As newco chief executive, Derek Llambias reported to his AGM yesterday, he meets the SFA today to discuss further involvement of Newcastle United owner, Mike Ashley at his club. Ashley is nearing the end of a power-struggle between his faction, which appears to include the Easdale brothers, and pretty-much everyone else who goes to Ibrox, as well as Dave King and other worthies noticeable by their absence when the assets of oldco were to be paid for.
One of this morning’s newspapers appears to suggest SFA board member Peter Lawwell may retire from this meeting on account of him apparently having a conflict of interest, however, I believe this would be extraordinarily unlikely. Peter is no more or less incentive to see business being conducted appropriately than anyone else.
That’s not to say there’s not a conflict of interest. SFA president, Campbell Ogilvie, will also attend the meeting. Ogilvie passed his Rangers shares to his wife when he became an executive director of Hearts. SFA Articles of Association expressly forbids a person from having an influence with one club while “directly or indirectly” being a shareholder in another without the prior written consent of the SFA.
Mr Ogilvie may have attained prior written consent of the SFA on this subject before accepting the Hearts job, but if he did, I don’t see the need to transfer his shares to a family member. This makes Ogilvie look like a tawdry ducker and diver, wholly inappropriate to lead the Association. If I was Llambias I’d challenge Ogilvie the first moment he opened his mouth.
As I said earlier in the week, don’t get too hung up on Ashley’s shareholding. If it proves a stumbling block he could play The Offshore Game and quickly disinvest to an entity based in the British Virgin Islands (seems to be the hot location for these types), the control of which could never be traced to him.
Those hoping the SFA will inhibit Ashley’s land-grab of retail and other rights are also likely to be disappointed. JJB and Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan established precedent that he was able to conclude extensive trading contract with other clubs while in charge of Wigan without compromising multi-ownership principles. Ashley can own and exploit all commercial rights of newco.
The key point Ashley will be concerned about in SFA rules is article 13. (3), which forbids persons from having “any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration of another club”.
The rules permit the SFA to grant Ashley permission to increase his shareholding but the phrase “any power whatsoever” is patently clear. Ashley cannot appoint board members or offer loan players.
The Dear Green Place
Yesterday’s uncertainty alarmed many in Glasgow but the reality of the news brought disaster to some. May God help each of them.
There’s always a spring in the step when news of our pal Kano arrives. That changed when I opened the email from Carolyn yesterday to hear Martin was in Intensive Care. We know through his time on the blog that Kano brought vigour and resolve to his life years before his illness struck. If anyone can overcome this, it’s him.
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bsr
Yep
Every player we have has weaknesses; that is why they are at Celtic and not a higher-paying club. As fans, we can focus on them and list them to the exclusion of their good points or we can utilise their strengths and minimise their weaknesses.
I like managers like WGS and Steve Bruce.
WGS made the so-called sieve of McManus/Caldwell good enough to get us to CL last 16. As players, these guys remained good enough only to have careers at Boro & Well and Wigan respectively but WGS created a system that minimised their weaknesses. He has done the same with the English championship CB pairings of Martin & Hanley so that they are not discomfited by the European superstars they face.
Steve Bruce has created mean defences wherever he has coached. He has even managed to make a relatively watertight defence that included Titus Bramble (whom Bruce signed for both Wigan and Sunderland), whose bombscare habits far exceeded Efe’s.
Now I am not tactically trained. I cannot see a defensive solution to the fact that we overload our left and right wings offensively in order to dominate there. The system demands a lot of box to box running from the two central midfielders and the two full backs. So far Brown, Johansen, Izzy, Matthews and Lustig have tried hard to make the system work but we still get counter attacked by energetic teams like Hamilton, United and Aberdeen who have pacy players capable of getting behind our advanced front 8 players (sometimes 9 when VVD wanders without Brown or Biton or Johansen being told to cover).
