With genuine news stories on Rangers breaking several times a day, recriminations for past failures have understandably taken a backseat to current events, although Sir David Murray and Our Hero have experienced a taster of what is to come.
When the buzz of excitement dies down people will start to ask, ‘Whose fault is this awful mess?’ Board-level management at most public companies includes both executive and non-executive directors. The executives, commonly: chief executive, financial director, and others depending on industry, such as: commercial, technical, HR, run the business on a day-to-day basis. Non-executives are there to ensure the business is on the right course and to act as guardians of shareholders’ interests.
Wikipedia gives a useful summary for non-executive responsibility, specifically for: strategy, performance, risk and people.
Risk is the word I would like to draw your attention to here. Wikipedia suggests:
“Non-executive directors should satisfy themselves that financial information is accurate and that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and defensible”.
Former Rangers non-executive director, Paul Murray, didn’t have any responsibility for team matters. He wasn’t the man charged with preparing accounts. Health and Safety were not his remit. Paul Murray’s duty was to ensure that financial information was accurate and that financial controls and systems of risk management were robust and defensible.
Risk management! This is the guy who yesterday told the media he was keen to setup a rival bid for Rangers. Good grief! It was his job to ask questions of the financial arrangements at the club which other shareholders were unable to ask. He was there to dig deeply enough into these matters to satisfy himself that the executive directors of the club were dealing with financial matters appropriately.
Whether they win the First Tier Tribunal or not, Rangers have already paid a heavy price for this tax issue, responsibility for which rests squarely on the shoulders of the non-executives who enjoyed the prestige of being a Rangers director (I know) but failed to carry out their duties to a standard that protected the club from meltdown.
Give him the job!
One final push (this week) for the Vanessa Riddle Appeal. We have a Celtic top signed by the first team squad available to auction on eBay. You can bid on the auction and help send Vanessa for the treatment she needs by clicking here. Thanks to Penfold for the donation and to Taggsybhoy for organising (yet again).
If you would like to read CQN Magazine online (for free), click here. You can download a pdf of the magazine using the button at the top of the page, second from the right. Click on the link below to order a hard copy of the magazine.
You can support the online edition by making a discretionary donation here.
296 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- »
been reading all about the rangers and listening to the radio. it really is shocking. how could it have been allowed for it to be able to come to this being the case. sir david said he wouldnt sell the club to somebody who didnt love the rangers so there must be some angle in this liquidisation that we arent seeing. whyte is not a daft lad. he is a highly succesful businessman who stepped right up to the bowl when nobody else would. why would he do that if he was some crook. from what i have been seeing rangers will be able to get rid of all their debt in one go and then start again. if that is the case we need to watch our backs as they won 3 in a row without spending anything as they were gobbled financially. what will haoppen if they can go back to the days of spending big on the real players as they have no debts. players our board wont push the canoe out for. they could have pulled a masterstripe off here and come back stronger than ever. we need to keep an eye on how our board react. we havent one the leeg yet and we need to back lennon as we could still chuck it away. there players might galvanate and really work together putting some good results on a run putting us under pressure. we might be laughing now but we might look back one day and wonder how we were conned by our own board and by a guy like whyte as he comes in and rescues the rangers lock smock and barrel
mon the hoops
You’re not the real Declan!
‘Reading, spending,putting’- where’s the -nig?
If Rangers staff do not get paid on schedule this month I am sure they ( Rangers) will be subject to the same opprobrium in columns and radio that Hearts received when Vlad paid them late by a matter of hours.
Declan
Thanks ,for stepping up to the bowl,and keeping us foscussed.
dontbrackbackinangre – i am the only declan mate hail hali
Great new book out on “HOW TO AVOID PAYING TAX”
Highly recommended by CW
http://i.imgur.com/y3ip4.jpg
For newbies to view……….
Right click the link and choose “open in new tab”
To save the photo…………
Right click on the photo and “save to Desktop”
or copy the address bar & post it on.
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo says:
15 February, 2012 at 10:46
On the 27 th January, the Irish Independant ran a story about the administrators charges for the two men Grant Thornton have in the Quinn group, who are admining away.
I can’t find the story, you may have better luck, but they were charging OVER 500k per week, it was more but a judge reduced it by 20% to this ammount.
