McCoist promising players back before end for the season, so postpone games

Scandal is the only word for it

Oops... forgot... Cheating is also a word for it !

Paul 67 ,did you see my post to you at the end of the last thread?

Plus it engineers a home-game finish for them.

Plus, Celtic have already arranged to have its fans, directors, current players and staff present (if not playing) at the tribute game for Phil O’Donnell. So have Motherwell.

Is this all to go out of the window because Walter Smith has spat his dummy out?

I hope and trust that Celtic is consulting its lawyaers on this. We should be prepared to withdraw from the competition.

Giving Rangers more time to play their games helps them in the League. Simple, and unfair. If not illegal.

lets be clear, if Rangers had won yesterday we would not have heard a peep

Don't know yet... Looks like the Daily Record have laid down a marker to me... No other papers are running with the story... Could it just be that Rangers wanted their suggestion given a big airing to put pressure on the SPL?

I mean it's not like Murray has ever used the Record to manipulate the news agenda before now is it?

I still don't understand how moving the Cup helps anyway? That was always an available option anyway surely? The problem has always been the League games need to finish on the same day.... but the last day available was Thursday due to Euro commitments (in particular for Celtic)

B

Paul67.

I made the same point to Bryce Curdy.
They would NOT be extending the league again.

This is a very clever move.

So what if Queen OTHS complain.I don't think that they will make too much fuss anyway,because it is in their interests for Rangers to win the SPL .So that they will get an auto euro spot.

We should use this scenario to bring about REAL change.

Let's get out of the SPL,if it is at all financially and legally possible.

tinytim - from previous. Surely it must be a second extension. When would Rangers play their fixture against Dundee United? After all, 'Walter' keeps reminding us that it's 'physically impossible' to play 4 games in 8 days.

Dr Reid - this is your moment.

Tinytim

Queen of the South already have a guaranteed UEFA Cup spot. Rangers will be in the CL regardless of their final league position. It cannot be lower than second.

The Doonhamers last match was the last weekend in April. How can it be fair to ask that club to keep its players paid and fit for a whole month without a game?

Paul67

I wish I could beleive that it was 'beyond comprehension that the SPL will allow itself to be bullied'

Unfortunately they are being bullied by 'Scotlands second biggest instituition behind the Church of Scotland'

What can we do when they role over? Is there any avenue here - Setanta deal / anything that we can hit them back with financially?
Can we take the SPL to court for hampering our champions league qualification by favouring another team?

if it goes beyond the end of the season can we loan Aberdeen our first team (as the season has ended) and pump them again?

This Saturday Dundee Utd would probably have had something to play for. If this game is postponed, chances are 3rd place will have already been decided. Smith said last week that the SSM should have been honest about why Celtic didn't want the season extended. Right back at you Wattie - is it not about time you admitted that this has nothing to do with the UEFA cup and has everything to do with buying yourself a league title?

Hi, does anyone have an email at celtic we can email to let them know our feelings on this matter. i have emailed the below to tictalk

Tictalk, Mr Lawell, Dr Reid and Mr Strachan,

I write this email in utter disgust at the treatment which is being forced down on Celtic Football Club by the SFA in regards to this league extension proposal.

If this proposal goes ahead which not only gives Glasgow Rangers an advantage in the league title race but also in the Scottish Cup as QoS would be idle for 5 weeks before facing them in the Cup final.

It is my duty as a Celtic fan to implore that if George Peat and Gordon Smith in rescheduling get their way, then Celtic FC should highlight their intention to withdraw from entering the as yet unsponsored Scottish Cup. Yes, this may lose the club some revenue but we as a club will have highlighted the unwavering bias shown towards Glasgow Rangers. This action although drastic would have the backing of our support and will leave our fanbase secure in the knowledge that Our Club has done everything it can to protect not only our own integrity but to also show our resent that an association (the SFA) which has no control over our league (the SPL) can interfere in fixturing schedules to the detriment of clubs (Celtic, Queen of the South, Motherwell, Hibernian and Aberdeen) and to benefit they who shout loudest (Rangers).

I and the rest of the Celtic family request that Celtic Football Club do everything in your power to prevent this gross example of blatant cheating and bias from happening. If this results in legal challenging then so be it, we the fans will back our club through and through with our unwavering support.

