At the start of the week our man in Poland sent me a link to the Croatian outlet who interviewed Nikica Jelavic. I mentioned the player in an article yesterday and recalled his earlier comments, which I referenced as background information. This ‘news’ was subsequently carried by today’s radio and print outlets in Scotland.
It’s maybe a low blow to bring out the ‘Lazy journalism’ point on the day Scotland’s formerly-largest newspaper shed journalists, although the point is perfectly illustrated, but lazy journalism always found its place in the past. The real problem has little to do with the standard of journalism on offer, it’s about business models in the old media. News doesn’t pay unless you can tax consumers or bundle it with paid-for football channels, which is not a good thing.
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TET , was chatting with SmashingMilkBottles , CRC , Penfold ,Kingoh and Stephen Black about you.
Smashing told me an interesting story about your dog collars . what;s the best address to contact you on ? info@cortescaves.es ?
Sanna
Apologies for repeating myself but brain is not top dollar so once upon a time when I could come up with something original I wrote a wee allegory that may have been a polemic….
A friend and fellow NZ Tim Mick Hollywood complemented it by remarking…..
There’s no smoke without fire. Or as our own Estadio might say “where there are visible vapours having their province in ignited carbonaceous material there is conflagration”
So to the article….
It’s just the shame old story
Right that’s me stuffed
Hail hail
Estadio
LuboJinky @ 00:50
You make a good point bud. His pie-eating and UVF flag buying habit were a big contributor to the hun financial mess as he claimed it all on expenses.
The Myth used carrot-dangle-pie-replacement therapy to enable the obese tit to make satan-inspired saves against Tommy’s Celtic.
The Exiled Tim 0032
New movie-The Many Faces of the Exiled Tim. Personally never fancied facebook.
#####################################################
ON A MORE GENERAL POINT,
I’ve just read Goram’s article,which made me weep.
For obvious reasons…..
However,it made me wonder how much of a debt of gratitude we owe Keith Jackson for the original MBB report?
Talk about unintended consequences?
Cheers,mate!
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS –
What I find intriguing is, Goram says, “Good people like John Brown and Ian Durrant are out there scouting players. Every time they report back they’re told to forget it — there’s not two pence to rub together.”
So in a sense he is acknowledging the fact that there is no money, but he is demanding that CW buys the players anyway, rather like a spoilt kit demanding a new toy.
Alternatively, he is calling CW a liar.
I wonder which it is.
Paul67
News Doesn’t Pay Anymore…?
Scottish Fitba PR Panto Villians Aside….
Have I Got News for You….
AllTheWorldIsAStageCSC
‘News doesn’t pay anymore’
For jim traynor it doesnt appear to pay him now.
Good, c’mon the BBC clean up your act and sack the swine as well.
What’s the story about James Traynor?
Can’t see it reported anywhere.
http://rangerstaxcase.com/2012/01/06/tax-deal-rumour-what-was-the-point/
Its all coming together, or all starting to fall apart, depending on your persuasion :)
Nice way to wake up. Must admit had a wee look on RM. It’s hard to feel sorry for them – sO I didn’t try :)))))
Good morning friends and a big Happy Friday from a dry but cold and frosty East Kilbride.
Finally started Series One of Breaking Bad last night and the first 2 episodes were everything that the many bloggers on here promised they would be. So that should be my TV viewing sorted along with watching victories for Arbroath and The Bhoys.
Jobo
Clear skies over a dry and mild North Ayrshire this morning.
Morning bhoys, no frost this morning, but as ever hun free.
sannabhoy says:
6 January, 2012 at 01:45
Don’t have that mail any more, you can get me at….
nohunshere@hotmail.com
……………………………………………
Partizan
Aye, quite a nice wee surprise this morning, seems that once the wheels of justice start turning, they gather pace at an alarming rate if you are on the receiving end of them.
Hell mend them.
