I loved the Newco statement from yesterday evening, it betrayed the reality that they’ve lost their nerve in the face of panic among fans and a complete lack of knowledge of what to do about History overtaking them.
They cited that the SPFL had a conference call on the subject of the Court of Session Oldco EBT ruling, but quickly got onto the subject that “our Club’s (sic.) history, including its many successes, is beyond debate”.
Those of us who supported another team during the EBT decade know well that history is beyond debate. We paid money to see those competitions and there will be no denying what happened.
At a stroke Newco took a debate, which was hitherto the exclusive domain of fan comment and the occasional journalist repeating the words of well-paid Newco and Ladbrokes SPFL PR team, that there was “no appetite” for title stripping, and made it a subject football people could legitimately be drawn on. In short, they made Rangers historical successes THE debate.
I’ve spoken to Celtic on various potential public statement matters over the years. They don’t always get it right, but they know when to shut their mouth and win support for their objectives, at the cost of taking flak for not making grandstanding public comments.
Tommo Blog.
While many paid to inform us were repeating paid PR as news, Channel 4’s Alex Thomson had no qualms calling-out the cheats in his blog yesterday: Rangers cheated at football: the fraudulent silverware must go. And that was just the blog title.
Oh Mr Black! The Rangers v HMRC First Tier Tribunal was held in private, with witness names given anonymity in the written report. Mr Black, the name of a key figure at Rangers, who signed and sold up to 400 footballers, and, I guess, took a senior role from late 1988 until 6 May 2011, provided damning evidence against the former football club at the Tribunal.
Thomson writes:
“Why did this powerful but busy character introduce a scheme of wholesale – and now proven to be unlawful – avoidance of NI and income tax?
Why – so the club could gain advantage on the pitch, of course: sporting advantage. By attracting and keeping players they otherwise could not afford. How do we know?
Because the powerful but talkative “Mr Black” was good enough to spill the beans to the Tax Tribunal: “Mr Black did not consider the Trust as a means of tax avoidance, but rather as a means of retaining and rewarding loyal employees. So far as Rangers was concerned it enabled the Club to attract players who would not otherwise have been obtainable.”
Sporting advantage.”
““Mr Black” didn’t see it as a tax wheeze at all, he said, but a football wheeze. Sadly for him if you’re now found to have been cheating the taxman you’re also cheating football – so now his unfortunate admission is a smoking gun
There is more: “As for Mr Black, he denied that the scheme was for tax avoidance in cross-examination, though he went on to describe the scheme as ‘a method of us acquiring, especially football wise, better players in a more cost effective manner than we would be able to do so’; that the club had been ‘very ambitious at that time’; and ‘it was seen as a correct and proper way for us to proceed’; that Rangers ‘have been very successful, because we’ve been able to attract players of a certain standard that, perhaps, we may not have been able to otherwise’.”
One more time: “especially football wise better players in a more cost effective manner”. Sporting. Advantage.”
“It is time Campbell Ogilvie explained his conduct – the man who played a part in the tax avoidance and personally benefited before going on to be SFA President.
It is time Sir David Murray – the conductor of this disastrous orchestration, by overseeing EBTs at Rangers – is similarly held to account for what he did and now, why Rangers did it for advantage on the field: cheating.
Above all, it is time the SPFL members came out from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and beyond to denounce cheating as cheating and take action as fans from Kelso to Thurso are begging them to do.
All the titles and silverware from all the years Rangers cheated at football, as they cheated at tax, must be null and void and wiped from the record.
Let nobody try and tell me it isn’t the same club – I have always said it is and now Rangers have to take the consequence of that reality right on the chin.
Turnbull Hutton RIP – how your godforsaken Scottish game needs you now.”
‘Mr Black’ really has dropped Sir David Murray in it. I hope he stays away from Charlotte Square. This situation reminds me of that scene from Blazing Saddles, where the sheriff turns his gun on himself. Alerts in advance for the use of racial pejoratives, appropriate for the environment, in this clip:
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Podium hunter.
Cards on the table,Celtic.
You have an open goal. A legally defined reason to go after the SFA and the huns.
You will have near-unanimous support for it.
The ball is in your court. This game is nearly over,it simply needs a bit of cojones and concentration.