Yours in sporting integrity

John Ward

The cancelation of games for zenit will have no bearing on the outcome of the league since it is very early in the season. The situation in Scotland is totally the opposite, this could have a massive effect on the league outcome and european qualifications for our top clubs.

Surely Eddie Thompson has the biggest say now on whether this happens or not.

The SPL have stated that both teams must agree before a game can be rescheduled. If Utd say no then they can move the Scottish cup to the start of next season but it won't make a blind bit of difference without Utd's consent. is that correct?

If so, then someone should be on the phone to Eddie to see just where he stands regarding this shocking debacle.

*Off to work in a rage*

Only one circumstance has changed since the original decision to extend the season and that is the fact that results have made Rangers less certain to be SPL champions.

If the SFA in the guise of George Peat/Gordon Smith had felt so strongly about this matter and so willing to devalue the national cup then they could and should have said so at the time of the original decision. That they are only doing so now is scandalous.

We need a statement from Celtic before lunch time to obstruct the head of steam that has already been built up and to give much needed support to Gold and Blair who appear to be under great pressure.

When the SPL made the arbitrary decision to extend the League, did the SFA say anything about it ? No. All of a sudden, it's become a major issue for them, but instead of making a public announcement, they give an "exclusive" to a couple of hacks to "quote" on their behalf. I cannot think of a less dignified way of approaching this matter.

Farce.... 3rd word for it

Here's the basis for a good article Paul:

tick tock

i and others have been saying for a while, that it is acceptable to postpone games or move them to help Rangers win the UEFA cup..what is not acceptable is postponing games to help Rangers win the SPL and the Scottish Cup...

The media , in general want Rangers to win the SPL and the quadruple...THe SFA, through Rangers supporters George Peat and Gordon Smith also favour Rangers over sporting integrity in their own competitions...So we can expect no comment from the media on the blatant attempts by Rangers to cheat their way to Scottish competition success, we can expect the SFA to be pro-active in assisting Rangers in their attempts to ride roughshod over the rest of the SPL and QOS...

I still think Dundee Utd are against an attempt to move their game, but have been threatened into silence. Motherwell should be the most vocal, after us about Rangers attempts to cheat. They have been strangely silent. Given they have to play Rangers twice, they should be highly resistant to any attempt to give Rangers time to get refreshed and bring back injured players for SPL matches. Hibs might be happy for Rangers to get an extension, as they don't have to play them again, and would be happy to see a stronger Rangers face their 3 rivals for the UEFA place. Aberdeen should be highly vocal against an extension, it would be popular with their support and aid their attempts for 3rd place. With any other management team i suspect they would have already come out and complained ....St Mirren couldn't care less, and in fact would probably be happy with an extension, if the game became a title decider, thereby increasing their revenue

So basically we shouldn't count on much support from the other SPL clubs...if we can't pick a fight with the authorities over this, then i can't think we will ever have an issue worth getting to court over...

i don't want to criticise our board over this, they may very well be working furiously to protect our interests, and have a strategy to deal with any decision they see as favouring Rangers. However the precedent is not good. A short statement about disagreeing with the previous extension was too lightweight and too low profile..i hope they have been keeping their powder dry for what i suspect is about to be announced later today

Another thought... it's not all good news for Rangers... Surely this means Cuellar's ban is not for the St Mirren match anymore? Would it not now be for the Aberdeen match? Slightly more risky game I'd say?

B

Chris Sutton is a Legend,

Unfortunately, the power to re-scheduled matches in the SPL can be decided by Gold and Bain as they see fit. They have been appointed this power by the SPL board. For the major re-scheduling of the extension, clubs were not consulted.

The biggest surprise to me is that anyone is surprised. So far its just media hype from the daily Rangers but they have mentioned SFA individuals and put some pressure on.

If the SPL do this , and it would not surprise me , Celtic Football Club will need to take serious action.

