC and other legislation applied to newclub fans equally.
Does this mean that we can expect no more police statements on the lines of ” We couldn’t stop them breaking the law, there were too many of them”?
Is this the imprimatur, excuse the expression, for police to treat all football fans equally? Should the police need such permission?
The rule of law, what a nice thought. Equality of treatment before the law, could it happen? Like RST, I hope so.
Good Morning!
Front page of the Record. Intriguing….
dannyfergus says:
August 6, 2015 at 4:59 pm
‘… When the only question we want someone to ask him is why did you get an EBT more than 10 years after you left Ibrox. ‘
__________
Sadly, HMRC’s remit does not go beyond ensuring that taxable earnings, emoluments,etc are declared and properly assessed for tax.
It is a matter of public record that our Sounness got a good few bob from his former employer.
Hector knows this.
Hector will have noted whether Souness declared that payment, and whether he argued that it was a non-taxable loan.
Hector will have treated it as earnings, emoluments , financial reward from a former employer in respect of some work done for that former employer.
In Hector’s understanding of the law,he will have treated the EBT payment as taxable income.
And our Graeme may have happily paid the tax due.
And Hector would take the money, and end of story.
Only very, very wicked people indeed would go on to ask what the wee job done for a former employer actually was.
Dear me, one could not begin to imagine the horrible, unworthy thoughts and speculations that the common herd might have!
Fantastic notions.
I dismiss them all, categorically.
And I move on swiftly to talk about players moving from one club to another, and the price that is negotiated between the two clubs, and the advice the purchasing club relies on as to the value of the player and the desirability of buying that player.
It’s a fascinating topic.
But not one that Hector is interested in.
I never followed the link to read it but was the crime not sectarian singing ? Which is either illegal or it’s not and a court of law can decide ?
@John Clark
Supporters of diddy teams have to withstand a torrent of pish from smsm ,aided and abetted by SFA,SPFL, and the employees and owners of the big clubs who, with all due respect, tell us that we’re not good enough to compete and bring little to the table commercially . Rangers(IL) and Celtic were too big for our leagues not that long ago because they couldn’t generate the dough to compete with the top European teams. So what’s changed that they’re still here ? They bottled it, not us . Scared to leave in case they could find no new home . All our European eggs are in one basket again because ,in my opinion , the rest of the football world is progressing and we’re still stuck in the past . At the end of the day though, it’s only a game .
Edit Sorry if that’s construed as playing the man, John . Nothing personal, just angst .
TheClumpany says:
August 7, 2015 at 12:21 am
‘…Front page of the Record. Intriguing…. ‘
______
Aw, c’mon,TheClumpany!
We know the DR as a paper of lies, and we know Keef as a ..
Nothing coming from either of those sources could possibly be ‘intriguing’ except maybe the question of how deep would be the depths they would go to for any kind of story.
paddy malarkey says:
Member: (83 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 12:52 am
‘… Sorry if that’s construed as playing the man, John . Nothing personal, just angst ‘
_____
I feel your angst, paddymalarkey,but at this time of night I’m not quite making the connection between what I was saying and what you are saying.
I’ll need to come back to it refreshed after a night’s sleep.
And, of course, on this blog, there is no such thing as ‘playing the man’: opinions honestly and reasonably courteously expressed, however strongly expressed, are the very lifeblood of discussion and debate.
This lady here.
https://fr.linkedin.com/pub/sevim-cesim/67/164/782
TheClumpany says:
August 7, 2015 at 12:21 am
‘…Front page of the Record. Intriguing…
If you Google Sevim Cesin Rangers along with Linked in saying she was at Ibrox for four months doing the pre & post IPOrelated tasks you also get the following:-
Generic Vanguard @VanspivBears 27 Nov 2013
Sevim Cesim is the whistleblower. #BlowMyWhistleBitch #Stockbridge #SeriousExtraMaritalAffairsOffice
Wholly trashy speculation but what chance the guy hiding behind his jacket is the ex Ibrox FD. The hair line and hairstyle fit the bill.
