Celtic did enough in the opening 16 minutes to put this game beyond Dundee United but only managed to score once, an excellent effort from Gary Hooper, before United tightened up and made a contest of the game.
Georgios Samaras sprung past the United defence inside the first 30 seconds and squared the ball across the six yard line but Stokes arrived a split-second late to convert. That signalled a period of relentless Celtic pressure as the home team found it impossible to get out of their own half or hodl any kind of possession.
Gary Hooper controlled a long clearlance inside the centre circle on 12 minutes before knocking the ball square to James Forrest, who had space to exploit. Forrest drove forward before returning the pass to Hooper inside the box. The Celtic striker turned outside Gunning before driving a shot low inside Dusan Pernis’ right had post to open the scoring.
Celtic continued to press forward with Forrest again involved in their most dangerous moves. The young winger threaded a through ball to Anthony Stokes on the edge of the area before racing past the defensive line to meet the return pass on the volley but his shot struck Pernis.
Give-and-go football was proving effective for Celtic and on 41 minutes Cha Du-Ri played a one-two with Forrest but could not convert his shot.
Celtic were so dominant in the first half their only real concern must have been why they were not further ahead but the second half proved to be more of a contest. Dundee United’s passing was poor all afternoon but Celtic slipped to their level, frequently succumbing to unforced errors. The visitors were never in any trouble defensively but Neil Lennon decided to shake things up in midfield, and substituted central defender, Glenn Loovens, pulled Victor Wanyama back and brought Scott Brown into midfield.
The subsequent change, bringing Ki on for Stokes gave Celtic more athleticism and meant that the final few minutes, which are often tense when defending a one goal lead, were contested almost exclusively in the United half. Fraser Forster had a few catches and the odd punch but had a relatively easy afternoon.
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Sign this e-petition Stop the Football Creditors Rule
You have to hand it to Alistair, he can certainly spot a DIVER.When THEY signed the horrible Diouff, Ally was quoted as saying that he would win them free-kicks around the box. Lo and behold he said the same when they signed Aluko. He forgot to mention the penalties. This must be part of their signing policy. Ally certainly knows a PEARL DIVER when he sees one!
HM Revenue and Customs opens case against football creditors’ rule
• HMRC challenges rule that gives priority to clubs and players
• League defending rule as being in best interests of the sport
Matt Scott
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 November 2011 20.07 GMT
Battle commenced between the Football League and Her Majesty’s Revenue Customs at the high court on Wednesday over the controversial football-creditors rule.
Mr Justice David Richards, who is no relation to his namesake Sir Dave Richards, the chairman of the Premier League, will adjudicate on what is one of the most emotive issues in football. Under the rule, buyers of insolvent clubs in administration must pay in full every penny owed to other clubs and to their own millionaire footballers, while other unsecured local-community creditors receive much-reduced sums.
Gregory Mitchell QC, for HMRC, argued that the rule represents “the ugly side of the beautiful game”.
Mitchell pointed to the 36 Football League insolvencies since 2002 that have led to the tax authorities receiving “a very modest dividend”.
“The football creditors’ rule has been invented by the Football League and the Premier League. It is not a rule created by parliament,” he told the court. “As far as we know there is no similar rule operating in any other country or industry.
“We say [the rule is] contrary to fundamental principles of insolvency law.”
Mitchell stressed that insolvency is not limited to Football League clubs: Portsmouth had collapsed into insolvency with a nine-figure debt in February last year, when at the time they were a Premier League club. Coincidentally, Portsmouth’s parent company, Convers Sport Initiatives, separately filed for administration on Tuesday.
Mitchell said: “Whenever the football creditor rule is applied, there is always a loss to the taxpayer, which is why we bring these proceedings.”
The League is vigorously defending the action as being in the best interests of its members and of the sport. It will argue that clubs failing to honour their transfer commitments in insolvency jeopardises the integrity of the competition – a club could not be compelled to play matches against a defaulting creditor, potentially wrecking the fixtures list.
The League will further claim the rule is a condition of entry to its competitions and that if it is overturned it could lead to a cascade of club insolvencies across the game. The League’s logic is that solvent clubs would be affected by the actions of defaulting creditors. In the case of Portsmouth last year, for instance, Watford’s solvency was maintained only when central Premier League funds were allocated to the Championship club after transfer fees it was owed went unpaid.
In written depositions handed to the judge, Mr Mitchell said: “The Football League have … constructed a device under which, on insolvency, ‘football creditors’ are paid in full whilst ordinary unsecured creditors of the same class receive a very modest dividend.