My initial reaction might have been, lets get out of this poxy league, they only want us as second class participants paying first class fare. My next question is where? Fortunately decades of experience of life in this unfair land makes me consider the implications of our actions on the Scottish people as a whole. I believe we should THREATEN withdrawal. This would air the wound. There should be nothing viably wrong in playing professional football in a country of our size. Notions of pan-european league football have a logical merit. However we need to sort out our own house first, a house largely paid for by Celtic Football Club. The occupants of this house, SPL and SFA have bitten the hand that feeds them once too often.

We will win the league this year, and we won't need the help of any secret society to do it.

Hail! Hail!

I am a bit bewildered at the turn of events and how this is unfolding. The Daily Record's agenda has been to suckle at the Ibrox maw and fawn at the support so they don't lose any more readers. By this, a blatant manufacturing of consent they can paint us as wreckers of Rangers' euro dream when in reality the league is the main prize and europe the topping on the cake.
Utterly appalled and feeling a bit impotent in the face of this. We can do nothing but sit and watch. If CFC protest either through the media or private channels it will be disseminated out for tfod to gorge themselves on. However, I believe that we must take a stand for the sake of integrity. Postponong the Gretna game was bad enough, but a self inflicted waterlogged pitch and Rangers' inability to beat lower teams in cup competitions are the root of this situation. This has nothing whatsoever to do with sporting integrity and reeks of bullying.
TBFTL tuck your bottom lip in and get back to work!

I would not be the slightest bit surprised if a third extension(and it is a de facto third extension given the Gretna postponement) is granted. However, I am also of the opinion that it will matter not one jot.

I fully expected the establishment to fall-in line and they are doing so. Without a hint of jest, it's typically establishment. To a lesser extent, I liken it to when his Holiness Pope John Paul II passed away and we witnessed some vulgar acts of ignorance across 'the greatest small country in the world'. If you didn't know what side your bread was buttered on people, you will now.

But here is the crux of the matter. They have five league games which they have to win and their form would suggest otherwise.

Our objective is simple. Should we win our next two games, I'm fairly certain we will lift our third consecutive title.

Let Dr John and the Law-man set about the establishment fiddling, we'll focus on the football and cheer the Bhoys to 3IAR.

Let the people sing!

Sorry if I'm missing something blatant. But are the Daily Record 'reporting' what's happening or are they 'reporting' what Rangers want to happen ?

Good point Frever Anever - rangers don't fancy playing a team on sat that has something to play for. Cheats.

Larry.bhoy,

doesn't there have to be a third member involved? I'm pretty sure that at least three members have to be in attendance to form a quorum prior to any major decision.

I may be wrong about this, or it may be that it is true, but in a different situation (if that makes sense).

G.

Rangers have it in their power to enhance their UEFA Cup chances without the need for an alteration to the fixture programme...they could field reserve teams in their next two league games.They won`t do this as it would harm their chances of winning the league therefore any request to postpone games is as much about helping them win the league as it is about winning the UEFA Cup.

Paul67 :- Gauisus natalis quod plures advenio

I posted this last thread just as you changed but the sentiment remains the same.

sodascone

We should not make a threat ,that we cannot carry out.

We must research the options and then ,make decisions.

I do agree however that we should be strongly researching our options right now.

The SPL as a competitive entity ,is devalued if one of the Old Firm is not there to create competition for the other.

If Rangers were left on there own in the SPL,there fan's would soon become bored with the lack of credibility that winning the SPl would offer.

WE MUST GET OUT of the SPL .

I think that there would be a short term hit financially ,but a long term gain.

The other problem is what UEFA and FIFA will allow us to do.

good to see ed back.
just noticed the timing of your comeback.
was the game you were watching that bad at the time? :}:}:}:}:}:}:}::}:}:}:}:}:}:}:}

Official statement from Dr John Reid

"We, at Glasgow Celtic, understand that some clubs don't have the resources, infrastructure or ability to compete at the highest level. With this in mind we welcome the SFA's endeavour to fabricate a competitive environment.

Our concern is that despite the fixture changes, leniency on certain players and international call offs, Celtic still remain favourites for the title (our third in three years). If the authorities had contacted us earlier we could have done more to help out.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the clubs who cannot catch us the very best of luck for the remainder of the season, however long that may be."

Therags...