I see RTC gave Guidi a biatch slapping this morning
The Hun hordes must be crying into their Sugar Puffs this morning on reading about the RSA’s meeting with the MBB
Nobody comes in until someone is sold and further cost cutting must be made on the playing squad
Lovely :)
Scotrail better get their fingers out over the weekend……
BT
Their fingers out of what :>)
TET why scotrails fingers were in there in the 1st place I dinnae ken, its a conundrum……..
oh and happy Friday CQN’ers, even although I knocked down some poor critter on a country road this morning, I hope it wasn’t anything to do with scotrail or pies!!!!!
Vinny
Good Morning CQNer’s!
A belated Happy New Year to you all.
Christmas & New Year has went fantastically well for the Hoops – we are now in pole position to kick on and win this League (plus the two cups of course!!).
Consistency is gonna be key in the run-in. If 7 or 8 of our players play to anywhere near their best in each of our remaining games then we’ll be Champions. Of that I have no doubt.
I don’t think we necessarily need to bring in players during this transfer window but I would love to get one or two with genuinie quality, especially a striker who can bully defenders and is a threat in the air.
You can never have too much quality and it would also rub ‘Thems’ noses right in it!
Our squad could do with losing a few right enough. Unsure as to who I would ship-out, I’ll trust Lenny’s judgement on that.
On a side issue, Mrs UF and I are heading up to Cameron House this afternoon for a wee overnight stay and I’m taking my golf clubs with me.
As much as I’d love to play the Carrick Course, time will be against me! I notice there is a 9-holer (The Wee Demon Course) on site as well – have any of the CQN Golfing fraternity played it and, more importantly, is it any good??
UF
That’s the most polemical I’ve ever read RTC. He (or she?) is normally very guarded about his/her hopes. Nothing unreasonable that any tax payer/football supporter could ask for; fair play and justice and another superb pop at the laptop loyal for not doing their job. Glass half full says he/she’s lost patience with them all and laying it on the line. Glass half empty says he/she’s genuinely worried about them getting a deal.
Interesting to note that both us and them on our respective forums are happy about the demise of Jim Traynor… He can’t be biased against both of us surely?
On the recruitment front , l would like to see a new striker who gives us the chance to go a wee bit more direct, A Sutton type.
I am just a wee bit concerned that an injury could lead to a goal drought, l may be worrying too much but the thought of that lot winning the league again is one l can’t contemplate.
Ktf
Mtt
Taggsybhoy – if you read RTC regularly you’ll know there will be no deal. Whyte admitted as much in his meeting with the Hun elders yesterday, they will either win or they will lose. And they will lose.
Admin beckons, it’s simply a matter of timing.
Morning all from gay Paree, lovely bright morning, bit chilly though (9C max)
Prediction time:
La Tete de Pierre 1 – La Fameuse Celtique de Glasgow 8
taggsybhoy
There will be no deal with HMRC.
There might be a deal with the SPL, that is my worry.
tomtheleedstim says:
6 January, 2012 at 08:28
“it’s simply a matter of timing”
for some of us….
its simply a matter of waiting….feet up and large cuban cigar.
A bit like blantyretims train, its been a long time coming.
TET@08:33
‘There might be a deal with the SPL, that is my worry’.
That is where our board start earning their corn
If they remain in the SPL then there must be points deductions for a minimum of 3 seasons
30, 25, 20 for the following seasons
Che
I too have a big cigar awaiting for there demise and Thatchers.
It would be handy if the both popped it on the same day, l have only one cigar -)
Ktf
Mtt
mickthetic says:
6 January, 2012 at 08:42
they both go on the same day,
Ill buy you a cigar.
tomtheleedstim/exiledtim
Thanks guys. I’m a pretty regular lurker and and know RTC seems to be sure that there is compelling evidence against RFC. Given the country’s economic circumstances there surely is appropriate political justification for making sure each and every one of us; private individuals and corporate bodies pay their dues.
Like you, I have no faith in other SPL clubs or the SFA to stand up for what is right, just hoping there is an economic rationale for them to do so.
Whats RTC saying? I can’t get it at work.
Ten Men
That’s what should happen, but I’ll no be holding my breath.
The problem for me is that a penalty like that will not help the other clubs financially, the hun support will not turn out in sufficent numbers knowing that they can’t win.
