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. And also let’s make sure representative groups of the offending fans are involved to help facilitate cover ups in future

    “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.’”

    Incredible!


  2. I didn’t know it at the time, but Sevim Cesim used to have a twitter account called Patty Hewes. She must be a fan of the American drama show, “Damages”. It’s only retrospectively (ie today) that I found out the account was Ms Cesim. However at the time I had been foretold that the Patty account was run by someone very close to the action. I engaged the Patty account some time ago, and exchanged some direct messages. One interesting snippet from that exchange was that upon her advice, Malcolm Murray widened the scope of the Pinsent Masons investigation. Murray was bulleted from the board shortly afterwards. Another interesting aside is that some may be wondering as to Ms Cesim’s motives. My understanding is that the motive is based on simple revenge. This is directed at one particular former director whom it is alleged Ms Cesim was, briefly, romantically occupied with. Said director was engaged at the time. A dirty dog indeed. However. all’s fair in love and war, as they say.


  3. Bartin Main says:
    Member: (6 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 3:46 pm
    ———

    Well, well. She’s surely not also the mysterious Miss Fakes?


  4. Danish, the though had crossed my mind but I doubt that would be the case. The Patty account was littered with poor grammar etc. At the time, I wasn’t sure why that was the case but we can now attest to the fact that was likely the case because English is not the first language. That was not the case with Charlotte. For the record, in respect of Charlotte- only the first account was real. The ones that appeared afterwards were the work of a well- known mischief maker on twitter (and no, not me!)


  5. Journalism has been replaced by advertorialism and if that is not a word it should be


  6. No idea, as usual, as to what this seemingly staged ‘photo opportunity’ in such a public location – for the benefit of the DR – means in the great scheme of things.

    My immediate thought though was: does this in any way breach any of McCoist’s gardening leave conditions, i.e. meeting with a former company employee whilst she is apparently helping an investigation into the company’s affairs ?

    I wouldn’t do anything to risk my GBP80K per month [?] and would happily remain in my garden until the final payment had hit my bank account !

    Hope Sevim reappears though: her coupon is much, much easier on the eye than that of the soor-faced, wasp-chewing, tightwad in SA… 🙄


  7. jw hardin says:
    Member: (21 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    “Rangers Football Club Born 1872, died 2012″

    Don’t know why but the Herald has chosen to place an article dated 13 June 2012 in their ‘most read’ suggestions.
    ________________________________________

    That’s because it will be one of the most read articles over the past 24 hours ot whatever. I’m pretty sure hat part of the site is run by computer algorithms that calculate the most read stories.

    Probably because some internet bampot has successfully circulated a link around Twitter I’d imagine :mrgreen:
    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13061560.Rangers_Football_Club_Born_1872__died_2012/?ref=mr&lp=3


  8. Tartanwulver says:
    August 7, 2015 at 2:51 pm
    redlichtie says:
    August 7, 2015 at 11:52 am

    When I posted last night the feeling of a set up was on my mind being that the photographs are credited to a DR staffer Tony Nicolett and not some amateur snapper with a decent camera phone.

    Tony has been recognised for his sports photography as well as having been in war zones. Therefore either he was there to take the required pictures due to a tip off or he just happened to be at the airport going to or from another assignment and recognized Britain’s highest paid gardener after Titchmarsh.

    Of course McCoist is still on the payroll and may still be obliged to undertake certain duties for his paymasters, like embarrass the previous board to help make the RRM look good while their hands and stuck firmly in their deep pockets. Not that deep that he keeps getting his monthly cheques however!

    Given his apparent lack of knowledge of all things financial and what he had on his plate in the winter of 2012/2013 it seems a stretch that Super Ally would have had time or indeed the inclination to take some staffer under his wing to the extent that he then kept in touch and undertook airport chauffeuring duties more than two years after the lady left the club.

    Lets not forget around that time a certain Mr Traynor was lining up and taking his job down Govan way during that period so may have some information of the location of skeletal remains

    Who knows it really is a circus.

    PS While I made a tongue in cheek mention last night I was slightly disappointing that the other shots of the mystery man shown in the full DR spread were not of the ex Ibrox FD. 🙂


  9. upthehoops says:
    Member: (817 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 5:40 pm
    “According to this link if Celtic beat Malmo over two legs every other top league team will receive approx. £250K”
    ——————————————————
    That’s a Scott Allen each 😀


  10. neepheid says:
    Member: (714 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 1:34 pm
    ‘…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.’
    _______
    Well, fair do’s to Keef, and I withdraw my earlier post!


  11. Truly looks like a genuine sell out crowd at IBROX and St.Mirren not really in it so far.


  12. What happened to the boycott? Live commentary currently on sportsound 🙄 :slamb: :slamb:


  13. tykebhoy says:
    Member: (212 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    @causaludendi
    is that live commentary of the BTSport coverage? I think the Beeb also mentioned sending agency staff.

