The actions of the Sevco Requisitioners in undermining Newco Rangers made no sense. They invoked an almighty schism, one which will forevermore deny the emerging club from a potentially rich seam of support. An act of such potential vandalism would surely not be undertaken unless they had a plan to deliver the necessary votes?
Turns out they didn’t have a plan after all. Some Oldco Rangers fans put their money on the table but their face didn’t fit. As a consequence, another group of Oldco Rangers fans overtly and covertly campaigned against them, but refused to put cash on the table.
Say what you like about the Easdales, they paid their money fair and square (and any debts to society, for those who like to go digging in the past). The embryonic club will develop in their image, it will stand or fall on their judgement. After coughing up, they endured incredibly manipulative pressures. They don’t strike me as natural underdogs but on this occasion they were. They resisted and I’m pleased for them. If you want to buy a club, walk in the front door with your cash, don’t try to drive the price down by trashing the club and invoking an insurrection.
Paul Murray deserves a special mention in this whole process. When Charles Green was pulling a deal together to buy the liquidated assets of Rangers, Murray campaigned against him, and all others who were prepared to put money on the table. As a consequence, Green was up against it from day one.
Instead of addressing Rangers fans as the man who ensured football would continue at Ibrox, Charlie was painted as a pantomime villain. Without this act of vandalism, he would have been able to sell 30,000 season tickets at full price. He could also have chased everyone earning over £50k per annum off the premises, ensuring Newco launched profitably, with a strong fan base.
Today, Newco would have money in the bank and be laying the foundations necessary for top flight football. No ‘legend’ would have been able to hold them to ransom in return for £800k p.a. Instead, Green, with £5.5m and untold more from his consortium in the game, was put in a horrible situation. As a consequence, he overpromised and under-delivered.
Having done all this, Murray turned on the Easdales, still without the money to get the job done. It is utterly unfathomable.
Just a few posting days left to order your CQN Annual before Christmas, £5 from every sale goes to the Malawi appeal:
Sean Fallon: Celtic’s Iron Man:
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DBBIA.
Graziemille !
I hope to be on a couch watching the Fourth Test whilst my baby walks the malls of Baltimore .
Buon Natale ——-spend those record tokens wisely .
Have you ever seen Dallas from the back of a DC 9 at night ? CSC .
HT
“I suppose the other possible reason could be that we didn’t want to be seen by them to be upsetting them.”
I agree that this is a strong motivation but….
It is a motivation not to be seen to be opposing them.
It is not a reason for not opposing them.
Our Board have the wit and intelligence and experience to set up a third party (shareholder or neutral) to challenge the legalities whilst still maintaining that this person/body has nothing to do with the official position of Celtic plc Board.
This “plausible deniability” approach is taken all the time by bodies who want to run interference but do not want to be convicted for doing so.
TT
Agree with you re Derk. He doesn’t seem to have the heart for it. Think our four other summer signings will come good, given the chance. I think Stuart Armstrong would be a better signing for us than Ryan Gauld, at this stage in time.
Imagine you were a journalist from Germany and you were intrigued by the whole Rangers/Sevco affair. You say to yourself “i know, i’ll contact one of Scotlands top selling newspapers and ask them what actually happened”. Can you imagine if you were Keevins, Wilson, Lindsay, Guidi, Jackson whoever telling the German journo,
1) They are the same club, history etc
2) That a top judge said they never benefited on the playing field and the £44m they spent on players by use of a tax avoidance scheme was not a sporting advantage.
3) The man at the top of the SFA was a good man even if he knew about the tax avoidance scheme. (and was a beneficiary)
4) You could buy the stadium, players, history and a nice bit of land in the Milngavie area for £5.5m.
5) Even though it may have appeared that Jim Traynor was campaigning for the team to remain in the top league and resigned in a bad mood when it didn’t happen before joining Rangers as head of PR, he was only doing it in the best interests of Scottish football.
6) Bullying and threatening journalists who speak of the club in any negative way is just the way it is around here.
7) It is ok for convicted fraudsters and/or board members who were involved with the liquidated club to be allowed on to the new board.
I could go on, but this is the crap they try to convince us on a daily basis. I am sure if my imaginary journalist had to listen to this nonsense he’d be in need of incontinence pants and there’d be a lot of Mark Hately type err umms from the Scottish journalist.
Rant over.
Will nothing cease to amaze me this year ….here was me thinking Our great SFA leader was a sure fire thing for hardest neck of the year award,when his position is under severe attack from Toronto,s head honcho…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25430189
come on Campbell strut your stuff !
DD
Sadly I think Pukki and Balde will prove to be poor value for money.
VVJ has the ability to continue to be a very good Celtic signing.
TT
In the next hour or so ole South of Tunis will be north of Shangri La, briefly.
IT help request, please.