“Great skill has been used in the drafting of the device, and also in making a challenge to the device difficult. HMRC contend that the rules under which the device is operated are against public policy.”
The League believes that there are already earnest deterrents to insolvency in football. In recent years the football authorities have introduced lower-league salary caps, heavy points deductions for insolvent clubs and the requirement for quarterly reporting of financial accounts to the league.
HMRC has not presented an alternative to the status quo. “It is not for HMRC or this court to suggest how the Football League should reformulate their rules,” Mitchell said.
“If the court finds [in HMRC’s favour] … then it is for the Football League to consider how best to amend their articles, regulations and insolvency policy in order to comply with these fundamental principles of insolvency law.”
The case is expected to continue into next week.
Vincenzo
Last night, spent another two hours I’ll never get back, untangling the lights for the Christmas tree.
p.s. switched them on and they’ve never worked first time every year, since I got married.
p.p.s.when trying to find the faulty bulb it’s usually the last one, so save time, and check the last one first.
truth4767 says:
5 December, 2011 at 12:01
You have my full support for demanding transparency and more importantly fairness and consistently from the SFA. You should be applauded for your sense of justice! Bravo!
I presume you were disgusted and vocal with you protest about the East Stirling player Ryan Frances receiving 14 match ban for man-handling a referee. Surely a simply fine would have been sufficient punishment for this kind of offense and consistent with the Bougherra received. Justice for all eh?
BOURNESOUPRECIPE 1224
Bah,humbug approach saves a LOT more time.
NotinselhereCSC
There have been no insolvencies of a club in the German national leagues since they were set up in 1963
Hail HAil
bsr
Jeezo, them lights must be old, it’s been about 78 years since they made lights like that, buy some sooper dooper new wans :>))
In the rather nondescript court one at the High Court – more IKEA than the oak-panelled rooms you get in television dramas – lawyers are jousting in a case that could have far reaching consequences for football.
English football has never been more popular and marketable – or so the Premier and Football League maintain – but behind that shiny facade lies a less impressive track record of financial mismanagment.
Since 1992 clubs have gone into adminstration 53 times in English football, while in the last two years HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has presented 25 winding-up petitions.
If those statistics are testament to football’s never-ending desire to “live the dream” at the expense of financial probity, it has also made HMRC angry.
What galls HMRC most is the preferential treatment given to football clubs and players when a team goes bust.
So the tax authorities are targeting a change in the “football creditor rule” (FCR), which allows the football world to be paid in full, but usually results in other creditors getting a small percentage of the debts they are owed.
“Whenever the football creditor rule is applied, there is always a loss to the taxpayer, which is why we bring these proceedings,” HMRC QC Gregory Mitchell told the court.
The case against the Football League comes a day after Portsmouth’s owners Convers Sport Initiatives entered administration as the Championship club continues to struggle with the consequences of becoming the first Premier League team to use that insolvency protection tool in 2010.
When that happened the club’s players and other football creditors were paid in full – to the tune of £30m – while Pompey’s other creditors received about 16 pence in the pound.
Pompey’s ongoing financial difficultes rather supported Gregory Mitchell’s argument that “on the basis of the track record of the Football League clubs it is likely that there will be further insolvencies”.
Not that Mitchell mentioned Portsmouth’s lastest financial hiccup.
Indeed HMRC’s lawyer rather left the impression that he might not be a football fan, a view strengthened when Mitchell mispronounced Benfica as “Benfika”, prompting a few titters in the courtroom.
It was a rare moment of levity in between points of law regarding part eight claim and principles of anti-deprivation and pari passu.
If his mastery of the pronunciations of Portuguese football teams was slightly off key, Mitchell was more assured in his legal arguments.
Just why should the football world be given preferential treatment and in doing so deprive other creditors – such as small businesses – of large amounts of money, he asked as he outlined the crux of HMRC’s case.
“As far as we know there is no similar rule operating in any other country or industry,” Mitchell told the court.
HMRC’s QC also argued that the FCR as applied by the Football League is “inconsistent with EU law” because it discriminates against foreign clubs which are not considered preferred creditors.
Judge David Richards is to rule on that point of law depending on the success or otherwise of the HMRC case.
With Mitchell due to finish outlining the tax authorities’ case on Thursday, little was heard on Wednesday from the Football League legal team, which is led by Mark Phillips QC.
The Football League, which represents the 72 clubs outside the top-flight, will argue that the FCR must remain in place to maintain the “integrity of competition” in its leagues and cups.
“Why should a football club be forced to play another club which hasn’t paid a transfer fee or its transfer gate money – that’s unsustainable,” lawyer John Verrill of Dundas & Wilson – the Football League’s solicitors – told BBC Sport.