    @ianagain agreed its almost a sell out. A few empty seats on top of those used for segregation but not many. Of course the promotion campaign by SMSM that won’t be applied to 41 other clubs will have helped
    ============================================================
    True
    However
    We all couldn’t afford the fear though of the bill that will eventually appear from L5.
    I wonder if the ex Well accountant was told of his arrangement before he arrived?
    Or did Dave just tell them to blast ahead? Damn the expense(its not my money anyhow).


  14. Think you could be right tykebhoy, wasn’t really listening to it as I don’t fancy Rob McLean as a commentator but having tuned in a bit the ‘crowd’ is very muted.

    They went to the swimming at half-time, which was a damned sight better than enduring the conflicted chico – must be his night off… :slamb: 😈


  15. All I can say is this Championship will be tight. No walkover for anyone.
    That was a good game and some very good young Scots players on both sides. Very encouraging for Scottish Fitba.


  16. Good point ianagain. Getting nearly 50,000 to a lower league game is also a very positive point for the Scottish game.


  17. RyanGosling says:
    Member: (200 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm
    ” Getting nearly 50,000 to a lower league game is also a very positive point for the Scottish game.2
    _______
    I have to disagree, I’m afraid.

    50 000 or 500 000 000 sustaining a mockery of Sport , aided and abetted by the ‘Guardians’ of our sport and the SMSM, is an extremely negative place for Scottish Football, as ‘Sport’ to be in.

    The abandonment of Sporting Integrity and its poisonous effects are in the system. Cheating has been endorsed, sporting honours allowed to be claimed unjustly, secret deals made behind closed doors, and truth and integrity trampled upon.

    Insistence on the ethos of sport-fair competition, honest dealing, even-handed application of rules,etc etc was abandoned in a feverish favouring of a new club that was entitled to nothing.

    The game will never be right, until that huge stain on it is removed.


  18. Corrupt official says:
    Member: (117 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 5:49 pm
    upthehoops says:
    Member: (817 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 5:40 pm
    “According to this link if Celtic beat Malmo over two legs every other top league team will receive approx. £250K”
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    So thats another £250k that Motherwell could get for winning the play off


  19. John Clark,

    Whether or not Rangers fans recognise the break in history is something many here may want to discuss, but in my view the fact that that number of Scottish football fans will go out to support their team is very positive and something I would not wish to see lost to the Scottish game. If 50,000 people turned up to watch any other team on a Friday night the blog would be awash with praise, so let’s give credit where it’s due.


  20. JC

    50,000? turned up including a good few Saints fans, saw a close game what’s the problem?

    We all know its been hipped.

    The fans don’t care.

    They are fans. Rangers and St Mirren.

    They go to fitba.

    We cannot convince the average fan of what we all know Ill exclude Ryan) of what went on (and is still going on).

    On we go.

    Ce la vie


  21. GoosyGoosy says:
    Member: (436 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 11:12 pm

    Corrupt official says:
    Member: (117 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 5:49 pm
    upthehoops says:
    Member: (817 comments)

    August 7, 2015 at 5:40 pm
    “According to this link if Celtic beat Malmo over two legs every other top league team will receive approx. £250K”
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    So thats another £250k that Motherwell could get for winning the play off
    ======================================
    Run that one by me again.
    That’s 100k more than when we played!
    And we lost money just through travel costs.
    Sounds like my moaning about not worth participating were correct.
    Come on spell it out please.


  22. ianagain says:
    Member: (651 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 11:17 pm
    ‘..On we go.
    Ce la vie.’
    _______
    Mais ce n’est pas ni la vérité ni le sport!

    If people want to accept a corrupt sporting environment and are happy to be lied to by the Sport’s authorities, we have come to a sorry pass.


  23. John Clark says:
    Member: (1061 comments)

    August 8, 2015 at 12:14 am

    ianagain says:
    Member: (651 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 11:17 pm
    ‘..On we go.
    Ce la vie.’
    _______
    Mais ce n’est pas ni la vérité ni le sport!

    If people want to accept a corrupt sporting environment and are happy to be lied to by the Sport’s authorities, we have come to a sorry pass.
    =======================================================
    John

    I’m only supposing the average fan DOES NOT assimilate or even relate to what we know when they decide to turn up for a game.

    We may only therefore keep battering the keyboards, addressing our cubs, attending courts (that no one else does), documenting it, relating it, berating those who choose not to see it as a problem. When it is a huge one.

    But if a crowd turns up to see a fitba game they do and that’s that.