When I opened my PC today, somehow Bill McMurdo’s latest blog entitled “Horrible damage inflicted by requisitioners” has appeared on my CQN homepage.
Do you think it could be a virus?
Meanwhile, back at Celtic Park, I haven’t noticed any leaked information about Sevco’s AGM proxies, planted into MSM, which unequivocally state this P Murray character has failed to be appointed.
Paul67
Have you started early on the ol’ mulled wine or is your tongue planted firmly in your cheek?
To portray Charles Green as the good guy in this whole zombie fiasco is utterly preposterous, my friend in Celtic. The guy is an out and out spiv and it is him and his cronies who have brought the new club to the edge of the precipice.
Paul Murray has been nothing more than an irritating fly buzzing around the Sevco jobbie, and about as effective.
God bless Chuckles and the Spivs
Who Is OliverNorwid?
N Why iz Neil, interested in Him?
Norwid is a Middy..
N… we are Up tae Here N Here,
N…
There N There ,in Mid-Fielders!
Nevahtheless..
This Japanese Fellow, is a Great Player..We wid be Fools ..No tae Grab him.
Where Hiv Ah hoid That song.. Afore!
is Norwid,any Bettah?
Diz awe this Mean that..
‘
Joe Ledley.. Is Headed fur the Tall n Uncut?
Hope so!
Wish he wid tak..
Broonie n Sammi,Wi Him.. though.. These ur Two Guys that Ah wid Hunt.
Especially,Broonie..
He is Bleedin’ us Dry.. He is Grossly Over-Paid.
Am Ah the Only Guy,oan here, Who BelieveThis??
Possibly.
Well, Ah tell Those Doubters.That..
If we Pit Broonie, up fur Sale..
There widnae be ..Wan Bidder, Fur His Services..
N that should Tell those Doubters ,something..
But, Somehow.. Ah DOUBT it!
Ah suppose that is why they Call ’em… DOUBTERS!
Kojo
Still,Laughin
Diz this me
“I don’t know the motive ,I just know that we have made either no or a feeble attempt to put the hose in there mouth.”
I think you need to replace the word “know’ with either “think” or “believe”. It is only “know” when you are certain of the fact.
And I hope your belief is wrong.
That said, we are both on the same side in wanting the outcome of a chance to perform in a more lucrative market.
t88
There is no certainty that we will be an automatic entrant to the real riches of the CL Group stage every year, as Maribor proved to Rangers a few years ago.
However, there is a greater chance of being allowed to contest the risky qualifiers if you do not have a rival contender for the title. You do not get anything like the money, from TV and crowd interest, from a tight league race as opposed to even a poor CL campaign.
Unless you had surveyed our fans and found that the mickbhoy 88 position of wanting them back and missing them, was prevalent, then you would be losing more fans and revenue than you would gain.
It only makes sense if you view the Board as undercover huns determined to help Rangers more than us. Why would they contest a league or try to win at all if they were more interested in helping rangers win?
TBB- I am waving my Brigate Rosse banner out of the window in anticipation, while singin’ ‘ Satan is Real’.
SFTB
Ok I’ll remove the word ‘seen’ from my suggestion :-)
Quite possibly we (the custodians of Celtic) simply didn’t want to do anything that would in any way harm Newco or hinder them making an entry into SPFL football at the quickest opportunity.
boscobhoy02
14:24 on 18 December, 2013
It really is incredible…….
TT
I like the look of Nir and Amido, less so Teemu. Virgil has totally convinced me, even though I think he could be a Tom McAdam in reverse.
SFTB
I don’t think you can ascribe a single cause or motivation to Celtic’s position in the whole shabby mess, but you have perhaps overlooked one influence on their thinking:
The problems that fell out from Rangers’ self destruction were problems for the Game as a whole to address. A ‘solution’ imposed on the Game in Scotland by Celtic would have had no validity. It was for the Game collectively to resolve its problems.
Tiny Tim and SFTB
If I may, I’d like to make a point pertaining to your discussion.
We now know from the work of CQNers in the build-up up to the Celtic AGM that the club, without making this public, was already on the SFA’s case for allowing Rangers to have access to European football during Craig Whyte’s short-live tenure, in spite of the wee tax case.
None of us knew Celtic had done that.
For reasons Auldheid, in particular, has explained very well, this course of enquiry has yielded no fruit, but I would argue it suggests Celtic are far less keen on reinventing the old rivalry with Sevco than people often speculate. That enquiry is not the action of a club that wants to sit at the back of the bus and go unnoticed.
So why do it on the quiet? I can only guess that the strategy is to avoid giving the supporters of the deady bears any reason to unify and fight, which overt and public “interference” from Celtic could provide. We also know, from Paul 67, that the duty-of-care considerations that Celtic has to have for its employees’ safety have not gone away. In other words, a decision to insert any size of stick into the wasps’ nest (see me?) in Govan needs to be taken very soberly because there can be grave consequences.