Che says:
15 February, 2012 at 10:40
Spot on Che- it seems that all this has been forgotten amidst the panic to save a “great institution”. If you haven’t already taken it in, James Forrest post at 00.53 last night is well worth a read.
Anybody know of a good F5 key shop?
Stillnotbuyingnewspapers CSC.
What’s a “masterstripe” ?
iki says:
15 February, 2012 at 10:47
LOL
>>>>>>>>>>> PARCEL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comment at beginning of Jabba’s column today….
“Yesterday Whyte and his board were held up as tax dodgers. What they have done is not illegal but is certainly morally questionable and, as the owner, that really should be a weight that drags Whyte and not the club down.”
Think jabba needs to have some legal advice. Rangers deducted NIC and Income tax from their employees to pass onto HMRC. They chose not to do this. I think if Jabba had thought about it a little he would be wondering if Rangers were guilty of theft, fraud or both.
From personal experience I know that despite having been deducted income tax and NIC, when my company went down HMRC sent me a wee red letter telling me they expected a cheque. Was quite a stressful few months and, in all honesty, I will feel sorry for any Rangers employees who may be caught up in the same ruse.
That’s euros mind you :>)
Awe_Naw
See this regarding Administrators fees:
The joint administrators of Quinn Insurance have had their fees of €1.7m for the first three months of the year approved by the High Court.
Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of accountants Grant Thornton each charged an hourly rate of €475, the Irish Independent reports.
Mr McAteer’s fees for the first three months of the year amounted to €168 625, while Mr McCann’s amounted to €94 763.
The highest hourly rate charged was €735 per hour for Simon Sheaf, director of Grant Thornton’s UK-based actuarial team.
—
Not bad work if you can get it.
Mort
bigngreen…..I am Neil Lennon says:
15 February, 2012 at 11:23
Its the groove worn into certain people’s palm.
AWE NAW ——
Hacker Young got 750 k for 6 months with Portsmouth. That does not include what they charged for paper , phone calls, subsistence and travel etc.
KPMG got the best part of a million from the corpse that was Leeds United.
Rangers will be paying – Whyte will not
A rangers spokesman stated
I think that HRMC should be thinking about a special tax on jelly and ice cream
they could rake in a substantial amount of money
whyte must go , they cried
so he has gone
sorted
Sports letters on Sky Text are absolutely brilliant.
Read them if you can…
Someone (a Bun) is telling me now that the Preferred Creditor rule doesn’t apply in Scotland. Apparently a legal expert on Talk Sport raised this point.
Is this lies? Surely that would be too comic.
Mort
The story I read had them on 2m for the month of november 2011, that was without expences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDZLIaFVUPE
The funny thing about ‘the big house ‘ is all the huns in background agreeing with
the dolt, if that was at paradise there would be shouts of ‘ shut up
yir geein us a right showin up’
Good Morning,
even after the staggering events of yesterday, the speed of those events, the appointment of an Administrator to Glasgow Rangers PLC, and the immediate reaction to all of that— I suspect that the vast majority of readers,fans, commentators and bloggers have still not seen the significance– the true significance of what occurred yesterday, Whatsmore, only after that significance has been explained will others — so so many others realise what a bloody awful place they are in this morning. For Scottish Football changed for good yesterday– although that metamorphosis is not yet complete.
Let’s go back to yesterday morning. It is reported that HMRC went to court and sought the appointment of an Administrator, that Rangers fought this, that HMRC backed off and allowed Rangers to appoint their own Administrator.
Well that is sort of correct– but is a million miles away from the truth.
Stop and think about what really occurred. Whyte’s Legal team had lodged notice the day before that the company may go into Administration. Whyte then stands on the Ibrox steps and declares this may be necessary because the debts to the revenue may be as high as £75Million– and the press gasp and groan. He then makes various other statements, and is quickly followed onto the airwaves by former Chairman Johnston who reveals his own idea of how to get Rangers out of debt. It is the same idea as Whyte– basically someone else foots the bill.
Whyte of course has already been the subject of court judgements and is deemed to be wholly unfit to run a company by one court, and totally unreliable and incredible in his statements and business dealings by another. These facts are now all in the public domain.
The Big tax case is in the public domain bar all the detailed evidence that was heard at Tribunal. That is evidence that solely relates to the Murray years, but which HMRC are fully privvy to– even the MIH exculpatory evidence and argument.