  24. Sorry for two in a row, but talking about expletives, is Jean Brodie OK? She’s been missing for a while.


  25. SFM Update:

    Funds:
    Fund raising was very slow this week, and we have slipped behind a little after last week’s excellent results. Three weeks to go and we are still looking for around £1300 to reach the target. I am still confident we will et there, and thanks to the couple of people who donated this week.

    Premises:
    The Emirates situation is not promising right now. The original agreement was to move into a particular space, but the landlord then withdrew that offer and gave us an alternative. Unfortunately the alternative room was not suitable for our purposes (according to BP), so we are now going back to some of the irons we had in the fire at the beginning of July.

    The disappointment here is that our plans have been set back timewise, since we can’t get the radio station up and running until we have the room sorted out. Hopefully there will be better news on that front next week.


  26. Trisidium says:
    August 8, 2015 at 1:33 am

    Funds:
    Fund raising was very slow this week, and we have slipped behind a little after last week’s excellent results.

    …………………….

    There have been a couple of posts questioning whether or not there was an alternative to using the “disliked” PayPal for making donations to TSFM. Although both posts received significant numbers of thumbs up, there appears to have been no response from the mods.

    Likewise, someone questioned whether it would be possible to drop into the (anticipated) office to make a cash donation. Again, no response.

    Since we are nearing the deadline for our fund-raising appeal, why not arrange for some alternative form of payment for those of us who refuse to deal with Paypal. Surely every penny counts.

    Apologies if I have missed previous responses to this question (or if PayPal has some terms in their contract that prohibits other forms of monetary transfer).


  27. RyanGosling says:
    Member: (201 comments)
    August 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm
    Good point ianagain. Getting nearly 50,000 to a lower league game is also a very positive point for the Scottish game.
    =======
    Indeed,and all the more impressive given that it was televised.


  28. castaway says:
    Member: (99 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 1:15 am
    ________________________________________________

    Good morning castaway!! Thanks for your concern 😉 I’m here everyday hail,rain 😥 or shine.
    Where is Brenda though? Hope she’s OK.


  29. Good game from Ibrox last night, as an entertainment decidedly better than most of the stuff i’ve seen the 2nd tier of English football. Big crowd definitely enhanced the occasion. No question that shows the game up here in a good light, especially by comparison to the English Championship, where kick and rush football in front of 17,000 is the norm .

    Rangers have more energy than last year, and a reluctance to just hoof the ball forward. Thats a big improvement. It is in line with many clubs in Scotland who have been playing a much more passing and pressing based game for a few years now.

    My feeling is that Hibs though have better players than Rangers and if Stubbs continues to improves them at the same rate as last year , then they will win the League. McGinn is a huge signing for Hibs and i suspect they might well be the beneficiary of a couple of very talented loan players before the end of this month


  30. John Clark says:
    Member: (1061 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 12:14 am

    I’m with you on this, John (usually am 😉 ).

    It makes no difference how many people turn up at Ibrox, 50 or 50,000, it’s a disgrace that there’s even a game going on there in the Championship, as they should only now, at best, be battling it out in the 3rd or 4th tier having EARNED the right to be there.

    Furthermore, to accept the idea that 50,000 at Ibrox is good for the game, is exactly the same as saying it’s bad for the game not to have TRFC in the top league, or that Scottish football needs a ‘strong Rangers’.

    It was the desire of the conflicted ones to have those 50,000 crowds in our game that led to the 5 way agreement, and every other disgusting act of ignoring the rules of Scottish football and natural justice.

    Messrs Doncaster and Regan will be sitting smugly today thinking how they were right all along, and the SMSM will be backing them up by reminding us of what we have been missing…

    Can someone please advise me how any club, other than TRFC, or their supporters, benefitted from that 50,000 crowd at Ibrox? What does it do, other than highlight the way Scottish football is skewed towards two clubs?


  31. John Clark says:
    Member: (1061 comments)

    August 8, 2015 at 12:14 am
    “If people want to accept a corrupt sporting environment and are happy to be lied to by the Sport’s authorities, we have come to a sorry pass.”
    ———————————————————
    “Allyjambo says:
    Member: (1147 comments)

    August 8, 2015 at 10:18 am
    “it’s a disgrace that there’s even a game going on there in the Championship”
    ———————————————————
    Nail on head. Serious wrong-doings were committed to allow TRFC to reach this stage. Without the aiding and abetting of our corrupt governing bodies, a host of criminals, secret agreements, cover-ups, whitewashes, and rule-breaking it would never have taken place.
    I am all in favour of more bums on seats, but not at any price. I will not join the ranks of the blind-sided


  32. Barcabhoy says:
    Member: (198 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 10:08 am
    ——————————–

    I thought Rangers were fit and very pacey, although the quality we keep hearing about was not evident throughout in my view. Had St Mirren scored the penalty I would have backed them to go on and win. It’s not Rangers fault how the media report them but they are being rated in the same way as a top league side playing top league opposition, which is simply wrong. As for the spontaneous bursts of applause from the fans, words fail me. Are things really that desperate?


