It took until 5th October but Celtic are top of the Scottish Premiership for the first time. The valiant stand by the Highlanders went the way of Culloden but whereas the competition for first place us over for the season, the league has a promising look to it.
The SPL suffered for many years not exclusively because Celtic and Rangers dominated but because those teams who should have been snapping at their heels – the city clubs – were hugely underachieving.
Motherwell have done enormously well finishing ‘best of the rest’ for three years but they are inhibited by being the third best supported team in Motherwell (population 30,311). Their coaching and scouting infrastructure would provide a completely different platform if they were one of the top-flight clubs from Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Below Celtic sit Motherwell, and the other very well run SPFL club, Inverness, but behind them are Aberdeen and Dundee United, who for once sit above the detritus (sorry, Kilmarnock, but you are a terribly run football club) and plucky upstarts (Ross County, from Dingwall, population 5,026). Even Hibs are rallying. They will return to the top half of the table if they beat Partick Thistle tonight.
Of the big city clubs, only Hearts (in Administration) are off the pace, and even their league status is bound to be rescued when Kilmarnock’s name is inevitably written with the accompanying parenthesis.
As we’ve noted here often before, when the Daily Record finally acknowledges the reality Celtic websites have long explained about the Rangers group of clubs, you know it’s too late to do anything about it. Today’s piece in the newspaper confirms what we’ve known for a long time, the white flag has been raised. If they were more circumspect before declaring the unquestionable business acumen of the Ibrox key-holder, at any point over the last 15 years, the spivs would have been unable to fill their boots.
All those fawning pieces simply enabled the misdeeds.
While we are on the topic of enablers, what is the price of loyalty? £825k, apparently.
Congratulations to all who participated in the Great Scottish Run for 1254125. It turned into a great Celtic day with participants ranging from the dedicated athletes to those on the high side of 20st who grabbed the chance to make a different to their own lives, as well as others.
It’s happening again next year, so you have plenty time to get ready. The sooner you start preparing the better.
My sincere thanks to the many people who contributed to the 1254125 MyDonate page I put up on Friday. It now sits at an incredible £935, I’ll leave it up for a few days more to see if we can break into four figures.
Thanks for all your help.
Order Sean Fallon, Celtic’s Iron Man, below.
749 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 20
- »
BMCUW
yes tony was a terrific player, did well at Blackpool. You’re right about jimmy smith I dont know why that never happened.
they were both seriously good players, I was ok but nowhere near their class.
Hx2
a few wee things bother me still bout this farce about the accounting exercise and what is deemed as truth
Has anyone seen the Pinsent Mason report? published?…. did’nt think so
Has the Sfa seen the above report? Is there any course of action?…Thought so!
The figure at the Bank.£1m cant be drawn down by the clumpany,(its retail)
Goian and Bocanegra as well as the VAT bill and this seasons wonder signings can come off the figure.
The historical nonsense spouted bout their membership/licence transfer is just simply wrong and a company like Deloittes should not be putting their name to such fantasy.
just my view
Always in Celtic
Flying visit, on lunch.
Thanks very much to those that have replied to the St. John Doyle donation.
Thanks also especially to Sannabhoy and P67 for your efforts. There are others, many others including Hamiltontim and Minx1888 and Morrisey….
I will update later tonight where we are. Anybody else interested lennybhoycfc@gmail.com
God Bless, St. John Doyle, CQN and Celtic in that order.
Until we meet again…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
mcgrory1888
I remeber Mcgettrick, a grumpy old guy> Jimmy Millar taught me maths. One of his parents died of lung cancer when we were in 3rd year. he was really hard on us smokers. He used to check outr fingers for nicotine stains. Felix Porter was the techie teacher. In my early twenties we were parishioners at Our lady of Good Council in Dennistoun. A good guy.
Jim martin, deputy head, with his gown on he would resemble Darth Vader. I remember at assembly when mass was about to start as it was a holiday of obligation, the kids were noisy and he stood up in front of the mike on the “alter” and said loudly –
Keep your mouths shut – shite tut!
The place disintigrated in laughter.
I served mass with Tony Green for a couple of years when we were young alterboys. A lovely guy and areally nice family. Shuold’ve been a Celt!
I went around with Junior Glavin’s younger brother, Frank. the younger brother Tony is involved in professional football in the States, I think.
I remember John Sim. Shame.
Did you know Gerry Thompson or Frank Brown, they would be ages with you.
Great memories indeed.
Yep…..looks like wacko Jackson is cutting up the turf now and priming the mechanised hordes of John Knox for cultural and sporting oblivion……..
