The Gang of 10 SPL club who will meet next week will decide whether or not we have a morally sound and ethically administered league. The meeting wasn’t announced three hours before overtures were being made on terms a Rangers Newco would be prepared to agree to in order to win their backing.
Effectively, the other 10 will asked to hold their noses, put all moral judgement aside and tell Rangers Newco the terms they need to agree to in order to get back into the SPL, retain their history and limit consequences of the alleged improper registration of players. Some of those hoping to front a Rangers Newco are prepared to do whatever is necessary to get back on a level playing field with those who have spent the last 20 years playing honest football and paying their taxes.
The question to be considered is not just what is ethically right in sport; it’s more personal than that. This is about what is going to happen to your money, the football club that defines who you are, and your relationship with the game for the rest of your life.
The schemers and cheats are not beaten and they are not going to give up. There is no honour, no ‘dignity’, no moral compass that understands there are consequences for decades of rampant abuse. All there is, is a sense of entitlement that I struggle to comprehend.
That sense of entitlement is about to promise bucket loads of your cash to someone else in order to restore the old certainties. This time, they are not even going to use the tax man’s money, they are going to use YOUR money. The money you put into the game will be distributed and used to flush the smaller clubs, who will in turn restore Rangers to their position of ascendency.
This is not sport, it’s a disgusting abuse of Celtic fans. You are not even being asked, you are being expected to open your wallets and pay whatever price it takes to put Rangers back on top.
I have never called for a boycott of a newspaper, never mind a football game, but this is not football anymore. We cannot be party to this. It is not a passing-issue either. Rules are being made with consequences that could last 100 years.
You have suffered from decades of malpractice and have earned the right to go to Ibrox in two weeks to enjoy the reflection of honest endeavour. After this, our next away game will be at Kilmarnock. If the Gang of 10 attempt an insurrection using your money, join me in a picket outside Celtic Park when these tickets are available for sale, and outside the away gates at Rugby Park on game day, to explain to Celtic fans the consequences of supporting the clubs who would use your money to establish a new Rangers.
Unite and bring the full power of Celtic against those who would rather do a deal with the devil than establish an honest, even, playing field.
If the Gang of 10 give Rangers Newco their way, using your money, we cannot go back to an away game, not this season, not ever. We must demand this discipline from each other and insist the club refuse all away tickets.
Having paid our taxes, registered footballers in an honest manner and brought international acclaim to Scottish football, the Celtic Movement is being corrupted by the lowest common denominator.
Our magnificent sporting institution is being destroyed. For the love of all that is decent and meritocratic in the game, we need help from England, Europe or wherever to move out of Scottish football.
I am just about finished with the entire, corrupt, shambles that masquerades as a sport.
Issue six of CQN Magazine….. has sold out! None left, sorry.
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Paul67
I used to be able to rely on your predictions .(:-)
Yesterday I was telling everyone that the Darnel would be liquidated within days.
Last night you had the gang of ten hammering Rangers.
Today they are about to stiff us.
You will not be getting my vote for The first President of Scotland if this keeps up.
Tt
StevieS on 9 March, 2012 at 13:54 said:
Paul67,
As you know, I’ve been on here since day “dot” and I don’t think I’ve every heard you so angry. 100% justified anger.
I think you ‘ll find that you’re message will not meet with much resistance among the Celtic support.
Ah, to heck, with it Paul – just change your name to Brian and be done with it. I’ve already got my sandle in one hand and a ghord(sp) in the other and I’m ready to follow. Coz I say you are! and I should know – I’ve followed a few :-)
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
2010 Never Again
Now that is funny!!!
paul
This time, they are not even going to use the tax man’s money, they are going to use YOUR money. The money you put into the game will be distributed and used to flush the smaller clubs, who will in turn restore Rangers to their position of ascendency.
a celtic quick reply from me “that will be bloody right”
count me in 100%
Sorry if already been mentioned but a cancellation of SKY/ESPN subscriiptions if Newco allowed into the league is also a must.
Paul67,
Excellent article. Full of raw emotion and passion and anger……and rightfully so!
When i heard last night via the Fat Bhoys Slim about this meeting my initial reaction was “Bhoycott every last one of those slimy, sleekit, self-serving, conniving bams”.