  33. It’s worth reminding ourselves how the SPL were thinking at the time.Even after the SPL clubs had rejected the notion of a new club getting entry directly into their league.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2171772/SPL-announce-16-team-flight-league-come-play-2015.html

    11 July 2012

    The SPL are set to promise to set up a 16-team top flight within three years in return for newco Rangers being parachuted into next season’s First Division.

    The proposed solution is also being seen as a bid to stave off a total implosion of the Scottish game after SFA chief executive Stewart Regan warned of ‘a slow, lingering death’ if the Ibrox club were banished to the Third Division


  34. upthehoops says:
    Member: (819 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 11:19 am

    They may wish to consider that St Mirren were far and away the worst team in the top division last year.

    30 points out of 38 games.

    I doubt they have strengthened that squad very much.

    If the Rangers support think beating them 3-1 at home with St Mirren missing a penalty is an indication of them now having a strong team they may wish to re think their expectations.


  35. Thinking about it.

    Surely if a top division of 16 teams was the right way to go for Scottish football then it was the right way to go.

    Whether or not one particular team was part of that set up should not make any difference. That being the case, why has it not happened.

    I’m not saying it necessarily is right, just wondering why the authorities never went that way if they thought it was for the best.


  36. HomunculusHomunculus says:
    Member: (190 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 11:27 am
    upthehoops says:
    Member: (819 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 11:19 am

    They may wish to consider that St Mirren were far and away the worst team in the top division last year.

    30 points out of 38 games.

    I doubt they have strengthened that squad very much.

    If the Rangers support think beating them 3-1 at home with St Mirren missing a penalty is an indication of them now having a strong team they may wish to re think their expectations.
    ///////////////////////////////////////

    St mirren started with 8 under 21s in their team last night
    So not a bad showing with the pressure of 50k fans as well as 11 players on the park against them


  37. angusmac says:
    Member: (1 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 5:24 am (Edit)
    _________________________________________________

    Thanks for your suggestions, which as you say have been made before. We are currently sorting out an alternative payment method. Other (non PayPal) online payment methods are costly to run and require expensive software and integration costs.I think I have said that on the blog, but it is possible that my memory is of replying to someone personally about it. Hopefully we will have something to report on that front this week- probably by setting up a SFM bank account which people can transfer money into.

    As far as dropping in on the SFM office is concerned, there may be security concerns which would tie in with the nature of the premises we eventually secure. The Emirates would be problematic since there is very tight security at the facility and the offices are setup to be non public-facing. Same goes for Eurocentral and some other places we have looked at.

    Paypal does not proscribe other forms of payment, but I hope people know that you don’t need a PayPal account to pay via PayPal. You can pay by credit card. We use it because it is easy, and because recurring payments (whch are the most important to us in terms of ticking over) are easily implemented.


  38. Just listened to Michael Clarke, the Ozzie Cricket captain, being interviewed immediately after losing the Ashes.

    What a splendid example of a passionate sportsman, one of the best practitioners of his sport ever, who is still full of humility and generosity of spirit, despite the professional and personal disappointment he has undergone.

    Where are folk like that in our game?


  39. @Homunculus
    re 16 team league. The authorities only thought it the best at the time for one reason and one reason only, It was a bribe to the First Division clubs to accept TRFC with the promise they would have more chance at being at the top table. I suspect had Turnbull Hutton and all blinked and taken the bribe it wouldn’t have happened anyway given reneging on promises is on a par with some of the stunts Reagan and Doncaster have pulled since.

    re St Mirren yep a very youthful side last night having also lost one of their better players to Hibs. I suspect they may have struggled even more than last if they were still in the SPFL this season and like others from what little I saw last night I think they would have gone on and won had the penalty taker remembered it was football and not Rugby. I agree with IanAgain that to stroll the Championship this season Hibs or TRFC are going to have to improve appreciably on performances so far


  40. I was reading Alex Thomson ‘s blog which contained video from last night’s Ch4 item on banning journos.

    http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/bans-football-journalists-making-beautiful-game-ugly/9790

    It led me to comment as follows but I’m repeating here as I think it an SFM matter.

    Football suffers from incestuous governance.

    The Leagues and National Assiciations are run from the same resource pool.

    There is no real accountability in football, so it can make and break it’s own rules as it pleases.

    The game in Scotland has been run on this basis since 2011/12 and has not been challenged by the media. It does not want any light shone on where and when it is breaking it’s own rules.

    That is the journalists job, but when they ignore or fail to report accurately or question fully some of the clearly questionable behaviour and judgements that football passes on itself, then the journos have lost their purpose and allowed clubs to fill the vacuum with PR.