Does he still have his Dumbarton Mansion? Was he not seen at Mar Hall when Llambais was there at the end of the year? What is the McCoist connection?
All great fun 🙂
Corrupt official says:
Member: (116 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 1:33 am
‘This lady here.
https://fr.linkedin.com/pub/sevim-cesim/67/164/782‘
________
Well, she at least got the new club’s name half right in her linkedline resume:
“Corporate Executive
The Rangers Football Club plc
October 2012 – January 2013 (4 months)Glasgow, United Kingdom”
What are we to make of that swarm of corporate wannabee eurotypes who self-inflate and ponce around-four months here, two months there, trying to name-drop ( and Miss Cesim must wish she had not mentioned her ‘connection’ with TRFC or RIFC plc, not that she seems to have known the feckin difference!)
MoreCelticParanoia says:
Member: (108 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 1:49 pm
jw hardin says:
Member: (20 comments)
August 5, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Radio Show worth a listen. Of course Speirs had to skew one fact:
“If it wasn’t for MSM Craig White would never’ve been rumbled”…struth!
______________________________________________________
Craig Whyte was never rumbled. He withheld payment of VAT and NI – with the MSM saying nothing other than the usual fawning crap afforded the man with keys to the Big Hoose whoever that happens to be at any given time – taking the club into administration and then liquidation and death. The MSM only piped up when the writing was already on the wall and any truthful comment could no longer upset the Bears. In contrast, if the MSM had even hinted or alluded to any of the information that was freely available to internet bampots within 48 hours of Keith’s Off the Radar piece, perhaps he would never have been in the position to do the club any further harm (although it would seem he was merely the undertaker with David Murray the executioner).
===========================
I never paid much attention to the SFA Judicial Review (JR) of April 2012 into Craig Whyte and RFC on the charge of bringing the game into disrepute. However in checking today for the fines handed out,
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?newsCategoryID=1&newsID=9718&page=2566
I was reminded that there was no mention at all of Craig Whyte’s behaviour under SFA Rule 66, of the wee tax case as it’s pretty clear that the £2.8M bill, for which Sherriff Officers called to collect in the previous August 2011, was by April 2012 when The JR Determination was published, a well-known matter of public fact of the existence of an unpaid liability to HMRC and already a pretty questionable event of possible disrepute from 8th March 2012 when the JR was being established.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2112256/Craig-Whyte-fit-proper-person-run-Rangers–SFA.html
Although the JR did look at the non-payment of tax on PAYE and VAT, which happened from September 2011 onwards, given that Craig Whyte had undertaken to pay the wee tax bill as part of his takeover agreement in June 2011 for the liability conceded in March 2011 by RFC,I thought the matter would have at least been looked into and either been part of the Review or reasons given why it was not. There was no question of the wee tax case coming under the same disputed category as the Big Tax case which was mentioned more than once in the JR.
The review in full is on
https://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/the-sfa-judicial-panel-verdict-on-rangers-full-text/
and para 44 states:
“ 44. That shortly after the acquisition, on 3 June 2011 Mr Craig Whyte as Chairman of The Rangers FC Group Limited, in terms of Takeover Panel requirements, issued a letter to shareholders in which he set out a number of intentions which would apply for the period of the next twelve months. These included undertakings to waive Rangers FC debt in the event there was not an insolvency event as a result of “the Big Tax Case”, provide or procure immediate working capital of £5,000,000, and provide immediate player acquisition funds of £5,000,000, with a promise of providing or procuring four more injections of £5,000,000 over each of the succeeding years “
No mention of Craig Whyte’s other undertaking on 3 June to meet the wee tax bill – see Part III of document at
https://scotslawthoughts.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/shareholders-circular.pdf
(e) The Rangers FC Group is to contribute to the Club the amount required to meet a liability owed by the Club to HM Revenue & Customs in relation to a discounted option scheme tax;
The JPR Review goes on to say
“It should be noted that the Judicial Panel Protocol Paragraph 11.5.4.11 permits multiple disciplinary charges being brought in respect of a single act or omission.