Glad to see you feel the same way.
I’ll be there Shoulder-to-Shoulder with you and every one of the Bhoys who is willing to let them know what we think of their pathetic, cowardly kowtowing to the huns.
As others have said, I’d also be happy to cancel Sky/ESPN subscriptions and give to Celtic TV instead.
Additionally, if there is any, feasible or plausible way to leave this godforsaken hun-hole of a league, then Celtic MUST do everything in their/our power to make that happen!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
There must be an exit strategy for CFC. If not we will be right royally (sic) screwed, the supporters of our club will not buy in to this back door skulduggery, its time for our supporters groups to speak as one voice on this.
If it comes to it then I’ll buy a ST next year based on watching Celtic playing friendliest against teams from around the world, serve a notice to quit the SPL, let them eat dirt.
Vinny
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 9 March, 2012 at 13:53 said:
Can everybody CALM THE F**K DOWN
Exactly – Platini’s/UEFA’s plans would be in ruins if the huns – new team (it is a new team with no history not a new co) gets allowed straight back in.
kevinlasvagas,
wee point of information, scotlad is a pagan country, innit
Mort, that’s an idea I had thought if but is there not a minimum price fir selling tickets?
SffS
Q&A: What happens if Rangers form a ‘newco’
A look at the processes and hurdles any new Rangers would have to overcome to join Scotland’s professional football leagues.
By Grant Russell
09 March 2012 12:06 GMT
With Rangers’ immediate future unknown, the club’s administrators have refused to rule out the possibility of a ‘newco’ being created and the current company being liquidated.
We take a look at how complicated it would be for any new company to join Scottish football’s professional leagues and whether they would join the Scottish Premier League or the Scottish Football League.
What is a newco?
It is a new company which is set up in the guise of an existing football club, with a view to assuming its likeness, assets and league membership, if it goes out of business.
Could the newco go straight into the SPL?
The SPL’s articles of association provide a path for a newco to gain access to the league.
The league is controlled by its 12 clubs, which each have a single share in the company. In the event of a club being subject to an insolvency event, such as administration or liquidation, the appointed practitioner holds the entitlement to the share.
At any stage, be it during administration or a liquidation process, an application can be made to the SPL board for the share to be transferred to another company.
Who decides?
As per article 11 of the SPL’s Articles of Association, the SPL board must give its consent for a member share to be transferred. Despite other Articles suggesting otherwise, the other members of the league would not be given a say.
Article 11 states: “Except where such transfer is occasioned by the promotion of an association football club from and relegation of a Club to the SFL the consent of the Board shall be required before the transfer of any Share shall be registered.”
The SPL board consists of Ralph Topping (SPL chairman), Neil Doncaster (SPL chief executive), Eric Riley (Celtic), Stephen Thompson (Dundee United), Derek Weir (Motherwell) and Steven Brown (St Johnstone). Topping has the casting vote in the event of a split decision.
Providing final approval is granted, the share will be sold to the newco for £1. The old club will immediately cease to be a member of the SPL, and the newco would become a member in its place.
Are there any possible sanctions?
The member clubs could suggest any sanction they see fit. The imposition of a points penalty on any new club coming into the league has previously been speculated upon.
There are no regulations stating there must be penalties in such an eventuality. A newco could be allowed into the SPL with or without sanction.
Leeds United offer the closest precedent. The club’s member share in the Football League was transferred to a newco during the off-season. The newco inherited all of the previous company’s playing records, and had a points sanction imposed on them, starting the season minus 15 points.
Interestingly, SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster was with the Football League at the time of the Leeds United case. The SPL’s rules also bear resemblance to the rules of the Football League from that time.
What would happen to Rangers’ results this season?
If Rangers ceased to exist and were not replaced, their results this season would be expunged under H5, which states: “If any club in the league ceases to operate or to be member of the league for any reason, its playing record in the league may be expunged and the number of relegation places from the league shall be reduced accordingly.”
This means all scores involving the club in 2011/12 would be removed from the records, and the league table adjusted.
If a newco take over Rangers’ place, there is no definitive explanation in the SPL rules and no precedent as to what would happen to Rangers’ playing record.
The more likely option would be for the newco to inherit Rangers’ results from this season, while also being subject to further points sanctions from the league.