This is where the suits need to open their eyes.
The only fair way is start in div 3, giving the rest of scottish football a boost, the hun would have say 10k support, imagine what crowds like that would do for the teams down the divisions.
Che
DEAL
Mtt
O’Connor to be sure must top list of hitmen to replace Jelavic at Rangers
By Mark Hateley on Jan 6, 12 08:18 AM in rangers
EXTREMELY limited finances mean there is no margin for error when Alistair McCoist brings in the striker he feels can propel Rangers to a fourth consecutive title.
The odds are stacked firmly in Celtic’s favour right now and will be more so if Nikica Jelavic is sold but I believe the acquisition of Garry O’Connor would offset the loss of the Croat.
I also believe that I have a better eye for a player than Alistair due to my experiences in England, America, Italy, France and Scotland.
O’Connor has only six months of his current contract with Hibs to run and given Rangers are operating in an ever-shrinking market he should be the SPL champions’ No.1 transfer target this month.
There is no doubt Rangers are in the middle of a striking crisis and with all due respect to David Healy you need more than one fit forward with half a brain to mount a realistic title challenge.
But there is no point whatsoever in Alistair setting his sights sky high during the transfer window.
The top-class quality forwards who ply their trade in Europe’s best leagues cost money and Rangers don’t have any right now. It is a fanciful notion the manager will be able to splash out a few million quid to get a top-notch replacement when Jelavic almost inevitably departs this month.
Rangers are hoping to rake in more than £8million for the Croatia star but I doubt the manager will see any of that.
The best-case scenario is Alistair will be given wages to bring a couple of new faces or maybe the cash to pay a nominal transfer fee.
There is always pressure on an Old Firm boss when he brings a new player to the club but more so during this window for Rangers.
Alistair can’t afford to make the wrong call yet again and he will hope those he brings in match the exploits of summer recruits Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian rather than Alejandro Bedoya and Juan Ortiz.
O’Connor represents terrific value for money although I’m sure Kris Boyd, Nacho Novo and Francisco Sandaza will also be considered as alternatives.
O’CONNOR: If Rangers can only bring in one new face O’Connor fits the bill perfectly at this moment in time.
He can lead the line well, hold up the ball, link play impressively but, more importantly, he scores goals. He has two outstanding court appearances but if someone from the clubs hierachy were to offer him a good character reference then these matters can be easily smoothed over. His games-to-goals ratio this season has also been excellent while it shouldn’t be forgotten he is playing for one of the worst two teams in the top flight.
O’Connor also has the benefit of playing abroad. He is a far more accomplished performer as a result of his stint in Russia and has fared reasonably well at international level for Scotland. His years in England proved unfruitful but we shouldn´t dwell on those as he was rarely fit.
There must be slight concerns over his temperament off the pitch and clothing tastes but there’s no doubt he could have conducted himself better. But the bottom line is about what he can do on the pitch and I believe he can provide Rangers’ title surge with fresh impetus.
SANDAZA: He is an improving player who has enjoyed a good season for St Johnstone when he hasn’t been injured. But he is not quite in the same league as O’Connor just now.
Yes, he has played abroad but it was for clubs in the third tier of Spanish football and he didn’t really score that many goals.
He went to Brighton after doing quite well at Dundee United but didn’t cut the mustard in League One. That would be a worry regardless of how well he has played so far in the SPL this term.
Maybe he will be one for the future but he is untested at a high level and that would be a concern.
Rangers need someone they know can come in and do an immediate job.
Sandaza is technically astute and has good awareness but I’m not sure Alistair can afford to take a risk on a guy who has done well for just half a season. What Rangers need is tried and trusted and the Spaniard doesn’t quite come into that category just yet. I hope Alistair is aware of this.
BOYD: It would be foolish of Rangers’ management team not to consider Boyd, purely and simply on the basis he is a free agent and is currently sitting on his backside twiddling his thumbs. The fact he won’t cost a fee is a huge plus.
Alistair knows all about his capabilities and also his limitations.
There’s no doubt Boyd knows where the back of the net is as his record as the SPL’s leading scorer proves. If you supply him with decent service then he will hit the target at this level.