The six elements alleged were
1 failing to procure the disclosure of his disqualification to the Scottish FA by Mr Craig Whyte.
2 failing to comply with the rules of the PLUS Stock Exchange rules by failing to disclose the disqualification of Mr Craig Whyte.
3 failing to lodge annual accounts by 31 December 2011 in terms of s447 of the Companies Act 2006.
4 failing to hold an annual general meeting by 1 January 2012 interms of s336 of the Companies Act 2012.
5 non payment of PAYE income tax, National Insurance Contributions and Value Added Tax to HMRC.
6 failing to pay due sums to Dunfermline Athletic Football Club by 21 February 2012 in respect of a Scottish Premier League match played on 11 February 2012 pursuant to Rule C.14.5 of the Rules of the Scottish Premier League.
The JR considered the evidence in relation to non-payment of the taxes to HMRC by Rangers FC as set out in the complaint. Rangers FC accepted that the obligation fell on Rangers FC to make payment and it had failed to do so. It was an absolute offence to fail to make payment therefore the circumstances in which that failure occurred would have no bearing on liability but might have a bearing on any sanction. In any event the evidence was clear to the JRl that Mr Craig Whyte at the relevant time was the “directing mind and will” of Rangers FC and that the principle explained in Tesco brought home liability to Rangers FC. Upon the evidence which it found proved, the Tribunal was satisfied that on the balance of probabilities this element of the charge was proven. “
Of course not handing over PAYE collected or VAT due is an obvious serious tax crime but not meeting a £2.8M liability that Craig Whyte had said he would accept in June 2011 is at the very least surely worthy of a mention as to why it was excluded from the Review.
I wrote and asked the QC representing the SFA on the JR if he knew why the wee tax case got no mention. However as expected confidentiality stopped any detail being provided although it was confirmed that the charges laid down for the JR, which they had to stick to, were set out by the SFA Compliance Officer (who was Vincent Lunny at that time. )
One would imagine that the then SFA President Campbell Ogilvie could have then assisted the Compliance Officer given he had personal knowledge of the wee tax case ebts having instigated them in 1999. One also wonders why when admitting liability for the PAYE/VAT none of the RFC staff – Mr John McClelland , former Non-Executive Director, Rangers FC, Mr Andrew Dickson, Head of Football Administration, Rangers FC, Mr Ken Olverman, Financial Controller, Rangers FC and Mr Martin Bain questioned, volunteered that they would like this other tax bit of tax not paid taken into consideration by the JPR?
Coincidentally in the same March/April 2012 period Harper Macleod were asking RFC for ALL ebt related documentation from 1998 some of which we now know from enquiries by TSFM to Harper Macleod was not supplied to them.
If I were the wee tax case I’d be thinking someone was determined to air brush me from history
Aberdeen were unlucky to go out, but as a few Don’s fans have said they had more possession and territory but didn’t do enough with it! Wish it wasn’t so but can now focus on challenging Celtic for the league!
After listening to a couple of podcasts on the bbc, the craig Houston and Graham speirs ones, I was trying to think of a time when any radio show had someone on to challenge the survival myth? Can anyone point me in the direction of an instance when someone with the facts, as laid bare on this site, has been given a platform to discuss this?
I would love to see/hear a time when any of the trfc/rifc spokespersons/mouthpiece’s were up against someone who actually had the facts and balls to stop their nonsense and also educate the general public at large. Being down here in Aus I may be a little spoiled as the sports coverage down here is first class IMO.