Other eventualities would appear to be impractical. To preserve the integrity of the league, the newco would have to play 38 games between now and May. Or, they may only play the remaining amount of games left to be filled in the season, which would result in an imbalanced league.
What if the newco isn’t voted into the SPL?
As there would be one less club in Scotland’s professional leagues, a vacancy would open up at the bottom of the SFL, ie. the Third Division.
As has been the case in the past, the SFL would invite clubs to apply for membership of the league. In recent years, Gretna and Annan Athletic have been admitted through this process.
There is no guarantee a newco would automatically be given the vacant place. In the past, numerous clubs have competed against each other for the spot in the SFL.
Could a newco take over an SFL club and rebrand it?
Yes. There is nothing in the SFL’s rules which expressly forbids a current member club being purchased, rebranded and relocated.
The biggest hurdle to any newco trying to buy out a club would arguably lie with convincing shareholders to approve the effective death of their team as they know it.
If a club’s shareholders were willing to sell its membership and identity to any newco, then the next step would be gaining approval from the SFL board.
SFL rule 86.2 states: “any club wishing to make any alteration to the designated name of the club or ground must first obtain the prior written consent of the board.”
The league must also approve a club’s colours and kit designs before June 1 each year.
So the situation where Airdrie United bought over Clydebank could happen again?
Yes. Like in the Airdrie United example, the SFL board would have to give their approval to any change to membership.
Would a newco be able to kill off a club as easily as Airdrie United did to Clydebank? That would remain to be seen.
Clydebank were in administration and had no permanent ground, but were set to go ahead and play in the 2002/03 season.
Airdrie United’s owners made a bid to Clydebank’s administrators to buy the club, on the condition it relocated to Airdrie and changed its name.
The membership was successfully purchased, with the fact Airdrie United had agreed a deal to play at the Excelsior Stadium aiding the SFL board in their decision.
Would the newco play at Ibrox and train at Murray Park?
Both would be under the control of the administrators if the current company was liqudated. Both would be sold off in an attempt to raise as much money as possible to pay creditors affected by the business’ collapse.
For the newco to be able to use the two, they would either have to purchase them from the administrators, or agree to lease them back from whoever ultimately buys both.
Would the Scottish Football Association intervene?
The Scottish FA also exercise their authority on the transfer of membership and forbids any transfer of membership without its permission.
The governing body makes it clear in their Articles of Association (14.1) that when a transfer is requested, a review is undertaken by the board.
The board has complete discretion to grant or reject an application for transfer but also retains the right to impose any conditions or terms on the newco.
Will any new owner be subject to a fit and proper persons test by the Scottish FA?
There is no such test. The Scottish FA relies on the club, via its official return, self-declaring if there any possible reasons why an office bearer may not be fit and proper to be involved in football.
Even if a person is subsequently found not to be fit and proper, there is nothing to stop an individual owning a club. As long as they do not appear on the board, ie. as chairman, nothing can be done.
Can a newco qualify for European competition?
Any club wishing to apply for a UEFA club licence and play in Europe must have been a member of a national association for three consecutive seasons.
Any newco would be considered as a new entity and, therefore, would have to wait three full seasons before being eligible to play in the Champions League or Europa League.
Grant Russell is an anagram of Rangers slut
Hail Hail
Bhoys i suggest we nominate a different CSC to attend each away game. This would mean that the home club would still have the cost of providing additional stewards and Police.
celtic hopefully have lobbied or at least
made uefa aware what is going on and what
is about to go down.
i cannot believe our board of directors
will stand idly by and let our club and
supporters be raped and pillaged (cant think
of any better expression)
hence their silence and extended silence
from the presser today????
so rankers are dangling a carrot in front
of the 10 for access straight back into
the top flight. what have they to dangle?
have a third of these 10 not been lied to
and shafted in the last two months never
mind the financial doping since 1990
but they are willing to accept what the
scumbags tell them now????
Paul – written with a very heavy heart I’m sure and read by all in a similar manner.
Only in Scotland could a gang of 10 be preparing to destroy what’s left of the game to help the corrupt and bankrupt of morals and money. Only in Scotland could the governing bodies allow it, encourage it even! Only in Scotland.