Hector, to personalise the good folk at the Revenue, watched Whyte’s latest legal dance and his public performance on the steps of Ibrox ansd decided to close the show down. Enough was enough, and the smart folk in Government suits got moving. In short, The G men swung into action, went to the court and delivered a message, a plea and their evidence for what they wanted.
Look very carefully at what they said they wanted and WHY they wanted it.
The argument that they presented in court was that at the earliest opportunity, the day to day conduct of Rangers PLC should be taken away from the current board and handed immediately to someone independent. In legal terms that means please appoint an Administrator— or to put it another way— take this company off these people for they are not fit to Govern it, they are not fit to run it, and they are not fit to control it!!! And do it now without futher delay!
Did Rangers fight this? Yes they did– and they lost hands down. By the end the judge– a smart cookie who used to practice in the courts under the name Duncan Menzies QC– now Lord Menzies—- had conducted his court in clever style. He would not have to rule on the merits of the HMRC argument, because Rangers rolled over and had their tummy tickled. Yes they would appoint an Administrator. Yes it would be a respectable city firm with offices all over the financial and business map, with the appropriate professional indemnity insurance befitting officers of court, yes the Administrators will be people within that firm who have had no prior dealings with Rangers and their shareholders or Directors, and yes we, Rangers PLC, will meet all the legal costs of the hearing including the costs of HMRC and their urgent petition. It was on that basis that the petition was withdrawn! Game, set, match to Hector– and what flight can I get to London, for I have no more business here!
Now where does that leave things?
Well effectively, what HMRC have done is go to a court of law and asked the court to declare that Craig Whyte, Mr Withie, Gordon Smith, Ali Russell and anyone else who has been involved in the running of Rangers over the past year is no longer fit to run a company and should be removed.
The court, looks to me, as if it was set to pronounce that that was so. That was a state of affairs that Rangers and their board could not allow– and so rather than have a court pronounce they capitulated and turned somersaults to avoid that situation. They delivered the same result to HMRC without the judge having to pronounce.
This then means that Rangers PLC truly is the Mary Celeste this morning. It is a company with no Directors and a skeleton crew to see it over the next few weeks.
Last night I traded posts with the Black Knight wherein we expressed a fear that Whyte would offer to cancel his debt in return for bringing the company out of Administration, but with the assets being transferred to a Newco or GroupCo— leaving the Big Case Liability in a shell that can be and would be liquidated. Rangers PLC would be no more.
However, the events of the past 48 hours have yet to take effect immeduiately away from Ibrox. You now openly have declarations from the guy who was a Director and Chairman of Rangers until yesterday stating the company has insurmountable debt arising from the previous board. You now publicly have the chairman of the previous board stating that he wanted some of that debt moved to MIH.
You now, suddenly, have jouranilsts like Graham Spiers citing debts in the Murray years of £39Million one year, £32Million the next and £29Million the next and openly saying– surely that is not proper corporate governance.
Accordingly, other interested parties, such as Celtic PLC if they so choose, are perfectly entitled to write to the SFA this morning and cite the Murray figures and accounts, cite the pleadings of Martin Bain in the court of Session, Cite the pleadings of HMRC yesterday, Cite the decision in the Tixway case, Cite the previous judgement which says that Whyte is not fit to be a Director– and on this basis ask the SFA to make it clear to the Administrator that he need not pass Rangers PLC back into the hands of any past Director of Rangers PLC as they have clearky shown that they are not fit to run a major Football club.
Paul McConville’s blog gives you an excellent account of the duties and powers of an Administrator– all he has to do, can do, and should do in certain circumstances. However, it does not tell you or spell out what an Administrators main aim is, because it is not written down clearly in any statute. As soon as they are appointed an Administrator wants to resign! That’s right– as soon as he is in he wants out, and he wants paid! But– he is not allowed to come out unless he has fulfilled his duty and if possible he has passed the business on to the best possible person to carry it forward.
Yesterday, HMRC told everyone that was not Craig Whyte, not any current Director and not any past Director– so whoever is going to take Rangers forward, the message is clear. Come out, Come out wherever you are– because these guys don’t cut it, won’t cut it and shouldn’t be allowed to cut it!