Verrill added that if the Football League was to protect the value of its television rights deal it was essential that all clubs were in operation at the end of the season.
In his witness statement the Football League’s chief operating officer Andy Williamson added: “A payment default can start a chain reaction that undermines the integrity and the stability of the League’s competition.
“This is the so-called ‘domino’ effect which, after maintaining the integriy of the Football League’s competition, is the second principal reason why the existing regulatory regime is in place.”
Williamson also pointed out that businesses have the option not to deal with football clubs if they are unhappy with the FCR rule.
“Each of those suppliers or lenders has a choice as to whether a contract with the club or not and can use its own commercial judgment in making that decision.”
The legal jousting is expected to go on for a few more days, with the Premier League as well as the goverment interested parties in judge Richards final ruling.
bournesouprecipe says:
5 December, 2011 at 12:24
‘p.p.s.when trying to find the faulty bulb it’s usually the last one, so save time, and check the last one first.’
It’s the same thing with jigsaws. It’s always the last piece that’s missing.
On the subject of paranoia, does anyone have a link to an excellent article written about 1997 from memory that I think was called Are we paranoid?
In it, from memory Louis Van Gaal (at time Ajax coach) was asked after a R*ngers v Celtic game before an impending Champions League match whether he had anything to fear from the Queen’s 11, Sons of William, mighty gers by a salivating journo only to be told “No, in europe they wouldn’t get any of those decisions” or words to that effect.
I’d love to read it again. Thanks in advance.
HH
Fellow Tims. If you interact in any way with a hun you will become tainted by it.
They crave any kind of attention whether positive or negative. In this respect they are much like stalkers who see any response as encouragement to continue.
Bourne……. one blew over the Christmas tree, you mean that ye missed auld Beyonce, she was looking good innaw, I’m mean vocally she was good.
V
JinkyvJohnGreig-saysitall
I remember just after the dougie dougie thing, Spiers and jabba and the rest were talking about referees and bias, and they admitted that there had been bias in the past, but not now, they couldn’t say when the bias stopped, but it had stopped.
Youcouldn’tmakeitupCSC
Photo of ‘The Brother Walfrid Building’ at the Thai Tims school.
img850.imageshack.us/img850/1187/ds…
V
Aluko proves he can handle Ibrox pressure
By Matthew Lindsay
Sone ALUKO insists he can hit the deck faster than his boss following criticism following his debut to inspire a 2-1 league win over Dunfermline.
The former Aberdeen winger was criticised when slow to react and inadvertently played Manuel Pascali onside for Kilmarnock’s winner last week. But he shrugged off the setback to produce an impressive performance at Ibrox with a man-of-the-match display that helped secure the three points on Saturday.
Reflecting on last week’s game at Rugby Park, he said: “At the time it was one of those moments where I thought ‘oh no’.
“I watch all my games back and I cringed watching it but that’s football and it’s not a problem for me. If you make those mistakes at any club you are going to get criticism. I’ve been in football long enough to know that I can deal with it.
“On my debut at Aberdeen I had a similar incident but you just have to get on with it and be strong mentally and start again.”
“The gaffer encouraged me to get in the box and the rest would take care of itself and he was proven right”
Aluko has been thrown straight into the action at Rangers despite being without a club since his Dons contract ended in the summer. “It was tough being out but I worked hard when I wasn’t playing. I wasn’t just sitting around. I’m gaining the rewards for that now.
“You can’t replicate playing in competitive football so the first few weeks have been tough, but it’s easier when you are playing for a team like Rangers who make it easier for you. I’m not far off being 100 per cent.”
Rangers opened the scoring thanks to an own goal by Alex Keddie, before Aluko won a penalty that was converted by Nikica Jelavic.
Dunfermline pulled a goal back through Joe Cardle but the champions held on for a much-needed win following a goalless draw against St Johnstone and the defeat at Kilmarnock in their last two outings.
Pars boss Jim McIntyre hit out at referee Steve Conroy afterwards for the penalty decision but Aluko insists he did not dive. He said: “When you are at full pace and the pitch is wet and it´s at Ibrox just in front of the stand and you’re twisting and turning, with any kind of contact whatsoever it’s hard for you to stay on your feet.”
new article posted.
JinkyvJohnGrieg
The quote was “I cannot form an accurate opinion on how Rangers played, as the referee was clearly biased in their favour. – Louis van Gaal, who was manager of Ajax at the time, after watching a match at Ibrox, Rangers v Hibs.
Can’t find the full article (ツ)
Test