I didn’t realise until watching TV last night it was Keith Lasley that Anthony Stokes ‘did’ on Saturday, the player who put Adam Matthews out of the game for a couple of months. It’s a physical game, and I’m not going to concede violent behaviour is acceptable, but it would be super-human to not be affected by earlier violence. We need to rise above this.
On a similar theme…. Another incident I missed at the game was James McFadden wresting Fraser Forster, who was holding the ball, early in the second half. Minutes later Fraser threw himself to deny McFadden what looked like a certain goal.
Players need an edge to be able to summon their very best performances, and a wee nyaff climbing all over you is as likely to give you an edge as anything. McFadden has a few years left in him. He’s at a well-run club who will give him the platform to excel, if he can find the focus to deliver.
I see some re-writing of history today and over the weekend on where responsibility for Newco Rangers acute financial plight lies. Among throwing blame on convenient scapegoats, one-time-hero-though-transparent-chancer Charles Green, and financial director, Brian Stockbridge, few seem prepared to offer up the prized oaf.
They banked £22m from a share issue and cash from circa 30,000 ticket sales, enough to see them through to top flight football, as long as they didn’t blow it on football bling. So who was responsible for doing exactly that (if you can stretch the definition of bling to Jon Daly and even lesser appealing gems)?
Sure, Stockbridge and Mather signed off, and they certainly knew the financial situation the club was in, but we know enough of the story to explain why it happened.
Despite having a budget close to 100 times their opponents Newco suffered considerable humiliation at the hands of fourth-tier clubs last season. Without reinforcements their chances of progress from the third tier was far from guaranteed – if they continued to allow Ally McCoist to run football operations.
McCoist was unsackable. He played the fans perfectly, earning a ridiculous contract and shares a 1p each for his ability to put bums on seats. Mather had to throw enough talent into the squad to ensure promotion with McCoist in charge, then rely on Charles Green to pull together another share issue.
The question you have to ask is, once McCoist had his reinforcements, who torpedoed the Charles Green supply ship?
No one is going to tell you Charles Green is a man you would want associated with your club, but before mob-rule ensured his attempts to raise investment cash were quashed, should someone not have asked the questions, why did the board find it necessary to bring such a pariah back and what happens if we throw him and his investment plans out?
We’re about to find out.
If suggestions that Newco will come close to expiring cash in hand before season ticket income arrives are accurate I expect they will get there, even if players don’t agree to a wage cut. Companies can control when to pay creditors, even HMRC, who despite what is likely to be an acute interest in Newco, would take months to complete a debt recovery action.
Don’t get too drawn in the minutia of this, whether an insolvency event happens or not does not change the fundamentals, which we touched on last week. Newco had a gamblers chance of turning into something resembling Oldco.
Spooking the SPL into giving them a ticket into top flight football would have seen them debt free and competing for last season’s SPL. Three years of paying our bills while losing the league would have been pointless. I genuinely think only one of Glasgow’s big teams was ever going to survive the SPL decision on Newco.
Had they liquidated Oldco, then flooded Newco with talent and won the league, Celtic would not have recovered, a reality that should be remembered when journalists talk about Scottish football harming itself in 2012. It was them or us.
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As neither apparently intends to take what Celtic is offering, time to take what can be got for Joe and Sammi.
Well, that’s the old work / dinner finished……are they deed yet….? hehe
so HT …0-0 ……part timers ,including sammy the janny up front …..brilliant theatre at Station Park …..hahahahahahahaha
Just logged in to find live updates of Forfar v Sevco.
WTF?
Cheerio.
I donno what to do……..no TV reception!! Misty night blocking the signal.
What did they do in the old days before the goggle box was invented ?
nakasammi
20:29 on 20 January, 2014
I heard he was offered a deal that he was happy with and his agent messed it up by telling MON that they would have a think about it and let him know. MON apparently was of the opinion that if you had to think about it then you were not for him.
HHS GMB
Just followed the 1st half of rangers game on bbc website and I have to say I am tempted to subscribe to this BT sports channel. It sounds like a real laugh.
Is aiden playing for Everton…just turned it on and don’t see him
Good evening friends.
Just turned on the telly and surprised to see my Monday night double (Forfar at +3 and Everton) is still very much on. Only just over 3/1 but every little counts.
Nakasammi,
I often wonder about what woulda happened if broto wasn’t cup tied in Europe.
Tom, I feel bad now. Toffees v baggies it is ;)
nakasammi
20:29 on 20 January, 2014
big flapper douglas.
If only we had kept hold of Javier Sánchez Broto in 2003. Still can’t undersatnd why he wasn’t offered a deal.