Liquidation II will see them drop back down again………
The bigot dome falling into further disrepair
Good will will be further eroded….no further IPO’s
Almost over.
Not sure why DD is supposed to want them back?
Surely CL and Europa money outweighs any financial benefit they would bring to us domestically?
The only people who will miss them are the SMSM…….its a free feed less for them.
Dinosaurs and tar pits…………
It’s great to see radar Jackson in full revisionist mode. Spinning his agenda driven pash to the sevconian hordes, who will lap it up once more.
There will be much gnashing of teeth and greetin into their coco pops when their new club go pop as the old one did. I think radar will once again pick up the sports writer of the year award (no laughing at the back) for his daring do type of investigative journalism, last seen in the Woodward and Bernstien era.
Does anybody know when and why Charlottes account was suspended?
Desertbhoy- from previous- Leven Links on Saturday it is.
Paul67 @ 13:29,
“Chairbhoy, not sure what the final straw was. The ‘on business’ plan seemed to say nothing we didn’t already know”
That’s true, we are thankfully informed by your good self and the great and the good of the tim’ternet.
Don’t want to sound too smug, but the average DR reader Will not be so well informed.
In fact the figures in KJ’s piece today look just as inaccurate as normal, only this time schewed to show the finances in a worse light.
Maybe to enable the Blue Knights, the more things change…
Hail Hail
An Tearmann
13:47 on 7 October, 2013
The historical nonsense spouted bout their membership/licence transfer is just simply wrong and a company like Deloittes should not be putting their name to such fantasy.
==================
Indeed total codswallop. From TSFM.
Finally getting around to reading Rangers accounts and wonder what genius came up with this.
SPONSORSHIP
Sponsorship revenues have been on the decline since 2009/10. However, in season 2012/13 they were hit dramatically due to a combination of factors including the reduction in shirt sponsorship fee and loss or reduction in other major partnerships as a direct consequence of the transfer of Club licence, which led to Third Division football and no European football.
There is no transfer of a Club licence that can lead to no European football. What leads to no European football is an interruption of membership of a national association under Article 12
” The membership and the contractual relationship (if any) must have lasted – at the start of the licence season – for at least three consecutive years. Any alteration to the club’s legal form or company structure (including, for example, changing its headquarters, name or club colours, or transferring stakeholdings between different clubs) during this period in order to facilitate its qualification on sporting merit and/or its receipt of a licence to the detriment of the integrity of a competition is deemed as an interruption of membership or contractual relationship (if any) within the meaning of this provision. ”
reinforced under Article 14 which does not allow a transfer of licence under any circumstances.
Article 14 – Licence 1 Clubs which qualify for the UEFA club competitions on sporting merit or through the UEFA fair play rankings must obtain a licence issued by their licensor according to the national licensing regulations, except where Article 15 applies. (this refers to entry via other means like cup winners)
2 A licence expires without prior notice at the end of the season for which it was issued.
3 A licence cannot be transferred. .
The codswallop statement in the accounts comes about because of a confusion between SFA membership which is at SFA discretion with no criteria and club licensing to the UEFA standards that the SFA signed up to but ignored in applying to Rangers from 2011 on.
It is the single greatest loophole that allowed RIFC to gain entry because one (membership) is not dependent on the other (licence) but should be and is a glaring loophole that the SFA should be closing but will not because it removes their ability to do as they please.
The event that led to Third Division football was the former club entering liquidation and becoming a new legal entity (to escape its debts) and was lucky to get accepted into the Third Division.
There is spin and there is spin, but this is enough to cause a vortex of black hole proportions. Is the truth so shameful it just cannot be voiced or faced?
http://t.co/12M2t2LOxA
Go on the Setanta…..!!
AULDHEID
Think that’s bad?
Wait till their entry into administration. You will then see them NOT being hammered for doing so for a second time,but treated as though it was their first insolvency event.
This,the internet bampots will point out,at least proves that it is a new club. Bang goes yer history.
Not so,will be the reply from the SFA et al. It is a new company. And it can only be punished as such.
I wonder whether SFA regulations are clear on the distinction?
Auldheid :
They were not lucky to get 3rd division football, only one club, and one club alone, wanted them to take their place in the queue from the juniors.
Philboy
Ah yes Gerry Thomson, he and I were friends all through school and for years after then lost contact. In the mid 80’s I came across him again in Cumbernauld, I was helping to run a kids footie team (Carbrain) and he was helping out with another local boys team. Only a passing reacquaintance im afraid.
Cant recall Frank Brown though. Youre right it was Felix Porter and he was a lovely guy.