Further, it does not take a court of law to pronounce whether Whyte is fit and proper or not. The SFA have had ample time to conduct an enquiry and if necessary hold a hearing. They have not done so as yet.
The SFA should now instigate its own enquiry into the running of Rangers PLC over the past 15 years or so. It should do this now to preserve its own integrity with UEFA and to ensure proper corpoarate Governance within the field of Scottish Football.
What the world was told yesterday was that Rangers PLC do not and have not played the game by the rules— the rules that Govern life off the pitch– for a very long time. They avoid paying tax, they deliberately don’t pay tax, they conceal their dealings re tax, they mislead the public and HMRC re Tax, they basically play by a completely different set of rules in comparison to every one else in the SPL and the SFA. They breach the SPL rules in so far as they relate to integrity and their dealings with other clubs.
If the Scottish Football authorities are not alive to this now factual situation, then they are fools. They in themselves are not fit for purpose, and have no qualifications for proper administration of an executive function. They must act and must act now– they cannot sit and be passive and just come along for the ride. To say yesterday was a sad day for Scottish football doesn’t cover it. They must step up to the plate or……………………?
For too long the focus has been on what Rangers PLC will try and do if this happens or that happens. Perhaps the better question, now that we seem to be awash with courts, tribunals, Lawyers, Administrators, Auditors and all—- is what will everyone else try and do– or what will everyone else demand?
They say that at the end of the day, a game of football is 11 against 11– albeit one team can field a more expensive and more talented than another. However, off the field there is no equivalent of 11 versus 11. Rangers have decided that the common rules are not for them, and that the guys in the other boardrooms can play by the rules if they want but that Rangers will not.
That is where Scottish Football is this morning. The SFA will have to act, ask and if necessary declare that the rules are the rules and that everyone will play by them. If they don’t then all teams– both great and small– can apply whatever rules that they like– and some may choose to apply rules that are not to the liking of the SFA, the media and even the fans and past Directors of Rangers PLC. There are rules and regulations which are beyond the jurisdiction of the SFA and the SPL– they would do well to remember that.
There is much more to come in this yet, and the road will have many twists and turns. Of course the best twists and turns in football, are the ones which the defender does not see coming and after which he is left stranded, out of place, and of course…. beaten!
Declan- good to hear it, although you may want to think hard about tweaknig your style too much.
A lot of posters come on here pretendnig to be good Celtic men like yourself.
But your 100% correct in your call for continunig vigilance.
THE EXILED TIM at 11:29
So even more again. Wow, that is an industry I’m going to try to get into.
Aw, imagine the fun you would have now if you were the Rangers administrator. Dream job or what, getting paid to run them into the ground.
Mort
Good Morning all
See below a letter sent today by me to Margaret Curran.
Lets keep the pressure on
Good Morning Margaret
I heard your comments today on Good morning Scotland.
Whilst I agree it is the responsibility of Government ministers to look to protect employment where possible;
It is also their responsibility to ensure that corruption and illegal activity leading to that loss of employment is not rewarded in any way.
The end result does not justify the means.
The former board of Rangers football club appear to have knowingly attempted to reward themselves and certain employees with millions Of pounds.
This money according to HMRC belonged to the public purse and was used to place Rangers football club in a position of financialDomination over all other clubs for a period in excess of 10 years.
This behaviour was to the detriment of all the other teams and employees in Scotland, also leading to constraints on employment and earnings.
Are we now to understand that we should just forget about multi millions of pounds due to the exchequer and accept pennies in the
Pound instead,
I would like to think that our government is more responsible to the people than to be a part of any carve up that allows this club
To walk away from its major financial responsibilities.
Is the message we want to send out that failure to pay taxes is somehow acceptable, where would that leave society.
There appears to be an establishment rush to fix the Rangers problem regardless.
I expect you and other members of our Government to stand up and defend the rights of the majority who pay their dues and are now suffering Under the current financial fiscal restraints on the economy.
This is a major disaster for Scottish football, but it is one that was brought about by very wealthy individuals and I see no reason
For the state to look to bail them out, they have the collective wealth to have done so themselves and chose not to.