I look forward to driving up from Newcastle to join you and many others at the picket and I’ll do all I can to bring more with me. I believe it is our duty as a Club and a support to do the right thing if this happens and I agree with the earlier poster that if we get to the Cup Final, in fact, the semi-final, the Bhoycott must apply too. The TV viewers may be used to seeing a half empty rugby park etc but a 3/4 empty hampden with Celtic in the final would be an embarrassment to the SFA. Then again, if they’ve the collective brassneck to allow all this to pass then maybe they are beyond embarrassing!
I repeat my long held hope that we end up in ANY league, any where and any time soon!
Regan, Doncaster, and the gang of 10 can whistle for our money.
And Salmond…..your “fabric” stinks!
Paul 67
I have to say im shocked at your article,,i have never seen you like this before,James Forrest etc have written strong worded comments in the past,but you have always tried to be diplomatic,,,until today!!!
Therefor things must be bad!
I just hope the club back the supporters if this boycott is to become a reality,it cant just be left to us fans to organise it,the club have to be seen to support it!!!
This has to be up front and public,everyone must know the reasons for boycotting away games,no smoke and mirrors just the truth for everyone to see!!
Hail hail
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/B122cQ8kpBS/Celtic+v+Rangers/w5HXr9HFLXK/Michel+Platini
Caption competition
So if we do protest, how long does it go on for and what realistically do we expect to achieve? if the other clubs forgive der hun after everything that has come to pass, they already have said where their loyalties lie. So if we starve
out the other teams and dont get another league to play in, then what?
KLV
If Paul 67 Is correct we are fighting for the life of Glasgow Celtic if Rangers or Rangers newco get straight back into the SPL with very little punishment I and thousands of over Celtic supporters will be finished with Scottish Football there is no point in playing in a league where corruption is and has been rife.We need this Cheating by Rangers to be delt with in an honest and open way.One thing we Celtic supporters must realise is that many thousands of Celtic fans do not have access to a computer or to CQN so will not have access to the information that we enjoy so I would support Paul 67 call for a bhoycott as I believe the very life of my beloved Celtic is being put on the line by the cheating of both Rangers,The Establisment and the administrators.H.H.l
This is truly a “Celts for change” moment. The rebels will win again.
Oglach
BHOYCOTT has got to be total.
As fergus said”not one thin dime”
Starve them and cancel all sky/Espn subscriptions
Jam67
Paul 67
This is all part of the negotiation ….. We should be contacting Eng CL re replacing Portsmouth …. As the ‘wee 10’ are goading us to …. We are the only game in town and can make life very difficult for everyone… So the ‘wee 10’ better watch it!
Still it will be the SFA that decides Dignity’s fate and when the huge cheating is fully exposed by the FTT then Dignity’s license will be withdrawn for 12 months to give them time to sort their legal affairs out and be ready for an application at the bottom end of a re-organised league structure.
Youhearditherefirstcfc
awe naw
“shower of dirty cheating scumbags, we want a way out, any ideas Michel?”
I have just read that article and am glad i was sitting down
Have to wholeheartedly agree with everything you have said there Paul67.
the very fact that the ‘other 10’ are meeting WITHOUT Celtic says it all
We have done nothing wrong
We have paid our taxes
We have paid players wages that are within our means
We have been honest about the contracts that those players are given
We have paid the transfer fees for players on time
We have settled our bills with other scottish clubs on time
We the fans, have been the absolute best advertisement for Scottish and Irish people all over europe and beyond
We have won admiration from Government officials ALL OVER THE WORLD for our sportmanship and behaviour
We have been used as an example to other countries and sets of supporters as how a support should behave whilst giving the most fantastic backing to our team
We all know what ‘they’ have always been and always will be
After all that, the other spl teams want to openly shaft us, gang up on us and bully us into submission!!!!!
IF that is the case they can have their poxy league and stick it where the sun don’t shine
Peter Lawell and Dermot Desmond especially! Time to stand up for us and show your mettle
Enough is Enough
Just say we go through with this boycott, won’t they just sit us out and take the short term hit? Fans being fans will drift back to the games and then where does it go from there?
ps
if you were a business man and going to a vote for your own secure profitability . who would you trust and back……………
a club who is on a sound financial footing and will be for years to come
or
a club who’ve diddle you out of money and trophies thro’ corruption and doping for years and is now being torn apart by soundrels and cads?