Get it right,please.
I need to employ a speed-reader and a faster typist!
A lead article and a film clip all in one. What value!
Greenpinata & BMCUW
The ideal time for a bhoycott would have been last season’s League Cup Semi Final.
PAUL67
I thought it telling that they didn’t refer to their club’s ‘proud’ history.
Dignity seems to have left the room too.
Maybe the dinghy sunk wi all hands on board instead of one survivor,for a change.
DELANEYSDUNKY
Aye.
Too bliddy true!
Still not seen it. No wish to.
You nice and tanned,big fella?
Badges, we don’t want no stinking badges….its titles we want…
Ernie
You’re correct, the real prize would be the authorities finally recognising Sevco as a new club, and acknowledging that Rangers (1872-2012) died, as incorporated club and company.
There would be nothing Pyrrhic about that victory.
******************
BRTH(from previous article)
Thought that was an excellent post.
lets hope the spfl + sfa has the balls to strip rankers of there ebt titles
Paul67. I have seen suggestions from other sites saying Mr.Black and Sir David Murray are one and the same person.I take you dont subscribe to this ? H.H.
BMCUW
Nicely bronzed thanks. Had a great relaxing week.
Enough baccy to last till July too! ;))
sevco mastermind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKNISaYLq48
West End of East End, ha!
Joe Filippis Haircut, watch the clip.
Jobo
Actually, in the lead article
We got an own goal from Sevco/Sameco
We got a nod to the principle of “Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake”
We got an extract from an independent and impartial journo applying the principle of sporting ethics
We got an expose of Mr Black’s alter ego
We got a film clip to send us away laughing
Nice one Paul.
Herald reporting that The Rangers Board is trying to stop Mike Ashley voting at the AGM on the grounds that he is running another club, i.e. Newcastle. Objective (apparently) is to avoid further sanctions against the club following their fine for “dual ownership” breaches. (“Duel ownership” may be a more appropriate term at Ibrox)
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13981993.Rangers_board_moves_to_curb_Mike_Ashley_s_say_in_club_affairs/
Such endearing tactics – I am sure Big Mike will fully understand.
Paul67. Ah had I watched the clip I would not have needed to ask the question thanks Paul. H.H.
RWE –
Aye I know but if I’d typed all of that I’d never have secured a top 4 place ;-)
Blazing Blazers……….
I agree with Alex thomson on the trophies, but what is it he does not get about incorporation and liquidation?
Sevco are in their 3 rd year of existence, denial of reality at work here, a mental process where reality is too difficult to deal with does not make sevco RFC 1872-2012.
The personnel involved should be persued to the courts if necessary players employess and those in the pay of RFC whom we are not fully aware of YET.
Paul,
Have you seen the comments by honest Dave apologising for EBT’s?
https://twitter.com/rangerstaxcase/status/663706758955700224
D D
Don’t know if you caught my last post, Paul 67 left me
floundering on the last page.
So i’ll repeat.
Some great teams coming in and i always feel bad about
the young bucks who never seen the lions especially wee
Jinky, i was lucky.
H.H Mick
JOBO .are you still on .?????
Could I put a claim in for all my season ticket money to be returned as everything was rigged?
thats quite a few spondoolies
im working out about…£2k
who do i send my claim to?
im sure some of these
PPI mobs can see the £ signs here.
“Russia? Och no, don’t be silly. You couldn’t have cheated since we didn’t know at the time that you were cheating. Move along now, nothing to see here”. Said no-one. Ever.
Meanwhile back in Scotland…..
Hi Pal,
Another excellent piece, good to see Alex Thompson telling it like it is.
Of course the issue is will the SFA do anything about this, they are on record as stating Rangers oldco/newco are the same Club.
The Newco statement is clearly a desperate attempt to circle the wagons, telling the authorities what is unacceptable in the way of sanctions for over a decade of financial doping is ridiculous. What the SFA must do is re-establish their authority over the game by investigating the wrong doing, and take the necessary action “without fear or favour”.
