Green, Whyte and Gaol-d

496

After many years of speculation and debate, former Rangers owner, Craig Whyte, and founding father of newco Rangers, Charles Green, have been detained by police and are due to appear in court connected to the “alleged fraudulent acquisition” of Rangers assets, which were sold after the club failed to prevent a liquidator being appointed.

Joint administrators for Rangers, Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, then employed by Duff and Phelps, have also been detained in connection with the case.

Let’s get the rules clear from the off:

Anyone charged with a crime is entitled to a fair trial. They should not be subject to public comment which is likely to prejudice their ability to receive a fair trial. Don’t let anything of this nature appear on CQN.

You can discuss the issue, and you can discuss consequences of similar-sounding hypothetical cases, but unless you are cited to as a juror, don’t try to convict anyone.

The events surrounding Rangers liquidation and the subsequent asset purchase took place over three years ago. That this case has now found such momentum suggests the police are following a strong lien of enquiry, and have overcome whatever inertia which can sometimes affect white-collar crime.

We don’t know what is alleged fraudulently took place. The role of the administrators to carry out their duties on behalf of creditors is clearly established. That said, plenty of lateral is afforded to administrators (although increasing payroll by trying to sign Daniel Cousin raised eyebrows).

Exactly how Sevco Scotland Ltd (now The Rangers Football Club Ltd) were able to buy Rangers assets (for £5.5m) when the company who successfully bid for the assets was Sevco 5088 Ltd, has remained an open question since Craig Whyte claimed a controlling interest in Sevco 5088 Ltd.

Whatever the nature of the police charges, there is one overarching fact which Scottish football should be alert to.

Any company, football club or otherwise, which relies on assets that were criminally acquired to go about its business cannot continue to operate with those assets.

In this instance, the stadium, training ground, intellectual property, balls, nets and goalposts were all acquired by the company now known as The Rangers Football Club Ltd.

The consequences of this one are so massive several well-informed people suspected it would never get this far. But the day has come.

Even if all charges are dropped or allegations found to be false, there will still be immediate and real consequences. How would you, for example, go about raising money for a company with this hanging over it?  Newco needs money, and they need to convince investors that the club did not start by criminally acquiring its football stadium.

Good luck with that.

I see in some places a fallacy persists that the SFA found Craig Whyte fit and proper to be a director of a football club. They did no such thing. The responsibility for ensuring Whyte’s fitness in 2011 lay with the Rangers board of directors, including Dave King and Paul Murray. The SFA have no powers to intercede or prevent a club from appointing any director it chooses.

Earlier this year Dave King took the unusual step of asking for prior-clearance that his appointment would not be found contrary to SFA rules (presumably due to his criminal convictions), before being appointed a director, but this was at King’s discretion.  There is no SFA Fit and Proper test, the SFA do not clear or otherwise sanction any club director prior to appointment, this is the job of the club itself.  Dave King, Paul Murray but most of all, Sir David Murray, take a bow.

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  1. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on

    Paul67

     

    I don`y get this bit, “Even if all charges are dropped or allegations found to be false, there will still be immediate and real consequences.”

     

    If false, why consequences?

     

     

    JJ

  2. Paul67

     

     

    You say that the manklies need money.

     

     

    But, to be sure, the glib and shameless one has got £30,000,000 to spend on them!

     

     

    If I supported the mankies, I wouldn’t be worried at all!

     

     

    Honest.

  3. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on 2nd September 2015 4:24 pm

     

     

    He says in the next sentence. You can’t use assets as security for finance that are under suspicion of being fraudulently gained.

     

     

    If everything is dropped then that finance may become available. By that point it may be too late though.

  4. Charles Green History with Sheffield United (per Wikipedia) – last sentence is hilarious

     

     

    Green was officially appointed chief executive of Sheffield United in February 1996 by chairman Mike McDonald following his take over of the club, although in reality Green had been operating in that role since September 1995.[4] It was a period of rapid change for United and Green oversaw the day-to-day running of the club. By 1997 however, he had begun to take decisions over a wider area than his previous remit, including the running of the first team itself, leading to unrest amongst both supporters and staff.[4]

     

     

    Green sacked popular manager Dave Bassett. In a subsequent row over compensation, Green reportedly invited Bassett to settle the issue with a car park brawl, but quickly backed down when Bassett acceded to the request.[5]

  5. From the last thread –

     

     

    I did post the other day about how we need some creative thinking to take the club forward.