About 18-24 mths ago a major AFL team, Essendon, were caught up in a drugs scandal and there has been huge amounts of press coverage regarding this, some supporting the club some being quite assumptive of their guilt, however, the point i wanted to make is, at the height of the press frenzy there was a special on TV with people representing all aspects of the case ( including the father of the captain ) who had a frank, open, honest debate about what had happened so fat, the likely outcomes and how they’d got this stage in the first place. It made me think, would that be of value in the rfc case? Of course it would! Would it be a crowd puller for the station showing it? Of course it would! Will it ever happen? hahahahahahaha, hahahahaha
I love reading this site and the informed opinions and facts most of the guys produce but certainly feel this needs to be spread further and shouted louder and if the next phase of SFM is what it takes to get there, then the sooner the better 😀
The DR seem to think Sevim Cesim is a key whistleblower. If so, why plaster her name and photo so publicly? Odd too, with McCoist in that photo, as mentioned. The thick plottens.
Johnbud78 says:
Member: (10 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 3:00 am
=================================
I can never be sure what the MSM truly want from our clubs in Europe right now. There can be no doubt there are many who genuinely want all Scottish Clubs to do as well as they possibly can. There are others I’m not so sure about though. The spitefulness they feel from Rangers self imploding still drives many in my view to a view of not exactly wanting Scottish clubs to lose, but if they do lose they can then point out how crap the Scottish game is. Ergo, they can then point out how much better it would be with Rangers in the top flight. A lot of it is complete nonsense, but it is the way many of them think.
How much better would it be if they could just accept what happened to
Rangers is not the fault of anyone except Rangers themselves? When people say the fans are not to blame they should watch the video on Youtube of Craig Whyte being applauded in the front door. They should watch the video on Youtube as Charles Green has them eating out his big hands as they queue for season tickets. They should observe the relish with which they accepted a convicted criminal tax evader taking over their club, and their subsequent failure to question him over his many broken promises. In my view, the Rangers fans are as much to blame as anyone now.
Here’s a stat the SMSM won’t report;
AFC, in the last two years, have done more for Scotland’s coefficient than the mighty old Rangers achieved in the final two years of their existence.
The SMSM may ‘glibly’ think things were better in the past but that simply isn’t true.
Good luck to Celtic in Europe. Once again Aberdeen have a good team this season and here’s hoping we make it a real contest for the title.
castaway says:
Member: (97 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 12:04 am
coineanachantaighe
August 6, 2015 at 10:58 pm
Posts link to Herald article which includes:
“RST is expected to meet with Scottish football officials to discuss how to ‘ensure that Rangers fans are treated in the same manner as other supporters in future games.’”
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
If only they were
There is only PR, the media died sometime ago? Reading clumps and phil makes me laugh and it’s all good, informative and on the mark, but really is quite scary that editors, journalists etc are all on the same page?? I just don’t understand how they’re all so deluded??
John Clark says:
Member: (1057 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 11:21 pm
To use a word frequently used on this blog, I think a lot of us have a hubristic level of expectation about just where our football standards lie relative to a whole lot of European/Asian club teams.
_________________________________________________
Be that as it may, I don’t think it was unreasonable to expect Aberdeen to overcome Kairat Almaty, who had the lowest coefficient of all the teams left in European competition. They could not have had a kinder draw. According to their seeding, however, they should have been eliminated in the previous round, so if anything, Aberdeen have actually overachieved this season.
ianagain says:
Member: (646 comments)
August 6, 2015 at 8:59 pm
___________________________________________________________________
Perhaps a Motherwell website is a better place for that type of frustration? I’ve heard that the fans invading the pitch at the end of the season game has become a bit of a tradition. That’s fine. Whatever their intention it was highly confrontational when some of them headed straight for the Rangers end. The swift actions of the stewards, police and the non-reaction of the Rangers fans meant it passed incident free. Thankfully.
