Tuesday’s Telegraph suggested Mike Ashley is about to increase his shareholding in newco to 29.9% via a share issue, in contravention of his agreement with the SFA on multiple ownership. This morning the club informed the stock market the Ashely’s appointee, Derek Llambias, is now chief executive.
The key passage in the Telegraph article is:
“There is no certainty of anything like unanimous approval, but many in the higher reaches of the Scottish game acknowledge that a revived Rangers, capable of resuming the Old Firm rivalry and renewing the club’s presence in Europe would make Scotland more attractive to broadcasters and league sponsors, with general benefits.”
This has almost certainly come from the same kind of club source which in another lifetime were assuring journalists that HMRC would agree to a CVA; I know for sure the SFA are far from ready to rubber-stamp an Ashley land grab.
There are a few points which, despite blanket coverage of this issue, are not getting a proper hearing:
At current trading levels, Ashley is earning around £4m p.a. from newco as their retail ‘partner’. He is also their exclusive wholesaler, so the club is worth even more to him, let’s say £5m p.a. in total.
Anyone who tells you his financial pay-off is through having newco wear his branding on a European stage is either wholly compliant in an attempt to mislead newco fans, or is simply regurgitating information handed to them by PR agents, without the wherewithal to digest the information correctly.
He’s making £5m per year and he therefore has an interest in ensuring the club continues in its current condition.
The second issue is around the legality of multiple-ownership. It is not against Uefa rules (you can simply comply by one club not competing) but does breach rules in Scotland and England. I recommend not getting too hung-up on this point. In the event he was asked to disinvest from one of his clubs, Ashley could with pull a Blue Pitch Holdings/Margarita stroke.
For all you know about those two newco investors, I could own them. It’s a paper exercise for Ashley to move his ownership beyond the reaches of oversight, and there is nothing in the rules to prevent this.
The question for the SFA, and eventually the FA, is what level of Ashley’s influence, not ownership, they are comfortable with. There are no guidelines on this point.
A further consideration is that whoever briefed the Telegraph at the start of the week is likely to have painted a scenario that without Ashley’s next bung, newco is likely to go the way of oldco. This is far from certain.
If all newco need to survive another season is circa £8m it’s not a figure beyond the realms of possibility for some of the blowhards who have been trying to disrupt Ashley’s strategy in recent months.
My hunch is that the SFA and newco’s fans will be presented with a fait accomply – it’s Ashley or bust. What is certain is that the club will be vastly more inhibited by Ashley milking it dry than with a unifying figure. He has the makings of a memorable Ibrox owner, a true heir to Sir David Murray.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Magners ticket competition yesterday – and who donated to Mary’s Meals. The answer to the question, who do we play on 27 December, is Ross County, which proved to be trickier than I thought. Draw will be made this afternoon and winner informed thereafter.
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Canamalar,
Directly related to the accounts. There is probably an arithmetical formulae already stipulated. ;-)
HH
Hello this is WEE BGFC. Mon the hoops!!!!!!! Nearly at Dundee and were early. Pub time!!!!!!!
Hello this is WEE BGFC. Lemonade for me!!!!!!!
I was wrong about the Celtic fairhful being dumbed down and a WWF clientel being sought after by our bored. Compare the first five years of CQN debate with the last five especially recently. My head hurts.
HH
WEE BGFC gets to the pub more than i do these days.
enjoy it wee man, thats what the school holidays are for
cmon the hoops , keep it lit, and bring us back 3 points.
11:02 on 21 December, 2014
Neil Lennon & McCartney,
Dundee Utd are inconsistent from what I’ve seen of them. They were very poor against Aberdeen in a big game last week, bit on other occasions have looked like a decent passing side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Exactly why I think it will be close, hopefully in Celtic’s favour.
Anyway, I do think it will be good game between two of the top clubs in Scotland (Aberdeen being the 3rd]
WEE BGFC
Tell yer Dad not to skimp on the crisps!
Hope you enjoy the match.
Inter –
Play Lazio tonight ( 7 45 UK )
9th v 4th .