Do you remember Kevin Graham he lived in Cranhill along with that nutter Chic Daw you must remember him, I learned all the rebel songs from him, he knew the words to every one of them. He always spoke with an ” irish” accent but wasnt irish.
funny how things come back to you after reminicing about them.
cheers for the memories that I had forgotten.
I remembet others now but could be here all day and dont want to bore the a**e off everyone else.
talking about Our Lady of Good Council, my bro lived in Harcourt Drive.
actually I got on pretty well with McGettrick, I knew him and his son from St Marys Calton when I went there.
Hx2
I note the current push by Sky in its reporting of Epl fans at White hart lane and the use of the term ‘yid’.
Although such a term would never be used by myself,it appears the Spurs fans are taking ownership of the term whilst opposing fans use the term in an insulting and derogatory way,
At base though it is a term that exudes hate in my opinion and is a sectarian insult.
What I would like to do is ensure all Celtic fans are ready for the Tsunami of Old Firm nonsense that we are going to be subjected to IF(and it is a big if) we meet ever this re- invented accounting exercise.
THE OLD FIRM DIED.
Sky,will want to market their biggest game,(re viewing figs worldwide for Celtic v The Lies)
will they be so newsworthy as to highlight the use of sectarian singing then?
Always in Celtic
Philbhoy – Bring it on!!!!
13:28 on
7 October, 2013
mcgrory1888
I lived in Garthamlock at the time, Binns road.
Left school after 6 years.
Wish I’d studied a bit harder though.
Who did you know?
Moved to St Gregorys from St Gerrards,left in 1966.Ronnie Glavin was in my class,played in the same team together.Wullie Orr,Tam Paton(A beast).Wullie ran a grocery van for Ronnie Glavin in Garthamlock for a while.Obviously before he turned to Arson.
mcgrory1888
Don’t remeber Kevin Graham but Chic Daw rings a bell.
When I lived in Dennistoun it was on the Parade, next to the Station.
Great place.
Mibbe chat again, I need to get some work done!
Take care.
philboy
you too mate, might be good to meet up in the flesh, as it were, for a pint and a chinwag.
Hx2
AN TEARMANN
I would like to see the trailer include highlights of our long and distinguished history,
V
This……
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s1VNNbSYdt0&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Ds1VNNbSYdt0
Along with any other lurking gregites that may wish to partake.
Hx2
It is a longstandingCQN tradition to defend hoopslegend Ronnie Glavin from the accusation of ‘arson’; he was never found guilty of this offence and may in fact never have been charged.
DBBIA/PerryMasonCSC
.
When l started reading this Article l thought SydneyTim wrote it..then l thought No Craig Mather wrote it..Then No way McCoist wrote it..Then My head exploded..
What They Don’t Want You to Know About Rangers’ Accounts
Courtesy Ibrox Noise..
When it comes to boardroom shenanigans at Ibrox, the most hyped aspect behind the scenes is money. In Rangers’ case, in particular, how much our directors get.
With accounts released recently, the numbers have finally been published in black and white, after much feverish anticipation that the release of these figures would finally explain, reveal and explore Rangers’ full fiscal standing in the world today along with aforementioned salaries.
The big ‘scandal’ is the amount our executives get – that is Craig Mather, CEO, and Finance Director Brian Stockbridge. In recent months it has emerged that Mather receives £300,000 at a salary of around £30,000 per month. Stockbridge has supposedly earned, in 13 months, £410,000.
This has attracted ridicule and feverish outrage from Rangers fans aghast that our two head men receive such salubrious income. However, there are aspects which put both these numbers into some sort of context.
Fans outraged to hear Mather receives £300,000 may be curious to know his counterpart at Celtic Park, Peter Lawwell, receives around £700,000. Before anyone makes the argument that the two clubs cannot currently be compared financially, I am afraid they can. Despite Rangers’ incoming revenue going significantly down, the club’s size and stature has not, nor has its outgoing costs (enough).
Any Rangers fan disagreeing with this therefore by logical conclusion considers Rangers a smaller club than Celtic. If the clubs cannot be compared financially in terms of outgoing costs, it is presumably because Rangers are smaller in stature. And as we know, that is not the case.
Consequently the fact the CEO of Rangers makes less than half the CEO of Celtic’s clearly shows cost-cutting has taken place and his wage is far less than either Lawwell’s or indeed Rangers’ predecessor Martin Bain’s.
Bain earned around £700,000 as well. It is a myth to suggest Craig Mather is being overpaid.