    If it were not for Social Media we would have no idea at all what football was really up to but rather than embrace it main stream journos deride it or in some cases bravely join it to let them do their job.

    It’s a pity Spence like courage is in so short a supply.


  41. tykebhoy says:
    re St Mirren yep a very youthful side last night having also lost one of their better players to Hibs. I suspect they may have struggled even more than last if they were still in the SPFL this season and like others from what little I saw last night I think they would have gone on and won had the penalty taker remembered it was football and not Rugby.
    ………………………………………………………………..
    Folk on here post of the nefarious impact that so much official cheating, skulduggery and corruption may have on the game.

    To my shame, when Buddie legend Thommo skyed the penalty kick, I had the briefest of nasty thoughts.
    “So THAT’s what EBTs are for…”.

    I’m sure that was wrong. I’m sure it was a typically gut-wrenching honest miss by a man who gives his all for our/his club.
    And yet…. and yet…
    Due to a decade of dastardly deeds, a wee worm continues to wriggle in my mind.
    It’s a shite state of affairs. 🙁


  42. @fishnish yes the risk of discretionary payments in a trust means that trustees can be leaned on not to authorise payments if certain conditions aren’t met by the recipient. To be fair I think last night was an abysmal penalty rather than a deliberate miss but you do highlight that there may be some timebombs still ticking if ebt recipients haven’t “collected”.


  43. Trisidium says:
    Moderator: (267 comments)
    August 8, 2015 at 12:14 pm
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Possibly thinking of the reply to my question by PM?

    Would it not be possible to set up a TSFM bank account? That way people would only need acc# and sort code in order to complete a bank transfer.

    EDIT: Just seen the last sentence in the first paragraph… 😳


  44. did just say “can I quote Sir Walter Smith to you” … ???


  45. whisperer says:
    Member: (25 comments)

    August 8, 2015 at 6:14 pm

    did just say “can I quote Sir Walter Smith to you”
    ———————————–
    You most certainly did. 😆


  46. Can it be the case that the most recent post was at 7.13 pm yesterday-from ianagain?
    Here am I up at the crack of dawn, nothing to read!
    Where is everybody?:!:


  47. Well, I’m relieved that at least someone saw my post. I was beginning to feel as lonely as that wee veiled ‘wumman’ in the picture from Mars!


  48. It did seem very quiet yesterday evening John. I thought my PC was broken. :mrgreen:


  49. Interesting how this photo of the gardener and Lady C at the airport has come to our attention. Surely folk haven’t been reading books by D.H.Lawrence, or are they suggesting someone else is the gardener.


  50. part time pete says:
    Member: (9 comments)
    August 9, 2015 at 7:47 am

    To be honest Pete, I think it is just mischief making and currying favour by the MSM. When Mr Green was the flavour of the month nothing would be said that might cause him offence. Now that they have a ‘whistleblower’ they probably feel they can gain brownie points by showing that they are ‘on top’ of the story.

    Perhaps, showing Mr McCoist in the pictures, they are hoping to rehabilitate him to some extent, in the eyes of the Rangers support, by showing that he is helping to ‘put the boot’ into the despised Green regime. Or maybe not …


  51. part time pete says:
    Member: (9 comments)
    August 9, 2015 at 7:47 am
    ‘ Surely folk haven’t been reading books by D.H.Lawrence, or are they suggesting someone else is the gardener.’
    _________
    And I remember the derision and scorn heaped on Counsel for the prosecution when he asked the jury “Is it a book that you would even wish your wife or your servants to read?” 😆
    It is still astonishing to remember those days of virtual feudalistic attitudes, traces of which are still to be found in the grovelling worship exhibited by monarchists and ‘socialist’MPs who crave elevation to the House of Lords.

    That old QC at least made us laugh, not boak! 😀


  52. Now that the season ticket money is in over ibrox way and things going well on the park for the moment

    Anyone any guesses on when they will need another loan?

    My guess is October
    A lot of new players in probably with some hefty signing on fees and bonuses
    Written into their contracts (speculation on my part of course as we haven’t got sandazia to confirm any players contracts anymore ?)

    Money will become tighter and tighter faster than we think
    So yep October sounds about right to me anyway


  53. Let me clarify
    That should be towards the End of October
    Yes I think they will burn through the season ticket money at an alarming rate

    How long has it been since the last known loan and who’s been footing the bills since then?
    At least half the season ticket money is already probably gone if not more
    And what other onerous surprises are waiting just under the water?


  54. I spotted this utterly stupid comment from Celtic assistant manager John Collins in the Herald this morning.

    JOHN Collins admits the Celtic squad are putting in special work on the training field ahead of their Champions League play-off later this month to compensate for the fact they face lower-grade players incapable of punishing their errors in Scotland.