There are unknown unknowns.
Heard that the Rangers AGM has been cancelled due to death of Ronnie Biggs
Paul Murray?
I liked the stuff he was putting out when he was in The Blue Knights.
Not really a fan of The Requisitioners.
Dontbrattbakkinanger @ 13:08
‘I reckon he’ll be having “a cup of tea and a wee chat” with them early next week ‘
Although I know that by saying the following I could be bestowing more intelligence on McCoist than I think he actually has …
Perhaps we see now why Super Salary was in no hurry to let his super salary drop to a more modest level: perhaps he foresaw the possibility of his being bumped and might therefore miss out on some bumper com-pen, had he been honest/foolish/you-choose enough to take a pay cut before now …
[Of course, he could simply make a (tax deductible?) donation to a charity of his choice for what he considers to be the excess in his wages.]
FF
Worshipful Master: “I now declare the Lodge meeting open to any other business….Yes Brother McCoist.?”….
Sleekit Brother: ” How dae ah get oot o’ this ” I don’t do walking away” crap that I said in haste…Anybody any ideas ?”
WM: “Yes…Brother McColl ? ”
Brother McColl: “Offer your shares as proxy to your East Kilbride Brothers…they’ll vote against the Board….The Board will win anyway….You’ll get pumped…and become a martyr.”
Sleekit Brother : “Amen tae that Brother…Amen.”.
AW NAW…
Rangers cleared over ‘most successful’ slogan
Published on the 18 December
2013
14:24
1 comments
Print this
RANGERS have been cleared by advertising watchdogs for a second time for using an advert describing itself as the ‘most successful’ club in Scotland.
The Ibrox club have been given permission to use the slogan following a final decision by the Advertising Standards Authority(ASA).
The watchdog began a probe earlier this year after 82 people complained about the ads which said “Join Scotland’s most successful club at Ibrox” as part of a promotion on season tickets.
Critics claimed the slogan was misleading because oldco Gers went into liquidation last year.
The ASA cleared the advert in June but launched a review following the intervention of a retired top civil servant who is now a senior executive at the body.
Sir Hayden Phillips, who acts as independent reviewer of ASA adjudications said there were flaws in the way the decision was made.
He said there had been a ‘procedural flaw’ in that the ASA relied on an ‘extract only’ of a report sent to it by Rangers.
The club provided an extract from a decision by an independent commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League (SPL), which said the club still existed ‘despite its transfer to another owner and operator’.
The ASA have now viewed the report in full and in an adjudication published yesterday(WED) cleared the advert for use.
The watchdog said: “Whilst the ASA acknowledged that Newco had not taken on all of the debts and liabilities of Oldco when it purchased its assets and that that would normally preclude a business from trading on the reputation of a liquidated predecessor company, we noted, having read its report in full, that both an Independent Commission appointed by the SPL and the European Club Association had reached the conclusion that the football club RFC was a recognisable entity in its own right, and that it had continued in existence despite being transferred to another owner and operator.
“We considered that consumers would understand that the claim in question related to the football club rather than to its owner and operator and we therefore concluded that it was not misleading for the ad to make reference to RFC’s history, which was separate to that of Newco.”
Rangers told the ASA they felt that, given their history, the claim “Scotland’s most successful club” was valid and would not mislead.
Have the Kray twins grounds to sack Sally,due to him giving his vote to the opposition?
HT
Ok then see my answer to t88 at 14.32
TBB
“The problems that fell out from Rangers’ self destruction were problems for the Game as a whole to address. A ‘solution’ imposed on the Game in Scotland by Celtic would have had no validity. It was for the Game collectively to resolve its problems.”
Except that theis was not what happened. Instead a cabal of 5 bodies excluded Celtic and the other clubs from the official decision. By the time that SPL clubs got to vote on the agreed “best way forward for Scottish football” they did not agree with the main proposal i.e. Rangers remaining in the SPL. But the damage had already been done as the “continuity of history” fiction was not challenged at all.
CF
There are unknown unknowns, for sure.
We know that Celtic asked pertinent questions but we also know that they allowed “secret negotiations” to develop to the point of agreement without saying “This is no way to run an honest league!” and demanding transparency and consultation of fan opinion. I can fully understand their lack of overt action. I cannot understand their lack of consensus building around applying existing rules such as governed the liquidation of Third Lanark, Airdrieonians, and Gretna.
Hail Hail Bhoys, just in to find my CQN Annual arrived today in overcast Edinburgh.
After a quick flick through it’s up to the standard I would expect from this fine blog. Well done to all involved. Now being a Postie when will I find time to read it?