The behaviour of a section of the Rangers support gets rightly criticized and we should not excuse the actions of those Motherwell fans just because they were playing Rangers. Hundreds of fans making their way towards the away support at the end of an important match? They were not going there for handshakes and commiserations. That type of behaviour can’t be acceptable from any set of fans, surely?
So Ally McCoist is photographed at Glasgow Airport sending off former ‘company secretary’ Sevim Cesim, apparently after she has been quizzed by the police.
Unfortunately this whole saga has left me with a very cynical state of mind. A number of questions thus spring to that mind….
Was this a chance encounter with a photographer – a lucky break for someone?
Or was there a tip-off that McCoist would be at the airport with Cesim?
If so, who would benefit from exposing this send-off?
Why was McCoist doing this anyway? Obviously he is a high profile guy who would be spotted at the airport. Everyone has a camera in their pocket nowadays. Could McCoist himself have alerted the photographer? If so, why?
What is his relationship with Cesim?
The DR seems to know that Cesim has been a whistleblower. Did I miss that big exposé?
I understand that this issue is now sub judice but if only we had a media willing to stand up and ask some searching questions at an earlier – or any – point and report even some of what has apparently been going on we would have a much healthier and better informed debate. The failure to do this has left a large section of TRFC fanbase deluded and dangerously ill-informed as to the reality of their situation.
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
redlichtie says:
Member: (278 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 11:52 am
‘ The DR seems to know that Cesim has been a whistleblower. Did I miss that big exposé?’
________
We must all have done!Or does the DR not know the difference between a ‘stool pigeon’ and a ‘whistleblower’?
It’s odds on, in my view, that Cesim did not approach the polis and start something, but was merely interviewed as having been associated with CG’s business affairs.
Comforting to know that things are bubbling along nicely out of sight.
‘They added: “Also, what steps will be taken to ensure that journalists seeking to create negative stories about Rangers in the future are not given assistance in doing so by representatives of the SPFL.”‘
You have to marvel at the mentality shown here. A journalist accurately reports the arrest of seven supporters for varying crimes, and is accused of “seeking to create negative stories”! If this were the supporters association of my club, I’d want to see them asking the idiots purporting to support the club to stop singing sectarian songs, setting off smoke bombs and damaging the stadiums they visit. The only people creating negative stories here are the ones arrested – the RST should be distancing themselves from their actions, not attacking the guy bringing it to the public’s attention.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/group-vying-control-rangers-claim-2856892
I believe that this story from November 2013 relates to today’s “whistleblower” scoop by our very own Sports Journalist of the Year, Mr Keith “Radar” Jackson.
castaway says:
Member: (97 comments)
August 7, 2015 at 12:04 am
coineanachantaighe
August 6, 2015 at 10:58 pm
Posts link to Herald article which includes:
“RST is expected to meet with Scottish football officials to discuss how to ‘ensure that Rangers fans are treated in the same manner as other supporters in future games.’”
_________________________________________
Is this not what fans of all other teams have been waiting for too ?!!!
redlichtie says:
August 7, 2015 at 11:52 am
So Ally McCoist is photographed at Glasgow Airport sending off former ‘company secretary’ Sevim Cesim, apparently after she has been quizzed by the police.
Unfortunately this whole saga has left me with a very cynical state of mind. A number of questions thus spring to that mind….
Was this a chance encounter with a photographer – a lucky break for someone?
Or was there a tip-off that McCoist would be at the airport with Cesim?
If so, who would benefit from exposing this send-off?
————————————————
I don’t think you are being cynical, healthy scepticism is more about right. It smacks of a PR exercise with all the subtlety of a mallet (McCoist being in attendance in the middle of an airport! He could have given Ms. Cesim a lift there and dropped her off at the door if he was just being courteous). It’s indecipherable for the moment of course, but presumably suits someone’s longer term agenda. And the photos do seem better quality than a hastily snatched iphone job by a passing Ibroxian back from his holdidays who also happened to know the significance of Ms. Cesim. A very curious news story indeed.