    The assistant manager joined Ronny Deila in emphasising the need to concentrate on shape and defensive drills during SPFL Premiership matches ahead of the two-legged meeting with Malmo.

    Collins, whose side visit Partick Thistle today, says it is easy for his players to adopt a swashbuckling mentality in domestic matches because their opponents are neither sharp nor smart enough to exploit spaces left at the back.

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13583690.John_Collins__Scottish_players_not_clever_or_quick_enough_to_punish_Celtic/?ref=ebls

    I find that comment disrespectful, distasteful, and indicative of a mindset that I had hoped never to have linked to anyone representing CFC.

    Collins had better hope his team wipes the floor with every Scottish team they meet this season, or he could end up looking idiotic as well as arrogant.

    I thought that respect for your opponents was an essential part of every sport- Collins’ remarks fall far short of decent sporting behaviour, in my opinion- whether his assessment is technically accurate or not.

    Why can’t these guys do themselves and everyone else a favour, and just shut up.


  55. Had an evening with an old friend last night. He is quite removed from the hurly burly and machinations of Scottish Football. In an effort to bring him up to speed I started to recount all the issues that I could remember that have surfaced over the last 3 years wrt SMSM, TRFC and the SFA. After 4 hours chatting it became quite apparent that there was a myriad of info that I had actually forgotten about in this whole debacle. Things like the Charity Game(s)at Ibrox and the money issues surrounding them. There are plenty more that if you try hard enough you can jolt the memory and you will become aware that there has been little or no justice doled out to anyone in relation to this shambles within our game. Somr people/institutions seem to be beyond justice.


  56. Re Collins Herald piece
    He is correct in what he is trying to say but not worldly wise in how to say it,in our leagues there are always going to be highs and lows ,if Celtic had a run of games against Aberdeen ,Dundee Utd and Hearts leading up to Euro games then they probably would be sharper,but if he feels his top drawer players lack concentration for 90m he has some work to do there,I don’t see them racking up six or seven goal leads and then switching off which you would understand ,I hope he is not on the after dinner speech list.


  57. Re: John Collins

    It does make you wonder why the Celtic Brains Trust bother to look at other Scottish teams for potential squad additions seeing how thick they all are.


  58. Collins could have found a better form of words, however let’s face reality and acknowledge that what he is getting at is correct, in the same way that the players Celtic have are not quick and clever enough when they face superior opposition. Once you get to a higher level it can often come down to one or two moments where quickness and cleverness that results in the match winner. The alternative is that defensive concentration fails and let’s the opposition in.

    Scottish Football needs a lot more quick, clever and focussed players and coaches who can get them to that level.


  59. P’s Just looking at Scotland on Sunday and see Thistle’s Ryan Stevenson admitting the standard of Scottish Football is enough to allow Van Dijk to stroll through most games in second gear.


  60. John Collins- How to motivate the opposition.

    I hope he was “misquoted”, but, from stories I’ve heard previously, probably not.

    Scotland needs a strong Thistle… just not today!


  61. Tcup12,

    Re loans, I guess it depends if the loanee demands repayment or not. If not, they’re fine…..until December anyway. I’m interested in the justification why they are comfortable not being repaid at the moment of course.

    Re john Collins.

    Media fodder, nothing more.

    And finally,

    Paul Dickov tale in the Mail is worth a read. Integrity lives!!


  62. Kacee says:
    Member: (1 comments)
    August 9, 2015 at 8:20 am
    ‘..The media rights of sport have always been of interest to me and how we should be looking to change from the status quo..’
    _______
    That was an interesting link.Much of it is above my head ( I’ve no idea how many ‘streaming’ companies there are and how all that kind of technology let alone the business partnerships all work so that people make money!

    But what caught my eye was the reference to the fact that the BAM company ( i.e the baseball clubs in the league) operating the streaming of games would assign a reporter to each club, with a few other floating reporters.
    That made me think of ’embedded’ reporters in the military: not likely to be in any serious way free to report objectively, but operating more or less as censored, press-release people for the forces. Which I don’t think is any way for journalists of any kind to behave!

    I may be completely misreading and/or misunderstanding that reference, and will need to explore it more thoroughly.

    Leaving that aside, is it remotely possible that, say, the SPFL could form a company along the lines of the BAM LC idea, and totally control the broadcasting/streaming of all SFA football, getting shot, eventually, of reliance on making deals with Sky or BT or whichever companies are interested in ‘buying’ the rights to broadcast live games? Would it be a goer, and if so, would it spell the end of football as a sport with live physically present attendances at grounds?

    I wonder whether anyone in Scottish football governance is getting right in there to explore the whole matter, or is keeping right up to the minute with developments in other countries as the technology gets more and more refined?