Not sure about the legal standpoint on this one ghirls and bhoys but is there any way an individual or groups of individuals could bring some sort of action against the so called powers that be through a loss of money etc. due to the re-scheduling and any possible future changes (within this season, which at this rate seems to be set to finish in July). Travel dates, flight fares, hotels etc.

I know they may roll out the advisory only note when detailing fixtures in advance but surely some effort would cause this to be further placed into the spotlight and some postive pressure placed on the governing bodies to be seen to be taking into account ALL of the teams interests.

I was curious to know what Queen of the South fans thought about the incredible news concerning a possible date change for their cup final. Here are the reactions from a QOTS fansite from this morning. They’re not a happy lot.

Posted by hotrod on 06 May 2008 06:24

ASTONISHING
This is the lot that broke away from the sfl and they now want to switch the cup final to a midweek. I hope the sfl and Queens tell them to get to **** and if that is the case then Our chairman should refuse to turn up for the cup final It is probably going to be our only scottish cup final but our club has to be strong and not rolled over for this lot of moaning b@%#ards.

Posted by MUSKY on 06 May 2008 06:36

It just can’t be moved!! People have made arrangements for the big day and there are people flying in from all over the world.
Rangers need to get a grip and Smith needs to grow up and stop moaning.
Get on with it.

Posted by middleagedirtbag on 06 May 2008 07:20

HUNBELIEVABLE!!
Now is the time for Mr Rae to show whether he is a man or a mouse. Already he has meekly bowed to the powers of darkness in his accepting of a meagre ticket allocation. Time now to say enough is enough and state quite catagorically..... NO WAY!!!

Posted by middleagedirtbag on 06 May 2008 07:44

As an afterthought, what is to stop Rangers putting out a "weakened" team? After all Queens are being treated as little more than "cannon fodder" Surely a Rangers second string could beat little old us? Problem solved!!
NO WAY TO A CHANGE OF DATE!!

Posted by RobQos on 06 May 2008 08:34

No way can they change it now. If they had done it a few weeks ago when the possibility of this scenario was starting to emerge I'm sure we would have all been fine with it. But it is too late now. Families have made their travel arrangments. Some have had to take time off work because they are travelling from far away. I'm sure businesses all over Dumfries will have had to draft in staff cover. Flights will have been booked. Buses will have been booked....

No chance. Its too late. Why should we pay for the incompetance of the 'powers that be' in Scottish football.

Posted by veteran on 06 May 2008 08:46

Proof , if it was needed , that any regard for the integrity of the game is not required at the SFA. All that is needed is a nose of a light blue hue or one which is the same brown colour as your tongue. Justice might be served if Motherwell gub Rangers tomorrow and the Russians stuff them in Manchester. Then Rangers and the SFA can have a real bleat to themselves.

Posted by Alibi on 06 May 2008 09:02

Couldn't believe this stupid suggestion when I heard it on the radio. Queens don't have a fixture congestion problem, so let's keep it on a Saturday and if the huns fail to appear, Queens get the cup by default. There, sorted.

Posted by palmylad on 06 May 2008 09:08

No way can they move the game at this late stage. Who would pay for all the fans expenses etc if it was moved? All the buses , flights , hotel rooms etc are already booked. What a joke.

Posted by JRSLEFTPEG on 06 May 2008 09:28

Lets hope queens smash these odious b****** at hampden.

Posted by FTIVANO on 06 May 2008 09:33

My daughter phoned the SFA at 9.25am today and the woman on the phone said a meeting was discussing the subject this morning and there would be a statement at lunchtime.

Posted by JRSLEFTPEG on 06 May 2008 09:46

The worrying thing is that they are even talking about it. Why? It should be thrown out straight away.

Posted by RobQos on 06 May 2008 09:51

It is too late to change it. People can't change their plans with this much notice.

Why not change an SPL game? Why should the Scottish Cup final be the poorer relation??? Is it because we are just a first division side?

Posted by Collin_Doonhamer on 06 May 2008 09:59

This is an SPL issue, not an SFA issue. If the closed shop want to have their fancy split to ensure they get some extra attendance money, then they can sort out their own fixture problems.

Queens fans have made all their arrangements, flights booked, trains booked, buses booked, holidays booked so they can't possibly change it at this late stage.