!!Bada Bing!! 14:47
Maybe they can. But it would be awfy risky: the fans might turn ugly.
I know, I know: I’ll get my own coat and hat on the way out …
FF
If Murray and McColl were serious about this whole sorry mess down Govan way then surely they would have bought enough shares to take control. I may be wrong but i’m sure even after his “not one thin dime” speech Fergus still had to buy the shares off the Kelly’s and White’s.
This crap that they don’t want to make the Easdale’s or any other spivs rich by buying shares from them is just their way of trying to gain control of Ibrox on the cheap.
Delaney’s Dunky
Hiya,Pally?
And
Yes.. Ah agree wi ye.. aloater.
Nir n Virgil, are Two Real Finds.
Baith,wull Dae.
Pukki,is a Puzzler.
Fur .. He has Skill,in Abondanza.. No Question.. but…..????
Ah believe he is Too Frail ,fur the S.P.L.
n.. Ah think ..
He is Too Weak..
Fur the C.L.
So?
Where diz that Tak us..?
Naewhere..Ah am afraid.
So..
It looks tae Me like Pukki, Must get a Thumbs Doon fae Me.
Unquestionably..
Pukki,is a Good Player.. But.
He his a “But”.. efter his Name~
Amido, Is no Getting a Fair Do.. at the Wheel.
If Neil, Disnae Gie Him A Proper Go.. Agin oor Next Opponents..
Then.. Well.. tae be Trewthful.
Ah Wullnae be… at awe…Surprised!
Nice Chattin’
Kojo
Still,Laughin.
boscobhoy02
14:50 on 18 December, 2013
Yes, but don”t tell the silly billy’s that……let them get on with it…..!!!!!!
Kojo
Nice to greet you.
Teemu needs a right good prolonged feed. My wee mammy’s Scottish cooking would do the trick. Want to see Amido start our next ten games. He would score at least 7 goals if he did.
Long before the newco Rangers reach the premier division Celtic should call the SFA bluff and let it be known in public to the SFA, MSM, etc that as far as we are concerned the Newco are a new club/team and are not the Rangers which won 90 odd titles and were liquidated, and that is how we will refer to them – as a new club to Scottish football with a very short history.
Sponsorship
World wide exposure to the brand on ‘new firm’ day
more competitive league
more chance of attracting better calibre of players
more season ticket sales (?)
the excitement
because like we boast on the label… “all inclusive”
67Heaven
They’re all excited on twitter just now cos the glib and shameless liar has opened his big gub again.
setting free the bears supports res. 12 & oscar knox
14:09 on 18 December, 2013
The reasons were plain for all to see from the amount of empty seats around the stadium last Saturday
The board are no mugs,they know that most supporters are bored shitless with the current set up
Never have I known it to be so difficult to give away free gratis spare tickets for games at Celtic Park
Boscobhoy
What one? They all are over doom dome!
SFTB
Yeh, but no, but yeh but…
Celtic’s Peter Lawwell, along with a number of other SPL club leaders, was and remains a Director of the SPL, one of the parties to the 5 Way Agreement. The SPL could not have executed the 5 Way Agreement without board consent.
Additionally, Peter Lawwell was a member of the Professional Game Board of the SFA (not the SFA Board itself at the time) and it is highly likely that the PGB was influential in the decision making of the time.
Further, the 3 “Football” relevant parties to the agreement – SFA, SPL and SFL – together represent the entirety of the Scottish Football interest.
We know that a hodge-podge of botched ideas was put to the membership of both SPL and SFL, all but one being rejected – Sevco being permitted Associate Membership of SFL and Conditional Membership of SFA and thus participation in professional football at the lowest level.
Had the Executives of the 3 bodies themselves made the decision in isolation from the rest of the Game, matters would have turned out differently. As it transpired, the SPL clubs rejected a transfer of Rangers’ old SPL membership, and the SFL clubs rejected a 1st Division parachute arrangement.
The bureaucrats and hidden influences did their best to bend the rules to suit the various cases presented, but the senior clubs ultimately determined the disposal. In this, I have no doubt that Celtic’s position was clear. Celtic were not excluded from the process, although the club might well have elected to exert minimal influence on it. An unknown.
Scottish Football, for good or otherwise, resolved the practical aspects collectively. That the Game might have been jolly well ill-served by those entrusted with fostering it is another matter altogether.
Mike Bhoyle
Thanks for posting the ASA statement. Not that I enjoyed reading it of course.
“Ok we know they did not take on any of the outstanding debts of Oldco (“and that that would normally preclude a business from trading on the reputation (sic) of a liquidated predecessor company…”) but Captain Nimmo, and Campbell Ogilvie told us that didnae matter so they did”
As embarrassing a statement as any so called independent arbiter could possibly come up with.
Delaneys Dunky
The Apartheid one.