Mancini has stated that he is hoping to buy 3/ 4 players ——– media speculation says –Lamela/,Aaron Lennon/,Lucas Leiva/ Alessio Cerci .Much hype that Guarin will be sold ( but absolutely not / never to Rubentus )
In the words of a blogger — ” We used to sign great players or produce our own , now we chase players who cant get a game for the likes of Spurs and Atletico “.
Serie a —– Roma denied a stonewall penalty at home to AC Milan . Rube back to being 3pts clear at the top of Serie a -such is the nature of life in Serie a .
Awe naw while there are still celtic fans the bored won’t get it all their way. We need to find an acceptable way to hurt them or should I say encourage them in the right direction.
I’m not sure what that is. Perhaps if we all put our weight behind the celtic trust that could none our vehicle?
Anyway cmon the hoops. Looking forward to the game. Off for a couple of weeks. Chilled out. Happy days.
lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
10:38 on 21 December, 2014
It certainly is a serious breach ……. It all became seriously ‘clouded’ in smoke and mirrors and I now just watching all the shoite coming out of ipox, wondering when the SFA are going to charge sevco, individual spivs, sally and their hate-filled hoardes with bringing the game into disrepute since 2012 …… I won’t hold my breath, though …….. since money seems to be king here. (pardon the phun)…however, money (spiv greed) may yet also herald their demise ….. HH
Celtic Football Club @celticfc 5s6 seconds ago
CELTIC team v Dundee United: Gordon; Matthews, Ambrose, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Bitton, Brown; Forrest, Johansen, Stokes; Guidetti
Celtic Football Club @celticfc 6s6 seconds ago
Celtic subs: Zaluska, Scepovic, Commons, Griffiths, Wakaso, Fisher, Henderson.
EMBRAMIKE
Much to like about that team.
Be tight today…2-1 to the bhoys.
Strange tone on the blog recently, I lurk and scratch my head, I really thought it was banter….however, I note Hamiltontim’s overnight post.
There are indeed people on the blog with bad intent.
However, bring it on…..then we can out them for what they are.
I like a rant, and im quite happy to debate with most posters…I don’t even mind being told im a headcase:).
But its all done with openness, certain posters know who I am, and can vouch for me
I think theres too much mystery….multiposters etc, infiltrators.
Its not good.
HH
awe_naw…,
Still take a vote, that would take an EGM or next Nov at the AGM, a lot can happen.
I’m wanting the memorandum of association scrapped and the rules made more definitive.
I like Auldieds outsourcing idea for the refs so much, I’d do it to the whole SFA.
A completely professional Bureaucracy applying rules and regulations exactly by the book to all competitors equitably.
Dear Santa
Good morning , Ffs, I left here yesterday and they where still accusing celtic of being in bed with Sevco, and rushing through the five way seceret agreement that was written with the help of Peter Lawwell, and they are still bumping there gums, honest to god they need ti get a life, moan, moan, moan, ok people can moan, but it’s the same subject every single fekin day, paranoia at its highest level.
embramike
11:15 on 21 December, 2014
As expected, looks like our strongest setup at the moment.
cv
guidetti better get his scoring shoes on again today.
too many missers last few games.
or else.
SOT
Were Rube always hated in Italy prior to their Hunesque crimes?
Was it down to the Agnelli influence alone?
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo
11:08 on 21 December, 2014
You are confusing CQN with Celtic ~ a mistake many make on CQN!
HH
Young Denayer’s injury must have been more serious than first thought, which game was that again?
That seems to be his go-to guys, it’s the most played I think?
Sssss
HHH
Clear blue sky and a big sun -18 degrees at 12 15 – way down south ( it hit 24 yesterday ).
Todays Christmas choon countdown — Strictly vinyl 45 -Day 21 .
St Etienne-I Was Born On Christmas Day ( Heavenly )
Billy Fury -My Christmas Prayer – ( Decca )
Dawn McCarthy & Bonny Prince Billy-Christmas Eve Can Kill You ( Drag City )
Dann Penn -Make Somebody Happy For Christmas ( Pine Bros.)