I feel we need a Wanyama type to help screen the defence but they are hard to come by and I see none playing with our rival Scottish clubs. Even with a Defensive mid signing we would just be achieving 3 at the back but, apart from RD giving up on his system altogether, that is the only part-solution I can see to the open-ness of our system which was always going to leave us vulnerable to a higher goals against tally and dropped points on days when we don’t score the 3 or more that our chance-creation merits.
I wonder if any of our more tactically trained pundits can propose any other changes to Ronny’s basic outlook?
PFAyr’s and WITS solutions of scrapping it or sacking the coach have already been forwarded.
Tony D
Res 12 asked the Celtic board at the 2013 AGM to ask the SFA if Rangers’ licence to play in Europe in 2011/12 was properly granted. It was legitimate to ask the question because had Rangers not got the CL spot, Celtic would have. Therefore, the SFA’s actions cost Celtic, and their shareholders, money. If Celtic or some shareholders took the matter through the Courts, the SFA could emerge from the case looking very stupid, conflicted and with damages and legal costs to pay.
The Celtic board is responsible to shareholders and is asking the SFA to check if its earlier answer to Celtic in 2011 was correct. Auldheid has provided some evidence to Celtic that Bryson and others didn’t follow proper procedures. It WILL all come out in the wash and those behind Res 12 will be vindicated.
There are some who believe that Celtic should have conducted all this in public and allowed that well known impartial legally competent MSM to report on it all. Imagine!
Regards Izzy,and his crossing.I think that people expect too much when a player plays for Celtic.Izzys crossing is no worse,or better than most players I watch,week in ,week out.Every week I watch,left backs,right backs,wingers,playing in the EPL,Europe,valued in the 10s of millions,put in shocking crosses,break down attacks,cant get the ball bye the first man.The other day,Santi Cazorla tried 4 corners in a row,that barely reached the near post.The worst offender in this is Alves of Barca.Lucky if 1 in 10 of his crosses are any good.Overhit,underhit.
Give the wee man a break.For instance on Sunday he put 3 great balls across the box in the second half.No one on the end.If their had been,we would be raving about the service.
Far too hard on our own players.
Sftb
In the fullness of time myself and pf will be proved right
Just to make it totally clear where I’m at with this
Doncaster, Regan etc say to the clubs we want to strike a deal. We’ll allow Sevco boosted entry into the SFL, but they’ll need to agree to penalties and clearing all football debts. They agree.
What I’m saying is that they didn’t know the detail of what those penalties might be and how much it would do in terms of the same club myth. This allows them to maintain a certain level of deniability.
I think anybody that considered the clubs to have no knowledge at all of the agreement is naive in the extreme.
St.Stivs
Hi mhate, seen you on recently asking bout travellerbhoy.i was wonderin that too.i take good heart as last time he posted he was in good fettle and a good woman was taking up a lot of his time and he was looking forward.
So if your lurking TravellerBhoy hail hail,merry christmas and all the best in ’15.
:-)
HH
Weeminger
Sorry could you explain that again
gene,
HMRC view an 125k unreceipted expenses account the same as normal salary and as such is liable to paye and NI. Failure to pay this will incur a penalty.
WITS
I cannot say with any confidence that you will be proven wrong.
I am admitting that I cannot see an easy or a full solution, other than better and fitter players, to the dilemmas of this system.
I was hoping that some of our posters with coaching experience might come up with something.
Think I’m in the minority of one here but I wouldn’t waste the fee or wages on guidetti.
He misses a lot of chances and goes missing in games, we need a goal in every 2-3 chances striker, some one like Leigh Griffiths !!!!!
Sftb
I honestly think it’s a case of the king has no clothes.
Football is a fairly simple game,
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox,
All the top teams get caught on the break.Thats the problem with being a top team.They are nearly always on the offensive.If you can,watch Real,Barca,Bayern,most goals scored against them are by pushing men forward,and getting caught out.Tonys goal against Barca being just one example,not a soul behind Xavi.