He was asked to come in for a meeting with MON about a contract
But thought it better to get up late in a hotel in Edinburgh with his woman and come through late
You can imagine MON’s take on that
67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon, supporting WEE OSCAR..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors
20:37 on 20 January, 2014
Is aiden playing for Everton…
he’s a sub
Had no idea that Diego Lugano – the Uruguayan Jim Brogan – was playing for WBA.
HH!!
bamboo
20:36 on 20 January, 2014
Watched the zombies….hahahahahahaha
Granny macs
I still think with the money we were spending at that time he would have been value.
I also think we would have won in Seville had he been playing.
Sitting here with a sevconian, otherwise kniwn as my brother-in-law, he’s scathing about his team’s performance so far.
kayal33
20:39 on 20 January, 2014
Thanks fot that, my Mhan……will watch, and hope he comes on…
Clashcitybhoy
20:30 on 20 January, 2014
Ref Joe Ledley,
I suspect he is keeping his options open , which he is perfectly entitled to do.
____________________
I got no issues with that. What I take issue with is a player that repeatedly protests to the media that he wants to stay at the club & how much he loves the club. Keeping your options open is not the mindset of a guy with this sentiment.
Goal, Everton….cracker
Toffees one up
Neustadt-Braw
Big Rab is a smashing goalie and a decent guy but what I remember back then Sanchez Broto came in and performed really well. I was really surprised that he was not offered a deal.
MON obviously thought big Rab and Magnus were better.
After he left us he went back to Spain and in 2004/5 season was voted the 3rd best goalie in La Liga
Tallybhoy
The Uruguayan Jim Brogan.
Magnificent ! Still loving memory of his goal of the season v the rangers in the new year game. . Why do we never see old footage of these goals
I wonder if he goes and plays rugby like Jim did after his football career ?
Shockeroonie, 3 huns saying that Elbows should have been shown the red, need to go for a lie down now
eddieinkirkmichael
20:39 on 20 January, 2014
Sitting here with a sevconian, otherwise kniwn as my brother-in-law, he’s scathing about his team’s performance so far.
Make him some Jelly & Icecream to help cheer him up…..Go on, you know ya want to!
eddieinkirkmichael
I cant bring myself to watch them but had a look on deluded media they are vomiting at having to watch what is being served up for them, you can feel their pain spilling out the pages.
adi_dasler
Just read your post. I didn’t realise that’s what happened
What is Catalonian for pillock? :-) He’s from Barcelona!
YYYYAAASSSS !!!! NSNO !!!! Champions league Dbl tripper :) !
….. and list while I sing
Eddieinkirkmichael
I thought he would be pleased.
3 yellow cards and over a dozen fouls.
Well up to standard for thems.
Watched a bit of the Forfar match.
The other side are agricultural in their approach.
Big Rab Douglas hardly a save to make. Well one double save.
McCulloch booked for elbowing in the back. Commentator laughing on replay says ” yes I think Lee did lead with his elbows”
Good to know the Others are all on first name terms.
Watched some of the Forfar game. So far, the Ref has been fair. The Scottish commentator has been unabashedly biased.He said that The Rangers` fans were annoyed about the “fact” that Sevco players were being shown yellow cards more readily than the Forfar players.He didn`t explain what kind of noise those fans made which enabled him to extrapolate their meaning. Sevco are obviously the better side but they are equally obviously a rather poor side.
JJ (with apologies to Tom but I can`t help myself in enjoying the misery Sevco are suffering)
How much is Aiden getting a week at Everton?
HH!!
bamboo
20:36 on 20 January, 2014
I donno what to do……..no TV reception!! Misty night blocking the signal.
What did they do in the old days before the goggle box was invented ?
Make babies
BestcontraceptiveeverCSC
quonno
20:32 on 20 January, 2014
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says other managers in the Premier League are “complicating” the jobs of referees by not publicly criticising their players for diving.
Seem to remeber Jose describing cheating players as being ‘clever’.
3333333333333333
I was at a game in Southern Spain in 2003 where his players brought diving to a fine art.
He needs to shut his gub about other teams diving. He was/is a disgrace as far as that is concerned. Shameful poser.
HH
Gerry
leftclick together we will get justice for the dam 5
20:27 on 20 January, 2014
Your welcome my friend…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Tallybhoy
I don`t know but it will be more than the girl behind the bar in The Commercial.
JJ
Jungle Jim
Zombie on RM said “I’ve seen hotels get less bookings on a Monday” :))))))
leftclick
Are you sure he is a Zombie? That`s quite funny 0:-)
JJ