However, the lack of an all-round game and his body weight concerns might just count against him because Rangers need a player who does more than just score goals.
Boyd’s career has stalled after it didn’t work out for him in the Championship with Middlesbrough while a big-money move to Turkey also turned sour.
There is big question mark hanging over him and whether he still has the hunger to succeed on the pitch
Yet, while Rangers would need to bring in someone else to play alongside him he still has to come into the equation.
NOVO: He was a huge fans’ favourite during his first spell with Rangers and would be welcomed back to Ibrox with open arms.
The little Spaniard is a lively character who can play on either flank and also do a decent job through the middle.
I have every belief he would be a big asset second time round if a deal could be struck to release him from the final six months of his contract with Sporting Gijon. Even if he has flatly refused to consider palying for less money for 6 months Rangers should still make him an offer.
There’s no doubt he has become a far better player since moving to La Liga two years ago and Rangers would benefit from his experience.
You also know what you’re getting from Nacho in terms of effort and commitment but since he has moved to Lal Liga he has blossomed late, he reminds me of Lubo Moravcik who done a sterling job at Celtic.
He also feels there is a point to prove to the supporters because he was never a regular under Walter Smith. He had one great season when he played alongside Dado Prso when Alex McLeish was in charge and scored more than 20 goals but apart from that he was never a guaranteed starter.
I genuinely believe he will have a hell of a lot more to offer after his spell in Spain and it would represent good business to bring him back.
He has two outstanding court appearances but if someone from the clubs hierachy were to offer him a good character reference then these matters can be easily smoothed over.
That has to be Awe Nawed
O’Connor has scored ONE goal in about 3 months!!!
You also know what you’re getting from Nacho in terms of effort and commitment but since he has moved to Lal Liga he has blossomed late, he reminds me of Lubo Moravcik who done a sterling job at Celtic.
And that bit
He has two outstanding court appearances but if someone from the clubs hierachy were to offer him a good character reference then these matters can be easily smoothed over.
LoL, is this guy for real.
GREENJEDI
All yours……………
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tax Deal “Rumour”: What was the point?
06/01/201240 Comments
Scotland’s sports journalists have surpassed themselves recently. Even by their own fathomless standards for getting it wrong, the release of the summary minutes of the Rangers Supporters Assembly (RSA) meeting with Craig Whyte could not have done more illustrate the scale of the credibility problem facing the mainstream sports media in this country.
Mark Guidi’s regular slot on Radio Clyde’s Superscoreboard has given him a platform to embarrass himself repeatedly. On 27 December, Mr. Guidi told us that there was “a groundswell that the tax case will be sorted out before the case resumes”. Just this week, he used this pulpit to tell us all that HMRC will be happy to accept a greatly reduced figure (£5-6 million) from Rangers. According to Guidi, HMRC has only won 5% of similar cases. (This is not only wrong, it does not even make any sense. Rangers’ case is quite unique in several ways). His colleagues have made many similar misstatements.
When a caller (Terry) informed him that these stories were nonsense (citing this blog as his source), Guidi denied any knowledge of our existence let alone having ever read our content. However, the caller was correct. Guidi was talking nonsense. Of course, there is no need to take my word for it. Who better than Craig Whyte and the RSA to clear up the confusion: “No scope for negotiating a settlement with HMRC due to the criticism they have had from MPs and the Media about some high-profile ‘deals’“. If someone can see fit to forward a link to our site to Guidi, it might be a good place for him to start doing research before he makes things worse.
Guidi and several other Scottish sport journalists have been pumping up the hopes of Rangers fans with these tales of a deal being imminent for several weeks. The question is: why? We know already that Rangers’ PR firm, Media House (ran by Jack Irvine), have been spreading the optimisic ‘deal about to be done’ story around every newsroom in the country. That does not answer the question as to why a journalist would believe any PR-rep’s stories about Rangers. If they told me that Ibrox was in the G51 postcode, I would have to walk there and look- such has been the trail of lies and disinformation since Whyte’s name was first linked with the club. Were they promised upcoming transfer exclusives? Perhaps. More to the point, why did Media House hype this story only to be contradicted by Whyte himself within a matter of weeks? I hope that Jack is working cheaply because this looks like it was a complete waste of time and money. Sources within Ibrox have described the daily operations since the takeover as ‘shambolic’. It certainly seems that way from the outside.