Belton Richard -You Are All I Want For Christmas ( Swallow )
Well i’m happy with that line up,
Exploit their weakness at set pieces and run them ragged Celtic
Let the People Sing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&feature=related&v=zhkdy0AOpaM
Why do mornings still get darker after the winter solstice?
21 December 2014
From the section Magazine
Man and dog on dark winter morning
Today is the shortest day of the year, so it should follow that mornings will start getting brighter from now on, shouldn’t it? Not necessarily, writes Kris Griffiths.
This Sunday, 21 December, the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day of its year, marked at 22:03 GMT by an astronomical phenomenon known as the winter solstice – the moment the North Pole is tilted furthest from the sun as the Earth continues on its orbit.
The solstice doesn’t always occur on 21 December. Sometimes it nudges into the early hours of 22 December, which will happen again next year. The hour of day also varies. Last year’s arrived at 17:11. Next year’s will at 04:38.
Whatever day or time it happens, for many commuters it means leaving the house and returning from work in darkness, in the knowledge that from here on in the long nights will get shorter, with the sun rising earlier and setting later as we journey again towards the spring equinox.
However, the more astute of these early risers might have perceived a curious development, which may have passed by the more bleary-eyed unnoticed.
It would seem logical that after the shortest day has elapsed the mornings would start getting lighter earlier, but this isn’t what happens – the mornings continue darkening until early in the new year.
Sunrise and sunset in London
Day Sunrise Sunset Day length
11 December 2014 07:56 15:51 7:55:37
21 December 2014 08:04 15:53 7:49:45
31 December 2014 08:06 16:01 7:54:39
31 January 2015 07:41 16:48 9:06:42
Meanwhile, those who thought that the winter solstice would mark the earliest sunset would also be wrong as the earliest sunset arrives a couple of weeks earlier.
In the southern hemisphere, it’s exactly the opposite story. In Sydney, Australia, for example, mornings will start getting darker from the middle of December, while the evenings will continue to get lighter until early January.
So what is behind this peculiarity, which appears to fly in the face of received wisdom about the solstice – surely the shortest day should experience the latest sunrise and earliest sunset?
Well, the primary reason behind it all is that a day – a solar day to be precise – is not always exactly 24 hours.
Winter sunrise over Tynemouth
“In fact, it is 24 hours only four times a year, and never in December,” explains astronomer Stephen Hurley, who runs a popular science blog called The Science Geek. “It is at its shortest around 23 hours 59 minutes and 30 seconds, in early September, and at its longest around 24 hours 30 seconds in December.”
There are two reasons why the length of the solar day varies, the first being the fact that the axis of the Earth’s rotation is tilted – 23.5 degrees from vertical – and second, the Earth’s speed varies because it moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun, accelerating when it is closer to the star’s gravitational pull and decelerating when it is further away.
The sun therefore in effect lags behind the clock for part of the year, then speeds ahead of it for another.
“As you can imagine, it would be complete chaos if our clocks and watches had to cope with days of different lengths,” continues Hurley. “So we use 24 hours, the average over the whole year, for all timekeeping purposes.
“So, as the solar days in December are on average 24 hours and 30 seconds, while our clocks and watches are still assuming that each day is exactly 24 hours, this causes the day to shift about 30 seconds later each day.”
This cumulative shifting explains why the evenings draw in towards their earliest sunset a couple of weeks before the shortest day, and why the mornings continue to get darker until a couple of weeks after.
Druids mark winter solstice at Stonehenge
Druids mark winter solstice at Stonehenge
For those still unclear, it might help to immerse deeper into the history of timekeeping a lot closer to home, with the help of Professor Ian Morison of Gresham College, author of the recently published A Journey through the Universe.
He explains in his work how for centuries the time was linked directly to the sun’s passage across the sky, the time standard being called “local solar time”, as indicated on a sundial. The time would thus vary across the UK, as noon is later in the west.