The only chance most teams have of overcoming the bigger teams,is by this tactic,and no matter how big a team,they do get caught out.
If we are putting away the chances we should,then it would not be such a problem.Again this is a problem for most teams who get beat.On Sunday we had 68% possession,many more attempts on target,off target,yet got beat.It happens to the best.We beat ourselves up too much.
St. Stivs
I never heard the Tam Cowan comment as I did not catch the show but I assume that, if he was asking Jim Murphy the question, it must have been referendum related. Was Tam a Yes Man in the recent referendum?
On a related point it was good to see MSP Sandra White and MP Willie Bain being allowed to comment sensitively on the George Square tragedy yesterday without point scoring.
What is the Stars
14:56 on
23 December, 2014
Well there are known knowns – that is the things we know.
There are also unknown knowns – that is things we know but we don’t yet know we know them.
There are known unknowns – things we know we don’t know
Lastly there are unknown unkowns – things we don’t know that we don’t know.
Clear now? ;)
Weeminger
Do you know the difference between a joist and a girder
An Tearmann
14:55 on
23 December, 2014
St.Stivs
Hi mhate, seen you on recently asking bout travellerbhoy.i was wonderin that too.i take good heart as last time he posted he was in good fettle and a good woman was taking up a lot of his time and he was looking forward.
So if your lurking TravellerBhoy hail hail,merry christmas and all the best in ’15.
:-)
HH
—————-
ta bud. its just been naggin in my head that Traveller Bhoy hasnt been on.
A brave soul to share the things he has on this blog, and without ever meeting the fella I would just feel contented to know he is doing good.
ta.
anyone got a direct contact and can let us know how he is doing.
or better still pop in and say hello yourself.
to ntented to know he
Turkeybhoy
I agree with that but….
We have seen Legia exploit the system at will though I accept that we were at our worst then. I fear that a cynical Italian side like Inter will only need to score once or twice to defeat us unless we have an exceptionally productive goalscoring night.
My view on Izzy’s crossing is the same as Brian Clough’s – Izzy’s job is the get the ball into the box between the penalty spot and the six-yard box. If there’s no-one there to convert it then you have a word with the striker, not Izzy.
How many rebels have any clout in the running of Celtic?
I say – none.
That’s why the huns got a licence to play football again.
A licence to rebuild and come back to steal CL money and trophies again.
A licence to ‘do’ Celtic fans out of many victorious celebrations.
Jingle all the way…..Off oot, bye.
weeminger
One of our directors was on the board that Doncaster took his instructions from, no way on gods earth would Doncaster have taken any decisions without the SPL boards approval.
Simples really :)
HH
What is the Stars
14:54 on
23 December, 2014
Sftb
In the fullness of time myself and pf will be proved right
Oh no you wont!!!!!!.
Well it is that time of the year.
WITS
“Do you know the difference between a joist and a girder?”
Is the answer that they are both girls names :-)
cathedral view
thanks , hope it was declared as such
hun skelper
Larsson went quiet in games regularly then he’d pop up and do his job when it mattered.
I believe Ronny Deila is correct when he points out the fact that Guidetti hasn’t played for 2 years and it may be catching up with him.
That said I would keep Griffiths as he guarantees goals too and what he provides doesn’t come cheap.
HH
Turkey bhoy,
Good to see you entering into the Christmas spirit
We all have our differences but feck it. Means nothing at the end of the day
Ronny out☺☺☺
What am I like
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox
15:03 on
23 December, 2014
St. Stivs
I never heard the Tam Cowan comment as I did not catch the show but I assume that, if he was asking Jim Murphy the question, it must have been referendum related. Was Tam a Yes Man in the recent referendum?
i didnt get the feeling it was in that context. it was more put as look at all the diddies who have honours, and then this inter game is coming up so billy should be a sir.
i dont know what tam voted. Cosgrove is very yes.