Kind regards
HH
Mike
Dontbrattbakkinanger says:
15 February, 2012 at 10:08
Blantyre Kev- I heard a similar story about when LUFC signed Seth Johnson from Derby? [Crewe?]
share
From previous thread-Johnson and his agent were going to stick to their guns and ask for 15k a week,20 minutes later Ridsdale was saying 40k a week,not a penny more.I met a guy from Middlesbrough in about 1999,his best mate’s son was Jonathan Woodgate,then of Leeds Utd.Woodgate ended up being one of the guys who played for England after about 20 appearances for his club.He was 18 years old on £750 a week,a clause in his contract triggered when he was capped.His weekly wage subsequently increased to ………….£15,000 per week.If Peter Ridsdale is slagging your club,you must be in big trouble.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan at 11:30
Good man, read that on RTC earlier and was about to copy it here (acknowledging your fine work off course).
In other, more important news, I see the Vanessa appeal has now reached £363k. Staggering amount of work put in from all.
Hail Hail
Mort
THE BIG HOUSE is that not were Hector lived in the 70’s
now back top read BRTH post
play
owen says:
15 February, 2012 at 11:25
bigngreen…..I am Neil Lennon says:
15 February, 2012 at 11:23
Its the groove worn into certain people’s palm.
Ahem snigger
Laugh and enjoy……from rangers media….petition to the Prime Minister
” Call for the Prime Minister to intervene in the HMRC v Rangers Football Club tax issue
Responsible department: Her Majesty’s Treasury
Rangers Football Club are one of the biggest sporting insitutions in Britain in terms of support,stadium,history and trophies won. There is a need for a swift resolution to the tax case with HMRC, the way the club was run in the last 14 years by Sir David Murray as well as the last 9 months by Craig Whyte and any administration or liquidiation so that the club can prosper once more. There is a precedent with the prime minister lending his support to Portsmouth FC. Will he do the same for fans of Rangers FC”
—————————————
What they should also have added is there is an easy solution. PAY UP WHAT YOU OWE!
News that administration was the result of 9m unpaid taxes since CW´s takeover, must be worrying reading over at Hampden.
What is the SFA´s culpability with regards to this 9m? This clearly demonstrates their ´Fit and Proper´ process has spectacularly failed.
Recently I have not been very impressed with Regan. He seems reluctant to tackle issues which are clearly his authority´s responsibility.
Stupid question probably,
since the start of the season
The huns got 25 million quid from ticketus
They also got 1 years season ticket money approx. 15 million quid ish
They also got 6 million quid for Jelavic
Assume they also got some ticket on the day income
Assume they also got some TV income
All in all about 50 million quid ish
The motherwell man with the booglie eyes says it cost him 45 million a year to run the huns (into the ground?) if you don’t pay 9 million quid tax then it must only cost 36 million quid to run rangers
so as ma maw would say, where is the change?
At least 50 fans were outside ibroke last night, (pathetic I know) I particularly laffed at the guy who was crying when describing ibroke as a place where families went, (aye as long as they wurny tim families,) All hail the end of the worlds most sectarian football club,
surely all of Scotland must be enjoying this?
Good News on the administration cost front. I think the hun administrator is one of the more expensive ones.
Hail Hail
Matt McGlone tweeting the Celtic statement expected today is to question the validity of trophies won by the huns during the period specified by HMRC.If they go back to 1999 (Phil hinted at this),then it will be cheerio to 9 in a row-another party!!!!
Dear Prime Minister,
See how we didny pay your lot oor taxes an we now have nae money? See if you could support us that would be great, Davie.
Cheers pal
The Huns.
Declan
Glad to see you on…what flavour jelly are you havnig?
hail hail
Hail hail
Right bhoys sit back and watch the show
There is no way the rangers are coming out af administration
In the next few months.
Then setting up as a new club clear of debt.
The months of feb,march, April and may they will be under
Administration rules i.e.pay bills as they fall due
The big event will be when they try to sell season books
For the next season.
Would you pay £500 with the threat of HMRC going for a winding up order
Plus June and July when no cash coming in with still the same bills to be paid
If you look back at Leeds and Portsmouth this takes months and this time
HMRC are the main party who can stop a CVA
Havingapartywhenthehunsdiex csc
What am I missing please? hun have evaded paying tax,yes? Well that is surely a criminal matter, not a civil one. If I’m corrrect then the entire thing becomes a Police matter and should be followed up accordingly>
KINGLuBO