Hi Paul,
It’s a very stongly worded article … but in truth I’m not sure it makes clear HOW they are spending our money?
I still don’t think it’s even remotely clear that RFC are going to become a newco…. so think this has to go down as pure speculation on your part. Added to that any effort to create a newco will almost certainly be stuck in the law courts so I’m personally not convinced it can happen to even be ready for next season.
I think you are really assuming that newco is inevitable… if the admin’s can make a deal to pay back their debt over 10 years I don’t see why that is unworkable. The team will be crippled with a much lower wage bill but they can survive it and the admin’s have a duty to keep RFC out of liquidation if they can. It’s patently obvious that it would be painful but it’s also obvious that paying back 10 mill a year is affordable… even if the team suffers with a 5k weekly wage cap for the highest earners.
B
At the moment, the “Ten” have done nothing.
However, there is every need to put a marker down, that, in the event of them acting in any way other than the integrity of the League and it’s Rules, that there will be consequences.
The mindset of these clubs was apparent last year, by their silence over Neil Lennon’s victimisation.
That disgrace was a barometer of their thinking.
At that time, there was a call on here and other places, for a boycott of clubs who were acting out with the ethics of the game.
This was diffused by the CSA and others.
There was also the constituency who felt that they could never let the Bhoys take a “foreign” field without some support.
I think that if Paul’s latest fears come to pass, then the battle has moved on from then and becomes one of financial imperative to the other clubs.
This is where they must be hit, irrespective of fans’ views to the contrary.
In every strike there are always ones who don’t agree with the action, but the majority will or common good must prevail.
This is an action that must rest exclusively with the fans, as the club cannot be seen to be actively working against other clubs well being.
To date, Celtic have played by the rules. This must be maintained. This is our moral high ground.
Finally, it is easy for someone, who doesn’t attend many games now, to advocate a boycott, but, sometimes it falls to a few to act for the many. It can be seen as a privilege.
Can everybody stop calling them newco its a new team with no history. They have never played a game never mind won one. They don’t have a park, dont have manager and dont have a single player.
I am Spartacus!
Paul 67
I don’t in any way intend to be insensitive but,
I feel that the establishment/huns will re-write
the SFA/SPL/SS-RUC/SNP – rule book
after the sad passing of
Paul McBride QC
I apologise if that seems insensitive
Hail! Hail!
McNair – they don’t even exist.
Penned before the site went down, so may be out of date.
********
At the moment, the “Ten” have done nothing.
However, there is every need to put a marker down, that, in the event of them acting in any way other than the integrity of the League and it’s Rules, that there will be consequences.
The mindset of these clubs was apparent last year, by their silence over Neil Lennon’s victimisation.
That disgrace was a barometer of their thinking.
At that time, there was a call on here and other places, for a boycott of clubs who were acting out with the ethics of the game.
This was diffused by the CSA and others.
There was also the constituency who felt that they could never let the Bhoys take a “foreign” field without some support.
I think that if Paul’s latest fears come to pass, then the battle has moved on from then and becomes one of financial imperative to the other clubs.
This is where they must be hit, irrespective of fans’ views to the contrary.
In every strike there are always ones who don’t agree with the action, but the majority will or common good must prevail.
This is an action that must rest exclusively with the fans, as the club cannot be seen to be actively working against other clubs well being.
To date, Celtic have played by the rules. This must be maintained. This is our moral high ground.
Finally, it is easy for someone, who doesn’t attend many games now, to advocate a boycott, but, sometimes it falls to a few to act for the many. It can be seen as a privilege.
Paul67
What a difference a day makes.
Yesterday – Gang of Ten ready to deliver ‘Hammer blow’
Today – Gang of Ten ready to ‘hold their noses’ and tell the TFOD the terms needed to get them back into the SPL.
Either your source is a schizophrenic or you are struggling to keep up with developments.
The issue you have never looked into but which is the cornerstone of the TFOD booster club in political and Civic Scotland is what needs to be done to keep the show on the road and stop violence on the streets.
No matter the guilt of the TFOD a ‘magic bullet’ solution is being devised as we speak to keep the body count low. We can expect the full weight of the establishment to try and come up with a solution that will allow them to continue with the minimum of court time and fuss.