The European co-efficient..... how much is the difference between appearing in the Final and winning it?

The biggest impediment to the proposed extension is the cut off date for Euro2008. Players selected for this tournament have to be released 14 days before the first game in the tournament. This means that JVOH, Boruc and possibly Samaras have to be with their organisations on 24 May. This inturn means that the last date Celtic can play is 23 May. Any attempt to force another solution should be met with a reference to FIFA's Disputes Arbitration Committee. We could then have the interesting spectacle of George Peat, forced out of FIFA office by Sepp Blatter for calling one of his mates (Jack Warner) a crook, attempting to persuade a FIFA committtee stuffed with Blatter?Warner cronies that the SFA were acting correctly. I suspect the FIFA cabal would welcome the opportunity to further humiliate Peat, as a warning to the others if nothing else.
Apart from all this however in whose interests are the SFA acting when the devalue their premier tournament in this way and how will the broadcasters react. If further television deals are scuppered the financial meltdown for Scottish football will be severe to catastrophic.

airoldi67 so simple , thats what all other Countries do. Notjing to stop Rangers fielding a team in every competition . Did you see Barca cancel critical Spanish League games before they played Man U . I hope the SPL keep their integrity , they have a life time after to live with it. You would think they had learned with Gretna. I also agree with others we win two we win 3.

new article posted.

Scottish football is just a laughing stock...after the Motherwell pitch scandal and Gretna going bust we now apparently have the SFA, headed by an ex-Rangers man, trying to have decisions made by a separate body reversed, in order to benefit the SFA CEO's favourite team.

Gretna - postponed at Rangers' request
Hibernian - replay
Partick - reply
Ibrox - waterlogged
Fir Park - waterlogged

These are the reasons for the backlog Mr Smith, and your favourite team are responsible for 4 out of 5 of them.

Why did Rangers not play Motherwell last night and Dundee United tomorrow or even Friday? There is a precedent you know for bringing games forward before a Euro final to give you more time to prepare - Walter Smith has mentioned it often enough, yet chose not to request it?

I hope we fight this tooth and nail.

Georgiebhoy,

The rules do indeed state that you need 3 for an SPL board quorum. However, at the time of the extension being granted, there was a detailed debate on CQN around the legality of this. I think it was Estadio who pointed out that the SPL Board had met and appointed Gold and Bain the power to reschedule matches some time ago. Sad, but true.

Larsson7,

Good shout - Celtic should be prepared to withdraw from the Scottish Cup.
Celtic should also be prepared to take legal action - that will really throw the cat amongst the pigeons as I believe that any resultant UEFA sanctions would apply to the league and not the club?
I wonder what UEFA's view of all this amounts to?

One last point, if they get their extension through a SC Final postponement, it would be the lesser of many evils if the league program was moved back to the 20th - leaving them to play Dundee Utd. on the 17th? I suspect that this 'compromise' might yet emerge?

Bromleybhoy

I spoke to a Darnelist yesterday.

His direct quote was "I am not worried about the Aberdeen game.Calderwood and Nicholl will see that we win that.It's the game away to Motherwell that concerns me."

Sadly,i have to say that i agree with his views.

ScotlandsShame :- Thanks, I wasn't watching the game, listening to it was bad enough.

DAILY RETARD EXCLUSIVE: SPL GRANT SECOND EXTENSION REQUEST

The Daily Retard can exclusively reveal the outcome of this morning's love-in between officials of Dignity FC, the SPL and the SFA regarding the request for a second extension to the SPL season in order to aid Dignity FC in their bid to be publicly humiliated by Russian giants Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA Cup Final.

We can exclusively report that the SPL has willingly agreed to Dignity FC's request, and the final round of SPL fixtures will now take place as follows:

Thursday, 22 May 2008
Aberdeen v Rangers, 19:45:01
Dundee Utd v Celtic, 19:45:01
Hibernian v Motherwell, 19:45:01

(Note: These fixtures were previously
scheduled to kick-off at 19:45:00 BST)

new article should be visible now.

Gadzooks,i took an age to type up a post on this thread,then proceeded to post it on the previous thread,if only i knew how to copy and paste,(sighs at his own ineffectiveness).