  63. Far, far away, in a nearby parallel universe, live a people known as Raberrz. Now Raberrz aren’t the only inhabitants of their planet, despite evidently living in a world of their own. Many knowledgeable men confidently declare their number to be higher than infinity itself, whilst some estimate twice that at least.

    Indeed Chuckverde de Normandez claimed to have personally counted half a billion individuals partaking of his various wallet-lightening schemes during his tenure as Overseer of Castle Sinkhole. Whilst prone to exaggeration a millionfold, and having a propensity to utter utter-nonsense to the dupe-susceptible fawning masses, it wasn’t so much his close bond with Raberrz during the early days of his reign that placed him in an ideal position to calculate their numbers. That was down to his very, very, very large abacus, and a pair of hands to match.

    Chuck’s success at the clandestine Quinary Lex Legis talks was bewildering. On the other side of the negotiating table, the Wimdits, headed by CEO Jerry Ephin Manders, appeared to hold all the aces going into these now infamous capitulation talks. Chuck could scarcely believe the successful outcome he inexplicably negotiated despite arriving at the table with no ammunition, no plan, no clue and no hope. It was almost as if the Wimdits wanted him to win, which wasn’t entirely inconceivable given that a former high ranking Castle Sinkhole official who’d lost interest in what he was doing (a bored member, if you will) was now ensconsed as Overlord of the Wimdits, although to be fair to him, he demonstrated commendable multi-tasking skills by doubling up as his new organisation’s carpet sweeper.

    Chuck felt like a bank robber who’d walked away with millions of Blunotes despite bluffing his way through the entire heist armed only with an empty water pistol. It wouldn’t be long before he genuinely would walk away from Castle Sinkhole with millions of ill-gotten Blunotes.

    Of course, Chuck’s perceived success meant that Raberzz believed every word that subsequently passed his lips, and his rectum evidently, and were thus ripe for donating to his favoured retirement scheme, namely the Equine Benevolent Therapy project, which, initially at least, coincided with a scheme that had been operated by the entity from Sinkhole’s long-dead predecessors. Neither scheme was taxing to operate.

    Chuck quickly realised the benefits to be gained by releasing a steady stream of pronouncements which were soothing to the ears of Raberrz, primarily predictions of future success bordering on world domination. His words were treated as prophecy, such that he was bestowed with the title of the Soothside Soothsayer, although he failed to turn up at the award ceremony due to unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately for Raberrz, everything wasn’t as it seemed, not for the first time in the recent past. Their prophet was making a profit. A huge profit, at their expense.

    Chuck had been the first Overseer to preside over the entity which owned the entity which operated the new entity operating out of Castle Sinkhole, following the unspoken of death of the previous entity, an event which was subsequently airbrushed from history in a propaganda exercise which would have made Joseph Goebbels proud. Indeed Chuck could be said to have fathered the current entity and some were even heard to say that he certainly royally rogered the Wimdits in the process and had now moved on to Raberrz.

    The death of the previous entity was unequivocal and had initially been widely and accurately reported in the media, yet a short time after Chuck’s successful negotiations with the Wimdits, mention of the subject was banned and anybody failing to keep to that strict edict was forced by the authorities to watch repeated reruns of Bobby Ewing’s shower scene dream revelation in Dallas (televisual series, planet Earth, circa 1986) to see how the re-writing of history should be properly swallowed, a particularly tortuous form of water-bombing, long since outlawed as too barbaric on most civilised planets.

    Chuck’s propensity for using those massive digits to collect as many Blunotes as possible was to prove to be his undoing. There would be no indemnity from the hostility, animosity and enmity he created within the entity which ran the entity which operated the other entity with impunity. He did however have a level of dignity in keeping with the histories of the entities, both old (long and cringeworthy) and new (short, bordering on diddy). Unfortunately that level was set at minus eleven. To put this in context, if you were sitting on the toilet on a busy inter-city train with your clothing around your ankles when the sliding door inadvertently opened, your dignitometer reading might be expected to reach minus two or so.

    Raberrz demanded an immediate return to their rightful place (possibly Uranus) after the embarrassing demise of the original entity, but Castle Sinkhole had clearly become Chuck’s wrongful place and he was banished to distant shores to sit on his piles – piles of Blunotes.

    For many years before it’s long overdue but unmentionable death, the original entity had displayed a complete lack of moral rectitude, honour and integrity. It’s latin motto, ‘Arsium Stickium’, spoke volumes about its contempt for the competitors it wilfully cheated on an industrial scale.

    Almost worse than the cheating itself was the part played by the very people charged with maintaining integrity and fair play, who not only turned a blind eye to the large scale cheating but positively provided assistance to the perpetrators. Without the aiding and abetting by the corrupt governing bodies that we know as the Wimdits, a host of criminals, secret agreements, cover-ups, whitewashes, and rule-breaking would never have taken place.