However the solution is not a foregone solution, there are so many complications in the current situation facing the TFOD that “Deep Throat” would have difficulty swallowing it.
However the bad guys have energy, desire and imagination.
Expect ‘Exceptional powers / circumstances’ to come to the fore.
The solution, and they will find one will be something to behold.
However the issues go well beyond the borders of our wee country.
The HMRC are in the public eye after their brushes with MPs.
Ticketus are a substantial undertaking.
You can buy a lot of lawyer time for £17mill +.
UEFA will be watching.
DM has so many skeletons in his closet that there is a bow in the door.
Tax losses are big politics at the moment.
You can do a lot with £42mill, even more with £75mill
Remploy is big news.
Consequently calm your jets.
Keep your ears open and listen.
There is no need to throw our toys out the pram just yet.
We need to keep the volume down and
interesting change of tone,not only on here. I have just posted elsewher about how relieved the LL are at having a good news story to spin, all about the generosity of millionaires opting to eke out a living on £5k a week.
I have been out of contact with all media for most of the week and it is obvious that the wind is shifting in their favour. For what it is worth here is what I think. CW needs to sell now, the administrators need to sell quickly and they need someone to step forward before next week. So , we get all the planted whispers about a possible HMRC deal, wage cuts( not deferrals), saintly acts of footballers to save the cleaners jobs, 7 interested buyers. Most of this is smoke and mirrors and they want some eejit to throw some money at them. The wage cuts do not add up to 25% of what they need to save, nobody has mentioned that. Have the four saintly men been promised free transfers at season end ? Nobody will ask.
As for the SPL chairmen, my abiding memory of that lot was the last time when they felt they could live without us and them. The picture of 10 fat men in suits , huddling together, like buffalo seeking protection from a lion, on the Hampden steps was a comical sight. Their gobshite mouthpiece then was Yorkston , looks most likely he is now reprising that role. His record of success in running Dunfermline will set the right example.
Paul must have extremely good info to publish this as he has always stated his aversion to Bhoycotting games.
I am sure he did just this earlier this week with his usual assertion “It’s not what Neil wants” or words to that effect.
I can only assume from what Paul is saying that representatives from potential rangers newco have basically said that if you vote us back in we will concede 50/50 gate receipts/equal TV money etc. and an 11-1 vote will ensure this becomes SPL law.
But who approached them ? Paul Murray ? Duff & Duffer? Jabba ?!!
Oglach
BHOYCOTT has got to be total.
As fergus said”not one thin dime”
Starve them and cancel all sky/Espn subscriptions
—————-
The aim is to hurt them financially having to pay for the stewards and police to ‘look after’ 50 or so Celtic fans will far exceed revenue derived from the sale of 50 tickets. They have let us in
Paulus LXVII, Salve salve, Benedicamus te;- On the face of it , it is perfectly sensible for the other 10 teams to meet and to try to manouvre the present circumstances to their advantage. However if part of their plan is to completely stiff us and to facilitate an entry to the top table for Newco then I find myself in agreement with you. A boycott however, will achieve nothing and if we sign up to something which compels us to share our gate money with visiting teams, merely compunds the issue. In my view ( and it’s the only one that counts btw) the way forward from a situation like that is to use our influence to enrol our under 19 team in the English league , sell all our players who don’t qualify for this and make this our football until we can gain acceptance into the league proper with a full side. We should not and cannot be in any way associated with a set up that does not have fair play and integrity at it’s heart. For myself, I am lucky becuase we are on the cusp of the new fishing season and I have obtained two bottles of Abunadh so I am sorted.
best of luck Ghuys.
Greenwells
Corruptio optimi pessima
TTT I cancelled sky sports 1-4 and espn last week, let’s him them in the pocket.
V
Thinking about it,the idea of a 50% split of the gate money is obviously designed to ensure a reasonably even playing field.
If everyone gets roughly the same income from attendances,then the only difference is in the likes of merchandising and CL money.
IF THIS COMES TO PASS,I PREDICT THEY WILL HAVE 50% OF THE MONEY FROM OUR REMAINING 10,000 SEASON TICKETS.
It would be a vote for the death of the game in Scotland,and we would go down with them.