Murphy is a good listen on this, I have to be fair.
Allthough i would not buy his “the 10 games that changed the world ” book.
they all been done before.
setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox
15:06 on
23 December, 2014
Turkeybhoy
I agree with that but….
We have seen Legia exploit the system at will though I accept that we were at our worst then. I fear that a cynical Italian side like Inter will only need to score once or twice to defeat us unless we have an exceptionally productive goalscoring night.
No arguments from me there.I was talking about domestic games,but I agree,we must make it a lot more tighter in Europe.
Lets see what January brings.You never know.
Sftb
No that’s not it but you are probably only teasing me now
KevJungle
Celtic don’t make the rules…If the rebels did make the rules they wouldn’t be rebels:)
HH
Wits,
Irn bru made from joists tastes rubbidge.
Setting free the bears
No need for a Wanyama type to screen the defence, just a dedicated holding midfielder. Last season, that was Mulgrew.
Ronny’s system is plain wrong for the SPL and has come unstuck against virtually every decent team.
CELTIC bosses have paid tribute to Glasgow lorry crash victim Jack Sweeney, a dedicated fan who previously ran the club’s supporters branch in Canada.
In a statement, club chief executive Peter Lawwell sent his “deepest condolences” to everyone affected by the tragedy.
He said: “The events in George Square are so difficult to comprehend and their effects will be devastating for so many.
“We are now aware that one man, Jack Sweeney, his wife Lorraine and their granddaughter, Erin McQuade, were among those who have lost their lives.
“We know also of Jack’s strong connection to Celtic, as someone who gave so much to the club.
“I am sure I speak for everyone connected to the club when I say that our sincere thoughts and prayers are with them all, with their relatives and with every other victim of this tragic incident.”
What is the Stars
15:05 on
23 December, 2014
That’s an unknown known, or possibly a known unknown.
A terrible tragedy yesterday and I hope all the families affected can somehow overcome this sad loss, it turns out that James is my Mum’s cousin. I think the rescue services and any witnesses to what happened will also be going through a hard time in the coming days after seeing that and thoughts and prayers for everyone.
I hope Kano can also pull through this latest setback, likewise anyone going through a difficult time this Christmas.
Yesterday puts football in its proper perspective.
I hope the Celtic players and management team put some smiles back on the faces of those that are troubled at the moment.
Nice statement from lawwell
Weeminger
It’s not unknown to me
traditionalist88
15:08 on 23 December, 2014
If guidetti signs Griffiths is on the bench or he’s out the door.
Griffiths would be banging in the chances guidetti’s missing
sftb
Absolutely.
There is always that silence, and dearth of better replacements after Cyber land slaughters international players, that Celtic have done remarkably well to make Celts in the first place, in this barren wasteland of an SPL, whilst on relative ‘fantasy land’ wages.
I wouldn’t dream of trying to detract the armchair warriors or their ‘honest opinion’ of Joe Bloggs, but some lose sight of reality, before considering the statistics and stockpiled medals, before bumping the ole keys.
Emilio Izzaguire’s defensive role was much more clearly defined under NFL the same could be said of whoever plays right back, and it’s no secret nearly half way through the season Celtic FB’s are less so full back, than they have ever been. Some even want them to be the main goal threat, missing out whoever plays midfield, and critique nine cross’s out of ten, if they don’t find the missing Celtic giant in the penalty box.
You don’t need tactical awareness to work out as a supporter that RD’s system makes the back four more prone to sieveness.(is that a word?) and the back four is too often a back two, and hence, VVD, Ambrose (always) and now Izzy will ‘get it’. ( last week it was Matthews )
The alternative as you say is a different system, in the meantime SMSM will fuel the internet, and the gullible. I don’t think RD will change it, and who’ll still question it, when the season is over and the main prizes are where they’ll most likely be.
Philip Lahm….anyone?