     

     

    I said that we could start a club (rather than take one over) at a very low level in England. It could take 10 years to get into League 2.

     

     

    Still, if we’d done this after MON left, that 10 years would have passed.

     

     

    Transfer the club’s stadium to CP and see if anybody tries to stop us. In the meantime for those 10 years, we could still keep playing in the SPL.

     

     

    This is just one thought but a huge amount of very bright people read and post her. Maybe we can come up with something other than the Atlantic League or hoping the EPL will let us in ?

  6. jmccormick on 2nd September 2015 4:22 pm

     

     

    Relaxing end to my holiday, enjoying the farce down at the court .

     

     

     

     

    I have always maintained that football is a sideshow, the on going events in Greece, Italy and elsewhere in the Med are proof positive of that.

     

     

     

     

    We get angry when our club refuses to inflate the bank balance of overpaid millionaire football players,how narrow is our train of thought?

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Keeping it to football, how duped (the word of the year) must football fans of the team formerly known as Rangers feel? Has reality sunk in yet or will the MSM coordinate another cover story? They have suffered enough…blah, blah, blah…

     

    – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/recruitment-planning/comment-page-5/#comments

  7. Paul

     

     

    Sound advice in the article. I think most of the damning stuff is already out there with much of it being a matter of public record.

     

     

    I think I’m safe to put this from Wikipedia up though.

     

     

    “As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going into administration. A company in administration is operated by the administrator (as interim chief executive) on behalf of the creditors as a going concern while options are sought short of liquidation. These options include recapitalising the business, selling the business to new owners, or demerging it into elements that can be sold and closing the remainder.”

     

     

    How many creditors got even a penny back from the “administration process”?

     

     

     

     

    Innocent until proven Otherwise CSC

     

     

    HH

  8. CultsBhoy likes living wage hates heated driveways on

    a welcome distratction – and a unifying bit of good news….

  9. TheExiled Tim@3-57 on previous thread

     

     

     

     

    I think Ronny has great potential but as yet he is not the complete coach we require.

     

     

     

     

    I have no idea if the signings are his as i have no knowledge of the workings of our club.

     

     

     

     

    His desires and wants for Celtic are in line with mine.

     

     

     

     

    Players behaviour and fitness being prioritized is an excellent start.

     

     

     

     

    So far we are not quite up to the vision he speaks about but that could be for various reasons.

     

     

     

     

    Our spacing on the field is poor and leaves to much room for opponents to exploit.

     

     

     

     

    We are not a complete unit with each area (defense.midfield and attack) not moving as one.

     

     

     

     

    Our passing can be poor but rather than blame our technical level i think it’s because our off the ball movement is poor and reduces our options.

     

     

     

     

    Defensively i feel we lack a conductor one who will dictate how high our line is and when to stay or go.

     

     

     

     

    The defense tends to ball watch so hopefully a designated leader could help change this.

     

     

     

     

    Also think we need a true defensive mid to protect the back four.

     

     

     

     

    Bitton has many good qualities but is defensively poor and has a tendency to give ball away in dangerous areas.

     

     

     

     

    I am optimistic that time and experience will bring Ronnie’s vision to fruition.

     

     

     

     

    Hail Hail

     

     

    – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/recruitment-planning/comment-page-5/#comment-2670438

  10. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on

    Speyside Lhad

     

     

    Will that be before CG`s plastic surgery? The Sevco support will be very, very angry. Not least because they will now begin to believe they were duped. Naturally, they won`t blame themselves or the MSSM so Mr Green may well become the target of their wrath. Indeed, has not he Rangers Trust, or some such body, already blamed the SFA for allowing Mr G to do whatever he may have done?

     

    JJ

  11. You buy amotor on the cheap that had previously been purchased using fraudulent means and plod would be banging at your door for the keys.

  12. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on

    Davidopoulus

     

    “Were they on a staircase when they sang it?”

     

     

    I think it was a Marble Staircase o:-)

     

     

    Hadn`t realise what I`d done to your name. Made me laugh when I looked back 0:-)

     

     

    J

  13. •Auldheid on 2nd September 2015 4:32 pm

     

     

    Ellboy on 2nd September 2015 3:46 pm

     

     

    Auldheid

     

     

    I have no idea what the exact figure was for Scepovic but that was not my point.