Mr. Whyte also confirmed HMRC’s powers to demand payment if/when the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) finds against them. We have made this point several times (including the previous blog entry): should the assessments of tax liability in Rangers’ possession be confirmed, the bill becomes due and payable immediately. Even if Rangers appeal the findings, HMRC has the right to demand payment without further delay. (If Rangers won their appeal, they would be entitled to full repayment plus interest, but that is academic as they would have already become insolvent).
If an appeal is seen to be reasonable i.e. where it is obvious that there is some ambiguity in the law or that the employer drifted over the line into illegality rather than raced across it, the taxman will not usually press for payment when doing so would cause insolvency. However, where the appeal is vexatious (i.e. no real chance of winning it- just being done as a heel-dragging exercise), then HMRC would be justified in taking a tougher line.
It may not help their case that Rangers have launched an appeal for the £2.8 million that was taken (most of it forcibly- after a court order) for the Discounted Options Scheme (“The Wee Case”). After months of correspondence over The Wee Case where the admission of liability was clear, if Rangers’ appeal is viewed as being without a reasonable legal basis, HMRC might take a more dim view of an appeal relating to The Big Case.
Craig Whyte has made clear, in his own words and in the takeover contract documents, that he believes that his position in the event of insolvency is protected through the £18 million debt owed to him by Rangers and the floating charge over the club’s assets. It is very obvious that Rangers FC have no intention of paying anything close to the full amount of tax, interest, and penalties that have been assessed. The implicit threat is “we will go under and HMRC will get nothing” .
If this case was only about immediate revenue collection then HMRC should offer Rangers a deal. However, it would lay down a marker for every business owner, inside and outside of football, that one can engage in a shockingly blatant tax scam and have little to fear. If Rangers can negotiate a pennies on the pound deal now, it signals to every under-pressure company director that corners can be cut. Even if rumbled, the worst he or she would have to deal with would be repaying 10-20%- and even that would be a decade later. Sounds like a pretty tempting deal! HMRC’s credibility, and a just outcome for this case, require that life is not made easy for those whose plans rely upon ducking their social and financial responsibilities.
This blog has been accused of wishing malice on Rangers FC. This is not true. I am not one who seeks the extinction of Rangers in the style of Third Lanark. What I seek is a fair outcome- nothing more and nothing less. ‘Fair’ in this case would be any resolution that sees Rangers carry a millstone of sufficient weight, and for an appropriate duration, that counter-balances the benefits accrued from their use of the EBT scam. Since its implementation in 2000, Rangers have won the Scottish Premier League five times. The present day value of the £24 million in tax that was saved along the way is about £36 million. Without the benefit of this £36 million, Rangers’ would have have gone bankrupt years ago or would have been forced into draconian budget cuts. They got to stay at the roulette table eleven years after their own money had ran out. Only the most blind or willfully ignorant could fail to see the issue of financial doping in tainting the Scottish championship during this time. If Rangers succeed in ducking any meaningful financial restitution by exploiting kinks in bankruptcy law, then it will fall to the Scottish footballing authorities (SFA/SPL) to ensure that justice is done. A 10-point penalty will be automatic if an insolvency process overlaps with any active football season, but a ”newco” club must not be given a free entry into the Scottish Premier League to take the place of Rangers. Scottish football administrators must find the balance between penalising Rangers so heavily that a new club carrying Rangers’ legacy never gets off the ground versus incurring the problems of ‘moral hazard’ by failing to extract a punishment. If football becomes like the banking industry, where wrong-doing and excessive risk taking carries no penalty, we will just continue to get more of it.
The task of finding the right balance will not be easy, but I would suggest that a formula based on Rangers (2012) FC starting each new season for a number of years with a points deficit would be along the right lines