I am sad to say I've lost count of the times I've came on here to state I am ashamed of the actions of the establishment and of their team.

I've lost count.

To subtly remove competition from the competition.

To forego the right of every team in the competition in pursuit of them winning every competition.

To claim it all as a moral, righteous victory for football and an upwardly spiralling kudos driven profile raiser.

To, in effect, lie and cheat.

Lie and cheat.

As I have said before - If they want it that bad, then let them have it. Let's build the cult of Walter.

Whilst having been a long term avid reader of CQN I have never posted anything until now. If the Record is to be believed, Celtic MUST refuse point-blank to participate in any matches rescheduled beyond the current extension. The vast majority of fans would agree with this course of action and we should be e-mailing Celtic Park now to let the powers there know we would back the decision to the hilt

Maybe it is time for UEFA to get off their sorry asses and insist that in the interests of not only Scottish competition, but European competition too, the SPL for the sake of all national league credibility, and out of respect for all other teams playing in Europe, they (the SPL) fulfil their published fixture list (sic).

To do anything less is to demean all competition, theirs (EUFA’s) included.

This is farcical and does indeed show all of Scotland as being weak and impotent when faced with the power of the proxy establishment.

If Bob Kelly or Fergus McCann were still at the helm things might just be slightly different.

Whatever it takes Celtic, whomever it takes Celtic, the stance you take will reverberate for years to come.

Your stance may well be lauded, and supported for evermore, by the legions of true Celtic supporters; your lack of a stance will no doubt attract the opposite. You will be held in UTTER contempt.

You are in office in my name too; in my name I encourage you to get aggressive. Get mean. Get in amongst the cheating gits. Do whatever it takes but for the love of God do something and be seen to do it.

And don’t on my behalf hold back either. Get them gloves off and booting in the baws is allowed too. Glasgow kiss, poking in the eye. No holds barred

Not very diplomatic I know but are we just going to lie here and let them do it to us.

WITH IMPUNITY?

This is finally too much and CFC PLC board must take a stand be it through legal channels or otherwise.We should be prepared to clash head-on with the SPL and SFA if necessary. The quotes attributed to George Peat are an absolute disgrace. Why has it taken this long to have him come out with these outrageoulsy biased patriotic views and almost threaten the SPL board that if they do not do anything to allieviate the position of RFC's fixture congestion then they will go ahead unilaterally and do so in the interests of Scottish Football. What more baloney do we have to hear from this nonentity of an administrator whose " Ibrox" affiliations we are all aware of from his Falkirk days.

Celtic FC must consult its lawyers and seek an immediate injunction preventing the SFA from interfering in the affairs of the SPL. We must cite the grounds that Celtic first team players Samaras, Boruc, Vennegoor of Hesselink and Hinkel will be called up by their countries for the EURO 2008 Championships and will therefore be unavailable for Celtic in the final matches played in the SPL Championship thereby giving RFC an obvious advantage.Celtic will also have Nakamura and McDonald called up by Japan and Australia caled up for World cup qualifying matches and also unavailable for the Celtic FC final league game.

The individual players in question can also seek an injunction against the SPL and SFA rulings as the decision to give a further extension to RFC will seriously impinge on their potential livelihood re match fees and winning bonuses plus special lucrative bonuses for winning the SPL and gaining automatic entry to the CL next season.

We must not sit back and say oh let them have their way and we will just win all our games etc.. This must not be our approach and every Celtic fan and website must let our club know that " Celtic supporters Expect out PLC to do its duty".

A complete ban on the Daily Record reporting team, advertising dept, etc must also be imposed with immediate effect and the club should request its fans publicly to support this decision 100%. We have to hit them where it hurts most, in their pockets.

Reach for your keyboards, pens, telephones etc all Celtic Fans Worldwide and let these biased and bigoted "peeple" understand we will not be moved.

Someone broke the blog?

I see that Gordon Chisolm has come out publicly to state that QoS are against any rescheduling of the Cup Final - and why not as he probably sees a chance at glory and fancies a crack at the demoralized Anti Matter?

So this leaves us with Rangers and their SFA cronies trying to strongarm the SPL - what an absurd situation!