Saying it himself:
“Through the history of Rangers, I would be the lowest-paid CEO for a long time”
Moving onto Stockbridge, he has received £209,000 so far in 13 months, his basic salary being £180,000. His counterpart, Eric J Riley, at Celtic Park, receives £140,000. The difference of course is the bonus stated in the accounts with Stockbridge allocated £200,000 while Riley’s is only £27,000.
However, Craig Mather stated on 1st October that this bonus was waived:
“If you look at my pay, there was talk about £500,000 but the actual amount I agreed to in the end was £300,000. Brian Stockbridge was on £200,000 plus a contractual bonus. Again, quite openly he’s agreed to waive that contractual bonus of his own accord.”
Then we have the non-executives. So far we’ve established outgoing salaries of the executive directors to be wages of around £500,000 if Stockbridge waived the bonus (700k if he did not and Mather is lying). So how much are the non-executives getting? Well, the answer is 0. Yes folks, did you not know non-executive directors only get their costs/expenses paid? Walter Smith got £50,000 in 13 months, while Ian Hart, Phil Cartmell and Bryan Smart all got under £30,000. Again, in expenses. None of the departed or existing non-execs receive any salary at all. Only their costs.
So, a grand total, in wages, still of £500,000 in an entire 13 months. Rangers’ entire outgoing board wage is around the same as Celtic’s sole CEO receives.
If you add the expenses it is a ‘vile’ sum of £640,000. A year. So the entire board, who are to be ‘sacked’ by the way, earn, ‘allegedly’, altogether, less than Lee McCulloch alone. They, in total, earn less than Ally McCoist did alone before his self-imposed wage cut.
When you actually scrutinise these sums and ignore the press hysteria along with fan-outrage, the only number that confuses is the £200k bonus for Stockbridge stated in the accounts but publicly addressed by Mather as being unissued. Presumably audited accounts include contractual obligations, even if they were not fulfilled, given the paperwork (including contracts) is what auditors examine, not individuals’ actual bank accounts.
Because, and here is the killer point: Ally McCoist took his wage cut because he is employed by the club, otherwise known as the ‘sporting’ side of the business which is formally called “The Rangers Football Club Ltd” (this also ’employs’ the Easdale brothers – non-exec).
Stockbridge and Mather (and Hart and Smart) and are on the board of the company called “Rangers International Football Club PLC”. That is the parent company of RFC Ltd.
This is not to detail whether these director fellows are any good or bad at their jobs – that is a debate for another day. It is just pointing out they work for a PLC company which has a board of directors. They are not employed by the sporting side of the company and do not require to take paycuts to keep the club afloat. Horrible as it is to say, their loyalty is not with the club, nor the company particularly as it happens – the company is just their employer and they expect the going rate for the position they hold. CEOs and Finance Directors are not cheap.
Even then, they still do not receive as much as their counterparts at Parkhead.
So any paycut is on the onus of those loyal to the club. If the current players had the same inclination and loyalty to the club Ally McCoist does, they too would take wage cuts to help its costs. Not even universally 50% like he, but enough to help. There are other ways the club (and company) is losing cash (we know it is bleeding millions through lost income) but to employ a CEO and Finance Director and expect them to take considerably less than they would receive elsewhere – chances are they would quit (or simply not accept the job in the first place) and the company would have to find someone else. And no CEO or FD would accept the kind of salary we would like them to. This is the real world. However the players could accept aforementioned reduction like their manager has.
The board, as mentioned, work for the company. And that is a separate entity.
Because here is the ultimate catch 22:
Anyone yelling ‘sack the board’ and demanding they show loyalty to Rangers FC with gestures like paycuts (or outright departure) – it is a contradiction because us Rangers fans (and most reasonable football fans) consider the company to be quite separate from the club. The old company was liquidated as well we know, but the club lived on.
Consequently if you are considering the board as part of the club then it forces that you consider the company employing them equally entwined. But that company is only 18 months old.
What I am saying is fans cannot have their cake here. To consider the board part of the club contradicts the very fact Rangers fans do not consider their club just over a year old.
Do they really also believe Rangers could employ a new CEO at less than £300,000 to ‘save costs’ who would also be effective enough at his job to stop the company bleeding money too? Where is this incredibly good (well he just ‘magicked’ millions out of thin air after all) and economically viable (apparently he is willing to work that magic for about £50,000) alternative? Do they really believe the likes of Paul Murray, Scott Murdoch, Frank Blin or Alex Wilson would achieve all this (get paid so much less and stem the financial losses while at it) in exactly the same circumstances the existing board suffer?