    CEO Jerry Manders had warned of cataclysmic consequences for the futures of the entity’s competitors if they didn’t fall into line over the great pretence that he and his partners in crime had dreamt up. Not only would there be financial armageddon, but apparently Raberrz would create civil unrest at the loss of their beloved entity, despite evidence to the contrary as the vast majority faced reality with a great deal of stoicism. Even if the blundering buffoon had been remotely accurate with his misguided foreboding and scaremongering, it would not have justified the great scam that he and his colleagues were about to unleash.

    Worryingly, almost the entirety of the planet’s media participated in the rewriting of history and brainwashing that followed the capitulation talks, despite the mass of contradictory information at their fingertips. Those few brave souls who dared to question the party line were bullied and intimidated into submission by the regime or the increasingly deluded Raberrz.

    Fast forward to present times and the Wimdits have further nailed their colours to the mast by allowing a convicted criminal to run the entity that owns the entity that operates the new entity. Presumably Nick Leeson, Bernie Madoff and even Heidi Fleiss would also have met the Wimdits unfit and improper criteria. The Wimdits couldn’t be trusted to run a bath, never mind an organisation which must not only be run with the utmost integrity and impartiality, but must also be seen to be so.

    Please note that any similarities to real life characters, places and events you have just read about are purely intentional. No animals, including bears, were harmed in the making of this factual synopsis.


  64. Players do well against Celtic. Celtic buy those players. Collins slags Scottish football for not having good players.

    Put a muzzle on it Collins ?


  65. Just thinking about the Scott Allan/Sevco saga, and it occurs to me that there’s one question that hasn’t been asked. Why on earth would a promising young player apparently decide that his interests are best served by joining a club that is living under austerity measures (see recent signings, the cost of) in an attempt to secure its survival? Obviously, the increasingly partisan SMSM aren’t going to cast any doubt over this footballing fairy-tale, but I wonder if anyone on here has any thoughts on the matter. By all accounts, Allan isn’t a Sandy Chugg-style True Believer, so if he’s approaching this situation in a rational manner, how on earth does he see a move to Sevco helping his career?! Surely any agent who had done any due diligence whatsoever would know–as most of the SMSM do–the true financial picture at Ibrox,


  66. Steveplustax says:
    Member: (14 comments)
    August 9, 2015 at 3:03 pm

    “Scott Allan…how on earth does he see a move to Sevco helping his career?!”
    __________________

    I think it’s because he lives in the Scottish football players’ bubble, where you don’t ask ‘where’s the money coming from to pay my wages?’ or, ‘are these EBT things 100% kosher?’ Professional footballers are happy to accept that their, and their potential, club chairmen know everything there is to know about money matters.

    ‘Brains in their feet’, ‘only a short career’, are their excuses for ‘leaving it to my agent’, though the clever ones will have things sewn into their contracts to cover any eventuality.

    Even outside of football there’s plenty of people who’ve accepted jobs that were ‘too good to be true’, only to find, quite soon, that they really were ‘too good to be true’, and that the evidence was there, that that was the case, before they ever took the job.

    Add in ‘the dream’ of playing for the club you support (or, in this case, it’s replacement), it’s all too easy to be blinded to any consequences.

    Besides, when that last club from Govan went bust, how many of their players, who had already made it, suffered as a result? If Hibs had rolled over and let him go, he might have made, say, £8K per week for 6 months, then signed for someone else in the event of insolvency, at £5K. End result? No worse off than he is now, and made a bob or two meantime 🙄


  67. On the Thompson penalty miss, I was astonished to find that he has an outstanding EBT “loan” to the tune of £485k. The figure is astonishing because I never thought he was much use in his prime, but that’s how SDM wanted to chuck away the bank’s money, and Thompson wasn’t the worst example of his utter stupidity.

    But isn’t this a virus still infecting our game? How many current players, managers and coaches who are currently employed by other clubs are still in debt to a trust set up by RFC? And is that an acceptable position within the rules? It is certainly not morally acceptable to me that a player is so heavily indebted in effect to a club other than the one he plays for.

    And didn’t Barry Ferguson manage Clyde to a 7-1 tonking off the Ibrox club, while still owing a large sum by way of an Ibrox EBT?

    I’m not accusing anyone of anything, by the way, but taking a penalty against a team that in your own mind you owe near enough half a million to, is unacceptable pressure, to my way of thinking. No player should be in that position. If that is within the rules, then it’s time the rules were changed.


  68. “It also lists the names of people where the BBC has seen evidence that they received side-letters – a promise to make contributions to their individual sub-trusts.”

    Meaning it was not discretionary … you know the rest.

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