     

     

    Paul suggesting he was a last minute buy to appease the fans is either a lie now or the spin at the time of him being our top target was a lie back then? Can’t both be true?

     

     

    You brought up Pukki but neither him nor Scepovic can be described as appeasement signings. Both were targeted & neither were last minute throws of the dice. Pukki was lauded as the perfect replacement for Hooper & Scepovic was chased by us weeks before transfer deadline day.

     

     

    *As a side note, I think both players deserved more of a chance than they got*

     

     

    Boy is the following question you asked patronising..

     

     

    “Instead of blaming all the time how about we look at what it is in us that creates what we complain about?

     

     

    Are you a shrink by any chance? So in the mind of Auldheid, all fans who are disgruntled must have something wrong with them or are weans.

     

     

    How nice, I shall now go straight to the naughty step.

     

     

    Ridiculous!

     

    =============================

     

    So fan pressure has no effect on those who want the same fans to come through the door?

     

     

    That is the point I was trying to make using your post. It wasn’t aimed at you per se but I could have been clearer on that.

     

     

    The named players may have cut across that argument because of the particular circumstances of their signing but how much of the disgruntlement is down to ourselves?

     

     

    I’m not disgruntled because I don’t like being disgruntled, but if I cannot stop what is disgruntling me I can stop me being disgruntled at it.

     

     

    The first is Paradise lost the second Paradise regained.

     

     

    Its really my fault, I just want everyone to be happy forgetting that some folk are happy being disgruntled.

     

     

    Sorry if I came across as patronising but I really was trying to offer a solution that works for me when things are outside my power.

  14. • Auldheid on 2nd September 2015 4:42 pm

     

     

     

    Jungle Jim Hot Smoked on 2nd September 2015 4:15 pm

     

     

    I’m here in UK until end of September. As I’ve mentioned apart from what BRTH reported there has been other work putting the narrative into a form that will catch the attention of journos because it does the research they dont have time to do.

     

     

    With the latest arrests SFA governance is going to come under scrutiny – they signed a Five Way agreement with Green fGs and if ever we are going to get meaningful reform there its in the next 6 to 12 months.

     

     

    Contact me via Paul.

  15. Lennon n Mc....Mjallby on

    If several well informed individuals suspected this would never get this far ala a criminal investigation……..

     

     

    Surely there is hope for Resolution 12 becoming a public nuclear bomb too?

  16. AULDHEID

     

     

    From the previous thread.

     

     

    No worries at all & I do understand what you are saying.

     

     

    Though what may be more effective to help quell such disgruntlement, is a little bit of honesty from our club. I suppose the truth may sell less season tickets & merchandise, which is obviously too much of a downside.

     

     

    Anyway things could be a lot worse as we can see from above.

     

     

    HH!

  17. Jungle Jim Hot Smoked

     

    Are the zombies not permanently angry?

     

    PL will feel relieved as some of the blame on him and his unseen fenian hand will subside.

  18. JUNGLE JIM HOT SMOKED on 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015 4:46 PM

     

    Speyside Lhad

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Will that be before CG`s plastic surgery? The Sevco support will be very, very angry. Not least because they will now begin to believe they were duped. Naturally, they won`t blame themselves or the MSSM so Mr Green may well become the target of their wrath. Indeed, has not he Rangers Trust, or some such body, already blamed the SFA for allowing Mr G to do whatever he may have done?

     

     

     

     

    JJ

     

     

    – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/green-whyte-and-gaol-d/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+co%2FIRuC+%28Celtic+Quick+News%29#sthash.PjQs6SE7.dpuf

     

     

    Is this how Charles Green will look after Surgery?

     

     

    JUNGLE JIM HOT SMOKED on 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015 4:46 PM

     

    Speyside Lhad

     

     

     

     

    Will that be before CG`s plastic surgery?

     

     

     

    I how Oul Big ‘ands will look after surgery………..

     

     

     

    http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=kellie+moloney&view=detailv2&qpvt=kellie+moloney&id=753DDBA26981FCC385DBF4A6887BA43C2D97E948&selectedIndex=0&ccid=XTcwlHVh&simid=607993294785875006&thid=OIP.M5d37309475616d30bbfea194ac0f9f1co1&ajaxhist=0

  19. itscalledthemalvinas on

    Disgraceful scenes outside Glasgow Sheriff Court as chuckles is released(see BBC footage) Sure I can see that trumpet from the Sons of the Bigot among the lynch mob

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