There is also the rather amusing further catch 22 that many fans forget; if they got their wish and the ‘board got sacked’, contractually the company would have to pay them off. It is called severance pay, and Charles Green was paid it – something supporters outraged about. Yet they want the rest to follow suit – overlooking that little problem that firing these directors will bleed the club/company yet more money in the process. So, to save the club cash, it will cost hundreds of thousands. Anyone else see the flaw here?
Many supporters also remain oblivious to the cash these existing directors (exec and non-exec) pump into the club out their own pockets, sums I will not go into. But they are far from freeloaders.
I am the first to confess I am not a financial manager, and stocks, shares, trade and NASDAQ are all double Dutch to me.
But I can do my sums and compare similar situations and it is abundantly clear that whether or not they are good at their positions, none of Rangers’ PLC directors are overpaid. In fact it is quite plausible they are underpaid given how much Bain, Green, and Lawwell got/get. Green, by the way, only received around £200,000 more than Lawwell does. Unlike Lawwell to Celtic, Green brought investment into Rangers, and managed to form a new company which controls the sporting side, something Rangers fans were desperate to see happen, especially once the CVA was rejected. So did he not possibly ‘earn’ a little profit? I personally do not begrudge the man, and still consider he was harshly treated by the fans.
It is very easy to spin stats, but far less to spin genuine numbers.
Admittedly depending what the press headline and first paragraphs say I suppose.
Summa of
.
Arson Wenger never signed Ronnie Glavin did he..?
Summa
The joke at the time, I seem to recall, was that celtic were signing a German midfielder called Shoppe giving us the unforgettable midfield of Glavin, Burns, Shoppe.
he was found not guilty anyway? wasnt he?
Hx2
My,my, wee Nacho delivers a home draw for thems against bigot Ballantine’s team as his wee reward.
Rigged as hell if you ask me.
summa
Wenger might have signed him as Ronnie was on fire at that time.
Gordon j.
You have done a good job of educating myself to the stigma attached to mental illness through your blog and posts on this site. I believe that you have changed the way I react to mental illness and my preconceptions and prejudices have been questioned through your effort.
It’s unfortunate what was posted earlier today on this blog, I can’t change that but what I can do is thank you for your efforts and appeal to others to read your blog if they believe that mental illness is somehow related to the prayers that you say before you go to bed at night.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
14:17 on
7 October, 2013
It is a longstandingCQN tradition to defend hoopslegend Ronnie Glavin from the accusation of ‘arson’; he was never found guilty of this offence and may in fact never have been charged.
DBBIA/PerryMasonCSC
Sorry,should have added a bit more.Ronnie was one of my best mates from school until our twenties.Had some rerr terrs.
Summa- nice exposition of spivenaccio, thanks.
SUMMA
I had to read that in instalments. Tears blinding me at times. Who wrote it? Traynor?
Loved this bit.
“If you add the expenses it is a ‘vile’ sum of £640,000. A year. So the entire board, who are to be ‘sacked’ by the way, earn, ‘allegedly’, altogether, less than Lee McCulloch alone. They, in total, earn less than Ally McCoist did alone before his self-imposed wage cut.”
So Elbows is on more than £12k a week despite his much-publicised declaration that he would play for nothing?
Oh,jeez,if these tears don’t stop I’m gonna ruin my phone. Even funnier than the clip I posted of TRIGGERS BROOM.
Raging the huns got a home draw.Starve the bassas of cash.Rat boy does the draw,and a lot of huns are happy!!!!!!!!.Glasgow and Airdrie.
FIX.
The Honest Mistake loves being first,
Thanks, much appreciated. It’s difficult to counter the type of scare stories that a certain section of the media loves so much, but we try.
Auldheid 13.56. Excellent piece by your good self.thank you for the usual clarity.
Bmcuw 14.15 lol ah the nothingness lol
DBBIA – a Barnsley supporting friend of mine often talks of the golden times supporting Barnsley with “Sir Ronald” and “Clever” Trevor Aylott knocking them in for fun.
His opinion on pyromania is less discussed.
McGRORY1888
I also remember us being linked to a winger named ARTHUR.
To go with Conn and Doyle….
goldstar10
13:55 on
7 October, 2013
Desertbhoy- from previous- Leven Links on Saturday it is
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
delayed reply due to work load…
…many, many years since i played there
I can’t be bothered re-reading their accounts so can anybody recall if the Bocanegra and Goian pay-offs were listed in them? A quick search suggests they’re not listed directly.
I ask because the contracts were terminated right at the end of the accounting period and they could easily have been bumped into the next one by the times i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. That would be close to a million coming off the £11M straight away.
BMCUW
I see what you did there…….clever.