Hail Hail
Afternoon all,
Long time no drivel posted (by me)…
One thing I find disturbing is that a few ‘good Celtic men’, i.e. Paul Lambert, Chris Sutton, Martin O’Neill, have all been linked with the brushity-under-carpety statment of “The trophies were won on the field of play”. I thought to myself last night, how can someone find out their biggest rival was cheating for years and think, “ah, well”? This is unfathomable to me. Then I thought, why would someone have such a counter-intuitive reaction? Is it perhaps self-preservation?
This is all just a hypothesis, but are some former football people (who didn’t benefit from EBT’s) also associated with dubious tax avoidance schemes and would rather this question just went away?
I certainly remember that Sutton had money invested in the dubious British movie industry investment scheme (indeed did he not lose money out of that).
Again, this not an accusation, just a thought emanating from my tiny brain. I think that their reaction is awfully bizarre given that these guys were professionals and winners…professional winners, if you please.
Anyway, that’s enough rubbish from me…
2+2=5 CSC
‘I’ve spoken to Celtic on various potential public statement matters over the years. They don’t always get it right, but they know when to shut their mouth and win support for their objectives, at the cost of taking flak for not making grandstanding public comments.’
####
Do Celtic accept the same club narrative?
In not are they prepared to do anything about it?
Favourite Uncle – for ablout 5 more minutes then off to Laaandaaaan Town….
Jewel ownership, you say?
Where? Who? Is he a Real Ranjurs Man? Fix a meet, I’ll jet in wi’ a blazer!
What stunning hypocrisy from the Ibrox cheats FC.
Where was the concern for the greater good of the game when they repeatedly drew up contract after contract, side letter after side letter? Their one and only concern throughout those years was how to stiff every other club in Scotland. The fans gloried in this policy and the success it brought them. They absolutely loved every second of their decade long campaign of sticking it right up every other club, and Celtic in particular. Their behaviour during this period was absolutely deplorable. Their greatest pleasure was not the winning but the opportunity it offered to ram it firmly down the throats of opponents.
If the tables were turned right now and it was Celtic in the dock you can be absolutely certain that they’d be baying for blood. The front page of every newspaper, the headlines on line and on TV would be a constant stream of naming and shaming everyone involved, demanding justice etc…
In fact, it would never have gotten this far. Every single person involved would have been tried and convicted many years ago. Celtic Park would be a dust bowl.
But no, this is RFCil we are talking about and we should focus on the good of the game….
Aye right!
Good stuff. Here is mine on the Sevco statement and the Alex Thomson piece.
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/where-should-i-stick-this-asterisk/
Ever more excuses are being wheeled out by parts of the media as to why titles can’t be stripped, and how there weren’t any rule breaches that weren’t already dealt with by Lord Nimmo Smith….
JOBO .i went to CELTIC park last thursday night and tried to find you as you suggested .i asked for directions in the store and was directed to space near burger van.i asked and only met GLEN DALY’S son and a wee fat guy who asked if i was from THE SOOSIDE.
so where is THE CORNER and is GD’S son in your clique.
ERNIELYNCH
To go out on a limb here,they are the same club.
That has been the case ever since the establishment established it.
Now,we have a problem. Inasmuch as in law,they clearly cannot be.
Fortunately law has given an opportunity to do them down permanently.
The rest of Scottish football looked on incredulously as they reclaimed their status. We have a second bite at the orange.
Scottish football must for its own sake ensure they do the right thing this time.
Dd,
Correct.
The time for a boycott was last seasons semi.
HH
Davidopoulos
I have often thought the same. Is everyone else squeaky clean? Hmm
Favourite Uncle –
I got caught up in traffic last week and only got to the ground about 5.45. I did pass by The Corner but didn’t recognise any of the 2 or 3 that were standing about so apologies if that was you.
next home game should be different. There’s one building that houses the superstore on the left and the pools office on the right. The CQN Crowd are usually blocking the gangway to the pools office. So maybe see you before the Kilmarnock game a week on Saturday.
Must dash…
It really sums this little bigoted country of ours, that all our mainstream media are ‘running scared’ of this ‘open and shut’ case of sporting integrity and cheating on an industrial scale, and we have to rely on our friends from south of the border for some honest journalism.
Alex Thompson and Brian McInally are the only people with the honesty and ‘balls’ to put their heads above the parapet.
Clyde, Sportsound and the D