“It’s surprising the difference this makes,” comments Morison. “In total, the UK stretches 9.55 degrees in longitude from Lowestoft in the east to Magheraboy in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, in the west. As 15 degrees is equivalent to one hour, this is a time difference of just over 38 minutes.”
As railways progressed across Britain in the 19th Century, this difference became impractical and so London time was applied across the whole of the country. As mechanical clocks also evolved to become highly accurate, 24 hours – as measured by the most accurate – was defined to be the average length of the day over one year. This standard became known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
464 gray line
Timepieces in the Magazine
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How the world’s first smartwatch was built
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464 gray line
The adoption of GMT has the consequence, however, that throughout the year our clocks fall in and out of synch with the sun, thanks to Earth’s elliptical orbit. This difference between GMT and solar time is called “the equation of time” by astronomers. It was first calculated in 1673 by British astronomer John Flamsteed, founder of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
“The result is that no matter what people think, the sun is not always due south at noon – even in London,” continues Morison. “It can be up to around 15 minutes ahead or behind, as measured by a clock giving GMT.
“This has an interesting effect around the winter solstice. Though the shortest day is on or close to 21 December, the earliest sunset is around 10 December and the latest sunrise does not occur until 2 January, so at Christmas the mornings are still getting darker whilst the evenings are getting appreciably lighter – an effect noted by many people, but maybe not really understood.”
Winter sunset at Glen Shee
Winter sunset at Glen Shee
So there you have it, hopefully. December’s days are never 24 hours, with the snowballing effect that – if you’re working over the festive period – your morning commute isn’t going to brighten up until after New Year’s Day, which – if you haven’t noticed previously – you probably will now.
And if that doesn’t fill you with much cheer, just remember that as of Monday morning summer will officially be on the way.
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stringer bell
11:00 on 21 December, 2014
But Margaet’s right ……we should not be going anywhere near any stadium infested by that corrupt, repugnant lot ever again …… I won’t be, although I have decided that I will continue to support the Club I love ……. hopefully, Tims like Margaret and I will not have these decisions to make, since it looks to me like ‘the hovering vultures will land’ soon……..HH
Sorry about that last article. I performed a select all using a new browser.
pigsbreakfastCSC
Just as an aside,some serious brown-nosing in the Sunday Mail,including ‘Ask anyone who has played for him,they’ll tell you Billy Davies is the best coach ever’
But,more importantly,this headline.
‘Ashley can prove he is genuine by hiring Billy Davies as Rangers manager now’
Hmmmm,not even lip-service to the SFA directive on dual ownership.
Team plus bench look good. We also have a few missing through injury plus 2/3/4 to come in in January. Would still like to see JG and SS playing off each other together somehow
Much to be optimistic about for 2015 especially if we can keep VvD and secure JG. Mancini @ Inter even being linked with JG (from Man City days) plus Inter seemingly in for 3/4 players in January.
Looks like an intriguing and challenging couple of months starting with 3 points today and a 7 point lead for Xmas
COYBIG
hello Tam from canada, is that you ?
Will the bhoy’s ever play to CF again????
I do dispair.
Play 2 up front
SOUTHOFTUNIS
Another no-brainer,another wee honey.
St Ettienne…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4–Lkb_Oldo
awe naw,
where does the sun go at night ?
brian cox csc.
no the bob sergent wan
Lennon & Mc Cartney
No I see CQN as the gospel according to Peter Lawwell and by extension our biggest shareholder. I do hope it does not reflect our need for Old Firm but fear it is even larger outwith this Gospel.
HH
Will the bhoy’s ever play two CF again????
I do dispair.
Play 2 up front
I do despair at my typing, grammar and spelling
RD SAIS this is his first free week with the full playing staff since he moved here, makes a big difference you know, all rested up as most teams are at the weekend when they play is.
67Heaven
The attempted resurrection of the corpse, is straight out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
They are trying to breath life into a long dead sectarian institution…it wont work.
Ive got more chance of flying to the moon on a magic carpet.
They can try as much as they like, Rangers are Deid, and so is the Old Firm.
Amen to that.
Say no to sevco
HH